SIBU 2009 FLOODS HIGHLIGHTS (January) IN PICTURES

Massive one way jam through the only accessable road due to flood that cut off link roads

Access road out from residence are always hit 6 to 7 times whenever there are long hours heavy rains.

Daily Flash Flood Hit Areas - Federal Government Flats along Bukit Lima Road which

Helping out residents who shop for daily needs at the cut-off road

Bank Negara cuts interest rate to lower borrowing costs

Bank Negara cut its benchmark interest rate by a record 75 basis points yesterday and also reduced the statutory reserve requirement (SRR) in a move to lower borrowing costs.

The central bank said it had reduced the overnight policy rate (OPR) from 3.25% to 2.5% and reduced the SRR from 3.5% to 2% effective Feb 1.

“With the heightened downside risks to growth, the magnitude of the reductions in the OPR and the SRR are aimed to be pre-emptive in providing a more supportive monetary environment for the domestic economy,” it said in a statement. Other points in the statement included:

> Urgent implementation of policy measures crucial to ensure positive growth.

> Inflation continued to decelerate to 4.4% in December. Deceleration expected to continue with weaker demand and lower imported inflation.

> The Malaysian banking system remains fundamentally sound.

> Focus is to ensure access to credit to all sectors of the economy.

Meanwhile, the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) said the proposed second stimulus package must focus on the manufacturing and construction sectors to avert more retrenchments.

ACCCIM president Tan Sri William Cheng said the stimulus plan must be implemented quickly as the two sectors would be the most affected by the global financial crisis during the first-half of this year.

He also called for a reduction in prices of gas and electricity and a reduction in employers’ contribution to the Employees Provident Fund from 12% to 9%.

Red Alert as floods worsen in Sarawak

Some 500 villagers in southern Sarawak have been evacuated to higher ground as the flood level continues to rise.

The weather has worsened as heavy rains were reported in the Kuching, Bau, Serian and Lundu districts Sunday morning.

Traffic along certain stretches on the Pan Borneo Highway, like Batu Kawa-Lundu Road, has been cut off due to flooding or landslides.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said more villagers in the low-lying areas were being evacuated as the flood situation had worsened. Nineteen evacuation centres have been opened.

“We are bracing for the worst. The Red Alert warning will continue until Jan 14,” he told a media briefing at the state flood operations room at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here at about 10.15am Sunday.

He said the rain clouds which had moved inland from South China Sea two days ago would bring more rains in the next few days.

The city has experienced rainfalls about four times’ higher than average in the past 24 hours.
Another Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu said the Suba Buan area in the Bau district was worst hit and it was under nearly 5m of floodwater.

Rescuers have evacuated 108 villagers from their homes.

Dr Chan, who is also state flood relief committee chairman, said the landslide in Kampung Bidak in Padawan near here damaged two houses but there were no casualties.

Public Works Department workers have carried out earth-clearing work along roads affected by the landslides.

He said the state government would seek military aircraft from Labuan and deploy helicopters from state-owned Hornbill Skywards to send food and other daily essentials to villagers in areas which had been cut off.

All the elected representatives concerned have been asked to go back to their consitutencies to help out in evacuation and relief work, he said.

Dr Chan said the all the six gates at the barrage across Sarawak River near here had been opened to drain out the water to sea to alleviate the flooding in the city.

He said if the weather did not improve, the flood situation would worsen on Tuesday as it coincides with the King Tides, when the water level in the river will reach its peak.

Dr Chan advised villagers to promptly move out from their homes when advised by the authorities, and to stop their children from playing in floodwaters as they could be washed away by the strong currents.

The public can seek emergency help from the state flood operations room (082-447924; 447960 or 492703) or Kuching Resident’s Office (082-246911, 422263 or 243301).

When getting rid of your old PC, be sure to smash the 'hard disk' with a hammer

If you are planning of getting rid of your old personal computer, make sure you remove the hard drive first and smash it up with a hammer.

To make sure fraudsters could not steal personal details from an old computer's hard drive was to simply destroy it, as wiping the drive was not sufficient.

A source who bought eight second hand drives recovered 22,000 "deleted" files, including some information that could be confidential.

Criminals, who it said trawled internet sites like eBay, would be able to use specialist software to retrieve the information which could then be use to commit indetity theft.

PCs that contain more valuble personal information that ever as people increasily shop online, use social networking sites and take digital photos.

To be 100% safe, smah your hard drive into smithreens.

Don’t give out credit card number to a third party

Consumers have been warned not to be fooled by con men calling up to offer discounts for those who use credit cards to pay for purchases at hypermarkets.

MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong said he too had received two such calls on his handphone.

The callers had urged him to sign up for a scheme that offered a 25% discount when buying goods from hypermarkets using his credit card.

He believed that the syndicate members, who he said could be foreigners based on their accents, were out to obtain the details of his credit card so that they could clone it.

“The callers said their company was based in Menara KL or KL Tower. When asked for the exact location of the office they said it was on the fourth floor but did not reveal the name of the company or its lot number,” he said.

His suspicions were aroused when they said things like only VIPs were allowed into the office and no form needed to be filled by card holders, adding that the discount cards would be sent by courier to their homes.

However, he said, no one had so far reported being duped by this particular syndicate.
His department’s legal adviser, Sam Yeong, said a credit card holder could be sued by the bank which issued the card for giving out the card’s number to a third party.

“Card holders are not supposed to reveal their credit card number to a third party. It is negligence on their part if they do so,” he said.