Shanghai gears up for World Expo

China is getting ready to host the World Expo in May in its eastern city of Shanghai.

Plans to host the event started 10 years ago, when China won the bid.

As part of preparations for the expo, Hongqiao airport is undergoing a US$2.2 billion expansion.

Once completed, the new Terminal 2 will act as a transportation hub, connecting with subways and high-speed railways.

It currently services only domestic routes but come March, it will begin handling international flights as well.

Located in Puxi and closer to the downtown districts than Pudong International Airport, the new terminal is expected to double Hongqiao's current turnover of 20 million passengers a year.

The improvements were made with the World Expo in mind, but Shanghai will obviously reap long-term benefits.

"I think the Shanghai World Expo is going to have a huge impact on China, especially Shanghai, specifically the government has taken a long term perspective on how to use the investment dollars for the Expo," said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group.

"So they've been spending a lot of money on real estate, fixing up and most importantly fixing up the transportation. So the Shanghai government is laying down more tracks for the subway than all over New York City. So the shanghai government is really using the expo to try to term the infrastructure, transportation for Shanghai into a world class city."

The subway, which opened with just one line in 1995, is also growing.

To facilitate visitors' travel during the World Expo, a metro line has been built just for this purpose.

Said Liao Xiong Hua, manager of the Expo Engineering Department: "Madang Road Metro Station is an interchange station for 2 lines; line 13 and line 9. Line 9 is at basement 2. This is its Xujiahui Road Station. Line 13 is at basement 3 and this is its Madang Road Station. Here it becomes an "L" shape, the corner of the "L" will be used as a security hall by the Expo Coordination."

The subway will connect the two expo sites in Pudong and Puxi. Authorities say the six carriage train can carry 2000 passengers at six minute intervals and travel is free if travellers already have expo tickets.

Today, average passenger volume on Shanghai's metro system reaches about 6.5 million daily.

Forsaking English is the nation's folly.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said the government was exposing Malaysia to peril by reversing the policy of teaching maths and science in English.

“English is the language of the Knowledge Age. Countries which do not master English will not only be left behind but risk being colonised either directly or indirectly.”

Without knowledge, countries will be oppressed and even invaded, he said.

The former premier, who has not hidden his disapproval over the shift of policy which he introduced, added that it was a folly to equate patriotism to speaking the national language.

“English is not only for English people but a universal language. I am not an Englishman but I speak English.”

“Are you an Englishman?” he asked a reporter during a press conference after he delivered the keynote address at the 17th Islamic World Academy of Science conference which is being held here.

He pointed out in the past, Western scholars were unafraid to learn Arabic in order to acquire knowledge, which was only available in that language and likewise the Arabs had to learn Greek for the same purpose.

But today, Dr Mahathir said the government was “ignoring success.”

“New discoveries are coming out in torrents in English,” he said adding that it would take an army, fully fluent in both English and Malay, to translate all the latest development.

The 2003 policy of teaching mathematics and science in English or PPSMI was reversed by the Cabinet on July 8 due to objections from various pressure groups who argued that rural students could not cope and were being left behind.

The policy was introduced to increase English proficiency and to expose students to technical science and mathematics terms from a younger age so they could excel in these fields at tertiary levels.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who also holds the education portfolio, has maintained the government will not return to the policy of teaching and learning science and mathematics in English despite appeals from mainly urban parents.

The government is moving ahead on the new policy of dignifying Bahasa Malaysia usage while raising English proficiency.

5 reasons why graduates are unemployed.

Lack of industrial training and poor English are among five factors why graduates are unemployed, according to a study conducted by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).

Other factors are low problem-solving skills, job-hopping and lack of self-confidence, said Higher Education Ministry student development and affairs director Prof Dr Mohd Fauzi Ramlan.

He said as graduates were bogged down with poor communication skills in English, they should improve their command of the language.

“They have themselves to blame if they fail to convince employers on their potential,” he said when closing a two-day graduate etiquette programme at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu here today.

