Najib's lawyer objects to appeals court judge on review panel

Najib Razak's lead counsel has raised an objection against one of the sitting judges in the former prime minister's review application over his conviction in the RM42 million SRC International case.
Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said justice Abu Bakar Jais, who is a Court of Appeal judge, should not be present on the panel.
He said Abu Bakar should recuse himself, adding that only Federal Court judges should be on the bench.
Shafee said according to Section 74 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1974, the composition of the Federal Court judges must consist of all Federal Court judges.  "This is nothing personal as I have known justice Abu Bakar since service days," he added.
Lead prosecutor V Sithambaram countered that such an arrangement to co-opt a Court of Appeal judge is allowed under Article 122 (2) of the Federal Constitution.
He also said the objection against the judge must show a real danger of bias.
Abu Bakar is part of a five-judge panel chaired by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abdul Rahman Sebli to hear Najib's review application.
The other judges on the panel are Federal Court judges Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Rhodzariah Bujang and Nordin Hassan.
Najib is seeking to overturn the decision by a five-man Federal Court bench led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat on Aug 23 last year, upholding his conviction, 12-year jail sentence and fine for the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International funds.
Sithambaran further submitted that Tengku Maimun had fulfilled the requirements of Article 122 of the Federal Constitution with the selection of Abu Bakar on the panel.
The defence's bid to shape the panel, Sithambaram said, was "highly offensive and contemptuous".
"We sitting at the Bar cannot tell the court how they come up with the panel. That's contemptious," Sithambaram said.
He also said that the defence should not seek any special treatment over the proceedings.
Meanwhile, Shafee said Tengku Maimun had not shown any reason for selecting Abu Bakar to sit on the panel.
He said there were seven Federal Court judges at present who could have been chosen.


Daily caseload falls below 1,500 as another 3 deaths reported

Another 1,483 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,805,107.
There were 2,090 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,742,488.
There are now 26,339 active cases, of which 25,021 or 95.0% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, nine (0.0%) are at quarantine centres while 1,241 (4.7%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 68 are in ICU with 48 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 62.1%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 18.5%.
Another three deaths were reported, including one who was brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 36,280.


Please save my son: A letter from Nagaenthran’s mother to Singapore president

Dear Madam Halimah Yacob,My name is Panchalai Supermaniam and I am the mother of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam. I am writing on behalf of Nagen to plead for clemency from the death penalty, and have attached legal arguments in support of clemency prepared by an international legal team that has been assisting Nagen and our family.Nagen got mixed up in criminal activity and sentenced to death because he has disabilities that affect his reasoning and judgment. Now, his mental condition has become so bad that he is not competent for execution. I know he is facing the death penalty because he made a mistake, but he is intellectually disabled and does not deserve to die. His mistake will cost him his life unless you exercise mercy, and grant him clemency.Nagen’s childhoodNagen was a sweet, caring and helpful child who loved being with his family. He had a strong sense of responsibility towards all of us, and grew up very close with his siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Throughout his childhood, I was the main breadwinner of the family and we struggled financially. While he was in secondary school, he would work part-time jobs, such as fixing up canopies or accompanying me to the glove factory, so that he could contribute to our family’s income.I did not want Nagen to go to Singapore. I was worried about him. But Nagen had a friend who told him to go to Singapore to find work, and he insisted on going. He has two younger siblings who are much younger than him. He wanted to work in Singapore so that he could lessen my burden.Around the time of Nagen’s arrest, his father, who does not live with us and only visited now and then throughout Nagen’s childhood, was having health issues, and also needed help with his medical bills.In school, Nagen had difficulty understanding concepts and struggled with his school work. He would often ask his older sister for help to complete his projects. His friends said that he struggled to pay attention in class and would doze off. At that time, we did not have the knowledge or resources to get him assessed by experts and have his disability diagnosed. We did not know that Nagen needed help from more specialised educators, as well as other support to assist him with his intellectual disability.We know now that the problems he faced in school were related to his borderline intellectual functioning and his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. We were not able to protect him from being convicted of a crime, but we have never stopped loving and supporting Nagen.Nagen’s intellectual disabilityI ask that you spare Nagen from execution because he is a person with an intellectual disability. Since childhood, Nagen has been vulnerable because of his intellectual disability. Nagen has always been timid and trusting. He is very easily influenced by others. As long as someone speaks nicely to him or shows him affection, he will immediately trust them, and be willing to blindly follow them into anything.Many 21-year-old boys are not yet fully mature in their thought processes and behaviours; this was even more so for Nagen because of his cognitive impairments. We believe that his intellectual disability made him susceptible to the situation which led to his conviction and death sentence. He does not deserve to die for this.To us, it is clear that Nagen needed additional help and support throughout the criminal justice process because of his intellectual disability. Nagen did not receive procedural accommodations during the course of criminal justice proceedings. There were insufficient measures to ensure that he had access to justice on the same basis as others. Although international principles and guidelines advise that there be procedural adjustments for persons with disabilities, such as allowing them to be accompanied by family at all stages of the process, our family were not informed of Nagen’s arrest until about a week later.According to Singapore’s Ministry for Social Development and Family, the Singapore police force only began training officers to identify suspects and witnesses with mental disabilities in 2013, and the Appropriate Adult Scheme for Persons with Mental Disabilities was only introduced in 2015.Nagen was arrested in 2009 and would not have benefitted from this scheme or any of the training that police officers later received. Even if the investigating officers had followed the protocol that was standard at the time, our knowledge on how to make sure that persons with disabilities have equal access to justice has grown. The introduction of training for officers and the Appropriate Adult Scheme shows that the Singapore government itself recognises that previous practices were insufficient and could be improved upon.Madam President, I know that you and the Singapore government care about protecting people with intellectual disabilities. The progress that Singapore has made in offering additional support to persons with disabilities throughout the process is important and necessary, but came only after my son had already been convicted and sentenced to death. Please protect my son Nagen by granting him clemency.Nagen’s current mental competenceNagen has now been in prison far away from his family for almost a third of his life. He was so young when he was arrested, and has spent all these years away from us, and all alone, living in a single cell. His mental condition has deteriorated dramatically after being in prison for so long.We visited Nagen in early November. We found his mental condition to have deteriorated from the last time we’d seen him years ago. Nagen is disoriented, and can’t sustain eye contact when he talks to people. Nagen has moments of lucidity, but then doesn’t register what people say to him and speaks about himself as if he is a different person. He doesn’t speak in full sentences, and is incoherent. Sometimes his eyes dart around the room as if he is looking at people who are not there. Nagen talks about going home and eating my home-cooked food. It breaks my heart to hear him say that when I know he is facing death by hanging. I am very concerned that Nagen does not seem to understand that “execution” means that he will die.Nagen has not had any independent psychological or psychiatric assessment to tell us about his current condition. Nagen told my younger son Navin that he is on medication, which helps him feel calm. We, his family, have not been told what medication this is, but Nagen told Navin that without the medication he would end up in a mental hospital. Nagen’s condition is not stable. It makes me cry when I think about what Nagen is experiencing.Plea for clemencyMadam Halimah, you are a mother and I am writing to you as a mother. My beloved son Nagen needs your help. He needs compassion and mercy. You have power that I do not to save my son’s life. You have the power to grant him clemency, to spare him from the noose. Please, let my son live free from the threat of death.Yours sincerely,Panchalai Supermaniam.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


1,212 new cases, over 400 in Selangor

Another 1,212 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 65,697.Of these, 402 were recorded in Selangor, 308 of which were from existing clusters and screening of close contacts.Sabah meanwhile recorded 326 new cases with 111 from existing clusters.Negeri Sembilan recorded 141 new cases followed by Kuala Lumpur (119), Penang (60), Johor (54), Perak (43), Kedah (31), Labuan (30), Sarawak and Pahang (two each), and Putrajaya and Kelantan (one each).Active cases stand at 10,578 with 113 in the ICU and 42 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 2,112 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 54,759.However, three more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 360.


