American women targeted as Malaysia becomes Internet scam haven: U.S.

US | Tue Jul 8, 2014 7:08pm EDT

Related: U.S., WORLD, TECH, AFRICA

American women targeted as Malaysia becomes Internet scam haven: U.S.

KUALA LUMPUR | BY STUART GRUDGINGS

Hundreds of American women are being ensnared by Internet scammers based in Malaysia, with some losing over a quarter of a million dollars, as the country becomes an epicenter for online crime perpetrated by Africans, U.S. officials say.

The mostly Nigerian conmen, who enter Malaysia on student visas, take advantage of the country’s good Internet infrastructure to prey on lonely, middle-aged women, wooing them on dating websites before swindling their savings, they said.

The scams are more sophisticated than most Nigeria-based operations – which most Internet users have experienced at some time either via email or advertising – helped by Malaysia’s advanced banking system, which allows perpetrators to quickly set up accounts and receive international transfers.

U.S. officials say Malaysian police lack the resources and expertise to tackle the problem and have yet to launch a single prosecution of a case involving a U.S. victim.

Malaysian police were reported by local media last December as saying that the number of Internet scam cases more than doubled in 2013 with total losses of more than $11 million. A total of 476 Africans had been apprehended for suspected involvement, the report said.

The Malaysian police and the Nigerian embassy in Kuala Lumpur did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment. A spokesman for Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said he was not aware of scammers operating in Malaysia, but added they were known to have international networks.

Tim Scherer, consul general at the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur, told Reuters that complaints about such scams now made up more than 80 percent of inquiries to duty officers at the mission, with a dozen new cases reported every week.

Citizens of Australia, Canada and Europe had also been targeted, he said.

“These are not rich widows who are being preyed on, these are middle-class Americans who don’t have this kind of money to spare,” he said. “It can really transform their lives in a very terrible way.”

The U.S. embassy estimates that U.S. victims are losing several million dollars a year, with two women in the past 12 months losing more than $250,000 each. There are more than 600 cases a year, and the amount lost by each victim averages in the tens of thousands of dollars, it said.

The actual figure of total losses is probably far higher, Scherer said, because many victims are too embarrassed to come forward or do not know who to contact. He said the scammers were highly sophisticated, often grooming victims for months and using convincing techniques such as forging letters purportedly from the U.S. ambassador in Malaysia.

FAKE ROMANCE

Large teams of scammers typically trawl dating or Christian websites and contact middle-aged women, the U.S. officials said. They pretend to be a Western man who then gets into legal or business difficulties in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

One U.S. victim told Reuters she transferred a total of$260,000 to Malaysia, where the man who claimed to love her said he was being prevented from returning to the United States by Malaysian bureaucracy – which required hefty payments to negotiate.

The 59-year-old widow from Phoenix, Arizona, who declined to be identified, said she had gone heavily into debt to make the payments to “Charles”, and even flew to Malaysia in March to meet him. He never showed up, but a European woman claiming to be his lawyer managed to bilk another $25,000 out of the woman before she returned to Arizona.

Another victim, a women in her late 50s in the eastern United States, said she sent her life savings of $300,000 over two months to a Malaysia-based “American” man she met on dating site Match.com, three years after her husband died.

“I felt like I was in love with this man and we’d be moving forward with a life together real soon,” she told Reuters.

Match.com did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Along with other major U.S.-based dating sites, it features prominent warnings about scammers, specifically telling users to be wary of people who say they are Americans based abroad.

STUDENT SCAM

The conmen have exploited Malaysia’s drive to become a global education hub, securing student visas to attend college, the U.S. officials said.

Malaysia has pursued a policy of attracting international students for more than a decade, allowing dozens of foreign colleges to set up Malaysian campuses.

Scherer said it was likely that many of the Nigerians in Malaysia were not genuine students. As of March, there were 9,146 Nigerians on student visas in Malaysia, the education ministry said, out of 123,000 overseas students in total.

“Once in the country as students, there’s very little effort to verify their studies,” Scherer said.

An official with Malaysia’s education ministry said that last year it tightened its vetting and tracking of overseas students.

“We are aware of problems with some international students, especially Nigerians,” the official said.

(Additional reporting by Tim Cocks in LAGOS; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-usa-scams-idUSKBN0FD2G920140708

Why are Malays fleeing?

Why are Malays fleeing?