He said graduates should also avoid being choosy about jobs and shrug off bad attitude of preferring to work in ones’ hometown.

SKorea's birth rate hits 4-year low

South Korea's birth rate hit a four-year low last year as more couples delayed marriage in the economic downturn, officials said Thursday.

Statistics Korea said the birth rate - the average number of babies born during a woman's lifetime - was 1.15 in 2009, the lowest since 1.08 in 2005.

Some 445,000 babies were born last year, 4.4 per cent down from 466,000 in 2008.

"South Korea would have the world's lowest birth rate were it not for some city-states such as Singapore and Hong Kong," Kim Dong-Hoy, who handles the population issue at the statistical body, told AFP.

"It is largely due to a growing number of couples who delay or shun marriage amid an economic downturn."

The number of marriages decreased five per cent year-on-year in 2009 while the divorce rate increased eight per cent.

South Korea has offered a variety of incentives to encourage people to have children. Officials fear a shrinking workforce will hit growth and will be unable to foot the bill for a rapidly ageing population.

The health ministry last month said it was turning off the lights in its offices once a month to encourage staff to go home early and make more babies.

Authorities warn that the population, currently almost 50 million, could start declining within a decade.

2 soft drinks a week ups risk

GRANNY was right when she said that drinking too many sodas and sweet drinks was bad for you.

Taking two or more soft drinks a week can increase one's risk of type 2 diabetes, a new study by Singapore scientists has found.

They are 30 to 40 per cent more likely to contract diabetes compared to those who rarely consumed them, said Associate Professor Koh Woon Puay of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

The beverages surveyed included soda and fruit and vegetable juices in a glass, can or fresh from hawker centres, and it did not distinguish between 100 per cent juice and juice drinks or cordial.

Participants with a higher intake of soft drinks were younger, mostly men with higher body mass indexes (BMI) and leading sedentary lifestyles. Those who drank more juice were also younger and were men, with higher levels of physical activity and were educated.

The findings are from the Singapore Chinese Health Study of more than 61,000 ethnic Chinese living here, aged between 45 and 74.

World's Catholic population up

THE number of Roman Catholics around the world increased by 1.7 per cent in 2008, with 19 million more baptisms recorded, the Vatican said on Saturday.

Some 1.166 billion Roman Catholics were baptised last year, compared to just under 1.147 billion in 2007, the Vatican said in its latest edition of the Pontifical Yearbook.

The number of bishops increased by 1.3 per cent, and the number of priests also increased slightly, though those from Europe fell in relation to those from Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Roman Catholics make up 17.4 per cent of the world's total population of 6.7 billion, the Vatican said.

Electric bikes on a roll in China

CHINESE commuters in their millions are turning to electric bicycles - hailed as the environmentally-friendly future of personal transport in the country's teeming cities.

Up to 120 million e-bikes are estimated to be on the roads in China, making them already the top alternative to cars and public transport, according to recent figures published by local media.

'This is the future - it's practical, it's clean and it's economical,' said manufacturer Shi Zhongdong, whose company also exports electric bikes to Asia and Europe. The bikes have been hailed as an ecologically-sound alternative in a country which is the world's top emitter of greenhouse gases, with their rechargeable batteries leaving a smaller carbon footprint than cars.

But some have expressed concerns about the pollution created by cheaper lead batteries, calling for better recycling and a quick shift to cleaner, though more expensive, lithium-ion battery technology.

They are everywhere in the streets of Beijing - no licence plates, no driver's licences needed. Enthusiasts say they are a godsend in a city where the number of scooter and motorcycle drivers is restricted. 'I get around traffic jams so easily,' said one Beijinger before speeding off from an intersection in the capital, where more than four million vehicles are clogging the roads and polluting the already thick air.

But not everyone is on the e-bike bandwagon - 'real' cyclists have complained bitterly that their once peaceful lanes are now clogged with irresponsible, uncontrollable speedsters.

China leading space race

CHINA aims to land its first astronauts on the moon within a decade at the dawn of a new era of manned space exploration - a race it now leads thanks to the US decision to drop its lunar programme.

US President Barack Obama earlier this month said he planned to drop the costly Constellation space programme, a budget move that would kill off future moon exploration if it is approved by Congress.

In contrast, China has a fast-growing human spaceflight project that has notched one success after another, including a spacewalk by astronauts in 2008, with plans for a manned lunar mission by around 2020.

The turnaround is viewed as yet another example of the Asian power's rising profile and technical prowess. 'Overall, China is behind the US in technology and in actual presence in space - the US operates dozens of satellites, the Chinese only a few,' said James Lewis, of the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies. 'The real concern is the trend: China's capacities are increasing while the US, despite spending billions of dollars, appears to be stuck in a rut.' The Americans have achieved the only manned lunar missions, making six trips from 1969 to 1972.

But China has been gaining in the space race after launching a manned programme in 1992, and sending its first astronaut into space in 2003. Only Russia and the United States had previously put a man into space independently. China aims to launch an unmanned rover on the moon's surface by 2012 ahead of the manned lunar mission a decade from now.

China sees its space programme as a symbol of its global stature, growing technical expertise, and the Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the formerly poverty-stricken nation. Experts see its push for the moon, while Washington backs off, as further confirmation of its emergence as a superpower.

5 Ks and 12345.

Kiasu (scared of losing)

Kiasi (scared of dying)

Kiabor (scared of wife)

Kiaboh (scared of having nothing)

Kiachenghu (scared of government)

We've been reading about the 5C's! and 5K's for Singaporeans, now
comes the 5 Numerals and Malaysia 's equivalent...

Singapore's 'practice' for Simple Living : 12345
1 - One Wife (If more than one, LKY will consign you out of Singapore anyway )
2 - Two Children
3 - Three Bedroom Condo
4 - Four Wheels
5 - Five Figure Salary

Malaysia's Melayu 'theory' to Simple Living: 54321 must be opposite to Singapore's theory ma
5 - Five Children
4 - Four Wives
3 - Three Figure Salary
2 - Two Wheels
1 - One Low-Cost Govt. flat

Be of good heart: Happiness helps ward off cardiac disease

People with a sunny outlook on life are less likely to develop heart disease than those who are less happy or outright glum, according to a study published on Thursday.

Its authors say it is the first investigation to give objective data to support the belief that high morale also helps a strong heart.

Publishing in the European Heart Journal, the Canadian team followed 1,739 men and women over 10 years who were enrolled in a health-monitoring project in Nova Scotia.

At the start of the study, trained nurses gave an assessment of the participants' risk of heart and disease.

Using both self-reporting and clinical assessment, the observers rated symptoms of depression, hostility and anxiety as well as "positive" counterparts - joy, happiness, enthusiasm and contentment - on a five-point scale.

Taking age, sex and cardiovascular risk factors into account, the researchers found that over the 10 years, "increased positive affect" lessened the risk of heart disease by 22 per cent for each point on the scale.

"Participants with no positive affect were at a 22 per cent higher risk of ischaemic heart disease (heart attack or angina) than those with a little positive affect, who were themselves at 22 per cent higher risk than those with moderate positive affect," explained Karina Davidson, director of the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health, New York.

She added: "We also found that if someone who was usually positive had some
depressive symptoms at the time of the survey, this did not affect their overall lower risk of heart disease."

The investigators offer up several theories to explain the phenomenon.

One is that people with "positive affect" may have longer periods of rest and relaxation and recover more quickly from stress.

They caution, though, that clinical trials are needed to explore the heart-happiness link before doctors can issue any recommendations on how to prevent cardiac disease by enhancing positive emotions.

Ride on China growth

NEXT month, engineer Steven Goh will step into China for the first time, to work as a management trainee.

It is a dream come true for the 26-year-old, who sees it as a springboard for enterprising young professionals.

'I was looking for a chance to work in China because everyone knows it is booming and I want to start a business there one day,' said the civil engineering graduate from Nanyang Technological University.

'I hope working with Yanlord Land will help me explore the business opportunities,' he added, referring to the Singapore-based property giant that is offering him a six-month internship in Zhuhai in Guangdong province.

He is among three young Singaporeans picked to intern with Singapore companies in China, under a new initiative of networking group Business China.

Called the Young Leaders Programme, it was applauded by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday for helping 'spread our wings in China'.

Internet makes you smarter

AN ONLINE survey of 895 Web users and experts found more than three-quarters believe the Internet will make people smarter in the next 10 years, according to results released on Friday.

Most of the respondents also said the Internet would improve reading and writing by 2020, according to the study, conducted by the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University in North Carolina and the Pew Internet and American Life project.

'Three out of four experts said our use of the Internet enhances and augments human intelligence, and two-thirds said use of the Internet has improved reading, writing and the rendering of knowledge,' said study co-author Janna Anderson, director of the Imagining the Internet Center. But 21 per cent said the Internet would have the opposite effect and could even lower the IQs of some who use it a lot.

'There are still many people ... who are critics of the impact of Google, Wikipedia and other online tools,' she said.

The Web-based survey gathered opinions from scientists, business leaders, consultants, writers and technology developers, along with Internet users screened by the authors. Of the 895 people surveyed, 371 were considered 'experts'. It was prompted in part by an August 2008 cover story in the Atlantic Monthly by technology writer Nicholas Carr headlined: 'Is Google Making Us Stupid?'

Carr suggested in the article that heavy use of the Web was chipping away at users' capacity for concentration and deep thinking. Carr, who participated in the survey, told the authors he still agreed with the piece. 'What the 'Net does is shift the emphasis of our intelligence away from what might be called a meditative or contemplative intelligence and more toward what might be called a utilitarian intelligence,' Carr said in a release accompanying the study.

Blood test to detect cancer

A PERSONALISED blood test can tell whether a patient's cancer has spread or come back, offering a better way to see if treatments are working, US researchers said on Thursday.

Having a test that can detect tumors in the blood could help doctors customise cancer treatments, offering more aggressive therapy to some patients while sparing others from unneeded chemotherapy or radiation.

'We're talking about what could be a management tool for a number of patients,' said Dr. Bert Vogelstein of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, who worked on the study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The gene-based test takes advantage of rapid advances in the technology to sequence whole genomes - all of a person's genetic code - once a very costly and time-consuming task.

'This is really personalised medicine. This is not something off the shelf,' Dr. Vogelstein said in a telephone interview. 'This is something that has to be designed for each individual patient.'

For the study, the researchers took six sets of normal and cancerous tissue from four colorectal and two breast cancer patients, and mapped out the genetic code in each. In the cancer samples, the team looked for areas in the genetic code where there were extra DNA copies, or where sections of chromosomes had fused together.

Boom time in Hainan

HOTEL room rates shot through the roof on Hainan, China's sunny island in the south, as a tourism boom there over the Chinese New Year break took even businesses by surprise.

Five-star lodgings in Sanya, the island's main resort town, went for as much as 15,000 yuan (S$3,100) a night, nearly 10 times the price of comparable rooms in China's most expensive cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

Main carrier China Southern made last-minute plane diversions, adding more than 30 flights to cash in on the sudden influx of holiday tourists.

The latest surge is part of a larger Hainan craze in China that has sent the island's property and stock prices soaring to feverish levels, even as analysts remain mixed about an ambitious Beijing plan to turn the island into China's answer to Hawaii.

Early last month, the Chinese government unveiled a blueprint for transforming the country's southernmost province into a top international tourist destination by 2020.

Building on Hainan's natural strengths such as its year-long warm weather and golden beaches, the proposal - largely thin on details - discussed possible measures. They included providing visa-free travel and duty-free shopping, building a cruise centre and even developing a gaming industry, which some experts took to mean a horse-racing venue.

