Latest news with #RM1.29mil
The Star
22-07-2025
- The Star
Selangor Customs seizes scrap metal worth RM9.17mil at PKFZ
KLANG: The Selangor Customs Department foiled an attempt to smuggle in 1,964 tonnes of scrap metal worth RM9.17mil after seizing 83 containers within the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) here recently. Selangor Customs director Mohamad Azhar Ahmad Paharazi said the goods were confiscated through a series of inspections conducted in collaboration with the National Targeting Centre (NTC) over a two-month period beginning in May. He said preliminary investigations revealed the metals were imported without permits from several countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia and were believed to be brought in for domestic use. "Checks showed that the goods had been declared as aluminium alloy, aluminium materials, raw aluminium, computer components and precious metals in the Manifest and Customs Form 1. "The importation of scrap metal is subject to import permits issued by the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) under Item 5, Part 1, Fourth Schedule, Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Order 2023,' he said at a press conference at Wisma Kastam, Pulau Indah, here Tuesday (July 22). In a separate development, Mohamad Azhar said Selangor Customs also seized 221.7 tonnes of steel coils worth RM1.29mil after detaining eight 20-foot containers at PKFZ. He said the containers had arrived at Port Klang on June 4 with the goods declared as furniture and mattresses in Customs Form 1. "Checks revealed the cargo to be Prime Pre-Painted Steel Coils, believed to have been imported without permits for industrial use in the country and subject to anti-dumping duties of 52.1 per cent in accordance with the Customs (Anti-Dumping Duty) (Administrative Review) (No. 2) Order 2021. "A total of 62 coils were seized with an estimated value of RM769,434, while duties and taxes amounted to RM516,290. The case is still under investigation,' he said. Mohamad Azhar said his department also foiled smuggling attempts involving other types of goods worth RM4.37mil, including duties and taxes, through seizures at the West and North Port Free Zones from May to early July. - Bernama
The Star
25-05-2025
- Health
- The Star
When everyone is having a menty B
If you've been on Instagram recently, you may have seen Insta stories of giddy teens dumping water – which don't even contain ice – on their friends in the name of #SpeakYourMIND. Influencers give pretty speeches in which they claim 'Mental health is important!' and give a cheerful thumbs-up of support. According to its own mission statement, Active Minds, the American non-profit organisation behind this latest ice bucket challenge, claims to foster a 'diverse movement of peer mental health champions' that 'transform mental health norms across society'. And while that is a well-intentioned cause, what exactly does it have to do with mental health awareness? The non-profit's website bats around words such as depression, anxiety, advocacy and change, but it's unclear what exactly this organisation is doing with the US$300,000 (about RM1.29mil) raised by the ice bucket challenge – and the actual impact of these efforts is murky to discern at best. Besides, if the success of the original ice bucket challenge in raising awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was questionable, why do we think it would work for mental health now? A little knowledge is not enough The problem nowadays with mental health isn't that it's taboo to discuss; it's how much we've turned mental health terms into buzzwords and online trends that spread misinformation. Youths may think their limited exposure to, and experience with, mental illness, be it in health class or through a stint of now-very-common depression or anxiety, means that they understand all there is to the endless ocean that is mental health. This false security in knowledge means that they aren't likely to seek out more information and may dismiss people who tell them to educate themselves. For example, when I asked people at my lunch table to stop gossiping about a classmate's recent suicide, I was told that I was overreacting and that they 'understood' because of going through a rough patch during Covid-19 – despite knowing that I had a close friend die under similar circumstances the week before. And now these youths are being turned into 'champions'. Don't get me wrong. It's a good thing that there are 'more than 15,000 young adults... (who are) passionate advocates and educators for mental health,' as Active Minds reports. But this may be like having someone with melanoma (a skin cancer) advocating for those dealing with leukaemia (a blood cancer) and claiming they have personal connections to this battle because of their experience with melanoma. Instead of actually educating themselves about serious mental illnesses, these youths may be convinced to douse themselves in water and throw around terms such as 'Menty B', meaning 'mental breakdown'. Romanticising mental illness The danger of using these terms so flippantly, particularly as internet slang, is illustrated by the 'prevalence inflation hypothesis', as presented in a 2023 paper by researchers from Britain and Australia. I repeatedly hear kids say they're having a panic attack when in fact they're mildly stressed by an upcoming test – so much to the point that I may not get the help I need for an actual panic attack. As kids hear these disorders referenced more often, through trends such as the ice bucket challenge, they may 'misinterpret milder and more transient forms of distress as mental health problems,' the researchers conclude. ALSO READ: The difference between being mentally unhealthy and mentally ill Active Mind's #SpeakYourMIND promotes exactly this. If we hear the concept enough times, we may start applying it to our daily lives, leading to incorrect self-diagnoses. We're following the trend of romanticising mental illnesses. As a Texas State University student put it: 'We are a culture of extremes, and attempts to destigmatise mental illness have inadvertently glamorised it', so much so that it's seen as having ''beautifully tragic' qualities'. Life-threatening conditions have been turned into what can only be called microtrends, but many people still don't under- stand what those illnesses entail. Seasonal affective disorder, better known as SAD, isn't just when you feel tired in the winter. People who have schizophrenia aren't dangers to society, and bulimia and anorexia certainly aren't the same thing! We must reform our use of mental health language so that we're not propagating stereotypes and allowing them to be turned into an 'interesting' facet of our personalities. This all begins with a more critical look at what the #SpeakYourMIND ice bucket challenge actually is: a dumb trend for people chasing internet virality while trying to look cute, who are not raising awareness for mental health. – By Abigail AuYeung/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service Abigail AuYeung is a senior (final-year student) at Hinsdale Central High School near Chicago in the United States.
