TwoSen

AS AN environmentalist, I am heartened by the many positive responses from readers to Universiti Sains Malaysia’s ban on polystyrene and China’s ban on plastic bags in The Star, Jan 7 and 9, respectively.

The Government must be responsive to the fact that the state of our environment is a matter of growing concern to the rakyat.

Many countries have already taken the dynamic step of banning, taxing or phasing out plastic bags and polystyrene products, and many Malaysians have called for our Government to do the same.

In all my jungle and coastal cleanup efforts, I have discovered that jungle litter consists mostly of polystyrene food boxes, plastic packaging and PET bottles, while polystyrene foam pieces from buoys and fishing trawlers’ iceboxes make up much of beach litter.

As long as the prices of plastic and polystyrene products are kept artificially low, these items will continue to befoul our natural environment and annihilate wildlife.

The environmental cost of plastic and polystyrene is actually much higher when calculated cradle-to-grave to include the costs to human health, to animal lives lost, of disposal and of cleaning up beaches and rivers and after flash floods.

However, instead of taking the bold and necessary move of phasing out the use of plastic bags and polystyrene through a combination of incentives and penalties for the manufacturing sector, corporations and consumers; the Housing and Local Government Ministry, together with the Malaysian Plastics Forum and a few participating retailers, opted to take the ineffectual and apologetic move of putting up bins to collect clean and reusable plastic bags (Star Metro, Nov 13).

I have inspected the bins at 12 participating retail outlets and all are invariably full of dirty and wet rubbish. Cashiers are still giving out plastic bags, and shoppers are almost entirely unaware of any campaign to reduce the usage of plastic bags.

There are many progressive steps the Government can take to phase out the use of plastic and polystyrene products and

mitigate the damage done to Malaysia’s ecosystems and tourism potential. I would recommend that:

a. The Department of Fisheries and Rural Development Ministry subsidise the purchase of durable, permanent cooler boxes and buoys for the fishing community to replace their polystyrene ones.

The polystyrene ones can then be collected for proper disposal. This can improve the quality of life of the fishing community, as they would be spared the expense of having to frequently replace their foam coolers and buoys.

b. To impose a heavy tax on thin plastic bags (i.e. less than 0.025mm thick), polystyrene products and PET drink bottles to reflect their true environmental cost.

c. To put in place a system to replace

plastic packaging including cellophane sweet wrappers and cigarette packet wrappers with biodegradable plastic, the cost of which shall be borne by the manufacturers.

d. To ease the transition of turning Malaysia into a litter-free society by creating incentives for consumers to bring their own shopping bags and food containers; including providing cash rebates, shopping bonus points and express checkout lanes.

The Government must have the political will to reverse the effects of environmental degradation and climate change.

An efficient combination of public education, legislation and stringent enforcement will work better than expensive campaign launches in protecting what is left of our natural environment and wildlife.

WONG EE LYNN,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Source: The Star – January 22, 2008

I WAS aghast to read a news report that PAS wants non-Muslims to vote it into power so that it can implement Syariah law and include punishments such as stoning and hand amputations.

The report said: “The people want the best and there is nothing better than Islam,” Nik Aziz Nik Mat, 77, told Reuters after morning prayers at his home in Kelantan, ruled by PAS since 1990.”

In a multi-religious society such a statement is extremely insensitive and insulting.

It shows how out of touch PAS ideology is with a modern Malaysia and why it will never win the hearts and minds of most Malaysians.

The report further said: “Thieves steal from the rich and the Chinese are more well-off than the Malays. If a thief’s hand is amputated and he goes to the football field or to the market, people can see that he is a thief,” he said. “Everyone will be afraid and won’t steal.”

I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. Who says thieves steal only from the rich or that the Chinese are the only rich Malaysians? It frightens me that such ignorance masquerades as politics unless all was said in facetiousness.

If somebody steals from me I would rather he keep what he has stolen rather than see his hand chopped off. How then will a thief be able to mend his or her ways and earn an honest living without a hand? Such measures have never been part of the Malaysian culture and I hope for our sake never will be.

I have seen video footage of a young boy who had his hand chopped off for stealing in a Muslim country. It was done in public but that and many other amputations have not stopped serious crimes, including rape and murder, happening.

I can’t help register my protest and disgust at the PAS suggestion. As one opposition politician said: “It appears they still have a political death wish.”

It is easy to see why Umno gets a walkover every time. I’d rather think the bizarre statements were only headline grabbing now the elections are around the corner. But I know who won’t be getting my vote and I certainly won’t be lending it a hand.

STEVE OH,

Perth, Australia.

Source: The Star – January 22, 2008

I WISH to draw attention to how my son’s Malaysia Airlines flight delay was handled, or rather the way it was not.

1. My 12-year-old son was booked on Flight MH122 from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on Dec 30 as a “Young Passenger Travelling Alone” and to connect with a Kuala Lumpur-Penang flight (MH1168) and arrive at 11pm.

2. There was no sign of my son after everyone on MH1168 had disembarked by 11.40pm

3. The person at the information desk at Penang International Airport just shrugged her shoulders and said “Sorry, but we cannot check on the flights coming into KLIA, just those that come into Penang International Airport”.

4. There was no Malaysian Airline reservation staff on duty anywhere to be seen, hence I was left to worry and fret.

5. It was only after calling KLIA directly that was I told that the MAS flight from Sydney was delayed and had only arrived at 11.15pm – which is a good 2 hours and 15 minutes for ground personnel to contact me and inform me of the situation.

6. KLIA airport information could not say if my son had managed to get onto the flight to Penang. They could not even put me through to a MAS check-in counter, but instead gave me three telephone numbers, two of which was not answered even after numerous rings, and the third a number that was not even valid.

7. When my son finally got to Penang on MH1194 at 12.35am, I asked the ground staff who accompanied him as to the “standard” procedure in such a situation and was informed that the parent/ guardian would be contacted

8. I informed her I was not informed and was unable to get any information on my son’s situation.

9. She assured me that she would follow up on the matter and confirmed my contact details.

10. But until today, I have yet to hear from anyone at MAS on the matter.

DEBRA G. RODRIGUES,

Penang.

Source: The Star – January 22, 2008

I REFER to your report on Kids at playgrounds easily duped into following reporter aroundin The Star, Jan 21. It is indeed very disturbing to find such incidents happening again and again.

I still see a lot of young children being left unattended while their parents are shopping or while at the playground.

Hence, I welcome the proposal of setting up a “1child watch”as suggested by the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation vice-chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

No doubt a lot has been said (and done) for safety of young children of late, however, the commitment of parents, guardians and authorities seems to fade once the cases are not highlighted.

Take putting up CCTVs in public areas for instance. Why wasn’t this implemented much earlier, perhaps when Nazrin (or Adik Yin) went missing in Sogo, or when Nurin’s body was found?

Or maybe when a lot of (sexual and kidnap) cases in the past involving young children occurred?

Yes, children should be taught safety and how to deal with the many real dangers around them.

But my concern is how do parents and related agencies teach children this without making them overtly and constantly being suspicious of everybody they meet?

Proper guidelines and teaching should be highlighted, as these things, although they might look mundane and insignificant, can really affect children.

Like Lee, it is also my hope that everyone will work with one mind and get the perpetrators before they strike again.

NAZREEN,

Mersing, Johor.

Source: The Star – January 22, 2008

MALAYSIA needs to standardise the parking meter system for all states. I suggest a “National Parking Smart-Card”, which can be reloaded with funds.

The printout of the receipt can be placed on the dashboard of the car for checking by enforcement personnel.

I hope this suggestion or some other convenient concept can be implemented, so that the rakyat is not burdened looking for outlets to purchase tokens from.

CONCERNED MOTORIST,

Sungai Petani, Kedah.

Source: The Star – January 22, 2008

WE REFER to Protect the mangroves in Setiu Wetlands in The Star, Jan 17 and would like to clarify that the wetlands has been designated a state park under the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) masterplan.

As a state park, Setiu Wetlands is protected under the National Forestry Act. Stretching over 4,570ha, the wetlands will act as a biological corridor that links wildlife reserves and fragmented forests.

Under the masterplan, ECER will enhance the value of these locations as attractive eco-tourism “hot spots”, a key economic driver that will improve the income of the communities directly living within and around the area, while at the same time safeguarding the natural resources.

RUZIAH AZDI ABD RAHMAN,

ECER Secretariat.

Source: The Star – January 22, 2008

WE REFER to Losing out in promotions in The Star, Dec 31. Thank you “Win-to-Lose Educator” for your constructive comments and feedback.

The implementation methods used in filling up promotion posts in secondary schools by the ministry are based on the following principles:

PRIORITY is given to the incumbents for posts which are upgraded such as Principal, Assistant Principal and Senior Subject Teachers; and

FOR Form 6, candidates from the school are given priority.

One criterion for filling promotion posts in Form 6 is that the candidates must be competent and are already teaching Form 6.

The promotion exercise to fill vacant posts will be open to other teachers. Successful candidates must be willing to relocate to any school that has a vacancy.

The ministry wishes to inform teachers who are not teaching Form 6 or teachers who are not in schools that have Form 6 classes that they have opportunities through the Excellent Teachers (Guru Cemerlang) promotion track.

The Excellent Teacher promotion track offers teachers promotion from DG44 until Special Grade C without relocating to administrative posts.

MEDIA RELATIONS UNIT,

Education Ministry.

Source: The Star – January 22, 2008

I WRITE in response to Go forth and learn in Sunday Star, Jan 20 by Raja Zarith Idris. I wholly agree with her that English is not just a lingua franca but also a global language.

I agree that being fluent in English also has nothing to do with a person ditching his own culture and trying to be “westernised”.

In this day and age, the ability to speak and write in English is a skill that is in great demand.

As a student living overseas, it saddens me to hear or read news that the standard of English in Malaysia has been going downhill over the past few years.

Unless something is done, our future generations will just regress and have the wrong idea that learning English is difficult or unnecessary.

We cannot deny that the English language has played a part in global progress since we entered the post-colonial era. Look at countries like Finland, Russia, Belgium, and Netherlands. What do these four European countries have in common?

They use and consider English as their lingua franca, despite English not being their mother tongue, to help them progress economically and politically. Moreover, they also make full use of English in education, technology, communications and entertainment.

It is high time we not only take the opportunity to master English as a lingua franca but also make the effort to improve the standard of English in Malaysia. We need to understand that learning English does not solely depend on classroom lessons or textbooks.

We must encourage our children, especially from a young age, to use English outside the classroom, for instance, in making enquiries or expressing themselves through letters, e-mails, on the telephone and in face-to-face conversations.

State and school libraries should not only provide e-resources, books and newspapers but also magazines in English for students to read during their spare time. Perhaps students should be encouraged to listen to radio programmes that expose them to English vocabulary and grammar.

Let us also encourage our non-English speaking Malaysians to master English as their second language.

Being able to speak English is the path to progress in this digital and information age.

S. YIN,

Auckland, New Zealand.

Source: The Star – January 22, 2008

I TRAVEL often between Parit Buntar and Sitiawan. It’s a scenic journey with a world-class road system on the North-South Expressway, but it’s a “hell of a ride” between the Bandar Baru toll and Parit Buntar town.

Many of the streetlights along the road are not functioning and villagers say accidents frequently occur in this area. Several thefts also have taken place at night with thieves taking advantage of the dark environment.

Second, the so called “dual carriageway” to Parit Buntar from the Bandar Baru interchange is yet to be completed, but already open to public use. There are no painted lines on road to separate vehicle flow.

As such users are left in confusion when the “dual carriageway” narrows to a single carriageway. This has resulted in many accidents. The road is also uneven and pot-holed. Do something please.

VIGNESWARAN KANNAN,

Sitiawan, Perak.

Source: The Star – January 22, 2008

IT seems to me that the security in the departure hall of KLIA Ekspres at KL Sentral is non-existent.

On Jan 10, I checked in at the MAS counter at 5.10pm to catch the 6.45pm flight.

While rummaging through my handbag for my MyKad at the check-in counter, my hand luggage (a laptop) next to me was, for a few seconds, left unattended. When I looked again, the laptop was gone. With it I lost documents, names, addresses and letters.

Distressed, I spoke to a KLIA Ekspres officer. He stared at me blankly and did nothing. I insisted on seeing somebody responsible. After a while, he ambled away, saying he would “try to locate the manager”.

By this time, I had called my husband, who had just left for home, and he arrived. I caught the train for the airport, leaving my husband to speak with the officers at the station and lodge a police report. What I learnt is alarming:

- There are only three surveillance cameras to cover the departure hall and check-in counters. As a result, there are several “blind areas” not covered by the cameras.

- Even in the areas covered, the cameras are of poor quality, yielding blurry images that are useless.

- There is no monitoring room at the KL Sentral station. The cameras “feed” monitors in Salak Tinggi, close to Putrajaya.

The best that the officer at the station could do was to call Salak Tinggi and try to get a description of what the cameras had captured, which was of little clarity, and less use.

- In the week before Jan 10, there had been at least three cases of laptop thefts at the station.

Clearly, there is a ring operating actively in the station. Though thefts occur with regularity, there are no plans by the KLIA Ekspres management to step up security.

The least that KLIA Ekspres can do immediately are to light up the hall brightly, install more and better-quality sur-veillance cameras at strategic locations and place a few plainclothes detectives among the crowds.

These measures can help bust the ring, and make the station safer for travellers and tourists.

However, the management appears lethargic and uninterested. This apathy will contribute to giving KL a bad image among visitors, and negating the good efforts of Tourism Malaysia.

F.P., Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – January 22, 2008