Saka at the double as dynamic England hit Iran for six

England got their World Cup campaign off to a flying start as they rattled in the goals past a shell-shocked Iran and cruised to an impressive 6-2 Group B victory on Monday in a timely return to form for Gareth Southgate's side.
England, semi-finalists in 2018, came into the tournament without a win in six games, but a dynamic opening 45 minutes in which Jude Bellingham scored his first England goal, Bukayo Saka doubled the lead and Raheem Sterling grabbed a third set up a second-half stroll.
Saka's second goal allowed England to take their foot off the gas and opened the door for Iran to grab one back through Mehdi Taremi, before substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish rounded off England's scoring.
Although Iran's Taremi grabbed another from the penalty spot in the 13th minute of stoppage time, bringing the total to an astonishing 26 minutes in both halves, England's work was done.
"We haven't played the best coming into the tournament. There was a lot of talk and speculation about our form but we showed everyone how much quality we have and what we can do," said Saka, whose last major tournament ended with him missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final shootout.
Yet England manager Gareth Southgate was not getting carried away.
"I'm a miserable so and so, I should be more excited but I've got to keep the team on the right track and we will have to be better," he said, grumbling about the two goals conceded.
Off-pitch issues
At a World Cup dominated by politics, despite Fifa's determination that the football should be left to do the talking, the buildup to the game was overshadowed by issues off the pitch.
England's captain Harry Kane had abandoned plans to wear a 'One Love' armband when Fifa made clear that those who bore the multi-coloured symbol of diversity and inclusion could be booked, with the striker opting for a Fifa-approved "No Discrimination" version.
There was also swirling speculation that Iran's players would use the platform to show solidarity with anti-government protests at home and as the Iranian national anthem blared out, the players stood stony faced and silent.
The game eventually took centre stage and it was not long before England were in top gear.
Their cause was helped when Iran's influential goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was forced off the pitch after 20 minutes following a sickening clash of heads with a team mate but Southgate's side took full advantage.
Rolls Royce
England's 19-year-old midfielder Bellingham purred like a Rolls-Royce in the engine room and his opening goal set England on their way at Khalifa International Stadium.
Timing his run perfectly, Bellingham rose to meet Luke Shaw's cross, and directed a looping header into the top corner in the 35th minute to become the first player born in or after 2000 to score at the World Cup.
Shaw was the provider again for England's second as his corner was headed back across the area by Harry Maguire to Saka, who volleyed home expertly.
The game was ended as a contest when Sterling added a third, finishing with the outside of his boot on the volley from Harry Kane's cross after Bellingham was again involved in the buildup.
England were not done, however, as Saka grabbed his second in the 62nd minute.
Sterling, whose place in the side had been under scrutiny following mixed form for Chelsea, turned in midfield and fed Saka, who jinked, before dropping his shoulder and calmly placing the ball into the bottom corner.
Iran pulled one back when Taremi smashed the ball into the top corner, but Rashford came on in a raft of England changes in the 70th minute and cut inside a defender before slotting his side's fifth moments later.
Grealish turned in England's sixth from close range in the 90th minute after fellow substitute Callum Wilson's run and cross from the right, before Taremi's late spot-kick, given after a VAR review for a minor shirt pull.
"At the beginning it was clear the difference between high level competitive football... every single week and our players unfortunately they don't have the same experience," said Iran manager Carlos Queiroz.


Azalina resigns as PM's special adviser

Azalina Othman Said has submitted a letter of resignation as the prime minister's special adviser on law and human rights, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said today.
In a statement, it said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had received the letter dated Aug 29, which gave notice of a month.
"The one-month notice is to complete the tasks related to her staff, but during that time, Azalina will no longer work at the PMO as she has been given leave from Sept 1 until the end of her notice period at the end of the month," it added.
Azalina, Umno's Pengerang MP, sparked an uproar last month by suggesting that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob replace the attorney-general as it is within his power to do so.
"Whoever is prime minister must make the attorney-general his man," she told Umno members who attended a special gathering where speakers took turns condemning the Federal Court decision on Aug 23 to send former leader Najib Razak to jail after losing his final appeal in the SRC International case.
Azalina, who resigned from the deputy speaker’s post during the brief power vacuum last year, was among a group of Umno MPs aligned with Najib who retracted their support for Muhyiddin Yassin, triggering his resignation in August 2021.


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New infections drop below 2,000 as another 8 deaths reported

Another 1,918 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,575,809.There were 2,321 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,510,643.There are now 29,382 active cases, of which 28,140 or 95.8% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 26 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 1,172 (4.0%) have been hospitalised.A total of 44 are in ICU with 24 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 61.2%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 9.9%.Eight more deaths were reported, taking total deaths to 35,784.


Over 60 million jabs given, including 8.5 million boosters

Some 97.8% of the adult population in the country, or 22,893,234 individuals, had completed their Covid-19 vaccinations as of yesterday.According to the CovidNow portal, 99% or 23,175,181 adults have received at least one dose of vaccine.In terms of teenagers, 90.8% or 2,858,992 individuals have received at least one dose of vaccine while 88% or 2,770,412 have completed their vaccination.A total of 255,384 vaccine doses were dispensed yesterday – 3,170 as second doses, 2,016 as first shots and 250,198 as booster jabs.This brings the total number of vaccine doses administered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to 60,035,273, including 8,539,533 booster jabs.


Ambiga slams Anwar's 'green light' for ministers to 'bring in family'

Former Malaysian Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan today slammed recent remarks by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that Cabinet members are prohibited from giving salaries or rewards from government allocations to family members if they are appointed as advisers or officials, following his move last month to name his daughter to such a position.
"A green light for all ministers to bring in family!" Ambiga said in a Twitter post.
Anwar's move to appoint his eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, as his senior economic and finance adviser, had sparked debate and accusations of cronyism and nepotism due, among others, to his stand against such matters during his time in the opposition.
Anwar defended the move, stressing that Nurul's appointment was on a pro bono basis.
He also said that she was qualified for the role despite not having a suitable economics background.
He said that he wanted Nurul to help the government, including by ensuring a transparent administration and the proper award of government tenders.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, he said Nurul would never abuse her position, reiterating that she was not getting paid for her work.
"There is no possibility of her using that position to amass wealth and influence decisions on tenders, contracts or projects.
"Yes, I need her expertise to assist me, but let me emphasise that she is there to protect and pursue the agenda of good governance and incorruptibility.
"Thus, I take a strong position against those who have criticised the appointment, particularly those who have awarded billions or hundreds of millions of ringgit of contracts to their sons or sons-in-law, or cronies, when they were in power," he said.
Anwar also said he respected the views of those concerned that Nurul might use her position for personal and family benefits.
"I can assure you that will not happen under my administration," he said.
Nurul, who lost her Permatang Pauh seat in the recent polls, said her appointment took effect on Jan 3.
She said her experience as an MP would come in handy when engaging with "experts in navigating economic governance, accountability and evidence-based policies".


Doctors launch foray on TikTok in mission against fake news

For Dr Samhan Awang, each day at work is packed to the brim. From the moment he sets foot in Klinik Perubatan Hijraa Chendering, Kuala Terengganu, to the moment he can finally go home, he tends to patients with a myriad of health concerns.On particularly busy days, he treats patients with life-threatening illnesses and, if need be, makes house calls to provide medical attention for patients who cannot make their way to his clinic.At 34, Samhan is no stranger to the pressures and busyness of the medical profession.Now, though, he has another role to play as well. He is also a content creator on popular video-sharing platform TikTok, a job he has held since December last year.Every day, he creates and posts at least two videos on any health topic, from dealing with period cramps to tackling post-partum depression.His clips have received an enthuastic response from viewers – the good doctor currently has some 544,700 followers.His most popular video to date, a step-by-step guide on how to ease back pain, has been viewed more than 8.7 million times.Samhan, who previously dispatched medical advice on Twitter and Facebook as well, said TikTok posts require much more work.For one, the platform imposes a time limit of 60 seconds per clip. This means that Samhan has to cram as much information as he can into just one minute.This is often impossible for something as complex as medical advice.“Currently, I do my videos in multiple parts to ensure that no important details are missing,” Samhan told MalaysiaNow.“But it is still advisable for viewers to read up on the matter.”And while he is working to improve his videos, he knows that some explanations could be better presented.He does his best to post two to three videos each day, but this depends on his schedule at the clinic.On why he persists in his digital endeavours despite his already significant workload, Samhan said he believes it is important to educate the public about health issues, especially given the wealth of misinformation readily available online.“My ultimate goal is to educate and correct this misinformation to help the public understand the reasoning behind medical advice, and to help them be more compliant to treatment.”So far, he appears to be succeeding. His videos have an average of over 200,000 views.Samhan is not alone in his efforts to dispel the clouds of misinformation online.Dr Tai Weng Yew of Poliklinik Tan in Baling, Kedah, has been busy creating videos as well. His most popular clip, about the signs of high cholesterol, was posted just this month. It has so far been viewed nearly 600,000 times.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said it is important to have medical experts on the platform to expose the truth about fake news that goes viral on social media.“When we have doctors on social media to talk about health, it can boost people’s confidence in the topic,” he said.Tai has 20,370 followers on TikTok. Like Samhan, he said it can be difficult to explain medical issues which makes it especially important to focus on the essential details to avoid further misinformation.“It’s difficult to fit every piece of information in one video,” he said. “People have to understand, there are a thousand ways to inform people about certain topics. Even doctors can give false information.”His advice is to stick with the simplest explanation.“The most important thing is to always get your facts correct.”Dr Nadzirah Abdullah, an aesthetician, said misinformation abounds about beauty products as well. It was her concern over harmful skin whitening products that go viral online which spurred her to join TikTok.“These harmful beauty products are cheap but they cause more harm than good,” she said. “It seems that everyone wants to look fair, but for me, having healthy skin is better.”Now, Nadzirah has over 48,700 followers.She said each video she posts requires extensive planning with her team to ensure that fake news is not spread even further.“Usually I spend two days a week planning and recording the videos with my team,” she said.“I only put the important points so the clips may be short, but they are also informative.”She urged social media users to always check their sources of information, especially when the matter at hand relates to their health.


Seventh Covid-19 cluster detected in Sabah

Another Covid-19 cluster has been reported in Semporna, Sabah, making it the seventh cluster in the state.Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said five positive cases had been detected so far in the new Bangau-Bangau cluster – cases 10,340 to 10,344, comprising four Malaysians and a foreigner.“This cluster was identified via screenings of patients being treated at the Semporna hospital. They were all asymptomatic and are now being treated in the same hospital,” he said in a press conference in Putrajaya today.He said 97 people from the cluster have been screened so far, 92 of whom are awaiting their results.The source of infection remains under investigation.However, Noor Hisham said preventive measures including disinfection and cleaning had been carried out, adding that services at the Semporna hospital are running as usual.


Toll mounts as Brazil storm rescuers retrieve more bodies

Rescue workers pulled more bodies Saturday from the muddy wreckage left by devastating floods and landslides in the Brazilian city of Petropolis, where the death toll rose to 146, including 26 children.In a dense fog, workers dug with spades and shovels through the rubble and muck as the search churned through its fifth day with little hope of finding more survivors.An AFP photographer saw rescuers carrying out two recovered corpses in body bags in the hard-hit neighborhood of Alto da Serra, as relatives sobbed in the street.In the heart of the disaster zone, rescue workers occasionally blew loud whistles to call for silence and listen for signs of life.But authorities say there is little hope at this point of finding survivors from Tuesday’s torrential rains.The downpour turned streets to gushing rivers in the picturesque city in the southeastern mountains, and triggered landslides in poor hillside neighborhoods that wiped out virtually everything in their path.Officials say 24 people have been rescued alive, but that came mostly in the early hours after the tragedy.Rio de Janeiro state police said 218 people remained missing as of late Friday.Meanwhile, 91 of the 146 bodies recovered so far have been identified, according to the police.Many of the missing may be among the unidentified bodies. But the numbers have been hazy, and it is difficult to know how high the death toll could go.President Jair Bolsonaro, who flew over the disaster zone Friday by helicopter, said the city was suffering from “enormous destruction, like scenes of war.”Tuesday’s was the latest in a series of deadly storms to hit Brazil, which experts say are made worse by climate change.In the past three months, at least 198 people have died in severe rains, mainly in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo and the northeastern state of Bahia, as well as Petropolis.‘Little by little’Normal life has been slow to return to central Petropolis, a charming tourist town that was the 19th-century summer capital of the Brazilian empire.Staff were busy cleaning out shops in the city center, where little was open besides essential businesses such as supermarkets and pharmacies.One bookstore owner had to dump her entire stock of water-logged books in the street.“They were stocked in the basement. It filled with water all the way up to the ceiling,” said Sandra Correa Neto, 52, her thousands of books waiting for the city’s overloaded sanitation workers to collect them.“We’re so sad to lose all these books. We can’t even donate them, they’re too damaged. It pains me,” she told AFP.Elsewhere in the city center, family members cried as rescue workers dug through the ruins of a collapsed house, looking for the mother of a family of four.The father and two children’s bodies had already been recovered.In the Alto da Serra neighborhood, atop the worst landslide, rescue workers in bright orange uniforms kept up a slow, dogged search alongside exhausted residents looking for their missing loved ones.Authorities say the mountain of mud and rubble is unstable, so the search is being carried out with hand tools and chainsaws at the hardest-to-reach spots.It would be too dangerous to bring in the excavators being used in less difficult zones near the bottom of the hillside, said Roberto Amaral, coordinator of the local fire department’s special rescue group.“It’s impossible to bring in heavy machinery up here, so we basically have to work like ants, going little by little,” he told AFP.A sobering series of funerals, meanwhile, continued at the city’s main cemetery, where 90 victims have been buried so far – 44 on Saturday alone.


The truth behind Malaysia’s stock market rally

The recent stock market rally, even as the country grapples with political and economic uncertainty, could be a reflection of the positive forecasts for Asian markets with strong support from oil and technology stocks.The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) has rallied higher for five straight sessions, gaining more than 80 points.It now trends above the 1,565 resistance point and is looking positive for investors.But while some politicians attribute this to the change in leadership, the truth is perhaps much further.As a crude petroleum exporter, Malaysia’s financial markets are greatly influenced by oil prices.Oil has been back on the upswing, with the global benchmark price climbing above US$70 a barrel, leading to positive sentiment in the local bourse.In addition, there is increasing confidence in the supply-demand picture, keeping prices aloft and boosting investor confidence.For much of the past two years, crude petroleum has moved on two factors: the spread of Covid-19 and the decisions of Opec and its allies about whether to increase or decrease production.But the current rally hardly makes up for the years of outflow and losses incurred.Malaysia’s stock market has logged an astounding 25 straight months of outflow and lags against regional peers, falling 8% so far this year while benchmarks in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore have gained roughly 1%, 5% and 11% respectively.The country’s economic slowdown over the past decade can be narrowed down to a few key points, namely the 1MDB fiasco, the ensuing political instability, Covid-19 and poor government policies.The role of the 1MDB scandal is evident from the correlation between the outflow of foreign funds and the change in FBM KLCI between 2014 and 2020.But there is also the question of the perception of political stability, especially after the outbreak of Covid-19.From the start, the government had been forced to fight the pandemic while struggling to survive successive campaigns to topple it amid its razor thin majority.There are also questions about whether the current KLCI rally is the turnaround widely hoped for, or merely sentiment-driven.Foreigners hold an estimated 40% of Malaysia’s sovereign debt, so investors’ perception matters.Foreign money has been flowing out of the country as the pandemic and political instability delayed economic planning and stalled attempts at institutional reforms.Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s move to reach out to his opposition, while it will give some semblance of political stability, is unlikely to change the market perception that the country’s political landscape will remain fractured, with policy uncertainties set to remain a problem.For the time being, a new prime minister can do little to ensure political stability.Whether Malaysia’s financial market rally can be sustained is yet to be seen, but it would be superficial to attribute it to a change in government, for example, when the factors that contribute to past political uncertainties are still at play.The good news however is in the successful vaccination campaign. With herd immunity soon within reach, economic sectors will start looking up again.


Mahathir says Muhyiddin failed to heed advice on accepting Umno

Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said he was not surprised by threats from several Umno leaders to quit the ruling bloc, saying he had advised Muhyiddin Yassin against forming an alliance with them.“You depend on them. If they pull back, you are finished. But he said he could handle the problem,” Mahathir, whose resignation last February triggered a political crisis which saw Muhyiddin forming a new government in the following month, told reporters at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya today.Mahathir said his only advice to Muhyiddin now would be to resign.Following his resignation, Mahathir had proposed the formation of a unity government transcending party lines.However, Umno said its MPs would only join a new government en bloc, leading to a power vacuum which lasted for days.A group of Umno leaders aligned with party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak has been threatening to bring the party out of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.Yesterday, the Umno Supreme Council said a motion on this would be debated at the party’s general assembly late this month.Mahathir today also questioned the Registrar of Societies’ decision to reject an application to register his Pejuang bloc as a political party.Pejuang is made up of a small group of MPs and former Bersatu leaders who broke ranks with Muhyiddin last year.Mahathir said they would appeal against the decision, adding however that the home minister has the power to decide.“As such, it has gone from an administrative matter to something that is political,” he said.He also accused the authorities of bias, saying the registration for the PN coalition was approved within three days.


WHO virus mission to China in disarray as entry denied

An expert mission to China to find the origins of the coronavirus pandemic stumbled before it even began, with the head of the World Health Organization complaining that Beijing was blocking the team from entering the country.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “very disappointed” with the last-minute bar on entry, in a rare castigation of Beijing from the United Nations body.A 10-strong team was due to arrive in China this week after months of painstaking negotiations.Beijing is determined to control the origin story of the virus, which has killed more than 1.8 million people so far and laid waste to global economies.The first cases of the coronavirus were recorded in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, prompting accusations of chaotic, secretive handling by Chinese authorities which led to its spread beyond China.US President Donald Trump called the pandemic the “China virus”.But Beijing has so far resisted pressure for a full independent probe into the early days of the outbreak. Instead, it has seeded doubt as to whether the pandemic even started inside its borders.The WHO mission was billed as a way to cut through the rancour and seek clear answers on how the virus jumped from animals to humans.But with some of the team already in transit, Beijing had yet to grant them entry, the WHO chief said.“Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team’s arrivals in China,” Tedros told reporters on Tuesday.“I am very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute.”He stressed that he had been in contact with senior Chinese officials to make clear “that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team”.“I have been assured that China is speeding up the internal procedure for the earliest possible deployment,” Tedros added.The mission was hugely sensitive and neither the WHO nor China had until now confirmed when specifically it was due to start.WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told Tuesday’s briefing that the problem was a lack of visa clearances.“We trust and we hope that this is just a (logistical) and bureaucratic issue that can be resolved very quickly.”There was no immediate comment from China.‘Critical mission’ “We were all operating on the on the understanding that the team would begin deployment today,” he said, adding that two members of the team coming from far away had set off early Tuesday, before it became clear that the necessary approvals had not been received.He stressed the “absolute critical nature” of the mission, acknowledging that the situation was “frustrating and… disappointing”.The origins of Covid-19 remain bitterly contested, lost in a fog of recriminations and conjecture from the international community – as well as obfuscation from Chinese authorities determined to keep control of the virus narrative.Scientists initially believed the virus jumped to humans at a market selling exotic animals for meat in the city of Wuhan.But experts now think the market may not have been the origin of the outbreak, but rather a place where it was amplified.It is widely assumed that the virus originally came from bats, but the intermediate animal host that transmitted it between bats and humans remains unknown.


How not to topple a govt: Najib’s mother of all failures

Many years from now, students of political science will be able to learn about Najib Razak’s manoeuvres over the last year in a case study aptly titled, “How not to topple the government”.For months leading up to Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation, Najib had been crooning about how to manage the Covid-19 crisis and how the government’s handling of the unprecedented global pandemic that had brought the most advanced nations to their knees was an abject failure, or in his own words, “gagal segagal-gagalnya”.Today, as the nation witnesses the return of the Perikatan Nasional government that Najib and his ilk were so bent on overthrowing, this phrase that his spin-masters regurgitate in their every social media post can in turn be used on him.Since last October, Najib and his general Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, aided by none other than the man who would, could, might – but never did – become the prime minister, had been busy undermining every effort by the government to fight the pandemic.From predicting doom for Malaysia’s vaccination programme (“Bossku” said it would take more than six years for Malaysia to achieve herd immunity), to allowing sarcasm and smart aleck one-liners to fill his social media pages on an almost hourly basis, he did it all.But it was the announcement that he and his band of Umno MPs were revoking their support and declaring the government toppled at a time when various measures were critically needed to ensure the continued fight against the pandemic, that will forever remain Najib’s monument of miscalculation, for the want of a more polite word.Najib overrated himself in seeking to checkmate Muhyiddin, just as he overrated himself when faced with a 93-year-old man three years ago.Muhyiddin was the same man he sacked in 2016 and who took him down, hook, line and sinker, two years later.Someone who cannot handle a 30-something-year-old crook, who was unaware that an obscene amount of money belonging to other people had entered his personal bank accounts, and who has yet to explain the lorry-loads of jewellery and handbags kept by his wife, should have no delusions that he can outplay a man who has proven himself a comeback kid not once, not twice, but now three times.When it comes to coups, Najib should have taken lessons from a certain living example.It was the late indomitable Karpal Singh who after one such failed attempt, told this certain person, as well as leaders from his own party DAP, to repent of creating “enough problems for the country”.Right now, that advice applies to Najib too, alongside MPs and self-styled human rights activists who went on for months on end about a failed government at a time when the administration was desperately seeking to jumpstart the economy and ensure the success of the vaccination drive, and at a time when it had offered a historic chance to implement wide-ranging reforms that would have reset the country after the systematic destruction of the 1980s.It would do Najib good not to add to the 42 criminal charges he already faces the crime of undermining efforts to save the country.He proved an abject failure in managing the country’s finances to the embarrassment of Malaysians, and is now an abject failure in helping the nation weather the pandemic.Abdar Rahman Koya is CEO & editor of MalaysiaNow.


Bersih chairmen, present and past, welcome ERC advice on electoral reforms

Bersih 2.0 has hailed the recommendations put forth by the committee appointed by Putrajaya to look into reforming the electoral system, calling for the suggestions to be made public in order to foster debate and gather feedback from various parties.“It will also indirectly convey the message to voters that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is committed to implementing reforms which will benefit the electorate in a fair contest,” the electoral watchdog’s chairman Thomas Fann told MalaysiaNow.The Electoral Reform Committee (ERC), formed by the previous Pakatan Harapan government to address weaknesses in the electoral system, made 49 recommendations in a report submitted to Putrajaya in August this year.Last week, its chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman expressed confidence that all 49 recommendations would be implemented.Thomas Fann.MalaysiaNow previously reported that the more radical of the ERC’s suggestions include a recommendation for the federal government to be chosen through a proportional representation system instead of the current first-past-the-post (FPTP) method which has been used since independence.It suggested the Closed List Proportional Representation system, saying the FPTP method could be maintained for state assemblies.Fann agreed with the proposal for a mixed system at the parliamentary level as the number of seats won would be determined by the total votes obtained by each political party.“This method will also improve the representation of women and minorities and give opportunities to small parties in elections,” he said.He also supported the recommendation to boost the credibility of the Election Commission (EC) through the separation of roles such as formulating policies and enforcing election rules, operations and logistics, as well as matters concerning constituency boundaries.“This is another suggestion that could bring about an electoral agency that is more independent and responsible in the fulfilment of its duties.“It will also boost public confidence in election results,” he said.Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah said the proposal that EC members be appointed through a parliamentary select committee would improve trust in the agency.Maria Chin Abdullah.“Criteria and qualifications need to be set,” she said, adding that there should be a limit to how long a member can serve.Under the current practice, EC members only end their service after reaching the age of 65.“EC members can be limited according to the term of office in the Dewan Rakyat, that is five years,” Maria, a former Bersih 2.0 chairman herself, told MalaysiaNow.She also called for the electoral roll to be put in order three months before a general election is held.“This issue has created problems for a long time,” she said. “Until now, the voter list is still all over the place.”Maria agreed with the ERC’s recommendation for a code of ethics for each candidate and political party as is the practice in countries such as India.“Part 3 S7-10 of the Election Offences Act needs to be strengthened,” she added.“Political financing laws should be established so that bribery and the like are brought to a halt and considered a criminal act.”In its report submitted to Putrajaya, the ERC also suggested the removal of the age-old guessing game on the dissolution of Parliament as well as state assemblies, the automatic registration of voters, a limit on the number of seats a candidate can contest, and greater participation from women.


I’m no dragon, crocodile, lion or tiger, says Melaka BN chief

Melaka Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Ab Rauf Yusoh has rejected the label of “dragon, crocodile, lion or tiger in Melaka” given to him, saying he is merely a “humble” leader who is working hard to ensure victory for the party.Rauf, who has been accused of playing “big brother” and overshadowing former chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali, said people could have misunderstood his responsibility and tried to create a negative perception of him.“I am viewed as such because I am driving the party with the aim of winning the Melaka state election. I reject this perception with an open heart. However, as a leader I can’t escape criticism, and I regard this as the political game of certain quarters,” the Melaka Umno chairman told Bernama TV in an exclusive interview today.Rauf, the BN candidate in the hot seat of Tanjung Bidara, said those who were playing up this issue were being irresponsible not only to themselves but also to the people and Melaka.He did not rule out the possibility that this allegation on his character was propagated by people who were eyeing the chief minister’s post.“This issue was played up by a frustrated person who could not be renominated for the chief minister post because he was played out after being used to topple the state government,” he added.Rauf said as the state Umno chief he was seen as being close to Sulaiman, who is state Umno secretary, but added that he knew his boundaries and never interfered in the state administration.“I respect the boundaries because to me, a state government complete with the state exco structure would definitely understand the function of the state administration,” he said.Rauf is involved in a three-cornered fight with Perikatan Nasional’s Masjid Tanah MP Mas Ermieyati Samsudin and Zainal Hassan of Pakatan Harapan. Md Rawi Mahmud of BN won the seat in the last general election.Early voting is on Nov 16 and polling is set for Nov 20.


French woman who killed rapist husband spared more jail time

A French woman who killed her rapist husband was spared any more jail time Friday in a case that has become a rallying cause for feminists.Valerie Bacot, who shot her husband Daniel Polette dead in 2016, was sentenced to a four-year term with three years suspended.But she walked free from the court in Saone-et-Loire in eastern France as she had already served a year in pre-trial detention.The verdict was met with thunderous applause in the courtroom, and some of Bacot’s friends and family burst into tears.Announcing the jury’s decision, judge Celine Therme said the court had recognised the “terror” that Bacot had endured for years.Prosecutors had told the court that the 40-year-old should not go back to prison, as she was “very clearly a victim” of her tyrannical husband.Bacot was just 12 when Polette, her mother’s boyfriend at the time, first raped her.He was imprisoned after the initial rape but continued to abuse Bacot after he was released, and she became pregnant when she was 17.Bacot’s alcoholic mother threw her out of the house and she was forced to live with Polette, who later coerced her into sex work.Bacot, who confessed to shooting 61-year-old Polette and hiding his body in a forest with the help of two of her children, published a book last month about her experiences, “Everyone Knew”.Her case has become a feminist cause celebre in France at a time when more women are breaking their silence on sexual assault.“I want to thank the court,” Bacot said as she walked free, sounding frail.“It’s a new fight now for all the other women and all the abuse,” she said, adding that she felt “empty” rather than relieved.State prosecutor Eric Jallet earlier told the court: “Valerie Bacot should not have taken the life of the person who was terrorising her.”But judges should “uphold the transgression without incarcerating her again”, he said.A visibly fatigued Bacot had collapsed upon hearing the prosecutor’s request, prompting an intervention of emergency personnel and a brief suspension of the hearing.‘I had nobody’More than 700,000 people signed a petition demanding that Bacot, who had risked life in prison, be cleared.She told the court how she had felt trapped into staying with her abuser.“I wanted to keep my child. I had nobody. Where could I go?” she said.Polette became increasingly violent, attacking her with a hammer at one point, and forced her to work as a prostitute for truck drivers in the back of a van.Polette threatened to kill her and the children if she left him, pointing a gun at her many times. Bacot described her life as an “extreme hell”.‘This has to stop’When he started questioning their 14-year old daughter Karline about her budding sexuality, Bacot said she decided that “this has to stop”.In March 2016, after Polette ordered Bacot to undergo yet another sexual humiliation by a client, she shot her husband with his own gun.Bacot said she wanted to make sure her daughter would not suffer the same fate that she had.A court-ordered expert evaluation found that Bacot was “certain that she needed to commit this act to protect her children”.Bacot hid the body in a forest but in October 2017 she was arrested, and later released on bail.Her lawyers, Janine Bonaggiunta and Nathalie Tomasini, previously defended Jacqueline Sauvage, a French woman who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing her abusive husband.Sauvage won a presidential pardon in 2016 after becoming a symbol for the fight to stop violence against women.Tomasini said that Friday’s verdict, while allowing Bacot to walk free, was still too harsh.“How can society ask Valerie Bacot for redress, when it did not know how to protect her?” she said.Tomasini listed a “chain of dysfunctions” that prevented authorities from protecting Bacot, including the fact that relatives had twice tried to alert the police, in vain.Violence against women has become an increasingly prominent political issue in France, where cases of women being murdered by their partners have repeatedly grabbed the headlines in recent years.Hundreds of women staged a protest in Paris on Friday against what they said was government inaction on the issue, carrying signs that read “silence is killing us”.


What Undi 18 voters want at GE15

The 15th general election (GE15) is expected to provide a clearer picture of the impact of including in the electorate the so-called Undi 18 voters or those aged 18 to 21 – over a million strong who are eligible to cast their ballots on Nov 19.
While both Undi 18 and the automatic registration of voters have been gazetted since Dec 15 last year, questions remain over the extent to which the group is ready to face the ballot box.
Data previously released by the Election Commission showed a total of 21,173,658 registered voters for GE15, of which 6.58% or nearly 1.4 million are in the 18 to 21 age group.
While this figure is less significant than the number of voters aged 30 to 39 – 22.11% or almost 4.7 million – the Undi 18 voters have been a subject of interest, partly due to speculation over how they will cast their votes.
Analysts say it is difficult to predict their voting pattern as the youth have no party loyalties, unlike those in the older generation.
Nevertheless, conversations with Undi 18 voters in the Klang Valley have found that many of them are in fact ready for election day.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, they pointed to social media as their main platform for information and updates on the world of politics.
Some of them said they began developing an interest in politics about two years ago, while sharing their views on the ideal representative or leader.
R Sivaharriharann, 19, will cast his vote for the parliamentary constituency of Tampin.
The university student says he will not vote for any representative known for seat-hopping.
For him, the ideal representative must be up to date on the problems facing his or her constituents, so that these issues can be brought to the Dewan Rakyat.
"If he or she is forever changing seats, how can this be done?" he said.
"It's better if the candidate is a local, who knows what is really going on among the people."
At the other end of the spectrum is Azri Syahmi Azhar, 19. Azri, who is registered to vote in Bangi, says he has no qualms about representatives who hop about, describing the act as a normal part of political strategies.
He says it is the responsibility of MPs to come up with policies, adding that constituencies should have committees to hear the complaints of the people and take the appropriate action.
"I'm not going to vote based on parties," he said. "I will vote for the candidate whom I believe is of the best calibre and worthy of representing the voice of the community."
Muhammad Nur Aswad Jamel, 19, hopes that parties will field more new faces, especially from among the younger generation.
Other main criteria include the candidate's ability to fulfil the promises made before election day.
"I'm not a fan of leaders who keep forming new parties," he added.
"They should instead clean things up to prove their initiative to bring about change for the good of the people."
Nur Aswad, who will vote in the Tangga Batu constituency in Melaka, also believes that leaders, especially those who are nominated as candidates for prime minister, must be individuals of integrity who are not embroiled in corruption.


2 new groups qualify for bankruptcy discharge after amendment to Insolvency Act

The amendment to the Insolvency Act 1967 will allow two more categories of bankrupt individuals to qualify for discharge through the director-general of insolvency's certificate of discharge without going through debtors'objections, Minister in Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman said.
The amendment involves Article 8, Subsection 33B (2A) with the inclusion of the two categories, individuals who cannot manage themselves due to mental illness confirmed by a government hospital psychiatric expert and individuals aged 70 and above based on the opinion and consideration of the director general, as Paragraphs (e) and (f).
"The amendment is in line with the government's intention to preserve the welfare of bankrupts. They no longer have the means to cooperate and contribute to the bankruptcy administration.
"The factor of public interest also needs to be considered as bankruptcy involves public funds that need to be optimised," she said when tabling the Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2023 at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
She added that Article 15 of the bill has a provision on the use of Paragraph 33B(2A) (e) and (f) for bankruptcy cases managed before the amendment is effective retrospectively. Therefore, after the amendment is passed, 19,913 bankrupts aged 70 and above qualify to be considered for discharge through the director general's certificate if they fulfil the set conditions, Azalina said.
She added that the suggested amendment for Section 33C Article 8 of the bill is aimed to assist bankrupt individuals to be discharged automatically in a short period, between three to five years, by lightening the payment conditions without neglecting the interests of debtors.
The amendment will ensure that bankruptcy administration can be conducted effectively taking into consideration the interests of the public, bankrupts and debtors, she said.
Key suggested amendments for Section 33C include the replacement of conditions of targeted amount settlement for acknowledging debts with payment conditions determined by the director-general based on the bankrupt’s financial capabilities.
"Also, the provision of new powers for the director general to suspend automatic discharge for a period not more than two years if the bankrupt does not fulfil his obligations under the act, as well as the authority to ask the bankrupt individual to provide further information on income, expected income and property," she added.


Frustrated customers chase AirAsia for refunds

Dave and his wife Natalie were originally from South Africa but spent 11 years living in Cambodia.During that time, they often chose AirAsia for travel due to its more affordable prices.In 2019, they booked a flight from Phnom Penh to Sri Lanka. However, when Covid-19 struck in December of that year, the flight was cancelled.With no refund available, Dave and Natalie were left with just one option: ticket credit to be used on their next flight. The problem with that was that they were preparing to move back to South Africa for good – and AirAsia does not operate in South Africa.They made many attempts to contact AirAsia but none succeeded. They only received automated replies from the company’s virtual chatbox system, AirAsia Virtual Allstar or Ava.“We tried using Ava to ask about a refund, but it’s just a bot that gives automated responses and it doesn’t help at all,” Dave said.Last week, Natalie tried a different approach: using the AirAsia Super App on Messenger. She eventually managed to talk to someone online, and the person in charge assured her of a response within three days.“After two hours, we received an automated response,” Dave said. “It said our request was declined without giving any further reason.”This means that despite their best efforts, Dave and Natalie will lose US$800 (about RM3,348).AirAsia was one of thousands of airlines around the world hit by cancellations during the Covid-19 crisis. But while many of these airlines have offered their customers refunds for their tickets, would-be passengers like Dave and Natalie who were grounded due to Covid-19 are unhappy with AirAsia’s credit policy.AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes had assured in April that some 450,000 customers waiting for refunds would be repaid despite the airline’s cash problems due to Covid-19.It said since January last year, some 1.5 million people had received refunds while 2.9 million accepted credit accounts in exchange for money.The company recently announced RM887 million in net loss for its third quarter ended Sept 30, up from RM851.8 million in the same quarter last year, pushing the total net loss for the first nine months of this year to RM2.23 billion.In a bourse filing, it said the losses were due to investments in technology including its efforts to boost its super app and Teleport, its cargo division.AirAsia spokesman Nik Adina Taty said the airline’s refund policies are in line with those of many operators in the global travel industry.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, she said the company is also fully compliant with all regulatory requirements in each of the regions where it operates.She also said that many other low-cost airlines are in the same situation, with refunds on the slow side due to the prolonged effect of the Covid-19 crisis.“We keep guests updated frequently with emails regarding their refund status, and guests are also able to check the status of their refund via Ava.“They also can view the status of their request in My Cases, accessible through the BIG Member Account either on the website or the AirAsia Super App,” she said, adding that ticket credit for future travel is valid for up to three years.But for Abhilash, an Indian national studying at Davao Medical School Foundation Inc in the Philippines, ticket credit is useless as his options for travel are limited due to his studyload.He was one of a number of medical students who had excitedly booked a flight home for their Christmas vacation. However, their hopes were crushed when, two days later, their flight was cancelled for operational reasons.Abhilash had paid about 53,000 PHP (RM4,377) for his ticket. He contacted AirAsia to ask for a refund but received no response.“After several emails and customer service chats, they said that they can’t refund the money and forced me to get the credit account to book other flights in the future, which will be of no use for me as I won’t be travelling after December 2021 due to my studies,” he said.He and his fellow students tried asking to speak with a member of the AirAsia staff instead of a bot, but their efforts ended in failure.Adina defended the Ava bot, saying it is available through multiple AirAsia contact channels and in 15 different languages, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.“Currently more than 90% of enquiries and requests can be successfully resolved by Ava, and should a customer need further assistance, they are transferred to a live agent during our operating hours of 6am until 11pm daily,” she said.But as advanced as Ava is, customers often prefer to speak to a real person when dealing with questions and detailed explanations.Earlier this year, the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) revealed that AirAsia had received the lion’s share of complaints in the second half of 2020 with 75.8% lodged compared with other airlines.Perlita and her family were supposed to fly back from Australia to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah to attend a cousin’s wedding. However, their flight was cancelled due to Covid-19.While the rest of her family received a refund for their tickets, Perlita was only offered a list of options including the credit account for which she eventually settled.Her sister received her refund the day after she requested it, but her brother is still waiting for his although his request was accepted.Perlita meanwhile was left thoroughly confused as to why only her request was rejected.“At first, they told me that my ticket was not eligible for a refund but the cancellation of the flight was not my fault.“I even told them this happened before the Covid lockdown, and I lodged my request before they implemented the mandatory credit account policy, but they said it doesn’t matter at what date I lodged my request,” she said.When she contacted the airline, she was told that a credit account had already been made for her, and that there was nothing else they could do.“I know the amount doesn’t seem as much as what others have lost, but for me as a single parent, it is not a sum that I can easily cough up,” she said.Many frustrated customers have turned to a private Facebook group created early this year where nearly 800 passengers seeking refunds are trying to get their money back.Another Facebook group has almost 600 members, some of whom say they have waited for years with no definite answers given.Adina said disruptions occur with all airlines from time to time, and that AirAsia works hard to keep these to a minimum.When a disruption does occur, she said, the airline notifies guests as quickly as possible through email or message, and provides the relevant alternative travel provisions.“Our priority is to consistently provide the very best in terms of safe, affordable, and reliable air travel,” she said.Still, hundreds continue to complain about their experiences.“I feel that AirAsia is ripping people off,” Dave said. “We use the airline because we can’t afford more costly carriers, and this is how they treat us.“I know we shouldn’t paint everyone with the same brush but from now on I will be very hesitant to do business with any Malaysian company if this is how we will be treated.”


