First operation of 'Tree-man' ‘successful’

Abul,25, the fourth man in the world with the tree man illness, a rare skin disorder caused by a virus named human papillomaviruses, was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital since January 30 and underwent operation on his right hand successfully on 20 February. Photo: Palash Khan

Star Online Report

A Bangladeshi man, who is thought to be suffering from a rare skin disorder, underwent his first surgery successfully at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) today.
The surgeons have first operated on his right hand.

Read more: World's 4th 'Tree-Man' a Bangladeshi

“We operated on Baznadar’s right hand. The next operation will be conducted three weeks later.” Dr Samanto Lal Sen, project Director of the 100 Bed Burn Unit Project at DMCH, said at a press brief around 1:00 pm, after the operation.

A nine-member medical board started their operation on Abul Bajandar – now known as ‘Tree Man’ – around 10:30am, which continued for 2:30 hours.

Also read: DMCH forms medical board for surgery on tree man's hand

Md Abul Kalam, professor and head of the Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery and Project, led the board.

Hailing from Khulna, Abul, 26, has tree trunk like warts, almost weighing four kilogrammes on both his hands and feet. As a result, the functionality of his limbs is severely limited.

Read more: Biopsy samples of tree man sent to US

Abul, the fourth man in the world with the tree man illness, a rare skin disorder caused by a virus named human papillomaviruses, was admitted to the institute on January 30.

KL yet to inform Dhaka about recruitment suspension: Secy

The Malaysian government has not yet informed anything officially to the Bangladesh authorities about their recent suspension of foreign workers recruitment. Star file photo

UNB, Dhaka

The Malaysian government has not yet informed anything officially to the Bangladesh authorities about their recent suspension of foreign workers recruitment.
Acting secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Begum Shamsun Nahar said this while talking to the news agency today.
“As we haven’t been informed anything yet by the Malaysian government about workers’ recruitment suspension, the next procedure to materialise the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will continue,” she said.
Malaysian Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot and Bangladesh Expatriates' Welfare Minister Nurul Islam signed the MoU on Thursday on recruiting 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers through G2G Plus mechanism over the next three years.
Later on Friday, Riot clarified saying that ‘1.5 million Bangladeshis had registered with the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment in Bangladesh for jobs overseas including Malaysia,’ according to by Malaysian state news agency Bernama.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday announced that the recruitment of workers from all source countries will remain suspended ‘until it ascertains the actual manpower needs of industries’, according to another report by Bernama.

Businesses frown on Malaysia's foreign workers ban

The Malaysian government has been asked to review its decision to suspend the intake of foreign workers as it will erode the country’s competitive edge. This Star file photo shows Bangladeshi workers queue up at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to fly to Malaysia to take up plantation jobs.

The Star

The Malaysian government has been asked to review its decision to suspend the intake of foreign workers as it will erode the country’s competitive edge.
Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce President Choot Ewe Seng said the hardest hit would be the construction, manufacturing, and service industries, which had become too dependent on foreign labours.
He said the government should consider how its latest decision would impact these industries.
Penang Master Builders & Building Materials Dealers Asso­ciation President Lim Kai Seng said there were more than 1 million foreign workers in the country, of which 30,000 were in Penang earning between US$355 to $592 per month.
“What will happen to them when their work permits expire…Will they be sent back or will their permits be renewed?
“This is not clear. If they cannot renew their permits and are sent back, it will be disastrous for the construction sector,” Lim said.
Real Estate & Housing Developers’ Association (Penang) Chairman Jerry Chan said it was too drastic a step as there would be an immediate reduction in the workers.
“It is better to legalise and regularise these workers.
“We have become too dependent on foreign workers and any sudden change in policy or enforcement will cause problems,” he said.
Ideal Property Group executive chairman Alex Ooi said the move would impact negatively on the construction sector which was already facing a labour shortage.
“The move will impact severely on the progress of key infrastructure projects,” he added.
In Johor Baru, Malaysia Entrepreneur Association President Chen Kim Hock said the Government’s decision would cause many employers to fork out extra money to hire Malaysians to replace foreign workers.
He cited the construction sector where most contractors prefer to hire foreign workers as Malaysians would expect higher salary.
“If there are no more foreign workers, employers have no other way but to hire Malaysians. But they would have to fork out extra money to entice them,” he added.
Chen, who is also the president of the Motorcycle and Scooter Sellers Group of Johor, said the impact of the government decision would be felt by the industries within a year.
He added that factories were also dependent on the foreign workers as Malaysians were not interested in such jobs due to the low income.
Jaya Catering Sdn Bhd Director J Dhinagaran urged the Government to lift the suspension, said that while restaurant operators were willing to pay higher wages to Malaysians the truth was they did not want to work in specific sectors unlike foreign workers.
“We are also disappointed with certain non-governmental organisations who are against the employment of foreign workers.”
Indian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association’s (Presma) President Noorul Hassan Saul Ham­eed said the decision to stop recruiting foreign workers was “made suddenly and it is too early to comment on the matter”.
“Until the two-tier levy programme for foreign workers is reviewed and a comprehensive solution is created, we will wait and hope for a positive outcome,” he said.
The Star/Asian News Network