Practical Student

W.H.O. announcement

W.H.O. to Rewrite Rules for Declaring a Pandemic
Yuriko Nakao/Reuters

In Tokyo, schoolchildren visited the upper house of Parliament on Friday. According to data from the World Health Organization, Japan has had 294 confirmed cases of swine flu, but no deaths.




By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Published: May 22, 2009

Bowing to pressure, the World Health Organization announced Friday that it would rewrite its rules for alerting the world to new diseases, meaning the swine flu circling the globe will probably never be declared a full-fledged pandemic.

Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the deputy director general making the W.H.O. announcement, said that he could not predict exactly what the new rules would be but that criteria would include a “substantial risk of harm to people,” not just the geographic spread of a relatively benign virus.

The six-point system was created in 2005 when the threat was H5N1 avian flu, which has a fatality rate of about 60 percent. But the system does not take into account a virus’s lethality, and in the current outbreak, some countries have complained that the warning system created panic and pressure for border closings, even though the strain was less deadly.

Asked if the W.H.O. could damage its credibility by changing the rules in mid-outbreak, Dr. Fukuda said: “There’s nothing like reality for telling you whether something is working or not. Rigidly adhering to something that is not working would not be very helpful.”

Speaking in Geneva, Dr. Fukuda added, “We’re trying to walk a fine line between not raising panic and not being complacent.”

The W.H.O., starting in April, quickly raised its alert level to 4 and then 5 as the virus spread in North America. But even as the virus infected people in Britain, Spain and Japan, the agency did not go to Level 6, which signifies spread to a new continent. Dr. Fukuda argued that there was still no proof of “community spread,” meaning beyond travelers, schools and contacts. Some experts were skeptical.

While acquiescing, he noted that experts hashed out these issues in 2005. Geographic spread is easy to detect, but severity is highly subjective. Death rates are impossible to calculate before many people are infected; if they turn out to be high, precious time has been lost. Viruses can mutate, becoming more lethal, and even a less lethal strain can kill many people in poor nations with young, malnourished and AIDS-infected populations.

Separately, federal health officials said a study of flu genes released Friday showed that the virus could have been circulating undetected in pigs for years, and called for better surveillance.

The study, published online by Science magazine, was a collaboration between virologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the W.H.O., along with others from Mexico, Britain, the Netherlands and the health departments of several American states and New York City.

After sequencing virus genes from 76 Americans and Mexicans and comparing them to known human and pig sequences, the study found no identical matches but concluded that the virus could be in pigs anywhere in the world, said Dr. Nancy Cox, chief of the federal agency’s flu division.

The closest match, surprisingly, was found in Thailand in 2005 — a pig with both North American and Eurasian flu genes.

Since the outbreak began, virologists have wondered how Eurasian genes got into a North American pig. Live pigs are moved through the Americas fairly easily, but rarely are legally moved across oceans, because they carry diseases. Even a single breeding boar must be tested and quarantined.

Now that the mixed genes have been found in Asia, it is possible that they came from a North American pig that was taken there. There is little flu surveillance of pigs in much of the world, and even in the United States it is “not very systematic,” Dr. Cox said.

Canadian pig farmers are required to report flu; Americans are not. Early this month, the United States Agriculture Department’s chief veterinarian said it sequenced only 500 samples a year from 100 million pigs.

In 2006, facing the avian flu threat, the United States chicken industry began voluntarily testing 1.6 million chickens a year.

Dr. Paul Sundberg, head of science for the National Pork Board, said it was planning more tests, especially on pigs in contact with people at fairs or livestock exhibits.

Henry L. Niman, who runs a Web site tracking flu mutations, complained that many swine sequences are posted by American universities and in Mexico only on private databases. “Those sequences would be very useful for figuring out how the H1N1 emerged,” he said.

The flu could also be in an intermediate host, said Dr. Cox, as the 2002 SARS virus passed from bats to humans through palm civets. But she said scientists “don’t have a hypothesis for alternative hosts.” Not enough is known about how many species carry flu, Dr. Cox said. For example, virologists were surprised to learn in 2004 that bird flu could kill zoo tigers and house cats.

Dr. Fukuda also said the new virus has been confirmed in 42 countries and had killed 86 people. About half of those hospitalized are young and healthy with no underlying conditions, he said. In the United States, such conditions are more common among the 300 now hospitalized.

Denise Grady contributed reporting.

Technician pleads not guilty to charge of killing ex-girlfriend

By SIMON KHOO

TEMERLOH: A 23-year-old technician has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering his ex-girlfriend in Mentakab early this month.

Tan Guo Rong claimed trial before High Court Justice Akhtar Tahir after his case was first mentioned in a magistate’s court.

The accused was said to have killed Chua Li Yian, 17, between 6.30pm on May 1 and 3.05am on May 9 along Jalan Industri 2 near U-One Entertainment centre, Mentakab industrial estate.

Tan was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

Justice Akhtar fixed Sept 1 for re-mentioned after Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Najmi Daud told the court that he needed three months to get the chemist and post-mortem reports.

The judge also told reporters covering the case to store away their notebooks and rely on their memory.

Defence counsel Francis Tan told the court that his client was directed to sign three unknown documents by a senior police officer at a police station between 10am and 11am on May 20.

“I want to put the incident on record as the documents may be used as evidence in court during the trial proper,” he said.

Earlier, while awaiting his case to be heard, Tan was seen talking for about an hour with his mother, breaking down on several occasions.

His mother kept consoling him and wiped away his tears while other family members and relatives were in a sombre mood inside the courtroom.

At the dock later, the accused appeared calm when a court interpreter read out the charge but he kept shaking his head to indicate that he did not understand. After the fourth attempt, Tan pleaded not guilty while stealing glances at his family members.

Outside the courtroom, his counsel said that Tan’s family was firmly behind his client and believed he was not a murderer.

The victim’s father Chua Yunn Jiang, 43, when contacted, said he was surprised that the accused had pleaded not guilty.

“I read in the news that he had admitted to killing my daughter and even took the police to the scene of the crime.

“Why did he change his mind now? I hope justice will be served and for him to get the rightful punishment so that my daughter will not die in vain,” he said, adding that he would be present when the court sits on Sept 1.

The accused was later taken to the Penor Prison.

Scratch marks were apparent on his neck and face. Police sources said the accused had a tendency to inflict injury on himself while under detention.

Perak MB ruling today

By LISA GOH and YENG AI CHUN

Watch the video

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal will rule today on whether it will uphold a High Court decision declaring Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful Mentri Besar of Perak.

A three-man bench comprising Justices Md Raus Shariff, Zainun Ali and Ahmad Maarop will hand down its judgment today after hearing submissions yesterday from counsel representing Nizar and Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.

“The court will only decide on whether the High Court had interpreted the Perak Constitution rightly or wrongly. If it was interpreted rightly, we will dismiss the appeal. If it was interpreted wrongly, we’ll accept the appeal,” Justice Md Raus said.

Last week, Dr Zambry filed an appeal to quash the High Court (Ap-pellate and Special Powers) ruling.

Dr Zambry’s lawyer Datuk Cecil Abraham said the High Court had made an incomplete and inaccurate ruling on May 11 when it granted Nizar the declaratory relief he sought.

He said there was “a complete and utter lack” on High Court Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim’s part “to appreciate the contemporaneous evidence”.

Arguing that Justice Abdul Aziz’s interpretation of Article 16(6) of the Perak Constitution was flawed, he said: “Article 16(6) is clear and unambiguous, and if read in its entirety, the Mentri Besar has to tender his resignation upon his request for dissolution (of the state assembly) being rejected.

“It doesn’t say he needs to go before the state legislative assembly (for a vote of no confidence),” he said.

Article 16(6) states that if the Mentri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the legislative assembly members then, unless at his request the Ruler dissolves the legislative assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the executive council.

Justice Md Raus: What if he refuses to resign?

Abraham: Then, the constitution removes him. That is my answer. He does not need an overt act to remove him.

On Feb 13, Nizar filed for a judicial review against Dr Zambry’s appointment as Mentri Besar, seeking a declaration that he (Nizar) was the rightful Perak Mentri Besar and an injunction to bar Dr Zambry from carrying out the duties of Mentri Besar.

On May 11, the High Court ruled in favour of Nizar, rendering Dr Zambry’s appointment null and void.

However, a day after that, the Court of Appeal granted Dr Zambry a stay of execution, allowing him to remain as Perak Mentri Besar until his appeal against the High Court ruling was disposed of.

The court was also to hear Nizar’s application to set aside the stay of execution order, but had decided to hear the appeal proper first following the consent of all parties.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, who is an intervener in the case, submitted that under a provision in the Perak Constitution, Speaker V. Sivakumar was only allowed to cast his vote to avoid equality in the House.

“Without the Speaker, Pakatan Rakyat has 27 votes and Barisan Nasional 28. There is no deadlock,” he said.

Nizar’s lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah rebutted Abraham’s argument that Nizar had to resign as required under Article 16(6).

“My Lords, the issue is that the first part of the provision has not been met. How do you decide whether he has lost the confidence? There was never a vote of no confidence taken, so we have not reached the stage of him tendering his resignation yet.

“We are not challenging the Sultan’s prerogative to withhold consent for the dissolution of the assembly. But it’s impermissible to make the jump from there to say there is loss of confidence and he (Nizar) has to vacate his office,” he said.

The full High Court judgement that declared Nizar as the rightful Perak MB

Nik Aziz: Talks won’t resolve Perak crisis

KOTA BARU: PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said he does not want any talks between the opposition and Barisan Nasional to resolve the political crisis in Perak.

The Kelantan Mentri Besar said he was unconvinced that the discussions could end the crisis.

“The best way is to dissolve the Perak State Legislative Assembly,” he told reporters after launching an environmental campaign here Sunday.

He was commenting on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s willingness to meet opposition leaders about cooperating to resolve the crisis.

In Butterworth, PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was willing to negotiate with Barisan any time over the issue.

“We have said we are ready, so we wait. We have given a statement openly, so it’s up to them,” he told reporters after meeting residents at Sungai Semambu in Permatang Pauh.

He said he was ready to listen to Barisan’s views and hoped they would listen to his.

the star online

KPIs on Suhakam commissioners should be transparent

By SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: Two human rights non-governmental organisations have called on the government to make transparent the process of assessing Suhakam commissioners by a Key Performance Index (KPI) when it asks Parliament to delete two other clauses in the newly passed Suhakam (Amendment) Act 2009.

“The KPI is a good idea but what are the indicators?” asked Suaram coordinator John Liu.

“The process and the indicators should be transparent and made public. They should not be a stumbling block and lead to possible self-censorship in the performance of their duties.”

Empower member Honey Tan was not convinced the KPI as envisaged in Section 5(5) of the amendment Act was the way to go.

“Suhakam is not a company where one can look at sales targets, cutting down expenses and improving profits.

“However, if the Government feels that it must go down this route, it is important to ‘measure’, among other things, how pro-active commissioners are, for example, in observing and monitoring situations of arrests when our fundamental liberty of peaceful assembly are violated.

“Not a single commissioner came on the night of May 7, 2009, in Brickfields, when 14 members of civil society were arrested, along with five lawyers and a reporter.”

Liu and Tan said this when asked to comment on the recent statement by de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz that two other amendments would be tabled before Parliament at the June meeting to make the Suhakam Act compliant with the Paris Principles but had made no mention of the KPI clause.

Nazri said Suhakam faced losing its ‘A’ status otherwise.

He said the accreditation sub-committee of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights had found the March amendments still falling short.

On April 17, Suhakam chairman Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman told The Star that Suhakam had not known about the KPI clause.

Asking for the KPIs to be made clear, human rights-related and public, he noted: “You can’t deny the Government has been shown to contravene human rights principles and it is the duty of commissioners to raise this.

“The KPIs should assess a commissioner’s performance and not restrict his function as a commissioner.”

The Paris Principles are a set of core basic recommendations adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993 on the status and functioning of national human rights institutions.

Two cousins gang-raped by nine men

By CHRISTINA KOH

IPOH: Two cousins thought they were in for a romantic night with their boyfriends but it became a nightmare when their boyfriends and seven friends gang-raped them and abandoned them.

Gerik OCPD Supt Mahad Nor Abdullah said the boyfriends, in their 20s, had picking up the girls from their homes in Kati, Kuala Kangsar, last Wednesday.

The girls, aged 16 and 17, were taken to a picnic spot at Lata Lawin, about 20km from Gerik, where seven others waiting for them at a gazebo at about 10pm.

"These seven turned out to be friends of the two boyfriends. We believe they had planned all along to rape the girls," he said Sunday.

Each 'boyfriend', he said, forced himself on a girl before passing her on to his friends.

The girls' ordeal dragged on to the next day before the nine abandoned them. Several villagers found them and sent them home at about 7am.

The girls, who are school dropouts, lodged police reports at the Kati police station on Friday.

Supt Mahad Nor said three suspects, including the boyfriends, had been picked up at their homes in Kuala Kangsar and Gerik.

"We are tracing the other six men, who are all in their 20s," he said.