Public transport flaws, the downfall of Malaysia's walking culture?

In a country like Malaysia where most households have at least one private vehicle, walking appears fairly low on the list of options for getting about.
Whether the vehicle in question is a car or a motorcycle, demand for motorised transport is going strong, with total industry volume (TIV) for the first half of 2022 rising 33% from the same period last year.
The Malaysian Automotive Association meanwhile revised the 2022 TIV in July to 630,000 units from 600,000, demonstrating a continued interest in the purchase of vehicles.
Cars, it would seem, are a must, especially for those in the middle to high-income bracket who form part of the hustle and bustle of city life.
Whether it's getting to work and back each day, or running out for a morning of errands, walking is rarely considered.
A recent study by Stanford University in California ranked Malaysia as the third worst country out of 46 in terms of physical activity – specifically walking.
The study, which tracked the number of steps taken every day by some 700,000 participants, found that Malaysians walk an average of 3,963 steps per day.
In Saudi Arabia, the average was found to be 3,807, while in Indonesia, which took first – or last – place, people walked about 3,513 steps a day.
But several individuals who spoke to MalaysiaNow about the culture of walking in the country said the study results showed only part of the picture.
It's not that Malaysians across the board choose to spend money on cars or motorcycles, they said. It's just that walking would be easier with the provision of infrastructure such as foot paths and easy access to public transportation.
Nurdhiya Aizat Othman, 32, used to work at a bank in Kuala Lumpur. Although he owns a car, he preferred to take the train and then walk from the station to his office.
For him, it was easier to get to work this way than to spend time stuck in traffic and fight for parking once he arrived.
"Of course, it's not possible for everyone to walk from their house all the way to work," he added.
"So if you want to encourage more people to walk, there have to be pedestrian walkways that connect to public transport facilities like train stations and bus stops."
During his time at the bank, Nurdhiya would take the bus from a stop near his house to the Alam Sutera LRT station.
From there, he would travel to the Masjid Jamek LRT station, then walk about 400m to his office building.
"Some areas in Kuala Lumpur have good pedestrian walkways, but there are also places where a lot of improvements need to be made," he said.
Still, he continues to rely on public transport for his daily activities.
"Most of the time, I just walk. It's not a problem," he added.
Fazley Fadzil meanwhile takes public transport because he doesn't have a car.
Every morning, he takes a 20-minute walk from his home in Kampung Baru to a bus station in Chow Kit about 1.5km away.
There, he waits for the bus that will take him to Segambut and drop him off about 1km from his office.
"From there, I walk through the housing areas until I get to work," he said.
Both he and Nurdhiya agree that the biggest weakness in the public transport system is the inconsistent bus service.
The uncertain arrival and departure times make it difficult for them to plan exactly when they will arrive at work, despite the apps and online tracking facilities provided by bus companies.
Sometimes, Fazley is forced to take another bus and head towards KL Sentral before transiting to the LRT to return to his house.
"From KL Sentral, I take the LRT to the Kampung Baru station and then walk about 200m back home," he said.
Nurdhiya meanwhile resorts to e-hailing a ride to the nearest LRT station.
He said he had lodged complaints before, but that nothing seemed to have changed.
"Trains are the best for getting around Kuala Lumpur," he said.
"But the bus service needs a lot of improvement. Buses will go through places with no access to trains when they could in fact connect the stations to housing areas.
"If the bus system could be improved, more people would be encouraged to use public transportation, and the culture of walking in Malaysia would improve as well."


Anwar sues Perak PAS commissioner for defamation

Anwar Ibrahim has filed a lawsuit against Perak PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria over a speech he made allegedly linking the prime minister with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) culture and claiming he supports communist ideology.
Anwar filed the suit through Messrs SN Nair & Partners at the Taiping High Court, naming Gunong Semanggol assemblyman Razman as the sole defendant.
Anwar as the plaintiff claimed that on Nov 6, the defendant made a speech while campaigning for the 15th general election at the Tebuk Pancur night market, which was broadcast live on the defendant’s Facebook under the user name "Haji Razman Zakaria" and viewed over 94,400 times, receiving over 5,100 reactions, 429 shares and more than 2,600 comments.
The Facebook video was then published in an article titled "Razman dakwa Anwar bawa agenda LGBT, bimbang kerjasama PH-BN" dated Nov 6 in Malay and English in a news portal.
The Tambun MP claimed that the statements and article brought the meaning that he was a liar, practised and supported communist ideology, and encouraged same-sex marriage. Anwar also claimed that the statements were made to ruin his reputation, saying the allegations in the article were untrue as he had always championed Islamic values and a wider reformation agenda for administration.
He said the defendant uttered the allegedly defamatory words in an effort to sully his name by inciting the public and creating hatred towards him and the party during the GE15 campaign period.
The defendant also violated Section 4A of the Election Offenses Act 1954 and failed to apologise to him for his actions, Anwar said.
He is seeking general, compensatory, aggravated and exemplary damages as well as an injunction to stop the defendant or his agents from repeating or causing the publication of the article in addition to costs, interest and other appropriate relief.
Anwar’s lawyer, SN Nair, confirmed the matter when contacted by Bernama.


Japanese destroyer shadows Chinese aircraft carrier group entering Pacific

In a deployment not seen since April last year, a Chinese carrier strike group was spotted passing near Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands to the south of Japan, and heading towards the Pacific at the weekend.The group consists of the aircraft carrier Liaoning, three guided missile destroyers, one multi-role frigate and one fast combat support ship.In response, Japan has sent a destroyer, a maritime patrol aircraft, and an anti-submarine-warfare patrol aircraft to “gather information and monitor the movements of the Chinese vessels,” the Japanese joint staff said in a statement published on Sunday according to the South China Morning Post.The Chinese passage follows military exercises conducted by the US Navy and allies in the region last week, including a two-day joint drill with the Australian navy in the Eastern Pacific.Also, the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group entered the South China Sea on Sunday morning after a joint exercise with the Indian army.Tension between the People’s Liberation Army and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force in the East China Sea has escalated in recent months following Tokyo repeatedly voicing concerns over China’s new coastguard law.The law came into effect in February and permits China’s quasi-military force to use weapons against foreign ships that Beijing sees as illegally entering its waters.In early March, Japan’s coastguard said China’s coastguard had expanded its presence in the contested waters by entering twice a month and as frequently as twice a week near the Japanese-controlled Diaoyu Islands, known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands.The new US administration under President Joe Biden has reaffirmed a pledge to oppose any unilateral action that threatens to undermine Japan’s administration of the islands and that the US is obliged to defend Japan should its territories come under attack.China’s defence ministry is urging Japan to stop making provocative moves and refrain from attacking China over the disputed islands.Last week, two Chinese vessels illegally intruded in Japan’s territorial waters in what Tokyo calls the 11th intrusion by Beijing this year.


June unemployment rate at lowest since start of Covid-19 pandemic

The unemployment rate continues to show a downward trend, recording 3.8% in June 2022, the lowest since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, says Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed.
He said the number of unemployed people decreased to 630,600 in June 2022 from 637,700 the previous month.
Citing the June 2022 Malaysian Labour Force Statistics published by the statistics department today, Mustapa said the country had been at full employment since April 2022, in terms of the unemployment rate being below 4% as defined by Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
He said the position of the labour force had become more stable following the 0.2% increase in the number of workers to 16.57 million compared to 16.54 million in May 2022.
The labour force participation rate for the month remained at 69.5%.
"The achievement of the labour market in June 2022 is in line with the current stronger economic activity following the transition to the endemic phase across the country.
"The demand for labour has increased, thus opening up more job opportunities in the market," Mustapa said in a statement today.
He said some key economic indicators also showed an encouraging performance such as the volume of trade, which increased by 43.4% in June 2022 to a new high of RM270.4 billion with exports recording an increase of 38.8% to RM146.2 billion.
Mustapa said the Industrial Production Index grew 12.1% in June 2022, the most since May 2021, with all components recording positive growth.
The sales value of the manufacturing sector in June 2022 meanwhile increased by 23.4%, the most since May 2021, recording a sales value of RM153.5 billion, he said, adding that the achievement was mainly driven by the electrical and electronic equipment sub-sector which increased by 25.4%. Going by this development, Mustapa said he was confident that the country's economy would continue to grow this year at the targeted rate of between 5.3% and 6.3%.
"The long-term trend of the national unemployment rate is around 3.4% (average for the period 2011-2021).
"Taking into account various key economic indicators that reflect better recovery momentum and the expectation that more job opportunities will be created, the unemployment rate is expected to move to a long-term trend," he added.


1MDB failed to service loan, govt now paying off US$3 billion debt, court hears

A former finance ministry deputy secretary-general told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that the government was still paying off a US$3 billion loan taken by 1MDB nine years ago.Siti Zauyah Mohd Desa, 63, who was attached to the loan management, financial market and actuary division (BPKA), said the US$3 billion loan was approved by the government in a support letter signed by Najib Razak, who was finance minister in 2013.The 26th prosecution witness also confirmed that the division received no reports whatsoever from 1MDB on how the money was spent or used.“I confirm that 1MDB, as the party that took the loan totalling US$3 billion, failed to make the loan payments as per the stipulated terms. This has caused the government today to bear the 1MDB debt based on the support letter issued by the government and signed by the finance minister (Najib),” she said.The US$3 billion was raised from bonds issued by 1MDB’s subsidiary, 1MDB Global Investment Ltd (1MDB GIL), for a 50:50 joint venture between 1MDB and Aabar Investments PJS.The court was previously told that the debt should have been paid in full by 2023.Reading from her witness statement at the former prime minister’s trial for the misappropriation of RM2.3 billion in funds from 1MDB, Siti Zauyah said BPKA was responsible at the time for obtaining reports from 1MDB.However, she added that during her tenure at the division, she had not received any counter-report from the 1MDB management regarding the use of the US$3 billion.“1MDB was responsible for submitting investment reports as stipulated in the application for the letter of support to the finance ministry.“On our side, we contacted the 1MDB representative then, Zahid Taib, for them (1MDB) to provide feedback, submit documents or reports to the finance ministry. However, they never did,” she said.“I also confirm that I myself never saw the agreement document between 1MDB and Aabar as stated in their application because 1MDB did not report to my division at that time. Among the documents we consistently requested were 1MDB’s audited financial reports, a copy of which must be provided to the finance ministry, but they failed to do so,” she said.Siti Zauyah said there were policies stipulating that Minister of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc) companies that wished to enter joint ventures or investment agreements with external parties must be presented to the MoF Inc division, after which the division would prepare approval papers from the finance ministry and, subsequently, for Cabinet approval.“This is the existing policy and process. In the case of 1MDB, I confirm that 1MDB did not submit a report for them to enter into a joint venture agreement with Aabar as referred to in my testimony today,” Siti Zauyah said, adding that she was not sure whether 1MDB had received special approval from the finance minister for the joint venture.She said once the support letter was issued to 1MDB in 2013, the finance ministry no longer issued any guarantee documents to 1MDB.On the running of 1MDB, which had been placed under the control of MoF Inc, Siti Zauyah confirmed that no officers from the finance ministry or the MoF Inc division had been appointed to the 1MDB board.She said this was because in other MoF Inc companies, the finance minister was not directly involved, unlike 1MDB where Najib had appointed himself as the 1MDB advisory board chairman.“I confirm that in other MoF Inc companies, these sorts of situations do not happen,” the witness said, adding that 1MDB had been in regular contact with Najib if the BPKA division had requests or views pertaining to matters concerning the support letter for the US$3 billion loan.Najib, 68, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues tomorrow.


Don’t take children to Ramadan bazaars, parents urged

Parents are advised not to bring their children to Ramadan bazaars to protect them from being exposed to Covid-19 infection, Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali says.Noor Azmi said although the country had entered the transition to endemic phase, it was not advisable for children, especially those who were unvaccinated, to go to crowded places.“On the first day of Ramadan, we could see that many people visiting Ramadan bazaars in Bagai Serai brought along their children, especially the young ones.“It is advisable not to bring children to such places as we do not want to observe Ramadan in a sombre mood or at hospitals,” he told reporters after distributing dates at the Bagan Serai Ramadan bazaar yesterday.He said according to the latest data, only 38% of children in the country had been vaccinated against Covid-19 while for adolescents, 91.7% had completed their vaccination.“This shows that the vaccination rate among children is still low, and we hope parents will bring their children to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said.In a separate development, Noor Azmi said the decision to shorten the quarantine period for healthcare workers infected with Covid-19 was based on scientific data as well as advice by experts to overcome the shortage of manpower at hospitals.“The quarantine period is shortened to prevent disruption of hospital operations.“Those (healthcare workers) who have been fully vaccinated and who have received a booster dose and are asymptomatic will undergo assessment to ensure that they are safe to return to work,” he said.The Malaysian Health Coalition had recently urged the health ministry to review its decision to shorten the quarantine period for health workers.


Educationists warn of ‘lost generation’ as poorer students struggle online

Educationists warn of a “lost generation” of students who are left behind due a lack of resources, even as online classes and home-based learning become part of the norm under pandemic mitigation measures.Charis Ding of Persatuan Literasi Anak Malaysia, or MYReaders, cited a study by Untuk Malaysia which said more than 1,000 students had missed out on school within just a few days in January.Nearly 80% of them were from families in the B40 or bottom 40% group.In 2018, meanwhile, the Programme for International Student Assessment or Pisa revealed that 46% of Malaysian students tested at age 15 could not read at the baseline proficiency level needed to effectively participate in society.“It’s worrying to think of the large numbers of children who are losing out on education in their critical developmental years, and how this will affect their lives and impact society,” Ding said.“Children from poor or rural communities, refugees, or children with special needs are the most affected by this learning gap.”Schools in the country have been carrying out home-based teaching and learning since the new term began in mid-June.The decision to keep students at home came amid a continuing spike of Covid-19 infections. Education Minister Radzi Jidin said his ministry would inform parents and students of the next step at least a week before the next school session begins.Ding said the pandemic had exposed long-standing inequities, where students from marginalised communities lack the same level of access to education as others.“Children from poor or rural communities, refugees, or children with special needs are the most affected by this learning gap due to disparities in educational opportunities and resources,” she told MalaysiaNow.“With the pandemic, the same children are made more vulnerable to significant learning loss or dropping out of school due to a lack of internet connectivity or digital devices to access online learning.”During the pandemic season, she said, there should be a stronger focus on supporting parents who are helping their children learn from home, more so as some had said that their children seemed to be losing the motivation to study.She suggested an increase in engagement and communication between teachers and parents so that parents can stay abreast of their children’s learning levels and ways to support them in their studies.She said this could be done by providing learning resources through accessible and low-technology platforms such as WhatsApp, SMS or phone calls.“The role of parents is particularly crucial now to support students in catching up with learning, even after schools reopen,” she said.“The pandemic has shown that parents must be recognised as a key factor in children’s learning and that cooperation between teachers and parents is vital in children having quality education.”Azlin Norhaini Mansor, a senior lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Centre Department of Education Leadership and Policy, agreed that B40 students were clearly the worst affected during the pandemic in terms of access to education.She said their inability to attend online classes was mainly due to a lack of digital devices.But she said there were also cases in which students were no-shows as they were no longer interested in studying.“From my experience, there are many students who refuse to participate in classes because they have no interest,” she said, adding however that the biggest problem was “pandemic fatigue”.Azlin suggested offering students placements at community and vocational colleges in order to encourage and cultivate their interest in studying.“Various parties need to work together to ensure that they are given a second chance, even with a skills certificate,” she said.Another teacher from Selangor who wished to remain anonymous said no one, whether the government, teachers, parents or students, had been prepared to face the pandemic.“The impact will be greater among current preschoolers and primary students.”While she praised the Digital Learning Platform or DELIMa platform introduced by the education ministry to support online learning even before the Covid-19 crisis, she said the government had failed to provide proper facilities for students from lower-income families.In any case, she said, it was difficult to match the impact of classroom learning in an online setting, even if every student is equipped with the necessary facilities.Given the situation, she predicted the emergence of a “lost generation” within the next five years.“The impact will be greater among current preschoolers and primary students, as they have lost many important face-to-face learning experiences in their formative years,” she said.As for students at the secondary and tertiary levels, she said, they too would likely suffer short-term negative impacts such as poor subject mastery and a temporary drop in grades.“Future secondary school teachers and university lecturers will have to accommodate the needs of these who have to work harder to make up for their loss of experience,” she said.She urged the government to step up its training for teachers, especially to develop innovative online teaching practices.She said the training content should be simple, interactive and made available on a single platform.“Currently, there are various good initiatives by the state education departments and district education offices, but these initiatives are disorganised and not centralised.”And it’s not only the students who need support through this crisis.“We also need personal mentoring and coaching for teachers who need assistance regarding the implementation of online teaching strategies,” she said.


76 in Benteng LD cluster in quarantine after testing negative for Covid-19

Police personnel at the Lahad Datu district police headquarters (IPD) and their family members have been tested for Covid-19, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said yesterday following the detection of a new cluster after the screening of new detainees at the lock-up there.He said 76 people were tested, namely four police officers, 30 personnel and 42 family members, all of whom were found negative and are currently undergoing home quarantine.“The Lahad Datu IPD is operating as usual and has been disinfected,” he told Bernama.However, he said the IPD would not be receiving new detainees for now. Instead, they will be sent to the lock-up of the nearest police station.Meanwhile, Sabah police commissioner Hazani Ghazali said eight detainees had tested positive for Covid-19 so far.“Five of them are now detained at the Lahad Datu IPD lock-up and the other three at Tawau prison,” he said.Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said a new cluster known as the Benteng LD cluster was discovered following the screening of new detainees at the IPD lock-up.


