Bodies and dirty money line the rat routes into Thailand

The morning sun has barely risen over the town of Golok in Thailand, but already the streets are jammed with vehicles arriving from across the border in Malaysia.
The noise of shouts and car horns fills the air as traders begin to set up their stalls, while others load four-wheel drives with fresh produce to be sold to customers in the nearest town of Rantau Panjang in Kelantan.
As drivers flock to the gates of the Rantau Panjang-Sungai Golok immigration, customs, quarantine and security complex, along the banks of the river nearby, more activity of a decidedly less official nature is taking place.
There, things have been moving since before 7am.
At one base, several loads of goods have already passed through to Malaysia with the authorities none the wiser – sacks of rice and cartons of cigarettes, frozen food, snacks, tinned food and drinks, all smuggled in from Thailand.
For Thai national Yatie, such things are a daily occurrence. For 20 years now, she has followed her parents to and fro across Sungai Golok to sell sweetmeats from Thailand to the tourists in Rantau Panjang.
"When I grew up, I wondered why people were angry and afraid of taking boats at the river," she said.
"It turns out it was wrong. But what can we do? This is how we grew up, no one stopped us from doing it. I don't think it's wrong."
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, she said there were dozens of spots with illegal activities more dangerous than where she and her parents transport goods – Pengkalan Gaji, Kajang, Retak and Cek Kasim, to name a few.
It is understood that these bases were shut down by the authorities in 2017.
Bodies
In May, the police said 136 illegal bases were found to be rat routes for smuggling activities along Sungai Golok, in Rantau Panjang, Pengkalan Kubor and Tumpat.
When contacted, an officer from the General Operations Force (PGA) said the illegal routes were used not only for human trafficking and smuggling, but also as dumping grounds for what were thought to be drug crimes.
The officer, who was rotated among a number of PGA posts along Sungai Golok for four years before being transferred to a different unit, said bodies would be fished out of the river almost every day, all bearing the marks of violence.
Some were shot while others were badly beaten or stabbed.
"There were also cases of drowning, but we knew the reason, and we would conduct searches at the border with the Thai authorities," the officer said.
"Cases of such deaths were always happening. Some of them were pursued by the Thai authorities, then shot and left where they fell.
"We were the ones who found them. Some of them were Thai nationals, some of them were locals," the officer added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
New attraction in Thailand
Since the international border at Rantau Panjang-Sungai Golok was reopened on May 5, more and more tourists have been choosing to enter Thailand by boat.
Several boat operators said they had been ferrying nearly twice the number of passengers that they did before.
"They are looking for marijuana since it is now 'halal' there," one of them, Abe Li, said.
"They enter by boat as they are afraid that if they go by land, they will be forced to take a urine test."
Abe said he had received telephone calls from some of his loyal passengers for river crossings at certain times of the day. Each passenger is charged RM20 per trip.
"There are two slots," he said. "It's easy to get in before dawn, but it's dark.
"Otherwise, they enter Thailand after 7pm when the soldiers there are changing shifts."


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Theatre houses glad to turn on the spotlights again after a year with no audience

When Shafeeq Shajahan co-founded musical theatre production house Liver and Lung Productions with his partner, Hannah Shields, in 2014, it was an instant success with one sold-out show after another.For six years, they enjoyed the fruits of their labour – until 2020 when Covid-19 hit the country, bringing with it a raft of restrictions and health SOPs.“We had about 13 shows,” Shafeeq said. “We were supposed to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year to perform one of our shows. We were supposed to bring Sepet the Musical to Macau.“But everything had to stop.”The pandemic changed everything, and Shafeeq knew his business had to change too.Liver and Lung became one of the first theatre production houses in the country to make a complete shift to a digital platform. And the move is paying off.For instance, its sold-out 2019 musical based on Yasmin Ahmad’s cult classic Sepet garnered it hundreds of new fans after being streamed on YouTube for a week.But the move wasn’t easy, as making the shift requires much more than just theatrical skills.“Obviously we are bread-and-butter theatre boys and girls but we had to upscale our skills to video editing, filmmaking and audio engineering. All those new skills we had to quickly learn,” Shafeeq told MalaysiaNow.Yet he sees the move outside of their comfort zone as a blessing.“We upscaled our capabilities in skills that will last us longer in the future.”“It’s bad if this pandemic came and left and we didn’t learn anything from it.”In March, authorities eased restrictions on the entertainment sector to allow performances with limited audiences.But Shafeeq does not see this as a reason to leave digital theatre in the past.“For the future of theatre, we would like to see this hybrid of digital and live performances.“It’s bad if this pandemic came and left and we didn’t learn anything from it,” he said.Khairunazwan Rodzy, founder of production company Revolution Stage, said his outfit had faced many challenges since the beginning of the pandemic when restrictions were first imposed.In March, it found itself struggling with RM23,000 in overdue rent alone.Fortunately, fans of the underground arts chipped in and within 10 days had raised the money needed to keep Revolution Stage from going under.With the relaxed restraints on live events, they are now hopeful of making a comeback although with what profit margin remains to be seen.“It’s a whole different experience.”“So when organisers announced the new norm concerts, it felt like a part of me that went missing was found again.”The last time Aqil went to a concert was in January 2020. When organisers announced a series of gigs comprising performances by rock bands under strict SOPs, he booked tickets for two concerts in the same week.But how does one enjoy the music when the hall is no longer packed with concertgoers singing their hearts out side by side?“The new norm gig is not the same as before as we have to stand in a box one metre apart from each other,” Aqil told MalaysiaNow.“We also have to wear masks the whole time. It’s a whole different experience for me, but I am just glad I can see bands perform in front of me again.”


Taiwan says China’s anger at its use of ‘country’ caused BioNTech vaccine deal collapse

Germany’s BioNTech asked Taiwan to remove the word “country” from an announcement they planned to make on a Covid-19 vaccine sale to the island, the Taipei health minister said on Thursday.Taipei blamed the collapse of the deal on China exerting pressure on the drugmaker.Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told a news briefing the government had signed and sent back a “final contract” agreed with BioNTech after months of negotiations, and the two sides were on the verge of issuing a press release in January.“BioNTech suddenly sent a letter, saying they strongly recommend us to change the word ‘our country’ in the Chinese version of the press release,” Chen said.The government agreed to tweak the wording to “Taiwan” on the same day, he added.A week later, Chen said, his government was informed by BioNTech the completion of the deal will be delayed due to a “revaluation of global vaccine supply and adjusted timelines”.“There’s no problem within the contract. The problem was something outside of the contract,” he said, without elaborating.Chen’s comments came a day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen directly accused China of blocking the deal with BioNTech.Taiwan and China are arguing after Beijing offered vaccine doses to the Chinese-claimed island via Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, which has a contract to sell them in Greater China.China considers Taiwan its own territory and strongly objects to any reference that implies Taiwan is a separate country.Taiwan’s medical system is coming under increasing strain due to a spike in domestic infections with only about 1% of the population of more than 23 million vaccinated.China has repeatedly said its vaccine offer is sincere and Taiwan should not put up political roadblocks.Taiwan does not believe China is sincere in offering it vaccines and thinks Beijing is launching “political warfare” against the island, officials briefed on the matter told Reuters.Using the word “country” for Taiwan is never a good move if your business is hoping to make a lot of money in China.American movie star John Cena was forced to apologise to China after he referred to Taiwan as a country while promoting the next Fast & Furious film, in which he appears. The series is extremely popular in China and makes a lot of money for Hollywood.Speaking in Mandarin as he talked about the upcoming film’s release date, he apparently said: “Taiwan is the first country that can watch.”Then, for unspecified reasons Cena used the Chinese social network Weibo to apologise, calling his previous statement a “mistake”.He said in Mandarin: “I have to say one thing which is very, very, very important: I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very sorry for my mistakes. Sorry. Sorry. I’m really sorry.”Cena apparently learned Mandarin because he had a part in a Mandarin movie, and now speaks it well.In the US, conservative figures have mocked Cena for making the apology.


DAP man calls for probe against Hadi

The afternoon session of today's Dewan Rakyat sitting turned rowdy after Jelutong MP RSN Rayer called for PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang to be investigated for endangering democracy.
Rayer, of DAP, referred to a news report quoting Hadi, the Marang MP, speaking about a change of government.
"Marang said that the other side was planning to topple the government," he said.
"I ask the home minister to investigate this as it is against the Penal Code under Section 124B.
"This is the government that was ordained by His Majesty," he added, referring to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Misbahul Munir Masduki (PN-Parit Buntar) however objected, saying Hadi had made a political statement and was not planning to topple the government.
He also called for Rayer to retract his statement.
Rayer however maintained that Hadi had acted in disobedience to the Agong.
A war of words then erupted, in which Rayer was challenged to lodge a police report over Hadi's remarks.
The chaos was reined in by deputy speaker Alice Lau, who turned off the MPs' microphones.
"I ask for this matter to be given attention," Rayer maintained.
"The people cannot be left to languish if something happens like what was planned by the opposition."
Hadi was reported as saying that Perikatan Nasional had the right to make plans to topple the government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as this was a democratic right.


25 investigation papers opened on Covid-19 mismanagement

A total of 25 investigation papers involving various offences on the alleged mismanagement of Covid-19 have been opened, says Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki.He said MACC would summon those involved to assist in the investigations and would also provide updates on case developments.“Many individuals have been and will be called as each case is different,” he told reporters when questioned after an event in Putrajaya today.He did not rule out the possibility that the cases involved agencies including the health ministry.On whether former health minister Dr Adham Baba would be called to help in the investigations, Azam said action would be taken depending on the need.On May 25, Adham said he would cooperate with MACC following allegations of corruption and misappropriation of acquisitions related to Covid-19.Adham, who held the portfolio when the country was facing the pandemic, admitted to having personally received such complaints, adding that these had occurred at the administrative level.


