Day: January 13, 2023

TUMPAT, Jan 13 (Bernama) — The Ministry of Communications and Digital (KKD) through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has upgraded 350 telecommunication towers nationwide which had been affected by floods since 2014.

Its Minister, Fahmi Fadzil said the upgrading work which were also carried out in the East Coast states saw improvement works implemented at 127 telecommunications tower sites in Kelantan.

“We already have the complete list covering the whole country and will provide detailed information but upgrading works are still ongoing in Kelantan and we have requested it to be expedited.

“We are doing this to ensure that problems related to telecommunications will not arise when floods occur and I will make sure that the people will continue to enjoy quality service,” he told reporters after visiting Kelantan Information Department (JaPen) staff whose houses were hit during the December floods at Taman Sri Dalam Rhu here, today.

Also present were MCMC chief operating officer Datuk Mohd Ali Hanafiah Mohd Yunus and Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chief executive officer Roslan Ariffin.

Meanwhile, Mohd Ali Hanafiah said platforms of the flood affected telecommunication towers were raised as high as one to four metres, involving costs of between RM60,000 and RM180,000, depending on the surrounding area and situation at the site.

“During the floods in December last year, about 100 tower sites were affected due to power outage but we received good cooperation from Tenaga Nasional Berhad,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA TERENGGANU, Jan 13 (Bernama) — The flood that occurred in the Hulu Terengganu district yesterday has receded, enabling the evacuees at a relief centre to return to their homes.

The relief centre at the Kampung Kemat Community Hall was closed at 3 pm today after the 71 people from 23 families had left for their homes, the State Disaster Management Committee Secretariat said in a statement.

“Nevertheless, the secretariat is on the alert as the day has been overcast,” the statement said.

The relief centre was opened late yesterday after the flood struck the homes of several villagers in the afternoon.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

NIBONG TEBAL, Jan 13 (Bernama) — The Ministry of Education (MoE) hopes to complete works on 17 schools nationwide that fall under the ‘sick’ project category by the end of the year.

Its Minister Fadhlina Sidek said she would ensure that the works would be expedited to change the status of the schools from ‘sick’ to retender.

“Works on these 17 schools are 90 per cent complete but they have been delayed due to some issues such as the shortage of foreign workers.

“We hope the works will complete by this year so that students can enroll into these schools,” she told reporters after visiting Sekolah Kebangsaan Keledang Jaya, Changkat near here today.

Fadhlina also announced an allocation of RM250,000 for the maintenance of facilities at Sekolah Kebangsaan Keledang Jaya.

Earlier, she visited Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sungai Acheh, Tanjong Berembang near here and announced that a total of RM300,000 had been allocated to carry out maintenance works at the school’s facilities including the canteen.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SEREMBAN, Jan 13 (Bernama) — The Transport Ministry will continue to monitor the culture of train maintenance randomly including the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) in the country to overcome the problem of frequent operation disruptions.

Its minister, Anthony Loke who admitted that the people are disappointed over the issue said the ministry is very committed to ensure trains are in tip-top condition.

“Yesterday, there was a disruption on MRT Kajang Line and I have asked the management for an explanation on what happened. It is a technical problem which should not occur as it is still new after operating for five to six years.

“The management should be aware that maintenance has to be carried out especially involving changing train wheels,” he told reporters after witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Mydin Mohamed Holdings Berhad (MYDIN) and logistics company, GoBuilders Netsoft Sdn Bhd here today.

He said the management needed six to eight months to implement train maintenance for the train while a full maintenance would be completed in the third quarter of this year.

Yesterday. the Kajang MRT Line was disrupted after a train experienced low air pressure at Pasar Seni Station which caused hundreds of commuters to be stranded.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Bernama) — Families of prison inmates, including those placed at the moral rehabilitation centres, special detention centres, and the Henry Gurney School, are allowed to visit for a reunion in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration.

The Prison Department, in a statement today, said that priority visits are given to Chinese inmates only, which are set on Jan 24 and 25, while the online method of meeting is set on Jan 26 to 28.

“Families who choose the face-to-face method need to comply with the following conditions such as visiting hours from 8.15 am to 4.15 pm.

“They also need to do an RT-PCR or ARTK-Ag test (swab/saliva), valid three days after sample collection and not showing symptoms, when arriving at the institution,” read the statement.

In addition, visitors are asked to bring a visit card and identification card to facilitate visitation matters and are not allowed to bring any food or drink for the inmates.

A prison inmate is allowed to receive only one family visit, and only of visitors who make an appointment.

“There are three methods of booking an appointment, namely through the i-Visit system on the website www.prison.gov.my, phone calls and email or letter to the institution concerned,” it said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

NIBONG TEBAL, Jan 13 (Bernama) — Penang has declared the African Swine Fever (ASF) in the state a disaster situation after cases were detected at five more pig farms.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said as of today, a total of seven commercial pig farms, five each in Seberang Perai Selatan and two in Seberang Perai Tengah, had been infected with ASF and that the 25,000 pigs in all the farms will be culled in stages.

“The ASF outbreak was confirmed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests conducted between Jan 4 and 12 on pig samples from the farms,” he told a press conference after holding a meeting with Penang Veterinary Services Department (DVS) and pig farmers at Perkampungan Valdor here today.

To control and prevent the spread of ASF, Chow said the Penang DVS had implemented a stamping out policy to cull pigs in farms that have ASF cases with the carcasses disposed by burial on site or special areas provided by the state government.

“The culling is done with CO2 gas and according to the Animal Welfare Code of Practice and Animal Disposal Management guidelines before the pigs are buried,” he said.

To date, Chow said 929 pigs from the farm first affected by ASF had been culled and the culling exercise may take weeks to complete.

“The state government will provide an area of land near roads or highways in the state to bury the carcasses due to land constraints in pig farms and I urge the public not to panic with the situation, after all ASF does not infect humans,” he said.

He said the authorities will monitor and continue to take samples from pig farms within a five-km radius of the farms with positive cases.

“Roadblocks have been mounted in roads leading to Perkampungan Valdor since Jan 10,” he said.

Chow also urged pig farmers as well as the public to report any death relating to wild boars, village pigs or commercial pigs to the Penang DSV via Disease Crisis Management Room hotline at 04-5041047.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

BATU KAWAN, Jan 13 (Bernama) — A market and hawker complex worth RM68.7 million will be built in Bandar Cassia here, in an effort to boost development and progress in the area.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the first market and hawker complex in Batu Kawan will be built by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) on its three-hectare land and is expected to be fully completed in 2025.

“The market will be built at a strategic location near several residential areas and only 3 kilometres (km) from the Batu Musang Jetty. The first phase involved soil excavation and soil treatment which began on Nov 7 and was completed on Jan 6.

“The second phase will include the building construction and infrastructure that is expected to start in the first quarter of 2024 and be fully completed in the third quarter of 2025,” he told reporters after the groundbreaking ceremony of the new market in Bandar Cassia today.

Also present were state Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo and PDC chief executive officer Aziz Bakar.

Chow said the state government was confident that with the completion of the project, the Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS) area would be upgraded and people could enjoy income opportunities and a better living environment.

The project comprises several main components, including a market with 82 hawker lots, a food complex with 32 stalls, 20 enclosed stalls, 78 open hawker spaces, and other facilities, he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency