Bleak start to new year for eight for ‘obstruction of sand works’

Bleak start to new year for eight for ‘obstruction of sand works’
More than 130,000 dead since start of Syria conflict: NGO
Safety first, school can wait
More schools, classes to greet new school term in Sarawak
Najib’s new year pledge over rising cost of living
No Styrofoam containers rule takes effect today

Posted: 31 Dec 2013 06:12 PM PST

MUKAH: Eight locals were arrested for obstruction of sand extraction work at a river in Lubok Jelatong area, Batang Mukah, on Monday afternoon.

The eight suspects are Ajah Lungan, Likong Lungan, Baring Buah, Laja Jeli, Roney Inggut, Bandang Janang, Chundau Lungan and Sempun Lungan.

The arrests were made at around 4pm on Monday by a police team of eight men led by Inspector Mohd Hafiz.

Yesterday, Mukah district police head DSP Omar Bakhtiar Yacoob confirmed their arrests where they committed an offence under Section 341 of the Penal Code for illegal obstruction.

Omar said the company which operated the sand extraction had obtained a valid licence from Land and Survey Department.

"The suspects had obstructed the sand extraction work by workers at the river. The company has a valid licence for their work . The suspects claimed that the land of which the sand extraction work took place is a native customary right (NCR) land and it belonged to them.

"As such, the claim that they were arrested for protecting their land as it is NCR land is incorrect because they do not have rights to obstruct the work of sand extraction in the area," he told the press.

Omar said the suspects will be remanded for three days from Dec 31 to Jan 2 to facilitate in investigation.

"Before this, they had stopped a barge from transporting sand in their area and they acted to take away the key of the barge.

"However, the police had advised them not to take matters into their own hands and that they should get a court's order if they wished to stop the barge," he said.

"But they were stubborn and they took their own action so the police had to arrest them for further investigation," he said.

Meanwhile, when contacted by The Borneo Post, Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How who first posted the arrest on his Facebook, appealed to the police not to remand innocent indigenous folks unnecessarily, He said he met some of these persons involved earlier this month.

See said there were a few longhouses there and the people related to him that the sand dredging was threatening their livelihood as it was their farmland.

"Moreover, the land nearby their dwelling longhouses has slipped into the river because of the dredging. They have lodged numerous police reports but the land dredging continues. They were just trying to stop the sand dredging work pending police investigation," See said.

See said any remand into the new year would be terrible and appealed for good sense from the police.

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More than 130,000 dead since start of Syria conflict: NGO

Posted: 31 Dec 2013 11:33 AM PST

BEIRUT: More than 130,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the conflict in Syria nearly three years ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.

In a new tally, the group said 130,433 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011, among them 46,266 civilians.

They include more than 7,000 children and more than 4,600 women, the Britain-based watchdog said.

The group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria, said 52,290 pro-government fighters had been killed, among them more than 32,000 regular troops and 262 reinforcements from the Lebanese movement Hezbollah.

On the rebel side, the group counted 29,083 deaths, including 6,913 fighters from jihadist.

The Observatory said it had also recorded the deaths of 2,794 unidentified individuals.

Syria's bloody conflict began in March 2011, with peaceful anti-government demonstrations.

The regime of President Bashar al-Assad cracked down on the protests, and the opposition took up arms.

The conflict has spiralled into an increasingly bloody civil war, with human rights groups accusing both sides of suspected war crimes.- AFP

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Safety first, school can wait

Posted: 31 Dec 2013 11:27 AM PST

Minister calls on parents to keep children away if flood situation worsens in some areas

KUCHING: Parents have been advised not to send their children to school when the new term starts tomorrow if travelling to school could expose them to the danger of flood water especially those who have to travel by river to get to school.

Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah who sounded the caution yesterday told The Borneo Post that because of the incessant rain, rivers would be swollen with swift current while low lying areas could be flooded.

"Education is very important and students should not miss school. But parents must make sure that it is safe for their children to travel to school. Parents especially those in rural areas must be more alert.

"Presently, water level in rivers is high and current is fast. If rivers are too dangerous to travel, it would be better for the parents to keep their children at home rather than going to school when school opens on Thursday."

Fatimah added that even her own travelling plan had been disrupted by high waters and floods as she had put her visit to a rural school in Oya tomorrow on hold as travelling to that school whether by air, road or river is presently unsafe.

The minister feared that if the rain were to persist, some schools could be flooded tomorrow and had to be closed.

"However, school principals must be in constant communication with district education officers. They must ask permission from the officers for their schools to be closed," said Fatimah.

On the statewide flood situation, Fatimah said as of 11am yesterday, 50 areas were still flooded affecting a total 1,436 households and 8,454 people and so far RM62,845 worth of food aid had been dispatched.

"The most seriously hit division is Miri. Floods started to hit various places there as early as Dec 20. So far 33 areas have been flooded there affecting 1,159 families with 7,300 people ," said Fatimah.

She said as of 11am yesterday, six evacuation centres were in operation across the state housing 47 families and 214 victims. Of the six evacuation centres, three are in Miri, one in Bintulu and two in Bau, Kuching.

The Dalat Assembly Woman said some communities might be totally cut off as roads to their villages were impassable because of flood while some were directly affected as their houses were inundated.

She said for those who were cut off from towns the state Disaster Relief committee (JPBN) had been sending in food aid while the evacuation had to be carried out for flood victims whose houses were flooded.

"The district that first experienced flood in the state is Baram. We have sent in food ration for a week. We are now not sure if they need more food since the last food aid was sent earlier on.

"So I urge the community leaders of affected areas to keep constant touch with the officers of JPBN to ensure the officers of the latest updates. This is of utmost importance," reminded Fatimah.

She said these officers were working on two-shift basis, finishing at 10 pm in the evening but if situations worsened they would have to work round the clock.

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More schools, classes to greet new school term in Sarawak

Posted: 31 Dec 2013 11:25 AM PST

KUCHING: The new school term, which starts tomorrow, will see an increase in the number of schools and classes at pre-school, primary and secondary schools in the state.

State Education director Datu Abdillah Adam said the addition of 26 classes this year will bring the overall number of pre-school classes to 1,408 at 1,079 primary schools and two secondary schools in the state.

This figure, however, does not include the 15 pre-school classes at four teachers teaching institute, four classes at religious schools (sekolah agama) and four classes at special education schools.

"The early childhood education facility will be beneficial to 28,350 children between four to six years old with the provisions of 1,408 teachers and 1,408 child management assistants," he said in a press statement.

For the primary education, there will be two additional primary schools namely SK Tegulang and SK Metalun in Belaga, bringing the total number of operating primary schools to 1,265 this year.

This figure comprised of 1,032 national schools, 221 national-type schools, eight government-assisted religious schools and four special education national schools.

"The enrolment of students from primary one to six in Sarawak this year is 249,209 students, of which 42,328 students are expected to their formal education of primary one today (Jan 2)."

Meanwhile, for secondary education, there will be 186 secondary schools operating, including one new secondary school – SMK Sri Matang.

Of the total, 162 are national schools, four bestari secondary schools, two government-assisted religious schools, seven religious secondary schools, one technic secondary school, six vocational colleges, three boarding schools and one Malaysian art school.

"The total number of student enrolment at national secondary schools is 216,205, which also includes 1,241 students from special education integrated programme classes."

Abdillah also noted that around 3,539 primary six students will undergo the transition class while 43,988 will be starting Form One this year.

"A total of 26,799 teachers will be serving at primary schools, whereas 15,520 teachers will be based at secondary schools.

"With the plans that have been set this year, the State Education Department is committed in ensuring that what has been planned will be achieved successfully."

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Najib’s new year pledge over rising cost of living

Posted: 31 Dec 2013 11:25 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday gave a new year pledge to minimise the impact of the rising cost of living on the people.

"…where necessary, we will fine-tune government programmes so that the effect on household incomes is not too great.

"We will put in place mechanisms to cushion people from the rises in the electricity tariff and toll fares, and the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) is coming up with new ideas to ease the cost of living pressures," he said in his new year message on his blog, www.1Malaysia.com.my.

Having announced Monday 11 measures to reduce public sector expenditure in the new year, Najib, who is also the finance minister, said the government would also try to ensure that the increases are proportionate.

For example, he said, the rise in fuel and electricity prices will have an effect on people's spending power but, despite the increase, the government still subsidises petrol and electricity bills.

As for the recent rises in property assessment rates in Kuala Lumpur, Najib said that after listening to the people's concerns, the rates were reduced by two per cent and extra rebates were added for disabled property owners, retirees and owner-occupiers.

The prime minister said the government would not allow costs to rise without supporting those who needed help most.

"From last week, 7.9 million recipients in households earning under RM4,000 per month are eligible to apply for new BR1M (1Malaysia People's Aid) payments.

We are opening new 1Malaysia shops to help with the cost of daily goods, and new 1Malaysia clinics to provide affordable healthcare.

"Altogether, next year, the government will spend some RM42 billion on subsidies, almost as much as we spend on development," he said.

While the government rationalised subsidies, it has introduced cost-cutting measures to reduce public expenditure.

Najib announced the 11 measures yesterday, among which were reducing electricity costs in all departments by five per cent; tightening the rules on hiring consultants and cutting toll and entertainment allowances for ministers and certain category of senior civil servants.

"We are also reaffirming our commitment to tackling corruption, cutting government wastage and improving procurement; putting government tenders online to make them more transparent and working to better realise the value of government assets," he said.

Najib said he was determined to do the right thing for the country and the people because, by acting responsibly now, the government would strengthen Malaysia's economy in the long term and the benefits would be felt much more widely. — Bernama

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No Styrofoam containers rule takes effect today

Posted: 31 Dec 2013 11:24 AM PST

by Peter Boon reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on January 1, 2014, Wednesday

SIBU: The ban on Styrofoam containers at food outlets here takes effect today.

Minister of Local Government Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said this green initiative would be introduced to other areas in the state.

"We will look into it as I think it is a good thing," he told The Borneo Post recently.

Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) decided to go ahead with the ban following positive response from the public during the recent Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF).

Council secretary Hii Chang Kee had said that Styrofoam containers were not bio-degradable and posed an environmental concern.

"They had also been identified as a major component in the clogging of drains," he said.

Styrofoam takes about 500 years to decompose, and production of Styrofoam containers releases greenhouse gases into the environment.

Short-term side effects include eye, cardiovascular, skin and gastroenteritis ailments.

The containers could also collect water and become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Council chairman Datuk Tiong Thai King launched the `Say No to Styrofoam' on Oct 18, 2013. During the opening of the 1Malaysia Food Fair here last month, Tiong repeated his calls to operators to do away with such containers.

Meanwhile, Sibu Central Market Hawker's Association chairman Yiing Chung Ming said: "This initiative is for the good of everyone. The measure will help preserve and conserve our environment."

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