Outcry over RM150 per crossing

KUCHING: Toll charges of the Murum Bridge built across the Murum HEP Dam flooded area is highest in the nation and likely in the world as motorists have to pay RM150 per crossing which means RM300 per return trip.

The astronomical charges imposed by a timber concessionaire in the area which built the bridge have raised a storm of protests among the people in the Murum area and those who work there.

“It’s just ridiculous to pay such an exorbitant amount to use the Murum Bridge,” Belaga assemblyman Liwan Lagang told The Borneo Post here yesterday.

According to sources, the timber concessionaire which operates in the area had started to charge road users RM300 for a return trip for using its bridge starting end of July.

Before this, the company was charging similar amount for using its manually operated ferry across the lake.

“To me that kind of fee is just too much. How could the locals be able to afford such high charges?” asked Liwan.

He said the company should not impose any toll for the usage of the bridge in the first place since it had benefited from harvesting the timber resources in the area.

“Since the company has been reaping the timber resources from the area, which also belonged to the people of Belaga, the company should in return, allow the locals from the whole district to use the bridge free of charge.

“That area in Murum is also our hinterland because we have given away our rights for the government to build both the Bakun and Murum HEP dams. So all those affected by these mega projects should be allowed to use the bridge as they still need to source for raw materials in the deep forest for jungle produce which they still depended on,” said Liwan who is also the Assistant Minister of Culture and Heritage.

He further pointed out that since those who moved to Sg Asap Resettlement Scheme to give way to the Bakun dam were only given 2.8 acre per family, they should also be given the access to the forest in Murum.

Liwan said if indeed the charges were that high, he would bring up the matter during the upcoming Cabinet meeting.

“It is my duty to assist in whatever way I could for my people,” added Liwan, who is also PRS Youth chief.

It was also reported that the Penan resettlers at Metalun were given free access to use the bridge.

However, even the government would have to apply from the timber concessionaire before they could use the bridge for free.

Most of those who have to use the bridge are teachers who taught at SK Metalun, the dam’s contractor and its workers and SEB staff stationed at the Murum HEP Dam.

Meanwhile, State PWD director Zuraimi Sabki could not be reached for comment.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/08/12/outcry-over-rm150-per-crossing/#ixzz3A8bPUfLC

Luahan Rasa Selepas Pulang Cuti Raya

'Decent' woman a worldwide fugitive 

2010/03/04

KUALA LUMPUR: A woman stands alone at the top of the commercial crimespolice wanted list, after allegedly conning several celebrities andprominent people of a staggering total of RM432 million. Her victims include veteran rock singers Amy (Search), Hattanand Awie, as well as Misha Omar and the wife of a Tan Sri, who lostRM26 million. Rohaniza Aladib, 31, is believed to have absconded toAustralia with her ill-gotten gains.

Singers Hattan and Awie had previously confessed to being conned byRohaniza, whom they said appeared "decent". Police said Rohanizapersuaded her victims to part with their money by promising themreturns of as much as 50 per cent on their investment within 30 days.As with such scams, her victims would receive the promised returns ontheir initial investment, thus encouraging them to "invest" more,perhaps with money borrowed from friends and relatives. Hattan said thegood returns on the first RM50,000 he gave Rohaniza led him to keepadding money to his investment until it reached RM1.4 million. Awiesaid he lost RM50,000 to the woman, who had promised him a return of 30per cent within 45 days. The scheme promised huge returns oninvestments in an international cigarette company. Rohaniza allegedlyused Erza Corporation as a front for her scheme.

Her last known address was 12, Jalan RTU 33/17A, Damansara Indah Resort Homes, Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya. It is learnt that the suspect had a record of cheating since she was a youth, and had been sentenced to jail for it.

On release, however, she resumed her activities with an even moreelaborate scheme. Rohaniza, from Perak, is now listed on the InterpolRed Notice wanted list, making her a worldwide fugitive. The biggestsingle reported loss in a commercial crime case last year was the PortKlang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, contributing RM410 million to the totalRM1.3 billion loss. Since news of the PKFZ fiasco broke last year, LawJenn Dong, a former Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd project manager, StephenAbok, chief operating officer of KDSB, architect Bernard Tan Seng Sweeand former Port Klang Authority general manager Datin Paduka Phang OiChoo have been charged with various offences connected with the case.Discrepancies over PKFZ's development were uncovered by a special taskforce of lawyers, accountants, quantity surveyors and building costconsultants from professional firms, set up by the Transport Ministryfollowing an audit report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The 4.5ha PKFZ wasinitially conceived as a RM1.8 billion project.

The audit report released on May 28 revealed that the project's costmay spiral up to RM12.45 billion, more than six times the originalestimate.

Ebola Outbreak 2014

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared West Africa’s Ebola outbreak an international health emergency, and called for global “solidarity” in the fight to stop the spread of the virus which has now claimed close to a thousand lives.

States of emergency have already been declared in Sierra Leone and Liberia, where the number of Ebola cases continues to rise. Margaret Chan, director general of WHO, said that there was still potential for further international spread, and warned that the countries affected did not have the capacity to manage the outbreak alone.

It is only the third time that WHO has declared a public health emergency of international concern, a high level of threat previously applied to the H1N1 “swine flu” outbreak in 2008, and the ongoing polio outbreak in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

According to the latest WHO figures, released yesterday, 961 people had been killed in the current Ebola outbreak, which is by far the worst since the virus was first identified in the 1970s. In a small sign that progress might be being made, WHO said that on 5 and 6 August there had been no new cases of Ebola in Guinea, here the outbreak began in February.

However, there were 68 new cases across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, the latest country to see transmission of the virus, and many experts remain deeply pessimistic about the prospects for an early end to the outbreak.

British expert Dr Ben Neuman, a virologist at the University of Reading, said that it was unlikely the virus could be stopped completely until “after Christmas”. However, he said the declaration of an international emergency was “a big forward step” in the fight against the disease. “This will make the vast resources of the United Nations such as funds, experts and equipment available to help stop Ebola,” he said.

In the affected countries, there are still signs that public health messages aimed at preventing the spread of the virus are not getting through to many communities, and suspicion of health workers and of isolation centres where Ebola patients are treated remains high.

WHO will decide next week whether to use experimental medicines in the fight against Ebola. The plan comes after an experimental treatment used on two American aid workers infected by Ebola reportedly helped improve their condition. There has been anger among many in the affected countries that the serum, known as ZMapp, will not be available in African countries, but the US Centers for Disease Control says there is hardly any stock and that its efficacy is still in doubt. Even if it were deployed, it would be three to four months before even modest amounts could be manufactured, experts said.

A Spanish priest who became the first person infected with Ebola to be treated in Europe, after being flown into Spain earlier this week, was said to be in a stable condition yesterday.

There has been criticism of the international response to the crisis, which has only gained momentum in recent days. Dr Bart Janssens, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, which has 66 international and 610 national staff working in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, said that it had been warning for weeks that “a massive medical, epidemiological and public health response is desperately needed”.