Indonesia Apocalypse: Earthquake, Tsunami, Volcano Eruption

By TAN JIA YI

A triple disaster hit into Indonesia this year!

Thousands of villagers run away from their home Tuesday morning after the eruption of volcano in Mentawai Island, Jakarta. The death toll of the disaster rose more than 300. The volcano heat about 800 miles to the east and create a 7-7 magnitude undersea quake. Meanwhile, the quake cause a three-meter wave that causes hundreds of home were washed into the sea in just minutes of time.

Hundred people were believe still missing and thousands more were homeless after the wave. The quake was unexpected as its too fast which the villagers had to litter time to respond.

A local alert issue on 9.49pm officials at The Pacific Warning Centre in Hawaii said but eye witness said tsunami ware are already there around the same time.

The earthquake happened along the same fault which produced a 9-1 magnitude quake on Dec. 26, 2004. Spawning a tsunami that killed an estimated 230 thousand people around Indian Ocean. The hardest-hit area was in Aceh Province in northern Sumatra.

The rescue team did try to help out to find out more survivors at Mentawi island off western Sumatra. But, they have to kept away for few days because the stormy seas and bad weather. They will started back on the rescues once the weather turns.

At least 320 people confirm dead and the number of dead is keep on increasing. The tsunami washed away hundreds of houses in 20 villages, displacing more than 20 thousand people, said Ade Edward, a government disaster official.

The volcano is believe in still active and threat to the villagers around the Mount Merapi volcano. After the threat after the eruption that sent searing ash clouds into the air, killing at least 33 people and injuring 17 said Agustinus, a local health department. There was a mass

burial planned for later Thursday.

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago, which is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of fire.

The island lie almost to the epicentre of 7-7 magnitude quake that struck late Monday just 13 miles (20 kilometres) beneath the ocean floor. The quake then followed by at least 14 aftershock, which had the largest measuring 6.2, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. .

After that monster wave, many countries set up early warning systems

in their waters hoping to give people time to flee to higher ground before a tsunami — which they trying to prevent as the disaster came.

Government Service Tax increase to 6%

By LEONG KEE SIONG

Issue have minimal impact

The budget proposal is always been awaited by public on October, to hope for good news on financial goodie. On 15^th October 2010, the 2011 Budget tabled in front of parliament by our Prime Minister. However, 2011 Budget propose that the service tax will increase from 5% to 6% effective from 1st January, 2011, and the Government need not implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) next year. This is due to the budget theme “Transformation Towards a Developed and High-Income Nation”.

The government is confident that this measure will not excessively burden the rakyat as the increase in the tax rate is minimal. “The services tax is not imposed on all services,” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak said in his 2011 Budget speech. Malaysia Retailer Association president Eddie Chan said. “The rakyat will not be happy with the increase in tax but it won't be felt as badly in the long-term.”

Tax hike add to health care cost

The increased tax is to apply to the hospital and will affect the health care cost. The health cost is to spend on build news hospital and medical facility, increase the number of doctors, nurses, supplies of medicine and equipment. The tax increased issue is impressive, but for those who seek medical assistance in private hospital will have to suffer the effect of the 6% service tax. The cause of people look to private sector for healthcare service is government hospital are seriously burden by all forms of shortages, therefore people looking for a greater need and in result they suffer from the increased service tax.

The issue have been seen in negative approach, because the cost of health care increase without doing effective check and research to its consequence on healthcare consumers. So, the government should address this issue of rising cost medical and health care, and prove it by fact. The tax increased issue is troublesome to public, due to the fact that the net taxable amount is actually 6%. Besides, the net total can be multiplied rapidly to further than the apparent 1% if spend on high expenses item or service such as medical assistance.

The Government’s idea in proposing national transplantation legislation is

very encouraging. But it is essential to ensure that its do not cause other

problem and suitable in current situation.

Compulsory Pass ‘Sejarah’ in SPM from 2013

By CHAI CHIAO MEI

KUALA LUMPUR - There will be no certificate for those who failed Sejarah (History) subject in Sijil Pengajian Malaysia (SPM) examination, beginning from 2013.

Failed Sejarah in Exam Same As Failed SPM

Minister of Education and also Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that beginning from year 2013, sejarah will be a must-pass subject in Sijil Pengajian Malaysia (SPM) examination, along with the Bahasa Malaysia subject.

Parents and surely students, who are already struggling with the subject, are obviously concerned with the government decision.

UMNO President Hashim Adnan said that the concerns stemmed from the rushed nature of the move and its potential impact on students.

The Ministry of Education will setting up a special committee to look into improving the contents and teaching methodology of the history subject in schools.

We believe that it will be virtually the teachers and students of the pressure in the future. Hopefully, authorities will come up with a method of teaching the subject that is enjoyable to both teacher and the class.

Primary School Study History in 2016

In addition, start from 2014, History would be made a core subject in primary schools, too, said Muhyiddin.

“It is also in line with the decision to introduce a new assessment system for the Ujian Pelajaran Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) in 2016, said Muhyiddin.

Muhyiddin also said the new school-based assessment to replace the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) would be introduced in 2014, two years ahead of its initial implementation date.

The Minister’s statement immediately received a lot of feedback.

Making history a compulsory subject to pass in SPM will only add pressure on students who are already burdened with school work. It found that Facebook user created a group of “We Reject SPM Sejarah Must Credit in 2013” and hot discussion in forum.

Muhyiddin said the public should not be influenced by parties that claimed the move was a ‘deception’.

According to statistic from Ministry of Education in Malaysia, the passing rates of previous History subject in SPM by students nationwide were 70.05% in 2008, and 70.8% in 2009.

Drug syndicates using Facebook to recruit young women as mules

By MOK CHEE KIT

The drug mules are turning from bad to worse, says Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Richard Riot Jaem.

Kuala Lumpur, social networking site Facebook become a new hub for drug syndicates to find mules.

The Foreign Ministry call on varsity-age Malaysian especially girls to be alert from being lured by international drug syndicates to help them transport their drugs by promises of rewards, said deputy minister Datuk Richard Riot Jaem.

How syndicates execute their plan.

Richard said that the very first step of the syndicate will be friends with the victims on the Facebook, and most of the syndicate members are African origin.

He also explained after they befriend in Facebook, the syndicates will offer the victims to travel overseas, usually are China, Japan and Latin America. Other than that, the syndicates will also give the victims thousands of ringgit for pocket money to spend on their trip.

Some of the victims provided the photos of their Facebook ‘friends’ who ask for helped to carry their bags or deliver a ‘gift’ to people in other countries were not very good looking and very black.

There is an international survey firm which is TNS reported that Malaysians had the most ‘friends’ on Facebook and spent nine hours daily on average surfing on Facebook.

TV Program to increase public awareness

According to Ministry, he said that RTM broadcast a weekly program to raise awareness among young people.

“We have a slot on RTM where we provide advice on various issues for youth. But we stress a need for Malaysians to be very cautious when going overseas,” he said.

Since 1991, he said 785 of 1560 Malaysians arrested overseas were drug mules whereby 149 are women.

In the latest case, a 22-years old girl called Cristina Luke Niju from Sabah was arrested with 1.4kg of narcotics in Guangzhou, China last month.

“Young people especially girls must be more cautious. They can be easy prey to syndicates and their empty promises,” he said.

He also calls on Malaysian not to help others who request to carry their bags or stuff when they are travelling to avoid from the problem occur.

Happy Meal, happy ever after

By LAU KHAI YUEN

A McDonald’s burger kept for 6 months has shown no sign of decomposition.

Done initially on a lark to win a bet with a bet with a friend, Sally Davies, a New York artist and photographer decided to photograph a McDonald’s Happy Meal everyday and document its gradual decomposition.

There was no more smell after 24 hours. Sally Davies knew something went wrong.

“After a week or two, the photographs were very boring, as nothing was happening at all,” said Sally Davies. Dubbed the Happy Meal Project, it caught the attention of fellow Flickr and Facebook users after its progress was uploaded to these social networking websites.

“The Happy Meal stopped smelling of anything after only a couple of days, and the only change that really seemed to occur was that it essentially plasticized,” she said. “At six months old, the food is plastic to the touch and has an acrylic sheen to it. The only change that I can see is that it has become hard as rock.” This shocking discovery has raised much concern after it got covered in various news media. The increase amount of people relying online information as credible source of news also speeds things up as more and more forums and social networking websites responded critically to this issue.

Why won’t it rot, yet?

“McDonald’s hamburger patties in the U.S. are made with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef. They are cooked and prepared with salt, pepper and nothing else – no preservatives – no fillers,” said Todd R. Bacon, McDonald’s senior director of quality systems and supply-chain management.

“Our hamburger buns are made from North American-grown wheat flour,” Bacon continued. “Our world-famous French fries are made from potatoes and cooked in a canola-oil blend. These are the same foods that consumers buy everyday in their local grocery stores – bread, meat and potatoes.”

When asked to comment on Davies’ photos, Bacon cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

“Bacteria and mold only grow under certain conditions. For example, without sufficient moisture – either in the food itself or the environment in which it is held – bacteria and mold and associated decomposition is unlikely.” He said.

Davies got another thing in store for her at the mean time.

“I did win that bet with my friend.”

Eradicate Dengue Once and For All

By CHOR CHEW KANG

Dengue cases gradually increase in our country nowadays. This disease which caused by AEDES mosquitoes could harmful to the national if spread in serious way. Therefore, knowledge and awareness about dengue and AEDES mosquitoes are required by communities in effort to prevent this virus from infecting worse.

Selangor Reached Highest Dengue Rates

Statistics from Ministry of Healthy showed that since January this year, there were 123 fatalities from dengue fever and other related symptoms, among 42,749 dengue fever cases, compared to 36,294 cases with 77 deaths in last year. At the same time, Selangor had the highest number and was the worst hit state with 15,323 cases involving 43 deaths. Pahang saw an increase to 1,397 cases with four deaths up to mid-November this year as compared to 820 cases and two deaths during the same period last year. Other states where deaths occurred this year were Kedah (three), Penang (five), Perak (six), Kuala Lumpur/Putrajaya (six), Negeri Sembilan (seven), Malacca (12), Johor (10), Terengganu (two), Kelantan (11), Sarawak (13) and Sabah (one).

Knowledge about dengue are important for public before we work for prevent it. Dengue fever is an acute viral disease caused by the Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae. It’s a disease of tropical and subtropical regions that occurs epidemically. It also called “breakbone” fever because it sometimes causes severe joint & muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking, hence the name. The illness is usually self-limiting and can last up to 10 days, but complete recovery can take as long as a month.

DENGUE INFECT THROUGH AEDES BITES

Dengue fever is noncontagious i.e., not an airborne infection (an infected person cannot spread the infection to other persons but can be a source of dengue virus for mosquitoes for about 6 days from the start of symptoms). Dengue virus is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites; the mosquito transmits disease by biting an infected person and then biting someone else. The incubation period (i.e., period from infection till the manifestation of symptoms) is 4 to 6 days, but may vary with a range of 3 to 14 days. This disease is a vector borne infection i.e., mosquito is the vector (carrier) of the virus believed to cause this fever and the vector is common in dengue.

Symptoms of typical (classic) dengue usually start with fever within 5 to 6 days after someone is bitten by an infected mosquito. Symptoms are including:

· High-grade fever.

· Severe headache.

· Severe joint and muscle pain.

· Nausea and vomiting.

· Skin rash – The rash may appear over most of the body 3 to 4 days after fever.

· Bleeding from the nose, gums or under the skin, causing purplish bruises.

PREVENT DENGUE WITH OWN EFFORT

Prevention is basically by:

• Avoiding mosquito bites (by using mosquito repellents or oil of lemon eucalyptus)
• Eliminating pockets of stagnant water that serve as mosquito breeding sites at home, workplaces and their vicinity.
• Not storing water in open containers. Covering all water containers with lids.
• Preventing mosquito entry by keeping doors closed and windows screened.
• Wearing protective clothing like long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks and shoes when outdoors.
• Using mosquito nets at home.
• Scrubbing and cleaning margins of containers used for water (to dislodge the eggs of Aedes aegypti)
• Covering overhead tank to prevent access to mosquitoes.
• Aedes mosquitoes usually bite during the day; therefore, special precautions should be taken during early morning hours before day break and in the late afternoon before dark.
• There is no commercially available dengue vaccine (for dengue Flavivirus).

Please visit this website for more information:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs117/en/

Visit this website for dengue’s symptoms and prevention:

http://www.expat.com.my/dengue.htm

Dimitar Berbatov Score Five to Crash Backburn

By ONG WEI LOON

Manchester United wins over Blackburn Rovers 7-1 and reached top of the standings for the first time this season. Arsenal moved up to second standing with a 4-2 win over Aston Villa.

Dimitar Berbatov scored his five goals to send Manchester United roaring back to the top of the Premier League against Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford on Saturday, at 27^th November 2010. Berbatov is the fourth Premier League player that scored five goals in a game following in the footsteps of Andy Cole, Alan Shearer and Jermain Defoe.

Dimitar Berbatov’s 5 goals had been added to the Premier League scorers’ chart. The 29 year old Bulgarian having his 11 goals in 13 league appearances.

Berbatov had put The Devil in a winning position four minutes later. United continue their lead through the South Korea midfielder Park Ji-Sung in the 23^rd minute with Wayne Rooney’s assisted. The Bulgarian striker had complete his hat-trick in the 47 minute. His teammate the Portugal winger Nani scored another goal five minute later. Dimitar Berbatov scored again in the 62^nd minute and created a wonderful and memorable performance with his fifth goal in the 70^th minute.

Blackburn Rovers Christopher Samba’s scored his headed goal home with Josh Morris cross to beat United keeper Edwin Van Der Sar with seven minutes remaining before the match end. Lastly, the Rovers was being humiliated by the Devils at the Blackburn stadium.

The Bulgarian striker was interviewed after the match. “ I don’t think anybody could be have guessed the score. In the end I’m pleased with the performance and the goals I scored, personally I was very impressed with myself” said Dimitar Berbatov.

The Devil’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson praised his player’s performance while hope Berbatov’s performances will improve. “it was a fantastic achievement by Berbatov and in my time I’ve only seen Andy Cole achieve that here. It was important he got off the mark early because he hadn’t scored in 10 games. He combined with Wayne well and they interchanged brilliantly”. Said the manager.

Ferguson also hope that United No.1 striker Wayne Rooney will be fit again and benefit the Bulgarian.

Please visit this website for more information:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101127/sp_soccer_afp/fblengprmanutdblackburn

Visit this website for the match highlight:

http://footyroom.com/manchester-united-7-1-blackburn-rovers-2010-11/