Jaya Supermarket Collapse: 4 dead, search on for 3

PETALING JAYA: Another body was recovered from the rubble of the collapsed Jaya Supermarket building at 4pm on Friday, taking the death toll to four.

Indonesian Annuaruddin, 38, was the excavator operator and was found trapped under the machine, said OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed.

Early Friday morning another body - that of Muhamad Maskur, an Indonesian national aged 31, - was found at 3.30am pinned under a concrete slab in the car park.

On Thursday, after the building collapse, Alsuki Nahru, 58, and a yet to be identified man were the first two victims recovered.

He said that rescue personnel were trying to get to three more workers trapped under the debris of the collapsed Jaya Supermarket located by search dogs and a scope.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the trapped workers were near the bodies pulled from the rubble earlier.

He told reporters after visiting the site that rescuers were being hampered by the large amount of debris.

"I would like to get an explanation from the contractor involved in the demolition on the methods the company has used.

"I am going to put a working paper on this incident. A task force will also be formed to probe the collapse involving the local council, police and the Fire and Rescue Department," he said.

On Thursday, the building collapsed at 5pm while demolition work was going on, killing four Indonesian workers.

Two other workers were pulled out alive.

Bernama reported Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Lajim Ukim as saying that initial investigation indicated that overloading caused by heavy machines used in demolishing the former Jaya Supermarket building may have triggered the collapse.

He said eight heavy demolition tractors were in the building when the incident occurred.

Meanwhile, the Selangor government has issued a stopwork order on the project site.

This is to allow the Department of Occupational Safety and Health and Public Works Institute of Malaysia (Ikram) to study and report on the incident.

"The stopwork order is for seven days from today," Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said when asked to comment on the incident after chairing the Selangor Economic Action Council meeting, here, Friday.

Meanwhile, in Petaling Jaya Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said in a statement Friday that the building collapse was another stark reminder that safety at the workplace should not be taken for granted.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) chairman stressed the importance of carrying out risk assessments before construction work was done.

“The collapse of the old Jaya supermarket building highlights once again the consequences of not implementing good occupational safety and health practices at the workplace.

“It is sad that it takes another tragedy for people to realise what is going to happen if one takes safety at the workplace for granted,” he said in a statement Friday.

“Proper risk assessment is the most fundamental issue of commitment to safety. Unless and until this issue is addressed, accidents such as this will continue to happen in the future,” he said.

Sabah to get a heart centre ahead of schedule: Liow

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will get a heart centre almost five years ahead of schedule following the purchase of the private Sabah Medical Centre building at Jalan Damai here.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the cardiology and cardio thoracic services would be available almost immediately after the inking of the sales and purchase agreement for the takeover of the private hospital building.

“We expect the agreement to be signed very soon and the cardiac centre will be in place ahead by three to four years of the original plan,” he said, adding that the new building would be equipped with a cathlab, operation theatres and an Intensive Care Unit.

“Sabah will have its own heart centre and people need not travel to Kuala Lumpur or Kuching for operations as all facilities will be available locally,” Liow told reporters after a working visit to the SMC building Friday.

The government had agreed to buy the private hospital building at a cost of RM280mil to overcome the shortage of beds and other service problems following the closure of the unsafe Queen Elizabeth Hospital tower block.

Liow also clarified that the cost was RM280mil and not RM245mil as initially announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said another RM90mil would be spent on upgrading works for the establishment of two additional operating theatres on top of the three already in the building.

Liow said the Health Ministry would also look into the limited parking area at the SMC building and other issues that might crop up.

He also slammed opposition Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) for putting up billboards allegedly claiming that “the state has no general hospital following the Queen Elizabeth closure”.

“They are trying to gain political mileage through health issues. It is wrong to say that there is no general hospital here.

“The ministry has taken a lot effort to continue providing health services through commitment from all staff,” he said, adding there now 502 beds available at various hospitals in the state.

Liow said the ministry would also go ahead with plans to demolish the unsafe QEH tower block and construct a new twin tower block

Student arrested for throwing away baby

KUANTAN: A female student of a religious secondary school, near here, was arrested after admitting that she had thrown away a baby boy near a house in Balok Makmur.

She claimed she had been raped and the child was the result.

Kuantan police chief ACP Mohd Jasmani Yusoff said the 16-year-old's mother brought her daughter to the Kuantan police headquarters around 11am Friday.

"The student confessed and was arrested under Section 318 of the Penal Code for concealing the birth.

“However, she was then sent to the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital (HTAA) for postpartum treatment," he said when met by reporters, here.

He said the student had also filed a police report stating that a friend had raped her and that had led to her pregnancy.

"Police are investigating the student's report," he said. On Thursday, the body of a newborn baby boy was found wrapped in newspaper with a note in a village in Balok Makmur.

The body was found by villager Mohd Hafiz Ismail, 32, near his house while he was going out to work.

The note said, "please bury him as I am unable to." - Bernama

PKA chairman Lee hands over audit report to MACC

PUTRAJAYA: Port Klang Authority chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng has handed over the audit report on the Port Klang Free Zone to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office here on Friday.

Lee, who arrived at the office shortly before 8am, said he spent about 10 minutes with deputy commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohammad.

He also told reporters that both PKA and Price Waterhouse Coopers, which carried out the audit, pledged total cooperation with MACC in the probe.

Asked if PKA would take any disciplinary action against those named in the report, Lee said it would leave to MACC to investigate the matter first before PKA follow-up on it.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has directed Lee to submit a copy of the report to the commission and the Public Accounts Committee.

Ong said the authority had also been ordered to seek legal recourse for any contractual shortcomings or irregularities revealed in the report.

The report would be available online at www.pka-report.com for a period of two weeks while the appendices to the report would be available for public viewing during office hours at PKA at Jalan Pelabuhan, Port Klang until June 10.

Students to get discounts for motorbike licenses

KUALA LUMPUR: Concerned about the rising number of students who ride their motorcycles to school without a licence, the Road Safety Department and Safety Driving Centre has decided to offer them licences at a discounted rate from next month.

A survey conducted among secondary school students found that many of them did not possess a valid licence because the cost was beyond their reach, Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh said.

He said parents should not allow their children to ride motorcycles without a licence as the authorities would take stern action against them in addition to confiscating the vehicle.

“Under the motorcycle licence promotion campaign, those who are applying for the B2 class of below 250cc will get a 50% discount from June 1 to Aug 31,” he told reporters after signing a memorandum of understanding between the Road Safety Department and Safety Driving Centre here Friday.

The three-month promotion is targeted at secondary school students aged between 15 and 19 and the licence package starts from RM199.

“There are no more excuses for students who don’t have a motorcycle licence; they can apply for it at the Safety Driving Centre in Petaling Jaya and Kelana Jaya,” he added.

In conjunction with the school holidays which started Friday, Suret also highlighted the need for motorists to take extra precautions when returning to their hometowns.

Meanwhile, the Road Safety Department has kick-started a road safety campaign at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Chow Kit in an effort to create public awareness on road safety issues.

Jaya Supermarket accident: Workers trapped, one dead

PETALING JAYA: The abandoned Jaya Supermarket in Section 14 here collapsed after demolition operations went awry on Thursday evening.

Part of the four-storey building, a landmark of the city, collapsed at about 4:45pm, trapping nine Indonesian construction workers. Others working at the site managed to escape.

The Fire and Rescue Department received a distress call at 5:08pm and about 50 firemen immediately rushed to the scene.


Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Soiman Jahid said the first worker was pulled out of the rubble at 5:45pm and followed by the second about fifteen minutes later.

The two injured victims Suriono, 31, and Salleh, 45 were sent to the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

Rescue workers also recovered the body of a construction worker at 6:44pm.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed said Suriono was admitted to the emergency ward while Salleh received outpatient treatment.

“The dead victim has been identified as Maskor, 28,” he said at a press conference at the scene.

He said that six more construction workers were still trapped under the debris.

“We are working on the assumption that they are still alive. The search and rescue operation will continue untill all are accounted for,” he said.

A resident living nearby earlier said he had heard trapped workers shouting “Tolong, tolong (Help, help)” for a while, but there was only silence now.

One trapped worker apparently managed to call his boss on his handphone, and rescue workers are trying to trace him.

By nightfall, an operations centre had been set up and spotlights were used to help with the rescue efforts.

Soiman said the rescue operation involves over 150 personnel from his department, police, the Civil Defence Department, Petaling Jaya City Council and others.

“We are using the tracker dogs to search for the remaining victims,’’ he added.

The building has six storeys, including two basement levels. Most of the workers were on the ground and third floors when the incident, whose cause is currently unknown, occurred.

At one stage, the remaining part of the building was teetering dangerously, reporters on the scene said, with bits and pieces still falling off.

However, the Fire and Rescue Department has confirmed that there are no houses nearby and residents were not in danger.

Lucky survivors
An Indonesian worker Mohamad Iksan, 25, who was carrying out drilling operations in the basement, said he ran out immediately after some concrete slabs fell on the ground not far from him.

“Luckily I was near open space and managed to escape. I only realised part of the building had collapsed after I ran out of the building,” he said.

He said he was working with about eight colleagues during the incident and most of them were at the basement and the highest floor.

Andi, 30, who was on the fifth floor of the building, was taking a break with nine other construction workers when the incident happened.

“I was sitting down when I heard the loud sound of wind rushing past. Then the floor started tilting and we just ran for our lives.

“We rushed to the other end of the building. We are lucky to be alive,” said Andi, who had just started working on the construction site 20 days ago.

Rojak seller Faizal Md Yusof, 25, who was at his van nearby, saw the building “goyang” (sway) and then collapse.

“I saw six cranes falling down along with the building. I just left my van and ran for my life,” he said.

His van was located less than 50m from the collapsed building.

Store manager Lee, 37, said she heard loud booming sounds and looked out of her shoe shop to witness the building collapse.

“There is usually some noise from the construction. When I heard the loud noise, I knew something big fell but I never thought that the whole building would collapse,” she said.

Nomination and polling dates set for Manek Urai seat

PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission (EC) has set July 6 as nomination day for the Manek Urai state seat by election while polling will take place on July 14.

The nomination and counting centre will be at Dewan Petra, SMK Sultan Yahya Petra I , Kuala Krai.

Nine schools will be used as polling centres.

“The by-election will cost the EC RM400,00 and 350 election workers will be employed,” its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof told a press conference on Thursday,

“The EC will set up two election campaign enforcement teams that will oversee the installation of campaign material and activities through the campaigning period.”

He reminded political parties to refrain from campaigning on polling day.

Asked about the fact nomination and polling will be held on weekdays, he said it should not be a problem as most of the constituents were farmers, fishermen and rubber tappers, who were not bound by office hours.

The seat fell vacant following the death of state assemblyman Ismail Yaacob last Friday after he suffered a heart attack

Robert Kuok (net worth US$9bil) still Malaysia's richest man

KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Robert Kuok, the Kuok Group patriarch, remains Malaysia's richest with a net worth of US$9 billion, down from US$10 billion a year ago, according to the 2009 Forbes Asia Malaysia Rich List.

In a statement here today, Forbes said Kuok has held the top spot every year since Forbes Asia began ranking the 40 richest Malaysians in 2006.

Businessman Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan held on to his second place with a net worth of US$7 billion,just down from US$7.2 billion last year.

He has also maintained the same ranking every year since 2006.

Together, Kouk and Ananda account for 44% of the top 40's wealth.

They are also the two richest people in Southeast Asia.

The third richest is Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng, head of IOI Group, one of the world's leading operators of palm oil plantations.

He is worth US$3.2bil, down from US$5.5 bil last year but keeps his position in the top three.

Malaysia's 40 richest people are worth a combined US$36bil, down from US$46bil a year ago.

It said the 22% loss in wealth is largely in line with the 21% drop in the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) and is not too bad, considering the fact that the Malaysian ringgit has lost 10% against the US dollar, the currency by which the net worths are measured.

Malaysia has nine billionaires who are collectively worth US$30bil or 84% of the total wealth amassed by the country's top 40.

This is the biggest wealth disparity among Forbes Asia's rich list.

Tan Sri Vincent Tan (ranked 10, US$750mil) of Berjaya Corporation Bhd is the only Malaysian to drop out of the billionaire ranks in the past 12 months as share prices in his companies have declined.

Three making their debut are IOI Board member Chan Fong Ann (ranked 18, US$209mil), gaming tycoon Tan Sri Chen Lip Keong (ranked 21, US$195mil) and software executive Goh Peng Ooi (ranked 34, US$112mil).

Four people have returned to the rankings after an absence of a year or more.

Among them are Tan Sri Syed Mohd Yusof Tun Syed Nasir (ranked 37, US$100mil) and Tan Sri Tan Teong Hean (ranked 39, US$95mil), who cashed out of Southern Bank several years ago and is now making new investments.

The latest issue of Forbes Asia also features Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, head of conglomerate YTL (ranked seven,US$1.8 billion).

The full list of Malaysia's richest and the story on Francis Yeoh can be found in the June 8 issue of Forbes Asia, which is now available on newsstands. - BERNAMA

quit PKR because I felt betrayed: Aminah

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Former PKR Wanita chief Aminah Abdullah says she quit the party because she felt betrayed after five male PKR leaders ridiculed her at a public function more than two years ago.

One of the five, she said, was state PKR chairman Datuk Zahrain Mohamed Hashim.

Aminah claimed she had recorded the incident, but was not sure whether to release it or not.

“I do not think it is necessary (to reveal it for now).

“If he (Zahrain) throws me a very strong challenge, I will reveal it,” she told reporters at her operations centre in Simpang Tiga, Kubang Ulu here Thursday.

Aminah also claimed she had another “major surprise to announce” when the time was right, adding that it could probably be after the Penanti by-election on May 31.

She said Zahrain had lambasted her and made false allegations on her performance as the then state PKR Wanita chief, in front of the several Wanita division leaders and supreme council members.

She said the incident happened during tea break at a seminar that she had organised on women issues in a hotel in Jawi, South Seberang Prai.

Aminah, who is vying for the Penanti state seat, said she felt terribly humiliated.

“I did not expect them to chide me that way, but I thank God for giving me the wisdom to record the conversation for my own protection.”

She said she recorded conversations, including the recent one with the two PKR leaders Cheah Kah Peng and Peter Lim Eng Nam, because she did not want people “to cause her any trouble later on.”

Aminah, 56, had claimed on Monday that two PKR leaders allegedly offered her the Penang Municipal Council president’s post to withdraw from contesting in the by-election.

If she won, she would be given the Penang Deputy Chief Minister I post to rejoin the party as well as RM80,000 as compensation for what she had spent in preparing for the by-election.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Election Commission are investigating her claims.

On Zahrain’s allegation that she had not done much when she was state PKR Wanita chief, Aminah asked if he had done enough as the present state chief.

She said she did not have problems with Mansor Othman, who is among the three contenders in the Penanti by-election, when he was state PKR chairman before Zahrain took over.

Aminah claimed she did not want to make personal attacks, but said “Zahrain was the one who first started it.”

“He was the one who first challenged me to show proof over the allegation that two PKR leaders offered me positions and money,” she said.

On PKR’s legal notice demanding she retract her allegations against Cheah and Lim, and to make an apology, Aminah said she received it on Thursday and added that her lawyers would handle the matter.

She sarcastically thanked PKR vice-president Azmin Ali for allegedly calling her Minah Ronggeng (folk dancer) in a ceramah (public address), adding that he had previously advised her against name-calling during elections.

Zahrain, when contacted later, said he did not wish to respond to Aminah’s allegations for now, saying it was a waste of time.

“If she wants to sue me and take me to court, let her do so. But if she says anything out of context (about me), I will, in turn, sue her,” he said.

Transcript of the Aminah CD

BUTTERWORTH: An audio recording purportedly a conversation between Independent candidate Aminah Abdullah and PKR supreme council member Cheah Kah Peng and Peter Lim Eng Nam, revealed there were mentions of a Deputy Chief Minister 1’s post and council president’s post being offered.

However, the post of DCM I was offered if the PKR candidate Mansor Othman was disqualified on nomination Day.

“Kalau Mansor hilang layak, Kak Nah akan disokong penuh oleh PKR untuk lawan, menang kerusi itu, jadi TKM. Itu peluang nipis, tetapi kena kira juga. Malik (state exco member Abdul Malik Abul Kassim) and Maktar (Sungai Bakap state assemblyman Maktar Shapee) tak boleh jadi TKM. (If Mansor is disqualified, Kak Nah will get full support of PKR to fight, win the seat and become DCM. That is a small possibility but must be considered. Both Malik and Mohtar cannot become Deputy Chief Minister.),” the duo allegedly were heard saying this during the conversation involving Aminah and her husband, Mohd Rofi over a friendly discussion lasting more than three hours at her house on May 13. Their conversation was purportedly recorded on a cd.

The second offer of the Seberang Prai Municipal Council president’s post apparently would only materialise, if she withdrew from the contest and rejoined the party and sided with the state PKR leaders and Mansor in their quest to oust Penang PKR leader Datuk Zahrain Mohamed Hashim.

Kalau terima counter offer, MPSP YDP siapa lagi? Kita pi rebut itu jawatan untuk Kak Nah, they said. (If the counter offer is accept, who else will become Seberang Prai Municipal Council president? We will go and grab the post for the Kak Nah).

There were also mention of compensation of RM8,000 if Aminah had to forfeit her deposit in the event she had to withdraw from the contest within three days of the nomination day.

The conversation involving Aminah, her husband Mohd Rofi and two other men also touched on the RM80,000 compensation offer either by Mansor or the party for the by-election.

As they discussed, they had lunch. There were sounds of cock crowing in the background and motorcycles passing by. It was also raining quite heavily at the time.

They also talked about two pretty Chinese newspaper reporters, one of whom who got married recently.

The following are the excerpts of the conversation:

One of the two PKR leaders tells Aminah he wanted to provoke Zahrain:

Datuk Zahrain, saya dengar you dan orang you nak biar Dr Mansor kalah ataupun u nak bertanding di Penanti. Joking lah. Orang kata you macam itu. Tak ada lah (quoting Datuk Zahrain). Bukan saya nak buat Mansor.. adalah Malik. Dia pi cakap kepada Lim Guan Eng ada orang lain mahu tanding, takmahu bagi Mansor tanding.

One of them say: Dr Mansor bagus, tetapi slow...dia lemah, lemah lah Dr Mansor ada bagi tahu saya, mungkin ada tengah orang yang mahu kerajaan Pulau Pinang yang lebih tulus (clean),

Memang tak ada dalam pimpinan Melayu, memang tak ada orang nak lawan Zahrain.

Mohd Rofi: Tak ada orang nak lawan Zahrain, tak ada orang. Kita orang sahaja. (laughter) lebih layak ialah Dr Mansor

One of them say: Kita datang sini bukan untuk bincang Kak Nan boleh menang Mansor tetapi buat analysis bersama. Rugi segi tenaga dan impak kita.

Keputusan akhir kita mahu bagi ajaran kepada PKR negeri Pulau Pinang. Ada satu kumpulan tulin dalam parti, kita terima juga dan bawa perubahan, kita mahu boleh bawa perubahan. Tetapi kalau kak tewas dengan tak cantik, itu pun perubahan dalam parti juga.

Kita cadang macam ini. Kita itu hari cadang kepada Tian Chua and Kah Peng, Tian Chua sokong dan terima. Kita bincang sahaja. Makin hari makin image kak tingkat saat akhir,Kak tarik diri dan beri peluang (Kak Min) wish, goodwill kepada Dr Mansor semoga dia berjaya di pilihan kecil ini, bagi teguran buat baik-baik,jangan lembut-lembut (Kak Mins husband)

Kalau you calun, BN ada calun, mungkin ada calun bebas..last minute Kak Aminah bagi teguran kepada Mansor dan undur Kita akan buat statement you undur diri untuk kepentingan (inaudible) dapat tepukan daripada akar ubi PKR and seluruh penyokong PKR, rakyat PP timing mesti cantik kalau terima package ini.

Lepas itu, lepas kemenangan Dr Mansor buat counter offer balik ke pangkuan PKR, Kak Nah balik punya time macam satu pemimpin memihak kepada Dr Mansor, gang kita, menentang Zahrain

Aminah: Bagaimana kita nak menentang Zahrain. Lim and Kah Peng say: Boleh, boleh, ada plan

Aminah: You tahu kah Anwar Ibrahim sayang sangat dia.

They said: Kita tahu tetapi perlembagaan kita akan bertukar bulan enam ini dimana kita nak tambah satu clause yang menyatakan ketua negeri dimasa depan akan dilantik tetapi mesti disokong oleh majority kebahagian kita control bahagian.

Aminah also then asked to return to PKR to attack from within.

Orang kuat seperti Umno kita dapat tewaskan. Apatah Kah Nah calun bebas, tak ada apa-apa kesan. You kena masuk dalam parti impact dalam, baru dia rasa, kita kerjasama, Kita satu kumpulan, tak mahu orang ambil kesempatan, kita halau keluar..kalau Anwar Ibrahim pun kita boleh marah dan serang dia juga. Kalau kita mahu jatuhkan orang, lebih senang dari di dalam.

They then discussed about chances of Barisan not contesting in Penanti and the possibility of Mansor winning without contest if Barisan, PAS and Aminah withdraw and whether for Aminah to withdraw before or after nomination and that she would lose the deposit then.

One of the two say: Tak apa, itu kita minta parti bagi balik RM8,000 kena bayar, Mohd Rofi quips : RM8 juta (laughter).

They also talk about Aminah going into the contest as insurance in case Mansor is disqualified.

Kalau Mansor hilang layak, Kak Nan akan di sokong penuh oleh PKR untuk lawan, menang kerusi itu, jadi TKM. ..itu peluang nipis, tetapi kena kira juga. Malik and Mohtar cannot possibly be TKM.

Aminah: Mansor itu baik orang, tetapi dia tak cakap banyak, dia punya pr kurang, lagi mahu senyum pun susah Kah Peng: Kalau terima counter offer, MPSP YDP siapa lagi? Kita pi rebut itu jawatan untuk kak Nah.

Aminah: Kah Nan survey juga. Dia orang cakap, apa lah image PKR, sudah taruh Fairus, sekarang bagi dia jatuh pula, ini mahu taruh Dr Mansor, ini siapa orang, kita orang tak kenal.

Kah Peng: Selepas penamaan tengok lah. Kalau one to one, kalau peluang pihak ke Aminah, Aminah terus lawan, kalau peluang u 34-40 sahaja, dia 60, lebih baik, bagi dia, tak payah..dia jimat duit, dia bagi gantirugi kepada pihak kita tetapi persetujuan mesti dibuat sebelum penamaan

Kah Peng: Kalau OK, kita bincang dengan Dr Mansor. Berapa yang you belanjakan di bayar oleh Dr Mansor atau party.

Mohd Rofi: Kita ada bukti. Kita rakamkan masa perhubungan negeri. You pun tak tahu. Kita rakam empat benda.

Kah Peng said even if there is agreement, Aminah must start with her campaign like operations room, banner

Mohd Rofi: Kita semua ada. Kita mahu angkat (symbol) kunci,

Kah Peng: Bila ada persetujuan, berapa yang kamu belanja Dr Mansor atau party akan bayar balik.

When asked about the budget, Mohd Rofi then tells him that they so far spent RM80,000.

They also talk about two possible by-elections in Kedah, about Anwar allegedly offering Fairus the DPM post and their plan to fight Zahrain