Kota Kinabalu & Sabah News

Earthquake Victims Showing High Levels of Trauma

In a research conducted by the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), a high percentage of victims of the 2015 Ranau magnitude-6 earthquake show high levels of mental trauma.  Dr Ferlis Bahari, head of the Psychology and Health Research Unit of the UMS, said that the research was conducted two weeks after the earthquake and involved 89 victims with ages 13 years old and above.  The results revealed that a big percentage of the victims (or 85.4%) showed signs of mental trauma and dissociation.

He said that the research was just part of a series of studies that they are conducting to look into the psychological impact of earthquakes.  His unit is planning to go back to the mountainous district to collect data on their present situation since the government had sent mental health teams after the disaster to treat the earthquake victims.

Mental trauma is manifested in earthquake victims showing symptoms of guilt, problems in waste excretions, passing out and difficulty in emotional control.  Dissociation is observed when victims lose awareness of things, are confused on the time and place where they are in and do not readily understand what is happening around them.

Sabah Hoping for Partnership with Ports in China

Sabah is hoping to form a partnership with ports in China in order to make Sepanggar Port a regional transshipment hub.  This was according to Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang during the courtesy call of outgoing Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu Chen Peijie Thursday.

Furthermore, he said that since 2015, when Chen was appointed to the Consul General’s position, diplomatic ties between Sabah and China had greatly improved.  The government-to-government and people-to-people exchange visits were among the activities that Chen had undertaken for the strengthening of the relationship of the two places.  He is also looking forward to establishing sister province ties with one of the provinces in China and he is hoping that the new Consul General can be of assistance in this endeavor.  In fact, Kota Kinabalu and Hangzhou had recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish sister city ties which they are hoping to be signed on October.

In her reply, Chen said that sister city ties between and Sabah and China will be established when Kota Kinabalu and Hangzhou have signed their agreement.  She also suggested sister province ties with Zhejiang Province, which is similar to Sabah as a coastal area, or with Ningxia, whose desert can lure residents from Sabah’s coastal areas.

Increase in Price of Pork Expected

Three major pig farms supplying the west coast and interior districts of Sabah have announced that there will be an increase in the price of pork this weekend because of increasing operational costs.  This was confirmed by a pork retailer at the Kota Kinabalu Central Market, saying that they were informed Thursday on the price changes.  He said that the price of pork has remained unchanged for seven to eight years now as compared to other items.  He is also hoping that the consuming public will understand the situation.