theSun | MONDAY JULY 13 2009 5

news without borders

Cyber danger a worrying trend

by Eva Yeong
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: The problem
of children and youths falling prey
to scams, sexual predators, internet
addiction and cyber bullying is
causing concern among parents
and teachers, who highlighted these
matters at Malaysia’s first Internet
Safety Awareness Seminar held on
Wednesday.
Organised by CyberSecurity
Malaysia in conjunction with Cyber
Security Malaysia SecureAsia@
Kuala Lumpur Conference and Ex-
hibition 2009, the aim of the seminar
was to address issues pertaining to
the safety of children and youth in
the cyber world.
One common challenge brought
up by parents and teachers who
attended the seminar was the dif-
ficulty of keeping their children safe
in the cyber world.
Childnet International CEO
Will Gardner said technology has
become an integral part of a child’s
life and has many positive uses but
it is important to use it safely and
responsibly.
“The internet provides access to
the world, it is like a world library,”
said Gardner. “It is active and inter-
active; gives children a voice, iden-
tity status; endless information and
encourages them to be creative.”
However, it is also addictive
especially with the many attractive
online games and social network-
ing sites such as Facebook and
Friendster, and children are always
Lok ...
luring
students
from
studies
vulnerable due to the connectivity.
It is also away from parental super-
vision, which is an increasing worry
among parents, said Gardner.
Parents and teachers who at-
tended the seminar agreed that it
was difficult to protect their children
as many children and youth are
more technology-savvy than them.
“It is a different age now for
parents, and a challenge especially
if they are cyber-illiterate,” said
Parents Action Group for Education
(PAGE) Malaysia president Datin
Noor Azimah Abd Rahim, who
spoke about internet addiction.
Azimah said internet addiction
is disruptive to daily life as these
young addicts tend to spend less
time on studies and school work.
They also tend to lead sedentary
lifestyles which affect their health
and social skills.
National Union for the Teach-
ing Profession (NUTP) Malaysia
Gardner...
access
to the
world
secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng
claimed the majority of dropouts
from schools in Malaysia was
caused by internet addiction.
Lok also said cyber cafes are
luring students away from their
studies.
“They spend so much time on
online games, downloading mov-
ies, chatting, surfing Facebook and
Youtube that they forgo studies and
have no social skills,” she said.
These students may also be ex-
posed to fraud and deception, inac-
curate information, negative content
such as violence and pornography,
as well as discrimination and abuse
via cyber bullying, she said.
Some of the characteristics of
these students include low self-
esteem, poor language capabilities,
inability to socialise and lack of
basic skills.
“Some of these students can’t get
along with their peers,” said Lok.
Noor
Azimah
... danger
of cyber
addiction
On the flip side, she also pointed
out that some students, especially
from the rural areas, were in danger
of being left behind by the informa-
tion technology revolution.
“Some of these students don’t
know how to use the computer
or internet, because some schools
don’t have enough facilities,” she
said. These students are mostly
from rural areas whose families
cannot afford a computer or internet
connection at home.
“If we want them to keep up with
the rest of the world, we must en-
sure that every student has at least
basic computer skills,” she said.
In the midst of it all, one thing
apparent was the lack of awareness
and knowledge, and the absence of
the authorities.
“This is the beginning of it all. We
will bring up everything we have
learned here today to the ministry
(of education),” said Lok.
What parents and
teachers say
THERE is a common fear among par-
ents concerning the potential risks that
children and youths face in the cyber
world, the most serious being “groom-
ing”. An example of grooming is where
paedophiles target young children in
chat rooms, trick them into revealing
personal details and then kidnap and
sexually assault them.
To combat such threats, parents
at the seminar agreed that it is vital to
have open communication with their
children. Being approachable encour-
ages children to share their worries
with parents instead of relying on
anonymous “friends” on the internet
who may have malicious intent.
Many parents and teachers feel in-
adequate in handling these issues and
want to learn more about the internet,
its potential risks and how to manage
children who face problems. Teachers
are also inundated with work and do
not have enough time to interact with
their students, said Lok.
Where to find help
CYBERSECURITY Malaysia offers a
service for parents who suspect that
their children are at the risk of or are in-
volved in negative internet activity such
as phishing, malware, grooming and
cyber bullying. Known as Cyber999, the
free service investigates reports from
parents and collects digital evidence
such as IP addresses which reveal the
location of the computer used by the
offender.
“We will then advise parents to
lodge a police report with the evidence
we have collected,” said CyberSecurity
Malaysia CEO’s office director Noor
Iskandar Hashim. Reports can be sent
to cyber999@cybersecurity.my.

