Public outreach programme to ease economic burden

A PROGRAMME dubbed Jualan Sentuhan Rakyat (People Outreach Sale) will be rolled out soon to increase subsidies for basic commodities, reported Sin Chew Daily.

A Cabinet source told the daily that the programme, aimed at easing the people’s burden, would most probably be implemented before the Chinese New Year.

Thirty basic necessities such as rice, oil and flour are likely to be included in the programme.

“These items are already subsidised by the Government, but the Cabinet agreed to increase the subsidies so that they would be even cheaper,” said the source.

> An anonymous letter painting Taiwanese higher education in a bad light was circulated at Chinese independent high schools here, reported major Chinese dailies.

The letter listed seven reasons why parents should not send their children to Taiwan to pursue tertiary education.

Among the reasons were poor English standard in Taiwan, usage of traditional Chinese characters (simplified characters are more commonly used in China) and poor employment rate among graduates returning from Taiwan.

In refuting the claims, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia said Taiwan was fourth in the global education ranking by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

“The overall quality of Taiwan higher education is ranked 11th globally and 24 Taiwanese universities are listed among the top 200 universities in Asia,” it said.

The office added that students graduating from Taiwan are employed in a wide range of industries in Malaysia, after Taiwan and Malaysia mutually agreed to recognise each other’s degrees in 2011.

> A phone scam syndicate lured local Chinese youths to “work overseas” with a promise of a monthly salary of between RM3,000 and RM6,000, said China Press.

The youths who took up the job offer found their passports confiscated by the syndicate once they arrived in the foreign country.

The syndicate’s new modus operandi was exposed when seven Malaysian Chinese youths and aTaiwanese man were nabbed in Bangkok last October.