Malaysia: New JB waterfront city facing Singapore

Reme Ahmad The Straits Times AsiaOne 24 Jan 15;

Chinese state-owned developer Greenland Group is investing RM2.4 billion (S$889 million) to build "a waterfront city" near the mouths of two rivers that flow into the Johor Strait - the latest in a line of massive developments facing Singapore.

The deal to construct the Tebrau Bay Waterfront City in eastern Johor Baru was signed in Shanghai yesterday by Greenland and its Malaysian partner, Iskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH).

The 15-year project, partly on reclaimed land near the mouths of the Tebrau and Pelentong rivers, will showcase a "snow-world theme park", an opera house and a hospital specialising in traditional Chinese medicine, the companies said in a statement.

Greenland Group, a Fortune 500 company, is controlled by the Shanghai state government. IWH is partly owned by Johor's investment arm, Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor.

They did not say what types of residential or commercial projects would eventually be built. The first phase will be on 52ha of land - about the size of 74 football fields - and is slated to begin this year.

Unlike most other projects announced in recent years in Nusajaya or around downtown Johor Baru, the Greenland-IWH development is in Permas Jaya on the eastern corridor of Johor Baru heading towards Pasir Gudang.

The project site faces the Admiralty Road area in Singapore between Senoko power station and Sembawang Park.

Johor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who was present at the Shanghai signing ceremony, said there are about 13 Malaysian and foreign companies involved in Danga Bay projects on the western corridor from Nusajaya to JB. "I now want to develop the eastern corridor of Johor Baru stretching from Tebrau Bay to Pasir Gudang," he said.

Mr V. Sivadas, executive director of PA International Property Consultants, said the snow-world theme park could be a major employment and tourism generator.

The Tebrau Bay Waterfront City joins other projects announced along the Johor Strait.

Last week, Malaysia approved the Forest City project to be built by China's Country Garden Holdings and a Malaysian partner. The project involves four man-made islands totalling 1,386ha - nearly the size of three Sentosa islands.

Malaysia also okayed reclamation of two pieces of land totalling 31.7ha on both sides of the Causeway. The Princess Cove development is backed by China's R&F Properties.

There has been concern that these projects, along with other residential developments in Danga Bay and Nusajaya, will cause a massive glut in property in the coming years.

Mr Wee Soon Chit, executive director of Landserve consultancy in Johor, said that as of last November, 548,295 residential units will be available in southern Johor by 2017. These include about 117,155 high-rise apartments.

"We have more than adequate residential stock. Unless developers are able to get foreign buyers to come in, it will not be easy to find takers," he added.

Mr Wee said that assuming Johor's population grows at 5 per cent a year, its two million population in 2017 would need just 500,000 units at a ratio of four people to a home.

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Malaysia: Environmental court being considered for Sabah

Nathaniel Gitom Sario Borneo Post 24 Jan 15;

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah High Court is considering setting up a specialized environmental court for civil cases, said Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum.

During his speech at the Opening of the Legal Year 2015 which was carried out at the Kota Kinabalu Courthouse here yesterday, Richard said that an environmental court would help to expedite the disposal of environmental cases at the High Court and Lower Courts.

“The Chief Judge of Malaya and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak will conduct a study to assess the need for such courts in the respective High Court,” he said.

According to him, the fact that the Green Court was established shows that the Chief Justice is very serious on the issue of protecting the environment.

Adding to this, he said that in Sabah and Sarawak, the judicial officers have been working closely with relevant agencies that deal with the protection of the environment.

“We need to create public awareness on the importance of protecting the environment and this includes wildlife and marine animals,” he explained.

Richard added that the core mission of the Judiciary was to serve the public in the best way they can.

Professionalism, he said, is understood to be at the heart of being an ethical judge and an ethical lawyer and the basis upon which the court upholds public confidence in the justice system.

He added that justice is not served after a sentence is imposed on the guilty, especially young offenders who have fallen into crime due to the force of circumstance.

Hence, he said, they should be helped and a program should be set up to monitor whether their rehabilitations are beneficial to them, as there were lawyers in Sabah and Sarawak who have agreed to do follow-ups with their young clients.

Richard also stated that judges are entitled to expect that counsel will treat the court and each other with fairness, courtesy and candour.

“It is time therefore that the Bench brings pressure to bear on any infractions made by members of the bar,” he said in regards to the fact that the Bench has been tolerant of the somewhat declining standards and profesionalism of a small number of members in the profession.

Adding to this, he stated that it is essential that the judiciary is defended as judicial ethics constrained the ability of the Judiciary to respond.

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Malaysia: Time to fight the timber thieves

Victoria Brown The Star 23 Jan 15;

SARAWAK’S forests are not only home to some of the state’s rural communities, but also home to several endangered animals such the orangutan, Borneo pygmy elephant, proboscis monkey and rhinoceros, all of which are at risk due to rampant logging.

As environmental activist Mutang Urud writes in the forward of book Money Logging: “Our ancestral land has been desecrated, our history erased, the very memory of our origins lost.”

He continues: “Close to 90% of Sarawak’s ancient forest is now gone. Only 11% of the primary growth remains. How did it disappear?”

It’s a sad reality that while some people are selfishly using Sarawak’s timber as a means of lining their pockets, few are giving the environment a second thought.

Malaysia Nature Society (MNS) Kuching chairman Anthony Sebastian claims to have witnessed firsthand the destruction caused by illegal logging.

According to him, the Samunsam wildlife sanctuary is one example of a place that has been “completely decimated” by illegal loggers over the past 10 years.

“The entire sanctuary is gone, all that’s left are its borders. That should not be happening,” he says.

Even though Samunsam wildlife sanctuary is still listed as a sanctuary on paper, in reality Sebastian says that it is a destroyed forest, with most of its key assets (like Sarawak’s most viable, and studied, population of proboscis monkeys) lost.​

Santubong national park is another area that’s been hit by illegal logging.

“We have some pictures of illegal loggers in the area taken by some MNS members, as recently as November last year,” Sebastian says.

Illegal logging can have dire consequences to our environment, wildlife, culture and economy.

Sebastian says, however, that even though some of our “most vital areas” have been logged, our forests will eventually regenerate in around 60 years.

“But our forests will never be the same. We have already lost so many species and we will lose more,” he says.

He continues: “An ecological functioning forest provides food, water, medicines for not only for the indigenous people but also the whole state.”

Our forests also act as a buffer against rainfall.

“Everyone knows when you clear forests, water flows faster which can results in flash floods with the increasing rainfall,” said Sebastian.

But despite all these, illegal logging is still takes place.

In the 2014 Environmental Performance Index, Malaysia scored 1.68 out of a hundred and ranked 129 out of 137 countries for the change in forest cover.

The score factors in areas of forest loss (including deforestation), reforestation (forest restoration or replanting), and afforestation (conversion of bare or cultivated land into forest).

Malaysia is one of the countries that has experienced great forest loss, and that is a worrying fact.

I sincerely hope that the Government takes aggressive action against illegal logging so that we do not lose any more of our trees and wildlife.

Yes, we have laws to punish illegal loggers. But that’s not enough. Enforcement needs to be stepped up and timber thieves need to be prosecuted without prejudice.

Something must be done before it is too late.

Read more!

Indonesia: Belitung boosts tourism with mangroves

The Jakarta Post 23 Jan 15;

The Forestry Office of Bangka Belitung Province is developing 500 hectares of mangrove forests on Belitung Island to conserve the areas and boost ecotourism.

“This year, we are developing the mangrove forest areas in Selat Nasik, Pengantungan, and Tanjung Pandan,” Nazarliyus, the head of the forestry office, said in Pangkalpinang on Thursday.

He said the mangrove forests on Belitung Island are still not affected by offshore lead mining and encroachment activities.

“We are managing the mangrove forests and building the facilities, so that visitors can enjoy the beauty of the island,” Nazarliyus said as quoted by Antara news agency.

According to him, the mangrove forest areas in Belitung are still well-conserved, as the administration has formulated policies to protect its biodiversity potential.

In contrast, the mangrove forests on Bangka Island have been severely damaged.

“The mangrove forests on Bangka Island are damaged because of offshore lead mining and land conversion for residential and industrial areas,” Nazarliyus said.

The mangrove forest development plan is part of the green city program to protect natural habitat and to increase green open areas in the coastal region, he added.

“I hope that by developing the mangrove forests, we can protect the natural resources and increase the tourist arrivals and improve the local people’s welfare,” he said. (***)

- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/23/belitung-boosts-tourism-with-mangroves.html#sthash.hRbpeAPM.dpuf

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Best of our wild blogs: 23 Jan 15

Changi Beach (22012015)
from Psychedelic Nature

Starry at Changi
from wild shores of singapore

Keppel Hill Reservoir (The Lost Reservoir)
from Rojak Librarian

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More 'good-as-new' S$2 notes for Chinese New Year this year

Channel NewsAsia 22 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE: More "good-as-new" S$2 notes will be available for the coming Chinese New Year to meet an anticipated increase in demand, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Thursday (Jan 22).

These "clean and crisp" notes were retrieved immediately after the previous Chinese New Year in 2014. Both new and good-as-new S$2 notes will be available at participating retail banks from Feb 2, it said in its press release.

According to the MAS, 14 per cent of the S$2 notes issued during the 2014 Chinese New Year were good-as-new notes, a 3 per cent increase from the year before. This allowed the MAS to maintain the quality of brand new S$2 notes issued last year.

Mr Low Kwok Mun, MAS Assistant Managing Director, said: "Since the 'good-as-new' S$2 notes were introduced in 2013, the total energy saved from printing less new notes is equivalent to that needed to power 100 4-room HDB flats for 10 weeks. With greater awareness and support for this initiative, we can achieve even more this year.”

Sustainability consultancy Green Future Solutions also expressed support for this initiative. Its director Mr Eugene Tay said: "This is a great initiative by MAS to encourage the use of 'good-as-new’ S$2 notes for ‘hong baos’, which helps to reduce the printing of excess notes, thus preventing wastage and saving resources.”

- CNA/ac

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Upward trend in recycling e-waste

Alice Chia Channel NewsAsia 22 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE: More people are recycling their electronic waste, with companies involved in such programmes observing an increase in the amount of recyclables collected.

According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), about 60,000 tonnes of such electronic waste are generated every year - equivalent to the weight of 160 Boeing 747 jets. Items include unwanted television sets, printers and computers.

Half of it comes from households and the rest from industry, such as information and communications technology equipment from industrial sectors.

Ms Siti Farhana Mahadi, senior executive for outreach and programmes management at the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), said: "With the increasing use and popularity of electronic devices in Singapore, more people need to know how to dispose e-waste properly, and to recycle them.”

“Although electronic waste constitutes an insignificant amount of total waste generated in Singapore annually, it is still important to ensure that e-waste is disposed of carefully because they contain certain components which can harm humans and the environment,” she added.

Consumers and companies alike have stepped up on this front. StarHub and recycling firm TES-AMM started a programme in 2012 to recycle electronic waste, called REcycling Nation's Electronic Waste (RENEW).

It has seen an increase in the amount of electronic waste collected. In 2012, the amount collected was around 2,700 kilogrammes. Last year, it went up to 8,700 kilogrammes.

Currently, there are collection bins in about 100 locations, and StarHub hopes to expand this to another 100 locations by the end of the year.

Mr Adam Reutens-Tan, senior manager of corporate sustainability and responsibility at StarHub, said: "We actually do hope that as more site owners take on the RENEW bins, the others will also be encouraged to approach us and ask for RENEW bins as well. There is no cost to the site owners.”

“As more sites take on a RENEW bin, hopefully we will have economies of scale and be able to make this a self-sustaining programme,” he added.

Under the programme, items collected are sorted and dismantled. Precious metals such as silver and gold are then extracted to be recycled as raw materials.

Computer makers are also collecting more electronic waste. Toshiba has collection points at its service centres for customers to drop off their old laptops and batteries. It has reported an upward trend in the items collected. This is also the case for Dell, which provides recycling services for customers to donate or recycle their old IT equipment.

However, the SEC said more can be done. It pointed out that e-waste recycling is still a niche market. Some companies also do not have adequate facilities, which means that electronics collected have to be flown overseas to be recycled, or sent to scrap yards.

SEC hopes authorities will assess the situation and, if necessary, encourage more players to enter the market.

- CNA/dl

South East district expands e-waste recycling programme
Seven neighbourhoods, including Marine Parade, Mountbatten and Potong Pasir, will be involved
MATTHIAS TAY Channel NewsAsia 23 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE — More residents living in the South East District of Singapore will find recycling their e-waste easier, with the latest phase of the “Heartland E-waste Recycling Programme”.

As an expansion of the six-month long pilot programme that took place in July 2013, the second phase will extend e-waste collection points to seven neighbourhoods in the South East district of Singapore.

Neighbourhoods involved include Marine Parade, Mountbatten, Braddell Heights, Geylang Serai, Kembangan-Chai Chee, MacPherson and Potong Pasir.

Collection drives will be set in these neighbourhoods on a monthly basis and most residents can expect the drive to visit their area twice.

The programme, which recycles unwanted home appliances and electronics, will last for a period of nine months.

The first collection — scheduled to begin on Feb 1 — will kick start at community centres in Braddell Heights, Potong Pasir, MacPherson, Mountbatten and Katong.

Dr Maliki Osman, Mayor of South East District said today (Jan 23) that the move to expand the programme to even more neighbourhoods was spurred by the positive results of the pilot test.

“We have received very encouraging results where we had the target of 5000 kg of e-waste (to be recycled). We manage to go beyond 10,000kg — more than twice the amount expected,” he said.

Gadget recycling kicks off in 7 areas
The New Paper AsiaOne 26 Jan1 5;

Residents in seven neighbourhoods in the South East District will soon find it easier to get rid of unwanted mobile phones or laptops.

They will be able to dispose of gadgets that they do not want, at 25 locations, through monthly collection drives over the next nine months.

Collections will be done on the first Sunday of each month and rotated across Marine Parade, Mountbatten, Braddell Heights, Geylang Serai, Kembangan-Chai Chee, MacPherson and Potong Pasir.

Each division will be visited twice over nine months.

The first collection will be at Braddell Heights, Potong Pasir, MacPherson, Mountbatten and Katong Community Centres on Feb 1.

The details were announced yesterday, when the second phase of the Heartland E-Waste Recycling Programme was launched by Dr Maliki Osman, mayor of South East District, and Member of Parliament for Mountbatten Lim Biow Chuan.

Read more!

Upward trend in recycling e-waste

Alice Chia Channel NewsAsia 22 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE: More people are recycling their electronic waste, with companies involved in such programmes observing an increase in the amount of recyclables collected.

According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), about 60,000 tonnes of such electronic waste are generated every year - equivalent to the weight of 160 Boeing 747 jets. Items include unwanted television sets, printers and computers.

Half of it comes from households and the rest from industry, such as information and communications technology equipment from industrial sectors.

Ms Siti Farhana Mahadi, senior executive for outreach and programmes management at the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), said: "With the increasing use and popularity of electronic devices in Singapore, more people need to know how to dispose e-waste properly, and to recycle them.”

“Although electronic waste constitutes an insignificant amount of total waste generated in Singapore annually, it is still important to ensure that e-waste is disposed of carefully because they contain certain components which can harm humans and the environment,” she added.

Consumers and companies alike have stepped up on this front. StarHub and recycling firm TES-AMM started a programme in 2012 to recycle electronic waste, called REcycling Nation's Electronic Waste (RENEW).

It has seen an increase in the amount of electronic waste collected. In 2012, the amount collected was around 2,700 kilogrammes. Last year, it went up to 8,700 kilogrammes.

Currently, there are collection bins in about 100 locations, and StarHub hopes to expand this to another 100 locations by the end of the year.

Mr Adam Reutens-Tan, senior manager of corporate sustainability and responsibility at StarHub, said: "We actually do hope that as more site owners take on the RENEW bins, the others will also be encouraged to approach us and ask for RENEW bins as well. There is no cost to the site owners.”

“As more sites take on a RENEW bin, hopefully we will have economies of scale and be able to make this a self-sustaining programme,” he added.

Under the programme, items collected are sorted and dismantled. Precious metals such as silver and gold are then extracted to be recycled as raw materials.

Computer makers are also collecting more electronic waste. Toshiba has collection points at its service centres for customers to drop off their old laptops and batteries. It has reported an upward trend in the items collected. This is also the case for Dell, which provides recycling services for customers to donate or recycle their old IT equipment.

However, the SEC said more can be done. It pointed out that e-waste recycling is still a niche market. Some companies also do not have adequate facilities, which means that electronics collected have to be flown overseas to be recycled, or sent to scrap yards.

SEC hopes authorities will assess the situation and, if necessary, encourage more players to enter the market.

- CNA/dl

Read more!

Dry season hits Singapore earlier than usual

Channel NewsAsia 22 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE: Expect drier weather ahead, met services indicated on Thursday (Jan 22), as the dry phase of the Northeast Monsoon season has come slightly earlier than usual.

The Northeast Monsoon is made up of a wet phase from late November to January, followed by a dry phase in February - traditionally one of the driest months of the year.

Singapore has been experiencing fewer rain days since the middle of January, and the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said the total rainfall for this month is expected to be up to 40 to 60 per cent below the long-term average of 242.4mm.

Below-average rainfall is also forecast for next month, although met officials said the dry weather is unlikely to be as bad as that experienced during a record dry spell last year.

MSS says the early onset of the dry weather is partly due to stronger winds in the region which have caused an earlier shift of the monsoon rain belt away from Singapore.

This follows a relatively wet November and December last year, where total rainfall was 27 per cent and 20 per cent respectively above the long-term average.

- CNA/xk

Drier, cooler weather starts earlier this year
Today Online 22 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE — Drier and cooler weather has come earlier this year, as Singapore experiences significantly below average rainfall this month for the second year running.

Below average rainfall is also expected next month, although the dryness is not expected to be of the same degree as the record dry spell last year, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) today (Jan 22).

The total rainfall this month is expected to be about 40-60 per cent below the long-term average of 242.4mm, said the NEA. From Jan 1 to 21, the total rainfall averaged across rainfall stations islandwide was 83.7mm, while rainfall recorded at the Changi climate station was 79.6mm.

This earlier onset of the dry phase of the North-east Monsoon is due in part to stronger winds in the surrounding region, which have “caused an earlier southward shift of the monsoon rain belt away from Singapore”, the NEA added. February is typically one of the driest months of the year.

In November and December last year, total rainfall was 27 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, above the long-term average.

For the rest of this month, expect generally dry and windy conditions with short-duration showers on a few days.

PUB would also like to urge the community and industries to use water wisely and conserve water resources, said the NEA.

Dry spell to continue into next month
Today Online 23 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE — For the second year running, January has seen significantly less rain than usual although the dry conditions that Singapore is experiencing now are not expected to be as bad last year, when more NEWater had to be pumped into reservoirs to keep water reserves at healthy levels.

Compared with the long-term average, total rainfall up to Wednesday was only about one-third of the long-term average of 242.4mm, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) in a press release yesterday.

By the end of this month, the total rainfall is expected to be 40 per cent to 60 per cent lower than usual, while below-average rainfall is also forecast for next month, it added, urging the community and industries to use water wisely.

“Singapore has been experiencing fewer rainy days since mid-January with the onset of the dry phase of the North-east Monsoon. With low rainfall forecast for the rest of the month, total rainfall for January is expected to be significantly below average,” the NEA said.

“However, the current assessment is that the dry phase of the North-east Monsoon season this year is not likely to be of the same degree of dryness as that experienced during the record dry spell of last year.”

Last year, there was just 72mm of rainfall in January — the lowest since 2010.

The dry spell, which spanned more than 20 days, prompted national water agency PUB to inject 30 million gallons of NEWater per day into the reservoirs to maintain healthy water levels.

Yesterday, the NEA said the North-east Monsoon typically comprises a wet phase from late November to January, followed by a dry phase in February.

The dry phase is characterised by drier and cooler weather and generally windy conditions, it added.

The onset of the dry phase was “slightly earlier than usual” this year, said the NEA, following wetter-than-normal November and December last year.

“A contributing factor is that of stronger winds in the surrounding region which have caused an earlier southward shift of the monsoon rain belt away from Singapore,” said the NEA.

Winds so far this month have also been the strongest since 2010.

It added that the remaining days this month are expected to be generally dry and windy, with mainly localised, brief showers on a few days.

Expect more dry - and windy - days ahead
Lim Yi Han The Straits Times AsiaOne 23 Jan 15;

AFTER a wet November and December which led to flash floods here, the total rainfall this month is expected to be significantly below average.

It could be as much as 60 per cent below the long-term average of 242.4mm for January. From Jan 1 to 21, the total average rainfall at rainfall stations islandwide was 83.7mm.

Below-average rainfall is also expected next month, typically one of the driest of the year, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday.

Fewer rainy days have occurred since mid-January, with the forecast for the rest of the month being generally dry and windy conditions and any showers likely to be of short duration and localised on a few days.

But despite the prospect of more dry days ahead, a repeat of last year's record dry spell is unlikely, said the NEA. That period, from Jan 13 to Feb 8, was Singapore's most protracted since extensive data recording began five decades ago. The dry forecast is due to an earlier onset of the dry phase of the north-east monsoon. It typically comprises a wet phase from late November to January, followed by a dry phase in February.

The NEA said: "A contributing factor is that of stronger winds in the surrounding region which have caused an earlier southward shift of the monsoon rain belt away from Singapore."

The average daily temperature from Jan 1 to 21 - 26.9 deg C - has been comparable to that of recent years, and it has been windier. During that period, the average wind speed was about 10kmh, the highest in the last five years.

Estate executive Leslie Lim, 40, said: "When there is no rain, it's humid. During the dry spell, it was so uncomfortable that I showered thrice a day."

PUB urged people and industries to conserve water and use it wisely.

Read more!

Indonesia ratifies transboundary agreement on haze

B.SURESH RAM New Straits Times 22 Jan 15;

KUALA LUMPUR: A decade after measures to tackle the annual haze in the region were mooted, all 10 members of the regional body have ratified the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

This was after Indonesia deposited the instrument on the agreement with the regional body’s headquarter’s in Jakarta.

The Director General for ASEAN Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, deposited Indonesia’s Instrument of Ratification of the agreement with Asean Secretary-General Le Luong Minh on Monday.

Puja also conveyed Indoensia’s appreciation to the ASEAN Secretariat and the other ASEAN Member States (AMS) for the support and encouragement extended to Indonesia in concluding the ratification process.

He informed Asean Secretary-general that the ratification of the Agreement was approved by Indonesia’s Parliament through Law No. 26 Year 2014.

Minh, meanwhile congratulated Indonesia for the ratification and commended the country for its efforts and commitment to working collectively with other AMS to address the transboundary haze pollution issues under the framework of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

The governments of the ten ASEAN Member Countries signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) on June 10, 2002, here, and it entered into force on November 25, 2003.

The Agreement is the first regional arrangement in the world that binds a group of contiguous states to tackle transboundary haze pollution resulting from land and forest fires.

It has also been considered as a global role model for the tackling of transboundary issues. With Indonesia’s ratification, the Agreement has now been ratified by all ASEAN Member States.

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Malaysia: Flood situation worsens in Beaufort

MUGUNTAN VANAR The Star 21 Jan 15;

KOTA KINABALU: The flood situation in southwestern Sabah worsened following overnight rains and high tide with more people being evacuated in flood-prone Beaufort and parts of Tenom, Sipitang and Papar.
Nearly a thousand people were evacuated as weather conditions remained bad early on Wednesday) though officials expect water levels to drop with the receding sea tide.

Sipitang became the latest district to be hit with some 78 people in low-lying kampungs evacuated while river currents amid a heavy downpour knocked down a wooden customs jetty in the town area.

Sipitang police chief Deputy Supt Mustafa Osma said that the situation was improving as the floods waters were flowing out to sea with the receding tides.

“The evacuated people might be heading back home later today,’’ he said, adding that police and other agencies were monitoring the situation in Sipitang.

When contacted, neighbouring Beaufort district officer Mohd Shaid Othman said that some 100 more people were being evacuated overnight in the low lying villagers as there were little signs of the weather improving.

“As of now, we have 800 people in evacuation centres in Beaufort and Membakut and more are coming in,’’ he said, adding that the Padas river remains at danger level.

At least a dozen schools remained closed in the affected areas and several roads mainly to the kampungs were impassable for light traffic while businesses in smaller towns of Bongowan and Membakut that hit by floods remained close.

Flood situation remains critical in Beaufort
The Star 22 Jan 15;

KOTA KINABALU: Floods in Sabah's low lying south western Beaufort district is still critical. The number of evacuees continue to increase even as schools and businesses remain closed for a second day.

Apart from Beaufort, parts of neighbouring Tenom, Sipitang and Papar districts were also affected by the floods which was triggered by heavy rains and compounded by high tide on Tuesday night.

A total of 33 primary and two secondary schools were closed in Beaufort, Papar and Sipitang. Some 5,455 students and 885 staff were affected.

Electricity supply has also been cut to areas where waters have submerged its substation.

Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) has set up a 24-hour emergency room to monitor the situation.

There has been no report of casualties although a Customs jetty in Sipitang collapsed yesterday due to strong currents.

Beaufort district officer Mohd Shaid Othman said 1,077 people were evacuated so far from villages near Beaufort as well as Membakut as of 3pm yesterday.

“The situation is still bad. Beaufort town itself is under about a metre of water while in some areas, the water levels are up to 2.5m. Membakut town is also flooded,” he said, adding that they remain on high alert as the Padas river had burst its banks.

He said over a dozen roads, mainly into villages were impassable.

Some 300 people were also evacuated in Tenom where four relief centres have been opened.

In Sipitang, however, some 78 villagers who were evacuated yesterday, have started to return home as the flood waters have receded.


Floods: Over 5,000 Health Ministry staff affected
LOH FOON FONG The Star 22 Jan 15;

PUTRAJAYA: More than 5,000 Health Ministry staff were affected by the recent massive floods in the east coast states with losses to health facilities estimated at RM387mil.

Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said some of the staff's houses were swept away or inundated and most of their belongings were destroyed.

“Some of them moved to evacuation centres while others stayed with relatives.

“Despite our predicament, we still have to continue providing services to the people,” he said when launching a fund for the affected employees.

Dr Subramaniam started the fund rolling with a donation of RM10,000. His deputy, Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya, contributed RM7,000.

The floods, which started on Dec 26, were the worst in recent history to have hit the east coast and Perak.

