Mohamad Taufek Abd Ghani |
- Wabak TB dan kebanjiran pekerja asing
- Jom Ubah
- Konvoi Pilihanraya dan Kenduri Rakyat
- 20 kanak-kanak tak sekolah
- 9,370 kes kenderaan terbakar di Malaysia dalam tempoh 5 tahun
| Wabak TB dan kebanjiran pekerja asing Posted: 18 May 2012 01:34 AM PDT  Kebanjiran pekerja dan warga asing bukan sahaja mendatangkan pelbagai masalah sosial, bahkan wabak penyakit TB atau batuk kering. Tuberculosis makes a comeback in Sabah May 18, 2012 Illegal immigrants in Sabah are being blamed for the fast spreading tuberculosis disease which was once almost eradicated. KOTA KINABALU: The uncontrolled influx of illegal immigrants into Sabah has spawned a lethal infectious disease, once thought to have been almost eradicated. Tuberculosis, more commonly known as TB, is killing people on a weekly basis in Sabah and the spread of the disease is being pinned on the immigrants who have been pouring over its borders for years. According to the health authorities here, Sabah is the most afflicted state in the country with at least four people dying weekly from the dreaded disease. That works out to about 200 deaths every year from the disease that was once thought to have been almost eradicated in Sabah. The State Health Department said an average of 10 people are diagnosed with TB in Sabah every week and most of them are foreigners. "Kota Kinabalu ranks the highest, followed by Tawau and Sandakan," Sabah Health Department assistant director (TB/Leprosy), Dr Richard Avoi told a health care seminar here over the weekend. The spread of TB, he said, is known to be closely associated with poverty, overcrowding, alcoholism, malnutrition and drug abuse. "It spreads easily in overcrowded, poorly ventilated places and among people who are undernourished," Dr Avoi said. All Sabah's major towns are fertile grounds for the disease. They all have a large population of poor, illegal immigrants from the southern Philippines and Indonesia living in shanty towns that have mushroomed in the state. Infectious strain What makes it worse, according to Dr Avoi, is that about 17% of the immigrant TB patients and about 3% of locals suffering from the disease do not complete their six-month treatment regimen leading to them being more drug-resistant and for the disease to keep resurfacing. The BCG vaccine injection given to babies is no guarantee that one would not contract TB. Other than pulmonary TB which infects the lungs, the other strains of the disease infect the bones, skin, lymph nodes and even the brain. The authorities official confirmation of the increasing threat of the disease building to epidemic proportions has raised fears that certain areas such as the crowded wet markets, shopping complexes and cinemas that are popular meeting spots for the immigrant population, will become "no-go zones" soon. Those frequenting these places are already vulnerable if they fail to take extra care, health officials have long warned. The risk is high considering that TB, a contagious bacterial infection that involves the lungs, but can spread to other organs, can infect people of any age and once infected, the whole family and acquaintances in contact with the carrier is at risk. "Being about three feet away from someone with TB can increase chances of getting pulmonary TB," Dr Avoi told the seminar. According to him, there would be a very high risk of getting TB if one is, for instance, inside a long-distance bus with someone with TB onboard. This makes traveling by bus to the east coast towns like Tawau, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu, a journey of about eight hours, a risky business. Curable disease James Bagah, the president of Consumer Protection Association of Sabah (Caps) said the revelation is alarming. "We advise people to avoid if possible places where they think they would be exposed to infectious diseases including the dreaded TB," he said in an immediate reaction to the prevalence of the disease when contacted by FMT. Bagah also said the authorities should increase TB awareness talks as many were not aware of the growing threat of the disease in the state. "I am concerned as there seem to be more and more people coughing nowadays. You can see it for yourself everywhere … I hope its is just the weather and not something serious like TB," he added. While the "good news" about TB is that it is curable, the problem Sabah is facing is that its health care services are overwhelmed and border control is almost non-existent.  |
| Posted: 18 May 2012 01:08 AM PDT   |
| Konvoi Pilihanraya dan Kenduri Rakyat Posted: 18 May 2012 01:06 AM PDT   |
| Posted: 18 May 2012 12:27 AM PDT  18 Mei 2012 ULU JELEBU - "Gara-gara masalah jalan yang tidak diturap, hampir 20 kanak-kanak di kampung ini tidak bersekolah kerana mengalami kesukaran untuk berulang-alik dari sekolah," kata Tok Batin Kampung Banir Tengkor, Jasni Ngongok. Menurutnya, dahulu ada van yang disediakan untuk mengambil dan menghantar anak-anak Orang Asli di kawasan itu ke sekolah. Namun kini perkhidmatan itu dihentikan kerana pemandunya tidak sanggup untuk berulang-alik ke sini ekoran jalan yang teruk. "Malah disebabkan selalu ponteng sekolah, ramai anak-anak di kampung ini hilang minat untuk belajar," katanya. Jasni berkata, kampung itu sudah wujud lebih 50 tahun lalu, namun penduduk di kawasan berkenaan masih ketinggalan dari segi kemudahan jalan. "Berikutan masalah itu, setiap hari kami berdepan risiko kemalangan apabila laluan utama sejauh lebih 1 kilometer menghubungkan Kampung Ulu Jelebu curam. "Walaupun begitu kami terpaksa juga melaluinya untuk melakukan rutin harian dan keluar ke pekan," katanya. Menurutnya, sebelum ini, beliau pernah mengadukan masalah itu pada mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung Ulu Jelebu, namun jawapan yang diterima ialah tiada peruntukan untuk membuat jalan di kampung berkenaan. Jasni berkata, namun berlainan pula dengan kampung Orang Asli lain seperti di Ulu Kelaka, Lakai dan Tohor semuanya ada peruntukan untuk membina jalan. "Malah, jalan baru turut dibina di Kampung Chennah sedangkan keadaan jalan di sana tidaklah seteruk di sini," katanya. Menurutnya, motosikal milik penduduk juga sering kali rosak gara-gara melalui jalan berbatu itu. "Sekiranya hujan , keadaan jalan di kawasan ini akan berlumpur dan ia merbahaya untuk digunakan," katanya. Sementara itu, penduduk, Razif Abu Hassan, 26, berkata, berikutan masalah jalan itu, dia juga mengalami kesukaran menghantar isteri yang hamil untuk membuat pemeriksaan di klinik. Razif berkata, masalah itu bertambah rumit sekiranya ada wanita yang mahu bersalin pada malam hari. "Kawasan di sini sangat gelap dan jalan pula teruk, namun saya terpaksa melaluinya kerana bekerja di luar kampung. Jika hujan, saya tak dapat pergi kerja dan ini menjejaskan pendapatan saya yang terima gaji hari," katanya. Peniaga kedai runcit, Mohd Khaidir Abdul, 50, berkata, keadaan jalan tersebut turut membebankannya apabila kenderaan yang digunakan untuk menjual barangan runcit di kawasan itu sering rosak. "Saya berniaga di sini atas permintaan penduduk memandangkan mereka sukar untuk ke kawasan luar akibat jalan yang teruk," katanya.  |
| 9,370 kes kenderaan terbakar di Malaysia dalam tempoh 5 tahun Posted: 17 May 2012 05:43 PM PDT   Data dari laman web Bomba dan Penyelamat menyatakan dari tahun 2004 hingga 2008 sejumlah 9,370 kes kenderaan terbakar. Presiden CAP, S. M. Mohamed Idris mendesak agar siasatan dan laporan terperinci perlu dikeluarkan demi keselamatan para pengguna.  PULAU PINANG 17 Mei 2012 Presiden CAP, S. M. Mohamed Idris menunjukkan poster gambar kenderaan yang hangus terbakar secara misteri termasuk Lamborghini Gallardo, Peugeot Sport 308, Ferrari F430, Porche Boxter Sports dan Honda Civic katanya pada sidang akhbar di sini hari ini. - UTUSAN/ISMAIL KAMADIN Investigate cause of vehicle fires Malaysia has experienced a spate of vehicle fires of late, some of which involving luxury cars and an SUV. These fires were not caused by collision as the cars caught fire while they were moving and some others while they were parked. The causes of these vehicle fires remain unexplained and unresolved. Without proper knowledge of the causes of these car fires and subsequent remedy, Malaysian car owners are subject to risks of loss, injuries and even deaths. Malaysians also want to know how safe their cars are from fires. Car fires are a huge problem all over the world involving hundreds of thousands of vehicles yearly and it is time that the Malaysian authorities do something serious about this deadly risk. CAP calls for proper investigations of all vehicle fires and the results of these findings to be made public. The reporting of all cases of vehicle fires must be made mandatory so that our authorities can monitor and study the problem. CAP is alarmed at the number of vehicles going up in flames. In the last 8 months alone the media reported 8 instances of various types of vehicles going up in flames under mysterious circumstances. CAP believes that there must be other cases which go unreported by the media. When CAP contacted the Insurance Services of Malaysia for statistics we were told that they "do not collate such statistics from the industry". According to the US Fire Administration there were 215,500 car fires in the year 2010, resulting in 310 deaths, 1,590 injuries and a loss of US$1,376 million. In Malaysia, the following car fires were reported by the media in the last 8 months: -- In September 2011, a Lamborghini Gallardo was reduced to ashes at Bukit Damansara while the owner was taking the car for a warm-up spin. When CAP wrote to BOMBA enquiring what was the cause of the fire, we were told that it was due to a technical fault. The Ministry of Transport replied, based on the BOMBA and JPJ reports, that it was due to fuel leak. Such replies are simply not good enough an explanation of what is at fault and whether the car manufacturer was liable. -- In October 2011 a Peugeot Sport 308 which had been in the garage of the owner suddenly burst into flames at midnight. -- In March this year a Ferrari F430 while travelling along the highway near Mantin was destroyed by fire. -- A Porche Boxter Sports also experienced a fire in Malaysia while it was being parked in March this year. -- In October 2010, a Honda Civic 2.0L exploded into flames 2 hours after it had been parked in the garage of the owner in Sungei Petani. BOMBA put out the fire and in their report said that the fire started from the engine. Honda Malaysia reported that they did not find any unusual symptoms to cause the fire. The insurance company removed the wreckage and paid the claims but did not give any technical report. The car was never seen again. The owner was unhappy that she was not given a proper report and finally complained to CAP. -- In April this year, a van was reported to have burst into flames along the North-South expressway, near Sungiei Buloh Hospital. -- In January this year a bus ferrying passengers burst into flames near Malacca. -- In April this year, a SUV exploded when the owner started the car in front of his house, in KL. He died a few days later. It is surprising that exotic cars made up a high percentage of these car fires. When expensive cars have such poor record of fire safety, how safe are ordinary cars? It seems that cars are not designed and manufactured safe. When a safety defect is reported to manufacturers the customers expect them to take it seriously and do an in-depth investigation. However, this seldom or never happens in Malaysia. Instead, manufacturers distance themselves from the issue after a brief visual examination and give a one sentence statement. The authorities should take this seriously and put in place penalties for violations by manufacturers and suppliers. An exclusive independent agency should be set up to cater to recall activities for road vehicles in line with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in USA. When modifications are done to a vehicle it has to be approved by the Road Transport Department. Repair to cars also may cause potential problems. Therefore, workshops and auto workers should be certified for the services. Auto spare parts, especially electrical parts and cables, should conform to SIRIM Standards. CAP calls on the authorities to implement the following: -- Set up a body to register and investigate all vehicle fires, determine causes and seek ways to remedy the problem. -- Proper procedures should be in place for total write-off of vehicles. -- Car owners should be provided with a full report of the investigations. -- Compile statistics on vehicle safety defect and fires. -- The compiled data should be used to ensure new vehicles rolling out of plants are manufactured safe. -- Ensure spare parts in the market conform to safety standards. -- Auto workshops should be certified to conform to good standards of service. -- Automotive technicians should be certified before they handle safety parts of cars. -- Set up a recall mechanism with an exclusive agency to deal with all car recall activities. -- Penalties should be put in place for violations by manufacturers and suppliers. Press Statement, 17 May 2012  |
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