Thesun 2009-07-27 Page03 Two Schools Polytechnic And Hostel Closed

theSun

3

| MONDAY JULY 27 2009

news without borders

ORIENTALDAILYPIX

ROAD COLLAPSE ... The road alongside a construction site on Jalan San Peng in Kuala Lumpur gives way, forcing about 200 residents in the area to evacuate.

Tee Keat in touch with cops by Tan Yi Liang [email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: Transport Minister and MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat says he “is in touch with the police” on threats made to his life but that it is inappropriate for him to elaborate. “Thank you for your concern. I am more concerned about the happenings and what has been taking place. The media have been keen to know but I choose to stop there,” he said. Ong said that while he had been acting on the matter, he would not seek out the press to reveal the full details of his actions. “You don’t know what I have been doing at this point. Of course, I have to be mindful of my personal safety and have been doing what needs to be done, but my habit is not to go to the press with each minor detail. Only when it is absolutely necessary will I mention such incidents.” Ong last week said he had received a threat that stated: “If you are wiped out from this world some day, you should know why it happened.” He also said the threat was linked to his move to make public audit findings on the RM12 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco. Meanwhile, sources told theSun Port Klang

Authority chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng had also received similar threats in relation to the PKFZ issue, adding that some arrangements had been put in place for his protection. Lee when contacted, however, declined to comment on the matter. On Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat expressing a desire to bury the hatchet and make peace with the federal government, Ong said: “We welcome all who approach us for talks regardless where they are from. We hope for bonds of warmth between the federal and state governments, especially those led by other parties such as the Pakatan Rakyat. But, ‘friendliness’ has its connotations, so we need to know friendliness to what point.” Speaking after officiating at the Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC) convocation yesterday, he pledged to further “develop” the college. “In my capacity as the president of MCA, I pledge to develop the college which has been an MCA project for the last 40 years. There are also two more education institutes – Tunku Abdul Rahman University and Institut Kojadi. “This does not mean we are politicising education. MCA as a party and as TARC’s founder is duty bound to do what is necessary for the benefit of the students.”

Two schools, polytechnic and hostel closed

KUALA LUMPUR: A primary school and a polytechnic in Penang, and a secondary school and a hostel in Terengganu were ordered to close for a week from yesterday after some students and hostel occupants were found to have been infected with Influenza A(H1N1). Penang state Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh identified the institutions as SJK Aik Keow in Teluk Air Tawar and the Seberang Perai Polytechnic in Permatang Pauh. “The Health Ministry has ordered their closure after 16 students of the school and 36 students of the polytechnic were found to have been infected with the H1N1 virus,” he said when contacted. Phee said the students had been quarantined and were in stable condiApproval to develop tion.As of yesterday, the number of Kg Buah accumulated H1N1 cases nationwide stood at 1,075, with one death reported, Pala according to a ministry statement. revoked There were 55 new cases – 54 pg 5 locally transmitted and one imported. Out of the 55 patients, 43 were from seven different clusters. Malacca had a large number of cases with six reported at the Mara Skills Institute in Jasin, four at the Industrial Training Institute in Bukit Katil and five at the Public Service Department camp in Tehel, Jasin. Both the Mara institute and the IndusH1N1 figures trial Training (as of 8am yesterday) Institute will be closed unNew cases: til Thursday. Nineteen Imported cases: cases were reported at Local transmissions: SM Sains Kota Kinabalu in Bukit Total no. of cases: Padang,

» » » »

55 1 54 1,075

INFLUENZA A(H1N1) HOTLINE » 03-88810200/300 » 03-88834414/415 Sabah, and five at SM Agama Perseketuan Kajang. Both will be closed until Friday. Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican Ismail urged the public to report to the Health Department should they be aware of those around them showing symptoms of H1N1. “Those who show heavy symptoms or are at high-risk must seek immediate treatment at the nearest hospital,” he said. In Terengganu, Sekolah Menengah Sains Dungun and a hostel belonging to the Perkaya foundation in Marang closed for one week effective yesterday. State exco councillor in charge of Health, Dr A Rahman Mokhtar , told reporters in Kuala Terengganu that 10 suspected cases were detected in the school and 13 in the hostel. The people involved have been asked to return home and undergo home quarantine. In Kuching, state education department director Dr Julaihi Bujang said he would discuss with the state health department its decision to order the closure of schools, especially residential schools in rural areas. “Our concern is that when the schools are closed and students return to their villages, there is a possibility of them spreading the virus there. If this happens, it will be difficult to contain it as the villages are in the interior areas.” Julaihi said two Sarawak schools – SM Kubong and SM Patiabun in Limbang – were still closed. In Labuan, eight students from two secondary schools who returned from Malacca yesterday after attending a civil defence cadet programme had been admitted to the general hospital here after they tested positive for H1N1.

Chua hits out at Ong for sidelining him

DAP reps lodge report on blog

GEORGE TOWN: MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek yesterday announced he was not eyeing a minister’s post, and hit out at party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat for sidelining him. Stressing that his name had been smeared and his credibility questioned since he was elected deputy president, Chua said he was only interested in fulfilling his role in the party and as Barisan Nasional (BN) national coordinator. “Even if he (Ong) invited me to be a minister, I would tell him thanks but no,” Chua told a press conference after chairing a meeting of state BN component parties at a hotel here. “I don’t want to be a transport minister also, he can keep that for himself,” he added, saying the MCA leadership risked taking the party into “self-destruction” with

SHAH ALAM: Two police reports were lodged yesterday in relation to a blog supposedly seeking justice for political secretary Teoh Beng Hock, which had allegedly published articles accusing the DAP of misappropriating state funds and used doctored documents to substantiate the claims. The blog www.t4tbh.blogspot.com which was created by an anonymous blogger had claimed that two DAP assemblymen – state councillor Ronnie Liu and Teoh’s boss Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah – were involved in siphoning state funds and had awarded 84 state contracts worth RM200,000 to Kajang councillor Wong Chuan How. It also claimed that Teoh’s death was a result of Liu and Ean pressuring him to be part of the plot to “steal” state funds. Ean and Wong, accompanied by Liu and a group of PKR and PAS supporters, made the reports at the Shah

the rift. “We give him support as president. In that same way he must respect all those who are elected in the party, whether in the central committee or in divisions.” He also said mediation between the two leaders had not worked, and was unnecessary. “This is the second biggest component party in the BN. The number one (president) and number two (deputy president) should be able to sit and talk. “In my own party, there are people who consider me to be an enemy. People are scared to be seen with me for fear of being blacklisted,” complained Chua. On Ong receiving death threats over the Port Klang Free Zone report, Chua said the transport minister should make a police report on the matter.

by Charles Ramendran [email protected]

Alam district police headquarters at about 3pm. “It is made up of purely false claims and baseless allegations.The vouchers and documents uploaded on the site were taken from Liu’s website and doctored to cause unrest within the Selangor PR government,” Ean said. “It has come to our knowledge that there are certain quarters out to destroy the state government. They will do anything to achieve their goals. We urge the police to trace and investigate the blogger for making such defamatory claims.” He also said Teoh had never worked under Liu as claimed in the blog. Liu said he had become a favourite target of such blogs due to his outspokenness on the police, Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission and former Selangor state leaders. He said certain quarters were out to tarnish his image by accusing him of issuing licences to his younger brother for gaming centres all over Selangor. “They also said I was giving out

licences for massage parlours in the state. They target me because I have been critical of wrongdoings of the former government. I did no such things and I can prove it,” he said. Also present were Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad and state PAS secretary Mohd Khairudin Othman. “The PR government is transparent and we have nothing to hide. A plot such as this has been used in Perak to topple the government and now it is here in Selangor. “What the BN government does is covered up. The Shah Alam Umno division head gets RM1 million to spend but the MP and assemblyman get nothing. Where this RM1 million goes, nobody knows,” Khalid said. Mohd Khairudin said he was baffled at why police have not detained the MACC investigating officer tasked with questioning Teoh. “In other cases, the police are quick to arrest and remand for investigations, so why have they not done so here?”