Floods close 14 more schools

Floods close 14 more schools

Floods close 14 more schools

Posted: 13 Jan 2014 08:01 AM PST

14 January 2014| last updated at 11:18PM
By SHARIFAH MAHSINAH ABDULLAH AND T.N. ALAGESH | news@nst.com.my

KOTA BARU: THE state Education Department ordered 14 more schools in Rantau Panjang to close as the second wave of floods worsened yesterday.

This brings to 21 the number of schools closed in Kelantan.

State department director Hussain Awang said more than 6,000 pupils had to skip classes from the closures, which were undertaken as the roads to the schools were flooded. "We are not taking any chances with the safety of the pupils and teachers."

The affected schools include SK Lubuk Setol, SK Kok Pauh, SK Kubang Kua, SK Kampung Baru, SK Gual To Deh, SK Seri Rantau Panjang 1, SK Seri Rantau Panjang 2, SK Gual Sintok, SK Gual Tinggi and SABK Diniah Bongor.

On Sunday, the state education department closed seven schools -- six in Tanah Merah and one in Pasir Mas -- for the same reason.

The number of evacuees also rose, from 1,188 on Sunday to 1,629, as of 4pm yesterday. All those evacuated yesterday were from Rantau Panjang.

A state National Security Council operations centre spokesman said the victims were placed at eight relief centres.

"Even if the rain has let up in the state since Sunday evening, floodwaters have yet to recede in Rantau Panjang."

He said other evacuees from Jeli and Tanah Merah who had been at relief shelters since Saturday, returned home yesterday after floods in their villages subsided.

The spokesman said except for Sungai Golok, which had recorded above the danger level, water levels at the other main flood assessment points had dipped slightly.

As of 4pm, Sungai Golok was measured at 10.34m, well past the 9m danger mark.

The spokesman said Km7 of Jalan Rantau Panjang-Panglima Bayu remained closed to all traffic as it was submerged under 0.4m of water.

In Kuantan, Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said the United Arab Emirates government had pledged US$10 million (RM32.6 million) to help the state recover from damages and losses suffered during last month's floods. He said representatives from UAE would be visiting Pahang next week to see for themselves the damage caused by the floods.

He said the close relationship between Tengku Mahkota Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Sheikh Mohammed Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, had prompted UAE to come forward and assist Pahang.

He was speaking after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Pahang Islamic Religious Department and UAE's Khalifa Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation to continue sending Arabic language teachers to religious schools in Pahang.

Present yesterday were UAE ambassador to Malaysia, Abdullah Matar Al Mazrouei, Khalifa Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation deputy director-general Mohamed Al Bastaki and State Islamic Da'wah and Special Duties Committee chairman Datuk Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad.

Rogayah Awang bringing food from an eatery after her house was flooded in Kampung Banggol Kulim, Rantau Panjang, yesterday. Pic by Fathil Asri

Idris: Education blueprint on track

Posted: 13 Jan 2014 08:01 AM PST

14 January 2014| last updated at 11:20PM

Overall, the cohort results had improved from an average national grade of 2.31 in 2012 to 2.27 last year, the first year the blueprint took off the ground, he said.

Idris said that the percentage of students who passed with straight As had increased by 0.21 per cent while those who failed the exam had gone down by 0.06 per cent.

The public, he said, was too quick to judge the effectiveness of the blueprint. "We see comments in newspapers and blogs, criticising our education system... they think that our teachers can become that successful and our students can achieve excellence (within six months), but that is too soon.

"Give us some time to implement the plans which will last till 2025," he said during an award-giving ceremony for the best performing schools in last year's UPSR at Sekolah Kebangsaan Ijok yesterday.

Some 46 headmasters received the awards for best performing schools in last year's UPSR.

Sekolah Rendah Pendidikan Khas Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, won the most improved special school award.

Idris said both city schools and rural schools had shown improvement.

"The basis of our education blueprint, which is to make education accessible to rural areas, has started to bear fruit as proven by rural students who had achieved excellence in the UPSR."

On claims of price hikes by school canteen operators, Idris reminded teachers to monitor the prices of food sold at school canteens.

"We do not want excessive profiteering, we want to make sure the schools play their respective roles to control price increases."

The ministry had received several complaints of canteen operators increasing their prices, he said, adding that discussions held between ministry officers and canteen operators had led to prices being reduced.

Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh presenting a trophy to Shahidan Said, headmaster of Sekolah Kebangsaan Ijok, yesterday for being one of the best performing schools in last year's UPSR. Pic by Roslin Mat Tahir

Captive Sumatran rhino dies of old age

Posted: 13 Jan 2014 08:01 AM PST

14 January 2014| last updated at 11:29PM

The female rhino, estimated to be about 37 years old, had been in captivity since 1994, the Sabah Wildlife Department said in a statement.

According to park veterinarian Dr Rosa Sipangkui, Gelugob "appeared to be moving slower and was not eating as well as she used to."

"Since these symptoms are quite normal in aging animals, it was noted and her condition was monitored. In early January, her condition worsened; she refused to drink and ate very little.

"Despite the best efforts of our veterinary team, her condition continued to deteriorate and on the evening of Jan 11, she laid down and died shortly after."

There are probably fewer than 150 Sumatran rhinos left in the wilds of Sumatra and Borneo today.

The department's assistant director, Dr Sen Nathan, said the lifespan of a Sumatran rhino was unknown.

The last Sumatran rhino to die in captivity was a 33-year-old male at the Cincinnati Zoo in the United States.

"We rescued Gelugob from Bulud Napa, Kinabatangan in 1994. Gelugob was immediately included in our Sumatran rhino programme, that was then located in Sepilok, near Sandakan.

"For the next 19 years, local and foreign experts from around the world tried to breed and study her reproductive behaviour extensively, up to 2011, when she was found to be unable to produce eggs, even with hormone treatments, due to her old age."

Gelugob was transferred to Lok Kawi on March 24 last year from the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

"Though the death of Gelugob is a great loss, this only furthers our determination to do whatever we can to save this species from extinction. Sabah now seems to be the only state in Malaysia that has wild rhinos.

"Rhino numbers are too low and the wild rhinos too dispersed. If we do not intervene and rescue all of them and consolidate them into a managed breeding programme, propagation of new generations of rhinos will be impossible," said department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu.

He said that if conservation and breeding efforts were not carried out, all the remaining rhinos would meet the same fate as Gelugob -- growing old and dying without producing any more young rhinos, leading to their disappearance from Sabah.

Gelugob in her paddock at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. One of the only 10 Sumatran rhinoceroses in captivity worldwide, it has been in captivity since 1994 and was estimated to be 37 years old. Bernama pic

New sun bear sanctuary opens

Posted: 13 Jan 2014 08:01 AM PST

14 January 2014| last updated at 11:31PM

SWD director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu called on those who were keeping the protected species, especially its cubs as pets, to surrender them to the department or the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC).

Speaking during a press conference to announce the event, he said the centre housed 28 rescued bears since its inception in April 2008.

The centre would be officially opened in May and aims to educate the public about the threats to wildlife.

Sun bears are listed as an endangered species, the same as orang-utans and Sumatran rhinoceros. Killing or keeping a sun bear, even just having body parts like claws or gall bladders, could result in a punishment of up to five years' jail or a RM50,000 fine, or both.

The BSBCC, was established through a collaboration with SWD, Sabah Forestry Department and non-governmental organisation Land Empowerment Animals People. Aimed at promoting sun bear conservation through rehabilitation, education and research, it covers 2.5ha land, which includes 2ha of enclosed forest and key facilities, such as an observation platform, two bear houses and a visitor centre.

The centre founder, Wong Siew Te, a world known biologist and the first Malaysian to study sun bears, said it was difficult to estimate how many were left in the wild because of the lack of research.

Found throughout Southeast Asia, sun bears are the smallest of the world's eight bear species. Habitat loss and poaching for body parts for use in traditional medicine are among key threats that led to a 30 per cent drop in population in the last three decades.

(From left) Sabah Wildlife Department deputy director Augustine Tuuga, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre founder Wong Siew Te, SWD director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu and BSBCC director Cynthia Ong holding the BSBCC pamphlet during a press conference in Kota Kinabalu yesterday. Pic by Malai Rosmah Tuah

4 NS camp operators risk losing contracts

Posted: 13 Jan 2014 08:01 AM PST

14 January 2014| last updated at 11:15PM

Its director-general, Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil, said the four camps, two in Pahang, and one each in Kedah and Malacca, were impractical and did not comply with the NS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC).

"The dormitories look like chalets and each can accommodate only between six and eight trainees. This is no longer practical," he said after his working visit to the Ayer Keroh NS camp here yesterday.

Seventy-nine NS camps were in operation nationwide and 32,167 trainees of the first batch of the 11/2014 series were undergoing training from Jan 4 to March 18.

He said the dormitories in the four camps would be expanded to accommodate 25 to 30 trainees with a specified racial composition to promote unity and cultural understanding among the inmates.

"We want to bridge the racial gap between students from different races. Each dorm would consist of 60 per cent Bumiputera, Chinese 28 per cent, Indians 10 per cent and others two per cent as a portrayal of the true racial composition in Malaysia."

On the upgrading of dormitories in the four camps, Abdul Hadi said operators have 18 months to complete the task without compromising on the current training schedules and the safety of the trainees.

"Failure to do so may result in operators of the camps having their contracts terminated."

In a related matter, in ensuring better monitoring of the trainees, especially in preventing unwanted incidents, all 79 camps would see an attached room for trainers in each dormitory.

As for the coming Chinese New Year celebration, trainees will be given a break from Jan 30 to Feb 2.

In Kota Kinabalu, Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri said all NS training camps would be equipped with closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) by next year.

He said all NS operators were required to install such facilities as an added measure to step up security at all existing camps.

"At present, only one camp in Sibu, Sarawak is equipped with CCTV. We will intensify safety and security (at the camp) because we do not want any untoward incident that can jeopardise the national service programme and that of the operator," he said after visiting and inspecting the progress of the Wawasan NS camp in Papar, about 45km from here.

National Service Training Department director-general Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil places a special epaulet on NS trainee Nor Shahira Azizan in Ayer Keroh yesterday. Pic by Rasul Azli Samad

Wife killed, husband badly injured in crash

Posted: 13 Jan 2014 08:01 AM PST

14 January 2014| last updated at 11:29PM
By AUDREY DERMAWAN | audreymd@nst.com.my

 IPOH: SAARIAH Yaacob, 60, was looking forward to celebrating Maulidur Rasul in Jakarta, Indonesia, with her family.

Plans were afoot for 15 family members to meet at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) yesterday to catch the same flight to Indonesia.

Saariah was supposed to take the 9am flight from the Penang International Airport to KLIA for her connecting flight.

However, when she called her son, Mohd Shahir Sapiai, 37, to inform him that she was on her way to KLIA, her whole world crumbled.

A policeman, who answered Shahir's mobile phone, told Saariah that her son and his wife, Kamarusolahiah Kamaruddin, 29, who were supposed to meet them at the airport, were involved in an accident.

"I was shocked when a man answered my son's phone. I asked him where my son was and he identified himself as a policeman.

"He told me that my son and daughter-in-law had met with an accident and that my son was seriously injured while his wife was killed," she said when met at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital here.

In the 5.30am incident, the car driven by Shahir, a businessman, skidded and rammed into a road divider at Km273.2 of the North-South Expressway.

Ipoh public order and traffic police chief Superintendent Wan Sharuddin Wan Omar said Shahir suffered serious injuries due to the impact, while his wife died at the scene.

"We are still investigating the cause of the crash," he said.

Kamarusolahiah's brother-in-law, Alif Haikal Abdullah Abdul Manaf, 29, said she was looking forward to celebrating Maulidur Rasul in Jakarta, as Shahir used to study there.

He said the couple had started their journey from Kuala Ketil, Kedah, at 3am.

Kamarusolahiah's cousin, Nurhidawati Mohamed, 37, said the deceased's mother called her in the morning to make the necessary arrangements and to send her body back to her hometown in Terengganu for burial.

Nurhidawati said the couple got married last November and that she had last met Kamarusolahiah during last year's Hari Raya celebrations.

"She was a very loving and friendly person."

The wreckage of the car driven by Mohd Shahir Sapiai and his wife, Kamarusolahiah Kamaruddin, which crashed at Km273.2 of the North-South Expressway near Ipoh yesterday.