Category: General

SEGAMAT, Jan 24 (Bernama) — A contractor from Kampung Sungai Gatom here has been using his tractor to rescue flood victims and transport them to temporary flood relief centres (PPS) since 2018.

 

Roslan Ahmad, 48, is known for his kindness among the villagers as he also provides a free van for funeral services in addition to taking care of foster children.

 

He said it all started when he used his tractor to rescue his neighbours who were trapped in waist-level floodwater during an incident in 2018.

 

 

 

“I took a tractor and helped them out of the flooded area and drove them to the nearby PPS.

 

“Since then, I will use the tractor to help flood victims in this area, especially women and children,” he said when met in Kampung Sungai Gatom, here, today.

 

Roslan said he managed to help transport about 40 victims in Kampung Sungai Gatom and Kampung Usaha Jaya to the PPS at Kampung Sungai Gatom hall after it had been raining non-stop in the area since early this morning.

 

 

His rescue mission began at 9 am and ended at 2 pm, he said, adding that he felt relief as his effort had helped those who were in need.

 

Meanwhile, checks by Bernama at several flood locations around Segamat found that most of the affected areas were situated near the river and several roads in the district were also flooded such as Jalan Labis – Yong Peng, but still passable by all types of vehicles.

 

As of 4 pm, four rivers in Johor have passed the dangerous level with an upward trend, namely Sungai Muar (19.04 metres), Sungai Lenik at Chaah Plantation (6.4 metres), Sungai Segamat in Segamat Kecil (37.97 metres) and Sungai Kahang in Kampung Contoh (14.41 metres).

 

Segamat is the most affected district with 975 victims.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 24 (Bernama) — Parti Warisan (Warisan) president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal hopes that work to upgrade the infrastructure and increase the capability of the Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security Complex (CIQS) at the Sarawak and Sabah borders can be expedited.

 

This is following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister, announcement on the approval of the allocation of RM1 billion for the commencement of the upgrading work after chairing the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Implementation Action Council meeting in Kuching on Friday (Jan 20),

 

Mohd Shafie said the upgrading was to enable ties between Malaysia and Indonesia to be further improved from the social aspect besides further facilitating the entry of labour from the neighbouring country for the plantation sector, especially in Sabah.

 

 

 

“The creation or upgrading of the CIQS must be looked at seriously,” he told reporters after attending Tanjung Aru state assemblyman Datuk Junz Wong’s Chinese New Year open house, here, today.

 

Commenting on the status of Sabah and Sarawak as regions, Mohd Shafie said that the gazetting needed to be carried out because it is an identity that will be the difference between the two states and other states in the peninsula.

 

He said distinguishing the identities is vital because Sabah and Sarawak had certain powers that are very different from other states, such as immigration jurisdiction and certain rights in MA63.

 

 

In addition, he said the Federal Constitution also provides for several specific matters for Sabah and Sarawak, among them the provision of special allocations, which are stipulated in Article 112D of the Federal Constitution.

 

“Such matters are not stipulated in other states from Perlis to Johor. So, we need a legal basis… the constitution should not be disputed,” he said.

 

On Jan 13, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also UMNO president, was reported to have said in his speech at the 2022 UMNO General Assembly that Sabah and Sarawak had been accorded the status of region and are no longer regarded as states within Malaysia.

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SEPANG, Jan 23 (Bernama) — The Islamophobic act that occurred in Stockholm, Sweden is among the issues to be discussed during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s official visit to Brunei beginning tomorrow.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, who is also Anwar’s accompanying minister on the official visit, said he would discuss the matter with his counterpart, Erywan Mohd Yusof.

“I will discuss it with my counterpart during this official visit,” he told Bernama when met at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here today.

Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), was permitted to burn the Quran on Saturday outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, causing the Muslim world to erupt in anger due to the incident.

Anwar said Malaysia condemned in the strongest terms the Islamophobic act and urged the Swedish government to take urgent measures against the perpetrators of the vile act as well as ensuring drastic steps in the future to address the alarming rise of Islamophobia in the country.

The two-day visit to Brunei is Anwar’s second official visit since taking office on Nov 24.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 (Bernama) — Admissions of COVID-19 patients to health facilities per 100,000 population dropped 8.6 per cent in the third epidemiological week 2023 (ME 3/2023) from Jan 15 to 21 compared to the previous week, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said admissions of categories one to five patients to public hospitals per 100,000 population last week also declined by 28.6 per cent from ME 2/2023.

“The utilisation rates of non-critical and ICU beds decreased by two per cent respectively in ME 3/2023 compared to the previous week,” he said in a statement today.

Dr Noor Hisham said there was also a decline in the number of positive cases monitored by COVID-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) nationwide.

