Month: June 2022

KOTA SAMARAHAN, June 27 (Bernama) — Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) has been tasked to set up laboratories in the rural places in the State to introduce modern and commercial agriculture to the people there.

Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said exposing the rural farming community to modern technology could lure the community’s younger generation to view agriculture as a business venture and not as a low-class vocation.

He said Unimas, along with other local institutions and government agencies, had the input to provide the new technology to help this community but the greater task would be to change the perception, especially among the young about farming.

“It is just a matter of convincing the farmers, convincing their youngs to take agriculture as a business entity,” he told reporters after gracing Unimas Commemorative Convocation here today.

He said the Sarawak government is gearing towards turning the state into a nett exporter of food products by 2030 and had established agro parks in several places as a strategy to achieve this objective.

Abang Johari said this target would require the State government to plan more basic and digital infrastructures to encourage more downstream agriculture industries to be established.

He said Sarawak could also ride on its vast size of lands to attract overseas investors facing space scarcity to carry out agriculture ventures to come over to the state.

“Private sector from overseas can come and they can become anchor (companies). They can buy from ordinary farmers and they can export it. What is important is the quality of the food which must be of international standards,” he said.

In addition, he said Sarawak is also blessed with natural resources that could be processed and turned into fertilizers or feedstocks, which could then reduce the imports of such materials to meet the needs of its agriculture sector.

“As our population is relatively small, so it is our objective to produce food for export,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

GAZIANTEP (Turkiye), June 27 (Bernama) — The success story of Palestinian children who attended As-Solah and Siti Khadijah schools in Deir Balah in the central Gaza Strip has inspired Humanitarian Care Malaysia Bhd (MyCARE) and Econsave Cash and Carry Supermarket to build schools for Syrian refugee children as well.

Johor MyCARE trustee Dr Mohd Zin Kandar said the two schools, which were built through a strategic partnership of both entities, have been operating for five years and currently have over 2,000 students.

Some of their former students have even pursued their studies at a higher level and returned to contribute to other Palestinian children, he added.

“Both schools are national schools owned by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that focuses on orphans there and these children excel in academics and in memorising the Quran. One of them has become a doctor and in the evening, he will be teaching children at the school to memorise the Quran, so we want to do the same in Syria.

“For us, the educational aspect needs to be given attention as this is a long-term measure to ensure that these (Syrian) refugee children will learn basic skills like reading, counting and writing. Education will enable them to improve themselves as well as their families and rebuild their country which has been damaged by war since 2011,” he said upon arriving in the city today for a humanitarian mission to Syria from Saturday until July 6.

Mohd Zin, who is leading the mission, is joined by nine others including Econsave general manager Mas Imran Adam, three Johor MyCARE volunteers and five media practitioners from Bernama, TV AlHijrah, Utusan Malaysia and Harian Metro.

Elaborating, he said more than 4.5 million refugees and internally displaced persons are reported to be in refugee camps in Jarabulus, Azaz and Al Bab (in Syria) and in southern Turkiye.

“Following several initiatives by the Turkiye government, the refugees, who were previously in this country, have been sent to the three areas in Syria. However, the areas are not their hometown so they need help. Many NGOs including from Malaysia are trying to meet the needs of these refugees such as shelters, food items and most importantly, education,” he explained.

The group is on a mission to build a school in the Azaz area, located about 80 kilometres from Gaziantep, at a cost of RM1 million.

Apart from that, a total of RM500,000 is also allocated to provide hot meals, school equipment, wheelchairs and other necessities to refugee camps that will be visited.

Meanwhile, Mas Imran said the supermarket has been a strategic partner of MyCARE since 2011 through seven humanitarian missions to several countries as well as various corporate social responsibility projects.

“Since 2011, we have managed to raise about RM9 million from charity sales and donation boxes placed in 88 stores nationwide. The education of these children is indeed our priority and this time, we will build a school in Azaz, Syria which is expected to accommodate 1,000 students.

“We chose MyCARE because of their transparency (in implementing humanitarian projects and missions),” said Mas Imran, who followed all seven missions to Lebanon, Syria, and Palu and Lombok, Indonesia.

Apart from public funds, Econsave had also spent over RM100,000 for all the missions, he added.

The humanitarian mission group is expected to enter Syria via Gaziantep tomorrow and visit refugee camps in Jarabulus, Azaz and Al Bab, after obtaining permission from the Turkiye government as the areas are under their control.

Those who are interested in donating to this humanitarian fund can do so at Econsave stores or contact Johor MyCARE Johor operations manager Saadon Sulaiman at 018-9677215.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (KUSKOP) is encouraging cooperatives in the agriculture and plantation sectors to join cooperative federations.

Its deputy minister Datuk Muslimin Yahaya said it was aimed at accumulating capital, expertise and resources to enable cooperatives to be involved in large-scale production activities.

“The concept of a federation is two or three cooperatives running the same business such as cattle breeding so that they can produce a greater quantity of output.

“We want them to have the same goal. Involvement in federations will also increase their income and improve cooperative governance,” he said after officiating at the state-level National Cooperative Day 2022 in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the cooperative movement in Malaysia here today.

Muslimin reiterated that cooperatives focusing on the agriculture and plantation sectors would be given priority to obtain funding so as to boost the sectors and prepare for possible food crisis in the future.

He said Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia (ANGKASA) has identified over 4,000 hectares of land for grain corn cultivation with a yield of four to five tonnes per hectare, to meet 20 per cent of the country’s chicken feed needs.

Earlier, Muslimin presented cooperative development assistance totalling RM405,000 to representatives of eight cooperatives in the state.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The remains of three family members, who drowned after the car they were travelling in skidded and plunged into a river at Jambatan Syed Omar, Jalan Sungai Petani-Baling yesterday, were buried here today.

The remains of Masyitoh Ibrahim, 37, and her sons, Muhammad Ziyad Zikri Sharudin, seven, and Muhammad Ziyad Haziq, five, were brought to her late mother’s house in Kampung Paya Kerchut here at 4.05 pm.

Their remains were then taken to the Masjid Az-Zaitun, here for funeral prayers with about 200 relatives and friends in attendance including Masyitoh’s husband, Sharudin Aziz, 51, and their eldest son Muhammad Ziyad Hadis, 10.

Masyitoh, Muhammad Ziyad Zikri and Muhammad Ziyad Haziq were buried in a common grave at the Masjid Az-Zaitun Muslim cemetery at 5.45 pm.

Yesterday, Masyitoh, who was driving the Proton Persona car from Kuala Ketil heading towards Sungai Petani, lost control of the wheel, causing the car to skid and veer to the left side of the road before plunging into Sungai Muda.

Meanwhile, Baling Police chief Supt Shamsudin Mamat in a statement said the cause of the incident was still under investigation and the car would be sent to the Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom) for mechanical inspection including brakes.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The Ministry of Rural Development (KPLB) is waiting for the approval of the Finance Ministry (MOF) to increase the allowance of Community Development Department (Kemas) kindergarten assistants.

Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the MOF is expected to give feedback on the matter soon.

“The proposal to increase Kemas kindergarten assistants’ allowance had been brought to the attention of the Public Service Department (PSD) and the MOF. We need approval from the MOF for the funds to be channelled to us (KPLB). InsyaAllah we will get it,” he told reporters after presenting scrolls to 648 graduands of Central Terengganu Development Authority (Ketengah) College at Dewan Sultan Mizan, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, here today.

Mahdzir said the proposal to increase the allowance had been brought up by several parties as the low monthly salary of RM500 does not commensurate with the increasing workload.

“Initially, their task was only to cook, that’s all. But now they also act as teachers and have a lot of work to do,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mahdzir said the proposal paper to upgrade Kemas kindergarten teachers from Diploma to Bachelor of Early Childhood Education had been taken up to the PSD for discussion.

He said several matters, including the budget and appropriate time to implement the move, must be considered by the government before the proposal could be approved.

“So far, it is still in the discussion stage. We have a focus group. We must be aware that this will be implemented batch by batch and will also involve emoluments, so we need to know all the details to prepare a budget requirement,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The ‘Ramah Tamah Uniti Kaamatan dan Gawai’ programme held today provided opportunities and exposure to the people in the peninsula to appreciate the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Sabah and Sarawak communities.

Minister of National Unity Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique said the programme, held for the first time in the peninsula, is in line with her ministry’s Semarak Uniti Keluarga Malaysia agenda and is hoped to serve as platform to strengthen the bonds of unity and the spirit of national integration.

“The festive Tadau Kaamatan and Gawai Day celebrations that we celebrate today are symbolic of the spirit of unity which aims to foster the spirit of togetherness and closeness in accepting the cultural diversity of the Keluarga Malaysia which is the backbone to the sustainability, harmony and prosperity we have today,” she said.

She said this when officiating the programme, co-organised by her ministry and the Peninsular Borneo Children’s Association here today.

Halimah also proposed for the Peninsular Borneo Children’s Association to continue to cooperate with her ministry in organising more cross-cultural programmes thus strengthening the spirit of national integration among Malaysians.

Among the exciting activities lined up in the three-day event, starting June 23, were the Borneo cultural exhibition; Explorace Uniti Keluarga Malaysia; the Keluarga Malaysia cooking and traditional costumes competitions.

One of the exhibitors at the programme, Drothy James, 46, who sells clothing, beaded accessories and handicrafts from Sarawak, said the programme was a good platform to promote and introduce ethnic cultures from Sabah and Sarawak to the community in the peninsula.

Meanwhile, Kek Lapis Sarawak seller Halimah Oteng, 47, who has been living in the peninsula for almost 20 years, said such a programme should be continued so that more people could participate and learn about the culture of Sarawak and Sabah, especially the younger generation.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The Education Ministry is giving priority to opening new schools in densely populated places like Klang, Selangor and Johor.

Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the ministry was looking for suitable locations in these areas to build schools as it was facing difficulty in getting land for such projects.

“Klang for example is among the most densely populated areas, and some schools with an enrolment of 4,000 people have to conduct two sessions, morning and afternoon.

“Various efforts have been made to set up new schools in these places but in areas with a high population density, the main constraint is the lack of suitable land,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters after performing the ground-breaking ceremony for a project to build an additional block and field for Sekolah Kebangsaan Putrajaya Presint 18(2) and opening the 10th general meeting of its Parent-Teacher Association here today.

According to him, an average of 10 new schools were built each year.

On another matter, Radzi said the ministry would look into complaints that the primary school curriculum is too tough, making it difficult for students to master certain subjects.

He said the primary and secondary school curriculums would be reviewed later, as the first cycle of the Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) would be completed this year while the Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah (KSSR) ended last year.

“In this context, during the review later, we will see whether the issue is really about the curriculum being too complex or a case of lack of familiarity,” he said.

Asked on the influenza-like illness (ILI) cluster involving a secondary boarding school in Selangor, Radzi said the ministry would hold further discussions with the Health Ministry tomorrow to ensure it is safe for students to attend this school.

On the new block and field for SK Putrajaya Presint 18(2), he said the RM14.5 million project is expected to be completed in May 2024.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency