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No. 4727 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Tuesday
March 31, 2009
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China

‘No more hardcore linked to

cyber spy
network

poor in Penang’
by Himanshu Bhatt
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
GEORGE TOWN: Penang has become
the first state in the country to eradicate
hardcore poverty by arranging financial
aid and economic activity for all 726 house-
holds registered under the hardcore poor
category.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said
the initiative was a success due in part to
support from the private sector and social
groups. “Even though it is difficult, I am
more willing to have the state become
bankrupt to help the poor and be burdened
than to be bankrupted by corruption,” he
said at Dewan Sri Pinang here.
The implementation mechanism for
the programme, overseen by the Welfare
Department, consists mainly of providing
affected families with funds to ensure their
income is topped up such that they get at
least RM500 a month.
The department has also helped some
individuals set up bank accounts to receive
the funds.
BERNAMPIX
Lim said checking the state’s poverty
rate was one of the first things that he had
given priority to after Pakatan Rakyat took
control of the government in March last
year.
The state took a year to conduct an
exhaustive survey, with the help of socio-
economic specialists from Universiti Sains
Malaysia, to determine the exact number
of hardcore poor.
Of the total number, 150 were on the
island’s southwest and 41 in the northeast,
48 in south Seberang Perai, 186 in central
Seberang Perai and 303 in its north.
The figures are updated every three
months, Lim said. The state was now
planning to also eradicate general poverty
– families with income below RM700 a
month.
Lim said a total of RM2.2 million had
been collected from the private sector,
including philanthropists and charitable
businesses, under an initiative called
“Partners Against Poverty”.
He also asked what had happened to a
reported RM1.1 million allocation under
LONDON: The Chinese govern-
ment is under pressure to answer
allegations that it is operating a
huge cyber spy network that
has hacked into classified files in
computers in 103 countries and
monitored secret correspond-
ence sent by the office of the
Dalai Lama.
Researchers in Britain and
Canada revealed over the
the Rural and Regional Development weekend the existence of the
Ministry to help 22 hardcore poor families so-called GhostNet network that
in Penang. Even has been gathering information
Penang health, welfare, caring society from governments and private
and environment committee chairman though organisations.
Phee Boon Poh rapped Women, Family it is difficult, Some researchers said it
and Community Development Minister I am more could not be proved conclusively
Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen for rejecting the that the Chinese government was
state’s plea for funding to build a housing willing behind the network but others
complex for about 300 homeless people. to have directly accused the authorities
Ng reportedly said the state should fund the state in Beijing.
the complex as the project was its own Experts said the vast scale
initiative. become of the network was unsettling.
“I was shocked to hear her response,” bankrupt The researchers found that the
Phee said, adding that the 4.9ha for the to help the network had spied on comput-
complex in south Seberang Perai was ers belonging to governments
transferred to the federal government by poor and be in Europe and South Asia, using
the state. burdened software so advanced it could
“If you give us the funds, we can build than to be turn on the camera and audio-
houses for 300 families and a place where recording functions of an infected
they can be trained and equipped with bankrupted computer, allowing those watch-
working skills.” by ing to see and hear what was
He said the state was willing to furnish corruption.” happening in a room.
Ng with details about the land and the About 1,300 computers were
project and take her on a tour of the site if – Lim Guan Eng
found to have been compromised.
she did not have the information. They belonged to the foreign min-
istries of Iran, Bangladesh, Latvia,

Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei,

Barbados and Bhutan. Hacked
systems were also found in the
embassies of India, South Korea,
Indonesia, Romania, Thailand,
Taiwan and Pakistan.
Some of the most extensive
evidence uncovered related to
BN candidate the computers used by the office
of the Dalai Lama and the exiled
distributes Tibetan government, which is
fliers while based in the Indian Himalayan
town of Dharamsala.
jogging ... The office of the Dalai Lama
initially contacted the research-
BARISAN Nasional ers for help amid fears about its
(BN) candidate for the computers. After investigating the
Bukit Selambau state office’s computers, the research-
by-election Datuk S. ers discovered evidence of a
Ganesan yesterday began much broader spy network.
his campaign by jogging “We uncovered real-time
6km while distributing evidence of malware that had
fliers to introduce himself penetrated Tibetan computer
to the voters in the systems, extracting sensitive
Cinta Sayang housing documents from the private of-
area in Sungai Petani. fice of the Dalai Lama,” said Greg
Accompanied by wife Walton, a researcher based at the
R. Vatsala, he started University of Toronto.
jogging at 7am and No one from the Dalai Lama’s
looked spirited to start office was available for comment
the first day of campaign but researchers said the spying
to garner support from had already affected the operation
the voters, especially the of the exiled government; after
early-risers. the Dalai Lama’s office emailed
Ganesan is among an invitation to a foreign diplomat
15 candidates standing to visit, the Chinese government
in the April 7 Bukit contacted the diplomat and tried
Selambau by-election to persuade them not to go.
after the incumbent, V. Tibetan groups said the rev-
Arumugam, vacated the elations did not surprise them.
seat on Feb 8. – The Independent