Damn straight

From The Star: Raja Zarith: Fluency in language does not mean one is unpatriotic:

BANGI: Having a good command of the English language does not make a Malaysian pro-British or less patriotic, says the wife of the Tengku Mahkota of Johor, Raja Zarith Sofia.

Rather, she said, fluency in English and a strong command of it was necessary in the 21st century, whether in daily life, at social gatherings or at work.

“It has nothing to do with being pro-English or pro-British, or with glorifying our colonial past.

“It has nothing to do with us being any less nationalistic or patriotic,” she said when delivering a lecture entitled Going Global: The Use of the English Language in 21st Century Malaysia at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia here yesterday.

Damn straight. No idea who she is, but I agree.

From The Star: Rasa Sayange for local men:

MALAYSIAN men prefer Indonesian women for wives because they are more pleasant and enticing, a lecturer told Utusan Malaysia.

Politics and public policy lecturer Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussain of Universiti Utara Malaysia said Malaysian men were attracted to Indonesian women because they were slimmer and more charming.

He added that the hantaran (wedding gift) to marry an Indonesian woman was also cheaper.

Dr Ahmad was commenting on the statement by parliamentary secretary of the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim, who said there was a rising trend among Malaysian men to choose Indonesian women for wives.

He also said the situation was made worse by more Malaysian women becoming educated and financially stable.

“Many Malaysian women put their careers before marriage,” Dr Ahmad added.

Love his choice of words. "Made worse by more Malaysian women becoming educated". Really. Awesome.

From The Star: Chan: Deal with Australia bars it from KL-Singapore route:

SEPANG: Jetstar – one of two low cost airlines nominated by Singapore to operate flights between the island city and KLIA – may not be able to fly the route because of a clause in the Malaysia-Australia aviation agreement.

Suck. Less low cost flights.

From The Star: Foreigners no longer allowed to serve customers directly at airports:

PUTRAJAYA: Foreigners will no longer be allowed to serve customers directly at all airports in Malaysia, under a move to ensure that only local workers are the frontliners.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Cabinet committee on tourism that he chairs would issue the ruling to Malaysia Airports Berhad and operators of its outsourcing services soon.

“We will be informing them that only locals can provide services that call for direct contact with customers. We want these services, including those at the KL International Airport, to be done by locals,” he told a press conference after chairing the committee meeting yesterday.

What the hell? Why? That's ridiculous.

From BBC: Confusion over Malaysia jobs ban:

A Malaysian cabinet minister has denied reports that his government has imposed a ban on migrant workers from India.

Officials earlier confirmed they had stopped granting visas to Indian workers, in a move said to be linked to rallies by Malaysian Indians last year.

But Works Minister S Samy Vellu cast doubt on that assertion, saying his government had made no such order.

Speaking at a conference in the Indian city of Delhi, Mr Vellu, the only ethnic Indian member of the cabinet, initially said Malaysia had enough workers and did not want any more.

But he later appeared to take a different stance and denied the reports.

"There is no such thing as banning workers from India and Bangladesh," he told the BBC.

"I have talked to the minister of human resources. We have never made such a decision."

Interesting how this never made it into Malaysian media.

From BBC: 'Bribes' free top Taleban leader:

A Taleban commander in Afghanistan responsible for leading attacks on British troops says he has been freed from prison after paying a bribe.

Mullah Sorkh Naqaibullah told the BBC he paid $15,000 (£7,500) to the Afghan authorities to win his freedom.

It was the third time that the leader, known as the "Red Mullah", had been captured and released, he said.

He told the BBC he had been released from custody for the third time in three years after paying a bribe to an Afghan National Directorate of Security official.

On the last occasion he said that he had been held for more than five months, but was now back in the Gereshk and surrounding districts of Helmand province leading a group of insurgents.

"I was arrested on 24 July and then they sent me into Kabul National Directorate of Security (NDS) custody," he said.

"The law is they can keep suspects in the NDS for two months and after that they have to send them to court.

"But I was in NDS custody for five months. On Friday (4 January) a visitor came to see me, and met the NDS officer on the gate.

"He paid $15,000 to the officer, who then released me."

Nice. See? People keep saying Malaysia's so corrupted, and I keep saying it's not the only country and certainly not the most corrupt.