NST Online: StreetsJohor
NST Online: StreetsJohor |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2011 05:19 PM PDT 2011/08/21 Engineers urged to join efforts to eradicate mosquito breeding sites IT is inconceivable that a tiny mosquito can bring a human down, but do not be shocked when you find yourself needing intravenous fluid because of dangerously low blood platelet count, a symptom of dengue fever. People have also died from the dreaded disease after being bitten by an Aedes aegypti mosquito carrying the dengue virus.
This year, up till this month, the number of reported dengue patients have gone down substantially with only four deaths in Johor Baru since the beginning of the year, according to the Johor Baru district health office. The Health Ministry, under its Communication for Behavioural Impact (Combi) programme, in collaboration with the Rotary Steering Committee (RSC), Rotary Club Johor Baru and Rotary Club of Johor Centennial, is creating awareness of the dengue threat and fighting to eradicate the Aedes mosquito.
Stulang state assemblyman Mok Chek Hou opened the event with the theme "The Roles of Engineers in Preventing the Spread of Dengue". Also present were Rotary Steering Committee chairman Dr S. Sivamoorthy and IEM branch chairman Mohd Khir Muhammad. Among the seminar participants were consultants, engineers, scientists, researchers, professors, lecturers, engineering students and regulatory officers in the engineering field.
Cheah, a Rotarian since 1975, was a Johor Baru City Council city councilor, and is the chairman of Johor Baru Local Goodwill and Relations Comittee as well as chairman of the Board of Visitors to Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru. He said the dengue problem had to be attacked at its source, which is the moquitoes' breeding grounds. "The emphasis for dengue prevention is on sustainable, community-based integrated mosquito control. As mosquitoes tend to reproduce in artificial water containers in and around homes, mosquito control depends a great deal on the participation of the community in reducing the mosquitoes' habitat," Cheah said. "Preventing an epidemic requires a concerted community effort. We need to educate the public and increase awareness of dengue, recognise it, and control the mosquito that transmits it. Residents are responsible for keeping their yards and gardens free of places where mosquitoes can breed," he said. Johor Baru district health officer Dr Roslinda Rahman spoke on the "Impact of Dengue in Johor Statistics on Localities and Deaths" in the second session of the seminar. Dengue fever is a viral infection spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, a species frequently found in or near human habitation and feeds in the daytime. |
| Sell creativity, not copycat products Posted: 21 Aug 2011 08:22 AM PDT 2011/08/21 DOWNTOWN and uptown markets are quite the thing these days. It began with the uptown market at Bandar Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur, and soon, almost every state copied the concept. Be it uptown or downtown, these market give small traders an opportunity to carry out their businesses at night.
Unlike night markets, popularly known as pasar malam, no vegetables and meat is allowed to be sold in these markets. Only food and drinks are sold. Perhaps, it keeps the place clean and offers a different outdoor shopping ambience to visitors. In Johor Baru, the downtown market in Jalan Segget is officially known as JB Bazaar.
In neighbouring Malacca, there is a downtown market called Pahlawan Walk. All these markets share one common feature -- selling a wide variety of imitation goods ranging from apparel to belts, perfumes and mobile phone accessories.
Recently, I found my way to Chana Road in Songkhla, Thailand, and was delighted to spot something unique at its weekly Saturday downtown market, adjacent to the ruined city wall. I visited the market with one purpose in mind -- to search for traders selling handmade souvenir items. Two years ago, there was a group of traders who sold such items at the foyer of a shopping centre in Hatyai every weekend. But they had stopped doing so for quite sometime. Even the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Hatyai office did not know where the traders had gone to. The shopping centre is called the Idea Market. This is quite apt as the goods sold there are unique and made by the traders themselves. In other words, you would not be able to find another item like it anywhere else in the world. The products, though simple, are appealing and reasonably priced. But the traders have injected aesthetic value into them in the process of making them. I found such items at the Chana Road weekend market, although the traders were not as many as the shopping centre in Hatyai. From mobile phone pouches to decorative lamps, letter boxes, toys, bags and clothes, these so-called "idea products" augur well for the younger generation. These "idea traders" are always full of surprises when it comes to their products. They take pride in their creations as every piece is a work of art. This explains why a visit to such a market is such a fascinating experience. Back in Johor Baru, I can't find such "idea products" in any market. Either the traders have no idea at all, or are not willing to seek ideas. The JB Bazaar has made the city lively at night, and the Johor Baru City Council deserves credit for that. Perhaps the council should collaborate with Kraftangan Malaysia to introduce handicrafts to the downtown market for a start. Sooner or later, the "idea traders" will invade our markets. When tourists or locals buy the products and proudly show them off to their friends, saying they are from the JB Bazaar, I think it will be a win-win situation for the council, traders and tourism authorities. Until that day dawns, our traders who sell pirated goods had better hide their stock from the public's view because any raid by the authorities will be a big embarrassment for the traders and those of us who buy their products. |
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