Usaha memanfaatkan herba kita
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HASRAT kerajaan ingin membantu golongan petani miskin di luar bandar wajar dialu-alukan kerana mereka terpaksa mengalami tekanan hidup tanpa memiliki pendapatan yang sentiasa terjamin. Mereka yang terpaksa menanggung perbelanjaan harian keluarga seperti orang lain kerapkali berasa gelisah apabila harga hasil tanaman mereka seperti getah dan kelapa sawit semakin terjejas di peringkat antarabangsa. Permintaan antarabangsa terhadap minyak kelapa seperti China menyebabkan harganya merudum sekali gus memberi kesan kepada pekebun kecil tempatan.Pesawah di utara Semenanjung juga mengalami pelbagai musibah tanaman sehingga menyebabkan hasil keluaran terjejas. Tambahan pula kerajaan sekarang mengurangkan bantuan sara hidup mereka.
Sehubungan itu beberapa langkah perlu diambil oleh pihak berwajib bagi membantu meningkatkan hasil pendapatan harian atau bulanan petani serta pekebun kecil di luar bandar yang semakin terhimpit kehidupan masing-masing. Tidak ada guna dasar baharu digubal bagi memulihkan ekonomi negara sedangkan kesannya gagal mengatasi masalah sebenar dihadapi rakyat miskin seperti petani dan pekebun kecil.Penggunaan teknologi tinggi dalam sektor pertanian tidak semestinya berjaya mengubah nasib petani dan pekebun kecil terbabit sekiranya mereka masih memiliki saiz tanah seluas kangkang kera. Kerajaan terkini mesti berusaha mendapatkan pendapatan tinggi negara hasil daripada kutipan cukai terhadap industri perdagangan berskala besar supaya ia dapat dimanfaat dan disalurkan semula ke dalam pembangunan pelbagai sektor termasuk bidang pertanian.
Wang simpanan lesap ditipu parcel scam
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KEPALA BATAS 27 Feb. - Seorang lelaki warga emas berusia 67 tahun terpaksa berputih mata apabila wang simpanannya berjumlah RM14,100 lesap selepas diperdaya sindiket parcel scam.Ketua Polis Daerah Seberang Perai Utara, Asisten Komisioner Noorzainy Mohd Noor berkata, mangsa pada mulanya telah berkenalan dengan seorang perempuan di Facebook yang memperkenalkan diri sebagai 'Silver Vuyana’ pada 18 Februari lalu.“Pada 20 Februari, mangsa yang bekerja sendiri di Perai, menerima panggilan daripada kurier dan mendakwa ada satu bungkusan yang dikirim kepadanya namun mangsa perlu membuat pembayaran duti import dan caj penghantaran terlebih dahulu.
“Mangsa kemudian teringat mengenai rakan yang dikenali melalui Facebook yang sebelum itu memberitahu akan mengirim hadiah kepadanya dan tanpa mengesyaki apa-apa dia kemudian membuat bayaran sebanyak RM14,100 sebanyak tiga kali transaksi melalui mesin deposit tunai di sebuah bank di Raja Uda pada Selasa lalu," katanya di sini hari ini.Menurut Noorzainy sehingga kelmarin, mangsa tidak menerima bungkusan tersebut."Dia kemudiannya menyedari telah ditipu sindiket terbabit lalu bertindak membuat laporan polis dan kes ini disiasat mengikut Seksyen 420 Kanun Keseksaan," katanya. - UTUSAN ONLINE
Deadly poachers still at large in Sabah
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KOTA KINABALU: Two more Borneo pygmy elephants have been found dead in Sabah’s east coast as the poaching threat continues unabated into the new year.An adult cow was found dead near a plantation area at Sukau close to the high conservation area of Kinabatangan, while another was found near a state-owned plantation area in Tawau.Both the elephants were found in decomposing condition by the workers on Monday.Sabah Wildlife Department and police were informed of the two discoveries.Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said yesterday that the post-mortem has yet to be done.
Tuuga, however, declined further comment on the matter.The two deaths, according to a conservationist who declined to be named, comes after five elephant deaths were reported between December and January this year.At least two of the elephants were believed to have been shot by poachers while the others could have been poisoned or succumbed to natural causes in the incidents in Kinabatangan, Tawau and Lahad Datu.Last year Sabah saw some 27 elephants deaths related to poisoning, poaching and natural causes as the state government put together an action plan to work with plantations and villagers to help mitigate the problems of human-elephant conflict.WWF Malaysia and other conservation groups have also been involved in mitigating the problems faced by the critically endangered Borneo Pygmy elephants.There is an estimated 1,500 to 2,500 elephants left in the wild and shrinking forest habitats are further putting pressure on the elephants and other wildlife in Sabah’s east coast forests.
Water theft discovered
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AN ILLEGAL water connection to a construction site in Mont Kiara has been cut off by National Water Services Commission (SPAN), following an alert by Selangor Water Management Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor).A team sent by SPAN to the site at Lot 57503, Jalan 4/70C, Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, discovered an extension from the 600mm Air Selangor main pipe that used a 32mm HDPE poly pipe.The extension was linked to a pond which channelled water to three cement mixers there.A chlorine test indicated that it was treated water.
According to Section 123 (1) Water Services Industry Act 2006 (Act 655), no one is allowed to make any connection to a water pipe service without a licence, and offenders will be fined, not exceeding RM100,000, or jailed not exceeding one year or both, as stated in Section 123 (3) in the same Act.According to Selangor Water Management Sdn Bhd customer relationship and communication head Abdul Raof Ahmad, this year alone, there has been 58 cases of illegal water tapping in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya – 49 were for commercial use and nine for domestic use.“I urge the public to report to us if they notice any water-tapping activity,” Abdul said, adding that the process to register for water supply was easy.
Kerajaan ambil alih konsesi lebuh raya secara berperingkat - Azmin
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SEMENYIH: Kerajaan sememangnya bercadang untuk mengambil alih konsesi lebuh raya di negara ini, namun akan dilakukan secara berperingkat dan perlu melalui proses yang betul, kata Menteri Hal Ehwal Ekonomi Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.Beliau berkata proses pengambilalihan tol lebuh raya memerlukan perbincangan menyeluruh seperti melihat kembali perjanjian yang ditandatangani serta implikasi kewangan yang bakal terjadi selepas pengambilalihan.“Satu per satu lah (ambil alih tol), tadi kamu (pemberita) kata beban kewangan besar bila laksanakan ambil alih.
“Apabila kerajaan ambil empat (tol) kata tidak ada kemampuan nak bayar, sekarang nak suruh ambil lagi satu pula,” katanya kepada pemberita di sini.Beliau mengulas kenyataan Timbalan Presiden UMNO, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, yang bertanya mengapa kerajaan tidak turut mengambil alih syarikat konsesi lebuh raya milik Plus Malaysia Berhad (PLUS).Sabtu lalu, Pejabat Perdana Menteri mengeluarkan kenyataan kerajaan sudah pun memulakan rundingan dengan Gamuda Berhad untuk mengambil alih konsesi empat lebuh raya yang syarikat terbabit mempunyai pegangan majoriti.Menurut kenyataan itu, kerajaan berhasrat untuk memansuhkan mekanisme tol sedia ada apabila berjaya mengambil alih lebuh raya berkenaan.
Read more: Kerajaan ambil alih konsesi lebuh raya secara berperingkat - Azmin
Commuters: MRT stations still in need of better security
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KUALA LUMPUR: Commuters are hoping that security at MRT stations will be continuously stepped up in the wake of the robbery-cum-assault on a woman in a lift at the Taman Mutiara station in Cheras here.Housewife Chen Fong Chin said she had yet to see more security guards at the station after the incident, of which a CCTV recording went viral online.“My family and I use the lift often. We were shocked by the incident. I won’t be taking the lift in the short term,” she said.Chen, 42, who always travels to town using the MRT, applauded the announcement by the Transport Ministry that Prasarana Malaysia would step up security at several MRT stations where there had been frequent incidents of crime.
While she acknowledged that there is a risk for women to travel alone in the early morning, Chen urged the authorities to ensure the safety of public spaces and not wait for an unfortunate incident to happen before acting.“These women need to take the MRT to go to work or school.“Although advising them to learn martial arts and not to travel alone does help, more should still be done by the operator and the authorities,” she said.In the Feb 14 incident, a 48-year-old woman suffered multiple injuries after she was violently attacked by a man in a lift at about 6.45am. The CCTV recording shows the woman entering the lift followed by the man who then punched and kicked her repeatedly before escaping with her MyKad, ATM cards and RM400 in cash. The man, 26, was arrested four days later.
Read more: Commuters: MRT stations still in need of better security
Ministry calls on WHO to look into drug pricing
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KUALA LUMPUR: Amidst pressure against Malaysia for using compulsory licensing (CL) to gain access to generic versions of a Hepatitis C drug, the Health Ministry has urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to look into the pricing system of medicine by big pharmaceutical companies.Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye (pic) said while Malaysia could exercise the rights provided for under the World Trade Organisation’s agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the scope is limited to government use only.“Even though we have a strong ground to exercise the right, the Health Ministry, the Health Minister, myself, (Pharmaceutical Service Programme senior director) Dr Ramli Zainal, the Prime Minister, Economic Affairs Minister get frequent calls from pharmaceutical companies, the United States’ ambassador and the US Trade Representative.
“You can see the pressure mounting on us. I hope the international community could look at how pharmaceutical companies price their medicine,” he said at the forum on Improving Access to Affordable Cancer Treatments in Malaysia yesterday.“We may think rich countries subsidise lower income countries but some drug prices in the private sector are comparable or higher than those in advanced countries. There is an anomaly in terms of pricing,” he said.Dr Lee said he was not a socialist and recognised that capitalism drove innovation but the “profit and loss” balance sheet system of rewarding innovators should be reviewed, especially for the medical fraternity.
Register your employees now, warns Socso
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By now, employers of several companies, especially SMEs, are aware of what Ops Kesan means. It’s an operation to ensure business owners register their employees with Socso – and they have about a month to do so or face prosecution and pay dearly.
PETALING JAYA: Employers who have yet to register their companies and employees with the Social Security Organisation (Socso) have been given a one-month grace period – from March 1 to 31 – before the operation, codenamed Ops Kesan 2019, starts in April.
Any employer who voluntarily registers during this period will be exempt from being issued a compound and prosecution even though the deadline they should register has passed, said Socso chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed.
Temperature soars to 36°C
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PETALING JAYA: Temperatures continued to soar throughout the country as the number of areas on heatwave alert doubled to 10 compared with two weeks ago.The dry weather has also led to water supply concerns in some states, including Perak and Kelantan, while the Education Ministry has advised schools to monitor outdoor activities and ensure students drink enough water, in light of the current heatwave, which is set to last until April.The hottest spots yesterday were Chuping (Perlis); Kubang Pasu, Kota Setar and Sik (Kedah), which all hit a high of 36°C.The four areas, along with Kepong (Kuala Lumpur); Hulu Perak, Kuala Kangsar and Kinta (Perak); Maran (Pahang); and Tangkak (Johor) were placed on Category 1 or heatwave alert, according to data from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) website.
Category 1 is when the mercury climbs to between 35°C and 37°C for three days in a row. Since Feb 13, the number of towns on Category 1 has gone up from five to 10.According to MetMalaysia, the current hot weather in the west coast states of the peninsula and Sabah is expected to continue until the end of next month.The hot weather is a normal phenomenon, which begins at the tail end of the north-east monsoon.The monsoon started in November and ends in April, and is followed by the intermonsoon period, which usually brings more thunderstorms in the west coast and interior of the peninsula, east coast of Sabah and central Sarawak.Data from the Selangor Water Management Authority website (iwrims.luas.gov.my) showed that the water level in Sungai Selangor dam, which supplies 70% of the treated water in the Klang Valley, was still very high at 98% yesterday.
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