Shahril Ahmad

| December 20, 2014

Zaid Ibrahim recently spoke to The South China Morning Post about Malays fleeing Malaysia to escape the imposition of increasingly extremist ideology by the authorities and various NGOs. The encroachment of the moral police on our everyday life has become more and more obvious and it has frightened some of the ummah, especially when a lot of the rhetoric has become a case of ‘”us versus them”, them being the undefined “musuh-musuh Islam” spoken of by just about every NGO that claims to be defending Islam.

It has come to the point where even our children are put under tremendous peer pressure to be more “Muslim”, and some of us have taken to sending them to religious school immediately after regular school and they stay there until late afternoon. When do they have time for play?

There is indeed a general environment of fear caused not only be the screaming NGOs, but also by the mosque preachers who should know better. At least for those who live in the suburban areas of Selangor, it is not uncommon to hear sermons at almost every other hour of the day blaring through the loud speakers. And more often than not, the subject is divine wrath rather than divine love or beauty. And children hear all this when they should instead be introduced to the beauty of faith, the mysteries of the divine, the love of God that permeates our lives.

Perhaps it’s all part of the push back against the various social ills that plague our society. From incest to drug abuse to robbery, these social ills are nothing to laugh at and need to be dealt with if we hope to ever become a modern society. But a hardline approach is not necessarily always the answer or the solution as it is human nature to push back.

To quote my good friend Megat, “It’s a common sight nowadays seeing Muslims doing what is clearly haram and the authorities’ way of handling these matters seems very aggressive, which only make people do the haram stuff more. The authorities should be showing examples of how Islam actually works rather than making statements about what is right or wrong, or worse, showing how eager they are to punish.”

That’s a pretty good point. Our religious authorities go about their duties in what seems like absolute assurance of their invulnerability, knocking on doors in the middle of the night to find evidence of wrongdoing, warrants be damned. Instead of serving the needy, finding ways to educate and uplift them, we’re more interested in harassing people for any sign of sinful activity, not showing them that there is more to aspire to.

Spying on your neighbour

What is really scary is that the moral policing zeal might soon infect ordinary people like you and me, and we’ll be spying on our neighbours. Once the idea has set in that you have the obligation to police your neighbours, it escalates to taking on authority in telling them what to do, and how to live their lives. Going one step further and forcing them by intimidation is where we cross the line and become that which we profess to hate.

Another friend, Faiz, actually made the move to Australia, but wasn’t able to stay. But he agrees with Zaid Ibrahim that the current oppressive atmosphere created by the religious authorities is unhealthy, and is not an environment he wants his children to grow up in. And he would migrate in an instant if he could.

Faiz may be liberal, but he is a committed Muslim and a good man. For him to be so fearful of this atmosphere and the effect it will have on his children is a good indicator for how Malays feel about the zealots taking over their lives.

Megat agrees. “These zealots believe that there’s only one way to show what’s true (in the context of Islam).” The moderate and liberal Muslims feel compelled to migrate because “the aggressive approach of the authorities on handling Islamic matters in Malaysia is not only ineffective but, at times, inconsiderate.” After all, he explains, Islam is so widespread in the world today you can live in almost every foreign city and practice the faith. “There are shops selling halal food and mosques you can go to for Friday prayers.”

The government must once more define the boundaries of the religious authorities. That they are scaring off our own people is a grave sign for Malaysia, and is not healthy for not only adults, but for the children. If they are taught to do good out of fear, that is against everything the faith stands for. Doing good should come from love and good intentions. It’s time to rethink how we embrace the faith, and the faith will be strengthened by it.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/12/20/why-are-malays-fleeing/

Malaysia’s Khairy Jamaluddin Takes The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Malaysia’s Khairy Jamaluddin Takes The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

http://hype.my/newsdesk/malaysias-khairy-jamaluddin-takes-the-als-ice-bucket-challenge/

You know about the craze, you’ve seen the videos, you’ve laughed your heads off, don’t deny it. Made even more popular with the help of celebrities from across the world, some of the world’s top DJs, and even Facebook’s very own Mark Zuckerberg, more and more people are partaking in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Ever since the craze started, over USD$15.6 million (RM49.4 million) has been collected from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge throughout the world for the research of the Lou Gehrig disease. Of course, Malaysians too have joined the icy dare!

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin took up the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge yesterday after tweeting that he had been nominated by various people.

He later posted a photo of himself pouring a bucket of ice water over his own head at the National Aquatic Centre Bukit Jalil with a caption that simply read “Done”.

