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International Islamic University Malaysia Student Named Best Overall Speaker At Cambridge University Women’s Open Debate

PETALING JAYA: International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) student Ameera Natasha Moore has been named best overall speaker in the recently concluded Cambridge University Women’s Debate Open.

In receiving the award, the third-year law student outranked debaters from renowned institutions including Oxford University, Durham University, Trinity College Dublin, University College London, Vienna University, Berlin University, St Andrews University, Warwick University, the London School of Economics and Tel Aviv University among others.

Ameera, 21, and her team-mate from IIUM, Sara Rahim, 19, were the highest ranked team in the tournament, also known as The Norton Rose Fulbright Cambridge Women’s Open, after accumulating the most speaker points in all four preliminary rounds.

However, IIUM bowed out in the four-way semi-finals knock-out round against Trinity College Dublin and two teams from Oxford University.

The ranking is just another cap in Ameera’s impressive international debate resume.

Ameera is also a two-time English as a Second Language (ESL) winner of the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship, the champion and overall best speaker of the Asian English Olympics Debate Tournament 2014, and an ESL semi-finalist of the prestigious World Universities Debating Championship 2014 held in India.

Apart from being crowned this year’s Malaysian Royal National Debating Champion, the Sekolah Seri Puteri alumna has also accumulated a long list of trophies from various local tournaments.

“I feel great. I definitely was not expecting (the ranking) as I knew the competition was tough! Yet at the same time, I feel satisfied because being one of the only Asian teams there and to dispel the myth that women can’t talk about sports or international relations, was an experience I’ll never forget,” Ameera told The Star Online.

“During the tournament, my team-mate Sarah and I were practically jumping when the motion ‘This House Believes that the US and Iran should form alliances to fight against the Islamic State’, was revealed as we had done extensive research on the issue.

When asked to share her most memorable experience during the competition, Ameera said: “To come out of that debate ranking first with our opponents, including Oxford, congratulating us and saying that it was very well deserved, meant so much. To know that even your opponents are happy for you, that’s something that words can’t describe.”

After graduation, Ameera looks forward to working closely with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in helping with the plight of women and children.

“It’s important for women to use debate as a platform to break down existing stereotypes. Especially where women’s and girls’ rights are undermined, debate can be used as the most effective tool for changing mindsets and questioning patriarchal attitudes at politics, work and at home,” added Sarah, a second year IIUM economics student from Afghanistan.

The competition, which was held in Cambridge University, United Kingdom, on Nov 23, saw 51 all-women teams from across the world taking part.

Although most participants debated under the banners of their universities and tertiary institutions, the competition was also open to composite teams made up from several institutions.

The tournament was held to encourage participation from women in the debating scene and to raise awareness of women’s issues.

Source: http://www.thestar.com.my

December 5, 2014
How HIV May Spread Over The Next 15 Years

In 2013, about 35 million people lived with HIV worldwide, a number that is comparable with the population of Canada. Due to better treatment methods, the number of deaths caused by AIDS-related illnesses is on the decline, along with the number of new infections. The recent success is fragile, however.

UNAIDS, the United Nations program dedicated to the fight against HIV, recently warned that new infections could rise again if HIV prevention and treatment approaches remained at 2013 levels. The map above shows which regions and groups of people could be particularly threatened in low- and middle-income countries by 2030 in that case.

According to the scenario, the majority of new infections may be in Africa, where heterosexuals would account for the biggest group of those newly affected, followed be female sex workers, their clients, as well as children. In Asia, homosexuals, female sex workers and their clients, as well as heterosexuals are expected to be equally threatened by AIDS in total numbers. The Middle East and South America would follow with much lower numbers of newly infected people.

Between 1990 and 2013, the number of people living with HIV increased especially in the Southern Hemisphere as well as some European countries. UNAIDS estimates that more than 39 million people have died of AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic, most of them in low- and middle-income countries.

On World AIDS Day, marked this Monday, UNICEF, the United Nations’ agency for children, also warned that while there has been a drop in AIDS-related deaths between 2005 and 2013, one core demographic has not seen such a decline: those ages 10 to 19. HIV was the second-leading cause of death among adolescents worldwide in 2012, according to the WHO.

