CUEPACS kemuka cadangan kenaikan elaun penjawat awam.

CUEPACS dijangka mengemukakan beberapa cadangan berhubung kenaikan elaun penjawat awam dalam pertemuan kesatuan sekerja itu bersama Ketua Setiausaha Negara (KSN), Datuk Seri Dr Ali Hamsa di Putrajaya, hari ini. 

Antaranya mengenai Imbuhan Tetap Perumahan (ITP), Elaun Sara Hidup (COLA), tuntutan penginapan, status jawatan kontrak, gaji maksimum dan peranan ketua jabatan.  Presidennya, Datuk Omar Osman, berkata sebagai contoh CUEPACS mencadangkan supaya COLA diselaraskan kepada RM300, manakala ITP pula ditingkatkan daripada RM180 kepada RM450 berdasarkan kos hidup yang semakin meningkat dari semasa ke semasa. 

Omar berkata, mengenai tuntutan penginapan pula, pihaknya berharap ia akan ditingkatkan kepada RM200 berbanding RM120 ketika ini, kerana kebanyakan hotel sudah menaikkan harga. 

“Jumaat lalu, beliau (Ali) mengumumkan lebih 80 jenis elaun penjawat awam akan dikaji semula dan memandangkan kepemimpinan tertinggi CUEPACS mengadakan pertemuan bersamanya esok (hari ini), maka kita akan turut mengemukakan beberapa cadangan untuk dipertimbangkan kerajaan. 

“Kesediaan kerajaan untuk mengkaji semula perkara (elaun) itu, menunjukkan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak tidak pernah melupakan soal kebajikan penjawat awam,” katanya kepada BH, semalam. 

Tujuan lebih 80 jenis elaun penjawat awam termasuk elaun sara hidup dikaji semula bagi melihat kesamarataan, kesaksamaan dan kemunasabahannya sebelum diumumkan Perdana Menteri. Omar berkata, selain itu CUEPACS juga akan membincangkan secara terperinci mengenai penjawat awam yang sudah mencapai tangga gaji maksimum serta kadar kenaikan (gaji) yang bakal diperoleh mereka. 

“Sebelum ini dimaklumkan bahawa mereka mungkin menerima kenaikan antara dua hingga lima peratus, bagaimanapun ia hanya membabitkan kakitangan awam yang mempunyai prestasi cemerlang serta mencatat markah 80 dan ke atas dalam Laporan Nilaian Prestasi Tahunan (LNPT). 

“CUEPACS berharap kenaikan itu membabitkan semua kakitangan daripada kumpulan terbabit yang turut menyumbang kepada perkhidmatan awam. Kita juga akan berbincang mengenai peranan segelintir ketua jabatan yang kadang-kala menimbulkan rasa tidak puas hati dalam kalangan pekerja,” katanya.

Berita Harian

Pope Benedict XVI Resign at the end of Feb 2013

Rome (CNN) -- The spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI, surprised the world Monday by saying will resign at the end of the month "because of advanced age." It's the first time a pope has resigned in nearly 600 years.

"Strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me," the pope said, according to the Vatican.

After Benedict's resignation becomes effective on February 28, cardinals will meet to choose a new leader for the church. Pope explains why he's resigning Pope Benedict to resign 2005: Pope Benedict XVI gives first Mass "Before Easter, we will have the new pope," the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said at a news conference. The decision was not impulsive, he said.

"It's not a decision he has just improvised," Lombardi said. "It's a decision he has pondered over." After his resignation, Benedict, 85, will probably retire to a monastery and devote himself to a life of reflection and prayer, he said. Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said the decision "shocked and surprised everyone." "Yet, on reflection, I am sure that many will recognize it to be a decision of great courage and characteristic clarity of mind and action," he said.

Benedict -- born Joseph Ratzinger -- will not be involved in choosing a new pope or in guiding the church after his resignation, Lombardi said. Benedict was elected pope in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II, the third-longest-serving leader of the Catholic Church. He has served during a time in which the church is declining in his native Europe but expanding in Africa and Latin America.

His papacy also has been marked with a series of scandals and controversies, including hundreds of new allegations of sexual abuse by priests. Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927, in Marktl Am Inn, Bavaria, a heavily Catholic region of Germany. He spent his adolescent years in Traunstein, near the Austrian border, during the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler.

Ratzinger wrote in his memoirs that school officials enrolled him in the Hitler Youth movement against his will  in 1941, when he was 14. He said he was allowed to leave the organization because he was studying for the priesthood, but was drafted into the army in 1943. He served with an anti-aircraft unit until he deserted in the waning days of WW II.

After the war, he resumed his theological studies and was ordained in 1951. He received his doctorate in theology two years later and taught dogma and theology at German universities for several years. In 1962, he served as a consultant during the pivotal Vatican II council to Cardinal Frings, a reformer who was the archbishop of Cologne, Germany.

As a young priest, Ratzinger was on the progressive side of theological debates, but began to shift right after the student revolutions of 1968, CNN Vatican analyst John Allen Jr. said. In his book "Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith," Allen says Ratzinger is a shy and gentle person whose former students spoke of him as a well-prepared and caring professor.

Pope Paul VI named him archbishop of Munich in 1977 and promoted him to cardinal the next month. Ratzinger served as archbishop of Munich until 1981, when he was nominated by John Paul II to be the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a position he held until his election as pope.

He became dean of the College of Cardinals in November 2002 and in that role called the cardinals to Rome for the conclave that elected him the 265th pope. In his initial appearance as pope, he told the crowd in St. Peter's Square that he would serve as "a simple and humble worker in the vineyards of the Lord." He is the sixth German to serve as pope and the first since the 11th century.

The last pope to resign was Gregory XII in 1415. He did so to end a civil war within the church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.

CNN's Chelsea J. Carter, Richard Allen Greene, Holly Yan and Michael Pearson contributed to this report.

How to read other people minds.

Some scientists will say that it is impossible to read minds. They will also tell you that you can read body language, or use empathy, or that you even have neurons that help you make educated guesses on what a person might be thinking or feeling. Perhaps there really is nothing mystical about the power to read minds. Perhaps it is simply human intuition based on observation and educated guesses after all, but that doesn't make it any less useful an ability to learn. Read your opponent mind before you can take him/her down and beat your opponent to the ground.

Sources: How to Read People's Minds | eHow.com

Instructions

1. Learn body language. How a person moves, holds their hands, even what their eyes are doing are very telling about what is going on inside of their head. For example, pupils tend to grow larger when you are interested in or excited about something. If you are talking to someone and making eye contact, finding their pupils are large and round, chances are they are not feigning interest in the conversations. Someone who is fidgety or biting their nails is likely nervous. Someone who folds their arms across their chest when they are not cold is probably trying to put a barrier between you and themselves, or if they draw themselves inward, with their shoulders hunched, there is probably something they don’t want you to know. There are many variables. Large pupils can also mean they’ve recently had their eyes dilated, and fidgeting could be the result of the recent consumption of a large caffeinated beverage.

2. Learn to mentally put yourself in another’s place. Scientists have recently discovered that your brain has neurons that fire when you watch someone do something the same as if we had done the action ourselves. They have dubbed these “mirror neurons,” and they explain our ability to have empathy. When you are able to open yourself to understanding how other people are feeling, you are able to figure out reasons and anticipate future actions, reactions, even thoughts.

3. Know that if you do believe that there is some kind of undiscovered energy that allows for a psychic connection between people, you can try to tap into this energy and use extrasensory perception to read someone’s mind. This doesn’t mean you’ll literally be able to read their mind like a book, or that you will hear their thoughts like a radio broadcast. Instead, you will receive inexplicable impressions, feelings, perhaps even images or words will pop into your head.

4. Take up meditation. Meditation helps to discipline the mind so that you can alter your state of consciousness at will. Psychics are most receptive to impressions when they are able to slip into the Alpha state, a state of relaxed awareness, somewhere between sleeping and full alertness. If you have ever found yourself “zoning out” in front of the television, or while riding in a car or doing a monotonous chore, you have experienced the alpha state. Learning to meditate can help you purposely put your brain in the alpha state, where you will be more successful in reading people and receiving impressions.

5. Practice and combine all of these steps. You will soon find yourself able to intuit the things going through another person’s mind, even if it is contrary to what they are actually saying. Whether it is a paranormal ability, or plain old observation and deduction, it certainly is a skill worth learning.

