Category: General

LUMUT, The family of Royal Malaysian Navy Petty Officer II (PW II) the late Nurfarahimi Mohd Saedy, 41, who perished in a helicopter crash last Tuesday, is still grieving her loss but finding solace in the belief that it was destined by Allah SWT.

Nurfarahimi’s husband, Muhammad Faizul Kameh, 42, believed that their three children – Muhamad Alif Farhan Muhamad Faizul, 16, Nur Alwani Fatihah Muhamad Faizul, 12 and Nur Alwani Muhamad Faizul, 9 – are strong enough to comprehend and accept the tragedy as Allah’s will.

“Who wouldn’t be saddened by the sudden loss of a wife or mother? My eldest child didn’t speak to any other family members until after the funeral.

“But, as their father, I advised them to accept what has been decreed. Alhamdulillah, my three children are gradually coming to terms with their mother’s passing,” he said when met by Bernama at his home in RMN Lumut Base.

Earlier, their family was visited by Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Ahmad, who
also visited the families of the late Lieutenant T. Sivasutan and the late PW II TMK Mohd Shahrizan Mohd Termizi.

Meanwhile, the late Sivasutan’s mother, A. Parameswari, 60, said that the family’s situation is improving with the support provided by RMN and counseling from the Department of Social Welfare. She shared that Sivasutan’s ashes have been interred at a crematorium centre in Sitiawan, located nearby.

Asked about Sivasutan’s wife, who is also a dentist and recently reported to a healthcare facility in Teluk Intan to stay together after their marriage in January, she said that it is still under discussion.

“I’ve advised her to not rush into making any decisions. If she can continue here, it would be great. Otherwise, she can go to Buntong, Ipoh, because that’s her hometown since childhood. We’re not forcing her. Ipoh isn’t too far should we want to visit her,’ she said.

Parameswari added that Sivasutan, affectionately called Ayya, had a deep interest in the military from childhood until the end of
his life.

“He displayed a fascination for uniforms from a young age, even expressing excitement at the sight of school security guards.”

“So, I supported his interest and introduced him to various uniformed careers, including the navy,” she said.

The retired teacher, appearing calm, disclosed that Sivasutan was very close to her and often shared with her about his duties and career, including the pride he felt in wearing the RMN uniform throughout his tenure as a navy officer.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MANILA: Cebuanos Florendo Lapiz and Lizane Abella of Spectrum Runners Club ruled the 42-kilometer category of the National Milo Marathon at Mall of Asia grounds in Pasay City on Sunday.

Lapiz and Abella earned PHP50,000 in cash each and slots to the national finals in Cagayan de Oro City on Dec. 1.

The 5-foot-4 Lapiz, who lives in Carcar town, clocked two hours, 42 minutes and 33 seconds to claim the men’s title.

“I thank God for this victory. This is my fourth time to join and I’m glad I finally won,” Lapiz said during the post-race press conference.

He registered 2:34:40 last year, finishing second to James Dela Cruz (2:31:58).

Salvador Polilio posted 2:49:54 for second place while Welfred Esporma (2:58:51) was third, duplicating his performance last year.

The 35-year-old Abella from Minglanilla, on the other hand, topped the women’s division in 3:21:05.

She finished third in 2023 and 2017.

“I just kept my pace throughout the race,” the mother of three said. “The prize money I will receive is for th
e education of my children.”

Maricar Camacho, who won last year in 3:11:13, settled for second with a time of 3:26:19 while Jewel De Luna (3:27:05) was third.

Aligned with the celebration of Milo’s 60th year in the Philippines, the competition aims to inspire families and individuals to reach their full potentials and learn good values such as grit, discipline and teamwork.

‘We believe that sport is a great teacher where we learn the valuable lessons that shape us to become successful not just in our athletic endeavors, but also in life,’ Milo Sports head Carlo Sampan said. ‘Whether it’s to bond with family, hit personal records, or simply enjoy themselves, everyone has a place in the National Milo Marathon.’

More than 20,000 joined the race, which also featured 21K, 10K, 5K, 5K Family, 3K and 1K Kids categories.

The National Capital Region (NCR) race is the fourth of the 15-leg marathon.

The opening legs were simultaneously held on April 7 in Laoag, Ilocos Norte; Batangas City, Batangas; and Mandaue Ci
ty, Cebu.

The succeeding legs will be in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan (May 12), Legazpi City, Albay (June 2), Cavite-Vermosa (Sept. 22), Tagbilaran City, Bohol (Sept. 29), Roxas City, Capiz (Oct. 6), Iloilo City (Oct. 20), Bacolod City (Oct. 27), General Santos City (Nov. 10), Davao (Nov. 17), and Tarlac (Nov. 24).

Source: Philippines News Agency

SUNGAI PETANI, Dengue cases in Kedah are at an alarming level, with a total of 1,550 cases reported in the 16th Epidemiological Week (ME16) this year, compared with 1,301 cases recorded for the same period last year.

State Housing, Local Government and Health Committee chairman Major (Rtd) Mansor Zakaria said the figure showed an increase of 19.1 per cent or 249 cases.

He said there were deaths in the period, compared with zero cases for the same period last year.

‘As of the ME 16 this year, 136 dengue outbreaks were recorded in Kedah, compared with 121 dengue outbreaks reported in the same period last year, an increase of 12.4 per cent.

‘This development requires immediate attention and action from the community and the authorities,’ he told reporters while inspecting one of the dengue hotspot localities in Taman Sejati Indah, here today.

Mansor said a total of 95,307 premises have been inspected thus far, of which 6,297 of them have been found to have breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes.

He added t
hat a total of 1,756 compound notices, worth RM848,900, were issued under the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act 1975.