More optimistic observers believe the HIV epidemic will sharply decline over the next decades. A new report by the advocacy group One, which was released Monday, declared that for the first time in 30 years, the world had reached a “tipping point” in the fight against HIV.

“We’re not saying the end of Aids is near but we have reached an important milestone where, for the first time, we are getting ahead of the disease,” Erin Hohlfelder, health policy director for One, was quoted as saying by theFinancial Times. The report was released Monday to mark World Aids Day.

According to the group, fewer people became infected with HIV — the human immunodeficiency virus, which leads to AIDS — than gained access to drugs against the virus in 2013. About 2.3 million people gained access to HIV treatment programs last year, compared with 2.1 million new infections. The group also said that antiretroviral drugs, which are used to fight the virus, are now available to 13.6 million people worldwide.

Data: UNAIDS and ONE advocacy group. Visualization: Rick Noack/ The Washington Post.

Currently, HIV is roughly 28 times as common among people who inject drugs and 19 times as common among men who have sex with men, compared with the average. Sex workers are 12 times as likely to be infected by the virus.

To protect those who are most marginalized by the virus, three goals need to be achieved, according to the group One: First, funds to fight the disease need to be increased to address a shortfall of $3 billion a year.

Second, stigmatized groups with limited access to treatment need to be reached. And third, the international community should be aware that current promising developments will not necessarily be a tipping point for all countries and that some nations and regions will continue to need more support than others.

If all those goals were to be achieved, the prevalence of HIV could look more like this by 2030, according to the United Nations:

Source: UNAIDS

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com

December 4, 2014
The Struggles Of a HIV Positive Mother

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — A mother of four was forced to choose between HIV medication and her children.

Norlela Mokhtar, 50, was diagnosed 14 years ago as being HIV positive and three years later, she was in dire need of medication but medical care for HIV patients was not free.

“It cost about RM1,000 a month and I did not have that kind of money because I was working as a clerk at that time,” she said.

“I had to choose between myself and my children.

“I had to choose between paying for my medication or to feed my children.”

She avoided doctor’s visits and check-ups to avoid being asked to take the medication.

“In 2005, I had tuberculosis and I had no choice when I was admitted,” she said.

“Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman (Malaysian AIDS Council exco member) started me on the anti-retroviral treatment, even though it was not free at that time.”

It was then that she regained her health, along with her weight.

“I was a skeleton of about 50kg as I lost so much weight. I was only 30kg at that time,” she said.

Norlela was advised by a friend of hers to get tested because her former husband was an intravenous drug user (IDU).

She believes she contracted the disease from him.

“In that year of being diagnosed, I had no support,” she said

“At that time, whatever they said did not have any impact on me because I was thinking about my four children, who were between two and 10 years old.”

She went on with life without acknowledging the disease but remained a strong front for her children.

“I made sure I was strong in front of them,” she said.

Norlela recalled the discrimination she faced, from both family and friends, but she has no regrets.

“My youngest child was taken away from me by my stepmother for fear I would infect my children,” she said.

“In the office, they didn’t let me go to the canteen or use the items in the pantry.

“However, I am not angry with them because they didn’t know how a person was infected.”

An advocate for those like her, Norlela formed Persatuan Wahidayah Malaysia (Pewahim) and the Rumah Wahidayah, a shelter for women and children living with HIV/AIDS.

She believes building a “zero discrimination” nation towards those infected with HIV/AIDS was the first step towards building a HIV/AIDS free nation.

“People are not able to get married, get a proper education or even get loans just because they are infected by HIV or AIDS. This needs to stop,” she said.

“People should also be educated, instead of taking HIV tests only when required.”

Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com

December 4, 2014
Environmental Impact Studies To Be Conducted On Plans To Barricade 40 Per Cent Of Singapore’s Coastline

With 40 per cent of Singapore’s 197km coastline to be barricaded in the coming years to beef up security, the authorities have reiterated that further studies will be conducted if there is a need to better understand the barriers’ impact on the surroundings — especially if they are near sensitive areas such as nature reserves or marine and coastal areas.

Questions on the impact of barriers being built off the Kranji and Poyan reservoirs were raised recently on the Wild Shores of Singapore blog, run by nature enthusiast Ria Tan.

