17/08/2025

NATIONAL 4 theSun on Sunday AUG 17, 2025

NUTP welcomes reminder on smoking, vaping ban

Putra Heights households get RM860,000 aid SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government has disbursed RM864,000 in the second phase of temporary rental assistance to 144 households affected by last year’s gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya. State Housing and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Borhan Aman Shah said the payments, covering July to September, were credited on Aug 6 through the Selangor Housing and Property Board. He said recipient selection followed a data review conducted by the Petaling District Disaster Management Committee, victim data subcommittee and local community representatives. “The list was updated based on factors such as homes already repaired, former tenants who have relocated or those no longer needing assistance.” Borhan added that the aid aims to ease the burden on affected families for relocation or home repairs, and urged remaining eligible residents to claim their assistance at the Petaling District and Land Office. – Bernama RM240,000 for Perak residents affected by storm PASIR SALAK: The Perak government, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Agency, have channelled RM240,000 in “bantuan wang ihsan” (compassionate aid) to more than 200 recipients who were affected by a storm in Seberang Perak and Kampung Gajah in April. The Perak menteri besar’s special officer for the Kampung Gajah state constituency Khairul Azwan Harun said the assistance shows the concern of the state government in focusing on the welfare of residents, including matters related to natural disasters. “This aid is given in two phases. The first phase involves repairs to 21 affected houses, involving about RM170,000. For the second phase, we distributed different amounts to 190 recipients, depending on the severity of the damage,” he said at the Perak Tengah Bantuan Wang Ihsan ceremony on Friday. On April 13, more than 50 houses were damaged by heavy rain and strong winds at the Larut, Matang and Selama districts. He expressed hope that the second phase of the Kampung Gajah flood mitigation plan could be implemented immediately. – Bernama

Statement should not be viewed as threat, but effort to raise awareness: President

certain teachers smoke in schools, Aminuddin said such allegations are inaccurate and do not reflect the majority of educators in the country. “To say that teachers are smokers is not accurate. The numbers are not significant and the majority of our teachers are not smokers. Even if a small number do smoke, they do not do so openly in front of students.” The issue of smoking in schools came into the spotlight following the education minister’s statement in Parliament, in which she reiterated the firm stance of the government on maintaining smoke-free school environments under the existing law. In her written reply in Parliament on Aug 12, Fadhlina said: “Teachers found vaping or

Awang Fadhlina’s statement should not be viewed as a threat, but rather as an effort to highlight existing laws. “I believe what was said serves as a reminder to all parties not to smoke within school premises,” Aminuddin told theSun when contacted. “If she had not raised it in Parliament, perhaps many teachers would remain unaware of it. The regulation states that a person can be fined up to RM10,000 or even face imprisonment, but that does not mean the punishment would be (applied) to everyone. It is more of a warning to raise awareness.” He added that the union has no issues with the statement and hopes it would be taken positively by all teachers and school staff. Responding to claims that said

Abang Openg said the first cascading dam would be built across Sungai Gaat in the Kapit district in central Sarawak. He said the residents there had given their consent to the construction. Johari also said the dam would be based on a multi-layer design in which turbines could be built. He added that there are many rivers in the interior regions that would be good sites for dam construction. “The dams also encourage fish species to grow and control the movement of crocodiles.” smoking within school premises may face legal action such as fines of up to RM10,000 or imprisonment of up to two years, in accordance with the Smoking Products Control Act for Public Health 2024.” She was responding to a question raised by Padang Terap MP Nurul Amin Hamid, who asked about measures taken by the ministry to curb the culture of vaping among school students. Nurul Amin had also claimed some teachers vape in public. This led MCA Education Consultative Committee deputy chairperson Felicia Y.T. Wong to question the necessity of imposing steep fines and jail sentences on teachers found smoking or vaping. Wong said such severe penalties suggest these measures are the default response to the offences, unfairly targeting teachers who are insufficiently appreciated. “In the Dewan Rakyat in 2023, Education Deputy Minister Wong Kah Woh reported that 6,394 teachers went on early retirement, an increase from the previous year during which 5,306 left. “According to the Education Ministry in a parliamentary written reply on June 26 last year, the majority of teachers left early because they were uninterested in their roles,” Wong added. Several teachers polled by theSun expressed concern that the penalties are too severe, adding that imprisoning educators could create further complications. “About half of the male teachers at my school are smokers or vapers. If we were all sent to prison, the school would face a shortage and need many replacement teachers,” said a 29-year-old teacher from the Klang Valley, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ű BY IKHWAN ZULKAFLEE newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) welcomes the recent reminder issued by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek regarding the ban on smoking and vaping in schools. NUTP said it serves as an important alert to all stakeholders, especially educators. Its president Aminuddin

Aminuddin said claims of teachers smoking in schools are inaccurate and do not reflect the majority of educators in the country. – BERNAMAPIC

Sarawak to construct four cascading dams by 2030

Ű BY JOSEPH PETER newsdesk@thesundaily.com

build two power plants in the Bintulu and Miri districts that would use a combination of liquified natural gas and hydrogen to produce electricity. “These two power plants could each produce 1.5 gigawatts of electricity.” He added that with the new dams, plus existing dams in Bakun, Baleh, Murum and Batang Ai, the state could generate beyond 10 gigawatts by 2030 for domestic use and export to regional countries. Earlier this year, Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari

large amount of electricity via cascading dams. “We will start the first phase of construction and it will involve building four dams from now until 2030. “By 2030, the dams would produce another two gigawatts of electricity for Sarawak, which we would use to power development projects,” he said during a talk in Kuching on the new plans for electricity projects in Sarawak. Hazland said the rest of the dams would be built in later phases after 2030. He also said the state aims to

KUCHING: Sarawak will begin constructing cascading dams to produce electricity, four of which would be completed by 2030. Sarawak Energy and Environment Sustainability Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni said the four are out of 12 cascading dams planned for construction in the interior districts of Baram and Belaga. “We (state government) have already identified 12 rivers that have the potential to generate a