M'sians top foreign buyers

MALAYSIANS are snapping up more private homes in Singapore than any other nationality, according to a new report.

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung found that last year, they accounted for 27 per cent of total transactions by non-Singaporeans, who include foreigners and Singapore permanent residents (PRs).

This is the second year in a row that Malaysians have emerged as the most active non-Singaporean purchasers in this type of study, which is based on Urban Redevelopment Authority data and uses caveats lodged as a proxy for sales transactions.

Indonesians were behind 19 per cent of transactions last year, the lowest proportion since 1995, when caveat data became available.

In all four quarters of last year, Malaysian buyers came out tops - a turnaround from the period between 2004 and 2007 when this position was held by Indonesians. And in the final three months of last year, Malaysians were responsible for 25 per cent of transactions by non-Singaporeans, significantly higher than the 17 per cent that went to Indonesians. The two groups of buyers were on an equal footing during the same quarter in 2008.

Mr Joseph Tan, executive director for residential at CB Richard Ellis, said geographical proximity and cultural similarities were key reasons for the interest shown in Singapore by its nearest neighbours.

Lunar New Year celebrations may lead to health problems

From the traditional reunion dinner to festive treats like love letters and barbequed sweet meat, the Lunar New Year may be a time for celebrations but it's also a time where there're many health pitfalls.

Doctors said more people fall ill during and after festive celebrations because they don't exercise self-control.

Geylang Polyclinic sees about 20 to 30 per cent more patients with acute conditions, and a five to 10 per cent increase for chronic conditions like asthma.

Dr Jason Chan, Geylang Polyclinic, said: "Normally we'll see more patients with acute infections. Things like respiratory infections like flu, colds. This could be more due to lethargy, exhaustion from all the partying, or being in close contact with people who've got these diseases.

Other people would be those with dietary indiscretion, so they may get diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting. And some patients with lung diseases like asthma, if they're too close to relatives who smoke, they can also get an exacerbation."

Doctors at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department said they saw a 25 per cent jump in the number of patients on the second day of Lunar New Year in 2009 compared to the previous year.

They're also seeing more patients due to falls and asthma ahead of the Lunar New Year period.

The number of patients who've suffered falls and asthma attacks have gone up by about 30 per cent.
Those with gastroenteritis went up by 20 per cent during the festive season.

Dr Chan Kim Chai, A&E Dept, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, said: "This is usually because of the spring cleaning and people stand on heights. During the spring cleaning, some people stir up the dust and thus get asthmatic attacks. During the Chinese and post-Chinese New Year period, people tend to overeat.

“We actually see people coming in with abdominal pain and some even with gastroenteritis. Sometimes it may be due to the food handling."

That's why, doctors said moderation is key.

Malaysia's richest getting richer.

Malaysia’s 40 richest people recorded an increase in their fortunes as they are collectively worth RM156.7 billion, or 63 per cent more than the RM96.3 billion a year ago, a Malaysian Business survey reveals.

However, according to the fortnightly magazine’s survey results released in a statement today, their combined wealth is still less than the RM171.9 billion recorded in 2008.

The benchmark FBM KLCI has risen 44.3 per cent since its last survey as the world strives to get back on its feet following the global financial crisis.

The full list of the 40 tycoons and details of their wealth were published in the magazine’s Feb 16 issue.

As in the previous year, the wealth of the Top 40 was assessed based on the value of their stakes in listed companies at Jan 15 this year. The survey also revealed that close to half on this year’s list recorded jumps of 50 per cent or more. There are also more billionaires this year.

Tan Sri Robert Kuok, the Kuok Group patriarch who relinquished his “Sugar King” crown last year, still tops the list with a wealth of RM42.76 billion, up RM16.1 billion from RM26.6 billion a year ago.

Media-shy and telecommunication tycoon Ananda Krishnan ranked second, clocking in at RM27 billion.

