If we are serious about halting the leptospirosis crisis in the country, we must address the root cause of the problem, and that is, the dirty habits and selfish attitudes of hawkers and outlet operators in the country MUST BE STOPPED. Designating the disease as a notifiable disease is only a partial solution to the problem.
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Health authorities have to do more....
It's high time that we acknowledge the issue of dirty habits and selfish attitudes of hawkers and food outlet operators as being the prime reason for the rise in leptospirosis.cases in the country, and today's news Stop feeding the rats reiterated that throwing food and rubbish into gutters attract the rodents is a timely reminder that the Health Authorities should buck up. Also read Nasi Kandar seller bitten by rodent I have personally seen in my section in Petaling Jaya, Section 11, that all the restaurants there, [more than 10 of them], use the backlanes as the places to prepare food and wash dishes that have been used. The dirty water is conveniently drained directly into the drains, which flow around the residences. I am wondering if these are approved guidelines of the Health Authorities and MBPJ, that is, to allow food leftovers, curries and rice and other debris to flow direct into the drains and gutters. There was one instance, at the junction of Jalan 11/3 and 11/4, the water there is permanently stagnant and the colour of curry, where I saw a rat, as big as a large kitten, swimming in the drains. The situation has not changed for years.
If we are serious about halting the leptospirosis crisis in the country, we must address the root cause of the problem, and that is, the dirty habits and selfish attitudes of hawkers and outlet operators in the country MUST BE STOPPED. Designating the disease as a notifiable disease is only a partial solution to the problem.
If we are serious about halting the leptospirosis crisis in the country, we must address the root cause of the problem, and that is, the dirty habits and selfish attitudes of hawkers and outlet operators in the country MUST BE STOPPED. Designating the disease as a notifiable disease is only a partial solution to the problem.
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Consequences of unfettered Illegal Gambling
Reading the updates on the police investigation in the tragedy at the Cheras apartment 'bombing' Police Identify Cheras bomber what struck me most was the apparent reason for this senseless act. It was reported that the suspect was a big loser in gambling illegally in the Internet Cafe which apparently belonged to the target of his bombing attempt.
It has again raised the question as to whether internet cafes are actually fronts for illegal internet gambling, and why, in spite of many letters to the Editor protesting their stubborn existence, these illegal gambling outlets have persisted. It is obvious that these internet cafes, with their heavily tinted glass doors are doing something nefarious, and activities that they want to hide from prying eyes.
The larger issue that this has also brought up, is whether curbs to access to the Internet have to be made, though this maybe a distasteful thing to do, unfettered access to Internet gambling and Porn can only do more harm than good.
It has to be reminded that even social media websites like Facebook has also given our enterprising youth opportunities to indulge into some innocent gambling. Recently, I had a very young friend who confided in me that he managed to "sell" his million over points in a poker game that he won in Facebook to his friend for RM50 !! With most parents giving laptops to their children from as young as 8 years old, the Internet can be the source of all sorts of undesirable "learning" for these young impressionable minds.
Food for thought
put curbs on Internet Access.
It has again raised the question as to whether internet cafes are actually fronts for illegal internet gambling, and why, in spite of many letters to the Editor protesting their stubborn existence, these illegal gambling outlets have persisted. It is obvious that these internet cafes, with their heavily tinted glass doors are doing something nefarious, and activities that they want to hide from prying eyes.
The larger issue that this has also brought up, is whether curbs to access to the Internet have to be made, though this maybe a distasteful thing to do, unfettered access to Internet gambling and Porn can only do more harm than good.
It has to be reminded that even social media websites like Facebook has also given our enterprising youth opportunities to indulge into some innocent gambling. Recently, I had a very young friend who confided in me that he managed to "sell" his million over points in a poker game that he won in Facebook to his friend for RM50 !! With most parents giving laptops to their children from as young as 8 years old, the Internet can be the source of all sorts of undesirable "learning" for these young impressionable minds.
Food for thought
put curbs on Internet Access.
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Minimum Wage discussion must be clearly articulated...
The government today has announced that the minimum wage of "RM800 pay for maids can’t be enforced" and the Sunday Star has further published discussions on the issue in "Should bosses pay a minimum wage? " wherein pros and cons on the implementation of a minimum wage policy are highlighted.
This has been a longstanding discussion and there seems to be no 'light at the end of the tunnel" for a final decision to be made. The Ministry also seems to be vacillating on this matter, giving the reason that there is no minimum wage structure in the country to support a decision for a minimum wage and that wages should be decided by "market forces".
I find the reasoning a bit tenuous and more so when viewed against an announced Government Policy to make Malaysia a "high income" nation. It is only reasonable to subscribe to a "market force" policy on the payment of wages, IF, [and this is a BIG 'if'] the Government does not encourage or allow local industries to "import" cheap foreign labour into the country, in order to avoid paying locals an equitable salary. If, as it has been reported in the same feature, that some locals only get a salary of around RM550 per month, it is very difficult to see how many of our poor manage to survive with dignity.
More so, if the govt tacitly allows freely the 'import' of cheap labour from our neighbours, to work with less than 'livable' wages and in 'slave like' conditions, [eg. no off day, no medical coverage, and no bank account opened], it will really take a very naive person to believe that Malaysia is a country that we are proud to be associated with.
I also feel that some employers, when defending against the implementation of a minimum wage, should give valid reasons to do so. Two reasons quoted in your feature seems to show confusion among the employers, to say the least: I quote:
What I am trying to suggest is that, this is an important long term issue that will make Malaysia a progressive nation, or will keep it stuck in the backwaters of South East Asia, while the others move ahead. We need a sober and mature discourse, and a decision that is equitable for all parties, and for the long term good of the nation.
Let's see a clear policy on minimum wage
This has been a longstanding discussion and there seems to be no 'light at the end of the tunnel" for a final decision to be made. The Ministry also seems to be vacillating on this matter, giving the reason that there is no minimum wage structure in the country to support a decision for a minimum wage and that wages should be decided by "market forces".
I find the reasoning a bit tenuous and more so when viewed against an announced Government Policy to make Malaysia a "high income" nation. It is only reasonable to subscribe to a "market force" policy on the payment of wages, IF, [and this is a BIG 'if'] the Government does not encourage or allow local industries to "import" cheap foreign labour into the country, in order to avoid paying locals an equitable salary. If, as it has been reported in the same feature, that some locals only get a salary of around RM550 per month, it is very difficult to see how many of our poor manage to survive with dignity.
More so, if the govt tacitly allows freely the 'import' of cheap labour from our neighbours, to work with less than 'livable' wages and in 'slave like' conditions, [eg. no off day, no medical coverage, and no bank account opened], it will really take a very naive person to believe that Malaysia is a country that we are proud to be associated with.
I also feel that some employers, when defending against the implementation of a minimum wage, should give valid reasons to do so. Two reasons quoted in your feature seems to show confusion among the employers, to say the least: I quote:
- A minimum wage will increase business costs and companies might have to resort to laying off workers as they rely on cheap labour to be competitive, he reasons.
- A minimum wage, he adds, might attract youngsters to stop school.
What I am trying to suggest is that, this is an important long term issue that will make Malaysia a progressive nation, or will keep it stuck in the backwaters of South East Asia, while the others move ahead. We need a sober and mature discourse, and a decision that is equitable for all parties, and for the long term good of the nation.
Let's see a clear policy on minimum wage
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Foreigners may use ‘jockeys’ to fill up tanks
Reading the news that drivers can just show a MyKad to kiosk personnel in order to buy RON95 petrol for their foreign registered vehicles, Foreign car users can report if kiosk owners don't sell RON95 brings to mind that, again, another issue that has NOT been properly thought out or planned before jumping into execution. Knowing that Malaysians are quite "innovative" when it comes to making a quick buck, I think the flexibility of just showing the MyKad has the undesired effect of creating "jockeys" who are Malaysian, waiting at petrol kiosks near our borders, and "assisting" the foreign vehicle owners to fill up with the cheaper RON95.
With a price differential of 20sen per litre, filling up a 100 litre tank, for example, can be quite "profitable" for both parties.
Have the authorities thought of a way to counter this potential connivance or to monitor the potential controversy that this rule creates ?
With a price differential of 20sen per litre, filling up a 100 litre tank, for example, can be quite "profitable" for both parties.
Have the authorities thought of a way to counter this potential connivance or to monitor the potential controversy that this rule creates ?
Foreigners may use ‘jockeys’ to fill up tanks
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Calcium supplements may raise risk of Heart Attacks
The Star (Saturday), also carried this news from Reuters, Calcium supplements may raise risk of Heart Attacks which reported a definitive study covering 12000 patients who were given calcium pills or placebos for their osteoporosis problems. The study concluded that there was a 30% increase in heart attacks for those patients randomized to receive calcium supplements.
This report from a reputed medical source has raised pertinent questions in our treatment of elderly patients with real or perceived porous bones or osteoporosis. I have seen many elderly friends who have been diagnosed with such problems, inevitably issued with those pills as a standard procedure. Some of my friends have also been asked to take an expensive annual injection, which besides being very painful, has also bad side effects like vomiting. In view of the questionable benefits that can be derived from the taking of such supplements whether orally or intravenously, and with the current report that such 'medication' can definitely increase heart attacks, should we not consider a change in the standard procedure of hospitals issuing such supplements? Even if they are given free of charge to retired civil servants, it can represent a waste of money, and a drain on the Health Ministry's budget, as also, some patients just discard the medicine on reaching home.!
It should be incumbent on doctors to encourage patients to take calcium rich foods like milk in any form or sardines and to take more load bearing exercises, like walking up slopes and stairs.
It would also be good, in light of such research results that the Ministry take appropriate action to instruct doctors and hospitals to warn patients of the risks of taking calcium pills, and the alternatives available, and to also counsel the public on the risks of naively accepting anything told to them by doctors and pharmacists
Consume Calcium rich foods
This report from a reputed medical source has raised pertinent questions in our treatment of elderly patients with real or perceived porous bones or osteoporosis. I have seen many elderly friends who have been diagnosed with such problems, inevitably issued with those pills as a standard procedure. Some of my friends have also been asked to take an expensive annual injection, which besides being very painful, has also bad side effects like vomiting. In view of the questionable benefits that can be derived from the taking of such supplements whether orally or intravenously, and with the current report that such 'medication' can definitely increase heart attacks, should we not consider a change in the standard procedure of hospitals issuing such supplements? Even if they are given free of charge to retired civil servants, it can represent a waste of money, and a drain on the Health Ministry's budget, as also, some patients just discard the medicine on reaching home.!
It should be incumbent on doctors to encourage patients to take calcium rich foods like milk in any form or sardines and to take more load bearing exercises, like walking up slopes and stairs.
It would also be good, in light of such research results that the Ministry take appropriate action to instruct doctors and hospitals to warn patients of the risks of taking calcium pills, and the alternatives available, and to also counsel the public on the risks of naively accepting anything told to them by doctors and pharmacists
Consume Calcium rich foods
Saturday, 24 July 2010
GIGO.... "Garbage in Garbage Out"
At first, when I read this letter, Why wasn't I asked ALL 51 questions?? :-( it struck me that this was a simply a case of of some incompetence. But, on reflection, I realised that the enumerators who came to 'interview' me also did not do much better, as she asked me only for our names, ages, religious affiliation, and profession. She then left hurriedly. I have since spoken with my neighbours, and it seems that only the basic 3 or 4 questions were asked.
Now, projecting this superficial work of the enumerators country wide, we can see that the effect of the results of this Census on Government strategy and planning can be disastrous! I remember in my days studying computer systems and programming, we were always told of the acronym "GIGO", and that is "Garbage in Garbage Out". I also read today the comments of the author of the book "Analytics" who said, and I quote.. ".. in cases where data is of the low quality, you have to trace it back to the source. If the person collecting the data has not paid enough attention to the quality, the company he is working for would then be unable to analyse them at all...... "
I am now wondering if the current census exercise is turning into an exercise of futility. What will these mainly incomplete and/or inaccurate data do the Government planning and analysis, (and we need to be right first time), when we have to plan for the country to move forward and to the next level of prosperity.
Sadly, it looks like another botched job for a Govt department, and I wonder how this will impact its KPIs and KRAs .
I hope to be corrected.
In computer terms, it's garbage in, garbage out
Now, projecting this superficial work of the enumerators country wide, we can see that the effect of the results of this Census on Government strategy and planning can be disastrous! I remember in my days studying computer systems and programming, we were always told of the acronym "GIGO", and that is "Garbage in Garbage Out". I also read today the comments of the author of the book "Analytics" who said, and I quote.. ".. in cases where data is of the low quality, you have to trace it back to the source. If the person collecting the data has not paid enough attention to the quality, the company he is working for would then be unable to analyse them at all...... "
I am now wondering if the current census exercise is turning into an exercise of futility. What will these mainly incomplete and/or inaccurate data do the Government planning and analysis, (and we need to be right first time), when we have to plan for the country to move forward and to the next level of prosperity.
Sadly, it looks like another botched job for a Govt department, and I wonder how this will impact its KPIs and KRAs .
I hope to be corrected.
In computer terms, it's garbage in, garbage out
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Cameron Highlands, soon to be renamed Cameron Lowlands..
The letter by Rev.Dr Vijendra Daniel Stop the desecration of Cameron Highlands... is a cry from the heart, and it really pains me to see that it will again fall on deaf ears! Why do I say that? I have the chance to follow TV3's progam "Aduan Rakyat" helmed by Karam Singh Waliah and in the 2 episodes that was aired a few weeks ago, it was clear that the Highlands is fighting a losing battle with selfish vegetable farmers and nonchalant politicians to preserve its virginity, or what's left of it. In the second episode of the program, it was disgusting to see the farmers who have encroached on reserve land, shouting down the TV crew, and at times seemed to be threatening violence. At the same time, the govt officials seem to be so helpless, and had on their faces 'tidakapa' looks. Of course the debacle would not be complete without some politicians jumping into the 'fray', on the side of the "aggrieved". In the backdrop of this 'drama', I can see bare brown earth exposed to the scorching sun, carcasses of cut trees waiting to be dragged away, and streams of brown polluted waters, flowing morosely
Unless the State and Federal Govts. take a uniform step towards the preservation of Cameron Highlands for the future of this nation, very soon we will have to change its name to Cameron Lowlands, not to mention to suffer the loss of a huge water catchment area, and a rest and recreation place for our folks.
Why can't we stop thinking politics for a second, and do something for the country?
Unless the State and Federal Govts. take a uniform step towards the preservation of Cameron Highlands for the future of this nation, very soon we will have to change its name to Cameron Lowlands, not to mention to suffer the loss of a huge water catchment area, and a rest and recreation place for our folks.
Why can't we stop thinking politics for a second, and do something for the country?
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