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Grateful
to be alive pg20
& rocking
Three
Malaysians
to get gift
of sight
by Tan Yi Liang
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Three Malay-
sians will receive the gift of sight
– thanks to corneas donated by the
Sri Lankan government.
The corneas, which will benefit
a Malay, Chinese and an Indian,
are part of the Buddhist Maha
Vihara’s annual Caring and Shar-
ing programme to commemorate
Wesak Day.
About 1,000 underprivileged
individuals were invited to the
Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brick-
fields yesterday to take part in the
celebration, which included food,
gifts and entertainment.
Said the Buddhist Chief High
Priest of Malaysia, K. Sri Dhamma-
ratana: “This event will help foster
unity among the races. It extends
beyond race and religion.”
Transport Minister Datuk Seri
Ong Tee Keat, who was the guest of
honour, received the corneas from
Sri Lankan High Commissioner Dr
D. Ranasinghe.
He thanked the Sri Lankan gov-
ernment for the donation.
Of yesterday’s celebration, he
said: “It is truly an honour to witness
a gathering of different cultures,
religions and ethnicity in one place
rejoicing in the act of giving, caring
and sharing.”
Ong also called for the con-
cept of giving and sharing to be
revived.
“In today’s hectic and changing
world, the simple thought of stop-
ping and observing our surround-
ings and extending a helping hand
is long forgotten. We need to revive
the thought of giving and sharing
in each and every one of us,” he
said.
The cornea transplants will be
carried out at Tun Hussein Onn Eye
Hospital.
Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)
» Tee Keat denies move to topple Chua pg2
Scanners installed
MALAYSIA FREE OF INFLUENZA A(H1N1) BUT REMAINS VIGILANT
by Charles Ramendran
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
K
UALA LUMPUR: Three new
static mass thermal scanners
have been installed – two at
KL International Airport and
another at the Low-Cost Carrier Ter-
minal – to screen arriving passengers
as Malaysia declared itself free of
influenza A(H1N1) but remained
vigilant.
At the same time, Costa Rica,
France, South Korea and Colombia
have confirmed detecting influenza
A(H1N1) cases in their countries,
bringing the total number of coun-
tries affected by the pandemic to 19.
The total number of cases
throughout the world stood at 787,
with 17 deaths, at press time yes-
terday. The number of cases
Three visually-impaired guests at the Caring and
Sharing programme join Ong in receiving the gift
of corneas. On the right is Ven Dhammaratana.
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TELLING IT AS IT IS
» For love of their children pg15
inceased by 291 overnight.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow
Tiong Lai said there is no confirmed
case of influenza A(H1N1) in Malay-
sia. He said a New Zealander warded
in Penang for flu a week after his
arrival has been cleared of the virus
following tests.
Precautionary measures had
been initiated by testing the New
Zealander as there were cases of the
epidemic reported in his country.
Liow said the other case of a
woman who voluntarily came
forward after she was on the same
flight with a Mexican infected with
the virus has so far been negative.
He said medical personnel are
monitoring the woman’s condition
round the clock and she has shown
no signs or symptoms of contract-
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ing the virus. She is in quarantine at
her home in Penang.
Liow, who visited the Institute for
Medical Research (IMR) to inspect
the centre’s facilities and prepara-
tions for the epidemic, was disap-
pointed with certain news reports
over the two cases.
“These news reports caused panic
and anxiety among Penangites,” he
said.
He explained that there are many
strains of the flu virus, including the
common flu, which is curable.
“It is common to see people get
the flu but what we are looking for is
the A(H1N1) virus,” he said.
“When tests are done, lab per-
sonnel will determine if the virus in
their findings in a sample belongs to
mother’s day focus
the A, B or C strain. If it is found to
be an A strain, further tests are done
to determine if it is the A(H1N1)
virus.
“The preliminary lab process can
take between six and 10 hours and a
comprehensive test can take between
two and three weeks.”
He said the IMR has come up
with two categories of those affected
– “probable cases” where blood
samples of the person display symp-
toms of the A(H1N1) virus but turn
out to be negative following lab tests,
and “confirmed cases” where the
A(H1N1) virus was either present or
highly indicative after lab tests.
Liow said samples of confirmed
cases will also be sent to the World
Health Organisation (WHO) for fur-
ther verification.
He said the necessary steps are
being reinforced, especially at all
entry points in the country.
Asked if the scanners which were
acquired during the outbreak of the
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) in 2003 are currently being
used, he said these machines are
slow but are being utilised at “less
dense” entry points.
Bernama reports: Health direc-
tor-general Datuk Seri Dr Ismail
Merican said WHO is maintaining
the pandemic alert level at Phase
Five (highest is six) but did not
recommend travel or trade restric-
tions or the need to close borders for
any country.
In a statement, he said visitors
from the countries affected would be
screened at entry points in Malaysia
and be issued health declaration
forms and health alert cards.
“So far, the number of people
screened and required further
examination totalled 238 cases but
all were found to be healthy and
did not require to be referred to
hospitals,” he said.
» See also Page 4