The Star Online: Metro: South & East

Sabah needs studios to produce movies
Two-storey house on fire during Hari Raya
Health checks help 20% of residents to discover illnesses

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 07:22 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Movie production support facilities such as studios are needed in Sabah to complement the state's potential as a film-making centre, said National Film Board (Finas) chairman Datuk Affendy Hamdan.

He added that a smaller version of Khazanah Nasional's Pinewoods Studio in Johor is needed in Sabah to encourage movie producers to use the state as a backdrop for their films.

He said Sabah and Sarawak are suitable venue for film production due to the numerous scenic areas coupled with its diverse ethnic cultures.

"Sabah is gaining attention as a filming destination.

"I was told that a Bollywood film crew has quietly done some shooting around the Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park," he said at his Hari Raya open house here recently.

Movie production support facilities should include rental of equipment as well as dubbing, mixing and editing suites as such could be set up as joint venture entity between state owned firm and private companies.

Affendy said such a facilty would also attract movie makers from around the region such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Affendy, who was also executive producer of the movie Gerimis Mengundang which was shot mainly in Sabah, said having movies filmed in the state would be a boon to the tourism sector.

He added that that the movie was shown for 21 days at dozens of cinemas around Indonesia and the tour companies had recorded a sharp increase of visitors from the country to Sabah recently.

Two-storey house on fire during Hari Raya

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 07:23 PM PDT

JOHOR BARU: A family's Hari Raya celebrations was dampened after a fire licked their two-storey home in Kampung Bendahara here.

The house, along Jalan Keledek, was empty when the fire broke out at around 1.15pm as the residents were out visiting relatives yesterday.

Single mother Tomi Mohd Said, 68, said that she had just reached a relative's house in Kota Tinggi with her children when neighbours called to inform her about the fire.

"My heart dropped when I received the call. After this we are forced to put a stop to our Hari Raya celebrations and focus on cleaning the house," she said.

Tomi's son, technician Mohd Zain Mohd Amin, 44, said he rushed from his wife's hometown in Malacca to Johor Baru after hearing the news.

"All four of our siblings were supposed to reunite at my mother's house on the third day of Hari Raya but now that such an unfortunate incident happened, we had to throw our plans out the window.

"My 40-year-old brother, who stays in the house with my mother, is a teacher and all of his books were burnt to ruins along with a brand new flat screen television he bought for the festive season," he said when met by reporters at the scene yesterday.

Meanwhile, a Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson said that they received a distress call at around 1.17pm and arrived 10 minutes later.

"Three fire engines were sent out and we managed to control the fire at around 1.33pm.

"We are investigating the cause of fire," he said.

Health checks help 20% of residents to discover illnesses

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 04:19 PM PDT

BATU PAHAT: About 20% of residents were not aware that they had various non-communicable diseases prior to a check at the health examination camps organised by 1MCA Medical Foundation.

The Batu Pahat division chief Dr King Ban Siang said the foundation had conducted eight health checks at housing areas since last year.

"More than 2,600 residents participated in the health check, however, many of them are unaware of their health conditions.

"We detected some 20% of the participants found to have high cholesterol, hypertension and high sugar level in their blood.

"The condition of some 3% to 5% of the participants is quite worrying and need medical attention," he said at the camp held at Taman Makmur and Taman Banang here recently.

Also present at the camp were MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and local community leaders.

More than 400 people participated in the camps, which provided bone density, eye, glucose, hypertension and others health checks.

Dr King said response towards the medical examination camps was overwhelming.

"We are happy to see many people care about their health and took time to have a health screening," he said.

Dr King added that people should go for regular health checks as non-communicable diseases do not show symptoms sometimes.

"This will allow them to receive early treatment and avoid complications in the future," he said.

Dr King also said the foundation needed more volunteers to help up at the health examination camp and urged those who interested to contact them.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Sabtu, 25 Ogos 2012