Use ‘gotong - royong’ in efforts to eradicate dengue, says Rosnah

KOTA KINABALU: The community cooperation (gotong-royong) carried out to ensure cleanliness is maintained among the community brings about major benefits, especially in the fight against dengue fever outbreak in the state.

Deputy Health Minister, Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin, said that through community cooperation, she believes the continued efforts will bear positive results in line with the government’s ‘No Aedes, No Dengue’ effort.

“We call on all levels of leadership in the villages, districts and housing estates to maintain a culture of personal and environmental hygiene respectively all the time.

“This will give rise to confidence and belief that continued efforts in combating the spread of dengue fever will yield positive results to ensure that there will be no aedes and no dengue in our state in general,” she said.
She said this in her speech at the ‘Grand Gotong Royong’ programme at Kampung Kawang, Papar, near here.

According to her, based on her ministry’s statistics, the spread of dengue fever had gone up around December last year and it was a cause of concern to all parties.

Rosnah, who is also MP for Papar, said the Aedes mosquitoes, which thrive in the ditches, reservoirs, rubbish, bottles, discarded tyres and unattended water tanks, contribute to the spread of the disease in the community.

“This will not only attract attention as where the larvae continue to reproduce even in dirty environment can bring about spread of other diseases.

“We hope through community work which is our social responsibility will not only held at Kg. Kawang but also to the other villages in the Papar parliamentary constituency,” she said.

In the meantime, she said, the organization of such programs could help further strengthen mutual understanding and unity among the leaders of all levels of society.

“With the strong unity in all aspects of life among the people at the grassroots level, with the attitude of continued cooperation and tolerance, political stability and harmony will continue to be enhanced and thus assist in the implementation and success of the government’s development plans from time to time,” she added

Also present at the function were Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing, Datuk Ghulam Haidar Khan Bahadar, who is also ADUN for Kawang and Papar District Officer, Iman Ali.

Source: http://newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/55635

Green Sabah Says: Gotong Royong is a term that is rarely heard of nowadays, its a good communal effort to bring neighbors together to improve cleanliness of our surroundings and prevent the outbreak of dengue fever. It could be done in with your school mates, colleagues, neighbors, friends, anyone at all. Not only does joint effort makes the work complete sooner, but also strengthen the unity and improve relationships between each other.

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RM38m Tg Aru to UMS walk and cycle path soon

Kota Kinabalu: A RM38 million pedestrian cum cycle path stretching 23.5km from Tanjung Aru to Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) will be constructed soon as part of the City's Environment Project.


He said this during the flag-raising ceremony in conjunction with the 12th anniversary of Kota Kinabalu's city status at Padang Merdeka, Thursday, which also marked his first year as Mayor.

"Tenders for the project will be called this April.

Construction will begin by middle of this year," said Madingkir.

The project will be divided into four parcels with Parcel One being a 5.2km long cycle-way from Sabah Port to Likas Bay.

The Parcel One, which will take about 12 months to complete, will include a bicycle shared path, bridge, covered bicycle parking, lighting and signages, children playground, benches, rubbish bin, transit seating and bicycle rack.

Parcel Two will entail a 12.6km route stretching from Tanjung Aru to Sembulan and Parcel Three, a 4.5km route within the city's Central Business District.

Upon completion, Parcel Three will also have amenities such as public toilet, shower, lockers and barriers.
And Parcel Four will be a 3km route ending at Tun Mustapha Building or UMS.

Among other projects lined up for this year, he said, are the Sembulan River Park Phase Two and Three construction and that this will include cleaning works on the river.

The construction of a bus terminal at Jalan Kepayan will also begin, among other upgrades, to the City Bus service.

Madingkir said works on clearing and cleaning the city gutters had already begun in January to avoid flash floods.

He said City Hall's 5K Programme, which has been conducted in pilot township, Menggatal, will also be extended to other townships.

The programme is aimed at developing townships with five core objectives, namely, cleanliness, beautification, safety, orderliness and wellbeing.

Madingkir said campaigns such as the Anti-Litter and the Reduce Plastic Bags will also be continued consistently.

"Even if we can't ban plastic at the moment, we urge everyone to keep Saturday, Sunday and Monday to reduce the use of plastic bags.

"Even so, the public could still purchase the bags for 20 sen each," he said, adding the public could bring their own bags to do shopping on the said days.

And, he said, City Hall is also considering to adopt the public's requests, to permanently ban plastic for the said three days.

Madingkir, who has also been Mayor for a year now, said City Hall's goals are based on the National Transformation Agenda, Government Transformation Programme (GTP), National Key Economic Area (NKEA), Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and the Tenth Malaysia Plan (2011-2015).

He said these have been used by City Hall as a guideline to provide the city's half a million population the best service and to further boost the City Hall Strategic Plan 2011-2015.

"In the short period of 2011, City Hall has succeeded in rolling out programmes such as the 5K programme in Menggatal.

"Beautification of main roads, along Jalan Lintas, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Telipok township area, Jalan Kolam flyover flat area and area close to the State Mosque near Jalan Sembulan," Madingkir said, adding that the programme will be continued in the years to come.

He said 2011 also saw upgrades and beautification done on all roundabouts in the city, first phase of Sembulan River Park being constructed and lay-by for taxis and buses.

"City Hall is always faced with high expectations from the public and taxpayers for their services.
"This year we will continue focusing on the Strategic Plan. And we will also intensify actions in rolling out programmes in the plan," he said.

He said City Hall is spending around RM95,000 to maintain the city's cleanliness every month and the figure adds up to RM19 million a year when it comes to solid waste management.

He also expressed concern that vandalism is becoming more rampant of late and viewed it seriously.
"Manhole and drain covers and concrete slabs are sometimes gone.

Let's just use communal bins, City Hall needs to spend about RM1,800 every time a bin is replaced.
"In a month, about 20 communal bins are being vandalised," he said.

Among present at the flag raising ceremony was visiting Korean Mayor from Yongin City, Kim Hak Kyu, City branch Puspanita Chairwoman, Datin Florence Malangkig, City Hall Director-General, Datuk Yeo Boon Hai, City Hall Board of Advisors and a delegation from Yongin City.

The event earlier saw a parade by participating contingents from City Hall's Enforcement, Service and Health, Corporate Affairs, Engineering, Financial, City Planning, Human Resource, Law, Evaluation and other departments.

It included institutes of higher learning, secondary and primary schools, private sector, school clubs and associations.

There were also cultural performances presented to the VIPS and a prize giving ceremony to the winning marching contingents, namely, SK Sri Gaya, SMK Perempuan Likas and City Hall's Health and City Service Department.

Source: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=80540

Green Sabah says: The anti-litter and reduce plastic bags campaign should be better promoted in the states so that more people will be able to take part in it. Currently the 'No plastic bags on Saturday, Sundays and Mondays' seemed to be doing quite well and I've noticed more people carrying recycle bags while shopping these days. 

As for the vandalism of public facilities such as communal bins, man hole covers and others are an despicable act that reflected the uncivilized mentality of the vandals. Not only does vandalism cost the taxpayers and government money and effort to replace the damaged items, it is also dangerous in some ways.

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Insight into human-crocodile conflicts by satellite tagging

KINABATANGAN: A satellite tagging project has been started, to tag selected male crocodiles in 10 main rivers of Sabah, as part of an on-going project to gain insight into human-crocodile conflicts.

 So far, two Kinabatangan river crocodiles have been tagged by the Sabah Wildlife Department, through its Wildlife Rescue Unit and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), the latest being a 3.6 metre saltwater crocodile named Lais, on January 27.     

 

DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens said most human-crocodile conflicts involved large males of the species.

 

By tagging these animals, long term seasonal movements can be established, which would then help determine how lack of food may be forcing them to consider humans as a source of protein, he added.     

 

"We plan to focus on 10 main rivers in Sabah and fit satellite tags on the male crocodiles in each of these rivers.  

 

"We will also carry out surveys and collect samples to identify patterns of gene flow between the rivers and also to get an overall picture of fertility within the population," said Goossens who is also leader of the Kinabatangan Crocodile Programme, in a Press release issued today.   

 

The 10 rivers are Klias, Padas, Paitan, Sugud, Labuk, Kinabatangan, Segama, Kalumpang, Kalabakan and Serudon, with emphasis on two rivers with different degrees of human pressure -- the Kinabatangan and Paitan.    

 

Sabah Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu attributed the recent successful tagging of the crocodile in the Kinabatangan river to both the Wildlife Rescue Unit and DGFC's hard work.   

 

Ambu said the Wildlife Rescue Unit, funded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort and Le Meridien Hotel, has been extremely active since its creation.    

 

DGFC Manager Mark Rampangajouw said a camera set up in the cage had allowed the project team to catch good shots of the crocodile as it took the bait and moved into the trap.    

 

The satellite tagging project is currently funded by the Chester Zoo in Chestershire, UK and DGFC. -- BERNAMA

Read more: http://www.nst.com.my/latest/insight-into-human-crocodile-conflicts-via-satellite-tagging-1.42335

Green Sabah says: Crocodiles would normally attack humans when they felt threatened or when the lack of food has driven them to see humans as a source of food. Due to the damages to their natural habitat, pollution of rivers, overfishing and such issues caused by human activities, the coexistence between wildlife and humans are disrupted. Hopefully by using satellite tagging, it can help identify ways to prevent them from attacking humans in the near future.

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Malaysia dumps 1.3-billion-ringgit Sabah coal-fired plant

Najib walks the green talk and wants environment protected;
A gas power station is likely to be built in energy hungry Sandakan

 By Nurhafizah Yusof

A gas-fired power plant

Malaysia has scrapped plans for a controversial 1.3-billion-ringgit ($422m) 300-megawatt coal-fired power station in the east coast of Sabah fearing it could destroy its exotic jungles, wildlife, corals and other marine life, Sabah chief minister Musa Aman announced today. 

The federal and state governments would now look at “alternative energy such as gas to meet Sabah’s electricity needs,” he told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Kota Kinabalu.

“Prime minister Najib Razak understands that we can’t have power supply at the expense of the people’s welfare and environment,” Musa said, adding that Najib has ordered Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the national electricity company, and Petronas, the national oil company, to consider liquefied natural gas (LNG) to generate electricity particularly for people and industries in the east coast which is short of power.

Industry sources said a gas-fired power plant would most likely be sited in energy hungry Sandakan, north of Lahad Datu.

State officials said the decision to dump the coal plant was expected. The Sabah government rejected it in 2008 when Tenaga proposed to site it in Silam on the doorstep of the protected forests of Lahad Datu’s Danum Valley, home of the endangered Sumatran rhinoceros.

Last August the department of environment rejected the company’s environmental impact assessment of its new 69-hectare site in an oil palm estate of the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) at Lahad Datu’s Sinakut.

But it was Najib’s visit to Maliau Basin on January 29 that finally killed the coal plant. Accompanied by Musa, Najib was deeply touched by the “lost world” that he saw. He pledged to conserve Maliau Basin, which has buried coal and gold, as a world heritage site.

He is the first Malaysian prime minister to visit the untouched 58,400-hectare basin of virgin forests, about the size of Singapore. He opened the Maliau Basin Studies Centre and launched a 10-year study of the stability of altered forest ecosystems (SAFE), the world’s biggest ecological experiment to find out whether forest ecosystems changed by logging and oil palm cultivation are stable enough to support biodiversity.

Musa said Najib understands that Sabah’s greatest asset is its pristine natural environment which attracts more than two million tourists to exotic wild animals such as the Sumatran rhinoceros, orang utans, proboscis monkeys, wild plants and marine life.

The coal power station on the doorstep of Darvel Bay would have threatened the Coral Triangle there which has about a third of the world’s coral reefs and fish, according to environmentalists.

“While Sabah has to increase power supply for its development, it cannot do it at the risk of endangering our natural environment,” Musa said. “As a responsible government, our priority is to protect the environment for the well-being of the people."

Musa said the Barisan Nasional government under Najib listens to the people. “I know there have been objections to the proposed coal power plant,” he said. “Today is proof that such objections have not fallen on deaf ears. The BN government under Najib has the political will to take the higher road and not bring coal to Sabah"

Source: http://insightsabah.gov.my/article/read/766

Green Sabah Says: It is a good decision from the Sabah State Government to stop the Sabah Coal Fired Plant in order to prevent pollution and damages to the environment. The people of Sabah are grateful for the move and I'm sure there will be better alternatives that we can use to help resolve the electricity shortage woes in the state.

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Endangered wildlife can have easier migration

KOTA KINABALU: A move is under way to connect the country's largest wildlife forest reserve, Tabin, with adjacent fragmented forests through wildlife corridors in Sabah's east coast Lahad Datu.

The move will facilitate the migration of critically-endangered wildlife through the newly established Segama Corridor Conservation Area.

Conservationists hope it would eventually lead to a narrow but continuous corridor from Tabin to Kulamba Wildlife Reserve, another important refuge for endangered species on the northern side of the Dent peninsular in Lahad Datu.

The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and the German-based conservation non-governmental organisation Rhino and Forest Fund (RFF) signed an agreement to improve a wildlife corridor between the isolated Tabin reserve with adjacent conservation areas recently.

Tabin Wildlife Reserve is one of the last areas on the Borneo island where large wildlife still coexist, including the Bornean Rhino, Bornean Elephant, Orang Utan, Banteng and Sun Bear.

“Connecting forest fragments is an integral part of our strategy to secure wildlife habitat in the long term,” Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said.

He said it was necessary for the department to be active in promoting the reforestation work throughout areas with wildlife as corridors and forest patches are much needed for wildlife connectivity.

“At present, there is an increase of reforestation work within wildlife landscapes in Sabah and we want them to be successful not only for the benefit of wildlife but also local communities who live close to these areas,” said Laurentius.

“To save endangered wildlife suffering from habitat fragmentation, we need to establish a network of protected areas of a sufficient size and quality.

“This will prevent inbreeding of currently separated sub-populations and help to maintain healthy population.”

RFF director Robert Risch said the outcome of their efforts would be a connected conservation area of more than 200,000ha, nearly twice as big as Tabin is today.

Leipzig Zoo from Germany and private donors financially support this reforestation project.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/7/nation/10689827&sec=nation

Green Sabah says:  Today with the help of NGO’s, not-for profit organizations and governments world-wide there is a stronger movement taking place, with a deeper understanding of habitat conservation with the aim of protecting delicate habitats and preserving biodiversity on a global scale. The commitment and actions of volunteering association is paramount in ensuring generations that follow understand the importance of conserving natural resources.

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