Read more: How to Read People's Minds | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4507141_read-people_s-minds.html#ixzz2KaXaEVMR

Gong Xi Fatt Choi 2013

To all  my fellow Chinese friends residing here at Tamparuli, Kiulu and Tuaran, Happy Chinese New Year and have a prosperous life through out the year of a Snake. For safety, do not drinks too much alcohol and drive safely. God Bless.... Harry George and family's. 

Feng Sui For 2013 - Year of a Snake.

2013 is the Year of the Water Snake. It starts on February 10, 2013.

For the traditional feng shui practitioners and enthusiasts it is also the time to adjust the annual feng shui cures, you are correct. Find out all about the annual stars, both beneficial feng shui stars, as well as the challenging ones for the current year and adjust the feng shui cures in your home decor several days before the Chinese New Year. 

How can you best celebrate the Chinese New Year? It is always helpful to clean your home thoroughly, as well as use some space clearing to assure the feng shui energy in your home is clear and fresh. Be sure to do all the cleaning before the New Year's Day and refrain from cleaning in the first few days of the New Year, as this is considered bad luck. 

Traditionally, here are the main elements of the Chinese New Year celebration:

HOME DECOR. After thoroughly cleansing the home, Chinese people will decorate it with auspicious red color decor items carrying golden inscriptions with the symbols of Happiness, Longevity, Prosperity, etc. Various flowers, such as Chrysanthemum, Lucky Bamboo, Plum Blossoms and others are used in the Chinese New Year home decor according to the specific meaning of each flower. 

You will also see the mystic knot symbol used in numerous decor items, as well as images of many ancient gods venerated in Chinese culture, such as Guan Yu, the God of War and Justice, the Jade Emperor, as well as the very popular Kitchen God. 

Basically, all the efforts are directed towards creating clean and harmonious energy in your home in order to welcome the blessings of the New Year.

WHAT TO WEAR. Most Chinese people will also wear new clothes for the New Year celebration to honour the birth of fresh, new energy. Many will also wear clothing in specific colors to win the favors of the ruling zodiac sign/animal of the New Year. 

How do you know what colors to wear for the celebration? It's easy. 

Find out the feng shui element of the year. 

2013 is the Water element year.

Choose colours that express this element.

Water element colours are blue and black. You can also use Metal element colours - white and gray - as Metal nourishes Water in the cycle of 5 feng shui elements.

Of course, the auspiciousness of red and gold colours are always welcomed at the Chinese New Year celebration and can be incorporated as accessories or clothing details.

FOOD. The big dinner is sure an important part of this beautiful celebration, and there is a variety of traditional dishes that are prepared specifically for the Chinese New Year. Many of these dishes are served because of their meaning and association with specific energies, as well as on specific days of this long celebration. 

For example "fish" in Cantonese sounds like "abundance", so there is always a fish dish at the Chinese New Year celebration. The uncut noodles symbolize long life, while the many sweet dishes are expressions of hope for sweetness in the New Year. You can look up the recipes for some of the most popular Chinese New Year dishes, such as:

Steamed Whole Fish

Longevity Noodles

Buddha's Delight: Jai Vegetarian Dish

Jiaozi - Chinese Dumplings

The mandarin oranges are a must at the Chinese New Year table because they are a symbol of good luck, also called golden luck.

SOCIAL CUSTOMS. The morning after the New Year's day many traditional red envelopes with a bit of money in them are given to children and friends. This symbolises a helping hand from the older generation to the younger one, as well as wishes for prosperity and financial well-being. Small gifts are also exchanged between family members and friends. 

You might be familiar with the lion dance, which is often performed during the Chinese New Year in both businesses, as well as some homes. The meaning of the lion dance is to evict and neutralize all negative energy from the previous year. The firecrackers during this celebration have the same purpose of evicting the evil spirits. 

Traditionally, the Chinese New Year celebration lasts for 15 days with the festival of Lanterns being the culmination of this big holiday. This is the day when numerous candles are lit on the streets of Chinese communities to symbolize the coming of a fresh new light of the New Year. The beautiful sight of many red paper lanterns with a gentle flickering of fire in them is a welcoming symbol of the hopes and wishes for a beneficial New Year.

As you see, the Chinese New Year is a very beautiful celebration rooted in centuries of traditions with very specific symbolic meaning. You can either use the Chinese symbolism of the elements that most appeal to you, or create your own way of celebrating and welcoming the energy of a New Year. 

What matters the most is that you genuinely celebrate a New Year, be it in a traditional Chinese way or not. Being genuine and sincere always wins the favor of Gods!

