KUALA LUMPUR - The Higher Education Ministry feels a heavier penalty should have been meted out to the two Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) lecturers caught for plagiarism, Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Hou Kok Chung said today.

Nevertheless, the ministry respected the autonomy accorded to the tertiary institution to deal with such cases, he told the Dewan Rakyat when replying to a question from Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor).

The UPM management committee decided merely to issue a stern warning to the two academicians and ordered a stop to the sale of the plagiarised guide books they had produced, he added.

Dzulkefly had wanted to know why more severe action was not taken against the lecturers. - Bernama


Anwar challenges govt  to probe his accounts

OPPOSITION Leader Anwar Ibrahim today challenged the government to investigate all his bank accounts to determine whether he had dubious sources of funds to the tune of several billion ringgit.

He said investigations had been conducted on his accounts previously but they came up with nothing.

"Instead, the government-controlled media has continued to spread lies that I have RM3bil in my accounts as alleged in a statutory declaration of former Bank Negara assistant governor Abdul Murad Khalid," he said when speaking during the debate on the 2010 Supply Bill at the committee stage.

On Abdul Murad's statutory declaration, Bernama quoted Anwar as saying that the then Anti-Corruption Agency had conducted an investigation in 1998 but the government closed the matter then.

Abdul Murad, in his statutory declaration, among other things, had claimed that Anwar, a former finance minister, had 20 accounts managed by his cronies, involving assets, shares and cash of more than RM3bil.

Auto-scrapping scheme of mutual benefit

CAR makers Proton and Perodua issued 31,046 discount vouchers of RM5,000 each under the auto-scrapping scheme to car owners who traded in their old cars to buy new vehicles from them, the Dewan Rakyat was told Monday.

Under the scheme, a discount of RM5,000 was given to car owners who traded in their cars, which were at least 10 years old, for the purchase of the new cars.

According to Bernama, Deputy Finance Minister Chor Chee Heung said the scheme, carried out jointly by the government and the two car makers, benefited car owners and boosted car sales as well as contributed to environmental conservation.

"The scheme has ended as the allocation by the government has been used up, and there are no plans to extend it," he said when replying to a question from Mohd Nasir Ibrahim Fikri (BN-Kuala Nerus) who had wanted to know the progress of the scheme.

69,760 graduates registered with JobsMalaysia

A TOTAL 69,760 graduates registered with job matching portal JobsMalaysia from Jan 1 till Nov 13 this year, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Human Resource Minister Senator Maznah Mazlan said of the total, 18 held doctorate degrees, 1,165 Masters degrees, 36,985 degrees and 31,592 diplomas.

"However, this is not an actual reflection of the unemployment situation among graduates as some among them were already working but were seeking better prospects," she said when replying to a question from Baharum Mohamed (BN-Sekijang).

Baharum had wanted an update on the portal which was created by the Human Resource Ministry.

Two senators sworn in for second term

TWO senators, Heng Seai Kie and  Azian Osman, were sworn in today for a second term before Dewan Negara deputy president Armani Mahiruddin.

Heng, 46, who is deputy information communication and culture minister, was appointed for a second term by the Perak state legislative assembly.

Azian, 50, who was appointed for the first term by the Perak assembly, was appointed for a second term by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. - Bernama