Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Sabah Toothless Politicians

Hantu Laut

I read a rather disturbing article posted in Lim Kit Siang's blog. A letter written by a dental surgeon who used to work as deputy director in the Dental Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Sabah.

If what he wrote is true, which I do not doubt at all, than Sabah leaders ought to be ashamed of themselves for the injustice and harm they have inflicted on the children of Sabah.They should put the money in their mouths.

I do know for sure the water supply was fluoridated during the colonial days when I was still a student at school.How,why and when the state government decided to cease the practice I have no idea. I was under the impression that our water is always fluoridated.

The letter below explains it all.

I served as the Timbalan Pengarah Kesihatan (Pergigian) for Negeri Sabah from August 1987 to Nov 1990, In short I was posted from Johore to Sabah to take charge of the Dental Service there.

In 1985 a Survey of Dental Health of the School Children in Sabah was carried out, and I was part of that team that conducted that survey. My team covered mainly the East Coast area of Lahad Datu, Semporna and Padang Tunku area.I was also a member of the Committee that drafted the Survey report, and the Committee made Recommendations for the improvement of the Status of Dental Health of the School Children of Sabah.One of the main recomendations was that all Public Water Supplies should be Fluoridated.

In 1989 the then Sabah State Government took the most Unfortunate step of ‘discontinuing the Fluoridation of Public Water supplies in the State of Sabah’ Because “Water” was a state matter, the Ministry of Health could not do anything besides presenting the Report of the Special Committee of the World Health Organisation’ that did indeed recommend the “Fluridation (the optimisation of Fluoride levels) of the Public Water Supplies.That Special Committee of the World Health Organisation also noted that ‘Fluoridation of Public water supplies was the Most Cost-Effective Public Health Measure known to man’. Read more.

Even more disturbing is the revelation by Deputy Health Minister Rosnah Abdul Rashid Sharlin who obviously was ill-advised and didn't bother to find out the real situation in Sabah.She told a completely different story.

Either she is ignorant out of sheer laziness, like many of our politicians, or lied to cover the inconvenient truth.Being a Sabahan she is an embarrassment.

Her press statement at Kota Kinabalu on 25 April 2010:

KOTA KINABALU: In Sabah, 70% to 87% of our piped water supply contains fluoride, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin

Hence, there is a need to step up the promotion on oral health through holistic approach by taking into account our lifestyle, she said at the launching of ‘Oral Health Month’ at Palm Square, Centre Point yesterday.

The month of April has been designated for promoting oral health whereby the Malaysian Dental Association (MDA) members from both private and government sectors will provide free dental check-ups nationwide at shopping malls at different dates.

“Even though fluoridation water is effective for preventing cavities, it has its limitation. Statistically, in Sabah, fluoride has been added in water treatment plants in Kota Kinabalu, Beaufort, Labuan and Kota Belud. It will be fruitless if the general public does not look after their.Read more.

The prevalent of dental fluorosis due to excessive fluoride should not be the reason to completely stopped adding it to the water supply.Adequate measure should be taken to ensure not more than the sufficient amount is added to the treated water supply.

So, who is the liar here?

It looks like the minister.

This new kid on the block simply read out a prepared speech probably drafted by her ministry staff with out checking the real situation in Sabah.

A study done by Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2008 in conjunction with American-Eurasian Journal of Agricultural & Environment Sci showed that P.S.Nathan was right in his exposure of the truth.

Below is an extract from the report.

Abstract: This study aimed at determining the mean concentration of fluoride in drinking water from nine sites
in Malaysia. Three sites were in Selangor, one each in Perak, Melaka, Kelantan, Terengganu and the Federal
Territory of Kuala Lumpur and one in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. A total of 689 households were chosen from which
a total of 2067 water samples were collected. They were obtained from two sources – treated piped water from
water treatment plants (WTPs) and groundwater extensively used for cooking and drinking purposes. Samples
were collected from pipes at homes or water buckets from wells. They were then stored in pre-cleaned HDPE
bottles and were analysed within the next 72 hours using a direct reading spectrophotometer model DR/2010
HACH Brand. Results showed that the mean concentration of fluoride in Sri Serdang, Selangor was the highest,
at 0.71 + s.d 0.12 mg/L, while the concentration of fluoride in the samples from Kota Kinabalu had the lowest
mean concentration of fluoride, at 0.08 + s.d 0.06 mg/L. Kelantan, Terengganu and Sabah states have ceased
fluoridation of treated water in the wake of higher cases of dental fluorosis amongst the population, which
explained the lowest mean concentration of fluoride from sites in these states. The mean concentrations of
fluoride in the majority of samples were lower than the concentration recommended by the health authorities
i.e. 0.5 – 0.7 mg/L, hence insufficient for eradicating dental caries. This was the main reason why fluoride has
been added into treated water. However, higher concentrations of fluoride i.e. 1 mg/L or more may alleviate the
occurrence of dental fluorosis, especially among children.

You can read the full report.Quick View

Not only Sabahans are given non-fluoridated water, we are also given turbid water most of the times that require heavy home filtration or boiling to make the water safe and drinkable.

Monday, May 24, 2010

The Untouchable Putra

Hantu Laut

Raja Petra finally crawled out of his secret hideout and openly challenged the Malaysian government to bring charges against him in British courts which he knew very well would not happen.

The Malaysian government would be foolish to even try.He is considered a political refugee not a fugitive criminal.The Brits are not likely to extradite him.

The Malaysian government is caught in a quagmire.They can't get him. They can't get him extradited. The British won't play ball.

Freedom to express oneself and personal liberty may not be a big thing in Malaysia but in the West it has become a religion.

For almost a year the Malaysian Police have no idea where he is, how he left the country and how to get him back.If they do, much to their embarrassment they are keeping mum, knowing to get him back is an exercise in futility.

Those who claimed to have been defamed by him won't get him either.If it is true that he is a bankrupt than you can't sue him.You probably can try but you wouldn't get anything or the court would ask you to refer to the Official Assignee's office.

Based on the roots of Western tradition if a person is persecuted for his or her political opinion or religious belief such person may be given protection by another sovereign nation.I believe he would be accorded such protection.He has been detained under the ISA twice which gives him more than enough reason to be given political asylum in Britain.

I am quite certain the British government has given him assurance of granting him political asylum should the need arises.His mother is Welsh and a British citizen or was a British citizen which removes the hurdles, if any, for him getting asylum in Britain.

Now, that he has resurfaced would he become an even bigger and inextricable thorn in PM Najib's flesh?

So, Raja Petra is sitting pretty in solidity, unchastened,untouchable and ready to renew his war on political corruptions and government impropriety.

We all know London is not a cheap city to visit let alone stay especially if you are earning ringgit.

Maybe, he can reminisce his younger days at the Stringfellows.

So, who is financing his stay in London?

Sunday, May 23, 2010

China Swingers' Club

A Swinger's Case: China's Attitude Toward Sex

By Austin Ramzy / Beijing Saturday, May. 22, 2010

Prosecutors say the 53-year-old Ma, who divorced in 2003, began pursuing group sex in 2007. According to authorities, he used online chat groups to set up 35 meetings over a two-year period, half of which he participated in. Some, they claim, even occurred in the small apartment belonging to his mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. (See photos of the making of modern China.)

Police tracked down the group and Ma was arrested last year, along with 13 other men and eight women, for organizing group sex sessions. His co-defendants all pleaded guilty; 18 were sentenced to jail terms of up to two-and-a-half years, while three were released without punishment. Ma, however, remains defiant. While he admits to organizing and participating in swingers' clubs, he says that because the activities occurred between consenting adults behind closed doors, he shouldn't be punished.

"Marriage is like water: you have to drink it. Swinging is like a glass of fine wine: you can choose to drink it or not," he was quoted as saying by the government's official paper China Daily. "What we did, we did for our own happiness. People chose to do it of their own free will and they knew they could stop at any time. We disturbed no one." (See TIME's China covers.)

Ma's is a view that some in China share. While experts estimate the number of Chinese participating in group sex at under 100,000 — a tiny figure in a country of 1.3 billion — some commentators have argued that the practice shouldn't be prohibited. "If there is no victim, then I think the government shouldn't interfere," says Li Yinhe, a prominent sexologist in Beijing. "It's a private matter."

Comments posted online show a mixed opinion. Many are critical of Ma's behavior. "You led a 22-person orgy. You have destroyed ethics and morality," writes one person on a Chinese microblog service at sohu.com. "This behavior has caused social chaos. People like you should be punished severely." But others argue that China shouldn't regulate the behavior of consenting adults in the privacy of their own homes. "What Teacher Ma did violates society's ethics and morality, but it's his private life," another person wrote on a bulletin board at xici.net. "Moreover, everyone was an adult, and everyone was a voluntary participant. What crime is there in that?"

Saturday, May 22, 2010

After The Tsunami

Hantu Laut

Sent by a friend.First time I have seen it.

Selepas Tsunami (After the Tsunami) from Pusat KOMAS on Vimeo.



I must admit this is a well made documentary selling the Pakatan's doctrine.It is as good as made for TV documentary.Haris Ibrahim is eloquent commentator.

Whether what were depicted and portrayed in the film were actually practised on the ground is hard to tell.Those who watch it can easily be swayed.

The only drawback is the witch-hunting in the beginning.Otherwise, it is a very good and productive production.