Christina Liew Kalah RM557,641,716.29

Christina, seorang peguam dan merupakan Timbalan Pengerusi PKR Sabah, telah didapati bersalah kerana terlibat memberi nasihat, berkonspirasi dan mendalangi rakan sekongkolnya yang merupakan defendan pertama, dikenali dengan nama Siti.

Siti adalah kakitangan Christina Liew sendiri bersama-sama seorang lelaki bernama Samsuri Baharuddin yang menjadi peguam kepada 819 orang pemilik kebun kecil untuk memujuk mereka menjual tanah seluas 12,000 ekar.

Skim yang melibatkan Christina Liew itu turut membabitkan pekerja-pekerjanya sendiri sebagai pembeli untuk membeli setiap bidang tanah pekebun kecil pada harta RM45,000 untuk setiap lot yang berkeluasan 15 ekar. Dengan kata lain, berharga RM3,000 bagi setiap ekar atau 0.69 sen bagi setiap kaki persegi untuk tanah yang telah dibangunkan dan ditanam dengan kelapa sawit.

Mahkamah telah mendapati, Christina menggunakan kakitangannya untuk bertindak sebagai pembeli tanah-tanah berkenaan manakala perjanjian jual dan beli yang ditandatangani oleh pekebun-pekebun kecil tersebut sekitar tahun 2005 dan 2006 disediakan sendiri oleh Christina Liew walaupun peguam mereka adalah Samsuri Baharudin. Jual beli tanah tersebut telah menyebabkan 819 orang pemilik tanah itu terdedah kepada kesalahan melanggar perjanjian dengan syarikat Kerajaan Negeri Sabah bagi pemilikan tanah berkenaan.

Laporan-laporan berita turut menyatakan, kebanyakan daripada pemilik tanah tersebut telah membuat laporan polis ke atas Christina Liew dan dua orang lagi defendan apabila mereka dipaksa menandatangani surat perjanjian atau menurunkan cop ibu jari pada kertas kosong.

Sejarah tanah dalam kes ini adalah seperti berikut:

Kerajaan Negeri Sabah pada tahun 1980 telah mewujudkan skim pemilik tanah Bagahak bertujuan untuk membasmi kemiskinan dan membolehkan golongan miskin memiliki tanah serta membangunkannya. Di bawah skim tersebut, setiap lot tanah seluas 15 ekar diagih-agihkan secara percuma kepada setiap pemilik.

Salah satu daripada syarat yang terkandung dalam skim tersebut ialah setiap orang pemilik perlu membangunkan tanah-tanah mereka sebelum Januari 1987. Sekiranya mereka gagal, Kerajaan Negeri mempunyai hak untuk merampas tanah tersebut dan melantik mana-mana agensi untuk membangunkannya.

Memandangkan kebanyakan pemilik tanah berkenaan gagal memenuhi syarat, Kerajaan Negeri pada tahun 1993 telah melantik Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB) untuk membangunkan tanah-tanah tersebut dengan penanaman kelapa sawit.

Perjanjian pembangunan turut ditandatangani antara SLDB dengan Pemilik Kecil Bagahak pada tahun 1995, di mana SLDB akan membangunkan tanah-tanah tersebut menggunakan wang mereka sendiri yang kemudian ditukarkan sebagai pinjaman kepada pemilik-pemilik tanah yang perlu dibayar dalam tempoh 10 tahun.

SLDB telah membelanjakan sejumlah RM47,037,758 untuk membangunkan tanah-tanah tersebut.

Untuk tidak membebankan pemilik tanah dengan bayaran pinjaman, Kerajaan Negeri Sabah pada tahun 1997 telah memutuskan satu bentuk kerjasama diwujudkan antara pemilik-pemilik tanah dengan Borneo Samudera Sdn. Bhd, anak syarikat kepada syarikat milik Kerajaan Negeri, Sawit Kinabalu.

Di bawah perjanjian tersebut, 11,000 ekar tanah yang telah disuntik ke dalam syarikat perkongsian dan pemilik-pemilik tanh telah diberikan saham dalam syarikat. Menerusi kaedah ini, pinjaman pemilik-pemilik tanah kepada SLDB akan diselesaikan secara penuh oleh syarikat perkongsian dan kerjasama. Perjanjian tersebut telah ditandatangani pada 9 Julai 1998.

Syarikat perkongsian itu telah membayar wang dividen pendahuluan kepada pemilik-pemilik tanah dari tahun 2000 sehingga 2013 yang berjumlah RM49,150 setiap orang.

Jumlah ini jauh lebih tinggi berbanding harga yang dibayar bagi setiap lot oleh pembli yang juga merupakan kakitangan di pejabat guaman ADUN Api-Api.

