Month: January 2019

Fishermen in Terengganu are lying low following the arrival of the tropical storm Pabuk, which had lashed the state’s coastline with rain and powerful wind. The fishermen however, said that traditionally, they do not go out to sea during the monsoon season, and the presence of the storm has firmed up the decision. One fisherman, Tuan Muda Tuan Hassan, 67, from Chendering, said it is the norm for fishermen in the East Coast to rest during the monsoon given the uncertain weather and massive waves. “Normally, we only get to go out to sea around two to three times a week. We also only get to spend around five to six hours before we have to return to shore. “The last time most of us went out to sea was last Friday. The Pabuk tropical storm isn’t that big a factor; it just means that...

Some 4.1 million households are scheduled to get their Cost of Living Aid (BSH) 2019 on Jan 28 based on the old database and old methods. Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government had to use the old database, which might have names of those who were unqualified to receive such aid, to allow payment to be made before February 2019. “The vetting process to take out the names of those who are unqualified since they do not belong to the B40 group will take some time. “The BSH 2019 will benefit some 4.1 million households via the first phase payment worth RM300 each. This will involve allocation amounting to RM1.2 billion and the money will be credited into their bank accounts,” said Lim in a statement today. Once the database had been updated, the minister said the BSH paym...

Schools are encouraged to take their own initiative to help students with special needs. Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching said the move is in line with the ministry’s Zero Reject Policy to ensure that no special needs students are turned away from schools. “We want special needs students to receive equal education opportunities like other students while attending special education programmes in public schools or government-aided schools. “For example, schools at their own discretion can move the class with special needs students to the ground floor,” she told reporters after visiting Integrated Special Education Programme (PPKI) students at Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Putra Perdana in Taman Putra Perdana here. She said facilities such as special stairs, ramps, toilets also ...

Even though the smoking ban at eatery outlets has come into force, some smokers simply ignore it and continue to puff away. Checks by NSTP at a number of outlets on the mainland after midnight found that people were still smoking at restaurants and Nasi Kandar outlets here. A worker at a Nasi Kandar outlet in Jalan Todak 2 even reminded them that they should not be smoking, but they continued to do so. The worker even pointed to the no-smoking sign at the outlet but it was ignored. A woman who only wanted to be named as Haslinda, in her 30s, hoped that enforcement action would be taken although it was only the first day of the ban. She said she had just returned from celebrating New Year Countdown at Juru Auto City and wanted to have a light meal before heading home ...

Hundreds of pupils and their parents in Sabah's Telupid district, some 200km from here, were shocked and disappointed to find no proper classrooms available on the first day of school. Some 800 pupils of SK Pekan Telupid had been studying in makeshift classrooms housed under canopies since the roof of a school building block collapsed following a thunderstorm and strong winds in June last year. A father, Dadie Ismail, said that he found it disappointing that the damaged school block has not been repaired despite the school holidays the past month. "I thought the repair works would be carried out during the past school break but now, we came back to find that our children still have to go to class under the canopies," he said. He said what made it worse was that it rained heavil...

The Housing and Local Government Ministry backs the proposal by senior vice-chairman of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF), Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, that vandals be subjected to fines and community service. Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said she also mentioned the matter in a statement a few months ago The important thing is vandals and littering offenders are meted out deterrent punishment so that they do not repeat the offence. “The ministry values public opinion in improving services and ensuring that efforts to create a sustainable community and generation are achieved, in order to develop a holistic community,” she said in a statement Tuesday (Jan 1). Lee reportedly suggested that the government impose community penalties on those who commit vandalism to cause s...

Public complaints against those who abuse the rule of law are legitimate and do not breach any law, and neither should they be construed as sedition, says the Prime Minister. “(These complaints) will not be considered as sedition in any way. They will be regarded as free speech,” said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad “Citizens can make reports on these matters or openly speak about them. “From the Rulers to the Prime Minister and Ministers, to civil servants and ordinary citizens – the rule of law applies to everyone,” he added. Writing on his blog Chedet on Tuesday (Jan 2), Dr Mahathir said the basic law of Malaysia is the Federal Constitution. “It is a comprehensive body of laws which determines the legal structure of Malaysia from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to the Rulers of the sta...

Indonesian rescue teams were searching for victims of a series of landslides that killed at least 15 people on New Year's Day, officials said, after a year of natural disasters killed thousands. At least 20 people were missing after landslides during heavy rain buried 30 houses in Sukabumi regency, West Java. "Loose soil is a danger to rescue teams that are working in the field," said disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. Heavy rain had forced rescuers to suspend the search on Tuesday. Indonesia is a disaster-prone archipelago that in 2018 suffered its deadliest year in over a decade in a series of earthquakes and tsunamis in different regions killed more than 3,000 people.