Deaf Sabah student wins first prize at global festival
HAD it not been for her teachers’ encouragement, Dymphna Simon may not have taken an interest in performing poetry. The 18-year-old deaf student from Keningau Vocational College in Sabah recently bagged the first prize in the sign language poetry category at the “American Charm” International Festival Online Competition. Keen to have his special needs students deliver their poems in sign language, he registered their names and guided the students together with the school’s special education teacher Avyasvina Istiniza Anak Unong. Echoing her sentiments, Sirhajwan said the initial process was difficult as it was their first attempt at performing sign language poetry. “There are many events today that can serve as an avenue for our special needs students to showcase their talents.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 21:11 UTC
We have to do something
That’s 318 Malaysians we’ll never hear from again – 318 lives that have been snuffed out forever. I strongly believe that the vast majority of these 318 deaths were avoidable and preventable. But what are 318 deaths against our cumulative total of 11,691? Indeed, even Jia Chern, who is not taking any solid foods, has decided to dedicate his fast to helping others. Sometimes, we need to humanise these numbers, to help all of us remember that there are real lives and real families behind those numbers.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 21:11 UTC
Canada's main opposition under fire from own members over 'tasteless' Trudeau ad
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main opposition Conservative Party was criticized by some of its own members on Saturday for a "tasteless" ad put out targeting Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a day before he is expected to call an election in the hope of securing a majority in Parliament. "The only reason for an election is because Trudeau wants a majority," reads the tagline of the 37-second ad released on Friday. Todd Doherty, a British Columbia MP wrote on Twitter that expected the Conservative Party to be better: "This is embarrassing." Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) was not available for an immediate comment. On Saturday, the Liberal Party released its own ad, featuring Trudeau.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 18:00 UTC
Soccer-Alonso, Pulisic and debutant Chalobah score as Chelsea coast past Palace
Chelsea's homegrown defender Trevoh Chalobah then completed a dream Premier League debut in the second half when he smashed a distance shot in off the post to score his first goal for the club he joined as an eight-year-old. "It is a dream for a boy like me being here and to play for my home club is unreal," said Chalobah. "As I was getting closer to the goal I though I might as well shoot and just went for it. CHELSEA 'HARD TO HANDLE'"They were hard to handle," said Palace midfielder James McArthur. Chelsea have enjoyed facing Palace as this was their eighth consecutive league win over them, while Pulisic scored for the fifth game running against the south Londoners.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 16:11 UTC
Sabah and Sarawak are not mere spectators in Putrajaya politics, says Kitingan
KOTA KINABALU: The people of Sabah and Sarawak need to have a say in deciding the future of the country, says Sabah STAR. Party president Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said the two states have been treated as mere spectators in the current drama unfolding in the nation's politics. The Sabah Deputy Chief Minister said that he was very concerned that "heavy discussions on the political stability" of the country did not include the opinions of Sabahans and Sarawakians. Kitingan said he believed Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's administration represents the best hope such a Federal Government, calling the Pagoh MP the most accomodating Prime Minister when it comes to Sabah and Sarawak rights. Sabah STAR is part of the Perikatan Nasional government at the federal level and also with the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition which makes up the state government.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 13:30 UTC
Covid-19: Perak to get over a million doses of vaccines this month, says MB
IPOH: Perak is expected to receive more than one million doses of Covid-19 vaccines this month. Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamed said it would be the largest amount of vaccines to be received by the state. “We have already received about 150,720 doses so far, and the remaining amount will be shipped in stages throughout this month. In July, Perak received about 866,000 doses of vaccine with nearly a million people in the state having received their first dose. “On Aug 12, we reached the highest number of doses administered, which was about 39,703 doses.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 08:26 UTC
My Say: The carbon transition is accelerating, and every company needs to play a role
Private equity firms are actively setting carbon reduction targets too. However, carbon transition represents as much upside opportunity as downside risk. Regardless of how far along they are in the carbon transition journey, companies typically answer four big questions. In pursuing a carbon transition, companies have three sets of levers to deploy: strategic, operational and offsets. Torsten Lichtenau is senior partner and global head of carbon transition impact area at Bain & Co in London.
