RM500, pay hike for Sabah civil servants, too

Kota Kinabalu: More than 19,000 State civil service personnel of Grade 54 and below will receive a RM500 special financial assistance that will be paid out before Hari Raya Aidilfitri this month.

Announcing this after chairing the State Cabinet meeting at Wisma Innoprise here, Wednesday, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman (pic) said the move that would also benefit temporary supporting staff would cost the State Government a total of RM9.58 million.

"We hope it will be able to lessen a little bit of the public service personnel's burden for the coming Hari Raya," said Musa.

At the same time, Musa, who is also Finance Minister, said the State Government had agreed to implement salary adjustment for all the 16,255 State civil service personnel under the Malaysia Remuneration System (SSM), effective July 1, 2013.

"This means all civil servants in Sabah will receive two salary increments this year as they will be having their normal annual salary increment and the salary adjustment with a similar amount to their increment," he said.

He said the move emulated the Federal Government's move as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during the 13th Public Service Premier programme to improve the public service salary structure and public service scheme.

Musa said the salary adjustments would cost the State Government about RM24.07 million annually.

He said among the benefits from the double increment was a higher pension for the personnel.

Meanwhile, State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman, who was also on hand at the press conference, expressed gratitude to the State Government for the bonus payout and salary adjustments on behalf of the State civil service personnel.

Resource Development and Information Technology Minister Datuk Siringan Gubat was also at the press conference.

New BlackBerry 7 handsets on the horizon

RIM has announced that it will soon be releasing three new BlackBerry smartphones, namely the Bold 9900, Torch 9810 and Torch 9860.

The Bold 9900 is said to be the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone, measuring only 10.5mm thick. It will offer both a physical keyboard and a 2.8in capacitive touch display.

It will also have built-in support for Near Field Communications (NFC) that enables pairing of devices by simply tapping the phone on an NFC-enabled device.

Other than that it has a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording. Meanwhile, the Torch 9810 will come with a large 3.2in touch display and slide-out keyboard for faster typing.

The other addition to the Torch series, the 9860, has an all-touch design and offers a larger 3.7in touchscreen display.

Both phones feature a 5-megapixel camera with flash and 720p HD video recording.

All three phones will run on RIM's next generation BlackBerry 7 operating system. Enhancements include a faster BlackBerry browser that that the company claims is 40% faster than the previous version.

RIM added that the browser will be HTML 5-optimised for better gaming and video experiences on the Web, as well as better zooming and panning ability for smoother web browsing.

The BlackBerry 7 phones will come pre-loaded with a premium version of Documents To Go, which is a native PDF document viewer, and BlackBerry Protect for backing up personal data.

The phones will also have an updated Social Feeds 2.0 app and a new Facebook app with BlackBerry Messenger integration to make it easier for users to connect with friends in real time. The new BlackBerry smartphones are expected to be available locally later this month.

Ambiga fails to challenge Sarawak ban

Bersih 2.O chairman Datuk S. Ambiga has failed in her bid to get a court order to challenge Sarawak's refusal to allow her entry into the state during its recent elections.

High Court (Appellate and Special Powers) judge Justice Rohana Yusuf dismissed Ambiga's application for leave for a judicial review but did not make any order as to costs.

She made the ruling after meeting Ambiga's lawyers Tommy Thomas and James Khong and senior Federal counsel Datin Azizah Nawawi in chambers.

In her lawsuit, Ambiga applied to quash the notice of refusal of entry dated April 15 issued by the Sarawak Immigration director who refused her entry into Sarawak.

Azizah said the judge held that Immigration director-general and Sarawak Chief Minister, named as respondents, were not proper parties in the action.

“The judge held that the Immigration director-general, who was named as the first respondent in the application, had nothing to do with the decision made by the Sarawak Immigration director who acted on the direction of the state authority.

“In this case, the state authority was the state secretary of Sarawak,” said Azizah who acted for the Immigration director-general.

She said the judge also ruled that the suit should have been filed in Sarawak.

“The judge accepted our objection that the High Court of Malaya has no jurisdiction to hear the matter and it also has no jurisdiction to transfer this case to the High Court there (Sarawak),” she said.

Ambiga said she would consider appealing against the court ruling.

“The decision is disappointing given that this is merely a leave application and the threshold for leave is so low,” she said.

Ambiga also questioned how could she file her suit in Sarawak when she was barred from entering the state and her counsel of choice would not be able to appear there.

She sought for an order from the High Court to compel the respondents to allow her to enter Sarawak.

Mobile computing News HTC Flyer gets UK release today

HTC has announced that its Android tablet, the HTC Flyer, will be available in shops across the UK and online from today, 13 May.

Friday 13th may be unlucky for some, but not for Flyer fans with both the 3G and Wi-Fi only models now available.

HTC has also revealed the official HTC Flyer UK pricing, with the 32GB 3G and Wi-Fi model coming in at £599.99 and the Wi-Fi only 16GB edition at £479.99.

Fly my pretties, fly

Yesterday, Three's 3G pricing for the tablet was revealed, with the 3G model available for £169 up front and £25 a month for two years.

The Android tablet was first revealed at Mobile World Congress in February, running Android 2.3 and coming complete with a pressure-sensitive stylus and HTC's new movie streaming service, HTC Watch.

An upgrade to the tablet-specific Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) OS has been promised, but there's no word yet on when that software update will arrive.

HTC Sensation vs iPhone 4 vs Samsung Galaxy S II

HTC Sensation vs iPhone 4 vs Samsung Galaxy S II: Which is best?

We don't know the price of the HTC Sensation yet - we're assuming it'll be close to the HTC Desire's - so we're missing a key bit of information here: if there's a significant price difference between it and the Samsung Galaxy S II it could seriously skew the results.

For the sake of argument, though, let's assume that the two Android handsets will match one another pound for pound. On that basis, the Samsung has the edge: it's lighter, brighter, lasts longer, has more RAM and has more internal storage.

The only area where we think it falls down is in the looks department: it's a bit blocky next to the sleeker Sensation, and to our eyes TouchWiz is a bit chunkier than HTC Sense 3.0.

And the iPhone? A straight comparison doesn't really work, because there's a different operating system, a different ecosystem and a different philosophy here. In purely hardware terms the HTC and Samsung devices are better phones, but the iPhone's edge has always been about the software, not the hardware. For many Apple fans, that means the iPhone will still be the winner here.

Angry Birds lands in Chrome browser/

ROVIO'S Angry Birds is landing on Chrome in the first version of the addictively popular smartphone and Tablet game tailored for play on a computer web browser.

"We wanted to bring Angry Birds to the Web or a long time," Peter Vesterbacka of Finnish software firm Rovio said while launching the new version at a Google developers conference in San Francisco.

"One of the reasons we've been angry is we haven't been able to bring this to the Web, until today."

Vesterbacka stepped on stage during a conference keynote at which Google engineers showed off Chrome browser improvements that included ramped-up graphics speeds for smooth rendering of imagery in games.

"We are bringing Angry Birds to the biggest platform of the Web, and it's one of the best versions we built to date," Vesterbacka said. "It really rocks, as you will see."

Once the application is installed in a Chrome browser, the game can be played in its entirety even if a computer is not connected to the Internet.

"It will make those flights more bearable," said Vesterbacka, who is referred to as Rovio's "Mighty Eagle."

Angry Birds has shot to pop culture stardom and launched Rovio into worldwide fame.

Millions of smartphone and tablet computer users have downloaded the game and are tapping away at their devices, catapulting cartoonish birds into absurd fortresses built by little green pigs who have stolen the birds' eggs

Silver bars

Golden Eagle Coins regards Silver Bars as the market standard for Silver Bullion Investing. The most popular sizes are 1 Ounce, 10 Ounce and 100 Ounce Bars. There are larger 1000 Ounce bars available but they are not generally a delivered item, they are simply traded back and forth on exchanges. We offer all of the popular sizes of these bars to our customers at a significantly low premium and you always take delivery of our Silver Bullion Products. We have a large inventory and can fill any order you might have for Silver Bars or any other silver bullion bars

