Soi Lek queried on MCA asset management

THE sTAR

BY LOH FOON FONG 

FOONFONG@THESTAR.COM.MY

Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek

KUALA LUMPUR: Some MCA division chairmen want to know how the party’s assets are being managed under the leadership of party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, said Wangsa Maju division chairman Datuk Yew Teong Look.

Yew said he and 22 other division chairmen want Dr Chua to give details on the RM107mil in party assets accumulated since he became party president.

“We are very concerned over the party assets,” Yew told a press conference here yesterday.

In Batu Pahat last Sunday, Dr Chua disclosed party assets grew by RM107mil since he became president in March 2010.

He said the party had appointed tax and financial advisers to re-organise its assets to become more tax efficient.

Dr Chua said the advisers had recommended that Star Publications (M) Bhd shares and Wisma MCA be transferred and registered under the party.

The president was the trustee for Star Publications prior to the transfer.

The transfer, he explained, had enabled the party to save money because the dividends from Star Publications shares and rental from Wisma MCA would be tax free since MCA was a political party and entitled to tax exemption.

Dr Chua said the party saved RM700,000 in tax yearly from Wisma MCA’s rental income, while MCA’s stake in Star Publications had gone up from 41% to 42.4% in the last three years.

He said the party also bought Menara Multi Purpose and registered it under the party, and its rental income was also tax free.

Dr Chua said the party could only sell its assets if it obtained approval from two-thirds of the central committee.

Fomca: Food prices up by a fair bit

BY LOH FOON FONG 

FOONFONG@THESTAR.COM.MY

Extra care: Volunteers from the Civil Defence Department showing how a person with spinal injury is rescued. The demonstration was held during the 2013 Consumerism Month celebration at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.

BANGI: Food prices have increased by “a fair bit” following the hike of diesel and RON95 petrol prices, a survey by the Federation of Malaysian Consumers’ Association (Fomca) showed.

For instance, the price of prepared wantan mee had gone up by 50 sen to 60 sen, said Fomca president Datuk Marimuthu Nadason.

He added, however, that the fuel price hike had not led to any increase in controlled-price items.

“Our initial findings showed the rise in food prices is hefty.

“The percentage of the increase in prepared food prices is more than the percentage of the increase in diesel and petrol,” he told reporters at the presentation of prizes of the 2013 Consumerism Contest in conjunction with the 2013 National Consumer Month yesterday.

Marimuthu said Fomca was still compiling data on the survey and would reveal more details next week.

The Government recently announced a 20sen reduction in the subsidy for diesel and RON95 petrol per litre, bringing the consumer price of diesel to RM2 and RON95 petrol to RM2.10 per litre since early this month.

“Eatery outlets need not increase the prices of prepared food as they are already making a profit,” said Marimuthu, adding that the (fuel price) increase only translated to a negligible additional RM5.40 of petrol used per week.

“There is no reason for any increase because they (food outlet operators) can afford to absorb the cost.

“They are taking advantage of the fuel hike,” he said.

Ministry: Little to show BPA is safe

The Star

BY LOH FOON FONG 

foonfong@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: There is not enough scientific evidence to prove that Bisphenol A (BPA) is safe for vulnerable groups and this was the reason why Malaysia banned the use of the compound in feeding bottles, the Health Ministry says.

BPA is a compound that has been present in many hard plastic bottles and metal-based food and beverage cans since the 1960s.

According to health director-general, Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the decision, implemented on March 1 last year, was done as a precautionary measure, in line with actions taken by other countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union.

He said this in response to a letter to The Star from the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association stating that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had delisted, but not banned baby bottles and infant feeding cups from their regulation in July last year because this range of products (containing BPA) are already discontinued.

Standardised toxicity tests have thus far supported the safety of current low levels of human exposure to BPA. However, following more recent studies using novel approaches to detect the subtler effects of exposure, the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health and FDA have some concerns about the potential effects of BPA on foetuses, infants and young children.

FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research, together with the National Toxicology Programme, is now carrying out detailed studies to clarify key uncertainties about the risks of BPA. In the interim, FDA agrees with reasonable steps to reduce exposure to BPA such as the industry’s decision to stop producing BPA-containing baby bottles.

Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry had monitored the levels of BPA and other related substances in plastic food containers and found that the migration of BPA and other chemicals to food was relatively low, and did not pose a risk to health.

The Food Regulations 1985 prohibits the use of harmful packages in contact with food, with Regulation 27A prohibiting the use of feeding bottles containing BPA.

“It is the responsibility of the food manufacturers to ensure that packages used for food comply with the regulations,” said Dr Noor Hisham, who added that the ministry would continue to monitor plastic food containers in the market.

More than two-thirds of end-stage kidney failure can be avoided

The Star

Many new kidney patients are also diabetic

BY LOH FOON FONG 

FOONFONG@THESTAR.COM.MY

PETALING JAYA: Almost 60% of over 5,800 new kidney patients who require dialysis or kidney transplants last year have diabetes.

The 20th Malaysian Dialysis and Transplant Registry 2012 said 11% suffered from hypertension, which is another non-communicable disease (NCD).

It said all the 5,829 new patients were diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure (ESRF) and more than three-quarters of the cases were lifestyle-related, which could be avoided or delayed if the patients had adopted healthier habits.

Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the percentage of diabetic cases rose from 20% in 1993 to 26% in 2003 before reaching a high of 58% last year.

“The rise is not only notable and serious but should cause an alarm,” he told The Star via e-mail.

Dr Noor Hisham said there could be cases of undiagnosed or untreated hypertension, which could have contributed to chronic kidney disease among the 25% of “unknown causes” of ESRF.

“Malaysia continues to be among the highest in the world in the percentage of patients with diabetes among dialysis patients.

“The costly socio-economic and challenging clinical factors, imposed by the needs of ESRF patients with diabetes, would force the health system to find practical ways to reduce the scourge,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said these cases put a strain on the health budget as well as on the need for highly-trained nurses, technicians and kidney specialists to manage them.

National Kidney Foundation chairman Datuk Dr Zaki Morad Mohd Zaher said NCDs had become a significant cause of ESRF in the last 15 years.

“It takes 20 years for diabetes to destroy the kidneys. There is ample time for efforts to be taken to stop or delay the progression,” he said.

Help now available for Ujai to go to hospital

The Star

BY LOH FOON FONG
FOONFONG@THESTAR.COM.MY

Due for surgery: Ujai will get to the Bintulu hospital in time for his hip replacement surgery, thanks to the Hulu Rajang MP.

PETALING JAYA: Hulu Rajang MP Wilson Ugak is stepping in to ensure that 50-year-old Ujai Japi will get to the Bintulu hospital in time for his hip replacement surgery.

According to Wilson, he would ensure that Ujai gets to the hospital for his admission on Sept 3, either by getting someone who is travelling to Bintulu to give him a ride or by providing Ujai with some funds.

On Aug 5, The Star reported that thousands of indigenous people in remote areas all over the country could not enjoy highly-subsidised national healthcare because they did not have money to make the trip to hospitals located in urban areas, and Ujai’s case is one such example.

In Ujai’s case, a door-to-door overland trip using four-wheel drives is estimated to cost at least RM400 if he uses a chartered vehicle.

The trip takes about five hours, depending on the weather.

Ujai was offered hip replacement surgery at the Bintulu hospital, which is 200km away from his longhouse in Kejaman located within the Kapit division, but he said that he was too poor to afford the cost of getting there.

“Since this problem affects many and there is not enough funds for all, the ultimate solution is to have a specialist each at the Belaga and Kapit clinics,” said Wilson, who added that he was aware of the plight of those living in remote areas.

Wilson said that he had requested for specialists for Kapit and Belaga in the last Parliament session, but had yet to receive a response.

