The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- Clearing oil spill at Tanjung Piai
- Putting mangrove to good use
- GLCs urged to adopt a school to help fund activities
| Clearing oil spill at Tanjung Piai Posted: 16 Sep 2011 08:42 PM PDT PONTIAN: Some 250 volunteers got down and dirtied their hands at the shores of Tanjung Piai near here in a effort to clean up a 15cm-thick oil slick along the stretch. Villagers, fishermen, school children and civil servants came together to clean up the slick from the coastline. Pontian district officer Muji Salimon said villagers living here were the first to discover the oil spill, stretching about 300m from the Tanjung Piai Johor Taman Negara to Tanjung Piai Resort on Sept 9. He added that the district council said the clean-up works would take at least one week to complete. "We began cleaning operations after receiving the complaints and we foresee that the spots affected by the oil spill will expand to another 100 to 200m along the coastal area. "While waiting for a report from the Department of Environment (DOE) to determine the cause of the spill, what we can do is to clean up the shores as much as we can to prevent the spill from spreading even further." The oil slick may be caused by ship-to-ship transfers or illegal oil dumping off Tanjung Piai. One of the fishermen Rais Mat Dali, 49, said the oil spill affected about 150 shallow water fishermen who maintain their livelihood by harvesting for seafood in the area. "We have no choice but to help out with the cleaning activities as the oil spill affected our rice bowl. "The same thing happened last year but it was a much smaller scale compared with this," he said. Another fisherman Jamadin Atan said he suffered about RM1,500 in losses as the sludge damaged his fishing nets as well as two sampans. "The stench of muck from the oil spill that sticks on the fishing nets repels the fishes and prawns. "I hope the authorities can send in more personnel to expedite the clean-up activities," he said. |
| Posted: 16 Sep 2011 08:38 PM PDT KOTA KINABALU: Local communities here are being engaged by Sabah Wetland Conservation Society in an effort to increase awareness on the mangrove swamps and its uses. The society hopes to recruit at least 300 people from around the city to participate in the programme aimed at instilling awareness on the wetlands and its contribution to ecosystem. The society's executive secretary Lucia Loijim said the society is collaborating with the Finnish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on a project called 'Community-based Educational Project on Wise Use of Mangrove'. "This project seeks to engage local community of different ages, families, schools, clubs or organisations to have better understanding of the mangrove ecosystems. "Its wise use with five different programmes on wise use of mangroves such as making handicrafts, dyeing of clothes from tannin extraction, food sources, making charcoal, and medicinal products from mangrove resources," Loijim said. The project that was initiated on Sept 10 saw a first group of volunteers comprising 26 secondary schools students including three teachers from SMK Bahang, Penampang participating in the programme themed "Handicraft - Making your own paper!" This ongoing project, said Loijim, would continue till May 2012. "Local communities can gather hands-on experience in producing goods from natural resources found in mangroves. "It is hoped that by understanding the production process, they will appreciate the nature resources, as well as respect the effort and skills of those communities that produces such goods." The project could also provide an avenue for elders in the local communities to act as mentors in passing their knowledge and experiences to the next generation. This has the benefit to ensure that the local lore and culture would not be lost. For further information about this programme, please contact the Conservation and Science Officer, Lee Ka Han at 088-246955 or email to leekahan@sabahwetlands.org. |
| GLCs urged to adopt a school to help fund activities Posted: 16 Sep 2011 03:38 PM PDT JOHOR BARU: Government-linked companies (GLCs) should adopt schools to help fund activities for students to link with other schools internationally. Deputy Education Minister Dr Puad Zarkashi said the effort could be likened to corporate stewardship for animals in zoos. "By organising an international symposium with the participation of students from abroad, our students can be more aware of what is happening overseas. "This can also sharpen their soft skills including in terms of communication, leadership as well as their self confidence level," he added. Students, he said, should be nurtured in a holistic manner instead of just gaining knowledge in the classrooms. "At the moment boarding schools have international links and now we are hoping for other schools to follow suit. "One example is when Khazanah Nasional adopted 10 trust schools with five in Johor and five in Sarawak. "Even the Johor Corporation has funded this year's Fully Residential Schools International Symposium (FRS) which was held at Sekolah Tun Fatimah," he said. In relation to this, Dr Puad had also hoped for other GLCs to also come forward to help out. This year's FRS symposium attracted 120 pupils from 60 boarding schools nationwide and 44 foreign participants from Laos, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea. Dr Puad said such symposiums would enable students to be exposed to international issues and this would encourage them to be more critical and promote constructive discussion. Commenting on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claims that the current textbooks are inaccurate as they had not given a clear background on the fight for the nation's independence, he said that the former premier should provide more details. He said in 2003, there was a review of the curricular for history being thought in schools while a special committee at the ministry level was also looking in the subject and would come up with a report by the end of the year. Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying that not much was mentioned on the roles played by leaders such as first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. Because of this, the younger generation did not understand the country's history and origin. |
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