According to him, Malaysia’s cumulative COVID-19 infections from Jan 25, 2020, to Jan 21, 2023, stood at 5,034,521, while cumulative recoveries were 4,987,642 cases.

The cumulative figure for COVID-19 fatalities was 36,932 cases, and the total clusters were 7,169 with five active clusters, he added.

Dr Noor Hisham said the total number of recovered cases in ME 3/2023 dropped by 27.6 per cent (3,288 cases to 2,379 cases), while the number of new infections decreased by 17.3 per cent (2,525 cases to 2,088 cases) from the previous week.

The number of local cases dropped by 17.1 per cent (2,497 cases to 2,071 cases), while imported cases were down by 39.3 per cent from 28 cases to 17 cases.

As for COVID-19-related fatalities, Dr Noor Hisham said the figure decreased 29.4 per cent (34 cases to 24 cases) and the average daily active cases for ME 3/2023 recorded a 7.9 per cent drop from 10,901 cases to 10,042 cases compared with the previous week.

He said the surveillance at sentinel locations nationwide up till ME3/2023 found 17 Influenza Like Illness (ILI) samples to be positive, while Severe Acute Respiratory Infection samples testing positive for Covid-19 was 5.9 per cent.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUANTAN, Jan 23 (Bernama) — A man allegedly swept away by strong currents in Sungai Tanum on his way down from Gunung Tahan in Kuala Lipis yesterday was found drowned today.

Lipis district police chief Supt Azli Mohd Noor said the victim, Haniff Harun, 47, was found at 11.20 am about 300 metres from where he was last spotted.

Police sent the body to the Kuala Lipis Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

The victim who hailed from Kampung Paloh Haji Daud, Kuala Terengganu was involved in a mountain climbing activity with nine individuals, each guided by a mountain guide and a porter.

The group started their ascent on Friday (Jan 20) through the Merapoh entrance and was scheduled to return tomorrow (Jan 24).

However, due to bad weather, the group was forced to return to Kuala Jeram and the incident allegedly occurred while crossing Sungai Tanum.

The search and rescue (SAR) operation, which was activated yesterday afternoon, involved eight officers and 58 members of the police, fire brigade, Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM) and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SANDAKAN, Jan 23 (Bernama) — Sabah is now on the right track, with the state government having done its best to make the Sabah Maju Jaya Development Plan a success in advancing the state, said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor today.

Therefore, he hoped that the state government and the people in Sabah would continue to unite and focus on fulfilling the state’s development agenda.

“Today, I am happy that we have an inclusive government, a combination of members from Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.

“It is important that we all function as a united team by sharing common aspirations that are built on trust and mutual respect. Let us unite to ensure that this administration runs smoothly,” he said at the Sandakan Chinese New Year open house organised by DAP here.

Hajiji said if the people and the government continue to unite to focus on fulfilling the state’s development agenda, Sabah would continue to increase its revenue collection and investments, which exceeded RM6.6 billion and RM33.4 billion, respectively last year.

Regarding this year’s Chinese New Year, which is designated as the Year of the Rabbit, he said the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, is associated with peace, prosperity and longevity.

“May this Year of the Rabbit take us forward and the people will live in peace and be able to deal with various challenges, economically and health-wise,” he added.

He thanked the Chinese community for their support and cooperation in helping the state government to develop Sabah and improve the well-being of the people.

Earlier, Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung, said political stability in Sabah seemed to have improved under the Hajiji-led unity government.

“Hence, I believe our (Sabah) economy will improve. I believe this Year of the Rabbit will bring more opportunities and wealth for the public,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KLUANG, Jan 23 (Bernama) — The remains of two siblings who were killed in an accident at Jalan Batu Pahat-Mersing, Kahang, yesterday, were laid to rest at the Kampung Melayu Muslim Cemetery, Layang-Layang, here, this morning.

Muhammad Zharfan Noramin, 16, and his brother Muhammad Syakir Noramin, 11, were buried in a common grave at about 10.40 am.

Earlier, their remains were taken to the Kampung Paya Mosque, here, for funeral prayers.

Six people were killed, while five others were injured when a Perodua Myvi car carrying eight people collided with a Honda Stream at Kilometre 71, Jalan Mersing-Kluang at 4.40 pm yesterday.

Apart from Muhammad Zharfan and Muhammad Syakir, those who died from the Perodua Myvi were identified as siblings, Siti Nurzannah Kahdar, 26, Masrina Kahdar, 21, and Muhammad Adil Abdul Kahdir, 22, as well as Mohd Ashraf Rafiq Mohd Arifin, 11.

The driver and passengers of the Honda Stream, known as Zulkeflly Zakariah, 53; Kamariah Yusof, 48; and their daughter Ariana Nur Batrisyah Zulkeflly, 13, sustained injuries in the incident.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency