The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
| Mills polluting rivers to face the law Posted: 25 Oct 2012 07:42 PM PDT KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government would not hesitate on acting against oil palm mills for allegedly polluting rivers through direct discharge of waste. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said action was taken against the culprits and the government had even suspended an oil mill operated by a public listed company. "We do not pick and choose our enforcement, we act against any operator who are involved in pollution," he said when replying to a question from Datuk Liew Teck Chan (SAPP-Likas) at the Sabah Legislative Assembly meeting recently. Masidi said till October this year, a total of 219 compounds were issued against polluters including 13 oil palm mills and a sum of RM158,050 was collected in fines. He added that enforcement was a difficult task as there are 130 licensed oil palm mills across the state. "I am not making excuses, Sabah is a large state and it is a very big effort to mobilise and carry out enforcement against the offenders." Masidi said the government is constantly monitoring the quality of 36 rivers in the state by the setting up of 115 stations monitoring the water quality to ensure that any pollution will not affect people using the river. He said the monitoring stations are operated by Syarikat Alam Sekitar Malaysia (ASMA) while enforcement was a continuing effort carried out by both the Department of Environment and state agency. The key towards resolving problems of pollution, said Masidi, is educating and making public aware on the need to preserve the rivers. |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2012 07:36 PM PDT KOTA KINABALU: Usage of the English language has increased in and outside classrooms as a result of the Federal Ministry of Education's 'English Language Teacher Develop-ment' (ELTDP) project. British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Simon Featherstone said since the project started in January last year, a growing evidence of the language being used by students, parents and teachers from over 300 schools here is shown. "This is clear evidence from our observations that parents have supported, through the project, and become more engaged with their children's schools," he said. He said this while officiating at the SK Pulau Gaya ELTDP programme on Monday. Featherstone said the English language is a world's language, and should be mastered by all. The British Council, he added, has supplied some 30,000 English picture and storybooks for about 40 schools in East Malaysia under the project. "For Pulau Gaya, a total of 1,600 books have been donated for teachers to help them support students in developing their reading skills," he said. Featherstone said the British Council was proud of their roles in supporting the wider use of the English language, and was proud of the expertise the British government could offer. Meanwhile, Sabah Education Department Deputy Director, Maimunah Suhaibal said the project brought by the government with assistance from the British Council was timely, as tourism has become a main source of economy for Sabah. "By mastering the language, we can learn to communicate well with tourists and compete at par with the world in other aspects," she said. The project aims at improving reading skills among students and overcoming flaws in the learning and mastering of the language also received support from students and parents. Helly Absarani, 39, who has two children studying there, said she was glad that the school took part in the project. "Not only our children can learn the language, we, as parents, are also able to learn by coming to the school to read and spent time with the mentors and language officers," she said. Likewise, parent Noorhajija Belog, 32, who has three children between the aged of 8 and 12 studying there hopes to see the project continued. "This is so that the community and parents here can learn the language and then teach our children at home. Education is so important," she said. Jasmen Elahan was glad that the project received tremendous support from parents and students. "It would not be hard for them to master the language soon because they have the determination and interest," he said. |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2012 04:23 PM PDT RAUB: Police issued a reminder to residents to be on the alert and adhere to directive from the authorities during the coming monsoon season. The district's deputy OCPD Deputy Supt Azhar Abdul Rahman said those staying near the vicinity of rivers should take precautionary measures and be prepared to evacuate if the need arises. "We have identified two areas — Cheroh and Dong — as floods-prone during a heavy downpour. "As such, residents in these two areas must be on the high alert and brace for any eventualities," he said. DSP Azhar said based on past occurrences, Sungai Semantan, Sungai Gali, Sungai Pasu and Sungai Dong tended to overflow, resulting in floods. He said among the villages at risk were Kampung Kundang Patah, Kampung Ria, Kampung Kuala Gali, Gali Hilir, Kampung Bukit Pampong and Kampung Ajai. "As for Cheroh, should Sungai Lipis overflows, the affected villages are Kampung Ulu Sungai, Batu Talam, Semantan Hulu, Sengkela, Kampung Pia, Kampung Sega and Kampung Chenua. "We urge residents to monitor the situation closely and get the latest information on weather change daily throughout this rainy season," he said, adding that parents should also keep a close watch of their children and prevent them from playing near overflowing rivers. DSP Azhar said usage of electrical appliances should be minimised during a heavy downpour to prevent a short circuit. He said all important documents must be placed on higher ground and brought along if evacuation was necessary. "Residents should also check to ensure the main switch and other switches are turn off and lock up all entrances. "They should immediately alert the authorities if flood waters is rising fast in their neighbourhood so that prompt assistance can be rendered," he said. The public can contact its hotline at 09-355 4999. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Metro: South & East To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan