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Indonesia: 1 Month Needed To Fight Fires

Indonesia will take 30 days to bring smouldering forest fires under control, the national disaster management agency said on Friday (Sept 18), as smog from the fires pushes pollution in Southeast Asia to record highs.

The region has suffered for years from annual bouts of smog caused by slash-and-burn practices in Indonesia’s islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, but governments have failed to tackle the problem.

“We expect there will be a potential for haze because of the El Nino effect until the end of November, but we are targeting to put out the majority of the fires by mid-October,” agency spokesman Sutopo Nugroho told Reuters.

Indonesia has faced criticism from neighbours and green groups for not doing enough to prevent the fires, which cause millions of dollars worth of damage to health and the environment every year.

This week, Indonesia said it was investigating about 100 companies, including an unnamed Malaysian firm, in the latest crackdown to tackle smog worsened by a prolonged dry season. The rainy season usually begins in November.

Next week, authorities will name several companies likely to face sanctions for starting fires, including possible withdrawal of licenses, Indonesia’s environment and forestry minister, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, told a news conference on Friday.

Meanwhile, Malaysia on Friday announced plans to evacuate 173 of its citizens “badly affected by the haze surrounding Riau province”from provincial capital Pekanbaru, using two C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Plantation companies, some of which are listed in Singapore, and smallholder farmers often get blamed for using slash-and-burn practices to clear land for palm oil and agriculture.

Indonesian law allows smallholders to slash and burn up to 2ha of land, according to the disaster management agency, which has said the policy is being misused.

Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one of the world’s biggest pulp and paper companies, says it is fighting fires on its large concession areas and that thousands of hectares of its plantations have been destroyed.

“We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg here. El Nino will last until March next year,” Aida Greenbury, managing director of sustainability at APP, told Reuters.

Indonesia has deployed nearly 3,000 troops and 24 aircraft to help fight the fires. Bakar said an offer of assistance from Singapore was turned down.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

September 19, 2015
Some SAF Medical Officers Are Too Much!

Anyone finds SAF medical officers are damn f*cked up?

They think everyone is here to keng and refuse to help you even thou you are a genuine case i met one of this damm mo

Like time moi got gout the MO die die don’t believe claim so young how can have gout. Then one time the gout strike on a weekend and by Monday morning still can’t walk and book-in. But the CSM die die want moi to come back camp to leeport sick said smlj if can’t walk how you go see doctor get MC. Then threaten if don’t book in will send RP.

So LLST drag moi self take cab back. But worst ish the cheesepie RSM don’t allow moi taxi to drive all the way into MC (it was at least a 1km walk from the gate) So have to drop off and basically crawl moi self to the MC under hot sun, still ganna jeer by RMS and his RP as acting.

Ashton
A.S.S. Contributor

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

September 18, 2015
Malaysian Netizens Tell Bank Negara Scholarship Winner To Don Tudung

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 ― Hajar Nur Asyiqin Abdul Zubir, an 18-year-old who dreams of studying in Oxford University, is the winner of a prestigious Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) scholarship but to some on Facebook, the young Malay girl’s achievement has been shadowed by her failure to don the tudung (Muslim headscarf).

On the social media site, the chemistry student, upon winning the Kijang Emas Scholarship 2015 that allows her to pursue any field of study at top universities across the world, was told that her father would bear the sins of her not covering her “aurat”.

“Congratulations..but it’s a pity that the ‘aurat’ is not covered. Her father bears the sin,” a Facebook user called Rozaidi Jai commented on Friends of BN ― Barisan Nasional’s Facebook post Wednesday announcing Hajar Nur Asyiqin’s win.

Facebook user named Nazri Toushirou even called for conditions of the scholarship interview to mandate covering the “aurat”

“Don’t think it’s wrong, right?” he said.

Facebook user Mohd Sabri Hussien said: “Pretty looks, good at studies. It’ll be better if she wore a tudung”.

Another Facebook user, called Mohd Khairudzaman Bahaudin, said: “All right, congratulations, Allah hates His servants who do not cover their ‘aurat’, we succeed not because we’re clever”.

Other Facebook users, however, have since come to the 18-year-old’s defence, with one named Ag Sha saying: “It doesn’t necessarily mean that not wearing a tudung means you’re not religious..congratulations..prove to them that you’re not shallow in your religious knowledge”.

