PORTAL RASMI
JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI
AGENSI PENGURUSAN BENCANA NEGARA
JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI
AGENSI PENGURUSAN BENCANA NEGARA
KANGAR: The dry spell in Perlis that began in May is becoming a nightmare for padi farmers, resulting in a 50% drop in their income.
Farmers like Khairil Anuar Safar, 52, from Kampung Belukar, are particularly affected as they have just started planting.
“Farmers who began planting in June and haven’t seen any rain are struggling. We can’t even use fertilisers because there’s no water,” he said.
Having been a padi farmer for 12 years, Khairul Anuar considers himself lucky to have other odd jobs to sustain himself.
“Those who rely solely on padi farming are the worst hit,” he said, adding that the dry spell affects other crops too as it can lead to pest infestations.
While dams in Kedah and Penang still have enough water for domestic and agricultural use, the Timah Tasoh Dam in northern Perlis has reached a critical level, dropping to 26.98m from its normal level of 29.10m. This drastic decrease has severely impacted water supply for irrigating padi farms.
Perlis agriculture committee chairman Razali Saad acknowledged the concern, noting that padi cultivation in the northern areas of Beseri, Tebing Tinggi and Wang Kelian has been particularly affected due to their reliance on the Timah Tasoh Dam.
He said that the state is monitoring the situation closely to ensure the viability of padi fields.
He added that this includes cloud seeding over the Timah Tasoh Dam to help increase the storage level.
The dry weather is also hammering Perak, with its Bukit Merah lake falling from its normal level of 8.68m to 6.18m yesterday.
Bukit Merah supplies treated water to the Kerian District in Perak and also to nearby padi fields.
Over in Kedah, padi farmers at areas which don’t come under the Muda Agriculture Development Authority (Mada) are also bracing for the dry season.
Farmers especially those in Kuala Nerang, Padang Terap, Pendang and Baling rely mainly on favourable weather for a successful padi planting season.
Naka Farmers’ Association (PPK) unit chief Abdul Kadir Ismail, 64, said farmers in the affected areas are also unable to fertilise their crops due to water scarcity.
“Many have experienced low yields and lost thousands of ringgit. They now have to replant their crops,” he said.
Efforts to tap water from the nearby Sungai Tekai, he added, have been futile as the river has been dry for months.
During this dry season, farmers have taken up part-time jobs like rubber tapping to earn an income.
Mada chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Salleh said levels of reservoirs managed by Mada are sufficient to meet the needs for padi cultivation and domestic use.
“Although it is low, the water capacity is still enough,” he said, adding that Mada has already planned to carry out cloud seeding operations with help from the National Disaster Management Agency.
The operation will be carried out when there is a need to fill up the reservoirs as it will be crucial for the next padi planting cycle.
As of yesterday, the overall status of reservoirs under Mada’s supervision showed the Pedu lake is at 46.67% of its capacity while the corresponding figures for Muda and Ahning are 13.34% and 83.56%, respectively.
The combined capacity of the three dams is 611,391 acre-foot or 754,138,571 cubic metres.
According to Universiti Sains Malaysia’s atmosfera.usm.my/ index.html website, the relative humidity in Penang has dipped by roughly 20% as of yesterday compared with earlier this month.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bagi memastikan pengurusan bencana yang lebih cekap dan berkesan, penggunaan sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Geospatial Pertahanan (DGIM) akan diperluaskan di semua negeri.
Ketua Pengarah Agensi Pengurusan Bencana Negara (NADMA), Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus berkata usaha itu satu nilai tambah bagi proses penyediaan laporan situasi bencana melalui kebolehcapaian data yang terkini secara lebih menyeluruh.
Sehubungan itu, bagi merealisasikan hasratberkenaan, NADMA menganjurkan bengkel membabitkan semua kerajaan negeri, Jabatan Wilayah Persekutuan (JWP) dan Angkatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia (APM).
"Bengkel secara 'hands on' ini adalah langkah ke hadapan NADMA untuk meningkatkan lagi tahap kesiapsiagaan negara menghadapi bencana dengan memanfaatkan sepenuhnya penggunaan teknologi terkini dalam bidang GIS khususnya ketika bencana banjir Monsun Timur Laut (MTL).
"Penggunaan sistem DGIM yang sudah tersedia ini juga akan menjimatkan kosselaras denganusaha kerajaan mendigitalkan pengurusan bencana di seluruh negara.
"Ini kerana kerajaan negeri tidak perlu melantik perunding ataupun konsultan luar bagi membangunkan sistem secara berasingan," katanya dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.
Khairul Shahril berkata pada masa sama, penggunaan sistem DGIM akan meningkatkan lagi tahap kompetensi pegawai dalambidang Geographic Information System (GIS),bagi tujuan pengurusan bencana.
Memperincikan sistem terbabit, katanya ia berteraskan perkongsian data spatial dalam aplikasi GIS pelbagai agensi yang dibangunkan oleh Jabatan Ukur dan Pemetaan (JUPEM).
Melalui sistem DGIM, Pusat Kawalan Operasi Bencana (NDCC) di bawah NADMA membangunkan Dashboard Pengurusan Bencana (DPB) bagi membolehkan agensi itu selaku pusat tumpuan' pengurusan bencana negara memantau situasi bencana semasa.
"Melalui sistem ini, ia membolehkan pengguna mengakses pelbagai data mengenai sesuatu kawasan yang sedang dilanda bencana dengan cepat dan mudah kerana data terbabit dikongsi oleh pelbagai agensi dalam satu pangkalan data sahaja.
"Antaranya data mengenai jumlah penduduk, jenis guna tanah, kawasan hot spot banjir, lokasi projek tebatan banjir,kawasan cerun berisiko, lokasi Pejabat Daerah, lokasi Pusat Pemindahan Sementara (PPS) dan jumlah kemudahan serta utiliti awam," katanya.
Khairul Shahril turut memaklumkan, bengkel yang berlangsung di NDCC itu, dijalankan selama 3 hari dan berakhir hari ini.
Secara keseluruhan, ia membabitkan 46 peserta membabitkan tenaga pengajar daripada NADMA dan JUPEM.
THE UNSUNG HEROES
- Admin UKK
- Berita
THE 12-person team that retrieved the flight recorders of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 reunite for the first time since venturing into war-ravaged eastern Ukraine 10 years ago. In a special programme organised by the ‘New Straits Times’, they met and received the gratitude of some of the family members whose loved ones were killed aboard the ill-fated airliner. The next of kin finally learn firsthand the risks and dangers ‘The Dozen Persons’ had to navigate while unarmed as fighting raged between Ukrainian government and separatist forces.
THEIR orders were to go into war-ravaged Donetsk in Ukraine, secure the crash site and black boxes from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, and recover the remains of the victims.
The region where the Boeing 777200ER had crashed — brought down by a Russian-made BUK 9M38 surfaceto-air missile on July 17, 2014 — had seen intense fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatist troops. The jetliner was en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, when it was shot down in eastern Ukraine.
The aircraft carried 283 passengers and 15 crew. There were no survivors.
The 12 Malaysians handpicked for this mission — “The Dozen Persons” — were told to go in — unarmed — and get the job done, using nothing but their wits, ingenuity, and guile. At almost every turn, they faced the constant threat from both Russian and Ukrainian snipers, being doublecrossed, or worse — executed as spies if captured.
A decade after their mission in Ukraine, “The Dozen Persons” reunited for the first time to recount their harrowing experience of entering an active war zone, unarmed.
In a special programme organised by the ‘New Straits Times’ to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tragic shootdown and the daring mission that eventually brought some closure, these unsung heroes were not just reunited, but were able to meet the families of several MH17 victims.
“The Dozen Persons Reunited”, was a poignant reunion, marked with gratitude, as the key players could finally tell the real story of their mission.
For the families, it was especially moving, to finally be able to thank the 12 men who were willing to lay down their lives to bring home their loved ones. Many said that they did not know about “The Dozen Persons”, partly because there has been little recognition of the role they played.
One of the team members, Superintendent Abd Rahim Abd Aziz, praised the NST for the effort, noting the challenges in organising such a reunion.
“There are two good things that we can benefit from today’s session... First, we get to meet one another after 10 years. “Secondly, we get to share the real stories. This is a great effort from the NST, because no one had ever attempted to reunite us in one session (before) today,” he said.
Besides Rahim, the team included Colonel (Rtd) Mohd Sakri Hussin from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), Major-General (Rtd) Datuk Dr Mohd Ilham Haron, Colonel Dr Mohd Hafizi Abdullah, and Major Dr Mohd Zainizam Zainal from the Armed Forces’ Royal Medical Corps.
The team also comprised four members of the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s special forces unit (Paskau) — Colonel Muhammad Mustafa Omar, retired Sergeant Rosli Mustafa, retired Warrant Officer Shahrizal Abu Bakar, and Flight Sergeant Mohd Affandy Ahmad Zaini.
Lieutenant Colonel Nadzri Musman from the Armed Forces’ Religious Corps, Rosli Shaari from the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart), and Datuk Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood of the Kuala Lumpur Hospital Pathology and Disaster Victim Identification team, were also part of the group.
