Humans whizzed through pipeline in successful first for Hyperloop

Travelling in a vacuum through a pipeline at over 1,000kmh may not be everybody’s idea of the best way to get from A to B but many people think it will be the fastest form of mass transit in the future.And it’s nearly 100% environmentally friendly.The first new form of passenger and cargo transport the world has seen in over a century just passed its first test run carrying humans.British mogul Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop completed the world’s first passenger ride on a super high-speed levitating pod system, the company said on Sunday.Two Virgin Hyperloop executives braved the challenge and reached speeds of nearly 200kmh at the company’s DevLoop test site in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although their pod was built for just two passengers, future pods will be enlarged to carry up to 30 once the project gets further underway.Los Angeles-based Hyperloop envisions a future where floating pods packed with passengers and cargo race through tubes at 1,000kmh. Such systems would function similarly to big city underground metro networks like the London Tube but over great distances.In a hyperloop system, which uses magnetic levitation to allow near-silent travel through a pipeline with the air removed, journeys would be twice as fast as a commercial jet flight and up to four times faster than a bullet train.“I had the true pleasure of seeing history made before my very eyes,” said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of Virgin Hyperloop.The company has previously run more than 400 tests without human passengers at the Nevada site. It is working towards safety certification by 2025 and commercial operations by 2030.The propulsion system was first proposed by billionaire Elon Musk of Tesla, and multiple companies are now working on passenger and freight networks with similar technology they say will slash travel times, eliminate congestion and end environmental harm caused by traditional internal combustion engines.


No polemics or divisions, Muhyiddin says in call for unity against Covid

National Recovery Council chairman Muhyiddin Yassin today urged Malaysians to unite in the fight against Covid-19, saying the last thing the country needs is more polemics, political or social divisions to distract them from the task at hand.“I strongly urge all Malaysians to be united. We must put aside all differences whether in politics, business, society or family to combine our collective might in this fight against Covid-19,” he said in his closing address at the National Recovery Summit held virtually today.He said the council would take note of the views and proposals raised at today’s summit and thoroughly assess the feedback received.The former prime minister also said that the war against Covid-19 could only be won by continuously prioritising a whole-of-nation approach, encompassing all sectors and groups in the country.“It is an inclusive approach involving the whole of society working together to fight this war. Hence, the participation of the government, private sector, NGOs, doctors, healthcare workers and volunteers is essential for it to succeed,” he said.Muhyiddin also said speed was of the essence as the Delta variant was behind the spike in cases not just in Malaysia but across the world.He cautioned Malaysians against letting their guard down, saying they must be vigilant against the constantly evolving threats of the virus to the nation.“We must constantly improve our Covid-19 pandemic management, especially in infusing new technologies and consistently upgrading our physical and digital response capacity in testing, tracing, and isolating,” he said.


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Bagan Lalang eviction just the tip of the iceberg, says Orang Asli activist

An activist has warned of bigger problems facing the Mah Meri Orang Asli community than losing their home, as a handful of villagers in Selangor continue discussions with state authorities over the eviction notice issued to them last month.Rashid Esa, director of the Mah Meri Cultural Village, said the big question was not whether the land could be replaced or the issue resolved. Rather, it was the community’s very survival that was at stake, he told MalaysiaNow.Rashid, who has worked with the community for decades, spoke of a continued pressure on the Orang Asli.“They have no food now. They earn daily wages and their food stock has depleted as they can’t go to work due to the movement control order.“Those in Bagan Lalang are just a handful,” he said.He was referring to Kampung Orang Asli in Bagan Lalang, where a group of 13 Mah Meri are facing eviction from the land on which they had lived for some 20 years.“Those in Bagan Lalang are just a handful.”The land belongs to the Selangor government and Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd.Over in Pulau Carey, located to the south of Port Klang, lives a larger group of 2,000 Mah Meri who work in oil palm plantations and hotels in addition to gathering natural resources in order to eke out a living.Some 2,000 more live in nearby Sepang, Tanjung Sepat and other parts of Bagan Lalang.Rashid, who works with a team to send food aid to the Pulau Carey families, said such assistance was only a temporary measure.He added that it was not just their livelihoods at risk. He said their culture, including their expertise in wood carvings and their traditional dances, could go extinct as the cultural village had been closed since the start of the pandemic.This had had a heavy impact on the progress it had made in promoting Mah Meri culture for the past 10 years, he said.Good-bye, after 20 years“Since the village was closed, they have been unable to sell their carvings to tourists while those who have the expertise are leaving the craft altogether since they have to do other things to survive.”He said 40 workers at the cultural village had been laid off and had had no income for a year now.A child stands outside a row of houses at Kampung Orang Asli in Bagan Lalang, Selangor.“For 10 years, our workers have shifted their lifestyle to a modern one like ours. They can’t just go back to their traditional ways.“Unlike other people who can drive Grab or go into direct selling when they are terminated, the Orang Asli who have been with the village have no boats to go to sea, nor the tools to gather food in the nearby forest or swamp,” he said.He said his team had been trying to help the Mah Meri by sending direct food aid and encouraging them to maintain their traditional skills.“We want to reopen our village once the pandemic is over, and we need our craftsmen back.”On the situation in Bagan Lalang, he said a clear blueprint should be given on how the development planned for the site will take place, and how the Orang Asli should be compensated.“Telling the public that the land does not belong to the Orang Asli is just an easy way out.“The developer should be responsible,” he said, suggesting that compensation or company shares be given to the Orang Asli.“It would be a step forward for them, so that when we tell them to move, at least they have a sense of dignity.”


‘We are not afraid’: France rallies after teacher beheaded

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Paris and cities across France on Sunday in solidarity with a teacher beheaded for showing pupils cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.Demonstrators on the Place de la Republique held aloft posters declaring: “No to totalitarianism of thought” and “I am a teacher” in memory of murdered colleague Samuel Paty.“You do not scare us. We are not afraid. You will not divide us. We are France!” tweeted Prime Minister Jean Castex, who joined the Paris demonstration.Castex was accompanied by Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and junior interior minister Marlene Schiappa who said she was there “in support of teachers, of secularism, of freedom of expression”. Politicians from the other major parties also attended.Some in the crowd chanted “I am Samuel”, echoing the “I am Charlie” cry that travelled around the world after Islamist gunmen killed 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in 2015 for publishing caricatures of the Islamic prophet.Between bursts of applause, others recited: “Freedom of expression, freedom to teach.”“I am here as a teacher, as a mother, as a Frenchwoman and as a republican,” said participant Virginie.The Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015 unleashed a wave of Islamist violence and forced France into a national discussion about Islam’s place in a secular society.After the massacre at the magazine, some 1.5 million people gathered on the same Place de la Republique in support of freedom of expression.‘Things have to change’Local authorities said around 12,000 people rallied in Lyon in eastern France.In Toulouse, in the southwest, around 5,000 turned out. “The entire educational community is affected, and beyond it society as a whole,” teachers union representative Bernard Deswarte said there.Hundreds more assembled in Nice on the south coast, where in 2016 a man killed 86 people when he rammed a truck into a crowd on the July 14 national holiday.“Everyone is in danger today,” said student Valentine Mule, 18, attending the Nice rally. “Things have to change.”There were other marches in the eastern city of Strasbourg, in Lille in the north, and in the southern cities of Marseille and Montpellier.Samuel Paty was murdered on his way home from the school where he taught in a suburb northwest of Paris on Friday afternoon.A photo of the teacher and a message confessing to his murder was found on the mobile phone of his killer, 18-year-old Chechen Abdullakh Anzorov, who was shot dead by police.Witnesses said the suspect was spotted at the school on Friday asking pupils where he could find Paty.On Saturday, anti-terror prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said Paty had been the target of online threats for showing the cartoons to his civics class.Depictions of the prophet are widely regarded as taboo in Islam.Online campaignThe father of one schoolgirl had launched an online call for “mobilisation” against the teacher and had sought his dismissal from the school.The aggrieved father had named Paty and given the school’s address in a social media post just days before the beheading, which President Emmanuel Macron has labelled an Islamist terror attack.The father and a known Islamist militant who was involved in his campaign against Paty are among those arrested, along with four members of Anzorov’s family.An 11th person was taken into custody on Sunday, a judicial source said, without providing details.Ricard did not say if the assailant had any links to the school or had acted independently in response to the online campaign.The Russian embassy in Paris said Anzorov’s family arrived in France from Chechnya when he was six to seek asylum.Locals in the Normandy town of Evreux where the attacker lived described him as low key, saying he got into fights as a child but had calmed down as he became increasingly religious in recent years.Friday’s attack was the second of its kind since a trial started last month over the Charlie Hebdo killings.The magazine republished the controversial cartoons in the run-up to the trial, and last month a young Pakistani man wounded two people with a meat cleaver outside Charlie Hebdo’s former office.‘Doing his job’According to his school, Paty had given Muslim children the option to leave the classroom before he showed the cartoons, saying he did not want their feelings hurt.Kamel Kabtane, rector of the mosque of Lyon and a senior Muslim figure, told AFP on Sunday that Paty was merely been “doing his job” and had been “respectful” in doing so.Ministers in France’s defence council on Sunday agreed to step up security at schools when they return after half term.Action would also be taken against anyone expressing support for the attack.And authorities will be looking into the authors of 80 messages of support for the attacker from Monday, the Elysee added.A national tribute is to be held for Paty on Wednesday.


New cases hover at 10,400 as another 18 deaths logged

Another 10,413 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,363,024.There were 13,202 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,209,858.There are now 117,785 active cases, of which 114,854 or 97.5% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 366 (0.3%) are at quarantine centres while 2,411 (2.0%) have been hospitalised.A total of 154 are in ICU with 89 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 53.1%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 17.9%.Another 18 deaths were reported, including five who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 35,381.


