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| GM Mosquitoes: 'Cayman Islands Unreliable Model' Posted: 10 Dec 2010 06:00 PM PST  PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian public are in the best position to decide if the soon-to-be-released genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes is the most effective method to combat the dengue menace. GeneWatch United Kingdom (UK), a non-profit group that monitors genetic engineering issues worldwide, however, said adequate information must be provided by Oxitec Limited, the producers of the GM mosquitoes. Its director, Helen Wallace, said that Oxitec cannot use the Cayman Islands' project in 2007, which it touted as a success, as a model for the latest experiment. This is because the island did not have biosafety regulations in place to evaluate the effectiveness of the GM mosquitoes. "The Cayman Islands is not even a member of the Aarhus Convention or Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity which would require it to consult the public and produce an environmental risk assessment before releasing GM mosquitoes into the environment. "Cayman Islands appears to have been used by Oxitec to bypass the regulatory requirements that apply in the US or the European Union (EU)," she said. The Malaysian government is keenly promoting the GM mosquito project using the Cayman Islands as the model to justify the proposed release in stages of the GM mosquitioes into several parts of the country, saying that the Cayman project had managed to reduce the Aedes population by 80%. Wallace, however, dismissed the figures, saying that there has been no documented proof to substantiate the claims by Oxitec. "The company now says it is producing an environmental impact assessment following the Cayman Islands project, but nothing has been made public. It still has not addressed concerns over the impact of the long-term release of GM mosquitoes," she said. Company making losses Oxitec, which had been running at a loss since 2008, had thus far been evading scrutiny by the Malaysian public, said Wallace.  A check by FMT on the company's financial statement as of Dec 31, 2009, showed that it had suffered losses of 1,697,952 British pounds in 2009 and 1,712,994 pounds in 2008 (see table above). Wallace said that it was clear that Oxitec was under tremendous pressure to commercialise its GM mosquito project to generate revenue and Malaysia must be wary. "The company is losing about 1.7 million pounds annually. It needs to meet all the regulatory requirements first before it can begin marketing its product and is under pressure from investors keen to recoup their investments. "As a business entity, it needs to keep generating new markets for its GM mosquitoes and developing countries are its primary targets," said Wallace. Malaysia's National Biosafety Board (NBB) plans to release between 3,000 and 4,000 GM male mosquitoes in Bentong, Pahang and Alor Gajah, Malacca soon in a trial to suppress the Aedes population. The progeny of the GM male mosquitoes die before they can hatch, thus preventing the spread of the deadly dengue virus. The move by the NBB has come under fire by several concerned groups, among them the Third World Network.  |
| 56 DUN Terima Bantuan Buku Sekolah Bernilai RM650 Ribu- MB Selangor Posted: 10 Dec 2010 01:00 AM PST  KUALA LUMPUR 10 DIS : Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim menegaskan kepentingan pendidikan bagi meningkatkan kehidupan rakyat Selangor dan membebaskan diri dari belenggu kemiskinan. "Kerajaan Negeri prihatin terhadap keperluan mereka kerana kita merasakan pendidikan adalah salah satu dari usaha kerajaan melepaskan masyarakat dari kongkongan kemiskinan. Oleh itu kita sangat berminat untuk meningkatkan pendidikan kepada semua rakyat," jelasnya. Menurut beliau, dasar itulah yang mendorong pelbagai bantuan dan program dilakukan oleh kerajaan negeri bagi membantu rakyat. Beliau berkata demikian dalam majlis penyerahan buku latihan kepada pelajar sekolah di Negeri Selangor bagi sesi persekolahan tahun hadapan. Sekumpulan lebih 70 pelajar sekolah rendah dan menengah dari keluarga kurang berkemampuan bersama Khalid di Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah hari ini menerima bantuan buku dan kewangan bagi sesi persekolahan akan datang. Kerajaan Negeri membelanjakan lebih RM650 ribu bagi membekalkan lebih sejuta naskah kepada semua 56 Dewan Undangan Negeri(DUN) termasuk kawasan parlimen tanpa mengira parti politik kepada pelajar kurang berkemampuan. Difahamkan setiap pelajar menerima 20 buah buku latihan yang akan digunakan mereka pada sesi persekolahan akan datang sekaligus mengurangkan beban keluarga mereka. Turut hadir ialah Exco Negeri Dr Xavier Jayakumar dan Yaakob Sapari serta ADUN Selangor iaitu Dr Nasir Hashim, Amiruddin Shari dan Yunus Khairi. Khalid turut mengumumkan pembinaan insitut vokasional baru bagi memperkembangkan lagi industri dan membekal pekerja mahir beraliran vokasional dalam industri di negeri ini. Ia merupakan pilihan kepada pelajar yang berminat melanjutkan pelajaran dalam bidang vokasional selepas peperiksaan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia(SPM). "Kerajaan Negeri juga akan merancakkan pembinaan institut vokasional untuk melatih mereka yang walaupun boleh masuk universiti tapi berminat dalam pelajaran berbentuk kemahiran. Khalid turut berbangga dengan pencapaian negeri Selangor yang melahirkan lebih 30 ribu graduan dari ijazah setiap tahun dari lebih 30 institusi pengajian tinggi awam dan swasta di negeri ini. Justeru beliau bertekad bagi menambah lagi bilangan graduan bagi memajukan negeri Selangor melahirkan pelajar berkelulusan tinggi, bermotivasi dan berdaya saing dalam pasaran kerja. "Oleh itu kita mahukan semua anak-anak kita sekarang mempunyai tempat belajar sehingga ke Universiti dan program kedua kita nak galakkan ialah kelas tuisyen supaya dapat pelajaran tambahan dan dapat keputusan baik supaya dapat memasuki universiti," ujarnya. Sementara itu, Exco Kesihatan, Pekerja Ladang, Kemiskinan dan Kerajaan Prihatin Dr Xavier Jayakumar meminta semua ADUN memantau masalah yang dihadapi oleh penduduk bandar yang ditekan berikutan peningkatan kos Petrol dan Diesel. Beliau mengumumkan bahawa Kerajaan Negeri bersedia memberi subsidi bas sekolah seperti yang diberikan pada kepada pekerja ladang. "Kemiskinan dalam bandar makin meningkat, Kita minta ADUN prihatin dengan keadaan di bandar sebab tambang bas sekolah ini meningkat seiring dengan peningkatan harga petrol dan diesel. Saya minta ADUN perhatikan betul-betul supaya kita boleh bagi subsidi kepada mereka yang berpendapatan rendah sekali di dalam kawasan," katanya. Sumber: TVSNEWS  |
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