8/14/2019 TheSun 2009-11-02 Page06 Act Now to Avert Water Woes Penangites Told

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newswithout borders6 theSun | MONDAY NOVEMBER 2 2009

Act now to avert water woes,

Penangites told

War crimes testimoniesWar crimes testimoniesan eye openeran eye openerCM denies turning downUS$3bil investmentGEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief

Minister Lim Guan Eng did not turndown the US$3 billion (RM10.2billion) investment as claimed byGerakan economic bureau head WanSun Keong at the Gerakan NationalDelegates Conference over theweekend.

Lims special investment officerJeffrey Chew said in a press state-ment released yesterday that Limhad never turned down any qualityinvestment by multi-national com-panies.

Instead Lim has worked hard tomake Penang an attractive invest-ment location of choice by focusingon developing physical and humaninfrastructure as well as running aclean government based on CAT(competency, accountability andtransparency), he said.

Calling Wans statement as amindless attack against the chief

minister by claiming that Lim hadturned down a RM10 billion foreigninvestment because he could notcommit 1,000 engineers in thestate, Chew said Wans statementwas all lies.

Lim had stated 1,000 electricaland electronic (E & E) engineers,not 1,000 engineers. In fact, hehad said Penang lost a US$3 billioninvestment because he could notguarantee 1,000 E & E engineers,

said Chew. He pointed out that even

Tenaga Nasional faces a shortage ofelectrical engineers and that E & Eengineers are in great demand bythe E & E sector, especially by multi-national companies in Penang.

That is why Lim had urged thefederal government to invest in edu-cational facilities in Penang to trainmore E & E engineers, he said.

The state saved nearly RM36 mil-lion in operating expenses last yearand saw an increase in assets of21.1% to RM1.025 billion, he said.

Chew criticised the Gerakanyoung leaders for picking up thebad habits of their senior leadersto continue using lies as facts.

Instead of taking time to makebaseless allegations against Lim,Gerakan leaders should be demand-ing that Barisan Nasional eithersack Umno leaders for humiliatingGerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh

Tsu Koon last year or else protectits dignity by withdrawing from BNentirely, he said.

On Saturday, Wan slammed Limfor turning down the investmentbecause he could not guarantee1,000 engineers in the state butwhen asked for comment, Lim saidhe did not turn down the investmentbut that the investor did not want tocome because he could not guaran-tee them the 1,000 E & E engineers.

by Maria J. Dassnewsdesk@thesundaily.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Why should any-one care about the disagreementsbetween countries in farawayregions that result in full-blownwars?

The answers were made clearat the Criminalise War InternationalConference and Exhibition at thePutra World Trade Centre (PWTC)last week where gruesome picturesof war victims greeted visitors anddignitaries.

Adding to that were the grue-some testimonies at the KualaLumpur War Crime commission

and tribunal by several prisonersof war who had been accused ofcollaborating with the enemy orsimply taken in because they fita profile.

All those who testified had been

released without charge someafter being held for up to six years.

Malaysians who visited theexhibition or cared enough to readand listen to the testimonies ofdetainees at these facilities andspeeches at the conference wouldcertainly have gotten a rude doseof the realities of war, and thosewho took time to listen wouldknow that despite being thousandsof miles away the effects of thosewars can be frighteningly too closefor comfort.

Revelations by expert in radia-tion and public health Leuren Moretwas indeed an eye opener to thefact that the global community can

no longer turn a blind eye or labelwars as someone elses problem.

The effects of depleted uraniumfrom bombs dropped in the MiddleEast has made its way around theglobe via air currents and clouds.

Data she compiled and presentedat the conference clearly shows alink between the bombings and asurge in several problems includingincrease in diabetes cases, infertil-ity, chromosomal abnormalities,cancer, autism and unhealthy ba-bies among others in the affectedareas in places as far away fromthe Middle East like China andIndonesia.

Sceptics were however criticalabout the effectiveness of the con-ference and the Kuala Lumpur warcrimes commission and tribunal.

How effective can this warcrimes commission and tribunalbe, if bodies like the United Nations

(UN) and the Organisation of theIslamic Conference (OIC) cannotsolve the problem?

