Settle problem privately, IGP tells Deepa

Alfian ZM Tahir

 | April 11, 2014

Khalid Abu Bakar says that he is not worried about the safety of the six-year-old boy as he is with his father.

KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has advised S. Deepa and her Muslim convert husband Izwan Viran Abdullah to settle their problem privately.

Khalid said the police were not worried about the safety of the six-year-old boy who was taken away from the mother yesterday because he was with the father.

Yesterday, FMT reported that the mother, who won custody of her two children four days ago, wanted the police to arrest her ex-husband for violating a court order by abducting their son.

“There are two court orders – civil and syariah. In this case it is best if the two can settle their problem,” said Khalid.

However, he said police were monitoring the situation and had not received any warrant.

Deepa told FMT in Seremban yesterday that she was worried that Izwan might take her son overseas.

“Why are the police still unable to nab my ex-husband?” she asked.

“Police must take action soon because he has violated the court order by abducting my son,” said Deepa.

Deepa alleged that the Green Mitshubishi Pajero used in the abduction yesterday belonged to Yayasan Kasih Sayang where Izwan was working.

When contacted, the female staff of Yayasan Kasih Sayang said she would relay the message on the Pajero to her superior who was in Kuala Lumpur.

However, no one from Yayasan Kasih Sayang called FMT to verify the matter.

Jelebu police chief Deputy Supt Setapa Yusoff could not be reached for comments.

The IGP is duty-bound to act against the ex husband as he not only kidnapped the boy but also attacked the mother so two charges should be brought against the man.

The High Court is secular whereas the Syariah court is religious, so who is the police to follow - is the police under syariah.

If the IGP acts like this then better he resign for he is not doing his duty.

God help this country.

Incompetent and compromised judiciary

The independence and integrity of Malaysian judiciary are now at the tipping point.

During the past few years the our attention has been riveted by the exposure to an unprecedented number of court cases with important political ramifications.

These cases include the Altantuya Shaariibuu’s murder case, N Kugan’s death during police custody,

Teoh Beng Hock’s death, the PKFZ scandal, the NFC scandal, the various election appeal cases arising from the 2013 general elections, Anwar’s Sodomy I and II cases and Karpal Singh’s conviction for alleged sedition.

At no time in the country’s history has there been such a large and wide variety of politically charged cases being brought to the country’s courts of law.

If we take these cases individually and collectively, the overall impression that can be obtained from the many articles and analysis which have appeared in the online media is that the Malaysian judiciary has come under tremendous political pressure when arriving at their judgments.

Each case that I have listed above has its litany of unanswered questions such as:

• why were certain people released midway through the trial while others with no obvious motive, were sent to the gallows for the Altantuya case?

• Why were Rafizi Ramli and another whistleblower prosecuted, instead of the people involved in the NFC project?

• Why did the Attorney General not appeal against the court’s judgment in the case of the PKFZ, involving billons of ringgit in taxpayers’ money?

• The bench made a reserved judgment on the Herald’s case, but in Anwar’s Sodomy II case, why was there such haste to sentence him to five years’ jail?

Although Malaysians have generally not paid much attention to the issue of the relationship between judicial authority and political power (including the power and neutrality of the Attorney General) in the past, I believe that the cumulative effect of all these cases has resulted in our rakyat shedding their indifference and passivity on this key issue of the independence of our judiciary.

Incompetent and compromised

As noted by my good friend and highly respected former court of appeals judge NH Chan, how could it be, we may ask, that we are the only country, out of all the other common law countries, in the entire world that has so many incompetent judges?

There must be something wrong in our system for the appointment of judges. There was a time when judges were appointed from the cream of the legal profession. Sadly those days were gone.

Besides commenting on the incompetency of our judges, Chan had asked the crucial question:

What can be done to stop all these unjust decisions being handed down by recalcitrant judges?

His answer is simple: It is that Malaysians must use the power of the ballot box to bring about change.

This is a solution which I am in total agreement with.

The ordinary people of this country must do something about the sorry state of our judiciary with its host of incompetent judges.

We cannot and must not allow this state of incompetence among our judges to continue. We must exercise the power of the vote to oust the incumbent government that was responsible for the appointment of such judges who, because they have shown themselves to be incompetent, have made our country the laughing stock in the entire common law world.

It takes only a simple Act of parliament to rid the country of the incompetent and, therefore, unjust judges.

Even the incumbent government could redeem itself by passing a law declaring those judges who had proved themselves to be incompetent be removed from office forthwith in ignominy, with all privileges of their office, such as their pension, withdrawn.