 

Reject threats, violence or extremism, says Najib

Reject threats, violence or extremism, says Najib

January 30, 2014

The Prime Minister in his Chinese Year message calls for unity and racial harmony

KUALA LUMPUR: Najib Tun Razak has called on Malaysians to reject any form of threat, violence or act of extremism that would strain the harmonious relationship shared and enjoyed by the various races in the country.

The prime minister, in his Chinese New Year greetings, said that while people rejoiced in welcoming the Year of the Horse, the unity and racial harmony that Malaysians had enjoyed so far must be upheld.

“I believe we should all listen to the voice of reason. It is therefore incumbent upon us to act sensibly and to listen to each other’s views.

“In Malaysia’s cultural melting pot, we must respect the rules of law and proceed with sensitivity toward other people’s beliefs,” he said in a post on his http://www.1Malaysia.com.my blog.

He pointed out that despite the transformation advances that had been made, there was still a long way to go and much work to do.

Najib said the transformation programmes needed support from the people from all walks of life – especially so from the Chinese community who are known for their entrepreneurial skills.

He also said that there were countless initiatives being undertaken to improve the livelihood of the people, such as ongoing programmes like the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M), 1Malaysia People’s Shops (KR1M), ‘Ops Harga’ against the arbitrary raising of prices and many others to help mitigate the pinch of global inflationary forces.

He said there were also ongoing consultative meetings and discussions that were focused solely on addressing the issue of easing the people’s burden and that the efforts would go asunder without the support of the people.

“Together, we must remain resilient in the face of economic challenges to sustain stability and progress for our future generation,” he said.

Najib also expressed his appreciation for the nation-building role played by Malaysian Chinese since independence.

– Bernama

 

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/01/30/reject-threats-violence-or-extremism-says-najib/

2013 SEA GAMES: Malaysia wins first gold from Wushu

2013 SEA GAMES: Malaysia wins first gold from Wushu

 

By Devinder Singh

NAYPYIDAW: Diana Bong delivered Malaysia’s first gold medal of the 2013 Sea Games after winning the women’s nanquan event today.

The wushu exponent from Sarawak scored 9.70 points to edge Vietnam’s Bui Minh Phuong by 0.02. Malaysia’s Tai Cheau Xuen took bronze with 9.67.

Diana’s win is Malaysia’s 998th gold medal in the history of the Games.

Gold medalist Diana Bong Siong Lin at the Women’s Wushu Taolu Nanquan event of the 27th SEA Games 2013 held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. — Photo by Goh Thean Howe

 

Read more: 2013 SEA GAMES: Malaysia wins first gold from Wushu – Latest – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/font-color-red-2013-sea-games-font-malaysia-wins-first-gold-from-wushu-1.424863#ixzz2n24s8hKU

Change Your World – RELENTlessly Fighting Modern Day Slavery in Malaysia

RELENTlessly Fighting Modern Day Slavery in Malaysia

17 Jan 2013 by Timothy Tai-

In my earlier interview with lead vocalist Neil Batiancila, he revealed that when RELENT isn’t out playing gigs or leading worship at church, they hold regular jobs at an organization called Change Your World (CYW). This time, I interviewed their drummer Cuzario David to find out more about their involvement in CYW and their fight against Modern Day Slavery.

CM: Why don’t you start by telling us what you guys do at Change Your World (CYW)?

Cuzario: Well, each one of us has a different role to play in the company. Daniel is the Creative Director, Jude’s the (music) Academy Manager, Neil’s the Social Media Executive and I’m the Communications Director. As a team our goal is to creatively create awareness and educate people about the atrocity of Modern Day Slavery (MDS).

CM: For those who are hearing about Modern Day Slavery (MDS) for the first time, can you explain what it is?

Cuzario: To be forced to do something against your will, exploited and treated like slaves; forced to work with little or no pay at all while your freedom and rights are taken away from you – those are hints of what MDS is really about.

CM: Is MDS the same thing as human trafficking?

Cuzario: In layman’s terms, you could say that MDS is the mother of the issues of which human trafficking is only one of those parked under it. Other examples of MDS include mail order brides (early/forced marriage), prostitution, sex trafficking, organ trafficking, baby trafficking, forced begging, child labor, slavery by descent, domestic workers and – not known to many – deep sea fishermen who were tricked of a job and would later be mistreated and murdered at the pleasure of their captors.

CM: Is MDS really a global crisis or is it something that only affects countries like Thailand and India?

Cuzario: Statistics tell us that it is the 2nd highest organized crime and “most profitable business” ever recorded in the world, losing only to the arms (weapons) business. Some experts believe that it is only a matter of time before MDS overtakes the latter to be on top of the list. That alone paints a picture of how serious this crisis is affecting countries around the globe.

CM: But MDS isn’t something that we really read a lot about in the local papers. How real is this problem here in Malaysia?

Cuzario: It really isn’t something new in this nation and just recently over the past few months or so, we have read some success stories in our local dailies. For that, I would like to applaud the government for stepping up their game in making sure that the scene doesn’t go out of hand.

Even so, whatever that was published for the public’s eyes are only success stories. There are definitely other serious cases that went unreported or have not been covered by the media so as not to reveal the truth and scare the public about the real situation locally. That is one of the reasons why news about it isn’t widespread, resulting in the public being unaware and clueless about MDS in Malaysia.

Just last year there were news about Indonesian and Burmese maids getting abused, some to the point of death; looking further back in time, cases of missing children, many still unresolved until today. Those are just some of the stories we know locally to remind us that we are not exempted and MDS does happen in our own backyards.

Shocking statistic!

CM: I can see now why CYW came about. So what does CYW do in the fight against MDS? Do you guys raid brothels at night and rescue women and children who have been forced into prostitution?

Cuzario: As much as we want to be, we weren’t born superheroes. No we don’t do all those. Our partner Tenaganita does all that – they are the experts.

Our role in CYW, as mentioned earlier, is to create awareness about MDS. One of the ways we do that besides running campaigns and tours is by hosting gigs we call School Gigs, Campus Gigs, Office Gigs as well as House Gigs. In each one of the gigs we do not only present updated facts and news about MDS but also entertain the crowd with live acoustic set music – and that is where our role as RELENT comes to play. The whole session is like a chillaxed infotainment show. You can find out more about the gigs on our website if you like.

Other than all that was mentioned, we also handle the after-care program called the Save One Life program where together with us, volunteers raise funds to support and meet the needs of the trafficked survivors.

http://christianitymalaysia.com/wp/relentlessly-fighting-modern-day-slavery-malaysia/#sthash.nLIHqa38.dpuf

Car Insurance Claim Void

Car Insurance Claim Void, Malaysia

IMPORTANT

In any case, when making a police report, you must ALWAYS report that the CAR WAS STOLEN without your knowledge. If you reported it as the car was driven away when it was left in the car wash, no insurance will pay you. You can only sue the company for negligence. Advice: Let the professional do the report!I have a car crashed and broke a lampost, and the towing agent told me to pay RM100 to let him and “theprofessional” do the standard report that can guarantee dapat the insurance claims! I got the claims and escape paying for the broken lampost! I was warned: If I were to report the actual reasons my way on how the car crashed, I won’t be able to get the insurance claims.

Note:Reasons such as tyre bursts, driver tidur, car skidded, heavy rain, car went out of control, road slippery, etc all these reasons will be rejected by insurance companies and you get zero claims. It must be reported as an accident not because of your fault, the car’s technical fault, road fault, weather’s fault but must put the blame on others as the cause of accident!

You can declare yourself as the cause of accident, can still get the insurance claim, but the Police will fine you first RM300 and you have to pay for the replacement of the damaged lampost!

A Lampost at Plus Highway will cost you RM4000 !

In an unrelated event:Loss of I.C.If you lose your IC and go to get a replacement at the Bahagain Pendaftaran, the fine is RM100 for a first offender.
If you lost your IC again, the fine will be doubled and so on. If you made the police report that your IC was pick-pocketed (somewhere, say Pasar Malam) the Bahagian Pendaftaran won’t fine you! You get the replacement for free within 24 hr! Just trying to out smart them.

Same thing if you parked your car under a tree and a branch fell off and damaged your car. If you report as a parked car – your claim will not be entertained.
You have to report that while you are driving your car, the branch fell and damaged your car.

CAR INSURANCE CLAIM VOID…

Be careful, if you have the habit of sending your car for car wash or other similar places such as car jockey at car park, while in shopping complex etc..

Two weeks ago my nephew sent his Toyota Harrier for a car wash in the car park of Bangsar Shopping Complex while he had an appointment there. He handed the car keys to the car wash people and left the car park for his appointment.

After the appointment he went to collect his car, & the car wash people told him that his car had been collected. HOW COULD IT BE!?

After a prolonged argument without any results, he had no choice, but to make a police report… and follow up with an insurance claim.

The Insurance company rejected his claim because the car was not stolen. The point of contention was why he had handed over the car keys to someone unknown, and why he had not waited till the car washing was finished.
So, be careful next time. If you really need to send your car for a car wash, better stay there and wait for your car, if not, this may happen to you..

Please forward this message to all your friends to warn them.

” I am agent of MSIG, ZURICH and BERJAYA SOMPO confirm that if you hand over the keys of your car for someone to take care example :- Car Wash, Car Park and on your return if the Car is ‘taken’ away, Insurer WILL NOT PAY for the ‘Loss’.

NOTES FROM AN INSURANCE AGENT:

1: OTHER COMPANIES IN MALAYSIA , TOO, WILL NOT PAY FOR SUCH A LOSS.

2. IF YOU LEAVE YOUR CAR ENGINE RUNNING AND YOUR CAR DOORS UNLOCKED, WHILE YOU POP INTO THE GROCERY STORE FOR EVEN A FEW SECONDS, AND SOMEONE DRIVES YOUR CAR AWAY, THE INSURANCE COMPANY WILL NOT PAY.

Footage of women being assaulted go viral

Published: Thursday August 15, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Thursday August 15, 2013 MYT 7:52:30 AM

Footage of women being assaulted go viral

Screenshot of the wife being assaulted by her husband in front of their children.

GEORGE TOWN: Two women were savagely beaten up by their spouses here and in Seremban, with the violent behaviour of both men caught on camera.

The footage have since gone viral.

Police here are looking for the 36-year-old man who beat up his wife in a lift at a private hospital in Seberang Perai.

The civil servant’s violent behaviour was caught on camera and the video went viral on Facebook after it was uploaded on Tues­day.

Penang CID chief Senior Asst Comm Mazlan Kesah said the two-minute-and-20-second video showed the man assaulting his wife in front of their two young children in the lift on Monday.

SAC Mazlan said the case was being investigated under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt.

The woman, a 36-year-old factory worker, later received outpatient treatment at the same hospital for head, wrist and body injuries.

“We helped her to get an interim protection order against her husband,” he said.

On the reason for the assault, SAC Mazlan said the couple had domestic problems.

The beating was so vicious that the woman’s tudung came off.

The young daughter then cried and pleaded with her father to stop hurting her mother.

When the lift doors opened, the woman got off and her husband kicked her on her back, causing her to fall on her knees.

He then kicked her a few more times before leaving with the children in the same lift.

The woman said they had gone to the hospital to visit their youngest son who was admitted due to high fever.

“My husband told me to bring our two other children along. He lost his temper when our second daughter refused to follow him.

“He then took his anger out on me.

“While he was assaulting me, he told that me he would see me in the Syariah court,” said the woman.

The woman, who filed for a divorce last month, said she was considering legal action against her husband, to whom she has been married for 12 years, adding that this was the first time he had assaulted her.

It is learnt that the couple separated last December and the husband works in Jerantut, Pahang.

In SEREMBAN, 29-year-old Lim Pui Lee was allegedly assaulted with a hammer by her ex-boyfriend and she had to have 30 stitches on her head.

The woman’s 13-year-old daughter recorded the violent scene on her mobile phone.

Lim, who has been running a stall selling chicken wings at a food court, said she used to pay the 33-year-old suspect RM4,000 a month just to help her run her stall.

On Saturday, she went to his house to settle a dispute when he allegedly attacked her with the hammer.

In the scuffle, his pants came off.

The two, both divorced, were in a relationship for nearly 10 years.

Lim admitted that she took a hammer with her “but he took out his own hammer and hit me repeatedly on the head”.

The woman, who claimed that their relationship went sour last year, said matters got worse when the man opened a stall selling chicken wings near her’s at the foodcourt in Lobak.

When contacted, Seremban OCPD Asst Comm Saiful Azly Kamaruddin said police were waiting for the medical report before taking the next step.

Lim said on Tuesday that the man apologised to her, saying that “everything happened in a spur of the moment”.

“I had never intended to hurt her,” he said, alleging that the woman was extremely aggressive when she came over to his place.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/08/15/Footage-of-women-being-assaulted-go-viral.aspx

SABAH, BORNEO

SABAH, BORNEO , HERE I COME!!!
Worth stopping to watch this video         

http://www.youtube.com/embed/jzUjzElgbMY

“SETIA” song

 

Michael Wong, Penny Tai, Fish Leung singing “SETIA” song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZPoAFl5gpRo