Source:The Edge Markets
August 14, 2021 03:22 UTC
Jamaludin Jarjis' mother succeeds in bid to include three million shares in son's estate
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The mother of the late minister Tan Sri Jamaludin Mohd Jarjis has succeeded in her bid to include three million shares in Rantai Wawasan Sdn Bhd in the list of her son’s estate. However, Firuz dismissed Aminah's application for a declaration that six million shares in Alpine Motion Sdn Bhd and two shares in Ivory Insight Sdn Bhd are part of the estate of her late son. "In this regard, the plaintiff failed to prove the shares in Ivory were paid by the deceased or that he was the original beneficial owner of the shares. "In my final analysis, I am constrained to find that the plaintiff failed to tilt the balance of probabilities concerning the claim for the Ivory shares against the defendants. The plaintiff contended that her two grandchildren had failed to state the estimated value of the shares, which were worth RM1,384,312,154, two-and-a-half years after Jamaludin died.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 03:22 UTC
Californian bubble performance artist brings joy to people amidst the pandemic
This city’s hardworking bubble man had succeeded once again in bringing a little joy. Waking up, surgery after surgery, “it was like being reborn”. In 2020, when Covid-19 emptied the city’s streets, he found his calling as a bubble performance artist. Dipping a string that hangs like a “V” from two rods into solution, Reis learned to fashion spheres “the size of a Prius”. A woman approached Reis not long ago, on Bush Street, to say his bubbles uplifted her when her dad died.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 03:00 UTC
How digital tickets make attending games easier, harder and more intrusive
"It's become ubiquitous," Tom Andrus, chief operating officer of the digital ticketing platform AXS, said recently of sports' switch away from paper tickets. Teams, leagues and other sports promoters call it mobile ticketing, but a better name would be ticketless ticketing. At a Giants game in San Francisco, I had trouble transferring a ticket to a college friend electronically. The NFL has mandated the use of mobile ticketing for all seats in 2021. Better security, because teams know who is in the stands.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 01:52 UTC
Malaysia must reopen soon
To date, I have had swab tests on Aug 1 (pre-departure), Aug 6, Aug 7 (pre-admission to hospital), Aug 9 and 12. As I am fully vaccinated, I am now allowed to quarantine in my own home for 14 days. We need to re-open our economy as soon as we healthily can. As our working mothers go back to work, fully vaccinated maids must be allowed to enter the country. Travel restrictions for business purposes must be lifted for those who are fully vaccinated.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 00:56 UTC
Poor planning leads to poor execution at PPV
In addition to handling regular appointments, this centre had just been designated as a walk-in PPV as well. Having had this experience, I have a few questions for the authorities: Why are people from the same household given appointments at different PPV? Is there no way to separate regular appointments from walk-ins to avoid congestion? Couldn’t there be better planning for these appointments plus walk-in PPV, knowing that gathering such a large number of people exposes so many to the risk of contracting Covid-19? I’m relieved to be vaccinated and I applaud all the hard-working volunteers, but the authorities should realise that their poor planning has led to poor execution, at least in this case.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 00:45 UTC
The elusive vaccine play
Then came Dr Jonas Salk, the virologist who developed the first successful polio vaccine which was made public in April 1955. Television personality, Edward R. Murrow, in a memorable interview asked Dr Salk: Who owned the patent to the polio vaccine? Without a patent, the Salk vaccine reached 90 countries by 1959. Together with Albert Sabin’s attenuated live oral polio vaccine being put to commercial use in 1961, domestic transmission of polio was completely eliminated in the US in a span of 25 years. Yong Tai Bhd signed an agreement with China-based Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co Ltd to exclusively distribute KCONVAC Covid-19 vaccine in Malaysia.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 00:39 UTC
Stepmum recounts singer’s premonition of own death
Compiled by ALLISON LAI, FATIMAH ZAINAL and R. ARAVINTHANTHE stepmother of the late Siti Sarah Raissuddin never thought the singer’s hint that she wanted to “rest” at the start of August was a premonition of her death, Harian Metro reported. Siti Fatimah Suberi, 34, said Siti Sarah had uncannily left hints to those dearest to her before her death. Siti Fatimah also revealed that on the day of Siti Sarah’s hospitalisation, she had asked her stepmother to help transfer funds from her personal account to Siti Fatimah’s bank account. Siti Fatimah added that in May, Siti Sarah, who was the face of three products, had confided in her that she also wished to find a new face to replace her. Siti Sarah, 36, died on Aug 9 due to Covid-19 complications days after giving birth to her fourth child via Caesarean.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 00:33 UTC
Renewable energy the way to go
PETALING JAYA: Tough economic times are the best time for companies or individuals to invest in solar photovoltaic systems, says the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda). “A lot of companies are aligning their direction towards sustainability,” Ibrahim said during a webinar yesterday that discussed solar power as a renewable source of energy in Malaysia. “This is because there is a strong push from the government to increase renewable energy in the country’s power capacity mix to 31% by 2025 and 40% by 2035,” she said. “Solar power has become more affordable and accessible and is a reliable source of renewable energy in Southeast Asia. “I am sure there will be huge interest in terms of not just producing solar, but also recycling,” Wong said.
Source:The Star
August 14, 2021 00:22 UTC