Robbers break into three ATMs

Scene of the crime: ATM parts strewn on the road outside the supermarket in Taman Kinrara as a police officers arrive to investigate.

PETALING JAYA: Robbers struck at three Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at two supermarkets and a bank within two and a half hours yesterday.

The CCTV recorders in both supermarkets were also taken by the robbers, who had used oxy-acetylene torches to cut through the ATMs.

However, the robbers of the third ATM at the bank failed to get anything after they tried to pull the machine using chains fastened to a truck.

In the first case at Taman Connaught in Cheras, supermarket staff were about to open their premises for business at about 7am yesterday when they saw an ATM broken into.

Police later found that the robbers had drilled through a wall of a Tenaga Nasional Bhd substation which was adjacent to the supermarket before entering the supermarket.

City CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah said that the losses from the Cheras ATM were still being ascertained.

The same scenario was also repeated in Taman Kinrara in Puchong when supermarket employees were about to start work at 7.50am yesterday.

Serdang OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Razak Elias said that about RM70,000 was missing.

“The suspects were believed to have drilled a hole through the garbage bin store before entering the supermarket,” he said when met at the scene.

Earlier, two robbers in Kepong tried to pull an ATM at a bank in Kepong using chains hooked to a truck. However, SAC Ku said that they abandoned their attempt at about 5.30am.

“The suspects abandoned the ATM and escaped taking their chains with them,” SAC Ku said in a press conference.

Sarawak boat tragedy: Overloading not the cause, says ministry report

A file picture of rescuers searching the capsized 'Kawan Mas' express boat on the Rajang River in Sarawak.

KUCHING: Overloading was not the cause of the 'Kawan Mas' express boat tragedy on the Rajang River, instead, it was due to a "series of accidents", according to a report by the Sarawak Infrastructure Development and Communications Ministry.

Its Minister Datuk Seri Michael Manyin said on Tuesday the report had been submitted, which confirmed that overloading was not the cause of the capsize.

He said input from the police, marine department, Sarawak Rivers Board and express boat operators showed that the ill-fated boat - which was overloaded with over 200 passengers - capsized on May 28 due to a series of accidents, including hitting a log and developing engine failure that caused it to drift and hit a submerged rock.

"Following a recent meeting held in Sibu, the relevant authorities as well as ferry and express boat operators are directed to find a solution to avoid a similar accident," he said.

Some 213 passengers survived the accident, with two missing and one confirmed dead when the 'Kawan Mas' - licensed to carry only 64 passengers - capsized when ferrying people home for the annual Gawai Dayak festival.

He said there were no plans at the moment for boat operators to have extra vessels on standby during festive seasons as it was not economically viable.

One unit of express boat costs at least RM2mil, and there were only an average of seven to 11 passengers plying the Rajang River route on normal days. 

It was also impossible to emulate the standard operating procedure of airlines to register passengers before boarding, as airlines catered for the high-end market in contrast to the ordinary village folk who depended on river transport, which was why no passenger manifest was available, he said. - Bernama

Nurul Izzah moves private members bill to abolish Sedition Act

Nurul Izzah Anwar.

KUALA LUMPUR: Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar has submitted a Private Members' Bill to abolish the Sedition Act 1948 in a bid to put pressure on the Government to fulfil its pledge to repeal the law.

Nurul Izzah, a PKR vice-president, said it was almost a year since Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak promised that the Government would repeal the Act and replace it with the National Harmony Act.

"However, the public is still waiting for Najib's promise to be realised.

"In the mean time, many activists and Pakatan Rakyat leaders including PKR vice-president Tian Chua, PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa and student activist Adam Adli were arrested under the law," she told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

She said she submitted the Sedition (Repeal) Bill 2013 to Dewan Rakyat secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah on Monday.

Nurul Izzah said she hoped this step will end the abuse of the Act and bring about reforms for a better Malaysia.

"The decision to allow the Private Members' Bill to be debated in the House rests on the Dewan Rakyat Speaker," she said.

An MP can propose a Bill through the Private Members' Bill under common parliamentary practice.

On July 11 last year, Najib announced that the Government would repeal the Act and replace it with the National Harmony Act.

When approached by reporters, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said he would look into Nurul Izzah's proposed Bill.

On the Kuala Besut by-election, Nurul Izzah, who is PKR vice-president, said the Pakatan Rakyat top leadership understood that PAS was interested in contesting for the state seat and were willing to let the party go ahead.

Shisha smoking under fire over health risks

PETALING JAYA: A hookah habit can harm your health, largely due to the many misconceptions about shisha, says Dr S. Dhesi Baha Raja, former assistant state health director of the Maternal and Child Health division at the Sabah State Health department.

The flavoured tobacco is smoked by enthusiasts worldwide for its sweet smell and smooth taste.

An American Lung Association study in 2007 showed a worldwide increase in shisha use in recent years, mostly among youths and university students.

"Teenagers think shisha is a herbal product. That when they smoke it, no tobacco is inhaled. This is wrong, because the herbal packaging has tobacco," said Dr Dhesi in a phone interview.

In 2010, the Monitoring The Future survey found that 17% of high school seniors in the United States smoked shisha in the previous year.

Dr Dhesi also cited studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to outline the dangers of shisha smoking, which include unclear levels of tobacco content in shisha itself.

"By law, registered cigarette products in Malaysia can only have a certain permissible level of nicotine and tar (Total Aerosol Residue). But shisha comes in many different packagings, so you don't know how much tobacco content varies between them," he said.

In Malaysia, cigarette emission standards are regulated according to the Control of Tobacco Product (Amendment) Regulations 2008.

The current maximum allowable level for nicotine is 1.5mg per cigarette, while tar levels should not exceed 20mg per cigarette.

Even the way shisha is prepared poses a danger to its fans who enjoy taking deep breaths of the relaxing, aromatic smoke before exhaling into their surroundings.

"At the very top of a hookah, the bowl containing shisha is covered by aluminium foil, upon which burning charcoal is placed to roast the tobacco. Toxic fumes are produced by the reaction between the burning charcoal and aluminium foil," said Dr Dhesi.

The hookah's glass base, which acts as a chamber for the shisha smoke, is also filled with water.

"This water mixes with the toxic gases and increases the smoke's humidity, which causes the carcinogenic fumes to stay in the lungs longer," he said.

As shisha smoking is a largely social activity, a nozzle used to inhale and exhale the flavoured smoke is usually shared between many people.

"A study showed that the nozzle can play host to huge amounts of microbacteria and viral hepatitis such as tuberculosis and even Hepatitis A, which increases a shisha smoker’s risk of contracting diseases," said Dr Dhesi.

According to the WHO, a 60-minute shisha session produces about 100 to 200 times more smoke than a regular cigarette, which translates into a heavier output of toxic fumes for both the smoker and the people around them.

As shisha sessions are considered a leisurely activity, smokers also tend to take deeper puffs over a longer period of time, which can cause a higher risk of developing oral and lung cancer due to prolonged absorption of toxins.

"Anything that contains tobacco increases the chance for cancer cells to develop. People think shisha is harmless, whereas they at least know cigarettes are bad for them. So shisha smokers have a higher risk of developing lung cancer because of the 'no-tobacco-content' misconception!" he said.

Last week, the Perlis Fatwa Committee banned the smoking and sale of shisha in the state as it is more detrimental to health than smoking cigarettes.

The Malacca and Kelantan state governments were the first to ban the sale of shisha in 2011.

But Dr Dhesi is of the opinion that merely raising awareness on the dangers of shisha smoking will not effect any lasting change.

"It is all about studying and diagnosing the community’s pre-existing behaviour before we intervene with behavioural change measures. Only then will we succeed in changing the misconceptions of shisha," he said.

However, the proposed "community diagnosis" is not a blanket rule.

"People’s culture and background will determine their attitudes towards shisha smoking. We have to understand that before we introduce any health measures," he added.

More schooling options needed

A one-size-fits-all approach does not seem to be suitable for Malaysia as the Government needs to be able to cater to the different communities within the country.

MALAYSIANS should have more schooling options within the education system, said Taylor’s Education Group School Division president B.K. Gan.

He said a one-size-fits-all approach was not suitable for a country as diverse as Malaysia.

“We need to be able to cater to the different communities within Malaysia, (such as) the urban and the rural, and that’s a reason why options are important.

“The British Council says that by 2020, two billion people will be learning and speaking English.

“If we are to move into (becoming) a developed nation by 2020 and want Malaysians to be able to communicate and do business in the world, the options then become quite obvious – that one of the languages that must be made available to Malaysians is English,” he said.

Gan was speaking as one of the panellists at The Star’s Cafe Latte chat on “Should English-medium schools be offered as an option?” here.

The chat was moderated by Education Editor Chelsea L.Y. Ng.

The chat series serves as a platform for invited guests to share their views on current issues.

Gan said that in terms of deciding on education policy, the country should consider the sort of workforce it would need by 2020.

“China is opening up.

“That’s a powerhouse – they have over 100,000 native English speakers in the country just to teach them English.

“South Korea has opened up and there are many South Korean students here to learn English.

“The whole world is opening up to one common language,” he said.

Federation of National Writers Association of Malaysia (Gapena) general-secretary Borhan Md Zain said the setting up of English-medium schools was not feasible – partly due to the lack of qualified teachers.

“It was reported that 70% of English language teachers right now are still not ready to teach English.

“And the remaining 30%? They are probably teaching at residential or premier schools but the rest of them still need help.

“There is a need for proper teaching techniques and facilities (in schools) before we can start thinking of introducing (something new).

“If they (teachers) cannot communicate well in English in the first place, how are they going to teach English?” he asked at the session.

The other panellists were Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim and Monash University Sunway Campus lecturer and founder of Parents for English-medium National-type Schools (PENS) Assoc Prof Dr Lan Boon Leong.