Now not the right time for GE15, says Khairy

The health ministry is of the view that now is not the right time to hold the 15th general election.Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said this is following the increase in Covid-19 cases and hospital admissions as well as the emergence of new variants in the country.“I feel to hold an election at this point of time would be utterly irresponsible,” he told a media conference in Putrajaya today.On the SOPs to be enforced during the 12th Sarawak state election, Khairy said several discussion and engagement sessions on the matter have been held between the ministry and the Sarawak state secretary.“They had submitted several requests which slightly differ to the SOPs implemented during the Melaka state election. For example, there are areas in Sarawak that have no internet access and this would make it difficult for candidates to campaign there,” he said.He said Deputy Health Minister II Aaron Ago Dagang had been assigned to oversee election SOP matters and that decisions made will be finalised on Nov 30 before being forwarded to the Election Commission (EC).The EC has set Dec 18 as polling day for the Sarawak election, with nomination fixed for Dec 6 and early voting on Dec 14.On the Covid-19 situation post-Melaka election, he said usually the situation would be much clearer about 10 days after a big gathering or programme.“The Melaka state election has just concluded. We need to wait a few more days before we can determine if there is a case spike trend,” he said.


Trump, rivals asked for loyalty pledge ahead of 2024 debates

The Republican party is planning to hold its first US presidential primary debate on Aug 23, organisers said Friday, announcing that candidates will be made to sign a pledge agreeing to support the eventual nominee.
Former president Donald Trump, the runaway frontrunner in the early stages of the contest, has so far declined to commit to backing the eventual winner, saying in a radio interview in February that it would "depend on who the nominee was".
US media reported last month that Trump was reluctant in any case to share the limelight with lower-polling rivals and had discussed skipping one or both of the first two debates.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) said it will also require anyone hoping to make the debate stage to have garnered 1% of the vote in three approved polls and have 40,000 unique donors.
"The RNC is committed to putting on a fair, neutral, and transparent primary process and the qualifying criteria set forth will put our party and eventual nominee in the best position to take back the White House come November 2024," chairman Ronna McDaniel said.
Fox News will host the first showdown in Milwaukee while a second will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
CNN reported in May that Trump had told allies he wanted to give the Reagan Library a wide berth, complaining that the board of trustees was headed by the CEO of The Washington Post – a paper he often criticises.
Milwaukee – population 580,000 – is the largest city in Wisconsin, a swing state that Democrat Joe Biden won by just 20,000 votes in 2020. It is also set to host the 2024 Republican National Convention, where the party names its presidential election candidate.
The Republican field is made up of seven major candidates so far, with more set to announce next week.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis trails Trump by more than 30 points in the polling averages, while no other hopeful is posting double figures.
The RNC said it would stage an overflow debate on Aug 24 if enough candidates meet the criteria to require splitting the field over two nights.


Daily cases dip below 16,000 as total infections top 2 million

Another 15,669 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,011,440.Selangor recorded 2,632 cases, Sarawak 1,983, Johor 1,974, Sabah 1,784, Penang 1,651, Kelantan 1,406 and Kedah 1,207.Perak recorded 856 cases, Pahang 763, Terengganu 483, Kuala Lumpur 411, Melaka 329 and Negeri Sembilan 143.Perlis recorded 30 cases, Putrajaya 14 and Labuan three.Another 18,053 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,764,579.Meanwhile 1,266 are in the ICU, including 954 confirmed Covid-19 patients and 312 suspected and probable cases as well as cases under investigation.A total of 689 are in need of respiratory assistance including 432 confirmed Covid-19 cases.


Spending Deepavali in a graveyard

While Hindus across the country celebrate Deepavali, the first major festival since Covid-19 restrictions were eased on the back of a successful vaccination programme, there will be no lighting of lamps for 25-year-old Mogana and her family this year.Sitting on a bench outside her home, Mogana says this year has been even worse for them than the year before, when Covid-19 first hit and no vaccines were yet available.The bleakness of her words is underscored by the location of her home itself: an abandoned temple in the Buddhist section of the Meru Christian Cemetery in Klang.Mogana and her family have lived in the graveyard for nearly as long as she can remember. Her grandparents, uncle and aunt moved in first some 25 years ago, and the rest of her family followed 10 years later.Now, all 17 of them including three small children share the rooms in the temple, which the landowner allows them to have in exchange for their work cleaning the building itself as well as the graveyard out front.Mogana speaks to MalaysiaNow in the porch area of her home, an abandoned temple in the Meru Christian Cemetery in Klang.While the little they earned was enough for them to survive, since the pandemic few have come to visit the graves.“There are only a few jobs we can do here anymore,” Mogana said. “Some of us collect scrap metal and clean houses. But there’s not much we can do.”With barely anything tucked away, Deepavali celebrations are a distant dream. There is no money for new clothes or even food as every sen was spent trying to survive the pandemic.“Deepavali this year is much worse than last year,” Mogana said. “If we can’t celebrate it this year, maybe we should just celebrate next year.”An aerial view of the building where Mogana and her family live, surrounded by gravestones in the Meru Christian Cemetery in Klang.Still, Deepavali only comes once a year and her family is reluctant to let the occasion slide by for the children.“We have three little kids in this house. We need to at least make sure they know it is Deepavali, and let them be happy,” Mogana said.How, though, is the question.One of Mogana’s cousins cycles on a path leading through the rows of gravestones in the cemetery.Her oldest cousin is nine years old and the youngest was born just five months ago. Mogana, who knows that growing up in a cemetery is not a conducive environment, worries about them.“When I was 14, I had to quit school because I couldn’t afford it, and I started working to support my family,” she said.Her hope is that life will be different for her cousins, and that they will somehow be able to continue their studies to the highest level.But she knows that this will be next to impossible as long as they must call the cemetery their home.A young girl grins as looks up at her father through the curtain hanging at a doorway of the abandoned temple that houses them.What she wants most of all is for her family to live in a proper house. And this is a wish that has recently taken on a note of urgency.“A year ago, we were told by the landowner that this building was going to be demolished as they wanted to put up a new one.”Fortunately for them, this was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.“But they are planning to resume the plan by the end of this year,” Mogana said. “We don’t know where we will go after this.”Mogana’s aunt does what little she can to prepare for Deepavali in their kitchen space which still houses a Chinese altar.She is certain that if provided with a place to live, they will be able to meet the monthly rent.“We just have a problem finding a house and paying the deposit as this requires us to have a huge amount of money all at once,” she said.As things stand, with no money and no family able to take them in, their future is anyone’s guess.“We are poor, so people don’t remember us even when we are family members,” Mogana said.


No talks on bringing back GST, says finance minister

There have been no discussions on reintroducing the goods and services tax (GST) at Cabinet meetings, says Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.
He said GST implementation would require discussion at the Cabinet level and must be tabled in Parliament first.
"Any new tax must be approved by the Cabinet and then tabled in Parliament. Before the dissolution of Parliament, there was no Cabinet approval for GST," he told reporters in Kuala Selangor yesterday.
Zafrul said this in response to claims by Pakatan Harapan leaders that GST would be reintroduced after the 15th general election.
He said at least 160 countries in the world had implemented GST and that the tax system was more efficient and able to reduce leakage. "Our current tax to GDP ratio is around 11%, which is relatively low. This shows that what we have now is not efficient.
"(However) this does not mean that we will introduce a new tax in the near future. What is important is that the tax imposed does not burden the people and can be used to develop the country," he said.
The GST of 6% was introduced on April 1, 2015. It was abolished and replaced with the sales and services tax on Sept 1, 2018.
The current sales tax rates are 5% and 10%, while the service tax rate is 6%.


Thailand plans to reopen borders to foreign workers amid shortage

Thailand plans to reopen its borders to workers from neighbouring Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, a government official said on Tuesday, in a bid to ease a labour shortage that is hurting its export and tourism-dependent economy.Pairote Chotikasathien, from the Ministry of Labor, said the rules relating to vaccination status for the migrant workers, quarantine procedures and Covid-19 testing will be decided on Wednesday.Thailand’s big exporting industries such as food and rubber production rely heavily on migrant labour. But strict border controls and quarantine rules have virtually halted all labour migration.Pairote estimated the country needed 420,000 foreign workers at this time, mostly in the construction, manufacturing and seafood industries. Many workers left the country as it battled its worst Covid-19 outbreak earlier this year and have not returned.Some workers who remained in the country were placed in “bubble and seal” policies under factory and construction quarantine schemes.Thailand has nearly two million confirmed infections and 19,764 deaths, the majority of which came after April when the Delta variant was detected among migrant workers in a construction camp.


Ikea will buy back its furniture in bid for sustainability

The world’s biggest furniture chain will buy back furniture you no longer need, want, or have room for.Ikea will give you up to 50% of the price you originally paid them for it. Not in cash, but vouchers to buy more furniture from them.The second-hand items will then be polished up and put on sale in a “recycled” section of the store for others to buy.The scheme only applies to non-upholstered furniture, so if you wish to sell your old Ikea bookcase you should take it fully assembled to the returns section of any Ikea store where it will be checked for scratches and the value decided.Several scratches will see the voucher-value drop from 50% to 30%. Anything that is too damaged to be resold will be taken and recycled.The company has been making efforts to become more environmentally friendly, and after successfully conducting trials on the viability of selling used and patched-up furniture in their stores a year ago in Scotland decided to launch Buy Back worldwide.Peter Jelkeby, retail manager of Ikea in the UK, said: “With the launch of Buy Back we are giving a second life to Ikea products and creating easy and affordable solutions to help people live more sustainably. It is an exciting step forward in our journey towards becoming a fully circular and climate positive business by 2030.”A “circular” business is one which reuses or recycles materials and products in order to be environmentally friendly.The Buy Back scheme will be launched in 27 countries on Black Friday, Nov 27.Black Friday is originally an annual American day when many retailers offer discounts on their products. It happens on the day following Thanksgiving and can be a rowdy affair as shoppers try to snag a bargain.Industry watchers say Black Friday has been losing its relevance with shoppers in recent years, and this year the pandemic is expected to wipe out the physical bargain-hunting experience.