PN slams govt over freedom of speech after TikTok action

Perikatan Nasional's (PN) youth wing today hit out at the government over its action against TikTok users, describing it as an attempt to clamp down on the freedom of speech.
PN Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said the move went against Pakatan Harapan's (PH) manifesto which had promised to uphold the freedom of speech and assured of no government action against those critical of the administration.
The Pasir Mas MP said that the opposite had instead occurred.
"We condemn the acts of intimidation or provocation, especially against TikTok users and the youth who are said to be spreading slander against the government when that is merely an element of the freedom of expression," he said at a press conference in Parliament.
PH had pledged to uphold media freedom and the freedom of speech in its manifesto for the 15th general election.
It had also vowed to abolish acts seen as oppressive by revising and repealing provisions that could be used to restrict the freedom of expression, including the Sedition Act, the Communications and Multimedia Act, and the Printing Presses and Publications Act.
Fadhli said the action against social media users was also becoming more widespread, citing the notice issued to a man who was recently asked to present himself at the Bandar Hilir police station to assist in an investigation.
"This is seen as an effort to restrict the freedom of speech of the youth," he said.
"So I would like to ask the government whether it is in fact doing this, in spite of the vows that PH made in its manifesto."


New cases below 9,000 for second day

Another 8,817 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,294,457.Sarawak recorded 1,361 cases, Selangor 1,348 and Kelantan 1,063.Johor recorded 886 cases, Sabah 805, Pahang 696, Penang 595, Kedah 576, Perak 473, Terengganu 356, Melaka 246, Kuala Lumpur 217 and Negeri Sembilan 122.Perlis recorded 47 cases, Putrajaya 23 and Labuan three.


After Elon Musk's ultimatum, Twitter employees start exiting

Hundreds of Twitter employees are estimated to be leaving the beleaguered social media company following an ultimatum from new owner Elon Musk that staffers sign up for "long hours at high intensity," or leave.
In a poll on the workplace app Blind, which verifies employees through their work email addresses and allows them to share information anonymously, 42% of 180 people chose the answer for "Taking exit option, I'm free!"
A quarter said they had chosen to stay "reluctantly," and only 7% of the poll participants said they "clicked yes to stay, I'm hardcore."
Musk was meeting some top employees to try and convince them to stay, said one current employee and a recently departed employee who is in touch with Twitter colleagues.
While it is unclear how many employees have chosen to stay, the numbers highlight the reluctance of some staffers to remain at a company where Musk has hastened to fire half its employees including top management, and is ruthlessly changing the culture to emphasise long hours and an intense pace.
The company notified employees that it will close its offices and cut badge access until Monday, according to two sources. Security officers have begun kicking employees out of the office on Thursday evening, one source said.
Twitter, which has lost many of its communication team members, did not respond to a request for comment.
In a private chat on Signal with about 50 Twitter staffers, nearly 40 said they had decided to leave, according to the former employee.
And in a private Slack group for Twitter's current and former employees, about 360 people joined a new channel titled "voluntary-layoff," said a person with knowledge of the Slack group.
A separate poll on Blind asked staffers to estimate what percentage of people would leave Twitter based on their perception. More than half of respondents estimated at least 50% of employees would leave.
Blue hearts and salute emojis flooded Twitter and its internal chatrooms on Thursday, the second time in two weeks as Twitter employees said their goodbyes.
By 6pm Eastern, over two dozen Twitter employees across the US and Europe had announced their departures in public Twitter posts reviewed by Reuters, though each resignation could not be independently verified.
Early on Wednesday, Musk had emailed Twitter employees, saying: "Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore".
The email asked staff to click "yes" if they wanted to stick around. Those who did not respond by 5pm Eastern time on Thursday would be considered to have quit and given a severance package, the email said.
As the deadline approached, employees scrambled to figure out what to do.
One team within Twitter decided to take the leap together and leave the company, one employee who is leaving told Reuters.
In an apparent jab at Musk's call for employees to be "hardcore," the Twitter profile bios of several departing engineers on Thursday described themselves as "softcore engineers" or "ex-hardcore engineers."


Russia hits Ukraine with missiles, drones as 'dear friend' Xi departs

Russia blasted an apartment block in Ukraine with missiles on Wednesday and swarmed cities with drone attacks overnight, in a display of force as President Vladimir Putin bid farewell to his visiting "dear friend" and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Firefighters battled a blaze in two adjacent residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, where officials said at least one person was killed and 33 wounded by a twin missile strike.
"Right now, residential areas where ordinary people and children live are being fired at," President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted, with security camera video showing one building exploding.
"This must not become 'just another day' in Ukraine or anywhere else in the world. The world needs greater unity and determination to defeat Russian terror faster and protect lives."
A playground and a car park at the scene were littered with glass, debris and wrecked cars. Emergency workers carried out the wounded or escorted those who could walk.
An elderly woman with scratches on her face sat alone on a bench, wiping tears and whispering prayers.
"When I got out, there was destruction, smoke, people screaming, debris. Then the firefighters and rescuers came," said Ivan Nalyvaiko, 24.
In Rzhyshchiv, a riverside town south of the capital, at least six people were killed, 18 injured and three missing after a drone struck two college dormitories. Reuters saw a five-storey building with a collapsed section of the top floor.
During the night, sirens blared across the capital and swathes of northern Ukraine, and the military said it had shot down 16 of 21 Iranian-made Shahed suicide drones.
In an apparent reference to the Chinese president's visit to the Russian capital, Zelensky tweeted: "Every time someone tries to hear the word 'peace' in Moscow, another order is given there for such criminal strikes."
Zelensky visited troops near the front line on Wednesday. His office released video of him handing out medals to soldiers, which it said was filmed near Bakhmut, the eastern city where Ukrainian forces are mounting a defence in what has become Europe's deadliest infantry battle since World War Two.
Hosting Xi in Moscow this week was Putin's grandest diplomatic gesture since he launched the war a year ago and became a pariah in the West. The two men referred to each other as "dear friend", promised economic cooperation, condemned the West and described relations as the best they have ever been.
They "shared the view that this relationship has gone far beyond the bilateral scope and acquired critical importance for the global landscape and the future of humanity," said a statement released by China.
Xi departed telling Putin: "Now there are changes that haven't happened in 100 years. When we are together, we drive these changes."
"I agree," Putin said, to which Xi responded: "Take care of yourself, dear friend, please."
But the public remarks were notably short of specifics, and during the visit Xi had almost nothing to say about the Ukraine war, beyond that China's position was "impartial".
War crime charges
The White House urged Beijing to pressure Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. Washington also criticised the timing of the trip, just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on war crimes charges, which Beijing has joined Moscow in rejecting.
China has promoted itself as a neutral peacemaker, proposing a plan for Ukraine last month which the West largely dismissed as vague at best, and at worst a ploy to buy time for Putin to regroup his forces.
Ukraine says there can be no peace unless Russia withdraws from occupied land. Moscow says Kyiv must recognise territorial "realities" after its claim to have annexed nearly a fifth of Ukraine.
After Ukraine recaptured territory throughout the second half of 2022, Moscow launched a massive winter offensive using hundreds of thousands of freshly called-up reservists and convicts recruited as mercenaries from jail.
Despite the bloodiest fighting of the war, which both sides describe as a meat grinder, the front line has barely moved for four months.
Russia's only notable gains have been around Bakhmut, but Kyiv has decided in recent weeks not to withdraw there, saying its defenders were inflicting enough losses on the Russian attackers to justify holding out.
In an intelligence update, Britain's ministry of defence said that while there was still a risk the Ukrainian garrison in Bakhmut could be surrounded, Russia's assault on the city could be running out of steam.
A Ukrainian counterattack in recent days west of Bakhmut was likely to relieve pressure on Ukraine's supply route, the Wednesday update said.
Britain rejected accusations from Moscow that providing Ukraine with ammunition made from depleted uranium created a risk of "nuclear collision".
"There is no threat to Russia, this is purely about helping Ukraine defend itself," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.
Britain on Monday confirmed it was supplying Ukraine with such shells, used by many militaries to penetrate armour due to the metal's high density.
Depleted uranium is a by-product of enriched uranium used in nuclear reactors and weapons. It is less radioactive than naturally occurring uranium, but campaigners want to limit its military use due to concerns about lasting health risks around impact sites, where dust can get into people's lungs and vital organs.


Don't just trim spending, govt told on economic measures

Economists have urged the government to consider approaches other than cutting down on expenditure in preparing for any economic challenges in the year ahead.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had said that he would focus on restoring investor confidence in order to boost the economy, adding that the country could not survive with a high deficit.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Adilah Zafirah Mohd Suberi said that reducing government expenditure was a difficult decision as much of the spending goes to emoluments and to cover the cost of debts.
"Not much is left for development," Adilah, a researcher at think tank IRIS Institute, said.
"Focusing on increasing our income instead can help reduce our deficit."
She said broadening the tax base by implementing wealth and carbon taxes would help as well.
"The move to reform international tax for multinational companies is good and hopefully will be implemented well."
Anwar, who holds the finance portfolio in addition to the top office, also said in a recent interview with news agency Bloomberg that his government was in no rush to reinstate the goods and services tax as this would affect the poor.
He also said that he would prioritise gradual debt reduction.
Malaysia's debt and liabilities stand at RM1.5 trillion, or 80% of the GDP.
The statutory debt ceiling was raised to 65% of the GDP in 2021, with then finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz saying it would finance the government's budget deficit in the long run.
Research analyst Adriana Asmaa cautioned against reducing expenditure at the expense of the daily life of the people.
"If the government cuts spending when the economy is already facing difficulties, we will experience a significant fall in real GDP," she said.
"But if the government cuts spending when the economy is booming, these spending cuts help to reduce inflation, causing only a small fall in real GDP."
Analysts and forecasters from the World Bank to the International Monetary Fund have largely agreed that Malaysia is unlikely to suffer a recession. Instead, they said the country would likely experience moderate growth.
Adriana, of Institut Masa Depan Malaysia, agreed that Malaysia would benefit from more sustainable spending.
However, she said that the government also needs to generate new revenue.
Adilah meanwhile said that nothing would change as long as the country remained in the same economic framework.
"Doing things the same way gives the same results," she said.
"It has always been about increasing investments and slogans for reducing inequality for the benefit of certain groups."


Daily caseload remains at 2,000 as 3 more deaths reported

Another 2,021 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,489,503.There were 3,162 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,425,777.There are now 28,085 active cases, of which 26,980 or 96.1% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 18 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 1,048 (3.7%) have been hospitalised.A total of 39 are in ICU with 24 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 58.1%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 7.0%.Another three deaths were reported. Total deaths now stand at 35,641.


For Malay voters, survival trumps institutional reforms, study shows

Malay voters prioritise survival over institutional reforms although they are open to the idea, a survey conducted by independent pollster Ilham Centre shows.Its executive director Hisommudin Bakar said in this regard, the results demonstrate that economic and educational reforms take precedence.“Bread and butter issues are prioritised over all else,” he said at a virtual press conference today.“The main consideration of the Malays when making choices in life is their survival. Other agendas like parliamentary and governmental reform, reforms to the administration, judiciary, media, elections and others – such themes are too distant from them,” he added.He said this was evident from the survey feedback obtained from 1,262 Malay respondents chosen through random sampling as well as 93 others involved in group discussions.Similar studies however have yet to be conducted on non-Malay voters to gauge their sentiments on the matter of institutional reforms.On the question of which institution should be prioritised for reforms, Hisommudin said 32% of respondents believed the focus should be on the economy and education followed by government administration (27%), Parliament (13%), the judiciary (7%) and others (12%).“This is further supported by the finding that 31% of respondents said priority right now should be given to strategies to eradicate poverty and tackle the cost of living,” he said.“This was followed by 29% of respondents who said the focus should be on raising the people’s economy.”He added that statements related to institutional reforms are also closely linked to political movements rather than the value of the reforms themselves.The study concluded that ideas on the implementation of reforms should take into account the sensibilities of the Malay-Muslims as the majority group in the country.“Any party that desires success in the agenda of institutional reforms needs to understand their values, culture, language, norms, demographics and psychography to manage the sentiments and win the trust and support of the Malays,” he said.


Chinese province of nearly 100 million to Covid test every two days

The Chinese province of Henan has ordered its nearly 100 million people to take a Covid test every two days, an unprecedented step as the country grapples with an Omicron-fuelled surge.China has persisted with its zero-Covid policy, imposing hard lockdowns and movement restrictions on several cities even as much of the world has transitioned to living with the coronavirus.The curbs, including stay-at-home orders in economic engine Shanghai and creeping restrictions across Beijing, have inflicted a heavy economic toll.To avoid a similar city-wide lockdown, local governments are adopting high-frequency testing to detect cases more swiftly and potentially isolate clusters without ordering entire populations to stay indoors.“Residents of (Henan) province and other personnel there should complete nucleic acid sampling at least once every 48 hours,” according to an article posted Sunday on the local government’s website.The testing will begin in Henan’s provincial capital of Zhengzhou before the end of May, authorities said, according to the report, to help with “identifying potential risks” quickly.Residents who do not comply will have problems scanning the codes needed to enter public places or take transport, the report added.Other provincial capitals – such as Shijiazhuang in the northern province of Hebei – have also rolled out similar measures, with Shijiazhuang saying it would start weekly Covid tests for its 11 million people on Monday.Analysts have cautioned that frequent mass testing comes at a high cost to an already faltering economy.If similar mandates are expanded to all of mainland China, it could cost between 0.9% and 2.3% of China’s gross domestic product, said Nomura analysts in a report this month.Key business hub Shanghai has been almost entirely sealed off for around two months, snarling supply chains, while China’s capital Beijing has banned dining out and ordered millions to work from home.Retail sales and factory output slumped to their lowest levels in around two years last month, reflecting the fallout from China’s zero-Covid policy.


Told to stop school, stateless girl still dreams of becoming an engineer

Nor Adilla Ramli was gearing up to take what would be, until that point, the most important exam of her life when she received word from the school principal.
Instead of taking her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) papers with the rest of her friends, she would have to stop attending school as, unlike them, she did not have an identity card.
The news, which came six months before the exam dates, left Adilla crushed.
Today, four years later, the memory still stings.
"I don't know whether it was the principal's instructions or if they came from the ministry," she said in an interview with MalaysiaNow.
"I took the exam anyway. But I couldn't continue my studies."
Nor Adilla and her two siblings, an older brother and sister, were born in the country but all three of them are stateless.
Their father, a Malaysian, married their Indonesian mother in Malaysia. However, their marriage official was unlicensed and their marriage certificate, they discovered, could not be verified.
Their troubles became apparent in 1998, when their first child, Adilla's brother, was born.
Their marriage certificate was confiscated by the religious office, and until today, none of their three children have anything more than their birth certificates by way of documentation.
Even this, Adilla said, required permission from the religious office.
Her school days were overshadowed by the knowledge that, without an identity card, she was different from all of her friends.
Her teachers dared not include her on field trips or enter her in competitions, and while she represented her class in debate contests, she could not do the same at the interschool level.
Adilla's parents tried to apply for citizenship for her when she was in Form One, but their request was rejected as they did not have a marriage certificate.
Not knowing what else to do, they had another marriage ceremony in 2018, in order to obtain a valid certificate.
"All three of us applied again for an identity card, but my brother and sister were turned down by the National Registration Department because they had passed the age limit," Adilla said.
"I was the only one still under 18 when we applied."
Three years later, Adilla is still waiting for a response. Nearly every month, she contacts the home ministry but she is always told the same thing: her application is still being processed.
Without citizenship, Adilla's brother and sister have had to give up their dream of furthering their studies and are now working in order to support their family.
But Adilla, who wants to become an engineer, is still clinging to hope.
Even normal activities such as opening a bank account are, at best, more complicated and, at worst, impossible.
But month after month, she continues to contact the home ministry, faithfully waiting for the day when she will receive an answer.


Malaysia tops other major Asean countries in vaccination rate

Malaysia has emerged top among other major Asean countries in terms of the percentage of people who have received at least a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, the latest data on the global vaccination exercise shows.The list excludes Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia and Laos, the four smallest Asean nations either by population or land size.As of this week, statistics compiled by global data site Our World in Data placed Malaysia first among these countries, with at least 6.2% of its vaccination target met.It is closely followed by Indonesia (6%).Indonesia, whose vaccination programme began in mid-January, more than a month ahead of Malaysia, is however slightly ahead in terms of the percentage of people who have been fully vaccinated.As of May 31, 3.89% of people had been fully vaccinated in Indonesia, and 3.54% in Malaysia.Both countries are far ahead of the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar, which are still below 4% in terms of the percentage of people who have received at least a first dose. Myanmar’s vaccination drive started in late January.Malaysia’s National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) began on Feb 24, with some 500,000 frontliners vaccinated in the first phase.The second phase which began in April is expected to cover 9.4 million people comprising senior citizens and those in high-risk groups by August.Phase Three meanwhile from May this year until February next year will involve some 13.7 million people aged 18 and above.Khairy Jamaluddin, the minister in charge of PICK, has repeatedly assured that the vaccination rate, criticised by some as slow, will pick up as more supplies of vaccine arrive in the country.“With the rate we are projecting, I’m confident we can get it done by the end of the year,” he said at a press conference on May 19.Speaking at a press conference in Penang today, he said 105,655 doses of vaccine were administered yesterday, most of which were first doses.He said the government aims to administer 150,000 shots per day by June and 200,000 by July.He said this could be achieved through the establishment of more vaccination centres, including at 1,000 private clinics nationwide, as well as through a drive-thru system, Bernama reported.


Ex-1MDB chairman says complaining to Najib would have been like ‘implicating’ former PM

Former 1MDB chairman Mohd Bakke Salleh told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that he did not complain directly to Najib Razak about irregularities in 1MDB as it would be like implying that the former prime minister was involved.The 68-year-old witness said this during re-examination by lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram in the former prime minister’s trial for the misappropriation of RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds.Sri Ram asked why, at that point of time, he did not make a complaint to the finance ministry and Najib about his frustrations over what had happened in 1MDB.Bakke replied that it would have been like making a complaint against the former prime minister himself.“Complaining on the loss of sheep to the wolf!” quipped Sri Ram.“That was the thing, because from the early part of my involvement as a board member, I was already not comfortable,” Bakke added.“I had this feeling of discomfort, especially when I found out that the management had split the remittance, so that was the trigger. I felt very uncomfortable about the whole thing.“And that prompted me to resign. I wanted to resign on the spot, to go back to the PM and tell him what had happened and that I had my suspicions about him. I was not comfortable and that was difficult.”He added that Najib had never asked him why he resigned from the company although he had on many occasions met Najib after leaving.Sri Ram: After you resigned, were you satisfied that he (Najib) was aware that you had resigned?Bakke: Najib never asked me why I resigned. It was business as usual.Bakke was the 1MDB chairman from September 2009 until Oct 19, 2009 when he resigned to protest the irregularities in 1MDB’s US$1 billion deal.Earlier, when queried by Najib’s counsel Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed, he said he was unaware of whether the family of former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz had received proceeds from the transactions of the sovereign wealth fund.He said he became aware of the matter recently through media reports.Wan Aizuddin: Tan Sri, did you know that as of January 2022, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission had been investigating Zeti, her husband and Nor Mohamed Yakcop under the anti-money laundering act?Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustafa P Kunyalam objected to the lawyer’s question, saying it had nothing to do with the witness.However, judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah allowed the question as it was general in nature.Najib, 68, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.The trial continues on June 7.


Vaccination for over 400 Parliament staff begins

The vaccination process for more than 400 Parliament staff began today at several vaccination centres in the federal capital, said National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin.He said this was being done in preparation for the opening of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara sittings.“We want to ensure that every Parliament staff gets proper protection against the Covid-19 infection,” he told a press conference on the development of PICK with Health Minister Dr Adham Baba today.He said the vaccination also covered cleaning and catering staff at Parliament, while MPs had been told that staff members accompanying them to the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara were also eligible for the jabs.In another development, Khairy said Malaysia would receive one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the Japanese government tomorrow and another one million doses of Pfizer vaccine from the US on Friday.He expressed Malaysia’s appreciation for the vaccine, saying that it symbolised their confidence in the country’s fight against Covid-19 and support for the global immunisation programme.“This vaccine contribution will enable is to intensify PICK and help Malaysia achieve the threshold value outlined in the National Recovery Plan.“All vaccines obtained will be distributed immediately to all facilities and vaccination centres (PPVs) for PICK,” he added.He said several mega PPVs will also start operating at a higher rate today with the implementation of the second dose injection, including the KLCC PPV, with its capacity to increase to 8,000 doses daily and the Setia City PPV to 6,000 doses per day.“All the facilities involved are prepared to accommodate higher vaccination rates to ensure smooth operation and avoid congestion,” he added.


Daily cases tumble to 2,500

Another 2,589 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,721,544.Another 3,810 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,638,191.Meanwhile 379 are in the ICU, including 307 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 210 are in need of respiratory assistance including 142 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 2,589 cases reported today, 66 (2.5%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 2,523 (97.5%) are in Category One and Two.


High Court dismisses Anwar’s originating summons to challenge NSC Act

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur today dismissed an originating summons filed by PKR president Anwar Ibrahim to challenge the implementation of the National Security Council (NSC) Act 2016.Lawyer J Leela, representing Anwar, informed Bernama of the court’s decision when contacted after case management, which was conducted online before judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid today.Also present was senior federal counsel S Narkunavathy, acting on behalf of the NSC and the government.Leela said Kamal dismissed the originating summons without order to costs based on a Federal Court decision which ruled that the NSC Act 2016 was valid and constitutional.“The Federal Court had on Aug 6 issued an order for the suit to be disposed of in the High Court and based on the order, Kamal dismissed the originating summons,” she said.The Federal Court had ruled that the NSC Act 2016 was valid and constitutional in a 5-2 majority decision.The ruling was made to answer legal questions on the constitutionality of the NSC Act raised by Anwar with regards to his originating summons.The Federal Court reheard Anwar’s legal questions as it had, on Sept 10 last year, allowed Anwar’s review application to set aside a majority ruling, made on Feb 11, which declined to answer constitutional questions on the validity of the NSC Act.On Feb 11 last year, the Federal Court in a 5-2 majority verdict declined to answer the constitutional questions raised by Anwar on the NSC Act and held that it had not been shown that the existence of the law had interfered with his (Anwar’s) personal life.Anwar subsequently filed an application to review the Feb 11 decision. The court on Sept 10 allowed his request to set aside the majority ruling and ordered the case to be reheard at the Federal Court.Anwar filed the originating summons in 2016 to challenge the constitutionality of the NSC Act, claiming that its implementation was unconstitutional. He named the National Security Council and the government as defendants.On March 14, 2019, the High Court allowed Anwar’s application under Section 84 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 to refer constitutional questions on his challenge over the implementation of the NSC Act 2016 to the Federal Court.


Alone with 2 children, Rohingya woman struggles to get by

When she was 14, Mumtaz Sultan Ahmad left her home town in Arakan, Myanmar, filled with hope for a fresh start.As a Rohingya woman in Myanmar, her life was filled with hardship and distress.Her family members had been among those persecuted by the Myanmar junta, their home burnt to the ground.Together with her sister and younger brother, Mumtaz decided to escape. They sought the help of a human trafficking agent who smuggled them by boat to Thailand. When they arrived, they and 30 other Rohingya had to walk the rest of the way to the Malaysian border.In Malaysia, she was separated from her siblings. The agent sent her to Johor Bahru by bus, alone.A fellow Rohingya found her there, crying by herself, and took her to live with his family.“After a few months, he said he wanted to marry me so we got married,” Mumtaz said.Together, they moved to Melaka and then to Kuantan in Pahang in search of work before finally settling down in Selayang, Kuala Lumpur.Their eldest child, who was born in Kuantan, is now six years old.Mumtaz Sultan Ahmad shares a simple meal of rice and eggs with her son, who is in a playful mood.When their second child was born a year and a half ago, they began feeling the pinch more than ever. Struggling to find work in the midst of the pandemic, tensions began riding high.Just before their second child was born, Mumtaz had an argument with her in-laws.“My sister-in-law started accusing me of many things,” she said. “Her Bangladeshi husband, who acquired a UNHCR card, was found to be a fraud by the agency. So she accused me.“We had a big fight which ended with my husband divorcing me. Soon afterwards, he married an Indonesian woman whom he met while he was working in Alor Setar, Kedah.”Once again, Mumtaz found herself alone.She managed to keep in touch with her sister, who like her is struggling to get by. However, she has no idea where her brother is anymore.She and her two children were eventually evicted but they managed to find accommodation with another single Rohingya named Kurbanbi Abdul Malik. Together, they rent a small, low-cost flat in Selayang.Mumtaz Sultan Ahmad holds her younger child on her lap in the flat that she shares with her friend, Kurbanbi Abdul Malik.Kurbanbi, who earns RM1,000 a month working as a cleaner at the Selayang night market, brings home the lion’s share of money. Mumtaz, on the other hand, is no longer in good health and cannot work. She spends her days taking care of her children and Kurbanbi’s while her friend is out at work.“We haven’t had a job for a long time,” she said. “My children are growing up without an education. I can only teach them religious recitals as I myself never went to school.”She, Kurbanbi and the children live from day to day, dependent on the charity of others who donate items like rice, vegetables, milk and diapers. Whenever the children fall sick, they buy medication that has been subsidised at a clinic supported by the Malaysian Medical Relief Society.For now, they can get by but they know that the future is uncertain, even without the threat of war and violence which they left behind in Myanmar.When she left home, Mumtaz was filled with hope about the future. Now, her ambitions are simple.“I just want to see my children going to school and contributing to society,” she said.


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The best jihad of Salleh Abas

The late Salleh Abas was indeed the greatest and most courageous son of Malaysia the country has ever had due to his steadfast belief in and his struggle for the independence of the judiciary. In honour of him, we must unfailingly uphold this doctrine of the independence of the judiciary against any compromise to it.Four years after being the lord president (an office now known as chief justice), he was unceremoniously removed from the lofty position in 1988 for the most trivial of reasons: that he purportedly wrote to the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Sultan of Johor, complaining to His Majesty of the noise from the renovation works carried out at the Istana, in addition to complaining about the then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed’s incessant attack on the judiciary.On this basis, the Agong requested that Salleh be removed, according to Mahathir, thereby creating the most convenient and flimsy argument that it was not him who wanted to remove Salleh but the Agong.It does not take a modicum of intelligence to conclude that even if what Mahathir said was true, it should not be the basis for the costly and wasteful act of convening a tribunal to remove him, as the complaints against him did not relate at all to any judicial wrongdoings.However, the facts of the case then were:• Salleh was suspended as lord president on May 26, 1988, three days after he had given instruction that the appeal case on the deregistration of Umno be heard by the full quorum of the Supreme Court;• His instruction above was rescinded by the government on the same day he was suspended; and• Mahathir told him in a face-to-face meeting on May 27, 1988 that Salleh was biased in the appeal case above.All these proved beyond any doubt the interference of the executive in the affairs of the judiciary, thus compromising its independence.Aliran, an NGO, has immortalised the face-to-face meeting on May 27 by publishing an article based on the account of Salleh of the meeting, which was republished on Jan 16.After reading the article, I had no doubt that Salleh was the embodiment of the hadith in which the Prophet said the best jihad is to speak the truth in front of an oppressive ruler.In a parliamentary democracy like Malaysia, what is the meaning of the independence of the judiciary? For most people, when we talk about the government, it is the prime minister and his Cabinet that are the most ubiquitous, when they are only one arm of the government – the executive.The other two arms of the government are the judiciary led by the chief justice, and the legislative led by the speaker of Parliament. While the making of laws is the ambit of the legislative and executing the laws is the prerogative of the executive, interpreting the laws is the role and function of the judiciary.So when we talk of a government, it actually refers to all three branches of the government that constitute THE government, and not just the executive. But of course, in a parliamentary democracy the head of the government is always the prime minister, so all due respect must be accorded to him in his capacity as the head of the government.But despite this official capacity as the head of the government, the prime minister is only the first among equals as far as his relation with the chief justice and the speaker of Parliament is concerned, which implies he has no business interfering in the workings of the judiciary and legislative, other than ensuring the enforcement (execution) of the existing laws pertaining to these two arms of the government.Ditto for the chief justice and the speaker of Parliament in not interfering with the workings of the executive other than ensuring that the enforcement of the law by the executive is in accordance with the judiciary’s interpretation of the constitution (for the chief justice) and the execution of the law is based on the statutes passed or revised by Parliament (for the speaker).This is the meaning of not only the independence of the judiciary but also the independence of the executive and the legislative, where their respective independence interacts interdependently with one another, mutually resulting in a healthy check and balance for the good of the nation.The one thing that binds all three branches of the government is the rule of law based on the constitution: the legislative is to make or amend laws that do not transgress the dictates of the constitution, the executive is to implement the laws in such a way that the do’s and don’ts of the constitution with regard to personal rights and freedom of the rakyat, inter alia, are not compromised, and the judiciary is to interpret the laws consistent with the letter and spirit of the constitution.However, there is a dicey element here. Whereas the chief justice has nothing to do with the executive and the legislative in the sense that he is not a member of the executive or legislative, and so his relationship with the two is quite clear-cut, the relationship between the executive and the legislative is not as clear-cut.This is because in a parliamentary democracy, the executive in the form of the prime minister and his Cabinet are more often than not members of the legislative as well by virtue of their election as MPs.So, the prime minister can “interfere” in the conduct of the legislative affairs of the country, not in his capacity as chief executive of the nation, but as an MP duly elected by the people.In this regard, it is indeed laudable that in advising the Agong to declare an emergency, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin insisted the judiciary be left alone in its independence, but not so the legislative comprising the politicians who are the cause of the political instability at a time when the country is facing a high number of Covid-19 infections each day and the economy is still on a recovery trajectory.Just see what they did during the first few days of emergency. Instead of coming up with a solid plan to help the government in its fight against the virus and for the recovery of the economy, the leader of the opposition was busy “instigating” MPs to write to the Agong to appeal against the emergency.Meanwhile his youth chief is questioning the expenditure on three stadiums to be built that were approved by the prime minister, not so much because there is procedural irregularity, but because he questions the priority of spending that much money during a pandemic.He should have the confidence in the prime minister’s wisdom that even during the pandemic and the current movement control order, construction activities which are under the essential sector have the multiplier potential of creating more jobs, thereby assisting in the recovery of the economy. The prime minister has to take the calculated risk of balancing lives and livelihoods.There is an eerie deja vu here involving the politicking among politicians. In February last year, this politicking which resulted in a political crisis was precipitated by the Sheraton Move, which in turn had its genesis in the power struggle between Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim over whether the former should hand over the leadership baton to the latter by May last year.Some 32 years ago, the sacking of Salleh was also the culmination of the politicking among politicians when Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah narrowly lost to Mahathir in the 1987 Umno election which split Umno into Team A and Team B, which then resulted in the deregistration of Umno and culminated in the persecution of an innocent man, who until he went to his grave, failed to get a tribunal to clear his name.Jamari Mohtar is director of media and communications at independent think tank Emir Research.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Stop punishing lawyers, rights group tells Singapore govt

Rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) today hit out at the Singapore government over attempts to stop or discourage rights lawyers from taking on public interest cases, warning that such moves will deprive prisoners of their right to legal representation and undermine the rule of law.In a statement, it referred to applications by the Singapore Law Society and the attorney-general to stop prominent lawyer M Ravi from practising in the republic, saying that he and other rights lawyers are being “punished” for their work.“It is undeniable that M Ravi is being singled out, in view of the numerous applications filed against him for representing the death row inmates.“The exorbitant costs orders sought against him, as well as other lawyers like Violet Netto and Charles Yeo reflect the bleak legal landscape in Singapore where lawyers are actively punished and deterred from taking on public interest cases that directly challenges the government or the system,” it said in a statement by its chief coordinator Zaid Malek.Ravi, Violet and Yeo had worked on the case of Singaporean Roslan Bakar and Malaysian Pausi Jefridin, two mentally disabled prisoners on death row in the city-state who were scheduled to hang for trafficking drugs in Singapore.They were granted a last-minute respite by Singapore President Halimah Yacob on Feb 17, but their appeals were rejected by the High Court yesterday.The Singapore attorney-general had served Ravi with contempt of court applications following his efforts in the case, with LFL saying last month that these were allegedly based on his conduct during two cases handled in November last year.LFL also said that it was “baffling and suspicious” that the contempt charges were only activated as Ravi was working on the case of Roslan and Pausi.It said today that such action against Ravi would ultimately deny prisoners facing capital charges their right to legal representation.“Lawyers would be reluctant to take on cases for fear of personal costs being ordered against them as well as the risk of being suspended or even removed from legal practice.“The rule of law will hence be undermined,” it said, urging the Singapore government to take heed of its own constitution which recognises the right of any person to be defended by a legal practitioner of their choice.“The constant harassment of lawyers and the creation of a culture of fear among legal practitioners is essentially an underhanded way of removing this right. This must not be tolerated.“We urge the Singapore government to hold up its own constitution and protect the rights of legal representation, which must be done by ensuring that lawyers are protected from intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference, when carrying out their duties on behalf of clients.”


Economists caution against govt intervention to tackle soaring prices

Economists have sounded a note of caution over calls for government intervention in the marketplace, even as consumers struggle to cope with ballooning prices for a wide range of goods and services, from e-hailing rides to chicken.Complaints about the increase in price of raw goods began as far back as two months ago, during the festive season when the cost of food began to rise along with that of flight tickets for Malaysians looking to return to their home towns.More recently, public scrutiny has been on the price of chicken and the charges imposed by e-hailing companies including Grab.At some markets, chicken prices rose to as high as RM12 per kg, while Grab rides in several instances cost RM40 during peak hour compared to RM17 during normal periods for journeys of the same distance.Calls for the government to impose price controls are nothing new.Every festive season, the government through the domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry sets ceiling prices for certain goods to prevent consumers from being charged too much.But economists who spoke to MalaysiaNow said price controls are not necessarily the best way to tackle the problem.Barjoyai Bardai said any form of intervention, including the implementation of price controls, would lead to inefficiency in the market.“Take chicken, for example,” Barjoyai, of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, said.“We try to control the price of chicken, but it is very easily manipulated when producers withhold supply from the market – prices will soar.”Meanwhile, on the black market, consumers will get chicken regardless of the price “because they need the commodity”, he added.Adillah Zafirah of Iris Institute agreed.She said the black market would only grow with the implementation of price controls, even though these would protect consumers from being exploited by producers.“For effective and sustainable government intervention, you need to understand the supply and demand in the market,” she said.“In terms of the supply of chicken, this has been a problem for a long time. The government should actually play a role in the entire supply chain system.”The government on May 18 said it had agreed to dispense with approved permit requirements for food imports in order to allow more companies to bring in food from outside of the country.But Barjoyai said tackling the matter from this perspective was a short-term measure as the price of goods would rise again due to the exchange rate.The high prices of flight tickets, meanwhile, could be due to a shortage of industry players offering that particular service.“If we opened the market to outside companies, there might be enough competition to push ticket prices down,” he said.“Of course, local companies will claim that such a move would kill them, but the issue is also whether they want to exploit their customers.”The same would apply to the e-hailing industry, where Grab holds a near monopoly.Grab had said that the increase in prices was due to a spike in demand and a lack of drivers to meet it.Adillah said the most sustainable solution would be to boost the supply in the market.Barjoyai meanwhile said the problem lay with what he described as the depth of the industry.“An industry that is too shallow will cause it to be controlled by only a handful of cartels,” he said.“How can we allow 12 companies to control the supply of chicken throughout the country? This is very worrying.”


Muhyiddin doing well, no sign of recurring tumour, says PMO

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) today said Muhyiddin Yassin is doing well in hospital, and that there is no evidence of his previous tumour condition recurring.Muhyiddin was admitted to hospital on June 30 after suffering a bout of diarrhoea.The PMO said then that he began having the condition the night before and was hospitalised the following morning for treatment and monitoring.In a statement today, it said the prime minister was in stable condition and improving in health, adding that he has been allowed to work from the hospital.“He remains in hospital on the advice of his medical team to continue intravenous antibiotic treatment.“He is expected to be discharged in a few days,” it added.Muhyiddin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018. He subsequently underwent surgery to remove the tumour as well as chemotherapy treatment.In January, the PMO denied that Muhyiddin was receiving further treatment, saying rumours of this were ill intentioned.


Dramatic footage of Hong Kong machete gang attack emerges

Dramatic footage of an attack by a group of machete-wielding assailants in one of Hong Kong’s busiest nightlife districts emerged Friday, as local media reported a clash that left one man with a gunshot wound and two others injured.Asked about the incident, reported to have taken place in the early hours of Friday morning, Hong Kong police confirmed to AFP that three men were hospitalised and another three men were arrested.Friday daytime, a section of the road near the popular Lan Kwai Fong area was cordoned off by armed officers, as they searched a Lexus with its side and front crumpled in for evidence.A dashcam video, whose location, timestamp and events matched media descriptions of the clash, emerged Friday, though AFP was unable to trace the footage’s exact origin.The video shows a line of vehicles stopping at a traffic junction, when four assailants holding machete-like knives spring out of a car that appears to be the Lexus left at the scene on Friday.They begin to attack an adjacent white car that had stopped by the traffic light.As the men begin the assault, a black van positioned behind the white car rams into the attackers’ car, hitting at least two of the assailants before speeding away from the scene.Several other knife-wielding men run into frame, but after pressing on with the attack for a few seconds, most of the perpetrators abruptly turn around and flee the scene.A police source told the South China Morning Post that one of the men targeted in the attack had pulled out a handgun and opened fire.There were a total of eight knife-wielding men who arrived in two vehicles, and two shots were fired during the clash, SCMP reported, citing police.One man was shot in the back, another suffered knife wounds to his head, and both men were unconscious when hospitalised, local media reported.Another man was hospitalised for leg injuries after being hit by a car, the reports said.Local news outlet HK01 said the clash originated from a dispute between two groups at a nearby bar, and the attack happened at around 2am local time (1800 GMT).Violent crime is very rare in Hong Kong, though organised crime gangs are known to operate in the city.


Kenya bans its runners from Tanzania marathon over Covid-19 fears

Kenya announced Wednesday that its athletes are banned from competing in Tanzania’s top marathon race this Saturday over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, CapitalFM of Kenya is reporting.Athletics Kenya (AK) said in a statement it would not be permitting its runners to participate in the Kilimanjaro Marathon at the foothills of Africa’s highest mountain “due to the global outbreak and spread of Covid-19”.But officials voiced more specific concerns about the rampant spread of the disease in Tanzania, where the government has been criticised for downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic and refusing to take tough measures against it.“We have to protect our athletes,” said a senior official at Athletics Kenya, who requested anonymity because they are not permitted to speak to the press. “If we allow our runners to compete in the Tanzania race and they contract the virus, it will be easy to transmit it to other Kenyans back home.”The event usually hosts more than 9,000 competitors from across the world and Kenyan runners dominated the last three Kilimanjaro races, making a clean sweep of the men’s and women’s events in the internationally sanctioned race which takes place near the border with Kenya.Organisers in Tanzania have set up health measures for the race.“We would like to appeal to runners to please take the necessary precautions in terms of socially distancing norms and to wear the approved personal protective equipment and masks when starting, participating and finishing in their respective events,” the marathon said in a statement.Tanzania last gave case figures for coronavirus infections in April 2020, reporting 509 infections. But a recent spate of deaths attributed to pneumonia has struck both members of the public and government officials.Last week President John Magufuli, who has insisted the disease can be defeated with prayer admitted it was circulating, revealing some of his aides and family members had contracted the illness but recovered.The head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last week appealed to Tanzania to take “robust action” against the disease, after several travellers from the country tested positive.On Monday, the US issued a “do not travel” notice to Tanzania, due to the spread of the virus.


Education ministry denies report on prohibited punishments in schools

The education ministry today denied issuing any circular on the forms of prohibited punishments in schools following a report claiming that teachers could be punished for criticising their students.In a statement, the ministry said it had never issued a tabled titled “MoE Disciplinary Unit: Forms of Prohibited Punishment” as spread on social media.It also provided a list of disiplinary management procedures issued by the education ministry, namely:1. Education (School Discipline) Regulations 1959;2. Professional Circular Letter (SPI) No. 8/1983: Imposing Ordinary Punishment on Students Who Commit Misconduct Not Stated in Lesson Rules;3. SPI Bil. 7/1995: Procedure for Imposing Actions and Punishment Against School Students;4. SPI Bil. 10/2001: All Teachers Are Disciplinary Teachers;5. SPI Bil. 7/2003: Power of Teachers to Cane Students; and6. SPI Bil. 7 of 2011: Implementation of Operating Standard Procedure (SOP) 1: 3: 7 Reporting and Actions to Address Disciplinary Issues.“In relation to this, the education ministry emphasises that the procedures for the management of student discipline are based on the guidelines and SPI stated above,” it said.


Anti-hopping bill to be tabled in July, says PM Ismail

The government is looking to table the anti-party hopping bill during the parliamentary sitting in July, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob says.He said the government had no intention of delaying or not tabling the bill as there were several matters that needed to be resolved first, including the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No.3) 2022 to be tabled on Monday.“There are confused parties who are trying to play up the issue as though the government is not sincere in matters concerning the tabling of the anti-party hopping bill,” he told reporters after attending a special briefing on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No.3) 2022 in Putrajaya yesterday.Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Attorney-General Idrus Harun.The prime minister said as soon as the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No.3) 2022 is approved with a two-thirds majority, or more than 148 votes, the government will set up a special committee comprising representatives from the government, the opposition and academics to work on and draft the anti-party hopping bill.“I hope this matter can be expedited as the government’s target is to table this law during the parliamentary meeting in July,” he said.Ismail also expressed confidence that Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No.3) 2022 would be approved.“As of today, from the media statements we’ve been reading, the government parties are all backing it. The opposition, Pakatan Harapan, have also pledged their support.“As such, I feel there is no issue here about the amendments not being approved. I hope what had been promised will be honoured,” he said.Ismail said the government’s intention to amend Article 10 of the Federal Constitution was to provide for the tabling of the anti-party hopping bill in Parliament as without the amendment, the enacted law would be contrary to Article 10.Article 10 provides for, among other things, freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to form associations.The prime minister also cited a case in Kelantan in 1992 where the Supreme Court ruled as invalid the anti-party hopping provision in the Kelantan state constitution because it was contrary to Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.Ismail, when asked, said that four opposition representatives were present in yesterday’s briefing.They were Ipoh Timur MP Wong Kah Woh, Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii, Kalabakan MP Ma’mun Sulaiman and Labuan MP Rozman Isli.“There were several opposition members who were present but I was made to understand they (the rest) were attending a pre-council meeting (elsewhere).“Today is like any other day before a (parliament) sitting where there is a pre-council meeting. Today, although the focus is on a single matter, it is akin to a pre-council meeting as well,” he said.Several MPs and members of the Cabinet and Senate had attended the briefing held at Dewan Sri Endon, Puspanitapuri.They included Energy and Natural Resources Minister Takiyuddin Hassan, Housing and Local Government Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican, Human Resources Minister M Saravanan, Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Education Minister Radzi Jidin.Also present were Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Adham Baba, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad and Senator Ras Adiba Radzi.


Leonardo DiCaprio says Jho Low planned to donate to Obama's 2012 campaign

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio told a Washington jury on Monday that businessman Jho Low revealed his plans to donate up to US$30 million (RM132.59 million) to help US President Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign in what prosecutors allege was part of an illegal foreign influence operation.
"It was a casual conversation about what party he was in support of," DiCaprio said, telling jurors that Low said he planned on giving "a significant donation" to the Democratic Party that was "somewhere to the tune of US$20-30 million."
"I basically said, 'Wow, that's a lot of money,'" DiCaprio added.
The "Titanic" star took the witness stand in the trial of Prakazrel "Pras" Michel of the Fugees hip-hop group, who faces criminal charges for his alleged role in a foreign influence campaign aimed at the administrations of Obama and Donald Trump. Michel has denied the allegations.
DiCaprio is one of several prominent figures linked to Low, a fugitive who is facing separate federal criminal charges for allegedly embezzling US$4.5 billion from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.
The financier, who was known to pay Hollywood celebrities to party with him, supported DiCaprio's charitable foundation and helped fund "The Wolf of Wall Street," the 2013 movie in which DiCaprio starred and was nominated for an Oscar.
The Justice Department in 2018 reached a civil settlement with the film's production company, which forfeited US$60 million that was believed to have been stolen from 1MDB.
Since then, DiCaprio has been cooperating with the US government.
He managed to enter and leave the courthouse on Monday without being spotted by news crews who had been staking out his arrival.
Prosecutors claim Michel agreed to funnel money from Low into Obama's 2012 campaign and hide the source of the funds. Federal election law prohibits foreigners from donating to US campaigns.
They say he later worked behind the scenes with others to try to persuade the Trump administration to stop investigating Low, and also acted as a foreign agent of China to persuade the administration to agree to repatriate dissident Guo Wengui.
DiCaprio on Monday told jurors he has known Michel since at least the 1990s, when he met the Fugees backstage.
The bulk of his testimony centred on his relationship with Low, who threw lavish parties on boats and at nightclubs that featured Hollywood stars.
DiCaprio said he flew on Low's private jet with a large group one New Year's Eve between Australia and Las Vegas, in what he said was Low's goal of celebrating New Year's twice in one night.
He drew laughter in the courtroom, as Michel's attorney asked him whether Low achieved his objective.
"It depends on how you look at it," DiCaprio said.
DiCaprio said when he first met Low around 2010, he viewed him as a "sort of a prodigy in the business world."
DiCaprio said his own legal team, an outside firm and the studios conducted three separate due diligence probes before reaching a deal with Low to finance "The Wolf of Wall Street."
"I was given a green light from my team, as well as the studios, to accept financing from Low," he said.


Going more than skin-deep with poverty porn

It’s a common enough sight on social media: politicians and public figures signing huge cheques and handing over donations to the grateful poor, especially during times of disaster such as the perennial floods in the east coast and now more than ever as Covid-19 continues to hammer at the economy.With technological advances and the increasing use of online platforms like Facebook and Instagram, sightings of so-called poverty porn are a dime a dozen although the term itself may come across as unfamiliar.It is a tactic used to gain empathy and contributions by revealing the circumstances of the less fortunate in the hopes of achieving a goal such as selling newspapers, boosting charitable donations or increasing support for a particular cause.It is categorised as a “porn” of sorts as it objectifies the poor, portraying them as objects dependent on the privileged for their continued sustenance while those who help are construed and celebrated as saviours, says Christopher Choong, an analyst from Khazanah Research Institute.Classic examples of poverty porn include images of emaciated children with protruding rib cages extending their hands towards the camera.Choong said the practice had existed for a long time but became amplified on social media when the pandemic began its trail of destruction across lives and livelihoods alike.While poverty porn can satisfy some of the basic instincts of viewers, it does not highlight the structural and systematic factors at the heart of these conditions.“Given the significantly higher number of people who have fallen into poverty and unemployment due to the pandemic, there are more now who require real and immediate assistance,” he told MalaysiaNow.Citing as well the various lockdowns which he said had intensified the consumption of information on social media, he said such factors drive and accelerate poverty porn in society.But while poverty porn can satisfy some of the basic instincts of viewers, he said it does not highlight the structural and systematic factors at the heart of these conditions.He also spoke of delayed consequences when the identities of those in need are revealed, including stigmatisation of families and exposure to predatory behaviour.In Malaysia, photos and footage of politicians engaging in poverty porn are often met with thousands of “likes” and positive comments, with social media users readily sharing the pictures or clips with their friends.“We need to keep our politicians accountable to higher standards.”This stands in stark contrast with the reception of such images in the West, where people often criticise the act because of the very nature of what it intends to achieve.Choong predicted that politicians would indulge even more in such acts as the impending general election draws near in order to draw public sympathy and so secure the support of the electorate.But he warned that this alone would be unacceptable, adding that such practices should be called out as and when they occur.“We need to keep our politicians accountable to higher standards, that is what kind of policies they are championing to address the root causes of poverty, unemployment, inequalities and other forms of vulnerabilities, beyond the immediate help rendered.”He said this manner of accountability was not to devalue the immediate and short-term assistance given.“Politicians, when voted into office, are the ones who have the power to make changes at the policy and structural level.”This, for him, is the real goal.He also warned against exploiting the poor, urging public figures to consider their actual purpose in publicising the act of giving.“Are the identities of the poor protected and if not, what is the evidence that genuine consent has been obtained?”At the end of the day, he said, there are those who are well-intentioned and there are those who are deliberately opportunistic.“If a well-intentioned person knows about the harmful effects of poverty porn and continues to indulge in it, then it raises a red flag for me,” he added.


Death toll crosses 2,000 as cases surge to high of 6,075

Another 6,075 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 485,496.Selangor recorded 2,251 cases, Johor 699, Kuala Lumpur 660, Kedah 445, Kelantan 441, Sarawak 323, Perak 220, Terengganu 203, Negeri Sembilan 189, Penang 183, Sabah 160, Pahang 150 and Melaka 122.Labuan reported 14 cases, Putrajaya nine and Perlis six.Active cases stand at 47,340 with 559 in the ICU and 303 in need of respiratory assistance.Twenty-two new clusters were detected:1. Industri Bukit Raja (Klang in Selangor; 194 screened, 21 positive)2. Jalan 223 PJ (Petaling, Selangor; 71 screened, 16 positive)3. Jalan Endap Sawit (Samarahan, Serian and Kuching in Sarawak; 48 screened, 29 positive)4. Jalan Tanjung Kupang (Johor Bahru in Johor; 953 screened, 199 positive)5. Jalan Tuan Hitam (Besut in Terengganu; 323 screened, 38 positive)6. Paya Rumput Utama (Melaka Tengah in Melaka; 49 screened, 11 positive)7. Victoria Merdeka (Labuan; 151 screened, 16 positive)8. Jalan Kampung Bakau (Kangar in Perlis; eight screened, seven positive)9. Stunggang (Lundu in Sarawak; 135 screened, nine positive)10. Kampung Tanjong Jujulok (Pasir Mas in Kelantan; 26 screened, 15 positive)11. Kampung Limau (Lembah Pantai in Kuala Lumpur; 56 screened, 27 positive)12. Pagar Sungai Imam (Tawau in Sabah; 70 screened, 27 positive)13. Muhibbah Dua (Lahad Datu in Sabah; 22 screened, 14 positive)14. Kolopis (Penampang in Sabah; 113 screened, 13 positive)15. Jalan Inang (Melaka Tengah in Melaka; 34 screened, 10 positive)16. Jalan Kenanga Pertama (Sabak Bernam in Selangor; 200 screened, 29 positive)17. Jalan Pusara (Sepang in Selangor; 28 screened, 13 positive)18. Jalan Timah Empat (Johor Bahru in Johor; 94 screened, 25 positive)19. Taman Sri Rampai (Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur; 11 screened, seven positive)20. Kampung Keranji (Pasir Mas in Kelantan; 37 screened, 14 positive)21. Kampung Batu Tiga (Batang Padang and Kuala Kangsar in Perak; 66 screened, 10 positive)22. Jalan Senduduk Satu (Johor Bahru in Johor; 202 screened, 16 positive)There are currently 512 active clusters across the country.Another 3,516 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 436,116.However, 46 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 2,040.


Talks to be held with health ministry on medicinal potential of cannabis, says DPM

The plantation industries and commodities ministry is looking at the medicinal potential of cannabis and ketum plants, says Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof.
Fadillah, who is also the plantations and commodities minister, said discussions would be held between his ministry and the health ministry on the methods of controlled cultivation and production of cannabis and ketum, if they are allowed to be grown for medicinal purposes.
He said he had also received presentations on the potential of the plants by several industry players and associations related to cannabis and hemp (kenaf).
"We see the US, the Netherlands and now, even Thailand, being active in the industry.
"But in Malaysia, because the substances are controlled items, we have to discuss with the health ministry on how we can grow, process and sell the products in a controlled manner," he said at a press conference in Kota Bharu yesterday.


Saudi coalition hits Yemen capital after drone attack

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen destroyed a communications system on Monday used for drone attacks and located near the telecoms ministry in Sanaa, it said in a statement.Riyadh intervened in the Yemeni civil war in 2015 to support the government against the Houthi rebels, who control a large part of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.“We have destroyed a communication system used to operate drone control stations,” the coalition was quoted as saying by the official Saudi news agency SPA.“The Houthis are using the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology in Sanaa for hostile operations,” it added.An AFP correspondent in Sanaa confirmed coalition air strikes had targeted several areas of the capital around the ministry.It was not immediately possible to determine if there were any casualties.It was the first time the coalition has targeted a civilian ministry, having so far only attacked the defence ministry.The coalition said the raids were in response to a drone attack Thursday on a Saudi airport near the border which left 12 injured by falling debris after the Saudi military blew up the “bomb-laden” projectile.The coalition had warned it would strike positions from which the Huthis launch drones in Sanaa and asked civilians to leave civilian areas used for military purposes.“The Houthis are using state ministries to launch hostile operations,” the coalition said.Yemen’s Huthis have frequently launched drone attacks at targets in the kingdom including airports and oil installations.The conflict has seen an escalation in recent months as the coalition has stepped up anti-Houthi offensives.For their part, the rebels have also increased attacks on Saudi Arabia and its fellow coalition member the United Arab Emirates.Yemen’s civil war broke out in 2014 when the Huthis seized Sanaa, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year to prop up the internationally recognised government.Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed directly or indirectly in the conflict, while millions have been displaced in what the UN calls the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.


Economists, NGOs welcome refugee-hiring proposal to ease labour crunch

Economists and NGOs have welcomed a suggestion that refugees and undocumented migrants be recruited to help resolve the labour crunch in sectors reliant on foreign workers.The proposal was mooted by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), which said the plantations industry alone had suffered losses of RM30 billion due to a shortage of workers.MEF president Syed Hussain Syed Husman said although the freeze on foreign worker recruitment had been lifted in February, the application and approval process was not running smoothly, with no workers brought in so far.Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman said in terms of cost of living, the suggestion would allow the country to save on the expense and burden of caring for such groups.“We would also benefit more than 100,000 people who currently feel that they are suffering because they are restricted in detention camps,” he told MalaysiaNow.“They have waited a long time to be sent to third countries where they might receive new citizenship.”Mahi Ramakrishnan, an activist with NGO Beyond Borders Malaysia, said while many often speak of the impact of refugees and undocumented foreign workers on employment opportunities for locals, absorbing such groups to address the shortage of labour in some sectors would be a prudent move.“What’s important is to ensure that they are accorded rights and benefits together with a salary package,” she said.“What’s a concern is the abuse and possible exploitation of these workers.”Common patterns of abuse include withholding salaries, confiscating their passports, and reporting them to the authorities once their work is completed to avoid having to pay them.Mahi said there was a need for an effective mechanism for complaints, adding that reports of abuse must be taken seriously.There are an estimated half a million refugees in Malaysia, the majority of whom are Rohingya.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Mahi said there were enough refugees and undocumented migrants in the country to meet industry needs.“It doesn’t make financial sense to bring in workers from overseas,” she added.Malaysia is expected to take in some 500,000 workers from Bangladesh this year.But while recruiting refugees and undocumented migrants might make sense, Barjoyai said that long-term plans should be taken into consideration.“They will live a normal life along with the rest of us, but for how long?” he said.“Will we then give them citizenship or will they have to continue waiting to be transferred to a third country?”In terms of skill sets, he added, not all of them would be a good fit for agricultural work or jobs categorised as dirty, dangerous and difficult.“We would have to classify them accorsing to skills, interest and qualification, and try to place them in the most suitable sector,” he said.Rohingya activist Mohamad Sadek Ali Hussein said the group was particularly vulnerable throughout the wait for a long-term solution.“Any form of temporary work would be greatly appreciated,” he said, adding that this would be considered a huge effort by Malaysia towards ending the refugee crisis and alleviating poverty.Mahi meanwhile said that the current minimum wage was too low for even local workers to support their families.“There is little evidence that the entrance of migrant workers reduces the pay of low-skilled local workers who are already paid a pittance,” she said.“The absorption, especially of highly skilled migrants or refugees into the workforce, would increase innovation with potentially positive effects on productivity in the long run.”


Tony brushes aside AirAsia’s troubled status as he launches new name

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes today played down concerns about the company’s financial status, saying its classification as PN17 would not stand in its way of continuing to raise capital to fund its operations.He said the low-cost airline had so far succeeded in raising RM2.5 billion in funds, showing that its PN17 had “zero effect” on the group.He also said the company had met the criteria to be declared PN17 two years ago but still managed to raise the amount.“We are raising another RM1 billion in capital,” he said in a press conference at which he also announced that AirAsia had changed its name to Capital A.In October last year, AirAsia announced that it had received approval for an 80% guaranteed loan of up to RM500 million from Danajamin Nasional Bhd, a financial guarantee insurer under the finance ministry-owned Bank Pembangunan Malaysia.However, the loan raised questions among aviation industry observers given that the company had been posting losses since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country in early 2020.AirAsia was classified as PN17 on Jan 13 after Bursa Malaysia dismissed its appeal to extend by 18 months its clearance period ending Jan 7.Speaking today, Fernandes said the PN17 label was an accounting issue.“The solution has nothing to do with liquidity,” he said. “PN17 was caused by a lease which we never paid, so it shouldn’t be in the profits and losses.“It’s related to accounting and structuring, which mentions the consolidation of a RM5 billion deficit. If you remove these two factors, we would not be classified as PN17.”On the company’s growth strategy in the face of financial pressures, Fernandes said he was optimistic and confident of overcoming the issue.“We’ve done a lot with no money so far,” he said. “I remember when I started AirAsia with Kamarudin (Meranun), we had no money either. We started the airline with half a million ringgit, that was all the money we had.”He said the company’s vision for the next 10 years would be to transform the aviation business into a brand that will offer lifestyle, financial and travel services.


Japan's economy stages modest bounce from Covid jolt, global outlook darkens

Japan's economy rebounded at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter from a Covid-induced slump, data showed on Monday, highlighting uncertainty on whether consumption will grow enough to bolster a much-delayed, fragile recovery.
While rising consumption propped up April-June growth, the outlook has been clouded by a resurgence in infections, slowing global growth, supply constraints and rising raw material prices that are boosting households' living costs.
"Consumption and capital expenditure will continue to drive growth in July-September. But momentum may not be that strong as rising inflation is cooling household spending," said Atsushi Takeda, chief economist at Itochu Economic Research Institute.
"While domestic demand may continue to expand, falling exports could put a brake on Japan's recovery," he said.
The world's third-largest economy expanded an annualised 2.2% in April-June, government data showed, marking the third straight quarter of increase but falling short of median market forecasts for a 2.5% gain. It followed a revised 0.1% rise in gross domestic product (GDP) in January-March, when surging Covid cases hurt spending.
The growth was driven largely by a 1.1% gain in private consumption, the data showed, as businesses re-opened after the lifting of pandemic-related curbs on economic activity.
The rise in consumption, however, was smaller than market forecasts for a 1.3% increase. Wage earners' remuneration during April-June, adjusted by inflation, fell 0.9% from the previous quarter, a deeper drop than a 0.1% fall in January-March in a sign rising living costs were hurting household income.
Capital expenditure, another key driver of April-June growth, increased 1.4% from the previous quarter, exceeding a median market forecast for a 0.9% expansion, the data showed.
Domestic demand added 0.5% point to GDP growth, while external demand neither added to, nor shaved off from growth.
Japan has lagged other major economies in fully recovering from the pandemic's hit due to weak consumption, blamed in part on curbs on activity that lasted until March.
That has turned the Bank of Japan (BOJ) into an outlier in the global monetary tightening phase sweeping across many economies amid surging inflation.
Policymakers hope pent-up demand will underpin consumption until wages rise enough to make up for increasing living costs. But there is uncertainty on whether companies will hike salaries amid heightening risks of slowing global demand, analysts say.
The BOJ has stressed its resolve to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy even as inflation exceeded its 2% target for three straight months in June, to ensure the economy makes a sustained recovery driven by solid consumption and wage growth.


Pakistan luxury hotel bomb may have targeted Chinese ambassador

A car bomb has exploded at a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least four people and wounding more than 11.The Chinese ambassador to Pakistan is suspected to have been the target of the attack in the car park of the Serena Hotel, local media correspondents say.He is reportedly in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province near the restive Afghan border, but was not present at the scene at the time.The Pakistani Taliban have claimed the attack, reports the BBC.In recent months the group, and other militant organisations, have stepped up attacks in tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan.Footage of the blast was shared on social media, showing a fire raging in the hotel’s car park.The Serena Hotel is the most expensive in Quetta, and provides accommodation for government officials and visiting dignitaries.Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad told Pakistani broadcaster ARY News TV that “a car that was full of explosives exploded in the hotel”.He added that the Chinese ambassador, Nong Rong, was at a function at the time and so was not at the hotel.Balochistan’s provincial Home Minister Ziaullah Lango told reporters that Nong was “in high spirits” and that his visit to Quetta would conclude on Thursday.Balochistan is the site of a long-running separatist insurgency as militant groups want independence from the rest of Pakistan and oppose major Chinese infrastructure projects in the area.


Budget for youth and sports ministry passed

The RM940 million budget for the youth and sports ministry was passed by voice vote after the committee-level debate in the Dewan Rakyat today, the 20th ministerial allocation to be approved so far.Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican, in his winding-up speech, said RM240 million had been allocated for the development of sports in the country, divided into several portions.RM28 million is for the MyFit programme, National Sports Day and the Program Inspire OKU.RM103 million is for the development, improvement and maintenance of sports facilities across the country, while RM55 million is for the development of hockey, rugby, badminton, cycling and women athletics including RM15 million for e-sports.Another RM20 million is for soft loans under the Tekun Sukan scheme for the operators of sports facilities while RM19 million is for the national health agenda.The budget for 2021 – RM322.5 billion, the country’s largest ever – was passed at the policy stage on Nov 26 in what was seen as a crucial test of support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.It was passed by voice vote after the opposition failed to garner enough support to force a bloc vote.


Muslim but not Malay: Hari Raya in the home of a Chinese convert

Each year as Hari Raya Aidilfitri rolls around, familiar songs are heard on the radio and in the malls and shops which are decked out in every shade of green, the traditional colour for the celebration.Shoppers hurry to buy new clothes and to put the finishing touches to their homes before flinging wide their doors to welcome family members and friends on the day itself.The smell of cooking fills the air as dish after dish of delicious food, centred around the stars of the festive season – rendang and ketupat – are borne from the kitchen and placed on the table.But in the home of Muhammad Ridhuan Lau Abdullah, things are very different.There are very few of the outward signs of celebration normally associated with Hari Raya. Low-key might be the most appropriate way to describe his family’s observance of the occasion.Muhammad Ridhuan Lau Abdullah pastes a Hari Raya poster on his living room wall – one of the few decorations his family has put up for the occasion.Ridhuan, a Chinese Muslim, converted to Islam 21 years ago. While he and his family mark Hari Raya every year, they do not follow the Malay traditions which dominate the celebration.“We don’t need to buy baju Melayu to celebrate Aidilfitri,” the 42-year-old said in a recent interview with MalaysiaNow.“Even if we celebrate wearing our normal clothes or without decorating the house, it is still all right. The important thing is for us to focus on what our religion says. Any other cultural aspects can follow according to what we can afford.”Ridhuan, who has six children, prefers to maintain his own culture and the practices with which he grew up. For him, Malay traditions have no connection to his upbringing.Instead, he celebrates Aidilfitri wearing a samfu – a traditional Chinese outfit comprising a shirt and trousers – which he finishes off with a samping in order to give it a Malay twist.Although he is now a Muslim, he is proud to have been born a Chinese and does not see his ethnic roots as an obstacle to his religion.His family does not hold open houses during Hari Raya as is the norm in many households. Instead, they visit his adoptive family in Puncak Alam and his mother who lives in Port Dickson.To ensure that his children do not forget their Chinese roots, he encourages them to speak to their grandmother in Mandarin whenever they go to see her.Muhammad Ridhuan Lau Abdullah and his family pass around bottles of Raya cookies in their living room.For him, there is a difference between cultural and religious practices, and he constantly reminds his fellow converts of this.“There are some who cannot differentiate between being Malay and being a Muslim,” he said.“There are also some who lack knowledge about the teachings of Islam, and who force those from other races to take on the Malay culture because they consider it a religious demand.“This is wrong. I always remind Muslims to refer to the Quran or the hadiths, or at the very least to those who are knowledgeable about the teachings of Islam.”He also said that converts are free to participate in their traditional and cultural activities as long as these do not violate Islamic law.He himself attended his father’s funeral in 2006 which was conducted according to Chinese tradition.“Some people advised me not to participate in the ceremony, but the ustaz who guided me said there was nothing wrong with this as I was there to show my respect for my father and my cultural traditions.”For Ridhuan, it is very simple.“Islam is my religion and I worship Allah alone.”