Month: May 2022

PONTIAN, May 19 (Bernama) –The Kukup International Ferry Terminal (TFAK) resumed operating today after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic after receiving the green light from the Malaysian and Indonesian governments.

Johor Works, Transport and Infrastructure Committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said about 100 travelers arrived at TFAK via the first ferry from Tanjung Balai Karimun, Indonesia, and the number was expected to go up with an increase to five route slots a day.

“Almost all Johor sea entrances have been opened, the Puteri Harbor International Ferry Terminal is expected to begin operations this week apart from the Muar and Batu Pahat ferry terminals, and even the new ferry terminal in Desaru will also start operating soon.

“TFAK operations were suspended since May 19, 2020, due to the closure of the border gates between the two countries, we hope its reopening will help boost Johor’s economy,” he told reporters after welcoming the first ferry at the terminal here today.

Transportation Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) in Kuala Lumpur, Captain Supendi was also present.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 (Bernama) — Cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) continue to rise in Sabah, Terengganu and Perak but are still under control.

In SABAH, state health department director Datuk Dr Rose Nani Mudin said that 2,654 HDFM caseswere reported until May 16, the highest increase compared to 55 cases during the same period last year.

She said the five districts reporting the highest cases were Tawau (435 cases), Sandakan (387), Lahad Datu (308), Kota Belud (244) and Papar (229).

“A total 93.1 per cent of the cases were children below the age of six. Most transmissions occurred at home or early education centres,” she said in a statement here today.

Nevertheless, Dr Rose Nani said no deathes from HFMD had taken place to date and she urged nursery and kindergarten operators to implement actions to stop the spread of the disease at their premises.

In TERENGGANU, the number of cases among children continued to rise with 1,182 cases recorded since early this year until last Tuesday.

State Health Department director, Datuk Dr Kasemani Embong said there were a 10-fold increase in recorded cases compared to the 103 cases recorded in the same period last year.

She said however, the spread of the disease was still under control because it did not involve serious infections among the patients.

In PERAK, State Health, Science, Environment and Green Technology Committee chairman Mohd Akmal Kamarudin said the state government would shut down child care premises upon receiving a directive from the Health Ministry (MOH) if infection cases in the state continue to rise.

“The Perak Health Department will close kindergartens, nurseries and daycare centres if cases become severe.

“To date, there is no directive to shut down,” he told a media conference after the 2022 state-level International Biodiversity Day celebration.

A total of 2,638 HFMD cases were recorded in the state as of last Tuesday (May 17).

Prior to this, health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said HFMD was spreading at an alarming rate in the country.

He said that the spread was 15 times greater compared to during the same period last year with 31,661 cases reported.

A total 7,526 cases were recorded during the 19/2022 Epidemiology Week (EW) ending on May 14, which showed a hike of 349 per cent compared to the prior EW, with only 1,676 cases nationwide, he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 (Bernama) — Wheat supply is expected to be affected by India banning the export of its wheat, according to the local wheat flour producers.

Bidara Flour Sdn Bhd marketing manager, Arifin Aziz said the company, however, would not be badly affected by the ban as it imported wheat flour from India and not the grains. Hence, there will be no issue of supply.

“Our stock of wheat flour can still meet the demand for the three or four coming months,” he said, adding that the local industry players were already prepared for a supply shortage of wheat flour following the outbreak of war between Ukraine and Russia.

“There are two issues here, which are the ban of wheat grain export by India and the war in Ukraine. Hence, the companies and factories in Malaysia have taken the measure of getting the supply earlier and keeping a stock of the commodity.

Meanwhile, Faiza Food Sdn Bhd plant manager, Nor Haida Ishak said the company had been assured verbally that its supply order for wheat flour for the next two months would not be affected by its supplier in India.

“Currently, our company has a supply stock of 300 tonnes which can meet the sales demand for two weeks,” she said.

However, both companies did not deny that the sale price of wheat flour might increase due to the lower value of the Malaysian ringgit and rise in the price of raw materials.

Arifin said Bidara Flour expected the sale price to increase due to the hike in the price of wheat across the world, besides the market instability and shrinking value of the ringgit.

“We expect the price of wheat to increase by 30 per cent within the next six months,” he added.

Nor Haida said Faiza Food had been noticing the rise in the price of raw materials since early this year and had warned that there would be a spill-over to the domestic market.

“We are still taking the approach of waiting it out as we do not want to increase the market price. However, the market price may have to be increased in the next two to three months,” she added.

Recently, India was reported to have banned the export of wheat to ensure its food security which is worrying due to the heat wave phenomenon which has affected its wheat output.

Following this, Malaysia’s Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs reportedly expected the supply of wheat flour to be not adversely affected as it imported 80 per cent of wheat from other countries, thus was not dependent on India alone.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

TANGKAK, May 19 (Bernama) — The district of Tangkak, which is famous for ecotourism activities, can be turned into an international-standard tourism centre, said Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

He said that Mount Ophir, which is more popularly known as Gunung Ledang, in the district was not only able to attract tourists but also generate income for residents nearby.

“I am confident that tourism facilities will be able to provide economic returns for the people in the surrounding areas, especially during this period of endemic phase,” he said in a post on his Facebook page today.

He said several high-impact development projects would be implemented in the district soon, including upgrading the infrastructure at Gunung Ledang.

Apart from that, he said projects involving the Tunku Mahkota Ismail Youth Centre (TMIYC), Johor Affordable Housing, a new administration centre for Tangkak, flood mitigation plans and Gambir industrial centre would also be carried out.

Onn Hafiz also said that he also presented ‘Bantuan Kasih Bangsa Johor’ contributions to 359 recipients during the Tangkak district department-level Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration today.

He also handed a one-off grant totalling RM10,000 to the Ledang Muslim Orphans Welfare Organisation Care Centre.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency