Day: June 26, 2024

KUCHING, The wisdom and perspectives of indigenous communities is crucial to any sustainability movement, said Sarawak Premier, Tan Sri Abang Johari.

He highlighted that the traditional knowledge and sustainable practices of indigenous peoples provide invaluable insights into ecological stewardship.

“In the Southeast Asia region, indigenous communities possess extensive traditional knowledge about local ecosystems, medicinal plants, agricultural practices and resource management,” he said during the Rainforest Youth Summit (RAYS 2024) here today.

His speech read out by Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industries, and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, underscored the importance of listening to and respecting indigenous voices.

He emphasised that governments and organisations can learn from this knowledge to promote sustainable practices benefiting both people and the environment.

Abang Johari further emphasised that by embracing the wisdom and sustainable practices of indigenous
communities, we can enhance our efforts towards sustainability and environmental preservation.

“Therefore, RAYS will provide a platform for our youth to listen to and amplify the voices of indigenous communities,” he said.

The Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) in a statement said RAYS 2024 serves as a global platform for youth to unite and learn from the wisdom of indigenous communities regarding rainforest conservation.

“As future leaders, youth will utilise this summit to exchange perspectives on global issues and generate creative solutions,” it added.

Over three days, the summit will feature speakers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Uganda, New Zealand and other countries addressing diverse topics including gender perspectives, conservation art, climate activism and indigenous storytelling.

Approximately 1,000 participants, representing youth from 10 ASEAN countries and over 40 universities, are attending the summit.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KOTA KINABALU, The likelihood of a landslide occurring at Laban Rata, the popular climbing route on Mount Kinabalu, is much lower compared to the recent landslide incident at the foot of the mountain in Mesilou, Kundasang on Monday (June 24).

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) climatologist, Associate Professor Datuk Dr Ramzah Dambul, said the terrain at Laban Rata is less steep and has fewer rock fractures and soil slips due to erosion and weathering processes, making it less prone to landslides.

The chief executive officer of the Sabah Institute for Development Studies (IDS) pointed out that videos of climbers ascending Mount Kinabalu around Laban Rata during heavy rain only showed strong water flow with minimal debris such as plants, soil and rock fragments.

‘While a landslide theoretically could happen at Laban Rata, the probability is much lower. So, stay calm, seek information from experts and do not believe the ‘fantasies’ spread by hallucination peddlers about this issue,’ he told Bernama.

Monday, R
anau Fire and Rescue Station Chief Ridwan Mohd Taib said an initial report was received from Sabah Parks about landslides, starting at the foot of the mountain at around 1.20 am, followed by a mud flood at 5 am.

Ridwan confirmed that there were no casualties or property damage from the incident, as it occurred far from residential areas and did not affect nearby villages.

Sharing his hypothesis on the incident, Ramzah said three factors could have contributed to the lanslide: weather, water flow and geology, with Kundasang experiencing heavy rainfall over the past one to two weeks.

He said the heavy rain increased the intensity of water flow on the mountain’s surface, which is not entirely composed of solid rock.

‘There are also plants and thin soil layers. Additionally, the mountain rock surface is not completely solid due to fractures caused by erosion and weathering processes.

‘When the surface water flow is too strong, exceeding normal intensity for several days, small trees, soil layers and rock fra
ctures are washed away and accumulate, eventually resulting in a landslide,’ he said.

Ramzah noted that the landslide was not purely soil-based but consisted of a mixture of materials, including plants, soil layers and rock fractures dislodged and washed away by the intense surface water flow.

He said in extreme weather conditions like the current season, numerous landslides might occur in steep areas of Mount Kinabalu but remain unnoticed as they happen far from human settlements, in remote locations and possibly at night.

‘This is actually a common phenomenon that can occur routinely during the wet season like now. Every anomaly, no matter how small, has the potential to become a disaster. But the risk is manageable.

‘We just need to be vigilant and always heed the information and instructions from monitoring agencies like the Fire and Rescue Department, APM (Civil Defence Force) and local authorities,’ he said.

He also dismissed claims that the landslide was triggered by an earthquake, as no earthquak
e was reported in the area at the time according to official records from the Malaysian Meteorological Department.

Ramzah said on the same day, there was a moderate 5.7 magnitude earthquake in the Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia, at 5.55 pm, but it occurred after the landslide. The previous day, there was a 5.1 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan at 10.27 pm, but it happened well before the landslide.

‘Given the time intervals and the significant distance, the impact of these earthquakes could not have been felt in Kundasang,’ he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia and Thailand have agreed on the need to forge closer ties between parliamentarians to elevate the relationship between the two countries to greater heights.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the matter was agreed upon during his meeting with the President of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Thailand, Wan Muhammad Noor Matha this morning.

“During my meeting with Wan Muhamad this morning, we discussed cooperation between Malaysia and Thailand in various fields such as trade, investment, and tourism,’ Anwar posted on Facebook.

The Prime Minister said he and Wan Muhamad also touched on efforts to strengthen further cooperation between the two countries in education and development of the Muslim community, including in southern Thailand.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) city secretary Baderul Amin Abdul Hamid was sworn in as the new Seberang Perai mayor with effect today to replace Datuk Azhar Arshad who was appointed as Melaka State Secretary.

Baderul Amin, 58, took the oath before Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow in the presence Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Dr. Mohamad Abdul Hamid, State Executive Council and MBSP councillors at MBSP in Bandar Perda here today.

Baderul Amin who expressed his appreciation to the state government for giving him the opportunity to serve as the third mayor, is committed to continue the legacy to ensure MBSP moves forward despite realising that it is not an easy task.

“I would like to highlight the concept of Back To Basics, where we look again at the essence of the responsibility of a local authority (PBT) by focusing on the three most important aspects which are cleaning, enforcement and finance.

“Besides that, I also want to make MBSP a more competitive area and is able to attract n
ot only tourists but also investors by making Seberang Perai an investment destination,” he said when met after the ceremony.

Born on April 27, 1966 in Parit Buntar, Perak, Baderul Amin started his service with MBSP (formerly known as Seberang Perai Municipal Council) in 1991 as an engineer until he was promoted to chief engineer.

In April 2022, he was appointed as city secretary before being appointed as mayor today.

Meanwhile, Chow hopes that the appointment of Baderul Amin as the new mayor can inject more creative ideas and missions in order to maintain Seberang Perai’s achievements and performance in various fields.

He is confident that Baderul Amin’s experience and knowledge for 33 years with MBSP can shoulder the responsibility of leading the body as well as possible.

“Seberang Perai is a very challenging local authority (PBT) because it is the largest in the peninsula with limited financial resources and revenue.

“Nevertheless, since 2008, the state government have made many changes which can be
seen and now it is a heavy responsibility for the new mayor and MBSP workers to continue the excellence in solving the people’s problems and bring meaningful changes in their administrative areas,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

IPOH, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) users from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh and vice versa will enjoy shorter travel time between the two destinations with the introduction of the ETS Express service starting this August.

KTMB chief operating officer Mohd Zain Mat Taha said the service will shorten the journey to two hours for the KL Sentral-Ipoh sector compared to about 2 hours 40 minutes previously.

“This is an improvement we have made for passengers travelling from KL to Ipoh, in line with the project to upgrade the system and infrastructure under Phase 1 of Klang Valley Double Track (KDVT) which is completed in stages,” he told reporters at the launch to promote Ipoh’s tourist products and destinations via ETS here today.

Also present at the programme was Ipoh Mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin.

Earlier, KTMB in a statement said it will introduce six ETS Express services from 32 existing services for the KL Sentral-Ipoh-KL Sentral, KL Sentral-Butterworth-KL Sentral and KL Sentral-Padang Besar-KL Sentral secto
rs.

With the service, these express trains only stop at the main stations and take two hours for the KL Sentral-Ipoh sector, three hours 30 minutes for the KL Sentral-Butterworth sector and four hours 50 minutes for the KL Sentral-Padang Besar sector.

In a visit to Ipoh last February, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the Ministry of Transport (MoT) was discussing with KTMB to re-establish the operation of the ETS Ekspress KL-Ipoh special train service outside the festive season.

Meanwhile Rumaizi said in December last year the Ipoh City Council had taken the approach of launching the Visit Ipoh Year 2023 as a showcase for the Visit Perak Year 2024 and a preliminary move to put Ipoh on the tourism map before the Visit Malaysia Year 2026.

“This is aimed at promoting interesting tourism products and places in Ipoh with various activities and programmes planned to attract more domestic visitors and tourists from abroad to this city,” he said.

He said the highlighted products have been segmented
into the 3H concept, namely Hipster, Heritage and Health, with the growth of hipster cafés, 27 historic buildings that have existed since the British era and sophisticated hospital facilities that are ready to accept foreign patients for treatment are the characteristics of features found in the 3H concept.

He said apart from making announcements through MBI’s website and social media, advertising through ETS is the latest initiative made by MBI in collaboration with KTMB.

“Since the ETS journey is from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar in the north and from Kuala Lumpur to Gemas in the south, MBI is very confident that this advertising will attract more visitors to the city of Ipoh,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency