



Any other medical practitioners wanna do further examination of the brain? Be my guest.
It is well known to public that whatever new plan, new program, new policies or stuff like that being introduced by KERAjaan, pretty sure more backfire will be seen. MALAYSIAN labour law is being reviewed. Why should we care? Because at stake could be the job security of thousands of workers who may not even know what’s in the offing. To date, the proposed government amendments have been classified “secret”, which in itself is problematic.
Still, those who have caught wind of the amendments are raising alarm bells for the nation’s workforce. Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary general G Rajasekaran has already called the proposed changes to the country’s labour laws the “worst amendments in 40 years”. If the legal amendments are put into place, it could mean employers are able to fire workers at will, explains at least one unionist.
Will the amendments be a benefit or a bane to employees? And what exactly is the government trying to fix in the current employment guidelines through these amendments? Should workers be concerned?
Fired, then what?
Malaysian labour law is generally governed by three separate Acts: the Employment Act 1955, Industrial Relations Act 1967, and the Trade Unions Act 1959. The statutes set out wide guidelines on issues such as working hours, annual leave, dismissal and complaint mechanisms.
Labour lawyer Lim Heng Seng, formerly an Industrial Court chairperson, says there is currently a fairly good balance between employers’ prerogative to dismiss staff and employees’ security of tenure.
Although employers in Malaysia may fire their staff, Lim says they can only do so with just cause. “Anyone dismissed without just cause can file a complaint with the Industrial Relations Department and take it up for dispute resolution,” says Lim in a phone interview.
Lim says the Malaysian system strikes a good balance compared to other jurisdictions. “There is no security of tenure in countries like Singapore and US. In countries like France, employers are scared of being immediately hauled up if they fire anyone.”
Lim, however, says the Malaysian system has become cumbersome, tying up management time and causing long waits for employees to receive compensation or get reinstated after being fired.
“The complaint goes to the Industrial Relations Department; then conciliation is attempted. If that fails, the human resources minister has to refer the matter to the Industrial Court, where there’s further management time,” Lim explains.
Lim says the minister should not be involved in referring individual disputes to court. “Our system allows for individuals, not just trade unions, to bring claims. These individual disputes don’t involve affairs of state such as the possibility of strikes. So why should the minister be tied up in deciding whether each case goes for hearing?”
Lim says that conversely, the UK system places the entire evaluation and mediation system under the courts, hence simplifying the complaint procedure.
So given the system’s weaknesses, will the proposed labour law review address these administrative issues and make the process more efficient and fair to all parties involved?
Complaint process
Fire at will?
Electronic Industry Employees Union general secretary Bruno Pereira doesn’t think so. He says the proposed amendments forwarded by the Human Resources Ministry look more like an employer’s wish-list than a comprehensive review.
Rather than addressing systemic issues such as those highlighted by Lim, Pereira says the proposed legal amendments would make it easier for employers to fire workers at will.
“The Employment Act was passed to abolish bonded labour so workers would have security of tenure,” he says, explaining, for example, that companies cannot hire manual workers on a contractual basis.
The proposals, however, would change that position. It would “bring us backwards to a pre-1955 situation when workers were employed day-by-day and had no security,” Pereira says.
Pereira cites companies’ cleaning services as an example. “If the contract system is legalised [for manual workers], a company could employ a cleaning agency and fire all their existing cleaners. The cleaning agency would then employ cleaners on a contractual basis – they would be paid on a daily basis and can be fired at will.”
Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Shamsuddin Bardan, however, has welcomed the upcoming changes. He says employees would benefit from more flexible working hours if the changes are put in place.
He cites women working in the industrial and agricultural sectors as an example. “Some women have [family commitments] in the day, but the laws currently don’t allow them to work after 10pm without the labour director general’s permission. Some also prefer working permanently at night, but the labour department requires employers to rotate their shifts. So some have no choice but to leave employment,” he says.
“We also have to look at what developed countries are doing,” Shamsuddin says in a phone interview. “In the UK, an employee must have served two years before they can challenge a dismissal. Malaysia is not the first country to contemplate such provisions.”
Shamsuddin says Malaysia could lose investments if too many labour requirements are imposed. “Investors, whether foreign or local, would benchmark each country and invest accordingly … If investors feel the returns in Malaysia are low and there are many requirements to fulfill, they may choose to go elsewhere.”
Plug and play
(Pic by overkil6 / sxc.hu)
Pereira points out that loose regulation would not give employers incentives to train staff. “The problem is, employers want plug-and-play employees,” he says. “They want workers who can immediately do the job without having to invest in training.”
Pereira says this attitude would result in employers resorting to firing and replacing workers who cannot immediately perform.
“If workers are employed on a contractual basis, that makes it even easier [to fire them],” says Pereira. “Furthermore, employers would save money on items such as medical expenses and annual leave.”
Pereira stresses that this would ultimately be detrimental. “Social responsibility for the unemployed has to be placed somewhere – either with the government or with employers. In many developed countries, the government takes on that role. So if companies have more freedom to fire employees, the government provides workers with unemployment benefits.
“In Malaysia, once someone is fired, there’s no government support,” says Pereira.
Attempts to reach the Human Resources Ministry to clarify the issue did not yield immediate response.
Meaningful reform
With such disparate views from both employers and employees, how should the government proceed in instituting meaningful and equitable reform?
Lim stresses that the incoherence within the system must be dealt with, and that consultations should be held with the various stakeholders. He recognises that employers may have valid concerns about the cost of dismissal disputes and compensation. But Lim says this shouldn’t result in arbitrary definitions of who would be entitled to file a complaint and claim compensation or reinstatement if one was unfairly fired.
He also notes that most employers are not unhappy with the current law. “Employers would agree they cannot fire without good reason. But the system for complaint must be efficacious and not tie people up for years.”
Pereira
However, Pereira says the ministry has marked the proposed amendments “sulit”, thereby precluding any public discussion on the review. Because any legal amendment could affect thousands of workers, Pereira says they “should be subject to public consultation and not marked confidential”.
Still, the government’s move isn’t much of a surprise, especially since, as Pereira points out, unions are often consulted much later after the ministry has received extensive feedback from employer groups.
Salah satu berita yang berjaya menambat hati saya adalah mengenai Program Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN) seperti disiarkan di Berita Hairan di sini. Ada pelbagai pandangan mengenai program ini samada yang +ve atau -ve bergantung kepada perspektif mana kita melihatnya.
m lain. Antara program yang aku cadangkan adalah mereka diWAJIBkan menganggotai Askar Wataniah atau Pasukan Simpanan Sukarela TLDM. Dah tentu mereka akan menjadi lebih disiplin dan sepanjang masa berdisiplin berbanding dgn PLKN yang habih 3 bulan, apa pun tarak...
As for me, all crews are required to join PSS-TLDM kerana mereka akan dilatih dan diajar mengenai selok belok pelayaran selain kursus yang dibuat oleh pihak pengurusan. In other word, killing 2 birds with 1 stone sebagai bekalan for their career advancement. Aku tak suka krew aku pencen dengan jawatan yang sama, paling tidak pun 2 takuk tinggi dari yg sekarang.
I have received an e-mail from friend of mine together with letter attached regarding the famous "Minyak Sapi".2 April 2010
Ms. Tan Poh Hong
Chief Executive Officer
Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority
5, Maxwell Road
Tower Block, MND Complex
Singapore 069110
Dear Madam
We wish to inform your goodself that for years, our consumer group as many other faithful consumers have been using "QQB" Ghee for various delicacies and religious functions without doubt, with full confidence that the said product is manufactured from the milk of dairy cows by its highly reputable manufacturer based in Queensland, Australia.
However, lately, we found that although the colour and aroma had now varied much, the taste seemed to be somewhat different. Therefore, we investigated this matter and concluded the following matters:
· Its manufacturer Butter Producers' Co-operative Federation Ltd (BPCF) addressed as No. 489, Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton, Brisbane, Australia had ceased operations in September 2006 and was no longer listed in the website of Australian trade authority being http://www.austrade.gov.au In fact the satellite picture as the website http://maps. google.com shows that the following site is vacant land.
· Printed on the tin is that the said product is manufactured from milkfat of dairy cows of Australia and in even smaller and rather unclear script, it is mentioned that its manufacturer is Q.B.I. Packaging Sdn Bhd, No. 19, Lorong Keluli 1C, Kawasan Perindustrian Bukit Raja Selatan, 41050 Shah Alam, Selangor DE., Malaysia and that the said product is manufactured under license from QBB (Pte.) Ltd., Singapore.
· QBB Pte Ltd.., Singapore was originally the sole agent for "QBB" Ghee for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei and it is not clear whether at the time when BPCF ceased operations in 2006, the "QBB" trademark rights were transferred from BPCF to QBB Ptd Ltd., Singapore. We suspect that Q.B.I. Packaging Sdn Bhd and QBB Ptd Ltd., Singapore are together carrying an act of piracy i.e. producing and selling a product whose legitimate manufacturing and sales rights were not transferred to them by its original manufacturer BPCF who was since wound up.
· The report of an analysis conducted by a reputable food technology laboratory in Australia on the contents of a 2-lb tin of this product, where the said tin was taken from Malaysia to Australia by one of our group members, mentions the following:-
"This product constitutes of decolorized and deodorized lard (pig fat) in semi-solid state with permitted additives giving the product color, flavor and aroma similar to that of pure ghee color, flavor and aroma." (Original report is with the sender of this letter).
Therefore, our consumer group had to boycott the use of this product as:-
a) Our muslim members cannot use this product as it is haram by religion
b) Our Hindu and Sikh members cannot use this product for burning of ghee lamps, religious functions or for preparing sweetmeats as places of worship which forbid the use of any animal oil/animal fat.
c) Our vegetarian friends who only consume vegetarian diet cannot consume the said product.
We believe that the "QBB Ghee" sold in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei ever since BPCF closed down, is a product which is violating the related laws on the principle of "misrepresentation of label". Therefore we hope that your goodself will take the appropriate action to stop the sale of this product.
Thanking you.
Letter signed by Mohd Kadir bin Mohd Karim (I/C No. 601223-10-6157)
Secretary of Kumpulan Konsumer Satu Malaysia (KKSM)
Note: Copy of this letter and analysis report sent to
YAB Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abd. Khalid bin Ibrahim, Menteri Besar Selangor DE.
Kontraktor Stadium Gong Badak bina istana baru






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An elderly man in Louisiana had owned a large farm for several years. He had a large pond in the back. It was properly shaped for swimming, so he fixed it up nice with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some apple, and peach trees. One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look it over. He grabbed a five-gallon bucket to bring back some fruit. As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer, he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his pond. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end. One of the women shouted to him, 'we're not coming out until you leave!' The old man frowned, 'I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond naked.' Holding the bucket up he said, 'I'm here to feed the alligator...' Some old men can still think fast. |
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