China targets Uighurs with more prosecutions, longer prison terms, says rights group

China has dramatically increased its prosecution of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang through the formal court system, handing out long prison terms for dubious charges such as “picking quarrels” and giving gifts to overseas relatives, a rights group said today.These criminal convictions are in addition to the detention of an estimated one million Uighurs and other mainly Muslim minorities in “political education” camps in Xinjiang.More than 250,000 people in the northwestern region have been formally sentenced and imprisoned since 2016, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).“Despite the veneer of legality, many of those in Xinjiang’s prisons are ordinary people who were convicted for going about their lives and practicing their religion,” HRW researcher Maya Wang said in a statement.The US State Department has said China’s actions in Xinjiang amount to genocide, while Canadian lawmakers on Tuesday passed a similar declaration.HRW said criminal sentences in the region had spiked between 2017 and 2019 during a crackdown on Uighurs and other mainly Muslim minorities.Xinjiang courts sentenced nearly 100,000 people in 2017, up from less than 40,000 in 2016, the organisation said, citing government data.The rights group said police, prosecutors and courts had been placed under pressure to “deliver swift and harsh punishment” in the name of counter-terrorism, causing many to be imprisoned without committing any genuine offence.Sentences were handed out for activities including “telling others ‘what is haram and halal'” and bringing gifts to relatives in Turkey, HRW said, noting that prison terms have also grown longer.Prior to 2017, around 11% of the sentences carried prison terms of over five years. In 2017, 87% did.China’s treatment and incarceration of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, which includes accusations of forcibly sterilising women and imposing a regime of forced labour, has drawn a growing chorus of international condemnation.After initially denying the existence of camps in Xinjiang, Beijing later defended them as vocational training centres aimed at reducing the appeal of Islamic extremism.Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday that Beijing’s treatment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang was a “shining example” of China’s human rights progress.


Ex-AG Thomas to be investigated for sedition over claims in book

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has ordered law enforcement agencies to carry out further investigations into possible misconduct by Tommy Thomas in relation to allegations made by the former attorney-general in his memoir.
He said the investigations would be conducted, among others, under Section 124(I) of the Penal Code for spreading false reports; Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948; Section 8 of the Official Secrets Act 1972; and Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009.
Ismail said the special task force to investigate the allegations contained in Thomas' book "My Story: Justice in the Wilderness" had presented a report at the Cabinet meeting today, submitting several recommendations for the government's consideration.
"The report was prepared by this team over a period of nine months, from December 2021 until August 2022, detailing each of the allegations mentioned by Tommy Thomas in his book," he said in a statement today.
Based on the investigation, he said the team had categorised 19 important issues in the book into four main categories, namely allegations against the judiciary, the disclosure of government information and secrets, illegal actions, abuse of power and professional negligence as well as seditious statements.


Pakistan struggles to avert danger as floods rise, death toll tops 1,300

Pakistani authorities are struggling to prevent the country's biggest lake bursting its banks and inundating nearby towns after unprecedented flooding, while the disaster management agency on Monday raised its toll of flood deaths by another 24.
Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in Pakistan's northern mountains have brought floods that have affected 33 million people and killed at least 1,314, including 458 children, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Agency said.
The floods have followed record-breaking summer temperatures and the government and the United Nations have both blamed climate change for the extreme weather and the devastation it has brought.
Authorities on Sunday breached Pakistan's largest freshwater lake, displacing up to 100,000 people from their homes in the hope of draining enough water to stop the lake bursting its banks and swamping more densely populated areas.
But water levels in the lake, to the west of the Indus river in the southern province of Sindh, remain dangerously high.
"The water level at Manchar lake has not come down," Jam Khan Shoro, the provincial minister for irrigation told Reuters.
He declined to say if another attempt to drain water from the lake would be made.
The floods are a huge burden for an economy already needing help from the International Monetary Fund.
The United Nations has called for US$160 million in aid to help the victims of the floods but Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the cost of the damage was far higher than that.
"The total damage is close to US$10 billion, perhaps more," Ismail said in an interview with CNBC.
"Clearly it is not enough. In spite of meagre resources Pakistan will have to do much of the heavy lifting."
Nevertheless, help from abroad is arriving.
Relief flights from the United Nations and countries including Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates arrived on Monday, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Elsewhere in the region, floods are also threatening crisis-hit Sri Lanka, while rains have disrupted life in India's technology hub, Bangalore.
The northern summer is the rainy season across much of Asia.


Health ministry dismisses kickbacks claim in vaccine procurement

The health ministry today described as baseless allegations that the procurement of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine and its registration were not made because there were “not enough kickbacks”.Referring to allegations of corruption in the procurement process of Covid-19 vaccine, raised by a private medical practitioner, Dr Musa Nordin, the ministry in a statement said that discussions on the procurement of the Moderna vaccine were held with its manufacturer ModernaTX Inc at the end of 2020.However, due to the offer to ship doses only in the third quarter of 2021, the Special Committee for Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV) decided that procurement should be made with other manufacturers who could supply vaccines earlier, to speed up the implementation of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, the ministry said.It added that ModernaTX only submitted registration to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency in July this year through its appointed company.On Tuesday, Musa claimed that JKJAV had not procured the Moderna vaccine, and that NPRA had not registered it, because they were not given enough kickbacks.The health ministry said it took a serious view of the allegations and would lodge a police report on the matter.It also said that the government would decide on the need for the Moderna vaccine once the vaccine was approved for registration by the NPRA, including for use as a booster shot or through heterology.“The government already has a portfolio and a sufficient number of doses to vaccinate the population of Malaysia,” it said.


Swiss president opposes arms exports to Ukraine, citing neutrality

Switzerland remains opposed to exporting arms to war-torn Ukraine, the famously neutral country's President Alain Berset said Tuesday on the sidelines of meetings at the United Nations.
Switzerland bars re-export of Swiss weaponry to nations at war, but the issue of the country's long tradition of neutrality has been under debate since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine just over a year ago.
"The discussion about the export of arms, weapons... while we have (our) legal framework in Switzerland, it is not possible to do it," Berset, who currently holds the country's rotating one-year presidency, told reporters on the margins of UN meetings on women's rights.
"For the government and for the Federal Council, we have to, and we want to, maintain this legal framework and to work in this legal framework," he said.
His comments came after Berlin requested in late February that German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall be permitted to acquire old Swiss Leopard tanks, guaranteeing they will not be transferred to Ukraine.
While the wealthy Alpine country, which is not a member of the European Union, has followed the bloc's lead on sanctions targeting Moscow, it has so far shown less flexibility on its military neutrality.
"These sanctions, they are absolutely compatible with the neutrality," said Berset, speaking in English.
Despite pressure from Kyiv and its allies, Switzerland has so far refused to allow countries that hold Swiss-made weaponry to re-export it to war-ravaged Ukraine, and has to date rejected explicit requests from Germany, Spain and Denmark.
Several initiatives are under way in parliament towards relaxing the re-export rules, but any decision is likely months away.
Berset, who met in New York with UN chief Antonio Guterres just before the Secretary-General traveled to Ukraine, noted that the Swiss parliament "has a lot of possibilities to change the laws."
"If the parliament would agree to change this legal framework, then we will work in the context of this new legal framework, but we will also take time," he said.
But, he emphasised, "It's not possible to make exception to the legal framework."


Results of PH-BN seat talks after Aidilfitri, says Fahmi

The results of the seat negotiations between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) for the six upcoming state elections are expected to be announced after Aidilfitri, or before the end of May.
PH communications director Fahmi Fadzil said top leaders of PH and BN will announce the matter when the time comes.
“I believe that the party leadership will announce the results of the seat negotiations soon, and I expect it to be very positive,” he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
However, Fahmi said details of the negotiations should be referred to PH secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail or PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli.
Prior to this, Saifuddin said the direct negotiation process concerning the seat allocation for the six states had been held between PH and BN based on the agreed parameters and formula. On Feb 22, the menteri besar and chief ministers of the six states – Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan – agreed to consider dissolving their respective state assemblies in the last two weeks of June to make way for the state elections.
Meanwhile, on the good news for prepaid plan users that Fahmi said would be announced on Monday, the communications and digital minister said he still has to talk to several parties.
“Maybe it’s today, maybe it’s tomorrow. I have to call several people after this to ask them to make the announcement. There is some interesting news for prepaid users, insha Allah,” he said.
Last Friday, Fahmi said he would announce good news for prepaid plan users on Monday.
On Pemangkin, Fahmi announced that nine focus sectors will be included in the programme, as identified by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, including digital tourism, digital agriculture and digital town, involving investments totalling RM1 billion by 2025.


China's economy, govt revamp in focus as parliament set to open

China opens its annual parliamentary session on Sunday, with the National People's Congress (NPC) set to implement the biggest government shakeup in a decade as Beijing confronts a host of challenges and looks to revive its COVID-battered economy.
Premier Li Keqiang will open the session at 9am (0100 GMT), reading out a government work report that is expected to include an economic growth target that could range as high as 6% in a bid to boost confidence and build on a promising post-pandemic recovery, sources involved in policy discussions said.
Li and a slate of more reform-oriented economic policy officials are set to retire during the congress, making way for loyalists to President Xi Jinping, who further tightened his grip on power when he secured a precedent-breaking third-leadership term at last October's Communist Party Congress.
During the NPC, former Shanghai party chief Li Qiang, a longtime Xi ally, is expected to be confirmed as premier.
The 63-year-old Li will be tasked with reinvigorating an economy, the world's second-largest, that grew just 3% last year, bruised by three years of Covid curbs, crisis in its vast property sector, a crackdown on private enterprise that has rattled investors, and weakening demand for Chinese exports.
The rubber-stamp parliament, which will end on March 13, will also discuss Xi's plans for an "intensive" and "wide-ranging" reorganisation of state and Communist Party entities, state media reported on Tuesday, with analysts expecting a further deepening of Communist Party penetration of state bodies.
"We might see institutional changes that indicate an elevated importance of, and more party control over, the financial regulatory system," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote.
On the opening day of the NPC, China is also likely to announce its central and military spending budgets.
The gathering of nearly 3,000 delegates, the first since China abruptly dropped its zero-Covid policy in December following rare nationwide protests, will take place in the cavernous Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square amid tight security in the capital.
Globally, China faces numerous headwinds including worsening relations with the US, which is trying to block its access to cutting-edge technologies, and fraught ties with western Europe, a crucial trading partner, over Beijing's diplomatic support for Russia in its war in Ukraine.


GPS in no mood to give way to peninsular parties

Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), the ruling coalition in the state, today said it would not give way to Bersatu, Umno or PAS in the coming general election.Its information chief Idris Buang said while GPS is on good terms with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal coalition, it would not give way to any of the three peninsula-based parties at either the state or general election.“Sarawak has to be Sarawak,” he told MalaysiaNow. “They have to respect GPS and our stand that we will go for our traditional seats.“We don’t want them to disturb us.”He was responding to the possibility of Bersatu matching Umno if the latter decides to contest all 222 parliamentary seats.Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan had said at the party’s general assembly last weekend that it would not compromise on the distribution of seats with its political allies.“Umno seats are Umno seats, then, now and forever. They are not to be given away in order to extend a lifeline to any party,” he said.Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who leads Bersatu, later said that Umno was welcome to contest all 222 seats if it wanted to.“But if he takes them all, I too will take all, one to one or one against two… that’s politics,” he said.GPS, comprising Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) – is widely seen as a kingmaker in federal politics.Its support, along with that of PAS, was also seen as crucial to the success of the so-called Sheraton Move which saw the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in February 2020.When asked to comment on Umno’s decision to cut ties with PN in the next polls, Idris, the assemblyman for Muara Tuang, said GPS was open to forming a coalition with others after the general election, with the exception of DAP, PKR and PSB.He also said the party should not be made subject to peninsula-based parties as it had been under the Barisan Nasional government.“GPS will go for all of its traditional parliamentary seats. We want to be respected as an independent force and will work with federal government for the best interest of Sarawakians,” he said.Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin meanwhile said he was open to working with anyone but that he would leave the matter to the GPS leadership to decide.“Myself, I can work with any state leaders. Actually I am not their competitor, I have come to complement them and work together for the people.“So I will leave it to them,” Willie, who left PKR after the Sheraton Move, said when questioned at a press conference today.


22 out of 45 deaths involving booster jab recipients unrelated to vaccine, says drugs authority

Twenty-two out of 45 deaths involving recipients of Covid-19 booster jabs reported to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) have been found to be unrelated to the vaccine.NPRA director Dr Roshayati Mohamad Sani said the findings were made by the Covid-19 Vaccine Pharmacovigilance Special Committee (JFK) after after assessing the reports on the deaths.The remaining 23 cases are still being processed and, once complete, will be tabled for evaluation by the JFK.As of Feb 25, she said the NPRA had received 25,445 reports of adverse effects following immunisation (AEFI) from the Covid-19 vaccine, of which 93% or 23,682 were non-serious cases, while 1,763 reports were categorised as serous.Of the total reports, 1,275 were on booster jabs, with 90 cases or 7.06% classified as serious, she said at a joint media briefing on the side effects of Covid-19 vaccines, conducted online today.Roshayati said a total of 94 AEFI reports involving vaccine recipients aged between five and 11 had been received as of Feb 25, with only two reports categorised as serious.She said the two serious cases comprised a five-year-old girl with severe asthma symptoms who was admitted to hospital for two days for treatment, and a 10-year-old boy who suffered from facial paralysis, but is recovering.“Overall, the trend of AEFI reports involving children aged five to 11 received by the NPRA is not much different from what is reported by other regulatory reference countries,” she added.In another development, Dr Azuana Ramli, head of the Pharmacovigilance Section, NPRA Compliance and Quality Control Centre, said individuals with AEFI from Covid-19 vaccines could lodge a report to the NPRA without waiting for confirmation from a doctor.She said this followed claims that there were doctors who were reluctant to confirm that patients who sought follow-up treatment after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine had AEFI-related symptoms.“Even if the treating doctor does not suspect and does not report the patient’s AEFI to the NPRA, patients who feel they are affected by the vaccine can report it through the NPRA channel,” she said.Recipients of Covid-19 vaccine who experience adverse effects can report the matter through the MySejahtera application and online by filling out the Consumer Side Effect Reporting Form available at the NPRA website.


WHO says Covid strain in India a ‘variant of concern’

A Covid-19 variant spreading in India, which is facing an explosive outbreak, appears to be more contagious and has been classified as being “of concern”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.The UN health agency said the B.1.617 variant of Covid-19 first found in India last October seemed to be transmitting more easily.“There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of the B.1.617,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s lead on Covid-19, told reporters.“As such, we are classifying this as a variant of concern at the global level,” she said.She also pointed to early studies “suggesting that there is some reduced neutralisation”, meaning that antibodies appeared to have less impact on the variant in small-sample lab studies.WHO insisted though that it was far too early to interpret this to mean that the variant might have more resistance to vaccine protections.“Based on current data, the Covid-19 vaccines remain effective at preventing disease and death in people infected with this variant,” it said in a statement.More details would be provided about the variant in the WHO’s weekly epidemiological update on Tuesday, Van Kerkhove said.India, suffering from one of the worst outbreaks in the world, reported nearly 370,000 fresh infections and more than 3,700 new deaths on Monday.The devastating wave has overwhelmed India’s healthcare system, and experts have said the official figures for cases and fatalities are much lower than the actual numbers.It has for some time been feared that B.1.617 – which counts several sub-lineages with slightly different mutations and characteristics – might be contributing to the alarming spread.But until now, WHO has listed it merely as a “variant of interest”.‘Balanced approach’Now it will be added to the list containing three other variants of Covid-19 – those first detected in Britain, Brazil and South Africa – which WHO has classified as being “of concern”.They are seen as more dangerous than the original version of the virus by either being more transmissible, deadly or able to get past some vaccine protections.Even if vaccine efficacy may be diminished against some variants of Covid-19, the jabs can still provide protection against serious illness and death.And Van Kerkhove stressed that when it comes to the B.1.617 variant, for the time being “we don’t have anything to suggest that our diagnostics or therapeutics and our vaccines don’t work”.WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan agreed, urging a “balanced” approach.“What we know now is that the vaccines work, the diagnostics work, the same treatments that are used for the regular virus work,” she told journalists.“So there’s really no need to change any of those, and in fact… people should go ahead and get whatever vaccine is available to them and that they are eligible for.”Experts highlight that the more the virus spreads, the bigger the risk it will find ideal conditions to mutate in concerning ways, stressing that everything must be done to rein in transmission.“We will continue to see variants of concern around the world, and we must do everything that we can to really limit the spread,” Van Kerkhove said.


Singapore firms charged over exporting drinks to North Korea

Two Singaporean companies have been charged with exporting whisky, wine and other drinks to North Korea, the latest case of firms in the city-state allegedly trading illegally with the regime.Pyongyang has been hit with a barrage of sanctions, including from the United Nations, over its nuclear and ballistic missile tests, while Singapore suspended trade ties with the North in 2017.The company 123 Holdings was charged Wednesday with supplying alcoholic drinks on five occasions to North Korea, transported via China, between November 2016 and July 2017, according to charge sheets.The goods – including Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker Black Label whiskys, Smirnoff vodka and Australian, Chilean and French wines – were worth more than 720,000 Singapore dollars ($520,000).The second company, 123 Duty Free, was slapped with five charges for allegedly supplying non-alcoholic drinks, including coffee and strawberry milk, to North Korea from April to August 2018.Both companies face hefty fines if convicted.There had been several cases in recent years of companies and individuals from Singapore, a key trading hub and financial centre, being prosecuted for supplying banned goods to the North.In 2019, a court in the city-state jailed the director of a Singaporean trading firm for nearly three years for supplying US$4.4 million worth of luxury goods, including alcohol and perfume, to North Korea.In 2016 a shipping firm in the city was fined for its role in an attempt to smuggle Soviet-era weapons and fighter jets from Cuba to the North.The company was initially found guilty of two charges, but it was cleared of one count on appeal and had its fine reduced.On Wednesday, the US said it would seek new sanctions on North Korea at the United Nations after Kim Jong Un’s regime fired a volley of missiles just hours after President Joe Biden ended a trip to Asia.


14 more deaths as new cases hover above 2,000

Another 2,468 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 288,229.Selangor recorded 932 cases followed by Johor (428), Perak (308), Kuala Lumpur and Penang (155 each), Sarawak (133) and Negeri Sembilan (100).Kelantan recorded 96 cases, Sabah 94, Melaka 22, Kedah 15, Pahang 11, Terengganu nine, Labuan six and Putrajaya four.Active cases stand at 30,475 with 196 in the ICU and 92 in need of respiratory assistance.Thirteen new clusters were detected:1. Jalan Damai (Klang in Selangor; 95 screened, 18 positive)2. Subang Tiga (Petaling in Selangor; 68 screened, 16 positive)3. Jalan Serendah (Petaling, Sepang, Klang and Gombak in Selangor; 1,000 screened, 30 positive)4. Tapak Bina Digital Lapan (Kulai and Johor Bahru in Johor; 464 screened, 133 positive)5. Jalan Cyber Sembilan (Kulai in Johor; 199 screened, 12 positive)6. Jalan Tebrau Pandan (Johor Bahru in Johor; 112 screened, 18 positive)7. Jalan Wawasan 16 (Batu Pahat in Johor; 138 screened, seven positive)8. Jalan Setiawangsa (Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur; 120 screened, 51 positive)9. Jalan Bayam (Cheras and Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur; 128 screened, 13 positive)10. Jalan Muhibbah (Betong in Sarawak; 110 screened, 18 positive)11. Tapak Bina Jalan Ekar (Seremban in Negeri Sembilan; 170 screened, 50 positive)12. Taman Mawar (Sandakan in Sabah; 15 screened, all positive)13. Jalan PKNK 3/3 (Kuala Muda in Kedah; 255 screened, 40 positive)Eight more ended, leaving 509 active clusters across the country.Another 4,055 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 256,678.However, 14 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 1,076.


WHO to approve Covid-19 vaccines for quick global rollout to poorer countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to approve several Western and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in coming weeks it said on Wednesday, as it aims for rapid rollouts in poorer countries.The WHO global scheme Covax wants to deliver at least two billion Covid-19 doses across the world this year, with at least 1.3 billion going to poorer countries.But it is struggling to secure enough shots due to a shortage of funds, while wealthy nations have bought large volumes of vaccines for themselves.Rich countries have their own regulatory bodies but many poorer countries rely on WHO authorisations as they have limited regulatory capacity themselves. WHO is therefore “expediting” emergency approvals, according to Reuters.As well as the vaccines themselves, regulators usually authorise their manufacturing processes in different plants.The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) could be authorised by WHO in February, and the same vaccine produced in South Korea by SK Bioscience could also be approved shortly after.The AstraZeneca vaccine has already been given emergency approval in Britain, while decisions in the European Union and the US are close.WHO authorised Pfizer’s vaccine at the end of December and officials say they are seeking a Covax supply deal with the US pharmaceutical giant, which has already committed hundreds of millions of doses this year to several wealthy nations.The vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson, which has a non-binding agreement to supply Covax with 500 million doses over an unspecified timeframe, is expected to get WHO approval in May or June at the earliest.WHO is also considering possible quick approvals for two Chinese vaccines from Sinopharm and Sinovac who have already filed their applications.Sinovac has yet to release global results of its Phase III trials, but its vaccine has been approved for emergency use in countries including Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey.


South Africa to host BRICS summit despite Putin arrest warrant

South Africa said on Thursday it will host the BRICS bloc summit in August as planned, amid speculation that it may move to China so Russia's President Vladimir Putin can attend in a nation not obliged to arrest him on war crimes accusations.
South Africa has a duty as a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Putin if he attends the talks between the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, due to an arrest warrant over the deportation of children from Ukraine.
Putin denies the charges.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met with him on June 17 in Russia, historically a strong ally of the governing African National Congress (ANC) since it was a liberation movement fighting white minority rule decades ago.
"South Africa will host the 15th BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg, from 22 to 24 August 2023," the Department of International Relations said in a statement.
Presidency spokesman Vincent Magwenya confirmed to Reuters in a text message that this meant the whole summit, including the main part involving the BRICS heads of state, would take place in South Africa.
He and a spokesperson for the international relations department declined to comment on whether or not Putin will attend.
South African officials had at the end of last month said the BRICS countries were considering moving the summit to China, which is not a member of the international court. They could still decide to change the venue at the last minute.
On Tuesday, South Africa's Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor said Putin had not yet replied to an invitation, sent before the ICC charged him on March 18.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are all planning to attend, Pandor said.
South Africa says it is neutral in the Ukraine conflict, but has been criticised by Western powers for being friendly to Russia, including hosting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and conducting joint naval exercises.


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Daily caseload dips to 21,000

Another 21,072 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 3,040,235.Another 5,724 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,852,437.Meanwhile 187 are in the ICU, including 98 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 109 are in need of respiratory assistance including 47 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 21,072 cases reported today, 86 (0.41%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 20,986 (99.59%) are in Category One and Two.A total of 5,995 (28.45%) are in Category One, 14,991 (71.14%) in Category Two, 58 (0.28%) in Category Three, 20 (0.09%) in Category Four, and eight (0.04%) in Category Five.


Shocked by leaked audio, Nazri urges Zahid to stop dragging Umno into his problems

Expressing shock over a leaked phone conversation between the presidents of Umno and PKR, former minister Mohamed Nazri Aziz says it is time that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi steps aside, accusing his party boss of dragging the party into his own problems.Nazri said while he agreed that the audio recording should be investigated, it should not be seen as an attack on Umno.“If it’s true, I am shocked because he (Zahid) is undermining the Umno general assembly and also the Supreme Council.“It should be thoroughly investigated. But unlike Zahid’s statement that it is an attempt to damage Umno, I am of the view that it has nothing to do with the party,” the Padang Rengas MP told MalaysiaNow.In the four-minute clip revealed by MalaysiaNow yesterday, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim is heard congratulating and giving instructions to Zahid in the aftermath of the Umno general assembly.Zahid in return thanked Anwar for his moral support.MalaysiaNow has been able to verify that the clip is authentic, and that the voices are those of Anwar and Zahid.But both leaders have denied speaking to each other, saying they will send their representatives to lodge police reports.Nazri said it is time for Zahid to step down, adding that those facing charges are not qualified to become prime ministerial candidates for Barisan Nasional (BN) at the next general election.Nazri, who has revoked his support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin despite his party being part of the Cabinet, said Zahid should not head Umno until he clears his name.“He must step down because we want to face an election, and if he is still the leader, we are indirectly offering him as our prime ministerial candidate,” the former tourism minister said.Zahid, among several former government leaders during the BN administration who are facing corruption charges, has been slapped with 47 counts of misappropriating funds, receiving kickbacks and laundering money related to his charity outfit Yayasan Akalbudi.Former prime minister Najib Razak, meanwhile, is facing multiple corruption charges related to the 1MDB scandal, seven of which he has already been convicted of and is currently appealing.Nazri stressed that those facing charges should not be nominated to lead the government.“Those with cases cannot be nominated as prime minister,” he said, adding that Zahid is facing “lots of issues”.Nazri also said Zahid had dragged Umno into his personal problems.“He has no integrity. When he is charged, he says it’s due to people wanting to tarnish Umno when the fact is he is facing justice.“Why keep blaming the party?” he asked. “That’s why he must resign, because he is linked to the party.”Nazri also backed growing calls from Umno leaders for party polls to be held before the next general election.He said party elections would be the best opportunity for Umno to redeem its reputation.The Umno Supreme Council previously proposed that the party delay elections in order to focus on the impending general election.But Umno leaders such as Annuar Musa, Khairy Jamaluddin and Reezal Merican Naina Merican have questioned the move.Khairy recently said a similar decision during the Najib administration had not benefited Umno in the 2018 polls, when it lost federal power.Nazri said there is no excuse to delay party polls, adding that Umno would suffer with Zahid at the top.“So if we are indeed democractic, don’t delay. Let the delegates decide who we want in June. That is only right, democracy cannot be delayed.”


AGC objects to youths’ challenge over delay in Undi 18

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has objected to the application for leave by 18 Malaysian youths to challenge the government’s action in delaying the implementation of Undi 18, a move to lower the voting age to 18, and enabling automatic voter registration (AVR).The youths had on behalf of the Undi 18 movement filed a judicial review application naming Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the government and the Election Commission (EC) as respondents.Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, representing the AGC, told reporters that they had filed a preliminary objection today on grounds that the application brought by the 18 youths was frivolous, vexatious and premature at this stage as no action had been taken on the matter.Another senior federal council, Azizan Md Arshad, said the necessary law and regulations need to be amended before the AVR can be enforced.“This is because, with the constitutional amendment, there is no longer any application as AVR kicks in. It is the argument of the applicants that the enforcement and implementation of Section 3(a) and Section 3(b) of the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2019 can be done separately.“However, we will submit that the enforcement and implementation of the constitutional amendments cannot be done in isolation and have to be done together. The enforcement and application of AVR is the reverse effect of application for registration by the qualified person,” he said, adding that the court had fixed May 6 to hear the objection raised by the AGC.The 18 youths’ counsel, Ambiga Sreenevasan, said today was fixed to hear the leave application for the judicial review by her clients before High Court judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid.However, she said they received the AGC’s submissions objecting to the judicial review application and need time to respond to that matter.“So the court adjourned the hearing today and fixed May 6 to hear the AGC’s objection and the leave application,” she said.On April 2, the youths filed their legal action seeking several court orders arising from the respondents’ delay in the implementation of Undi 18.In the application, the youths sought a declaration that the government’s action to delay the enforcement of lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 was irrational, illegal, disproportionate and a form of voter suppression.The applicants also sought a declaration that those aged 18 to 20 have a legitimate expectation that they will have the right to vote on or before July 2021.


Pakistani lawyer who stands up for ‘blasphemers’ says he faces threats to his life

The Pakistani lawyer who successfully overturned a number of convictions for blasphemy has said he believes his life is in danger.He most recently oversaw the acquittal of a Christian couple who had been sentenced to death.Saiful Malook shared social media posts with the BBC which called for him to be “executed” for securing the acquittal.Blasphemy is a deeply emotive topic in Muslim-majority Pakistan and is legally punishable by death. While no one has ever been executed for the offence, dozens of people accused of it have been killed by vigilantes and enraged mobs.Human rights groups say the country’s blasphemy laws often unfairly target religious minorities and can be used in personal feuds.Earlier this month, the high court in Lahore quashed the convictions of Christian couple Shagufta Kausar and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel, citing a lack of evidence.The pair had been sentenced to death in 2014 for allegedly sending blasphemous text messages insulting the Prophet Muhammad, though they insisted they were innocent.Kausar’s brother told the BBC last year he doubted the couple were literate enough even to have written the messages.The couple’s lawyer, Malook, previously also represented Asia Bibi, a Christian villager who spent eight years on death row in a case that attracted international condemnation.Bibi was eventually acquitted by Pakistan’s supreme court in 2018 and subsequently flown out of the country to safety. The legal ruling led to large, violent protests.“I am feeling really good here because I am in my home and with my kids,” Bibi said in Urdu during her first interview with Canadian media after moving there in 2020. Global News agreed to keep her location secret as she believes there are still many people who wish to see her dead.Malook, who is the most prominent lawyer defending blasphemy cases in Pakistan, told the BBC that he considered the current threats against him the “most dangerous” he has ever received.“Even this was not done during Asia Bibi’s case,” he said. “Now they think I am the only hurdle in their way.”He criticised the government for not providing him with adequate security. “Not even a clerk from the Pakistani government has contacted me,” he said.It is not clear how serious the specific threats are to Malook, but in 2014 a lawyer representing another blasphemy defendant was murdered. Rashid Rehman was sitting in his office when he was shot dead.Blasphemy convictions in Pakistan by lower courts are often overturned on appeal. Human rights activists say more junior judges are often intimidated into convicting suspects despite flaws in the prosecution cases.Hearings at Lahore High Court in the case of Kausar, a caretaker at a Christian school, and her paralysed husband Emmanuel, had been repeatedly delayed.Malook suggested the judges were concerned at the possibility of being targeted themselves if they acquitted the pair.In April, however, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging Pakistan to reform its blasphemy laws, citing concerns over the Kausar-Emmanuel case in particular.Malook told the BBC that had the case had not been highlighted internationally, he feared the appeal would’ve been delayed indefinitely.Pakistani officials did not reply to a BBC request for comment.


Kashmir shut down after two ‘civilians’ reburied

Thousands of Kashmiris defied the biting winter cold to attend the funerals Friday of two men killed during a security operation, heralding a widespread shutdown in the Indian-administered territory.The pair – who police said had died in “crossfire” on Monday in a gunfight with suspected separatists – had been hurriedly interred by authorities in a remote graveyard.The deaths sparked anger in the restive region with their families insisting they had no links to the militants, accusing security forces of murdering them in “cold blood” and demanding their bodies be returned for a proper Islamic burial.Officials on Thursday ordered a probe into the killings of Mohammad Altaf Bhat and Mudasir Ahmed Gul before exhuming their remains and handing them over to relatives amid wails and emotional post-midnight scenes in Srinagar.Thousands of people turned out for their pre-dawn reburials, with some angry mourners shouting “we want freedom!” and others reciting Quranic verses, an AFP photographer on the scene said.“Your death has shattered us completely,” Bhat’s niece Saima Bhat posted on Twitter, adding she did not know “if we’ll be able to cope up from this tragedy!”Family members told AFP that officers had instructed them to bury the men at night and not to allow crowds to assemble.“There was just about enough time for our family and his children to have a last glimpse,” said one of Bhat’s relatives, declining to be identified.Residents in large parts of the territory observed a complete shutdown later Friday to protest the killings, in response to a call by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of separatist parties seeking self-determination for Kashmir.Shops and business establishments stayed shut across Srinagar and public transport did not circulate, with only a trickle of private cars on the roads.Similar shutdowns took place in most main towns across the highly militarised disputed territory, which is also claimed by Pakistan.Police and paramilitary troops in riot gear were deployed in force in the dead men’s neighbourhoods and at some “volatile points”.Such shutdowns have been largely impossible since 2019 when New Delhi annulled the region’s partial autonomy and brought it under direct rule, but with tensions at a peak authorities decided not to intervene on this occasion.Police in Kashmir have previously denied families access to the bodies of slain militant suspects or their “associates”, saying it helps stop the “glorification” of anti-India rebels, whose funerals were usually attended by thousands of people.Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their first war over the Himalayan region soon after independence in 1947.The South Asian arch-rivals claim the territory in full but separately administer parts of the region.An armed rebellion against Indian rule erupted three decades ago and the conflict has left tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, dead so far.


Israel says Al Jazeera reporter likely killed unintentionally by its forces

Israeli investigations into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May concluded that she was likely to have been unintentionally shot by an Israeli soldier but was not deliberately targeted, the military said on Monday.
Abu Akleh, a US-Palestinian citizen, was shot dead on May 11 while covering an Israeli military operation in the volatile town of Jenin in the occupied West Bank in circumstances that remain heavily disputed.
The Israeli military says that troops conducting operations in Jenin had come under heavy fire from all sides and had fired back, including towards the area where Abu Akleh was standing about 200m from their position, but that they had not been able to identify her as a journalist.
It said "there is a high possibility that Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF (Israel Defense Forces) gunfire that was fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen". It said it was also possible that she was hit by Palestinian gunmen.
One of the most recognisable faces reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for two decades, Abu Akleh's death triggered outrage across the world, particularly after police beat mourners at her funeral in Jerusalem.
Other witness accounts of the incident have disputed that Israeli positions were under fire from the area where Abu Akleh was standing when she was killed.
"All evidence, facts and investigations that have been conducted proved that Israel was the perpetrator and that it had killed Shireen and it should bear responsibility for its crime," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abu Akleh's family said it was "deeply hurt, frustrated and disappointed" by the Israeli statement which it said "tried to obscure the truth and avoid responsibility for killing Shireen Abu Akleh".
The Israeli investigation, which included interviews with the country's soldiers, analysis of the scene as well as audio and video recordings, found it was "not possible to unequivocally determine the source of the gunfire" which killed Abu Akleh.
But Israel has repeatedly denied she was knowingly targeted by its forces and said the investigation showed that soldiers had acted according to their rules of engagement.
"We can say for 100% sure that no IDF soldier intentionally directed fire on a reporter or non-involved person on the ground," a senior military official who briefed journalists on the findings of the investigations said.
Walid al-Omari, Al Jazeera's local bureau chief, told Reuters that Israel's conclusions of the incident were an attempt to avoid an independent criminal investigation.
"It is clear that they are trying to perpetuate ambiguity and deception on the one hand, while at the same time clear themselves of wrongdoing by claiming that there was an exchange of fire," he said. "These are all lies, because all the accounts and videos and witnesses disprove their claims."
The Committee to Protect Journalists said the statement issued by the Israeli military was "late and incomplete" and "does not provide the answers–by any measure of transparency or accountability–that her family and colleagues deserve."
A report from the United Nations human rights office in June said Abu Akleh had been standing with other reporters and was clearly identifiable as a journalist from her helmet and blue flak jacket marked with a press badge when she was shot and killed by a single bullet. A colleague was wounded in the incident by another bullet.
The report said information it had gathered suggested she had been killed by an Israeli soldier.
Palestinian officials and Abu Akleh's own family have said they believe she was killed deliberately and they have rejected Israeli statements that there were militants near where she was standing.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement: "We welcome Israel's review of this tragic incident, and again underscore the importance of accountability in this case, such as policies and procedures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future."
Forensic examination of the bullet which killed her, conducted under US oversight in July, failed to reach any conclusion because the bullet was too badly damaged.
A report from the US State Department in July concluded that she was probably killed by fire from an Israeli position but that there was no evidence to suggest she was intentionally targeted by Israeli forces.


NZ pauses travel bubble with Western Australia after virus case

New Zealand on Friday paused arrivals from Western Australia, temporarily excluding the state’s travellers from a quarantine-free bubble between the countries due to a Covid-19 outbreak.“As set out in our Trans-Tasman bubble protocols, travel between New Zealand and Western Australia has been paused, pending further advice from the state government,” a statement on the New Zealand government website said.Earlier on Friday the Perth and Peel regions were sent into a three-day lockdown after Western Australia recorded its first community transmission of the virus in 12 months.A man in his 50s, who recently left hotel quarantine, flew into Melbourne from Perth on Wednesday and tested positive for the coronavirus earlier Friday.One of the man’s close contacts in Perth also tested positive for the virus, raising concerns that it may have spread further into the community.Despite testing negative for the virus before leaving hotel quarantine – a requirement for all international arrivals to Australia – authorities believe the man likely contracted Covid-19 from another hotel guest.“He spent up to five days in Perth, and we now need to assume he was infectious,” Western Australia premier Mark McGowan told a press conference.Other Australian states and territories, whose residents are still able to fly to New Zealand under the bubble arrangement, moved to restrict arrivals from Western Australia following the outbreak.The few instances of community transmission in recent months have been linked to hotel quarantine in major cities, and all the outbreaks have been successfully contained with similar brief lockdowns.It is the first major snag since New Zealand and Australia opened their quarantine-free travel bubble on April 18, almost 400 days after both closed their international borders due to the pandemic.The bubble, which followed months of negotiations between the largely coronavirus-free neighbours, was hailed as a major milestone in restarting a global travel industry that has been crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic.Before Covid-19 brought New Zealand’s tourism industry to its knees, it was the country’s biggest export industry, with Australians accounting for about 40 percent of the international visitors.


New infections top 2,000 as another 7 deaths logged

Another 2,017 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,483,295.There were 2,548 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,417,694.There are now 29,971 active cases, of which 28,679 or 95.7% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 19 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 1,235 (4.1%) have been hospitalised.A total of 38 are in ICU with 20 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 57.8%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 6.3%.Another seven deaths were reported, including three who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 35,630.


KL condo building ‘unsafe’, at risk of more critical landslides

The Public Works Department (PWD) and Public Works Institute of Malaysia (Ikram), as well as consultants appointed by the developer, have confirmed that the structure of the Seri Duta 1 condominium building in Taman Duta is problematic and at risk of more critical landslides.The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) said this was due to signs of soil movement affecting the structure of the building.“Among the signs of soil movement are damaged columns, surface tension cracks and floor cracks.“These signs indicate that the situation in the area is unsafe, and will pose a risk to the occupants of Seri Duta 1 condominium and residents on land owned by the Federal Land Commissioner (PTP),” it said in a statement today.DBKL said there were four blocks affected involving 34 residential units, and that residents had been advised to vacate the buildings due to safety factors.“The joint management body has evacuated the affected residents from their units as a precautionary measure.“Slope and building repair work will be carried out immediately, and will be reviewed by DBKL and Ikram,” it said.It added that Ikram is also closely monitoring the buildings and soil movement.On Dec 18, the media reported a landslide in the area near the Seri Duta 1 condominium following torrential rain in the Klang Valley.


TikTok tops Facebook as most downloaded app of 2020

TikTok was the world’s most downloaded app last year, overtaking Facebook and its messaging platforms, market tracker App Annie said Tuesday.The Chinese-owned video app surged in popularity despite efforts by former president Donald Trump to ban it or force a sale to US-based investors, according to the research firm.TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, is believed to have one billion users worldwide including more than 100 million in the US, and its short-form videos are especially popular with young smartphone users.US President Joe Biden in June revoked executive orders from his predecessor seeking to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat from US markets on national security concerns but ordered a review of the potential risks of foreign-owned internet services.While political debate about the video-snippet sharing sensation roiled, TikTok climbed from the fourth most downloaded app in 2019 to the top spot last year, according to App Annie data.On the way, TikTok stepped over Facebook and two of the US internet giants texting apps Messenger and WhatsApp, the market tracker determined.TikTok’s popularity has prompted Facebook-owned Instagram to add video features to ride the hot trend.Meanwhile TikTok last month began letting users post videos up to three minutes in length, tripling the prior cap to stay ahead of competitors.Facebook has argued that the surge in TikTok’s popularity undercuts claims from antitrust enforcers in the US that the California group dominates social networking.


Rosmah applies for temporary passport release to visit daughter in Singapore

Rosmah Mansor has once again filed an application for the temporary release of her passport to enable her to travel to Singapore to visit her daughter, Nooryana Najwa Mohd Najib and her family.
Rosmah filed the notice of motion on June 2 through Messrs Akberdin & Co to enable her to travel abroad for four weeks from June 6 to July 7.
In the notice, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak applied for the return of the passport to enable her to visit her daughter who now resides in Singapore after marrying a Kazakh, Daniyar Kessikbayev.
The passport will be returned to the court immediately or within one week of her return.
On Oct 15, 2021, the court granted Rosmah temporary custody of her passport for her to visit her daughter in Singapore who was expecting to give birth to her second child and to visit one of her grandchildren who was not well on March 21.
Rosmah's lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader who confirmed the filing of the application said that it would be heard in the Court of Appeal tomorrow.
On Sept 1, then Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan (now Court of Appeal judge) found Rosmah guilty of three corruption charges involving RM1.25 billion in connection with a hybrid solar project for schools in Sarawak.
Rosmah, 71, was sentenced to 10 years in jail on each charge to be served concurrently, which means she will only serve 10 years in jail. She was also fined RM970 million, in default 30 years in jail.
The High Court, however, granted Rosmah a stay of execution of the prison sentence and fine pending her appeal at the Court of Appeal.
Rosmah's appeal against her conviction, 10 years imprisonment and RM970 million fine for corruption involving the hybrid solar project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak is fixed for hearing at the Court of Appeal for four days beginning July 11.


Education sector continues to get lion's share of budget

The education ministry received the lion's share of the budget for 2023 which was presented at the Dewan Rakyat by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz today.
A total of RM55.6 billion was allocated to the ministry compared to RM52.6 billion the year before.
This amount includes allocations for cash assistance, the settlement of education and development loans, and the upgrading of schools throughout the country.
From as early as 2023 onwards, the government is expected to distribute initial schooling assistance of RM150, up from RM100 the previous year, to all students regardless of their parents' income level.
The allocation for supplementary meal plans has also been increased from RM2.50 to RM3.50 for Peninsula Malaysia and RM3 to RM4 for students in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
The increase in rate will come into effect this month, with a total of RM777 million provided – an increase from RM280 million in 2020 due to the expanded number of recipients, the increase in rates and the provision of daily milk supplies, Zafrul said.
"More than 800,000 students as well as 7,300 local food operators and milk suppliers will benefit from these improvements," he added when presenting the budget speech.
A total of RM2.3 billion has been set aside for the preparation of safe and conducive learning spaces for children. Of this, RM1.1 billion is meant for the maintenance and repair of national schools, Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools, and religious schools.
Provisions have also been made for a 20% discount on PTPTN loan repayments from Nov 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023.
This rate will only apply to the full repayment of PTPTN loans.
A 15% discount will be given for the repayment of the remaining 50% of debts, and 15% for payments in the form of salary deductions.
Zafrul also proposed that the rate of living allowance sponsored by the Public Service Department for students and officers be standardised and increased by RM100 per month for all levels of study.
This would bring the allowance to RM730 to over RM980 a month.


After the buzz, investors are doing their own homework on AI

The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence has boosted markets this year, but after the initial euphoria, investors are waking up to the possible risks, including the need to be highly selective in stock-picking.
Businesses ranging from IT services and consulting to media, information and education are now under portfolio managers' microscopes to assess the potential for AI disruption.
The overall impact for corporate profitability is seen as hugely positive. Yet beyond Nvidia and other obvious winners in the chip sector, analysts warn there might also be losers across Europe and the US.
McKinsey says generative AI could add US$7.3 trillion (about RM34.2 trillion) in value to the world economy each year and believes half of today's work activities could be automated between 2030 and 2060.
That, however, means corporates also face big challenges, like redundancies and rethinking their business models, if they want to fully realise AI's potential.
"It's not a given that AI will only have a positive impact. There could be a deflationary effect," said Gilles Guibout, who helps manage over US$900.44 billion as head of European equities at AXA Investment Managers in Paris.
In some cases, clients could negotiate price cuts, he said, while staff-light newcomers could erode existing players' market share while they are busy redesigning their processes.
That might reduce sales growth and cause share price underperformance, especially for companies that face strong competition or where growth depends on headcount.
"Take IT services: if one hundred people are no longer needed for coding, but only half or a third of that, customers will be asking for lower prices," said Guibout.
The latest Bank of America survey in June showed 29% of global investors don't expect AI to increase profits or jobs. That compares to 40% that do expect a boost.
AI not always 'good'
Concerns about AI have already manifested across markets.
Shares in companies like French outsourcing firm Teleperformance and US-based Taskus, which manage call centres and other services seen as vulnerable to being replaced by bots, have both lost around 30% this year.
In education, UK's Pearson slumped 15% one day in May after US peer Chegg, down 62% this year, said significant student interest for the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT bot was hitting customer growth.
A few days later, Pearson held a call to explain its AI strategy, a sign of growing interest among investors to go deeper into how corporates are dealing with the transition.
Teleperformance, which employs 410,000 staff in 170 countries, held its AI investor day on Wednesday.
Some analysts say price falls have been excessive in certain cases, exaggerating the concerns over earnings growth.
"There's a lot of focus on the risks that generative AI can bring. This has ultimately become a bit overdone," Thomas McGarrity, head of equities at RBC Wealth Management.
He sounded confident over the capacity of some professional information and data providers, which own proprietary data, to integrate generative AI into their products.
Others, meanwhile, remain cautious, saying the fast adoption of cheaper AI-powered offerings could slow growth as soon as order backlogs of more conventional services are fulfilled.
Andrea Scauri, portfolio manager at Lemanik, said uncertainty over AI has deterred him from investing in some IT services stocks, despite valuations looking attractive.
On the other hand, Scauri said he sees larger players like Accenture as better equipped to navigate the transition and deploy necessary capex.
Accenture unveiled a US$3-billion investment plan to power its AI efforts this month, three months after announcing 19,000 layoffs, or about 2.5% of its workforce.
Its shares have risen 19% this year and French peer Capgemini CAPP.PA is up 13%. Firms such as Relx which handle regulated information, are also seen as less exposed to potential AI headwinds.
Cristina Matti, small and midcaps portfolio manager at Amundi, said indiscriminate investing was not an option for investors seeking AI exposure.
"Do not buy just for the sake of gaining exposure. It’s important to do your homework," she said.


Melaka polls, a testing ground for PN

The Melaka state election this weekend will be a litmus test for Perikatan Nasional (PN) to gauge the extent of its impact and challenge towards the more established Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalitions, an analyst says.Hisommudin Bakar, executive director of Ilham Centre, said PN’s achievements in the Nov 20 polls would also allow it to assess its strength for the first time in such a context.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said while PN is seen as the underdog in this election, it could put up a stiff fight based on the presentation of its candidates and the announcement of its manifesto which places a strong emphasis on issues related to integrity.“Aside from fielding many new faces who are seen as professionals, they are also sending out the most women candidates – six.”Nevertheless, he said, it remains to be seen whether this will be enough for the vote to swing its way come election day.PN will need to win at least 40% of the vote in three-way fights in order to emerge the victor.“PN’s strength is fundamentally based on votes from PAS,” Hisommudin said. “So we will see how much Bersatu and Gerakan can contribute in terms of significant support for PN.”Given the unprecedented restrictions on campaigns due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, it would be difficult to predict which party or candidate will have the edge.But in any event, he said, voter turnout is expected to be low as outstation voters are unlikely to return for polling day.“The Chinese voters also appear less enthusiastic than during the 14th general election, so the advantage might go to BN,” he said.“Melaka has a strong base of BN support, so if those who provide the swing vote do not return, especially the young voters from outside the constituency, the situation will benefit BN.”On the independent candidates contesting the election, he said it would be difficult for them to beat the three coalitions based on the trend of voting in the peninsula.“I am not denying their skills or opportunity, but based on the voting trend and record in Peninsular Malaysia, their chances are minimal,” he said.When asked about the effectiveness of campaigning online, he said obtaining seemingly high support on social media does not reflect the actual situation as those who lend their support online may or may not be from the Melaka voter base.“When we hold live media conferences on Facebook and so on, we cannot be sure whether those who join the stream are really voters,” he said.“So the numbers we see during the live session cannot be used to gauge the level of support for the candidate in question.”


Creepy critters cause problems for engineers maintaining superjumbos stored in desert

Qantas engineers maintaining the airline’s grounded Airbus A380 fleet in California’s Mojave Desert keep finding rattlesnakes living in the landing gear.The airline has moved its double decker superjumbo fleet to deep desert storage due to the downturn in air travel and the suspension of its international routes.The dry heat and low humidity is ideal for storing aircraft, but it’s also the home of highly venomous rattlesnakes and scorpions.Qantas Los Angeles-based engineering manager, Tim Heywood said the snakes love curling up around the warm tyres. As a result, Qantas engineers have to use a “wheel whacker” to try and scare off the reptiles and arachnids before carrying out inspections.“Every aircraft has its own ‘wheel whacker’, or broom handle, as part of the engineering kit, complete with its registration written on it,” Heywood said.“The first thing we do before we start any landing gear inspections is to walk around the aircraft stomping our feet and tapping the wheels with a wheel whacker to wake up and scare off the snakes.”Regular desert-storage maintenance of the world’s largest passenger aircraft includes draining fuel tanks of water caused by condensation, rotating the wheels to avoid flat spots, checking tyre pressures, and inspecting the fuselage and wings for animal nests.Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has estimated the A380s won’t return to the skies until 2023, when demand for international travel has recovered.Recently a Qantas A380 was spotted at Los Angeles International airport, prompting speculation that the superjumbo was about to re-enter service.However, the plane had flown to the airport just to undergo a gear swing procedure, in which it is jacked up and its landing gear swung up and down several times.It was the first time the plane had flown in 290 days.While there is also a desert aircraft storage facility in Australia, near Alice Springs, the Mojave desert location is more convenient for Qantas as the airline has engineers based in Los Angeles, just two hours’ drive away.Other airlines from the Asia-Pacific region have opted to use the Alice Springs facility, including Singapore Airlines, which has stored several A380s there.There has been speculation that the pandemic will hasten the end of the A380, which although a great favourite of the flying public, has fallen out of favour with airlines in recent years as they opt for smaller, more fuel-efficient planes.Air France temporarily grounded its A380s at the start of the pandemic but in May announced it would retire its entire fleet of nine superjumbos immediately.Manufacturer Airbus has now ceased production of the A380.The last ever superjumbo to be built left the production line in March to join Dubai-based Emirates’ fleet of 117 A380s, the largest superjumbo fleet in the world.


Global Covid-19 cases top 100 million

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world on Tuesday passed 100 million since the start of the pandemic, according to an AFP tally.As of 2130 GMT, a total of 100,010,798 infections had been reported, according to AFP’s count, compiled from figures provided by national health agencies.Worldwide, at least 2,151,242 people have lost their lives to Covid-19.The vast majority of people infected with the virus recover, but some patients suffer from symptoms for weeks or even months.The official number of cases registered since the pandemic first broke out in China, in late 2019, represents just a fraction of the real number of infections around the world.Many countries were late to implement systematic testing, and some continue to test only the most seriously ill.The poorest nations meanwhile only have the capacity for limited testing.The US, which passed 25 million confirmed cases last weekend, remains the country with the largest outbreak.India is second with 10.7 million cases, and Brazil third with 8.9 million cases.


Health ministry lists 50 countries at risk from Omicron

The health ministry has issued a ban on travellers from 26 countries identified as having reported the spread of the Omicron variant from joining the Langkawi tourism bubble (GPL).Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the countries are the UK, Portugal, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Nigeria and Belgium.The others are Japan, Brazil, Norway, Czech Republic, France/Reunion Island, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Ghana, Republic of Ireland, United Arab Emirates and the US (California).“For residents of Langkawi (citizens and holders of long visit passes) from the countries listed or with a history of travel to these countries within 14 days, they must enter via KLIA only.“In addition, (they must) undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine at the stipulated quarantine stations before being allowed to continue their journey to Langkawi. Direct flight to Langkawi is not allowed,” he said.Noor Hisham said some countries at high risk but which have not reported the Omicron variant of concern (VOC) are also not allowed to participate in the GPL.He said the countries involved are the European continent which encompassed the Russian federation, Georgia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Guernsey and Croatia.Other countries are French Guiana, the US, Philippines (West Pacific), Libya and Jordan (East Mediterranean), Bangladesh (Southeast) as well as Angola, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe (Africa).He said the ministry always conducts risk evaluations based on several set criteria to decide the level of a country’s risk before it is allowed to join the GPL.“Among the criteria taken into account are the incidence of Covid-19 and the immunisation coverage in those countries,” he said.Meanwhile, Noor Hisham said 515 new cases of variants were reported from Nov 25 to Dec 2, bringing the cumulative number of cases categorised as VOC and variants of interest (VOI) to 4,692.Of these, 4,672 were VOC while 20 cases were VOI. The overall total comprises 4,432 Delta VOC cases; 226 Beta cases and 14 Alpha cases.For VOI cases, there were 13 Theta cases, four Kappa cases and three Eta cases.


Vladimir Putin’s ‘secret daughter’ enjoying the limelight

A Russian college student who was outed by the media as President Vladimir Putin’s “secret daughter” says she’s loving the limelight after being identified as his alleged love child.Luiza Rozova, also known as Elizaveta Krivonogikh, discussed her new celebrity status on the social media audio platform Clubhouse.BBC journalist Andrey Zakharov, who broke the story about the 17-year-old, asked her if he had caused her any trauma by discovering and naming her.“Oh no, not at all. My life was so stagnant, I am very grateful for the chance to be in the limelight, that people heard about my account,” Rozova replied, referring to her Instagram account, which gained nearly 100,000 followers after reports that she is Putin’s daughter surfaced.“I’m not trying and never have to popularise myself,” she added. “Don’t worry about me. My life goes on, and all is well.”Rozova’s mother, Svetlana Krivonogikh, 45, is rumored to have been Putin’s lover in the late 1990s and early 2000s after he met her when she was working as a cleaner.The London Sun claimed she now has a £76 million fortune and is a shareholder in Rossiya Bank – sanctioned by the West – with a property portfolio.She was also reported to be the owner of 118-ft yacht ‘Aldoga’ and an erotic nightclub in St Petersburg.Krivonogikh has not responded to the claims.After news of the alleged love child broke, Putin’s spokesman said the claims were “not very convincing”, the Sun reported.In a further twist, Sky News Australia reported in January that “Vladimir Putin’s alleged secret lovechild was unmasked by Russia’s now-jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny”.According to the broadcaster, Navalny claims that Putin had an affair with a cleaner when he was married, and that Elizaveta is the result.Putin’s current arch-nemesis also alleges that the president has been gifting his mistress and child with enormous wealth.“This is another example of how Putin’s friends steal from the entire country, and as a token of gratitude they support Putin’s mistress and her child,” Navalny said, according to Sky News. “His relationship is paid for by corruption. There are 20 million beggars in Russia, and he buys a yacht for his mistress.”The new celeb herself, Elizaveta, revealed on Clubhouse that she believes Covid-19 is part of the Golden Billion plot by wealthy elites to depopulate the world.


Covid cases rise even higher as deaths increase by 13

Another 5,728 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 209,661.Selangor recorded 3,285 cases, of which 2,467 or 75.1% were from clusters and close contact screening.Johor recorded 792 cases, Kuala Lumpur 480, Sabah 263, Sarawak 191, Negeri Sembilan 158, Perak 112, Penang 101, Kedah 99, Terengganu 85, Pahang 51, Melaka 42,Labuan 29, Kelantan 28 and Putrajaya 12.Active cases stand at 47,388 with 319 in the ICU and 120 in need of respiratory assistance.Sixteen new clusters were detected:1. Jalan Trompet (Klang and Petaling in Selangor; 131 screened, 74 positive)2. Kampung Hala (Sabak Bernam in Selangor; 77 screened, 27 positive)3. Jalan Suasa (Johor Bahru in Johor; 214 screened, 29 positive)4. Jalan Riang (Johor Bahru in Johor; 270 screened, 13 positive)5. Bintang Utama (Kulai in Johor; 141 screened, 29 positive)6. Jalan Lombong (Kota Tinggit in Johor; 63 screened, 11 positive)7. Bukit Batu Grisek (Tangkak in Johor; 130 screened, 18 positive)8. Bayu Tampoi (Johor Bahru in Johor; 171 screened, 14 positive)9. Lingkaran Maluri (Cheras in Kuala Lumpur; 94 screened, 33 positive)10. Desa Tun (Cheras in Kuala Lumpur; 211 screened, 21 positive)11. Jalan Labuk (Sandakan in Sabah; 176 screened, 15 positive)12. Lasah (Kuala Kangsar in Perak; 71 screened, 24 positive)13. Tersat (Hulu Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu and Marang in Terengganu; 391 screened, 35 positive)14. Tanah Putih (Kuantan in Pahang; 221 screened, 19 positive)15. Jalan Ketengah (Kuantan, Temerloh, Jerantut and Maran in Pahang; 14 positive)16. Taman Amalina (Raub in Pahang; 21 screened, 13 positive)Four others ended, leaving 387 active clusters across the country.Another 3,805 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 161,527.However, another 13 deaths were recorded, pushing the virus toll to 746.


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Can Zahid hold the fort as Umno president?

Attention is turning to Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's future as the president of Umno following his move to bring the country's biggest Malay party into partnership with Pakatan Harapan (PH), allowing its chairman Anwar Ibrahim the support needed to become prime minister.
The move took many by surprise despite strong speculation of a PH-BN cooperation even before the polls, the inconclusive results of which sparked several days of political deadlock as coalitions and their leaders vied for the numbers needed to take the top office.
This was due in part to Umno's strong stance against working with PH, manifested in its long-time mantra of "No Anwar, no DAP".
While no challenge has been made to the Agong's appointment of Anwar as prime minister, the spotlight remains on Zahid who is seen as the mastermind of the PH-BN alliance.
Umno leaders such as Hishammuddin Hussein and Annuar Musa had objected to the cooperation with PH, which was also resisted by fellow BN components MCA and MIC.
They said BN should remain in the opposition given its failure to obtain the people's mandate at the 15th general election.
But even with the resistance from within his own coalition, some analysts say Zahid's position as Umno president will not be unduly threatened.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, they said Zahid would only come under real threat if the court cases against him do not end in his favour.
Zahid is facing a string of charges in court, including in the Yayasan Akalbudi case where he has been told to enter his defence against 47 counts of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering involving funds from the charity outfit.
Jeniri Amir, a senior fellow at the National Professors Council, said the Bagan Datuk MP still had strong backing among the Umno grassroots, especially following the move by 130 division heads to voice their support for their president.
He said the Agong's reported decree for the formation of a unity government was also seen as a strong reason for a BN-PH alliance.
"The BN MPs have also given their support for this, so it might become a thing of the past now," he said.
"If he is found guilty in court – that will determine everything."
In terms of BN's poor performance at the Nov 19 polls, though, Jeniri said Zahid should follow the footsteps of his predecessor Najib Razak, who resigned after the coalition's historic loss at the 2018 general election.
"Right now, there are three factions in Umno," he said. "The first faction supports Zahid, the second wants BN to be in the opposition, and the third wants to join Perikatan Nasional."
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said Umno's present support for PH might change in the event that a new president is elected at the party polls, which are expected to take place within six months.
He said such a situation could cause the collapse of the government currently led by the PKR president.
"Zahid is expected to defend his position given that those who oppose him have yet to gather enough support," he said.
"If someone like Annuar Musa takes over from Zahid, there might be a shift in support away from Anwar."
But James Chin of Australia's University of Tasmania said even if Zahid was replaced, it would not necessarily mean that BN would immediately withdraw its support for PH.
He said there was a good chance that political parties, including BN, would take a "wait and see" approach before making any decision, given that the current government was formed at the behest of the king.
"Remember that this government was formed under unusual circumstances," he said.
"It came about after discussions among the Malay rulers, so politicians might not be bold enough to withdraw their support as and when they please."


Daily caseload tops 3,300 as 8 more deaths reported

Another 3,321 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,467,061.There were 1,416 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,406,613.There are now 24,850 active cases, of which 23,385 or 94.1% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 33 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 1,373 (5.5%) have been hospitalised.A total of 59 are in ICU with 34 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 55.0%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 8.0%.Another eight deaths were reported, including three who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 35,598.


Over 22.3 million adults, 66.4% of teens fully vaccinated

A total of 22,361,734 individuals or 95.5% of the adult population had completed their Covid-19 vaccination as of yesterday, compared to 22,348,481 individuals on Saturday.Based on the health ministry’s data on the CovidNow portal, 22,872,309 individuals or 97.7% have received at least one dose of vaccine.A total of 63,489 doses were given yesterday, involving adults and adolescents, bringing the cumulative number of doses administered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) to 50,076,170.As for teenagers aged between 12 and 17, a total of 2,091,464 individuals or 66.4% have completed their vaccination while 83% or 2,612,742 individuals have been given at least one dose of vaccine under PICK for Adolescents which was launched on Sept 8.In the meantime, a total of 16,244 Covid-19 vaccine booster doses were given yesterday bringing the cumulative number so far to 307,653 doses.


Russia says risk of nuclear conflict at highest level in decades

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that the risk of a nuclear clash was at its highest level in decades, warning that Moscow was in a "de-facto" open conflict with Washington over the war in Ukraine.
Relations between Russia and the US, long strained, have worsened even further since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. In February, Moscow pulled out of the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty with Washington.
Speaking at an event entitled "A World Without Start: What's Next", Ryabkov said there was "no question" of Russia restoring the treaty for now, criticising what he called Washington's "hostile course" towards Moscow.
"I wouldn't want to dive into a discussion about whether the likelihood of a nuclear conflict is high today, but it is higher than anything we have had for the past few decades, let's put it that way," the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.
Ryabkov said Russia was committed to keeping the world "safe and free" from the threat of nuclear war, but added later that business could not continue as usual, given that Moscow was now "in a de facto state of open conflict with the US".
A year on since the invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has repeatedly accused Washington of directly participating in the conflict by supplying weapons to Kyiv, while casting the war as a battle for Russia's very survival.
Both the US and Russia - by far the world's largest nuclear powers - have said that a nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought, but the conflict in Ukraine has raised fears of a direct confrontation with the West.


Anwar told to revoke Gamuda man's appointment to energy regulator

The government has been urged to revoke the appointment to the Energy Commission of Gamuda Bhd's Rashdan Yusof, after questions of conflict of interest due to the company's involvement in renewable energy.
This comes as Anwar Ibrahim said that he was reevaluating the posting, in the latest public statement by the prime minister on recent political appointments to government firms and agencies.
Penang-based pressure group Aliran said as Gamuda was a major player in the renewable energy sector, the appointment of Rashdan who is the group's deputy managing director was "an obvious case of conflict of interest".
"How can companies in the renewable energy sector, for instance, be assured of a level playing field when the Energy Commission chairman is a senior executive of a company that aims to venture into this sector in a big way?" it asked.
Rashdan's appointment was defended by Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who dismissed concerns of conflict of interest.
Nik Nazmi said Rashdan as chairman would stay out of sub-committees where there would be conflict of interest.
"He's only present in the economic and strategic sub-committee, which is very macro," Nik Nazmi had told The Edge.
But Aliran said the appointment could hurt investor confidence, adding that it was "hardly an example of good governance".
"To use a football analogy, it would be akin to appointing the assistant coach of the Argentine or French football team as referee of the World Cup final."
It pointed to Gamuda's heavy involvement in the energy sector which comes under the jurisdiction of the Energy Commission.
It said this includes a 30% stake in solar energy giant ERS Energy, as well as a majority share of SRC Consortium, the firm behind the land reclamation initiative to create three artificial islands under the Penang South Islands (PSI) project.
"These artificial islands, which aim to house about 400,000 people, will require an enormous amount of electricity," Aliran said.
It said Gamuda’s subscriptions for RM200 million worth of new shares in ERS Energy would make the group the single largest corporate shareholder of ERS Energy, in turn enabling it to deliver Gamuda’s renewable energy for PSI.


Iran starts construction of new nuclear power plant

Iran has begun the construction of a new nuclear plant in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, the country's atomic energy agency said Saturday.
Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, announced in televised remarks the start of construction of the 300-megawatt Karun power plant in the Darkhovin district of Khuzestan.
Construction of the plant will take seven years and is expected to cost between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion (RM6.58 billion and RM8.78 billion), he added on state television.
Eslami said the power plant was "first set to be constructed by a French company", but that the firm had backed out of its "commitments" after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"Later, other countries avoided cooperation with the Islamic republic of Iran, because of the sanctions," he continued.
Under a landmark deal struck in 2015, Iran agreed to mothball its Fordo nuclear plant and limit its enrichment of uranium to 3.67%, as part of a package of restrictions on its nuclear activities aimed at preventing it from covertly developing a nuclear weapon.
Tehran has repeatedly denied that it seeks to develop an atomic bomb.
In return for the restrictions, major powers agreed to relax sanctions they had imposed over Iran's nuclear programme.
But the deal crumbled in 2018 when then US president Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement and reimposed crippling economic sanctions.
Iran has since reopened its Fordo plant and last month said it had begun producing uranium enriched to 60% there.
It also operates a nuclear power plant in Bushehr, which produces 1,000 megawatts of power.
Talks to revive the 2015 pact began in April 2021, but have stalled in recent months, amid tensions between Iran and other parties to the deal.


