There's a foul stench in the area. And at least one expert is of the view that one of the gases detected in the air - acrylonitrile - is potentially cancer-causing.

But despite those things, and the reservations of residents, schools in Pasir Gudang opened on Sunday only for dozens of kids and teachers to be rushed to the doctor once more.

Schools won’t be shut again though ’cos according to one donkey, affected schools can always just move lessons to lower floors. 

Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin confirmed last week that three types of flammable and toxic gases have been detected in the area. However, Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar, the state health, culture and heritage committee chairman and above-mentioned donkey, thinks since the 130 students and teachers who experienced breathing difficulties on Sunday were on the third and fourth floors, shifting classrooms should solve the problem.

Oh and by the way, Khuzzan also said the Department of Environment has already issued a bunch of compounds and warnings to 38 factories in the area for flouting the Environmental Quality Act 1974. But seriously lah, even if these factories aren’t the ones responsible for the current predicament, didn’t we pass the point of warnings when almost 4,000 people were forced to seek treatment in March for something similar?

Meanwhile, Minister of Trolls Najib Razak has called on Yeo as well as Zuraida Kamaruddin, the Housing and Local Government Minister, to quit over the debacle in Pasir Gudang. Does he have a point? Well, yeah. We can’t keep turning a blind eye to inaction. Still, perhaps it's more apt to place the blame at feet of those leaders down in Johor who’ve done nothing in the months since Sungai Kim Kim. 

Also, we dunno 'bout you, but should former PMs who live in glass houses built on 1MDB funds (allegedly! allegedly!) be really throwing stones?

Despite a truckload of charges against him, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is returning from garden leave to helm the party that may actually be better off without him.

Jibby Razak’s former No. 2 had handed the acting party boss mantel to deputy Mohamad Hasan in December last year after a bunch of defections - including former Puteri chief Mas Ermieyati Samsudin. However, he’s now back, just days after being slapped with criminal charges for pocketing (allegedly! allegedly!) RM42.7 million in bribes. 

Khairy Jamaluddin, who challenged Zahid for the post of big kahuna in last year’s party polls, obviously isn’t happy with el presidente's return. However, KJ's tender feelings really don't matter since the Jibster is backing Zahid, and Tok Mat, within hours of his boss’ return announcement, began playing to the gallery by saying stupid shit like GE15 will be called next year and Zahid's return will stop instigators who are trying to cause friction between party leaders.

Zahid says he's coming back now because it's been exactly a year since he was elected, but who knows why he's really decided to announce his return to active politics? 

One possibility could be that Tok Mat’s rising popularity over the last six months, plus a proposal recently to expel party members convicted of graft, may have convinced him that the longer he stays away, the more support he’s likely to lose. Another reason could be Zahid is taking a leaf out of JIbby's book, and will attempt to paint his court case as political persecution -- which would be easier to do if he's a sitting Umno pres. 

Or maybe he believes Jibby wasn’t talking out of his butt when he said that Umno must take the battle to “cruel” Pakatan Harapan just like it did the Communists and is now inspired to be the hero Umno needs.

Just days after suggesting Malaysia could be in the market for foreign workers from Africa, Human Resources ministers M. Kula Segaran says the move is a no go and that the government has decided to “to drop the whole suggestion”. 

The minister last week mooted the possibility of importing foreign workers to deal with an apparent labour shortage in the plantation sector. But, angry -- and xenophobic -- responses from the likes of former minister Rais Yatim as well as PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s own statement that there's no need for more foreign workers in the country caused Kula to frantically backpedal. 

The bigger issue though is not that Kula U-turned after (probably) being scolded by the PM, but that upon learning of a worker shortage, the minister immediately sided with estate bosses and offered his “let’s import workers” solution.

What he should have done, being the guy in charge of workers, was evaluate the situation in an unbiased manner first and foremost, and then, study the reasons for the shortage. Or if he was too lazy, he could've just Googled Tenaganita’s 2018 report, which said migrant workers no longer want to toil in estates because they’re subjected to inhumane living conditions and low wages.

Had Kula done that, he might have realised that claims of RM10 billion being lost by the industry cannot possibly compare with the ill-treatment that takes place in estates.

Since its launch on April 1, a grand total of 68 applications have been received for checks to be conducted against names on the child sex offenders registry. Yes, 68!

Is it any wonder then that Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who also heads the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, hopes those concerned – specifically parents and potential employers – make better use of the system?

Thing is though, while we agree with Kak Wan that more people should access the register, part of the reason for the low uptake may really be down to red tape folks have to deal with to get checks done.

Unlike registries in the United States, South Korea and the Maldives, our register here isn’t accessible to the public online. Which means parents who want to check on, say, a potential babysitter would need to submit the person’s MyKad number to the state welfare department. They’d also need to fill in a form and state their relationship to the individual. 

Oh, and while carrying out a check at the state welfare department might hand you immediate results (if, that is, the person being checked is clean and doesn’t have an appeal pending), you’ll need to wait five days to know the outcome of an application done at a welfare district office. In short, the system is problematic AF.

Would a registry available online be a better bet? Perhaps. However, while such a move may result in way more than 68 applications, public registries aren’t without their issues. For example, certain studies suggest that not only does a public registry not guarantee fewer sex crimes, it can also increase safety fears  and sometimes, result in vigilante justice.

We honestly don't know what the best solution to this is. But what we do know is that the current system needs to be way more user-friendly than it currently is.