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PETALING JAYA: Private hospitals are asked to put profits aside for now and in the name of service, support the Health Ministry in combating the Covid-19 pandemic.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) CEO Datuk Dr Paul Selvaraj said in this time of crisis, private hospitals, especially those run by government-linked companies, should give their utmost to assist the government given that public hospitals are called to treat the rising number of Covid-19 patients.“Put service as priority and put aside profits for now,“ he told theSun today.

Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong suggested that private hospitals step forward to take some of the burden off the public sector by providing some sort of subsidised charges or no cost at all. They should also help with cases which are not related to the viral pandemic, fill the need for special wards, offer intensive care unit space and equipment such as ventilators and oxygen supply.“In the best of times, private hospitals reap the benefits of the much touted Malaysian product known as ‘medical tourism’ and attract the best medical talents from the public sector.“Now that we are in the worst of times, private hospitals don’t seem to be doing too badly either.

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PETALING JAYA: Malaysians yesterday headed to supermarkets and grocery stores in droves to stock up on essential items in the first sign of major panic buying in the country since the Covid-19 outbreak.Viral fake news purportedly from the Health Ministry “advising” Malaysians to stock up due to an imminent lockdown was believed to have contributed to the buying frenzy.Although it was a weekday, grocery stores and supermarkets saw an unusual increase of customers by between five and ten-fold throughout the day.

theSun surveyed several stores and found a continuous stream of shoppers making their way to the stores and leaving with shopping carts full of groceries. They said they were stocking up for between two weeks and a month.The top five targeted items by shoppers were toilet paper, canned food, biscuits, instant noodles and rice. While staff were seen replenishing most of the shelves, several remained empty.

At Star Grocers in Sea Park, several staff said the sudden increase of customers began on Sunday and rose by several fold yesterday.Businessman Alfred Lim, 50, was among those seen lining up at the long queue of the supermarket.“We want to ensure we have enough food stored in case there is a lockdown,” he said.While hundreds of others were grabbing essential food items, several who came over to pick up their usual food items were taken aback by the crowd.

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KUALA LUMPUR (March 17): Members of the public should look at the movement control order announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday in a positive light, and ensure that their activities are in line with the objective of containing the COVID-19 outbreak.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said, as such, the public should restrict their outdoor activities and avoid panic buying.He said the objective of restricting outdoor activities is to prevent (direct) contact with other people.“In the current situation, the public should stay at home, if they need to go to the shop, it should only be to buy essential items,” he told Bernama.Mohd Yusof said people should not take advantage of the movement control order by going out for recreation as the order was meant to stop the spread of the virus.He also advised traders not to take advantage of the situation by increasing the price of goods.“The supply chain should be unchanged because so far the movement of goods is not restricted. This means that the price of goods should not increase. Traders should play their part to ensure adequate supply as in the current situation, users cannot travel far,” he said.

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PETALING JAYA: Putrajaya has been urged to come down hard on middlemen who hog face masks and other personal protective equipment as the country battles the spread of the Covid-19 virus, with doctors saying they have received calls from frontliners appealing for such gear amid reports of a shortage even within the medical fraternity.

Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today the government had agreed to lower the price ceiling for face masks to RM2.Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam, Selangor president Jacob George however said face masks are currently going for RM2 to RM5 each, adding that even so, they are difficult to find on the market.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations secretary-general Paul Selvaraj agreed, saying face masks are nearly impossible to find.“Most convenience stores require customers to wear masks before entering, but there are no masks,” he told FMT.George meanwhile said he had spoken to “deep throats” in the industry who admitted to hogging goods during festive seasons.“This is the game plan,” he told FMT. “It’s not a state secret.”

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LETTER | For the new government, the issue of cost of living faced by the rakyat should be a critical priority. Consumers are suffering. Incomes are low. 

The living wage as proposed by Bank Negara is RM2,600 for a single adult, RM4,500 for a couple with no children and RM6,500 for a couple with two children. Yet, six million workers or 50 percent of workers in Malaysia earn less than RM2,160.Many Malaysians, especially in urban areas, feel their income is insufficient to raise their living standards. As of 2018, nearly 30 percent of Malaysians felt that they did not have enough money for food and 23 percent reported they did not have adequate money for shelter. According to Bank Negara, the cost of living has been increasing across all households but more significantly for lower-income households in urbanised states. Generally, the higher cost of living was driven by higher prices for food and housing.

The lower-income household spend more on food and housing which costs more in urbanised areas. The bottom 20 percent spend 65 percent of their household expenditure on food and housing while the bottom 40 percent spend 58 percent of their household expenditure on food and housing.Expenditure on transportation is also significant. So, for the bottom 20 percent, food, housing and transportation, accounts for 75 percent of household expenditure while for the bottom 40 percent, these three components account for 70 percent of household expenditure. Thus, to address the concerns of stagnant incomes and increasing costs of living, the government needs to address the issues of food prices, house prices and the cost of transportation.

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THE World Book Day on March 5 went unnoticed like a wanted criminal. Did politicking of the recent past kill the book? Or is this a sign of a dying national habit?Studies after studies show that great minds read a lot. And they read consistently, too. With them, reading is a habit. Not an occasional pursuit.What’s more, science is for the turning of pages. Reading boosts the brain and expands our intellectual horizon. Having spent enormous years living a rich life, they “book” them like an Everyman’s Guide. Call it vicarious learning.Behind every great man there is a shelf of books.But Malaysians are a difficult lot to convince when it comes to politics and books. Maybe because both are a numbers’ game.

Let’s talk about books. Literacy data revealed in 2016 tell an impressive story: 85 per cent of Malaysians read regularly. But a deep dive tells a sad story hidden behind the number. Only three per cent read books.We may be a nation of book buyers —aPicodi.com survey in 2018 showed that 76 per cent of Malaysians bought at least one book a year — but we may not be reading what we buy. Picodi also reveals a troubling fact: 24 per cent of Malaysians do not buy any books at all. With hope, they borrow to read.People in developed nations read 40 books a year, an average of three books a month. We may not be a developed nation yet, but we should not be left too far behind.There is also a gender divide in Malaysia when it comes to reading. Women get to the bottom of the page faster than men. Is that why women are, on average, better than men off the pages? Women or men, we must be a nation of readers.

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Cleanliness is something that cannot be compromised at restaurants, food courts and other eateries. It is not something just for campaign slogans or publicity but must be seen to be practised. Everyone knows the importance of cleanliness. However, the fact remains that dirty and unhygienic restaurants, food courts and eateries still exist. Some errant ones have even gone viral on social media.In fact, social media today plays an effective role in exposing eateries that do not practice cleanliness and hygiene.

On several occasions, I have witnessed dirty kitchens and toilets which make you lose your appetite.Does this reflect well on restaurant operators who pay scant regard to licensing rules and regulations?Are they aware that they are infringing sanitation and safety regulations under the Food Act 1983?Many of those preparing and serving food do not wear hairnets, gloves and aprons.No matter whether in the urban or the rural areas, many restaurants and eateries have cleanliness issues which need to be addressed.According to media reports, rats and cockroaches were found when inspections were carried out.

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By: Murray Hunter

Malaysia is heading towards a crisis in food toxicity, with, for instance, occupational poisoning and disease among farm workers averaging more than 2,500 cases per year, according to research by the Journal of Plant Pathology. What that means is that the food Malaysians eat on a daily basis is under threat from a contaminated water system, poor soils, poor agricultural practices and much more.As evidenced by the journal’s study, irrigation water is now a toxic mixture, and further deteriorating to dangerous toxicity levels as pressure is put on the country’s river systems, catchment areas, lakes and dams. They have been under attack not only from pesticide overuse but from urban growth and the consequential contamination from human and industrial activities infringing upon and intruding into these strategic water systems.The prime sources of Malaysia’s domestic and agricultural water supplies are derived primarily from rivers and a network of lakes and reservoirs across the country. These rivers, lakes, and reservoirs also serve as navigation ways, and water recreational areas. The lakes and reservoirs are filled by streams, and catchment areas which in many cases being encroached by agricultural activities, illegal logging, industry, and urbanization.

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Michael Cole, Professor of Forensic Science, Anglia Ruskin University

IT IS estimated that there is a staggering £300m worth of medicine unused in the UK every year. But is it safe to take these medicines if they are past their expiry date?

Expiry dates are put in place after rigorous trialling and controlled experiments to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the drugs people take. In short, they guarantee the potency of the drug. Medicinal drugs are all chemicals and the rate at which they go off will depend upon their chemical structure, the drug preparation, how they are packaged, environmental conditions, whether they are subject to microbial contamination and their exposure to heat, light, oxygen and water.The drugs are sold in a variety of containers including bottles, blister packs, tubes and ampules. They are relatively secure while sealed. But once the seal is broken, the process of “going off” accelerates.

Common painkillers

Let’s look at an everyday drug like paracetamol. This is an “over the counter” medicine, freely available, which helps to reduce pain or a fever. Paracetamol is sometimes sold in brown sealed bottles. The seal keeps moisture and atmospheric oxygen out. The brown bottle keeps UV light out as this can also cause the drug to breakdown. Once the seal is broken, the tablets are exposed to water and oxygen in the air and breakdown begins.

Paracetamol is also sold in blister packs. These packs are permeable to water and oxygen so they are covered in, for example, polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC). This protects the contents and slows down the decomposition process but is still slightly permeable so doesn’t prevent it altogether.The consequence of this is that, despite the protection of the packaging, the drug content slowly declines. Research shows that when paracetomol based medicines go past their expiry date, up to 30% of the drug may break down in between 12 and 24 months.

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The Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry (Mestecc) today launched the National Action Plan on Enforcement on the Import of Plastic Waste.The plan, also known as the HS 3915, is aimed at streamlining enforcement activities undertaken by various agencies, the ministry said in a statement today.Also launched today was Guidelines on the Import of Scrap Metal for the benefit of importers and with the aim of preventing the import of contaminated, non-homogeneous and low-quality metal.The ministry said the strengthening of environmental enforcement and monitoring activities across the country had been discussed at the meeting of environment ministers and state executive councillors responsible for the environment, held today.

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