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RM100 mln annual savings if aliens pay full fees – Cuepacs BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

RM100 mln annual savings if aliens pay full fees – Cuepacs

Posted: 26 Feb 2014 10:05 AM PST

by Winnie Kasmir. Posted on February 27, 2014, Thursday

SANDAKAN: The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) welcomes the recent announcement made by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Subramaniam that foreigners would have to bear full treatment charges at government clinics and hospitals nationwide.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, its president, Azih Muda, said it would be a wise move as the government could save RM100 million a year if foreigners had to pay full medical fees.

Cuepacs hopes the savings can be allocated for medicines and to add more haemodialysis machines in government hospitals.

"Cuepacs does not agree with the 30-40 per cent subsidy provided by the government to foreign workers. The subsidy should be revised as it is unfair for our people.

"Due to the enormous number of foreigners benefiting from the subsidy, Cuepacs is suggesting that the government revise the issues so the fees imposed on foreigners will be appropriate and less subsidised," he said at a press conference after a seminar organised by Cuepacs Sabah, in collaboration with Sabah Medical Services Union (SMSU) Sandakan Branch at Hospital Duchess of Kent yesterday.

In another development, Cuepacs regretted the delay of a housing project developed under Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB) in the state.

Azih, who visited several SPNB housing projects here at Mile 8 and Batu Sapi on Tuesday, said most of the buyers were civil servants and their houses were still under construction.

Cuepacs expressed hope that the construction of the houses could be expedited to ease the burden of some buyers who had started to pay their housing loans.

Also present at the ceremony were Cuepacs Malaysia Deputy Honorary Secretary (1) Adnan Mat and SMSU president Maiman Muntian.

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Produce food responsibly to become preferred choice – Yahya

Posted: 26 Feb 2014 10:04 AM PST

by Murib Morpi. Posted on February 27, 2014, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: Smart usage of land, with emphasis on environmental approaches to maintain the natural ecosystem, is the only way forward for the rice planting sector in Sabah, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin.

Yahya, who is also the Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, said in order for the industry to grow and be competitive, it must take heed of the increasing awareness among local and global consumers who wanted their products to be produced only through good agriculture practices.

He said with food grown using responsible methods and free from pesticide and other contaminants increasingly becoming the preferred choice, it was not impossible that Sabah would in future emulate countries like Japan and China, which have their paddy fields declared as Ramsar sites.

"The National Agro Food formulated in 2008 showed that paddy planting is a vital industry for Malaysia. It also means that the country will need more areas for planting the crop that is managed sustainably and in eco-friendly way, supported with innovative research and development activities to produce better grains in order to meet domestic and foreign demand," he said.

Yahya said this when officiating at the launch of Tanak Wetlands Camp held in conjunction with the World Wetland Day 2014 at Kota Kinabalu Wetlands (KKW) here yesterday.

Paddy fields cover about 11 per cent of the total agricultural land globally, and over one-tenth of all cultivated lands in Malaysia.

Rice represents 35 per cent of daily calorie intake of the people in Asia and there are 6,700 square kilometres of land cultivated with the crop in Malaysia alone.

Touching on the event, Yahya said it was aimed at educating participating students on inter-connectivity between wetlands and the agriculture sector, including paddy planting.

Commending the KKW for organizing the camp, he also informed that the park was expected to finally get its Ramsar listing soon.

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Fake RM100 and RM50 notes in circulation

Posted: 26 Feb 2014 10:02 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU: Many fake or counterfeit bank notes in RM100 and RM50 denominations were allegedly in circulation here.

The Luyang assemblyman's office said in a statement yesterday that they had received complaints from people who also handed over the fake bank notes as evidence.

"The fake bank notes look very similar to the real bank ones, but on closer examination, there are some notable differences. The most obvious and missing on the fake bank note is the hidden watermark, sharpness of the color and printing, a different Bunga Raya flower and the size of the fake bank note is slightly smaller. If one is not careful, it can very easily be mistaken for the real one," the spokesman claimed.

Some cashiers at the supermarket, eateries and shops have also been receiving the fake bank notes.

Luyang assemblyman Hiew King Cheu called on the people to be extra careful when receiving large amounts of bank notes in RM100 and RM50 denominations. The use of the bank note scanner or checking to see the watermark and careful examination would be able to detect the fake notes.

Hiew also hoped that the police will take action to curb the spread of the fake bank notes.

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It should be called Kapazan – PKR leader

Posted: 26 Feb 2014 09:58 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU: PKR Penampang deputy chief Kenny Chua Teck Ho had supported the call by Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun to change the name 'Menggatal' to 'Manggatal'.

"As he correctly stated it, the language purists may have changed it on the belief that they're correcting a misspelling," he said in a statement yesterday.

"However, I also hope that the State Government would also consider changing the name of Kapayan state constituency (which lies in the parliamentary constituency of Penampang) back to its original name of 'Kapazan'," said Chua who is also the Kapayan Task Force chairman.

Chua said nobody seemed to know why the constituency had its name changed but as he understands there used to be a Kadazan predominant area (with large number of Chinese population) that lies just after the Kampung Bahang, known historically as Kapazan and located in the middle of the Kapayan constituency (DUN).

"There is no place in Penampang that has any connotation with 'Kapayan'. Even in the previous state elections of the 70s and 80s, the area which we now refer to as DUN Kapayan was known as DUN Kapazan," he argued.

Chua added that if the change was partly due to the mistake made during the electoral delineation exercise conducted by the Election Commission (EC), perhaps the State Government could do its part to rectify this matter by informing them.

"And I don't think it will cause great trouble for anyone to have the DUN Kapayan be changed to Kapazan. In fact, this will be something which the Kadazans and Sinos in Penampang will be happy about because the reinstatement will reinforce their identity in this DUN.

"If a major town like Menggatal could see its name be changed, there should be no problem at all for a smaller area like Kapayan," he added.

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Mojigoh appeals for fair flood aid distribution

Posted: 26 Feb 2014 09:57 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU: Yet another call is made to the government authorities to be fair in the distribution of assistance to flood victims in Sabah.

"I believe that since we are all Malaysians, we deserve to get similar assistance as those in West Malaysia. The flood victims in Pahang are even getting new refrigerators, so what makes those in Sabah different?" asked Putatan member of parliament Datuk Marcus Mojigoh.

Speaking to reporters after launching the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Tanjung Aru's Ang Pow Festival on Tuesday, he said the government should accord fair and equal treatment to all flood victims as their level of difficulties are the same.

"We do not want these people to think that they are being taken for granted. Why should there be any double standards in the distribution of assistance? I am not being sensitive on the issue, just disappointed. This is our duty to the people, and that is, to lighten their burden," he said.

When asked to comment on Klias assemblyman Datuk Lajim Ukin's recent call that the government should come up with immediate flood mitigation measures for Beaufort so that the people there can live with less worries, Mojigoh said that while he agrees with Lajim, he also believes that the former Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister had failed to perform his duties when he was still with the government.

"He (Lajim) can say anything now, but he must remember that he did not perform when he was still at the job. Did he do his job well? No, I do not think so. He was in the cabinet for so long, and yet, what did he do to help then? And now, just because he is with the opposition, he just thinks that he should make noise to get people's attention," said Mojigoh, a BN member of parliament

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Settle claim to Sabah urgently – MP

Posted: 26 Feb 2014 09:55 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU: The State and Federal Governments have been urged to settle the claim over Sabah by the Philippines government without any more further delay to ensure that the sovereignty and security of the State within the Federation of Malaysia remained intact.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy secretary general Darell Leiking, who made the call yesterday, said the long outstanding issue and the nonchalant attitude shown by the Barisan Nasional government on this matter had caused frustration among Sabahans.

The Penampang member of parliament stated this yesterday in conjunction with the visit by the President of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, to Malaysia on February 27 and 28.

"We all know that the ESSCom zones at Sabah's East Coast areas were being established just after the Lahad Datu intrusion by the Sulu terrorists to prevent any further intrusion.

"While we welcome any effort to beef up the security of Sabah's east coast areas, we must also understand it that the previous Lahad Datu intrusion by the Sulu terrorists was largely motivated by their belief that Sabah belongs to the Sultanate of Sulu," he added.

Leiking opined that as long as the Sulu terrorists at the Southern Philippines are still clinging to this religion-type of belief (up to the extent that they sacrifice for it), there is no guarantee that there will be no further intrusions by them despite the existence of these ESSCom zones.

"This is more so when Putrajaya is still paying the annual lease payment of RM5,300 to Manila and Aquino is still not dropping the claim on Sabah.

The payment of the annual lease would only serve to reinforce the belief held by these Sulu terrorists that Sabah belongs to them while at the same time, this belief is also being equally shared by majority of the Filipinos in the Philippines," he elaborated.

He also highlighted that last month, a warning had been given by the spokesman of the Sultanate of Sulu in an international portal news that further armed intrusion designed to take over the State by force will take place in the event that the negotiation between the Philippines government and Malaysian government over Sabah's claim fail to meet the Sultanate's desired outcome.

Subsequent police reports were then made by MyWatch Sabah and an Umno branch in Sabah.

"And considering that the State had already been overwhelmed by hundred thousands of illegal immigrants/Project IC holders who may also believe that Sabah is theirs, the warning by the Sultanate of Sulu should not be taken lightly," Leiking said.

Hence, it is pertinent that the BN State Government settle this problem at its root by demanding the Federal Government to have the Philippines government drop its claim, he added.

Aquino was reported to have said in the Philippines media that he would not bring up the Sabah claim with Najib.

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