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Ninth Malaysian pilgrim dies in Holy Land

Ninth Malaysian pilgrim dies in Holy Land

MAKKAH: Another Malaysian haj pilgrim has died in the Holy Land after completing the wukuf ritual in Arafah, bringing the total to nine.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said Syed Baharom Syed Hussin, 72, died at Mina Al Wadee Hospital at 4.53am local time due to a heart attack.
He said Syed Baharom, who was from Alor Setar, Kedah, had earlier received treatment at the Mina tent before he was transferred to the hospital.
"Tabung Haji (TH) has contacted the pilgrim's family and will manage all matters related to the funeral arrangements and the welfare of the deceased," he said in a statement on Saturday.
On behalf of TH top management, Na'im extended condolences to the deceased family, praying that his soul be blessed and his intentions in fulfilling the fifth pillar of Islam be accepted.
At the same time, he said TH would continue to monitor the health of all Malaysian pilgrims throughout their stay in the Holy Land.
"I would like to advise all pilgrims to take care of their health, follow the instructions of the staff, and not overexert themselves in performing physically demanding rituals such as the stoning at Jamrah, especially in this extremely hot weather," he said.
– BERNAMA

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Human Writes: Do you listen to the kids?
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Human Writes: Do you listen to the kids?

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If you are facing mental health issues, you can reach out to Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service (03-2935 9935/ 014-322 3392); Talian Kasih (15999/ 019-261 5999 on WhatsApp); Befrienders (03-7627 2929/ e-mail sam@ or toll-free children's helpline Talian Buddy Bear (1800-18-BEAR or 1800-18-2327/ buddybear@ Human Writes columnist Mangai Balasegaram writes mostly on health but also delves into anything on being human. She has worked with international public health bodies and has a Masters in public health. Write to her at lifestyle@ The views expressed here are entirely the writer's own.

The future in a grain: Malaysia's bet on gene-edited rice
The future in a grain: Malaysia's bet on gene-edited rice

Sinar Daily

time3 hours ago

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The future in a grain: Malaysia's bet on gene-edited rice

KUALA LUMPUR - The leaves tell the story. Laid side by side in a research glasshouse at the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) in Serdang, Selangor, the two paddy leaves look alike at first glance. But under the sharp gaze of principal research officer Dr Zulkifli Ahmad Seman, the difference is obvious. One leaf is almost all yellow, a sickly sign of bacterial blight - a disease that has afflicted Malaysian rice fields for decades and caused losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of ringgit. The other is almost entirely green, save for a faint yellowing at the tip. It comes from a rice line Zulkifli and his team edited using CRISPR-CS9 technology. "So with the host, the protein (blight) can't attach because of where we've mutated it. So when it cannot attach, that's where it will stop," he said at Mardi's headquarters. 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Marrying food and technology has rarely if ever received unequivocal support from everyone. While many think the fears surrounding GMOs and now GE technology are overblown, Lim and other environmentalists insist they are not here to stymie biotechnology research or Malaysia's advancement in these sciences. CRISPR-Cas9 is a revolutionary gene-editing tool that allows scientists to make precise changes to an organism's DNA. In plants, the process involves several steps, including causing a break or deletion of a DNA strand, and allowing the plant's natural repair mechanisms to fix the break. This will hopefully result in the desired genetic change. This method enables the development of crops with improved traits, such as disease resistance, drought tolerance and increased yield, without introducing foreign DNA. Despite the supposed benefits, Lim said the benefits may turn into a curse later. "We still need to assess these crops to check for unintended impacts. 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Malaysia has set the target of a rice self-sufficiency rate of 80 per cent by 2030, but without intervention, be it via technology or other methods, the nation will likely not meet its goal anytime soon as the world experiences shocks to the supply chain, one after another. Puteh, meanwhile, said she would be interested in trying out a GE crop that is resistant to blight. "But we need to have discussions first. It may not be suitable for our soil here or the costs may be high. But if it's blight-resistant, we are willing to try," she said. - BERNAMA

Ninth Malaysian pilgrim dies in Holy Land
Ninth Malaysian pilgrim dies in Holy Land

New Straits Times

time5 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Ninth Malaysian pilgrim dies in Holy Land

MAKKAH: Another Malaysian haj pilgrim has died in the Holy Land after completing the wukuf ritual in Arafah, bringing the total to nine. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said Syed Baharom Syed Hussin, 72, died at Mina Al Wadee Hospital at 4.53am local time due to a heart attack. He said Syed Baharom, who was from Alor Setar, Kedah, had earlier received treatment at the Mina tent before he was transferred to the hospital. "Tabung Haji (TH) has contacted the pilgrim's family and will manage all matters related to the funeral arrangements and the welfare of the deceased," he said in a statement on Saturday. On behalf of TH top management, Na'im extended condolences to the deceased family, praying that his soul be blessed and his intentions in fulfilling the fifth pillar of Islam be accepted. At the same time, he said TH would continue to monitor the health of all Malaysian pilgrims throughout their stay in the Holy Land. "I would like to advise all pilgrims to take care of their health, follow the instructions of the staff, and not overexert themselves in performing physically demanding rituals such as the stoning at Jamrah, especially in this extremely hot weather," he said. – BERNAMA

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