The most difficult election outcome to predict

The 15th general election (GE15) is turning out to be the toughest to predict on which coalition will helm the government.
This is mainly because for the past four years, Malaysians have had the experience of being ruled by three different coalition governments, all with a tenuous majority whose achievements were seen by the majority of the people as far from satisfactory.
When Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10, many analysts said the real contest would be among the three political coalitions – Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH).
According to most analysts, BN with Umno as its lynchpin would have the edge in winning the election, albeit with a wafer-thin majority.
While PH did not perform well in the Sabah and Sarawak state elections, BN experienced a resounding triumph in the Melaka and Johor state elections.
The argument that it would be difficult for BN to win GE15 due to Umno leaders being tainted with corruption charges seemed not to hold water, judging from the coalition's landslide victory in the two state elections, and despite corruption being made the central issue by its political opponents.
By the time the Election Commission met on Oct 20 to announce nomination and polling day, some analysts were saying BN would lose before even the battle began for calling an election during the monsoon season.
But time and again, the PN government led by an Umno prime minister showed its readiness to cope with the floods by assuring the people that it had a solid plan to mitigate the worst effects of a devastating flood, should it occur during GE15.
Moreover, it has come to the point where the people have accepted the inevitability of an election during the monsoon season as uppermost in their minds is having their say via the ballot box, come rain or shine, to end the tenure of a government with a tenuous majority.
To them, it seems, enough is enough with the idea of three governments with a tenuous majority in the last four years because this has been the root cause of political and economic instability in the country, which made them suffer so much.
All of the coalitions including BN are calling on their supporters and fence sitters to come out in droves to vote.
When it comes to electing a stable government with a handsome majority, Umno was the first to use it with resounding success as an election slogan during the Melaka and Johor state elections.
This clearly resonated with what the voters wanted and thus, it is no surprise that Umno/BN continues to use the catchphrase of "Stability and Prosperity" for its slogan in GE15.
Meanwhile, PH’s slogan of "Kita Boleh" is nothing more than the Malay translation of former US president Barack Obama’s successful campaign slogan in the 2008 US presidential election, "We Can!" It is also quite similar to the "Malaysia Boleh!" slogan associated with the achievements of Malaysia during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first tenure as prime minister from 1981 to 2003.
Unlike the BN slogan, which was proven to have resonated with the voters in the Melaka and Johor elections, it remains to be seen whether the PH slogan will resonate with voters.
Moreover, netizens have grown tired of the "Boleh" ("Can") element of the slogan, sarcastically mocking the country as "Bolehland" with the negative implication of anything goes in Malaysia.
But sloganeering is a small component of success in a general election. What matters are the issues which are at the heart of the voters’ preoccupation, that will motivate them to vote for a certain coalition that seems to show empathy in these issues.
In this regard, there are two equally important issues at the heart of the matter.
The first issue is related to the economy – bread-and-butter issues like the high cost of living, affordable housing and healthcare, eradicating absolute and relative poverty, enhancing social protection and social security, and increasing the national pie so that each citizen will have relatively more to enjoy life in a developed and high-income nation.
Although quite materialistic, these are very important issues because humankind is created in such a way that they have to fulfil their material needs before they can effectively and efficiently fulfil their non-material needs or idealisms.
The second issue that is equally important are the abstract and institutional matters (idealism) that revolve around abolishing corruption, inculcating good governance, and providing equal access to opportunities (equity), fairness and social justice.
These are very important issues, too, because of the adage that man does not live by bread alone.
But as GE14, and the Melaka and Johor state elections showed, at different times the two issues will resonate differently with the voters.
At GE14, it was the abstract and institutional issues that carried the day and caused a milestone in the form of an unexpected victory for PH, the first time in the history of Malaysia that there was a regime change through the ballot box.
In the Melaka and Johor state elections, it was the bread-and-butter issues that resonated and gained primacy with the voters, overtaking issues such as busting corruption and good governance.
This could be due to the fact that the nation then was suffering from the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the material well-being of the people severely affected. So, bread-and-butter issues became the singular and uppermost thing in the minds of the voters.
Another reason could be the perception that, when given the chance to rule the country, PH proved no better than BN.
It could not solve some of the bread-and-butter issues that it promised to solve in its GE14 manifesto, while the higher cost of living and affordable housing encapsulated in the phenomenon of the perut (tummy) economy remained core problems.
As for the abstract and institutional issues which brought PH to victory, the moment it was in power, all charges against Lim Guan Eng were dropped when his court hearing was already near the tail-end.
And despite the PH manifesto clearly spelling out that the appointments of very senior government officials were to be made in consultation with a parliamentary select committee, and that a politician must not head the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), a PH prime minister conveniently went on to appoint a politician as the head of MACC without even having the courtesy to consult his Cabinet.
But this is not to say that BN will have a smooth path to an easy victory, albeit with a tenuous majority, as most analysts think.
This could have been true before Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced the list of BN candidates.
On Nov 1, the Umno president committed political hara-kiri when, in announcing the list of candidates, many incumbent Umno ministers were missing from the line-up.
By doing so, Zahid again raised the spectre of infighting within Umno between the court cluster and Cabinet cluster, which will definitely weaken Umno/BN in GE15.
So much for his claim that there won’t be any vindictiveness on his part in choosing Umno candidates. Now the talk of the town is that he is allegedly aiming for the prime minister's post should Umno win.
Infighting within Umno will not only destroy Umno but will also cause the people to suffer if Umno helms the government, much in the same way that the people suffered when the PH government was destroyed from within over the infighting over when Mahathir should hand over the premiership to Anwar Ibrahim, that became a prelude to the Sheraton Move.
So it looks like Umno/BN's days are numbered, as there is also the complaint among its members that BN failed to field women as at least 30% of its candidates, as pledged.
But that does not make the prediction easier on which coalition will win. Political analysts and observers will have their work cut out for them to predict the winning coalition.
PN might just end up as the dark horse in GE15, just like its supremo, Muhyiddin Yassin, was a dark horse that became the eighth prime minister of Malaysia.
To begin with, its slogan for GE15 is about right: "Prihatin, Bersih dan Stabil" ("Caring, Clean and Stable") where both the bread-and-butter, and abstract and institutional issues, are harmoniously balanced and addressed.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Pejuang will go on its own, says Dr Mahathir despite Johor losses

Dr Mahathir Mohamad today maintained that Pejuang would not involve itself with other parties while confirming a meeting with Muhyiddin Yassin at which he said the Bersatu president had asked for his support.The Pejuang chairman said his party would follow its own path even after its defeat at the March 12 election in Johor which saw all 42 candidates losing their deposits.“Many might not like that party because of racial differences and so on.“Because of this, we will remain apart from the other parties so that we do not become embroiled,” he said in a press conference at Yayasan Al-Bukhari.He also said he was unsure why his former ally had done this as Pejuang was not a strong party and was in fact fresh from election defeats in Johor and Melaka.“We are not strong and we have no funds, but we were asked to support him (Muhyiddin),” he said.“I do not know what to say, as the reason I am no longer prime minister is because Muhyiddin stabbed me in the back.“Now, when others whom he stabbed in the back as well are still alive, he comes to ask for help.”Yesterday, Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir was reported as saying that Muhyiddin had met with Mahathir to propose an alliance for the 15th general election (GE15).Mukhriz also acknowledged that his father’s ties with the Bersatu leader had been “cold” due to the previous crises.The meeting between the two leaders was believed to have been their first face-to-face encounter since the so-called Sheraton Move which witnessed the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in early 2020.When asked if there were other factors that could enable Pejuang to work with Bersatu, Mahathir only smiled.He said Muhyiddin had not been a good prime minister which made it difficult for him to obtain the support of certain quarters.“If he had done something big for Malaysia, he wouldn’t need to ask for my help in order to win,” he added.Mahathir said Pejuang had yet to decide whether to form a new coalition ahead of GE15.He said this would be difficult as there were some who might not like the other components if an alliance was formed.Nevertheless, he also said that his bloc was ready to work with political parties that opposed corruption and bribery during election season.He referred to claims that the party had lost the previous state election due to bribery among voters who were given cash of RM200 to RM300.He said this would eventually reach the point where voters asked how much they would receive for their support.“And many ask, not just one or two,” he added. “We have no money to give, we are a party that is against corruption.“We want to win because people support us, not because we hand out money.”


Zafrul, at least 3 ministers protested move to award Najib RM100 million house

Tengku Zafrul Aziz and several other ministers representing each of the main parties in the government had protested the move by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to approve the award of a premium plot of land as well as a luxury house for fellow Umno leader Najib Razak, according to sources close to several Cabinet members.MalaysiaNow has reliably learnt that aside from the finance minister who was grilled in the Dewan Rakyat today over the revelation that property valued at RM100 million would be built for the former leader, several ministers had also made known their strong reservations.They include Mohamed Azmin Ali from Bersatu, Khairy Jamaluddin (Umno) and Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (PAS), all of whom are key leaders of the parties represented in Ismail’s Cabinet.When pressed, the source declined to reveal the details of what transpired during the Cabinet discussions.MalaysiaNow, which first revealed details of the “gift” for Najib last week, has not been able to independently confirm this with the ministers named or their other colleagues in the Cabinet.At least one minister responded by saying that details of Cabinet meetings are confidential.Revealed: Najib to get free house worth RM100 million in posh KL neighbourhoodDr M questions RM100 million house for ‘thief’On Nov 12, MalaysiaNow reported that Najib had requested a “privilege” from the government in the form of a 2.8-acre residential property worth RM100 million.Najib has since confirmed making such a request in a Facebook post attacking former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who raised the matter in the Dewan Rakyat today.Former prime minister Najib Razak.He claimed that he has only been renting a bungalow to house his office.“My former prime minister’s office is just a bungalow rented in Bukit Pantai. Not a huge complex like Mahathir’s Perdana Leadership Foundation.“My children are not billionaires like his children,” said Najib, adding that the news of his application was published to coincide with the Melaka state election.Earlier today, Mahathir raised the matter in the Dewan Rakyat during Zafrul’s speech on the 2022 budget debate.“I myself was prime minister for 22 years but I never took any land, just my pension.“Here, though, after working for a while, stealing money, embezzling money, misusing money and misusing power, he is given a present of RM100 million,” he said.Premium hillock landThe “privilege” to Najib would include the government surrendering the ownership of 120,000 square metres of premium land in a posh part of Kuala Lumpur, as well as the construction of a bungalow on the site at a total cost of RM100 million.An aerial photograph by MalaysiaNow also pinpointed the property on a plot of land in Bukit Petaling, an exclusive hillock in the heart of the capital city.Najib’s request was made under the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act.The act allows three options of special housing privileges for former prime ministers: a government house complete with all amenities, a RM10,000 monthly allowance for staying in one’s own home, or the full ownership of a house gifted by the government.An aerial shot of the exclusive residential neighbourhood of Bukit Petaling, where a house for former prime minister Najib Razak will be built at a total cost to the government of RM100 million.It is understood that Najib went for the third option, putting in a formal application about a year after his fall from power in the 2018 election.He again requested for the privilege last year, just months before he was found guilty of corruption charges related to the 1MDB scandal, and subsequently made a site visit of the vacant land early this year.Since being booted out of power and despite facing dozens of corruption charges, Najib has rebranded himself as the champion of the ordinary man using the “Bossku” tagline through the use of social media platforms.In the raids that followed his fall from power, authorities confiscated a long list of luxury items from properties linked to him, including jewellery, watches and handbags valued in the hundreds of millions of ringgit which investigators believe are linked to the 1MDB scandal.Last year, the High Court sentenced him to 12 years in jail and fined him RM210 million after finding him guilty of seven counts of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power involving RM42 million in funds from former 1MDB unit SRC International.Last month, he won a bid against the Inland Revenue Board to defer payment of some RM1.7 billion in taxes owed to the government.In August, some RM114 million in cash confiscated in 2018 was returned to him, following the government’s failure to forfeit the money said to have been misappropriated from 1MDB.


Batang Kali campsite illegally run, minister says as landslide toll hits 18

The campsite at Father’s Organic Farm in Batang Kali which became the scene of a tragic landslide early today had been operating illegally, says Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming.
Nga, in confirming this, said the campsite was run without an operating licence from the Hulu Selangor district council.
"This is an offence under Act 133, namely the Street Drainage and Building Act.
"If convicted, the person (operator) can be sentenced to three years in prison or a fine of not more than RM50,000," he told reporters after checking on the search and rescue operations in the area today.
As of 5pm, the death toll had reached 18 victims with 15 still missing.
Police said some 100 people were at the campsite when the landslide struck.
Nga said all high-risk campsites across the country had been ordered to close for seven days from today.
He said the local authorities had been informed of the move, which was meant to prevent similar incidents especially given the ongoing northeast monsoon.
"All campsites along rivers, waterfalls and even hillsides that may be dangerous will be immediately vacated for seven days. This situation will continue until new instructions are issued by the government.
"We will continue to monitor the situation at the scene and also the weather conditions. We will also work with the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) for a more accurate weather forecast," he said.
Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Armizan Mohd Ali, when met the scene, said as of noon, a total of 628 rescue personnel from 16 agencies had been involved in the search and rescue operation.
He said the main focus of the operation was to rescue the victims suspected of being buried, while the health personnel were focused on treating the injured.
"We will also ensure the welfare of the victims by providing appropriate assistance which will be managed by the National Disaster Management Agency in collaboration with the disaster management committee at the district level," he said.


Ahead of Jokowi's visit, Putrajaya warned against giving up claims in maritime disputes with Jakarta

Maritime experts involved in efforts to protect Malaysia's territorial rights have warned the government against signing any new agreements to settle a long-running border dispute with Indonesia ahead of President Joko Widodo's visit today, MalaysiaNow has learnt from sources familiar with the issue.
They said Malaysia could not afford to compromise on its claims involving disputed areas with Jakarta in the Sulawesi Sea and in the southernmost part of the Straits of Melaka.
They also warned Putrajaya that any change from the policy of previous governments with regard to the two areas must involve the participation of the governments of Johor and Sabah, whose maritime interests would be affected the most if any agreement to settle the dispute is reached.
"If Malaysia makes any compromises, not only will Johor stand to lose its sea territory, it will also face a negative impact on its maritime economic activities including those related to the Tanjong Pelepas Port," a source in Wisma Putra told MalaysiaNow on condition of anonymity.
The source added that similarly, Sabah's Tawau Port would be affected by any agreement that surrenders Malaysia's claims in the Sulawesi Sea.
"At the same time, the issue of maritime borders in Pulau Sebatik, which is at the heart of the maritime dispute in the Sulawesi Sea, cannot be resolved because Indonesia has not budged from its position," it said.
The source also told MalaysiaNow that experts engaged by Wisma Putra to study the two maritime disputes had concluded that Putrajaya should not agree to proposals which they say will limit Malaysia's sovereignty in the southernmost part of the Straits of Melaka.
"They feel that Malaysia must negotiate with Singapore before opening any talks with Indonesia. This is because Singapore has already agreed with Indonesia on the maritime borders there, although the fact is that Malaysia has a case to stake its claim on the said territory," it said.
President Jokowi is on a two-day working visit to Malaysia starting today, where he and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim are scheduled to witness the signing of several MoUs and agreements between the two countries.
MalaysiaNow has not been able to confirm whether the maritime disputes will be part of the agreements.
Malaysia stands to lose
Meanwhile, a former Asean diplomat told MalaysiaNow that Malaysia could lose a wider territorial sea area should it agree to a current proposal to solve the dispute in the Straits of Melaka.
He said the problem with the proposal was that it was based on an existing maritime boundary agreement between Indonesia and Singapore.
He said the findings of maritime experts concluded that Malaysia could claim areas within three nautical miles from the Johor coast.
"This is why the Johor government should be part of any negotiations to solve the dispute."
It is understood that maritime experts also oppose another proposal involving a dispute with Indonesia on sea territory in the Sulawesi Sea, believing that it would undermine Malaysia's interests as well as those of Sabah.
The dispute centres on the coast of Pulau Sebatik, where an Indonesian jetty has been constructed.
The source said experts had cited the 2002 decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that ended a decades-old dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia over the ownership of the Ligitan and Sipadan islands in the Sulawesi Sea.
The ICJ ruled that both islands belonged to Malaysia.
"The court ultimately comes to the conclusion that Article IV determines the boundary between the two parties up to the eastern extremity of Sebatik Island and does not establish any allocation line further eastwards," the ICJ said in its ruling.
The source said experts had advised Putrajaya that in the context of maritime boundaries, "eastern extremity" refers to the "low-water line" on which a country's baseline is determined.
"As such, they advised the government to reject the proposed boundary line because it does not cover from the low-water line of Pulau Sebatik," the source said, adding that Indonesia would not agree to set its maritime boundary line from Pulau Sebatik as this would mean its jetty encroaching into Malaysia's territory.


90% adult vaccination rate nearly in reach

A total of 21,104,896 people or 89.4% of the adult population had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as of yesterday.Meanwhile 24,384,831 or 94.7% have received at least one shot, including of the single-dose CanSino vaccine.In terms of total population, 64.6% have been fully vaccinated while 74.7% have received at least one dose.A total of 174,820 jabs were administered yesterday, taking the cumulative number of vaccine shots given under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to 45,379,299.


Daily cases, total deaths top 19,000

Another 19,733 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 1,900,467.Sarawak recorded 3,100 cases, Selangor 2,989, Penang 2,474, Sabah 2,067, Johor 1,867, Kedah 1,564, Kelantan 1,471 and Perak 1,319.Terengganu recorded 904 cases, Pahang 700, Kuala Lumpur 537, Melaka 375 and Negeri Sembilan 256.Perlis recorded 74 cases, Putrajaya 29 and Labuan seven.Active cases stand at 248,673 with 904 in the ICU and 430 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 22,701 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,632,631.However, 361 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 19,163.


Taliban to start paying overdue salaries of Afghan govt workers

Afghanistan’s Taliban administration will begin paying the overdue salaries of government workers from Saturday, officials said.Thousands of Afghan government workers are owed at least three months of salary, one of the many crises faced by the Taliban since the Islamist movement took over the country in August.“The finance ministry says that, starting today, the past three months salaries of all government workers and staff will be paid totally,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter.It was not immediately clear where the funds to pay the salaries would come from.Even before the Taliban seized control last in August, many public sector workers said they had not been paid for weeks. After the movement took power, billions of dollars of Afghan government funds parked abroad in the United States and Europe were frozen.Foreign governments have been unwilling to fund the Taliban-led administration directly to help with financial commitments such as payment of workers. Global financial institutions have also halted funding.After a meeting on Thursday between the special envoys of Germany and the Netherlands and Taliban officials in Kabul, the envoys expressed willingness to explore paying health and education sector workers directly through international organisations.It is unclear if the Taliban’s announcement on Saturday is related to this.Another Taliban spokesman, Inamullah Samangani, said on Twitter on Saturday that the daily revenue collections of the Taliban administration had been increasing daily.“The finance ministry says that in the last 78 working days of the last three months, we have generated income of about 26.915 billion Afghanis (US$288 million),” he said.“We collected 557 million Afghanis (US$5.9 million) in revenue on Wednesday alone,” Samangani said, quoting the finance ministry, adding the payment of pensions of retired workers would also resume soon.


Sarawak tables bill seeking control over state airspace

Sarawak is seeking control over the airspace in the state through a constitutional amendment tabled in the legislative assembly today.The Land Code (Amendment) Bill 2022, if passed, will provide a new definition of the term “land”, in line with the National Land Code under the Federal Constitution.“Section 44 of the National Land Code covers and includes the airspace above the land,” Sarawak deputy minister Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said when tabling the bill.“Under Section 75A of the National Land Code, the state authorities in Peninsula Malaysia have the power to permit the use of the airspace above the state land.“So the proposed amendments here would make the column of airspace above the land fall within the definition of land. In other words, this would make the airspace part of the land.”Sharifah, whose portfolio covers law, the Malaysia Agreement 1963, and state-federal relations, said this would allow the state government control over the airspace as well as any related matters.It will also allow the state government to ensure that the spectrum of airspace is used in accordance with its plans, especially for the establishment and improvement of Sarawak’s telecommunications infrastructure.The bill would also provide for the use of land, both onshore and offshore, for the storage of carbon dioxide.If passed, it would make Sarawak the first state in the country with legislation to enable industries, including oil and gas, to comply with international requirements, Sharifah said.This is in line with the global strategy to reduce carbon emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, she added.The bill was tabled following a joint agreement signed between Sarawak Shell Bhd and Petronas early this year for collaboration studies for carbon capture and storage opportunities.The bill specifically seeks to amend Sections 37 and 213 of the Land Code.The amendment to Section 37 would give Sarawak the right to regulate and control the use of its airspace as well as the use of land for carbon storage.The amendment to Section 213, meanwhile, would empower the state Cabinet to set rules for the use of airspace and land for carbon storage.


US adds Japan to ‘do not travel’ list as Olympics loom amid Covid-19 crisis

The US State Department raised Japan to “Level 4 – do not travel” on Monday, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated a “very high” level of coronavirus in the country.The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics is less than two months away, but plenty of questions remain about how host nation Japan will manage the large-scale event despite public health concerns amid the Covid-19 pandemic, reports USA Today.An influx of thousands of athletes, coaches, and media staff to the country in the middle of a worsening pandemic is causing a majority of Japanese to say the Olympics should be cancelled.The games are scheduled to begin on July 23, and the Paralympics on Aug 24.Japan reported 4,590 new Covid-19 cases and 76 deaths over the last 24 hours, according to the most recent data from the World Health Organization. The death rate has increased to levels last seen over the winter and hospitals are starting to reach capacity in parts of the country.A “fourth wave” is attributed to a combination of Covid-19 variants, relaxed restrictions, and a slow vaccination rollout. In Osaka, Japan’s second-largest city, the director of a hospital told Reuters “simply put, this is a collapse of the medical system”.A state of emergency is currently in effect in nine prefectures, including Tokyo. Those orders were set to expire on May 11, but the deadline was pushed to May 31, and is now expected to be extended further until either June 13 or June 20, according to the Japan Times.“The Olympics should be stopped,” said the Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital head of emergency. “This may be a trigger for another disaster this summer.”The US Olympics and Paralympic Committee said on Monday after learning of the new “do not travel” State Department advisory: “We feel confident that the current mitigation practices in place for athletes and staff, coupled with the testing before travel, on arrival in Japan, and during the Games, will allow for safe participation of Team USA athletes this summer.”IOC vice-president John Coates was asked by a member of the Japanese media last week if the Tokyo Olympics would go on even under a state of emergency.“Absolutely, yes,” he responded.


Chinese universities raise tuition fees by as much as 54%

Chinese universities are drastically increasing tuition fees this year, with some making their first rises in two decades, hurt by a reduced national budget for tertiary education and tight local government finances.
The higher fees come amid a financial crunch among local governments after three years of disruptive Covid-19 policies, a property crisis and a sluggish economy. Chinese universities, almost all public, rely heavily on state funding.
Shanghai-based East China University of Science and Technology raised tuition fees by 54% to US$1,082 (about RM5,000) annually for some freshmen majoring in science, engineering and physical education, and by 30% in the liberal arts, according to statements issued on Sunday.
Tuition for science and engineering rose by 40% at Shanghai Dianji University, while students majoring in management, economics and literature will have to pay 30% more compared with a year earlier, according to a notice on Monday.
In April, the financial hub of Shanghai decided after a public hearing to raise tuition - unchanged for over 20 years - for the academic year starting this autumn.
China's densely populated southwestern Sichuan and northeastern Jilin provinces also raised tuition for different majors, with the maximum increase as much as 41% in Sichuan, according to local government statements.
The education ministry's expected budget expenditure for tertiary education in 2023 fell 3.7% to 102.6 billion yuan from the previous year, according to a budget report from the ministry.
A research team led by senior education experts last month also called for an extensive increase in university tuition for international students, according to a study led by Beijing Institute of Technology professor Liu Jin.
The study suggested increasing tuition fees for international students to as much as 110,000 yuan per year from about 20,000 yuan.


SRC appeal verdict clears name of trial judge, says prosecution

Deputy public prosecutor V Sithambaram today said that the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold Najib Razak’s conviction and sentence in the SRC International case had cleared the name of trial judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.He said the three-man bench had agreed with the decision of the High Court judge who found Najib guilty of seven counts of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power last year.“Today’s finding completely exonerated him of any wrongdoing,” Sithambaram said after the decision was read in Putrajaya. “The way he arrived at the decision and the way he gave the sentence.“We are happy that the view taken by the prosecution proved correct with no other motives as claimed before that we suppressed evidence.”The three-man panel led by Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil who sat with Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin had unanimously agreed to uphold the former prime minister’s conviction and sentence for all seven charges.Najib had previously applied to introduce new evidence in his appeal, but his application was rejected by the appeals court yesterday.Sithambaram said today’s decision showed that there were no political games behind the High Court’s decision last year.“No politics there, only cold hard facts,” he said.“We interpreted and represented the facts reasonably. Today was just a summary.“Two courts and four judges have looked at the case and found that the evidence presented against Najib is justified. I think the facts speak for themselves,” he added.Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million for the seven charges involving RM42 million from SRC International.He succeeded today in obtaining a stay of execution pending further appeal at the Federal Court.


More protection needed for vulnerable tenants in private market, govt told

A researcher has urged the government to consider providing more protection for vulnerable renters in the private market, pointing to similar assistance provided to those in public housing throughout the Covid-19 crisis.In March last year, for example, some 40,000 residents of People’s Housing Projects (PPRs) and public housing under the Kuala Lumpur City Hall were exempted from rental payments.In September, meanwhile, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the moratorium on rental payments for PPR residents under the purview of the housing and local government ministry would be extended until the end of 2022 in a move expected to benefit some 10,000 households.But while those in the B40 or lower income bracket have received assistance under the various aid packages announced by the government throughout the pandemic, those renting property in the private market have a different story to tell.This is despite many landlords being offered the benefit of a bulk moratorium on mortgage payments.Other available facilities such as loan restructuring, overnight policy rate, and mediation through the Covid-19 Mediation Centre bring no direct benefit to tenants, either.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Ainoriza Mohd Aini of Universiti Malaya said the pandemic had caused uncertainty and confusion among tenants regarding the possible risks and the response on their part.Ainoriza, who has conducted a study on vulnerable tenants in the private housing market around the Klang Valley, said her findings showed that 13.8% allocate more than 30% of their income for rental.Some 19.2% meanwhile have begun using their savings to pay their rent while 24.4% have been forced to ask for help from their friends and family.“Nearly half of the tenants in this study had met with their landlords to discuss rental,” she said.“The majority of landlords still ask for payment in full and only a handful of tenants have been able to negotiate a reduction or deferment of rental payments.”Others are afraid to approach their landlords for fear of being evicted or ignored in the event that repairs need to be made, she said.About 24.4% are experiencing low levels of pressure to pay their rent while 49.6% are experiencing medium pressure and 26.6% are under high pressure.“A third of the respondents have no formal rental agreement with their landlords, and some only have an oral agreement.“These circumstances make tenants uneasy about asking for their rent to be reduced,” she said, adding that some have been evicted, although not many.She suggested a set of guidelines on negotiations to provide a win-win situation for both tenants and landlords and to ensure stability in the housing market.In the event of another health crisis such as Covid-19, she said, the government could introduce rental assistance for this group through the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA).The RTA, scheduled for debate next year, will be enacted to protect the interests of both landlords and tenants.Real estate lawyer Ahmad Ziadi Zaidon said several provisions of the current law can be used to protect tenants from being evicted, including the Contract Act 1950, Special Assistance Act 1950 and Distress Act 1951.“I am more inclined to believe that the RTA should be more comprehensive in nature,” he said, adding that many are unaware of the law governing rental agreements. For others, the cost is too high and not worth the trouble of continuing mediation in the tribunal, he added.Under the RTA, tenants can request that terms which protect their interests be included in their rental agreement.“The landlord has the right not to include terms which would cause him or her losses,” Ziadi said.Other problems include the cost of getting a good deal, or deals not meeting the legal requirements.“The RTA is needed to fill this vacuum,” he said.


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100% of new cases in Sarawak in Category 1 and 2

All 2,723 cases recorded in Sarawak today are in Categories One and Two, according to the Sarawak state disaster management committee (SDMC).Category One cases are asymptomatic while those in Category Two display mild symptoms.Sarawak SDMC said 2,296 or 84.32% of the cases are in Category One while 427 individuals or 15.68% are in Category Two.“Among the areas that recorded the highest number of cases today are Kuching with 1,231 cases followed by Sibu (323), Bau (125), Betong (110) and Mukah (104),” it said in a statement.Today’s numbers take Sarawak’s total caseload to 127,151.The committee also said two new deaths were recorded today, in Serian and Bau, bringing total fatalities due to the pandemic in Sarawak to 549.


No restrictions on unvaccinated children, says Khairy

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today said the government will not impose restrictions on children aged five to 11 who do not get inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine.He said this group will not be penalised like adults who are not vaccinated as the Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) is not mandatory.However, he said parents are encouraged to register their children on the MySejahtera application in order to protect their children against Covid-19.“Register your children (aged five to 11) for #PICKids on MySJ. Protect them from COVID-19,” he said in a Twitter post.Last week, Khairy announced that the appointment booking system for child vaccination through MySejahtera would open at the end of the month, kicking off in the Klang Valley.Through this initiative, the health ministry is aiming to administer a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine for children to those five to 12 years of age within two months of the programme launch in early February.It is seeking to fully vaccinate 80% within six months.


Satellites spot US warship mock-ups at apparent China weapons range

China has built what appear to be full-scale outlines of American warships including an aircraft carrier, satellite imagery showed, possible targets to practise striking some of the most potent US weapons deployed in the Pacific.The US Navy’s carrier battle groups – centered around massive aircraft carriers – are among the most powerful weapons in the American arsenal.One is deployed with the 7th Fleet in the Pacific, watching over major flashpoint areas such as Taiwan and the South China Sea.China has been developing anti-ship missiles for years, including ones capable of taking out aircraft carriers.In satellite images captured last month by Maxar Technologies and sent to AFP on Sunday, huge outlines of American naval vessels were seen in the Taklamakan Desert in China’s western Xinjiang region.They included at least one shaped like an aircraft carrier, and another in the form of a destroyer. One target was seen mounted on a rail transportation system.The full-scale structures included flat outlines as well as more sophisticated ones with what appeared to be instrumentation poles, according to the US Naval Institute.“Analysis of historical satellite images shows that the carrier target structure was first built between March and April of 2019,” the USNI report said.“It underwent several rebuilds and was then substantially dismantled in December 2019. The site came back to life in late September of this year and the structure was substantially complete by early October.”The USNI cited intelligence firm AllSource Analysis as saying the area has been used for testing ballistic missiles in the past.When asked about the images, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Monday that he was “not aware of the situation”.‘Unmistakable message’Beijing is currently on a major arms modernisation drive, according to a Pentagon report released last week on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), with many weapons designed to help neutralise the most important American warships in the event of a regional conflict.These include the DF-21D missile, which has a range of more than 1,500km, the Pentagon said.It provides “the capability to conduct long-range precision strikes against ships, including aircraft carriers, out to the Western Pacific from mainland China,” the report added.The Chinese military has deployed these missiles in exercises, in what US Navy Admiral Philip Davidson has described as “an unmistakable message to regional and global audiences”.“Their employment during a large-scale PLA exercise demonstrates the PLA’s focus on countering any potential third-party intervention during a regional crisis,” he told the US Senate in March this year.The US Navy regularly conducts operations in the South China Sea and around Taiwan, angering Beijing.China claims almost the entirety of the disputed waterway and considers Taiwan to be a part of its territory to be seized one day, by force if necessary.


South Korea president warns of crackdown as trucker strike enters second day

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol warned the government might step in to break up a nationwide strike by truckers, describing it as an illegal and unacceptable move to take the national supply chain "hostage" during an economic crisis.
Thousands of unionised truckers kicked off their second major strike seeking better pay and working conditions in less than six months on Thursday. The action is already disrupting supply chains across the world's 10th-largest economy, affecting automakers, the cement industry and steel producers.
Union officials said there were no negotiations or dialogue ongoing with the government. The country's transport ministry said it requested dialogue with the union on Thursday, but the parties have yet to agree on a date.
Union officials estimated about 25,000 people were joining the strike, out of about 420,000 total transport workers in South Korea. The transport ministry said about 7,700 people were expected to rally for the strike on Friday in 164 locations nationwide, down from 9,600 people on Thursday.
"The public will not tolerate taking the logistics system hostage in the face of a national crisis," Yoon said in a Facebook message late on Thursday, noting that exports were key to overcoming economic instability and financial market volatility.
"If the irresponsible denial of transport continues, the government will have no choice but to review a number of measures, including a work start order."
According to South Korean law, during a serious disruption to transportation the government may issue an order to force transport workers back to their jobs. Failure to comply is punishable by up to three years of jail, or a fine of up to 30 million won (RM100,516).
Were the government to take this option, it would be the first time in South Korean history such a order is issued. Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong told reporters on Thursday that the ministry has already begun groundwork for issuing the order.
The strike comes after South Korea saw October exports fall the most in 26 months as its trade deficit persisted for a seventh month, underlining the slowdown in its export-driven economy.
Amid the economic gloom, Yoon's approval rating remained mostly flat for the fifth week at 30%, according to Gallup Korea on Friday, although his focus on economic affairs received a positive response.
'Hard-line response'
The head of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union (CTSU), Lee Bong-ju, said the truckers had no choice but to strike after the government stalled negotiations.
"The Yoon Suk-yeol government is threatening a hard-line response without any efforts to stop the strike," Lee told reporters on Thursday.
On the first day of the strike, the Korea International Trade Association (Kita) said it received 19 reports of cases of disrupted logistics. These included inability to bring in raw materials, higher logistics costs and delivery delays leading to penalties and trade with overseas buyers being scrapped.
In one instance, raw materials for a chemical company were delivered under police protection after the transport vehicle was blocked by striking truckers from entering a factory, Kita said.
The cement industry sustained an output loss of an estimated 19 billion won (US$14.26 million) on Thursday, lobby group Korea Cement Association said, after shipments slumped to less than 10,000 tonnes due to the strike.
This compares with South Korea's 200,000 tonnes of cement demand per day in the peak season between September and early December. Construction sites are at risk of running out of building materials after the weekend.
The industry ministry said the steel sector also saw shipments drop on Thursday. Posco, the country's largest steelmaker, declined to comment on the extent.
Meanwhile, workers at Hyundai Motor's Ulsan factory are expected to drive about 1,000 new cars to customers directly on Friday, after delivering about 50 cars on Thursday, a representative of a separate union at the factory told Reuters. So far there was no impact on auto output, the official said.
Drivers recruited by Hyundai Motor's logistics affiliate Hyundai Glovis also began delivering some Kia Corp cars by driving them directly from Kia's Gwangju plant to customers, a Kia official told Reuters.
The official didn't say how many Kia cars would be delivered directly to buyers.


Dr M attacks opposition bloc after PH MPs shy away from budget vote

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has launched a stinging attack on the opposition bloc, the majority of whom did not join him and 12 others in calling for a bloc vote on the budget today.Almost all of Pakatan Harapan’s MPs sat out the call for a bloc vote on the 2021 budget, which was easily passed by voice vote.Mahathir and three MPs from his Pejuang bloc, as well as a group of Amanah leaders, were among those who stood up to call for a bloc vote, which requires each MP to individually vote before the budget can be passed.“A government that is founded on corruption and through the bribing of MPs, this corrupt government was then supported by opposition MPs who never showed any sense of guilt in breaking their promise to the people,” the former prime minister wrote on his blog, hours after the winding-up speech on the budget by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.A minimum of 15 MPs are needed before a bloc vote can be called.Any failure to pass the budget through such a vote could have meant the collapse of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government, possibly triggering pandemic-season polls which health authorities have warned against.Although PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim and former prime minister Najib Razak repeatedly criticised the budget, Mahathir on his part had clearly stated that he would not support it.MalaysiaNow earlier reported that Anwar had sent a last-minute message, instructing PH MPs not to call for a bloc vote.It is believed that the message, sent by word of mouth to MPs during the winding-up speech today, did not reach several Amanah MPs, who stood up to call for the bloc vote together with Mahathir.It is also learnt that Anwar’s instruction to the MPs was due to Najib backing out of his threat to scuttle the budget.But Anwar later told reporters that the decision to avoid a bloc vote was not due to a lack of numbers on his side.


Kelantan, Pahang, Johor and Selangor listed as flood hotspots

The states of Kelantan, Pahang, Johor and Selangor have been listed as hotspots for floods in the peninsula, with the possibility of floods occuring at any time during the north east monsoon (MTL), says Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming.
He said overall, the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) had listed 5,235 high-risk areas comprising 4,795 flood-prone areas, 254 critical slope areas and 186 headwater areas including in Labuan, Sabah and Sarawak.
Speaking at a press conference in Putrajaya yesterday on JBPM's readiness to deal with the monsoon season, Nga said the agency had outlined more proactive preparations based on the experience of the floods that hit the country in December 2021.
"This includes mobilising a strong brigade consisting of 12,857 full-time officers and 2,111 auxiliary fire officers who are ready to face any possibility of flooding," he said.
In terms of land and water logistics strength, he said there were 584 light vehicles, 140 heavy vehicles and 487 marine vehicles, including 62 boats. The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) has forecast that three main areas will experience heavy rainfall from Dec 17, namely the east of the peninsula covering Kelantan and Terengganu, the east coast of Sabah and the west coast of Sarawak.
Nga said JBPM is also working with the natural resources, environment and climate change ministry and MetMalaysia to obtain the latest weather forecasts nationwide.
He also reminded residents in flood-prone areas to prepare for emergencies, including by keeping their important documents and valuables safe.
"Make early preparations and formulate a plan B to avoid unwanted incidents. Don’t wait until the last minute, let’s be prepared," he said.


Debunking 5 fake claims on the degazetted Kuala Langat forest

In trying to justify its action to degazette 536.7ha of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) on Aug 12, the Selangor government has made a number of false and misleading claims including:a. The forest is always burning; degazetting and developing the forested areas is claimed to be the best way to stop the fires;b. The forest is all degraded and there are no tall trees in the forest to be degazetted;c. The forest is too small, is surrounded by development and is not viable for conservation;d. The local Orang Asli community no longer visits or depends on the forest;e. The Orang Asli community supports the degazettement.The Pertahankan Hutan Simpan Kuala Langat Utara (PHSKLU) Coalition can easily refute the above false claims based on the evidence its members have gathered over many years as well as testimony from the Orang Asli community.1) No significant fires have burnt since 2016Prior to 2016, there were fires which affected KLNFR, almost all of which started in adjacent areas – namely the Elite Highway to KLIA which lies to the west, and the land developed for Gamuda Cove to the south, which spread into the forested area in times of drought.In 2016, 10,000 trees were planted as part of a collaboration between the local Orang Asli community, the forestry department and adjacent landowners including Boh Plantation Estate and Gamuda Cove. Action was also taken to prevent fires by blocking drains and raising water levels and conducting daily fire prevention patrols around the perimeter of the forest.As a result, there have been only two relatively small fires in the past five years and neither was in the area proposed for degazettement. More than 300 hectares of the forest area impacted by fire have recovered well, with the regrowth of medium to tall forest or planting of trees by the Orang Asli community.Clearing and draining the degazetted portion of the site will disrupt the hydrology and lead to significantly increased risk of fires, releasing the stored carbon and accelerating global warming. Degazetting this site will also be a waste of public funds as approximately RM2.2 million has been spent to build fire prevention infrastructure in the forest reserve.2) 98% of the degazetted area has forest cover and 50% consists of tall treesThe area degazetted by the state in August 2021 is dominated by good forests with tall trees and high diversity of species. Areas damaged by fire in 2014 have recovered to medium-height forest (5-10m tall). An assessment in September 2021 has indicated that the degazetted area includes the following mix of forest types:Breakdown of land cover types for the degazetted area is as follows:Vegetation coverHectaresPercentageHigh quality, tall forest26549.38%Medium height forest25948.26%Low forest/shrub8.51.58%Orang Asli cultivation land4.20.78%Total536.7100.00% 3) The forest is ecologically viable due to unique geographic featuresThe KLNFR covers an area of 957.63 hectares or nearly 10 sq km. It comprises a mix of lowland dipterocarp forest and peat swamp forest. The peat swamp forest is surrounded on three sides by low hills, which channel water to maintain water levels in the forest and prevent drainage. The forest, although originally larger, has been the same size for the past 30 years and there is no indication that there has been any reduction in plant and animal species.A 2020 study commissioned by the Selangor government confirmed it is a high conservation value (HCV) area with up to 123 flora and 124 fauna species found. The forest is an important habitat of critically endangered plant and animal species, including several endemic flora species such as Setawar (Cheloctus globosus), Kandis (Garcinia mangayi), and Penarahan (Knema plumose) and endangered fauna species such as Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica), Pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca nemestrina), White-handed Gibbon (Hylobates lar). The endemic Langat Red Betta (Betta livida) is only found in this and one other location in the world.Therefore, if the area is split into two by degazettement and the northern portion of the site developed for mixed development, the hydrology and ecology of the remaining area will be severely disrupted and it may not be ecologically viable (at least for larger species).4) The Orang Asli community visits and uses the forest on a daily basisWhen the forest was first gazetted as a forest reserve in 1927, the rights of the Orang Asli community were officially recognised to live within the forest, harvest forest products, manage dusuns and use the water resources. The Orang Asli have a close cultural affinity with the forest and some still depend on it for livelihood and welfare. Clearing and developing the area for a mixed development project will destroy the heritage of the community. It will also intensify the human-wildlife conflicts in the area for the community because it means that people and the various wildlife will have to occupy and share the reduced amount of forest area.The degazetted area is immediately adjacent to the houses of Kg Orang Asli Busut Baru. This is one of the largest Orang Asli villages in Kuala Langat (with a population of nearly 450) and the community has a very close connection to the forest, relying on food and medicinal plants from the forest and undertaking many community and cultural activities in the area.Some community members have established small dusuns inside the forest, all of which will also be lost with the degazettement. Although their houses are just outside (within 5-10m distance) of the area that has been degazetted, loss of the forest and construction of a mixed development project at their doorstep will have a fundamental, major and negative impact on their lives. There has been zero meaningful consultation with the affected Orang Asli community members in relation to the degazettement of the forest.5) The vast majority of the Orang Asli community support the protection of the forestSince the initial announcement of the proposed degazettement of the forest reserve, the leaders and residents of the five Orang Asli villages in the area around the forest have repeatedly strongly objected, and demonstrated publicly against the degazettement. They have also presented memoranda to the state government asking for the proposal to be dropped.Subsequently, community members and leaders received threats and were warned that their houses and existing village land would be taken away if they continued to support the protection of the forest. Some village leaders were pressured to sign a letter indicating that they would drop their objections to the degazettement if their villages were gazetted as Orang Asli Reserves. Nevertheless, many of the leaders and community members have continued to object to the degazettement of the forest over the last 18 months.The PHSKLU Coalition demands that the Selangor government immediately revoke the degazettement of the 536.7ha of the KLNFR and work with the Orang Asli communities and other stakeholders to protect KLNFR as a critical carbon-storing ecosystem for climate mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity conservation as well as develop meaningful sustainable livelihoods for the Orang Asli community based on the forest such as ecotourism or edutourism.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Economist tells who could make or break race-based cartels

While the survival of race-based cartels in the country appears to hinge on their control over the supply chain, it is actually the group at the other end – consumers – who play a key role in determining their fate, an economist says.Supply chain refers to the network of individuals, organisations, resources, activities and technology involved in the production and distribution of a product or service to the consumer.MalaysiaNow previously reported that control over such networks is crucial to the operations of cartels, or independent businesses which work together resulting in near-complete monopoly over the market.But Barjoyai Bardai said this is rooted in the attitude of consumers whom he described as “compromising” when it comes to the practice of cartels.“The consumer group in Malaysia has been very passive, and they have been tolerating this for a long time,” he told MalaysiaNow.“Many of them are very tolerant of the goods and services they consume,” he added, attributing this to a lack of awareness on where such products come from.This becomes a problem when the supply chain is not open or transparent.“The consumer group in Malaysia has been very passive, and they have been tolerating this for a long time.”But given sufficient awareness of the factors at play, consumers have tremendous say over whether cartels rise or fall.Barjoyai gave the example of the meat market in the UK in the 1970s.At that point, he said, many in the Pakistani community were in the retail business, running sundry shops or in the fresh produce line.After about 20 years, they went on to control the entire meat market, forming a cartel of their own despite being a minority group.Such things could happen when consumer groups no longer tolerate existing cartels, he said.Suhaiza Hanim Mohamad Zailani, a professor at Universiti Malaya, said business owners could help prevent preferential treatment resulting from communal relationships by assessing potential suppliers.“If you have multiple potential suppliers, do some kind of assessment based on your list of criteria and give them ratings,” she said.“The listing must be based on their skills, value-added services and products, among others.”Her advice to owners is to look for partners who share the same objective.“They should offer you value and make your product competitive in the market, and ensure customer satisfaction.”Failure to do so could end up causing problems in production and a loss of customers, she said.She said Malay and Bumiputera SMEs lag behind as they are not as competent in terms of innovation and resources, technology and creativity.“These are the handicaps and why they have not progressed over the years.”Barjoyai agreed that the Malays had not been able to penetrate the wholesale market as they lacked the right contacts.“But they are slowly building this up,” he said, adding that retail businesses too are diversifying as many are now owned by multinationals.But this is by no means the death knell for race-based cartels, he said, urging the government to take the issue seriously.He said the government also has an important role to play in monitoring the free market system and ensuring that business is done fairly and efficiently.“Right now, the consumers are protesting because the government is not monitoring the market well.”


