The Star Online: Nation
The Star Online: Nation |
- Government starts disbursing RM100mil to missionary schools
- Pollution-mapping to be complete by end of 2012, says Douglas Uggah
- Home alone baby in flat fire dies
| Government starts disbursing RM100mil to missionary schools Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:39 AM PDT PUTRAJAYA: The Government has started disbursing the RM100mill allocations announced in the 2012 Budget to 428 missionary schools throughout the country. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said for a start, 75 schools from the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Pahang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan received their allocation Thursday. "The amount of allocation differs from one school to another as it depends on their requirement," he told reporters after presenting the allocation here. Dr Koh said before the distribution was made, the matter was discussed with each school to ensure that the amount given was fair and reasonable. "So on average, each school receives between RM40,000 and RM50,000, while some schools might get more as they are being repaired or expanded," he said. - Bernama |
| Pollution-mapping to be complete by end of 2012, says Douglas Uggah Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:26 AM PDT PUTRAJAYA: The pollution-mapping project to identify the sources of river pollution in the country is expected to be completed by the end of this year, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas said Thursday. He said the Department of Environment (DOE) was conducting the pollution-mapping for rivers, especially in the urban areas to identify the major sources of river pollution in the country. "We are embarking on identifying the sources, especially in the cities, towns, industrial areas and also illegal manufacturing sites. "Once we know that (sources of river pollution), we will focus on enforcement in the areas concerned, as now, the agencies' enforcement is spread throughout the country and we are not focusing on a particular area. "We hope the pollution-mapping will be completed by the year-end. With this, we can identify the most polluted areas and stern action will be taken against the polluters under the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Act 2012," he told reporters after opening the National River Forum, here. The one-day forum, themed "Sustainable River Management: Living River - Getting Everyone Involved" is an initiative by Guinness Anchor Berhad (GAB) Foundation in collaboration with the Global Environmental Centre (GEC) and Putrajaya Corporation. Two local and five foreign experts shared best practices on river management from Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and Vietnam with more than 200 participants. From water-quality monitoring of 464 rivers undertaken by DOE last year, Uggah said 59.3 percent of the rivers were categorised as clean, 32.3 percent as slightly polluted and 8.4 percent as polluted, showing an improvement compared to 2010 when 51.4 percent of the rivers were categorised as clean, 35.6 percent as slightly polluted and 13 percent as polluted. "The government will continue to view river pollution as a serious matter. This is due to the fact that about 97 percent of our raw water supply are derived from surface water sources, primarily," he said. Meanwhile, Uggah said the 'One State One River' programme to rehabilitate and restore degraded rivers to their original condition would be extended to more rivers in certain states which had more polluted rivers. "The 'One State One River' programme is one of my Key Performance Indicators (KPI). I scored quite good in that. We will move beyond 'One State One River' as states like Johor has four or five rivers which need to be clean up, so we will extend (the programme)." He said that under the 10th Malaysian Plan (2011-2015), a total of RM26mil had been allocated for the programme. Uggah welcomed GAB Foundation in collaborating with GEC in its Working Actively Through Education and Rehabilitation (W.A.T.E.R) project to rehabilitate Sungai Way, Selangor, as well as the "Rehabilitation of Lutong River" project in Sarawak by Shell Malaysia. "I hope these initiatives will be emulated by others in the corporate sector to support the government's efforts to rehabilitate polluted rivers," he said. On logging in the Sembrong Forest Reserve, Mersing, Uggah said the two rubber plantation companies would only start the logging activity once they submitted the required Environmental Management Plan (EMP). |
| Home alone baby in flat fire dies Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:23 AM PDT GEORGE TOWN: A six-month-old baby boy, who suffered 70 percent burns after being left alone in a flat that caught fire in Mak Mandin in Butterworth, died at 6.40pm Thursday. Y. Meysshvin failed to recover from the severe burns he suffered on Aug 15 when the flat caught fire. His 48-year-old babysitter had allegedly left the sleeping baby alone in the flat to go to the market. Meysshvin was rescued by neighbour J.P. Supermaniam, 60, who risked his life by rushing into the burning unit. The baby was rushed into the Penang Hospital's paediatric intensive care unit but the baby's condition deteriorated and some of his fingers and toes turned black. Meysshvin's mother Ranjeeta Kaur, 28, said the doctors told the family on Wednesday to be prepared for the worst as the baby's chance of survival was low. "He (baby) had been having breathing difficulty for the last 24 hours," she said, holding back tears, when met at the mortuary here Thursday. "We hope that other babysitters are careful when looking after children and not to leave them unattended," she said. The family is expected to pick up the baby's body on Friday. Sarojaha claimed trial on Aug 24 after being charged in a Magistrate's court for neglecting the baby. She was alleged to have committed the offence at unit No. 4, fourth floor, Block 6, Mak Mandin Flat in Butterworth between 10am and 10.30am on Aug 15. Related Stories: |
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