logo
One dead, another critically injured in Bintulu accident near Nyalau Bridge

One dead, another critically injured in Bintulu accident near Nyalau Bridge

Malay Mail4 days ago

BINTULU, May 30 — A man was killed and another seriously injured in a road accident near the Nyalau Bridge along Jalan Pesisir Bintulu-Miri yesterday.
According to Samalaju Fire and Rescue (Bomba) chief Irwin Abidin, a team from his station was dispatched to the scene after receiving a distress call at 1.59pm.
The incident involved a white pick-up truck carrying two Indonesian nationals.
'One of the victims identified as Dafid Duanda Putra was found trapped in the driver's seat and was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel,' he said in a statement.
The second victim, known only as Ikhsan, was ejected from the vehicle and suffered serious head injuries.
He was given initial treatment at the scene before being transported to Bintulu Hospital at 3.03pm.
The deceased's body was later handed over to the Batu Niah police for further action. — The Borneo Post

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Superhero parents raising children with cleft lip and palate — Aufa Dahlia Bahar and Noorhidayah Zainal Aalam
Superhero parents raising children with cleft lip and palate — Aufa Dahlia Bahar and Noorhidayah Zainal Aalam

Malay Mail

time24 minutes ago

  • Malay Mail

Superhero parents raising children with cleft lip and palate — Aufa Dahlia Bahar and Noorhidayah Zainal Aalam

JUNE 3 — When Sarah first saw her son, Adam, in the delivery room, her heart filled with love — and uncertainty. Born with a cleft lip and palate, Adam's tiny face bore the marks of a condition that would come to define his early years. Have you ever felt grateful for how beautifully our faces and lips are designed to support our lovely smiles? Our smiles frame our faces, enabling us to eat, speak, and function normally. However, some individuals like Adam are less fortunate. They are born with a gap in their lips, gums, or even the roof of their mouths. This congenital condition is known as cleft lip and palate, which can vary in severity. A cleft can affect the lips, the palate, or both, and the gaps may even extend to the nose. For Sarah and thousands of other parents across the world, that first moment wasn't the beginning of fear. It was the birth of something heroic. Globally, 1 in 700 babies is born with this condition and 1 in 941 births in Malaysia. This condition primarily impacts the physical appearance and function of the child, necessitating long-term, multidisciplinary care. While much research has concentrated on the children themselves, the experiences of their parents, who play a central role in care, are frequently overlooked. Our team of researchers at Universiti Malaya assessed the mental health of parents with cleft lip and palate and found that mothers particularly suffer from distress. Raising a child with a cleft condition is not just about surgeries and speech therapy. It's about resilience, redefining beauty, and championing a child's right to smile freely. And it turns out, the ones donning invisible capes in this story are not the doctors or even the children, though they are undoubtedly brave. It's the parents, the quiet warriors who rise to a challenge they never anticipated. The first diagnosis is a collision of joy and fear. Most cleft conditions are diagnosed during routine prenatal scans. For many parents, this news shatters the illusion of a textbook pregnancy. 'I felt like I had failed before he was even born,' Sarah recalls. 'But then I realised this wasn't about me. It was about how I would rise to meet his needs.' Some may only be diagnosed shortly after birth. Imagine how devastated the parents must feel upon receiving this news. Some even blame themselves for what happened. In that moment, these parents begin a journey that demands relentless advocacy. They must become experts in medical jargon, navigate insurance nightmares, coordinate teams of specialists, and make gut-wrenching decisions about surgery timelines and feeding methods — all while nurturing a child who may be misunderstood by the world. Children with cleft lip and palate often undergo multiple surgeries before their teenage years. Each one requires parental courage: to hand over their child to surgeons, to manage pain afterwards, and to balance hope with realism. But perhaps the greatest reconstruction is not surgical. It's emotional. 'Kids pick up on everything,' says Ahmad, father to seven-year-old Zara. 'You have to model confidence. That means looking at your child and seeing beauty, not difference.' These parents become the first and fiercest line of defence against bullying, stigma, and self-doubt. They coach their children on how to answer insensitive questions and cheer louder than anyone at speech therapy milestones. And they do all this while managing the normal chaos of parenting — diapers, tantrums, and endless snacks. These parents also know the power of language and love. One of the quiet battles parents fight is over the language used to describe their children. 'We're not 'fixing' our son,' says Daniel, father of five-year-old Alex. 'He's not broken. We're helping him be heard, be seen, be whole.' This perspective is crucial. In a society obsessed with symmetry and perfection, children with cleft conditions — and their families — often feel pressure to hide or conform. But superhero parents push back. They post proud photos, they start support groups, and they challenge social media algorithms that favour filtered beauty. They are not just raising children. They are raising awareness. But the secret superpower? Community. One common thread among these families is the deep reliance on community — both online and offline. Organisations like the Cleft Lip & Palate Association Malaysia (CLAPAM) and other local cleft support groups offer not just medical aid, but emotional lifelines. On the tertiary level, active research activities have been done to understand their needs and find new ways to help these families. Recently, our team found that parents of Malay ethnicity, parents with higher education levels and higher levels of income, have a significantly better quality of life. Hence, future projects could identify certain groups of parents in need to enhance their quality of life and support the well-being of these parents. Through these networks, parents trade advice on bottle types and surgical centres, share tearful late-night updates, and celebrate tiny victories: the first time their child blows bubbles, sings, or says 'mama' with clarity. In these spaces, the capes get passed around. Sometimes, it's one parent lifting another who's momentarily weary. Sometimes, it's a child whose resilience reminds the adults what true strength looks like. We often think of superheroes as those who leap tall buildings or shoot lasers from their eyes. But real heroism looks like a mother spending sleepless nights researching feeding techniques, or a father holding his daughter's hand in a pre-op room while whispering, 'You are perfect.' It looks like choosing joy in the face of fear. Like fighting not just for a smile, but for a world that will accept it without question. Children born with cleft lip and palate are not broken. Their parents are not merely caregivers; they are architects of empathy, warriors for dignity, and builders of futures. In the month of June, we celebrate two important events to honour their journey. Since 2012, the United Nations has designated June 1 as the Global Day of Parents. This special day recognises all parents for their selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifices in nurturing this relationship. Each year, CLAPAM and our dedicated undergraduate dental students join forces for the Cleft Lip and Palate Charity Run (CLAP Run), a fundraising event to support these remarkable children and their superhero parents. In conjunction with the theme for Global Parents Day 2025 observed annually on 1st of June, 'Raising Parents,' let us come together to celebrate and honour these superheroes for their dedication to raising their extraordinary children! If you or someone you know is parenting a child with a cleft condition, you are not alone. Support is available through nationwide organisations like the Cleft Lip & Palate Association Malaysia (CLAPAM) and local communities. You are doing heroic work. * Dr Aufa Dahlia Bahar is a Lecturer and Orthodontist, while Dr Noorhidayah Zainal Aalam is a Lecturer and Paediatric Dentist, at the Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya. ** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.

Ex-Foreign Ministry sec-gen Muhammad Shahrul Ikram succeeds Nazri Aziz as Malaysia's new ambassador to US
Ex-Foreign Ministry sec-gen Muhammad Shahrul Ikram succeeds Nazri Aziz as Malaysia's new ambassador to US

Malay Mail

timean hour ago

  • Malay Mail

Ex-Foreign Ministry sec-gen Muhammad Shahrul Ikram succeeds Nazri Aziz as Malaysia's new ambassador to US

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, presented the instrument of appointment to the new Malaysian Ambassador to the United States, Tan Sri Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob, in a ceremony at Istana Negara today. Muhammad Shahrul Ikram is the former Foreign Ministry's secretary-general. According to a post on Sultan Ibrahim's Facebook page, the ceremony was also attended by the Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin and the ministry's secretary-general Datuk Sri Amran Mohamed Zin. Muhammad Shahrul Ikram replaces Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, whose term concluded on Feb 8. The Pahang-born Muhammad Shahrul Ikram holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Ecology from Universiti Malaya and has attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in the US. He started his career as an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988 and served as Chairman of the Secretariat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Jan 6, 2019, to May 31, 2022. Throughout his 35 years in public service, Muhammad Shahrul Ikram has been posted as Malaysian Ambassador to Qatar, Malaysian Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations in New York. While at the Foreign Ministry, he had served as deputy secretary-general (Bilateral Relations), director-general of the Asean-Malaysia National Secretariat (during Malaysia's 2015 ASEAN Chairmanship) and Secretary of the Multilateral Political Division. His other previous diplomatic assignments include the Malaysian missions in Vienna, Washington, and Beijing. — Bernama

Follow TikTok's lead and join Content Forum to curb online harm, comms minister tells Meta, X
Follow TikTok's lead and join Content Forum to curb online harm, comms minister tells Meta, X

Malay Mail

timean hour ago

  • Malay Mail

Follow TikTok's lead and join Content Forum to curb online harm, comms minister tells Meta, X

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil today called on social media platforms, Meta and X, to be part of the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum (CMCF) as he deemed their measures to create a safer online environment are 'far from satisfactory'. Fahmi added that he has approached these platforms, asking them to follow the lead of TikTok — which voluntarily became a CMCF member. 'In my conversations with Asia-Pacific counterparts from Indonesia, Australia and Fiji, we found most of these social media platforms think they are bigger than the laws of governments of any country,' he said, after launching the Suicide Content Guidelines at Menara Star here today. 'But, we cannot have social media platforms just wash their hands off on (irresponsible) contents.' Meta operates Facebook, Instagram and Threads, while X (formerly Twitter) is owned by tech mogul Elon Musk. Fahmi said that a collective, regional policy response would be the best way to deal with social media companies that refuse to adhere to local laws. He said the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Safe and Responsible Use of Social Media Platforms by Asean leaders recently was one such initiative. The Malaysia-led initiative to combat digital harms across the region is set to be formally adopted at the 47th Asean Summit in October. Established in February 2001, the CMCF or better known as the Content Forum was designated as an industry forum to oversee and promote self-regulation of content over the electronic networked medium.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store