30/05/2026

SATURDAY | MAY 30, 2026

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Fruit trader drowns during family outing KUALA BERANG: A fruit trader drowned while swimming with family members during a picnic at the Belukar Bukit Waterfall in Sekayu near here. Hulu Terengganu police chief Supt Sharudin Abdul Wahab identified the deceased as Muhammad Zahari Mohd Zain, 26, from Kampung Kelulut, Marang. He said authorities received a report on the incident at 4.22pm on Thursday, prompting the Fire and Rescue Department to despatch a team in a fire engine to the scene five minutes later. Initial investigations found that Muhammad Zahari visited the waterfall with 19 family members for a picnic. However, only five of them, including Muhammad Zahari, entered the water while the others remained by the riverbank. “Muhammad Zahari was found unconscious by individuals from the public at about 5pm. Medical personnel at the scene later confirmed his death.” Sharudin said the body was taken to the Hulu Terengganu Hospital Forensic Unit. He advised the public to exercise caution when carrying out recreational activities at waterfall areas due to the current unpredictable weather conditions. Meanwhile, in Alor Setar, Kedah, a man is feared to have drowned after he tried to retrieve a jetski that drifted off in the waters near Langkawi. Langkawi Fire and Rescue Department Zone 4 chief fire superintendent Mohd Zamri Abdul Ghani said the department received a call about the incident at 9pm on Thursday. “As soon as firefighters from the Persiaran Putra Fire and Rescue station arrived, they learned that Arash Nashran Abdul Maser, 23, had gone missing in the sea about 100m from the beach. “He was trying to retrieve a jetski that drifted out to the sea after strong waves caused him to be thrown into the water. “It is understood that he wasn’t wearing a life jacket at the time,” Mohd Zamri said in a statement. – Bernama Body found wrapped in mattress in Malacca MALACCA: A decomposed body of a person believed to have been dead for between two weeks and a month has been found wrapped in a folded mattress inside a shophouse in Pokok Mangga here. Malacca police chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the deceased, whose identity has yet to be established, was discovered on Thursday night after the owner of the premises inspected the property when he was unable to contact the tenant. Upon entering the shophouse, the owner detected a foul smell and found a suspicious mattress bundle in the living room before alerting the police. Further inspection uncovered a badly decomposed body with both hands tied. “Based on the condition of the body and the circumstances at the scene, we believe foul play was involved,” he said at the Malim police station. Dzulkhairi said preliminary investigations found that the two-storey shophouse had been rented by a woman as accommodation for her son. He said police subsequently arrested a 40-year-old local man, believed to be the tenant’s son, to assist in the investigation. Police believe the dead person had a connection to the suspect, who tested positive for syabu, and has seven criminal records. He added that the suspect was in a drug-induced state when arrested and has yet to cooperate with investigators. – Bernama

Proposal for new PJ hospital raises eyebrows

o Funds to be used for project would be better spent to improve medical service delivery at facilities with outdated equipment, say three doctors

resources be allocated according to need. “When one region enjoys special care within a half-hour drive while another endures a day-long journey for basic attention, the social contract frays.” The trio also said challenges faced by existing public hospitals in Selangor stem less from bed shortages and more from outdated equipment, underfunded facilities and staff shortages. They likened plans to spend billions on the proposed PJ Hospital while existing hospitals continue facing operational challenges to “buying a new car while one’s roof is leaking”. They said the ministry should instead prioritise upgrading equipment, expanding ICUs and replacing ageing scanners in existing Klang Valley hospitals. “Then, with the remaining resources, build not in Petaling Jaya but in Kota Bharu, Sandakan or Sibu. Build where a new hospital would slash travel time from four hours to 40 minutes. Build where a single MRI machine would serve a population the size of Kedah or Perak.” They said resources should be directed towards areas where access to healthcare remains limited, particularly for lower income patients in remote regions.

Ű BY AZMAN UJANG newsdesk@thesundaily.com

Jaya, Subang and Puchong is roughly two million, nearly identical to Kedah’s 2.3 milllion. Yet Kedah has 10 public hospitals and Perak, with 2.5 million people, manages with 15.” They highlighted disparities faced by patients in Kelantan and the interior of Sabah and Sarawak, some of whom travel between 70km and 300km to access medical care. “A mother in rural Sabah may leave home before dawn to reach a clinic that lacks an X-ray machine. A father in interior Sarawak may spend his weekly wages on transport to a hospital that is chronically understaffed.” They added that such gaps are not solely due to geography, and argued that continued concentration of healthcare projects in more developed regions could widen existing inequalities. “Distributive justice is the backbone of any fair healthcare system. It demands that

PETALING JAYA: Three doctors have raised concerns over the Health Ministry’s plan to build a new hospital in Petaling Jaya, saying the region is already well served by existing medical infrastructure. Dr Musa Mohd Nordin, Dr Zulkifli Ismail and Dr Soon Thian Lian said allocating billions towards a new hospital raises broader questions about healthcare priorities and the distribution of medical resources nationwide. In a letter published by The Star yesterday, they wrote that Selangor already hosts 13 public specialist hospitals, complemented by 55 licensed private hospitals, while within a 40km radius of the proposed hospital, residents have access to multiple tertiary care centres. “The combined population of Petaling

A firefighter hosing down the embers after the blaze was brought under control. – PIC COURTESY OF SARAWAK FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT FACEBOOK PAGE

Blaze at longhouse leaves 136 homeless

totally destroyed. “When Fire and Rescue personnel arrived, the entire longhouse was already in flames.” The fire was only brought under control at about 8am, with firefighters having to use water from a river nearby. The Welfare Department has been notified of the incident to facilitate assistance to the affected residents. It is learnt that the blaze took place as the longhouse residents were preparing for the June 1 Hari Gawai celebrations.

Rescue Department. The fire had reduced the longhouse called Rumah Nelson Ningkan to charred rubble. However, all the residents affected managed to escape without serious injury, the department said in a statement. Firefighters from Miri city and Batu Niah town rushed to the longhouse upon receiving an emergency alert at about 1.15am. “The longhouse has 21 homes. The whole longhouse was made of wood and was

Ű BY JOSEPH PETER newsdesk@thesundaily.com

MIRI: A blaze in the wee hours razed an entire longhouse yesterday in Jalan Sungai Saeh, Kampung Labau, in the rural Bekenu district in northern Sarawak. The fire began at 1am and continued burning until 8am, leaving 136 people comprising men, women, the elderly and children homeless, said the Sarawak Fire and