Wetlands Off and running ... runners

Memorial
foundation ordered in the junior category hit the
road.
talentime
to pay RM3.32m offers
by Llew-Ann Phang RM60,000
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
worth of prizes
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here on PETALING JAYA: RM60,000
Friday ordered the Malaysian Wetlands Foun- worth of prizes are up for grabs
dation (MWF), which was engaged in rehabili- in a singing competition organ-
tating the Paya Indah Wetlands in Dengkil, to ised by Sports Toto Malaysia
pay an architectural firm RM3.32 million in in memory of two Hongkong
damages. singing legends, Leslie Cheung
Judge Datuk Balia Yusof Wahi found the and Anita Mui.
MWF liable for the claims made by K. Perama The “In Memory of Legends
Nathan, the sole proprietor of Nathan Jones – Leslie Cheung & Anita Mui
Architect, for unpaid services, interests on them – Singing Competition” will
and general damages and costs. feature hit songs released by
He ordered MWF to pay liquidated damages the two singers.
of RM3.32 million as stated in the invoices, with Qualifying rounds will be
interest on the amount at 8% annually, but said held in Alor Star Mall, Alor Star
the quantum for damages on the breach of (July 24); Auto City, Penang (July
contract will be ascertained by the High Court 25); Ipoh Parade, Ipoh (Aug 1);
senior registrar. Berjaya Times Square, Kuala
In his judgement, Balia Yusof said MWF Lumpur (Aug 2); Pelangi Mall,
never challenged the 11 invoices sent by Johor Baru (Aug 9); Seremban
Perama Nathan for the work his firm was con- Parade, Seremban (Aug 15);
tracted to do. According to testimonials by three and Berjaya Mega Mall, Kuan-
witnesses during the trial, 65% of the work was tan (Aug 16).
completed at the point of termination, which The finals will be held at Ber-
was Oct 5, 1998. jaya Times Square Boulevard at
“Evidence from the defendant claimed they 7.30pm on Aug 22.
had in fact overpaid the contractors and caused Two grand prize winners
losses. They substantiated this with a special will each take home a trophy,
audit report produced by the Prime Minister’s RM5,000 cash, RM1,500 hotel
Department, which accompanied a letter signed stay package at Berjaya Tioman
by (MWF CEO Dr) Muralee Menon. Beach, Golf & Spa Resort and
“He is one of the main characters of the merchandise worth over
project but he was not present (at the trial),” RM1,000.
Balia Yusof said in his judgement.
“The invoices sent were not challenged and
Kenyans rule in McDonald’s marathon First runner-ups will each
receive a trophy, RM3,000 cash,
instead MWF merely delayed and promised KUALA LUMPUR: Ten Kenyans dominated the top Njuguna was the champion with a time of 40:24s RM480 hotel stay package at
Perama Nathan that they were still finalising five spots in the McDonald’s Olympic Day Run in winning RM1,000, Esther Kabuva Ngungi was in Berjaya Tioman Beach, Golf &
the figure (for payment),” he added. the men and women’s categories from the Dataran second place in 40:48s (RM700) and Luay Kurgat Spa Resort and merchandise
Perama Nathan was represented by counsel Merdeka here yesterday. came in third in 41:17s (RM500). worth over RM850 while third
N. Murugayah and lead counsel James Culas. In the 7km run, Kannedy Kiprod won the first The winners also received medals, certificates of runner-ups will each receive a
Paya Indah Wetlands is a major eco-tourism place in the men’s category with a time of 22 participation and hampers from McDonalds. trophy, RM2,000 cash, RM310
area encompassing a total of 3,100 hectares. minutes 25 seconds to take home a cash prize of In June, Julius Kilimo Kipkorir, also a Kenyan, hotel stay package at Berjaya
On Dec 3, 2008, Perama Nathan filed an RM1,000. The second place went to Sila Senatei in took home US$20,000 (RM70,694) after he finished Times Square Hotel Kuala
amended statement of claims against Malay- 22:30s (RM700) while third was Hillary Logut in the 42km full marathon in 2:17:02 to win the in- Lumpur and merchandise worth
sian Wetlands for terminating the contract and 22:40s (RM500). augural Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009. over RM650.
failing to settle the amount for work done. In the women’s category, Margerat Wangui – Bernama