The Star Online: Nation
The Star Online: Nation |
- Companies urged to hire the disabled
- Three captive Sumatran rhinos raise conservation hopes
- MAS: Battery cargo non-hazardous
| Companies urged to hire the disabled Posted: 22 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT KULAIJAYA: Companies in Johor have been urged to be more receptive to hiring people with disabilities. State Unity and Human Resouces exco R. Vidyanathan has said that so far the state government has identified 30 companies that have already employed disabled people. "I am sure there are more in other districts and we urge them to come forward and work with the state government so that we can do job matching and include the disabled people in the state's developments," he said after launching a job fair for special people in Senai here yesterday. He said the fair was a good beginning in getting potential employers to be more proactive in creating job opportunities for people with disabilities and less privileged people like single mothers, ex-convicts and ex-drug addicts. A disabled worker Norhanah Ismail who walks with a crutch is one of those who had benefited from the matching programme. Met at the fair, the 44-year-old printing assistant said she went through a very bad time trying to secure a stable job due to her disability. She had struggled finding a job suitable for her condition before she managed to land a job at the printing company in Bandar Baru Uda. Nohanah, 44, who suffered from the disability after being born prematurely and suffering from severe fever added that she felt grateful as her employer has been understanding since she began working at the company four years ago. "I am given the responsibility of handling the printing process for business cards, banners and buntings, which do not require a lot of physical exertion," she said. She said sometimes she would be asked to work faster to meet urgent orders. "But I take it as a challenge because I want to prove to others that even with my shortcomings, I can perform well and do my best," she said, adding that she learned basic reading and writing from courses conducted by the state Welfare Department. She was among those who received certificates of appreciation at the fair, which recognises the efforts by special people to strive to be independent and earn their own keep. |
| Three captive Sumatran rhinos raise conservation hopes Posted: 22 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT KOTA KINABALU: Sabah wildlife researchers are hopeful that three Sumatran rhinoceros now in captivity at a reserve will help save the species from extinction. Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said they were examining the latest captive, a female Sumatran rhino recently translocated to the reserve to join two other creatures from the critically endangered species. The female rhino was air-lifted by a helicopter to the Tabin Wildlife Reserve on Friday, about 10 days after its capture at the Danum Valley conservation area. Researchers have named the female rhino Iman after the small river at the Danum Valley. "Once Iman is settled into Tabin, we will review all potential options on how she can best contribute to her species," Dr Ambu said. "We hope that this success will act as a boost to international collaboration on the Sumatran rhino, and through the NGO Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora), try to engage with our counterparts in Indonesia." He said the capture of Iman and two others – a male named Tam and a female named Puntung – was necessary. "The Sumatran rhino is on the verge of extinction in Sabah. Bringing them into captive conditions allows us to maximise the chance that each rhino can help save the species," Laurentius said, adding that the department had been working on this matter with Bora, WWF Malaysia and Yayasan Sabah. Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the state Cabinet had decided a year ago to bring all remaining Sumatran rhinos into a managed, fenced-in facility. "Our hope is to breed them with the neccessary local and global expertise," he said. "We also hope that with the continued support and expertise on rhino reproductive biology from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife based in Berlin, Germany, we will have baby rhinos soon," Masidi added. In this regard, he said while the Sabah cabinet had agreed to loan Tam to the Cincinatti Zoo for breeding as part of international collaboration, that move may not be necessary if Iman was proven to be fertile. "The state Cabinet approval to send Tam to the United States was conditional upon our failure to catch a fertile young female rhino at Danum within a reasonable time to mate with Tam," he added. |
| MAS: Battery cargo non-hazardous Posted: 22 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT SEPANG: The cargo of lithium-ion batteries carried as cargo on MH370 is deemed non-hazardous, said Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahaya (pic). He said this when asked about reports of previous air incidents from lithium-ion batteries carried in passengers' baggage or aircraft cargo. "Despite the reports, it is deemed non-hazardous cargo, provided it is handled in accordance to very specific and strict guidelines and compliance. "This is done by all airlines," Ahmad Jauhari told a press conference here. To another question on why MAS did not upgrade its satellite services which may have helped in locating the missing plane, Ahmad Jauhari said an update "would not have made any difference in the current situation." "The service is only to increase bandwidth for the satellite communications and the current set-up that we have fulfils all our needs." |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online : Nation Feed 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