Record infections overwhelm India’s hospitals

Delhi hospitals issued desperate appeals for oxygen on Friday and 13 Covid patients died in a fire, as India’s healthcare system buckles under a new wave of infections.The surge in cases, blamed on a new virus variant and the government allowing “super spreader” public events to go ahead, saw another 330,000 new infections and 2,000 deaths reported in the past 24 hours.The latest in a string of fires at hospitals broke out on the outskirts of Mumbai early Friday morning, a local official told AFP. It has since been put out and the cause was being investigated.“There were 17 patients inside when a fire broke out in the ICU of Vijay Vallabh Hospital, out of which 13 died and four have been shifted to other facilities,” fire department official Morrison Khavari said.India’s healthcare system has long suffered from underfunding and the new Covid outbreak has seen critical shortages in oxygen, drugs and hospital beds, sparking desperate pleas for help.Earlier this week, 22 Covid-19 patients died at another hospital in the same state of Maharashtra when the oxygen supply to their ventilators was disrupted by a leak.‘Pants down’India has recorded more than four million infections this month, dashing hopes at the start of the year that it may have seen the worst of the pandemic.This mistaken belief led the government to lower its guard, allowing most activity to return almost to normal, including weddings and permitting spectators at cricket matches.The vast Kumbh Mela festival, one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings, held in the city of Haridwar between January and this week, attracted an estimated 25 million Hindu pilgrims, mostly without masks or social distancing.Several state elections have seen big campaign rallies including one by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kolkata that drew an estimated crowd of 800,000.“The government has been caught with its pants down,” call centre executive Navneet Singh, 38, told AFP.Many parts of the country have now tightened restrictions, with the capital in lockdown and all non-essential services banned in Maharashtra. The northern state of Uttar Pradesh, home to 240 million people, goes into a shutdown this weekend.The United Arab Emirates on Thursday became the latest country to impose travel restrictions on India, suspending flights on one of the world’s busiest air corridors. Canada also halted flights from India as well as Pakistan, which has been badly hit too.Crisis meetingsModi was set on Friday to hold at least three crisis meetings on oxygen supplies and the availability of critical medicines.Hospitals in New Delhi have been posting daily desperate appeals for oxygen to the state and national government.“SOS – less than an hour’s oxygen supplies at Max Smart Hospital & Max Hospital Saket,” one of the biggest private hospital chains in India said on Twitter early Friday morning. “Over 700 patients admitted, need immediate assistance.”At least six hospitals ran out of oxygen supplies in the Indian capital late Thursday night before deliveries arrived in the early hours.Medical oxygen tanker trunks have been doing supply runs around the clock in a number of states and air force transport planes have started airlifting big oxygen tanks around the country.The first “Oxygen Express” train left the southern industrial hub of Vizag on Thursday headed for Maharashtra with trucks carrying supplies on board.India has now recorded more than 16 million cases and 187,000 deaths from the coronavirus. Per capita numbers are however much lower than in many other countries.


Vote with eyes open, Port Dickson locals tell Tambun folk

Some voters in Port Dickson have voiced disappointment with their incumbent MP, Anwar Ibrahim, saying name and influence are no guarantee of a good representative even as the PKR chief gears up for an election race in a completely different state this time around.
Those who spoke to MalaysiaNow said Anwar had rarely gone down to the ground to meet with the people since winning the seat in a 2018 by-election that paved his return to Parliament following his pardon and release from prison.
Sulaiman Dolah, 58, said MPs should engage with the people and fulfil their election vows.
"He was here for one term but there have been no changes," he said.
"It was all talk. Even if he did go down to the ground, without development and progress, this too would be pointless."
Adding that Anwar did not seem to have spoken on behalf of his constituency in Parliament, Sulaiman said he now took the promises of politicians, regardless of party, with a hefty pinch of salt.
"The important thing is for representatives to be responsible and to continuously monitor the development of the people," he said.
Anwar won the Port Dickson seat in a by-election triggered by the resignation of its MP at the time, Daniyal Balagopal Abdullah.
Daniyal, who won the seat on a PKR ticket at the 14th general election (GE14), stepped down to allow Anwar to contest it in his stead, paving the way for the opposition leader's return to Parliament.
Anwar secured 23,560 votes, beating his opponent Mohd Nazari Mokhtar of PAS who won only 7,456.
At the 15th general election on Nov 19, however, Anwar will be contesting the seat of Tambun in Perak instead.
Political appointees?
Among the issues raised by the locals was the appointment of village chiefs whom they said were political appointees by Pakatan Harapan (PH).
"The village heads are all their people," Sulaiman said.
"Without pull, it's very hard to meet any of them," he added, recalling an incident in which he tried asking for help after his shop was razed in a fire.
According to the 2020 census, Port Dickson has just under 129,000 residents. Of these, 69.4% are Bumiputera while the Chinese and Indian communities represent 23.2% and 6.7% respectively.
The army vote is also expected to play a big role in the area, which is known as a military town.
Grave digger Razali Ishak, 61, said the attitude of parties could be seen at the cemetery.
"When people die here, the village chief never shows his face," he said.
"Those who come are from Barisan Nasional. Sometimes representatives from PKR come, but only when they are invited."
For him, ongoing challenges for the Port Dickson locals include traffic congestion and insufficient parking, especially on the weekends.
Anwar to Tambun, Khairy to PD?
Razali agreed with Sulaiman that it was up to Anwar where to contest an election.
But as the PKR chief pulls up stakes and heads to Tambun for GE15, Razali's personal hope is that Khairy Jamaluddin will contest in Port Dickson instead.
"Even though he's not a local, the people know who he is," he said.
"He lasted for three terms in Rembau. In Negeri Sembilan, the state representatives don't do anything. Even the menteri besar, we don't really know who he is."
Port Dickson is expected to witness a multi-cornered fight at GE15 among BN, PH, Perikatan Nasional and independent candidates.
But it remains to be seen who will be fielded by each coalition.
Sulaiman, meanwhile, urged constituents in Tambun to vote "with their eyes wide open".
"Remember what happened here," he said. "There's no point in letting history repeat itself."


Show proof of my wrongdoing, Najib challenges Justo

Former prime minister Najib Razak today responded to 1MDB whistleblower Xavier Justo, challenging him to show proof of his claim that the one-time leader had been behind the misappropriation of funds from PetroSaudi International.In a Facebook post, Najib also launched a series of questions against the former PetroSaudi director who had yesterday urged him to get his mental health checked after being accused of stealing data in exchange for money from a UK-based businessman.“Thank you for your concern about my mental health. I am happy to report that I am perfectly fine,” he said. “But I do have several questions.”He urged Justo to post “which documents from the emails that you took said that I am behind or masterminded the misappropriation of money by PetroSaudi (sic)”.Adding that his own lawyers had never found any such proof, he said the evidence instead showed that he was not involved.“I was surprised that you called me a liar or crazy despite me quoting directly from publicly available links in the media as compared to your bare denials,” he said, referring to among others a report by The Edge dated June 2018.Justo had hit out at Najib yesterday, accusing the former prime minister of writing lies about him as well as others.Najib in an earlier post had said that none of the documents or emails that Justo leaked pointed to wrongdoing by him in the 1MDB scandal.But Justo said there had been evidence in courts including in Switzerland, Malaysia and the US that would prove Najib’s guilt.Najib in his post today also asked why it had taken Justo four years after his resignation to offer evidence, and why he had said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that he was unsure if he would still have blown the whistle on 1MDB if PetroSaudi had paid him several million in Swiss francs.“Is it true that you met and blackmailed your employers in Thailand in year 2013?” he added.“If this is not true and that offence did not happen in Thailand, why is it that the Bangkok courts had jurisdiction for you to be charged and sentenced to three years’ jail? And why have you not slammed the Thailand legal system for illegally imprisoning you or even appealed your conviction?”


Trump impeachment trial to begin early February

Donald Trump’s US Senate trial will begin in the second week of February, days after a fresh impeachment case against the former president is transmitted by the House, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said Friday.The newly announced schedule reflects a deal struck by Senate leaders to delay the substantive portion of the trial for two weeks so that the chamber may conduct other critical business including confirmation of President Joe Biden’s cabinet nominees.The House of Representatives impeached Trump for a historic second time on Jan 13, just one week before he left office.Schumer said the article of impeachment will be delivered and read out to the Senate on Monday at 7pm (0000 GMT Tuesday). The chamber’s 100 members will be sworn in as trial jurors the next day.The House members assigned by Speaker Nancy Pelosi as impeachment managers, and members of Trump’s yet-to-be-named defense team, will then be given time to draft their legal briefs.“Once the briefs are drafted, presentation by the parties will commence the week of Feb 8,” Schumer told colleagues on the Senate floor.During the two-week interim, the Senate will act on Biden’s cabinet nominations “and the Covid relief bill which would provide relief for millions of American who are suffering during this pandemic”, Schumer added.“Healing and unity will only come if there is truth and accountability, and that is what this trial will provide.”Members will deliberate whether to convict Trump on what the US Constitution describes as “high crimes and misdemeanors.”Trump was impeached on a single charge of “incitement of insurrection” for his role in whipping up his supporters during a speech in Washington on Jan 6, the day a pro-Trump mob stormed Congress and threatened the lives of lawmakers and then-vice president Mike Pence.Five people died in the violence, including a police officer.‘Unprecedentedly fast’The delay is the result of a deal Schumer struck with Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.McConnell was a close congressional ally to Trump during his term, but he severely reprimanded the outgoing president for repeatedly seeking to overturn results of the election and for his incitement of protesters, and he left the door open for voting to convict Trump.But he had sought a delay in the trial until February, arguing Trump needs time to hire lawyers and mount a defense.On Friday, McConnell appeared to express regret for the Democrats’ speedy timetable.“As I understand, it must be headed our way Monday. By Senate rules, if the article arrives, we have to start a trial right then,” he said on the floor.But the Senate can agree to its own parameters of the trial timeline.McConnell spoke of the “unprecedentedly fast” process in the House, where Trump was impeached in a single day.“The sequel cannot be an insufficient Senate process that denies former president Trump his due process or damages the Senate or the presidency itself,” he said.Trump survived a first impeachment almost a year ago when the then Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him of abusing his office to try to get dirt on Biden’s family before the presidential election.With the Senate now comprised of 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, and a two-thirds majority needed to convict Trump, at least 17 Republicans would have to vote against the former president to secure a conviction.If that occurs, a subsequent vote would be held on whether to ban Trump from holding public office in the future.A handful of Republicans have spoken out harshly against the president but it remains unclear if there would be enough GOP senators to vote for conviction.