Sunday, May 22, 2016

Students May Spend Last Days In University Learning To Steer Clear Of Graft

All students may spend their finals days in university learning to steer clear of corruption before entering the workforce.

Under a programme planned for all higher education institutions, students will be introduced to real-world scenarios they could face during their careers.

The awareness programme is among mea­sures being mooted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in collaboration with both the Education and Higher Education ministries.

MACC director of strategic communications Abdul Samat Kasah said the introduction of anti-corruption modules for certain courses, like finance or engineering, where students are more likely to face such challenges, was also in the pipeline.

“These modules will be benchmarked against what is being done in other countries,” he told The Star.

He pointed out that certain universities including Sheffield in Britain had a compulsory professionalism in engineering subject for final year students.

The subject incorporated code of ethics, good governance and the law on bribery.
Abdul Samat said the subject included course work, examinations and one hour of class for a whole semester.

The University of Sheffield engineering graduate school also has a Professional Beha­viour and Ethical Conduct module.

Abdul Samat said the move was part of measures to curb corruption in society.

He said MACC was working with Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris to come up with an anti-corruption teaching manual to help tea­chers drive home the message.

“The manual is almost ready and will be sent to the Education Ministry for approval,” he said.

A more subtle approach is being taken to instil a firm anti-corruption foundation among students at the primary level.

Abdul Samat said MACC, together with the Education Ministry’s textbook division, were improving textbooks to drive home the message wherever possible.

“This included the new textbooks for moral, language and religious studies,” he said.

The move has been welcomed by integrity advocates. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low said teaching students in the classroom could only go so far.

“It’s the parents who have to set an example. Teaching a generation to be intolerant of bribes has to start from the home,” he said.

Low claimed that modern parenting me­­thods were “monetising” children and making them associate success with material gains.

Transparency International Malaysia presi­dent Datuk Akhbar Satar called on the MACC to do the same in kindergartens.

He said while it remained to be seen how effective the anti-corruption modules would be in school, it would be easier to drum the message of integrity into younger children.

“They must be moulded. It’s a good move, but we will have to see what they do,” he said, citing Japan and Sweden as countries where kindergarten children were taught integrity.

Laporan PAC Negeri Pulau Pinang Dicadang Dijadikan Dokumen Tatapan Umum


Pengarah Komunikasi Strategik Barisan Nasional Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan mencadangkan Laporan Jawatankuasa Kira-Kira Wang Negeri Pulau Pinang dijadikan sebagai dokumen bagi tatapan umum.

Dalam kenyataan semalamm  beliau berkata ini susulan perbincangan hangat pada sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri Pulau Pinang minggu lalu telah mendedahkan bahawa laporan Jawatankuasa Kira-Kira Wang Negeri itu telah dua kali ditangguhkan.

"Ini membuktikan bahawa jawapan yang benar masih tidak lengkap," katanya.

Dalam pada itu, beliau menghargai jemputan kerajaan DAP Pulau Pinang bagi beliau melihat sendiri dokumen projek tiga jalan utama dan terowong dasar laut di negeri itu pada 12 Mei lalu.

Abdul Rahman yang juga Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan bagaimanapun menolak jemputan tersebut kerana baginya dalam keadaan ini ia tidak memberi banyak kelebihan.

"Sedikit sahaja matlamat akan tercapai apabila kertas ini ditunjukkan kepada saya sahaja, katanya. Beliau berkata kerajaan Pulau Pinang sepatutnya menawarkan tawaran yang sama kepada yang lain terutamanya mereka yang berada di Pulau Pinang.

Abdul Rahman berkata antara pihak tersebut adalah Pusat Memerangi Rasuah dan Kronisme (C4) serta pertubuhan bukan kerajaan yang bertapak di Pulau Pinang iaitu Penang Citizen Awareness Chant Group dan Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang.

"Sekurang-kurangnya dua Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) DAP Pulau Pinang dan lima ADUN Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) juga telah menimbulkan persoalan mengenai projek terowong ini.

"Setakat ini, tiada seorang pun daripada mereka telah menerima jawapan yang memuaskan," kata Abdul Rahman.

Rapid Rise Of Cyber Criminals In Malaysia


Director, Institute of Crime and Criminology, HELP University

Cyber crime is a fast-growing and lucrative industry perpetrated by cyber criminals. In fact, there is evidence showing that the total amount lost through cyber crime may have actually exceeded losses due to conventional crimes.

Cyber crime is a term for any illegal activity that uses the Internet and a computer or other electronic devices, including mobile phones and cameras, as its primary means of committing a crime.

Cyber crime includes identity theft, hacking and computer fraud and is a complex area of criminology.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C. reveals that the cost to the global economy from cyber crime in 2015 is likely to be more than US$400bil.

Juniper Research in Britain recently predicted that by 2019, this loss will amount to US$2.1tril, an increase of almost five times the estimated cost of breaches in 2015.

Cyber crime is also emerging as a serious economic concern in Malaysia. CSIS estimates that the cost of cyber crime in Malaysia is 0.18% of GDP or approximately RM215mil per year. Based on statistics provided by Pemandu, Malaysia lost RM179.3mil to cyber crime in 2015.

Cyber crime has surpassed drug trafficking as the most lucrative crime. More than 70% of commercial crime cases are now categorised as cyber crime, according to the Royal Malaysia Police.

According to CyberSecurity Malaysia, the number of cyber crimes in this country has increased at an average of 10,000 cases reported each year, with the highest incidence involving online scams and hacking information systems of organisations.

Other cyber crimes reported include cyber harassment, cyber bullying, denial of service, intrusion, and those that are content related.

In another report released by Telenor Group, Digi.Com Bhd stated that an Internet Scams study showed the top three scams in Malaysia are work from home fraud (30%), Internet auction scams (22%) and online dating scams (20%).

The study found that one in five people has been a victim of both Internet auction and online dating scams, and one in 10 have had their Facebook hacked.

It is not surprising that cyber criminals are attacking and focusing on Malaysia given the high usage of the Internet here.

We are now seeing a breed of cyber criminals who are bolder, harsher and more open about their activities and are looking at getting into the ranks of the world cyber crime professionals.

Cyber criminals have become more sophisticated in their modus operandi and the scale of their activities has increased considerably.

The high-tech banking system, lax student visa regulations and weakness in enforcement have made Malaysia a global hub for cyber crimes.

Another major reason for the growth of cyber crime is the way it preys on the human tendency to seek the easy way to make money or gain profit. Cyber crimes offer the pretext of making quick profits and greedy people will fall prey to it despite the extensive exposure of its dangers by the authorities and cautionary tales from cheated victims.

Usually, a potential cyber criminal activity starts with an Internet promotion or special offer. Not all such offers are false but we must do some background checking before getting into business transactions with strangers on the Internet.

The public should be more careful and not be taken in by Internet promotions hook, line and sinker. The frequent media reports on such crimes should serve as a lesson to society and deter them from being tempted by these scams.

To make matters worse, in many cases the process of dealing with the damage arising from a cyber attack can be costly, time consuming and emotionally exhausting.

The number of active Internet population in this country has now exceeded 21 million, with 18 million being active on social media. While this brings great social and economic benefits to the nation, it is also heralding the more unwelcome trend of cyber crime.