Norway offers Johnson & Johnson jab to volunteers

Norway will offer the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine to volunteers under strict conditions from mid-July, the government said Wednesday, flouting the advice of various health authorities who say the risks outweigh the benefits.The Nordic country, which has dropped the AstraZeneca jab from its vaccination programme amid concerns about rare but severe blood clots, had also suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over similar concerns earlier this year.But the government said on May 12 that it planned to offer the Johnson & Johnson single-dose jab to volunteers.On Wednesday, it detailed the strict conditions that would apply to those who, after a medical consultation, want to be vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson jab as of June 15.Only certain categories of people will qualify, including those who need to travel to countries where the pandemic is raging, those who for various reasons cannot wait their turn to receive the other available vaccines, and those who have loved ones suffering from severe forms of cancer.“The patient has the right to weigh in on the decision but cannot demand to receive the vaccine. Doctors will have the final say,” Health Minister Bent Hoie told reporters at a press conference.Neighbouring Denmark has meanwhile reserved both the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson inoculations for volunteers, even though both have been approved by the European medicines watchdog EMA and the World Health Organization has recommended their use.While Norway’s government has followed the main recommendations regarding the vaccines issued by a panel of experts in May, Wednesday’s announcement goes against the advice of several national institutions, such as the Norwegian Directorate of Health, the Institute of Public Health and the Norwegian Medical Association.They have argued that the pandemic is under control in Norway and that the vaccination campaign is progressing quickly enough with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that the country doesn’t need to resort to other vaccines which may carry a risk of severe side effects.“For the most part, the risk of side effects with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be greater than the benefits, given the current situation in Norway,” the head of the Directorate of Health, Bjorn Guldvog, told reporters.Norway has one of the lowest Covid incidence rates in Europe, according to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.More than 1.85 million people in the country of 5.4 million have received a first vaccine dose and 1.21 million are fully vaccinated.Authorities hope to have offered all adults their first dose by early August.


Facebook delays return to campus as Delta variant rages

Facebook on Thursday postponed workers’ return to the office until early next year due to surging cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.The leading social network set a new target of having employees back on its campuses in January, but promised to provide ample notice before they are required to show up.“Data, not dates, is what drives our approach for returning to the office,” a Facebook spokesman said in response to an AFP inquiry.“We continue to monitor the situation and work with experts to ensure our return to office plans prioritise everyone’s safety.”For now, the data shows rising numbers of Covid cases based on the Delta variant, the spokesperson said.Google, Facebook and Microsoft have said returning workers will need to be vaccinated against Covid-19.Facebook is also requiring people in offices to wear masks, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated.At Microsoft, the earliest date for fully reopening US facilities will be Oct 4, according to the computing giant based in the state of Washington.E-commerce colossus Amazon confirmed that it is delaying employees’ return to its corporate offices until January of next year instead of September as originally hoped.Google this month made its campuses off-limits to unvaccinated employees and extend its global work-from-home option through Oct 18.Unions and critics of mandates have spoken out against required vaccinations, citing personal freedom arguments.


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BN, PN to avoid clashing in Sabah polls

Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) arrived at a consensus today to avoid fielding their candidates against one another in several constituencies in the upcoming Sabah election.BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said they had agreed to face the Sept 26 election as a team.“The parties announced their candidates yesterday, and it seems there are bound to be clashes among ourselves. This will be resolved as soon as possible,” he told reporters.Zahid earlier attended a meeting with over 20 leaders from BN, PN and PBS, along with Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin.BN and PN, which announced their candidates yesterday, are currently clashing in three constituencies: Paginatan, Tulid and Sook.Zahid said the parties had also agreed to launch a common manifesto known as “Aku Janji” on Malaysia Day to make known what the coalitions could offer the people of Sabah if they win the election.“The ‘Aku Janji’ is a new offer for Sabah,” he added.He said all parties concerned would coordinate their activities to enable a smooth election campaign.


Indian Amazon Prime show agrees to changes after outcry over religious sensitivities

The cast and crew of a popular streaming series starring Bollywood megastar Saif Ali Khan have agreed to “implement changes” to the show after ruling party politicians accused it of insulting Hindu gods.The Amazon Prime drama “Tandav” – loosely compared to the US series “House of Cards” – drew criticism from members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party after its Friday release.Several BJP politicians called for the show to be banned, saying it was “deliberately mocking Hindu gods” and disrespecting religious sentiments.One of the criticised scenes depicts a university play in which Hindu deity Shiva talks about “azaadi” (freedom), a rallying cry from 2019’s anti-government protests across the country.“The cast and crew of Tandav have made the decision to implement changes to the web series to address the concerns raised,” director Ali Abbas Zafar wrote in a post on Twitter late Tuesday.The cast and crew also apologised on Monday, with Zafar saying that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had told the team it had received “a large number of grievances and petitions… with serious concerns and apprehensions” over the series.“‘Tandav’ is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental,” he said Monday.The petitioners include Ram Kadam, a BJP lawmaker in Mumbai, who said he was “fighting for Hindu pride and trying to ensure that nobody dare to mock our Hindu Gods”.Leading streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon and Disney’s Hotstar, have expanded their presence in the country of 1.3 billion, including by commissioning local content.The streaming TV services are not subject to the country’s notoriously fussy censor boards, which regularly cut scenes.But there have been growing calls, particularly from BJP politicians, for the shows to be subject to the same scrutiny.The most recent controversy involved the BBC’s TV version of Vikram Seth’s epic bestselling novel, “A Suitable Boy”, which is streaming on Netflix, over a scene where a Hindu girl kisses a Muslim boy in front of a temple.A BJP politician in November filed a police complaint saying the show had hurt Hindus’ religious sentiments.


LHDN gives extensions to taxpayers, bosses hit by floods

The Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) today announced a series of extensions for taxpayers and employers affected by the recent floods which hit areas in eight states, causing the evacuation of tens of thousands and huge losses to individuals and businesses alike.In a statement, it said the deadline for the payment of estimated tax payable (CP204) for December 2021 has been extended to Jan 31, 2022.The payment of investigation/audit/collection/civil suit instalments for January 2022 meanwhile has been deferred to February 2022.Likewise, the deadline for the payment of schedular tax deductions (PCB) or CP38 by employees for the remuneration month of December 2021 has been extended to Jan 31, 2022.LHDN also said that the payment of the remaining tax could be deferred until a period requested by the taxpayer.The floods last week hit Selangor the hardest, with many in areas like Shah Alam stranded in their homes as water levels reached roof level.The deluge has left at least 48 people dead and a number of others still missing.Taxpayers and employers affected by the floods can apply through email to [email protected] for the first matter, and through the feedback form available at the official HASiL portal.LHDN said the documents needed for applications will depend on the merit of each case.


Court throws out Umno man’s bid to strike out suit by Teresa Kok

Sungai Besar Umno division chief Jamal Yunos today lost his appeal to strike out a defamation suit filed against him by former primary industries minister Teresa Kok over the alleged misuse of Yayasan Warisan Anak Selangor (Yawas) funds.A three-member Court of Appeal panel comprising justices Suraya Othman, Has Zanah Mehat and S Nantha Balan dismissed Jamal’s appeal and ordered him to pay Kok RM7,000 in costs.The appeal hearing was conducted via Zoom. Lawyers V Mugunthan and Mohammad Fauzi Abdul Samad appeared for Jamal while Sankara Nair, Tan Han Sam and Elyse Ng Zi Qian represented Kok.Sankara said the case would now proceed to a full trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.He said the High Court set Jan 3 next year for case management to fix the trial dates.Mugunthan, when contacted, confirmed the court’s decision.Jamal had appealed against the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision, delivered on Jan 3, dismissing his application to strike out the suit.He filed the application on April 25 last year on grounds that there was no reasonable basis for Kok’s claim.Kok, who is Seputeh MP, filed the suit on April 6, 2017, over an allegedly defamatory statement by Jamal pertaining to Yawas funds during a news conference on March 8, 2017.In her statement of claim, she said the statement was published by both print and electronic media, as well as on Jamal’s Facebook page.She claimed that the statement, among others, gave the impression that she had misused state government funds for herself and was an unethical person.She is seeking RM1 million in general damages, compensatory damages, aggravated damages and exemplary damages, and an injunction to prevent Jamal from making further such claims in the media.


Sabah to move to Phase 2 of recovery plan

Sabah will join six other states in Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan on July 10, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.In a statement, he said the National Security Council had agreed to the transition based on the state’s success in achieving the three main indicators required.Sabah joins Penang, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Perak in receiving the green light to progress to the second phase of the recovery plan.On the continued trend of high case numbers recorded in Selangor, Ismail said the government had agreed to establish another armed forces field hospital at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Klang to support the health services in the state and to help the health ministry address the Covid-19 situation in the state.He said the health ministry had confirmed a sharp upward trend in the number of daily cases in Selangor over the past 14 days, with an increase in the number of clusters as well.


South Africa pulls millions of J&J jabs after contamination concerns

South Africa, which is struggling to roll out its inoculation programme as it enters a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, said Sunday it will pull millions of doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following contamination concerns at one of the US drugmaker’s sites.On Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told Johnson & Johnson that millions of doses produced at the group’s Emergent BioSolutions facility in the city of Baltimore were not suitable for use.Following a review of the FDA decision, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) said in a statement that it had decided “not to release vaccine produced using the drug substance batches that were not suitable”.Johnson & Johnson’s Emergent plant was ordered to pause production in April several weeks after it was determined that batches of a substance used to produce the vaccine were cross-contaminated with ingredients from another jab made by Anglo-Swedish pharma giant AstraZeneca.Johnson & Johnson did not reveal the precise number of doses in each batch, but they are known to correspond to several million jabs.The FDA is still deciding whether to allow the factory to reopen.Acknowledging the setback in South Africa’s vaccination programme, Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said Saturday that the batches concerned were stored in a high-security laboratory in Port Elizabeth belonging to drugmaker Aspen.South Africa is one the countries campaigning for a waiver of patents on Covid-19 vaccines in order to allow every nation to produce generic versions at low cost.“If we are to save lives and end the pandemic, we need to expand and diversify manufacturing and get medical products to treat, combat and prevent the pandemic to as many people as quickly as possible,” President Cyril Ramaphosa told the G7 group of wealthy nations meeting in Britain on Sunday.South Africa is counting on a delivery of 31 million doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to help inoculate its population of 59 million.1% vaccinatedIt has also secured 30 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, but that jab must be stored at extremely low temperatures and requires two shots.Sahpra said that a new delivery of around 300,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson jab “that have been cleared by the US FDA that meet the requirements and will subsequently be released and shipped to South Africa”.The government already temporarily suspended vaccination in April after rare cases of blood clots were reported in the US.And in February, South Africa turned down more than 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine because of doubts about its efficacy on the local coronavirus variant.Lagging behind many other countries, South Africa has only vaccinated just over 1% of its population. It is the African country hardest hit by the pandemic, with more than 1.7 million infections and nearly 58,000 deaths.More than 9,300 new cases were registered in the past 24 hours.


Constitution doesn't prohibit change of govt, says Azmin

Mohamed Azmin Ali today said that there is nothing in the Federal Constitution to prohibit a change in government, amid speculation of attempts to topple the administration led by Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Anwar Ibrahim.
The Selangor Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman said the constitution allows for a government reshuffle if the incumbent administration does not meet the aspirations of the people.
"They talk more than they act, as if they are detached from reality and the troubles of the people on the ground," the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman told reporters in Gombak.
His remarks followed talk this week that Anwar's government had lost its majority support in Parliament.
Azmin said the situation was a manifestation of complaints by the people as the government had failed to resolve a number of issues including the economy and cost of living.
"These complaints will be translated into action among leaders and MPs representing the people in their constituencies," he said.
"As long as it is in line with the constitutional provisions of the law, it can be done."
Bersatu deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu meanwhile denied that PN was working to collect statutory declarations (SDs) to form a new government or to appoint opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin as prime minister.
He said the focus at the moment was on defending the state governments in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, and to find a way to take the states held by PH like Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
"PN has not made SDs or anything else like that," he said.
"We only have 74 seats in Parliament. We realise that we need to carry out our duty as the opposition, and that is what we will continue to do."


Plastic bag charge won’t cut it, says activist in anti-pollution push

Malaysians are the biggest consumers of single-use plastics in Asia, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.Each Malaysian uses and then discards around 17kg of plastic each year in the form of bags, cutlery, straws and other throwaway “conveniences”.And much of that plastic ends up in the sea, making Malaysia the fifth worst global plastic polluter of the oceans.And yet still most Malaysians are reluctant to give up single-use plastics.Pollution caused by throwaway plastic can only be stopped by shifting away from the current model, says Heng Kiah Chun, a Greenpeace Malaysia campaigner.“Charging for single-use plastics may discourage customers from using them but this alone isn’t going to put an end to this global crisis,” Heng told MalaysiaNow.Single-use plastics account for most of the waste found on the world’s beaches and 12 million tonnes of that discarded rubbish then finds its way into the ocean each year.Pollution is now a major concern among scientists and environmentalists as it negatively affects lives in many ways – from carbon emissions that threaten the climate to plastics that pollute waterways and damage marine life and ecosystems.Research shows that single-use plastics account for most of the waste found on the world’s beaches and 12 million tonnes of that discarded rubbish then finds its way into the ocean each year.Efforts to reduce single-use plastics are not effective as most shops and cafes still give away bags, cutlery and containers as a part of customer service and a polite gesture.It’s because of this mindset that single-use, or disposable, plastics such as food wrapping, bottles, and straws make up nearly 40% of plastics used globally.The government attempted to reduce plastic use and raise awareness among the public by imposing a charge for plastic carrier bags. However, it is not enough, says Heng.“A more effective approach would be a holistic one targeted at enforcing alternative delivery systems based on re-use and refill,” he said.“Legislative bans must be brought in to restrict single-use plastic packaging where viable substitutes already exist.”Items such as cutlery in eateries, plastic film in supermarkets, and plastic microbeads in cosmetics are still widely used despite alternatives being available, Heng said.Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is an approach which gives producers a significant financial or physical responsibility for treating or disposing of post-consumer products.“While individual actions are important, they will never bring about changes at the scale needed.”“Use EPR to internalise costs and avoid certain types of marine plastic pollution, most notably single-use packaging items including via deposit return systems,” Heng said.Many companies are coming up with alternatives to plastic packaging by moving away from fossil-derived plastic to paper-based and bio-based plastics which are often wrongly promoted as biodegradable.Heng highlighted that a better approach is to encourage research into alternative delivery systems to facilitate re-use and repair instead of simply moving to alternative single-use materials or bio-based plastics.As for consumers, raising awareness and shifting attitudes is necessary. People must be made aware of the effects of the unsustainable throwaway culture on climate change, he said.“Nearly every piece of plastic begins as a fossil fuel, and greenhouse gases are emitted at each stage of its lifecycle, from its extraction and transport, refining and manufacture to its ultimate disposal.”Other efforts such as recognising plastic as a valuable resource by giving it a price, designing products and packaging to fit existing or future recycling systems and improving transparency on the chemicals contained in plastics by providing more information can collectively help to overcome this problem, he said.“Corporations responsible for this mess should take the lead in creating breakthrough delivery systems that perform the functions of single-use plastics and are convenient for people to use.”Heng claims that manufacturers have long put the blame on individual consumers while continuing to maximise profits by churning out single-use plastics.“While individual actions are important, they will never bring about changes at the scale needed. The real responsibility lies with the corporations and governments who continue to push people into this system.”


Welcome to MalaysiaNow

There is an anecdote oft repeated in Islamic tradition about a young man in Arabia, a little over 1,400 years ago, who was so well-known for his trustworthiness that his people called him Al-Amin – The Truthful.One day, standing before his people, he asked whether they would believe him if he told them that an enemy force was massed behind the hills, ready to attack. They replied that they would, of course, for they had never heard him tell a lie.That young man was Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, who despite the reputation and standing indicated by this episode, would soon face an avalanche of hostility, becoming a public enemy in his own homeland as he set out to spread his message to a community that did not want to hear it.The lesson here is clear: faced with social assumptions and entrenched interests, the young man’s “truth” counted for little, even to those who called him the “The Trusted One”. Then, as ever, people believed what it suited them to believe, what was the most convenient to believe, regardless of the credibility of the source.Today, people are faced with numerous appeals for their trust, for decisions ranging from the right washing detergent to the right school for their kids, the right car to buy to the best person to entrust with the administration of the country (and a large chunk of our tax money). Each appeal is ultimately based on the perceived credibility of individuals, institutions, corporations, brands or parties.But our long-established concepts of trust and truth have completely changed in this complex, technologically advanced society, dominated by the internet, social media and big data. Now we trust anonymous, faceless entities with our hard-earned money (read online banking), ride in the private cars of complete strangers (read Grab), and arrange to stay overnight in the homes of others (read Airbnb). Not to mention allowing international corporations and dodgy websites alike access to our most private data by blindly accepting cookies at every invitation.Similarly, we now have a tendency to trust those who appeal to our beliefs and values through slogans and sound bites, no matter how little their actions should inspire our trust.We watch, like and share clips of people who preach religions and their associated values, as we do with politicians who dangle before us the promise of a better life. Often, we don’t know or care who they are. But for some reason, we trust them to tell us what to think and believe.This suspension of judgment extends to the news on which we depend. Again, we put our trust in some sections of the media as the bearers of truth and dismiss others as pedlars of fake news, often with little more critical assessment than we give to marketeers and spin doctors.So, does truth matter?Well, why should it if an untruth suits and serves us better? This attitude has become a reality in politics and news as much as in marketing and business, hence the rise of Trump as the leader of the free world despite his famously economic approach to truth. Such is the disconnect between truth and trust that people choose to trust him precisely because he tells the lies they want to hear.Where then does that leave journalists?Traditionally, trust and truth are central to the work of the press. Concern with such principles should be what distinguishes journalists from what are now referred to as “content writers”. For those concerned with reality over imagery, truth and trust must always be linked. But often, they claim to pursue the truth when it is actually the trust of the readers that they seek.It is under such circumstances that MalaysiaNow is launched – when trust has become disconnected from truth.MalaysiaNow is not another breaking-news portal. We have no armada of reporters whose only claim to credibility is the ability to discover new stories and publish them fast and first.What we hope to do is to break the news down for our readers so that critical issues that affect them are analysed and debated without being clouded by the partisan politics which have for so long characterised our national psyche.Backed by a team of dedicated journalists and writers trained almost entirely in online media, this is our humble ambition. We hope you will join us in this new endeavour.Don’t uncritically accept everything we write as the truth, but be assured that our approach will always be truthful.And should the time come when we have to report that a pack of wolves is preparing an attack, we hope that our readers will trust us because they have never known us to lie.


French Covid jab centres attacked by demonstrators

Two vaccination centres have been ransacked in France in protests over the government’s introduction of tough new coronavirus rules.One site in south-east France was vandalised and flooded with fire hoses on Friday night, authorities said.A day later, another clinic in the south-west was partially destroyed in what local media called an arson attack.The incidents came on a weekend of demonstrations against Covid measures, the BBC reports.On Saturday, more than 100,000 people took to the streets across France to denounce rules designed to tackle rising infections.The controversial measures include mandatory vaccinations for health workers, and health passes to access most public places.Critics have accused President Emmanuel Macron’s government of violating their freedoms.Anti-vaccine graffiti was found near a vandalised vaccination centre in Lans-en-Vercors near the south-eastern city of Grenoble. Saturday’s arson attack targeted a clinic in the village of Urrugne near Biarritz in the south-west.Meanwhile at a rally in Paris on Saturday, French politician Martine Wonner told protesters to “lay siege” to the offices of lawmakers who backed the government’s Covid policies.A prominent sceptic of Covid vaccines, Wonner faces a potential legal inquiry and was forced to quit her opposition group in parliament on Sunday. She claimed her words had been misconstrued.France has seen several acts of violence and vandalism against lawmakers who supported the new vaccination rules, and yet hundreds of thousands of people have signed up for the jabs after Macron unveiled the plan last week.His government is attempting to curb the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, which is causing a surge in hospital admissions.More than 111,000 people have died with Covid in France during the pandemic, which has severely damaged the country’s economy.Last week, a panel of scientists who advise the French government warned of a fourth wave in the coming months. Only a little over half of the population has received a first dose and less than 40% have had two shots.Surveys suggest there is widespread vaccine hesitancy in France.Fewer than 50% of people in France are likely to accept a Covid-19 vaccination, according to Eurofound’s large-scale Living, Working and Covid-19 online survey.In February and March, just 48.7% replied that they were likely or very likely to get vaccinated against the Covid-19. This is considerably lower than the EU average at 64.4% with only Bulgaria, Latvia and Croatia scoring lower than France.However, this is up from a study by Ipsos late last year which found only 40% of people surveyed in France intended to receive a Covid vaccine.The survey of nearly 50,000 people n the EU also found that men (29%) are more vaccine hesitant than women (25%).For France, the gender difference is a lot smaller, as 39% of male respondents and 38.5% of female respondents reported being unlikely to take a Covid-19 vaccine.


Third Japanese cabinet minister in a month resigns in blow to PM

Japan's internal affairs minister resigned on Sunday in connection with a funding scandal, becoming the third cabinet member to leave in less than a month in a severe blow to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's already shaky support.
Kishida's approval ratings have sunk after the July assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe revealed deep and longstanding ties between ruling Liberal Democratic Party politicians and the Unification Church, a group that critics say is a cult.
Internal affairs minister Minoru Terada tendered his resignation to Kishida after media reports the premier was preparing to sack him. Kishida's office could not be reached for comment on those reports.
A poll conducted over the weekend, before Terada's resignation, found that only 30.5% of respondents approved of Kishida, down 2.6 points from a survey in October, Asahi TV said on Monday. Just over half, 51%, disapproved of how he had handled the resignation of two previous ministers, economic revitalisation minister Daishiro Yamagiwa and justice minister Yasuhiro Hanashi.
Terada, under fire for several funding scandals, has acknowledged that one of his support groups had submitted funding documentation ostensibly signed by a dead person.
Kishida said he had accepted Terada's resignation in order to prioritise parliamentary debate, including discussions on a second extra budget for the fiscal year ending in March.
Asked about the fact that three ministers have resigned since Oct 24, Kishida said he would like to apologise.
"I feel a heavy responsibility," he told reporters, adding that he planned to formally name Terada's successor early on Monday. He is likely to nominate Takeaki Matsumoto, a former foreign minister, NHK public television said.
Terada's departure could further weaken the embattled premier, whose support ratings have remained below 30% in several recent opinion polls, a level that may make it difficult for him to carry out his political agenda.
After leading the LDP to an election victory days after Abe was gunned down on the campaign trail, Kishida had been widely expected to enjoy a "golden three years" with no national elections required until 2025.
Abe's suspected killer said his mother was bankrupted by the Unification Church and blamed Abe for promoting it. The LDP has acknowledged many lawmakers have ties to the church but that there is no organisational link to the party.
A vast majority of voters also disapproved of Kishida's decision to hold a state funeral for Abe, which took place at the end of September.
Yamagiwa resigned on Oct 24 due to his ties to the religious group, and Kishida came under fire for what voters saw as his delayed and clumsy handling of the situation.
Further damage came from the resignation of justice minister Yasuhiro Hanashi in mid-November for comments seen as making light of his work responsibilities, specifically signing off on executions.
Hanashi and Terada's resignations are likely to be especially painful because they were members of Kishida's faction in the LDP.


Najib discloses RM4.49 million in assets

Najib Razak has declared assets including several plots of land and property in Pahang and Selangor, luxury vehicles including Mercedez-Benz cars and a Bentley Continental Flying Spur, and cash, all amounting to RM4.49 million.
The disclosure was made after SRC International Sdn Bhd and its subsidiary, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd, as plaintiffs, obtained a Mareva injunction from the Kuala Lumpur High Court to prevent the former prime minister from transferring or disposing of any of his assets worth up to RM42 million.
A Mareva injunction is a temporary order that prevents the defendant from disposing of assets pending the outcome of a legal action.
On March 24, judicial commissioner Mohd Arief Emran Arifin ordered the Pekan MP to disclose to SRC International’s lawyers in writing his assets in or outside of Malaysia, up to the value of RM42 million, within 30 days of the order being served.
Arief Emran directed that Najib cannot remove, dispose of, deal with or diminish the value of any of the assets in and outside Malaysia up to the value of RM42 million, pending the final determination of the suit. However, he is entitled to draw and expend from a bank account or other sources a sum not exceeding RM100,000 per month for his ordinary living and legal expenses.
Based on documents obtained by the media today, Najib, 69, revealed his assets as of June 30 this year in an additional affidavit filed on July 20 through Messrs Shafee & Co.
Among them are pieces of land and property in Pekan, Kuantan, Bentong and Genting Highlands in Pahang, as well as Semenyih in Selangor, valued at RM460,987; five Mercedez-Benz vehicles and a Bentley Continental Flying Spur, four of which were gifts from his in-laws from Kazakhstan; a Honda EX-5 motorcycle and a Kawasaki ZG motorcycle (gifts), all worth RM252,000.
Najib also disclosed that he had a total of RM1.24 million in an Affin Bank account and a deposit of RM2.52 million with Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd.
In the affidavit filed on April 25, Najib confirmed that he did not have assets amounting to RM42 million. The matter was confirmed by his lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee.
When contacted, Farhan said that during the proceedings before judge Amarjeet Singh today, they had withdrawn an application to postpone the proceedings in the SRC International suit.
"We withdrew the application on the condition that the statement of defence must be filed within two months from today," he said, adding that the next case management was set on Oct 13.
SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB and Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SRC, filed a writ of summons on May 7 last year accusing Najib of breach of trust, abuse of power and obtaining personal benefits from SRC International funds in addition to misappropriating the said funds.


South Korea, US respond to North Korea missile firings

South Korea and the US fired eight surface-to-surface missiles early on Monday off South Korea’s east coast after North Korea launched a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles on Sunday, a South Korea defence ministry official said.The action is a demonstration of “the capability and readiness to carry out precision strike” against the source of North Korea’s missile launches or the command and support centres, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cited the South Korean military as saying.South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office last month, has vowed to take a tougher line against the North and agreed with US President Joe Biden at a May summit in Seoul to upgrade joint military drills and their combined deterrence posture.The militaries of South Korea and the US fired eight surface-to-surface missiles over a period of about 10 minutes starting 4.45am on Monday (1945 GMT Sunday) in response to the eight missiles fired by the North on Sunday, Yonhap reported.An official from South Korea’s defence ministry confirmed eight army tactical missile systems had been fired.North Korea’s short-range ballistic missiles, fired towards the sea off its east coast on Sunday, were likely its largest single test and came a day after South Korea and the US ended joint military drills.North Korea, which is several weeks into battling its first known outbreak of Covid-19, has criticised previous joint drills as an example of Washington’s continued “hostile policies” toward Pyongyang, despite its talk of diplomacy.North Korea has conducted a flurry of missile launches this year, from hypersonic weapons to test firing its largest intercontinental ballistic missiles for the first time in nearly five years.Washington and Seoul officials also recently warned that North Korea appeared ready to resume nuclear weapons tests for the first time since 2017.Last month, North Korea fired three missiles including one thought to be its largest intercontinental ballistic missile, after Biden ended an Asia trip where he agreed to new measures to deter the nuclear-armed state.The combined forces of South Korea and the US fired missiles in response to those tests too, which the two allies say are violations of UN Security Council resolutions.


China’s Africa ambitions threaten Atlantic peace, says top US general

The ranking US general for Africa is warning that a growing threat from China may come not just from the Pacific Ocean but from the Atlantic as well.Stephen Townsend, in an interview with The Associated Press, said Beijing plans to establish a large navy port capable of hosting submarines or aircraft carriers on Africa’s west coast.He said Beijing has already approached countries from Mauritania to Namibia, to discuss establishing a naval facility.“They’re looking for a place where they can rearm and repair warships. That becomes militarily useful in conflict,” said Townsend, who heads US Africa Command. “They’re a long way toward establishing that in Djibouti. Now they’re casting their gaze to the Atlantic coast and wanting to get such a base there.”Townsend’s warnings come as the Pentagon shifts its focus from the counterterrorism wars of the last two decades to the Indo-Pacific region and threats from great power adversaries like China and Russia.The Biden administration views China’s rapidly expanding economic influence and military might as America’s primary long-term security challenge.US military commanders around the globe caution that China’s growing assertiveness isn’t simply happening in Asia. They argue that Beijing is aggressively gaining economic influence over countries in Africa, South America and the Middle East, and is pursuing bases and footholds in all these places.“The Chinese are outmanoeuvring the US in Africa,” said Townsend. “Port projects, economic endeavours, infrastructure and all their agreements and contracts will lead to greater access in the future.”The People’s Liberation Army of China’s first overseas naval base was opened in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa in 2017. It is steadily increasing its capacity and satellite images have shown a new pier capable of servicing aircraft carriers. Townsend said as many as 2,000 military personnel are stationed at the base, including hundreds of Marines.“They have arms and munitions for sure. They have armoured combat vehicles. We think they will soon be basing attack helicopters there, too,” he said.For some time, analysts have thought that China has been working to establish a navy base on Africa’s eastern coast in Tanzania, a country that has had a strong, longstanding military relationship with Beijing. But Townsend said it appears there’s been no decision on that yet.“That’s on the Indian Ocean side,” he said. “I want any base to be there instead of on the Atlantic coast.”A base on Africa’s northern Atlantic coast would be substantially closer to the US east coast than military facilities in China are to America’s west coast.The Defense Department’s 2020 report on China’s military power, noted that the large amounts of oil and gas imported from Africa and the Middle East make resource-rich countries like Angola a high priority target for China over the next 15 years.


US says China seeks stabilised relations with Washington, in short term

China wants stabilised relations with the US in the short term as it faces domestic economic challenges and push back in Asia to its assertive diplomacy, White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said on Thursday.
Frustrations over China's strict Covid-19 protocols boiled over into widespread protests last month, the biggest show of public discontent since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. The rules had contributed to a slowing economy, but the recent easing of restrictions have also created fresh concern that the virus could soon run wild.
Campbell said those issues, coupled with the fact that China had antagonised many of its neighbors, meant it was interested in more predictable ties with Washington in the "short term."
"They've taken on and challenged many countries simultaneously," Campbell told an Aspen Security Forum event in Washington, mentioning Chinese territorial disputes with Japan and India. "I think they recognise that that has, in many respects, backfired."
"All of that suggests to me that the last thing the Chinese need right now is an openly hostile relationship with the US. They want a degree of predictability and stability, and we seek that as well," Campbell said.
In the next several months, Campbell said, the world would see "a resumption of some of the more practical, predictable elements of great-power diplomacy" between Washington and Beijing.
"I think we're going to see some developments that I believe will be reassuring to the region as a whole," he said without elaborating.
Campbell's remarks came after a first face-to-face meeting as leaders between Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden in the middle of last month, and two days after Washington announced plans to step up its rotational military presence in key region ally Australia amid shared concerns about China.
Campbell said Russia's war in Ukraine had led to more behind-the-scenes discussions in the Indo-Pacific about maintaining peace and stability over Taiwan, the democratically governed island China claims as its territory.
"If there were a challenge, it would have terrible consequences, strategically, commercially, and that is in no one's interests. And so I think every country understands the delicacy here," he said.
Separately on Thursday, Ely Ratner, the top Pentagon official for the Indo-Pacific, said 2023 would likely be the most transformative year for US force posture in the region in a generation.
"We are going to be making good on a strategic commitment that people have been looking for for a long time," Ratner told the American Enterprise Institute, highlighting cooperation with regional allies the Philippines and Australia.
Campbell noted currently limited US diplomatic, intelligence and military capacity in the region and added: "Building that is no small feat. It's going to take a substantial period of time."
Australia's ambassador to Washington Arthur Sinodinos told another Aspen panel that Japan would also be more involved in future military force posture initiatives in northern Australia.
Australia, Britain and the United States reached a security agreement last year known as Aukus, which will provide Australia with the technology to deploy nuclear-powered submarines, a deal their defense ministers discussed in Washington this week.
Britain's Washington envoy Karen Pierce told the Aspen forum there was a risk of miscalculation and misunderstanding with China "because we don't have quite as many mechanisms as I think we need to be able to deal with whatever might come out of Chinese activity.
"And if you compare that to what we had with the Soviet Union in the Cold War, I think you can see there's a deficit there," she said.


Muhyiddin ready for ‘one-man show’ as caretaker PM

Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday said that he would act as the caretaker prime minister as consented to by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.“It is an honourable task and I will carry out the duties of caretaker prime minister to help the country,” he said at a meeting with senior media editors at the Prime Minister’s Office.Muhyiddin, who tendered his resignation to the king yesterday, said he would shoulder the responsibility and that he hoped his successor would be appointed as soon as possible.He said when the Agong asked him to act as caretaker prime minister, he had immediately referred to the Attorney-General Idrus Harun regarding the job scope.“I sought the opinion of the attorney-general and he said that I could exercise the executive functions and advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong until a new prime minister is appointed,” he said.When asked whether his former Cabinet would be retained as a caretaker Cabinet, Muhyiddin said as far as he was concerned, he would be the one running the show.“It’s a one-man show,” he said jokingly.On his responsibilities and power as caretaker prime minister, Muhyiddin said there would definitely be a limit compared to the power he had before.“For instance, now I cannot sign a RM1 billion cheque. I have to refer and follow the advice of the attorney-general,” he said.


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Hopes ride on Loke to resolve flight delays, cancellations

Flight delays and cancellations in addition to long-standing applications for refunds are among the challenges that Anthony Loke Siew Fook faces in his return to familiar ground at the transport ministry.
Loke, who was sworn in with the rest of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Cabinet on Dec 3, so far appears to be concentrating on land transport, especially matters concerning the LRT lines.
While he touched on flight operations in announcing the implementation of the standard instrument departures and standard terminal arrival routes systems to be implemented by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), this did not involve the issue of passenger rights.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, aviation expert Germal Singh Khera said it was too early for Loke to examine the issue in depth, given that he had only been announced as Anwar's transport minister on Dec 2.
For now, he said, Loke might be prioritising other issues such as public transport on land which would have a bigger impact on users.
"He might also be of the view that Mavcom and CAAM can handle aviation-related problems, allowing him to solve other issues first," he said.
"In fact, this aviation-related issue is actually in Mavcom's line of sight, with the agency proposing several amendments to the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code."
Air transport entered the limelight in early 2020, with the spread of Covid-19 on a global scale. Many countries closed their borders as part of efforts to keep the infection at bay, bringing international and, at times, domestic, flights to a halt.
In Malaysia, the decision to reopen the borders was made in April this year. While many tourism-related activities resumed in the wake of the government's announcement, the problem of flight cancellations continued.
Many AirAsia and AirAsia X passengers complained of problems with refunds for flights cancelled as far back as 2020, while others voiced hope that the transport minister would intervene.
Mohd Faiz Mustaffa, for example, has had flights cancelled by AirAsia four times over the past two years.
The first two times this happened, he thought nothing of it as the country was still battling the spread of Covid-19.
But he experienced the same problem even after the borders were reopened in April, when AirAsia cancelled his flight scheduled for November to Bandung, Indonesia.
After this case went viral on social media, AirAsia offered him a replacement flight on another date, but this, too, was cancelled in October.
"I am very disappointed," Faiz said. "It should not be like this."
His only consolation is the fact that he managed to get a refund in cash on Oct 20.
Filipino Christian Echica, however, has not been as fortunate.
Echica had a round-trip ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Cebu, scheduled for Dec 25, and had been looking forward to celebrating Christmas with his family.
However, the flight was postponed to another date and eventually cancelled altogether.
Echica said he received an email on Nov 9 informing him that his flight had been cancelled. Until today, though, he has yet to receive a refund whether in cash or credit form.
His initial ticket cost RM1,872.
"But because I was forced to buy another ticket for a flight with Philippines Air, I paid another RM1,718," he said.
Echica, who has flown with AirAsia back and forth from the Philippines since 2014, said this was the first time he had had such an experience.
He tried using AirAsia's chatbot Ava but eventually gave up. Instead, he began emailing AirAsia nearly every day, asking for a response about his refund.
Both he and Faiz voiced hope that the government or authorities would take note of the issue and intervene on behalf of the passengers.


Lack of SOP compliance during video game activities sparks new cluster in Sabah

Failure to comply with SOPs during video game activities among youths was the cause of the Lumadan cluster in Beaufort which has recorded 46 Covid-19 cases to date.Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Masidi Manjun said the index case was a 19-year-old man who tested positive in Beaufort on June 29 after suffering from a fever and cough since June 24.“This cluster involves infection among family members and colleagues from various localities around mukim Lumadan (Beaufort). A total of 110 screening tests were conducted with 46 positive cases detected in this cluster,” he said in a statement.Another new cluster also recorded yesterday, the Istimewa Dua cluster in Sandakan, involves 27 Covid-19 cases to date after screening tests conducted on 261 individuals in the area.“This cluster involves an infection in the community in the Kampung Istimewa locality in Sandakan involving the index case of a 48-year-old man who was detected as positive on June 25 in Sandakan, the same village that recorded a cluster on Nov 14,” he said.Masidi, who is also the Sabah government spokesman on Covid-19, said Sabah yesterday recorded 279 new cases, making a cumulative total of 71,468 cases, while 203 people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 68,739.