Meanwhile, he said that the state health department, in collaboration with the state government, introduced QR Codes for self-inspection of Aedes breeding grounds, to encourage residents to check Aedes breeding grounds in their own homes, since January.

He said that, for a start, this initiative involves residents in some at-risk localities, and will be expanded throughout the state in the future.

‘The QR code provides a guide to places at risk of Aedes breeding and allows the destruction of breeding places to be recorded. The data on the use of this QR code will be monitored and evaluated by the health department, for the provision of achievement incentives at the individual and community level by the state government, to cultivate behaviour to keep the house clean every week,’ he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUCHING: The Sarawak government, through the Sarawak Foundation, will sponsor the education of two children of Senior Seaman Joanna Felicia Rohna up to the university level, said Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said that the foundation will also monitor the educational development of the children – Allesia Felice Haslie, four, and Hovannes Haslie, one.

‘Today I informed the family of the deceased, especially her husband (Petty Officer Haslie Ali), that we will register their children in the Sarawak Foundation… once they are registered, we will engage with them up to the highest level (of education).

‘Hopefully her children will study until university level, after that they may inherit the heroic spirit and be interested in entering the military, since both their parents serve in the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN),’ he said.

He said this after visiting the late Joanna’s family in Kampung Engkaroh Tebakang, Serian, about 90 kilometres from Kuching city, today.

Joanna, from Kampung Sumpas Tam
pek, Serian, was one of 10 RMN personnel who perished in the tragedy of two helicopters, belonging to the RMN, crashing in Lumut, Perak, while conducting a rehearsal for a fly-past, in conjunction with the RMN’s 90th anniversary, on April 23.

During the visit, Abang Johari also presented the state government contribution amounting to RM10,000 to Joanna’s family.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MANILA: The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is targeting to launch an updated logo to mark its 120th anniversary in August.

The current logo features select industries such as manufacturing, telecommunications, agriculture and shipping, which were previously the major taxpayers

The logo has remained unchanged for 120 years or since 1904, BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said.

“I don’t like to see industries in the logo kasi lahat tayo taxpayers. Pinakamalaki is employees pag aggregate, bakit sila wala dyan eh sila bida dyan. (I don’t like to see industries in the logo because we are all taxpayers. The biggest [taxpayers are] employees when aggregated, why aren’t they there, they are the stars,” Lumagui said in a recent interview.

He said the BIR logo does not reflect its mandate of collecting taxes for nationbuilding and upliftment of the lives of Filipinos.

“‘Yun ang gusto ko makita sa logo. And gusto ko may integrity and professionalism ‘yung logo na hindi ko nakikita. (That’s what I want to see in
the logo. And I want the logo to have integrity and professionalism, which I don’t see now),” he added.

The BIR earlier issued a revenue memorandum circular announcing a contest for the new BIR logo.

The circular said updating the logo aims to “make it more representative of the directions of the current administration, which are geared towards the delivery of excellent taxpayer service through modernization and digitalization of core processes and frontline services.”

The submission of entries ended April 19.

The best design will receive PHP100,000 while the first runner-up and second runner-up will receive PHP50,000 and PHP25,000, respectively.

The best entry shall be submitted to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines for evaluation and necessary modification in accordance with the provisions of the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines.

The modified logo will then be sent back to the BIR for comments and or approval

The Office of the President will issue the final approval.

“We
want to change the image of the BIR. We also want to reflect that there have been many changes in the BIR,” Lumagui said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

KUALA KRAI, The ongoing dry spell affecting the state has led to decreasing water levels of Sungai Kelantan, exposing sandbanks in the middle of the river.

A Bernama check in Tangga Krai found that the sandbanks are becoming increasingly visible and according to the Irrigation and Drainage Department’s website, the water level in the area is currently at 15.67 metres, compared to the normal level of 17 metres.

Local resident Mohd Rafizi Abdullah, 37, said the sandbanks began appearing around mid-Ramadan and have been growing in size daily.

‘At the riverbank, the water level reaches up to an adult’s thigh, and the farther you walk into the river, the shallower it gets,’ he told Bernama today.

Mohd Rafizi, who manages Kedai Kopi Mambong on a raft house along the river, said many passersby were fascinated by the sight, with some even taking the opportunity to wade into the river for photographs.

However, he said the situation posed challenges for boats navigating the area, especially those from Kampung Kel
uat and Taku, as they needed to take a longer route to avoid the sandbanks.

Another resident, Firdaus Mohd Zain, 22, said the decreasing river water level has drawn more visitors to his eatery located on the raft house.

He said that outsiders also visited his eatery, not only to enjoy local dishes with freshwater fish but also to witness the phenomenon of the exposed sand.

‘Some even rent boats just to go into the middle of the river for a closer look,’ he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

RIYADH: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim held a bilateral meeting with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Special Meeting here on Sunday.

The 30-minute meeting, which began at 11.40 am (local time), took place after both leaders participated in the opening plenary session of the special meeting.

During their meeting, Anwar invited Kagame for an official visit to Malaysia, and Kagame reciprocated by extending an invitation to the Prime Minister to make an official visit to Rwanda.

The two leaders also discussed bilateral trade, with both countries encouraging increased trade in the halal industry and palm oil sector.

Malaysia-Rwanda bilateral trade volume currently stands at about US$25 million (RM119.2 million).

Anwar and Kagame also discussed new areas of cooperation to be explored between Malaysia and Rwanda, including disaster risk management, urban planning and digitalisation, tourism, human resource capacity development and the halal industry.

Anwar is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with his Jordanian counterpart Bisher Hani Al-Khasawneh this afternoon (local time) and receive a courtesy visit from Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency