Well-known film and TV drama actor Shukery Hashim died of pancreatic cancer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre in Cheras at 1.45pm yesterday. He was 55.
“We declared war against dengue in February. It looks like we are losing.”
Director-general of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican painted this grim picture when he revealed that 57 people had died of dengue between January and June 6 and warned that more would die from the disease.Dr Ismail did not mince his words, blaming doctors in private clinics and hospitals for the high death toll.
He said the majority of those who died could have been saved if doctors had known what to do.
Dr Ismail said 35 of those who died had sought treatment at private clinics or hospitals early, but doctors there did not carry out proper tests or follow-ups, leading to their deaths.
“In fact, 30 per cent of those who died only came to the government hospitals when they became very ill.”
He said of the 22,426 cases reported, only nine per cent were notified by private practitioners.
Dr Ismail said without notification, health authorities could not take action, such as fogging, to prevent more dengue cases.
He told a meeting of state health directors, representatives from relevant
agencies and bodies, the Malaysian Medical Association and Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia yesterday that everyone must do their part to ensure the disease was defeated.
The meeting also discussed ways to get the community involved in the fight against dengue
Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the government may host the National Tadau Kaamatan and Gawai Open House celebrations in Kuala Lumpur from next year."Having the event in Kuala Lumpur will enable Malay-sians in the peninsula to learn more about the culture and heritage of the Kadazandusun in Sabah and the Dayak and Iban in Sarawak.
"We want to enhance national integration by helping all communities to learn more about the people of Sabah and Sarawak," he told a meeting with media editors yesterday.
Rais also said the ministry would review the role of the Information Department in Sabah and Sarawak in view of the rapid development in information technology and the presence of satellite television provider Astro.
"In the 1980s, there was no Astro or handphones. The Information Department spread information by meeting the people.
Rais suggested that Radio Televisyen Malaysia form a smart partnership with Astro so that people in rural areas could enjoy watching TV programmes they would otherwise have no access to.
Malaysia confirms its seventh positive Influenza A(H1N1) case, involving an Australian student who is in the country with her mother to visit their relatives.Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican, in a statement today, said the student and her mother arrived at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang on board Air Asia flight X D7 2723 from Melbourne at 7am yesterday.
"She was found to be having a high temperature during screening using the thermo-scanner at LCCT, and from further checks by the health team there found that she had been having fever, coughing and sore throat a day before arriving in Malaysia," he added.
He said the student was referred to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital at 8.15am and admitted to a special ward there, adding that she was confirmed a influenza A(H1N1) case at 10.34pm the same day.
She was given anti-viral treatment and was now in stable condition, he added.
He urged those who were in the same flight with the student, especially those seated near her to contact the Health Ministry at 03-88810200 or 03-88810300 between 8am and 9pm.
There were 258 passengers on the flight and the student''s seat was 31A, he added.
He said currently, 143 contacts were being placed under house quarantine and all of them were in good health.
Malaysia reported its sixth positive Influenza A (H1N1) case yesterday - a Malaysian student in New York who returned to the country on June 3.
Dr Mohd Ismail said that according to the latest report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), two more countries -- Barbados and Saudi Arabia -- reported a confirmed Influenza A(H1N1) case in their respective countries.
So far, a total of 22,092 Influenza a (H1N1) cases, with 125 deaths, have been reported in 69 countries.
Manchester United has signed a four-year shirt sponsorship deal with the insurance giant Aon Corporation.
Aon will replace troubled US insurer AIG, which is restructuring itself having received a $150bn (£109bn) bail-out from the US government.
The new sponsor will appear on Manchester United's shirts from the start of the 2010/11 season.
Aon is based in Chicago and specialises in reinsurance, which is the selling of insurance to other insurers.
Neither Manchester United nor Aon has announced the terms of the deal or how much it is worth.
AIG paid £14m a year for its four-year deal, which ends in May 2010.
There have been reports that Aon's deal could be worth as much as £80m over four years.
Aon said it hoped that its relationship with Manchester United would help to improve its brand recognition.
It pointed out that after its first year sponsoring the team, AIG had become the 47th most recognised global brand and had jumped from number 84 to number 30 on Barron's list of most respected companies.
A TV actor tried to make a quick escape – minus his clothes – when Selangor Religious Department (Jais) officers raided his fiancee’s apartment in Petaling Jaya, reported Harian Metro.
The 20-something actor, who appears in a mystic and horror TV series, managed to climb to the next unit’s balcony on the fifth floor at 3am recently.
Five Jais officers raided the apartment after receiving complaints from neighbours that the actor and his fiancee would meet up frequently at her home.
The woman, also in her 20s and an assistant producer in the TV series, told the officers that she lived alone.
The woman, who was dressed in a sleeveless top and skimpy shorts, allowed officers into her room where they found a pair of men’s trousers and shirt.
Jais Special Force Unit chief Shahrom Maarop said: “Further inspection found signs that a person had exited through the balcony.”
The officers then went next door and found a few male foreigners living in the apartment.
One of the officers spotted a man who had wrapped himself with the curtains near the balcony.
“Officers questioned the actor who tried to pose as one of the foreigners. But the ruse did not work as his accent and skin colour were different from the occupants.
“The actor finally admitted that he had been sleeping at the woman’s home and that they were engaged,” Shahrom said.
They were detained for questioning and released on bail.
