Battle for Ukraine’s Sievierodonetsk ebbs and flows through city streets

Ukrainian and Russian troops fought street-by-street to win control of the industrial city of Sievierodonetsk on Monday in the pivotal battle of the Kremlin’s eastern Ukraine offensive.Which side had the upper hand was unclear as the hours passed. Russian forces had the numerical advantage but Ukraine had “every chance” to fight back, President Voldymyr Zelensky said after a regional official suggested Kyiv had lost ground.Ukraine’s defence ministry said Russia was throwing troops and equipment into its drive to capture Sievierodonetsk, the largest remaining Ukrainian-held city in the Donbas region’s Luhansk province.The Ukrainian defenders had over the weekend pushed back the Russians just as they appeared to be on the verge of victory. But the Ukrainian position had again become more perilous on Monday morning, Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai told state television.“Our defenders managed to undertake a counter-attack for a certain time, they liberated almost half of the city. But now the situation has worsened a little for us again,” Gaidai said.City mayor Oleksandr Stryuk said street fighting was raging and neither side was preparing to withdraw.“We have focused enough forces and resources there to beat back attacks on the city,” Stryuk told Ukrainian television.Both sides say they have inflicted huge casualties on each other.The city has become the main target of the Russian offensive in Ukraine’s Donbas region – made up of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces – as the Kremlin’s invasion of the country grinds on in a war of attrition that has seen whole cities laid waste by Russian artillery bombardments.Russia says it is on a mission to “liberate” the Donbas after Ukraine pushed its troops back from the capital Kyiv and Ukraine’s second biggest city Kharkiv in the war’s early stages.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought to rally his troops on Sunday with a visit to two cities close to the front lines.“What you all deserve is victory – that is the most important thing. But not at any cost,” Zelensky, wearing his trademark khaki T-shirt, said in a video.Zelenskiy said he had travelled to Lysychansk, south of Sievierodonetsk, and Soledar – rare outings for him outside of Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb 24.Putin warningIn a boost for Kyiv, Britain said it would supply Ukraine with multiple-launch rocket systems that can strike targets up to 80km (50 miles) away. The systems would give the Ukrainians the more precise, long-range firepower needed to reach Russian artillery units, a key component of Moscow’s battle-plans.The British move was coordinated with the United States, which last week pledged to supply Kyiv with advanced rocket systems.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would respond to Western deliveries of long-range weapons to Ukraine by pushing Ukrainian forces further back from Russia’s border.On Sunday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would strike new targets if the West supplied longer-range missiles to Ukraine. The same day, Russian missiles hit Kyiv for the first time in more than a month. Ukraine said the strike hit a rail car repair works, while Moscow said it had destroyed tanks sent by Eastern European countries to Ukraine.Destroy tanksUkraine’s defence ministry said Russian forces were also pushing towards Sloviansk, which lies about 85km (53 miles) to the west of Sievierodonetsk.In Lysychansk, divided from Sievierodonetsk by a river, Russian forces fired on a bakery and several administrative and residential buildings, Governor Gaidai said on Monday. One civilian had been wounded, he said.Some 60km (40 miles) to the south, on the front line near Bakhmut, Ukrainian soldiers said the situation was difficult but they had no choice but to push back the Russians.A unit commander who gave his name as Maxym appealed for more arms from Ukraine’s allies.“We need more anti-tank weapons. With more anti-tank weapons we would be able to destroy their tanks, to cause maximal damage and the enemy will be forced to flee from where they came,” he told Reuters.“This is our home, our land. We will fight for every piece of this land.”Russian forces were fortifying their positions in the Kharkiv region and shelling Ukrainian positions to keep hold of the territory they had occupied, Ukraine’s military general staff said.It said Russia was targeting civilian infrastructure in several towns and the regional administration said three civilians were killed and 10 wounded in shelling.It was not possible to verify the toll. Moscow denies targeting civilians.Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had destroyed parts of an armoured vehicle repair facility in the Kharkiv region and killed more than 450 what it called “nationalists” in Horlivka and Kodema north of Donetsk. There was no word on the reported deaths from the Ukrainian side.Inside Russia, the governor of the Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, said the village of Tyotkino near the border with Ukraine had come under fire from the Ukrainian side that targeted a bridge and some businesses on Monday morning. There were no immediate reports of casualties.Russia calls its action in Ukraine a “special military operation” mounted to stamp out what it sees as threats to its own security. Ukraine and its Western allies dismiss this as nonsense and say it is an unprovoked war of aggression that risks turning into a wider European conflict.


Regulatory agency receives over 1,000 reports on Pfizer vaccine side effects

The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency had received 1,047 reports of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) associated with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine as of Jan 31, said its director Dr Roshayati Mohamad Sani.Of the total, 992 cases involved the primer dose and 55 involved booster jabs.As for the Sinovac vaccine, she said 544 AEFI reports were received comprising 537 involving the primer dose and seven involving booster shots.Meanwhile, 138 reports were recorded on the AstraZeneca vaccine – 136 involving the primer dose and two involving booster jabs.“All these serious AEFI reports will be investigated and evaluated to determine the link between the adverse effects and the Covid-19 vaccine received,” she said during an online engagement session with the media on AEFI and the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) yesterday.Meanwhile, Tunku Azizah Hospital paediatrics and subspecialty paeds dermatology consultant, Dr Sabeera Begum Kader Ibrahim, said a total of 174 cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) were reported among children infected with Covid-19 since November 2021.She said of the total, 56% involved children aged five to 11, and 25 children under the age of one year. She said among the effects of MIS-C are inflammation and other chronic diseases.“It is timely to embark on children vaccination programme as they are exposed to Covid-19 which can lead to severe infection and complications,” she said.PICKids kicked off in the Klang Valley on Feb 3. It is estimated that four million children aged five to 11 are eligible to receive the vaccine.The programme is being implemented on a voluntary basis and no restrictions will be imposed on unvaccinated children.Health deputy director-general (research and technical support) Dr Hishamshah Mohd Ibrahim said one of the important strategies to enable children to return to school was through Covid-19 vaccination.He said unvaccinated children are more exposed to Covid-19 infection and are also at risk of infecting adults.


Brazil now has more young than old Covid patients in ICUs

The number of Covid-19 patients under 40 in intensive care in Brazil surpassed older groups last month, a researcher said Sunday, amid a deadly surge driven partly by a new coronavirus variant.The number of people aged 39 or younger in intensive care units with Covid-19 in March rose sharply to more than 11,000, or 52.2% of the total, said the Brazilian ICU Project.That was up from 14.6% of total ICU patients early in the pandemic and around 45% from September through February.“Previously, this was a population that would typically only develop a less-severe form of the disease and would not need intensive care. So the increase for this age group is very significant,” said Dr Ederlon Rezende, co-coordinator of the project, an initiative of the Brazilian Association of Intensive Medicine.He said various factors could be driving the increase.Patients over 80, who fell from 13.6% to 7.8% of the total in Brazil’s ICUs in March, are now largely vaccinated.Young people are also more likely to expose themselves to the virus, whether because they have to leave home to work or believe they are less vulnerable, he said.Another factor may be the new Brazilian variant, known as P1, which experts say is partly responsible for the country’s Covid-19 death toll exploding in March.The numbers suggest that P1, which can re-infect people who have had the original strain of the virus, may also be more virulent, Rezende said.“The patients arriving in ICUs now are younger, have no pre-existing conditions and are developing more severe cases of the virus, too,” he told AFP.The number of ICU patients without pre-existing conditions increased by nearly a third in March, to 30.3% of the total.And the proportion of patients put on ventilators reached a pandemic record of 58.1% in March, according to the project’s data.Brazil registered more than 66,500 Covid-19 deaths in March, more than double the hard-hit country’s previous monthly record in July 2020.The disease has claimed a total of 351,000 lives in the country of 212 million people, a death toll second only to that of the US.


Indonesia hits record of over 21,000 daily virus infections

Indonesia set a new record for daily coronavirus cases on Sunday with more than 21,000, as hospitals are flooded with patients in Jakarta and other Covid-19 hotspots across Southeast Asia’s hardest-hit nation.The figure brings the country’s tally for the pandemic to more than 2.1 million coronavirus cases with 57,138 deaths.But the real number is believed to be much higher due to low testing rates for the deadly respiratory illness.Indonesia’s Covid-19 case rates have soared in recent weeks after millions travelled at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in May, and as authorities identified the presence of highly infectious newer virus strains.“We predicted there would be a surge in the number of cases,” said Covid-19 task force spokesman Siti Nadia Tarmizi.“The peak is expected in the next two to three weeks,” she added.Fears are growing that Indonesia’s creaky health system could collapse and there are reports of some overflowing hospitals being forced to turn patients away.Hospitals in the hard-hit capital Jakarta as well as West and Central Java have been flooded with patients, including those infected with the highly transmissible Delta variant, first identified in India.Indonesia’s government, widely accused of responding inadequately to the pandemic, has moved to temporarily beef up restrictions on movement, but it has so far held off imposing strict lockdowns seen in some other virus-wracked nations.The country is aiming to inoculate more than 180 million of its 270 million people by early next year, but only about 5% of the population has so far been fully vaccinated.On Saturday, the government said it had reached its goal of inoculating more than one million people in a single day.


Putin stripped of taekwondo black belt over Ukraine invasion

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been stripped of his honorary taekwondo black belt over his country’s invasion of Ukraine, a personal rebuke heaped on top of international economic and sporting sanctions.World Taekwondo, citing its motto of “Peace is More Precious than Triumph,” condemned the Russian military action in Ukraine, saying the “brutal attacks on innocent lives” violated the sport’s values of respect and tolerance.“In this regard, World Taekwondo has decided to withdraw the honorary 9th dan black belt conferred to Mr Vladimir Putin in November 2013,” the governing body said in a statement.It added that it would join the International Olympic Committee in banning the Russian flag and anthem at its events.The decision comes after the International Judo Federation said on Sunday it would suspend Putin’s status as honorary president and ambassador “in light of the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine”.Other sporting organisation such as FIFA and UEFA have suspended Russian national teams and clubs from competition.Putin has demonstrated capable technique while appearing in martial arts uniforms, projecting an image of strength as he has in other carefully staged events such as those of him riding bare-chested on a horse or playing ice hockey.Russian forces bombarded Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, on Monday, drawing new sanctions from the US and its allies as part of the international isolation of Russia.Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.


Death penalty still here, says law minister

The death penalty still exists in Malaysian law even though the government has decided to abolish the mandatory death penalty, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said today.He said the government had agreed to abolish the mandatory death penalty and substitute it with other sentences subject to the discretion of the courts.“The government, through a Cabinet meeting, agreed in principle on June 8 to do away with the mandatory death penalty, but it is still being implemented at the court.“The sentence is governed by existing laws (which have yet to be amended),” he told a press conference in Putrajaya.He said the mandatory death penalty referred to the provisions for criminal offences in which the convicted offender would be sentenced to death without exception as the judge has no other choice but to hand down the sentence for the offence, such as under Section 302 of the Penal Code.Wan Junaidi said the amendment related to the abolition of the mandatory death penalty would be tabled for first reading at Parliament in October. He said it was expected that the provision of the law could be realistically abolished either in January or February next year.“The government’s decision is a bold step forward (for Malaysia’s criminal justice system) to be seen as more humane,” he said.He said a public survey would also be carried out on the abolition of the mandatory death penalty and, if there were more objections than there was support, the matter would be taken back to the Cabinet for a decision.Wan Junaidi said many quarters had questioned the implications of the abolition of the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking offences under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Act 234).He said Section 39B of Act 234 no longer provides for the mandatory death penalty as it had been substituted with the death penalty at the court’s discretion through the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2017 (Act A1558) effective March 15, 2018.Wan Junaidi said the government had also accepted and taken into consideration the recommendations by the special committee regarding the direction of the criminal justice system in Malaysia.He said this included the introduction of pre-sentencing procedures, a sentencing council and a sentencing guideline, as well as the setting up of a law commission, prison reforms and the execution of sentences based on restorative justice.The minister said the Legal Affairs Division and the Attorney-General’s Chambers were also in the midst of studying the feasibility of the recommendations made by the special committee on the 1,342 inmates whose death sentences were put on hold due to the earlier moratorium.He said the special committee also proposed the setting up of a special panel comprising Federal Court and Court of Appeal judges for this purpose.“This matter needs scrutiny as it touches on constitutional issues,” he added.


France to punish ex-generals for ‘civil war’ with Islamists letter

France is preparing to punish ex-generals and serving soldiers who signed a letter warning of a civil war with Islamists.“These are unacceptable actions. There will be consequences, naturally,” the French defence minister, Florence Parly, said on France Info radio on Monday. “The military are not there to campaign, but to defend France and protect the French.“For those who have violated the duty of reserve, sanctions are planned, and if there are active soldiers among the signatories, I asked the chief of staff of the armed forces to apply the rules,” Parly said.According to French law, retired officers could lose their ranks and pensions if they violated their duties. Active duty soldiers could face court martial and between two to five years in prison.The lead signatory was a former French Foreign Legion commander, who was arrested in 2016 and expelled from the military for taking part in an anti-migrant rally in Calais, reports the euobserver.The letter was signed by 24 retired generals, as well as 80 colonels or captains, 125 lieutenant-colonels or lower-ranked officers, and about 1,000 others.It was published in the right-wing magazine Valeurs Actuelles (Current Values) on April 21 – 60 years to the day after generals led a failed coup against General de Gaulle over Algerian independence.It blamed “fanatic partisans” for creating divisions between communities, and said Islamists are taking over whole areas of the nation.The letter warns French President Emmanuel Macron, his government, and MPs of “several deadly dangers” threatening France, including Islamism in the impoverished immigrant suburbs that surround French cities.“It is no longer the time to procrastinate, otherwise tomorrow civil war will put an end to this growing chaos and deaths – for which you will be responsible – with numbers in the thousands,” the letter concludes.“The hour is grave, France is in peril,” the signatories said.Parly reassured the French public that the old men “in their slippers” who signed it posed no threat, because the “immense majority” of serving French officers had not joined them.However, far-right leader Marine Le Pen, a candidate in next year’s presidential election, has spoken out in support of the former generals and is asking for support in “the battle of France”.The backing of Le Pen means the themes will continue to resonate with a “silent majority” of the French people in the year of campaigning ahead.Macron is currently neck-and-neck with Le Pen, with each scoring between 25 and 28% in polls earlier this month.Le Pen’s response came on the same day as a fatal knife attack at a police station south-west of Paris, which is being treated as a possible terrorist attack.France has proposed a controversial bill to tackle what Macron has described as “Islamist separatism”.However, some critics in both France and abroad have accused the government of targeting Islam.


New cases soar to 660, but most recoveries yet

A total of 660 new cases were reported today, taking cumulative infections to 16,880.Of these, two were imported cases involving foreigners while the rest were local transmissions.The bulk of new cases were reported in Sabah (443), followed by Selangor (76), Kedah (60) and Penang (23).Labuan recorded 19 cases, followed by Perak (16), Johor (10), Kuala Lumpur (10), Negeri Sembilan (two) and Pahang (one).Another four deaths were reported, taking the virus toll to 163 or 0.97%.However, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also said 350 patients were discharged, the most since the pandemic was first detected in the country.Total recoveries number 11,372 or 67.37% of cumulative cases.Active cases now stand at 5,345 with 101 in the ICU and 32 in need of respiratory assistance.


91.4% of adults fully vaccinated

A total of 22,036,881 people or 91.4% of the adult population had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as of yesterday.Meanwhile 24,699,864 or 95.1% have received at least one shot, including of the single-dose CanSino vaccine.In terms of total population, 67.5% have been fully vaccinated while 75.6% have received at least one dose.State-wise, Kelantan and Sabah remain below the 80% full vaccination level for adults at 75% and 67.3% respectively.A total of 174,732 doses of vaccine were administered yesterday, taking the cumulative number of jabs given under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to 46,633,404.


Johor sultan grants audience to PM Ismail

Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar of Johor today granted an audience to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob at his residence in Johor Bahru.
Also in attendance was Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.
According to a post on Sultan Ibrahim’s official Facebook page, the courtesy call was part of the prime minister’s visit to Johor.
It is learnt that the meeting lasted for about an hour.


No virus talk allowed at this bar in Rome

The message is clear from the hand-written poster above the counter – all talk of coronavirus, lockdowns or virology is strictly forbidden.In this little bar on the outskirts of Rome, the manager hopes to give her clients a brief respite from the global pandemic while they drink their coffee.“We’ve been talking about the same thing for months, so we chose to lighten the atmosphere,” Cristina Mattioli, manager of the Feeling bar, told AFP.As the first European country hit by the pandemic, Italy has been under the shadow of Covid-19 for longer than most, and endured one of the toughest lockdowns.After a heady few weeks over the summer where life almost returned to normal, the pandemic again dominates everything, with deaths mounting each day.“It’s not at all about denial, or not understanding the difficulty of what the world is going through, but just about giving yourself a break,” Mattioli said.‘Anything but that’She said most customers in the bar, adorned with wooden boxes filled with tea on the walls and offering a tempting array of sandwiches and pastries, have reacted positively to the ban.Bruna Piazza, a regular who comes in to buy lottery tickets, thinks it’s a great idea.“We’re fed up with talking about Covid, we can’t take it anymore, everywhere we go we only talk about Covid,” the 58-year-old said.“I’m happy to talk about anything except that, I’d rather talk about the weather, or celebrities.”Coronavirus is ever present, from the hand sanitiser to the masks worn by everyone not eating and drinking. The cafe itself has to shut early, at 6pm, under government orders designed to stem infection rates.To help distract people, Mattioli has put up another poster offering ideas for conversation, including history and culture.“It’s a wise initiative, I would even say indispensable,” adds hairdresser Maurizio Ciocari, another regular.“You have to stop talking about it, you have to solve the problem, not talk about it.”As a rock’n’roll fan with the long hair to match, the 63-year-old says he easily finds other things to discuss: “We talk about everything. Me, I love music.”And what happens if clients start inadvertently discussing exponential curves or a potential vaccine?“No sanctions, but I show them the posters,” Mattioli, 35, says with a smile.It seems she is on to something – two new customers have heard about the initiative and come in to congratulate her.“Another cafe manager in Trentino (in northern Italy) has also made similar posters, although she asked my permission first,” she adds with pride.


