Floods: 11 primary schools closed BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

---

• Floods: 11 primary schools closed
• Swift response as three roads hit by landslides
• Do not risk students’ safety, flood-hit schools reminded
• Beware of human traffickers, Sabah job seekers warned
• Make meeting deadlines a culture – CM
• Boat capsize victim’s body found, three still missing

Floods: 11 primary schools closed Posted: 15 Jan 2014 09:49 AM PST KOTA KINABALU: Eleven primary schools in several districts in Sabah having a combined enrolment of about 2,000 pupils had to close yestrerday after they were hit by flash floods following incessant rain since Tuesday morning. State Education director Datuk Jame Alip said the districts affected were Kota Kinabalu, Sipitang, Kota Belud and Tuaran. "In Kota Kinabalu, the schools affected are SK St Cathrine, SK Gudon,SK Kebayau and SK Tombongon," he said. In Tuaran, he said Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Chung Hwa in Tengilan and Sekolah Kebangsaan Kauluan had to be closed while in Kota Belud, the schools affected were SK Menunggui, SK Tampasuk 1 and SK Lasau Tintapon. In Sipitang, SK Lubuk Darat and SK Kawang had to close whereas SJK (C) Sin Boon which was also hit, continued classes on the upper floors. Jame said the schools would be reopened once the situation reverted to normal. He said work to clean the school would be carried out jointly through 'gotong-royong' by the school and the parents. "We also hoped that the Fire and Rescue Department, which has been very helpful to us, would be able to assist in the clean-up, by dispatching their water pump to clean up the mud. The schools involved need to get in touch with the department and other related government agencies for assistance so that they could resume normal operation as soon as possible. "For schools where properties, including textbooks, have been damaged, they must report the matter immediately to the Education Department so that appropriate action can be taken," he said. Meanwhile, in Tuaran, a family in Kampung Mongkolud had to evacuate their home on the advice of the Public Works Department because of the danger posed by a landslip nearby. Tuaran Natural Disasters Management Committee secretary Abdullah Sani said the family of five were now putting up with relatives. He urged people needing help in the district because of floods or landlslide to call the committee's secretariat at 088-093055. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Swift response as three roads hit by landslides Posted: 15 Jan 2014 09:48 AM PST by Nancy Lai. Posted on January 16, 2014, Thursday KOTA KINABALU: The Public Works Department (PWD) had mobilised its personnel swiftly to repair the damage caused by landslides in Tamparuli, Tambunan and Kokol in Menggatal yesterday. According to PWD director Datuk John Anthony, all the roads except Kokol Road are expected to be passable by the evening yesterday. John, when contacted yesterday, said that the most serious damage reported was along Kokol Road where four sections of the road were affected by landslides. "The most severe damage was at Km 12.5, Kokol Road and we expect to complete repairing it by tomorrow," he said. PWD, he added, is now working on widening the Jalan Tamparuli Kiulu as a landslide had occurred at Km 6.1. The road widening will be carried out on the hill side, he said, adding that PWD expected the work to be completed by 6pm yesterday. On the landslide at Km 38, Moyog-Tambunan road, John explained that the road was blocked by earth and debris from the slope which collapsed on it. "The road was not damaged, it was just earth and vegetation from the slope. Clearing work has been done and the road is expected to be passable by evening," he added. PWD, he said, will be on the alert for similar occurrence in view of the wet spell the state is experiencing now. Meanwhile, a landslide at Km 48 of the Kota Kinabalu-Penampang-Tambunan road made the road impassable to motorists from both sides. Many motorists coming from Tambunan and Donggongon directions were forced to turn back and take another route, while some motorists were determined to wait until the road was cleared of soil and tree branches. Uji Anjim, 33, an employee doing road maintenance work for a contractor nearby, said the landslide occurred around 8.30am yesterday at Km 37 from Donggongon town near Gerai Makan Simpang Tudan, Kampung Tudan. It was fortunate that no vehicles were hit by the landslide. The PWD immediately instructed the contractor to clear the soil from the road. At 1pm, several excavators arrived at the site and started working. One lane was cleared and made passable to motorists at 3pm yesterday. By 6pm, both lanes were cleared of soil and traffic movement was restored. Meanwhile, John told reporters in Sandakan during an inspection of the damage at Jalan Bokara-Batu Sapi near Taman Poh Hing that PWD had appointed a temporary contractor to maintain the road after the original contractor failed to do so although an extension of time was given from October last year. "The contractor failed to maintain the road as instructed and we had to terminate the contact and appoint a new contractor," he said, adding that the temporary contractor started the maintenance work last Monday. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Do not risk students’ safety, flood-hit schools reminded Posted: 15 Jan 2014 09:46 AM PST KOTA KINABALU: State Education Director Datuk Jame Alip has reminded school administration in the state that the safety of students is their number one priority when dealing with the current flood situation sweeping across most parts of the west coast and interior of Sabah. He advised school headmasters to use their own discretion and immediately close their schools in the event of a flood or imminent threat of flood, to avoid risking the safety of their students as well as parents and teachers. "I am asking schools that are flooded to be closed and the school management must give priority to the safety of the students. Students and teachers should also not attend school if the roads leading to the schools are flooded and dangerous to use. "It is up to the District Education Office and the school itself to make a decision whether they should close down or not based on the situation. Whatever it is, the safety of the students is the most important thing," he said. Jame, who was met after officiating at the Kolej Kiara Rural Education Roadshow here yesterday, also advised parents not to send their children to school if the water level in their areas has risen. "If their village or residential area is flooded and would be too risky for their kids to commute to school, the parents should just inform the school. "We don't want the students going to school as the rain continues and the flood worsens. It may be difficult for them to get back home. So parents need to make sure it is safe and there is no flood threat before sending their children to school," he said. Meanwhile, in his speech at the launch earlier, Jame said the State Education Department fully welcomed and supported Kolej Kiara's effort to bring awareness on higher education to students in the rural areas. He urged other higher learning institutions to emulate the college's effort to bring opportunity of tertiary education to the disadvantaged youths in rural areas. "Recently, three schools from Sabah were recognized as among the best schools in the whole country. It shows that students from Sabah can compete very well at the national level. They just need more and better opportunities. "I also hope that more colleges in Sabah will offer unique courses that meet future demand, not just courses that are also offered everywhere else. Local institutions should provide students with programmes that will make them highly employable," he said. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Beware of human traffickers, Sabah job seekers warned Posted: 15 Jan 2014 09:45 AM PST by Arfandi Jaafar. Posted on January 16, 2014, Thursday KOTA KINABALU: Youths in the state must take greater initiatives to carefully verify information on job prospects outside Sabah before accepting offers to avoid falling victims to human trafficking syndicates. In making the call yesterday, Sabah Youth Council president Kevin Lim said there were many cases where Sabahan youths fell victims after simply accepting jobs without prior verification on the legitimacy of such employers and jobs offered. "There are plenty of irresponsible groups who are out to cheat unsuspecting individuals using the lure of attractive job offers and lucrative salaries. "Unfortunately, many of our Sabahan youths had fallen victims to these scams in the past. Therefore I urge others to be more careful when applying for jobs, especially those outside the state," Kevin told The Borneo Post yesterday. Human trafficking, according to its Wikipedia definition, is a trade involving illegal movement or migration of humans for the purpose of legitimate/forced labour. Human trafficking can occur within a country or internationally and is considered a crime against the person because of the violation of the victim's rights through coercion and exploitation. Victims of human trafficking are generally forced to work for or provide services to the trafficker or others. They are held against their will through acts of coercion, and forced to work for or provide services to the trafficker or others. The work or services may include anything from bonded or forced labor to commercialized sexual exploitation. The arrangement may be structured as a work contract, but with no or low payment, or on terms which are highly exploitative. Sometimes the arrangement is structured as debt bondage, with the victim not being permitted or able to pay off the debt. Meanwhile, at a seminar in Keningau last week, Kevin shared tips with some 60 attendees (comprising college students and youth association members) on how to identify legitimate employment offers to avoid being victimised by human trafficking syndicates. "Legitimate job offers should allow workers freedom to stay or leave employment without imposing restriction of any kind on their employees. "The job should be for applicants 18 and above only and must not involve sexual elements or preferences of any kind, nor should it put employees in a position of working to pay off a debt," said Kevin. He said those desperate to escape poverty and who have considerably poor educational background are more likely to fall victim to human trafficking syndicates. Towards this end, Kevin said it was crucial for youths to focus on attaining higher education before going to seek employment (regardless within or outside the state). "It is also helpful if more of such programmes could be conducted regularly to help raise awareness, especially among youths," Kevin said. He urged the relevant authorities to step up their efforts to battle human trafficking as it is increasingly rampant, especially during times of economic crisis. Kevin thanked Kelab Komuniti Sayang and its president, Deejay Othoe, for being the joint organisers of the seminar. He also thanked the Keningau District Office, Kiara College, Labour Department and Keningau Hospital for their contribution and involvement. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Make meeting deadlines a culture – CM Posted: 15 Jan 2014 09:44 AM PST KOTA KINABALU: Extending deadlines of development projects is not a good practice as it would not only affect the government department or agency's performance, but the whole process, and incur more expenses and losses. As such, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman wants all government departments and agencies to complete development projects or programmes on time. "Meeting deadlines must be made a culture. Tasks that do not have any deadlines or are open-ended would incur more expenses and even risk facing failure," he told reporters after chairing the Sabah State Action Council meeting at Wisma Innoprise yesterday. He also called on the project implementers to be more bold and confident when implementing the task given to them. "For instance, in cases where decision on implementation or finance is pending at the central level, the agency given the task to carry out the project should be more proactive to quickly do follow-ups to decide on the next course of action. "The responsibility has been given to ensure that development projects are carried out smoothly, therefore, the implementing agencies must be aggressive and not hesitant to get feedback and follow-ups. Our quick action will benefit the people at large," he said. He noted that last year, the implementation of minor federal projects under the Public Infrastructure Maintenance Programme (PIA) and Basic Infrastructure Project (PIAS) was 100 per cent, attributing the good performance to the hard work of all district offices and Sabah Development Office (SDO) as the implementers. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Boat capsize victim’s body found, three still missing Posted: 15 Jan 2014 09:43 AM PST by Azmie Lim. Posted on January 16, 2014, Thursday LAHAD DATU: The body of a man who went missing along with five other crew members when their boat capsized in the waters off Tahau, Philippines, was found by villagers from Kampung Simuning yesterday. District police chief Superintendent Shamsudin Mat said the body was found by the villagers who went out to trawl about 6am. He said one of the victims who survived the tragedy identified the body as one of their boat's crew members, Jelwin Zaid, in his 20s. "The identification was made based on the missing dentures and several other features on the victim. With the discovery of this body, there are still three more victims missing after the incident," he said, adding that one boat crew member was found alive and another found dead in the Philippines sea. On January 9, a boat ferrying nine people and 21 tons of rice, a ton of oil and 100 boxes of instant noodles capsized in the waters off Tahau, Philippines. Three of the boat's crew who drifted in the sea to Tambisan were rescued. Shamsudin said the search and rescue operation is still ongoing with the assistance of the General Operation Force, Fire and Rescue Department, and Civil Defence Department. Those who have any information about the incident or have recovered any victims along the coastal area may report to the nearest police station or call 089-881255. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

You are subscribed to email updates from BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610