Mahkamah Tinggi Tawau, Hakim Chew dalam penghakimannya pada 30 September telah mendapati Christina Liew dan dua rakan subahatnya bersalah, selain diarahkan membayar ganti rugi sebanyak RM557,641,716.29.

Pada 28 Oktober 2014, notis rayuan untuk mengenepikan hukuman telah difailkan oleh Christina Liew.

Pelik tak?

Tidak ada satu pun tentang kes ini disebut-sebut oleh PKR sebaliknya mereka sangat sibuk dengan isu-isu lain yang digembar-gemburkan, seolah-olah PKR cuba menutup kejalangan Christina Liew! 

Dipetik daripada http://siemens-melayumaju.blogspot.my/2015/10/timbalan-pengerusi-pkr-sabah-christina.html

Dr Mahathir Mohamad: Kerajaan yang lemah tidak baik bagi negara berbilang kaum seperti Malaysia

Dr Mahathir Mohamad: Kerajaan yang lemah tidak baik bagi negara berbilang kaum seperti Malaysia

Soft skills the way to qualify the future employee

Hiring staff based on just technical acumen only covers half the basesWhen managers prepare to hire new IT staff, they frequently concentrate on the "hard" skills essential to perform the work, such as five years of experience with Microsoft SQL Server, JavaScript expertise or in-depth knowledge of network security strategies.

Yet as much attention -- if not more -- should be paid to the "soft" skills that are less easy to quantify when evaluating candidates.

Often, the key to a successful hire is how well the individual fits in with the team and company. The way someone interacts with others, explains technical information and relates to broader business issues, for instance, can make all the difference in his or her effectiveness on the job.
What follows are some of the "ideal" qualities you should look for when recruiting IT staff and tips for assessing these abilities during the screening process: Communication Skills

Few IT professionals work entirely on their own. Rather, most are active participants in designing, implementing, managing and supporting technology projects, which means they frequently interact with other employees, clients and outside vendors.

As a result, strong written and verbal communication skills are critical to successfully completing their responsibilities.

A candidate's cover letter and resume can give you an idea of his or her writing abilities. Watch for typos, grammatical errors and misspellings, as these can indicate problems that could arise in documents at work.

To assess verbal skills during interviews, try to use open-ended questions that require detailed explanation, such as, "Describe a situation which you …" or, "Can you explain … ."
Business Acumen

The role technology plays in a company's success is growing, so those driving and supporting IT must understand its role within the organization as a whole.

IT professionals don't need to be experts in healthcare, for instance, but they should know how technology can benefit your firm's dealings in that industry and contribute to business growth.
These questions that can help you gauge business knowledge during an interview include:
What do you think your current/past company could do to be more successful?
Have you ever prepared a budget? If so, what steps did you take in the process?
What do you know about our firm's industry?

Interpersonal Skills

Diplomacy and tact are critical when working on teams to complete technology and business initiatives. IT professionals must be able to build successful relationships with managers and colleagues throughout the organization as well as understand the unique requirements of each end-user group.

Interview questions that can help you evaluate interpersonal skills include:
How would your current/previous coworkers describe you?

Who was your best boss ever and why? Who was the worst, and looking back, what could you have done to make that relationship better?

How do you handle conflict? Can you give me an example of how you dealt with a workplace conflict in the past?

Bottom-Line Success

Technology professionals with a history of accomplishments at work are likely to make lasting contributions in future positions, so be sure to ask candidates about the greatest achievements in their previous jobs and throughout their entire careers.

Some people may equate success with receiving a promotion or special award, while the actual process of setting objectives and accomplishing goals motivates others. Compare responses to how your best employees might answer.

Take a close look at your hiring criteria and make sure you have noted all of the qualities essential to perform the job effectively. By considering not only technical expertise but also a balance of soft skills, you'll find you're making better additions to your IT team.

Insurance is way your family and the love ones tide through when something happens to you

Insurance is way your family and the love ones tide through when something happens to you
Life is full of uncertainties and you never know when misfortune can happen. It seems that in Advantage Insurance life understand the importance of protecting your family during your life and right after you die.

"Wealth protection" is equally important as "wealth creation" That's what the company all about to provide information and services with the objective to offer you insurance options that are wide-ranging, easy-to-understand and effective. So, whether you are looking to insure your home and its contents or plan for life insurance, you can choose from its wide range of solutions to fulfill all your protection needs.

During your life you will need to protect your property, health and make adequate provision for your family, in case something unfortunate was to happen to you. Your protection needs will alter during the course of your life - as your circumstances change. If you already know what you need, please find out from their range of Navigator Life products on the link. Alternatively, select from the options in their products and services tab that is most relevant to you to find out how they may be able to help you.

Visit the following links for information about insurance products by

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Your softskills ability will grow your business through words of mouth

Marketing Herndon & Merry to, the nationwide customer base it would need to support the new business model was Merry's next challenge. "We realized that the only way we were going to get a bigger piece of the pie was to grow the pie so, to speak," he says. "We had to get our message out to high end customers in other parts of the country."

To do that, Herndon & Merry has developed a sales system that combines advertising in national magazines that cater to the high end residential and architectural market, direct mail arid a referral network of contractors and satisfied customers that has grown steadily over the years. Much of the company's work is also repeat business.

"Typically, a customer calls in and says they saw our ad somewhere, and we send them our marketing package," Merry says. Those marketing materials are designed not to sell a prospect on a particular item, but rather to sell them on the idea that Herndon & Merry has the capabilities to do whatever it is they want done. One way the company differentiates itself is by emphasizing its design capabilities. "Almost everything we do is custom made. We produce the icing on the cake for the homes our customers are building," Merry explains. The company meets with the customer, discusses design concepts arid draws up a set of plans for the customer's review. The plans are tweaked to reflect the customer's input before they are finalized. Herndon & Merry charges a design fee for that service, but the clientele it deals with is used to paying such fees for service such as interior design work, Merry points out.

Important business lessons can be learned through many experiences in life.

"Creativity is really integral to the process. That's what allows us to beat out the competition," he says. Garden Park Antiques plays a role in that regard as well. It's not unusual for the company to do a driveway gate and a front porch railing through Herndon & Merry, supply a console or a coffee table to the same customer through Garden Park Antiques, then step out the back door and do a pool fence, Merry says. "The two businesses are married together and let us cover several different categories on the same job."

As Herndon & Merry's story illustrates, marketing should focus on a business's strengths and ability to meet individual customers' needs, not just products and services.

NO GUARANTEES THAT WE CAN REPLICATE THE SUCCESS IN THE PAST

Merry learned an important lesson from his experience, one that every business owner and aspiring business owner should take to heart: Yesterday's success doesn't guarantee tomorrow's. Business owners must be prepared to change, as their markets change even when that means making tough emotional decisions.

Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Merry got the entrepreneurial bug early. "No doubt about it, even from a very young age I looked at different ways to make money, and I always saw myself in the position of an owner and creator," he says.

After college, however, Merry chose not to go to work for Herndon & Merry. Like most young people, he says, he wanted to make it on his own. He admits that the prospect of spending all his time with family members was not particularly appealing, and he had reservations about how "professionally" the business was being run.

"I had gone to college, and I thought I needed to be in the world of big business," Merry says. He got a job with a big steel warehousing firm that supplied raw materials to companies just like Herndon & Merry. He found being on the supply side of the business a very useful experience.

"I saw a lot of different management styles there, since it was a big company," he says. "I got to see some good selling techniques, and I learned a lot about how a corporation works. I was able to draw on those things when I came to my current position."

Merry also got married and started a family during that period, an experience that has also been useful to him as a manager. "It has helped me learn about patience and about people," he says. Merry has come to accept the fact that "people aren't perfect, as much as we might want them to be sometimes." That has helped him learn to delegate and to make more realistic assessments about what is and is not acceptable.


Learning to delegate and to make more realistic assessments is important in business

As Merry discovered, acquiring business and management skills is a lifetime proposition. What you learn today from many different sources can prove to be useful later.

By the beginning of the 1990's, Herndon & Merry was struggling, a victim of recession and an obsolescent product line. The Merry family was looking to bring some managerial experience into the firm, and at the same time, Bill Merry, Jr. was about ready for a change. The chance to help engineer a turnaround at Herndon & Merry and give something back to his family had a lot of appeal to Merry.

With Bill Merry, Jr., now at the helm, the company made the hard decision to Abandon. its roots in carports metal sheds and other small projects and focus all its resources on driveway gates and more ambitious ornamental and architectural metalwork.
More attention was also given to Garden Park Antiques, a related business venture started by Merry's brother Keith that deals in architectural and ironwork antiques, decorative pieces and furniture. The synergy between the two businesses is strong, since both target the same upper-income market of high-end residential homeowners.

Softskills is crucial in business changing

"We came to the decision that we needed to stop selling some of those products."

"We had to take a hard look at what we were doing. That meant looking at how many of each product we were selling, what the cost was to make those products, the time and effort involved and the profitability or lack of it," Merry says. "We came to the decision that we needed to stop selling some of those products."

Looking at the numbers, the wisdom of that decision was undeniable. Still, emotionally, it was a tough one to make. "Some of those products had put food on my family's table for years. They helped get me through college," Merry recalls. "Sometimes, you become emotionally attached to things that you really shouldn't be doing anymore. But letting that go freed us up to focus on other projects where the long term dollars and profitability were."