The kampung’s unwritten speed limit

Driving back to Kampung Mangkuk from Kota Bharu for a holiday trip one day, I hit a kid.Not a human child but a baby goat. If it were a human child, maybe I would not be as sad now.When I got out of the now-dented car, the kid was bleating hell, cursing me in goat language. It had flown quite a bit due to the impact and its leg may have been broken as it could not stand up. I stood outside my car, looking with wide eyes at the eyes staring back at me.Bystanders told me to drive on. The kid’s eventual death by Proton Axia was forgiven, and a quiet apology was given to everyone although probably no one heard it.When I resumed the drive, I was laughing like a pontianak. And just as pontianaks scare villagers, I scared my passenger.I also laughed later that journey when I almost crashed into a lamppost and drove my car off the road into someone’s front yard.I did not laugh from the comedic value of the moment. It was a way for me to cope with my panic after a very distressing experience. The moments went by so quickly for me because I wanted them to. And when they went too fast and endangered me, I did not even have a chance to panic beforehand like any normal person would.But I was wrong to think I could go over 100kmh in a kampung time. It is my urban mindset that I always have to hit the gears whenever the road gives me an opportunity to speed.No one is meant to go fast in a kampung. Kampung time exists as a collective property of the villagers and the place that they are in. No one can decide on their own how they want the time to go by. Each of them decides for each other, and the land and the sea besides them decide for them too.In the kampung, time does not fly by. It creeps on slowly as everyone moves at a gentle pace, matching the gentle flow of their kampung time.That day, I learnt how to go slow. At night, in Kampung Mangkuk as I drove through Pantai Penarek, the broken headlamp and the music from the radio broke the stillness of the small road. In such kampungs, quietness and dimness is a nightly routine for residents. The people are accompanied by the sound of the waves crashing and the offshore wind that comes with it.Here, the vibe is a different tune from that of the city which stays awake in all its brightness and noise.The stillness is also a chance for humanity to settle into its elements, and to seep into the buildings and tar roads that eventually crack with the force of the beach that refuses to accept gravel made not for the land of the seaside. Even the houses eventually captured the spirit of the people living in them.While I was on that same holiday trip, the second movement control order or MCO was announced. If this was not enough to wear you down, a state of emergency was also declared by the king.I woke up on Tuesday morning to my phone buzzing with notifications from news portals repeating the same context and headlines. My circles were understandably agitated, and criticism started to fill the space for discussion.But in the kampung, all I could sense from the people was “What about it?” Sure, tourists may not come as often now. Shops and restaurants will have to close earlier or may not open at all. But still, the news did not concern the kampung people much. Maybe it was because cases are non-existent there, or their lives are centred on that secluded piece of land, detached from the hectic world of fast cars and fast people.But for all we know, they did not have the need to feed off the chaotic moment that had crashed down on the people they did not even care about, brought about by people that they did not care about either.Things still go by slowly. The stillness of the night may begin earlier, but even before the pandemic arrived, they had adjusted to the slow-moving life of the kampung.I left Kampung Mangkuk on a sunny Thursday afternoon. The drive back to Kuala Terengganu to catch my plane was a drive with goats and cows that grazed and sat on the road, seeking comfort from the slow life, the only way of living they know about. Maybe if I had not driven so fast the day before, a kid could have sat comfortably on the road as well with its family.As every mile brought me closer to the airport, I could feel the anxiety that I had before the trip catching up with me. How I wished I could bring along kampung time with me, back to the cities and towns of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur – but this would be naive of me.I have deadlines, exams and all sorts of writing to think about. All those fast things that kampung people do not have to think about, in the slow life that they are living – the life I lack the courage to make for myself.


Sorry.


Defence ministry to set up investment committee for asset procurement

The defence ministry plans to form a defence investment committee as part of efforts to prevent and avoid irregularities in its procurement of assets.
Deputy Defence Minister Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz said the setting up of the committee was among the recommendations in the Defence White Paper.
"This committee will decide on policies and make decisions relating to asset procurement, especially high-value strategic assets that require decisions to be made collectively, apart from taking into account the needs of the Malaysian Armed Forces," he during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was responding to a question from Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PAS-Pasir Mas) on whether the ministry had updated its procedure in awarding construction contracts following the issue of the littoral combat ship (LCS) project.
To a supplementary question from  Fadhli on the deadline for the construction of LCS 1, Ikmal said 94% of the detailed design for the ship had been completed by the contractor, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS).
"On the detailed design, it is being negotiated by BNS with Naval Group from France. This is important to ensure that what is decided later will meet the needs of the Royal Malaysian Navy as the end user.
"The Naval Group has also decided that its technical team will conduct an audit of the detailed design this month," he said.


Businessmen with palace address on ICs claim trial to giving false information

Two businessmen were charged in the Ipoh Sessions Court today with giving false information on their identity cards by using Kediaman Diraja Istana Kinta as their address.Mohamad Halmi Waramejini, 55, of Johor Bahru, and Affendy Abdul Aziz, 49, of Subang Jaya in Selangor pleaded not guilty to the charge before judge Norita Mohd Ardani.The two men were charged with giving false information on their identity cards by using the residence of the royal family, Kediaman Diraja Istana Kinta, as their address despite knowing that the information was false.They were charged with committing the offence at the UTC Perak National Registration Department counter at Level 4, Ipoh Central Market, Jalan Dato ‘Onn Jaafar on Oct 25, 2015.They were charged with violating Regulation 25 (1)(b) of the National Registration Regulations 1990 which provides for imprisonment of up to three years, a fine not exceeding RM20,000 or both, upon conviction.Norita allowed the two businessmen bail of RM6,000 each with one surety and ordered them to report themselves at the nearest police station once a month.Deputy public prosecutor Sally Chay prosecuted while the two businessmen were represented by lawyer Mohamad Salihen Mastor.The court set Dec 8 for mention.


Former AirAsia chairman Pahamin Rajab dies

Former AirAsia Bhd chairman and co-founder Pahamin A Rajab died in London, UK, last night.
The news was shared by his son-in-law, actor Azhar Sulaiman, through an Instagram video early this morning.
"Assalamualaikum, everyone. I wish to inform you that my father-in-law Pahamin A Rajab has just passed away. He just arrived in London and had a heart attack on the plane. So now my mother-in-law and my son Rees are in London.
"He went to London to attend my son's graduation. All of us will leave for London on Monday. Let's recite the al-Fatihah together for my father-in-law. May Allah bless his soul and place him among the righteous," he said in the video.
Pahamin, 77, was the secretary-general of the domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry from 1998 to 2001 and the director-general of Road Transport Department from 1974 to 1998.


Facebook gives estimate of bullying, harassment on platforms for first time

Facebook for the first time on Tuesday disclosed the prevalence of bullying and harassment on its platform, saying such content was seen between 14 and 15 times per every 10,000 views on the site in the third quarter.The company, which recently changed its name to Meta, also said in its quarterly content moderation report that bullying and harassment content was seen between five and six times per 10,000 views of content on Instagram.The social media giant, long under scrutiny over its handling of abuses on its services, has been in the spotlight after a former employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents that include research and discussions about Instagram’s effects on the mental health of teens and on whether Facebook’s platforms stoke divisions.Haugen has said the documents show the company picked profits over user safety. Facebook disputed this characterisation, saying the documents were being used to paint a “false picture.”The documents, which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal, have spurred calls for Facebook to be more transparent and have raised questions over whether metrics such as prevalence give the full picture of how the company handles abuses.Facebook said its bullying and harassment numbers only captured instances where the company did not need additional information, such as a report from a user, to decide if the content broke its rules.They said that of the 9.2 million pieces of content the company removed from Facebook for breaking its bullying and harassment rules, it found 59.4% proactively.“Bullying and harassment is a unique challenge and one of the most complex issues to address because context is critical,” the company’s global head of safety, Antigone Davis, and product management director Amit Bhattacharyya said in a blog post.


BN's Saarani sworn in as Perak MB, forming first post-GE state govt

Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Saarani Mohamad was sworn in yesterday as the new menteri besar of Perak, the first state to form a government after the 15th general election (GE15) last Saturday.
Saarani, the Kota Tampan assemblyman, took his oath of office before Perak ruler Sultan Nazrin Shah at Istana Iskandariah Kuala Kangsar at 5.30pm.
It was earlier announced that BN and Pakatan Harapan (PH) had agreed to form a unity government in Perak.
No single party or coalition obtained a simple majority in the Perak state election, with Perikatan Nasional (PN) winning 26 seats, PH 24 and BN nine in the 59-member state assembly.
Apart from Perak, two other states – Perlis and Pahang – also held their state elections alongside GE15.
The previous Perak government was a coalition involving BN, Bersatu and PAS. Saarani, who is Perak BN and Umno chairman, has been the Kota Tampan assemblyman since 2004 and was first appointed as the Perak menteri besar on Dec 10, 2020.
In GE15, Saarani obtained 5,468 votes to beat Mohd Jamil Yahya of PN and Mohd Sabri Abdul Manaf of PH.
He was also the Perak opposition leader from 2018 to 2020.
As the menteri besar in December 2020, he took the unprecedented step of giving an equal allocation of RM200,000 to all the 59 state assemblymen, regardless of whether they were from the government or the opposition.
Saarani said BN opted to form a unity government with PH in Perak as PH had offered BN the oppotunity to lead the state.
Under the BN-PH cooperation, BN would also be given three state executive councillor posts and the post of state assembly speaker, he added.
"This role (as menteri besar) is suitable for me. I accepted it (the offer) as I’m the one who initiated Perak Sejahtera 2030 and I want to continue leading it.
"At 3am on the night of the (GE15) results, Perak Bersatu secretary Zainol Fadzi Paharudin visited me but could not make any decision as his mandate was only to arrange a meeting between me and state Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
"The three of us met later and I informed them of the PH offer (menteri besar post). So, PN was free to make its offer to me but until yesterday they did not offer anything," he told a news conference after being sworn in.


Taiwan to reopen to business travellers in March

Taiwan announced plans on Thursday to reopen to business travellers and shorten quarantine for all arrivals, slightly loosening restrictions in one of the few places alongside China still pursuing a zero-Covid strategy.The island was hailed for keeping Covid-19 at bay for the first year of the pandemic, but an outbreak detected last April forced Taipei to implement economically painful restrictions.That included banning all foreign visitors, with the exception of a few categories such as residency holders and diplomats, since a surge in local infections last May.Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC) said Thursday restrictions would ease beginning early March for foreigners coming in for business purposes, including inspection, investment, employment or fulfilling contractual obligations.“We will open to foreign business people starting March 7 in line with some relaxations in the overall pandemic prevention measures,” said Chen Tsung-yen, deputy head of the CECC.Chinese, Hong Kong and Macau residents can only apply for entry to fulfil business contracts or due to transferrals within multinational companies.Business visitors have to apply in-person with Taiwan’s de facto embassies, while Chinese nationals must apply online via local host companies to the National Immigration Agency.Also from March 7, the 14-day mandatory quarantine for all arrivals will be cut to 10 days, in addition to a week of monitoring at home.A mask mandate and some other restrictions will be eased from March 1, authorities said.“We had some domestic cluster infections before Lunar New Year but the number of local cases continued to fall in recent weeks,” said Chou Jih-haw, head of the CECC’s disease surveillance division.“The domestic situation is stable and under control.”Most of the island’s detected cases are imported. On Thursday, Taiwan recorded seven local infections and 73 imported cases with zero deaths.It is not yet clear when Taiwan might transition to living with the coronavirus, like most other major trading nations.Foreigners in Taiwan have also complained that they are still having to leave the island to renew visas.


Plastics from burning ship cover Sri Lanka beach

Tonnes of charred plastic pellets from a burning container ship washed ashore near Sri Lanka’s capital Friday as an international effort to salvage the vessel dragged into a ninth day.Thick black smoke rose from the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, anchored just outside Colombo harbour, heightening fears that it could break up spilling its 278 tonnes of bunker oil.Navy personnel in hazmat suits were sent to clean millions of plastic granules mixed with burned oil and other residue that covered Negombo beach, 40km north of the capital.The plastic-covered beach, normally a draw for tourists and known as a fishing centre, was declared off limits. The smoking container ship could be seen on the horizon.Bulldozers scooped up tonnes of the polythene pellets that came from at least eight containers that fell off the ship on Tuesday.Officials said the vessel was known to carry at least 28 containers of the pellets that are used as a raw material in the packaging industry.The fire broke out on May 20 as the ship waited to enter the Colombo port.It is also carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid, an unspecified quantity of ethanol and lubricants in its 1,500 containers.Authorities believe the fire was caused by a nitric acid leak which the crew had been aware of since May 11, Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Authority (Mepa) said.Mepa chairman Dharshani Lahandapura said the crew could have avoided the disaster had they offloaded the leaking containers or returned them to the port of origin before entering Sri Lankan waters.Lahandapura said the Mepa is bracing for an oil spill if the X-Press Pearl breaks up as monsoon winds have fanned the flames across the length of the ship.She said the vessel was carrying 278 tonnes of bunker oil and 50 tonnes of marine gasoil when the fire erupted.Oil residue and charred containers have already washed ashore at Negombo.Sri Lanka navy chief Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne said Thursday it would take days to extinguish the fire, even with the weather improving.Four Indian vessels have joined Sri Lanka’s navy in the battle to contain the fire. Salvage operations are led by the Dutch company SMIT which has sent specialist fire fighting tugs.The 25-member crew evacuated on Tuesday and two of them suffered minor injuries in the process, the owners of the vessel said on Thursday.SMIT, renowned salvage troubleshooters, was also involved in dousing the flames on oil tanker which caught fire off Sri Lanka’s east coast last September after an engine room explosion that killed a crewman.The fire on the New Diamond tanker took more than a week to put out and left a 40km long oil spill. Sri Lanka has demanded the owners pay a US$17 million clean-up bill.


Economy to recover but lockdown will hurt, academic says

An economist says Malaysia will rebound from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic but warns that going will be slow, as yet another lockdown puts paid to most business operations for the next two weeks.Madeline Berma of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak said any hope of a quick economic recovery had been dashed by the new round of restrictions, imposed following a fierce spike in daily caseloads which reached a peak of over 9,000 last week with nearly 100 deaths on May 29.The lockdown, which will continue until June 14, was announced on May 28 when the death toll stood at 2,552. Since then, it has risen by 630, hitting crossing the 3,000 mark on June 3.The first lockdown imposed in March last year caused the country some RM2.4 billion in daily losses, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in an interview in May.This saw the government forced to spend RM340 billion in massive cash handouts as well as various stimulus packages to revive the economy.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Madeline said the latest lockdown would add pressure on the government in carrying out its economic recovery plan amid the surge in deaths and new infections.A road cleaner is the only one about at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur, which is normally bustling with activity but now stands silent under a nationwide lockdown.With the unemployment rate relatively high at 4.8% and 4.9% in January and February this year, she said job market recovery would likely continue to lag as well, fuelled by the acute downturn in the tourism sector.“The economy is on the road to recovery but the pace is slow,” she said.“The seven fiscal stimulus packages worth RM340 billion are putting a heavy strain on the government’s financial situation.”This is without taking into consideration the latest financial aid package worth RM40 billion, announced by Muhyiddin on the eve of the lockdown on May 31.The package included RM2.1 billion for Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat payments, RM1.5 billion for an extension of the wage subsidy programme, and RM2 million for targeted assistance and recovery for affected SMEs.Madeline said the aid package, known as Pemerkasa Plus, had been rolled out despite the government’s limited financial space, with RM5 billion in actual spending coming from the national coffers.“Such measures will help SMEs and businesses to weather the economic storm and provide short-term relief,” she said.“It will help them maintain their business and to stay afloat and retain their workers.”She said the assistance, including cash handouts and a moratorium on loan repayments, would also make a difference to groups such as taxi drivers and tour guides who would be heavily affected by the lockdown.“But this provides temporary relief, not long-term solutions. The government should adopt a targeted approach that can provide support for those in the M40 group whose businesses have had to close down during lockdowns, such as spas, clothing shops and dine-in restaurants.”


97.4% of adults, 86.7% of teens fully jabbed

A total of 25,529,153 individuals or 97.4% of adults had completed their Covid-19 vaccination as of yesterday.According to the CovidNow portal, 23,110,692 individuals or 98.7% of adults have received at least one dose of vaccine.Meanwhile, 86.7% of adolescents or 2,729,919 individuals have completed their vaccination while 89.9% or 2,829,924 individuals have received at least one dose of vaccine.A total of 168,716 doses of vaccine were administered yesterday – 4,246 as first doses, 5,125 as second shots and 159,345 as booster jabs.This brings the total number of vaccine doses administered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to 55,383,495, including 4,107,585 booster shots.


Khairy pans Hannah's explanation of SEA Games results

Former youth and sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin has criticised the explanation by incumbent minister Hannah Yeoh for the lacklustre performance of the Malaysian contingent at the recent SEA Games.
The Malaysian team had won just 34 gold medals, short of its goal of 40.
Khairy said Yeoh should own up to the outcome even if she was not fully responsible.
"I became minister in 2013. Not even a year later, we had the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
"At both events, we failed to achieve our target. I apologised even though I did not need to, and despite having been minister for only a year," he said in his "Keluar Sekejap" podcast yesterday.
Yeoh, at a recent press conference, had blamed political instability for Malaysia's performance at the SEA Games in Cambodia.
The national contingent brought home 45 silver medals and 97 bronze in addition to the 34 gold, finishing in seventh place.
Yeoh, the Segambut MP, was appointed as youth and sports minister by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Hang Tuah Jaya MP Adam Adli Abdul Halim meanwhile was appointed as her deputy.
Khairy also criticised Yeoh's statement that she would not apologise for the SEA Games results.
"I understand what she was trying to say about changes in policy because there were too many ministers over the past two to three years," he said.
"Perhaps this had some effect, but to immediately talk about political instability is a bit distasteful," he added.
Khairy was appointed as youth and sports minister under the administration of Najib Razak, a position he held until the collapse of the Barisan Nasional government in 2018.
During his time at the ministry, he oversaw the Myanmar SEA Games in 2014 and the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016.
He said it was a norm to send young athletes to the SEA Games, and that Cambodia's move as host to drop the sports won by Malaysia was no reason to miss the gold-medal target.
The former Rembau MP said the minister in charge should ensure adequate policies, allocations and preparations for the sending of athletes to sports tournaments.
"We look at the athletes' performance and help make projections for them," he added.
"We need to discuss these with the National Sports Council. All of this is the responsibility of the minister. We need to make sure that our reserve athletes reach the level where they can win at the SEA Games."


Salman Rushdie off ventilator, 'road to recovery has begun'

Salman Rushdie, the acclaimed author who was stabbed repeatedly at a public appearance in New York state on Friday, 33 years after Iran's then-supreme leader called for him to be killed, is off a ventilator and his health is improving, his agent and a son said on Sunday.
"He's off the ventilator, so the road to recovery has begun," his agent, Andrew Wylie, wrote in an email to Reuters. "It will be long; the injuries are severe, but his condition is headed in the right direction."
Rushdie, 75, was set to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York on the importance of the US as a haven for targeted artists when police say a 24-year-old man rushed the stage and stabbed him.
The Indian-born writer has lived with a bounty on his head following the publication of his 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses," which is viewed by some Muslims as containing blasphemous passages. In 1989 Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for his assassination.
Writers and politicians around the world have condemned the attack. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that Iranian state institutions had incited violence against Rushdie for generations, and state-affiliated media had gloated about the attempt on his life.
"This is despicable," Blinken said in a statement. "The US and partners will not waver in our determination to stand up to these threats, using every appropriate tool at our disposal."
The suspect in the stabbing, Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault at a court appearance on Saturday, his court-appointed lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, told Reuters.
Neither local nor federal authorities have offered any additional details on the investigation, including a possible motive.
An initial law enforcement review of Matar's social media accounts showed he was sympathetic to Shiite extremism and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to NBC New York. The IRGC is a powerful faction that Washington accuses of carrying out a global extremist campaign.
Rushdie was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, for treatment after the attack.
Following hours of surgery, he had been put on a ventilator and was unable to speak as of Friday evening, Wylie had said in a prior health update, adding that he would likely lose an eye and had nerve damage in his arm and wounds to his liver.
One of Rushdie's sons said on Sunday that his father remained in critical condition but was able to say a few words after getting off the ventilator.
"Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humor remains intact," Zafar Rushdie wrote on Twitter.
Authorities in Iran have made no public comment about the attack, although hardline state media outlets have celebrated it with headlines including "Satan has been blinded" and some Iranians voiced support online for the stabbing.
Many other Iranians expressed their sympathies for Rushdie, however, posting on social media about their anger at the Islamic Republic's clerical rulers for issuing the 1989 fatwa that told Muslims to kill the author.
Bounty worth millions
Iranian organisations, some linked to the government, have raised a bounty worth millions of dollars for Rushdie's murder. Khomeini's successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said as recently as 2019 that the edict remained "irrevocable."
Matar was born in California and recently moved to New Jersey, the NBC New York report said, adding that he had a fake driver's licence on him.
Witnesses said Matar did not speak as he attacked the author. He was arrested at the scene by a state trooper after being wrestled to the ground by audience members.
Rushdie was stabbed 10 times, prosecutors said during Matar's arraignment, according to the New York Times.
Prosecutors said in court that Matar travelled by bus to the Chautauqua Institution, an educational retreat about 19km from the shores of Lake Erie, and bought a pass that admitted him to Rushdie's lecture, the Times reported. Attendees said there were no obvious security checks.
Matar was the son of a man from Yaroun in southern Lebanon, according to Ali Tehfe, the town's mayor. Matar's parents emigrated to the US, where he was born and raised, the mayor said, adding he had no information on their political views.
Tehfe told Reuters on Sunday that Matar's father had returned to Lebanon several years ago, and after word of Rushdie's stabbing spread he had locked himself in his Yaroun home and was refusing to speak to anyone.
The Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah holds significant sway in Yaroun, where posters of Khomeini and slain IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike in 2020, adorned walls at the weekend.
A Hezbollah official told Reuters on Saturday that the group had no additional information on the attack on Rushdie.


Selayang Hospital now full Covid-19 facility

The status of Selayang Hospital changed from hybrid Covid-19 hospital to full Covid-19 hospital effective yesterday, an announcement on the hospital’s official Facebook page said today.“Patients will be notified of the changes in their appointment dates soon. Their cooperation is very much appreciated,” it said.The Selayang Hospital is the third hospital in Selangor to be changed to a full Covid-19 hospital after the Sungai Buloh and Ampang hospitals.


Remembering the spirit of Covid-19 SOPs, not just the letter

The government recently announced that the movement control order for Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor will be extended. Other states will have relaxed restrictions. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 vaccination plan is set to roll out by the end of the month.These developments came following heightened anxiety over the spike in new Covid-19 cases that have hovered between 3,000 and over 5,000 daily for around two months. At one point, our healthcare capacity was at breaking point due to the overwhelming number of cases, although the situation has now improved somewhat.As restrictions rules change – in some places enhanced, in others maintained or relaxed – controversy still rages on whether the government’s reactions was appropriate. On the one hand, there are those who think that the government needed to relax the restrictions to keep businesses afloat.There are also those who blame the spike in Covid-19 cases on the government’s half-hearted attempt in implementing restrictions. Among others, they cite the government’s decision to lift interstate travel in December as being to blame for the surge in cases.To make matters worse, they point to various ministers or senior politicians who flout Covid-19 SOPs. They say that when leaders cannot follow the SOPs, how can they expect ordinary Malaysians to comply?Both sides have valid points. But to me, two wrongs don’t make a right. It doesn’t matter whether the government has allowed dining in at restaurants or how many people can sit at a table. The bigger question that needs to be asked, at a time when Covid-19 is still around us, is whether it is necessary to eat out even if the rules allow for it.I recall when the government allowed dining in, subject to diners being seated at least one metre apart, many did not abide by the spirit of the SOP. In mamak stalls or air-conditioned restaurants, diners were taking their own sweet time finishing their meal, and many lingered on long after they had finished their meals. Some brought along their children or the elderly despite them being in the high-risk group. Couldn’t they just have dined at home?In malls, I have seen shoppers out and about with toddlers tagging along, oblivious to the invisible enemy lurking in the air. Once I confronted a shopper who strolled along in a mall with her kid. I asked the mother why she brought her daughter, seated in a stroller, to the mall and if she was worried about the virus. She threw me the dirty look and hurriedly walked away saying that it’s none of my business. And they were not even wearing their masks correctly!Many of us like to blame the government for its shortcomings in handling Covid-19. While I wouldn’t say that the government is blameless, we ourselves should first do our part in keeping the virus at bay.When the government lifts the ban on interstate travel, we should ask whether we should travel in the first place. Is it an urgent trip that cannot wait? Will the travel expose our loved ones or others at risk?When we are allowed to dine in at restaurants, do we stay around longer than we should? Should we even dine in when we can just take away? Do we talk business over the restaurant dining table when we could have just Zoomed?Very often, the people who complain about the government’s decisions are the same ones whose deeds elevate the transmission risk of Covid-19. I wonder how many criticise ministers who flout Covid-19 SOPs on social media using their handphones from a mamak shop when they lepak long after they finish their meals. Do they remember to wash their hands frequently?All I can say to those who keep blaming others is, start taking responsibility!The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


60% of federal roads 'expired', in need of repair, says minister

About 60% of federal roads in the country have expired service lives and need to be repaired with an allocation of approximately RM3 billion, says Works Minister Fadillah Yusof.
Considering the high cost involved, he said the ministry was negotiating with the concessionaires and getting feedback from the rest of the ministries to plan for the construction and repair of the roads that had expired.
"That's why we want to work with several parties. Our approach is diverse but the important thing is that we have to build new roads so that the comfort and safety of users is guaranteed," he told reporters in Puncak Alam today.
Meanwhile, Fadillah said an additional allocation of RM130 million had been approved by the finance ministry on Sept 13 for the periodic maintenance of pavements on federal roads throughout the country.
He said the allocations had been offered to contractors in Peninsular Malaysia through 180 jobs worth RM113 million while RM17 million was channelled to contractors in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan through 17 jobs.
"All of these jobs are expected to be completed within a month and a half or in November," he said.


Concert turns out to be no joke for music lovers or police

Riot police in Belgium have used tear gas and water cannon to break up a crowd who had gathered for a music concert announced on social media.The announcement of the concert, scheduled for April 1, was posted on Facebook, promising a host of famous DJs.About 2,000 people turned up for the event in Brussels’ Bois de la Cambre park, in defiance of the country’s Covid-19 measures. Under coronavirus restrictions in Belgium, outdoor gatherings are limited to four people.It then turned out that the announcement was an April Fools’ Day joke, and there was going to be no concert.When police arrived, on foot and on horseback, some music lovers shouted “Freedom!” and hurled whatever they could find.Police said four people were arrested and three police officers were injured in clashes.“We are all depressed. I’ll be 18 in two weeks, we want to take advantage of our youth,” one student told Reuters. “We came not to annoy the police, but to show that we also have a life and want to enjoy it.”Prosecutors say they have started an investigation to find out who was behind the Facebook post.Brussels Mayor Philippe Close said he could understand people wanting to go outside in the spring weather, but such gatherings would not be tolerated.Belgium, with a population of 11.5 million, has recorded more than 882,000 coronavirus cases and 23,000 deaths.It is one of a number of European countries to increase restrictions amid another spike in cases.After the soul-crushing year the world just suffered through, pandemic-exhausted pranksters took their April Fools’ Day jokes seriously in 2021, the New York Post reports.Language learning app Duolingo has rolled out their first ever three-ply toilet paper roll. Each sheet of bathroom tissue comes decorated with useful phrases translated into other languages like Spanish, Chinese and Malay.Always wanted to know how to say, “My cat has been struck by lightning,” in Japanese, while in the smallest room? Well now, you can.Well actually, you can’t. It was one of this year’s crop of April Fool’s jokes.Although come to think of it, language learning toilet roll sounds like it could be a real money spinner.


Interstate travel ban to remain

The government says it will maintain the ban on interstate travel, citing it as one of the factors in the rise in daily infections in the country.Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the decision was made at the Covid-19 technical committee meeting today.He said the decision would not be well received but added that it was necessary to curb the spread of infection.“Cases have increased in other countries. India currently records over 200,000 Covid-19 positive cases daily, pushing its total cases to over 14 million. In the capital New Delhi, scores of hotels and halls have been converted to house Covid-19 patients.“We definitely do not want such a situation in Malaysia. So once again, I would like to stress self-monitoring and SOP compliance. ‘Kita jaga kita’,” he said at a media conference.Ismail said 38 interstate travel clusters involving 5,471 cases were recorded from Dec 20, 2020 to April 20 while seven clusters involving 423 cases were recorded this month alone.In Kelantan, since Dec 7 last year, he said a total of 10 interstate travel clusters have been recorded, some of which are still active.“Not only are these interstate travel clusters spreading Covid-19 to green zone areas, activities such as returning to home towns to attend social functions also increase the risk of infection to vulnerable groups such as the elderly and children,” he said.Ismail said 140 people were given compound notices while 19 others were remanded yesterday for flouting SOPs.He said 56 illegal immigrants were detained and 10 land vehicles seized in Op Benteng yesterday.


Late-stage Covid cases on the rise, says health minister

The number of Covid-19 patients in categories 4 and 5 is showing an increase with 30,287 cases recorded in May compared to 6,751 cases in April, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba says.He said the number is expected to continue increasing this month with a total of 22,857 cases recorded in the two categories as of yesterday.According to the health ministry, patients in category 4 require supplemental oxygen while patients in category 5 are critically ill and need to be on ventilator support.Adham also said the usage of ICU beds for treating Covid-19 patients has reached 97%.He said this at a news conference on the development of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme with coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin today.According to Adham, there are a total of 1,767 ICU beds nationwide including at government and military hospitals with 1,161 patients undergoing treatments, 452 of whom are on ventilator support.Adham also said that private clinics and medical centres are required to provide detailed billings for screening services at their premises if the cost is higher than the ceiling price set by the ministry.The government has set the ceiling price at RM150 for RT-PCR tests, RM270 for rapid molecular tests, RM60 for RTK Antigen test and RM50 for rapid antibody tests in the peninsula.In Sabah and Sarawak, the ceiling prices are RM200 for RT-PCR tests, RM350 for rapid molecular tests, RM80 for RTK Antigen tests and RM70 for rapid antibody tests.Adham said the public can complain to the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre or Private Medical Practice Control Section if private clinics or medical centres charge unreasonable fees for Covid-19 screening.


Rights group slams successive govts for going after Nur Sajat

Rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) today hit out at the government for its treatment of Nur Sajat, accusing successive administrations of persecuting the cosmetics entrepreneur for her identity as a transperson.In a statement, LFL coordinator Zaid Malek said Nur Sajat had been continuously “hunted down”, with over 100 enforcement officers from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department or Jais at one point tasked with obtaining her arrest.“The religious authorities in Malaysia and the government are entirely responsible for making her feel unsafe in the country,” he said following reports that Nur Sajat had fled to Australia.“They continuously hunted her down, even tasking 122 Jais enforcement officers at one point with her arrest as if she was the most wanted criminal, and ignoring the protection she was entitled to under the Federal Constitution.“Is the endless hounding of Nur Sajat by a massive state apparatus our version of moderation? One can feel her terrible despair; there was no one she could turn to, whether the Perikatan Nasional government or the previous Pakatan Harapan government, all persecuted this one helpless transperson.”Nur Sajat, who was accused of insulting Islam by cross-dressing, had been summoned to appear at a shariah court to face a charge of blasphemy.The court issued an arrest warrant for her earlier this year after she failed to turn up for the proceedings.She reportedly fled to Thailand before gaining asylum in a third country believed to be Australia.Zaid said Nur Sajat’s so-called offence was “simply presenting as herself” during a charity event in 2018 organised to help the Muslim community.“The irony here is palpable; that the religious authorities targeted her dressing and pursued her relentlessly, all the while ignoring the fact that she was at the material time trying her best to do good for the religion.“The lack of mercy or humanity shown to Nur Sajat is an embarrassment to the religion and counter to the oft-spun narrative that we practise religious moderation in Malaysia,” he added.


‘Clock-in’ academics cited among reasons for decline of public universities

An infiltration of corporate culture in universities, which includes a rush to fulfil certain KPIs as well as unethical practices culminating from such work culture, has been cited as among reasons for the decline of public universities, a prominent critic of the Malaysian academic field says in the wake of a renewed debate on the quality of Malaysian tertiary education.Syed Farid Al-Attas, a Malaysian sociologist attached to the National University of Singapore (NUS), gave some examples of such “corporate culture” which he regards as not suited to the world of academia.They include the practice of clocking in for work, as happens at any government office.“I think almost all universities have this culture of clocking in,” Farid told MalaysiaNow.“When they will be on campus, from what time to what time, like office hours – this doesn’t happen at high-ranking universities abroad.”He said it was more critical to show the results of their work.“There’s no point in publishing 10 papers if they’re only descriptive pieces with no new or original thoughts, analyses, theories or concepts.”Social critic Chandra Muzaffar and academic Faisal Tehrani had spoken of local universities falling victim to a form of academic imperialism. They said in the rush to be listed on global rankings conceived in the West, many have placed importance on the number of research works churned out to be cited in international journals.Farid agreed with critics who said there has been an overemphasis on the quantity of articles published in prestigious international journals.He said this was also part of the corporate culture at some public universities.“There’s no point in publishing 10 papers if they’re only descriptive pieces with no new or original thoughts, analyses, theories or concepts,” he said.“Just two or three papers that contribute to theoretical questions and the production of new methodologies would be more useful than 10 articles that merely describe something.”He said repetition in research when too many journal articles are published will not help academics improve or become known for their contributions to their field of study.While a focus on total production numbers might be suited to the corporate sector, he said, education institutions should concentrate producing new knowledge.Taking credit for students’ workFarid also said there have been instances of unethical practices such as lecturers forcing postgraduate students to list them as co-authors in papers without contributing anything to the study.“This is unethical and wrong. So there are lecturers who have many publications but we are unsure of how many they actually wrote and whether they wrote these papers themselves.“This has also affected academic culture,” he said, adding that this had been the trend since several local universities began emphasising the production of journal articles as an indicator in KPIs.He also criticised local universities for not understanding the culture of research in which academics are encouraged to submit articles in English to prestigious journals.“There are lecturers who have many publications but we are unsure of how many they actually wrote and whether they wrote these papers themselves.”He said this had caused local scholars to choose writing in English over writing in Malay to discuss ideas and theories in the course of producing their studies.“Even though we must write in English, at the same time we must also write in Malay. We must use the national language to express ideas so that we can communicate with Malaysians and others in the region who do not speak English.”Farid said if this trend continues, the production of articles and journals in Malay will eventually be seen as inferior.“In fact it will become inferior because those who have more education will choose to write in English and to publish their articles in international journals.“If we only write in Malay and do not publish our papers in high-ranking journals, we will not be promoted or be given awards. Usually this is the case,” he said.


Sorry.


Daily caseload dips to 2,700 as 6 more deaths reported

Another 2,773 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,568,828.There were 1,984 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,502,840.There are now 30,217 active cases, of which 28,892 or 95.6% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 26 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 1,252 (4.1%) have been hospitalised.A total of 47 are in ICU with 28 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 63.3%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 10.5%.Six more deaths were reported, taking total deaths to 35,771.


Human rights begin in Parliament, PN MP reminds govt during debate on Suhakam report

A Perikatan Nasional MP today asserted that human rights need to begin in Parliament, urging the government not to deny funds for opposition MPs to service their constituents as they face financial issues when it comes to administrative matters.
During a debate of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia's (Suhakam) annual report, PAS' Tumpat MP Mumtaz Md Nawi said while the commission receives allocations amounting to millions of ringgit to carry out various programmes, MPs from the opposition bloc, however, are denied their basic rights by the government.
Suhakam received an allocation of RM5.9 million in 2016 and another RM12.9 million in 2020.
"How can we discuss the human rights of others when opposition MPs, elected by the people, have no allocation for office operations?" she asked.
She said such allocation is crucial to ensure the smooth operation of parliamentary offices in each state.
Mumtaz said that although every MP receives a salary for serving the local community, they are not provided any allocation for officer operations, adding that they are often sidelined by ministers when visiting opposition-held seats.
The role of an MP encompasses not only office duties but also providing conducive services to the public, she added.
This includes providing daycare centres and other facilities that can be fully utilised by the residents of their respective parliamentary constituencies.
"Human rights should begin in Parliament," she said.


It's a process, DPM Fadillah says on amending laws and policies

Changes to existing government policies and laws, regarding whether they should be improved, reviewed or repealed, need to go through a normal process and obtain the input of all stakeholders, Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof said today.
He said decisions can only be made by the government after taking into account the results of engagement sessions with various parties.
"When we discuss the relationship with existing policies and legislation, we have to take many things into account," he said in response to a supplementary question by Saifuddin Abdullah (PN-Indera Mahkota) in the Dewan Rakyat.
Saifuddin had asked if the government intended to repeal the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) as promised in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto.
Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin was recently reported as saying that the government does not intend to abolish UUCA as the act is still relevant, especially in terms of university governance.
To the original question by Saifuddin on details, especially on reforming Parliament, Fadillah said the government views seriously the agenda of reforming the institution and is taking comprehensive measures to realise the agenda.
"The government will ensure any reform implemented takes into consideration the views of all stakeholders," he said.
The reforms in question include the re-establishment of parliamentary services to realise the separation of powers between the legislature and the executive and examine amending the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 (Act 347).
Fadillah said several basic matters regarding the drafting of the Parliamentary Services Act would be finalised before being presented to the Cabinet.
"Improvements and amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 (Act 711) are also being implemented to strengthen the act and realise the vision of the National Anti-Corruption Plan 2019-2023 to create a corruption-free country," he said.


Dewan Rakyat debate on Budget 2022 to begin today

Budget 2022, tabled by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz on Friday, will be debated by MPs at the Dewan Rakyat beginning today.The debate session is scheduled to be commenced by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim after the oral question-and-answer session. As per convention, the second debater will be from the Government Backbenchers Club (BBC).Based on the parliamentary sitting calendar, Budget 2022 is scheduled to be discussed at the policy level for seven days, and will be wound up by the ministers or deputy ministers of the relevant ministries for four days before being discussed at the committee level for 13 days.The focus of today’s sitting will also be on the issue of whether high wage rates in Australia and South Korea are the reason why many Malaysians are willing to work illegally in the two countries.Shabudin Yahaya (Bersatu-Tasek Gelugor) will pose the question during the oral question-and-answer session. He will also ask the human resources minister to state the actions taken to prevent more Malaysians from becoming forced labourers in those countries.Questions related to vaccination will still be entertained at the sitting as Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof (Bersatu-Alor Gajah) asks the health ministry to state in detail the safety measures taken to ensure the vaccine received is suitable for the recipient.He will also ask about the form of compensation received by vaccine recipients if side effects occur after vaccination.Nurul Izzah Anwar (PH-Permatang Pauh), meanwhile, will ask the health minister to state the ministry’s efforts to regulate all HPV (human papilloma virus) DNA programmes, which are now partly run by the National Population and Family Development Board.She will also seek the ministry’s commitment to ensuring that all students aged 13 and 14 who missed the HPV vaccination are given the vaccine in the near future.Issues related to Sabah and Sarawak will also be in focus when Richard Riot Jaem (GPS-Serian) asks about efforts to increase clean water and electricity supply in rural Sarawak, while Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) will raise a question on the encroachment of illegal immigrants in Sabah waters.The Dewan Rakyat session will last for 32 days until Dec 16.


Turkey pans US visa rules to rescue left-behind Afghans

The Turkish government has criticised Washington’s new scheme to allow thousands of Afghans who worked for the US in some way to apply to settle in America.The plan stipulates that applicants must apply for the visa from a third country, such as Turkey or Pakistan, Al Jazeera reports.Turkey says the plan will cause a “great migration crisis” in the region.The US Department of State on Monday announced a new programme under which certain categories of Afghans will get the chance to resettle as refugees in the US.The new scheme is designed to offer refuge to Afghans who did not qualify for the resettlement system already in operation.The scheme covers interpreters and translators who worked with US forces, Afghans involved with US-funded projects, and those employed by US-based NGOs or media organisations.Afghans who want to join the programme would have to make their own way to a third country, where they will wait 12 to 14 months for their application to be processed.Crucially, they will have to carry documentary proof of their US links, which could prove suicidal if seen by the Taliban.A senior Department of State official said Washington had been in discussion with neighbouring countries on potential outflows, adding it was important that Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan remain open.Others potential applicants might attempt to travel to Turkey via Iran.But the Turkish foreign ministry on Tuesday rejected Turkey as a migration route for Afghans, saying the country, which already hosts more than four million refugees, would not “undertake a new migration crisis on behalf of a third country”.The ministry statement added: “As Turkey, we do not accept the irresponsible decision taken by the US without consulting our country. If the US wants to take these people to its country, it is possible to transfer them directly to their country by planes. No one should expect the Turkish nation to bear the burden of the migration crises experienced as a result of the decisions of third countries in our region.”Hundreds of Afghans have crossed into Turkey in recent weeks amid rising violence in Afghanistan as the Taliban advances, raising concerns of a fresh influx of refugees.Ties between fellow Nato members Ankara and Washington have been strained in recent years over a host of issues.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkish officials are holding high-level talks over the issue with Afghan counterparts.Turkey has been reinforcing border security in anticipation of the potential increase in irregular migrant inflow, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter on Wednesday.His statement came in response to Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition party, who recently claimed that the government is unable to control the migrant flow to Turkey, particularly from the Turkish-Iranian border.Soylu outlined measures taken by the government, including building a 152km long wall on the border, with work underway on another 85km. The 740km border will also be monitored by unmanned aerial vehicles, electro-optic towers and thermal night cameras.He said Turkey prevented the entrance of more than half a million undocumented migrants in 2020, and over a quarter of a million already this year.


Don’t fall for Najib’s rebranding exercise as the people’s champion

Najib Razak’s application for a plot of land and a house allegedly worth a total of RM100 million in Kuala Lumpur has raised eyebrows and caused pandemonium, not only among opposition and government MPs but also the public who want to know what exactly made the present government under Ismail Sabri Yaakob want to finalise it.The rumours on the 1.13ha lot said to be located at Bukit Petaling that have gone viral on social media stunned everyone, even several ministers as it was alleged, but yet Najib has the cheek to rebut all allegations via his Facebook, saying he had every right and was entitled to a free house as ex-PM under the law.At this point of this difficult, hard-hit Covid-19 time, is there really a need for such a request to be considered at all?People in the hundreds and thousands lost their jobs and incomes, not to mention the poor and the needy who are finding it even more difficult to make ends meet and those who can’t put food on the table for their loved ones.Why does this Umno-led government have to give priority to this application, even discussing the matter in a Cabinet meeting?Don’t they have anything better to discuss? The government had harped on its lack of money as an excuse when issues concerning thousands of contract doctors or for additional aid were brought up by some quarters.Yet, this request of Najib’s seems to be of such importance that it was even brought up in the Cabinet during this hard, tough Covid-19 time! And just for this man who has tainted the image of the country via his mind-boggling and embarrassing 1MDB scandal, the government is going to approve RM100 million! Ismail must be kidding.Ismail must not allow his dignity and conscience as PM to be on the line or throw it down the drain. If the plight of the rakyat really matters, such a request should not have been discussed in the first place.Najib claimed that he made the request for the land way back after the 14th general election. He also expressed dismay over why the matter was only raised now, years after the application was made. And he said he has reason to believe that this is linked to the ongoing Melaka state election as the motive.But in yesterday’s Dewan Rakyat proceeding, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz revealed that Najib made the application after Budget 2022 was passed. Somebody must be telling a lie! Which is which?Several ministers including Zafrul were said to have protested the move by Ismail to approve the award of the premium plot of land as well as a luxury house for his fellow Umno member, Najib. Several others had also made known their strong reservations.This privilege Najib is asking for from the government will only make the rakyat hate the government more and lose faith in it. Ismail and the rakyat, too, must not fall for Najib’s rebranding effort to make himself the champion of the people, using the “Bossku” tagline through the use of social media platforms.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Teens with chronic medical conditions to receive Pfizer jab

The government has agreed to vaccinate teenagers aged 12 and above with underlying medical conditions to minimise their risk of exposure to severe Covid-19 effects once they return to school.Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said the Pfizer vaccine was the first to be approved for those aged 12 to 18 who are immunocompromised or who have been diagnosed with chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.He said this group would be prioritised for vaccination among teachers and school staff in Phase Two and Three of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) to prepare for the reopening of schools, with the rest to wait for their turn in the following phase.“We recommend vaccination for adolescents at a higher risk of severe Covid-19 due to underlying conditions, who may benefit from the Pfizer vaccine.“These are the adolescent categories we have considered for vaccination,” he said. “We are giving them a chance to protect themselves in the future.”PICK coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin said teenagers without underlying health conditions would receive their jabs once Phase Three ends.He said the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) was also looking at data from other countries that are already vaccinating teenagers.“For adolescents with no underlying conditions, the plan right now is to consider vaccinating them after we have finished vaccinating the adult population.“By the time we finish Phase Three, we will have enough data to see whether we will proceed with vaccinating teenagers with Pfizer or Sinovac,” he said.“But for the moment, we will only give (jabs) to adolescents with underlying conditions who are planning to go back to school.”Adham meanwhile said the national Covid-19 vaccine injury fund has not been used as only 0.07 reports for every 1,000 doses given have been classified as serious side effects requiring hospitalisation.He added that 1.4 reports on immunisation effects are received for every 1,000 doses administered, based on feedback on side effects after vaccination submitted through the MySejahtera application.“The majority of cases reported require short-term hospitalisation where patients are discharged after receiving the proper treatment.“So far, we have not used the fund for those experiencing serious side effects from the Covid-19 vaccination,” he said.The government announced in February that those who suffer from severe side effects from Covid-19 vaccine will be compensated under the national Covid-19 vaccine injury fund.RM10 million was allocated for the fund managed by the National Disaster Management Agency.


Sold-out ‘flight to nowhere’ is fastest selling flight in history

Qantas has announced that a seven-hour “flight to nowhere”, which will take off and land at the same airport due to Australian interstate coronavirus travel restrictions, has sold out in less than 10 minutes, a spokeswoman told Reuters.“It’s probably the fastest selling flight in Qantas’ history. People clearly miss travel and the experience of flying,” she said.The flight will depart Sydney on Oct 10 and return the same day, making no stops.Passengers will fly over Australia’s most scenic sights including Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef, experiencing the incredible views.Economy tickets went for $787 AUD (RM2,500), while business class would have set you back $3,787 AUD (RM11,500).The 149 passengers will begin with breakfast in the Qantas lounge, with live entertainment and an amenities kit including “flying kangaroo” Qantas pyjamas.Qantas says the flight “will be carbon offset and operate on a cost neutral basis”.The airline industry has been one of the hardest during the pandemic, due to border closures and the public’s fear of contracting Covid-19 while traveling.Novelty flights to nowhere are now turning into money spinners for airlines as international travel languishes in the doldrums.Many airlines in Asia have started regular “round trip” flights to generate revenue until something like normal service resumes.Some travellers believe these flights to nowhere could be a way to help out the airlines while doing something they enjoy.“The pandemic is having a devastating impact on the tourism and airline industry, so I want to help boost the economy, and I miss flying,” a passenger booked on the Qantas flight told Reuters.The Qantas spokeswoman said, “If the demand is there, we’ll definitely look at doing more of these scenic flights while we all wait for borders to reopen.”


UN experts hail Malaysia's move to scrap mandatory death penalty

United Nations (UN) human rights experts have hailed the government’s decision to revoke the mandatory death penalty for a range of serious crimes, saying the move could spare the lives of some 1,300 prisoners on death row.
"The decision bolsters the global trend towards universal abolition. The death penalty is incompatible with fundamental tenets of human rights and dignity.
"It denies judges the possibility to consider the defendant’s personal circumstances or the circumstances of the particular offence and individualise the sentence.
"The mandatory death penalty is not compatible with the limitation of capital punishment to the 'most serious crimes'," they said in a statement published on the website of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights yesterday.
The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 replaced the mandatory death penalty with alternative sentences in relation to 11 crimes, including murder and terrorism, and gave judges the discretion to consider mitigating circumstances and commuting sentences for these offences, the statement added.
According to the experts, the new law will apply retroactively, allowing those on death row 90 days to seek a review of their sentences.
"With this decision, Malaysia sends a strong signal supporting the abolition of the death penalty in a region where capital punishment is too often imposed for a broad range of crimes such as drug related offences," they said.
They also expressed hope that the decision would pave the way for the complete abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia, and eventually in the whole region.
"Pending the full implementation of this law in the coming months, we will continue to support Malaysia in its efforts towards full abolition, including by supporting ratification and implementation of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aimed at the abolition of the death penalty," they said.


Russia and Ukraine swap total of nearly 200 prisoners

Russia and Ukraine announced simultaneously on Sunday the return of nearly 100 soldiers from each side.
Russia's Defence Ministry, in a posting on the Telegram messaging app, said 94 Russians in Ukrainian captivity had been released after negotiations and would be taken to a medical institution to be examined.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential administration, said 95 Ukrainian service members had been returned, including some wounded. They included members of the national guard and border guards.
Yermak said those released had been in action near the city of Mariupol, under Russian siege for weeks last year, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, briefly held last year by Russian forces, from Serpent Island in the Black Sea and from Bakhmut, still a focal point of fighting in the east.


Airport Covid-19 sniffer dogs could be aviation industry saviours

Sniffer dogs have started work at Helsinki airport in Finland in a pilot scheme that is having remarkable success rates.“We are the pioneers. As far as we know no other airport has attempted to use canine scent detection against Covid-19. This might be an additional step forward on the way to beating it,” said airport director Ulla Lettijeff.The four dogs, trained by Finland’s Wise Nose, take shifts with two working while the other two rest.Passengers suspected of carrying the virus are instructed to take a swab of their skin with a wipe which is then given to one of the dogs to sniff.The top dog, an eight-year-old greyhound mix, takes only seconds to deliver a result by scratching, sitting or barking.“It’s a very promising method. Dogs are incredibly good at sniffing. If it works, it will be a good coronavirus screening method at other places,” Anna Hielm-Bjorkman, a University of Helsinki professor of small animal medicine, said. “We come close to 100% sensitivity.”Dogs are able to identify Covid-19 from a much smaller sample than the PCR tests used by humans. The difference is massive, as a dog only needs 10-100 molecules to identify the virus, whereas test equipment requires 18,000,000.The airport dogs can also identify the virus days before the symptoms have even started. This is something that laboratory tests cannot do.Scientists are not yet sure what exactly it is that the dogs sniff when they detect the virus. A scientific study published in June concluded that people carrying Covid-19 may have a different sweat odour and it could be this that the dogs are detecting.Researchers in France, Germany, the UK, Australia and the UAE are reportedly also working on similar projects.It looks like dogs really could turn out to be man’s best friend in these strange times.


Capital A sues MalaysiaNow over article on Danajamin loan

AirAsia Group Bhd, now known as Capital A Bhd, has filed a defamation suit against a reporter and the CEO of news portal MalaysiaNow over the publication of an article regarding the company’s half-a-billion ringgit loan from the government.Capital A as the plaintiff filed the suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court through Messrs Steven Thiru & Sudhar Partnership on March 21, naming reporter Azzman Abdul Jamal, CEO and editor Abdar Rahman Koya and MNow Media Sdn Bhd as the first to third defendants.According to the statement of claim, Capital A said the first defendant had authored the article which was later published by the second and third defendants on MalaysiaNow’s website on Jan 24.The plaintiff claimed the defamatory statement implied that the company had obtained a loan under the Danajamin Prihatin Guarantee Scheme by Danajamin Nasional Bhd only after the appointment of Nazir Razak as chairman of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd, and not based on the plaintiff’s own merit.Danajamin is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia.According to the plaintiff, the defamatory statement also implied that the loan approval was made through improper or furtive means, that it was given even though it was a PN17 company (category of companies facing financial problems) under Bursa Malaysia, and that the company intended to use the loan for non-airline related purposes.The company claimed the publication of the article was false and malicious as Capital A had met all eligibility criteria to obtain a loan guarantee, and the loan would be used specifically to support staff costs as well as major operating expenses such as aircraft maintenance.It further claimed that the loan money had not actually been disbursed due to further conditions imposed on the company and that on March 10, the company had announced that it would no longer be pursuing the loan.The plaintiff claimed that the defamatory publication had caused the company to incur losses, tarnished the reputation and good name of the company in the eyes of the public and exposed it to ridicule as well as hatred.The plaintiff applied for an order directing the three defendants to make an apology to the plaintiff on the portal as well as its relevant social media platforms, as well as to remove the defamatory publication from the website and its social media.The company also sought an interim injunction to prevent the defendants, as well as their employees and agents, from re-publishing the defamatory statement pending the determination of the suit, as well as general, exemplary, aggravated damages, interest, as well as costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.A lawyer from Messrs Steven Thiru & Sudhar Partnership representing the plaintiff said the suit had been served to all defendants and that case management before deputy registrar Azlinda Ahmad Sharif was set for April 26.


115 deaths reported as another 27,500 cases logged

Another 27,500 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 3,496,090.Of the total number of cases recorded yesterday, 189 (0.69%) were in Category Three and above. The remaining 27,311 (99.31%) were in Category One and Two.There were 27,557 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 3,169,669.A total of 1,841 cases were admitted to hospital yesterday, with 677 (36.8%) in Category Three and above and 1,164 (63.2%) in Category One and Two.Of the 189 cases in Category Three and above reported yesterday:* 25 (13.23%) were not vaccinated or had not completed their vaccination;* 89 (47.09%) had received two doses of vaccine;* 38 (20.11%) had received a booster jab;* 108 (57.14%) were aged 60 and above; and* 48 (25.40%) had comorbidities.There are now 293,479 active cases, of which 281,512 or 95.9% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 3,425 (1.1%) are at quarantine centres while 8,182 (2.5%) have been hospitalised.A total of 360 are in ICU with 194 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 62.3%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 41.2%.Another 115 deaths were reported, including 36 who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 32,942.The country’s infectivity rate as of March 2 was 1.00.


Health ministry, EC still discussing SOPs for polls

The health ministry says it is still holding discussions with the Election Commission (EC) to finalise the SOPs for the 15th general election (GE15).
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said further developments regarding the SOPs would be announced soon.
"Still in discussion, the EC has requested feedback from the health ministry.
"There are some things that the EC can do, and some things they may find difficult to do. So the health ministry will provide feedback in a day or two," he told reporters in Petaling Jaya today.
The health ministry previously recommended to the EC several SOPs for GE15 to ensure a "Covid-19 safe election".