Najib given 2 days MC, 1MDB trial vacated

Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court has been vacated today and tomorrow as the former prime minister is on medical leave for two days following his admission to Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) yesterday.
Najib's counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah that his client had been undergoing various medical tests at the hospital on a daily basis due to his blood pressure and stomach ulcer condition.
"I finally got to meet my client after waiting at the hospital for almost three hours today, although he himself does not know how long he is going to be in the ward.
"There is a medical certificate (MC) provided by the prison department that was sent to Muhammad Farhan (Najib’s other lawyer) by WhatsApp. It is based on a medical examination. The MC is for Sept 14 and 15 and it mentions that Najib is in ward 21 at the hospital," he said.
The lawyer said Najib’s blood pressure started coming down after he began taking his usual medicine although it was not yet at normal levels.
"Testing is being done for his blood pressure. I must also inform Yang Arif that my client has a history of very bad ulcer and didn’t realise three months ago he was at a critical stage.
"Recently as Yang Arif knows, he went to the hospital because he complained of discomfort and they found numerous ulcers that were bleeding.
"I think for that reason, he was being tested to ensure that his blood pressure has got nothing do with that, but perhaps it was a mere contingency of the medicine," Shafee said.
Sequerah asked if Najib would be better by next week, as the 1MDB trial is scheduled to resume on Sept 26, and vacated this week’s trial since there was no possibility for the trial to commence tomorrow.
Shafee said he believed Najib should be better by then, just in time for the scheduled trial dates.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib said the prosecution had no objection to this week’s trial being vacated as the MC came from a government medical officer.
When met by reporters after the proceeding, Shafee said Najib was "not his cheerful self" and was still experiencing discomfort due to his condition.
"The doctors have restored his medicine to the original one (which Najib usually takes). The previous medicine and the amount was given in the correct dosage, but the one he is used to is the original one and not from a generic brand.
"Contrary to what was said in the news, the generic (medicine) might not be as effective as the original," he said, adding that Najib’s current blood pressure reading at the hospital was 124 over 84, compared to his usual reading of 110 over 80.
When asked about Najib’s admission to the National Heart Institute (IJN), Shafee said there was no indication so far of his client's transfer to the specialist hospital.
"He has no medical condition relating to his heart per se, but because it (the stomach ulcers) causes bleeding, it can really go into a heart issue which can lead to a stroke," he said.
Najib, 69, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
On Aug 23 this year, he was sent to Kajang Prison after the Federal Court upheld his conviction, 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine for misappropriating RM42 million in SRC International funds.


Indian villagers carry corpse to bank to withdraw funeral money

The corpse of an Indian farm labourer was carried to the bank by his neighbours to demand money for his cremation, police said Thursday.Mahesh Yadav, 55, died early Tuesday in a village in the eastern state of Bihar after a lengthy illness, leaving no family. His body was found by neighbours several hours later, officials told AFP.The villagers searched his home for valuables to pay for his funeral, but unable to find any, they instead took his bank passbook that showed he had US$1,600 in his account.That afternoon, they took the passbook – and Yadav’s corpse – to his bank, refusing to leave until the branch manager released his funds, local police officer Amrendar Kumar said.“Villagers demanded the bank gave them money from his account for the cremation or else they would not cremate him,” Kumar told AFP.“It put pressure on the bank, which finally released some money following the intervention of the local police station.”Canara Bank’s branch manager Sanjeev Kumar said the extraordinary scenes created panic.“It was the first such case,” Kumar told AFP.“After over an hour, I gave them money (US$135) and they finally left the bank with his body for the cremation ground.”Neighbour Shakuntala Devi said Yadav did not own any land and did not receive any support from the government.“There was no-one to look after him although he had been ailing for months. We used to provide him cooked food and other things,” she told AFP.


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Daily cases tumble below 11,000

Another 10,959 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,209,194.Sarawak recorded 2,723 cases and Johor 1,226.Kelantan logged 983 cases, Selangor 979, Penang 793, Sabah 751, Pahang 739, Perak 713, Terengganu 691, Kedah 660, Melaka 346, Kuala Lumpur 176 and Negeri Sembilan 110.Perlis recorded 51 cases and Putrajaya 18. No new cases were recorded in Labuan.Another 16,430 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,005,942.Meanwhile 980 are in the ICU, including 862 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 579 are in need of respiratory assistance including 378 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 10,959 cases reported today, 205 (1.9%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 10,754 (98.1%) are in Category One and Two.


Don’t question PAS’ loyalty to PN, says Muhyiddin

PAS’ loyalty to Perikatan Nasional (PN) should not be questioned as the party has been with Bersatu in the coalition since the very beginning, PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said today.“PAS is one of PN’s founding parties and it has been with the coalition ever since. So do not dispute or question its loyalty and steadfastness with PN.“We have just concluded our muzakarah (meeting with PAS) and we have put forward the resolutions and commitments of all parties in PN,” he told reporters after launching an event in Muar.Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu president, said this in response to questions raised by some PAS leaders on whether the party should stick with PN or with Muafakat Nasional.He said PAS had also taken a clear stance for the upcoming Johor state election, including for all PN component parties to contest under the coalition’s banner.“For Johor, it has been decided that we all will contest under the PN ticket. We will not mention PAS or Gerakan. We know who our opponents are. That’s it. No more issues among us,” the Pagoh MP said.He said the distribution of seats among Bersatu, PAS and Gerakan for the Johor polls will be finalised this weekend.


UK visa lifeline for Hong Kong citizens launches in face of Beijing disapproval

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday hailed the launch of a new visa scheme that offers qualifying Hong Kong citizens a route to eventual British citizenship.The programme is a response to China’s controversial new security laws in the former British colony.First announced last year, the scheme opens on Sunday and allows those with “British National (Overseas)” status to live, study and work anywhere in the UK for five years and eventually apply for citizenship.The British government says it is fulfilling a historic and moral commitment to the people of Hong Kong, after accusing Beijing of breaching the “one-country, two-systems” terms of the 1997 handover agreement.London says Beijing’s new security laws are being used to silence dissent and deny true democracy to the people of Hong Kong, Reuters reports.“I am immensely proud that we have brought in this new route for Hong Kong BN(O)s to live, work and make their home in our country,” Johnson said in a statement.“In doing so we have honoured our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and we have stood up for freedom and autonomy – values both the UK and Hong Kong hold dear.”Beijing says the path to UK citizenship is a violation of international law and interferes with its internal affairs.BN(O) is a special status created under British law in 1987. It only applies to Hong Kong, and does not cover everyone who lives there.UK government estimates indicate that nearly three million individuals and a further 2.3 million dependents will be eligible to come to Britain.The US$340 visa could attract over 300,000 people and their dependents to make the move but it is highly uncertain how many people will actually take up the offer.Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the government “won’t look the other way when it comes to Hong Kong” and would “live up to our historic responsibility to its people”.Home Secretary Priti Patel added that, “Global Britain will always stand up for what is right and uphold our commitments.”According to Sky News, approximately 7,000 Hong Kong people with BNO status and their dependents have already been granted “Leave Outside the Rules” at the UK border over the last six months, prior to the opening of the new visa route.


Mexico becomes fourth country to pass 100,000 virus deaths

Mexico said Thursday its coronavirus death toll had risen above 100,000, becoming the world’s fourth country to pass the grim milestone.“Today in Mexico we have 100,000 people who have lost their lives due to Covid-19,” deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell told a news conference.The health ministry announced 576 more deaths in its daily update, taking the total to 100,104, behind only the US, Brazil and India.The overall number of infections registered now stands at 1,019,543 in the nation of more than 128 million, up 4,472 from the previous day.While the number of daily infections has begun to rise again in recent weeks, the authorities say that deaths remain on a downtrend.“There are infections, but fortunately… there are fewer deaths and that’s the aim,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said this week.But Malaquias Lopez, an epidemiologist and former health ministry official, said it was unclear if the situation was improving.“We’re at a point where we don’t see a clear phase of descent. We don’t know where it’s going,” he told AFP.The government says poor diets and health problems including obesity, hypertension and diabetes are partly to blame for the high death toll.“These conditions increase the possibility of a patient dying, it’s true, but in Mexico they’re almost a death sentence,” said Lopez, who thinks the authorities have used the risk factors to deflect criticism of their handling of the pandemic.Half of Mexico’s workforce is in the informal sector and if they become sick they cannot afford to self-isolate, he said.The government says the high number of deaths reflects its large population.When it comes to deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, Mexico is in 11th place worldwide, based on official data.The authorities acknowledge that the real number of coronavirus deaths is higher than the official toll due to the low level of testing.Luis Vargas, a doctor working at a coronavirus testing site in Mexico City, said that recently people seemed to have become more nervous because a relative or friend had caught the virus.He fears that many shoppers neglected to follow sanitary measures during the country’s equivalent of the Black Friday sales this month.“I think the number of cases is going to increase,” he said.Eighteen-year-old Aaron Romero, who was waiting to be tested and has symptoms of Covid-19, said his family had agreed not to get together at Christmas this year.“It’s strange and difficult, but it’s for the best,” he said.