Islam as is practised in Malaysia is beginning to show signs of increasing conservatism, illustrated among others by the local boom in the tudung industry that was a rarity just several decades ago.

Friday sermons sanctioned by the government also repeatedly tell women to cover their aurat, with a Malay-Muslim gymnast recently getting backlash for wearing a leotard.

Local daily New Straits Times reported Monday that Hajar Nur Asyiqin ― who went to SMK Abdul Rahman Talib in Kuantan, Pahang, and is now doing her A-Levels at Tuanku Ja’afar College in Mantin, Negri Sembilan ― wants to study chemistry at Oxford University in the UK, one of the top universities in the world.

The paper reported that she scored 9A+s in SPM last year and that she had undergone group and individual assessments by Bank Negara before she was announced last April as one of four recipients of the Kijang Emas Scholarship.

According to Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz’s speech at the Kijang Emas Scholarship award ceremony last April, the central bank had received 212 applications for the 2015 Kijang Emas Scholarship and shortlisted the top 24 based on their SPM results and involvement in sports and co-curricular activities.

“The students then underwent a rigorous evaluation process under the Bank’s ‘Kijang Academy’ which assessed their technical and leadership competencies, as well as their values,” Zeti said in the speech made available on Bank Negara’s website.

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

September 18, 2015
28 Year Old Bangladeshi Jailed 8 Months For Molesting Woman On MRT

A 28-year-old man was today (Sept 17) sentenced to eight months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to molesting a woman on an MRT train.

A district court heard that Islam Md Mohidul, a Bangladeshi national working in Singapore, had boarded the train at Kranji MRT Station at around 6.45am on June 26 as part of his commute from his dormitory in Kranji to his worksite near City Hall.

Later, the victim boarded the same train compartment at Sembawang MRT Station. After she managed to get a seat to Islam’s right, the woman started reading some documents, and later fell asleep.

Islam decided to take advantage of the situation by touching her. As there were many commuters on the train, he pretended to cross his arms but then slipped his left hand under his right elbow to “surreptitiously reach over” to the victim’s left breast.

He started to rub her breast slowly to test if the woman would be awakened, and did so more forcefully after she did not show any reaction.

Islam retracted his hand when the victim woke up. After the woman told him off, he apologised and claimed he had accidentally touched her.

She also took a photo of the accused before he alighted at City Hall MRT Station. Islam was arrested on July 15.

Yesterday, Islam, who came to Singapore about three months ago to work, told the court through a translator that he was truly remorseful.

Source: www.todayonline.com

September 18, 2015
Saudi Health Minister: MERS Cases Are Reducing Before Haj

MECCA: A recent surge in cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), a sometimes deadly virus, in Saudi Arabia has ebbed in the run-up to Islam’s annual haj pilgrimage, the kingdom’s Health Minister Khaled al-Falih said on Thursday.

As pilgrims poured into Mecca from around the world, the Health Ministry said it had confirmed two more cases of the disease in Riyadh on Thursday, but the number of cases has declined since last month, Falih said.

Most medical staffers touring hospitals and medical centers around Mecca on Wednesday covered their noses and mouths with masks, as did traffic policemen and army personnel deployed to secure the flow of busses carrying pilgrims into the holy city.

“With the help of God and then with the measures taken by the ministry of health we hope to prevent the virus from getting to the pilgrims,” said Falih in a news conference.

So far around 1.2 million Muslims have arrived in the kingdom for haj.

In past years it has drawn up to 3 million pilgrims, but authorities have limited numbers in the past two years because of construction work around the Grand Mosque.

Saudi Arabia has banned the slaughter of camels around the holy cities during the pilgrimage. The animals have been found to carry the virus and scientists say they are the most likely source of primary infections of people.

Seven people in the city of Medina who have been infected by MERS have been moved to Riyadh as a precaution to avoid any spread of the disease near the pilgrimage sites, Falih said.

“The spread has begun to shrink and we are optimistic the days of spreading are gone and are behind us,” said Falih.

The kingdom has mobilized 25,000 medical staff from different cities into Mecca for the haj season.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

September 18, 2015