Singaporeans In Johor Bahru (2)

Immigration Must Justify Nude Squat Incident

I WRITE in response to the recent “nude squat” incident involving two Singaporean ladies.
As a female, I would like to express my outrage.

I think that it is important for the Home Ministry to answer what the ladies did to deserve such treatment from Malaysian Immigration.

From my own experience, Johor Immigration officers do “skip” checking the passports of those who go through Malaysian Immigration (in or out) by car.

The officers would just ask “Malaysia”? I nod my head and they let me through without checking my passport.

I had experienced this several times while travelling in a Malaysian registered car.

This means that anyone in a Malaysian registered vehicle can run the possibility of going through Immigration check without a valid entry/exit stamp.

In the case of the two Singaporeans, it could possibly be the error of both the women and Malaysian Immigration for failing to ensure that the passports were stamped.

Nevertheless, I do not think that this warrants degrading them, unless the Immigration Department can justify it.

As a Malaysian working in Singapore, I find it embarrassing to defend my own country over such acts.

I have been treated with respect by Singapore Immigration all this time.
I hope that foreigners who come into Malaysia are as well treated. 

MELISSA TAN MEI WEI,
Puchong.

Source: The Star - Friday, June 17, 2011 

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Immigration director-general Datuk Alias Ahmad said they will be looking into how we can improve on the current standard operating procedures if needed.

Meanwhile, the women would submit their written statements to the Singapore Foreign Ministry (MFA).
MFA would then hand over the statements to the Malaysian High Commission.
The ministry hope this will help the Malaysian investigators come to a quick conclusion.
They will closely monitor the outcome of the official investigation.

Chang, a manager in an insurance company, said she would take legal action, though she had not met a lawyer.
She had been driven to Johor Bahru by her friend, Lim, a property agent, at about 1.30am.

However, Lim said she would let the matter rest after making a formal complaint.
If she wants to sue, she will have to enter Malaysia to go for the hearing, but she does not want to step into Malaysia anymore.

Lim had been driven there before by friends.
But on that fateful early morning, she was driving her new Nissan Latio for the first time into Malaysia, and went through an unmanned immigration lane.

The ladies had unknowingly driven right through the immigration check point when they did not find officials manning the booth, while the gantry was left wide open and showing a green light.
Lim failed to get both their passports stamped by immigration officials.
They made a U-turn on the Causeway to admit their mistake to the officials.

Their nightmare began when they were handcuffed for not having their passports checked at the Causeway.
Immigration officers detained them for several hours at the checkpoint.

They were later brought to the Pekan Nenas detention centre where there were about 50 other people, mostly Filipinos and Indonesians.
They were thrown behind bars, pending investigations to their case.
They were also threatened with a RM$10,000 fine and told to strip off clothings and performed 10 squats after a full body check.

The horror saga ended 48 hours later when they were released after the Deputy Public Prosecutor in charge of the case decided that they should be deported.
They were eventually let off to return to Singapore at 5pm with a stern warning and made to sign a document in Malay that they did not understand.

Superintendent Nazri of the Johor Immigration Authorities said conducting body search sometimes requires detainees to remove their clothing for thorough checks.
They are sometimes strip-searched but squats are not standard procedure.

He added that the Johor Immigration had completed its investigations and has already submitted a report to its headquarters.

******  

Block Off Unmanned Immigration Lanes

I REFER to the the recent incident involving two Singaporean women who drove to Johor Baru recently for supper and were detained overnight by Malaysian immigration officers (“Arrests of Singaporeans done according to law” – The Star, June 15).

Apparently, at the Malaysian immigration side of the Causeway, they drove into a lane that was not manned.

“There wasn’t anyone at the station and the green light was on,” reported one of the women. “I pressed the intercom and couldn’t hear anything because of the static, so I just continued driving when the barrier opened.”

As a frequent traveller on the Causeway, the above scenario is totally palpable as unmanned booths are not gated off nor are the Touch n Go pads deactivated. This allows the barriers to go up once tapped to pay the toll.

It totally defeats all additional security measures currently imposed especially in regards to biometric scanning when this blatantly evident loophole allows any person to circumvent the system.

I have noticed many Malaysian drivers driving through in the same manner as their passports need not be stamped.

On most occasions, only visual inspections of Malaysian passports are done upon entry/exit. As no information is recorded, authorities would not be able to tell if a person has bypassed the normal immigration procedures.

In contrast, the Singaporean authorities block off any immigration booth that is unmanned to avoid such happenings. The toll card readers are also deactivated as they are incorporated into the single immigration booth.

The immigration officer also ensures that the toll is paid and handles any problem/discrepancies with the cardreaders. This actually saves on manpower cost as well as enhancing security.

The immigration officer himself activates the lifting of the security barrier and it does not lift automatically even if the toll is paid. This is unlike the Touch n Go pads at the Johor checkpoint which, it seems, are virtually activated all the time.

I hope this security loophole will be plugged to ensure that our borders are well secured as well as to prevent any genuine visitor from inadvertently being caught on the wrong side of the law by their carelessness or ignorance. 

M. SINGH,
Johor Baru.

Source: The Star - Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Crime - Cars Broken Into, In JB (2)

How Did Thieves Break Into Car? 
by Zaihan Md Yusof

HE'S the sort of driver who would "go the extra mile" to keep his car safe and secure.
Whenever Mr Abdul Rahman Majid, 49, parks his car, he makes sure that it's in an area with human traffic.
He also parks his car "head in" and turns the front wheels to one side.
This is to make it difficult for thieves to tow away his $120,000 Honda Odyssey.
He also uses steering and brake pedal locks.
The Singaporean real estate agent did all these when he visited Tebrau City in Johor Baru on 24 Jan.
Before leaving his car, he also made sure that his central locking and alarm system were on.
Yet, 25 minutes later, he was shocked to find that his car had been broken into.
And Mr Abdul Rahman has no idea how the thieves did it because there were no signs of forced entry.
"I was so confident that nobody could penetrate the car's security system," he said.
Mr Abdul Rahman and his family had gone to the mall, which is about a 20-minute drive from the Causeway, to return a faulty cleaning apparatus.
When they returned to his car, he was surprised to see that its glove compartment was open.
When Mr Abdul Rahman tried to disarm the car's alarm, the windows began moving up and down.
"I knew something was wrong because when I tried to deactivate my car alarm, I didn't hear the usual beeping sound."
His daughter's laptop, which was inside a bag on the back seat, was gone.
His GPS system, which was inside the glove compartment, a haversack and a handphone were also missing.
Mr Abdul Rahman, who estimated his loss at $3,000, made police reports in Johor Baru and Singapore.
When he checked with the carpark security guard, he was surprised to learn that his car alarm had not gone off.
"It's amazing that the thieves were able to get into my car despite me having all these security features. I don't know how they did it,"he said.
So how did the thieves do it?
One possible way is by using an electronic gadget that sends a radio frequency similar to the car's alarm system, said an expert who deals with car theft cases in Malaysia and declined to be named.
This enables thieves to open the car doors without tripping the alarm or by using force.
Those in the car industry will know where to get the device, which he said can even be found on the Internet.
"We've come across the use of this device in Malaysia, but it's not that rampant. It's more commonly used in Europe and Eastern Europe as a favoured method of breaking into a car cleanly," he said.
Car thieves are also known to "neutralise" the alarm system by short-circuiting wires in the signal lights.
Then they enter the car using a master key.
Tell-tale signs
But such a method would usually leave tell-tale signs, such as a damaged signal light or some drilled holes.
In Mr Rahman's case, there were no such indications.
Four Malaysian car accessory shops told The New Paper that they had not heard of the latest method of breaking into cars.
A spokesman for Mega Champion Automart in Johor Baru, who gave her name as Lisa, said: "When a car is broken into, there will always be some clues or sign that the car has been tampered with."
But she added that car thieves are "getting better", so car owners should install better quality alarm systems.
The Malaysian authorities are also seeing another worrying trend.
Last December, Malaysian newspaper The Malay Mail reported the existence of a new device that can override a car's security system, enabling the thief to disconnect the car alarm and drive the car away.
The device is known as TKM (Toyota Key Maker) and is believed to have been used mainly to steal Toyota cars.
The report said the TKM can be bought at some car workshops or online for as little as RM300($124).
Car theft syndicates in Malaysia have been known to steal cars using the TKM in just a few minutes.
According to the report, Toyota is the most popular foreign make targeted by thieves in Malaysia from January to October last year.
Of the 3,600 car theft cases, 1,575 involved the marque, with the most sought-after models being the Camry, Fortuner and Hilux.
As for Mr Abdul Rahman, he believes he didn't lose his car because of the steering lock and brake pedal lock.
He said: "Can you imagine how fast and easy it could have been for the thieves to drive my car off if I didn't have these locks to slow them down?"
And he's not taking anymore chances.
He has installed a $500 alarm system which will alert him via a small pager-sized device if someone is trying to break into his car.
"As long as I'm within a 3km radius of my car, I will instantly know if something happens to my car. This will give me time to dash back." 

This article was first published in The New Paper - March 1, 2010 

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Car Windows Smashed In JB, Same Items Stolen

THESE two Singaporeans have more in common than just their names.
The men, who are both called Mr Mohd Rizal, went to the same mall in Johor Baru (JB) last Saturday evening.
They both had their car windows smashed and their performance gauges stolen from their vehicles.The two men did not know each other before the incident, which took place at the carpark of the Aeon Bukit Indah Shopping Centre.
The mall, a 20-minute drive away from Tuas Checkpoint, is popular with Singaporeans.
Mr Mohd Rizal, 32, a technical officer, and his wife went shopping after parking his four-year-old Kia Rio at the mall's carpark at 5.30pm.
At 9.05pm, the couple returned to the car - only to find the driver's window smashed. His performance gauge, an Apexi S-AFC, was missing.
Mr Mohd Rizal, who goes to JB twice a month, told The New Paper: "Someone had cut the cable to the gauge."
He had bought it for $400 from a car accessories shop in Singapore two years ago.
The device is popular among motorists who wish to lower their fuel consumption.
Mr Mohd Rizal said he alerted the security officer and filed a report with the mall's management.
As it turns out, he was not the only victim.
Mr Mohd Rizal said: "The security guard told me he saw that the window of another car had also been smashed, but they did not know who the owner was."
He later found out that the car's owner was another Singaporean with the same name.
The other Mr Mohd Rizal, a 37-year-old senior process technician, was also shopping at the mall with his wife and three family members.
When they returned to the carpark at 9.45pm after three hours at the mall, they saw two security officers standing around their Subaru Impreza.
The car's $600 gauge, also an Apexi S-AFC, was gone.
The thieves had smashed the driver's window to steal the gauge. Although he wasn't concealing it on purpose, Mr Mohd Rizal said he had put his baseball cap over the gauge.
"I don't understand how (the thieves) saw the gauge. Perhaps they saw it before I covered it," he said.
He too, filed a report with the mall's management.
So who were the culprits?
The older Mr Mohd Rizal said: "The security guard told me he saw the thief from a distance. But he could not stop him and his accomplice, who was on a motorcycle, from speeding away."
He did not make a police report as he felt it "would not do any good", but the younger Mr Mohd Rizal did.
The technical officer said he asked police officers to check his car's dashboard where the gauge was placed for fingerprints, but they did not find any.
Still, he is baffled how someone could have smashed the car window and steal the gauge without being detected.
"I parked at an open-air carpark and there were many other cars parked nearby. There was even a footpath nearby," he said.
He added that he parked his car headfirst into the parking lot and had locked his steering wheel to deter car thieves.
Deactivated alarm
"I think the thief prised open the window frame to deactivate the car alarm before smashing the window," he said.
However, the incident will not stop him from going to the mall, where he often buys baby products for his 7-month old daughter.
The older Mr Mohd Rizal, on the other hand, who visits the mall three to four times a month, said he intends to cut down on the number of visits.
An assistant manager in a Singapore car accessories shop, who wanted to be known only as Mr Yeo, told The New Paper that the Apexi S-AFC can fetch up to RM1,000 ($400) on the black market.
Last November, The New Paper reported that a Singaporean's car was stolen from the Aeon Tebrau City Shopping Centre, a 30-minute drive from the Aeon Bukit Indah Shopping Centre.
The 29-year-old woman's Mitsubishi Colt Plus was stolen in the 10 minutes that she left it to pay the parking fee.
In May 2008, a car radio was stolen from a Singapore-registered Honda Stream left at an open-air carpark at the Aeon Tebrau City Shopping Centre. The owner found his car window smashed.

Nurul Asyikin Mohd Nasir, newsroom intern

This article was first published in The New Paper - January 9, 2010

Earthquake And The Holy Qur'an

And 
WE have in the earth

firm mountains 

lest 

it should quake 

with them; 

and  
WE have made therein

wide pathways, 

and 
they maybe rightly guarded.

- Surah Al-Anbiya'  (The Prophets):32

So 
WE punished each of them

for his sins; 

of them 
were some on whom  

WE sent Hasib 

(a violent wind with shower of stones) 

(as the people of Lut (Lot)), 

and of them 
were some  

who were overtaken 

by As-Saihah 

(torment - awful cry. 

(as Thamud or Shu'aib's people), 

and of them 
were some whom

WE caused the earth 

to swallow 

(as Qarun (Korah), 

and of them 
were some  

whom WE drowned 

(as the people of Nuh (Noah),  

or Fir'aun (Pharaoh) 

and his people). 

It was not ALLAH 

Who wronged them, 

but 
they wronged themselves. 

- Surah Al-'Ankabut (The Spider):40  

O mankind! 

Fear your LORD 

and be dutiful to HIM! 

Verily, 

the earthquake of the Hour 

(of Judgment) 

is a terrible thing. 

The Day you see it, 

every nursing mother 

will forget her nursling, 

and every pregnant one 

will drop her load, 

and you shall see mankind 

as in a drunken state, 

yet 

they will not  be drunken,

but severe 

will be  the torment of ALLAH.

- Surah Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage):1-2  

Do you then  feel secure

that HE  will not cause

a side of the land 

to swallow you up, 

or that 

HE will not  send against you

a violent sand-storm? 

Then, 

you shall find  no Wakil

(guardian - one to guard you 

from the torment).

- Surah Al-Isra' (Journey By Night):68  

Or 

do you feel secure 

that HE, 

Who is over the heaven 
(ALLAH),

will not send  against you

a violent whirlwind? 

Then 

you shall know 

how (terrible) 

has been  MY  Warning?

And indeed 

those before them  belied

(the Messengers of ALLAH), 

then how terrible 

was MY denial (punishment)? 

- Surah Al-Mulk (Dominion):17-18)  

And 

HE has set firm  mountains

in the earth 

so that it will not shake 

with you... 

- Surah An-Nahl (The Bees) 

Those before them 

indeed plotted, 

but 

ALLAH struck at the foundation 

of their building, 

and then 

the roof fell upon them,

from above them, 

and the torment  overtook them

from directions 

they did not perceive.

- Surah An-Nahl (The Bees):26 

Do then 
those

who devise evil plots 

feel secure 

that 
ALLAH will not sink them 

into the earth, 

or that 

the torment 

will not seize them 

from directions 

they perceive not? 

- Surah An-Nahl (The Bees):45 

When the earth 

is shaken 

with its (final) earthquake. 

And 

when the earth 

throws out its burdens. 

And 

man will say: 

"What is the matter with it?" 

That Day 

it will declare 

its information 

(about all that happened  over it

of good or evil). 

Because 

your LORD 

will inspire it. 

That Day 

mankind will proceed 

in scattered groups 

that  they may be shown

their deeds. 

So 

whosoever does good 

equal to the weight 

of an atom (or a small ant) 

shall see it. 

And 

whosoever does evil 

equal to the weight 

of an atom (or a small ant) 

shall see it."  

-Surah Az-Zalzalah :1-8

Love's Not Only In The Air, It's Underground, Too

 

Love Can Ease Pain,  Say Brain Researchers

Researchers believe love can act as a painkiller

Love hurts, at least according to many a romantic songwriter, but it may also help ease pain, US scientists suggest.

Brain scans suggest many of the areas normally involved in pain response are also activated by amorous thoughts.
Stanford University researchers gave 15 students mild doses of pain, while checking if they were distracted by gazing at photos of their beloved.
The study focused on people early in a romance, journal PLoS One reported, so the "drug of love" may wear off.
The scientists who carried out the experiment used "functional magnetic resonance imaging" (fMRI) to measure activity in real-time in different parts of the brain.

It has been known for some time that strong feelings of love are linked to intense activity in several different brain regions.

These include areas linked to the brain chemical dopamine, which produces the brain's feel-good state following certain stimulants - from eating sweets to taking cocaine.
"Light up" The Stanford University researchers had noticed that when we feel pain, some of the same areas "light up" on the scans - and wondered whether one might affect the other.
They recruited a dozen students who were all in the first nine months of a relationship, defined as "the first phase of intense love".

Each was asked to bring in a picture of the object of their affection and photos of what they deemed an equally attractive acquaintance.

While their brains were scanned, they were shown these pictures, while a computer controlled heat pad placed in the palm of their hand was set up to cause them mild pain.

