KUCHING: The health and welfare of the people must never be compromised on the altar of industry and development, motor vehicles, large scale plantation land clearing or open burning and forest fires whether from internal or external sources.

Prominent social activist Dato Sri Ang Lai Soon, who said this, pointed out that financial considerations should not be allowed to take precedence over the well-being of the people.

That price is just too high, he added.

In a statement yesterday, Ang said it was rather alarming that in the year 2014, the public should still see a headline in a national newspaper on March 10, stating six areas in Malaysia record unhealthy air pollution index readings.

He said surely by now, positive action should have been taken by the authorities to bring this under control to fulfill their duty of caring for the health of the citizens.

Ang noted the Department of Environment had listed the main sources of air pollution in Malaysia as industries, development activities, motor vehicles, land clearing, open burning and forest fires.

He said since all could be controlled through legislation and enforcing strict adherence to that legislation, the quality of life of all citizens should, therefore, never be compromised in the interests of industry, development and other pollution-causing activities.

He believed a certain BMZ, a German concern, was commissioned to study Air pollution control for Malaysian cities: transport and industry from 2002 to 2006.

The context of this commission read Malaysias developments into a modern and sustainably managed industrial country requires a modern comprehensive environmental policy, including air pollution control.

However, he observed that with the recent headlines, it was patently obvious policy needed urgent bringing up to date with present day realities without prevarication.

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Ang calls for action against serious air pollution

The Indonesian National Police (POLRI), along with the Ministry of Environment, say they are continuing a crackdown on plantation companies that burn forests and cause serious smog.

National Police Chief General Sutarman asserted Wednesday that the police took action against three companies accused of burning the forests in their land clearing efforts.

Whoever [is] doing the forest fires that causes air pollution will be arrested. There are elements of deliberate intent by the offenders," he said. "So far we have found that offenders have come from both the plantation companies and the communities.

He added that 25 people are being investigated. He also stressed the Indonesian police are committed to ensuring enforcement for all involved.

Earlier, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono criticized the handling of the haze as not being fully resolved. The president said authorities must deal firmly with anyone found negligent in contributing to the disaster.

"Actually, the government, both the central and local authorities, has worked to overcome the problems, but not all have been fully resolved," said the president. "Frankly, I would say that the situation is still not good."

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) says starting fires to clear land is still common on the island of Sumatra.

The agencys Head of Data Information and Public Relations, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said in a press release Wednesday that satellite observations show 145 hotspots in Riau Province.

Dense smoke from the forest fires has reduced visibility to only 200 meters in some places. The smoke is also causing air quality problems in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.

Air quality problems in previous years have drawn complaints from Indonesia's neighbors.

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Indonesia Intensifies Crackdown on Companies Starting Forest Fires

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Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 12, 2014

Interior designer Steven Favreau, one of the top interior designers in the Boston and San Francisco areas, will be a featured speaker at the First Annual Boston Design Week, a 10-day citywide design festival, taking place March 20-30, 2014.

Steven Favreaus dramatic interior design brings together the best of contemporary interior design with classic elements, courageously mixing current styles with fine antiques, vibrant colors, bold textures and whimsical, surprising or even irreverent elements. His unique high-end interior design style has garnered accolades for its fresh approach, and has been featured in Design New England, California Home + Design, San Francisco Chronicle Stylemakers, Houzz.com and numerous others.

Twice a semi-finalist on HGTVs hit home decorating interior design show, Design Star, as well as a contestant on HGTVs White Room Challenge, Favreau approaches each new project with vision and passion. Now, a decade after launching a successful interior design firm in San Francisco, he has opened a second office in his native Boston.

As part of Boston Design Week, Favreau will be a featured speaker for a unique event titled, Welcome home, Mr. Otis. Your 1796 home is ready for 2014, presented by Design New England magazine. Otis House, built in 1796 for Harrison Gray Otis (onetime Mayor of Boston) still stands, the last of the grand mansions in Bostons West End. If Otis were alive today, hed be a homeowner looking to renovate for his own style and needs, while taking care to preserve the historic relevance of the property. Favreau will re-imagine the historic homes Withdrawing Room for today.

Favreau is no newcomer to mixing old and new in his interior design style. He was featured on the cover of the Design New England Nov/Dec 2013 issue for the contemporary transformation of the 1832 Federal style home he shares with his husband Gary Decad in Vermont. His signature residential interior design style is known for attention to detail and quality, mixing elegant timeless furnishings with modern objects in a playfully eclectic yet symbiotic way. The result is luxury interior design that is at once stylish and respectful of the unique features of the architecture and the surrounding landscape in every way.

Favreau studied interior design at the internationally recognized Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, yet he came to the world of design in a way that distinguishes him from other interior designers. Growing up in Boston, he originally trained in musical theatre and dance at the Boston Conservatory. He left for Paris where performed as a soloist at the Moulin Rouge, and appeared on European television, and then went on to perform on cruise ships, becoming a cruise director for American Hawaii Cruises. His performing arts background now serves him well as a frequent and accomplished speaker at design festivals and events across the country. Throughout his travels, Favreau honed his interior design expertise and eye for fine antiques, lighting, wallpaper, textiles and the other elements that now inform his interior design palette, ensuring his clients a world-class perspective.

For additional information on Steven Favreau, visit http://www.FavreauDesign.com.

The Boston Design Week program, which is free and open to the public, will be offered twice on Wednesday, March 26th at 1:00pm and 5:15pm at the Otis House at 141 Cambridge Street in Boston. For more information and to RSVP, please visit http://www.BostonDesignWeek.com.

The First Annual Boston Design Week, a 10-day citywide design festival, will take place March 20-30, 2014. Participating organizations, businesses, sponsors and individual designers will offer 80+ design events, exhibitions, speakers, receptions, behind-the-scene tours, and other activities throughout greater Boston, most offered free of charge and all open to the public. Calendar Highlights have now been posted at http://www.BostonDesignWeek.com, and a complete calendar of events is now online.

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Interior Designer Steven Favreau of Favreau Design to Be Featured Speaker for First Annual Boston Design Week, March ...

LACEY'S SPRING, Alabama - Following the arrest last week of a man accused of striping wiring and siding from a Lacey's Spring mobile home, Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin is seeking information on two others who may have been involved.

Daniel Chace Goodner, 21, of 108 Dudley Road in Lacey's Spring, was charged with third-degree burglary after authorities said they followed a trail of debris from the unoccupied mobile home of Skyview Drive to Goodner's house.

"Witnesses have reported seeing three men involved in this offense," Franklin said.

The sheriff hopes the public can provide information leading to their apprehension. Anyone with information should call Investigator Chad Smith at 256-560-6198 any time to leave a message. Callers may remain anonymous.

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Morgan County sheriff seeks 2 others who may have helped strip mobile home of wiring, siding

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A growing number of home builders going insolvent in Victoria and NSW has required insurers to pay out more than $300 million over the past decade for unfinished or substandard work. There is the same amount in outstanding claims yet to be settled.

The scary part is that, as of January 1, taxpayers in Victoria and NSW bear all new risks from this growing trend. Insurance minnow Calliden was the last private sector player to underwrite so-called builders warranty insurance, but after mounting losses it stopped doing so at the end of last year.

In NSW, the last of the big underwriters departed the market in 2010, leaving the taxpayer-sponsored NSW Home Warranty Insurance Fund to take on all new risks. It hasn't started well. In the past two years the fund has racked up more than $165 million in losses.

''The future building cycle is uncertain, especially the length and the severity of future economic downturns, and this will impact the emergence of future builder insolvencies and hence future claims costs,'' the fund said.

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Administrators of failed builders typically attribute the collapses to poor management, inadequate cash flow and trading losses, but insurers also blame so-called phoenix companies, where a builder will prefer a trading entity to become insolvent rather than meet the cost of rectification work only to re-emerge to start new projects under a new trading entity.

''The building industry is a particular hot spot for phoenixing as reported in last year's Collins Inquiry into Insolvency in the NSW construction industry,'' says Shaun Bailey, a partner at law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Mandatory home warranty insurance schemes are supposed to provide a safety net to home owners where a builder is unable to complete the contracted work or rectify defective work because of their death, disappearance or insolvency. In reality, builder insolvencies caused by whatever reason are the source of the vast majority of claims.

In announcing proposed reforms late last year, NSW Minister for Fair Trading Anthony Roberts emphasised that prospective home owners deserved protection when embarking on the biggest investment of their lives, but he didn't spend much time on the exorbitant cost to taxpayers of providing that protection.

There are good reasons why the likes of Vero, CGU and Lumley no longer assume such risks.

Read more from the original source:
Taxpayers bear brunt of insolvency costs

A growing number of home builders going insolvent in Victoria and NSW has required insurers to pay out more than $300 million over the past decade for unfinished or substandard work. There is the same amount in outstanding claims yet to be settled.

The scary part is that, as of January 1, taxpayers in Victoria and NSW bear all new risks from this growing trend. Insurance minnow Calliden was the last private sector player to underwrite so-called builders warranty insurance, but after mounting losses it stopped doing so at the end of last year.

In NSW, the last of the big underwriters departed the market in 2010, leaving the taxpayer-sponsored NSW Home Warranty Insurance Fund to take on all new risks. It hasn't started well. In the past two years the fund has racked up more than $165 million in losses.

''The future building cycle is uncertain, especially the length and the severity of future economic downturns, and this will impact the emergence of future builder insolvencies and hence future claims costs,'' the fund said.

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Administrators of failed builders typically attribute the collapses to poor management, inadequate cash flow and trading losses, but insurers also blame so-called phoenix companies, where a builder will prefer a trading entity to become insolvent rather than meet the cost of rectification work only to re-emerge to start new projects under a new trading entity.

''The building industry is a particular hot spot for phoenixing as reported in last year's Collins Inquiry into Insolvency in the NSW construction industry,'' says Shaun Bailey, a partner at law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Mandatory home warranty insurance schemes are supposed to provide a safety net to home owners where a builder is unable to complete the contracted work or rectify defective work because of their death, disappearance or insolvency. In reality, builder insolvencies caused by whatever reason are the source of the vast majority of claims.

In announcing proposed reforms late last year, NSW Minister for Fair Trading Anthony Roberts emphasised that prospective home owners deserved protection when embarking on the biggest investment of their lives, but he didn't spend much time on the exorbitant cost to taxpayers of providing that protection.

There are good reasons why the likes of Vero, CGU and Lumley no longer assume such risks.

Read the rest here:
Taxpayers bear brunt of costs as building underwriters withdraw

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