SIBU:  The government will not hesitate to issue compound fines or take up legal action against those conducting open burning without any permit from the state Natural Resources and Environment Board(NREB). “It’s dry weather now and also a burning season, but those, especially plantation owners, who intend to conduct any open burning must apply for a permit from the NREB,” State Minister of Environment and Public Health Datuk Sri Wong Soon Koh told reporters after presenting 1Malaysia netbooks to 140 students of Laila Taib College here today. Due to the rather hazy condition in most parts of the state, he said the board was now issuing limited permits and the open burning should be staggered. “Ideally, when they conduct the open burning, there should ...

MUKAH: Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datin Fatimah Abdullah says it is important that teachers are innovative, committed and dedicated in their work and support the national education transformation programme to ensure that all students are good at reading, writing and counting by 2012. HAPPY TEACHER’S DAY: Fatimah (centre) together with Phoon (third right) and others cutting the cake. She said this at the Dalat district level  Teacher’s Day celebration held at Kingwood Resort Mukah here yesterday. Also present were Dalat District Education officer Anthony Phoon Teck Huat, principals, headmasters, teachers and staff of Dalat district education office. “The government has set a clear target that by 2012, every student in   ...

  KUCHING: Priority should be accorded to disabled job applicants in Sarawak to ensure effective implementation of the current government policy on the one per cent quota of job opportunities for disabled persons in the public sector. Sarawak Cheshire Home president Datuk Seri Ang Lai Soon said yesterday the issue must be addressed immediately, especially since there were limited job opportunities available for them. “It is important to ensure they can earn a decent income on their own and be more independent in their daily lives, but in practice, it is difficult for disabled persons to compete for limited job opportunities in the open labour market with other ‘normal’ people,” he said at the Sarawak Cheshire Home’s biannual general meeting, ...

  MIRI: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk Seri Idris Jala emphasised that education would continue to be a national priority. For this, he said education itself would need a radical improvement to enable the nation achieve its Vision 2020. “We are equipping schools with better facilities. As a result of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), we helped put 54,000 kids into preschools last year by opening 1,500 preschool classes across the country and enabling over 700,000 preschoolers aged four plus and five plus to begin early education,” he said. Idris, who is also the chief executive of Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), said this in a message contained in the souvenir programme for the 10th Annual ...

  KUCHING: It was reported in a local newspaper recently that a top student from SMK St Mary’s here was not eligible to enroll into matriculation as she was considered not a Bumiputera due to her mixedblood of Ceylonese father and Iban mother. Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department, Datin Fatimah Abdullah who was asked to comment on this case said the Ministry of Higher Education had resolved a similar case like this before without amending the constitution. “This case is just like Marina Undau’s case, also child of mixed parentage - Iban father and Chinese mother.She was not eligible for matriculation back in 2009 because of her non- Bumiputera status. “However, her case had been resolved and that should also apply to this student ...

  KUCHING: Sarawak received 849,642 visitor arrivals from January to March this year, an increase of 9.6% compared to 775,265 visitors in the same corresponding period last year. In data extracted from the Sarawak Immigration Department, foreigners made up of 538,430 visitors during the period, an increase of 14.02% compared to 472,210 visitors for the same period last year. There were a total of 311,212 domestic arrival, an increase of 2.69% compared to 303,046 for the corresponding period last year. Bruneians (339,311) topped the list of visitors, followed by Indonesians (114,332), Filipinos (19,536), Singaporeans (9,006) and Chinese (8,613). Last year, Bruneians also topped the list with 295,147, followed by Indonesians (92,496), Filipinos (20,743), Singaporeans ...

  KAPIT: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak continued his walkabout to the interior areas of Sarawak by going to Pekan Song and Kapit in Ulu Rajang, the longest river in Malaysia. Immediately upon arriving by helicopter at the Song district field at 9.30am, the prime minister proceeded to the town centre with 5,000 people, mostly comprising the Iban community who cheered ’1Malaysia’ and ‘Hidup Barisan Nasional’ (long live Barisan Nasional). Najib, who is the first prime minister to come to the small town, was greeted with a traditional cultural performance by students of a secondary school here. In his speech, Najib announced an allocation of RM90 million for the construction of a road stretching about 40km from Song to Kapit, which is now only accessible ...

KUCHING: A new polytechnic will be set up in Betong next year to meet the demand for skilled workers in the services sector. Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the institution, to be named Politeknik Metro, would offer courses in accounting, hospitality, information technology and other areas related to the service industry. “In developed countries, the services sector contributes 60% to the economy. As Malaysia heads towards 2020, we will need people skilled in the services sector and this is where the new polytechnic comes in,” he told reporters after launching Politeknik Kuching’s community programme at Kampung Temenggong in Telaga Air near here yesterday. He said the polytechnic would cost RM20mil and be able to take in 1,500 ...

MIRI: Sarawak is happy that the federal government allows Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) holders to teach Mandarin subject in schools. Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan said the news represented a big relief to those UEC graduates who wanted to teach Mandarin subjects. “Of course, I’m very happy to hear that. Such recognition has indirectly proven that our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is very concerned about Chinese education,” he told reporters after officiating at the 16th Federation of Chinese Associations of Miri’s annual general meeting (AGM) at Imperial Palace Hotel here yesterday. Dr Chan, who is also SUPP president, said he believed other issues surrounding UEC would be resolved in the near future. ...

  PROGRAMME WITH THE PEOPLE: (from left) Razali, Chan, Liu and Lee at the press conference on Sejiwa Senada programme which will be held at Kuching City South Municipal Council (MBKS) Hall on March 25 to 27. KUCHING: The Sejiwa Senada Programme will be on its second last stop at Kuching City South Municipal Council (MBKS) Hall on March 25 to 27 with attractive prices and performances by top local artistes for visitors. According to the event’s co-chairman Dr Razali Abon, about 180 state, federal, government-linked agencies (GLC) and local authorities will be participating in the event which starts from 8am to 9pm. “The programme, jointly organised by the state and the federal government, is primarily to provide a avenue for the people to get closer ...