70% of Singapore seniors have had one or more jab – it’s not enough

Seniors were the first age group in Singapore to be offered the Covid-19 jab, but they now have the lowest take-up rate at 70%.All other age groups have take-up of more than 80%, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Thursday in a Facebook post.This is the reverse of what the situation should be, given that seniors are the most vulnerable.“The remainder gets harder and harder to reach,” he said.Reaching those remaining seniors will involve first clearing their doubts and bringing vaccination closer to them.The government is now undertaking a push to do just that, says the Straits Times.“This is critical as seniors are the most vulnerable group, especially those with underlying health conditions which mean their immune system is weaker,” said the health ministry (MOH). “Without vaccination, they may not be able to fight off the virus.”To make it more convenient for seniors to get their Covid-19 jabs, up to 10 mobile vaccination teams are being launched around Singapore, said the MOH on Thursday.The mobile teams will be stationed for up to a week at locations near where many seniors live.The same teams will later return to each location, so that seniors who received the first dose can get their second dose at the same place, MOH said.The first mobile vaccination team was deployed to Anchorvale CC from July 7 to 13 for the first dose. Teams are currently deployed at Kallang and Whampoa CCs, from July 14 to 20.Seniors aged 60 and above can walk into any of the existing vaccination centres with their identity card to receive their first jab without an appointment.They may also visit any polyclinic or participating Public Health Preparedness Clinic (PHPC).More PHPCs will come under the national vaccination programme in the weeks to come.Primary care providers such as general practitioners have also been urged to help persuade their elderly regular patients to get their Covid-19 vaccinations if they have not done so yet.Staff and volunteers from the Silver Generation Office (SGO) will also reach out to unvaccinated seniors through house visits and help address their queries or concerns.They will also provide advice on the nearest vaccination locations and assist those who require help in getting to the vaccination centres, or arrange for them to be vaccinated at home if they are homebound.Yang Choe Sun is one of those to benefit from the home vaccination programme.The housewife, 74, is bed-bound due to a bacterial infection that affected her ability to speak, swallow and move.Unable to travel to a vaccination centre, she was referred by her doctor to the Agency for Integrated Care, which oversees the SGO and administers the home vaccination programme.Her husband, retired taxi driver Chan Hui Teng, had been worried about her safety amid May’s surge in Covid-19 cases.Chan, 71, said, “I feel more assured for her safety now, along with that of my family members.”The government hopes many more seniors and their families will feel similarly assured soon.


Fate of Donbas rests in battleground Ukraine city, Zelensky says

Ukrainian soldiers in Severodonetsk are fighting “one of the most difficult” battles against Russian troops since the start of the war, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding the fate of the whole Donbas region rests in the eastern city.Moscow’s forces are concentrating their firepower on the strategically important industrial hub as part of efforts to capture a swathe of eastern Ukraine.After days of raging street battles, Ukrainian officials conceded that Russian troops control a large part of Severodonetsk, and that their forces might have to pull back due to constant shelling.In his evening address to the nation, Zelensky said the battle for the city was “very fierce… very difficult. Probably one of the most difficult throughout this war.“In many ways, the fate of our Donbas is being decided there.”After being repelled from Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine following their February invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops have refocused their offensive on the Donbas region, comprising Lugansk and Donetsk.The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which are separated by a river, were the last areas still under Ukrainian control in Lugansk.Lysychansk is still in Ukrainian hands but under fierce Russian bombardment.At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres added his voice to increasingly dire warnings about the conflict’s impact.“For people around the world, the war is threatening to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake,” he said.Little progress on grainAt talks in Ankara, Russia and Turkey made little headway in striking a deal to secure safe passage for grain exports stuck in Ukraine due to a Russian sea blockade.At the request of the United Nations, Turkey has offered its services to escort maritime convoys from Ukrainian ports, despite the presence of mines – some of which have been detected near the Turkish coast.“We are ready to do this in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Ankara.Kyiv said it would not demine waters around the Black Sea port of Odessa to allow grain exports, citing the threat of Russian attacks on the city.Lavrov’s Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu called Russian demands for an end to sanctions to help grain onto the world market “legitimate”.“If we need to open up the international market to Ukrainian grain, we see the removal of obstacles standing in the way of Russia’s exports as a legitimate demand,” he said.But Kyiv, which was not represented at the Ankara talks, pushed back against claims that Western sanctions on Moscow had sent prices soaring.“We have been actively communicating, the president and myself, about the true cause of this crisis: it is Russian aggression, not sanctions,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.Before the war, Ukraine was a major exporter of wheat, corn and sunflower oil. Russia’s blockade has been blamed for contributing to soaring prices, stoking fears of a looming food crisis in poor countries.As he hosted Mediterranean ministers for talks on the global food crisis, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio warned “millions” could die unless Russia unblocked Ukraine’s ports.But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected suggestions that grain stuck in Ukrainian ports was fuelling the problem.“As far as we know, there is much less grain than the Ukrainians say. There is no need to exaggerate the importance of these grain reserves,” he told reporters.‘Bombings every day’Severodonetsk appeared close to being captured just days ago but Ukrainian forces launched counterattacks and managed to hold out, despite warnings they were outnumbered by superior forces.About 800 civilians trapped by the fighting have taken refuge in the city’s Azot chemical factory in the city, according to the lawyer of a Ukrainian tycoon whose company owns the facility.Ukrainian authorities have yet to confirm the report.The situation was also increasingly desperate in other parts of the Donbas.In the city of Bakhmut, an unoccupied school building was reduced to a smouldering wreck after being shelled Wednesday, with burnt books visible among the rubble, according to AFP journalists. No injuries or deaths were reported.In Severodonetsk’s twin city Lysychansk, residents who had chosen to stay were facing fierce Russian bombardments.“Every day there are bombings and every day something burns. A house, a flat… And there is nobody to help me,” 70-year-old Yuriy Krasnikov told AFP.“I tried to go to the city authorities, but nobody’s there, everyone has run away.”There was some rare good news for Ukraine, as their football side clinched a 1-0 Nations League victory over the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday.The victory – thanks to a free kick from Viktor Tsygankov – lifted the country’s spirits after their painful failure to qualify for the World Cup.


Govt inks deal with AstraZeneca for 6.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine

The government has signed an agreement with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the procurement of an additional 10% or 6.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced.He said this meant that the government had secured a 40% guarantee of vaccine supply through joint agreements with Covax, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.The government previously signed preliminary agreements with Covax and Pfizer for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccine, to secure a vaccine supply for 30% of the population.“The government is also in final negotiations with Sinovac, CanSino and Gamaleya to secure a vaccine supply increase of more than 80% or 26.5 million of the country’s total population,” he said today.The 80% supply exceeds the government’s initial target to provide vaccines for 70% of Malaysians.The prime minister said these negotiations and agreements would see the government spending a total of US$504.4 million (RM2.05 billion).He said the agreements with Sinovac, CanSino and Gamaleya would also provide added value to the local science and technology sectors which would benefit the people and the country’s development.“This includes carrying out vaccine bottling processes in the country, research and development, as well as knowledge sharing and technology transfer,” he said.Meanwhile, the government will continue to hold talks with other pharmaceutical companies to ensure the country has adequate access to a free vaccine supply, he added.He said the government would ensure that the vaccines obtained are safe and effective.


PN pledges to mobilise machinery to help GPS in upcoming state polls

Perikatan Nasional (PN) has pledged to assist the GPS coalition in Sarawak in the upcoming state election, saying the close ties shown between their leaders during Muhyiddin Yassin’s maiden visit as prime minister is proof of their commitment to further political cooperation ahead.PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said the PN Supreme Council had agreed in a meeting yesterday that its party machinery and grassroots would be mobilised at every level to ensure a GPS victory in the Sarawak polls.“The closeness shown by the two top leaders throughout the official visit proves that the political understanding between them is very good.“They are also committed to further strengthening political cooperation between PN and GPS in the days to come,” he said in a statement today.The meeting was chaired by Muhyiddin, who is Bersatu president, and attended by the leaders of PN component parties including Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS), Jeffrey Kitingan (STAR), Yong Teck Lee (SAPP) and Dominic Lau (Gerakan).Muhyiddin had been in Sarawak on a two-day official visit, his first since taking over the country’s top post in March last year.While there, he had welcomed PAS’ statement of support for his government while stressing the importance of having the backing of all communities.This comes in the wake of Umno’s decision endorsed at its general assembly last weekend to cut ties with Bersatu at the next general election.Party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said the Umno leadership could now decide to quit the PN government at any time.In its statement today, PN also noted the agreement between PAS and Bersatu to formulate PN’s strategies at the impending general election as well as the distribution of seats between partners and allies.“PN believes this committee is capable of forming strong strategies to rally support among the Bumiputeras as well as guarding the interests and rights of non-Bumiputeras as enshrined in the Federal Constitution,” it said.


Unicef voices concern over child suicides in Malaysia

Unicef today voiced concern over reports of suicides among young people in Malaysia as measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 continue across the country.In a statement, Unicef’s representative to Malaysia Rashed Mustafa Sarwar cited police figures showing that 872 young people had committed suicide from January 2019 to May 2021, with children aged 15 to 18 comprising 51% of the 1,708 suicide cases recorded during that time.“The Covid-19 pandemic and mitigation efforts such as the lockdown have had negative effects on the mental health of many including our youth,” he said.“The prolonged lockdown has deprived young people of the social connections that are so crucial at this time of life.“Children have been out of school and have missed out on learning and socialisation milestones. Their parents may have lost their jobs adding to their stress. At the extreme, children may be stuck at home with an abuser.”Adding that mental health concerns had long been neglected, he said immediate intervention was needed to expand mental health services for young people in schools and communities.The police in a statement today said that 609 suicide cases had been recorded in 2019, 631 in 2020 and 468 from January to May this year – an average of two suicides a day from 2019 to May 2021.In terms of gender, 281 men and 1,427 women were recorded as having killed themselves from 2019 to May 2021.“The majority of them – 872 – were aged 15 to 18 while 668 were aged 19 to 40,” the police statement said.Rashed, who is also Unicef’s special representative to Brunei, said the numbers were a wake-up call to do more for the mental health of children in Malaysia.“It has always been a matter of life and death; it is time it is treated as such,” he said.


Indian doctors strike as Omicron sparks fears of third wave of Covid-19

India reported 9,216 new Covid-19 infections on Friday after announcing its first two Omicron cases the previous day, as groups of resident doctors stayed away from non-critical work to demand new post-graduate students be enrolled to boost staffing.The country, whose hospitals bore the brunt of a record second surge in infections and deaths in April and May due to the Delta variant, has seen new cases plateauing around 10,000 in the past few weeks.But the detection of the Omicron variant in the southern state of Karnataka, in one person with no recent travel history, has raised concerns of a third wave of infections.Some epidemiologists have said Omicron could be less lethal in India than the last Delta wave because of widespread previous infections and vaccinations.“Healthcare institutions across the nation are running short of adequate workforce of resident doctors, with no admission in the current year yet,” the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association of India, which represents dozens of government hospitals, said in a letter to the health minister.“With the possibility of a future Covid-19 pandemic wave looming large, the situation will be disastrous for the healthcare sector.”The government has had to delay student admissions due to ongoing legal disputes including over reserving seats for the poor.India has one of the worst doctor-to-patient ratios in the world, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recently the country would churn out more doctors in the next decade or so than the first 70 years of India’s independence.At New Delhi’s Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, students shouted “we want justice”, holding a banner and placards that said: “We are human, not robot.”An aide for Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya did not immediately respond to a request for comment.India’s total Covid-19 cases have now reached 34.62 million, health ministry data showed. Deaths rose by 391 on Friday to a total of 470,115.


New cases hover just over 5,000

Another 5,058 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,683,523.Another 4,997 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,591,819.Meanwhile 393 are in the ICU, including 353 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 212 are in need of respiratory assistance including 151 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 5,058 cases reported today, 80 (1.6%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 4,978 (98.4%) are in Category One and Two.


White House says 50% of Americans fully vaccinated against Covid

Half of the US population is now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the White House said Friday, as inoculations rise in response to the surging Delta variant of the coronavirus.“50% of Americans (all ages) are now fully vaccinated. Keep going!” Cyrus Shahpar, the White House’s Covid-19 data director, tweeted.That means more than 165 million people have received either the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson shot.The threshold of half of all adult Americans fully vaccinated was reached in late May.President Joe Biden has been pressing hard for Americans to get vaccinated ever since he took office in January but has faced stubborn resistance, especially in conservative parts of the country, with inoculations dropping off sharply in April.The aggressive vaccination programme had raised hopes of a return to some semblance of normal life this summer, but the plan was hindered by the Delta variant.In an increasingly assertive approach, the Biden administration has asked all federal employees to get vaccinated or face Covid testing twice a week.Biden hinted Friday there would be further measures, saying, “There will be more to come in the days ahead.”White House spokesman Jen Psaki said there were “early conversations, early discussions about a range of options”.One possibility mentioned in press reports is pressuring nursing homes – a hotbed of deaths early in the pandemic – to force vaccinations among staff or risk losing public funding.Cities including New York and Los Angeles are imposing new restrictions, such as demanding proof of vaccination for entering indoor venues including restaurants and gyms.The seven-day average of newly vaccinated people is up 11% from last week, and up 44% over the past two weeks, Shahpar said.Daily new cases, deaths and hospitalisations have risen sharply in recent weeks. Last week, there was an average of 90,000 new coronavirus cases per day, with Florida and Texas accounting for a third of them, the White House said.The US is back up to around 380 Covid-19 deaths a day, with hospitalisations averaging 7,300 a day over a week.The level of community transmission of the virus is “high” or “substantial” in 85% of the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.The US is the nation hardest-hit by the pandemic, with 615,000 deaths.


No coalition govt without Zahid and Umno, says Anwar

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim yesterday expressed his appreciation to his deputy, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, for his role in ensuring the formation of the coalition government after the 15th general election.
The Pakatan Harapan chairman said that he and Zahid, who is also Umno president, were often attacked during the negotiation process after no party had won a simple majority to form the government.
"But I want to tell you that without the commitment of Zahid as Umno president and without the support of Umno MPs, our history would have ended. So we should also recognise the role of him and Umno.
"Also to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and during that critical situation, support from Sarawak Premier Abang Jo (Abang Johari Abang Openg) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak were crucial factors," he said at the Unity Government National Convention 2023 in Kuala Lumpur.
The coalition government currently has the support of 148 MPs, including 30 Barisan Nasional MPs.
The convention was attended by over 3,500 delegates from the 19 parties that form the government.


Govt to study mandatory screening of local animations on TV channels

The communications and digital ministry is ready to study the need for a special mandatory quota for local television companies to broadcast local animations on their channels.
Minister Fahmi Fadzil said this could help local creators showcase their work to the public.
"This is a matter I support. I feel there is a need for us to look at digital content produced in the country, not just for us to generate or publish, but for us to broadcast and exhibit.
"If our films have this mandatory screening scheme, perhaps for animations and several other matters, we need to consider what are the suitable policies that can help these digital content creations to showcase their work to the general public, especially in Malaysia," he told reporters in Cyberjaya yesterday.
Fahmi said the government was also ready to study efforts to help creators export their work.
"We need to look at what we can do to export the work, at least to the Southeast Asian region, (because) compared to Asean, we see that Malaysia has a population of 34 million but Asean has over 660 million people.
"So in terms of the market segment, there are more opportunities. We must look at what we can do to help them, not just domestically but to export their work abroad," he said.
Fahmi said the government would also hold further talks with the relevant parties following complaints by local animation companies claiming that television stations refused to buy their work due to high prices.
"This is an economic issue. I need to hold further discussions with all parties involved to understand. Unlike telefilm productions or other productions, we cannot deny the reality that animation works need bigger resources, and look at whether or not our television stations can afford them."


Kedah Amanah chief says no regrets after sacked from party

Kedah Amanah chairman Phahrolrazi Mohd Zawawi, who was sacked from the party yesterday, has said that he was shocked by the decision but does not regret or feel sad about it.
The state assemblyman for Alor Mengkudu said he was sacked for trying to defend the Jerai parliamentary seat, which he said should be contested by a candidate from Amanah and not DAP in the 15th general election on Nov 19.
"I’ve been dropped from the party for defending the Jerai seat from being contested by DAP as it should instead be given to Amanah, which is qualified to vie for it for the good of Pakatan Harapan (PH)," he said at a press conference in Gurun yesterday.
"This is a Malay-majority parliamentary seat which is not suitable as a testing ground for the DAP candidate as the sentiment of Malay voters is that they cannot fully accept the party yet," he added.
Phahrolrazi said he would not appeal against his sacking from the party.
Amanah had sacked Phahrolrazi from the party for violating its constitution and going against the party’s decision and acting against the interests of the party.
Its secretary-general Mohd Hatta Md Ramli said that Phahrolrazi’s sacking from Amanah was based on the provisions in Clause 6.2(b). He said the decision was made by the party's National Management Committee which met yesterday.
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook meanwhile said that the party’s decision to field a candidate for the Jerai parliamentary seat was agreed on by the PH Presidential Council.
He said the move should not have been an issue among component parties as seat negotiations, especially for those in Bersatu’s hands, had been completed previously with Amanah agreeing to contest in Alor Gajah and DAP in Jerai.
"Negotiations are done in the spirit of the coalition, so it was conducted well and harmoniously, with any differences we have dealt with internally," he told reporters yesterday.


TikTok plans big push into gaming, conducting tests in Vietnam, sources say

TikTok has been conducting tests so users can play games on its video-sharing app in Vietnam, part of plans for a major push into gaming, four people familiar with the matter said.Featuring games on its platform would boost advertising revenue as well as the amount of time users spend on the app – one of the world’s most popular with more than one billion monthly active users.Boasting a tech-savvy population with 70% of its citizens under the age of 35, Vietnam is an attractive market for social media platforms such as TikTok, Meta Platforms Inc’s Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube and Google.TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, plans to roll out gaming more widely in Southeast Asia, the people said. That move could come as early as the third quarter, said two of them.The sources declined to be identified as the information has yet to be publicly disclosed.A TikTok representative said the company has tested bringing HTML5 games, a common form of minigame, to its app through tie-ups with third-party game developers and studios such as Zynga Inc, but declined to comment on its plans for Vietnam or its broader gaming ambitions.“We’re always looking at ways to enrich our platform and regularly test new features and integrations that bring value to our community,” the representative said in an emailed statement to Reuters.ByteDance did not respond to a request for comment.Reuters was not able to learn TikTok’s plans for rolling out gaming features in other markets. Although TikTok users can watch games being streamed, in most regions they are not able to play games within the TikTok app. In the US, only a couple of games appear to be available.