Naked fugitive rescued from crocodile-infested mangrove swamp by Aussie fishermen

Two fishermen have rescued a naked fugitive who they found clinging to trees over a crocodile-infested swamp in northern Australia.Kev Joiner and Cam Faust happened across the man in East Point near the city of Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory on Sunday.The fishermen friends were laying crab traps when they heard a man crying for help. They followed the cries in their boat and found a naked man clinging to the branches of mangroves.They said the man begged them for water and told them he had been in the swamp for four days, eating only snails.“We didn’t believe him at first,” Faust told the BBC. “Then we realised he was in a bad way and done himself a mischief and we were like oh, we better help him.”Australian TV network 9News reported that the 40-year-old man has been identified as a fugitive from justice who allegedly breached bail for armed robbery.The fishermen took the man on board their boat, with Faust offering him a pair of shorts to cover his modesty.“He had scratches all over him, he was completely covered in mosquito bites, mud all over his face and his chest,” Joiner told 9News. “He was suffering pretty bad.”The fishermen said the man was lucky they found him, as the mangroves in East Point can be dangerous as dangerous salt-water crocodiles infest the swamps.While ferrying him to shore, the fishermen shared a beer with the man and called an ambulance, which met them on the shore.Police confirmed to Australian media that the man was a fugitive who had escaped custody days earlier.He has been re-arrested and is being treated for exposure at Royal Darwin Hospital.“He’s now in hospital with handcuffs on and two cops babysitting him,” Faust told 9News.


Survey shows opinions split on Covid-19 vaccine

An opinion poll by USCI University has found that more than half of respondents are confident that the availability of the Covid-19 vaccine will help the economy recover.Some 54% of over 1,000 people polled expressed confidence, with about half saying they were “extremely confident”.About 35% believed the economy would not rebound, with some 8% saying they are “extremely not confident” of that happening even with the vaccine’s arrival.The findings come as the government awaits the arrival of two recent vaccines which were successfully tested as a cure for Covid-19.The government has procured the vaccine developed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to cover 6.4 million Malaysians, while another vaccine under the Covax global collaboration can inoculate 3.2 million Malaysians.The survey also found that about a quarter of respondents still doubt the effectiveness of the vaccine.More than half also said they would not want to be part of a pioneer group of the vaccine’s recipients in Malaysia.Some 47% of respondents however said they have confidence in the vaccine.


No plans to revive UPSR, PT3, says deputy minister

The education ministry today reiterated its decision not to revive the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) and the Form Three Assessment (PT3) anytime soon.
Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying said this was because the ministry was giving focus on the holistic development of students through the implementation of the school-based assessment (PBS) and classroom-based assessment (PBD) systems.
"PBS and PBD give enough opportunities to develop student potential in a continuous and comprehensive manner. Therefore, we will not be reviving UPSR and PT3," she said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.
She was responding to a supplementary question from Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah) who wanted to know if the education ministry was planning to reintroduce both the UPSR and PT3.
To the original question from Roslan Hashim (PN-Kulim Bandar Baharu) on measures planned to strengthen the implementation of PBS and PBD, Lim said findings from engagement sessions held on the examinations' future direction are being discussed at a two-day convention that ends tomorrow.
Lim said the ministry has also updated the 2019 second edition of the PBD implementation guidebook by attaching a checklist on the quality assurance process, namely mentoring, monitoring, tracking and coordination.
"The education ministry has also improved the psychometric assessment component aimed at preparing students with knowledge, skills and values as a solid foundation for them to follow learning sessions at the next level," she said.
The UPSR and PT3 were fully abolished last year and replaced with PBS and PBD.


Improved weather brings little change to flood-hit states

Despite the improvement in weather, the flood situation in most states affected by the deluge since Saturday remains unchanged.In Selangor, the state contingent police headquarters said the number of roads closed due to the floods had declined from 73 yesterday to 45 as of 4am today.These comprise 26 roads in areas under the jurisdiction of the Kuala Langat district police headquarters (IPD), as well as the Subang Jaya IPD (11); Sepang IPD (four); KLIA IPD (two) and one each for the Klang Utara IPD and Hulu Selangor IPD.According to the Social Welfare Department’s (JKM) InfoBencana portal, as of 7.50am the number of flood victims in Selangor had risen to 24,647 people from 6,935 families, from 24,533 people from 6,907 families last night, housed at 134 relief centres (PPS).In Terengganu, the number of flood victims stood at 63 people from 13 families as of this morning.The state disaster management committee secretariat, in a statement, said the flood evacuees were placed at three PPS in Kemaman while the weather in most places in Terengganu is forecast to be clear throughout the day.It said the victims would be allowed to return to their homes once the flood waters recede completely.In Pahang, the state disaster management committee secretariat reported that 37,793 flood evacuees were currently taking shelter at 280 PPS in nine districts.Kuantan recorded the highest number of flood victims with 21,489 people followed by Temerloh (6,972) and Lipis (2,084) while other districts also affected included Bentong, Raub, Jerantut, Bera, Maran and Pekan.The https://publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my portal reported that several major rivers in Pahang were still above the danger level including Sungai Pahang, with some locations recording an upward trend namely at the Water Front in Bera, Kampung Chenor in Maran, Lubuk Pasu in Temerloh, and Kuala Sungai Chini in Pekan.The concessionaire of the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway and the East Coast Expressway Phase 1 (LPT1), Anih Bhd, said the routes closed due to floods since Sunday were still closed, especially at KM76 to KM126 Lanchang-Temerloh at LPT1 and KM71 KL-Karak in both directions.Among the main roads affected are Jalan Sungai Lembing in Kuantan, Jalan Kuala Lipis-Jerantut, Jalan Jerantut-Maran, Jalan Bentong-Gua Musang, Jalan Pulau Tawar-Durian Hijau and Jalan Karak-Simpang Pelangai.In Melaka, the number of flood evacuees had increased to 465 victims from 111 families this morning, compared to 404 victims from 96 families as of 8pm yesterday.Melaka Civil Defence Force (APM) director Cuthbert John Martin said in Alor Gajah, a total of 206 people from 53 families had been evacuated to the PPS, while in Melaka Tengah 191 people from 44 families had been moved.“In Jasin, there are 68 victims from 14 families. A total of nine PPS are still operating to house all flood victims in the state,” he said.In Kelantan, only one major river was reported to be at the danger level, namely Sungai Golok in Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas which recorded a reading of 9.96m as of 7am, following the good weather yesterday.According to JKM’s InfoBencana application, a total of 3,467 people from 1,034 families were taking shelter this morning at 32 PPS in four districts: Kuala Krai, Pasir Mas, Gua Musang and Tanah Merah.In Perak, a total of 319 victims from two districts were being housed at three PPS as of 8am.A spokesman for the state APM and state disaster management committee secretariat said the victims in Hilir Perak had been placed at PPS in Dewan Bandaran Teluk Intan (136 people), Dewan Sekolah Menengah Abdul Rahman Talib (148) and SK Kuala Slim in Muallim (35).He said the flood waters in Kampung Kuala Slim, Muallim, had started to recede following the good weather this morning while the houses of flood victims in Hilir Perak were still inundated.


Beijing urges Washington to stop ‘demonising’ China as US official visits

Beijing urged Washington to stop “demonising” China on Monday as rancour marked the start of talks with the highest-level US envoy to visit under President Joe Biden’s administration.Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman’s visit to the northern city of Tianjin is the first major meeting between the world’s leading economies since March discussions in Anchorage between the countries’ top diplomats collapsed into mudslinging.Sherman’s trip aims to seek “guardrails” as ties continue to deteriorate on a range of issues from cybersecurity and tech supremacy to human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.“The hope may be that by demonising China, the US could somehow… blame China for its own structural problems,” Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng told Sherman, in a readout issued by China’s foreign ministry early Monday.“We urge the US to change its highly misguided mindset and dangerous policy,” the statement quoted Xie as saying, adding that Washington views China as an “imagined enemy”.Xie also described relations as at a “stalemate” and facing “serious difficulties”.He claimed that Chinese people view the US’ “adversarial rhetoric as a thinly veiled attempt to contain and suppress China”, in comments reminiscent of the fiery exchange between Washington and Beijing’s top diplomats Antony Blinken and Yang Jiechi in Alaska.Sherman will also meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.She tweeted Sunday that she had spoken with US businesses about “the challenges they’re facing in China”, and also sent her “heartfelt condolences” to flood victims in Henan province.The US said last week it was hoping to use the “candid” talks as an opportunity to show Beijing “what responsible and healthy competition looks like”, but wanted to avoid the relationship veering into conflict.The July 25-26 trip is shorn of the trappings of a full-fledged official visit. Sherman will not go to Beijing, but instead spend two days starting Sunday in Tianjin, a northeastern port city.The visit is widely viewed as a preparatory step for an eventual meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as US-China ties continue their free fall with little sign of improvement.Rocky startA day prior to Sherman landing in China, Wang vowed to “teach the US a lesson” in treating other countries equally, foreshadowing a rocky start to talks.“China will not accept any country’s self-proclaimed superiority,” he was quoted as saying in a foreign ministry statement Saturday.John Kerry, the former secretary of state turned US climate envoy, is the only other senior official from the Biden administration to have visited China.The two sides pledged to cooperate on climate change, despite their numerous differences.Biden has largely kept the hawkish stance on China of his predecessor Donald Trump as Washington has sought to build a united front of democratic allies against Beijing.Last week, China and the US traded sanctions over Beijing’s repression of freedoms in Hong Kong, in the latest round of an ongoing tit-for-tat saga that has targeted individuals including former US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross.Washington last week issued an advisory warning to businesses operating in Hong Kong over the city’s deteriorating autonomy.The US also rallied allies including Nato for a rare joint condemnation last week of alleged large-scale cyberattacks from China.


Malaysia added to ‘worst offenders’ list in US trafficking report

The US said Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic has created an “ideal environment” for human trafficking to thrive as governments divert resources to the health crisis and traffickers take advantage of vulnerable people.The State Department’s “2021 Trafficking in Persons Report” also downgraded several countries, including Malaysia, and upgraded others for their efforts to combat the scourge of human trafficking.Releasing the annual report, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said nearly 25 million people worldwide are estimated to be victims of human trafficking.“Many are compelled into commercial sex work,” Blinken said. “Many are forced to work in factories or fields or to join armed groups.“It’s a global crisis,” he said. “It’s an enormous source of human suffering.”The State Department report said the Covid-19 pandemic had “generated conditions that increased the number of people who experienced vulnerabilities to human trafficking and interrupted existing and planned anti-trafficking interventions”.“Governments across the world diverted resources toward the pandemic, often at the expense of anti-trafficking efforts,” it said.“At the same time, human traffickers quickly adapted to capitalise on the vulnerabilities exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic,” the report added.Kari Johnstone, acting director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, said this confluence of factors “resulted in an ideal environment for human trafficking to flourish and evolve”.For example, the report said, “in India and Nepal, young girls from poor and rural areas were often expected to leave school to help support their families during the economic hardship.“Some were forced into marriage in exchange for money, while others were forced to work to supplement lost income,” it said.In some countries, including the US, landlords forced their tenants, usually women, to have sex with them when they could not pay rent while gangs in some nations preyed on people in camps for displaced persons.‘Protect and serve’The report ranks countries around the world based on their compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000.Six countries were downgraded from Tier 1 – the highest ranking – to Tier 2: Cyprus, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.Tier 2 countries do not “fully meet” the TVPA’s minimum standards “but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance.”Two nations – Guinea-Bissau and Malaysia – were added to the Tier 3 list of worst offenders, a list that already included Afghanistan, Algeria, China, the Comoros, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.The governments of 11 of those Tier 3 nations were found to have a “policy or pattern” of state-sponsored human trafficking in government-funded programmes.“Governments should protect and serve their citizens, not terrorise and subjugate them for profit,” Blinken said.Four countries – Belarus, Burundi, Lesotho and Papua New Guinea – were removed from Tier 3 and placed on the Tier 2 watch list.The US may restrict foreign assistance to Tier 3 nations subject to presidential approval.Turkey, a Nato member, was cited for violations of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act for the use of child soldiers by Turkish-backed groups in Syria and Libya.“The US hopes to work with Turkey to encourage all groups involved in the Syrian and Libyan conflicts not to use child soldiers,” a senior State Department official said.


Sarawak river bridge to help boost development, says CM

A new bridge to be built in Sarawak is expected to help boost economic activity in the state once construction is completed in 2025.The 4.8km Batang Lupar bridge will span the massive river connecting Sebuyau to Sibu and, along with 10 other major bridges, will change the overall landscape of the state as well as the people’s socioeconomic situation, Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said today.Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the bridge today, he said it would be the longest river bridge in the country, and would pave the way for more development through use of modern technology.“As Tok Nan wished, the bridge will be toll-free,” he added, referring to Sarawak’s former chief minister, the late Adenan Satem.He said the cost of all bridges constructed under the Sarawak Second Trunk Road project was borne by the GPS government except for Batang Sadong and Samarahan, which were funded by the federal government under Barisan Nasional.“We are committed to implementing this mega bridge project after it was scrapped by the Pakatan Harapan government,” he added.Deputy Chief Minister James Jemut Masing said Sarawak needs to build more roads in the lower river regions, otherwise 65% of the state’s population would be deprived due to a lack of road connectivity.“If we wish to improve our livelihoods and standard of living, we must build more roads,” he said. “This means more bridges need to be built.”He added however that this would be a costly exercise for the state unless the federal government pitches in.Masing, who is also state infrastructure and ports development minister, said the bridges would provide better access to villages, longhouses, towns and cities.“These bridges are built at a construction cost of not more than RM4 billion.“The 11 bridges funded by the Sarawak government are the Batang Lupar bridge 1 and Batang Lupar bridge 2, Batang Rambungan bridge, Sejingkat bridge, Batang Saribas bridge, Sungai Krian bridge, Batang Rajang bridge, Batang Paloh bridge, Muara Lassa bridge, Batang Igan bridge, and the Bintulu-Jepak bridge.”


Blinken may meet Xi during final day of talks in Beijing

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened talks with China's top envoy Monday and could potentially meet President Xi Jinping, on the final day of a trip to Beijing aimed at improving severely strained ties.
The top US diplomat met for seven and a half hours on Sunday with Foreign Minister Qin Gang, more than expected, with the two sides agreeing to keep up communication as they look to avoid all-out conflict.
Neither side has confirmed a meeting between Blinken and Xi, China's most powerful leader in decades, whose meeting with President Joe Biden in November in Bali raised cautious hopes for a thaw in the relationship.
But diplomats see a meeting likely with Xi.
Blinken opened the day by meeting China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, whose position in the Communist Party ranks above the foreign minister.
Returning to the ornate state guesthouse in the ancient Diaoyutai gardens where Sunday's talks took place, Blinken and Wang offered polite smiles before the cameras and exchanged pleasantries before heading into a meeting with their aides, who unlike their bosses wore masks in line with Covid-19 protocols.
Tensions have soared between the world's two largest economies in recent years on issues ranging from trade to technology to Taiwan.
US officials say that they do not expect major breakthroughs from Blinken's talks but they hope to reopen regular lines of communication to prevent mishaps from escalating into conflict.
Both countries said Sunday that Qin accepted an offer to pay a return visit to Washington at a later date.
'A real conversation'
The talks on Sunday were "candid, substantive and constructive", State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Blinken stressed "the importance of diplomacy and maintaining open channels of communication across the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation", Miller said.
Behind closed doors, Qin told Blinken that relations between the United States and China "are at the lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations", according to state-run broadcaster CCTV.
"This does not conform to the fundamental interests of the two peoples, nor does it meet the common expectations of the international community," Qin said during the talks at the ancient gardens.
But he issued a warning on Taiwan, the self-ruling democracy claimed by Beijing, which has launched live-fire military drills twice near the island since August in anger over actions by top US lawmakers.
"The Taiwan issue is the core of China's core interests, the most important issue in China-US relations and the most prominent risk," Qin said.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the discussions went beyond the usual talking points, including on Taiwan.
"This was a real conversation," he said.
Xi last week struck a conciliatory note as he met another prominent American, software tycoon turned philanthropist Bill Gates.
"You are the first American friend I have met in Beijing this year," Xi told Gates in Beijing, according to the state-run People's Daily.
"We have always placed our hopes on the American people, and hoped for continued friendship between the peoples of the two countries," he added.


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Covid-19 situation not encouraging, says health minister

Chances of achieving the projection of daily Covid-19 cases dropping to around 500 in May have not been encouraging, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said today, adding that the current situation is in fact worrying.He attributed this to lax compliance with SOPs despite the emphasis on public cooperation in ensuring strict adherence with these measures.At a news conference on developments in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme with coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin in Putrajaya, Adham said the country’s infectivity rate (Rt) is currently 1.06.He said the health ministry would try to ensure that all preventive measures are implemented as a priority, noting that Sarawak, Penang, Selangor and Johor have been seeing an increase in number of cases.The ministry previously projected that daily cases could drop to 500 in May at an Rt of less than 1.0.Malaysia recorded 1,739 daily Covid-19 positive cases on April 11.On the situation in Sarawak, Adham said the Rt there is currently 1.08 with the trend showing cause for concern. Of the 1,739 cases recorded nationwide yesterday, 444 were reported in Sarawak.Adham said based on the monitoring and analysis done for 2021, Sarawak had shown an increase in cases since Jan 9.He added that 39 clusters had been detected in the state since early this year, involving community-linked gatherings and other social activities, as well as interdistrict travel.He said he and several senior ministry officers would travel to Sarawak today to discuss immediate measures to be taken and the resources needed including manpower, medical and personal protective equipment, and other logistics such as lab test requirements.


KL, Putrajaya to move to Phase 2

Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will transition to Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan on Friday, Federal Territories Minister Shahidan Kassim announced today.He said Labuan meanwhile would be reopened under the tourist bubble programme as had been done for Langkawi, from Sept 16 onwards.Speaking at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, he urged everyone to continue adhering to the SOPs set by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19.Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will join Kelantan, Pahang, Terengganu, Sabah, Perak, Penang and Melaka which are already in the second phase.Perlis, Sarawak and Negeri Sembilan are in Phase Three while Labuan is the only area to have transitioned to Phase Four.Selangor, Kedah and Johor remain in Phase One.


Who's the real traitor? Azmin recalls Anwar's 'moves'

Former PKR man Mohamed Azmin Ali has deflected the title of "traitor" given by Anwar Ibrahim to a group of politicians who were sacked from the party in 2020, detailing two moves on the part of the opposition chief which had long-lasting effects on the political landscape.
Azmin, the international trade and industry minister who is currently a member of the Bersatu Supreme Council, said the first of these was the so-called Kajang Move arranged by Rafizi Ramli in 2014 to allow Anwar to replace Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor menteri besar.
"A person entered an election in a democratic manner and was raised to become the people's representative in Kajang.
"In the end, he was given instructions by this greedy person who wished to contest and become the menteri besar of Selangor.
"Is this not a betrayal of the people's mandate?" he said in his speech to officiate the launch of Bersatu's election machinery in Shah Alam yesterday.

Bersatu Supreme Council member Mohamed Azmin Ali speaks at the launch of the party's election machinery in Shah Alam yesterday.

Azmin was referring to former Kajang assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh, whose surprise resignation came in January 2014, less than a year after the 13th general election in May 2013.
Lee's move to vacate his seat was seen as the start of the controversial Kajang Move, where Anwar was supposed to be fielded instead. However, he was disqualified due to his sodomy conviction.
The Selangor sultan, who did not give his consent to the move, also revoked Anwar's state title.
PAS also objected to the move, which eventually saw the collapse of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.
PAS itself was split into two, giving rise to splinter party Amanah.
While Anwar nominated his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, for the seat, her nomination was rejected by Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
Ultimately, Azmin became the Selangor menteri besar after Khalid resigned from the post.
Azmin said he had received instructions from the party leadership to sack Ahmad Yunus Hairi, who was the assemblyman for Sijangkang and a member of the state exco at the time.
Azmin and Zuraida Kamaruddin, another former PKR member, were labelled as traitors after their exit from the party alongside a handful of others.
However, Azmin maintained that they had not jumped ship, saying instead that they had been sacked.
He also hit out at what he called the Port Dickson Move, which occurred less than a year after GE14 in 2018.
Here, Anwar became the MP for Port Dickson after the incumbent, Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, stepped aside.
"In our party, we objected to the election in Port Dickson as he (Danyal) had won.
"But the same person wanted to contest," he said. "He wanted to become the prime minister.
"At the party congress, we were forced to hold up placards saying the sixth prime minister. A year later, we held up placards again, saying the seventh prime minister."
Azmin, the former PKR deputy president, said Anwar had, during the PH Presidential Council meeting on Feb 21, 2020, forced then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to set a date for the handover of power, leading to an argument.
"He wanted Mahathir to resign after Apec," he said.
"I stood and said don't force him to resign because I didn't want Mahathir to become a 'lame duck' prime minister.
"So who is the one who betrayed the mandate of the people?"


Germany’s Covid death toll passes 100,000

More than 100,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Germany since the start of the pandemic, a public health agency announced Thursday.Europe’s largest economy is battling a fresh surge in coronavirus cases, and recorded 351 fatalities in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 100,119, according to figures from the Robert Koch Institute.As infections reach a record high and ICUs fill up, the health crisis is posing an immediate challenge to the new coalition government set to take over from Angela Merkel’s cabinet.Some hospitals are already facing an “acute overload” that has made it necessary to transfer Covid patients abroad, said Gernot Marx, head of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine.Germany last week announced tougher Covid curbs, including requiring people to prove they are vaccinated, cured or have recently tested negative for the virus before they can travel on public transport or go into the workplace.Several of the worst-hit areas have gone further and ordered new shutdowns.The spike has ignited a fierce debate in Germany about whether to follow Austria’s example and make vaccination mandatory for all citizens.Incoming chancellor Olaf Scholz has voiced support for mandatory jabs and said his new government will invest one billion euros in bonuses for healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic.Germany’s fourth virus wave has in part been blamed on its relatively low vaccination rate of about 69%, compared to other European countries such as France, where it is 75%.


Ex-Goldman banker convicted in US court in 1MDB case

Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was convicted by a US jury on Friday of conspiring to violate an anti-corruption law to help loot hundreds of millions of dollars from the 1MDB development fund.Prosecutors say Roger Ng, Goldman’s former top investment banker for Malaysia, helped his former boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from the fund – which was founded to pursue development projects in the Southeast Asian country – launder the proceeds and bribe officials to win business for Goldman.Ng, 49, had pleaded not guilty to conspiring to launder money and violating an anti-corruption law. His lawyers say Leissner, who pleaded guilty to similar charges in 2018 and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors’ investigation, falsely implicated Ng in the hopes of receiving a lenient sentence.The jury convicted Ng of two counts of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.Deliberations began on Tuesday after a nearly two-month trial in federal court in Brooklyn.The charges stemmed from one of the biggest financial scandals in history.Prosecutors have said Goldman helped 1MDB raise US$6.5 billion through three bond sales, but that US$4.5 billion was diverted to government officials, bankers and their associates through bribes and kickbacks between 2009 and 2015.Ng is the first, and likely only, person to face trial in the US over the scheme. Goldman in 2020 paid a nearly US$3 billion fine and its Malaysian unit agreed to plead guilty.Jurors heard nine days of testimony from Leissner, who said he sent Ng US$35 million in kickbacks. Leissner said the men agreed to tell banks a “cover story” that the money was from a legitimate business venture between their wives.Ng’s wife, Lim Hwee Bin, later testified for the defense that the business venture was, in fact, legitimate. She said she invested US$6 million in the mid-2000s in a Chinese company owned by the family of Leissner’s then-wife, Judy Chan, and that the US$35 million was her return on that investment.Ng’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said in his closing argument on Monday that Leissner could not be trusted. Alixandra Smith, a prosecutor, said in her summation that Leissner’s testimony was backed up by other evidence.Businessman Low Taek Jho, suspected mastermind of the scheme, was indicted alongside Ng in 2018 but remains at large.


Russia says it repels border incursion, Kyiv hit kills 3

Russia said on Thursday it had repelled more cross-border attacks from Ukraine while its relentless aerial assaults on Kyiv killed another three people including a nine-year-old girl and her mother locked out of an air raid shelter.
Both sides are trying to sap morale and weaken military capacity ahead of a long-promised Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russia's 15-month-old invasion.
The war has killed tens of thousands, shattered Ukrainian cities and brought increasing attacks on Russian soil.
Russia's defence ministry said its troops thwarted three attempted incursions near the town of Shebekino in the western region of Belgorod, killing 30 Ukrainian fighters and destroying four armoured vehicles.
However, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), a far-right paramilitary group of ethnic Russians that supports Ukraine, claimed to be fighting inside Russia. "The second phase promised by the RVC's commander has begun!" it said on Telegram, referring to a previous incursion, alongside images of fighters firing weapons and inside a building.
Kyiv denies direct involvement but Moscow accuses it of masterminding the raids.
The Belgorod region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Ukraine's armed forces had repeatedly shelled Shebekino with Soviet-designed Grad 122mm rockets, setting alight a dormitory and damaging an administrative building.
At least nine civilians were injured, he said, with hundreds of children, women and elderly being evacuated. Unverified video showed a fire at a large building in Shebekino.
'No one opened for them'
In Kyiv, Ukraine said it shot down 10 ballistic and Iskander cruise missiles in Russia's 18th attack on the capital since the start of May. But a nine-year-old girl, her mother and another woman died when debris fell near an air raid shelter they had been trying to enter.
"The entrance was closed, there were already maybe five to 10 women with children," local resident Yaroslav Ryabchuk said. "They knocked loudly enough... They tried to enter the shelter, no one opened up for them. My wife died."
Condemning the Kyiv deaths, the UN rights monitoring mission in Ukraine said six children were killed and 34 wounded in May alone, with 525 dying since the Feb 24, 2022 invasion.
Russia denies targeting civilians or committing war crimes but its forces have devastated Ukrainian cities and repeatedly hit residential areas.
President Vladimir Putin's government claims to have annexed parts of east and south Ukraine in a "special military operation" to "denazify" its neighbour, protect Russian speakers and defend its borders from aggressive Western ambitions.
Kyiv and its Western allies accuse Putin of barbaric tactics and an imperialist-style land grab in Ukraine, which was long dominated by Russia within the Soviet Union before its break-up in 1991.
Zelensky courts world
At a European summit in Moldova, President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed for Ukraine to be part of the Nato military alliance - but members are divided over how fast that should be.
"It is high time that we actually sit down and find a very concrete answer," said Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, noting that Ukraine had suffered two invasions in 14 years while waiting for Nato accession.
Zelensky said Kyiv had not yet set a date for a proposed peace summit, because it was working to try and bring as many countries as possible to the table. Ukraine says only a full Russian withdrawal will end the war.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said its member nations had yet to work out details of how to guarantee Ukraine's security in the future.
"When the war ends we must ensure we have a framework in place to ensure it is not a pause in Russian actions against Ukraine," he said in Oslo. "We need to stop the vicious circle of aggression against Ukraine."


