If one PSC’s act is unlawful, let the other PSC act

I refer to Kassim Noor Mohamed’s “Did PSC exceed its powers in calling Azam?”Kassim contends that “the current situation of the PSC (parliamentary select committee) investigating the chief commissioner of the MACC may not have been commenced lawfully, in that it is highly doubtful and suspect if a referral was made by the House to the PSC to investigate. This is a necessary requirement of Order 83(4) of the Standing Orders.”He adds that if “no such referral from the House was made, then the PSC’s investigation into Azam is unlawful and must stop, and should only commence following the correct procedures.”Perhaps we should look at Section 5(4) of the MACC Act 2009. It states that the MACC chief commissioner “shall, during his term of office as such, be deemed to be a member of the general public service of the federation for purposes of discipline.”All officers and junior officers of the MACC are also members of the general public service of the Federation.The general public service of the federation is listed as one the public services under the Federal Constitution – Article 132(1)(c). Article 132(2) then stipulates that the qualifications for appointment and conditions of service of persons in the public services – other than the public service of each state – may be regulated by federal law and, subject to the provisions of any such law, by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.Now, in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 132(2), the Agong has indeed made regulations called the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 – PU(A) 395/1993 – which came into force Dec 15, 1993.The commission that exercises jurisdiction over the general public service of the federation is the Public Service Commission (PSC) established under Article 139(1) of the constitution. The PSC is the disciplinary authority defined under regulation No. 3 of Regulations 1993.It looks like Regulations 1993 have been overlooked, particularly regulation No. 43 on “interdiction for the purpose of investigation”.Regulation No. 43(1) states that “if an officer is alleged or reasonably suspected of having committed a criminal offence or a serious disciplinary offence”, the disciplinary authority having the jurisdiction to impose a punishment of dismissal or reduction in rank on such officer may interdict the officer for a period not exceeding two months for the purpose of facilitating investigation against the officer.“Criminal offence” is defined as any offence involving fraud or dishonesty or moral turpitude.An officer who has been interdicted under the regulation is entitled to receive full emoluments during the period of his interdiction.Simply put, an interdiction is an official instruction from the disciplinary authority telling an officer that he or she is to stay away from work during the notice period, while still remaining on the payroll.Perhaps the word is best described in Malay, that is, “ditahan kerja”.In laymen’s terms, the officer is put on “garden leave”.Clearly, the PSC is empowered under Regulation 1993 – made by the Agong under authority of the highest law of the land – to put an officer of the general service of the federation to a garden leave to facilitate an investigation against the officer.By Azam’s own admission of allowing Nasir to use his share trading account to buy millions of shares in two public-listed companies in 2015, there are reasonable suspicions or reasons suspect that offences have been committed to start off an investigation under Sections 25 (as against Nasir) and 29A (as against Azam) of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991.The SC has accordingly initiated the process of calling in Azam and Nasir.So, let’s hear from the PSC – that’s the Public Service Commission and not Parliamentary Select Committee.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Gist of new Madani health scheme already offered in Selangor 6 years ago, says expert

A public health expert says the medical scheme recently introduced by the health ministry was implemented in Selangor six years ago through the Skim Peduli Sihat programme which took effect during Mohamed Azmin Ali's tenure as menteri besar.
Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar also said that the services announced were already available at government facilities at a cost of RM1.00.
"This new scheme is more or less the same as that of Selangor," he said to MalaysiaNow.
"The aim is to give those who receive Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) the opportunity for quick treatment from general practitioners (GPs) and reduce congestion and waiting time at health ministry facilities."
The Madani Medical Scheme, the pilot programme of which was implemented in 10 districts nationwide today, was part of the budget for 2023 announced last year.
It aims to allow those in the low-income bracket who are also recipients of STR to receive primary care services.
"The free services include consultation, examination, medication, procedures and referrals, to be provided by the GP to beneficiaries according to the package in question," Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said.
Zainal said up to 700,000 households were expected to benefit from the scheme, which has an allocation of RM100 million.
The Madani Medical Scheme and Skim Peduli Sihat are essentially health subsidies, where the government bears the cost of treatment by the GPs involved.
"There is a maximum limit for each household and type of service," added Zainal.
Skim Peduli Sihat was introduced in 2017 with an allocation of RM125 million for 250,000 families with a household income of less than RM3,000.
It saw the participation of 1,000 clinics registered in Selangor and the Klang Valley.
In 2018, the cost of treatment for Skim Peduli Sihat cardholders was increased to RM700 per person, including RM180 for pneumonia vaccine jabs.


Penang govt taken for a ride by free vaccine scam, says Khairy

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today said the offer of two million free doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for Penang was a scam job, adding that investigations had shown the company supposedly responsible for the offer did not exist.Khairy, who is in charge of the national immunisation programme, said he decided to investigate the offer as he wanted to help Penang get the free vaccines.But he said the investigation with Sinovac China revealed no proof or documents received by the company, Xintai Development Enterprise Ltd.“We also found that the private company which offered the free jabs doesn’t exist in the first place.“I will categorically say again today. This donation or offer is bogus. Look at the offer, there’s not even a letterhead,” he said at an online press conference today.“I am responsible for vaccine procurement in Malaysia, so I know where the supplies come from.”Khairy also said there was no record of any purchase by the Sekhar Foundation, an organisation linked to businessman Vinod Sekhar which recently accused the government of snubbing its application to bring in 200,000 jabs to be given out free.Vinod’s Petra Group had claimed that it was able to “source” 200,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine from China to be distributed for free.“Originally, we only had 20,000 vaccines, but we have managed to source another 180,000 vaccines and we want to give (all) 200,000 vials as part of our national service,” Petra Group spokesman William Stevenson was quoted as saying on a website operated by the company, in a report criticising the authorities for “snubbing” the offer.Speaking today, Khairy said Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow had made an irresponsible accusation against him based on an offer which turned out to be a scam.Former chief minister Lim Guan Eng had urged Chow to accept the offer, and blasted the government for blocking the donation.Khairy meanwhile said Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari should not confuse the public over the rate of vaccination in the state.“I don’t want to be seen as blocking Selangor’s efforts. But I have to be upfront and say that as far as supplies are concerned, the federal government’s supplies will be prioritised.”Khairy also said the vaccination drive should not be politicised.“Had it been something that was genuine, I would be the first to apologise,” he said, referring to Lim’s accusations that the government was blocking free vaccine offers from the private sector.“But when it’s proven this is bogus and a scam, we were bashed 24 hours over this fraudulent claim, I feel extremely disappointed,” he said.


Sorry.


Cops open investigation papers into May 1 rally, launch of 'Gerakan Rakyat'

The police have opened two investigation papers into the May 1, 2023 rally and the press conference for the launch of "Gerakan Rakyat" held in the capital yesterday.
Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Noor Dellhan Yahaya said the two gatherings were held between 10am and noon with one starting in front of the Maju Junction building, marching through Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Tun Perak to Jalan Leboh Ampang, while the other was held near the Sogo complex on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
According to him, police checks found that 200 people participated in the rally held in front of Maju Junction and about 30 people were involved in the event in front of the Sogo complex.
"Following that, the police have opened two investigation papers under Section 9 (5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and the organisers of both gatherings would be summoned to the Dang Wangi District Police Headquarters to record their statements.
"The investigation papers will be completed and referred to the deputy public prosecutor," he said in a statement today.
Dellhan also advised the public not to get involved in any gathering that did not comply with the provisions of the law to avoid being prosecuted.


Third night of rioting erupts over Dutch Covid-19 rules

Riots broke out in cities across the Netherlands on Sunday, the third night in a row that police clashed with mobs of angry youths who set fires and threw rocks to protest Covid-19 restrictions.Unrest was reported in locations including Leeuwarden and Groningen in the north, the eastern town of Enschede and Tilburg in the south. In Enschede, where an emergency ordinance was issued, police used batons to try to disperse a crowd, according to video on social media. In Leeuwarden, police vans were pelted with rocks and black-clad groups chanted and set off flares.Responding to the worst disturbances since a full lockdown led to widespread disorder and more than 500 arrests in January, police said five officers had been injured overnight Saturday and at least 64 people detained in three provinces, including dozens who threw fireworks and fences during a soccer match at Feyenoord Rotterdam’s stadium.The latest unrest began on Friday night in Rotterdam, where police opened fire on a crowd that had swelled to hundreds during a protest that the city’s mayor said had turned into “an orgy of violence”.Four people believed to have been hit by police bullets remained in hospital on Sunday, a statement by the authorities said.The protests were sparked by opposition to government plans to restrict use of a national corona pass to people who have either recovered from Covid-19 or have been vaccinated, excluding those with a negative test result.The Netherlands reimposed some lockdown measures on its 17.5 million population last weekend for an initial three weeks in an effort to slow a resurgence of the virus, but daily infections have remained at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic.Some youths were also angered by a New Year’s Eve firework ban to avoid added pressure on hospitals that have already been forced to scale back care due to a surge in Covid-19 patients.Among the most serious confrontations on Saturday night were those in The Hague, where the five officers were hurt, one of them seriously, a police statement said. Police carried out charges on horseback and arrested 19 people, one of them for throwing a rock through the window of a passing ambulance.


