KOTA SAMARAHAN - The Education Ministry is recruiting about 13,000 graduates and secondary school leavers to be trained as English language teachers next year in an effort to achieve the National Key Result Area target of widening access to quality and affordable education.

Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi said the candidates would be sent to the teacher education institutes in the country.

"This is one of the measures to overcome the shortage of teachers and, at the same time ensure that students have access to quality education," he told reporters after a working visit to Sekolah Kebangsaan Pendam, Sadong Jaya, here.

Giving bosses of foreign workers last chance

PUTRAJAYA - For one month from today, the immigration department will educate employers nationwide that it is an offence to deploy foreign workers as front-liners.

Those who fail to cooperate will face the wrath of the law, said department director-general Abdul Rahman Othman.

He said the education process would include providing brochures, dialogue sessions with employers and meetings with organisations involved.


Wet spell in Sarawak expected to persist till Sunday


KUALA LUMPUR - The wet spell in Sarawak is expected to persist till Sunday.

Kuching, Samarahan, Betong and Sri Aman would be the most affected, the Meteorological Department said in a statement here today.

The department also issued a strong winds and rough seas warning for Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, eastern Johor, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan till Monday.


  SMS way to check land status in Perak

IPOH - Land owners in Perak can check on the status of their property via the short messaging service (SMS) offered by the State Land and Mines Office, Mentri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said today.

He said they would have to type PTGPK CUKAI LAND TITLE NUMBER and send to 32244.

Zambry warned that the state would confiscate land of errant owners.

  Closer to prisoner exchanges

KUCHING - The draft amendment to the Prisons Act 1995 to allow for exchange of foreign prisoners in the country is in the final stage prior to submission to the Attorney-General's Chambers for tabling in parliament, Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop said here today.

He said the amendment would enable foreigners serving time in Malaysia to be relocated to their countries of origin, and overcome the current congestion faced by prisons in the country.

Malaysian prisons held 8,454 nationals of 20 countries, or 26% of the total number of prisoners, he said.

  RM1tril mark crossed

KUALA LUMPUR - The market capitalisation of listed companies on Bursa Malaysia breached the RM1tril mark at the end of this morning's trading session.

At the mid-day break, the market capitalisation stood at RM1.016318tril but at closing, it dropped to RM1.012tril due to profit-taking activities.

The all-time high market value of Bursa Malaysia was RM1.1tril, which was recorded during the early part of 2007 before the market collapsed due to global financial crisis in the second half of 2007.


  Passports of Viva Palestina convoy members seized

EL-ARISH (Egypt) - The Viva Palestina convoy's first batch flew to this port city today, only to find their passports seized by the Egyptian authorities for seven hours.

While they were instructed to pay US$15 (RM53) per person for their visa upon arrival, exemption was however, given to Malaysian and Turkish citizens aged above 45.

The Egyptian authorities eventually compromised and the volunteers were allowed to check into hotels here. - Bernama