Anwar’s case: The tipping point

I also believe that Anwar’s sodomy verdict is the final tipping point for many Malaysians in their concern to change the government of the country and to recover the independence of our judiciary.

Should Anwar’s appeal be rejected, I have no doubt that there will be a national and international uproar which will only end with the BN being thrown out of power.

The BN government must realise that the political awakening that Anwar has unleashed in the nation cannot be suppressed just by throwing him into prison with the assistance of what many see as a compromised judiciary.

That political awakening will only multiply many fold should Anwar die or be incapacitated while in prison.

GOD DEAL WITH SUCH JUDGES AS THEIR FOLLY AND EVIL DESERVES!

Federal enriching cronies through Selangor water deal

Selangor overpaying RM2b for water deal, amounts to bailout for Puncak Niaga, reveal PKR papers

APRIL 11, 2014

Selangor signed a memorandum of understanding with Putrajaya on February 26 in which the state offered to take over four water concessionaires in a deal worth RM9.65 billion. It has now been revealed that Puncak Niaga Bhd will be the biggest beneficiary as it has been valued at RM1.638 billion. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, April 11, 2014.Selangor should not cough up RM2 billion to fund the RM9.65 billion takeover of four water concessionaires as the deal amounts to a bailout of Puncak Niaga, which also owns water utility Syabas, according to an internal PKR document.

The document sighted by The Malaysian Insider is a briefing note for the party's leadership that is now debating Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's haste in signing the water-restructuring pact with Putrajaya in February.

It showed that the Selangor agreement agreed to raise the payment for equity or profit for Puncak Niaga Bhd from RM1.07 billion in February 2013 to RM1.638 billion in March 2014.

"In the space of several months, the Selangor government had raised the profit compensation to Puncak Niaga (controlled by a personality close to Umno) by RM568 million," the document revealed, referring to company founder, Tan Sri Rozali Ismail, who was a one-time Selangor Umno treasurer.

It noted that Puncak Niaga's latest financial records for the year-ending December 31, 2012, showed the firm was in red with RM75 million, after deducting assets of RM13.4 billion and final profit of RM232.7 million from its RM13.5 billion total liabilities.

"It means that if the Puncak Niaga group was sold in the open market without any negotiations, its valuation based on its profit, assets and liabilities record would be a company without any value.

"The offer in the MoU instead gives a profit compensation up to RM1.638 billion to the Puncak Niaga group which is RM1.700 billion more than its market value based on its profit, assets and liabilities record," said the document.

But it also said that the Selangor government had cut the compensation offered to another concessionaire, SPLASH, by RM2.1 billion with an offer of just RM251 million.

"Because of that, the bigger reduction will most likely push SPLASH to reject the offer," said the document, adding that Selangor can then only hope Putrajaya would invoke Section 114 of the Water Services Industry Act (Wasia) to take over the water concessionaires' assets and determine the compensation.

It pointed out that Khalid had explained the hasty signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Putrajaya on February 26 was because of two reasons although it was not ratified by the state executive council.

The reasons are that Putrajaya did not want to delay the bond payments of the water concessionaires which were held by the federal government through convertible loans.

"This will make the Puncak Niaga group bankrupt," the document said.

The other reason was that Putrajaya wanted to speed up the Langat 2 project as its Japanese funders had threatened to pull back their loan, it added, referring to the multi-billion ringgit water-treatment plant to treat water piped from Pahang to alleviate water shortage in Selangor.

"If this was the main reason, the Selangor government is in a stronger position in the negotiations. If the federal government and Puncak Niaga harden their stand, it will be bankrupt and have a major impact on the federal government's economic record.

"All the more so the federal government's desperation in funding the Langat 2 project has made our negotiation powers stronger," the document said, adding that this would benefit Selangor citizens as the compensation payments would be less.

The document also said Khalid had admitted there were no exco papers that discussed the final contents of the MoU signed with Putrajaya.

"So, there is no approval recorded by the exco that gave the power to the menteri besar to sign the MoU on behalf of the Selangor government and the people," it said.

Selangor yesterday said it was willing to consider appeals by Puncak Niaga and Syabas for a review of the terms of the water-restructuring deal.

However, Khalid said the state would not increase its offer of RM9.65 billion to take over the four water concessionaires.

Both Puncak Niaga and Syabas are appealing to Selangor to review the terms before Putrajaya invokes Section 114 of Wasia.

"Selangor cannot increase its original offer of RM9.65 billion because any additional costs will have a negative impact on water tariffs," Khalid said.

"These additional costs will be a burden on the rakyat, especially the five million water users in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya," he added. – April 11, 2014

 WHEN WILL THE FEDERAL GOVT. STOP ENRICHING THEIR UMNO CRONIES!!!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Graphene one step closer to commercial use

By Euan McKirdy, CNN

April 10, 2014 -- Updated 0813 GMT (1613 HKT)

Samsung potentially has a head-start in next-gen mobile technology, thanks to its development of a new way of synthesizing graphene.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The "miracle material" graphene is super-light, super-conductive, and super-strong
• Samsung's research unit announces new way to synthesize material, potentially opening the door to commercial production
• Graphene has the potential to transform a huge range of industries

(CNN) -- No one ever expected the humble pencil to kickstart a revolution. But, by peeling apart pencil graphite into atom-thick layers using regular adhesive tape, two Russian-born scientists, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, earned a Nobel Prize in 2010. With it, they sparked the beginnings of a material that could change the world.

It is no exaggeration to say that graphene, the substance that the two scientists -- along with others -- discovered in 2004, is a miracle material. Now a Korean research lab may have made the leap from theoretical to practical with the development of a new way to synthesize it, potentially on a commercial scale.

The substance, "the perfect atomic lattice," boasts a number of hugely attractive properties, meaning it has the potential to be used in myriad industries, and for a huge range of purposes.

Attractive properties

Smartwatch a smart idea?

As well as being super-strong -- 20 times stronger than diamond, 200 stronger than steel and six times lighter -- it is also remarkably conductive, both electrically and thermally.

If that wasn't enough, it is also almost perfectly transparent, impermeable to gas, and its properties are, scientists say, easily alterable.

Graphene is one form -- an allotrope -- of carbon, the basis of all life on earth. More familiar carbon allotropes include diamonds and graphite. What makes it unique is its thinness -- at one atom thick it is as good as two-dimensional. Its flexibility means that it could potentially be used for flexible or wearable devices.

"Graphene has a lot of potential, especially in terms of industrial applications for optical and electronic devices," says Ping Sheng, a Professor of Nanoscience at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

"The caveat is really in the quality of the graphene that can be produced on a large scale ... If they can overcome that then it will be a big breakthrough."

Another byproduct of its remarkable thinness is its low weight. It could be used to create ultra-light components for, say, the aviation industry, dramatically reducing the weight of aircraft -- and thus significantly improving fuel efficiency -- without compromising strength or integrity.

The substance is so versatile that it has even been touted as thefuture of condoms. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation last year awarded a $100,000 grant to fund the development of graphene prophylactics.

Drawbacks

Currently, its limitations include the fact that its conductivity can't be turned "off," meaning that as a semiconductor it is useless, although researchers are experimenting with the substance to figure out a way around this problem. One possible fix could be to build artificial breaks in the substance, allowing for circuits to be opened and closed, or to alter its properties with the use of chemicals.

If this deficiency can be overcome, however, graphene could be used in a huge range of devices as a super-fast replacement for silicon transistors, which are already reaching their capacity. Graphene has one hundred times the electron mobility of silicon.

Another limitation comes in the form of its production -- currently it can only be synthesized in small crystals. While this is enough for researchers to test its properties and understand the tantalizing benefits of the material, it is not sufficient to produce it for mass commercial use. But with an announcement made last week, all this could change.

Public- and private-sector funding

Governments and the private sector are actively exploring the potential of the substance, with the EU devoting €1 billion ($1.3 billion) to it between 2013 and 2023, funding research which could potentially transform a range of sectors, including electronics, energy, health and construction.

The Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology last week announced it had developed "a breakthrough synthesis method" of producing graphene, and the hopes are that this will pave the way for the commercialization of the material. The results were published in the journal Science.

Samsung sees graphene as the "perfect material" for next generation device, and the breakthrough could have huge implications for its commercial production.

"This is one of the most significant breakthroughs in graphene research in history," researchers said in a statement released by the company. "We expect this discovery to accelerate the commercialization of graphene, which could unlock the next era of consumer electronic technology."

In partnership with with Sungkyunkwan University, the Institute has pioneered the growing of large-area, single crystal wafer scale graphene. Previously, small graphene particles had been combined to form large-area graphene, but the process diminished both the mechanic and electric effectiveness of the substance.

The material's conductivity would make charging a device take a matter of seconds, and its strength, durability and flexibility would allow Samsung to truly innovate with a whole range of new devices and ways to interact with technology.

It has not been revealed if Samsung plans to make the groundbreaking synthesis process public, a move that would rapidly accelerate the adoption of graphene into daily use.

However, Sheng thinks that it won't be long before the process is widely available. "I don't think they can keep it proprietary very long, even if they want to ... This will start many factories around the world doing the same thing."

StoreDot wants to charge your smartphone in 30 seconds

The company's technology, which was shown working on a Samsung Galaxy S4, actually won't be available for years. But still...

• by Don Reisinger  @donreisinger
• April 7, 2014 5:47 AM PDT

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StoreDot, an Israel-based startup, is developing a technology that promises to charge your smartphone battery in 30 seconds. Just don't expect to get your hands on it anytime soon.

StoreDot on Monday unveiled its battery-charging prototype at Microsoft's Think Next Conference in Tel Aviv. The company showed how its technology can be used to fully charge a nearly empty Samsung Galaxy S4 within 30 seconds -- an exceedingly brief time in a world dominated by chargers that can take hours to replenish battery life.

So far, the StoreDot prototype only works with Samsung's last-gen handset. StoreDot says that it's focusing on getting its technology to work with other phones.

StoreDot's focus wasn't initially on charging batteries. The company has been constructing semiconductors built from peptides, which are organic amino acids that, when linked together, create proteins. Peptides have become popular among body-builders because of their protein creation and have been found to have a wide range of applications for skin care. StoreDot believes peptides can also come in handy for charging smartphone batteries.

Smartphone battery charging has become a highly sought-after market for startups. The main trend now is the development of wireless battery charging.

Based on StoreDot's video, the company is not relying on wireless charging for its technology. In fact, the company's charger is currently the size of an average laptop charger. When connected to a smartphone's battery, the charger sets the peptides into motion, dramatically reducing charge time, StoreDot says.

Despite the technology's seeming promise, it won't be available anytime soon. The StoreDot prototype currently only works with the Galaxy S4, and StoreDot is working on adding handsets, as well as reducing its charger size. The company hopes to start producing consumer-ready chargers in late 2016. It's not clear when the devices might actually hit store shelves.

CNET has contacted StoreDot for comment. We will update this story when we have more information.

(Via WSJ)

3D printing heads toward mass production

Your smartphone could soon be built using Lego-like, 3D-printed electronic parts

By Lucas Mearian

April 3, 2014 02:43 PM ET

2 Comments

- NEW YORK -- Far from starting the next industrial revolution, the founder of the first 3D printer company believes the technology will usher in an era of customization where economies of scale do not exist.

"For the first time, you can say for the price of one unit, I can also print millions of units - the price doesn't change," said Avid Reichental, CEO of 3D Systems. "I see even bigger opportunities today for making millions of identical parts with the greatest degree of freedom and complexity, which could not be manufactured in any traditional methods."

Wearing a pair of 3D-printed sunglasses and shoes, Reichental waxed poetic at the Inside 3D Printing Conference here about how one day every factory and home will have 3D printers capable of replacing broken parts and creating one-of-a-kind products.

The same 3D printing technology that allows GE to cut 40% on design costs by using CAD software and 3D printers to make prototypes will also allow a startup such as Planetary Resources build a space probe for under $2 million. Planetary Resources' probe, scheduled to launch later this year, will weight only 20 pounds and have just 20 moving parts. Planetary Resources' objective is to discover and mine asteroids within the solar system.

3D Systems is also developing printers that can keep up with production lines.

Reichental described it as "the creation of the next generation of continuous, high-speed 3D printing, the kind that's capable of making tens of thousands of functional parts per day."

The first of the high-speed printing projects 3D Systems is working on involves a partnership with Google to 3D print modular smartphones that can be changed or upgraded by unplugging and plugging in new Lego-like electronic parts.

Google's Project Ara, as it's called, will create a line of highly-customizable, modular smartphones that offers consumers both functional and aesthetic choices on their device.

Google's Motorola division is building module smartphones with interchangeable parts that can be used to customize functionality and aesthetics.

3D Systems is also getting its feet wet in the medical equipment market, because CAD software allows physicians to tailor surgical instruments to their patients' needs.

For example, 3D Systems yesterday announced that it acquired Medical Modeling Inc., a provider of personalized surgical treatments and patient-specific medical devices, including virtual surgical planning and clinical transfer tools.

Medical Modeling offers Virtual Surgical Planning, a service-based approach to personalized surgery that combines medical imaging, surgical simulation and 3D printing. It allows physicians to download the most up-to-date surgical toolbox and manipulate the designs based on a patient's needs for challenging head and neck surgical procedures.

NASA is also using 3D desktop printers from MakerBot for rapid prototying of rocket and rover parts. Parts of the rover Curiousity, currently exploring the surface of Mars, were prototyped on a 3D printer, according to Gabriel Rangel, associate CTO of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.

In the future, Rangel said the Internet and 3D printing will allow students and other amateur astronomers to print out NASA equipment to learn more about the technology and perhaps help it evolve through crowdsourcing ideas.

For example, NASA offers an augmented reality app that allows users to view 17 different spacecraft models in extreme detail. Eventually, NASA hopes to allow users to download the designs and print them out for educational purposes.

Rangel also said "the next generation of rovers will be equipped with 3D scanners," enabling the creation of virtual reality images that can be printed back on Earth in order to "bring the solar system to us."

Once a probe lands on Mars or, for example, a moon of Saturn, it could scan an object on the surface and transmit the image back to NASA. The agency could then print out a solid replica.

3D printing heads toward mass production

Your smartphone could soon be built using Lego-like, 3D-printed electronic parts

By Lucas Mearian

April 3, 2014 02:43 PM ET

2 Comments

- NEW YORK -- Far from starting the next industrial revolution, the founder of the first 3D printer company believes the technology will usher in an era of customization where economies of scale do not exist.

"For the first time, you can say for the price of one unit, I can also print millions of units - the price doesn't change," said Avid Reichental, CEO of 3D Systems. "I see even bigger opportunities today for making millions of identical parts with the greatest degree of freedom and complexity, which could not be manufactured in any traditional methods."

Wearing a pair of 3D-printed sunglasses and shoes, Reichental waxed poetic at the Inside 3D Printing Conference here about how one day every factory and home will have 3D printers capable of replacing broken parts and creating one-of-a-kind products.

The same 3D printing technology that allows GE to cut 40% on design costs by using CAD software and 3D printers to make prototypes will also allow a startup such as Planetary Resources build a space probe for under $2 million. Planetary Resources' probe, scheduled to launch later this year, will weight only 20 pounds and have just 20 moving parts. Planetary Resources' objective is to discover and mine asteroids within the solar system.

3D Systems is also developing printers that can keep up with production lines.

Reichental described it as "the creation of the next generation of continuous, high-speed 3D printing, the kind that's capable of making tens of thousands of functional parts per day."

The first of the high-speed printing projects 3D Systems is working on involves a partnership with Google to 3D print modular smartphones that can be changed or upgraded by unplugging and plugging in new Lego-like electronic parts.

Google's Project Ara, as it's called, will create a line of highly-customizable, modular smartphones that offers consumers both functional and aesthetic choices on their device.

Google's Motorola division is building module smartphones with interchangeable parts that can be used to customize functionality and aesthetics.

3D Systems is also getting its feet wet in the medical equipment market, because CAD software allows physicians to tailor surgical instruments to their patients' needs.

For example, 3D Systems yesterday announced that it acquired Medical Modeling Inc., a provider of personalized surgical treatments and patient-specific medical devices, including virtual surgical planning and clinical transfer tools.

Medical Modeling offers Virtual Surgical Planning, a service-based approach to personalized surgery that combines medical imaging, surgical simulation and 3D printing. It allows physicians to download the most up-to-date surgical toolbox and manipulate the designs based on a patient's needs for challenging head and neck surgical procedures.

NASA is also using 3D desktop printers from MakerBot for rapid prototying of rocket and rover parts. Parts of the rover Curiousity, currently exploring the surface of Mars, were prototyped on a 3D printer, according to Gabriel Rangel, associate CTO of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.

In the future, Rangel said the Internet and 3D printing will allow students and other amateur astronomers to print out NASA equipment to learn more about the technology and perhaps help it evolve through crowdsourcing ideas.

For example, NASA offers an augmented reality app that allows users to view 17 different spacecraft models in extreme detail. Eventually, NASA hopes to allow users to download the designs and print them out for educational purposes.

Rangel also said "the next generation of rovers will be equipped with 3D scanners," enabling the creation of virtual reality images that can be printed back on Earth in order to "bring the solar system to us."

Once a probe lands on Mars or, for example, a moon of Saturn, it could scan an object on the surface and transmit the image back to NASA. The agency could then print out a solid replica.