UNIVERSITI Sains Malaysia (USM) recently had an unexpected visitor to its Durian Valley in its Penang campus — the elusive Malayan Night Heron. USM Biological Sciences lecturer and bird specialist Mohamed Hifni Baharuddin said the sighting of the night heron (Gorsachius melanolophus) was a pleasant surprise to USM, as the nocturnal bird is a rare vagrant species. “This bird is by nature solitary, shy, skittish and rarely seen. It roosts in dense vegetation by day and feeds on small vertebrates and invertebrates at dusk. “The Asian Waterbirds Sensor Committee stated that sightings of this species are uncommon but the bird was last spotted in Templar Park north of Kuala Lumpur last year,” he said yesterday at USM. The adult night heron grows to 48cm high and has a stocky appearance. It has a short stubby bill, bright rufous neck and breast, a whitish chin with a blackish streak running down to its breast, and black wings. The medium-size heron, also called the Tiger Bittern, is known to breed in India, Taiwan and Southern China. It travels across South-East Asia and prefers swampy areas, streams, secondary growth, and forests. Mohamed Hifni, who is also the school’s environmental and aquatic biology programme chairman, said the valley provided a safe and green environment that was suitable for the bird. “USM will get this discovery included into the world map of bird sightings. “This is important, as some bird experts had wanted ‘Malayan’ dropped from the species’s name since the bird is rarely seen in Malaysia,” he said. Mohamed Hifni also said USM had recorded the sightings of 114 bird species at the campus since the mid-1980s. “We had eight latest sightings. Apart from the night heron, there were the yellow-crowned Weaver, the black-beaked Little Egret, the thick-billed pigeon and the hawk cuckoo. “The birds seen here are from different varieties that frequent forest, mangrove, coastal and garden areas. This means the Durian Valley is very popular with seasonal and non-seasonal visitors,” he said. The Durian Valley, which is located near USM’s Tuanku Fauziah Museum and Gallery, has also been earmarked for USM’s new Eco-Park project. Pharmacy lecturer Assoc Prof Saad Othman said the project covering about 40,000 sq m of valley land, would have a fruit orchard and a domestic vegetation corridor. “It is our hope that in future, pharmacy students can conduct herbal medicine studies using the plants here,” he said. The site for the park was previously neglected until a recent intensive cleanup by the university and a group of volunteers called Eco-Friends. It is currently in the rehabilitation process. Assoc Prof Saad said the park would not materialise so soon but in the meantime, there were plans to start some environmental programmes such as fun workshops for the public in July. “The workshops for adults and children will involve simple lessons related to the environment and plants. They can learn things such as how to use plants to make food items like syrup. “We also want to try out the Eco-Kids programme with USM staff members and students’ children,” he said. Earlier at a press conference at the USM Eco-Hub, vice-chancellor Tan Sri Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said that the university, as a Garden University, had allocations for new environmental programmes. “We are also planning to have an eco-trail, which covers the valley, the Eco-Hub and the heri-tage buildings nearby, and recover a small piece of wetlands for the park. “Two buildings nearby will also be converted into a gallery-cum-museum for academic activities and environmental awareness programmes,” he said. USM also received over 100 trees worth RM20,000 from the state Forestry Department for the valley. Get from The Star 21 Feb 09''
A Reader’s Digest Asia article in December 2007 explored the noise epidemic in various public places in the cities of Asia: Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Tests carried out from diners to railway stations, shopping malls to schoolyards reveal that almost all of us in these cities live, work and play surrounded by noise loud enough to cause hearing loss. A suburban train in Kuala Lumpur was found to generate noise reaching 115dBA (well above the WHO safe limit of 70dBA) when it leaves the platform, and “the combination of squealing train tracks and howling wind tunnels make the 20-minute train ride felt like sitting inside a jet engine”. While many noise-induced hearing loss prevention programmes and legislation has been in place, they are often poorly implemented and enforced. If you already have hearing loss, it is more important for you to preserve what’s left of your hearing. These are some of the ways you could shield your ears from further assault, normal hearing or otherwise: 1. Try to stay away from places that are loud and noisy. 2. Limit your exposure to loud noise if you can’t avoid it. 3. Protective earmuffs come in handy especially when you are exposed to loud noise for long periods of time. Some earmuffs have amplification circuits that may help people with hearing impairment communicate better in noisy backgrounds. 4. Try not to “treat” your ears to loud music through your earphones on iPods or mp3 players. 5. If you use equipment that generate loud noise (jackhammers, drills, and yes, your hairdryer), choose quieter equipment or wear protective equipment when you are using it. 6. Seek treatment for ear infections and get your ears checked frequently if you are exposed to any of the risk factors of hearing loss. Get from The Star 15 FEB
相信大家都知道今年一月一日，政府以乘客安全為出發點强制后座乘客系上安全带，正式实施！有关传票罚款为300令吉。一些旧款的汽车后座没有安全带，政府又突然间说要强制后座乘客系上安全带，在经济不景气的当儿，安装费对某些人来讲简直是雪上加霜！如果要车主去安装，对他们来说，就要花一笔费用。别忘了，那些至今还驾着十多年前旧非国产车的车主，大多是中下层阶级人士，在经济不景气的当儿，对他们来说，安装费无疑是雪上加霜。驾旧车者大有人在，赶在实施前去装全安带，不只要花钱， 还要花时间，令人烦不胜烦。不装的话，又怕被触犯交通规则，被罚款，这300令吉对他们来说可不是小事情，这可能已经是他们一家大小一个星期的日常费用！
陆路交通局一方面说给予车主三年安装安全带的宽限期，一方面又要车主遵守新交通法令，即必须安装及系上后座安全带，否则不能载人，对于那些必须等3年才能安装免费后座乘客安全带的人说，岂非车辆后座3年都不能载人？对于有家庭或必须每天载送孩子和家人的人士来说，的确存有不便之处，这是陆路交通局必须重新考量和通融的。
这3年的宽限期，对车主们来说，根本起不了多大的作用。毕竟，执法人员已从1月1日起严厉执法，凡是车辆后座乘客没有系安全带都会被罚款300令吉；至于没有安装后座乘客安全带的车辆，车主不可以载人，否则当作超载论；虽说交通部允许后座载送3人，但若后座只有两个安全带者，没有另安装后座第3乘客的安全带，车主只能载2人，否则就当作超载论。
从上述种种的情况来看，这项措施进行得太仓促，一是促使安全带货源短缺，二是导致人民因为不了解这项欠缺全面的措施而倍感焦急。有些车主甚至到处询问安装安全带的详情，而面对许多无礼的对待，因为很多车厂员工在年关迫近的当儿，还要为安装后座安全带而赶工。
如此“半套”的安全措施，让人百思不得其意！若後座繫安全帶是為了保障乘客安全，那為何不全面落實？對於後座安全帶的寬限安裝期尚算理解，但是商用汽車即的士等与部分自用車，還允許超載，又说第四乘客不必系上后座安全带，又说这措施为了乘客的安全，如果设这样，意思就是说第四乘客的性命就不重要？他们车祸伤亡就不关事？此外，许多小孩子因为身体比较小，安全带对他们来讲就是没用的东西，他们系上了后座安全带根本就没作用，而且还是活跃的他们失去了自由。就与此措施宗旨背道而驶了。
政府在实行某项措施之前，应该要从长计议，按部就班，处处以民为本，为人民着想。当务之急，我希望政府能与相关的车厂商议，加速效率处理安装后座乘客安全带的问题，把车主的问题和不便减至最低点，从而减少车主无辜接传票的投诉问题。若因此而草率行事，使執法過程漏洞百出，將損後座繫安全帶行動美意。交通部應深謀遠慮，擬定“全套”措施，以維護駕駛者及乘客安全。
除此之外，这种措施的实行对一些家庭的影响很大，有些家庭通常都是七个人共乘一辆车，到处去找节目、找美食。他们甚至会“大阵仗”到外州游览。他们会如此这般，一来是省掉找停车位的麻烦，二来也算得上是节省能源，再来是那些家庭成员相当享受一家人共处一车的温馨场面，大家有说有笑地，其乐融融。
还记得多年前，政府宣布头盔须贴上反光贴纸，人民纷纷抢着购买反光贴纸，该商家也突然之间一笔发财。最后警察也没有发此传单了。在这不就好哦啊，政府又宣布摩托车白天也必须亮着车灯，白天莫名其妙量亮什么车灯，近年来也是没有取缔了。政府做事情大多数都是虎头蛇尾！大家会不会觉得当初政府做了这么大的宣传来实施一项措施，但是几年后却不了了之，是不是很浪费国家的金钱，国家的金钱即使人民辛辛苦苦赚来给政府抽税的。我深信后座安全带之后也会不了了之，所以我坚决反对政府强制后座乘客系上安全带，除了破坏了它的定义，也浪费人民的金钱去做宣传。
我国交通不方便，要等一辆巴士有时也要一个小时多，多数人民都会利用本身的交通工具，有关当局要实施一项措施时，请先站在人民这儿用人类的头脑想想看是否正确。
要了解，政府医生之下，牵一发动全省，全国交通工具使用者都得为新的措施花时间花金钱。更糟糕的是，车祸率也并不是因为这样而减低的。要减低车祸率政府因该加强取缔猖狂的飙车族，并加重他们的罚款，这才是人民真正要的。
By WK 09''
近日，全球经济大海啸，我国大马当然不例外，我国许许多多的外劳被迫返回自己的祖国！许多大马人也被迫送返回本地效劳自己的国家，吃回马来西亚的米。世界就是这样现实，须要你就高薪聘请，不须要了两句话就把你踢回来！