Chinese cities break heat records, stressing electricity grid

Several cities in northern China broke heat records for June this week, with soaring temperatures straining the country's electricity supplies and leading authorities to hold mock emergency drills.
Since March, China has experienced higher-than-normal temperatures. Weather experts have predicted extreme conditions throughout the country that could eclipse last year's sizzling spell, which lasted for more than two months.
On Thursday, Shijiazhuang in Hebei province became the first provincial capital city to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) this year, according to state media. Zhangjiakou and Chengde, cities in the same province, also broke temperature records for June, according to CCTV.
By 10am (0200 GMT) on Friday, the Central Meteorological Administration issued a slew of heightened heat warnings. Capital Beijing is expected to broil in 37-39°C temperatures until Saturday, and the Tianjin Meteorological Observatory raised its warning level to red with temperatures expected to hit 40°C.
The persistent heat has already put the country's power grid operators on high alert, with some cities in the south warning firms and people to curb usage.
China's National Energy Administration on Thursday staged a power emergency drill on the state grid's East China network, simulating a power surge and outage to prepare early warning and power management mechanisms.
The East China regional grid, which serves economically key cities such as Shanghai and Hangzhou, expects a peak load of more than 397 gigawatts (GW) this summer. That is greater than the total electricity generation capacity of Japan, according to 2021 data from the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Also on Thursday, Shanghai's state-owned energy and water companies released measures to meet the summer season's power and water demands, aiming to prevent potential shortages that hit the country last year.
Last month, Shanghai registered its hottest May day in over a century.


Tens of thousands protest in Brazil demanding president’s impeachment, better vaccine access

Tens of thousands of people have gathered across Brazil to protest at President Jair Bolsonaro’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic.People turned out in at least 16 Brazilian cities on Saturday, including the capital Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, calling for his impeachment and demanding more coronavirus jabs.Bolsonaro’s popularity has plummeted in the past year, with nearly half a million people dying during the pandemic.Despite the second-highest death toll after the US, the far-right leader has consistently played down the virus’ severity, dismissed mask-wearing and cast doubt on the importance of vaccinations.This weekend’s protests were organised by left-leaning political parties, unions and students’ associations.Most people wore masks and tried to observe social distancing as they called for a faster vaccination programme.Bolsonaro repeatedly downplayed the pandemic in its initial stages. He previously called Covid-19 a “little flu” and sabotaged efforts to implement social distancing or lockdowns.Brazil’s Senate is conducting an inquiry into the Bolsonaro government’s handling of the pandemic.In Sao Paulo, protesters expressed frustration with Bolsonaro’s policies.Nurse Patricia Ferreira said Bolsonaro was “worse than the virus at the moment”.“We are exhausted, with our healthcare system on the verge of collapse,” she said. “There is no solution to the pandemic with him in power.”Student Beatriz Fernanda Silva said she was demonstrating to honour her uncle, who she said was killed by Covid-19 at age 42.“I came here to fight for the vaccine that he was unable to get and could have saved him. He died at the end of February and left two children and a wife,” she said.“A lot of people are dying. Bolsonaro should do something about it, but from the start, he treated it with total neglect,” Silva told CNN.In Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, thousands of people blocked one of the largest avenues in the city.Protests in Brasilia and Rio were peaceful but police in the northeastern city of Recife used tear gas and rubber bullets on demonstrators.Meanwhile, Brazil reported over 2,000 deaths on Saturday, its health ministry said.Cases also remain high, with nearly 80,000 new infections – taking the total since the start of the pandemic to 16.5 million.Brazil’s population is 211 million but according to official figures only 66.4 million vaccine doses have been administered, with about 10% – or nearly 22 million people – fully vaccinated.


Legalising undocumented migrants for workforce a stupid idea, says minister

Legalising illegal immigrants for the workforce is a “stupid” idea, Human Resources Minister M Saravanan said today.The Tapah MP said the best action would be to deport the illegal immigrants to their original country so that there would be no issues, especially involving Malaysia’s labour force.“It is a ‘stupid’ idea to give. When someone comes illegally to your country, you must deport them, not legalise them. If illegals come to your country (and) you legalise them, then that means we will have more and more illegals coming to the country.“We should not do anything that encourages illegals to come to our country,” he told a press conference after launching an event in Kota Kinabalu.He also voiced concern over migration, especially involving young people from Sabah to other states in search of better economic opportunities.He said in 2020 alone, 45,900 people from Sabah migrated out of the state.“The ministry is committed to working with all parties in Sabah to develop and implement policies that can attract high-value investments and create new opportunities for skilled talents and knowledge workers in the state.“The ministry will continue to introduce initiatives that can help Sabahans to upskill, reskill, cross-skill and multi-skill through our agency HRD Corp. This will be complemented by programmes implemented by the Social Security Organisation, Skills Development Fund Corporation and TalentCorp,” he said.


Activist pleads guilty to insulting Christianity

A woman activist pleaded guilty at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today to charges of posting insulting comments on Christianity on her Facebook page last year.Wan Asshima Kamaruddin, 38, an activist from NGO Pondok Hijrah Muslimah Malaysia, changed her plea to guilty at the trial of her case today.Judge M M Edwin Paramjothy set June 15 to hear the facts of the case and for sentencing.Wan Asshima was accused of making and initiating the transmission of offensive communications with the intention of offending others, through a Facebook account in the name of “Puteri Mujahidah Wan Asshima Kamaruddin” at 9.23am on March 11, 2021.The post was then read at the Cyber and Multimedia Crime Investigation Division Office, Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department, Wangsa Maju, at 6.24pm, on March 13, 2021.Wan Asshima was charged under Section 233 (1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, punishable under Section 233 (3) of the same act, which provides for a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, with a further fine of RM1,000 for every day that the offence is repeated after conviction.Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Najihah Farhana Che Awang pressed for an appropriate punishment to serve as a lesson to the accused and the public, considering that there were 61 police reports lodged nationwide regarding Wan Asshima’s post.“The most complaints came from Sabah, Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. I also ask the court to consider this case, which entered the trial stage with three prosecution witnesses being called to testify, before the accused changed her plea to guilty,” she said.Lawyer Dorina Abdullah, representing Wan Asshima, pleaded for leniency on the grounds that her client was the sole breadwinner of the family and had not intended to harm the public through her post.“My client is also facing a divorce case. I seek the court’s sympathy in meting out the sentence for this case,” said Dorina.


Half of Europeans vaccinated as Germany warns on rising virus cases

More than half of all European adults are now fully vaccinated, the EU said on Thursday, as countries across Europe and Asia battled fresh outbreaks blamed on the fast-spreading Delta variant.The European Central Bank said uncertainty over the wave of infections meant it was keeping the cash taps open to ensure the nascent economic recovery isn’t snuffed out.German Chancellor Angela Merkel said cases in her country were rising “exponentially”, while in Japan the delayed Olympic Games were set to open with almost no spectators and with a blanket of Covid rules in place.The spotlight, meanwhile, once again turned on the origins of the virus after the World Health Organization (WHO) called for an audit of the Chinese lab at the heart of speculation about where it first emerged, sparking a fiery response from Beijing.More than four million people have died from the virus since December 2019, and though rates of vaccination are picking up globally, Delta is fuelling a rise in infections and prompting governments to re-impose anti-virus measures.The EU said on Thursday that 200 million Europeans had been fully vaccinated, more than half of the adult population but still short of a 70% target set for the summer.The fresh data came as Merkel urged more Germans to get jabs, sounding the alarm over a fresh spike in cases in Germany.“We are seeing exponential growth,” she told a news conference in Berlin, adding that “every vaccination… is a small step towards a return to normality”.Germany has seen an incidence rate of 12.2 new cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days – more than double rates in early July.“With a rising incidence rate, it could be that we need to introduce additional measures,” she said.Dominant DeltaGermany joins a number of European nations that have seen cases climb in recent weeks fuelled by the Delta variant, first detected in India.European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde warned of growing economic uncertainty caused by Delta, as the bank kept its vast stimulus for the eurozone firmly in place following a meeting of its 25-member governing council.“The euro area economy is rebounding strongly,” Lagarde said, but the Delta variant could damp the post-lockdown recovery “in services, especially in tourism and hospitality”, she said.France this week rolled out new rules requiring a so-called health pass for all events or places with more than 50 people before being extended to restaurants, cafes and shopping centres in August.People need to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to gain access, after the country reported a new surge – more 21,000 new cases on Wednesday, the highest level since early May.Italy on Thursday also said a health pass would be mandatory for people wishing to access bars, restaurants, swimming pools, sports facilities, museums and theatres from Aug 6.It will also be necessary for people wanting to attend sports events, concerts and seminars.Cases are also soaring in the UK, where most restrictions were lifted this week, and on Thursday British supermarkets warned of possible food shortages because staff were being forced to self-isolate.On Thursday, a one-day international cricket match between the West Indies and Australia at the Kensington Oval in London was cancelled at the last moment due to a positive Covid test from a “non-playing member of the West Indies team”.A furious Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis meanwhile blasted his country’s Olympic team as six athletes and officials tested positive for coronavirus in the Olympic Village. He called the incident a “scandal”.Countries in Asia are seeing some of their worst outbreaks to date, with Indonesia becoming a new global hotspot as Vietnam and Thailand face new anti-virus rules.In Tokyo, the Olympics were due to open on Friday after a year-long pandemic delay.Spectators are mostly banned, and athletes, journalists and organisers are subject to strict virus measures.“It’s completely different from the last Games (in 1964) when the whole city was filled with festive mood,” said 80-year-old Tokyo resident Michiko Fukui.With no clear end to the pandemic in sight, attention turned once again to the international probe origins of the virus.WHO said last week that the probe should include audits of Chinese labs, but Chinese Vice Health Minister Zeng Yixin said on Thursday that he was “extremely surprised” by the WHO plan, which he said showed “disrespect for common sense and arrogance towards science”.


Musk predicts Tesla self-driving cars 'later this year'

Electric car giant Tesla is set to realise fully autonomous vehicles "later this year", CEO Elon Musk said Thursday, in the billionaire's latest forecast for the long-anticipated milestone.
"In terms of where Tesla is at this stage, I think we are very close to achieving full self-driving without human supervision," Musk said via video link at the opening ceremony of an artificial intelligence conference in Shanghai.
"This is only speculation, but I think we'll achieve full self-driving, maybe what you would call four or five, I think later this year," the billionaire added, referring to two of the most advanced levels of autonomous driving technology.
The mercurial entrepreneur and Twitter owner admitted that he had been wrong in previous predictions on this timeline, but added: "I feel like we're closer to it than we ever have been."
Musk has missed his own deadlines for a fully autonomous vehicle – and Tesla's driver-assistance technology has provoked regulatory probes in the US.
China is the world's biggest electric vehicle market and Tesla announced in April it would build a second massive factory in Shanghai.
His appearance at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai marks his latest effort to maintain close links to China, following a visit to the country in May.
Electric vehicles make up a quarter of car sales in China, the world's largest car market, and dozens of new models from domestic and Western brands were unveiled in April at the country's first auto show since Covid restrictions were lifted.
Tesla reported a drop in first-quarter earnings this year, with the company undertaking a series of price cuts in the face of competition from other automakers.


From radio deejay to ‘exodus man’, Hajiji takes oath to lead Sabah

Hajiji Noor was today sworn in as Sabah’s 16th chief minister, barely two years after leading an exodus of Umno leaders and representatives that almost paralysed the Malay party’s chapter in the state.The Sabah Bersatu chief’s appointment was a foregone conclusion – almost – going by the state’s predictably unpredictable politics in the appointment of past CMs.Yesterday, Bung Moktar Radin, the Sabah Umno chief, urged his supporters to rally behind Hajiji following several statements from federal Umno leaders calling on Bersatu to make way for Umno, its partner in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah which emerged victorious in the recent election.Hajiji, who also leads the Sabah chapter of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional, was born in Tuaran to a family of farmers and fishermen.Sabah Perikatan Nasional chairman Hajiji Noor takes his oath of office as chief minister before governor Juhar Mahiruddin at Istana Negeri. Photo: BernamaMore than four decades ago, he was working as a radio announcer with state broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia.He then became an officer at the Tuaran district office, where he served until 1982.Hajiji graduated with a bachelor’s degree in community economic management in the US, returning to public service in 1986 and working as a customs officer in Tawau until 1990.Hajiji, a seven-term assemblyman who retained his Sulaman constituency in the recent state election, was also the political secretary to the late Abdul Ghafar Baba, a deputy prime minister who served under Dr Mahathir Mohamad.Hajiji’s climb up the ladder saw him serving positions in the international trade and industry ministry, the Chief Minister’s Department as well as the finance ministry.But it was the state’s housing and local government portfolio which saw Hajiji strengthen his political foothold, heading the state ministry for 14 years until Umno’s fall from power in 2018.In December 2018, Hajiji stunned Sabah politics when he announced his exit from the party.Four months later, he launched Sabah Bersatu, becoming its chairman and threatening then-chief minister Shafie Apdal’s Warisan-led government.Hajiji’s ascent as Sabah’s most powerful leader has been seen as strengthening Muhyiddin’s grip at the federal level.It is also seen as expanding the influence of Bersatu which only seven months ago was torn apart following his fallout with Mahathir, the key person behind the party’s formation.Hajiji is not the only politician from Sabah who led defections and was thrust to the top. But his greatest challenge now will be to unite Sabahans torn apart by electoral politics at a time it is least needed, when the Covid-19 pandemic may well continue ravaging the state’s economy.The coming days will tell whether Hajiji is the chief minister for all, in a state where ethnicity and party politics are played out unabashedly.Fazreen Kamal contributed to this report.


MoU on political cooperation has had positive impact on investments, says minister

The agreement on cooperation between the federal government and opposition pact Pakatan Harapan (PH) has had a positive impact on investments in the country, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed said political stability was very important for the country’s development to ensure that the focus on efforts to address Covid-19 can be strengthened.The pact, dubbed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Transformation and Political Stability, was signed on Sept 13.“Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), the MoU so far has had a good effect, although not perfect. It allows us to focus on efforts to restore the country’s economic growth that slumped last year, including investments, because without political stability, investments will definitely be jeopardised.“We pray that the MoU will give a good outcome for the people and eventually the people will benefit and continue to boost the economy in 2022 and beyond, especially under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP),” he said.Mustapa was replying to a supplementary question from Zakaria Mohd Edris (Bersatu-Libaran) who wanted to know whether the political problems have had a negative impact on international investments and undermined the implementation of the 12MP.Replying to another supplementary question from Anwar Ibrahim (PH-Port Dickson) on the progress of the MoU which was alleged to be slow, especially efforts to transform Parliament, Mustapa asked for the government to be given a little more time to ensure that this intention is realised.“We need to be transparent in this matter. We must state if there is progress and (if) there is not. Transparency and sincerity are important in resolving this problem.“Definitely, the members of this House better understand the current situation. We will ensure that this noble intention is achieved in the near future. We are aware (of it), so give (us) a little time,” he said.


DAP man attacks Mahathir as racist, forgetful of 'Kerala roots'

DAP's P Ramasamy today continued his attack on Dr Mahathir Mohamad, this time accusing him of institutionalising racism in the country while questioning his defamation suit against Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for remarks about his ancestry.
Ramasamy, the Penang deputy chief minister, also made a veiled reference to Dr Zakir Naik, saying the Indian Muslim preacher might be taking a cue from Mahathir.
"Maybe the infamous Muslim preacher from a foreign country might have been inspired in calling the non-Muslims or non-Malays 'guests' in the country," said Ramasamy.
In 2019, Naik responded to calls by some local non-Muslim leaders including Ramasamy for him to be deported, saying they were also guests who came to Malaysia earlier than he had.
In a statement today criticising Mahathir's recent pledge to continue fighting for Malay rights on the Putra platform, Ramasamy also referred to the defamation suit involving Umno's Zahid.
"Mahathir might have forgotten that  his descendants were foreigners from the Indian state of Kerala.
"Yet he wants to take legal action against Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for merely pointing out his Indian ancestry."
In 2017, Zahid called Mahathir "kutty" in a speech to Umno members.
Mahathir said his father was a Penang Malay with Indian ancestry while his mother was a Kedah Malay. In his suit, which will go to trial this September, Mahathir said Zahid’s statement was made with malice and the intention of inciting hatred against him.
Ramasamy also blamed Mahathir for "institutionalising racism", accusing Malay politicians and their families of enriching themselves.
"I am sure the children and families of Malay politicians including those of Mahathir and bureaucrats reaped handsome rewards in the form of licences, permits and contracts," Ramasamy added.
"The man, Mahathir, who infamously wrote 'The Malay Dilemma', continues to remind us how racism has come to embody his mind and soul."


Less than 10% of the plastic used across the world is recycled, the OECD said Tuesday, calling for “coordinated and global solutions” ahead of expected talks on an international plastics treaty.A new report by the Only 9% of plastic recycled worldwide, says global economic body report found that 460 million tonnes of plastics were used in 2019, the number nearly doubling since 2000.The amount of plastic waste had more than doubled during that time to 353 million tonnes, the Paris-based OECD said.“After taking into account losses during recycling, only nine percent of plastic waste was ultimately recycled, while 19% was incinerated and almost 50% went to sanitary landfills,” it said in its Global Plastics Outlook.“The remaining 22% was disposed of in uncontrolled dumpsites, burned in open pits or leaked into the environment.”The Covid-19 pandemic saw the use of plastics drop by 2.2% in 2020 compared to the previous year. However single-use plastics rose and overall use is “projected to pick up again” as the economy rebounds.Plastics contributed 3.4% of global greenhouse emissions in 2019, 90% of it from “production and conversion from fossil fuels”, the report said.In the face of rampant global warming and pollution, it is “crucial that countries respond to the challenge with coordinated and global solutions”, OECD secretary-general Mathias Cormann said in the report.The OECD proposed a series of “levers” to address the issue, including developing the market for recycled plastics, which only represent 6% of the total – largely because they are more expensive.It added that new technologies related to decreasing the environmental footprint of plastic represented only 1.2% of all innovation concerning the product.While calling for “a more circular plastics lifecycle”, the OECD said that policies must also restrain overall consumption.It also called for “major investments in basic waste management infrastructure”, including 25 billion euros (US$28 billion) a year to go towards efforts in low and middle-income countries.Plastic treaty talksThe report comes less than a week before the UN Environment Assembly begins on Feb 28 in Nairobi, where formal talks are expected to begin on a future international plastics treaty, the scope of which will be discussed.Shardul Agrawala, the head of the OECD’s environment and economy integration division, said Tuesday’s report “further accentuates the need for countries to come together to start looking towards a global agreement to address this very important problem”.Asked about the priorities of the treaty to be discussed in Nairobi, she said that “there is an urgent waste management problem which is responsible for the bulk of the leakage to the environment”.“But we should not limit our focus just to the end of pipe solutions, there is a greater need in the long term to forge international cooperation and agreement towards alignment of standards,” she told an online press briefing Monday.In a survey published Tuesday by polling firm Ipsos for the World Wildlife Fund, 88% of respondents stressed the importance of an international treaty to combat plastic pollution.In the 28 countries surveyed, 23% of the respondents said such a treaty was “fairly important”, 31% said it was “very important” and 34% found it “essential”.


Philippines calls new China maritime law a ‘threat of war’

The Philippines has protested against a new Chinese law that authorises its ships to fire on foreign vessels and destroy property on islands it claims as its own, Manila’s top diplomat said on Wednesday.Beijing’s Coast Guard Law, passed last week, empowers Chinese warships to “take all necessary measures, including the use of weapons” against anyone infringing on its “sovereign rights, and jurisdiction”.The law also authorises the coast guard to demolish other countries’ structures built on reefs and islands claimed by China and to seize or order foreign vessels illegally entering China’s territorial waters to leave.Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr tweeted that given the new law applies to most if not all of the South China Sea, it is a verbal threat of war to any country that defies it.The Chinese law raises the stakes and the possibility of clashes with regional maritime rivals.The Philippine protest is the latest strongly worded public criticism by Manila of China’s increasingly assertive actions in the disputed waters, despite President Rodrigo Duterte seeking closer ties with Beijing.Last July, Locsin warned China of “the severest response” if military exercises being staged by China’s People’s Liberation Army in the South China Sea spilled over into Philippine territory.China and the Philippines, along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, have been locked in territorial rivalries in the South China Sea for decades.Tensions flared in recent years after China transformed disputed reefs in the Spratlys, the most hotly contested region in the South China Sea, into missile-protected island bases, including three with military-grade runways.China and Southeast Asian nations have been negotiating a regional “code of conduct” to discourage aggression in the disputed waters but the talks have been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.US naval forces have challenged China’s territorial claims over virtually the entire sea and China has warned Washington to stay away from what it says is a purely Asian dispute.On Saturday, a US Navy aircraft carrier sailed into the South China Sea “to conduct routine operations, promote freedom of the seas and reassure America’s allies”.


Ex-Goldman banker testifies ‘greed and ambition’ motivated 1MDB bribery

A former Goldman Sachs partner testified on Wednesday that “greed and ambition” drove his involvement in a bribery scheme that looted billions of dollars from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.Tim Leissner, the former chief of Goldman’s Southeast Asia operation, is a star witness in the criminal trial of Roger Ng, the bank’s former head of investment banking in Malaysia. The trial began on Monday in federal court in Brooklyn.Prosecutors have accused Ng, 49, of receiving millions of dollars in kickbacks for helping embezzle funds from 1MDB. Ng has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to launder money and to violate an anti-bribery law.Leissner, 52, in 2018 pleaded guilty to similar charges and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.Leissner said on the stand on Wednesday that Ng was Goldman’s lead banker on 1MDB and had cultivated a relationship with businessman Jho Low starting in 2008, who was the key intermediary between the bank and 1MDB.Bringing in 1MDB business to Goldman, which ultimately sold US$6.5 billion in bonds for the fund and reaped US$600 million in fees, “instantaneously made us heroes” within the bank, Leissner said.“My greed and ambition took over,” Leissner said, adding that the fallout from his actions had destroyed his life.He also said bankers at Goldman were expected to be hired on every one of their clients’ deals, and that missing one was considered “unacceptable.”“The main focus for me was whatever it takes to get these transactions done for Goldman Sachs,” he said.Ng’s defence lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said in his opening statement that Ng had no role in the scheme allegedly perpetrated by Leissner and Low.US prosecutors say US$4.5 billion of funds raised from the deals was diverted. The bank in 2020 paid a nearly US$3 billion fine and arranged for its Malaysian unit to plead guilty in US court.Leissner said that at a meeting in London in 2012, Low listed individuals in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi that he said would need to be bribed for a plan to raise US$1.75 billion in debt for 1MDB to win approval. An Abu Dhabi-based company was acting as a guarantor for 1MDB on the deal, Leissner said.That list included then prime minister Najib Razak, and Sheikh Mansour, deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, who Low said “wouldn’t get out of bed for anything less than US$100 million,” according to Leissner’s testimony.Najib, who was voted out of office in 2018, is accused by Malaysian authorities of receiving more than US$1 billion traceable to 1MDB. Najib, who has appealed a 12-year prison sentence, has consistently denied wrongdoing.A spokesman for the UAE Consulate General in New York did not respond to a request for comment.Prosecutors have acknowledged that Leissner, who has not yet been sentenced, will receive a lighter punishment as a result of his cooperation, but said Leissner’s testimony will be backed up by other evidence.Agnifilo has countered that Leissner lied to prosecutors about Ng’s involvement. He spent much of his opening statement attacking Leissner’s credibility, portraying him as a socialite who stole to finance a lavish lifestyle.A lawyer for Leissner declined to comment.Low, the accused mastermind behind the scheme, was indicted in the US alongside Ng in 2018. He has not been arrested by US or Malaysian authorities. Low’s US lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.


Offer of peace with PAS a sign of shrinking Malay support for Anwar, say observers

A think tank sees the recent offers of reconciliation with PAS by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang as a signal that the government is running out of ways to attract the support of the Malays.
Iris Institute also referred to the shift in support among the community towards Perikatan Nasional (PN) at the last general election, especially in Malay-majority seats in rural areas.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, its CEO Syed Ahmad Israa' Syed Ibrahim said this showed that the administration led by Anwar and his Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition was aware of its loss of Malay support.
"If there are talks for PAS to join hands with PH and Barisan Nasional (BN), this means that the government has no strategy to attract Malay support," he said.
He added that the Malays had clearly voted in favour of a coalition that could defend their well-being and their rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
Syed Ahmad Israa' also said that the government's direction in fighting for such causes appeared unclear, which in turn made it difficult to rally the support of the Malays.
Even if PAS agreed to join the government, he said, it might not be able to change the situation.
"If PAS works with the government, the Malay voters might become disappointed and pull their support for all parties including PAS, PH and Umno," he said.
Political observer Zin Mahmud meanwhile said that the dispute surrounding the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims would also affect the Malays' perception of the government.
He told MalaysiaNow that the issue was like "free bullets" for PN ahead of the elections due in six states this year.
"This will definitely reduce Malay support for the government," he said.
The government's move to withdraw its appeal against a high court decision allowing Christians to use "Allah" alongside several other words in religious publications for educational purposes was criticised by Muslim groups.
Anwar defended the decision, saying the court ruling on the right to use the word was only for the state of Sarawak.
But Syed Ahmad Israa’ said the court decision would be applicable throughout the country.   "This will be a litmus test for the government on its consistency," he said.
"It would be strange for flip-flops like this to happen within the administration."


With record unemployment, China's youth confront bleak job market

Rather than celebrating finishing university, this summer Chinese graduates shared photos of themselves theatrically throwing their degrees into bins, underscoring the bleak outlook as youth unemployment sits at a record high.
The jobless rate could rise even further this summer, analysts warned, providing another headache for the government as it tries to jumpstart the country's sluggish post-Covid economy.
With well-paid jobs few and far between, young people told AFP they were opting to remain in university, while others are scrambling for limited government jobs as opportunities in the private sector dry up.
Sampson Li, who graduated this month with a master's degree in software engineering, was looking for work but has given up to apply for a doctorate instead.
The 24-year-old told AFP he passed three rounds of interviews at a major tech company in Shenzhen, dubbed China's Silicon Valley, before the employer said it had frozen recruitments.
"Three other companies asked me to take a lower pay than the market rate," he said. "I can't survive with that salary in this city."
Data released last Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics showed May's unemployment rate for people aged 16-24 hit 20.8 percent, an increase on the previous record of 20.4% hit in April.
Larry Hu, Macquarie Group's chief China economist, warned that the figure could increase further in July when 11.6 million more college graduates start looking for work.
"Corporates are reluctant to hire because of soft consumer demand, while consumers are reluctant to spend because of the weak labour market," he told AFP.
"As a result, policy is the only game changer at this stage."
State crackdown
At a State Council meeting in April, Premier Li Qiang pledged to ensure stable employment opportunities for young people.
"We have to take measures to stabilise the scale of employment in manufacturing and foreign trade enterprises, optimise university curriculums, and improve the quality of vocational education and skills training based on the market demand," Li said.
However, a hoped-for raft of stimulus measures for the economy, including help to boost the jobs market, fell flat, as did an interest rate cut Tuesday, which was less than expected.
One of the reasons China's once-freewheeling private sector is seeing much slower growth is because of a sweeping government crackdown on property companies, tech giants and private tutoring firms.
"While Beijing runs a state-led economy, private companies provide up to 80 percent of China's urban jobs," Yu Jie, a senior China research fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House, wrote.
These sectors relied on "young people willing to work long hours for lower salaries", she said.
Liu Qian, armed with a degree in fintech, has been job hunting for the past six months.
"There were dozens of fintech start-ups when I entered university, but many have disappeared over the past two years after the government tightened rules governing the sector," she said.
"My parents now want me to study for the civil services exam, to see if I can get a job in a state-owned company."
The odds are tough, though.
More than 7.7 million applicants took the civil service exam this year, to qualify for about 200,000 government jobs at national and provincial levels, state media reported.
Frustration over the fierce competition for any well-remunerated work has fuelled the online memes of throwing away degrees, with graduates also posting photos of themselves sprawled on the ground or in various poses of despair.
The pictures are a reference to the now-prevalent counterculture of "lying flat" – young people rejecting the rat race of urban living for a simpler, less professionally ambitious life.
Skills mismatch
There is generally a mismatch in skills possessed by young job seekers and the demands of the labour market, Chatham House's Yu said.
The services sector, for example, remains a rare bright spot with millions travelling and dining out after three years of pandemic restrictions were lifted last December.
But the lack of opportunities for vocational training means young people are ill-equipped to work in it, Yu said.
Many of the jobs that are available are poorly paid and arduous.
Tan Yong, 17, moved to Shenzhen from neighbouring Meizhou last year after dropping out of high school.
He first found work at an assembly line making air conditioners, but was forced to leave after six months when the production line moved to Vietnam.
Now Tan works as a rider for a food delivery company.
"The work is difficult, and we make less than five yuan on most deliveries," he said.
"But many young people don't want to work in factories where you need to stand for nearly seven hours."


Ukraine battles invading Russian forces in capital

Ukrainian forces fought off Russian invaders in the streets of the capital Kyiv on Friday as President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of targeting civilians and called for more international sanctions.Pre-dawn blasts in Kyiv set off a second day of violence after Russian President Vladimir Putin defied Western warnings to unleash a full-scale invasion on Thursday that quickly claimed dozens of lives and displaced at least 100,000 people.The US and its allies responded with a barrage of sanctions, but the Russian forces looked to press home their advantage after a string of key strategic victories in their air and ground assault.“Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba posted on Twitter after the initial explosions were heard in the capital Friday morning.“Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one.”Explosions and small arms fireIn Obolonsky, a northern district of Kyiv, pedestrians ran for safety and small arms fire and explosions were heard.Russian forces first arrived on the outskirts of Kyiv on Thursday when helicopter-borne troops assaulted an airfield just outside the city, close to Obolonsky.The Ukrainian military said it had repulsed the attack on the Gostomel airbase, but Russian ground forces have also been pushing down the west bank of the Dnieper River from Belarus.As Russian forces arrived in Obolonsky, the Ukrainian defence ministry urged civilians to resist.“We urge citizens to inform us of troop movements, to make Molotov cocktails, and neutralise the enemy,” it said.Ukraine says 137 people, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed since Russia attacked.“Ukrainians are demonstrating heroism,” Zelensky said in a video message, accusing Russia of lying about striking only military targets and calling up conscripts and reservists nationwide.After speaking to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen he called for more sanctions, tweeting that “the pressure on Russia must increase”.‘Better to die’In the Ukrainian village of Starognativka near the frontline where separatists have faced off against Kyiv’s forces for years, official Volodymyr Veselkin said on Friday missiles had been raining down all morning and the power was out.“They are trying to wipe the village off the face of the earth,” he said.Olena Kurilo was among 20 people wounded by flying shards of glass following a blast in the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuguiv on Thursday.“Never, under any conditions will I submit to Putin. It is better to die,” the 52-year-old teacher said, her face covered in bandages.The UN’s refugee agency said late Thursday that some 100,000 were already displaced inside Ukraine, while thousands of others fled across the border. Streams of people in cars and on foot were seen crossing into Hungary, Poland and Romania on Thursday.Zelensky said there was now a “new iron curtain” between Russia and the rest of the world, adding later that his nation had been “left alone”.“Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone.”And while the US moved to impose sanctions on Russian elites and banks, it stressed that American forces would not fight in Ukraine.Nato said it had activated “defence plans” for allied countries but had no plan to send alliance forces into Ukraine.War ‘on all of Europe’Among the highest-profile strategic developments on Thursday, Ukraine said Russian forces had seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant – prompting concern from international nuclear watchdogs.Zelensky called the attack on Chernobyl “a declaration of war on all of Europe”.Russian ground forces moved into Ukraine on Thursday from the north, south and east.In the capital, many residents fled their homes and took shelter in the city’s subway system.Russia said Thursday its forces had “successfully completed” their objectives for the day, claiming to have destroyed over 70 Ukrainian military targets, including 11 airfields.Western intelligence confirmed Moscow had established “complete air superiority” over Ukraine.SanctionsWeeks of diplomacy failed to deter Putin, who massed over 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders in what the West said was Europe’s biggest military build-up since World War II.Western allies had initially imposed some sanctions on Russia in an effort to deter Putin, then followed through on Thursday with vows to heavily punish Russia economically.US President Joe Biden announced export controls against Russia to cut off more than half of the country’s high-tech imports, alongside sanctions on Russian elites he called “corrupt billionaires”, and banks.He will meet Friday with fellow Nato leaders in an extraordinary virtual summit to discuss the security situation in and around Ukraine.The EU moved to impose “massive” sanctions on Russia’s energy and finance sectors.French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian accused Putin of trying to destroy Ukraine’s statehood.“This is total war. Putin has decided… to take Ukraine off the map of nations,” Le Drian told France Inter radio.British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the invasion was “barbaric, unjustified and shows a callous disregard for human life”.The fighting also spooked global financial markets, with oil prices soaring past US$100 and a surge in the price of wheat as Russia and Ukraine are two of the world’s largest producers.Demonstrations across EuropeIn a televised address, Putin justified the assault as a defence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics in eastern Ukraine.The leaders of the two separatist territories asked Moscow for military help against Kyiv after Putin recognised their independence on Monday.A conflict between the separatists and government forces has dragged on since 2014, killing more than 14,000 people.Russia has also long demanded that Ukraine be forbidden from ever joining Nato and that US troops pull out from Eastern Europe.Thousands of Russians defied tough anti-protest legislation to stage anti-war rallies across the country.OVD-Info, which monitors arrests at opposition protests, said that more than 1,800 people in 59 cities had been detained across Russia.


'Underdog' Khairy ready for mission impossible in Sungai Buloh

Khairy Jamaluddin, who regards himself as the underdog in the fight for the Sungai Buloh constituency, says he wants to accomplish what appears to be an impossible mission by winning the seat at the 15th general election (GE15).
"I come here as the underdog, but I am confident. If we unite and work hard, convince the voters, we can conquer Sungai Buloh on Nov 19," he said during a function at the Sungai Buloh Parliamentary constituency in Kuala Lumpur last night.
Khairy said the task of winning the Sungai Buloh seat would not be easy as the incumbent had won the seat by a 20,000 vote majority during the 14th general election.
Khairy, who is the health minister, said he would be launching his manifesto next week, encompassing education, flood mitigation, infrastructure and economic stimulus to elevate the well-being of the Sungai Buloh people.


MACC man denies prosecution delayed to 'put pressure' on Syed Saddiq

The Kuala Lumpur High Court was yesterday told that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) did not deliberately delay the prosecution of Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman for almost six months to put pressure on the Muar MP to support a certain leadership.
MACC investigating officer Mohd Syahmeizy Sulong, 37, said MACC's move to prosecute Syed Saddiq in court took place on July 22, 2021 although the consent to prosecute was issued on Jan 4 the same year because it needed to complete the investigation against the politician.
"There were five investigation papers opened against Syed Saddiq and all the evidence regarding the investigation papers needed to be coordinated to ensure that there was no overlapping evidence.
"Prosecution could not be done on Jan 4, 2021, because only one of the five investigation papers had been successfully completed at the time, and it could only be done on July 22, 2021, after all the investigation papers had been completed," he said during cross-examination by lawyer Gobind Singh Deo at the trial of Syed Saddiq, who is facing four charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering.
When asked by the lawyer who ordered him to "hold" the prosecution against Syed Saddiq, the 25th prosecution witness replied: "No one instructed me (to do so)." The MACC senior superintendent also said he had never contacted Syed Saddiq to inform the latter to get ready to go to court over the charges he faced.
Gobind: I suggest in this case that the officer who often contacted Syed Saddiq to inform him that he should get ready to be accused in court was Tuan Ihsan (MACC senior official Mohd Ihsan Sapuan)?
Syahmeizy: I don't know.
Gobind: Tuan Ihsan contacted Syed Saddiq about four times to inform him to get ready to be accused, but then he was not accused.
Syahmeizy: I don't know.
The witness also disagreed with the lawyer that the action of the MACC officer was to put pressure on Syed Saddiq, and that the politician was finally arrested on July 13, 2021, with the order for him to be brought to court issued by Putrajaya MACC investigative branch B chief, Abdul Malik.
Syed Saddiq, 29, was charged as the then Bersatu youth chief, entrusted with the control of Armada funds, with abetting then assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali with CBT of RM1 million in funds belonging to the wing.
He was also charged with misusing property for himself, namely RM120,000 from the Maybank Islamic account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise by causing Rafiq Hakim to dispose of the money at Malayan Banking, Jalan Pandan 3/6A, Taman Pandan Jaya between April 8 and 21, 2018.
He also faces two counts of engaging in money laundering activities through two transactions of RM50,000, believed to be the proceeds of unlawful activities, from his Maybank Islamic account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account.


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Anti-party hopping law to come into force on Oct 5

The Constitution (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 2022, better known as the anti-party hopping law, prohibiting MPs from switching parties, will come into force tomorrow.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar announced this today, saying the act obtained the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Aug 31 and was gazetted as Act A1663 on Sept 6.
"His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has also consented to the date of enforcement for the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 2022 on Oct 5, in line with Section 1(2) and Section 1(3) of Act A1663.
"The (date) of enforcement of the act was also gazetted earlier today. So here I am, standing before you, keeping my promise," he told a press conference at the Parliament building.
The Dewan Rakyat on July 28 passed the anti-party hopping bill with more than a two-thirds majority. On Aug 9, the bill obtained the support of 52 out of 60 senators through a bloc vote.
Wan Junaidi said with the enforcement of the act, MPs who leave their parties will lose their membership.
He said a letter from Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob would be sent to all states to request the state governments to standardise and adopt the amendments enacted under Schedule 8 of the Federal Consitution.
"The schedule is to standardise the term 'MPs' with 'assemblymen' in the states.
"When the state assemblies sit later this year, the amendments to their state constitutions can be made," he added.


Tok Mat brushes off claim Umno has lost 2 million members

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has refuted Annuar Musa's claims that two million members had left the party.
He also reminded Annuar, who was the former Umno information chief, to be careful when making any statements about Umno even though it was within his rights to do so.
"I don't know where he got the numbers from. I can also claim that there are two million people who joined Umno. People can think and make up their minds.
"Indeed there are members who have quit the party, some followed (Annuar) and some were disappointed (with the Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Harapan collaboration) but the number is not that big," Mohamad, who is also the Barisan Nasional deputy chairman said to reporters after attending a dinner hosted by the Terengganu Umno liaison committee in Kuala Terengganu last night.
Recently, Annuar who is now a PAS member, when speaking at the Perikatan Nasional rally in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan, claimed that Umno had lost more than two million supporters even before the 15th general election.
Meanwhile, when asked about preparations for the upcoming state elections, Mohamad is confident that victory in states under the administration of the coalition government can be maintained.
"The issue now is to make sure that Barisan Nasional can regain its footing and also if possible, to win in states like Terengganu and Kedah.
"There is a chance to win, on the condition that we work hard, we don't fight with each other and enter the polls with the right strategy... choose a candidate who can win and field a candidate whose credibility cannot be questioned," he said.
The six states involved in the state elections are Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.


Najib’s ex-media guy agrees to surrender RM7 million

Najib Razak’s former media adviser Paul Stadlen, who was charged in 2019 with money laundering involving RM14.3 million, has agreed to a deal with the government which would see just over RM7 million transferred to the trust account of state investment fund 1MDB.The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said in a statement that Stadlen had agreed to surrender RM7,192,873.84, with the entire sum transferred to the 1MDB account.“The matter was decided after taking into account that this was an appropriate sum to forfeit,” it said.“In relation to this, the case against him has been withdrawn.”Stadlen, who worked for Najib for nine years, fled Malaysia after Barisan Nasional’s defeat in the 2018 general election.He was charged in absentia with money laundering at the Magistrate’s Court in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 20, 2019.According to the first charge, he was accused of ordering the transfer of a RM8.2 million payment from illegal activities from a bank account of a client of law firm Messrs Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak to several individuals and a company in 27 transactions between June and December 2014.In the second charge, he was accused of ordering the transfer of RM6.1 million from illegal activities from the bank account of the same client of the law firm to several individuals and a company in 16 transactions between January and August 2015.The charges were framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. If convicted, he could have faced a maximum jail term of five years or a fine of not more than RM5 million.


White House says Biden intends to run again in 2024

US President Joe Biden intends to run for re-election in 2024, White House spokesman Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday.Biden, 79, has suffered a dip in his job approval ratings in recent months, leading some Democrats to wonder whether he might not seek another four-year term.“He is. That’s his intention,” Psaki said as Biden flew aboard Air Force One for a Thanksgiving event with US troops in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.Democrats were rattled by Republican victories in Virginia’s state elections earlier this month and a narrow Democratic victory in New Jersey.Questions have arisen about the viability of Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 should Biden decide not to run again. A recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll found her with a 28% job approval rating.Biden underwent his first physical examination on Friday since taking office in January and doctors found he has a stiffened gait and attributed frequent bouts of coughing to acid reflux. Doctors said he was fit to serve.Biden’s political prospects appeared to have been buoyed last week by congressional passage of a US$1 trillion infrastructure plan. Still being debated is another US$2 trillion in spending on a social safety net package.


China's nuclear arsenal to more than triple by 2035, says Pentagon

China's nuclear arsenal is likely to more than triple to 1,500 warheads by 2035, the Pentagon said in a Tuesday report that also highlighted the increasing sophistication of the country's air force.
Washington has identified Beijing as the most consequential challenge to the US, and the annual report on China's military emphasised improvements to both its nuclear and conventional forces.
"The Department of Defense estimates that (China's) operational nuclear warheads stockpile has surpassed 400," the report said. "If China continues the pace of its nuclear expansion, it will likely field a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads" by 2035.
That figure would still however lag far behind the arsenals of the US and Russia, which each include several thousand nuclear warheads.
China "probably intends to develop new nuclear warheads and delivery platforms that at least equal the effectiveness, reliability and/or survivability" of those under development by the US and Russia, the report said.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said Tuesday that an increased Chinese nuclear arsenal would be a source of instability.
"The more proliferation there is, the more concerning it is, the more destabilising to the region it is," Ryder told journalists.
The report also said Beijing is working to modernise its ballistic missile arsenal, launching some 135 in testing during 2021 – "more than the rest of the world combined," excluding those fired in conflicts.
China is "developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that will significantly improve its nuclear-capable missile forces," the report said.
And Beijing's air force – the third-largest in the world with more than 2,800 aircraft – is making strides.
'New normal'
It is "rapidly catching up to Western air forces and continues to modernise with the delivery of domestically built aircraft and a wide range of UAVs," according to the report.
"This trend is gradually eroding longstanding and significant US military technical advantages... in the air domain."
A senior US defense official, speaking before the report's release, said the Chinese air force is "trying to... progress rapidly on all fronts," including on the equipment it operates as well as its pilots and other personnel.
The report takes aim at the way in which China is employing its military in the Asia-Pacific region, saying it has "adopted more coercive and aggressive actions."
"Throughout 2021 and into 2022, (Chinese) vessels and aircraft have exhibited a sharp increase in unsafe and unprofessional behaviour," risking "a major incident or accident," the report said – an issue US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raised in a recent meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe.
China's military "increased provocative and destabilising actions" during 2021 around Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island Beijing claims as its own.
Beijing lashes out at any diplomatic action that might lend Taiwan legitimacy, and responded to an August 2022 visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by holding its largest and most aggressive exercises around the island since the 1990s.
Both sides have since moved to lower the temperature, but the senior defence official said that while Chinese military activity around Taiwan has decreased, it is still higher than before.
Beijing is "establishing kind of a new normal in terms of the level of military activity around Taiwan following the speaker's visit," the official said.
"Even though we don't see an imminent invasion, obviously, that sort of an elevated level of... intimidating and coercive activity around Taiwan" is a source of concern.


Pot-smoking tourists not welcome in Thailand, says health minister

Thailand's health minister on Wednesday discouraged tourists from visiting the country only to smoke weed, just two months after new laws were passed that have largely decriminalised the drug.
"We don't welcome those kinds of tourists," Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters when asked about recreational marijuana use among foreign visitors.
In 2018, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legalise cannabis for medical use. In June, the entire plant was decriminalised, leading to widespread recreational use.
Despite the government's pleas against getting high, cannabis businesses with special smoking rooms have been a hit with locals and visitors.
But those smoking in public risk facing a three-month jail sentence or fines of up to 25,000 baht (US$705.82).
Anutin's comments come even as foreign arrivals start to pick up in the tourism-reliant country. Southeast Asia's second-largest economy expects 8 million to 10 million arrivals this year, above an earlier forecast of 7 million.
Last year, the pandemic slashed foreign arrivals to just 428,000, compared with a record of nearly 40 million in 2019.
Thailand has focused its cannabis policy on the 28 billion baht (US$790.29 million) industry built around its medical and health benefits.
Anutin said, however, recreational use could be explored once there was better understanding of the drug.
"It might come in the near future," he said.
Thailand's cannabis policy has also drawn interest from regional neighbours like Malaysia, which is studying the use of cannabis for medical purposes.


North Korean diplomats shutter embassy in KL after ties cut

North Korea’s diplomats in Malaysia shuttered their embassy and prepared to fly home Sunday, after Pyongyang severed diplomatic ties over the extradition of a citizen to the US.Pyongyang announced the shock move Friday, labelling Malaysia’s extradition of a North Korean man last week an “unpardonable crime” carried out under “blind obedience” to American pressure.Malaysia had been one of Pyongyang’s few allies but ties were already strained following the 2017 assassination of leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother at klia2.A court ruling earlier this month that Mun Chol Myong could be extradited to the US to face money laundering charges for allegedly exporting prohibited items to the North in violation of sanctions proved the final blow.After Pyongyang cut ties, Malaysia gave the North’s diplomats 48 hours to leave the country.On Sunday the North Korean flag and a plaque were taken down from the country’s embassy – a large house in an upmarket area of Kuala Lumpur – and the gates were chained up.Before departing, North Korean charge d’affaires, Kim Yu Song, accused Malaysia of siding with Washington in a “conspiracy” against Pyongyang, and committing a “large hostile act”.Malaysia had aligned its policies with those of the US, “which seeks to deprive our state of its sovereignty, peaceful existence and development”, Yu Song, the North’s most senior diplomat in Malaysia, told a large media pack.Yu Song and what appeared to be a group of diplomats and their family members then departed on a bus.They arrived later at the Kuala Lumpur airport, loaded stacks of luggage onto trolleys and went to check in at the counters used by regular passengers.An airport security official, speaking anonymously, told AFP that about 30 North Koreans are expected to fly to Shanghai later Sunday.Pyongyang’s decision to cut ties came after a visit last week by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin to South Korea, part of an Asian tour to rally support against the nuclear-armed North and China.Malaysia denounced Pyongyang’s move as “unfriendly and unconstructive”, and announced it would close its mission in the North, whose operations had already been suspended since 2017.


Indonesia Muslim body forbids cryptocurrency trading

Indonesia’s top religious body has declared that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are forbidden under Islamic law and should not be traded in the world’s biggest Muslim majority nation.The country’s powerful Ulama Council issued a fatwa, or religious edict, as virtual currency trading soars in Indonesia and elsewhere.Fatwas have no legal effect in the Southeast Asian nation of 270 million, but the declaration could potentially convince many Muslims to avoid cryptocurrencies.Following a meeting on Thursday, the council likened crypto to gambling, which is haram or forbidden under Islamic law.“Cryptocurrencies as commodities or digital assets are unlawful for trading because they have elements of uncertainty, wagering and harm,” the council’s head of religious decrees Asrorun Niam Sholeh told AFP.“It’s like a gambling bet.”Digital currencies are not tangible assets and their value can fluctuate wildly so they violate Islamic law, he added.Indonesia’s crypto-based transactions amounted to some 370 trillion rupiah (US$26 billion) in the first five months of 2021, soaring from a year earlier, trade minister Muhammad Lutfi said in June.The edict comes after Indonesia’s central bank said it was considering issuing its own digital currency.In 2019, the council’s branch in Aceh province slapped a fatwa on the hugely popular but brutal online game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) over fears it incited real-world violence.More recently, it issued a fatwa against online lending while it declared that Covid-19 vaccines were allowed under Islamic law even if they contained pork products, which are usually off-limits for Muslims.


PH not united over asset declarations, says Khairy

Barisan Nasional's (BN) candidate for Sungai Buloh, Khairy Jamaluddin, today said that the asset declarations undertaken by PKR ahead of the 15th general election (GE15) did not appear to have been approved by all Pakatan Harapan (PH) component parties.
He said fellow PH component DAP had made no such declaration of assets for its candidates.
"If PKR wants to do it, it can go ahead. No problem.
"But PKR's colleagues have not done so. DAP hasn't. But nevermind, it's the stand of each individual party," he said at a press conference in Cyberjaya.
PKR president Anwar Ibrahim had yesterday criticised coalitions that do not urge their candidates for the election to declare their assets ahead of the polls.
"If you don't even dare to declare your assets, don't talk about fighting for the people because you don't even want to answer for your wealth," he said at a ceramah in Kelantan last night.
Khairy said BN and Umno too had made a practice of declaring their assets, adding that he would do so himself after forming the government and being appointed as a minister at the federal level.
"I have declared my assets to the Election Commission, and they are within the range allowed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission," he added.
Yesterday, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook said he had no plans to compel election candidates to declare their assets, adding that the party had no policy of this kind.


Jakarta reopens some schools despite virus fears

Hundreds of schools in Jakarta threw their doors open to students Monday, as some parents resisted the return to in-person learning weeks after Indonesia overtook India and Brazil as the pandemic’s global epicentre.In Jakarta, the preliminary reopening applies to students from just 610 of more than 10,000 schools, from pre-school through high school.Elsewhere, in-person learning has resumed in less badly hit areas at the local government’s discretion. But most classrooms across the vast archipelago nation remain shut and a work from home order for non-essential sectors in effect in the worst-hit areas.Some parents in the capital have opted to keep their children home, even after a year and a half of online classes.“My daughter has not been vaccinated and the Delta variant is spreading like crazy,” Asmara Wreksono, the mother of a third-grader attending one of the reopened schools told AFP.“I feel bad because my daughter misses her friends but my priority is to keep my child alive and healthy,” she added.Indonesia reported its worst coronavirus surge in July when the highly infectious Delta variant ripped through the country, prompting lockdowns.Cases have since tapered, but in the past week an average of more than 13,000 new cases have been registered daily.Attempting to reassure nervous families, officials have pointed to strict health protocols, a cap of only 50% capacity and high vaccination rates in the education sector.Over 90% of students aged 12 and older and 85% of teachers and educators in the capital have been vaccinated, according to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.“We didn’t decide to reopen the schools suddenly, there was an assessment,” he told TVOne on Sunday.He said the schools partaking in the reopening were selected because the teachers had all been vaccinated and the campuses had enough seats to facilitate social distancing.Since the pandemic began, Indonesia has registered more than four million virus cases and 132,000 deaths.Just over 35 million of the country’s 270 million people are fully inoculated.


Problems of anti-vaxxers self-inflicted, says PM

The government has no intention of causing hardship to the people, and the problems facing those who are against Covid-19 vaccines are due to their own attitude, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.He said the Covid-19 vaccination, although not yet compulsory, had helped make life easier for those who had received the vaccine, in activities such as travelling.“Those who do not take the vaccine are making life difficult for themselves, it is not the government that is deliberately making it difficult… that is why I urge those who have not yet received the vaccine to do so, so that they can also get to enjoy the facilities.“Furthermore, as human beings we have a responsibility to help protect others by reducing the risk of infection and reducing the severity of the effects of the disease, if infected, by taking the Covid-19 vaccine,” he said at a press conference today.Yesterday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was reported to have said that the government would take a stern approach to those who refused to take the vaccine, by “continuing to impose various difficulties” on them.According to the prime minister, the health minister in making the statement was referring to the problems that would continue to be faced by those who refuse the vaccine as the requirement for individuals to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 is not only imposed by the Malaysian government, but by other quarters and countries as well.“For example, only those who are fully vaccinated are allowed to perform umrah, and next year, to perform the haj pilgrimage. This is a condition set by the Saudi Arabian government, which of course makes it difficult for those who are not vaccinated,” he said.When asked whether the conditions for the recruitment of civil servants would include the candidates being fully vaccinated, Ismail said it was a good suggestion, but that the matter needs to be thoroughly considered by the Public Service Department (JPA).“It may be considered, but the JPA has to look into various aspects, including legally. So far, action can only be taken against those who are already in the service as the deadline for civil servants to take the vaccine is Nov 1,” he added.


No documents, receipts found for bungalow donation from Zahid’s foundation, witness says

An investigating officer told the High Court yesterday he felt it was strange that there were no documents for contributions made by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s Yayasan Akalbudi to Yayasan Al-Falah, chaired by his brother, Mohamad Nasaee Ahmad Tarmizi, with regards to the purchase of two bungalow lots in Country Heights, Kajang.Mohd Tharuzi Mohd Nor, 40, said he found no documents such as cash transactions and donation receipts during the investigation into the case.He said this during re-examination by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Sazilee Abdul Khairi, on the 48th day of the trial against Zahid who faces charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving millions of ringgit of Yayasan Akalbudi funds.When asked if the donation process of the bungalows was strange, Tharuzi said yes.Tharuzi, who is the 94th prosecution witness, said based on his investigation into the purchase of two property units in Country Heights, the RM5.9 million was allegedly paid by Yayasan Al-Falah to Bee Garden Holdings Sdn Bhd (the original owner of the units) through a cheque issued by Messrs Lewis & Co (Lewis & Co), the trustee of Yayasan Akalbudi belonging to Zahid.He added that from his observations at the end of 2020 and last week, the gates of the two bungalows remained closed.Tharuzi said his investigation also found that Zahid had received a total of seven cheques amounting to RM5 million from Mastoro Kenny IT Consultant & Services, and one cheque for RM2 million from an individual named Mubarak Hussain. All the cheques were deposited into Lewis & Co’s account.“The RM7 million was then used to buy two fixed deposit certificates amounting to RM5 million and RM2 million. Zahid then ordered B Muralidharan (partner at Lewis & Co) for the two fixed deposits to be uplifted.“Of the RM7,019,680.07 (uplifted including interest), RM5.9 million was issued and paid to Bee Garden Holdings for the purchase of two bungalow lots while the rest was turned once again into a fixed deposit certificate,” he said, reading from his witness statement while showing a chart of the money trail to the court.Meanwhile, 95th witness Mohd Fahmee Mohamad Nor, 39, an investigating officer from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), said money changer Omar Ali, an individual accused of laundering money on behalf of Zahid, had not reported transactions of converting cash into cheques worth RM7.5 million to Bank Negara Malaysia.“The money received by Omar Ali was converted into 35 cheques. Omar Ali’s friends, who wished to exchange, whether it be foreign currency, would get the currency by paying for it using a blank cheque,” he said when answering a question from deputy public prosecutor Harris Ong Mohd Jeffrey Ong during the examination-in-chief.Earlier, when reading his witness statement, Moh Fahmee said the 35 cheques totalling RM 7.5 million from five banks were credited into Lewis & Co’s account.Zahid, 68, is facing 47 charges – 12 for criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering involving millions of ringgit of Yayasan Akalbudi funds.


3 landslides reported in KL after flash floods

Three landslides have been reported in the city following flash floods yesterday afternoon, according to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).DBKL said in a statement that two incidents occurred at the road reserves at 1/27, Taman Gembira and Jalan Hang Tuah 4, Salak Selatan, whereas the third occurred at Section 6, Wangsa Maju on private land.“DBKL has surveyed the affected areas and remedial works will be conducted immediately,” it said.It also said that heavy rain with a recorded rainfall of more than 100mm per hour at around 3pm yesterday had caused flash floods in 29 areas in Kuala Lumpur, including Jalan Yaakob Latif, Jalan Ampang, Jalan Pudu underpass, Jalan Maharajalela, Jalan Cheras and Jalan Melaka.Of the 29 areas, floodwaters in 25 areas receded within 30 to 45 minutes whereas water levels took one to three hours to recede in the other four areas – the Jalan Pudu underpass, Jalan Tun Razak tunnel, Kampung Pasir and Kampung Periuk.“Early assistance to ease traffic and conduct clean-up work was conducted, including the use of tow trucks to remove stranded vehicles,” it said.DBKL said it had also identified 12 spots where trees and branches had fallen including in Jalan Pudu Lama, Jalan Teluk Pulai, Jalan Kuchai 2 and Jalan Desa Utama (Taman Desa).A total of 560 flood victims from 145 families are being housed at a relief centre in SJK (Tamil) Saraswati, Jalan Klang Lama, while another 381 from 84 families are taking shelter at Dewan Sultan Sulaiman, Kampung Baru.In Selangor, Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said on Twitter that 1,122 victims from 263 families are being housed at nine relief centres throughout the state.He said the state disaster management agency would continue to monitor the situation and assist in any evacuation process.“The Subang Jaya City Council disaster operations room has opened a 24-hour line (03-80247700) for complaints or emergencies,” he added.In Perak, floodwaters have receded in the Muallim district, and the relief centre at Dewan SMK Khair Johari was closed this morning.A spokesman for the Perak Disaster Management secretariat said in a statement that 68 flood victims from 26 families evacuated to that centre yesterday have been allowed to return home in Kampung Berop, Behrang.Meanwhile, 18 people from four families are still being housed at the relief centre at the Padang Tembak multipurpose hall after being evacuated from their homes in Batu 7½, Jalan Changkat Jong due to floods at noon yesterday.Teluk Intan Fire and Rescue Station chief Mohd Ismail Mohd Yunus said the floodwaters receded to 0.3m this morning from 0.6m yesterday.


Updated Covid vaccines offer better protection than original, US study says

Updated Covid-19 boosters offer increased protection against new variants in people who have previously received up to four doses of the older vaccine, a real-world study in the US showed.
The study of over 360,000 people, published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, offers the first evidence that the new vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna provide better protection compared to the original shots.
Since their introduction in September, the vaccine boosters, which contain both original and Omicron BA.4/5 coronavirus strain, provided greater benefit to younger adults aged 18-49 years that those in the older age group.
When given eight months or more apart, relative vaccine effectiveness of the new boosters compared with the original vaccine shots was 56% among people aged 18–49 years, 48% among those 50–64 years, and 43% among persons aged 65 years and older, the study showed.
The variation in effectiveness was lower, in the range of 28-31%, when the boosters were given 2-3 months apart.
The authors of the study, however, warned that participants may not have recalled their vaccination status, previous infection history, and underlying medical conditions, and that low acceptance of bivalent boosters could have biased the results.
So far, around 35 million updated boosters have been administered across the US, representing around 10% of the total population, as per government data.
The authors warned that the study may not be generalizable to future variants, as the dominant variants keep changing.
In just the last two months, the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants have become the dominant strains of coronavirus in the US, taking over from the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron, based on which the vaccines were updated.


No bailout for Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, govt says

Putrajaya says it will not bail out Malaysia Airlines or AirAsia, the country’s largest airlines which have taken the brunt of the recent lockdown and closure of borders to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Aziz said the government would let Khazanah, which owns Malaysia Airlines, decide on the future of the company.“The government feels at this point in time that we will not bail out any airlines.“So, it’s up to the shareholders of the respective airlines to provide any support that they feel appropriate and necessary,” he told CNBC in an interview.Malaysia Airlines has reported a 94% dip in its finances since travel restrictions were imposed across the world.The company, which was already in trouble over the loss of its MH370 and MH17 flights six years ago, had been offering employees no-pay leave and implementing pay cuts for those in the higher salary bracket.AirAsia and its sister airline AirAsia X meanwhile are said to be preparing for another round of lay-offs.The group had reached out to the government but did not receive any feedback.


Govt to discuss proposal on moratorium for SMEs

The government will discuss a proposal to offer a moratorium to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the relevant ministries soon.
Speaking in Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the discussions would involve the finance ministry and the entrepreneur development and cooperatives ministry.
He said this when asked to comment on the suggestion by National Recovery Council chairman Muhyiddin Yasin for banking institutions to consider offering moratoriums to SMEs, especially those still struggling to recover post Covid-19.
Muhyiddin said some of them were also struggling with the increase in overnight policy rate for the third time this year, adding that SMEs contribute to 90% of the country's economy.


Israeli inquiry checking NSO database over police wiretap allegations

A high-level Israeli inquiry into alleged warrantless wiretaps by police is examining a database provided by NSO Group, the manufacturer of the powerful hacking tool Pegasus, the justice ministry said on Sunday.NSO, which has denied wrongdoing amid months of spiralling reports in Israel and abroad of privacy violations by government clients using Pegasus, has said its “audit log” database provides accurate information on phones infected by the spyware.Israel’s Calcalist newspaper, in an unsourced report last week, said police had used Pegasus without judges’ warrants against public figures including a son and two confidants of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Netanyahu is on trial in three corruption cases. He has pleaded innocent. The Calcalist report prompted the court to cancel a session so prosecutors could respond to defence queries on whether any evidence against him was from tainted wiretaps.The justice ministry statement said an internal police investigation had found “that no action was taken against anyone in the absence of a court warrant against them”. Some 1,500 phone numbers were checked, the statement added.An inquiry being conducted by a deputy attorney-general “is also checking information in the NSO company’s internal database, which was made available,” it said.An NSO spokesman declined comment.Netanyahu, now the opposition leader, has demanded an independent, external investigation of the Pegasus allegations.That call has been echoed by some members of the cabinet of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett – who has held off, saying he first awaited the deputy attorney-general’s findings.Prosecutors in the Netanyahu trial requested that Jerusalem District Court give them until Wednesday to deliver a fuller response, citing a need to declassify materials first, the justice ministry statement said.


Lawyers may apply for MCO exemption for court appearances, essential services representations

Putrajaya has decided to allow the legal services to operate during the two-week lockdown which begins today although the sector is not listed as an essential service.Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Takiyuddin Hassan said the decision took into consideration the need for the physical presence of lawyers to represent clients in court.He said the National Security Council at a meeting yesterday took note that lawyers were still to be present during hearings for new charges, remand orders and miscellaneous criminal applications.Lawyers involved in such cases may apply for travel permits at the nearest police station.Meanwhile, corporate and conveyancing lawyers acting for businesses listed in the essential services sector may also seek permission through the international trade and industry ministry’s Covid-19 Intelligent Management System 3.0.


Rosmah's money laundering, tax evasion trial to begin next May

The High Court today fixed 15 days from May 12 next year for Rosmah Mansor’s money laundering and tax evasion trial.
Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan set the dates during today's case management, attended by deputy public prosecutor Poh Yih Tinn and lawyer Geethan Ram Vincent representing Rosmah.
"The dates set by the court are May 12; June 28 and 30; July 6, 7, 27, 28 and 31; Aug 1, 2, 11, 24 and 25 and Sept 7 and 8, 2023," said the judge who also set Feb 20 next year for case management.
However, Zaini said the hearing dates will depend on Rosmah's appeal at the Court of Appeal which has fixed Dec 23 for case management.
The wife of former prime minister Najib Razak is appealing to remove Zaini, who had dismissed her first application on Dec 14, 2021, and her second bid on April 25 this year, from presiding over her case. Earlier, Poh informed the court that the prosecution would call 15 witnesses.
On Nov 29, Zaini reminded the defence team to give priority to the case as it had been pending for four years since Rosmah was charged on Oct 4, 2018.
Rosmah, 70, faces 12 money laundering charges involving RM7,097,750 and five counts of failing to declare her income to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).
The offences were allegedly committed at Affin Bank, Bangunan Getah Asli branch, Jalan Ampang, between Dec 4, 2013 and June 8, 2017, at LHDN  Kompleks Bangunan Kerajaan, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim, between May 1, 2014 and May 1, 2018.
On Sept 1, Zaini found Rosmah guilty of three charges of corruption related to a solar hybrid project worth RM1.25 billion for 369 rural schools in Sarawak, and sentenced her to 10 years in prison and a fine of RM970 million.
The court also ordered Rosmah to be imprisoned for 30 years if she failed to pay the fine.


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Indonesia set to pass new criminal code that will ban sex outside marriage

Indonesia is expected to ratify sweeping changes to its criminal code on Tuesday, senior officials confirmed, in a legal overhaul that critics say could wind back hard-won democratic freedoms and police morality in the Southeast Asian nation.
Among the most controversial revisions to the code are articles that would penalise sex outside of marriage with up to one year in jail, outlaw cohabitation between unmarried couples, insulting the president, and expressing views counter to the national ideology, known as the Pancasila.
Deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, and Bambang Wuryanto, head of the parliamentary commission overseeing the revision, told Reuters on Monday that parliament would hold a plenary session on Tuesday to ratify the new code.
The government and House of Representatives have agreed on the draft code, clearing a hurdle to its passage.
Decades in the making, the revision of the country's colonial-era penal code has sparked mass protests in recent years, although the response has been considerably more muted this year.
Parliament had planned to ratify a draft new code in September 2019, but nationwide demonstrations over perceived threats to civil liberties halted its passage.
Legislators in the world's third-largest democracy have since watered down some of the articles deemed most contentious.
Revised articles on sex outside marriage and cohabitation, for example, now state such complaints can only be reported by close relatives such as a spouse, parent or child, while insulting the president can only be reported by the president.
But legal experts and civil society groups say the changes don't go far enough.
"This criminal code is a huge setback for Indonesia," said Bivitri Susanti, a law expert from the Indonesia Jentera School of Law.
"The state cannot manage morality," she said. "The government's duty is not as an umpire between conservative and liberal Indonesia."
Articles on customary law, blasphemy, protesting without notification and expressing views divergent from the Pancasila were all legally problematic because they could be widely interpreted, she said.
Once ratified, the new code will come into effect after three years as the government and related institutions draft related implementing regulations.