Pelupusan sampah lebih sempurna di Kelantan, atasi pencemaran toksik

29-09-2007 03:42:54 PM

PASIR PUTEH: Kelantan akan bekerjasama dengan Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan untuk mewujudkan pusat pelupusan sampah yang lebih sempurna bagi mengatasi masalah pencemaran bahan sisa toksik.

Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kerajaan Tempatan, Perumahan dan Kesihatan Negeri, Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan berkata Kelantan akan mengguna pakai garis panduan yang dikeluarkan oleh kementerian berkenaan dengan mengubahsuai sedikit pembinaan pusat itu mengikut keperluan suasana tempat, kos dan kawasan.

"Kerajaan negeri sedang menyediakan satu pelan untuk buat pusat pelupusan sampah secara kelompok bukan satu majlis daerah, satu pusat pelupusan," katanya kepada pemberita pada majlis Pemilihan Bakal Calon Bagi Hadapi Pilihan raya Ke-12 di sini malam tadi.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas bantahan penduduk di Taman Seri Gedombak di sini yang tidak tahan dengan bau busuk Pusat Pelupusan Sampah di Bukit Gedombak kira-kira 500 meter dari rumah kediaman mereka pada Ogos lalu.

Takiyuddin berkata pelan mengenainya sedang disiapkan dan Majlis Perbandaran Kota Baharu (MPKB), Majlis Daerah ketereh (MDK) serta Majlis Daerah Bachok (MDB) dicadangkan akan diwujudkan sebuah pusat pelupusan sampah.

Mengenai bantahan penduduk Taman Seri Gedombak, Takiyuddin berkata kerajaan sedar mengenainya dan sedang meneliti tindakan lanjut bagi mengatasinya.

Beliau berkata untuk memindahkan pusat itu ke kawasan lain yang lebih sesuai, kerajaan negeri tidak dapat melakukannya dalam tempoh terdekat, kerana ia memerlukan perbelanjaan yang besar.

Sambil mengakui pusat itu mengancam bau busuk kepada penduduk yang tinggal berdekatan, Takiyuddin berkata ia juga mengandungi bahan pencemaran sisa toksik yang turut mengancam hidupan lain kerana pusat itu telah lama beroperasi. BERNAMA

Iran leader meets Latin America leftists

By IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writer 5 minutes ago

CARACAS, Venezuela - Iran's president opened his nation's wallet to Bolivia on Thursday and then visited Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, in a post-U.N. trip to boost ties with Latin American leftists who are increasingly embracing Iran as a counterweight to U.S. influence.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledged to invest $1 billion in Bolivia over the next five years to help the poor Andean nation tap its vast natural gas reserves, extract minerals, generate more electricity and fund agricultural and construction projects.

Bolivian President Evo Morales, who joins Chavez as one of Iran's key allies, called Ahmadinejad's visit historic. The two nations established diplomatic relations for the first time, and Morales pledged they "will work together from this day on, for our people, for life and for humanity."

Arriving late Thursday for a brief visit in Venezuela, Ahmadinejad was greeted warmly by Chavez on a red carpet rolled out in front of the presidential palace.

Chavez embraced the Iranian leader, calling him "one of the greatest anti-imperialist fighters" and "one of the great fighters for true peace."

In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly this week, Ahmadinejad rebuked "arrogant powers" seeking to curb Iran's nuclear program. Chavez also strongly defends Iran's nuclear research, insisting it is for peaceful energy uses despite U.S. charges it is aimed at pursuing nuclear weapons.

Morales brushed off concerns about close ties to a country that Washington says is a sponsor of terrorism, declaring that the "international community can rest assured that Bolivia's foreign policy is dedicated to peace with equality and social justice."

Ahmadinejad's trip underscored his growing ties to Latin American nations, including Nicaragua and Ecuador, even as the United States tries to isolate him internationally.

"It's a connection that is growing stronger all the time," said Alberto Garrido, a Venezuelan writer and political analyst. "It's Iran's answer to the United States on its own home turf. The United States is in the Middle East, so Iran is in Latin America."

The closer ties are viewed with alarm by the opposition in Venezuela and Bolivia, and by Washington. U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, a Florida Republican, said they remind him "of the relationship that Fidel Castro had with Russia." He urged Washington to reach out more to a region analysts say it has largely ignored since 9-11.

Toward that aim, a bipartisan bill is being introduced in the U.S. Congress on Friday that would establish a 10-year, $2.5 billion program aimed at reducing poverty and expanding the middle class in Latin America. It would require recipient countries to contribute and encourage matching funds from businesses and non-governmental organizations.

The program would bring more stability in the long run and help the United States "re-establish leadership in the hemisphere" by increasing development assistance by more than a third, said bill co-sponsor Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat.

Chavez's government, for its part, has promised more than $8.8 billion in aid, financing and energy funding to the region this year.

Relations between Caracas and Tehran, meanwhile, have grown very close. Since 2001, Iran and Venezuela have signed trade agreements worth more than $20 billion in potential investment, according to Iran's official news agency, IRNA.

They have teamed up to begin producing cars, tractors and plastic goods, and signed an agreement to help Venezuela build public housing. Iran Air began flights between Tehran and Caracas, with a stopover in Syria, earlier this year.

Venezuelan Jewish leaders objected to the presence of Ahmadinejad, who has called for the end of Israel and questioned the history of the Holocaust.

"We raise our voice to condemn these statements by the Iranian leader which incite hatred, becoming a threat to world peace," the Venezuelan Confederation of Israeli Associations said in a statement. The country is home to a large Jewish population, including Holocaust survivors.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa also wants closer ties with Tehran. President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua last month accepted Iranian pledges for 10,000 houses, 4,000 tractors, milk-processing plants, piers and a farm equipment assembly plant. In exchange, Nicaragua agreed to send coffee, meat and bananas to Iran.

No need for dissection as see-through frogs jump in

by Miwa Suzuki

Thu Sep 27, 2:54 PM ET

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese researchers have succeeded in producing see-through frogs, letting them observe organs, blood vessels and eggs under the skin without performing dissections.

"You can see through the skin how organs grow, how cancer starts and develops," said the lead researcher Masayuki Sumida, professor at the Institute for Amphibian Biology of state-run Hiroshima University.

"You can watch organs of the same frog over its entire life as you don't have to dissect it. The researcher can also observe how toxins affect bones, livers and other organs at lower costs," he told AFP.

Dissections have become increasingly controversial in much of the world, particularly in schools where animal rights activists have pressed for humane alternatives such as using computer simulations.

Sumida said his team, which announced the research last week at an academic conference, had created the first transparent four-legged creature, although some small fish are also see-through.

The researchers produced the creature from rare mutants of the Japanese brown frog, or Rena japonica, whose backs are usually ochre or brown.

Two kinds of recessive genes have been known to cause the frog to be pale.

Sumida's team crossed two frogs with recessive genes through artificial insemination and the offspring looked normal due to the presence of more powerful genes. But crossing the offspring led to a frog whose skin is transparent from the tadpole stage.

"You can see dramatic changes of organs when tadpoles mutate into frogs," said Sumida, whose team is seeking a patent.

Such frogs could theoretically exist in the wild but it is "virtually impossible" they would naturally inherit so many recessive genes, Sumida said.

The transparent frogs can also reproduce, with their offspring inheriting their parents' traits, but their grandchildren die shortly after birth.

"As they have two sets of recessive genes, something wrong must kick in and kill them," Sumida said.

While the researchers relied on artificial insemination, they said that genetic engineering could also produce transparent and even illuminating frogs.

Sumida said researchers could also inject into the transparent frogs an illuminating protein attached to a gene, which would light up the gene once it manifests -- for example, showing at what stage cancer starts.

Sumida said it would be unrealistic to apply the same method to mammals such as mice as their skin structure is different.

Projek rumah kos rendah terbiar

Oleh Akmal Ilham

Pembinaan kediaman di Jalan Joh didakwa gagal capai matlamat bantu golongan miskin

MACHANG: Penduduk sekitar Labok di sini, kecewa kerana pembinaan rumah kos rendah di Jalan Joh oleh Kerajaan Pas Kelantan, gagal mencapai matlamat untuk memberi kemudahan rumah kepada golongan berpendapatan rendah.

Pada 1992, Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kerajaan Tempatan, Perumahan dan Alam Sekitar Negeri ketika itu, Datuk Halim Mohamed, dilaporkan mengumumkan 64 unit rumah akan dibina di situ.

Ia adalah sebahagian projek Kerajaan Pas Kelantan menerusi Skim Pertapakan dan Kemudahan Asas membabitkan peruntukan RM7.9 juta yang dilaksanakan menerusi Jabatan Perumahan Negara (JPN).

Turut terbabit dalam projek itu ialah pembinaan 121 unit rumah murah di Tanjung Kuala, Tumpat; 200 unit di Bukit Pak Mud, Jeli dan 450 unit di Kampung Apam, Pasir Mas.

Ketika itu, semua rumah terbabit dilaporkan akan dijual pada harga RM10,000 seunit dan pembeli boleh mengubah suai untuk membesarkan sendiri rumah itu mengikut keluasan kawasan yang ada.

Kelayakan membeli rumah pula adalah bagi rakyat tempatan berpendapatan tidak lebih RM500 sebulan dengan kerajaan negeri dikatakan sedia membiayai pinjaman tanpa dikenakan faedah.

Namun, tinjauan Berita Harian ke tapak projek di Jalan Joh itu mendapati hanya sekitar 10 rumah didiami penghuni, manakala selebihnya dirobohkan kerana ketiadaan pembeli.

Seorang penduduk, Muhammad Yaakob, 55, berkata beliau adalah di antara pemohon yang diterima memiliki rumah itu tetapi tidak meneruskan hajat membeli rumah disebabkan faktor tertentu.

"Kebanyakan pemohon terdiri penoreh getah atau pekerja estet sekitar Labok terpaksa membatalkan hasrat memiliki rumah itu kerana harganya lebih mahal daripada yang dijanjikan.

"Sudahlah harganya meningkat kepada RM16,000 seunit, kualiti kayu pula teruk sama seperti kayu lama. Kami menolaknya kerana tidak mampu membayar deposit, selain kerana kualiti rumah tidak sepadan dengan harganya ketika itu.

"Akhirnya, hanya beberapa unit saja terjual, manakala rumah selebihnya dirombak oleh wakil rakyat untuk membina pondok di kawasan lain," katanya.

Bekas Ketua Unit Peti Undi S46 Kampung Joh, Mohd Yiden Mat, 64, pula berkata, seingat beliau projek itu diusahakan bekas Adun Pulai Chondong, Kapten (B) Mohd Noor Ahmad, khusus untuk penempatan mangsa banjir.

"Ramai di antara pemohon adalah penduduk Kampung Joh, Kubang Belut dan Pulau Raya yang rumah mereka sering ditenggelami air. Adun Pulai Chondong ketika itu menyatakan harga seunit rumah ialah RM10,000 atau RM40 sebulan.

"Bagaimanapun, selepas beliau meninggal dunia, harga itu meningkat menjadi RM16,000 jika dibayar tunai. Bayaran secara ansuran melalui pinjaman bank pula mencecah RM30,000 atau hampir RM200 sebulan.

"Disebabkan penduduk tidak mampu membayarnya, rumah itu terbiar dan dirobohkan beberapa tahun lalu oleh Adun baru. Kayunya diguna membina pondok yang kami pun tidak pasti untuk tujuan apa," katanya.

Kamarudin Abdul Kadir, 57, pula berkata kegagalan projek itu menunjukkan Kerajaan Pas Kelantan tidak mempunyai komitmen membantu golongan miskin memiliki rumah sendiri.

"Masalah utama projek ini ialah rumah disediakan tidak memenuhi keperluan hidup berkeluarga kerana ia hanya mempunyai satu bilik saja manakala dapurnya terletak di bawah serta tiada bilik air.

"Saya kesal kerana ada desas-desus tapak projek itu akan diserahkan kepada pemaju perumahan untuk tujuan komersial. Jika benar, ia secara tidak langsung merampas hak golongan miskin," katanya.

Seorang pemilik rumah di situ, Mohd Zaid Yaakob, 38, berkata beliau dan keluarganya menetap di situ sejak tiga tahun lalu selepas membayar tunai RM16,000.

“Dulu memang banyak rumah kecil begini di sini kerana kerajaan negeri waktu itu bercadang memberinya kepada golongan miskin. Bagaimanapun, ramai tidak mampu membayarnya menyebabkan rumah itu terbiar.

"Harga tiap seunit rumah memang sama iaitu RM16,000. Saiz 10 rumah yang ada di kawasan ini sekarang berbeza kerana saiz tapaknya luas, jadi sesetengah pemilik memperbesarkan sendiri rumah mereka.

"Waktu mula tinggal di sini, semua rumah ini masih ada, tetapi selepas itu ia dirombak untuk dibuat projek perumahan lain, tapi hingga kini belum berjalan walaupun beberapa usahawan Cina pernah melawat," katanya.

Sementara itu, Penolong Setiausaha Kerajaan Kelantan (Perumahan), Rosnazli Mohd Amin, berkata setahu beliau projek itu sudah lama berjalan dan jika ada masalah sudah tentu ia dihebohkan sebelum ini.

"Bagaimanapun, saya akan membuat siasatan segera ke kawasan perumahan di Jalan Joh itu bagi mengenal pasti jika wujud sebarang masalah dalam pelaksanaannya," katanya.

MPKB BRI atasi kesesakan lalu lintas di Cabang Tiga

Salmah Mat Husain Thu | Sep 20, 07 | 12:31:53 pm MYT

PENGKALAN CHEPA, 20 Sept (Hrkh) – Masalah kesesakan lalu lintas di Cabang Tiga dekat sini sejak sekian lama kini berjaya diatasi apabila tapak pasar tani, pasar malam dan bazar Ramadan dipindahkan ke Taman Bendahara. Pengarah Perhubungan Awam Majlis Perbandaran Kota Bharu Bandar Raya Islam (MPKB-BRI), Azman Mohd Daham berkata, tapak lama di Cabang Tiga sudah beroperasi hampir 30 tahun lalu. Bagaimanapun katanya, disebabkan masalah kesesakan lalu lintas, MPKB BRI terpaksa memindahkan ke tapak yang lebih sesuai kerana kedudukannya juga tidak jauh dari tapak asal. Ekoran pemindahan tapak perniagaan itu ke Taman Bendahara ada peniaga melahirkan rasa tidak puas hati. Azman berkata, pemindahan ke tapak baru perlu dilakukan setelah MPKB BRI menerima banyak aduan daripada orang ramai dan polis mengenai kesesakan lalu lintas yang berlaku. Tapak pasar tani, pasar malam dan bazaar Ramadan di Taman Bendahara beroperasi sejak sebulan lalu. “Kebetulan Cabang Tiga Pengkalan Chepa merupakan laluan utama dari Lapangan Terbang Sultan Ismail Petra menuju bandar Kota Bharu, jadi sekiranya berlaku kesesakan lalu lintas ia memberi kesan kepada pelbagai pihak. “Kalau dulu mungkin ia tidak menjadi masalah, tetapi sekarang kenderaan semakin bertambah, orang juga semakin ramai. Jadi atas sebab itulah kita mengambil keputusan untuk memindahkan ke Taman Bendahara,” katanya. Kata beliau juga lokasi baru lebih sesuai kerana mempunyai tempat letak kenderaan yang lebih banyak, di samping terdapat premis perniagaan lain dan kampus sementara Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK).