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Cheap land for Taib’s family?

Anil Netto
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The MP for Bandar Kuching has reportedly accused the Sarawak state government of alienating 269 acres of land near the Kuching airport to a private company at a “obscenely under-priced” rate.

Chong Chieng Jen alleged the alienation rate was RM291,000 per acre on average, according to a Malaysiakini report. “The market rate is between RM1.5 million and RM2 million per acre. Had the government gone for public tender, the state could have (earned) RM400 million to RM500 million,” the popular web portal quoted him as saying. Monarda Sdn Bhd, a dormant company that has a paid-up capital of RM100, only paid about RM78 million for the three parcels of land, he claimed.

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Pornthip: Thailand’s trail-blazing detective

Anil Netto
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The New York Times carries a feature on Thai forensics pathologist Pornthip Rojanasunand.

BANGKOK— THE mild-mannered bank manager poked his head into the doorway, then quickly pulled it back. His wife was at work, and he did not want to look. He has never looked. He is afraid of corpses.

If the body on the stainless steel table inside had somehow awakened for a moment, it might have jumped, too, with shock.

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Pornthip in Crime Scene Bangkok

Anil Netto
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9

National Geographic Channel features Thai forensic pathologist Pornthip Rojanasunand’s role in the investigation of the sudden death of a Thai parliamentarian.

Sarawak assembly building – by CMS/Naim

Anil Netto
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This is the new Sarawak State Assembly building, built at a cost of about RM300 million, on the banks of the Sarawak River in Petra Jaya, Kuching.

Photo credit: Wikipedia


Source: Naim Holdings Bhd Annual Report 2009

The structure was developed by Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s family-controlled listed firm Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd and another listed firm, Naim Holdings Bhd. According to the Annual Report 2009 of CMS Bhd, the complex was developed by CMS subsidiary PPES Works (Sarawak), along with a Naim subsidiary, Naim Cendera Sdn Bhd. Naim Holdings’ Annual Report 2009 says these two companies were turnkey contractors for the project, which was completed in May 2009.

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Govt-owned ‘private’ hospitals

Anil Netto
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With the federal and state governments and GLCs holding stakes in an increasing number of private hospitals, is there a conflict of interest?

Blog reader Ganesh shares his thoughts.

If you see the private hospitals, some of them are virtually owned either directly or indirectly by the government.

So, the government has absolutely no incentive to build more new government hospitals nor to upgrade existing government hospitals at all.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-22

Anil Netto
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0

Costs soar after health services privatised

Anil Netto
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13

Ever since health care support services in general hospitals were privatised, costs borne by taxpayers have soared.

In 1996, health care support services were privatised to three companies: Faber Medi-Serve Sdn Bhd (FMS), Radicare (M) Sdn Bhd and Pantai Medivest Sdn Bhd.

In 1997, the payments made to these companies added up to RM340 million, broken down as follows:

  • Faber RM127m
  • Radicare RM150m
  • Pantai Medivest RM63m
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Don’t release GM mosquitoes

Anil Netto
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Male GM mosquitoes could be released at both inhabited and uninhabited sites in Pahang and Melaka in October or November, if the National Biosafety Board of Malaysia approves an application to conduct experiments.

The Aedes mosquito (OX513A strain) has been modified to include two new traits, fluorescence and ‘conditional lethality’, which means that in the absence of the antibiotic tetracycline, offspring from these males will die. The trial is aimed at finding out how long these GM mosquitoes will survive and how far they will disperse compared to the wild type non-GM mosquitoes.

If the Institute of Medical Research’s application is approved, up to 6,000 of these ‘non-biting’ GM mosquitoes and a number of non-GM mosquitoes will be released in the Bentong district of Pahang and Alor Gajah and Melaka district. The release will be carried out over two consecutive days during the second week of October or November 2010.

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Pornthip “most trusted” in Thailand: Survey

Anil Netto
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50

Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunand is the most trusted individual in all of Thailand, according to a Readers’ Digest Trust survey.

This survey in October 2009 found that out of 80 individuals in the country, the Director of Thailand’s Forensic Science Institute was the most trusted.

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85% of new drugs offer few benefits: Study

Anil Netto
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11

A study just out reveals that about 85 per cent of new drugs offer few if any new benefits. In fact, a significant cause of death in the United States is due to the toxic side effects or misuse of prescription drugs, reports the Science Daily.

“Sometimes drug companies hide or downplay information about serious side effects of new drugs and overstate the drugs’ benefits,” said Prof Donald Light, author of the paper, Pharmaceuticals: A Two-Tier Market for Producing ‘Lemons’ and Serious Harm.

Drug firms also tend to spend two or three times more on marketing than research to persuade doctors to prescribe these new drugs for conditions other than those for which the drugs have been approved, said Light, who is professor of comparative health policy at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He added that doctors usually tend to dismiss patients’ complaints of side effects or take them lightly.

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