Sorry.


Kak Juwita and lessons on identity

A line of sweat streams down Kak Juwita’s heavily rouged face. Dressed in a black two-piece, her wavy hair parted to the left, she is the picture of glamour but her anxiety and longing to be somewhere else is palpable even through the drizzle in Kuala Lumpur.She fans herself as I nervously ask her questions.“Tanyalah apa-apa, akak jawab,” she says, her feminine intonations overlaid with a subtle tenor tone.Her invitation puts me at ease although I still scramble while figuring out what questions to ask her.Trans-sex workers are always approachable. Perhaps it is somewhat ingrained in them, as a way to attract potential customers if their physical appearance is not enough. An aloof demeanour is only reserved for those who can catch men through a glance alone. Pacing walkways and waiting at stairs are the routine of street-based sex workers.“Apa asal usul kau dulu?” she asks me. She does not mean my place of origin or my upbringing, but my being.It is not often that the interviewer gets interviewed, but I welcomed it.Before I was able to answer, unaware of the true depth of her question, she replied herself, speaking of identity and “jiwa”.She was only in primary school when she was first exposed to sexual misdemeanour. Her remarks on this experience were nonchalant and short on detail. She was simply too young when it all started.But a sexual lifestyle is not sexual nature. Young Juwita was aware of her effeminacy, and so was her family. She was raised in a religious family with a patriarch overlooking the rituals of the Muslim household.Nevertheless, her femininity remained unwavering in the face of beliefs. She could not lie to herself, even though she was perhaps unable to follow through with her need to express herself.“Aku tak rogol perempuan, perempuan yang nak rogol aku.”Her joke evoked roars of laughter that broke the otherwise grim nature of the walkway. But it was also to recollect the nature of her adolescence.The fad of feminine-looking men was around even in the 90s. Girls were pulling her left and right, but she knew even then that they were not what she wanted. She was never keen on looking at the femininity of others or womanliness other than the ideal she wished for herself. Once the display of masculinity was shed, femininity manifested and her true self arose.Juwita revealed herself in her truest form when she turned 20 in the late 90s. She was attached to a club, a hostess and an exceptional figure as she was one of the few trans-women allowed to perform that role. Her nightly task was to necessitate the desire of club-goers, and she was good at it. But her time there was short-lived as the club closed down just two years after she joined.Her next 23 years were spent in various parts of Kuala Lumpur, but her identity remained singular: that of a trans-sex worker. There are few options for trans-individuals due to the discriminatory nature of society, but many do not understand the condition and nature of their being.Some may be kind enough to show compassion and refrain from stone-throwing, but they are the minority who can do little to improve conditions for trans-individuals.Thus, Juwita’s nature as a trans-individual was synonymous with sex work. She frequented the Chow Kit and Bukit Bintang areas in the early days of her sex work life, but later settled in an unnamed walkway in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, citing comfort and security as her reasons.Juwita was never a devout Muslim. Her birth and upbringing were constantly filled with teaching but this was shown less concern than that of being a fully formed woman. The thought of turning to God never arose much as she lived her life and fed herself with the findings of the night, until it budded after the death of the family of the patriarch.“Walaupun ayah akak dah meninggal 7-8 tahun lepas, akak masih rasakan macam ayah akak masih hidup.”The constant thoughts instilled in her daily prayers embalmed her father in her memory. With these prayers, her identity as a Muslim resurfaced and strengthened as the nature of belief that would lead her in life.Since her father’s death, her life has been in pursuit of goodness. It was never easy as a trans-individual, but she did not find herself conflicted over her nature as a trans-woman and her identity as a Muslim. If being effeminate was what was supposed of her, then so be it, and let the discourse of the people not limit her discourse with God.She was proud of her journey in striving to perfect her beliefs. Although she was still a sex worker, she did not feel that this diminished her relationship with God.“Kalau kau tengok akak waktu pagi, kau tak akan kenal akak,” she said in an allusion to the dual identity she sees in herself.Her dawns after her nights as a sex worker are spent in prostration and the contemplation of scriptures. Prayers are never missed, even as she prepares to occupy her usual spot.She plans to put an end to her work as a sex worker as she became more reluctant to live her lifestyle with her changed understanding and given the connotation of her work. It is now her nature to shy away from what she was before.Juwita’s life is a culmination of selves that surfaced in various periods of her life. Her identity is the intersection of her many natures. But this is not the only variable in her life. The nature of societal norms bound her to the places she had been, those she is still in, and those she will be in.What about our nature? Will we make it a crime to express our being? Will individuals be made to identify themselves against their own jiwa for what we deem best for all of us? Will we continue to be the way we have been, and what we are now?Until we figure out how to inch closer to an answer, semoga kita terus berbakti.


Zahid gives statement to PAC on non-delivery of combat ships

Former defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today gave his statement and explanation to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the failure of the defence ministry (Mindef) to supply six second-generation littoral combat ships (LCS) costing RM9 billion.PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh said Zahid, the MP for Bagan Datuk, who was the defence minister from April 10, 2009 to May 16, 2013, gave his statement for almost two hours on the issue, involving the biggest defence procurement in the ministry’s history.He said Zahid was the sixth witness called by PAC over the issue. Others included Mindef secretary-general Muez Abdul Aziz; former Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) chief General (Rtd) Abdul Aziz Jaafar and Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) chief operations officer Low Kok Chiang.“PAC views this issue seriously because until October 2020, RM6.083 billion had been paid out but none of the LCS had been completed although according to the schedule, two of the ships should have been built,” he said in a statement today.The issue was raised in the Auditor-General’s Report 2019 Series 1 (Compliance Auditing of Ministries/Federal Departments) and Governance, Procurement and Government Financial Committee Investigation Report, Prime Minister’s Department, published in 2019.Wong said to complete the investigation, PAC also plans to visit the LCS dockyard owned by BNS in Lumut, Perak, on a date yet to be fixed.


Boko Haram leader ‘kills self’ in fight with rival jihadists

Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau killed himself in a fight against rival jihadist fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) according to audio AFP obtained from the group Sunday, two weeks after reports emerged that he had died.His death marks a major shift in Nigeria’s 12-year-old jihadist insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million in the northeast.Boko Haram has not yet officially commented on the death of their leader while the Nigerian army said it was investigating the claim.“Shekau preferred to be humiliated in the hereafter to getting humiliated on Earth. He killed himself instantly by detonating an explosive,” said a voice resembling that of Iswap leader Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, speaking in the Kanuri language.The audio, which was not dated, was given to AFP by the same source who conveyed previous messages from the group.Iswap described in the audio how it sent fighters to Boko Haram’s enclave in the Sambisa forest, that they found Shekau sitting inside his house and engaged him in a firefight.“From there he retreated and escaped, ran and roamed the bushes for five days. However, the fighters kept searching and hunting for him before they were able to locate him,” the voice said.After finding him in the bush, Iswap fighters urged him and his followers to repent, the voice added, but Shekau refused and killed himself.“We are so happy,” the voice said, describing Shekau as “the big troublemaker, persecutor and destructive leader of the nation”.Iswap split from Boko Haram in 2016, objecting to Shekau’s indiscriminate targeting of Muslim civilians and use of women suicide bombers.Atrocities“This was someone who committed unimaginable terrorism and atrocities. For how long has he been leading people astray? How many times has he destroyed and abused people?” the voice said.In the past two years, Iswap emerged as the more dominant force in the region, carrying out large-scale attacks against the Nigerian military.As the group now looks to absorb Shekau’s fighters and territory, Nigeria’s army potentially faces a more unified jihadist force, analysts say.But Iswap may also struggle to control or persuade Boko Haram factions loyal to Shekau outside Sambisa, especially in border areas.“It may not be over yet,” one security source said. “Iswap will have to subdue or convince these camps to coalesce (them) into its fold to fully consolidate its control.”Jihadist infighting may present opportunities for Nigeria’s army to seize.But should Iswap absorb part of Shekau’s men and weapons, it might be in a position to cut off roads to and from the Borno state capital Maiduguri, said Peccavi Consulting, a risk group specialising in Africa.“If Iswap convinces Shekau’s forces to join them, they will be controlling the majority of the enemy forces as well as having a presence in most of the ungoverned spaces in the northeast,” it said in a note.Since 2019, Nigeria’s army has pulled out of villages and smaller bases to hunker down in so-called “supercamps”, a strategy critics say allows jihadists to roam free in rural areas.Following its takeover of Sambisa, Iswap sent messages to locals in the Lake Chad region, telling them they were welcome to its self-declared “caliphate”, said Sallau Arzika, a fisherman from Baga.Locals were chased out of the lake islands after Iswap accused them of spying for the military. Al-Barnawi said they could now return for fishing and trading after paying tax, with the assurance they would not be harmed, Arzika said.


Aussie borders could stay shut until late 2022, minister says

Australia is likely to remain shut to visitors until late 2022, the country’s trade and tourism minister said Friday, as another global coronavirus surge smashed hopes of a quick reopening.Minister Dan Tehan said a wave of cases on the Indian sub-continent showed Australia’s near blanket ban on arrivals was still essential to keep the country Covid-free.Since March 20, 2020, Australians have been barred from travelling overseas and a hard-to-get individual exemption is needed for foreign visitors to enter the country.It is “very hard to determine” when borders could reopen, Tehan told Sky News, “the best guess would be in the middle to the second half of next year”.Before the pandemic, around one million short-term visitors entered the country each month. That figure is now around 7,000.Anyone who does enter must undergo 14 days strict hotel quarantine.A recently established travel bubble with New Zealand has had mixed success, being paused for cities where the virus jumped from quarantine facilities before being contained.Australia has recorded 29,886 cases since the pandemic began. A large proportion were detected in hotel quarantine.Vaccination rollout has been slow, with just 2.5 million vaccines administered in a country of 25 million people, each needing two doses.The prospect of the country being closed for almost three years will come as a hammer blow to the US$40-billion-a-year tourism industry.“The hope would be that we might be able to see a few more bubbles set up and we’d be able to see more travel undertaken, but we’re in a pandemic,” he said.“It’s going to very much depend on how we are able to deal with the global pandemic.”


PM's daughter appointed as his 'senior adviser' on finance

The eldest daughter of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been appointed as senior adviser to her father on economics and finance.
Nurul Izzah Anwar, 42, revealed this in an interview with The Star, adding that the appointment took effect on Jan 3.
Nurul, who lost her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in the recent general election, said her experience as an MP would come in handy when engaging with "experts in navigating economic governance, accountability and evidence-based policies".
She said she had been busy meeting with business groups and stakeholders as part of the preparations for the upcoming budget, to be tabled by Anwar who is also the finance minister.
"The instruction from the PM was clear: talk to the rakyat and listen to their ideas, concerns, and expectations. They are the most important stakeholders of all," she added.


Fewer check-ups on potential lung cancer cases as people delay seeing doctors in pandemic

Medical experts are reporting an emerging and alarming side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.Cancer Research UK has found that during the pandemic fewer people are going to their GPs with symptoms of suspected cancer.Doctors and cancer NGOs are concerned that people who should come forward for lung cancer screening are not doing so because they think their symptoms indicate they may have Covid-19.November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Anand Sachithanandan tells MalaysiaNow that a persistent cough can be a symptom of Covid-19 but may equally be an early sign of lung cancer.Anand, who is Lung Cancer Network Malaysia president, emphasises that early detection of lung cancer can lead to more effective treatment and longer survival for patients.Lung cancer affects two million people globally each year. In Malaysia, it is the highest cause of cancer-related death in men, while for women it is the second highest cause, after breast cancer.“The world is still learning about the Covid-19 virus,” Anand says. “We know it predominantly attacks our airways and lungs, but also other organs.”He explains that the big emerging danger lies in people interpreting coughing as a symptom of Covid-19 or some other infection without taking into account how long the cough has lasted.“If you have a recurring, persistent and troublesome cough for at least two weeks you should see a GP or a lung specialist,” he says.In Malaysia, lung cancer is the highest cause of cancer-related death in men, while for women it is the second highest cause, after breast cancer.While there is insufficient local data in the Malaysian medical community to support calls to give equal priority to lung cancer screening during the pandemic, reports from the UK contain figures substantial enough to compel specialists such as Anand to bring this issue up.“With the movement control order, there are restrictions on hospital visits and admissions, and patients are understandably reluctant, but if you have suspicious symptoms that are worrying you, then you should seek treatment,” Anand says.“Doctors and hospitals should not defer these cases, because this pandemic is likely to be with us for another year. We cannot put other diseases on hold,” he says.“Because if you do have lung cancer, by this time next year it will have spread.”Globally, over 80% of Covid-19 cases are asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic, which underscores Anand’s advice that a check-up of any cough that has persisted for more than two weeks should not be deferred until the pandemic has subsided.Persistent coughing is far more common than other symptoms associated with lung cancer, such as unexplained weight loss, breathlessness or coughing up blood, which usually appear at more advanced stages.The problem with lung cancer, Anand explains, is that in its early stages it is usually a “silent killer” displaying no symptoms or only very mild non-specific symptoms.“The majority of coughs are benign,” he says. “But for smokers, who typically have a phlegm-rich cough in the mornings, I urge them to go for cancer screening if they notice a change in the nature of their coughs.”In the UK, a third of lung cancer patients have died since the start of the pandemic because they were told by doctors to stay home out of fears they had contracted Covid-19.Experts are now worrying that such numbers could roll back hard-won improvements made in cancer treatment and survival, simply because the pandemic is driving down the number of cancer sufferers coming forward for treatment.


Pharmaniaga to supply Sinovac booster jabs to designated private centres

Pharmaniaga Bhd will be supplying Sinovac Covid-19 booster doses to designated private hospitals and clinics soon, following the conditional approval by the Drug Control Authority (DCA) yesterday.Pharmaniaga Group managing director Zulkarnain Md Eusope said the vaccine will be available at selected private hospitals and clinics as an option for individuals who wish to have the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine booster dose.“We hope with this effort, we can see our country revive its economy and help Malaysians weather the Covid-19 pandemic, thus ensuring the well-being of the people, business continuity and most importantly saving lives,” he said in a statement today.Zulkarnain added that the Sinovac Covid-19 booster dose had been approved for individuals aged 18 years and above who have received the same type of vaccine (homologous), to be administered three to six months after the second dose as outlined by the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force – Booster (CITF-B).He also noted that a number of Chinese provinces and cities had started giving Covid-19 vaccine boosters to people who received their first two shots at least six months ago.“In China, the booster shot rollout came after close to 80% of the population had been vaccinated, to give the optimum protection against the virus and new variants.“According to research in China, booster shots given at an interval of six to 12 months after the second dose led to a strong boost in immune response, with geometric mean titers (GMTs) increasing to approximately 140 in adults and even higher in the elderly aged above 60 years,” he said.He said the GMT of six months after the third dose is higher than the peak of the second dose, adding that the studies also showed higher persistence of antibodies of up to 20-fold, six months after the booster dose compared to the second dose, indicating a longer duration of protection against Covid-19 and new variants.“The Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine is safe as it is developed using inactivated virus which is a well-established technology of more than 40 years that is also commonly used in many types of vaccines, currently available in the market including for polio, Hepatitis A and rabies,” he said.


China drills improved Taiwan's combat abilities, president says

The combat skills of Taiwan's military are now "more mature" and it is better able to fight thanks to having to repeatedly scramble to see off Chinese forces during their recent drills, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday.
China staged war games in the immediate aftermath of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei last month, angered by what it saw as a strong show of US support for the island Beijing claims as its own territory. Chinese military activities close to Taiwan have continued since then.
Speaking to air force personnel at the Hualien air base on Taiwan's east coast, Tsai said the situation around the Taiwan Strait remained tense and the threat had not gone away.
"In the face of challenges, our national military has calmly responded to the enemy's intents at intrusion and have tenaciously defended the country's security," she said, according to a transcript of the remarks released by the presidential office.
"I believe that after this period of combat readiness missions, our national military's combat skills are more mature and its combat power is more powerful."
Tsai added that she was "extremely proud" of the armed forces.
The Hualien base has hangers cut out of the side of a mountain and is home to Lockheed Martin Corp F-16s.
Taiwan's armed forces are well-equipped but dwarfed by China's. Tsai has been overseeing a modernisation programme and has made increasing defence spending a priority.
Taiwan's democratically-elected government says that as the People's Republic of China has never ruled the island, it has no right to claim it or decide its future, which can only be set by Taiwan's people.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.


No court cluster in Cabinet among conditions of support for Ismail, says Muhyiddin

Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin today confirmed former deputy prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the coalition’s candidate of choice for the country’s top office, on condition that his Cabinet does not include those who are facing criminal charges in court.“If appointed as prime minister by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, he must ensure that his Cabinet members will be composed of those with integrity, who are trustworthy and who are free from any criminal charges in court,” he said in a statement.The former prime minister, who said he was forced out of office due to a group of kleptocrats scheming to escape corruption charges, said all 50 MPs from PN comprising 31 from Bersatu, 18 from PAS and one from STAR had stated their support for Ismail.“Four independent MPs who are pro-PN have also done the same.”Ismail was among the Umno leaders and Cabinet members who had refused to join their party bosses Najib Razak and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in campaigning for Muhyiddin’s ouster by revoking their support for him.Najib and Zahid are part of the so-called court cluster group made up of Umno leaders who were part of the Barisan Nasional government before its downfall in 2018.In July last year, Najib was convicted of seven charges related to the misappropriation of RM42 million from a company linked to 1MDB.He was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million.Zahid meanwhile faces more than 80 charges of money laundering, criminal breach of trust and bribery.MalaysiaNow previously reported in detail how Zahid had approached Muhyiddin in a bid to get his charges dropped.Muhyiddin said the decision to support Ismail was made in order to ensure the continuity of PN’s principles prioritising efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and restore the country until a suitable time for a general election to return the mandate to the people.He said any PN government under Ismail’s leadership must also continue the practice of respecting the separation of powers, protecting the freedom of the judiciary, and upholding the constitutional monarchy.


Ex-banker recalls seeing Jho Low in 2011 convoy to Najib's house

A former banker told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low had been in a car convoy heading towards Najib Razak’s house in Bukit Tunku in 2011.
Former AmBank non-executive director Cheah Tek Kuang, 75, said he went to Najib’s house to help open the former prime minister's bank accounts.
The 39th prosecution witness was being cross-examined by lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah at Najib’s corruption and money laundering trial involving RM2.3 billion belonging to 1MDB.
He said a car had come to his house in January 2011 to bring him to Najib’s house.
"When the car fetched me, there was a convoy of two or three cars. I was in the car with a driver. The other cars had other people inside. When I arrived at Najib’s house, I saw Jho Low in one of the cars," he said. Cheah however said there was no communication between him and Jho Low at Najib’s house.
He said he knew very little about Jho Low prior to 2011, and that the businessman was never a customer of the commercial bank.
"I had only met him two or three times for a lunch meeting. But he had a habit of turning up late," he said, adding that Jho Low had once been 30 minutes late.
The witness also denied that he received a BlackBerry phone as a gift from Jho Low.
Najib, 69, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes amounting to RM2.3 billion belonging to 1MDB and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.


No govt allocations involved in rebranding KLIA, klia2, says Loke

The cost of rebranding the KLIA and klia2 terminals does not involve any allocations from the transport ministry, minister Anthony Loke says.
Loke said the rebranding costs, which include marketing and signage, will be borne by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).
"In terms of rebranding KLIA and klia2 to Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 respectively, it is an application from MAHB, it has nothing to do with the government. MAHB requested for it to be considered.
"It is more towards marketing the airports. The rebranding costs do not involve allocations from the ministry," he said when winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2023 for the ministry at the committee level in the Dewan Rakat yesterday.
On the disappearance of Malaysian-registered cargo ship MV Dai Cat 06 in January, Loke said investigations are still ongoing with no indication of its location so far.
He said his ministry, with cooperation from the foreign ministry, will continue to monitor the progress of the investigation.
On Jan 9, the cargo vessel, carrying pipe rods valued at RM726,205 and five crew members, was reported missing in Indonesian waters. A police report was lodged by the ship’s agent on the same day.
Meanwhile, Loke said his ministry was finalising the acquisition of 10 sets of trains for electronic train services (ETS) and 12 sets for the North Sector Komuter service with an allocation of RM574 million and RM297 million respectively.
He said the acquisition was to increase the service frequency provided by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd, especially to the north of the peninsula. "We will either use our model of buying directly through tender procurement or through the lease model, which is a rental process with the supplier renting (the train) to us as the operator, and they are responsible for maintenance," he said.
The Dewan Rakyat later passed RM1.54 billion for the ministry under Budget 2023 at the committee level with a majority vote.


22 suits linked to 1MDB scandal filed against entities, individuals

1MDB and its former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd have filed a total of 22 civil suits against entities and individuals whom they claim have been unjustly enriched by the wrongful receipt of money from them.The finance ministry, in a statement today, said the writs – six by 1MDB and 16 by SRC International – were filed on May 7 for the recovery of assets with a combined total in excess of RM96.6 billion (US$23 billion), including some RM300 million against various local parties.The writs filed by 1MDB are against a total of nine entities including two foreign financial institutions and 25 individuals for wrongdoings including breach of contractual, statutory, common law and fiduciary duties; breach of trust and fraud.Those filed by SRC International are against 15 individuals and eight entities for wrongdoings including abuse of power, breach of fiduciary duties in public office, breach of trust and conspiracy.“Following significant and successful settlements with Goldman Sachs, AmBank Group and Deloitte PLT, the government’s recovery efforts are now focused on pursuing other wrongdoings who have caused losses to 1MDB and/or SRC during the execution of their duties, as parties directly or indirectly involved in 1MDB and/or SRC’s various operations and transactions,” Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said.“As previously mentioned, the government will not rest until all those involved are made fully accountable for the wrongdoings caused to the country through their involvement in 1MDB and/or SRC.”Goldman Sachs had agreed in October last year to pay US$2.9 billion in penalties to settle criminal charges in the 1MDB scandal, the largest US fine ever in a corruption case.Goldman Sachs helped raise US$6.5 billion for the sovereign wealth fund. The US Department of Justice said more than US$4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by high-level officials at the fund and their associates between 2009 and 2015.In February, meanwhile, AMMB Holdings Bhd agreed to a RM2.83 billion global settlement on all outstanding claims and actions in relation to the involvement of AmBank Group in the 1MDB matter.The settlement amount was in addition to the RM53.7 million penalty imposed by Bank Negara Malaysia and paid by AmBank Group.In March, Deloitte PLT agreed to a settlement of RM324 million to resolve all claims related to its fiduciary duty on auditing the accounts of 1MDB and SRC International for the 2011-2014 period.The ministry today reiterated that all proceeds from the 1MDB asset recovery efforts including any future settlements are deposited into the Asset Recovery Trust Account under the custody of the Accountant General’s Department of Malaysia.“These settlements will not affect or compromise Malaysia’s claims against other wrongdoers for the losses caused to 1MDB and SRC, and they will continue to be pursued through both the criminal and civil justice systems.”


Over 30% of children given first vaccine jab, 64.4% of adults boosted

A total of 1,078,539 or 30.4% of children in the country had received a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) as of yesterday.According to the CovidNow website, 15,157,782 individuals or 64.4% of the adult population have received a Covid-19 booster dose while 22,931,610 or 97.5% have completed their vaccination.A total of 23,208,205 or 98.7% have received at least one dose of vaccine.As for adolescents aged 12 to 17, a total of 2,833,876 or 91.1% of the group have completed their vaccination while 2,934,067 or 94.3% have received at least one dose of vaccine.Yesterday, a total of 62,983 vaccine doses were administered, with 18,781 as first doses, 1,817 as second shots and 42,385 as booster jabs.This brings the cumulative number of vaccine doses dispensed under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) to 67,935,466.


No need for nationwide lockdown again, says minister

The government today said there is no need to re-implement a nationwide movement control order (MCO) as Covid-19 cases are still under control.Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Redzuan Yusof also said the health ministry and National Security Council had the situation well in hand.Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, he said the government would consider enforcing an MCO again in order to flatten the curve if the rate of infection outstripped the rate of recovery.“(But) a total lockdown is unnecessary because we are now at the recovery stage with an exit policy like I previously said,” he added.“The country’s crisis management has succeeded in controlling the spread of Covid-19 and preventing health facilities such as hospitals and clinics from being overburdened with high numbers of cases.”He added that only those with symptoms would need to be screened for the virus.“The people are now aware that the infection is in the community, and that as long as there is no vaccine, anyone can become infected at any time.”Redzuan was responding to Shahidan Kassim (BN-Arau), who had asked if the government would bring back the MCO given the recent spikes in daily Covid-19 numbers.Redzuan said doing so would jeopardise the economy and have a negative impact on mental health, especially for those who have already been hard hit by the pandemic.“The government implemented the MCO at that time because the methods to control the spread of infection were not yet refined,” he said.“Back then, it was a work in progress to study the SOPs that could be used to balance economic, physical and social activities.”The MCO, introduced on March 18, was replaced with a conditional MCO which ran from May 13 to June 9.From June 10 onwards, the country was placed under recovery MCO although several states including Selangor and Sabah reverted to conditional MCO last month.


Food security fund programme missed objectives, A-G's report finds

The Auditor-General's Report for the Year 2021 Series 2 has found that although 78% of projects under the Food Security Fund Programme of the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package were successfully completed, the programme did not achieve its set objectives.
According to the report, the projects under the programme with an allocation of RM190 million could not be fully achieved as a portion of the 1,248 projects were still in the implementation phase or did not start until the end of 2021, affecting the revenue production target.
The report said that procurement management as well as the use of less-than-satisfactory equipment also kept the target group from fully benefitting from the programme.
The audit involved four agencies under the agriculture and food industry ministry, namely the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority, the Farmers' Organisation Authority, the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board and the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia.
The report also found that the agencies did not achieve the targets for the production and receipt of incentives set during the Covid-19 pandemic period. "In general, the achievement of the objectives of the Food Security Fund Programme under Prihatin, which is to ensure that the food supply remains secure and sufficient during the pandemic period, is difficult to determine.
"This is because the contribution of production under this programme was very small and insignificant to domestic production," the report said.
The report recommended that the ministry monitor the implementation of the projects at all levels as well as ensure that the equipment supplied is used optimally.
The ministry and its agencies were also advised to set indicators to evaluate the achievement of programme’s objectives, including those implemented on an ad hoc basis to ensure their effectiveness.


