Phones outnumber radios among poor in South Asia

PENANG - Phones are catching up with TVs, and the number of phones being used by ‘bottom of the pyramid’ households have already outpaced the number of radios and computers in South Asia, researchers have said.

Seven Indian barbers claim Malaysian boss abused them for four years

PENANG/KUALA LUMPUR - Seven Indian nationals have lodged a complaint with the Indian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, accusing their employer in Penang of abusing them and failing to pay their salaries regularly for the past four years.

Language problems hold up Asians on net

PENANG - Asians were the most numerous internet users worldwide as of 2001. Yet, access to the net and computing are still largely restricted to those with knowledge of the English language.

What’s cooking on wok? An internet boom

PENANG - An Indonesian techie is trying to bring in a quiet revolution with the wok - a large, round-bottomed Chinese cooking vessel. His “wokbolic” is a low cost technology that takes wireless connectivity places and dramatically lowers the cost of internet access.

The cellphone goes to Asian classrooms

PENANG - Can the cellphone replace the blackboard? Not quite, but it is finding new uses in the classroom in pockets of Asia, says a new report.

New curbs on internet content by Asian nations: Report

PENANG - Led by China, many Asian governments are shifting to a “new generation” of restrictions to control content on the internet and the growth in these curbs has been “accelerating”, according to a new study.

Penang Govt. ready to allot land for Malay Tamil schools

PENANG - Penang Deputy Chief Minister Prof Dr P. Ramasamy has said that the Penang Government is ready to allot land for Tamil schools in Malaysia.

Pleasure cruise ends in tragedy for Indian couple

GEORGE TOWN - An Indian couple’s pleasure cruise ended in tragedy when the man fell off the ship and his wife dived into the choppy sea in a failed rescue attempt.

Malaysian Indian leader gets bullets in mail

PENANG - Malaysian Indian lawmaker Karpal Singh received an envelope with two live bullets and a letter that threatened to ‘burn his entire family’ if he clashed with the Malay rulers.

Jalikattu is Tamil youths’ test of manhood

PENANG - Tamil youths here flaunted their sporty prowess performing Jalikattu, the bull-fight, at the 100th annual Pongal festival, a media report said Monday.