Printers

* Print your everyday documents on HP's most affordable printer which offers easy-to-use features
* Get great print quality
* Power up fast, print your everyday pages within seconds and get instant shutdown
* Reduce the amount of resources you consume
* Conserve resources with a printer made of recycled plastics

Print and share everyday documents with this reliable hp printers. This easy-to-use printer is compact, affordable and helps you conserve resources

Linens

For over 35 years, Fine Linens has offered personalized service for their customers on Manhattan's Upper East Side, located at 1193 Lexington Ave NY, NY 10028,

Owner Steven Hirsch has made Fine Linens one of the premier linen stores in the country and it has been featured in Architectural Digest, Home & Garden, NY Magazine, Dailycandy.com and Lonnymag.com.

People have come back to Fine Linens year after year looking for exceptional quality linens and custom designs that only Fine Linens can provide.

Steven’s son David Hirsch joined the Fine Linens team in 2005 and started the website Finelinens.com. People all over the country and world can now purchase the same quality linens and receive individual service provided in the Manhattan store online.

For the past five years, sferra linens has been one of the largest online retailers for Sferra, Matouk, Peacock Alley, Ann Gish, and SDH. Whether you’re looking for sheets, towels, tablecloths or baby bedding, Finelinens.com carries one of the largest online assortments.

In 2007, Finelinens.com was selected Dell as one of a hundred that best demonstrated the spirit of small business and was advertised in Manhattan’s Time Square.

Knives

At Martor USA, we offer the largest range of safety utility knives, safety cutters and box cutters anywhere - many with unique, patented safety features. Our safety knives and safety cutters include spring loaded knives, box cutters, ergonomic knives, strapping cutters, deburring tools, and many more. If your goal is accident prevention (i.e. specifically reducing your OSHA recordables), you've come to the right site. If you are interested in knife safety, check out our safety knives and box cutters today!!

Adapexin

Adapexin-P is a powerful appetite suppressant and weight loss aid that will leave you feeling happy and thin! Adapexin-P contains ingredients that will suppress your appetite, elevate your mood, and supply a positive boost in energy.

* Provide a Clean Boost of Energy Without the "Jitters"
* Increase Metabolic Rate & Promote Thermogenesis
* Increase in Norepinephrine and Dopamine Levels for a Supreme Mood Boost
* Help you Lose Weight Fast – Guaranteed

What is Phenylethylamine?

Phenylethylamine is a stimulant similar to amphetamine that occurs naturally as a neurotransmitter in the brain. It is the key ingredient in Adapexin-P™.Phenylethylamine will help to decrease your appetite and give you a general sense of well-being. This compound has a remarkable ability to stimulate the central nervous system without causing nervousness or the jittery feeling.

Phenylethylamine is found in chocolate and is responsible for its effects on mood, appetite, and sense of well-being.

* Releasing agent for norepinephrine and dopamine (natural "mood promoter")
* Decreases appetite
* Provides a boost in energy
* Enhances effects of other ingredients

With the help Adapexin, you're on your way to creating a caloric deficit and dropping pounds of body fat in a matter of days.

adapexin-p also contains the following clinically proven weight loss compounds:

Glucomannan (1000mg) An eight-week double-blind trial was conducted to test the effectiveness of Glucomannan fiber with 20 obese subjects. They were administered Glucomannan one hour prior to each meal for 2 months (versus a placebo) and asked not to change anything in their diet or exercise. Subjects administered Glucomannan showed a significant increase in weight loss. An average subject lost 5.5 lbs with Glucomannan. There was also significant drop in LDL cholesterol (15-20mg/dl) when compared with the placebo group.

Loan Problems?

t only takes a couple of minutes with our easy, simple 1-2-3 process form in finding the right loan specific to your financial needs.

* You will instantly be matched with the best financial institution for your needs..
* Those institutions usually begin processing applications immediately and often provide detailed information within minutes.
* Some loan applications are more complicated and may require a little more time to process.
* You will always receive an answer or more information within 48 hours.

Understanding Bad Credit Loans
There are many financial institutions that have positioned themselves to offer personal loans – even if you have bad credit. If you are having financial hardships, many companies specialize in extending loans to those who have no credit, poor credit, or have even filed for bankruptcy. If you have an imperfect credit history, or you have a low credit score, you will more than likely be able to find a loan to meet your needs on our website by filling out the loan application found on PersonalLoans.net.

When you make your timely monthly payments for your loan, your credit score will improve accordingly. Although it may sound funny to hear, one of the best ways to repair your credit is by applying for a loan, and repaying it on time.

After you fill out the personal loans.net application form you will be contacted by an institution to further talk to you about your application. When speaking with them take note of any fees, the APR, and any additional costs and agreements in order to determine which loan best fits your current needs.

Whatever you do, fill in all information on the PersonalLoans.net application truthfully, as anything false or left out may inhibit your qualifying to get the loan you need. Be honest about your income, employment, and credit rating. Even if you do not get caught in a lie, any misrepresentations you supply can cause you to get a loan you cannot afford.

Once your application is submitted, a credit check may or may not be performed, and your application will then be reviewed by a loan officer. After an initial review of the application, the financial institution you choose will contact you in order to request supporting documents for your loan application.

Of course, every company will have its own policies and processes to go through; however, the ones stated above are the most universal among all the financial institutions. This is to make the process easier when one is searching for a personal loan – the applications look familiar to the seekers, and answers can be given within minutes, rather than days.

Communion invitations

Truly inviting, our first communion and confirmation invitations are as beautiful as your occasion. Elegant crosses, chalices, delicate doves and other religious designs grace these invitations. Choose communion invitations with the religious symbol of a cross to symbolize this milestone in your son or daughter’s life. Add an extra element to your beautiful invitations for this special occasion.Our Invitation Consultants are experts in the field; they will assist you in any way they can. Call us, email us or chat live.

We believe that you will find what you need on our website. We carry a huge selection, and are constantly expanding it.

We believe in convenience. Our website is easy to use, and we are always trying to improve it, because ordering invitations and stationery online should be easy and convenient. We can also address, stuff and mail your items, for your convenience.

Dehumidifier

Dehumidifiers are an essential ingredient for reducing moisture levels in your home, which in turn inhibits mold growth and dust mite proliferation. We test dehumidifiers under harsh conditions for months before we present the best of the best to you. We recommend the Aprilaire dehumidifier and the Santa Fe dehumidifiers for large damp basement areas. The Winix low temp dehumidifier with built-in pump and the Frigidaire low temp dehumidifier are both excellent value dehumidifiers for removing moisture at a very fast rate. The Danby dehumidifiers are our quietest basement dehumidifiers and are energy star rated. For light commercial and industrial use, Ebac dehumidifiers offer a high performance line of low-temp heavy duty dehumidifiers

You should consider using professionals like the technical sales people at AllergyBuyersClub.com to help guide you in choosing the proper dehumidifier for your needs. An improperly sized dehumidifier can be useless in preventing mold even if it’s running unless the humidity in the room is brought below the proper level.

Most dealers only know that a dehumidifier can remove moisture from the air, but have no idea how to recommend a proper size. If you buy too much capacity, you will be paying for more than you need; but if you buy too little, the dehumidifier will probably run all the time and possibly not even get to your desired humidity level. At the large warehouse home improvement stores, the only type of answer you will get from an employee (if you can find one to ask) concerning what is the difference between this dehumidifier or that will be an answer such as “about $50. ” They can do the math, but they don’t know what they are selling.

Life Insurance Quote

We understand that everyone has events in their life that will change their need for life insurance: new job, purchase of a home, birth of a child. We also understand that we are all time starved consumers looking for simpler and more convenient ways to do nearly everything.

Wholesale Insurance was created to make finding the right term life insurance easy and affordable. In minutes, our comprehensive online quoting system will guide you though the entire process -- assuring you receive an accurate quote from one of the country's top rated companies. And when you apply for coverage, our team of dedicated professionals will work to provide the personalized service you deserve ensuring the prompt delivery of your new life insurance policy.

