Saturday, August 31, 2013

Happy national day!


Happy national day!国庆日快乐!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Return of haze

Return of haze, hotspots detected in Indonesia



Hazy skies over Bukit Rambai, Malacca on Sunday. Starpix By A MALEX YAHAYA

Bukit Rambai here recorded an unhealthy Air Pollution Index (API) reading of 105 at noon Sunday signalling a possible return to hazy conditions.

According to the Department of Environment (DoE) website, the API reading at 8am was 102.

However, the API reading were 103 and 105 at 10am and 11am respectively.

Melaka City registered moderate API readings of 77 at 8am, 78 (9am), 79 (10am), 79 (11am) and 80 at 12 noon.

API readings between 0 to 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and above 300 hazardous.

The number of hotspots in Sumatra has spiked sharply from zero to 159 in a mere four days, causing the haze to return to Peninsular Malaysia.

After weeks of clear skies, unhealthy air quality has been recorded in Bukit Rambai, Malacca, where residents and tourists have already taken to donning masks on their faces.

In Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) says Singapore may experience hazy conditions in the coming days.

Over the next two days, dry weather conditions were expected to persist in most parts of Sumatra.

"Should there be a change in the wind direction from the west, Singapore may experience hazy conditions," the agency said.

The NEA will provide further haze alerts to the public if these events become more likely.

It said the number of hotspots in Sumatra as tracked by the NOAA 18 satellite had gone up sharply in the last two days to reach 159 on Saturday.

"Of these hotspots, 63 are detected in the Riau province in central Sumatra, which is about 280 km from Singapore.

"Some localised smoke plumes are observed to emanate from the hotspots.

"The other hotspots on the island are primarily further north, in Acheh and North Sumatra.

"As the winds are currently from the southeast or south, the smoke haze is not being blown towards Singapore at this time," the NEA said.

It also noted that some states in Peninsular Malaysia have been experiencing a deterioration in their air quality since Saturday afternoon, with the highest Air Pollutant Index reading at 5am Sunday being 98 in Bukit Rambai, Malacca.

As at noon in Singapore, the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) was at 20, while the 24-hour PSI was between 19 and 33.

~News courtesy of Bernama~

Monday, July 15, 2013

Malacca Zoo welcomes baby Banteng

Malacca Zoo welcomes baby Banteng



Cute creatures: Serows resting in their enclosure at the Malacca Zoo. Besides a baby Serow, a baby Banteng (inset left) is one of the latest additions to the menagerie and Aprilina the baby orang utan (inset right) appears to be in good health.

A male baby Banteng (bos javanicus) has become the latest and cutest addition to the Malacca Zoo.

The baby Banteng, born on July 10, is yet to be named and among the names being consi­dered by the zoo’s management is Rama or Raman.

The Banteng, species under the bovidae family, is currently classified as “threatened” un­­der the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List with an estimated total world population as less than 10,000 animals.

Three months ago, the buzz was over Aprilina, a female orang utan born in the zoo, which was privatised on Jan 1.

Since then, the zoo has registered the births of a female Serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), a species of mountain goat under the IUCM status of “vulnerable” and a baby Malayan porcupine (hystrix brachyura).

Zoo representative Catherine Yang said the team was still excited by Aprilina.

“As Aprilina is the star in our zoo, special attention is given to her although she still clings to her mother, Tina, ” she said.

Yang said the baby primate’s arrival was a nice surprise as it was a captive birth.

“We were hopeful of such a birth and it happened a few months after the privatisation,” she said

Yang said the baby Banteng’s birth was also considered auspicious as it was born on the first day of the Muslim holy month, adding that the baby Serow had been named Blackie.

Malacca Zoo’s veterinarian Dr Reza Ismail said the mother and baby orang utan were being monitored closely and so far they appeared to be in good health.

Dr Reza said Tina had taken an active role in its care, which is common among primates.

“Tina plays an important role as mother while we constantly monitor the progress of Aprilina,” he said.

Tina was very protective of the newborn and shielded her baby from the photographer when The Star attempted to take pictures.

She made faces and wagged her tongue at the camera lens.

Zoo staff members eventually took both Tina and Aprilina to the show area, where photographs were taken discreetly.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Monday, July 8, 2013

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Malaysians and tourists put on masks in Malacca

Malaysians and tourists put on masks in Malacca



People wearing masks in public places in Malacca.

Many locals and tourists were seen wearing face masks as the historic city was shrouded in haze.

Low visibility also slowed down traffic to the major tourist areas in the city.

However, activities that were planned earlier, such as the dragon boat race, held in conjunction with the annual Malacca River Festival, went on as scheduled yesterday.

Malacca Health and Sports Development executive chairman Datuk Ab Rahaman Ab Karim said the state government would consider cancelling outdoor, sports and co-curriculum activities in schools if the situation worsened.

“Classes will continue as of now but we will stop all outdoor activities in schools if the need arises.

“In the meantime, we are monitoring the Air Pollution Index readings closely,” he said.

Ab Rahaman said the state Health Department would also consider distributing free face masks to all students and civil servants.

In Muar, the clear weather in the morning turned hazy suddenly by mid-afternoon.

Visibility dropped to less than half a nautical mile in most parts of the coastal areas.

The Muar river estuary, the Muar Bridge and most of the areas in town as well as Tanjung Agas were covered by thick haze by 4pm.

Muar marine police chief Asst Supt Nordin Osman said as visibility in the sea was poor, all vessels plying the Malacca Straits should take precautions and navigate with utmost care.

“Fishermen in small boats should refrain from going out to the sea for now and fishing trawlers must switch on their lights,” he added.

~News courtesy of The Star~