They found that viewing the picture of their beloved reduced perceptions of pain much more than looking at the image of the acquaintance.
Dr Jarred Younger, one of the researchers involved, said that the "love-induced analgesia" appeared to involve more primitive functions of the brain, working in a similar way to opioid painkillers.
"One of the key sites is the nucleus accumbens, a key reward addiction centre for opioids, cocaine and other drugs of abuse.
"The region tells the brain that you really need to keep doing this."
Professor Paul Gilbert, a neuropsychologist from the University of Derby, said that the relationship between emotional states and the perception of pain was clear.
He said: "One example is a footballer who has suffered quite a painful injury, but who is able to continue playing because of his emotionally charged state."
He added that while the effect noticed by the Stanford researchers might only be short-lived in the early stages of a love affair, it may well be replaced by something similar later in a relationship, with a sense of comfort and wellbeing generating the release of endorphins.
"It's important to recognise that people who feel alone and depressed may have very low pain thresholds, whereas the reverse can be true for people who feel secure and cared for.
"This may well be an issue for the health service, as patients are sometimes rushed through the system, and perhaps there isn't this focus on caring that might have existed once."

******

The rescue operation of 33 ordinary men whose extraordinary survival story had riveted the world.

Trapped beneath the Chilean earth, the operation unfolded before a hopeful, transfixed eyes, ears and hearts.
The men who survived 69 days trapped underground after the mine collapse were making history as they - and their private lives - tumbled out into the light. 

For the many of them, their love life unfold for all the world to see. 
For them, some of them, the temporarily forgotten and lost love must be search and found. Their feelings of loving the loved ones is the painkiller that healed their separation time. 
The hurt feelings being trapped in the mine were healed by the new-found lost love feelings. 

 

*For 31-year old cameraman Florencio Avalos who was chosen to be the first miner to be rescued, he stepped out of the rescue capsule, hugged by his wife and tearful children as celebrations began.

*The intense feeling of love, auto mechanic, 34-year old Victor Zamora has, for his dear wife, has led him to send up poems to his heavily pregnant Mrs.

*Some of the miners who were rescued from the depths of the San José de Copiapó mine said they plan on making some changes to their lives.
With overwhelmed gratitude, the father of three sons, 30-year old Osman Araya vowed never to leave his family again.
He will fight to the end to be with them.

*Youngest miner 19-year old Jimmy Sanchez, 34-year old Claudio Yanez and 44-year old  Claudio Acuna,  all propose to their girls realising moments with them need to be cherished too.
Life is very unpredictable and death is inevitable.
They have cheated death once.
Is there the second time?

*After years spent mostly away labouring underground, a new feeling of appreciating his wife was expressed by the oldest miner, 63-year old Mario Gomez.
There's more love found while underground.
He surprised his wife with a promised proper Church wedding to his wife Lilianett Ramirez in his heartfelt correspondence, the first letter he had ever written - not even before they were married - to her after 30-years of marriage, with four daughters and seven grandchildren.
His love letter obviously will work as the couple are to marry November 7, his 64th birthday.

*Father of three, 44-year old Esteban Rojas, proposed a white gown church wedding to Jessica Yanez, which she had always wanted - "Once and for all" in a message to the woman he married in a civil ceremony 25 years ago.

A Greek mining company has invited to all those rescued and their spouses, an all-expenses-paid trip to Greek's islands.
There are other invitation too, to visit Germany, France and Spain.

*The miner with the biggest heart - to share his love with - is 50-year old Yonni Barrios.
His rescue was among the most anticipated when his secret love affair surfaced.
He had asked both women in his life to welcome him, but his wife of 28-years declined the invitation.
For the miners, freedom means a whole new very public life.
Open for the world to see as the world welcome them.

*54-year old shift foreman Luis Urzua was the last miner hoisted to freedom.
He is credited with helping the men survive by enforcing tight rations of their limited food, lights and other supplies.

"I congratulate you because you did your duty, leaving last like a ship's captain," Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said to him.
He is the man who held the group together when they were feared lost during the first 17 days, before help could arrive.

"We have done what the entire world was waiting for," he said immediately after his rescue.

"We had strength, we had spirit, we wanted to fight, we wanted to fight for our families, and that was the greatest thing."
Urzua made the 2,041-foot ascent in Phoenix, the rescue capsule, and emerged from a manhole-sized opening in the ground to a joyous celebration. The whole world celebrate with them too.
Mr President asked him to hug his family.
The family led a joyous crowd in singing the national anthem.

*We have read  The Miner's Diary From China. 
Now, the world is waiting for their diary to be read too.
48-year old electrician Victor Segova has kept a diary of life below. He was tasked with writing up a diary of the miners' 10-week ordeal.
He had asked those above to send down more pencils and paper. The  father of five had penned their story of survival - Which some already think will make for the perfect movie.
The life risking job they performed, all for the love of their family.

.