Pejuang to join Parliament sitting but staying will depend, says Dr M

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said that MPs from his Pejuang bloc will attend the special Parliament sitting at the end of the month “at least at the beginning”, with their continued attendance contingent on what is discussed during the session.Speaking at a press conference, he said they would join the sitting at the early stage as they wanted to see “how the government conducts the meeting”.“If we find that it is just an explanation of government policies and just a briefing, we may decide at the time to leave the Dewan.“But we haven’t fully decided on this yet because we want to see how the government conducts the sitting,” he said.He said Pejuang also wants to show the people that the decision to leave the session would be because they do not consider it a Parliament sitting.“If we don’t attend, people might think that we asked for Parliament to sit and when it sits, we don’t attend.“But we want to show that this is not a sitting of Parliament. That is important,” he said.Mahathir previously said any decision by the party to attend the upcoming Parliament sitting would depend on whether the speaker allows them to debate their plans.“We want to know whether we will be allowed to debate and propose in the sitting,” he said.“If we are allowed to propose our plan, we will attend the sitting. If not, we will decide whether to attend. We have yet to decide on this.”


Mosque murder plotter shows extremism on the rise in Singapore, says minister

The rise of right-wing extremism creeping into Singapore is a worrying development and is part of a larger wave sweeping across the world, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said on Wednesday.He was commenting on the case of a 16-year-old Singaporean detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for plotting to attack Muslims with a machete at two mosques in Singapore.The boy, a Protestant Christian of Indian ethnicity, was influenced by Australian shooter Brenton Tarrant, and planned to attack mosque-goers on the second anniversary of the Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand in which Tarrant killed over 50 Muslim worshippers.“This boy is 16 but he was extremely serious,” Shanmugam told reporters. “Violent impulses are not restricted to any particular racial or religious group. It’s really a question of being exposed to hate speech and then being influenced by it.”In a report by the Straits Times, he said Singapore’s strategy has been to engage with communities and religious organisations on maintaining religious and racial harmony, as well as to use the ISA to pick up radicalised individuals before they can cause any harm.Emphasising that extremism is not restricted to one particular group, he pointed to terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam, as well as right-wing extremists with hate-filled manifestos.Shanmugam also noted a worrying trend. He said that since 2015 seven young people under 20 have been arrested under the ISA after becoming radicalised online.The minister held up the latest case as an example of why Singapore takes a tough stance against hate speech of all forms. The police are focused on responding quickly to terror incidents but it will not be easy to prevent every attack like the one the youth had planned, he cautioned.Since the plot came to light, the Internal Security Department and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth are encouraging religious organisations to be more vigilant.Religious leaders are urging Singaporeans to join forces to battle online radicalisation of young people.The National Council of Churches of Singapore issued a statement on Wednesday, saying: “We believe that this is an isolated incident, and that the youth developed his extremist ideology on his own rather than from any teaching from his church or other churches in Singapore. Nevertheless, we urge all church leaders and Christians to be vigilant and to continue careful nurture of youths who worship in our churches.”


IMF urges countries to support vulnerable, avoid blanket subsidies as food, fuel prices soar

The IMF said on Tuesday governments fighting soaring food and fuel prices should target aid to vulnerable citizens rather than issue across-the-board aid that risked adding to strains on public finances.Over half of 134 countries surveyed said they had introduced subsidies or tax cuts to soften the blow of soaring price rises triggered by the war in Ukraine, the International Monetary Fund said in a blog.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to sharp spikes in food and fuel prices, compounding global economic woes, especially for developing economies that have been struggling more than richer ones to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.“Policymakers should allow high global prices to pass through to the domestic economy while protecting vulnerable households affected by the increases,” the IMF blog said.“That’s ultimately less costly than keeping prices artificially low for all irrespective of their ability to pay.”The IMF often makes removing subsidies a condition of giving aid.Pakistan on June 2 slashed fuel subsidiesfor the second time in a week to secure a bailout from the IMF. Tunisia said on Tuesday it would start cutting energy and food subsidies next year alongside financial transfers to poor families, as it seeks a US$4 billion IMF loan.The IMF blog noted that governments had passed less of the rise in oil prices onto consumers in the first four months of this year than they had in 2021, adding that subsidies encouraged more energy consumption and thus fed the price rises.Food security concerns may mean that some governments have no option but to introduce subsidies and even hand out basic staples, the blog said, but it advised that “clear sunset clauses” for their termination were needed.


China reports slight drop in new Covid cases, Beijing cases rise

China reported 37,828 new Covid-19 infections on Nov 29, of which 4,288 were symptomatic and 33,540 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday.
That is compared with 38,645 new cases a day earlier – 3,624 symptomatic and 35,021 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.
Excluding imported infections, China reported 37,612 new local cases, of which 4,236 were symptomatic and 33,376 were asymptomatic, down from 38,421 a day earlier.
There were no deaths, compared with zero the previous day, keeping fatalities at 5,233.
As of Nov 29, mainland China had confirmed 319,536 cases with symptoms.
Discontent with stringent Covid prevention policies three years into the pandemic ignited into protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including Beijing and Shanghai.
China's capital Beijing reported 1,282 symptomatic and 3,240 asymptomatic cases on Tuesday, compared with 957 symptomatic and 3,429 asymptomatic cases the previous day, National Health Commission data showed.
Financial hub Shanghai reported 11 symptomatic cases and 176 asymptomatic cases, compared with 20 symptomatic cases and 158 asymptomatic cases a day before, the local health authority reported.
Guangzhou, a city in the south of nearly 19 million people, reported 541 new locally transmitted symptomatic and 6,454 asymptomatic cases, compared with 286 symptomatic and 6,993 asymptomatic cases a day before, local authorities said.
Chongqing reported 164 new symptomatic locally transmitted infections and 7,669 asymptomatic cases, compared with 209 symptomatic and 8,538 asymptomatic cases the previous day.


Iceland suffers 1,000% rise in infections after positive French tourists refuse to follow rules

Two French tourists pub crawling around Reykjavik bars instead of quarantining have triggered a 1,000% rise in Covid-19 cases in Iceland.The previously almost infection-free island nation of 340,000 has seen 100 new Covid-19 cases since their arrival, according to the Icelandic newspaper Visir.Iceland’s infection rate per 100,000 people has risen from 7.3 to 89.7 in 10 daysThe French tourists did not isolate like they had agreed to after testing positive on arrival.Visir reports that instead of isolating, the two actually visited pubs, which is how the infections spread.An Irish pub and a Brewdog bar accounted for most of the new cases after the strain of the virus brought by the French visitors spread there.“This French virus, which we might call it, is a bit overwhelming now,” said Iceland’s chief epidemiologist Thorolfur Gudnason. “I have information that it was difficult to get them to follow the instructions,” he said of the tourists. “I really cannot say more.”Around 3,000 Covid-19 tests have been carried out each day across Iceland over the past week, according to data from the nation’s health ministry. Capacity has ramped up massively, from fewer than 2,000 a day in total, to cope with the spike in cases.Mass testing throughout the pandemic allowed Iceland to avoid a general lockdown. The population was merely told to be careful and wash their hands regularly.Iceland has now been added to Britain’s quarantine list.


US airport worker dies after 'ingested' by plane engine

US regulators said Sunday they are investigating an incident in which a Texas airport worker was killed after being sucked into a passenger plane engine.
A Delta flight had arrived in San Antonio, Texas from Los Angeles on Friday night and was taxiing to the gate with one engine on "when a worker was ingested into that engine," the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told AFP in a statement.
"The NTSB is continuing to gather information about the event," it said.
The worker was employed by Unifi Aviation, a company the airline giant contracts with for ground crew operations, according to local media.
Delta told San Antonio broadcaster KENS 5 that the company was "deeply saddened" by Friday night's events and that it is "cooperating with authorities as they begin their investigation."
Unifi Aviation told the broadcaster the incident was "a tragic accident."
"From our initial investigation, this incident was unrelated to Unifi's operational processes, safety procedures and policies," the company said.
On Wednesday, regional carrier Piedmont Airlines was fined US$15,625 (about RM73,000) by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), another regulatory body, for the death of a ground crew worker last year in a similar incident.
"Proper training and enforcement of safety procedures could have prevented this tragedy," an OSHA official said.
Piedmont is a subsidiary of carrier American Airlines.


What Anwar should do

Back in May, when Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah first warned politicians against attempts to deflect attention from the war against the Covid-19 pandemic, our daily numbers still comprised two-digit figures.Two days ago, we recorded our highest daily numbers yet: 2,234 more people needed beds and costly medical equipment on top of some 11,000 already being treated for Covid-19.Yesterday was not far off with about 1,900 new cases and nine deaths.And yet, a certain politician – or perhaps his supporters – appears to have missed the message.When the media quoted “PKR sources” as saying that their leader Anwar Ibrahim is seeking an appointment with the king again to show that he has the majority support to become prime minister, not a single person from the party – whether the secretary-general, an official spokesman or Anwar himself – came out to dismiss the report as nonsense.Not only does such a report show disrespect to the thousands of frontliners and Covid-19 victims – those fighting for their lives and those who have died – it also shows that some of our politicians don’t give two hoots about the Agong’s repeated pleas for political differences and ambitions to be put aside, just until we emerge from this crisis.Let us not forget that Malaysia, like every other country across the world, is in a state of war.How else would we describe the situation when more than 12,000 people and counting have been isolated in hospitals and we hear every day of someone’s parent or child or husband or wife succumbing to this invisible enemy?Over the last two months, hundreds have died. Our concern should be the numbers brought to us each day by Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, not the numbers concocted by a certain politician or his supporters in the media.The Agong has said it repeatedly: stop politicking and join the war with the rest of Malaysians. Clearly, though, the advice has fallen on deaf ears.Under a constitutional monarchy, there is little else the palace can do when some grown men still cling to ambitions they had harboured from campus days.It’s time that Anwar came out to deny speculative reports that he is seeking an audience with the Agong, or that he has gathered enough support to form a new government.Not that the public is in a state of confusion. Malaysians, to their credit, have grown wiser especially since the Sept 23 press conference and Oct 13 audience with the king.But any failure by Anwar to issue a denial will show the public which side of the war he is on, even if it does little to erase the image of the proverbial boy who cried wolf.


10 dead after boat carrying undocumented migrants capsizes off Johor

Ten undocumented migrants were found dead while 21 others were rescued after their boat capsized, believed due to bad weather, in Tanjung Balau near Kota Tinggi early this morning.Johor Maritime director First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria said the incident was reported at 4.30am and that a search and rescue operation (SAR) was ongoing for the remaining passengers.“Based on preliminary information, about 60 illegal immigrants were in the boat. Ten bodies have been found by the Malaysian army,” he said in a statement today.He said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency had activated the SAR operation at 8.50am and mobilised several of its assets – the AW 139 Agusta aircraft, KM Tegas vessel and Petir 50 boat.The Johor Bahru Maritime Rescue Sub Centre received a report about the incident from the Bandar Penawar Fire and Rescue Station, which received information on the discovery of the boat from the Tanjung Sepang Tactical Headquarters, he said.


Najib, Anwar prepare to debate, minus the excitement of a decade ago

Since former prime minister Najib Razak and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim announced their willingness to participate in a debate, the joke making the rounds is that two leaders with a history of criminal convictions would be coming together to talk about national issues.Anwar has served two prison terms for corruption and sodomy respectively. Najib meanwhile is waiting for his final appeal in court after being convicted of misappropriating hundreds of millions of ringgit. Both recently clashed on social media over troubled oil and gas services company Sapura Energy Bhd.This was after PKR’s Rafizi Ramli criticised Najib for proposing that the government help Sapura, which recently announced a loss of RM8.9 billion, including in the form of a takeover of the company by national oil firm Petronas.Debates between top politicians have long been part of Malaysia’s political scene, especially since the much publicised fuel price debate in 2008 between Anwar and then communications and multimedia minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek. That was the first time that an opposition leader’s debate with a government leader was telecast live on national television, in what was seen as part of a political liberalisation by then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.It was a huge publicity boost for the opposition.Since then, politicians have hoped to cash in on the same limelight, with such debates differing from the mundane and rule-bound discussions in Parliament.DAP’s Lim Guan Eng has twice debated with the party’s arch rival MCA, once with its then president Chua Soi Lek in 2012, and another time late last year with current president Wee Ka Siong.In 2012, meanwhile, Rafizi debated issues related to study loan PTPTN with then Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.That debate led to calls for Najib, who was leading the Barisan Nasional government at the time, to come face to face with Anwar, the opposition leader.Najib eventually rejected such calls, saying that debates were not part of Malaysian political culture.‘Two leaders past their time’Today, the prospect of a debate between the two fails to generate the same excitement among Malaysians as it did 10 years ago.Observers have questioned the relevance of a debate between them, given their political trajectory which appears to be taking them further from the seat of power.Najib has been convicted and sentenced over RM42 million related to SRC International channelled into his private accounts. Anwar, meanwhile, has been seen as losing his influence in PKR and Pakatan Harapan (PH) following his party’s poor performance at three consecutive state elections in Melaka, Sarawak and Johor.Since his fall from power in 2018, Najib has challenged DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and Bersatu leader Muhyiddin Yassin to debate with him, while brushing aside a recent challenge from International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali to take him on over Felda issues.Najib’s debate with Anwar this time will take place with the two more as friendly foes than the political enemies they were a decade ago. In October 2020, Najib supported Anwar’s bid to become prime minister in a joint letter to the palace with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.A former aide of Najib welcomed debates, saying they were good for a maturing democracy.“But sometimes you don’t get to choose the debaters, who could be seasoned politicians still hogging the limelight,” said Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.Analyst Hisommudin Bakar, meanwhile, sees a problem with debates between politicians in Malaysia: they do not provide a standard for clear assessment by the public or voters.“There is no yardstick for making debates a contributor to support for a particular party or figure,” said Hisommuddin, who leads electoral think tank Ilham Centre.Referring to the debate between Lim and Wee last year, he said there had been no real impact from the event on a national scale.“All it showed was that these two leaders had brought their dispute to the debate stage,” he said.Personalities, not issuesHisommuddin said in such debates, a clash of personalities would overshadow the topic.“Looking at the importance of the debates and their timing, I see them as being used more to raise the image of certain political parties,” he said.Political observer Azizi Safar meanwhile said debates were to resolve questions and find solutions to public interest issues.“At the debate between Wee and Lim, for example, some of Lim’s claims were shown to be untrue,” he said.But beyond personalities, Hisommudin also questioned the topic of the debate between Najib and Anwar.He said a topic like Sapura Energy did not deserve to be debated at the national level, adding that there were many other issues more worthy of discussion.“In terms of timing, the Sapura issues are not so important either,” he said.Azizi agreed that the looming Najib-Anwar debate would be between two politicians who were past their time.“The way I see it, both Najib and Anwar want to prove that they are still relevant,” he said.“Both of them know that they have no hope of becoming prime minister.”For Hisommudin, using Najib as a punching bag might be an easy way of gaining support ahead of PKR’s party elections, which are expected to be as fractious as they were in 2018.“This debate is more about politicians cementing their position on the country’s political radar,” he said. “No more, no less.”


12-year-old’s marriage causes stir in Iraq

An Iraqi court adjourned a hearing Sunday to allow a man to formalise his religious marriage to a 12-year-old girl, according to a lawyer for the girl’s mother, who opposes the union.Rights activists protested outside the Baghdad court with banners such as “the marriage of minors is a crime against childhood”, while lawyer Marwan Obeidi told AFP the case had been postponed until Nov 28.The legal age for marriage in Iraq is 18 but can be lowered to 15 in cases of parental or judicial consent, according to charity Save the Children.“Religious marriages are not permitted outside civil or religious courts but these types of marriages still happen regularly and can be formalised on the payment of a small fine,” it said in a recent report.The mother, who refuses to be identified, said her daughter Israa had been “raped” and that the girl’s father kidnapped her.But a department of the interior ministry dealing with violence against women said in a statement that it had met with Israa, her father and husband, seen the religious contract, and said she had assured them she had not been coerced.Child marriage is not uncommon in conservative and rural areas of Iraq, as well as in other Arab countries.


What to know about mysterious severe hepatitis cases in children

At least 600 children in at least 34 countries have developed cases of sudden severe liver inflammation, or acute hepatitis, for which doctors have no explanation.Here is what health officials know so far:Many cases detected in US, UKAs of May 18, at least 175 children in the UK and 180 in the US have become sick since October 2021, the majority of them younger than five years old.By comparison, doctors usually see 20 children with acute hepatitis of unknown origin each year at the UK’s three specialist pediatric hepatology units, Dr Deirdre Kelly, a pediatric liver disease specialist at the University of Birmingham, told reporters on Thursday. “This is considerably more,” she said.How severe are these cases?In the US, more than 90% of affected children have been hospitalised. Most have recovered, but at least five died, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, more than two dozen children have needed liver transplants.Most cases have been reported since April. The typical signs are dark urine, light stool, vomiting, and jaundice.Cause a mysteryAcute hepatitis is unusual in young children. No common environmental exposures have been found, such as unsafe water or food. Doctors think a virus is most likely to blame, but none of the children have had viruses known to cause hepatitis.Almost half of the children have tested positive for adenovirus, a common childhood virus, including some with a type called adenovirus-41F. Adenovirus-41 is known to cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. It has not been previously linked to this type of severe liver injury in healthy children, said Dr Rima Fawaz, a pediatric liver disease specialist from the Yale School of Medicine.The UK Health Security Agency has said possible explanations include an exceptionally large wave of normal adenovirus infections causing unusual complication to turn up more often, a new adenovirus variant, a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, or a previously unknown infectious agent. Researchers have raised the possibility that some earlier infection caused the children’s immune system to over-react to pathogens that are usually relatively benign.Covid-19 link?Disease experts have ruled out a link between the hepatitis cases and Covid vaccines, as most of the affected children were too young to receive the shots.Most of the children did not currently have Covid-19, and prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 has not yet been determined for many cases, said Dr Jason Kindrachuk, an infectious diseases researcher at the University of Manitoba, Canada.However, some may have had mild or asymptomatic Covid infections that went unnoticed. Lingering coronavirus particles in the gastrointestinal tract could be priming the immune system to over-react to a usually-milder adenovirus with high amounts of inflammatory proteins that ultimately damage the liver.Other experts also theorise that due to social distancing and other measures used to curb the pandemic, younger children had less exposure to adenoviruses that would have helped them build up immunity. As a result, their immune systems may be over-reacting to infection now.“More research would be needed to confirm either theory,” Fawaz said.Detection bias may confound estimatesThere is also the possibility that acute hepatitis rates in young children may not be as elevated as it appears. Paediatricians may be testing for the condition more often in children with gastrointestinal symptoms, leading to more frequent diagnosis of cases that might have gone undetected in the past.


As Ukraine war rages, Nato in show of force in the Mediterranean

A deafening stream of fighter jets land and take off from a US aircraft carrier, part of a long-planned Nato exercise in the Mediterranean to show military might while Russia wages war in Ukraine.“I want us to be as ready as we can possibly be,” US Rear Admiral Curt Renshaw, commander of the Carrier Strike Group Eight, told reporters this week on a visit on board USS Harry S Truman.“We look at the Russian capability and we look at our own capabilities and then we train to counter what they might do and to defend ourselves and to defend partners and allies.”The aircraft carrier is taking part in “Neptune Shield 2022”, a Nato training activity in the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea this month involving nations from Italy, Poland and Turkey to Britain and the US.The goal is to overcome the difficulties of integrating command and control of air, sea and land assets from different countries in the Nato military alliance.The operation has been in the pipeline for two years, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February has cast a new light on events.Speaking in Mediterranean waters between Crete and Libya, Renshaw is well aware how this show of strength comes across on the other side of Europe.“Look at the strike fighters, look around you! Of course this should be a deterrent effect,” he said, surrounded by F-18 Super Hornet jets lined up in a hangar.“I think anyone would not be very wise to attack us or to have some sort of aggression against an ally if you think of the capabilities we have.”Asked about more precise activities, he added: “I won’t talk about specific operations but we do keep close track of where Russia operates submarines.”‘Weighs on our minds’USS Harry S Truman is akin to a small floating town, carrying around 4,800 individuals, with a disturbingly short runway from which jets fire off regularly or land abruptly, their tailhooks snagged in the ship’s arresting wires.Among the pilots is British Royal Navy officer Rory Cheyne, who is on an exchange programme with the Americans and recalls recent training flights into France, Germany and Spain.Asked about the impact of the Ukraine war, he told AFP: “Clearly the training nature of this activity, enhanced vigilance activity, has been put into a different context.“But certainly what we’re doing… is no different given that context. We are here to work hand in hand with our allies and be ready for whatever eventuality should occur.”Lieutenant Commander Jeannette Lazzaro, a 33-year-old American, works in the operations department, which sets out the air plan on which flight schedules are based.The war “has not had a direct impact on what we’re doing… however it does certainly weigh on our minds”, she told AFP.The exercise is a serious business, but there are moments of levity – not least an informal competition by some of the pilots to grow the best moustache, an adornment typical of World War II fighter pilots.“It’s a proven fact that a man sporting a moustache is far better in tactical execution and esprit de corps within a combat unit than a man without a moustache,” joked Hayward Foard, second-in-command of the Strike Fighter Squadron.“Typically we compete who can grow the most finely shaped moustache. I like to think I’m first in the running.”


PM Ismail again dismisses calls by pro-Najib leaders for early polls

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today poured cold water on calls by a section of his party leaders for the dissolution of Parliament to pave the way for the 15th general election.Ismail, who is also the Umno vice-president, said the matter fell under the powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.“We have to wait first. This needs consultation with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. If we set our own date, the Agong will consider that as taking over his authority,” he told reporters at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, where the Umno general assembly is underway.“So let us not step into the jurisdiction of the Agong.”Ismail, who became prime minister with the support of Perikatan Nasional and GPS after Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation last year, has been under pressure from several party chiefs aligned with convicted former leader Najib Razak to call for polls this year.The next general election must be held by May 2023, but observers say Najib and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi are eager to have it earlier due to the impending court cases against them.The calls gained momentum in the aftermath of Barisan Nasional’s election victory in Johor, where analysts say the turnout of its loyal vote bank ensured it a landslide win despite only a little over half of eligible voters casting their ballots.Ismail had then brushed aside the calls, saying the matter would be decided through the proper procedures.Last night, party deputy president Mohamad Hasan repeated the call for polls to be held, saying Umno must “strike while its enemies are weak”, referring to a disparate opposition.“Don’t wait for them (the opposition) to regroup, like during the 14th general election, they… Mahathir and Anwar kissed and made up, and only then did we call for elections. Sorry Najib,” said Mohamad, referring to former leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar Ibrahim’s cooperation to topple Najib in 2018.


Thai AirAsia X files for bankruptcy

Low-cost, long-haul carrier Thai AirAsia X has begun preparations to initiate a rehabilitation process after its application for bankruptcy protection was accepted by Thailand’s Central Bankruptcy Court.In a statement on May 19, it said the objective was to revamp the company’s administration process and restructure its debts, adding that the process would have no impact on passengers as operations would continue as usual.It also said that the filing for rehabilitation would have no impact on Thai AirAsia or Asia Aviation Plc, which are separate entities with “discrete operations and routes”.“Thai AirAsia X has entered into rehabilitation at an appropriate time with tourism recovering and the nation reopening,” Thai AirAsia X chief executive Patima Jeerapaet said.He added that the decision to enter into rehabilitation was to enhance the administration process in the best interests of its business progress, especially in terms of managing the company’s debt which he said had been impacted over the past two years of pandemic.He voiced confidence that the carrier’s stakeholders would support the move.Thai AirAsia’s application for bankruptcy protection was submitted on May 17 and accepted by the Thai Central Bankruptcy Court on May 18.It is looking to introduce flights to South Korea and Japan from June onwards, with further plans for expansion including more flight frequencies and new routes in line with demand.


Radio station publishes obituaries of famous living people

A French radio station published the obituaries of several prominent older people on its website on Monday.Those memorialised included Clint Eastwood, Brigitte Bardot and the Queen.It wasn’t long before readers began commenting that the last they had heard all these people were alive and if not kicking at least still managing to walk unaided most of the time.Radio France Internationale (RFI) blamed a technical problem on their website.“We offer our apologies to the people concerned and to you who follow and trust us,” the broadcaster said. “Our technical teams are mobilised to rectify this major bug and determine its cause and responsibilities.”The problem occurred when RFI was moving its website to a different content management system, according to its statement.Broadcasters and media outlets often prepare obituaries in advance in order to be able to publish them promptly when the person’s death is announced.RFI said “around a hundred” of these draft stories were published in error, not just to its own site but to partner sites including Google, Yahoo and MSN.French former minister and ex-president of Olympique Marseille Bernie Tapie is still with us at 77 but was also found among the obituaries.However, seeing himself pronounced dead can’t have come as too much of a shock to him as his obituary has been published on at least two other occasions by other news outlets, according to the BBC.


Saturated fats: friend, foe or something in between?

For many, the mere mention of “saturated fats” is enough to trigger any number of warning bells with “heart disease” likely topping the list of concerns.But while traditional dietary beliefs warn of the harmful effects of food high in saturated fats, experts say the situation may not be as simple as that.Fried food, butter, dairy products, tropical oils, fatty cuts of meat and poultry are the usual suspects and strict no-nos for those concerned about their health.But as with many things in life, fats can be healthy as well as unhealthy.Trans fats, for instance, are to be avoided at all costs. According to the American Heart Association, “Trans fats raise your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower your good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Eating trans fats increases your risk of developing heart disease and stroke.”Saturated fats, on the other hand, have no direct link to heart disease. A meta-analysis by Harvard University which reviewed 21 studies on saturated fats and heart disease concluded that there is no convincing evidence of any role by saturated fats in the matter.Dr Rosnah Ramly, a public health physician and sector head at the health ministry, helps break down the technical aspect of the issue.“The idea that saturated fats are linked to heart disease is based on the premise that saturated fats increase total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol – bad cholesterol – which are risk factors for heart disease,” she told MalaysiaNow.However, she added that several studies investigating the direct effect of saturated fat intake and heart disease have yielded conflicting results.“This suggests that the relationship between saturated fats, blood cholesterol, and heart disease is not as straightforward as it appears,” she said.“We cannot assume that a nutrient is bad just because of its effect on one parameter.”From the frying pan into the fireThere is also the problem of what has arisen from the so-called “healthy shift” away from saturated fats.“This suggests that the relationship between saturated fats, blood cholesterol, and heart disease is not as straightforward as it appears.”In an effort to reduce the fat content in food and meet health requirements, companies began processing their food products heavily in factories. But along with the fat went much of the flavour, forcing companies to add sugar and other additives in order to rectify the situation.This means that a lot of packaged food comes with added sugar, making it high in calories and lacking in essential nutrients.In a nutshell, the obsession with keeping a low-fat diet causes many to ingest more sugar and refined carbohydrates than ever before. This in turn has led to an increase in Type 2 diabetes or T2D over the years.A study published in the Annals of Global Health in 2015 titled “Diabetes Care in Malaysia: Problems, New Models, and Solutions” revealed that T2D had hit 20.8% in adults above the age of 30, affecting 2.8 million people in the country.But this does not mean that people should then U-turn back to saturated fats which, while perhaps unrelated to heart disease, are not particularly healthy and should be generally excluded from diets.Cardiologist Dr Wong Teck Wee advocates switching entirely to whole foods and healthier fats.Wong, who is president of the Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society, told MalaysiaNow that oils are not typically considered good for heart health while saturated fats should be taken sparingly as well.The key, according to him, is balance.“If you enjoy food that is high in saturated fats, consider taking in more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats which can be found in flax seeds and chia seeds, among others.”To reverse blockages in blood vessels, meanwhile, he recommends a whole-food, plant-based diet that is high in fibre and complex carbohydrates.For Rosnah, it is also important to raise public awareness on the issue.“We need to start educating the public on the food-based recommendation instead of the conventional single-nutrient approach as the public consumes foods and not nutrients,” she said.“This will help them understand which foods and how much should be consumed.”


The Singapore dream that became a nightmare for Malaysian bus drivers

Michael (not his real name) worked as a bus driver for a public transportation company in Singapore for six years, from 2014 to 2020.
Now back in Malaysia and selling nasi lemak to make ends meet, the 34-year-old is left with a sour taste in his mouth from his experience in the city-state.
Michael's story began in 2013, when he moved to Singapore to look for work. At the end of December that year, he managed to land a spot at SBS Transit Ltd. Work began the following year.
"After three months of training, we went through a traffic police test. After that, they released us into service," he said.
But there were some things that he and several other workers were uncomfortable with, and which they say amounted to unfair treatment against them.
"We were not allowed to take MC," he said. "If we took MC, they would reject our bonus payments."
Throughout his stint with SBS, Michael lived in Johor and made the daily trip across the causeway in order to get to work.
He started off with a basic salary of S$1,350 (RM4,340), which had increased to S$1,970 (RM6,334) by 2020.
His shift would begin at 2pm and end at about midnight. Once his shift ended, he would drive his bus back to the depot to be cleaned, and to take care of several other matters.
It would be close to 2am before he could finally begin making his way back to Johor Bahru.
"They insisted that we work on public holidays," he said. "They wanted you to work all day long, like a robot."
Michael worked seven days a week, after which he would be given the eighth day off.
He had been at SBS barely a month before he began feeling that he was being unfairly treated.
But for the sake of keeping his job and the pay cheque that arrived at the end of each month, he decided to lie low.
Eventually, though, he and 12 others agreed to initiate legal action.
The first lawsuit was brought by bus driver Chua Qwong Meng in 2019 and went to trial in March of this year.
On Aug 26, the Singapore High Court dismissed all of Chua's claims, dashing any hope that the other 12 had of making a case.
Of the 13 bus drivers, nine were Malaysians.
"Before all of this went to court, I discovered through the Ministry of Manpower website that the working week should be 44 hours," Michael said.
He raised this with his union but did not receive an encouraging response.
After SBS learnt of his involvement in the suit, he said it began to "target" him.
"My manager would go to the side of the road to take my speed reading," he said.
"This is a job normally done by the ticket officer."
Another former driver at the same company who spoke to MalaysiaNow expressed his disappointment at the outcome of the case.
Alex (not his real name) said he did not think that he would be mistreated in this way when he decided to work in Singapore – a place akin to the promised land for many Malaysians who associate the city-state with lucrative incomes in a currency three times the strength of the ringgit.
After two years of working at SBS, though, he found himself harbouring dissatisfaction and anger towards the company's management.
But he dared not complain or kick up a fuss for fear that he would lose his job before he had even finished paying his debts for his bus driving licence.
"I went from Puchong to Singapore after borrowing money from my family," he said.
"I patted myself on the back when I passed the test and landed a job in Singapore. But I feel that I have been treated even worse than the foreign workers in Malaysia."
Now, Alex warns all of his friends who dream of working in Singapore to think twice.
"Life there is hard," he said. "It's not like what people think it is."
When asked where he was working now after leaving SBS, he declined to answer, saying he was worried about "spies" from his former company.
Back in his home town of Semenyih, meanwhile, Michael continues to struggle at his nasi lemak business.
His contract with SBS ended in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the moment, he is trying to pay off the loans for his house and car which all together cost about RM3,000 a month.
"This nasi lemak business is all I have to get by," he said.


Sorry.


Iran, Saudi Arabia move further toward reconciliation

Iran and Saudi Arabia took a further step Saturday to seal their reconciliation as Riyadh's top diplomat made a landmark visit to the Islamic republic following a seven-year rupture.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan held talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian focusing on regional security.
He later met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, and was due to hand him an invitation "to visit the kingdom soon".
Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia severed relations with Shiite-led Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwestern city of Mashhad were attacked during protests over Riyadh's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr
But the two countries agreed in March to mend ties and reopen their respective embassies, in a Chinese-brokered deal that has shifted regional relations.
On June 6, Iran reopened its embassy and consulate in Saudi Arabia and the kingdom is expected to reopen its diplomatic mission in Tehran "soon", Prince Faisal said.
"I would like to point out the importance of cooperation between our two countries concerning the regional security, especially the security of maritime navigation and waterways," Prince Faisal said at a joint news conference with Amir-Abdollahian.
The Iranian foreign minister told reporters they had discussed ways of bolstering cooperation in the fields of security, economy, tourism and transportation.
But Amir-Abdollahian stressed Iran's view that "regional security will be ensured by regional actors only" without external interference.
"Our relations are based on a clear foundation of full and mutual respect for independence, sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs," Prince Faisal added.
He later met Raisi and they "reviewed bilateral relations and ways to enhance and develop them in various fields", the Saudi foreign ministry said in a tweet.
Raisi, in a statement from his office, said there were "no obstacles" to developing ties with Muslim countries, stressing that "regional problems and troubles can be dealt with" through cooperation and dialogue "without foreign interference".
Prince Faisal was the first Saudi foreign minister to visit Iran since 2006 when the late Saudi top diplomat Prince Saudi al-Faisal made a trip to Tehran.
Iran-Arab ties
Since restoring ties, Saudi Arabia has pushed for a peace deal with Iran-backed Huthi rebels and also championed the return last month of key Iran ally Syria to the Arab fold.
Saturday's meeting between the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers was not the first for the two top diplomats.
Prince Faisal and Amir-Abdollahian had met in Beijing in April, where they both vowed to promote regional security and stability.
The same month, a Saudi delegation visited Iran to discuss reopening its diplomatic missions, Riyadh's foreign ministry said at the time.
While Iran reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia, the reopening of the Saudi embassy in Tehran has been delayed due to the poor condition of the building which was damaged during the 2016 protests.
Pending the completion of the work, Saudi diplomats will be working from a  luxury hotel in Tehran, according to media reports.
After the landmark deal with the Saudi kingdom, Iran has moved to cementing or restoring ties with neighbouring Arab countries.
In April, Iran named an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates nearly eight years after his predecessor left.
The move came after Iran welcomed an Emirati ambassador last September ending a six-year absence after the UAE had cut the level of its diplomatic representation in 2016.
Iran has also said it would welcome restoring diplomatic ties with Bahrain to end a seven-year rupture.
And at the end of May, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he would welcome a resumption of relations with Egypt which have been cut since the 1979 Islamic revolution.


‘Most disappointing Cabinet ever’: Muhyiddin hits out at Anwar’s line-up

Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin today lashed out at the Cabinet line-up announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim yesterday evening, zooming in on the decision to name Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as one of two deputy prime ministers.
“This is the most disappointing Cabinet line-up that the country has ever seen, with someone who has been called to enter his defence against 47 charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering appointed as deputy prime minister,” he said, accusing Anwar of “mortgaging” the principles of good governance touted during the election campaign.
“Anwar appears to have sold the country’s honour simply in order to become prime minister,” Muhyiddin, who was prime minister himself from March 2020 to August 2021, added.
“This Cabinet of kleptocrats formed on the basis of fraud towards the people’s mandate has no legitimacy to function as the highest executive body of the country.”
The Pagoh MP also took aim at Anwar’s decision to take on the finance portfolio in addition to the prime minister’s post, calling it a practice that had led to the centralisation of power and large-scale embezzlement, as had occurred in the 1MDB scandal.
He likewise hit out at the appointment of MPs whom he described as “extreme chauvanists”, saying it would lead to controversy and the introduction of “extreme racist policies”.
“His reform agenda rings hollow when he could not even stand up in defence of his own party's struggle to fight against corruption and promote good governance,” he added.
“His worth as a true leader worthy of respect and dignity is now highly questionable.”


Muhyiddin arrested, to be charged under graft, money laundering laws

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) today confirmed that it had arrested former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, whom it said would be charged under corruption and money laundering laws.
In a statement, it said the Perikatan Nasional chairman was detained at 1pm after presenting himself for questioning as part of the anti-graft agency's investigation into alleged abuses linked to JanaWibawa, a post-Covid programme to help Bumiputera contractors.
"MACC has received permission from the Attorney-General's Chambers to charge Muhyiddin at the Kuala Lumpur court on March 10," it added.
It said Muhyiddin would face a number of charges under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 and Section 4(1)b of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
Muhyiddin's arrest followed that of two other Bersatu leaders after weeks of accusations by government leaders against the party.
MACC also froze the bank accounts of Bersatu, which has filed an application for a judicial review to challenge the decision.
Muhyiddin, who was also questioned last month regarding the same project, denied the accusations, calling them a political vendetta ahead of elections in six states which must be held this year.


First 3D-printed rocket lifts off but fails to reach orbit

The world's first 3D-printed rocket launched successfully on Wednesday, marking a step forward for the California company behind the innovative spacecraft, though it failed to reach orbit.
Billed as less costly to produce and fly, the unmanned Terran 1 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11.25pm (0325 GMT Thursday) but suffered an "anomaly" during second-stage separation as it streamed towards low Earth orbit, according to a livestream broadcast by aerospace startup Relativity Space.
The company did not immediately give further details.
While it failed to reach orbit, Wednesday's launch proved that the rocket – whose mass is 85% 3D-printed – could withstand the rigors of lift-off.
The successful launch came on the third attempt. It had originally been scheduled to launch on March 8 but was postponed at the last minute because of propellant temperature issues.
A second attempt on March 11 was scrubbed due to fuel pressure problems.
Had Terran 1 reached low Earth orbit, it would have been the first privately funded vehicle using methane fuel to do so on its first try, according to Relativity.
Terran 1 was not carrying a payload for its first flight, but the rocket will eventually be capable of putting up to 2,755 pounds (1,250kg) into low Earth orbit.
The rocket is 110 feet (33.5 meters) tall with a diameter of 7.5 feet (2.2 meters).
85% of its mass is 3D-printed with metal alloys, including the nine Aeon 1 engines used in its first stage and the one Aeon Vacuum engine employed in the second.
It is the largest ever 3D-printed object and was made using the world's largest 3D metal printers, according to the Long Beach-based company.
Built in 60 days
Relativity's goal is to produce a rocket that is 95% 3D-printed.
Terran 1 is powered by engines using liquid oxygen and liquid natural gas – the "propellants of the future," capable of eventually fueling a voyage to Mars, Relativity says.
SpaceX's Starship and Vulcan rockets being developed by United Launch Alliance use the same fuel.
Relativity is also building a larger rocket, the Terran R, capable of putting a payload of 44,000 pounds (20,000kg) into low Earth orbit.
The first launch of a Terran R, which is designed to be fully reusable, is scheduled for next year.
A satellite operator can wait for years for a spot on an Arianespace or SpaceX rocket, and Relativity Space hopes to accelerate the timeline with its 3D-printed rockets.
Relativity said its 3D-printed versions use 100 times fewer parts than traditional rockets and can be built from raw materials in just 60 days.
Relativity has signed commercial launch contracts worth US$1.65 billion (about RM7.3 billion), mostly for the Terran R, according to CEO Tim Ellis, who co-founded the company in 2015.


US appeals court rejects Biden's bid to revive student debt plan

A federal appeals court on Wednesday declined to put on hold a Texas judge's ruling that said President Joe Biden's plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt was unlawful.
The New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Biden administration's request to pause a judge's Nov 10 order vacating the US$400 billion (RM1.7 trillion) student debt relief programme in a lawsuit pursued by a conservative advocacy group.
The decision by Fort Worth, Texas-based US district judge Mark Pittman was one of two nationally that has prevented the US Department of Education under Biden from moving forward with granting debt relief to millions of borrowers.
The administration has asked the US Supreme Court to similarly lift an order by the St Louis-based 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals that, at the request of six Republican-led states, had barred it from cancelling student loans.
A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit in Wednesday's brief order declined to put Pittman's ruling on hold while the administration appealed his decision, but the court directed that the appeal be heard on an expedited basis.
The panel included two Republican appointees and one judge nominated by former Democratic president Barack Obama. Pittman was appointed by former Republican president Donald Trump.
Biden announced in August that the US government would forgive up to US$10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than US$125,000 a year, or US$250,000 for married couples. Students who received Pell Grants to benefit lower-income college students will have up to US$20,000 of their debt cancelled.
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden promised to help debt-saddled former college students. Biden's programme has drawn opposition from Republicans, who have portrayed it as shifting the burden of debt from wealthy elites to lower-income Americans.
The Congressional Budget Office in September calculated that the debt forgiveness programme run would cost taxpayers about US$400 billion.
About 26 million Americans have applied for student loan forgiveness, and the US Department of Education had already approved requests from 16 million by the time Pittman issued his ruling.
Pittman ruled in a lawsuit by two borrowers who were partially or fully ineligible for the loan forgiveness who were backed by the Job Creators Network Foundation, a conservative advocacy group founded by Bernie Marcus, a co-founder of Home Depot.
The judge said it was irrelevant if Biden's plan was good public policy because the program was "one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in the history of the US."
Pittman wrote that the Heroes Act – a law that provides loan assistance to military personnel and that was relied upon by the Biden administration to enact the relief plan – did not authorise the programme.


Hishammuddin down with Covid-19

Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has tested positive for Covid-19, his office announced today.In a statement, it said Hishammuddin would undergo the mandatory quarantine set by the health ministry for those who have received a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine.It said the last time he had tested negative for the virus through RT-PCR test was on Feb 18.“Hishammuddin will continue to monitor and perform his duties as appropriate throughout his isolation period,” it said.


London's Tube faces week of strikes this month

London underground rail staff will go on strike from July 23-28 in a long-running dispute over pensions, job cuts and working conditions, trade union RMT said on Thursday.
Over 10,000 workers are eligible to strike but the strikes will affect different sections of the Tube network and grades of workers on different days, an RMT spokesman said.
"This week of action will shut down the London Underground and show just how important the work of our members is," RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said in a statement.
Rail workers across Britain have staged several strikes since last summer, like thousands of employees in other industries and professions, as high inflation spurs demands for better pay.
"We are disappointed that the RMT has announced strike action on this range of issues that we have been attempting to discuss with them openly," said Transport for London Chief Operating Officer Glynn Barton.
"We are urging the union to reconsider and engage with us to discuss the issues and seek a resolution."


Singapore court to hear gay man’s appeal to abolish sodomy laws

Singapore’s appeals court will today hear arguments by a 63-year-old gay man seeking to abolish a law criminalising the act of sodomy, a year after the High Court dismissed his challenge.Dr Roy Tan, a medical doctor who, a decade ago, organised the first public rally in support of homosexual communities in Singapore, is represented by the city-state’s prominent human rights lawyer M Ravi.“I filed the first challenge in 2010 when I first met Dr Roy, who stood by us during the legal challenges over the years that gave the standing for all gay men to challenge this discriminatory and absurd law.“It has been a long road to justice and equality. I hope this time round, 377A will be struck down,” he said, referring to the Penal Code’s Section 377A which criminalises “gross indecency” between men with a jail term of up to two years.In 2019, Tan filed a constitutional challenge against the law, saying it was no longer enforced.But the court last year ruled that not enforcing the law did not affect its constitutionality.Government lawyers had then argued that any move to repeal the law should be decided by the Parliament and not the courts.Tan is now seeking for the court to instruct the government to table a bill abolishing Section 377A.This is not the first time that gay men have challenged laws criminalising homosexual acts. In 2014, the Court of Appeal threw out a similar challenge by a gay couple, in a judgment which remains binding.The Singapore government has maintained that the law, enacted during the British colonial era, will not be implemented.In 2019, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said despite the existence of the law, his government welcomes everyone to work in the republic “no matter your sexual orientation”.


New cases inch up to 5,700

Another 5,755 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,602,835.Another 5,082 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,503,427.Meanwhile 506 are in the ICU, including 426 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 270 are in need of respiratory assistance including 158 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 5,755 cases reported today, 101 (1.8%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 5,654 (98.2%) are in Category One and Two.


Bank Negara governor denies OPR hike has led to more bankruptcies

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus has denied that the increase in the overnight policy rate (OPR) has led to a rise in bankruptcies.
She said there are no figures to support such an allegation, adding that as a matter of fact, on aggregate, households have continued to hold financial assets in excess of debt which has enabled them to manage higher borrowing costs.
"I wish to stress that it is not true that the OPR increase caused a rise in bankruptcies.
"We acknowledge there are pockets of segments and sectors that need help due to their circumstances, and help remains available for those in need.
"With all these conditions, it is timely, necessary and warranted that monetary policy is recalibrated to make sure that we continue to be on a sustainable growth path," she said when announcing the first quarter 2023 economic performance at Sasana Kijang today.
BNM at its monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on May 3, 2023 increased the OPR by 25 basis points to 3.00%. Accordingly, the ceiling and floor rates of the corridor of the OPR were increased to 3.25% and 2.75%, respectively.
Meanwhile, at the announcement, Shamsiah said the decision to increase the OPR was made because the country's economy has continued to strengthen, the gross domestic product has exceeded the pre-pandemic levels, unemployment has fallen and households remained resilient.
She said amid resilient domestic growth prospects, the MPC judged that it was the right time to further normalise the degree of monetary accommodation.
With this decision, the MPC has withdrawn the monetary stimulus intended to address Covid-19 crisis in promoting economic recovery.
"At the current OPR level of 3.00%, the monetary policy stance is slightly accommodative and remains supportive of the economy," she said.
She also emphasised that while inflation has been moderating, the greater expansion in Malaysia's economy and firm domestic demand, continue to contribute to price pressures, keeping inflation elevated, which has also been a trend in many countries.
"In some cases, monetary policy was slow to react, resulting in the need for policy interest rates to be raised more quickly and aggressively.
"We certainly do not want to be in that situation. We must be prudent.
"We also want to avoid a situation of keeping interests too low for too long, especially when the economic growth is firm because this could lead to higher inflation in the future and also (there is the) risk of financial imbalances," said Shamsiah.
Ultimately, she said, the goal of monetary policy is to achieve sustainable economic growth over a longer term.
The governor also corrected the misconception of wanting economic growth to be slower.
Stressing that this is not true, she said the decision to raise the interest rate would help to ensure that the country continues to grow sustainably.
Meanwhile, Shamsiah said the domestic financial market remains orderly despite concerns that the global economy output could moderate.
In particular, the banking sector stress in major advanced economies has contributed to global bond yields declining further towards the end of the quarter amid monetary policy easing expectations in the US.
She said despite external uncertainties, investors' outlook for emerging markets, including Malaysia, has remained broadly intact.
Malaysia's domestic government bond yields declined during the quarter in line with global bond yields. Following lingering uncertainties, most regional equities markets including the FBM KLCI also declined in the same period.


Iran says 20% uranium enrichment process started

Iran has started the process to enrich uranium to 20% purity at its Fordow facility, state media reported Monday, going well beyond the threshold set by the 2015 nuclear deal.“The process for producing 20% enriched uranium has started at Shahid Alimohammadi enrichment complex (Fordow),” government spokesman Ali Rabiei said, quoted on the website of the state broadcaster.According to the official, President Hassan Rouhani ordered the enrichment “in recent days”, and “the gas injection process started as of hours ago”.The move follows a bill passed last month by the conservative-dominated parliament “for the lifting of sanctions and protection of the Iranian people’s interests” and mandating Rouhani’s government to “produce and store 120kg per year of uranium enriched to 20%”.The law also calls on the administration to end UN inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities, if the remaining parties to the deal – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – do not facilitate Iran’s oil sales and guarantee the return of the proceeds.Before the bill became law, Rouhani slammed it as “detrimental to the course of diplomatic activities”.But the Guardian council, which arbitrates disputes between the parliament and the government, approved the bill into law last month.Iranian officials, including foreign minister Javad Zarif, had said the government will comply with the parliament’s decision.Quoted by the government’s website, Rabiei said that the administration’s stance towards the law is clear, “but the government considers itself bound to carry out the law”.The government has signalled a readiness to engage with US president-elect Joe Biden after four tense years under Trump, who reimposed and reinforced crippling sanctions on Tehran after withdrawing the US from the nuclear agreement.


Another record for daily jabs as numbers top 500,000 for fourth day

A total of 556,404 doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered yesterday, making it the fourth day in a row that daily jab numbers have exceeded 500,000.Health Minister Dr Adham Baba, through an infographic on his Twitter, said the number of vaccine doses administered yesterday was the highest since the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme was launched on Feb 24.Of the total doses administered yesterday, 343,530 were first doses and 212,874 were for second-dose recipients.The Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee said that cumulatively, a total of 19,502,452 doses had been administered in the country as of yesterday.


July 21 decision on QC's bid to represent Najib in final SRC appeal

The Kuala Lumpur High Court will decide on July 21 whether a Queen's Counsel (QC) can represent Najib Razak in his final appeal in his SRC International case involving the misappropriation of RM42 million.
Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid set the date after hearing submissions from the prosecution and defence on the application by the former prime minister to allow Jonathan Laidlaw of the UK to represent him.
The prosecution asked how a QC could effectively assist the Federal Court in the case when the lawyer had not attended the related hearings in the High Court and Court of Appeal.
Deputy public prosecutor V Sithambaram said it was needless for Laidlaw to represent Najib in his final appeal as Malaysian lawyers were able to deal with any novel and complex issues surrounding the case.
"My Lord, the said criminal appeals do not involve novel or complex issues and in any event, those issues have been deliberated by the learned trial judge and affirmed by the Court of Appeal. He (Laidlaw) is a brilliant man, I’m not denying that, but we don’t need him here," he said. "If only a foreign counsel could handle novel or complex issues, I think, in the future, Malaysians must run to England to get a QC. Surely a foreign counsel like the appellant, lacking in local knowledge and not having handled the trial and appeal, would necessarily be disadvantaged in handling the appeals in the Federal Court."
Sithambaram said the application should not be allowed as Laidlaw, if permitted to represent Najib, would still need to fly to Malaysia, read the case files, and only then make his arguments.
"This would open the floodgates to similar applications in other court cases," he added.
He also said that the applicant had failed to show that advocates and solicitors in Malaysia, especially Najib’s current counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, or other senior criminal lawyers, lacked the qualifications and experience to conduct the criminal appeals.
He further argued that the QC’s assistance was not needed as Shafee had argued for Najib when the trial was at the High Court and all the way through the initial appeal before the Court of Appeal. Lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, representing Laidlaw, countered that the applicant was recognised as a specialist in business and financial crimes, and would also have unique qualifications and experience in matters of statutory construction, which he added would be relevant to the issues in the appeal.
The application has also met with objection from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Malaysian Bar and the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee by virtue of them being the four respondents.
Earlier when proceedings began, Harvinderjit requested that the court adjourn today’s hearing to tomorrow as Shafee was unwell and could not attend court.
However, the four respondents objected to the adjournment and asked for the proceedings to proceed. Judge Kamal then asked Harvinderjit to argue on behalf of Shafee.
On May 31, Najib filed the application to allow the QC to represent him in the SRC appeal on several grounds, including Laidlaw's special qualifications, experience and expertise which he said were not available among lawyers in Malaysia.
On April 29, the Federal Court set 10 days in August to hear Najib’s appeal against his conviction and jail sentence for the misappropriation of the company’s funds.


Human activity threatens species survival, study says

Human activities such as farming and construction are threatening the survival of scores of wild species by forcing them to travel more to avoid mankind’s impact, research showed Monday.According to the United Nations’ biodiversity panel, more than three quarters of land and 40% of Earth’s oceans have already been “severely degraded” by humans.Its landmark biodiversity assessment in 2019 drew on a large body of research into how human activities are impacting nature.But there have been relatively few studies looking at specific species and how human influence is changing their behaviour.Researchers in Australia looked at the impact of activities such as roads, tourism, recreation, hunting, shipping and fishing on 167 species, from the 0.05g sleepy orange butterfly to the two-tonne Great White shark.They found that most species had increased the distance they travel due to human influence – by 70% on average.In a third of species, movement had either increased or decreased by half, according to the study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.“This tells us that humans have widespread impacts on animal movement, but in many cases these are going undetected and unaddressed,” lead author Tim Doherty, from the University of Sydney, told AFP.“In everyday life, we generally only see animals in the wild for short periods and don’t get a proper understanding of how they move around and use space.”‘Cascading impacts’Doherty said that since many species, including most mammals, spend nearly all their energy on hunting for food and finding mates, the additional energy required to relocate away from humans was an unwelcome survival challenge.“However, animals will often move further in response to disturbance to ensure their survival, for example by seeking shelter, finding food,” he said.“Some species are able to cope with these changes better than others.”Of the taxonomic groups studied, birds and insects moved the most on average in order to avoid coming into contact with human activity.The study warned of “cascading impacts” to natural processes such as pollination if such displacements continued apace.The authors said they had documented a “global restructuring of animal movement, with potentially profound impacts on populations, species and ecosystem processes”.They called for better preservation of natural habitats through increasing protected areas and managing construction and tourism, as well as seasonal curbs on hunting during species’ breeding periods.


Ambulance workers to strike, further disrupting UK health service

Britain's health service faces further disruption in December after thousands of ambulance workers represented by three different trade unions voted for strike action in disputes over pay and conditions.
The GMB union said more than 10,000 ambulance workers across England and Wales had voted in favour of industrial action, while the Unite and Unison trade unions also said their ambulance service members had backed walkouts.
Britain's state-run National Health Service (NHS) is braced for a wave of unprecedented industrial action this winter, with up to 100,000 nurses due to take strike action on Dec 15 and 20 for the first time in their union's 100-year history.
"No one in the NHS takes strike action lightly, today shows just how desperate they are," GMB National Secretary Rachel Harrison said.
"This is as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about pay... Something has to change or the service as we know it will collapse."
Inflation has soared in Britain this year, causing a cost of living crisis, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The GMB said it would convene in the coming days to discuss potential strike dates before Christmas.
The NHS, which has provided healthcare free at the point of use since 1948, is dealing with record levels of patients on waiting lists for hospital treatment due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a staffing crisis which has left thousands of vacancies.
Accident and emergency departments are also under strain, with ambulances often facing lengthy waits to transfer patients to hospitals.
Separately, the Unite union said its ambulance service members had also voted for industrial action, with strikes likely to begin before Christmas. It had balloted 3,000 staff including paramedics and emergency call handlers.
Unison said on Tuesday thousands of health workers it represents, including call handlers, ambulance technicians and paramedics, were set to take industrial action in December after voting in favour of strikes.
In response to Unison's announcement, Britain's health and social care minister Steve Barclay said he regretted that some NHS staff would be walking out as the country approached "a challenging winter".
"Our priority is keeping patients safe during any strikes and the NHS has tried and tested plans to minimise disruption and ensure emergency services continue to operate," Barclay said in a statement.


Why even mention new Malaysia Agreement, Abang Johari asks

The suggestion by Barisan Nasional (BN) deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan for a new Malaysia Agreement should not even have been mentioned, Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg said yesterday.
He said the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), agreed upon by the country’s forefathers, was fundamental to the establishment of the country.
"What Tok Mat (Mohamad) proposed should not even be brought up. What we want is the implementation of the conditions enshrined in MA63 and the results of the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) report," he said.
Speaking to the media in Gedong, he said most of the conditions in MA63 had been eroded, and that negotiations were being conducted between the federal government, Sabah and Sarawak to restore them.
"We don’t need to make a new agreement. If it’s a new agreement, it means you invalidate the old agreement. If you invalidate the old agreement, then the formation of Malaysia would be questioned," he said.
Mohamad had suggested that Sabah BN propose a new Malaysia Agreement as a more concrete way of realising the rights and demands of the state in MA63, during a speech at the Sabah BN convention on July 2.
Abang Johari also said the current MA63 negotiations with the federal government involved special allocations for Sarawak as enshrined in Article 112D of the Federal Constitution.
He said Sarawak wanted the special allocation to be distributed according to a formula with the best percentage of revenue generated by the state to be returned to Sarawak.
He said negotiations for a Sarawak government representative in the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) as stipulated in the IGC report was also a good development based on the latest feedback he had received.
"Now they (LHDN) have requested a name to represent Sarawak. This means we know how much our revenue is. We can know what is the right amount that you (federal government) can give to us," he said.
He added that the Sarawak government did not intend to pressure the federal government but wanted the MA63 negotiations to produce a win-win situation for all sides.
"If the financial situation of the federal (government) isn’t too good, we can’t pressure them. But based on the formula (suggested by Sarawak), it’s easy (to reach a consensus)," he added.


Experts tell who benefits from govt’s electric vehicle incentives

The government’s announcement in the 2022 budget on the giving of incentives to electric vehicle (EV) owners does not mean that the price of such cars will drop to the point that they become affordable for all segments of society, experts in the automotive industry say.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, they said while prices might go down, they would still top hundreds of thousands of ringgit, making EVs accessible only to the rich.They also said that the government’s intention in announcing the incentives was to help industry players given the lacklustre sale of EVs in the country.Chips Yap said the new technology used in the production of EVs is what makes them more expensive than traditional cars which run on fuel.He said car manufacturers have spent billions of ringgit on research and development and are still unable to raise investment capital.“It’s not the same as a combustion engine vehicle. That technology is mature as it has been in the development process for over 100 years,” Yap, who is also managing editor of the Piston.My group, told MalaysiaNow.“So manufacturing companies need help from the government to facilitate EV sales, especially at the early stage, allowing them to be sold at cheaper prices through various incentives.”During the budget presentation last month, the government had proposed full exemptions on import duties, excise duties and sales tax for EVs as well as road tax exemption of up to 100%.It also announced individual income tax relief of up to RM2,500 on the cost of purchase and installation, rental and hire purchase of facilities as well as the payment subscription fees for EV charging facilities.Yap said even with these exemptions, the price of EVs might not meet general expectations.He gave the example of Hyundai’s Kona Electric, sales of which will begin later this month.“Even though the company said the price would be under RM150,000, there is a high chance of it remaining at that level after factoring in the cost of insurance,” he said.“So the price is still not low enough. If the goal is to make EVs popular in the Malaysian market, the price needs to match at least the Toyota Vios or the Honda City.”Some had expressed dissatisfaction with the budget announcement by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, saying the incentives would only benefit a certain group.To this, automotive analyst Hezeri Samsuri said it would be impossible for EV companies to offer prices as low as those of affordable vehicles as this would see them incurring huge losses.He said it would make no sense for these companies to do so as they need to take into account their profit margin before putting any product in the market.“The technology for EVs is something new, and it uses so-called exotic materials,” he said.“The price will be high in the beginning but as demand grows, it will become more affordable. For now, EVs are attractive mostly to the T20 group and those who want something different because there is no strong reason to switch to EVs.”He said those in the middle-income or M40 group might be able to afford EVs as well, but only those in the second-hand market.“As long as there is no legislation punishing those whose vehicles emit smoke, and as long as fuel prices remain low, EVs in Malaysia will remain a lifestyle option.”


Malaysia tops list of expansion opportunities for Chinese companies in Asean

A recent survey has revealed Malaysia as the top choice for Chinese companies looking for expansion opportunities in Asean, with the region expected to see growth over the next 12 months.The “Borderless Business: China-Asean Corridor” survey, conducted by Standard Chartered in April, involved senior executives at 43 companies based in China.The study found that Malaysia tops the list on expansion opportunities for 65% of Chinese companies looking to scale up their sales and production operations. Currently, 72% of the Chinese businesses sell and export to Malaysia.Out of 43 companies, 56% agreed that having access to a large and growing consumer market in Asean is a main drivers for companies.Other key drivers such as local government incentives and support for project sustainability/stability (54%) and the presence of a mature and reliable supplier base (51%) were also regarded as factors for entering the Asean market.With 88% of respondents planning to increase their investments in Asean by at least 25% over the next three to five years, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is expected to attract more investments into the region and benefit Malaysia’s export growth.However, the survey also found that the Chinese companies are well aware of the risks of investing in the region such as the Covid-19 pandemic or other health crises, geopolitical uncertainty and trade conflicts as well as slow economic revival and a drop in consumer spending.More than half of the respondents considered adapting the business model to industry practices and conditions within Asean, understanding regional regulations, payment methods and infrastructure and building relationships with suppliers and adapting supply chain logistics as challenges.The majority of the companies also considered executing digital transformation programmes (58%), driving sustainability and environment, social and governance initiatives (47%) and entering into new partnerships or joint ventures to increase market presence (44%) as the most important areas for them to focus on for resilient and balanced growth in Asean.They were also looking for banking partners with strong cash management capabilities, extensive trade financing services, and one-stop corporate financing and capital-raising services to support their growth.In a statement, Standard Chartered Malaysia managing director and CEO Abrar A Anwar said the bank had grown with the country over the last 146 years.“Being the only international bank present in all 10 Asean markets, we are well-positioned to support companies to venture into Malaysia and their cross-border financing needs,” he said.“Asean’s strong fundamentals are driving its growth and resilience. Our leading financial solutions and cutting-edge digital capabilities are what make us the go-to bank for Chinese companies with Asean growth aspirations.”


Migrants and our annoyance levels

One of my friends lives in an apartment unit directly opposite the stairway for the whole building. It is not unusual to hear bustling outside the door when residents choose not to use the elevator.And it is not unusual either for we Malaysians to see non-locals on their phones, video-calling their mates in their home towns. Whether they are on a walk or squatting by walkways and drains, the sight of foreigners is a common fixture in the Malaysian landscape now.One night, I was at my friend’s place. A foreigner, a migrant, decided to sit at the stairway and video-call someone. I might not have minded it any time or anywhere else, but that particular night, I was annoyed. I was not in a good mood, and to hear someone else laughing and talking loudly when I needed some peace did nothing to improve it. All I could think of was how the guy might have found any other place to have his chit-chat – just not right outside this space that was not even mine but which I felt I had a right to.I cursed this person silently until I heard him sing Happy Birthday to the person on the other end of the call.And boy oh boy, did I not feel like the biggest anal orifice on the planet.There I was, feeding my annoyance with bad thoughts and bad wishes at a stranger for disturbing my peace – peace that I could have found anywhere else – while he was just celebrating a moment with someone who might not have been in the country with him.I had not even allowed myself a second to consider the possibility that he was there at the stairs so that he would not disturb his housemates who could have been asleep after a long day of labour at a nearby construction site. Or maybe he was there because that was the spot with the most stable internet connection. Perhaps he was there to catch a glimpse of the same sky that he shared with the person at the other end of the call, to reminisce the times they might have viewed it together before he came here.He could have had any and every reason to be there but to intentionally annoy selfish little me was not one of them.It made me think of how much we have been annoyed as locals at strangers over the simplest things. We see migrants flocked together together at city centres, and we are overwhelmed with annoyance as if we ourselves do not gather with our friends and communities.We hear them speak unfamiliar languages among themselves and we become annoyed. We shout at them to use our language as if ours is easily understood by them and they have the same access to learn our language as we do.We see them talking loudly on their phones, and we are annoyed, as if they could summon the people on the other end of their calls to this country like how we see our friends and talk loudly at mamaks.We are so easily annoyed at people that are not us for something they cannot help. Here in Malaysia, we have the things they do not – familiar faces and loved ones – and we punish them with our annoyance for not being on our level.I cannot generalise and say that the rest of Malaysians share the same annoyance I had, but if they do, how selfish can I get? How selfish can we get?There is always another building to be built, and with rapid development, demand for labourers is steadily increasing as well. It seems that the influx of migrants will not end anytime soon and neither will our annoyance.But I believe we have so much more to offer to them than our annoyance. After all, they could be annoyed at us as much as we are annoyed at them for the way we have been treating them, and they are not even that different from us.If we ever set foot in an unfamiliar land, it would be a lie to say that we would not be just like them. We would be longing for familiar faces and loved ones. We would be the ones who video-call and talk loudly on the phone and speak in languages unfamiliar to the locals. We may even be treated like them by those who live in that unfamiliar land.Perhaps returning their offerings of lives and labour to us with unkind feelings is an unfair transaction. Sure, we may not actively hurt them in any way, but we have been subtly wounding them through our unkind thoughts and perceptions towards them. Wouldn’t it be better to at least send a kinder thought their way?