Nikko Electronics, which ceased its Penang factory operation yesterday, landed itself into trouble with the government authorities after terminating the service of its 950 employees without notice.

Its conduct has been in violation with the Employment Act 1955, which requires a company wishing to terminate its operation to give a one month notice to its employees as well as compensating the workers with a retrenchment and lay-off benefits.

The retrenchment exercise should take account the number of years of service rendered by the affected workers.

As it stood yesterday, the company failed to do both. Investigation is being carried out by the Manpower Department to see if it has not been adhering to other laws and regulations.

If found guilty, actions can be taken on the company and its top management, which include hefty fines and imprisonment, and its top officials may be barred from leaving the country.

Nikko, which is listed in the main board of Bursa Malaysia (formerly Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur), decided to close its Penang operation after going through profitless years, and faced with increasing operation cost as well as decline in product demand. The company produced wireless controlled toys, and has been operating the Penang factory for almost 20 years.

A life style change seems to be in order for the students and staff in public universities (IPTAs) after the Ministry of Higher Education agreed to allow franchise operators such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Kopitiam and so on to be operating inside the campus.

News and stories have been circulating around both in mainstream news as well as independent and alternative sources, including MalaysiaKini and KLPos, on the imminent arrival of the life style cafes.

As a requirement, the franchise cafes will also be required to provide free W-Fi (wireless internet) facility to the customers.

However, the decision was met with mixed reactions from the public and other parties. While some group welcome the news with open arms, some others feel the Ministry is lacking ideas to solve the lack of wireless internet availability in the campus. Many believe that the job providing the facility lies on the institution’s shoulder.

In addition, cultivating the culture of high spending on drinks and meal, especially among students, is not seen as a a clever move, considering many of them come from the lower to mid income group families.

Kelly Services, one of the most established staffing and recruitment agencies in the country, has launched a new career talk program, targeted at the graduating students.

The program is aimed to expose the graduating students with the real expectation of the employer and the employment market, and reduce the disparity between the fresh graduates and the competitive job market.

It is also part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) incentive to create values among the society.

Graduates will also be learning about a wide range of topics including employment market trend, salary guide, promising industries and companies, resume & cover letter writing tip, interview guide, professional grooming and other career related advice.

The program kicked off its first talk of the series in the University College Sedaya International (UCSI) which was held recently with a theme, “Making a Difference”. It will also be a mandatory talk for the UCSI final year students annually.

Other tertiary institutions, universities and colleges interested with the program can contact Kelly Services Malaysia to have the consultants giving the talk and presentation.

News credit: The Star.

The Honda Dreams Scholarship Fund was established as an initiative to provide underprivileged youths, especially those coming from low income group, a financial assistance in pursuing their education.

20 promising candidates will be selected to receive full scholarship, to enroll in public universities (IPTA) and private institutions (IPTS) throughout the country. The fund is a co-partnership between Honda and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

As a pre-requisite, candidates must be between 17 to 24 years old, have completed SPM or STPM, medically fit, and come from a family whose combined household income is RM1,500 or less. Additionally, he or she must not be receiving any other scholarship or educational fund at the moment.

To apply for the scholarship fund, interested candidates can submit their application by filling up the application form (available in their website here). In addition to completing the form, each candidate is also requested to submit a 500-word essay (or less), entitled,

“Honda Dreams Fund is the opportunity I have been waiting for to realize my dreams. Since I was young, I have always aspired to be…”

Candidates who are short listed will be called up to attend a 3-day leadership workshop conducted by professionals who are highly trained in their fields. Final selection will be done and the 20 successful candidates will be informed.

To know more about the scholarship, click here.