Day: May 3, 2022

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 (Bernama) — The Selangor Fire and Rescue Department saved assets worth RM781.4 million and firefighters dealt with 8,814 fires involving buildings and property in Selangor throughout 2021.

Selangor Fire and Rescue director Norazam Khamis said in the same period, almost RM347.7 million in losses were recorded involving property and building fires, up from RM297.9 million in losses in 2020.

However, the total assets saved from 7,521 fires in 2020 was RM2.66 billion.

“For this year until February, a total of RM83.5 million in assets involving buildings and property was saved while a total of RM31.1 million in losses were recorded from 1,090 fires.

“Also, a total of 14 people died in fires last year, while the number of fatalities in 2020 was 18. As of February this year, there were three deaths,” he told Bernama recently.

On fires in residential houses, Norazam said among the most common causes were boiling water or cooking left unattended along with leaking gas regulators and hoses, as well as short circuits due to electrical wiring, power sources that were left ‘live’ (mains not switched off) and the use of uncertified electrical equipment.

“To prevent fires, make sure to turn off your stove after cooking and electrical goods used must be approved by the authorities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Fire director Nordin Pauzi said his department saved assets worth RM322.4 million in cases involving buildings and property fires throughout 2021 while RM71 million in losses were recorded.

He said the total of losses rose compared to 2020, which saw losses of RM58.5 million, but had a higher amount of total assets saved, at RM683.2 million.

“From the start of the year till mid-April, a total of RM182.8 million in assets was saved and a total of RM17.9 million in losses was recorded,” he said.

Nordin said there were five deaths recorded over the past year with one death in 2020 and as of April this year, there has been three fatalities.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 (Bernama) — Lucrative returns are among the reasons why cigarette smuggling activities are still rampant in the country.

In fact, cigarette smuggling activities have increased over the past two years despite the COVID-19 pandemic and regular enforcement operations mobilised by the authorities, according to 4th Battalion of the General Operations Force (GOF4) commanding officer, Supt Rizal Mohamed.

He said GOF4 managed to seize 7,982 cartons of cigarettes of various brands worth RM1,430,251 in 2020 and 115,526 cartons of contraband cigarettes worth RM25,985,425 last year.

“A total of 9,415 cartons of cigarettes worth RM1,833,133 were seized and six individuals arrested from January to March this year,” he told Bernama.

Rizal said the syndicates used different tactics and various modus operandi to prevent detection of their illicit activities.

“The syndicates are not scared of the authorities due to the high demand and lucrative returns,” he said.

Rizal said most cigarettes were smuggled in from Indonesia and Thailand and the syndicates managed to avoid detection as they were hiding behind the use of legal route known as the ‘elephant trail’ in major ports.

He said every day, there were tens of thousands of boxes of cigarettes entering Selangor through the port and it was quite difficult to detect the contraband items as they had been falsely declared as “permitted goods”.

Therefore, Rizal said security controls at all entry points such as major ports needed to be tightened with the help of relevant agencies.

He suggested that more scanners be installed at ports to detect prohibited items in containers, in addition to increasing the number of enforcement personnel to curb the smuggling activities.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

GEORGE TOWN, May 3 (Bernama) — After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, this year’s Aidilfitri celebration provides an opportunity for traders who sell fresh flowers at the Jalan Perak Muslim Cemetery to earn extra income as streams of visitors are seen visiting the graves of their loved ones here.

It has been a tradition that the Jalan Perak Muslim Cemetry would be the focus of Muslims, especially those who ‘balik kampung’ to celebrate Aidilfitri by visiting the graves of their loved ones, however, such activity has stopped for the past two years when the country was hit by the pandemic.

Fortunately, these flower traders can now heave a sigh of relief following the government’s announcement on the relaxation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs), as they are now able to resume their business.

One of the traders, Rosinah Md Hassan, 46, was relieved that her flower business at the cemetery was able to resume operations.

She said that the demand for fresh flowers is usually higher during the festive season, thus allowing part-time traders such as herself to make a small profit in celebrating Aidilfitri.

“This flower stall has been in my family for four generations, and every Ramadan, my family and I will do business here to earn a bit of money, apart from making it easier for visitors to find fresh flowers,” she told Bernama recently.

Rosinah said that Ramadan is considered the month of ‘rezeki’ (sustenance) for traders such as herself to earn extra income and she was grateful as it helped the family make preparations for Aidilfitri.

Assisted by her husband, sister, and children, Rosinah said her flower stall began operating a week before Aidilfitri until the third day of Syawal.

“Every year, I would take a week off from work at Penang Hospital to run my flower business, which starts from 7.30 am to 7 pm, and two days before Aidilfitri, we opened our stall for 24 hours,” she added.

Among the types of flowers sold and in high demand are roses, jasmine, potpourri (bunga rampai), fresh stalk flowers, and mixed dried flowers, with prices ranging from RM5 to RM10 per pack, while sandalwood and rose water are priced at RM5 per bottle.

“People usually visit the cemetery from the beginning of Ramadan until the third day of Aidilfitri,” she said.

A visitor, Datuk Syed Mohamad Aidid Syed Murtaza, 75, said the presence of flower traders at the cemetery made it easier for visitors to visit the graves of their loved ones.

“Visitors do not have to worry about looking for flowers, as they can be bought at a cheap price at the entrance of the cemetery,” he told Bernama.

A check by Bernama found that the visitors were busy cleaning the graves and repainting the grave headstones, besides sprinkling flower petals and reciting holy verses.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SHAH ALAM, May 3 (Bernama) — The Selangor government has agreed to bring forward the Workers’ Day holiday to Wednesday, May 4 in line with the official announcement that Hari Raya Aidilfitri falls on Monday.

Selangor state secretary, Datuk Haris Karim said the decision had obtained the consent of the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

“In line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri’s statement (on the holiday) and the provisions under Section 3 of the Holidays Act 1951 (Act 369) and the consent of the Selangor Sultan, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari has agreed that Workers’ Day holiday in Selangor will be brought forward to Wednesday, May 4, 2022.

“The change in the public holiday is also applicable to all local authorities and state statutory bodies,” he said in a statement.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is inviting all members of the Malaysian Family to attend his Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house on Sunday (May 8).

In a post on his Facebook site today, Ismail Sabri said the event would be held at Laman Sari of the Seri Perdana Complex, Putrajaya from 10 am to 4 pm.

“We will gather and celebrate Aidilfitri together as a big family, the Malaysian Family.

“Insya-Allah there will be delicious dishes served for the Malaysian Family. We will see you, ya….” he said.

The Prime Minister’s Department in a Facebook post on April 30 announced that all guests need to adhere to the latest standard operating procedure during the Transition to Endemic Phase and they are encouraged to put on their face mask and practise physical distancing.

The posting also attached a poster guide on dress code and free bus service information to the venue.

Based on the poster, among the clothing allowed include attire with sleeves, long pants, skirts below the knee and shoes while attire not allowed are shorts, short skirts above the knee level, sleeveless clothing, torn jeans and slippers.

“The public should dress neatly and decently. Failure to adhere to this dress code may result in one being not allowed to enter the Seri Perdana Complex, ”according to the poster.

For more information, the public can browse the JPM portal.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUCHING, May 3 (Bernama) — The Aidilfitri open house hosted by Premier of Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and his wife Puan Sri Juma’ani Tuanku Bujang today was attended by thousands of guests from various backgrounds.

He said the open house, from 10 am to 4 pm, was a good start to being able to live a normal life after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

“Today I welcome everyone, from all walks of life, and they have expressed their happiness with what the government is doing in the recovery process.

“I am confident that after this our economy will grow, and economic activities will continue to run smoothly. I am also confident that recovery (process) will happen faster,” he said.

The Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak, Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud and his wife, Toh Puan Ragad Kurdi Taib also attended Abang Johari’s open house at about 1 pm.

Also present were Deputy Premiers Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and Datuk Seri Dr Sim Hui Kian as well as state ministers and deputy ministers.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

JOHOR BAHRU, May 3 (Bernama) — The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project is expected to solve traffic congestion faced by road users especially those heading to the east coast during the festive season, once completed by the end of 2026.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the project would also help reduce the travelling time between the east and west coasts of the peninsula, from more than seven hours to around four hours.

“…this project will help the people in the region,” he told reporters when met at the Aidilfitri Open House of Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi in Saujana, here today.

The 665-km rail network, which includes 59 tunnels is estimated to cost RM50.27 billion and will traverse four states, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor.

Meanwhile, Wee said the situation on almost all major roads nationwide was under control despite the high volume of vehicles in most states.

He said apart from banning heavy vehicles from entering the main and federal roads, the situation was also contributed by the provision of free tolls and discounts as well as the road safety campaigns conducted by the government.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency