The Arising of TB Cases

KUALA LUMPUR: The case of tuberculosis (TB) or in Malay is known as 'Batuk Kering' in our country are worrying when some 24,000 cases were reported during the past year. 

TB is a disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.

 Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the figure showed an increase of six percent compared to 22.560 cases reported in the previous year. In addition , he also said "among the causes of TB disease is bacterial resistance to chemotherapy and medication, besides to the entry of illegal immigrants (PATI) which mostly do not undergo health screening,"

The ministry will also take appropriate measures to control the outbreak. Among the action to be taken is to screen the general public, including foreign workers each year in order to detect them early disease.

TTPA Expected To Be Signed Next February

 TPPA or The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is an agreement involving the United States and 11 countries including Malaysia, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

 This agreement allows the country to to trade in a member state in the open market. In other words, it is a free trade agreement between the United States and 11 trading partners and we will see more nations working towards trade liberalization that will ultimately benefit the participating nations.

 Najib with (from left), Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe; US President Barack Obama; Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and the Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key posing in conference TPPA leaders in Asia -Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in Manila, Philippines.

The results of discussions and negotiations have concluded, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) expected to be signed in early February in New Zealand. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, said the matter was informed by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Phillip Key in bilateral meetings among them.

Najib and John Key during a bilateral meeting in conjunction with the APEC Summit in Manila

This TTPA agreement has advantages to our country, which are:

• Facilitate national markets access into overseas markets
• Being able to improve the economy and people's income
• The import duty on almost all products will be eliminated under the TPPA
• Improving employment opportunities in countries participating in the agreement TTPA, 

but at the same time TTPA also has disadvantages,

• Large Companies Monopoly: Large companies will be free to do business in our country causing small entrepreneurs have to compete with the big foreign companies.
• Local Labor Abuses: Our local farmers had to compete with foreign agricultural products. More troubling is the TPPA would have an adverse impact on the country's rice industry when rice from the US, which receive high subsidies marketed in the country.
• Pornographic film Can not Be Prevented: No more the Film Censorship as a trade barrier because it is tax-free.