China says UK still in ‘colonial days’ as carrier group sails into contested waters

China’s hawkish tabloid the Global Times has published warnings aimed at the British Royal Navy as its flagship vessel officially entered the South China Sea this week, Newsweek reports.In separate op-eds, the Communist Party mouthpiece accused Britain of wanting to “revive its past glory” and “still living in its colonial days”.The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is on its maiden voyage to the Indo-Pacific, escorted by half a dozen warships and a nuclear submarine.The lengthy deployment is seen as a signal of the UK’s commitment to collective security in the region.On Monday, the Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group sailed through the Singapore Strait and took part in a maritime exercise with the Republic of Singapore Navy, according to statements by the British High Commission and Singapore’s defence ministry.The Royal Navy group was joined by US Navy and Royal Netherlands Navy ships. Singaporean warships included RSS Intrepid, RSS Unity and RSS Resolution.The British strike group is expected to sail further into the contested South China Sea, with eventual port calls in Japan scheduled for September.China claims almost all of the energy-rich sea as part of its expansive “nine-dash line,” which the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague dismissed in a landmark ruling in 2016 as part of the case Philippines v China.The UK and the US have voiced support for the court’s decision taken under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but China continues to reject every line of the verdict.All eyes will be on the carrier group in the coming weeks as observers seek to gauge the UK’s precise security posture in the region by how far it will go to challenge China’s “red lines”.This will include whether any Royal Navy warships directly challenge China’s sweeping claims to natural and artificial reefs and islands in the South China Sea, perhaps in the form of pointed freedom of navigation operations so far only undertaken by the US Navy.The UK “would be prudent not to send warships within 12 miles of Chinese territory”, said the Global Times, referring not to China’s coastline but the waters surrounding the many banks and reefs to which it lays claim, such as the Paracel Islands.“Sending a warship within 12 miles of Chinese territory is a direct challenge to China’s core interests, which might result in misjudgment,” the paper said.Britain “has always been wily” and “will not easily confront China,” the state-owned tabloid quotes Beijing analyst Wang Yiwei as saying.Wang predicts the Royal Navy will carry out symbolic exercises with the US but will not antagonise China.This week’s Royal Navy exercises in the South China Sea coincide with a three-day visit to Singapore by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who is the first Biden cabinet official to stop in the city-state.Austin met Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and its Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in separate calls on Tuesday, according to reports.


Govt should accept court ruling on citizenship for children born overseas

It was recently reported that the government of Malaysia, through the Attorney-General’s Chambers, will appeal the decision made by the High Court on the case of the automatic citizenship rights of children born abroad to Malaysian mothers.Previously, referring to the interpretation of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution, children born abroad would only obtain citizenship automatically if their father was a Malaysian citizen.On Sept 9, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Akhtar Tahir in his judgment stated that the word “father” in the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution should also mean “mother”.This is a very progressive step in the Malaysian legal system and should be supported by all parties because it is clear here, the previous interpretation of the constitution has been indirectly discriminatory against women.According to plantation industries and commodities minister and chairman of the Malaysian Women’s Political Leadership Council Zuraida Kamaruddin, this decision should be well received and implemented at all levels of enforcement.Her statement was also supported by several other leaders such as the law minister Wan Junaidi and MCA women’s chief Heng Seai Kie.However, this decision does not sit well with the home ministry, which has strongly opposed the issue of citizenship rights given to children born abroad to mothers who are Malaysian citizens.During the parliamentary session on Dec 3, 2020, the deputy home minister in a question-and-answer session stated that for children born abroad, only those whose fathers are Malaysians will continue to be allowed to obtain citizenship on the grounds of fear of the occurrence of duplication of citizenship.In the same question-and-answer session, he also stated that this was an issue of national security and sovereignty that needs to be defended by the Malaysian government. He also said that this is practised by other countries around the world.Firstly, the home ministry should have explained whether the duplication of citizenship would not occur if the child is born to a Malaysian father and would only happen if he or she is born to a mother who is a citizen.Secondly, the issue of sovereignty and security does not arise because the registration of the child’s birth, which is done at the Malaysian consulate abroad, would follow the same process and procedure.Thirdly, if we look at the citizenship laws of neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia, they do not stipulate that only fathers have the right to obtain citizenship for their children automatically, as the same rights are given to both parents.The home ministry’s reasoning on this matter seems to have been quashed by the decision made by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, thus giving proper citizenship rights to children born abroad, either to fathers or mothers who are Malaysians.Clearly, it is not appropriate for the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the home ministry to appeal this decision as it would hamper the development process of the country’s legal system.Even if this appeal is purely academic, it will have a very negative impact on the image of the country’s legal enforcement system and is a waste of time and court costs for both parties.It is hoped that the Attorney-General’s Office and the home ministry can re-evaluate their decision to appeal the decision in this case. Just accept the decision set by the Kuala Lumpur High Court and do not deny the citizenship rights of children born to Malaysian mothers.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Deputy minister dropped from polls by BN joins PAS

Maran incumbent Ismail Abd Muttalib yesterday confirmed that he had joined PAS, a day after he was announced as a Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate in the 15th general election (GE15).
Ismail said he would not be sending any letter of resignation to Umno but would leave it to the party to decide on his membership status.
"I will not send a letter… if you have joined (another party) it means you have quit (Umno).
"I offered myself (to be a PN candidate) and tomorrow I will be with them at the nomination centre," the deputy housing and local government minister told a news conference in Maran last night.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had announced in Terengganu that Ismail would be contesting the Maran seat on a PN ticket.
Ismail, who has held the Maran seat since 2004, was dropped by Barisan Nasional as a GE15 candidate several days ago.


US mass shooting leaves 2 dead, half of 28 injured were children

A mass shooting early on Sunday at an outdoor neighbourhood block party in Baltimore, Maryland, left two people dead and 28 others injured, about half of them children, as investigators sought the public's help in tracking down multiple suspects, police said.
Authorities offered no motive for the gun violence, which erupted at about 12.35am local time in a courtyard of grass and pavement between a pair of two-story rowhouse structures in South Baltimore's Brooklyn Homes community.
The two people slain in the hail of gunfire were identified by police only as an 18-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man. As of Sunday afternoon, nine others wounded remained hospitalised, a few of them listed in critical condition, police told reporters.
Among the 28 survivors who were injured were an estimated 14 who were under the age of 18, said Richard Worley, acting commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, noting that they were still trying to confirm victims' ages.
Baltimore television station WBAL-TV, an NBC affiliate, reported that ages of those who were injured ranged from 13 to 32.
The shooting likely ranks as Baltimore's largest single act of gun violence in terms of number of victims dating back to 2014, according to the Baltimore Sun newspaper, citing the earliest data kept by the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.
The extent of the carnage was notable even for a city that has long grappled with high levels of homicide and other violent crimes.
Worley said police were searching for multiple suspects, and he appealed to the community to come forward with any information or videos that might help investigators identify the perpetrators.
"We know for sure there are more than one. We don't know how many (suspects)," Worley said.
One resident of the neighbourhood, Terry Brown, told the Baltimore Sun said he was standing outside his home when he heard the crackle of gunfire, followed by a stampede of people fleeing in panic for cover.
"It was chaos," Brown said. "Parents were running around looking for their children, hollering and screaming, and don't know if their child has a bullet in them."
Mayor Brandon Scott called the shooting a reckless, cowardly act," and vowed that those responsible would be brought to justice. "We will not stop until we find you, and we will find you."
The tragedy rattled the city of Baltimore, Maryland's most populous city, 64km northeast of Washington DC, at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend, at a time when Americans typically gather for parades, barbecues and fireworks.
Local media reported that hundreds had attended the "Brooklyn Day" block party, which featured pony rides, dancing and refreshments.
One witness interviewed by television station Fox 45 recounted hearing 20 to 30 gunshots.
Television footage of the crime scene on Sunday showed police tape blocking off a grassy area littered with overturned tables, cups, plates, and other trash from the event.


Lawyers appointed by TMJ hold watching brief in Bella case

A group of prominent and experienced lawyers appointed by Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim today held a watching brief at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur for the ongoing trial on the neglect and abuse of Bella, a young girl with Down syndrome.The four lawyers were Khairul Anwar Rahmat, Baljit Singh Sidhu, Ikbal Salam and Mohd Radzi Yatiman.Khairul, when met by reporters, confirmed that they were there as observers and that their presence had been given the green light by the women, family and community development ministry.“Yes, we were appointed by TMJ,” he said, referring to the popular initialism for the crown prince.Khairul is a former chairman of volunteer legal advice group SukaGuam. Baljit is an adviser to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, while Ikbal and Radzi are experienced in handling high-profile cases including the case involving the use of the word “Allah”.Tunku Ismail had previously offered to provide legal services free of charge in the Bella case for a watching brief on behalf of the women, family and community development ministry.Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali is on trial for charges of abuse and neglect resulting in physical and emotional distress to Bella.Tunku Ismail’s wife Che Puan Khaleeda meanwhile had voiced sympathy for Bella, vowing to help ensure that justice is served.“I will do anything within my power to get justice for Bella,” she said in a post on social media.