Sources: http://fengshui.about.com

Happy Chinese New Year to my friends and relatives. 

Jessey George and Ng Honey
Laura Dolusim and Ah Loong Family's
Solumi and Jimmy Voon Family's
Hillary S. Manson and Family's
Desmond Sim and Family's
Thonny Chee
Yap Chee Lung
Wong Pai Men
Zykiel Leong
Zyrody Leong
Vun Keat Ming
Tan Boon Tai
Tan Men Chong
Jackson Golubi
Malau..
Ah Seng.. 
Liew Vun Fui
Mark Voon Jimmy
Backer Voon Jimmy
Nytelie Yukin and Family's
Audrey and Family's
Grace Chang Sim Vui
Alex Tsui
Ng Hock Tee
Mdm Christina Joan Luan and Familys
Marcellus Majiken

For those friends which not included, sorry and Gong Xi Fatt Choi... Qi Nian Quai Le.

Cleanest Polls For Sabah.

Election Commission (EC) Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said Wednesday that the country presently has the "cleanest electoral roll because the Commission is tidying it up on a daily basis."

This includes Sabah's, although certain testimonies heard in the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) investigating the illegal immigrant issue in Sabah may have suggested otherwise.

The election this time around may be hot' and challenging, he said, but it would definitely not be the dirtiest.

He added that the list of voters in the current rolls are eligible Malaysian citizens whose identities have been verified by the National Registration Department.

The EC does 'cleaning up' of the electoral roll everyday with assistance from the relevant authorities, especially the National Registration Department (NRD)," he said, after presenting appointment letters to three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who were made domestic observers for the 13th general election in Sabah and Labuan in a ceremony at the Magellan, Wednesday.

Abdul Aziz said observers need to abide by EC rules and are given a month to recruit their volunteers.

The EC will spend RM52 million to run the 13th general election in Sabah and Labuan. It is far less than the RM78m it would be spending in Sarawak despite the State only holding a parliamentary election.

Overall, RM400m has been allocated for the GE 13.

Meanwhile, Abdul Aziz said the NRD is the authority that determines whether an individual is a Malaysian or not, as well as whether the person was still alive.

Apart from the NRD, he said they also work with the Prisons Department on the criminal record of individuals as well as the Health Department for instances of unsound minds.

"So what I mean is that the present electoral roll the EC has containing 13.3 million voters up until December last year, is clean.

Firstly, because they are all citizens of this country.

And when I said this I mean that they are registered with the EC using identification documents already authenticated by the NRD," he said.

Also they are all aged 21 and above and, thirdly, they are still alive.

"And sometimes it is the electorates themselves who notified us to do correction like of their names, locality and so on.

Because it is only them and nobody else who can do amendments on their respective personal particulars," he said. This is besides the many improvements made to prevent cheating like the use of indelible ink and so on.

"So based on all these improvement made definitely the 13th general election will not be the dirtiest É the 13th general election may probably be the most challenging one, but not the dirtiest," he said.

Abdul Aziz said what happened in Sabah in the 1990 election is also coming together under the ongoing RCI hearing, adding four of the EC senior officials including the Sabah EC Director have also been called to testify before the RCI panel.

"But whatever it is, the present electoral roll we have is clean, and I guarantee this," he said, assuring the EC will comply with whatever recommendations the RCI panel may come up with which concern it.

Meanwhile, the three NGOs are Malaysian History Association Sabah branch, which was represented by its honorary secretary Sharifah Seri Lailah Tuanku Sh. Ahmad to receive the appointment letter, Federation of Chinese Association Sabah (FCAS) by its acting president Datuk Goh Tian Chuan and Sabah Youth Council, by its President Kevin T.P Lim.

The EC statistics showed that 969,497 registered voters in Sabah and 24,268 in Labuan are eligible to cast their votes in the election.

The new list of registered voters would only be gazetted at the end of this month.

Of the figure, for Sabah 951,506 are ordinary voters while 17,939 and 52 voters are categorised as postal voters and those who cast their votes at Malaysian embassies overseas, respectively.

In Labuan, there are 22,763 ordinary voters and 1,710 postal voters, while those to cast vote overseas, five.

Those present at the event also had a chance to watch the new theme song for the 13th general election which featured hip-hop group, One Nation Emcee.

Sources: Daily Express Sabah