GPS leaders thank Muhyiddin for remembering Sarawak’s interests

Sarawak leaders have thanked Muhyiddin Yassin for his work as prime minister, saying he served the interests of the state during his 17 months in Putrajaya.Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, vice-president of GPS’ lynchpin party PBB, said Muhyiddin had done his best to handle the pandemic despite facing the political impasse which resulted in his resignation from the country’s top office yesterday.“I would say that Muhyiddin’s performance was great,” he told MalaysiaNow, adding that it could have been better “had he not been battered left, right and centre by his opponents”.“He fared well despite all the assaults, and he tried his best to help all Malaysians including those from Sabah and Sarawak during his short span as prime minister,” Karim added.“Malaysians will one day remember his deeds once the dust has settled.”Muhyiddin submitted his resignation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday, saying he had lost the backing of the majority in Parliament after the withdrawal of support by a group of Umno MPs aligned with their president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak.He also cited the rejection of a cross-party consensus he had offered to the opposition in exchange for their support at an upcoming confidence vote in his leadership.His administration had seen the restoration of rights over oil and gas sales as well as tax revenue payments from the federal government and Petronas to Sarawak after nearly six decades.GPS parliamentary chief whip Fadillah Yusof, who was the minister of works in Muhyiddin’s Cabinet, voiced hope that Sarawak’s portion of the Pan Borneo Highway project would not be affected by the change in government.“Whoever is appointed as the works minister after this should continue to implement the infrastructure projects that have been approved, just as the PN government continued the projects approved by the previous Pakatan Harapan administration,” he said in his farewell message after stepping down from his Cabinet position.“The people should not be the victims as a result of the prolonged political crisis and change in government. Whatever projects have been promised to the people for their well-being should be continued.”Other GPS leaders who had been in Muhyiddin’s Cabinet, including Alexander Nanta Linggi (domestic trade and consumer affairs) and Nancy Shukri (arts, culture and tourism) also thanked him for trusting them with their positions.“GPS respects Muhyiddin’s decision to resign,” they said. “We uphold parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.”


US to renew deportation relief for more than 300,000 immigrants

The US will extend deportation relief and work permits through 2025 for more than 300,000 immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal but will not expand the program to cover additional people, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Tuesday.
The move by President Joe Biden's administration maintains the status quo and stops short of a broader expansion of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program supported bysome Democrats and immigrant advocates who say more pathways are needed for people to live and work legally in the US.
Former president Donald Trump, a Republican and immigration hardliner seeking his party's nomination in 2024, sought to end TPS for the four countries and others during his tenure, but his effort was rebuffed by US courts. Biden's Democratic administration is rescinding Trump's earlier decisions as part of the process of extending the relief for immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal.
TPS allows people who cannot return to their home countries due to natural disasters, armed conflict or other extraordinary measures to remain in the US and obtain work permits. Designations typically last six to 18 months but can be renewed indefinitely. Some TPS designations have been in place for decades, but they do not lead to permanent US status.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that the extensions would offer "continued safety and protection" to people from those countries already eligible for the program.
The latest decision by the Biden administration will allow TPS renewals for 239,000 Salvadorans who have resided in the US since 2001. Some 76,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans in the US since 1998 are eligible, along with 14,500 Nepalese in the country since 2015.
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua living in the US illegally will not be covered by the TPS extension since they arrived after the cutoff dates.
Some Democrats, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, have pressed the Biden administration to expand access to work permits for newly arrived migrants, saying it will reduce the strain on local governments receiving people who have recently crossed the US-Mexico border.


Ex-Goldman banker Ng to forfeit US$35.1 million in 1MDB corruption case

A US judge on Friday ordered former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng to forfeit US$35.1 million (RM155.42 million), after sentencing him to 10 years in prison for helping loot billions of dollars from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.
US district judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn rejected Ng's argument that he owned no more money after forfeiting to Malaysia tens of millions of dollars of alleged proceeds from his crimes.
Ng's lawyer Marc Agnifilo also said his client, a Malaysian and Goldman's former head of investment banking in Malaysia, had been drained of most of his assets.
Brodie, however, said the US$35.1 million forfeiture was not constitutionally excessive.
She also said that even if Ng were less culpable than others, "he played a role in one of the largest financial crimes of all time", a scheme that caused "intangible harm to the public's confidence in democracy and government".
Agnifilo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Brodie imposed Ng's prison sentence on March 9, 11 months after jurors found him guilty of helping his former boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from 1MDB, launder the proceeds, and bribe government officials to win business.
Jho Low, a Malaysian financier and suspected mastermind of the scheme, was also indicted but remains at large.
Leissner faces a Sept 6 sentencing. Goldman settled with authorities in October 2020, agreeing to pay US$2.9 billion and having its Malaysian unit plead guilty to a corruption charge.
Former prime minister Najib Razak is serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted in court of receiving US$10 million from a former 1MDB unit. Najib has consistently denied wrongdoing.


Rights group warns against migrant crackdown

Rights group Amnesty International has warned the home ministry against any attempt to round up migrant workers during the pandemic, saying the suggestion by its minister Hamzah Zainudin is against the universal practice of reducing the number of inmates in detention centres.The group’s Malaysian chapter also reminded authorities of the series of Covid-19 outbreaks in detention centres across the country due to cramped settings.“This is why governments around the world, from Indonesia to the US, have moved to reduce populations in detention centres even as Malaysia appears to be going out of its way to increase it instead,” said Amnesty International Malaysia director Katrina Jorene Maliamauv.Yesterday, Hamzah defended the plan to launch a massive crackdown on undocumented migrants, saying it was needed to ensure they could be vaccinated.But Amnesty said the statement was disturbing.“Threats, fear and punishment are utterly incompatible with good, just, public health measures.”It urged the authorities to halt the raids and immediately release detained migrants.“Detention is never the solution to resolving immigration issues, not least during a health emergency,” it added.Amnesty said migrants and refugees should be provided evidence-based information so they can make an informed choice about vaccines.“The government must stop creating barriers to access, and instead must make vaccines available and accessible for everyone without discrimination, including people without documentation.”


Priest, 3 others charged with rape and murder of 9-year-old Indian girl

A priest and three other men have been charged with the gang rape and murder of a low-caste nine-year-old girl, Indian police said, in a case that sparked days of protests in New Delhi.The girl was allegedly assaulted by the priest, 53, and three workers on Aug 1 after she had gone to a crematorium to fetch water.The four men, who have been in custody since they were detained in early August, face the death penalty.The girl’s mother earlier told police the men called her to the crematorium and claimed her daughter was electrocuted.They told her that if she reported the incident to police, doctors conducting an autopsy would remove her child’s organs and sell them.Her daughter’s body was then cremated, before some locals intervened and pulled some charred remains from the pyre.The 400-page charge sheet from Delhi Police cited “scientific, technical and other evidence” and witness testimony, the government said in a statement late Saturday.It added that its push for charges to be laid within 30 days of the alleged incident reflected its “zero tolerance” of crimes against women and girls in the nation of 1.3 billion people.An average of nearly 90 rapes of girls and women were reported in the country every day in 2019, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau.But large numbers of sexual assaults are believed to go unreported.The case also highlighted the treatment of the 200 million-strong Dalit community, the lowest group under the country’s caste system.The community has long faced discrimination and abuse in India. Activists say attacks against Dalits have increased since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.


Study supporting ivermectin as alternative Covid treatment pulled over fraud concerns

A preprint study “showing the positive efficacy and safety” of ivermectin – a drug used against parasites such as worms and headlice – in treating Covid-19, has suddenly been withdrawn without explanation.The randomised control trial results and analysis, by research leader Dr Ahmed Elgazzar of Benha University in Egypt, were published on the Research Square website in November.The study found that hospital patients with Covid-19 who “received ivermectin early reported substantial recovery” and that there was “a substantial improvement and reduction in mortality rate in ivermectin treated groups” by 90%.The study was pulled from the Research Square website on Thursday due to unidentified “ethical concerns”.A medical student in London, Jack Lawrence, was among the first to identify serious concerns about the paper when it was assigned to him by one of his master’s degree lecturers.Lawrence discovered the introduction section appeared to be plagiarised.The authors seemed to have run press releases and websites about ivermectin and Covid-19 through a thesaurus to change key words.“Humorously, this led to them changing ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome’ to ‘extreme intense respiratory syndrome’ on one occasion,” Lawrence said.The data cited also looked suspicious to Lawrence, as the raw data contradicted the study protocol on several occasions.“The authors claimed to have done the study only on 18-80 year olds, but at least three patients in the dataset were under 18,” Lawrence said.Many study dates and numbers turned out to be inaccurate according to the raw data. One patient supposedly left hospital on the non-existent date of 31/06/2020.“The authors claim that four out of 100 patients died in their standard treatment group for mild and moderate Covid-19,” Lawrence said. “But according to the original data, the number was 0, the same as the ivermectin treatment group. In their ivermectin treatment group for severe Covid-19, the authors claim two patients died, but the number in their raw data is four.”Lawrence and the Guardian sent Elgazzar a list of questions about the data, but did not receive a reply. The university’s press office also did not respond.Lawrence contacted an Australian chronic disease epidemiologist from the University of Wollongong, Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, and a data analyst affiliated with Linnaeus University in Sweden who reviews scientific papers for errors, Nick Brown, for help analysing the data and study results more thoroughly.Brown uncovered numerous data errors, discrepancies and concerns, which he provided to the Guardian. According to his findings the authors had clearly repeated data between patients.“The main error is that at least 79 of the patient records are obvious clones of other records,” Brown told the Guardian. “There are signs they have tried to change one or two fields to make them look more natural.”Meyerowitz-Katz told the Guardian that it appeared to him the data was “just totally faked”.The Elgazzar study has often been cited by proponents of the drug as evidence of its effectiveness, despite a peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases in June finding ivermectin is “not a viable option to treat Covid-19 patients”.Two meta-analyses of ivermectin, which combined results from multiple studies, had included the Elgazzar study in their results.“Because the Elgazzar study is so large, and so massively positive – showing a 90% reduction in mortality – it hugely skews the joint evidence in favour of ivermectin,” Meyerowitz-Katz said.“If you get rid of just this research, most meta-analyses that have found positive results would have their conclusions entirely reversed.”Kyle Sheldrick, a Sydney doctor and researcher, also independently raised concerns about the paper. He found some numbers the authors provided “mathematically impossible”.He said the completeness of the data further suggested possible fabrication, noting that in real-world conditions, this is almost impossible. He also identified the duplication of patient deaths and data.Ivermectin has gained momentum across Latin America and India, largely based on evidence from preprint studies.However, in March, the World Health Organization warned against the use of ivermectin outside clinical trials.Lawrence told the Guardian that what started out as a simple university assignment had led to a comprehensive investigation into an apparent scientific fraud at a time when “there is a whole ivermectin hype, dominated by a mix of right-wing figures, anti-vaxxers and outright conspiracists”.He said, “Thousands of highly educated scientists, doctors, pharmacists, and at least four major medicine regulators missed a fraud so apparent that it might as well have come with a flashing neon sign.“That this all happened amid an ongoing global health crisis of epic proportions is all the more terrifying.”


Suspended Thai PM says to continue as defence minister

Suspended Thai leader Prayuth Chan-ocha said on social media he will continue in his role as defence minister, in his first direct address to the public since a court ordered him to cease his duties as prime minister while it reviews his term limit.
"I will continue to do my duty and responsibility as defence minister for the people and Thailand every day," Prayuth said on the Twitter account of the prime minister's office on Thursday.
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday decided to hear a petition brought by the main opposition party arguing that Prayuth's years spent as the chief of a military junta after he took power in a 2014 coup, should count toward his overall time in office. The constitution stipulates a term limit of eight years for the prime minister.
It remains unclear when the court will deliver a decision on the review.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan is serving as acting premier of Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy. He declined to answer journalists' questions on his first day in the prime minister's office on Friday.
The controversy over Prayuth's term limit is the latest eposide in nearly two decades of intermittent political turmoil, including two coups and violent protests, stemming from opposition to military involvement in politics and demands for greater representation as political awareness grows.
A government spokeman, Anucha Burapachaisri, said on Friday the cabinet continues to function as normal.


West unveils sanctions with more ready if Russia carries out full-scale Ukraine invasion

Western nations on Tuesday punished Russia with new sanctions for ordering troops into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine and threatened to go further if Moscow launched an all-out invasion of its neighbour.The US, the European Union and Britain announced plans to target banks and elites while Germany halted a major gas pipeline project from Russia, which they say has amassed more than 150,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders. Moscow has denied planning an invasion.One of the worst security crises in Europe in decades is unfolding as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered soldiers into Donetsk and Luhansk to “keep the peace.” Washington has dismissed that as “nonsense”.Satellite imagery over the past 24 hours shows several new troop and equipment deployments in western Russia and more than 100 vehicles at a small airfield in southern Belarus, which borders Ukraine, according to US firm Maxar.Weeks of intense diplomacy have so far failed and on Tuesday both US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian cancelled separate meetings scheduled with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.“To put it simply Russia just announced that it is carving out a big chunk of Ukraine,” Biden said on Tuesday.“This is the beginning of a Russian invasion.”Plans announced by Biden to bolster Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania include sending 800 infantry soldiers and up to eight F-35 fighter jets to locations along Nato’s eastern flank, a US official said, but are a redistribution, not additions.Putin did not watch Biden’s speech and Russia will first look at what the US has outlined before responding, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, cited by Russian news agencies.Early on Wednesday, Putin said he was always open to finding diplomatic solutions but that “the interests of Russia and the security of our citizens are unconditional for us.”Moscow is calling for security guarantees, including a promise that Ukraine will never join Nato, while the US and its allies offer Putin confidence-building and arms control steps to defuse the stand-off.A meeting between Biden and Putin, brokered by France, “certainly is not in the plans” at this point in time, the White House said on Tuesday.More sanctions to come?US sanctions are being applied to VEB bank and Russia’s military bank, Promsvyazbank, which does defence deals, Biden said. Starting on Tuesday, sanctions will begin against Russian elites and their family members.Tass news agency cited Promsvyazbank as saying the sanctions would not have a significant effect since it had taken precautionary measures ahead of time. It did not give details.Washington also said that it restricted dealings in the secondary market with Russia’s sovereign debt for bonds issued after March 1.But many Western nations held off the strictest sanctions as they try to dissuade a larger Russian assault. Russia’s Sberbank and VTB would face sanctions if Moscow proceeds with an invasion, said a senior US official, warning of a hit to the wider economy.“We are fully prepared with a very large number of countries across the world to implement… export control measures.”The European Union and Britain chiefly targeted Russian banks and their ability to operate internationally with the impact likely to be minimal.Lavrov earlier brushed off the threat of sanctions.“Our European, American, British colleagues will not stop and will not calm down until they have exhausted all their possibilities for the so-called punishment of Russia,” he said.Markets worry, separatists celebrateThe prospect of a disruption to energy supplies and fears of war – stoked by reports of shelling in some areas and movements of unmarked tanks overnight in the city of Donetsk – rattled markets and sent oil prices to their highest level since 2014.Germany put the brakes on the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline and Britain also hit Russian banks with sanctions. The Russian foreign ministry criticised the new measures as “illegitimate”.Germany is Russia’s biggest customer for natural gas, and the decision by Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the pipeline – built but awaiting approval – was widely seen as one of the strongest measures Europe could take.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hailed the move.“This is a morally, politically and practically correct step in the current circumstances,” he said. “True leadership means tough decisions in difficult times. Germany’s move proves just that.”The Kremlin said it hoped the delay was temporary. Putin said Russia “aims to continue uninterrupted supplies” of energy to the world.Following Russia’s recognition of the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, some residents in Donetsk city celebrated, with cars flying Russian flags and sounding their horns.But several blasts could be heard at midnight in the centre of the separatist-held city, a Reuters witness said.The Russian-backed regions broke away from Ukrainian government control in 2014 and proclaimed themselves independent “people’s republics” after a pro-Moscow Ukrainian president was ousted in Kyiv.“I know that the blood I spilled with my comrades and our labours and efforts and the losses of civilians were not in vain all this time,” Dmitry, a former member of a pro-Russian militia, said in Donetsk on Tuesday.


Putrajaya mobilises immediate aid as Selangor struggles with major floods

Floods have wreaked havoc in the Klang Valley, especially in Selangor where the situation was described as unprecedented with many areas submerged in water, rendering major roads impassable and forcing the evacuation of many victims to relief centres (PPS).Continuous rain which at times turned heavy over the past two days in the Klang Valley caught many unprepared, leaving them trapped at home by flood waters or in their stranded cars along flooded roads.Public postings on social media showed flooded roads and settlements in Selangor, including in Shah Alam and Port Klang, with cries for help by those trapped by the flood waters.Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari has sought help from the federal government to tackle the floods and extend aid to victims in the state, the worst hit this time around.Search-and-rescue authorities and people in low-lying areas in at least six states are bracing for the worst in the face of unrelenting rain.Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in a special press conference last night, said preparations to face floods were normally made in states like Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu, but that Selangor was caught unprepared.“I have also read on social media, some also send directly to me asking for assistance while some are sick.“Some people informed me they were trapped in a bus for eight hours, and I have alerted the fire and rescue department to the location, while many other vehicles are also trapped so we have to save the weak,” said Ismail.Forty-five PPS were opened with 3,826 victims from 2,551 families sheltered in Selangor, and 453 vehicle and logistics assets of various enforcement agencies were mobilised involving 2,817 personnel, he added.The prime minister assured flood victims of their safety, saying this is the top priority of the government apart from ensuring that enough food is provided to victims especially around the Klang Valley.As of yesterday evening, several toll plazas had been closed including the Shah Alam toll plaza and the intersection slip road with only the exit open at the Subang and Seafield toll plazas for those heading south and north.Checks on social media also found that landslides had occurred at several locations, including KM 62.9 of the Karak-Bentong Highway, the road from Saujana Utama to Elmina (near the Guthrie Corridor Expressway), the road heading to Bukit Lanjan, Damansara as well as Jalan Taman Melawati 1.Meanwhile, the number of evacuees continued to rise in other flood-hit states such as Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Melaka and Kelantan.Tenaga Nasional announced in a Facebook post that electricity supply has been disrupted in 82 areas in Klang, Shah Alam (57), Port Klang (six), Sepang (three) and Banting (two), and had yet to be restored.Electricity supply was also disrupted in 20 areas in Pahang including Kuantan, Bentong, Jerantut and Kuala Lipis; eight locations in Melaka; and seven in Kelantan including the districts of Kuala Krai, Jeli and Gua Musang.As a precautionary measure to prevent Covid-19 infections, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in a statement that symptomatic, at-risk, or Covid-19 positive evacuees would be isolated in quarantine centres.He said prior to being allowed into relief centres, evacuees would be screened to confirm whether they had Covid-19 symptoms or risk factors, while positive cases would be isolated at Covid-19 quarantine and low-risk treatment centres, special centres or referred to hospitals according to their requirements.As of 11pm, 188 relief centres had been opened to house 11,384 evacuees from 4,500 families in six states hit by floods following heavy downpours since the day before.