Polls open in bitterly fought Australian election

Polls opened in Australia’s federal election Saturday, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison fighting for another three-year term that would extend a decade of conservative rule.Long queues formed in several stations, as Morrison – behind in pre-election polls – accused his rival Anthony Albanese of “hubris” in predicting a centre-left Labor win.“You can’t get ahead of yourself,” said Morrison, in a last pre-election pitch to voters.Albanese has predicted the race will be “close” and promised Australians “some honesty in politics” after Morrison’s high-spin style.People are “over” soundbites, Albanese said, on the eve of the vote, promising to transform Australia’s resistance to tackling climate change.“Give Labor a crack. We have plans for this country,” he said. “We have plans to embrace the opportunities that are there from acting on climate change.”Morrison has promised to continue “strong” management of the economy and warned his rival cannot “manage money” and so is unfit for office.More than 17 million Australians are registered to vote in an election that will decide who controls the House of Representatives, the Senate and who lives in the prime minister’s “Lodge”.More than seven million people have already cast early or postal ballots, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.Two final polls put Labor six points ahead of Morrison’s Liberal-led coalition, but with the race narrowing and neither party assured of an outright victory.‘Fatigued and tired’Speaking in Adelaide during a four-state election-eve blitz, Albanese welled up as he reflected on his personal journey – from the son of a single mum living in Sydney public housing to the threshold of the highest office in the land.“It says a lot about this country,” he said Friday, voice cracking with emotion. “That someone from those beginnings… can stand before you today, hoping to be elected prime minister of this country tomorrow.”If elected, Albanese notes he would be the first Australian with a non-Anglo or Celtic surname to be prime minister.But he is up against a tough campaigner in incumbent Morrison, who defied the polls three years ago in what he termed a “miracle” election.Speaking in Western Australia, Morrison admitted his compatriots go into election day “fatigued and tired” having endured three years of bushfires, droughts, floods and the coronavirus pandemic.“I understand that frustration,” he said, while pounding out the same message that defied the odds last time: Labor cannot be trusted on the economy.‘Not up to the job’Morrison has characterised Albanese as a “loose unit” because of his high-profile gaffes, notably forgetting the national jobless rate when quizzed by reporters.“This is the sort of stuff that prime ministers need to know,” Morrison said in an interview Friday as he campaigned in Western Australia.“We have seen that he is not up to the job and it’s bigger than him.”Morrison boasted of new data showing Australia’s unemployment rate fell to a 48-year low of 3.9% in April as an “extraordinary achievement” that showed his plan was working.Both sides are trying to woo voters fretting about the rising cost of living, with annual inflation shooting up to 5.1% and wages failing to keep up in real terms.In a country scarred by ever-fiercer natural disasters, Labor is promising to do more to help the environment.Morrison has resisted calls to cut carbon emissions faster by 2030 and supports mining and burning coal into the distant future to boost the economy.In wealthy suburban areas, many voters are being wooed by a band of more than 20 independent candidates, mostly women, offering conservative policies coupled with strong action on climate change.Albanese has also promised strong action on corruption – after Morrison failed to deliver a promised federal anti-graft watchdog.He has branded Morrison’s administration the “least open, least fair dinkum government in Australian political history”.Slim lead for LaborIn the final days before the vote, Morrison’s economic warnings appear to have whittled down the polling lead enjoyed by Labor.But all surveys still show Morrison’s coalition lagging.An Ipsos poll released late Thursday and a YouGov/Newspoll released Friday gave Labor a 53-47% lead over the coalition on a two-party preferred basis.Registered voters are required by law to cast a ballot to avoid an A$20 (US$14) fine.The election campaign has also delivered lighter moments.Three days before the vote, Morrison barrelled into a young boy, sending both crashing to the ground during a friendly children’s football game in Tasmania.The following day, Australia’s employment minister Stuart Robert appeared to deflect blame for the incident from the prime minister.“There was a high five afterwards, so it was just an error from both of them,” he said.


Nazri says will revoke support only if BN tells him to

Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz says he will only retract his support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government if he is directed to do so by Barisan Nasional, as pressure continues on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to resign.Speaking to Astro Awani, he confirmed receiving a letter from Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan asking Umno MPs to state their stand on the matter by Aug 7, but said he would not respond.“I will not answer the letter because I did nothing wrong,” he said, adding that Zahid was the one who should be told to show cause as he had gone against the decision of the Umno general assembly earlier this year.At the assembly in March, Umno had agreed to remain with the PN government until the 15th general election.Nazri said it was clear that Zahid had gone against this decision, citing an audio clip of the Umno president speaking with PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim which was leaked shortly after the general assembly.In the four-minute clip revealed by MalaysiaNow, Anwar was heard congratulating and giving instructions to Zahid, who in turn thanked Anwar for his moral support.“I have said that Zahid needs to meet with all of the MPs from Umno and explain what he did, but until now he has refused to do so,” Nazri said to Astro Awani.Nazri, who revoked his support for Muhyiddin in January, said in June that he had been “tricked” by Zahid into doing so.He told MalaysiaNow that Zahid had orchestrated the move and then failed to retract his support for PN as well.He redeclared his support for Muhyiddin in early July.Zahid, who together with former leader Najib Razak have been at the forefront of calls for Muhyiddin to resign, said earlier this week that he had enough statutory declarations from Umno MPs to topple the prime minister.However, Muhyiddin said after an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that he still commanded the confidence of the majority.He also said that his position as prime minister would be determined through a vote of confidence at the Dewan Rakyat sitting in September.


US state to pay undocumented migrants pandemic relief

New York state will issue one-time payments of up to US$15,000 to undocumented migrants who lost work during the pandemic under a multi-billion-dollar fund championed by progressive Democrats but opposed by Republicans.The payments, by far the largest of their kind in the US, will help tens of thousands of people who arrived in America illegally and who are unable to collect unemployment insurance or federal stimulus checks.The state’s congress approved the US$2.1 billion “excluded workers” fund on Wednesday as part of a state budget worth US$212 billion for the fiscal year 2022.The Fiscal Policy Institute, a non-profit that supports the initiative, says it will see more than 90,000 migrants pocket up to US$15,600 and some 200,000 others receive more than US$3,000.The fund far exceeds a similar relief programme in California last year, when that state set aside US$75 million for US$500 payments to undocumented migrants.The New York fund had been pushed by progressive Democrats and demanded by several migrant support organisations during recent demonstrations.“This is what economic fairness looks like,” tweeted Carmen De La Rosa, a Democrat and assembly member who helped push the measure.The announcement comes as record-breaking numbers of undocumented migrants cross into the US from Mexico. Many Republicans have denounced the proposal.“For the life of me, I’ll never understand why Democrats put the citizens of other countries before the American citizens who elected them and why taxpayers keep voting for them after being constantly abused,” said New York Republican congressman Nicole Malliotakis.Some Democrats representing seats that could turn Republican in elections next year are also said to oppose the fund, according to The New York Times.New York governor Andrew Cuomo, weakened by a sexual harassment scandal, said that while he agreed to the budget in principle, he was worried about potential “fraud”.The budget also approved an income tax increase for New Yorkers earning more than US$1 million a year, making New York City’s top tax rate the highest in the country.Business leaders complain that it might further fuel an exodus of high-earners, many of whom have already left during the pandemic.


PKR falling into 'Umno trap', analysts say as Indian representation declines

At its inception as a political entity some 20 years ago, PKR touted itself as a party that would represent all of Malaysia's many ethnicities, unlike the race-based Barisan Nasional (BN) components of Umno, MCA and MIC.
But questions have since arisen about its claim to multiracialism, especially in the wake of its recent central leadership council election where hardly any Indians were appointed despite their sizeable membership numbers.
The list of council members showed a clear inclination towards the camp led by PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, with 12 Malays and seven Chinese in the line-up.
Hans Isaac was the only representative from the Indo-Eurasian community. There were no representatives from Sabah or Sarawak.
Analyst and consultant R Paneir Selvam said PKR was meant to oppose the so-called 3R narrative championed by Umno of race, religion and royalty.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, though, he said it instead appeared to be going down the same path.
Paneir, who heads a think tank on national issues, said this was clear from the statement of PKR president Anwar Ibrahim at the party's national congress that it had failed to rally the support of rural voters.
"That actually gave a signal to the delegates to elect as such, looking at the composition of council members," he said. "It reflects that."
Analysts have identified PKR's struggle to win support in rural areas as one of its stumbling blocks to forming the federal government.
The party performed poorly in the Melaka and Johor elections, and was completely wiped out in the Sarawak state polls.
Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said the struggle for positions had changed the focus of the party.
"PKR has forgotten the idealism and spirit of the party which requires an inclusive struggle, not just a struggle for positions and power," he said.
"In the end, ethnic and regional interests are unconsciously marginalised."
According to Paneir, the Indian situation in PKR is nothing new.
Representation of the community has been on the decline for several years now, with some federal seats allocated to others instead.
For example, the Kapar parliamentary seat was given to former Kuala Langat MP Abdullah Sani.
Paneir said PKR, which had begun to talk about Malay rights, was falling into the trap of Umno.
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs meanwhile said the party should elect Indian representatives to important positions such as the treasurer, secretary-general or communications director.
PKR aside, the Indian community is generally focused on parties like MIC, DAP, Gerakan, and smaller entities such as Makkal Sakti, Parti Sosialis Malaysia and Parti India Muslim Malaysia.
At the national level, Azman said, ethnic Indians represent 7% of the country's population.
Nevertheless, he said it was difficult for them to unite due to their political loyalties.
"The Indian community needs to come together and reduce sectarian politics, whether in PKR or at the national level," he said.
Oh said Indian voters didn't have much of a choice apart from MIC, DAP and PKR.
But Paneir said MIC was more like a closed organisation, adding that not many who were educated were interested in joining the party despite its success at the recent state elections.
"PPP, DAP and Gerakan are multiracial parties," he said. "DAP is quite significant compared to PPP and Gerakan. PPP has the numbers but in terms of gaining the support needed to get seats and win elections – this is very much in doubt."
He also referred to the Malaysian Advancement Party which he said was similar to MIC.
"But who are they going to work with? They cannot stand alone, and they are focusing on Indian issues."
Paneir said the Indian community should widen their perspective beyond political parties.
Here, he said, NGOs had a role to play in uniting the Indian voice.


In Afghanistan’s Panjshir, anti-Taliban forces fight on

The Taliban on Wednesday called on fighters in the holdout bastion of the Panjshir Valley to lay down their arms, as the resistance movement said it had repulsed heavy attacks.The rugged mountain valley with towering snow-capped peaks – which begins around 80km north of the capital Kabul – is the centre of Afghanistan’s most important pocket of armed anti-Taliban forces.The National Resistance Front (NRF), comprising anti-Taliban militia fighters and former Afghan security forces, has vowed to defend the enclave as the Islamist group sends fighters to encircle the area.“My brothers, we tried our best to solve the Panjshir problem with talks and negotiations… but unfortunately all in vain,” senior Taliban official Amir Khan Muttaqi said, in an audio message to the people of the Panjshir posted on Twitter.“Now that the talks have failed and Mujahiddin (Taliban) have surrounded Panjshir, there are still people inside that don’t want the problems to be solved peacefully,” he added.“Now it is up to you to talk to them,” the Taliban message to the Panjshir people said. “Those who want to fight, tell them it is enough.”Bismillah Mohammadi, Afghanistan’s defence minister before the government fell last month, said the Taliban had launched a renewed assault on Panjshir on Tuesday night.“Last night the Taliban terrorists attacked Panjshir, but were defeated,” Mohammadi tweeted Wednesday, claiming 34 Taliban were killed and 65 wounded.“Our people should not worry. They retreated with heavy casualties.”Residents and fighters in Panjshir, many of whom fought the Taliban when they were last in power from 1996 to 2001, offered a defiant message.“We are ready to defend it till the last drop of our blood,” said one resident.“Everyone has a weapon on their shoulder and ready to fire,” another said. “From the youngest to the oldest, they all talk about resistance.”‘Try their luck’As the last US soldiers boarded their flight out of Afghanistan in the Kabul dark late Monday, residents of Panjshir said the Taliban had attacked the valley on two fronts – the Khawak pass in the west, and from Shotol to the south.“Perhaps they wanted to try their luck,” NRF official Fahim Dashti said in a video posted Tuesday by the US broadcaster Voice of America’s Dari language service. “By the grace of God, luck wasn’t on their side.”Dashti reported seven or eight Taliban fighters were killed in Monday’s clashes along with one or two resistance fighters.The Panjshir has immense symbolic value in Afghanistan as the area that has resisted occupation by invaders.“We defended it during the era of the Russians, the era of the British, the previous era of the Taliban… we will continue to defend it,” one fighter said.Ahmad Massoud, one of the NRF’s leaders, is the son of the late guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was dubbed the “Lion of Panjshir” for holding out, first against Soviet and then Taliban forces.The valley has limited entry points and its geography offers a natural military advantage – defending units can use high positions to effectively target attacking forces.Anticipating assaultThis week, Panjshir fighters held military training in a show of force, with men carrying heavy logs on their shoulders crossing chest-deep icy rivers.Above their armoured vehicles and over their bases fluttered their flag, a challenge to the Taliban’s white banner now hauled up across the rest of the country.Many Afghans are terrified of a repeat of the Taliban’s initial rule from 1996 to 2001, which was infamous for their treatment of girls and women, as well as a brutal justice system.The NRF has set up machine gun nests, mortars and surveillance posts fortified with sandbags in anticipation of a Taliban assault.Communications are difficult with the valley, with Taliban forces on three sides. Internet into Panjshir has been on and off repeatedly in recent days.


Don't drag chief secretary into political matters, Bersatu tells Anwar

Bersatu today criticised Anwar Ibrahim for referring to top civil servant Mohd Zuki Ali as a witness to DAP's stand on Malay programmes at Cabinet meetings, accusing him of dragging the chief secretary into "an obvious political matter".
Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif of Bersatu's legal and constitutional bureau said the prime minister's remark that Zuki could attest to the fact that DAP had never questioned such programmes was inappropriate and contrary to civil service neutrality.
"A chief secretary to the government not only serves the government of the day but is also the boss to all 1.7 million civil servants in Malaysia.
"The most important role a chief secretary has to play is that he is, and is seen to be, scrupulously impartial towards any political party or figure. Like Caesar’s wife, he must be beyond reproach.
"The prime minister, of all persons, must not undermine this," she said.
Reiterating that the chief secretary must remain apolitical at all times, she said it was "retrograde to good and efficient administration to compromise civil service impartiality".
"As a senior political leader with years of government experience, Anwar should have known better than to do so," she added.
"Delivery of services to the people is contingent upon a properly functioning civil service which transcends partisan politics."
She also questioned the extent to which Zuki, who also served under the administrations of Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob, could disagree with the prime minister in the event of inaccuracies.
"As a person who is in a tenure position where the survival of his position is based on the recommendation of the prime minister, can he truly publicly disagree with the prime minister if the prime minister is wrong or inaccurate about the issue?
"Anwar has certainly put the No.1 man in the civil service in a very awkward and tight spot," she said.


Sporadic Covid-19 cases on the rise in Sabah

The percentage of sporadic Covid-19 cases in Sabah is rising, accounting for almost 39% of the total 639 cases recorded yesterday, says Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Masidi Manjun.The state Covid-19 spokesman said there are concerns that the risk of sporadic infections will rise as the state transitions to Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) on Monday, allowing more social and economic activities to resume.“Sporadic cases usually happen due to non-compliance with SOPs when interacting or in public.“We hope that the public will be more responsible in complying with all of the SOPs to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus,” he said in a statement last night.He said every individual would now be viewed as frontliners in efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 as the district borders reopen and the state transitions to the next phase of the NRP.Meanwhile, Masidi said the total number of new cases yesterday declined by 81 from 720 cases yesterday.Of the 638 new cases, 350 or 55% were cases that occurred within the last 24 hours, while the rest were recorded at least two days after screening results were obtained.“The effectiveness of vaccinations can be seen in the patient categories reported daily. Those who have completed their vaccinations have higher immunity and even if infected, are only at Category One or Two,” he added.


Supporters of Myanmar military coup attack protesters in Yangon

Supporters of Myanmar’s military, some armed with knives and clubs, others firing catapults and throwing stones, attacked opponents of the coup on Thursday, as protests against the new junta continued in the country’s largest city.Protests against the coup and strikes have taken place daily for about three weeks, and students had planned to come out again in the commercial hub Yangon on Thursday but about 1,000 supporters of the military arrived for a rally in the city centre.Several people were set upon and beaten by groups of men, witnesses said.“Today’s events show who the terrorists are. They’re afraid of the people’s action for democracy,” activist Thin Zar Shun Lei Yi told Reuters. “We’ll continue our peaceful protests against dictatorship.”Dozens of riot police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd that had gathered at an administrative office to protest the appointment of a local official by the junta.Earlier, police blocked the gates of Yangon’s main university campus, stopping hundreds of students inside from coming out to demonstrate.Facebook said that due to the risks evident from the “deadly violence” seen since the coup, it had banned the Myanmar military from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms.Military chief General Min Aung Hlaing says authorities are using minimal force. Nevertheless, three protesters and one policeman have been killed in violence.A rights group said as of Wednesday 728 people had been arrested, charged or sentenced in relation to the pro-democracy protests.The question of a new election is at the centre of a diplomatic effort by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or Asean, of which Myanmar is a member, aimed at ending the crisis.Indonesia has taken the lead in the attempt and its foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, met her military-appointed Myanmar counterpart, Wunna Maung Lwin, for talks in Thailand on Wednesday.But Indonesia’s intervention has raised suspicion among coup opponents who fear it will confer legitimacy on the junta.Retno did not mention an election in comments to reporters after her talks but emphasised “an inclusive democratic transition process”.A Reuters report this week cited sources as saying Indonesia was proposing that ASEAN members send monitors to ensure the generals stick to their promise of fair elections, which would imply accepting the November result was void.Protesters gathered outside the Thai embassy in Yangon on Thursday chanting “respect our vote”.


Man nabbed in Melaka for flouting quarantine order

A man wearing a pink quarantine wristband was detained yesterday for allegedly violating the home surveillance order after he was spotted shopping at a supermarket in Bandar Hilir, Melaka.Melaka Tengah district police chief ACP Afzanizar Ahmad said a team had gone to the premises at 9.30pm, acting on a public tip-off. He said they found the 43-year-old man with his 34-year-old wife.“Checks found that the man, an OKU (person with hearing disability) cardholder, had been ordered to home quarantine from Sept 30 to Oct 15 after being in close contact with an individual who tested positive for Covid-19.“The suspect also failed to produce a quarantine order release letter from the health ministry as he has yet to undergo a second Covid-19 test,” he said in a statement today.Afzanizar said the man was later released on police bail.The case is being investigated under Section 22 (b) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.


The real societal problems behind Squid Game

Some people who watched Squid Game, a Netflix South Korean drama series, may not initially appreciate the significance of the plot, obscured as it is by the gory violence and death scenes.However, when we pay closer attention to the background scenario of the cramped flats and pitiful elderly folks that’s ubiquitous throughout the episodes, we come to realise that low-income households in South Korea are struggling to meet the rising cost of living, which result in rising household indebtedness, among other things.As Gi-hun, Sang-woo and Sae-byeok – the main characters of Squid Game – could not pay off their debts or meet associated household expenses, they decide to begin an unknown but intriguing adventure in the form of deadly childhood games in order to earn quick money from the organiser, known as the Pink Masked Management.However, as over 200 players die from the first game (i.e., Red Light, Green Light), the remaining survivors decide to enact the third clause of Squid Game – the vote on whether or not to continue the game.At first, 100 players vote to stay while another 100 players vote to stop the game. When Player 001 (i.e., the last player who cast his vote) votes not to continue, the Pink Masked Management sends all 201 players home.Despite Gi-hun, Sang-woo and Sae-byeok voting not to continue, none of them can find another way to earn money or escape their indebtedness when returning home for a few days. Therefore, they change their minds and risk their lives by continuing the remaining five games.Eventually, Gi-hun manages to beat 455 players, winning a cash prize of 45.6 billion won (US$39.1 million).Squid Game, among other real-world experiences, epitomises the grim and harsh reality endured by lower-income groups, especially in relation to indebtedness.Although South Korea’s underclass aspire to raise their economic status, they often face barriers in achieving higher disposable income due to soaring house prices and limited upskilling and job opportunities.During the past five years, apartment prices in South Korea have surged 70%, pushing the average price of an apartment in Seoul beyond US$1 million.In addition, the number of unemployed or underemployed young people in South Korea has grown every year since 2017. And even though South Korea had the highest share (i.e., 68%) of young adults aged 25-34 with tertiary education of all OECD countries as of 2019, the unemployment rate among South Korean youths reached an all-time high of 27.2% in January 2021.In revealing the living environment of Gi-hun, for example, this South Korean drama series highlights that he has to stay in a semi-basement apartment with scant sunlight and confined space.Gi-hun’s gambling problem makes his financial situation dire. He faces a massive debt of 160 million won (US$137,000) to loan sharks and another 255 million won (US$218,490) to banks.In reality, Gi-hun’s case is not isolated or unique in the context of either South Korea or Malaysia. Both countries have had a rise in household debts during recent years.In fact, South Korea and Malaysia are like twins in this regard since the former has the highest household debt in Asia with Malaysia trailing behind in second place.During the pre-pandemic era, the South Korean household debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio was 87.3% as at the end of 2016. As of end-June 2021, the South Korea Financial Services Commission stated that it had risen to 104.2%.On the other hand, Malaysian household debt rose from RM1.27 trillion in 2020 to RM1.34 trillion as of end-June 2021.Although the latest household debt-to-GDP ratio (i.e., 89.6% as of end-June 2021) is lower than end-2020 (i.e., 93.2%), some Malaysians who cannot find a job or experience loss of income might have to borrow more money to make ends meet.Such a trend is worrying as both South Korea and Malaysia recorded a higher household debt-to-GDP ratio compared to other developed countries such as Japan (63.9%), France (65.8%), Germany (57.8%), the UK (89.4%) and the US (79.2%) as of end-June 2021.Among the reasons for rising household debts in South Korea and Malaysia are gambling losses, overspending on credit cards, university loan payments, unemployment, higher interest rates on earlier loans, soaring house prices and shop rental.The Covid-19 pandemic also revealed the vulnerability of the social protection system, particularly among self-employed individuals.As the earnings among the self-employed can be highly variable, they may not have the ability to commit to annual premiums or may not have enough credit rating scores to gain access to loans from banks.When they cannot access loans from formal financial institutions, their last resort is to borrow money from moneylenders with high or exorbitant interest rates.Moreover, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) chief strategy officer Nurhisham Hussein estimates that only 3% of Malaysians can afford retirement due to the massive Covid-related withdrawals (i.e., i-Sinar, i-Lestari and i-Citra) over the past two years.While these withdrawal measures provided some financial relief to members during the pandemic, they inevitably led to 6.1 million contributors now having less than RM10,000 in their EPF accounts. Out of the 6.1 million contributors, over half (i.e., 3.6 million) of them have less than RM1,000 in their EPF savings account.With less savings available for them to spend within the next few months, the EPF has anticipated a significant drop in the percentage of members meeting the basic savings threshold (RM240,000 at age 55) from 36% in 2020 to an estimated 27% by the end of 2021.When EPF contributors exhaust all of their savings, they will fall deeper into poverty and debt. They might not even be able to afford daily necessities to sustain their living.Moreover, the EPF predicted that members will have to work an extra four to six years to rebuild their savings.As Malaysians might find it hard to find another decent job at their official retirement age of 60, they will have to deplete outstanding savings or secure loans to start small businesses.As rising household debts and depleting retirement savings are fast become priority policy issues that have been made acute by the pandemic, Emir Research would like to propose the following policy recommendations for the government to consider:• Incorporate financial literacy as part of the education curriculum from the primary school level. While teachers educate students on the difference between income, savings and expenses, parents should show good examples to their children by identifying what to spend pm first (prioritise).For instance, if children require a laptop for online learning, then the item becomes an essential item – a spending priority – rather than e.g., a toy or even a piano.Parents could also advise their children to purchase clothes or shoes only when there are year-end sales. While enjoying discounted prices, the children also will have extra money to spend on other items such as food and books.• Stimulate new employment with a focus on the lower M40 and the B40. Those who have lost jobs should receive support from employment services and reskilling programmes that target their entry or re-entry into work.After the training, the government should continue monitoring their progress for a minimum of six months to ensure the programmes have long-lasting positive effects.• Increase the statutory retirement age to 65 together with the re-employment (i.e., employment beyond the statutory retirement) age to 67 as part of the long-term plan to accumulate retirement savings.• The government and government-linked entities (Socso, EPF) should come up with a holistic and systematic assessment of the current social protection/security policy environment to improve welfare among the self-employed and elderly, while ensuring they are protected during retirement.• Eliminate bureaucratic processes and delays that prevent the lower M40 and B40, self-employed and elderly from accessing the benefits they urgently require.There must now be a sense of urgency on the part of the government and stakeholders to work out a strategy and roadmap towards achieving sustainable retirement savings for all and viable job opportunities that cuts across age groups.Amanda Yeo is a research analyst at independent think tank Emir Research.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Civilian govt remains, PM assures no judicial meddling despite emergency

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today called for national unity while assuring that the proclamation of emergency is not a military coup and will not see a curfew enforced to prevent people from going about their daily lives.“Let me asssure you that the civilian government will continue to function,” he said, adding that there would be no interruption to either economic activities or the judicial system.“The judiciary will continue to be the beacon of justice in our country and I will never interfere in the businss of the courts,” said Muhyiddin.But he warned that stern action will be taken against anyone who threatens to scuttle efforts to fight the pandemic.He said Parliament would not convene throughout the emergency period, and no elections would be held.“We are aware that people do not want elections to be held as they do not want Covid-19 infections to spike as seen in the aftermath of the recent Sabah election,” he said.Muhyiddin said he was not against elections, but that it was fear over the Covid-19 pandemic which had stopped him from advising the Agong to dissolve the Parliament.He said a general election would be held once the special committee gives the green light that it is safe.“This is my committment which I will fulfil,” he added.He also said state governments will operate as usual under the emergency rule.However, he said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is empowered to activate several ordinances under the emergency laws if the need arises, including on the use of land and public assets to help in the fight against Covid-19.He said the Agong could also empower the armed forces in addition to its current jurisdiction, so that it can assist the public health sector in fighting the pandemic.He said tough laws could also be enacted against economic sabotage and hoarding.“More firm actions and punishments could be introduced,” he said.He said the proclamation of emergency fulfils the constitutional provisions under Article 150(1), as the country is faced with the double crisis of Covid-19 and floods.Article 150(1) reads: “If the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security, or the economic life, or public order in the federation or any part thereof is threatened, he may issue a proclamation of emergency making therein a declaration to that effect.”


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Include us in Tasik Chini restoration efforts, say Orang Asli

The Orang Asli community at Tasik Chini has welcomed the efforts by the Pahang government to restore the lake through the establishment of a biodiversity corporation but says it should be a part of any such initiative.The corporation was suggested by Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail to boost efforts to restore the ecosystem at Tasik Chini which has been badly affected by mining and logging activities.The state government has also set aside RM20 million for the restoration of the lake, in addition to making plans for the replanting of trees in the surrounding area.But Orang Asli activist Hasam Ismail said the authorities should also heed the voice of the community which had lived at the lake for generations.“Not many out there realise that the forest is like our supermarket and the lake is like our icebox,” he said.“As it is, during this pandemic period, we feel very stressed about our quality of life – we can’t even depend on what we can produce from the earth.”An Orang Asli pulls in his nets at Tasik Chini, bringing in only one small fish.Tasik Chini, measuring some 5,000 hectares and located about 100km from Kuantan, was the first Unesco biosphere reserve site in the country.Hasan said the Orang Asli’s fear was for their food and economic resources from the lake and forest which had become increasingly jeopardised due to mining and logging activities.“I am asking the government, return the areas that were removed from the previous gazette to the way they used to be.“We hope that our right here to continue our way of life, our right to the land, will not be denied,” he said.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Hasan said the mining and logging activities had spoiled not only the lake but other aspects of the community’s life as well.“When they began mining, we couldn’t enter the area, not even just to pass through it to reach our destination.“In the first place, the path in that area wasn’t made for the miners. It was our traditional trail for hunting and looking for herbs – but all that is gone now.“When they laid claim to that area, our right was taken away from us,” he said.An Orang Asli from Kampung Melai in Tasik Chini tends to a vegetable patch surrounded by the stumps of trees brought down by logging activities.Hasan said the mining venture had brought nothing good for the Orang Asli who were instead forced to suffer the consequences of the activities.Meanwhile, environmentalist Laili Basir from the Hugs Project said the state government could no longer ignore the voice of the Orang Asli whom she said were a part of the lake’s ecosystem.“Like it or not, they have to include the Orang Asli in that corporation,” she told MalaysiaNow.“This would give the Orang Asli their right to speak up about the lake’s future and that of themselves.”Apart from the Orang Asli, she said, other parties like the federal government, state government agencies, researchers, industry players and members of the royalty should also be included.“Before this, their voices were not heard at all, and they had no way to make their stand.“It is disappointing to see the Orang Asli reduced to mere spectators of everything that happens on their land,” she added.An Orang Asli woman watches as her son does his homework in the shade of a small hut in Kampung Tanjung Puput, in Tasik Chini.Laili also said that restoration is a subjective matter that requires pressure and encouragement.“Restoration efforts need to be monitored so that they continue. This corporation can help with this and keep them accountable to the people.“The Orang Asli need to be involved,” she said. “Let them be the voice of constant pressure.”