» »Unlabelled » Two dads, daughter die in car-lorry collisions BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

07:21:00

Two dads, daughter die in car-lorry collisions BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

Two dads, daughter die in car-lorry collisions

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 11:02 AM PST

by Rebecca Chong and Chok Sim Yee. Posted on December 27, 2013, Friday

SANDAKAN: Two fathers and a daughter died in separate but similar road accidents, one at Km 80, Beluran-Telupid road on Wednesday evening and the other at Km 24, Ranau-Telupid road yesterday afternoon.

In the Jalan Beluran-Telupid accident involving a car and a lorry, a local man and his two-year-old daughter were killed while his wife and son were injured .

Their Perodua Alza car collided with the lorry around 5.30pm on Wednesday on a slope when it was raining, according to Beluran acting police chief ASP Kamaruddin Ambo Sakka.

He said Ahmad Rafaie Daud, 33, who was from Sandakan, died on the spot while his daughter, Nur Amani Batrissya, died as she was being taken to the Telupid Health Clinic.

Ahmad's wife, Theresa Thomas, 30, was seriously injured and admitted to the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan together with their son Aidit Fredly Ahmad Rafaie, 8, who was slightly injured, he said.

A close relative of the family said Theresa was still in a coma and had yet to be informed of the death of her husband and son.

The tragic accident happened while the victims were on their way back to Sandakan from Kota Kinabalu after spending their family vacation in Karambunai.

Kamaruddin said the impact of the head-on collision flung the two vehicles to the right side of the straight downhill road.

The driver of the lorry was a 34-year-old man, he said, adding that the accident was being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act.

In the Ranau-Telupid road accident, a local man died while his wife and son were injured when the Proton Iswara car they were travelling in collided with a three-ton lorry, near Kampung Nalapak, Ranau yesterday.

Ghani @ Fandi Nasri, 45, from Kampung Batu Puteh, Kinabatangan was also killed on the spot in the 12.35pm accident.

His wife Anidah Noor, 42, and son Mohd Ghaireyl Shafie Ghani, 15, were given outpatient treatment in the Ranau Hospital.

Ranau police chief DSP Abdul Rahman Kassim said initial investigation showed that the victim had lost control of his vehicle while going downhill.

He said the police believed the vehicle swerved into the next lane and collided with the oncoming lorry.

The lorry driver, a 43-year-old local man, was unhurt in the incident, he said, adding that the case was investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

Print Friendly

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

PBS renews call for new state constituency

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:13 AM PST

PAPAR: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) has renewed its call to have the area from Limbahau to Kaiduan made a new state constituency.

Its secretary general, Datuk Johnny Mositun, said the proposed delineation was needed given the large and growing population in Papar parliamentary constituency.

Speaking to reporters during a Christmas open house here on Wednesday, he said the new constituency which should include the Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM)-majority Simpudu area, would not have much impact on existing state constituencies in Papar.

"The area is suitable to be made a new voting constituency but it's up to the Election Commission (EC) to decide," he said.

Should the EC approve PBS' proposal, he said Papar will have three representatives at the State Legislative Assembly and this will benefit the people in the district as they would have a louder voice in government decision making process.

"If this is approved, Papar will have three state seats including the existing constituencies of Pantai Manis and Kawang.

"The new area is needed to cater for the increasing number of voters in the area. PBS has studied the matter thoroughly and I hope EC will do the same," he said.

According to him, research conducted by PBS showed that the proposed new voting area has enough population to meet the requirement of a minimum 90,000 residents in every constituency set by the EC.

Johnny, who is also the state deputy speaker, rubbished claims that the government was reluctant to approve the proposal because the KDM communities in the area might be pro opposition.

He stressed although the KDM forms the majority in the proposed new constituency, voters from other ethnics also reside in the area.

Furthermore, he said the people in the area wanted the additional constituency and it is up to them to decide who to vote for in elections.

Also present were PBS president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, deputy president Datuk Seri Panglima Maximus Ongkili and state speaker Datuk Salleh Said.

Print Friendly

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Back-to-school shopping rush to avoid price hike

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:13 AM PST

by Mariah Doksil. Posted on December 27, 2013, Friday

KOTA KINABALU: With prices of school items expected to increase 30 per cent next year, many parents are taking full advantage of the year-end sales at various departmental stores and retail outlets around the city to shop for school items for their children.

Raidah Sudin from Indah Permai bought stationery and two pairs of shoes for her 12-year old daughter Chang Qi Jun and 7-year old son Aaron Chang Qi Yong at a shop in Penampang New Township.

"The prices have increased so we only buy what my children need. Their school uniforms are still in good condition, so I did not buy new ones. I will make sure that their uniforms last as long as possible," Raidah said.

"But I have to buy two pairs of new shoes because they really need to replace the old ones. The items cost me about RM400," she said.

Meanwhile, Yasumoi Sunga from Telipok said RM400 is just for buying school uniforms, school bags and shoes for her two daughters.

"Both my girls are now in secondary school, so I need to buy more. Buying stationery and revision books are costly but I don't mind spending on books because it is for their future.

"Everything can cost me nearly RM1,000 but I will budget my spending. I can buy revision books first while the stationery can be bought during Chinese New Year sales," she said.

Harnani Wazhry from Pitas said she would be doing her last minute shopping this weekend for her only daughter, Nadia Ghazali.

She said she was aware of the price hike for school items, so she told her daughter that she would only be buying what was necessary.

"My budget is RM200 for Nadia, and I think it is enough just to buy a few things. Her uniforms, shoes and bag are still in good condition, but I need to buy stationery like pencils, colours, books and so on.

"She will be in Primary 2 next year, and luckily there are no school fees, but only contributions for the Parent-Teacher Association," she said.

Harnani is planning to do her shopping in Kota Marudu town with her husband and Nadia.

Meritis Eling, a mother of six was allocated RM1,200, by her husband to buy school supplies for next year's school session.

"I normally buy my children's school supplies from Ramai Jaya Departmental Store in Telipok Ria, or Tuaran, while their shoes will be bought at Bata because of their reasonable prices.

"Last year my husband gave me RM1,000 for school supplies but next year my last son Muhd Haziq is turning seven so I need to buy a new set of school uniforms and stationery," she said.

Meanwhile, mother of four, Rosmah Iyonong, 42, from Kota Marudu is of the opinion that the increase in prices of stationery will affect her expenditures for school preparation in a small, but negative way.

"Although stationery are significantly smaller and not as expensive as school uniforms or school bags, the fact that they will cost more than the current price will affect our shopping budget. But since they are also essentials, we will have to buy them anyway," said Rosmah,

Rosmah, who took her youngest child, seven-year-old Risdan Christ to the the Wisma Merdeka shopping complex for some last-minute shopping, yesterday, said although she did not normally shop at the last minute, the last-minute promotions on school essentials proved to be beneficial.

For Rus Dzulkiflee, 39, and his wife, Roziah Ali Hussain, there's nothing much to compare to in terms of prices of school essentials as they took their eldest out of two children, seven-year-old Mohd Faris Iskandar for shopping yesterday, making it their first time experiencing the year-end school preparation rush.

Rus expressed gratitude that there were a lot to choose from when it came to places selling school essentials in Kota Kinabalu.

He noted that the variety of shopping places to choose from also gave parents the advantage of having more options, and therefore would not be too affected by the increase in prices of stationery.

"Stationery are only a small portion of the expenditure and I think that even if they cost more in the future, they will not impact on our budget. Besides there are a lot of places selling stationery, leaving us with various options to choose from, as well as various brands around," said Rus.

Roziah said other than work commitments, one of the reasons for their last-minute shopping was also due to wanting everyone in their family to come along with them to shop for Faris' first year of schooling, including his grandparents.

"We wanted everyone to come so we had to wait for a time when it was convenient for everyone," she said, when met while doing their shopping at the Wisma Merdeka shopping complex yesterday, together with Faris' grandparents and three-year-old brother.

Print Friendly

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Let Kong lead MCA Sabah call

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:12 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) members in Sabah are clamouring for the appointment of MCA Penampang Division chairman Datuk Paul Kong as the new chairman of the MCA Sabah Liaison Committee.

They felt that incumbent chairman Datuk Edward Khoo, having lost once again at the recent election for the party's central leadership, should now do the 'honourable thing' by making way for Kong, "without being asked to leave or overstay your welcome."

One of the state MCA members who openly voiced his support for Kong's 'promotion' was Penampang divisional deputy chief Francis Goh who is also the president of the Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers' Association (SHAREDA).

Goh pointed out that this is the second time Khoo failed to garner support of the MCA Central Delegates (CD) in the party's election; the first being in the last election when he lost as a vice-presidential candidate. In the recent election, Khoo lost as a Central Committee Member candidate.

"In a previous party election some years ago, Khoo though elected as a Supreme Council member also got less votes than Kong and all these was despite the fact that he was the Sabah MCA Liaison Chief and an Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister," he noted.

Goh stressed that on the other hand, Kong despite being only a divisional chief has been re-elected for a third term as a Supreme Council member and this time he was even among the top ten out of 25 elected central committee members.

"Apart from being a three-term elected party exco member, Kong had also served as the deputy state MCA liaison chief and three years as a senator or member of the Upper House of Parliament.

"In other words, he has the qualification and experience to move up the ladder. Therefore, I humbly think that it is about time that he be allowed to lead the Sabah MCA," he stated.

Goh concluded that on behalf of MCA Penampang members, he congratulated Kong on his re-election, adding that the latter had done MCA Penampang proud once again.

Print Friendly

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Living costs expected to rise next year

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:12 AM PST

by Adrian Nandu. Posted on December 27, 2013, Friday

LABUAN: Labuan Consumer Movement Council chairperson Hjh Fauziah Datuk Mohd Din yesterday said prices of goods and services were expected to go up next year due to the increase in electricity tariff.

She said that for the time being most of the prices of goods and services here were still the same.

"It is believed that prices of many goods and services here will go up by next year as the increased electricity tariff would add costs for the business operators or premises such as hotels, restaurants, textiles and others.

"The cost of living will also surge," she said.

To face the situation, the council would hold a meeting on Saturday to discuss several issues where they would suggest some inputs for the government.

Fauziah said in their recent meeting in Kundasang, Ranau, one of the issues discussed was to educate consumers on their rights, steps to be taken to endure the rising cost of living, and consumers' alertness to the rising prices.

"Consumers cannot remain quiet but instead use their rights in choosing products and services.

"The manipulation of prices is expected to occur by using the electricity tariff as a reason, even though their business operations do not use too much electricity such as the home businesses," she said.

She also asked the Consumerism, Co-operative and Domestic Trade Ministry to organize more educational programmes to create awareness among the people.

"The level of awareness among our society is yet to reach a satisfactory level. A household expenditure course must also be done.

"Indeed, there are still many things we can do to help our society," she said.

Meanwhile, she asked traders who intended to increase the prices of their goods and services to consider whether the increase is compatible with the quality of their goods and services.

Print Friendly

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Assemblywoman’s office affected by flood

Posted: 26 Dec 2013 09:11 AM PST

Posted on December 27, 2013, Friday

KOTA KINABALU: Api-Api assemblywoman Christina Liew blamed lack of action by the relevant authorities and poor drainage for the flood that affected houses and even her office at Jalan Sang Kancil here.

Liew said the area was flooded after two hours of heavy rain yesterday afternoon.

"The City Hall and Public Works Department have been promising to solve the problem every year, but they are not doing their job," she claimed.

Liew said the people are preparing for the upcoming Chinese New Year after Christmas, and flash floods would spoil their celebrations.

Print Friendly

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.