The Kranji and Poyan barriers are not part of the additional 80km announced by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean in October. Work on the barriers near the reservoirs started in August and will be completed in January 2016, a Singapore Police Force spokesperson said.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and four other Government agencies had reviewed the proposal for any potential environmental concerns, a URA spokesperson told TODAY. The police is to do environmental monitoring and put in place mitigating measures such as silt control during construction.

The police were required to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Kranji barriers, but not for the Poyan ones.

“As the coastline next to Poyan Reservoir consisted mainly of seawalls, approval was given for the installation of sea-based barriers, on condition that the physical structures would not impede the movement of water-based plants and animals, and that the sediment plumes be kept to a minimum during construction,” said Dr Lena Chan, director of the National Parks Board’s National Biodiversity Centre.

The EIA for the Kranji barriers was to ascertain the potential impact on existing biodiversity areas and aquaculture facilities nearby, said the URA. Mitigation measures for the Kranji stretch included building the fences on land to minimise disturbance to the inter-tidal environments.

The Kranji-Mandai area is home to some rare and endangered mangrove plants. Dr Hsu Chia Chi, who started the Nature Society (Singapore)’s horseshoe crab research and rescue programme, said the mangroves also have one of the highest published densities of Mangrove horseshoe crabs.

Speaking in his personal capacity, Dr Hsu said he found out in September 2012 about the barriers to be built in the Kranji-Mandai area. The society’s Marine Conservation Group asked the Police Coast Guard for more information about the project and offered to provide data about the area’s flora and fauna if needed.

It was important for the mangroves and mudflats not to be impacted by the siting of the fences. “If the barriers are done properly and access is allowed to people who use the area responsibly, the fences may not be a bad thing. Now, when it’s wide open, you do find abandoned nets, which trap horseshoe crabs,” said Dr Hsu.

If the horseshoe crab population is decimated, migratory birds would be deprived of their eggs and young to feed on, he added.

Wild Shores of Singapore’s Ms Tan agreed that it is important for responsible users to continue to have access to the mangroves and mudflats, but felt the fences “probably will not keep out people who abuse (the) shores”.

It would be ideal for the Kranji barriers to have low openings at intervals to allow crawling or slithering creatures to move between both sides of the fence, and for biodiversity studies to be done before and after barriers are built, said Dr Hsu.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

December 3, 2014
An Encounter With A Young And Arrogant IRAS Tax Officer

Such claims and actions by the PAP Town Council such as lawyers letters, etc are certainly typical.

A visit to the Income Tax office informing the officer of my reasons for not being employed for a certain period of time plus proof of non payment such as mortgage, PUB, etc, and thus not able to pay my outstanding income tax on previous years was rejected by the young BITCH officer. Her demeanour during the interview came across rather pompous and arrogant. She asked me to wait for her foe about 30 minutes while she reviewed my case with a SENIOR officer.

She got back to me after 50 minutes and told me that she did NOT believe my reasons for non payment thus she has to impose a penalty fee.

These young and stupid bookworm Tax officers, WHAT do they know about hard life? They come from comfortable generation and up bringing and is now being put in the TAX Government office as a intern/under study and behave like Demi Gods in deciding the faith of pheasants.

Not accepting the outcome, I decided to ask to speak with the senior officer whom she claimed to have a discussion regarding my case. This b*t*h told me that the officer in charge is engage in a staff meeting. I then told her to assign me to another officer. She told me they are all engaged. Thus, I told her that I will wait for the senior officer to finish the meeting and to get back to me while I wait at the desk where I was interviewed.

The b*t*h officer tried to wayang with me and told me she would try her best to get the officer to attend to me. Five minutes later, the senior officer attended to me. It took me within 5 minutes to explain my predicament, showed paper proof and mentioned of the wasted time which the young b*t*h officer had put me through including the statement she made to me earlier regarding her disbelieve. The senior officer returned within 5 minutes and gave me an acceptable solution. The young b*t*h who was with her appeared slightly upset and her demeanour seems deflated. My point is some of the officers working in PAP Government offices or under the umbrella of the PAP acts like a big fcuk thinking that we owe them even after we show proof of our predicament.

Please note that the income tax office of Sinkapore uses high end PLANTRONICS earphones and some high end Herman Miller office chairs. Tax payers are paying for expensive chairs in the Tax Dept to accommodate to these tender backsides working there. Is it necessary??

GOH PANG SAI

Source: www.therealsingapore.com

December 2, 2014