Dr Subramaniam said the ministry could not contact 60% of its staff at the peak of the floods in Kelantan due to communication and transport breakdown. Many were trapped in hospitals or clinics.

He thanked the staff who worked relentlessly to care for patients and also saved millions of ringgit worth of equipment and medicine from being destroyed.

He said the staff worked in a spirit of togetherness, including specialists who turned up in shorts and boots to clean clinics and hospitals.

So far, he said, 15 community clinics were destroyed while four hospitals, 108 clinics and one health office were badly damaged. Losses were estimated at RM387mil.

Dr Subramaniam said the number of confirmed leptospirosis and melioidosis infections – reported to be 126 and 20 respectively from Jan 1 to 22 – was still worrying.

In view of the cost-cutting measures that the Prime Minister announced recently, the ministry had to reduce its operations expenditure by about RM500,000, he said.

Floods: 126 leptospirosis infections recorded in flood-hit states
A. AZIM IDRIS New Straits Times 21 Jan 15;

PUTRAJAYA: Health Minister Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam said 753 suspected leptospirosis infections with 126 confirmed cases were recorded from Jan 1 in the flood-hit states.

He said there are also increases in other diseases such as acute gastroenteritis, other diarrheal diseases and upper respiratory tract infections among flood victims.

Subramaniam also said that there are 20 confirmed melioidosis cases recorded at the flood affected places.

“We are increasing our public education and awareness, and public hygiene campaigns so that they (flood victims) drink only boiled water and eat well-cooked food.

“We want them to also take precautionary measures such as wearing boots and gloves when cleaning their premises,” he told a press conference at the ministry here.

Subramaniam said the ministry will continue to monitor the affected areas to prevent the diseases from spreading further.

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Wilmar opens palm oil supplies to scrutiny to protect forests

Reuters 22 Jan 15;

* Wilmar first in palm industry to allow insight-TFT

* Step to help track supplies, ensure sustainability

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Wilmar International Ltd. , the world's largest palm oil processor, opened its supply chains to outside scrutiny on Thursday in what environmentalists called an unprecedented step to help safeguard tropical forests.

Singapore-based Wilmar said it would give outsiders, from customers to environmentalists worried about deforestation, access to online maps showing where it buys palm oil at more than 800 mills in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Palm oil companies and their clients have become the target of consumer campaigns for not doing enough to stop deforestation, the destruction of carbon-rich peat land, and an annual haze problem caused by slash-and-burn land clearance.

According to a study in the journal Nature Climate Change, Indonesia, the world's top palm oil producer, overtook Brazil in 2012 to become the country with the highest rate of deforestation.

Wilmar is the first agro-industrial firm to allow outsiders to track palm oil back to processing mills, according to The Forest Trust (TFT), a global non-profit group which worked with Wilmar on the project.

"Wilmar has grown huge in the shadows," Scott Poynton, founder of TFT, told Reuters. "This will bring the suppliers into the light."

Anyone wanting access to the website will have to request a password from Wilmar.

Poynton said he hopes that other companies harvesting other commodities - such as soy, cocoa, sugar or cotton - would follow suit.

Wilmar promised in 2013 to end purchases of palm oil grown on deforested land. Palm oil is used in products including margarine, soap and biodiesel.

"Our main focus is to support our suppliers to tackle the challenges they're facing, so that they can start down a more sustainable path," Jeremy Goon, Wilmar's chief sustainability officer, said in a statement.

Environmentalists will be able to check Wilmar's information about its suppliers against satellite images, for instance, to see if the mills are in an area of deforestation.

Tropical deforestation threatens wildlife and also accounts for perhaps 15 percent of man-made emissions of greenhouse gases. Trees soak up carbon dioxide as they grow and release it when they rot or burn.

"No one has ever aimed for this level of transparency in agriculture commodities," Glenn Hurowitz, chairman of Forest Heroes which campaigns to break a link between deforestation and farm production, said in a statement. (Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Michael Urquhart)

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