12
speak up!
Are we ready for the second wave?
AS I look down out of my window on
the 18th floor of Hongkong’s Empire
Hotel, all I can see are tiny dots of vari-
ous colours scurrying about.
They are in fact the tops of umbrel-
las which indicate how severe the tiny
droplets outside my window are to the
people below. The torrential season
started on June 8, says Emily, a famil-
iar face at the hotel’s business centre
who helps get my coffee and plugs in
this laptop on which I am typing my
column.
Apart from brollies, another com-
mon accessory here of late is the
surgical mask. At one time these
masks were a shield against the smog
and intermittent haze, now it is a
must have, no thanks to the swine flu
scare which has gripped the special
administrative region as its first two
local cases were confirmed
on Wednesday.
A 55-year-old man is
suspected to have con-
tracted the flu at an office
party of top international
legal firm Lovells from
someone who returned
from London, while tests
confirmed that a 16-year-
old girl also has the swine
flu symptoms although Down2Earth
where she contracted it
from is still a mystery. by Terence Fernandez
At press time yesterday, Hongkong
authorities had ordered the closure
of all primary schools, kindergartens,
child care centres and special schools
for 14 days from today in an effort to
control the spread of the virus.
I am glad that I am coming home
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tions)
today and hope that none ally read by medical staff where
in the long lines of foreign visitors submitting incomplete
guests at the check-in forms were asked to complete
counter of the hotel have them and further quizzed.
any of the symptoms like The Hongkong government,
those of the Mexican meanwhile, has set aside RM490
tourist on May 1 who was million to provide inoculations
Hongkong’s very first to two million people in high
case. He stayed at Metro risk groups – the elderly, young
Park Hotel across the road children, those with pre-existing
and caused the 300 guests medical conditions and frontline
and staff to be quarantined medical staff.
for a week. It is now negotiating with the
Meanwhile, Malaysia 1,000 private practitioners to as-
could take a leaf out of Hongkong’s sist the government to vaccinate
approach to the situation. From Day the rest of the population at a
One it has stationed medical officers at minimum cost of RM24, the bill
the entry points and thermal scanners paid by the government.
were actually in operation. Back home, it would be unfair
Health declaration forms which to say that our health officials
we filled up on the plane were actu- are not doing their bit in con-
taining the Malaysian cases (the
number reached 11 yesterday),
but whether they are doing their
best is open to debate.
Allowing the 192 passengers
of the Malaysia Airlines flight
from the US which flew in the
second H1N1 carrier, to run free
with self-imposed house quaran-
tine is not doing much to arrest
fears over the spread of the flu.
Instead of taking drastic
measures to quarantine them at
a hospital, the authorities have
left it to the volition, judgment
and conscience of these passen-
gers to stay at home so as not to
risk spreading the disease.
At the same time, it is learnt
that the thermal machines were
not running since the first day
of the flu being confirmed in the
US. It was set up only three days
later and that too upon chiding
by airport authorities since these
machines are operated by Health
Ministry officials.
This brings to mind the fact
that we bought a dozen scanners
for all entry points to the tune of
RM3.5 million at the height of the
SARS (severe acute respiratory
letter
letters@thesundaily.com
In need of Mara study loan
I’M a mother of five children. My
husband works as a dispatch
clerk earning RM1,300 a month
while I’m a full-time housewife.
To help my husband and sup-
port my family, I take in sewing
jobs regularly that contribute
about RM300-500 a month to
the household income. This is
just enough for my family of
seven.
My eldest son has just finished
his SPM and I’m happy with his
results. He wants to further his
education in a local college, but
the whole course costs about
RM40,000. With our income, we
can barely cover family expenses,
let alone my son’s education
fees.
I was happy when I found out
that Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara)
offers study loans to bumiputras.
This loan scheme is the answer
for me as it comes with a 0%
interest and higher loans com-
pared to other similar schemes.
A Mara loan even provides a
monthly allowance to students
if the annual income of both par-
ents is less than RM75,000. With
this loan my son would be able
to attend college, and it would
also help to reduce some of our
financial burden.
But then we were told that
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syndrome) outbreak in 2003.
When the scanners were
taken out of storage as part of
preventive measures for H1N1,
it was discovered that they were
not maintained, where only half
could be operated immediately.
The government then had to dig
further in taxpayers’ funds to
buy new scanners.
World Health Organisa-
tion (WHO) expects the bug to
mutate into a deadly virus by
winter. Malaysia should pull up
its socks and be more proactive
in countering the impending
threat. As it is airborne, it was
only a matter of time that the
virus reached our shores.
No one can be blamed if the
best steps were taken and the
virus still penetrated our best
defences; but what cannot be
tolerated is that this threat to
health and life could be averted
or minimised if those in charge
had stepped up their game a lit-
tle bit more.
In Hongkong, local authori-
ties have ordered hotels and
public places such as malls and
restaurants to sanitise toilets and
lifts (including buttons) every
two hours.
It is still not too late for us. We
have a blueprint on dealing with
epidemics – the nipah virus out-
break a decade ago which was
endorsed by WHO. It is time to
wake up and smell the Panadol
and not fight a 21st century threat
with a 19th century mentality,
where the only winners are the
exclusive importers of flu vac-
cines who are laughing all the
way to the bank.
Terence is overdosing on Vitamin
C. He is deputy editor special re-
ports & investigations at theSun.
Feedback: terence@thesundaily.
com
Mara has stopped taking applica-
tions for this loan and it’s been
put on hold until further notice.
The reason given is that Mara is
undergoing restructuring exer-
cises. Until now Mara hasn’t given
any further details on whether it
is withdrawing the loan scheme
or just suspending it.
This is bad news for me and
my son. This loan is supposed
to give us the financial aid that
my son needs, so that he can
go to college and get his degree
without any worries about his
tuition fees. But now we have
no choice but to apply to other
schemes that offer smaller loans
at higher interest rates, and I still
need to find ways to pay for the
rest of the fees.
I don’t understand why Mara
has frozen the scheme. I’m sure
there are other parents who are in
a similar predicament. The board
should let us know what hap-
pened to the scheme and when
it will be re-implemented. Mara
should also re-consider its deci-
sion to put this scheme on hold,
as it has a big impact on ap-
plicants from the lower-income
group.
Distressed Mother
Kuala Lumpur