theSun | WEDNESDAY JULY 29 2009 11

MASRY CHE ANI/THESUN

Hotel files complaint USM student

over illegal operators
THE management of a hotel
in Batu Ferringhi has filed a
complaint against illegal beach
activity operators.
In an email to the state
government on July 20, the
manager said the self-ap-
pointed “beach boys” (or beach
touts) and illegal water sport
operators were often seen
soliciting visitors to the beach
for business, which has had an
adverse impact on the safety
and image of the beach as a
tourist destination.
“The beachfront of hotels
is so unkempt that it appears
as if it is unregulated by the
authorities. It gives a negative
perception of Penang as an
international tourist desti-
nation and is a consistent
source of embarrassment and
persistent thorn in our side,”
he said.
The manager said the
situation had declined with
the arrival of Middle Eastern
travellers this month, with
illegal structures and adver-
tising boards and banners
mushrooming on the beach,
especially in front of the
hotels.
“The proximity of their sig-
nage projects a false impres-
sion that the resorts condone
such activities. Secondly, these
operators are aware that their
operation areas lie outside
in
tivity operators
Illegal beach ac
our premises and that as such
we are unable to control
their activities along a public
beach.”
He said numerous com-
plaints had been made to
the Penang Island Municipal
Council and the Land Office.
He hoped the relevant
authorities would regulate
Batu Ferringhi.
activities on the beach.
In response, State Tourism
Dev-elopment Committee
chairman Danny Law Heng
Kiang said the council was
looking for a suitable location
to relocate the operators.
“Some of them have been
here for more than 10 years.
We are trying to legalise them,
if possible,” he said.
discovers new
scuttle fly species
by Bernard Cheah back to the laboratory and
newsdesk@thesundaily.com flies emerged from them.
The flies were sent to fly
A NEW species of scuttle fly expert Dr Henry Disney at the
has been discovered at Uni- Cambridge University Mus-
versiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, eum of Zoology, who identi-
which may have the potential fied them as a new species to
to be a biological agent in science.
controlling termite infestation, The discovery was pub-
researchers say. lished in the latest issue
The species – of the Sociobiology
misotermes mind- journal and was named
enim – was found misotermes mindeni to
parasitising in the reflect USM’s Minden
mould-building campus where it was
termite marcoter- first discovered.
mes gilvus by PhD Neoh’s supervi-
student Neoh Kok sor, Prof Lee Chow
Boon last Nov- Yang of USM’s
ember while Urban Entomol-

Uproar over selective

he studied the ogy Laboratory,
population of Vector Control
secondary spe- Research Unit,
cies termites at School of Bio-
the university. logical Science,
“These ter- explained that
mites were differ- the fly’s larva

demolition of illegal cabins

by Maria J. Dass
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
CABINS dotting localities in Se-
langor were once the subject of
controversy when political parties
set them up in open spaces includ-
ing playgrounds and vacant land
in the state.
In some areas, residents cried
foul over the encroachment into
their playgrounds, while in oth-
ers, people used the cabins as
operation centres for residents
associations.
At that time, politicians from
parties aligned to the previous
state administration argued that
they were serving the people from
these cabins and that it made
them easily accessible to their
constituents.
However, in early 2007, a
scuffle between residents of
Bandar Bukit Puchong and
political party members in the
area resulted in the issue gain-
ing wide attention.
The then state administration
later said political parties were
free to set up service centres and
work from the cabins despite the
fact that they were not welcome in
some areas.
Last year, when the Pakatan
Rakyat government took over, it
embarked on a blitz to clear the
illegal cabins but agreed to leave
those accepted by the public,
on condition that the keys were
handed to the local authority
which would ensure they were
used for the intended purpose by
the community and not by any
political party for its own benefit.
However, cabin owners who
refused to hand over their keys
are crying foul that their cabins
had been demolished, while the
cabins of those who had complied
with the ruling were left intact.
“This move seems to be leg-
alising illegal structures,” said
Aftar Singh, a former Subang Jaya
municipal councillor and the MIC
Puchong Perdana chairman. The
cabin from which he operated a
community centre and library in
Putra Perdana had recently been
demolished.
“Why the double standards?”
he asked.
“It’s acceptable for the local
authorities to go out to demolish
illegal cabins, but why only target
those to which keys have not been
handed over?”
Local authorities will send out
ent from normal would grow
ones as they have within the
large heads and head of the termite until it is
small mandibles. They are ready to pupate.
also less aggressive,” Neoh “The larva will then move
said. to the termite’s abdomen,
He said the parasited ter- contract intensively and apply
letters to residents in areas where mites died after he took them sideways pressure by using
illegal cabins have been erected in its spiracles to break the
the past to garner their response termite’s abdominal
to whether the cabins should go wall. The body fluid
or be handed to residents associa- will ooze out of the
tions and other organisations for wall perforation,
the benefit of the local commu- causing the termite
nity. to die.
Selangor executive councilor “Thus, a dry
for local government, research micro-environment
and development Ronnie Liu is created to enable
said: “Based on the feedback we the fly larva to pu-
get, we will either demolish the pate inside its host’s
cabins or allow residents to use body,” Lee said.
them for other purposes.” He said the fly
However, it will strictly be is not harmful to
for community use or for use by humans. “Instead, it
non-governmental organisations is indirectly a ‘ben-
or those such as Rela, he said, eficial’ insect.”
adding that several cabins had “At this stage, we
already been demolished upon are unable to con-
the request of residents. firm whether this
Asked about the demolition of fly will have a role
cabins based on whether or not in managing termite
keys had been handed over, Liu infestation,” Lee
said: “This is because it is being said, but did not rule
used as a centre by a political out the possibility.
party and we will not allow this, “We are continuing
because if we do then there will our research.”
be others mushrooming in open
areas in the state.”
Lee (left) and Neoh
He said the policy applied to
show the misotermes
both ruling and opposition parties
mindenim.
in the state.

Toyota Eco Rangers turns one

(From left) Aminar and
Noor Rezan share a light
moment with the team
from SMK (P) Sri Aman.
by Meena L. Ramadas
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
UMW TOYOTA Motor cel-
ebrated the first anniversary of
its tree-planting programme,
Toyota Eco Rangers, by pre-
senting awards to participating
schools for their environmen-
tal efforts.
“We have established
the Toyota Eco Rangers
programme, a sustainable
tree planting programme that
aims to inculcate a sense of
responsibility to the environ-
ment,” UWM Toyota Motor
executive director Aminar
Rashid Salleh said.
“The programme provides
an experiential learning plat-
form for the participants and
promotes a holistic education,”
Education Ministry deputy
director-general Datuk Noor
Rezan Bapoo Hashim said at
the awards ceremony at SMK
(P) Sri Aman recently.
Twenty-two participating
schools received the Green
Merit award that recognised
their efforts.
The top three schools
that demonstrated the best
progress were SMK Setapak
Indah, SMK Putrajaya and
SMK (P) Sri Aman.
The Best Tree Planting
award went to SMK Bangsar,
while the Best Nurturing
and Environmental Practices
award went to SMK (P) Sri
Aman. SMK SS17 Subang Jaya
was the recipient of the Best
Reporting award.
The programme, a collabo-
ration between UMW Toyota,
Yayasan Anak Warisan Alam
(Yawa) and the Education
Ministry, is part of Toyota’s
corporate social responsibil-
ity efforts and an extension of
Toyota Eco Youth.
The programme was
launched on June 9 last year
with an Eco Camp where two
secondary school students
along with a teacher from
each school participated in
a three-day environmental
workshop.
“Participants learned the
different types of fertilisers
such as the natural takakura
compost, the care and nurture
of different types of trees and
how to develop a concept
paper with a landscape map
to plant 100 trees in their
schools,” Aminar said.
The 22 schools received
grants of RM500 each to start
their tree planting effort,
including a starter kit for
weeding and pruning as well
as measurement tools, a test
kit and fertiliser recipes.
UMW Toyota and Yawa
monitored each school’s
progress, providing advice
and garnering feedback.
The programme spans
three years and to date, 755
trees have been planted and
nurseries established in the
schools.
“The target of 100 trees
for each school may not be
achievable for certain schools
due to space constraints, so
the remaining trees can be
extended to the immediate
community or parks,” Aminar
said.
SMK (P) Sri Aman teacher
Yeo Yen Fern, who supervised
the programme at her school,
said: “We have a herb garden
now and are planning to plant
trees like jelutong, penaga lilin
and flowering plants to create
a ‘mini’ forest. I am really
happy we won. The students
put in a lot of effort. They
stayed back for two-and-a-half
hours every Tuesday.”