A doctor in the area said that Ujai could also hitch a ride from the Belaga clinic whenever the clinic sent emergency cases to Bintulu, but added that he was uncertain as to whether Ujai could get to the hospital in time.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subra­maniam said there were various state agencies that took care of such needs, and these Sarawak agencies should look into the transportation problems faced by such patients.

“State agencies should be proactive and solve such problems,” he said.

Calls to Belaga state assemblyman Liwan Lagang were not immediately returned.

MIC not willing to be renamed

The Star

BY LOH FOON FONG

PUTRAJAYA: MIC is not willing to be renamed if it is to merge with other Indian-based parties, says Deputy MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said although the party was willing to consider a merger with these parties, calling MIC by a different name was not an option.

“One of the challenges is that some of the other parties don’t want to lose their identities and they also have their own demands.

“But if there is openness, we are quite prepared (to consider),” he said after launching the Malaysia Health System in Transition (HiT) Country Report yesterday.

On some of the parties asking for a new party to be set up and not combined with MIC, Dr Subramaniam said that MIC would not “close shop”.

“The original idea was to have the parties merge with MIC, but some of them wanted to maintain their identities,” he said.

Moreover, he said that some of them wanted to maintain their positions and posts, but this would depend on MIC’s ability to accommodate the request, he said.

On whether MIC was prepared for structural changes, he said this would have to be discussed “but for us to call it a different name, that is not possible”.

On Sunday, Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor urged all Indian-based political parties under the coalition to merge into one entity in the best interests of the Malaysian Indian community.

He said it was pointless for the parties to compete with each other when they could be better off working together.

Tengku Adnan urged MIC, Makkal Sakti, Malaysian Indian United Party (MIUP), Indian Progressive Front (IPF) and the PPP to merge so that they could become a stronger entity.

Spy copter found near Wee's home

The Star
Published: Saturday August 17, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM

Updated: Saturday August 17, 2013 MYT 8:22:49 AM

BY LOH FOON FONG 
FOONFONG@THESTAR.COM.MY

Dr Wee and police officers taking a closer look at the hexacopter at Wisma MCA.

For video: Politician discovers small spy craft

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bboMM0cUpY)

KUALA LUMPUR: A remote-controlled aerial vehicle has been found allegedly spying on MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong’s bungalow in Bukit Tiara in Cheras.

Dr Wee said the portable hexa­copter with six rotors was found by his neighbour’s son on Aug 8.

“Am I a terrorist? This is an invasion of privacy. They (perpetrators) have no right to do this,” he said at a press conference here yesterday.

According to Dr Wee, the hexa­copter fell on his neighbour’s rooftop balcony after it hit the lightning arrester.

His neighbour’s 14-year-old son found the vehicle and informed his parents but his parents did not suspect anything amiss and told him to just throw it away.

However, the boy removed a chip attached to a tiny video camera from the vehicle and, together with his 15-year-old sister, played it on the computer. They made the shocking discovery and the family quickly informed Dr Wee.

Dr Wee collected the craft from his neighbour only on Thursday.

Dr Wee, who showed five short video clips extracted from the chip and recorded on Aug 5, said the hexa­copter was aimed in the direction of his house and his neighbour’s.

The video clip showed two men handling the hexacopter in its initial clip. In another, the camera screen paused when a security guard was going on his patrolling rounds and resumed when the guard moved away.

Asked what the motive for this could be, the former Deputy Education Minister said he would not speculate, but added that it was normal before party elections for snooping activities to be conducted on potential leaders.

“I urge the Prime Minister, Home Ministry and the police to monitor those with hobbies of using such craft because it could be used for criminal activities. If there are such activities, it must be curbed,” he said.

Dr Wee had lodged a report on the hexacopter with the police headquarters here, and officers subsequently recorded his statement at Wisma MCA.

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A wide range of uses for multirotor aircraft