During their two-day life-anddeath mission, the team encountered 12 military checkpoints on their journey from Kyiv to Donetsk. The area was an active combat zone, and each checkpoint was manned by troops armed with heavy-caliber weapons. Some were backed up by Russianmade BMPs (infantry fighting vehicles), and tanks.
On one occasion, they were stopped dead in their tracks when Ukrainian forces detected their movement towards Donetsk, and demanded that they leave immediately.
The team then met with separatist leader Alexander Borodai and, after some tense negotiations, managed to secure safe passage into the crash site. There, the team recovered some crucial evidence, including the plane’s black boxes. They also secured and recovered the remains of the victims.
Mustafa said the mission proved that, despite being a small country, Malaysia was capable of planning and executing a dangerous mission amidst a regional conflict between a nuclear superpower and her neighbour — without a single shot being fired. This achievement was even recognised by the international media.
“The incident occurred thousands of miles away from our country, amidst a war between a superpower and her neighbour. Despite being a small country, we demonstrated our capability in negotiations and crash recovery operations.
“This is why the media recognised our efforts and our leadership’s ability to manage this crisis.”
However, Rosli Shaari expressed the team’s disappointment at the government’s failure to acknowledge their sacrifice, and the risks they took.
“It’s about team effort. None of us can claim that they were the sole hero for this mission.
“We gave our soul, our heart and, of course, 100 per cent commitment to this mission, which was during Ramadan. We got the job done, accomplished the mission, but we never received any recognition or appreciation from anybody,” he said.
The reunion also saw the team being honoured with a special plaque from Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
In his speech, read out by his military adviser, Brigadier-General Datuk Mohammad Razief Che Ahmad, Khaled said the mission undertaken by the team was a testament to their commitment to justice for Malaysia over the downing of the plane.
“Entering a war zone unarmed, without any weapons to protect themselves, is not an easy task, and they faced this harrowing experience without any issues.
“Although this mission was very challenging, it did not dampen the spirit of these 12 remarkable individuals in the slightest,” he said.
Kuala Lumpur: Kementerian Peralihan Tenaga dan Transformasi Air (PETRA) melalui Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran (JPS) mengenal pasti 5,648 lokasi ‘hotspot’ atau kawasan pasti banjir di seluruh negara.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri yang juga Menteri Peralihan Tenaga dan Transformasi Air, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, berkata JPS merancang penyelesaian jangka pendek dan panjang untuk kawasan terbabit.
Bagi penyelesaian jangka pendek, katanya, JPS melakukan persediaan kesiapsiagaan untuk mengurangkan risiko banjir kepada penduduk, antaranya dengan mengaktifkan Bilik Kawalan Operasi Pusat Ramalan dan Amaran Banjir (PRABN).
Beliau berkata, PRABN ini beroperasi 24 jam dalam menghasilkan ramalan kejadian banjir tujuh hari ke hadapan dan memberi hebahan seawal dua hari selepas mendapat ramalan cuaca dari Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia (Metmalaysia) kepada agensi berkaitan untuk dihebahkan kepada orang awam.
Kuala Lumpur: Purata suhu permukaan Semenanjung Malaysia menunjukkan peningkatan 0.24 darjah Celsius setiap dekad, dengan pelbagai faktor sama ada semula jadi atau kesan aktiviti manusia antara penyebab.
Menteri Sumber Asli dan Kelestarian Alam, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, berkata purata suhu bulanan di Semenanjung Malaysia pada Mei lalu adalah 28.8 darjah
Celsius, manakala purata suhu bulanan pada Mei 1974 iaitu 50 tahun lalu adalah 26.6 darjah Celsius.
“Peningkatan suhu ini dipengaruhi pelbagai faktor iaitu faktor semula jadi dan kesan daripada aktiviti manusia. Faktor semula jadi adalah seperti perubahan iklim global dan perubahan pola cuaca.
“Peningkatan pelepasan gas rumah kaca di atmosfera secara global menyebabkan perubahan iklim yang memberi kesan terhadap peningkatan suhu global dan impaknya dapat juga dirasakan di Semenanjung Malaysia,” katanya melalui jawapan bertulis di Parlimen.
Perubahan pola cuaca
Beliau berkata demikian menjawab pertanyaan Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (Ph-beruas) mengenai purata suhu di Semenanjung Malaysia sekarang berbanding 50 tahun lalu, selain punca perubahan itu.
Mengulas lanjut, Nik Nazmi berkata, perubahan pola cuaca seperti perubahan hujan dan musim pula boleh mempengaruhi suhu tempatan.
Selain itu, katanya, aktiviti manusia seperti penebangan hutan, pertanian dan pembangunan infrastruktur menyebabkan hilangnya kesan penyejukan semula jadi, mengubah aliran air semula jadi dan iklim tempatan turut menyumbang peningkatan suhu.