Our goal is, and always will be, to combine the accuracy and speed of the latest technology with the personalized professional service that people deserve. We thank you for visiting Wholesale Insurance. We truly appreciate the opportunity to help you with your life insurance needs and look forward to working with you.Life insurance is more difficult once you pass age 55, no question; however, it doesn't follow that you are necessarily excluded from term life insurance thenceforth. Let's have a look at the complication arising for term life insurance on individuals over 55 and see whether it affects you at all.Half of the rub is that age is a determining factor in evaluating a person's mortality risk. That results in higher prices for people over 55. There's nothing that you or we can do about that part of the problem.

The other half of the rub is that as people age, they tend to fall out of shape and develop health problems. If you're still in good shape and are free of serious medical conditions, then you can still qualify for a good (perhaps the best) health class and purchase term life insurance at good rates. Your rates will still be higher than they would be if you were 10 years younger, but they might in fact be lower than the rates that were offered 10 years ago.

Read our brief descriptions of the top four life insurance health classes. If you qualify for any one of them, you can probably complete the term life insurance purchase process, just as anyone under the age of 55 would do: start by completing the online form for instant life insurance quote

Bike rack

Cracks & Racks spawned from a tiny windshield repair business that began in Aspen in January, 1996. Scott would dart around town on his bike that he rigged with a milk crate and some signs, and fix minor windshield damage. At the end of the day, he would do the bookkeeping from the end of his kitchen table in a 3-bedroom condo with 4 other roommates. They didn't eat at the table very much that winter.

Yakima is located in Beaverton, Oregon. Their headquarters are filled with outdoor adventurers just like you. They create their products with themselves in mind. What more could you ask for? Think how sweet life would be if you were getting to design and create your own dream racks! They create the products, they test them, and they improve them. They work hard to make it easier for you to get your gear to your destination. And, they have been doing this for 25 years!

You ask what is a yakima bike rack? Simple. Yakima believes in helping dealers like us learn as much about the products as possible. They achieve this through what they call Rack Dawg Training programs. We strive to be "Top Dawg" which in return gives you the comfort of knowing that we are going to help you choose the perfect rack for you and your car.

Besides making cool racks and helping their dealers be the best car rack specialists in the world, they do some really great environmental stuff too. They support quite a few local and national organizations and help lead the way in educating people about protecting our Mother Earth

Designer fabric

Welcome to KOVI Fabrics. Featured here are over 4000 of the highest quality designer upholstery fabrics, microfibers, faux leathers, and vinyls at direct prices. KOVI is confident that you will find our fabrics to be an exceptional value, offering tremendous quality that is frequently only available in fabrics at much higher prices.
Large selection of quality microfiber upholstery fabrics to choose from.

If this is the first time you've visited our online designer upholstery fabric showroom, please be sure to spend some time browsing through our elegant textiles. Physical fabric showrooms can be overwhelming and daunting, even with only several hundred fabric choices from which to choose. KOVI Fabric's interactive fabric showroom and its integrated tools allow you to quickly move through our collection. Clients often relate that they had an ideal fabric pattern in mind, only to find a new favorite fabric that they'd never have found any other way. Embark on a journey of discovery to find the ultimate new look for your furniture and home.
High value upholstery fabrics for your furniture upholstery and reupholstery project.

If you're an experienced fabrics shopper, you know that there are levels of fabrics that are available at a wide range of prices and upholstery fabrics are certainly no exception. There are literally thousands of retailers, brands and suppliers from which to choose. Our products are specified to be on par with the best in the industry with our prices set at the industry median. These facts deliver a tremendous value to you, our valued clients. Our goal is for you to be delighted with your KOVI Fabrics not only now but over time and that only happens with this high value approach.

One final note: While our specialty is furniture designer upholstery fabrics for the home, our fabrics are often used for automotive upholstery, drapery fabrics, outdoors or even in marine upholstery. Be sure to explore all of our online showroom's areas, we will often have exactly what you need.

Electric blanket

Our Electric Foot of the Bed Warmer Stops Cold Feet! ... By providing cozy, soothing warmth at the foot of your bed all night. Rather than heating your whole body, sometimes all you really need is to keep your feet warm! Our bed foot warmer is designed to be placed under the bottom sheet at the foot of the bed for safe, non-obtrusive warmth.

While it is a perfect addition to your bed in cold weather, many of our customers with chronic cold feet tell us they use their Bed Foot Warmer all year long! The World's Safest Electric Blanket™ in Beautiful Wide Wale!

Our NEW Wide Wale electric blanket is the World's Safest Electric Blanket™ featuring a Wide Wale pattern. This unique patterned blanket operates with non-hazardous DC low voltage, providing you with the safest electric blanket ever produced. Turn down your thermostat this winter and stay toasty warm!

* Only heated blanket that meets UL Standard for non-hazardous low voltage
* No harmful electromagnetic radiation
* Automatic shutoff after ten hours
* Easy to read controls from Low, 1-9 and High
* No clicking noise from the control
* The preheat feature automatically pre-warms to your dial setting
* Takes less than 15 minutes to warm up
* Ultra soft luxurious 100% Micro-Fleece Polyester (non-pilling) is comfortable throughout the year
* Comfortable for all season use throughout the year, even without the heat
* Heating elements imperceptible to the touch; no bulky wires
* Consistent & even heat distribution
* Controller cord and power cord lengths, 6ft each
* Connector cord length, approximately 10ft
* Machine wash and dry. The only heating blanket that maintains it's size after wash
* Not recommended for use with an electric adjustable bed, water bed or blowup air beds (Sleep Number beds are OK)
* 5 Year Warranty
* UL Listed to assure safe operation

Fuente Cigars

When in stock, Arturo Fuente cigars don't last very long - and rightfully so. The legendary Fuente family has been making some of the world's finest cigars for generations, living by the credo, "We will not rush the hands of time." Arturo Fuente cigars are handmade mostly with Cameroon wrappers, while the Chateau fuente cigars selection features Connecticut wrappers with cedar sleeves. Be sure to add these VERY popular cigars to Your Favorites page so you won't ever have to miss them.

Not unlike the way tobacco leaves are rotated on pilons in the cigar factory during fermentation, rotating is simply moving the cigars in the lower rows of your humidor to the upper rows. There are areas in your humidor that can restrict moisture from getting to your primos. And because air circulation is important during the aging process, rotating allows your cigars to get a more equal distribution of moist air. This is also why it helps to leave some space between your cigars. Trying to pack them in tightly like they are in their factory cigar boxes can be detrimental to their survival. There's no specific method to rotating cigars, as long as you're able to shift the majority of the sticks from point A to point B.

Here's how I do it: About every 6-8 weeks, I bring the humidor out to a table where I have plenty of room to spread out. Because I'm kind of a neatnik, I lay the cigars out by row on either paper towels or wax paper. The latter is better because wax paper won't leave any lint on the cigars. Noting which cigars were taken from the top row, I begin placing them back in the humidor. Sometimes I replace them by size, but mixing them up can also help create more air flow around the cigars.

Duck

The Town of Duck is Dare County's northernmost community and has become one of the most popular resort destinations on the Outer Banks. Vacationers are attracted to Duck vacation homes spacious, clean beaches with characteristic sky-blue waters. Spanning an impressive 7-miles Duck is in the enviable category of one of the best family beach destinations in the United States.

Incorporated in 2002, Duck is also the Outer Banks’ youngest town. Duck visitors can enjoy a wide range of outdoor activities and watersports from the sound to the ocean, including swimming, surfing, fishing, jet skiing, parasailing, crabbing and kayaking.

The village of Duck offers an impressive array of small shops and restaurants. Restaurants offer a variety of dining options, ranging from a-la-carte, to formal. Shops and boutiques are situated in several small shopping centers and specialize in clothing, books, toys, gourmet food, groceries, antiques, and art work – to name a few.

A popular walking/bicycling trail runs the entire length of Duck. The Duck Town Park, located on an 11-acre maritime forest on the Currituck Sound, features a playground and soundside walkway. Certain areas have been designated for launching canoes and kayaks. A gazebo and picnic shelter, housed on an area of rolling green is conveniently located in the center of the park. Those areas, along with the amphitheatre tucked into the natural surroundings, play host to various complementary musical, theatre and children’s events all summer long, as well as morning exercise programs. Duck in a unique coastal village with something for everyone.