Pfizer boss says vaccine to become easier to ship and store

US pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer is planning a new version of its coronavirus vaccine that can be stored in a standard freezer and comes diluted and ready for use, its CEO told AFP on Friday.The vaccine developed by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech is already a mainstay in Europe’s efforts to control the pandemic – but it is a challenge to ship and protect.The current version must be stored at -70 degrees Celsius, limiting its distribution to specially equipped vaccination centres.But Pfizer’s chief executive Albert Bourla told AFP in an interview that a new version is in the pipeline and that he was optimistic the vaccine will also prove effective against new virus variants.Indian variantBourla said Pfizer has large amounts of real world data from some of the variant outbreaks.“We have already data for the UK one – I hate using the countries, but people know them like that – which is very prominent in Israel… efficiency was 97%,” he said.“We have data from South Africa, with the South African variant, and overall the efficacy was 100%. And also have data from Brazil. And it looks also this is very well controlled.”Pfizer has not yet compiled sufficient data on the efficiency of its vaccine against the so-called Indian variant, the latest to raise concerns that a new wave of infections could overcome the immunisation drive.But he said he was “optimistic” the vaccine would prove effective, and that the firm’s mRNA technology can be adapted to counter new strains.“The thing that makes me feel more comfortable is that we have developed a process that once a variant becomes a variant of concern, we should be able to have a new vaccine within 100 days,” he said.“It’s a tough target, but I am very comfortable that we should be able to do it.“And because of the effectiveness of this mRNA technology, I believe that variants will not become an issue, we’ll be able to control them.”Keeping coolThe European Union is betting big on Pfizer’s relatively expensive vaccine, but there are concerns that the difficulty of keeping it at very cold temperatures will make it hard to distribute in poorer countries.But here again Bourla was confident.“We are doing actually two things on this front,” he said.The US Food and Drug Administration allows the vaccine to be kept at -20 Celsius in a standard freezer for two weeks and Bourla thinks that could be extended.“And we are about to generate the data for another two weeks. So that this formulation can be stored, let’s say, a month in -20 if we get approval for that,” he said.“On the other hand, we are also working with a new formulation which is much improved, that will be ready to use: that means you don’t need to dilute the vaccine, it will come diluted.”Pfizer hopes the vaccine will able to be stored for two to three months in normal refrigeration and an additional three months in a freezer, Bourla said.“So a total of four-to-six months outside the -50 or 70… we believe we’ll be able to have it if we are successful in summer.”Higher price justifiedLeaked price details suggest that the Pfizer vaccine is many times more expensive than, for example, the competitor product from UK-based AstraZeneca, which has failed to meet delivery promises.But Bourla says the higher cost is justified.“Our strategy is to try with a pricing (that is) able to provide equitable access to all,” he said. Equitable means that more vaccine doses are made available to countries that need it more.“So we have one tier of pricing, which covers all the high income countries, Europe is included in that, the US is included in that, Japan, Canada, all the high income countries,” Bourla said.“I don’t want to go to what is the price for each one country, but at the largest it is the cost of a meal. So I would say for the value that the vaccine brings, we price that very, very reasonably,” he said.For countries defined as middle-income by the World Bank, “the price is almost half of what we have in the high-income countries,” the CEO said.“And for the low-income countries, we have decided to give it on a non-profit basis, of course. So I think this is our strategy, this is our policy. So eventually, this vaccine will reach all the people of the world.”


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Flash flood warning for 6 states including Selangor

Flash floods may hit Johor, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, Terengganu and Sabah within 24 hours if there is heavy rain or significant thunderstorms, according to the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (PRABN) of the Drainage and Irrigation Department.
PRABN said in a notice issued at 7am today that the areas at risk in Johor are Kota Tinggi, around Sedili Kechil and Ulu sungai Sedili Besar, Muar (Bandar, Bandar Maharani and Jalan Bakri), as well as Mersing (Bandar Padang Endau).
In Pahang, three districts were named: Kuantan at Bandar Kuantan, Hulu Kuantan, Kuala Kuantan, Pulau Manis and Sungai Karang, Maran (Pekan) and Pekan (Bebar, Pekan and Langgar).
Meanwhile, in Perak, two districts are expected to be affected – Bagan Datuk (Pekan Simpang Empat) and Hilir Perak (Durian Sebatang) – while in Selangor, the Klang area was named.
In Terengganu, the areas at risk are Marang (Bukit Payung) and Kuala Terengganu (Batu Buruk, Chendering and Kuala Terengganu), while in Sabah, Tuaran (Kampung Berungis and Pekan Tenghilan) was named.


Singapore gets Asia’s first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses

Singapore received Asia’s first delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on Monday, capping what the city-state’s premier said had been a “long and arduous” year spent fighting the pandemic.The trade and finance hub last week joined a handful of other countries around the world, including Britain and the US, which have approved the jab.It plans to innoculate its 5.7 million people by the third quarter of 2021, with priority given to health workers, the elderly and the medically vulnerable.“Delighted to see the first shipment of vaccines arrive in Singapore,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote on Facebook, after a Singapore Airlines flight carrying the vaccines landed from Belgium.“It’s been a long and arduous year, I hope that this news will give Singaporeans cheer this festive season, and reason to be optimistic for 2021.”Vaccination in Singapore will be voluntary, but Lee has strongly encouraged people to take part in the campaign.The Pfizer vaccine requires a two-shot treatment and must be kept at temperatures below -70 degrees Celsius to work effectively.Transportation Minister Ong Ye Kung said a local facility was producing four tonnes of dry ice each day to properly refrigerate the goods.Singapore will further ease social distancing restrictions from Dec 28 after weeks of barely any local coronavirus infections.Authorities initially kept Covid-19 in check through rigorous contact tracing but the virus later swept through dormitories housing low-paid migrant workers.The city has reported more than 58,000 virus infections but a relatively low 29 deaths. Its borders remain closed to most international visitors.


New Covid-19 variants now in dozens of countries, says WHO

New Covid-19 variants that make the virus more contagious and could render vaccine and antibody protection less effective have spread rapidly across dozens of countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday.In its latest epidemiological update, the UN health agency said the more contagious Covid-19 variant first spotted in Britain had by Jan 25 spread to 70 countries across all regions of the world.That variant, known as VOC 202012/01 or B.1.1.7 and has been proven to transmit more easily than previous variants of the virus, had thus spread to 10 more countries over the past week, WHO said.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week also warned that fresh studies had indicated the strain could be more deadly, but WHO stressed Wednesday that those “results are preliminary, and more analyses are required to further corroborate these findings”.All viruses mutate when they replicate in order to adapt to their environment, and scientists have tracked multiple mutations of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.The vast majority of mutations are of little importance, but WHO has urged countries to actively work to spot mutations that might significantly alter either the virus’s virulence or transmissibility.Increased reinfection risk?That was the case for the 501.V2 variant first found in South African in October.WHO said Wednesday that variant had now spread to 31 countries, eight more than a week ago.Like the British variant, it also has mutations on its spike protein – the part of the virus that latches on to human cells and helps it spread – making it potentially more infectious than other strains.But studies have also indicated that this variant “is less susceptible to antibody neutralisation”, WHO said.This has raised concerns the variant poses a heightened risk of reinfection, and also could hamper the effectiveness of the growing number of Covid-19 vaccines.WHO said more studies were needed, but stressed that observational studies in South Africa did not indicate an increased risk of reinfection.WHO said a third variant of the virus, first discovered in Brazil, was now in eight countries, up from just two a week ago.That variant, called P1, has raised similar concerns it could be more contagious or cause more severe disease.“Further studies are needed to assess if there are changes in transmissibility, severity or antibody neutralising activity as a result of these new variants,” WHO said.Global cases number decliningAll variants and strains included, WHO said 4.1 million new cases of Covid-19 were registered around the world over the past week, and some 96,000 deaths.While the number of deaths was similar to the previous week, the new case number marked a 15% decline week-on-week.It was the second consecutive week that new case numbers declined, after peaking in the first week of January.The global decline was largely driven by relative reductions in case incidence in some countries that have seen the highest case numbers in recent months, WHO said, including in the US – the country hardest hit by the pandemicAll regions saw new case numbers come down or remain flat.The European region saw the sharpest drop, with a 20% fall in new cases, followed by Africa at 16% and the Americas at 14%.Nonetheless, the Americas and Europe accounted for a full 86% of all new cases recorded last week.


China arrests BBC journalist covering Covid protests

The BBC said on Sunday one of its journalists in China had been arrested and beaten by police while covering protests against the country's zero-Covid policy.
Hundreds of people took to the streets in China's major cities on Sunday in a rare outpouring of public anger against the state.
"The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai," the broadcaster said in a statement.
Lawrence, working in the country as an accredited journalist, was detained for several hours, during which time he was beaten and kicked by police, according to the BBC. He was later released.
"It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whilst carrying out his duties," the statement said.
"We have had no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught Covid from the crowd," the statement added.
"We do not consider this a credible explanation.”