Latest news with #Peto
Daily Express
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Express
Incentives for fishermen: Ministry
Published on: Friday, July 11, 2025 Published on: Fri, Jul 11, 2025 By: Hayati Dzulkifli Text Size: Its Assistant Minister II, Datuk Peto Galim, said the Sabah government through his Ministry is continuing efforts to uplift the livelihoods of local fishermen in the State including Semporna through various types of incentive assistance. Kota Kinabalu: The State Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry, through Sabah Fisheries Department, provides incentives to the local fishing community, including those not registered with the Area Fishermen Association (PNK). Its Assistant Minister II, Datuk Peto Galim, said the Sabah government through his Ministry is continuing efforts to uplift the livelihoods of local fishermen in the State including Semporna through various types of incentive assistance. He said among these incentives are programmes under the Socio-Economic Transformation for Poor and Hardcore Poor Fishermen and Breeders. 'Under this programme, fishermen receive fishing equipment assistance such as outboard engines, fiberglass boats, polyethylene (PE) ropes, insulated fish boxes, life jackets and marker lights. 'Additionally, programmes like the Local Fishermen Income Enhancement Programme and Coastal Fishermen Assistance schemes supply equipment based on current needs, including GPS units, nets and other fishing gear, to support local fisherman State-wide including in Semporna,' he said. Peto was replying to Sulabayan Assemblyman Datuk Jaujan Sambakong who asked about the incentives provided by the Ministry to 1,500 local fishermen registered under PNK Semporna. 'As of 2024, Sabah has 26,682 fishermen, with 5,158 from Semporna alone, while six fishermen in Semporna received direct assistance in 2024, with another 12 expected to benefit this year,' he said. According to him, the Ministry, through Ko-Nelayan, is also driving microcredit schemes to help fishermen and related businesses increase their earnings which include the Fishermen Assistance Scheme for full-time coastal fishermen, the Aquaculture Operators Assistance Scheme for small-scale aquaculture entrepreneurs, and the Small Fisheries Industry Development program targeting downstream fishermen operators. On top of financial support, Peto said human capital development remains a priority. 'Free training courses under the Malaysian Skills Certificate (SKM) are offered to the fishing community to improve their knowledge and skills at the Ko-Nelayan Aquaculture Training Center, where eight fishermen from Semporna have upgraded their skills in engine maintenance and fiberglass boat building from 2024 to 2025. 'Fishermen and downstream operators are also being trained in fiberglass boat making and fish product processing under broader income enhancement programs,' he said. Peto said his Ministry, through Ko-Nelayan, also provides microcredit financing program under the i-Nelayan scheme that offers financing up to RM10,000 for outboard engines and fishing gear, while the i-Hiliran scheme provides up to RM100,000 for those involved in fish-based food processing. In light of this, he said eight fishermen from Semporna benefitted under i-Nelayan between 2024 and 2025, and 13 downstream operators joined i-Hiliran in the same period. In embracing technology, he said local fishermen are also being trained to use the Sabah Mobile Artisanal Remote Technology (e-SMART) app to identify fishing locations. 'The Electronic Community Fisheries Entrepreneurs Program also provides the e-KAN e-commerce platform to Ko-Nelayan micro-entrepreneurs, young fishermen, and local micro-entrepreneurs to promote and sell products through online stores. 'Eight fishermen from Semporna are already using the app, while 16 downstream operators have set up online stores on Ko-Nelayan's e-commerce platform (e-KAN), achieving combined sales totalling RM5.23 million as of May 2025. 'These programmes show our continuous commitment to improve the incomes and livelihoods of fishermen across Sabah, especially in Semporna,' Peto said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Borneo Post
02-07-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
Peto urges federal action on flood mitigation for Kolombong, Penampang, Menggatal
Flash floods have disrupted business operations in Kolombong. KOTA KINABALU (July 2): Inanam assemblyman Datuk Peto Galim has raised concerns over persistent flooding in Kolombong, Penampang and Menggatal, urging the Federal Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation to expedite the approval of funding for crucial flood mitigation projects. Peto, who also serves as the State Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry, emphasised that these areas are experiencing rapid development, and unresolved flood issues threaten to stall further progress. 'I am deeply concerned about the flooding issues here and am actively working towards resolving them,' he said. One of the mitigation strategies proposed last year involves diverting excess rainwater from the Likas River directly into the sea to prevent accumulation on roadways. A key component of this plan includes the construction of floodgates, which are expected to significantly reduce the risk of flash flooding. 'This flood mitigation project is large-scale and will require comprehensive studies. The entire process is projected to take three years to complete,' he explained. The plan covers the broader Greater Kota Kinabalu area and comes with a significant price tag. According to Peto, the construction of the flood barrier system alone is estimated at RM2 billion, excluding additional works such as river widening, deepening, and drainage system upgrades. Peto previously submitted the proposal to the Federal Ministry and hopes that the funding will be approved soon to ensure implementation without further delay. Flash floods in the Kolombong area have long disrupted factory operations and business activities, resulting in financial losses. They have also caused severe traffic congestion during peak hours, leaving many vehicles stranded and commuters frustrated. While efforts by various agencies have led to some improvements in recent years, local business owners continue to call for regular maintenance, especially the clearing of drains choked with weeds and debris, to prevent future flooding.
Sydney Morning Herald
20-05-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
At 2m tall, I'm at greater risk of cancer. An elephant could fix that
Kean spoke to researchers scouring the genomes of large animals for clues as to why they're so good at suppressing cancer despite having trillions more cells than we do. Some of what they've found can make human cancer cells self-destruct. 1000 times better at cancer suppression Body size and cancer rates only correlate between members of the same species, not between different animals. For example, little dogs such as Pomeranians, shih tzus and chihuahuas have a 10 per cent chance of dying from cancer while the risk for larger breeds including mastiffs and Burmese mountain dogs is up around 40-50 per cent, a 2024 study reported. If this correlation between size and cancer risk applied across different species, mice would never die from cancer and elephants would barely make adulthood. By one estimate, half of all blue whales should get colon cancer by the time they're 50 and all whales should have it by the time they're 80. But that's not the case. Mice actually have a colon cancer risk comparable to humans, even though they're tiny. About 46 per cent of wild mice raised in a lab, in fact, die from some kind of cancer. Blue whales do get colon cancer but at nowhere near the rates you'd expect for their size. They live as long as we do. So what's going on? 'Peto's Paradox suggests that large, long-lived animals such as the blue whale have evolved mechanisms capable of suppressing cancer 1000 times better than humans,' write Professor Carlo Maley and Dr Aleah Caulin in Trends in Ecology & Evolution. If we could harness the cancer-suppression mechanisms of mega-animals, they argue, 'then we could potentially eradicate cancer as a public health threat in humans'. Peto's paradox disproved? Just as I got excited about the idea of using the cancer-suppressing superpowers of the world's largest creatures to treat human cancer, I came across a new paper that slapped me down. No evidence for Peto's paradox in terrestrial vertebrates, the headline read. The authors analysed a dataset of 16,000 necropsy records for 292 species of mammals, amphibians, birds and reptiles and found larger animals did get more cancer. 'We show that there is no evidence for Peto's paradox across amphibians, birds, mammals and squamate reptiles: Larger species do in fact have a higher cancer prevalence compared to smaller species,' they concluded. But other scientists quickly questioned that blunt conclusion. Although the authors did find more cancer in bigger animals, it wasn't enough to disprove Peto's paradox. Most large-bodied animals still had far lower cancer rates than you'd expect. Elephants, for example, had 56 per cent less cancer than the researchers' model predicted. 'The real question is not just whether there is a positive relationship between size and cancer prevalence, but whether this relationship is as strong as expected given the increased number of cell divisions associated with larger body size,' says Dr Antonie Dujon, who's researching cancer and evolution at Deakin University. 'In other words, there may be a positive correlation between size and cancer risk, but if this correlation is weaker than statistically expected, it suggests that natural selection has nonetheless favoured superior anti-cancer defences in large-bodied species.' So, despite the headline, Peto's paradox held up. Scientists remain convinced something powerful is going on within the world's biggest creatures that stops cells going rogue. Here's one way scientists are trying to use that to our advantage. Harnessing elephant evolution to kill cancer Large animals may have evolved to suppress cancer through lower mutation rates, cancer-resistant tweaks in the architecture of their tissue, and immune systems better at surveilling for cancerous cells. One specific example comes from elephants. Circling back to Kean's book about evolution, she writes that humans have an inbuilt defence against tumours in the form of a gene called TP53. Loading The gene codes for a protein called P53 that triggers cancerous cells to 'self-destruct' and repairs damaged DNA. Humans have two copies of the gene in each cell. But elephants, the largest land animals, have 40 copies. The elephant versions are seemingly more powerful at suppressing cancer than the human version of the gene, too. Only 5 per cent of elephants die from cancer compared to a quarter of humans. Now several teams across the globe are scrutinising these elephant genes with a long-term view of harnessing them for targeted cancer therapies. It's very, very early days for this research, but scientists have used the genes to kill the cells of a cancerous bone tumour that affects children during growth spurts.
The Age
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Age
At 2m tall, I'm at greater risk of cancer. An elephant could fix that
Kean spoke to researchers scouring the genomes of large animals for clues as to why they're so good at suppressing cancer despite having trillions more cells than we do. Some of what they've found can make human cancer cells self-destruct. 1000 times better at cancer suppression Body size and cancer rates only correlate between members of the same species, not between different animals. For example, little dogs such as Pomeranians, shih tzus and chihuahuas have a 10 per cent chance of dying from cancer while the risk for larger breeds including mastiffs and Burmese mountain dogs is up around 40-50 per cent, a 2024 study reported. If this correlation between size and cancer risk applied across different species, mice would never die from cancer and elephants would barely make adulthood. By one estimate, half of all blue whales should get colon cancer by the time they're 50 and all whales should have it by the time they're 80. But that's not the case. Mice actually have a colon cancer risk comparable to humans, even though they're tiny. About 46 per cent of wild mice raised in a lab, in fact, die from some kind of cancer. Blue whales do get colon cancer but at nowhere near the rates you'd expect for their size. They live as long as we do. So what's going on? 'Peto's Paradox suggests that large, long-lived animals such as the blue whale have evolved mechanisms capable of suppressing cancer 1000 times better than humans,' write Professor Carlo Maley and Dr Aleah Caulin in Trends in Ecology & Evolution. If we could harness the cancer-suppression mechanisms of mega-animals, they argue, 'then we could potentially eradicate cancer as a public health threat in humans'. Peto's paradox disproved? Just as I got excited about the idea of using the cancer-suppressing superpowers of the world's largest creatures to treat human cancer, I came across a new paper that slapped me down. No evidence for Peto's paradox in terrestrial vertebrates, the headline read. The authors analysed a dataset of 16,000 necropsy records for 292 species of mammals, amphibians, birds and reptiles and found larger animals did get more cancer. 'We show that there is no evidence for Peto's paradox across amphibians, birds, mammals and squamate reptiles: Larger species do in fact have a higher cancer prevalence compared to smaller species,' they concluded. But other scientists quickly questioned that blunt conclusion. Although the authors did find more cancer in bigger animals, it wasn't enough to disprove Peto's paradox. Most large-bodied animals still had far lower cancer rates than you'd expect. Elephants, for example, had 56 per cent less cancer than the researchers' model predicted. 'The real question is not just whether there is a positive relationship between size and cancer prevalence, but whether this relationship is as strong as expected given the increased number of cell divisions associated with larger body size,' says Dr Antonie Dujon, who's researching cancer and evolution at Deakin University. 'In other words, there may be a positive correlation between size and cancer risk, but if this correlation is weaker than statistically expected, it suggests that natural selection has nonetheless favoured superior anti-cancer defences in large-bodied species.' So, despite the headline, Peto's paradox held up. Scientists remain convinced something powerful is going on within the world's biggest creatures that stops cells going rogue. Here's one way scientists are trying to use that to our advantage. Harnessing elephant evolution to kill cancer Large animals may have evolved to suppress cancer through lower mutation rates, cancer-resistant tweaks in the architecture of their tissue, and immune systems better at surveilling for cancerous cells. One specific example comes from elephants. Circling back to Kean's book about evolution, she writes that humans have an inbuilt defence against tumours in the form of a gene called TP53. Loading The gene codes for a protein called P53 that triggers cancerous cells to 'self-destruct' and repairs damaged DNA. Humans have two copies of the gene in each cell. But elephants, the largest land animals, have 40 copies. The elephant versions are seemingly more powerful at suppressing cancer than the human version of the gene, too. Only 5 per cent of elephants die from cancer compared to a quarter of humans. Now several teams across the globe are scrutinising these elephant genes with a long-term view of harnessing them for targeted cancer therapies. It's very, very early days for this research, but scientists have used the genes to kill the cells of a cancerous bone tumour that affects children during growth spurts.
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Daily Express
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Express
PKR reviewing complaints on party elections
Published on: Sunday, April 27, 2025 Published on: Sun, Apr 27, 2025 By: Sherell Jeffrey Text Size: Sabah PKR Election Committee Director Datuk Peto Galim Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is focusing on strengthening the party ahead of the state election, with its branch elections now completed statewide. Sabah PKR Election Committee Director Datuk Peto Galim said: 'Our target is to win as many seats as possible under PH, particularly under PKR. We will only contest in areas where we clearly have strength. That is our target and we will ensure all wings in these focus areas concentrate on the coming state election.' He said negotiations on seat distribution are nearly finalised, having been temporarily paused due to recent festivities and the party elections. 'The chairman recently issued a statement that we will resume these negotiations. 'I can say the negotiations are almost complete, so wait and see,' Peto said at a Hari Raya Aidilfitri gathering hosted by Sepanggar Parliamentary Office in Kg Inanam Laut, Saturday. 'Our reference in these negotiations is simple. Where you are strong, you should contest there,' he said. Deputy Higher Education Minister cum Kota Belud PKR Division Chief Datuk Mustapha Sakmud noted that the Central Election Department is currently reviewing complaints from candidates who were dissatisfied with the process. 'The Central Election Department has opened channels for any dissatisfied candidates to submit their complaints. Currently, these complaints are being examined thoroughly and decisions will be made soon,' said the Sepanggar Member of Parliament. He said only two branches will require re-elections due to technical issues, namely Silam and Semporna. 'For Silam, it only involves the branch chief position due to technical issues, while for Semporna, it involves branch committee positions, also due to technical problems,' Mustapha said, adding that many branches had filed complaints across Sabah. Meanwhile, Peto said the party election results were largely predictable. 'As a whole, the results did not change much from what was expected, though there were some changes in branch leadership in critical areas where grassroots members wanted clear change. 'Grassroots members are now very powerful. Leaders who they perceive as problematic will be replaced as they try new leaders. 'This is happening not just in Sabah but throughout Malaysia. It is a strange but real phenomenon. These changes are not limited to PKR but will spread to other parties. The time has come for people to choose leaders who truly want to save and serve the people,' he said. Asked about former Sabah PKR Chief Datuk Seri Christina Liew who lost her branch leadership position, Peto said being a branch chief does not necessarily guarantee a 100 per cent chance of becoming a candidate in the election. 'There are many factors our leadership considers. 'Regarding Christina, we will examine what role she can play in this larger group. She is a main fighter who has been a member from the beginning until now and has contributed tremendously to PKR in Sabah, to the Government and to PH. 'Our State Leadership Council (MPN) will find ways where she can play a role and bring positive impact to PKR's strength in Sabah,' he said. Regarding the State MPN structure, Peto did not anticipate major changes. 'I do not see huge changes in the MPN. I believe the chairman position will still be held by my colleague, Mustapha, and I might remain as deputy. We will fill other positions according to each leader's expertise. 'There have been defeats for the previous secretary and vice-MPN, but this is not a major problem because we have new leaders we can put forward,' he said. On potential political collaborations with Umno, Peto said no meetings had been held with Sabah Umno's Datuk Seri Bung Moktar. 'I have never been called or informed. As I said earlier, we welcome anyone who shares the same aspirations and dreams as us to bring Sabah out of its problems. 'I can say the current government, GRS plus PH, has the capability and is making serious efforts toward that, although there are things that need to be streamlined and taken more seriously,' he said. On the Pakatan Harapan leadership in Sabah, Peto said at this moment it might not be confirmed yet who is actually the Sabah PH chairperson. 'Perhaps in the near future, we will see. There might be an announcement soon,' he said. 'We need to clarify two things here. First, within PH itself, we have no divisions. We in Sabah PH are intact. We do not have differences in ideas. 'For the State, the collaboration between PH and GRS is currently going very well, as we expected. Although there are some constraints in terms of delivery systems, with results coming somewhat slowly. But that is our task,' he said. 'We need to ensure that leaders who will form the next Sabah Cabinet have strong unity, extraordinary determination and sharp, quick decision-making. 'We no longer want current issues in the State like the three-pronged issues (water, electricity and roads) that people talk about becoming nightmare issues for residents,' he said. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