IOI Corporation Bhd’s Tan Sri Lee Shin Chen is third with a wealth of RM11.92 billion, followed by prominent banker Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow at RM10.86 billion.

Genting Group’s Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, valued at RM10.38 billion, leapt a full 10 spots to five. This is because he assumed a large chunk of the wealth from his late father, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong.

Hong Leong Group’s Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan took the sixth spot at RM7.09 billion while Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary of the Albukhary Foundation, valued at RM6.01 billion, settled at seventh spot.

Others in the Top-10 ranking are Lim Goh Tong’s widow Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua, Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King of Rimbunan Hijau Group and Tan Sri Vincent Tan of Berjaya Group.

There are five newcomers to the list, namely Lee Swee Eng of KNM Group, brothers Datuk Shahril Shamsuddin and Shahriman Shamsuddin of Sapura, Datuk Seri Nazir Razak of CIMB Group and OSK Holdings’ Ong Leong Huat, who makes a comeback to the list after a one-year absence.

SKorea, Japan have world's fastest Internet links

East Asian countries led by South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan are the best wired in the world with the highest number of fast broadband connections to the Internet, a recent report has found.

South Korea boasts the world's highest average connection speed at 14.6 Megabytes per second (Mbps) and also has six of Asia's 10 cities with the fastest link-ups, all with average speeds above 15 Mbps.

Japan had the second highest average connection speed of 7.9 Mbps, followed by the Chinese territory of Hong Kong with 7.6 Mbps, said the report by US-based network provider Akamai Technologies.

The other countries in the top ten are Romania, followed by Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark and the Czech Republic, with the United States at 18th place, with an average speed of 3.9 Mbps.

The survey classifies "broadband" connections as those of two Mbps or more, and "high broadband" as five Mbps or over, while link-ups at 20 Mbps and better were categorised as "extremely high speed connectivity."

In South Korea, 74 per cent of connections were "high broadband," the world's top rate, while the figure was 60 per cent in Japan, followed by Hong Kong with 46 per cent, said the report.

The United States came 12th, with just 24 per cent of its connections at five Mbps or more. Worldwide, the high broadband percentage was 19 per cent.

Growing demand for online high-definition video content is driving demand for faster connections, said Akamai's 'State of the Internet' report for the third quarter of 2009.

"As the quantity of HD-quality media increases over time and the consumption of that media increases, end users are likely to require ever-increasing amounts of bandwidth," the report said.

Healthy adults need less sleep as they age

Healthy older adults need less sleep than their younger counterparts and, even with less sleep under their nightcaps, are less likely to feel tired during the day, a study published Monday showed.

The time spent actually sleeping out of eight hours in bed declined progressively and significantly with age, the study published in SLEEP, the official journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, said.

Older adults, aged 66-83, slept about 20 minutes less than middle-aged adults (40-55 years), who slept 23 minutes less than young adults aged 20-30, the study said.

The older adults woke up significantly more often and spent more time awake after initial sleep onset than younger adults.

Deep, or slow-wave sleep, thought to be the most restorative phase of sleep, decreased with age, the study said.

But although older adults slept less deeply and less overall, and their sleep was less continuous than their younger counterparts', they also showed less need for a quick kip during the day.

The study was conducted at the Clinical Research Centre of the University of Surrey in England and involved 110 healthy adults without sleep disorders or complaints.

Forty-four of the participants were young, 35 middle-aged and 31 older adults.

They slept normally one night, the baseline night, then had two nigths where their sleep was interrupted, followed by one recovery night.

During the baseline night, younger adults spent an average of 433.5 minutes asleep compared to around 410 minutes for middle aged adults and 390 for older adults.

On the same night, the younger adults had 118.4 minutes of deep sleep, compared to 85.3 minutes for middle-aged adults and 84.2 minutes for older adults.

But when asked to lie in a comfortable position on a bed during the day and try to fall asleep, young adults nodded off in an average of 8.7 minutes, compared with nearly 12 minutes for middle-aged adults and just over 14 minutes for older adults.

Malaysian Road Transport Department

KEJARA System is a short form of the word KESELAMATAN JALANRAYA (ROAD SAFETY) System. This system is especially directed to drivers with CDL driving license and Provisional Driving License.

Specific Meaning : A demerit point system for drivers which have been affirmed for misconducts through compound payment (Police or RTD) or fined (Court) for scheduled misconducts.

1. To reduce road accidents rate.
2. To increase drivers awareness on road safety.
3. To ensure that all drivers obey the road regulations.
4. To create drivers who are well-disciplined, responsible and tolerant while on the road.
5. To take action against drivers who have misconducts on the road.

KEJARA System functions under APJ 35, 35A, 37 and 38; and 1987 Motor Vehicle Procedures (Demerit Point).

KEJARA System offender's records are created through summon notices that are related to scheduled misconducts and demerit point will be accounted for.

For drivers with CDL license that have collected 15 or more demerit points, the actions below will be taken :

Points of Misconducts	Sentences
15 or more demerit point for the first time	Driving license will be suspended for 6 months
15 or more demerit point for the second time	Driving license will be suspended for 12 months
15 or more demerit point for the third time (within 5 years)	Driving license will be suspended for 12 months and cancellation of driving license will be carried out.

For suspended CDL license, the driver is not allowed to drive or obtain any licenses, either provisional driving license or others, to drive a vehicle from any classes within the suspended period.

For drivers who owned a Provisional Driving License and had collected 10 or more demerit points, the Provisional Driving License will be cancelled.

For drivers whose driving license had been cancelled ('P' License or CDL), are not allowed to drive or obtain any licenses, either provisional driving license or others from any classes for a period of twelve months from the suspension date.

Chief Director could order driving license's holders which the license have been suspended, to attend a recovery course. If the license holder attends the course successfully, he/she entitled for a shorter suspension period as follows :

Suspension period	Reduced period
Suspension for the first time	4 weeks
Suspension for the second time	8 weeks

For drivers with CDL license that obtained demerit points less than 15 points, if no scheduled misconducts for next 24 months continuously, 7 demerit points will be deducted.

Driving during the suspension or cancellation of driving license, will be fined RM2,000.00 or six (6) months prison.

No	Misconducted	Demerit Points
1	Driving or controlling motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating drink or drugs.	15
2	Driving hastily or dangerously.	15
3	Driving without cautious or tolerance.	15
4	Competition or speeding assumption.	15
5	Without any solid reasons, failed to give specimen on breath, blood or urine when instructed by the police officer.	15
6	Failed to obey the traffic lights.	10
7	Exceed the speed limit of any roads or vehicles :
(i)	Exceeds 40 km/h	10
(ii)	Exceeds 26 km/h - 40 km/h	8
(iii)	Exceeds 1 km/h - 25 km/h	6
8	Misconducts that are related to overtaking and blocking during overtaking (including 'Q' overtaking)	8
9	Failed to give ways to ambulans or Fire Brigade; or police vehicles, or custom vehicles, or RTD vehicles.	8
10	Misconducts by drivers at the pedestrian walk-ways.	8
11	Misconducts related to driving on the left side of the road.	8
12	Failed to stop at the junction.	8
13	Reckless in controlling the vehicle (including the use of handphone)	8
14	Using motor vehicle at road blocks.	5
15	Ignore the road instructions and signals.	5
16	Using a bald tyre.	5
17 Overtaking at the doubled lines (continuous lines)	5
18	Failed to obey the conditions stated in the Provisional Driving License (Procedure 15A Motor Vehicle Procedures (Driving License) 1992):
A.	Failed to bring along the provisional driving license while driving	5
B.	Failed to display identification sign at a visible place based on the diagram in Procedures Scheduled 6.	10
C.	Failed to ensure that the alcohol contained in breath, blood or urine are at 0.00 level.	5

Global warming good for trees

GLOBAL warming is good news for trees, which are thriving in higher temperatures and longer growing seasons, but bad news for ducks and other waterfowl, whose wetland habitat may dry up and disappear, two studies show.

A study by researchers at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Maryland indicates that higher temperatures, longer growing seasons and increased levels of carbon dioxide brought by climate change are helping trees in temperate climates to grow faster.

The researchers studied data on how many trees there were in 55 forests in the eastern United States during a 22-year period, as well as 100 years of local weather measurements and 17 years of carbon dioxide measurements. Their findings, which were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) show that recent tree growth 'greatly exceeded the expected growth,' and they hypothesized that the spurt was due to climate change.

'Increases in temperature, growing season and atmospheric CO2 have documented influences on tree physiology, metabolism and growth and likely they are critical to changing the rate of ... growth observed,' says the study.

Rising temperatures have increased the metabolic processes of trees and extended their growing season, while higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could be spurring tree growth through carbon fertilisation, the study says.

But for ducks and other waterfowl, rising temperatures are bad news, according to a separate study conducted by researchers from the US Geological Survey and South Dakota State University and published this week in the journal BioScience.

40% of cancers preventable

FORTY per cent of the 12 million people diagnosed with cancer worldwide each year could avert the killer disease by protecting themselves against infections and changing their lifestyles, experts said on Tuesday.

A report by the Geneva-based International Union Against Cancer (UICC) highlighted nine infections that can lead to cancer and urged health officials to drive home the importance of vaccines and lifestyle changes in fighting the disease.

'If there was an announcement that somebody had discovered a cure for 40 per cent of the world's cancers, there would quite justifiably be huge jubilation,' UICC president David Hill told Reuters in a telephone interview. 'But the fact is that we have, now, the knowledge to prevent 40 per cent of cancers. The tragedy is, we're not using it.'

Cervical and liver cancer, both caused by infections which can be prevented with vaccines, should be top priorities, the report said, not only in rich nations, but also in developing countries where 80 per cent of global cervical cancer occur.

The UICC said it wanted to focus policymakers' attention on cancer-preventing vaccines -- like ones made by GlaxoSmithKline and Merck & Co against the human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer, and others against hepatitis B, which causes liver disease and cancer.

The experts said the risk of developing cancer could potentially be reduced by up to 40 per cent if full immunisation and prevention measures were deployed and combined with simple lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, eating healthily, limiting alcohol intake and reducing sun exposure. Dr Hill said national health authorities should also work to dispel widespread myths about cancer, in particular a sense of fatalism felt by many people in the face of the disease.

HK tycoons' wealth soars

HONG Kong's tycoons are worth a combined US$135 billion (S$191 billion), with many of the city's wealthiest people having boosted their fortunes with investments on the Chinese mainland, Forbes said on Thursday.

The city's top 40 richest people have added US$82 billion to their wealth over the past year, much of it due to a recovering stock market and the rapid rise in property prices in Hong Kong and China.

Li Ka-shing, the 81-year-old head of Cheung Kong Holdings, was once again the financial hub's richest person with a US$21.3 billion fortune, according to the annual list compiled by Forbes business magazine. Mr Li's son Richard made the list in 26th place with a US$1.3 billion net worth.

Henderson Land chief Lee Shau-kee, 82, grabbed second place with US$19 billion owing to his company's soaring share price, the magazine said. Following were property giants the Kwok family at US$17 billion, developer Cheng Yu-tung with US$7 billion, and real estate magnate Joseph Lau at US$6 billion dollars, the magazine said. Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho, 88, took 17th spot with a US$2.1 billion fortune, Forbes said.

Twenty-four people on the list bumped their net worth by at least 50 per cent from a year ago and not one grew poorer, Forbes said. No women were listed although there was at least one heiress to a top 40 fortune.

Forbes said it compiled its list based on shareholding and financial information gleaned from stock exchanges, analysts and the tycoons themselves. The combined wealth of all 40 tycoons falls short of the record US$179 billion treasure chest the magazine recorded in 2008.