Day: September 5, 2021

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Muslims advised to not be influenced by PMYT

BUKIT GANTANG, Sept 5 — The public has been advised to not be influenced by the deviant teachings of the “Perjalanan Mimpi Yang Terakhir’ (PMYT) group.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad, in thanking the police for the swift action taken, leading to the arrest of the leader, said the matter not only involved religious issues, but also a threat to the country’s security.

He told reporters after handing over aid to flood victims in three villages here that his office, with the cooperation of the Islamic religious department in all states, is monitoring the group.

He advised Muslims in the country intending to learn more about Islam to go to classes organised at mosques or surau as they are monitored by religious authorities.

Do not get involved in purportedly Islamic religious teachings that are held in secluded or hidden places, he said.

“Don’t believe and be influenced by strange teachings. Refer to the religious authorities for verification on teachings that you are not sure of or doubtful about,” he added.

Yesterday, police arrested a 39-year-old woman, believed to the leader of the PMYT group, at her residence in Shah Alam, Selangor.

The woman went viral recently claiming that the Third World War would start in Sabah and that she would lead her team to find Imam Mahdi to fight the enemy.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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Sarawak to start vaccinating teens under 18 from Wednesday – Uggah

KUCHING, Sept 5 — COVID-19 vaccination for those below 18 years old in Sarawak is expected to begin this Wednesday, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

Uggah, who is also State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman said Sarawak is now finalising preparations to vaccinate the group.

“We are now making preparations to implement this as Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin yesterday announced that the nationwide programme would begin in Sarawak on Wednesday.

“This is because Sarawak had reached its benchmark of 80 per cent vaccinated adults,” he said in a statement today.

Uggah said once the preparations had been done, the relevant details would be announced.

Meanwhile, Uggah is again appealing to a small group of Sarawakians who had refused or were still reluctant to be vaccinated to do so immediately.

He said so long as these people are not vaccinated, they would endanger themselves and others around them.

“This is more so now when we are experiencing more positive cases as well as the presence of the more infectious Delta variant,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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Cucumber brings rich harvest to graduate farmer

KOTA BHARU, Sept 5 — While the debate may continue on whether a cucumber is a fruit or a vegetable, Mohamad Zulfazli Mohamad Arifin is reaping a lucrative income from the crop.

The 28-year-old farmer had not thought that he could earn a five-figure income every season (of two months) from the cultivation of cucumber.

He ventured into cucumber farming in 2018, cultivating about 1,000 baby cucumber plants through fertigation on a 0.3-hectre piece of land in Kampung Kubang Palas, Banggu, here.

At that time, he had left his job as a logistics personnel in a company in Singapore and was unable to secure employment in Malaysia.

“I was drawn to farming by the success of a schoolmate, Mohd Fadir Fuzai, who was enjoying tens of thousands of ringgit cultivating cucumber. I took the bold initiative of planting the crop myself with a savings of RM15,000,” he told Bernama at his farm.

Mohamad Zulfazli, who is a Bachelor of Maritime Operation Management graduate of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), said the venture paid off with an initial income of about RM20,000.

“The cucumber was sold for RM2 to RM3 per kilogram depending on the market price. It was marketed at the Rural Transformation Centre in Tunjong,” he said.

Excited over the returns, he started growing other crops as well, such as petola (luffa gourd), chilli and bitter gourd by seeking guidance from several local farmers as well as attending agricultural courses offered by the Agriculture Department.

The second of six siblings said he is able to harvest as much as 400 kg of cucumber daily, assisted by the 10 workers he had hired from among the young people in the locality.

“Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), my farm is growing. The size of the cultivated land has increased to over 2.2 hectares, some areas of which are leased from the local people for RM300 to RM700 annually,” he said.

Mohamad Zulfazli said sales have been adversely affected of late due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he has managed to market the crop outside Kelantan, especially at the Selayang Market and Klang in Selangor while also producing snacks for sale.

“My wife, Aina Fatini Md Rizan, 24, produces sambal bilis and fried bitter gourd for sale too. I also plan to make pickled cucumber so as to prevent dumping of excess harvest. However, I have to do some research on this,” he said.

Note: Is the cucumber a fruit or a vegetable? Botanically, fruits contain seeds and come from the flower of a plant. A vegetable comprises all other parts of a plant such as leaves, stems and roots. In that sense, the cucumber is a fruit, but for culinary purposes, it is referred to as a vegetable.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency