09/11/2025

NATIONAL 4 theSun on Sunday NOV 9, 2025

Food, equipment contamination behind theme park outbreak SHAH ALAM: The Selangor State Health Department has confirmed that the food poisoning incident during a government agency’s family day event at a Petaling Jaya theme park on Oct 4 was caused by contamination of both food and cooking equipment used during meal preparation. In a statement, the department said it received a notification from the Petaling District Health Office on Oct 6 and subsequently carried out a detailed investigation. Preliminary findings and active case detection revealed that 322 out of 4,710 individuals exposed experienced symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain. “Most of the cases or 92% involved adults, while the remainder were children and teenagers. All affected individuals received treatment and none required hospital admission or intensive care, and no deaths were reported,” the statement read. The statement followed media reports and viral social media posts claiming that over 800 staff and family members from a government agency were affected by the incident during their programme at the theme park. The department said investigations identified several contributing factors, including insufficient food handlers preparing large quantities of food, prolonged storage before serving and possible cross-contamination during cooking. A risk assessment found that the source of the food poisoning was contaminated food prepared in the theme park’s kitchen. “As a control and preventive measure, (the department) ordered the closure of the theme park’s kitchen for cleaning and disinfection. However, the theme park itself was not closed as the contamination did not originate from the park’s general environment,” it said. The kitchen was later permitted to reopen after being certified clean and meeting all food safety requirements. The department also conducted risk communication sessions and engagement with the theme park management and event organisers to strengthen food hygiene practices. “Notifications were also sent to other district and state health offices to assist in detecting and monitoring any symptomatic cases,” it said. The department reminded all food handlers to comply with the Food Act 1983 and Food Hygiene Regulations 2009, and to prioritise food safety and cleanliness at every stage of preparation. Food handlers were also reminded to maintain personal and equipment hygiene, use fresh ingredients and clean water, cook food thoroughly, and ensure it is consumed within four hours of preparation. “The public is also advised to choose clean food premises, practise the ‘see, smell and taste’ concept before eating, and seek medical attention at the nearest health facility if they experience symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting or stomach pain after consuming food purchased outside.” – Bernama

RISING RESERVES ... The Penang Water Supply Corporation expects the state’s main dams to to be filled to effective capacity before the next dry season begins in January 2026. The Ayer Itam Dam has already reached an excellent level of 98.1% as recorded on Friday. – MASRY CHE ANI/THESUN

Malaysia must process, not export, rare earths

Ű BY IKHWAN ZULKAFLEE newsdesk@thesundaily.com

With RM800b in REE reserves, nation can be key green tech, EV player through tie-up with Indonesia

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia should avoid exporting its rare earth elements (REE) in raw form like some African nations that lose economic value by selling unprocessed minerals abroad, said Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Research Management Division director Assoc Prof Dr Abdul Hafidz Yusoff. He said Malaysia, which holds an estimated 16 million metric tonnes of REE valued at around RM800 billion, must ensure that extraction and processing are guided by technological capability and industrial strategy rather than short-term profit. “If we mine and sell REE without developing our own processing technology, we will lose out economically. It would be similar to African countries that export raw minerals and later buy back the finished products at much higher prices,” he told theSun when contacted. Abdul Hafidz explained that REE is a critical resource for the electrical and electronics industries, particularly in producing batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), as well as in defence applications such as rocket systems. He added that countries such as China dominate the global EV market largely because they possess REE reserves domestically, while the United States, led by companies such as Tesla, is racing to secure alternative REE sources to remain competitive. Abdul Hafidz stressed on the importance of developing a complete industrial ecosystem, saying Malaysia must strengthen its capabilities across the REE value chain – covering upstream (exploration), midstream (processing)

NRIA’s Nuclear Energy Research Organisation head Syaiful Bakhri said the project reflected both nations’ commitment to advancing nuclear energy and rare earth mineral research. “NRIA has mastered the separation technology for uranium, thorium and rare earth metals. Through this collaboration, we aim to apply our research findings further and promote joint downstream technology development with Malaysia,” he said. Indonesia currently has the technical capability to separate rare earth metals with uranium and thorium purity levels below 50 parts per million and a pilot scale processing capacity of up to 50kg per batch. The Malaysian pilot plant will be developed with technical support from NRIA and assistance from local institutions, including public universities and national technology agencies. Once completed, the facility will be the first in the world outside China to process REE from IAC sources, positioning Malaysia strategically to develop downstream industries such as magnet, battery and green energy component manufacturing. Greensnow Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Nik Abdul Mubin Nik Mahmood said the pilot plant at UTP would build on earlier joint research with NRIA. “The private sector participation complements the broader government-to government initiative focused on technology development, knowledge transfer and innovation between the two Asean neighbours.”

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manufacturing) stages. “Malaysia’s policy currently prohibits the export of raw REE, so strengthening our midstream processing industry is crucial. “Without it, we can’t fully benefit from our REE potential,” he said. He added that developing local REE technology and processing capacity would allow Malaysia to position itself as a key player in the regional green technology and EV sectors. Abdul Hafidz welcomed Malaysia’s latest move to advance REE processing technology through collaboration with Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (NRIA). He said NRIA already possesses midstream processing expertise, particularly in the separation of REE elements, although current operations remain small-scale. “This is a positive development. Even though NRIA’s separation process is still small-scale, it shows that the technology works,” he said. Malaysia is set to become the first country outside China to establish a pilot plant for processing REE from ion adsorption clay (IAC) sources, following a strategic collaboration between NRIA and Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP). The agreement was formalised at the Indonesia Research and Innovation Expo in Jakarta, involving NRIA’s Research Centre for Nuclear Material and Radioactive Waste Technology, Kuala Lumpur-based Greensnow Sdn Bhd, and several Malaysian research partners.