Bernama news in brief: June 7

TERENGGANU TARGETS 70 PCT SSL OF COCONUT CROPS BY 2023

MARANG: Terengganu is targetting to increase the self-sufficiency level (SSL) of coconut crops to 70 per cent by 2023, said state Agriculture, Food Industry, Plantation, Commodity and Rural Development Committee chairman Dr Azman Ibrahim.

He said currently Terengganu could only meet 64 per cent of the coconut needs of the population of around 1.2 million people.

"The coconut crop is among the main focus outlined in the Terengganu state strategic plan 2019-2023.

“To achieve this 70 per cent target, we need 200 hectares (ha) of new planting land to produce crops that can meet the needs of 70 per cent of the population," he said at the launching ceremony of the Sweet Nira Terenggganu isotonic drink here today.

To achieve the target, Dr Azman said the state government was working on a 250-ha coconut planting project in Setiu in collaboration with Ladang Rakyat Terengganu and a state government subsidiary.

-- BERNAMA

92 STUDENTS IN MELAKA TESTED POSITIVE FOR DRUGS FROM 2017-2020 - EXCO

MELAKA: A total of 92 students, aged between 13 and 17, in Melaka tested positive for drugs during random screenings conducted at 315 secondary schools in Melaka between 2017 and 2020.

State Health and Anti-Drugs Committee Committee chairman Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said that based on records during the four years, the students were detected to be involved in the abuse of various types of drugs such as opiates, cannabis and methamphetamine.

"This matter is very disturbing as the students had attended school in a state of being positive (for drugs) apart from using various synthetic drugs that have adverse effects such as loss of judgement," he said.

He told reporters this after officiating at the Sayangi Hidup Elak Derita Selamanya (SHIELDS) Programme at the Malaysia Prison Museum here today.

-- BERNAMA

MAN GETS FIVE-MONTH JAIL TERM FOR HITTING WIFE WITH CHAIR

KUALA LUMPUR: A man who hit his wife with a chair was sentenced to five months in jail by the Magistrate's Court here today.

Magistrate Aina Azahra Arifin passed the sentence on A. Ramasamy, 48, after he pleaded guilty to causing injury to L.Suria Mala, 44, by hitting the victim's head with a chair at a flat unit in Jalan Taman Intan Baiduri Kepong here at 6 pm on Saturday.

The court ordered the father of four to serve his prison sentence starting from the date of his arrest on June 4.

Earlier, Ramasamy, who works in the food supply industry, pleaded for a minimum jail sentence as he earns RM1,700 a month and has to support his wife and four children.

-- BERNAMA