The seven-member tribunalunanimously decided that a stateor head of state cannot exemptitself from any provision of anyinternational treaty, without firstabrogating the treaty, and thatinternational human rights cannotbe denounced or revoked by anyhead of state and or government,and that these entities cannot ex-empt themselves from upholdingthe treaties and conventions suchas the Geneva convention.

However, trials before the tribu-nal to determine war criminals willonly be conducted next year afterthe charges have been framed.

The media, too, got a shellingfrom none other than former primeminister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

who said the American public havebeen detached from the atrocitiescommitted by the leaders in theirown countries and needed to beshocked by reality, including theeffects of war on their own soldiersand their families.

But because many are be-holden to their leaders, the mediaowners, the advertisers and so on,the news never makes it to thereaders and viewers, he said.

Studentslook at thetools usedto tortureprisoners at

GuantanamoBayduring theexhibitionat PWTCyesterday.

by Opalyn Moknewsdesk@thesundaily.com

GEORGE TOWN: Penang willface severe water shortage prob-lems by 2011 if Penangites do nottake steps to save water resourcessuch as implementing rain har-

vesting measures at high-rise

buildings.State Drainage and IrrigationDepartment (DID) director Hana-pi Mohamad Noor said apartmentbuildings will be able to save 20%on water bills by using a rain har-

vesting system to provide waterfor usage at the common areas.

The rain water collected fromthe rain harvesting system couldbe used by the residents to washcars, water the gardens and toflush toilets and wash hands atthe toilets in the common areas,

The system uses a gravitysystem to channel the collectedrain water to the storage tanksand does not use any pumps orelectricity so it does not need tobe maintained. It only requiresregular checks to make sure thepipes and tanks were not cloggedwith leaves or other matter.

Following the pilot project atthe condominium, DID is look-ing at implementing a similarsystem at a low-cost apartment

next year.We will install a similar

system costing about RM200,000at a low-cost apartment next hesaid.

However, DID will not be go-ing around installing the systemat all of the residential high-risebuildings in the state.

We cant afford to do thisfree for every building. We areonly installing the system in twobuildings as an example to all

said Hanapi who officiated theDIDs pilot rain harvesting projectat N-Park condominiums over theweekend.

Although the system may becostly to implement as the instal-lation of the system at N-Park costsabout RM250,000, Hanapi said it ispractically maintenance-free.

developers to encourage themto incorporate this system intotheir projects, he said.

The department is alsoencouraging homeowners andresidential high-rise buildingmanagement corporations toinstall the system on their own.

The rain harvesting system

installed at N-Park comprises sixtanks with the capacity to store60,000 litres of rain water.

The tank capacity will ensurethat the water collected can lastfor up to three months duringdroughts.

Hanapi said the system, ifused for the long-term by morehigh-rise buildings, will be ableto reduce the treated water usagein the state tremendously.

Penangites will also needto implement other water sav-ing measures to reduce waterconsumption so that we maynot be faced with water shortageproblems in future, he said.

No first or second class citizens in Msia: MuhyiddinPORT DICKSON: Unlike certain countries,there are no first or second class citizensin Malaysia, said Deputy Prime MinisterTan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said Malaysia also did not havepeople who were marginalised or were

purposely marginalised and in fact unitywas the underlying theme of the 1Ma-laysia concept.

This is the governments commit-ment to the people based on the principleof justice for all as called for by the Con-stitution and the Rukun Negara, he said

at the Malaysia Deepavali open house atLadang Siliau near here yesterday.

Some 8,000 people attended thecelebration.

Muhyiddin said there were timeswhen misunderstandings occurred but

Malaysians always made up.Just like the Malay saying, Carik carikbulu ayam akhirnya bercantum juga(when you pull apart chicken feathers,they will ultimately join back), he said.

He said the 1Malaysia concept intro-duced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib

Abdul Razak had reinforced solidarityamong Malaysians.

Malaysians, he said, were a blessedlot in that they could live in peace andharmony and the various communitiescould practise their own cultures as well

as celebrate their respective religiousfestivals like Deepavali.He said the government had taken

various initiatives to narrow the urbanrural divide and also to uplift the Indiancommunity in tandem with the progressof the nation. Bernama