Man charged with murdering 6-month-old son

A medical assistant was charged at the Ipoh Magistrate’s Court today with murdering his six-month-old son last month.
Zahrul Ashrik Zulkaflee, 30, nodded in understanding when the charge was read out before magistrate Jesseca Daimis.
No plea was recorded as murder cases are under the High Court’s jurisdiction.
According to the charge sheet, the civil servant was charged with murdering his baby, Muhammad Zakir Asyraf, at a house in Kampung Kepayang, Fairpark at about 10pm on March 17.
The charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries the death penalty upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Syahirah Azahar prosecuted, while Zahrul was not represented.
The court set June 12 for remention.


Beijing sweats in extreme 40C-plus heat for record third day

Beijing topped 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday for a record third day as the Chinese capital sweltered in extreme heat, while uncommonly high temperatures for June grilled an area the size of California in northern China.
At 1.51pm (0551 GMT), the temperature measured by Beijing's benchmark weather station in its southern suburbs briefly soared above 40C.
Until Saturday, the city of nearly 22 million people had never logged three straight days above 40C since setting up the southern observatory in 1951.
Aside from Beijing, parts of nearby Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Inner Mongolia and Tianjin either raised or kept their hot weather alert at "red", the highest in China's four-tier warning system.
A red alert signifies the temperature could exceed 40C within 24 hours.
As of 1.13pm, an area of 450,000 square km had recorded temperatures over 37C, according to local media.
"Last year's heatwave gives some sense of the risks to China's food supply and the potential impact on prices," Capital Economics wrote in a note on Friday.
"Another drought would hurt crop yields while livestock are vulnerable to high temperatures."
On Saturday, state media reported ground surface temperatures in excess of 70C in parts of Shandong – China's most populous province after Guangdong, and a key grower of grain.
The heatwaves, the second round in about 10 days, were caused by warm air masses associated with high pressure ridges in the atmosphere. The effect was amplified by thin cloud cover and long daylight hours around the summer solstice, according to Chinese meteorologists.
In Beijing between 1990 and 2020, the average number of days with temperatures of 35C or more was 10.6, the official Beijing Daily reported, citing official data.
June is not yet over and that number has already been beaten, the newspaper said, after temperatures in Beijing surpassed 35C for the 11th day this year on Saturday.
On Friday, Beijing baked in temperatures as high as 40.3C, after sizzling at 41.1C on Thursday, the second-hottest day recorded by the Chinese capital in modern times.
Beijing's all-time high of 41.9C was recorded on July 24, 1999.
The heat waves in northern China are expected to abate by Monday before regaining strengthen later in the week.


South America Covid situation turning in ‘wrong direction’, says WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) voiced deep concern on Tuesday at the Covid-19 situation in South America, warning that outbreaks in the already hard-hit region were once again worsening.WHO’s emergencies chief Michael Ryan said eight of the 10 countries reporting the coronavirus highest mortality rates in the last week were in the Americas.“The situation in South America right now remains of very high concern,” he told reporters.“South America was really in a difficult situation only a couple of months ago, and that situation again is starting to turn in the wrong direction.”“The disease transmission is intense, community transmission is widespread and healthcare systems remain under pressure,” he said stressing that those factors were being “reflected in mortality rates”.Ryan’s comments came after Peru on Monday more than doubled its official coronavirus death toll, becoming the country with the highest Covid-19 mortality per capita anywhere in the world.Lima said it had raised the count from 69,342 to 180,764 on the advice of a panel of health experts, which found there had been an undercount.But countries across the continent have been hard-hit by the pandemic, with Brazil long one of the world’s worst affected countries.Ryan pointed out that test positivity rates in many South American countries remained “remarkably high”, standing at 37% in Paraguay, 33% in Argentina and 30% in Colombia.At the same time, he lamented, “case fatality rates in South America (are generally) higher than in many parts of the rest of the world”.This, he said, was largely due to the strain that healthcare systems on the continent have been under “for a very long time”.Ryan stressed the need to break the cycle, urging countries everywhere to scale up efforts to rein in the virus, stressing the dire need for more equitable access to vaccines.He warned that the world’s focus appeared to be bouncing around the planet from the latest explosive outbreak to the next, like children chasing “around the field after the football”.“We have to take a step back and realise we have to break that cycle,” he said.


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Opec sees global oil demand growth slowing in 2023, sources say

World oil demand growth will slow in 2023, Opec delegates and industry sources said, as surging crude and fuel prices help drive up inflation and act as a drag on the global economy.Fuel use has rebounded from the 2020 pandemic-induced slump and is set to exceed 2019 levels this year even as prices hit record highs. But high prices have eaten into growth projections for 2022 and fed into expectations for slower growth in 2023.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to publish its first forecast for 2023 demand in July. Its forecast, along with that of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, will be watched closely for pointers on how Opec supply policy might develop.An Opec delegate and another source familiar with Opec thinking said they expected world demand growth of two million barrels per day (bpd) or less in 2023, a rise of just 2%, compared with growth of 3.36 million bpd expected in 2022.“Even if it is only one million bpd, that is still growth and not a peak,” the delegate said of the outlook for next year.Opec is expected to publish its first demand forecast for 2023 in its monthly report on July 12, an Opec source said.The IEA, which advises Western governments on energy policy, will give its first 2023 demand forecast in a monthly report on Wednesday, an IEA spokesman said.Opec is watching for signs that high fuel prices will lead to oil demand destruction.Two more Opec delegates said demand destruction is likely to take a toll on oil use in coming months, although one of them said there was little sign of it yet in the US, citing recent gasoline demand data.A senior industry source at a trading firm, not affiliated with the IEA or Opec, also said he expected lower demand growth in 2023, saying his initial estimates pointed to demand growing by two million bpd or less, down from 2.6 million bpd growth in 2022.“Crude at US$120 a barrel is causing demand destruction,” he said. “It is already happening.”Oil demand forecasters often have to make sizeable revisions given changes in the economic outlook and geopolitical uncertainties, which this year included Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and recent Chinese coronavirus lockdowns.Opec originally forecast demand growth in 2022 of 3.28 million bpd, in its first forecast published in July 2021, later raising it up to more than four million bpd before cutting it to 3.36 million bpd.


Najib’s appeal against SRC conviction to be heard next year

Former prime minister Najib Razak’s appeal against his conviction and sentence over the misappropriation of RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd will be heard from Feb 15 next year.Court of Appeal deputy registrar Darmafikri Abu Adam fixed 12 days for hearing the appeal during case management today, from Feb 15 until 18, Feb 22 until 25 and March 1 to 4, 2021.Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashraf Adrin Kamaril and lawyers Harvinderjit Singh and Nur Syahirah Hanapiah, representing Najib, were present.Najib had, on July 30, filed a notice of appeal against the conviction and sentence meted out by High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who found him guilty of seven charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), money laundering and abuse of power.Najib was sentenced to 10 years’ jail for each of the three cases of CBT and each of the three cases of money laundering. He was also sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million, in default of five years’ jail, for abuse of power.However, he will only serve 12 years in jail as the judge ordered for the jail sentences to run concurrently. He is currently out on RM2 million bail with two sureties pending his appeal.On Aug 7, the prosecution filed a cross-appeal to increase the sentence.On Sept 25, Najib obtained a 30-day extension to file his petition of appeal after the Court of Appeal allowed his application for an extension of time.For the prosecution’s cross-appeal, it is understood that because the prosecution did not file a petition of appeal within the time period or apply for an extension of time, the appeal therefore lapsed.


Thailand reports record 23,557 new Covid cases

Thailand reported on Thursday a record daily increase of 23,557 new coronavirus infections, as the country deals with an outbreak driven by the Omicron variant.The Southeast Asian country also reported 38 new deaths, according to the country’s Covid-19 centre.The daily death toll from the virus, however, was well below the 184 fatalities reported on Aug 13 last year, when Thailand recorded its previous daily record of 23,418 infections.A World Health Organization official said last month there is evidence the Omicron variant causes milder symptoms than previous variants and while case numbers have surged to records in many places hospitalisation and death rates have often been lower than in earlier phases of the pandemic.In Thailand, there are currently just below 181,000 people receiving treatment in hospital or isolating in the community, versus more than 212,000 on Aug 13 last year, data from the health ministry showed.Up to now, about 69% of people in Thailand have been fully vaccinated, compared with about 12% at the end of August.Since the pandemic, Thailand has reported a total of about 2.79 million infections and 22,768 deaths.


Daily cases cross 6,000 again

Another 6,148 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,448,372.Another 7,595 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,347,985.Meanwhile 563 are in the ICU, including 495 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 292 are in need of respiratory assistance including 211 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 6,148 cases reported today, 101 (1.6%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 6,047 (98.4%) are in Category One and Two.


Hungary gets exemption as EU agrees on Russia oil embargo

European Union leaders have agreed an embargo on Russian crude oil imports that will take full effect by end-2022, but Hungary and two other landlocked Central European states secured exemptions for the pipeline imports they rely on.The ban, agreed overnight after weeks of wrangling, aims to halt 90% of Russia’s crude imports into the 27-nation bloc by year-end.It is the toughest sanction yet on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and one that will itself affect the EU, where energy prices have spiked and inflation is running at close to a double-digit clip.Russia accounted for just over a quarter of EU oil imports in 2020, while Europe is the destination for nearly half of Russia’s crude and petroleum product exports.“The sanctions have one clear goal: To prompt Russia to end this war, to withdraw its troops, and to agree a sensible and fair peace with Ukraine,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.The oil embargo follows an earlier ban on Russian coal and allows the bloc to impose a sixth round of sanctions that includes cutting Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, off from the Swift international transaction system.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that once the sixth round was in place “we’ll immediately start preparing the seventh” round. He predicted the embargo would strip Russia of tens of billions of Euros.“In the end there should be no meaningful economic relations left between the free world and the terrorist state,” he said in a late night address on Tuesday.Zelensky had earlier criticised what he called an “unacceptable” delay of more than 50 days since the EU’s previous package.French President Emmanuel Macron said nothing could be ruled out regarding further sanctions, although other leaders rejected the idea of banning purchases of Russian gas, on which Europe heavily depends.EU countries will have six months to stop imports of seaborne Russian crude and eight months for refined products.That timeline will start once the sanctions are formally adopted, which EU states aim to do this week.Hungary exemptThe deal was reached only after the EU’s other leaders agreed to give Hungary a free pass.Two-thirds of the Russian oil imported by the EU comes by tanker and the rest through the Druzhba pipeline.Poland and Germany are among the pipeline importers, but have pledged to stop buying Russian oil by the end-2022.Landlocked Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic all get their Russian oil from Druzhba and account for the 10% of imports temporarily exempted from the embargo.Bulgaria said it had also secured an exemption until end-2024, since its refinery is designed to receive only Russian crude. Oil prices rose after the agreement, adding to inflation, which already hit a record 8.1% year-on-year in euro zone countries this month.Gas next?Ursula von der Leyen, head of the bloc’s executive commission, said the package would also ban EU firms from insuring or reinsuring ships carrying Russian oil.Several countries already want to start work on a seventh round, but Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said it could not include Russian gas, which covers a third of EU needs.“Russian oil is much easier to compensate for… gas is completely different,” Nehammer said.Russian analysts and traders said the phasing-in of the embargo gave Moscow time to find new customers in Asia.“Although the measures announced by the European Union look threatening, we don’t see a crippling impact on the Russian oil sector – neither imminent, nor in six months,” analysts at Sinara Investment Bank said.EU leaders also asked the commission to explore options to tackle soaring energy prices. These include “temporary import price caps”, which should be explored with international partners, their conclusions said.They also endorsed a commission plan to wean the EU off all Russian fossil fuels within years through a faster rollout of renewable energy, improvements in saving energy, and more investments in energy infrastructure.And they called for better EU-wide contingency planning in case of further gas supply shocks. Moscow on Tuesday cut gas supplies to the Netherlands for rejecting its gas-for-roubles scheme, having already cut off Poland, Bulgaria and Finland.


When should GE15 be held?

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has made a solemn promise to hold a general election (GE) once the Covid-19 pandemic is over. If the calling of the Sabah election last year is to be used as a precedent, that would mean the daily infection figures would have to trend towards one- and two-digit figures for an election date to be announced.On Aug 17, the Election Commission announced Sept 12 as nomination day, Sept 22 as early voting day and Sept 26 as polling day for the Sabah election. On the day of the announcement, the daily infection was 12 cases. From then on and up to Aug 31, there were seven days of one- digit infections.The daily infection started to hit a three-digit figure for the first time on Sept 23 with 147 cases – the first since the conditional MCO in May.This was one day after early voting. On Oct 1 – five days after the election – new cases hit a record of 280, followed two days later by another record of 317. By Oct 24, it had reached an astounding four-digit (1,228) new cases.The calling of the Sabah election based on a one- to two-digit infection rate in retrospect was correct. The mistake lay with the politicians of all parties and their supporters who were trigger happy in ignoring SOPs on the campaign trail.The evidence was found on their social media where they posted pictures showing their total and utter disregard for wearing masks or observing physical distancing, and them breaching the maximum number of people allowed for events while campaigning.The only exception was the prime minister himself who, when arriving at campaign venues, would go straight to the stage without shaking hands or talking to attendees at close quarters. When his speech ended, he would go straight to his car and leave the venue. And he began all his campaign speeches with an appeal for attendees to observe physical distancing and to put on masks, which he himself also did.On March 16, new infections were at 1,063 cases, the lowest in many months. So, it will take a few more months for daily cases to reach a consistently two- or one-digit level, hence anyone who talks about holding an election now when the daily infection is still a four-digit number, let alone three-digit, is indeed very irresponsible.In Malaysia, a GE must be held once parliament is dissolved after five years have elapsed from the first sitting of the parliament that was held soon after the previous GE. Since the first session of the current 14th parliament began on July 16, 2018, parliament will automatically dissolve on July 16, 2023 to make way for GE15.This is the practice of many parliamentary democracies particularly in the Commonwealth association. But the question is, can a GE be held less than five years after the first parliamentary session? If yes, how much earlier?The constitution is silent on this, which means there is no explicit prohibition on holding an earlier GE. But one thing is clear, a GE cannot be held if parliament is not dissolved. And the one holding the key to the dissolution of parliament is the prime minister – an advantage of incumbency in a parliamentary democracy recognised by the constitution.Based on the history of GEs in Malaysia, on the average a GE was held after parliament had entered its fourth year. The spirit of the constitution in having a GE once in every five years is obviously to prevent a waste of resources because it is not cheap to hold a general election.The Israeli experience is a case in point. The country first held its normal election (as in once in every five years) in April 2019. But because it resulted in a stalemate and no politicians there could cobble up a coalition government, a second election was called in September – five months later. This again resulted in a stalemate, and a third election was held six months later in March 2020.This also resulted in another stalemate but at least a government was finally formed after the two political parties that had a shot at being the government came to a compromise to form a coalition government in which Likud’s Benjamin Netanyahu retained the premiership, with Benny Gantz from the Blue & White party serving in the specially created role of alternate prime minister for the first 18 months of the term, before taking over the top job for an equal period.But just months later, the Netanyahu-Benny Gantz government collapsed because Netanyahu reneged on a pledge in the agreement to pass a two-year budget, and so, Israelis once again, for the fourth time in two years, will be going to the poll on March 23 – barely a week from today.In Malaysia, the cost of holding GE14 was RM500 million, and according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Takiyuddin Hassan, it could cost RM1.2 billion to hold a GE at this time.Imagine if Malaysia were to hold four GEs in two years just like Israel. The cost would balloon to RM4.8 billion. And this should not be discounted because it has become a norm since GE14 for a government with a slim majority.This could be the reason why, when former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned in February 2020, he didn’t request for a dissolution of Parliament because it was just barely two years after the previous GE. Of course, in hindsight we could say the reason was also due to his politicking to have a go again at the premiership without a GE with a unity government.The purpose of any GE is primarily for the current government to get a renewed mandate from the people, and if it fails to get that mandate, regime change will occur. But does that mean renewal of mandate or especially regime change must always be preceded by a GE?At any time before a GE is due, when no politician in parliament has the requisite 111 MPs to back him as prime minister, that signals the fall of the government. In such a case, the constitution allows the king to appoint any MP that in His Majesty’s judgment would be “likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House”.Is such a prime minister appointed through this constitutional provision a backdoor prime minister and his government a backdoor one? Obviously not, if one understands democracy to mean also a government elected/appointed through the rule of law as embodied in the constitution.When the people gives their mandate to a government via a GE, that mandate also includes the mandate to abide by the constitution, ie. the mandate is withdrawn once the elected government fails to achieve a majority as provided for in the constitution, and a new government appointed in accordance with the dictate of the constitution is a legitimate government mandated by the people.That is how the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government came into power when the mandate of the people of the previous Pakatan Harapan government was forfeited when the latter found itself in a minority position, and the mandate of the people automatically went to the new government which was appointed through the due process of the law.According to academic Chandra Muzaffar, the PN government came into being through the front door of the palace. So, it is not a backdoor government, neither is it an illegitimate government.Jamari Mohtar is director of media & communications at independent think tank Emir Research.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


489 new cases, death toll unchanged

A total of 489 new cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed cases in the country to 13,993.Of these, 487 were local transmissions involving 467 Malaysians and 20 foreigners, while the remaining two imported cases involved one Malaysian and one foreigner.The death toll remains unchanged at 141.The bulk of new cases were recorded in Sabah (282) and Kedah (153) while Selangor recorded 20 more infections.A majority of the cases reported in Kedah were from the Tembok cluster while those in Sabah were recorded in red zone areas.Active cases stand at 3,351 or 23.95% of total confirmed cases, with 40 in the ICU and 13 in need of respiratory assistance.A total of 74 patients were discharged, taking total recoveries to 10,501 or 75.04%.


Decision on whether to quit PN tomorrow, says Umno

Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan says the party will only decide whether its MPs should quit the ruling bloc by next month after its Supreme Council meeting tomorrow.This comes after Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi urged MPs to quit supporting the Perikatan Nasional government, and party leaders holding positions in government-linked companies to resign.Ahmad declined to comment on the remarks by Zahid.“That’s merely a report. Whatever we discussed, we will bring it up with the Supreme Council tomorrow night,” he told reporters after a meeting attended by Umno division leaders in Kuala Lumpur today.Ahmad said at the meeting today, division leaders also rejected any move to partner with DAP, as suggested by some Umno leaders.They also called for closer ties with PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).Yesterday, Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said he would not rule out Umno working with Pakatan Harapan, including DAP, to form the government.“Anything is possible in politics,” he had said.


Thai factory explosion rattles Bangkok airport

One person died and another 29 people were injured after a massive explosion at a factory on the outskirts of Bangkok early on Monday, reports the AP.Local media reported that the initial explosion shook terminals and other buildings at Bangkok’s largest international airport, Suvarnabhumi, setting off alarms and panicking staff.Airport officials said that no flights had been cancelled but offered no other immediate details.The explosion occurred at around 3am at the Ming Dih Chemical factory compound, consisting of multiple warehouses storing foam and plastic pallets manufactured on site in the factory located in a village southeast of the Thai capital.A blaze followed and firefighters were shown on Thai news media climbing through twisted steel wreckage to get their hoses close enough to the flames as they fought to control the blaze.Nearby homes had their windows blown out and wreckage in the streets, with black smoke billowing over the area even hours later.Authorities ordered the evacuation of an area 5km around the scene amid fears that thousands of litres of leaking chemicals may cause more explosions.Evacuation centres were set up in a school and a government office for those forced from their homes.“At first it felt like lightning. After that, I heard something drop loudly, and for a while the house started shaking like there was an earthquake,” said Baitong Nisarat, a local resident.Disaster authorities said 70 houses were damaged and fires were still being fought nine hours after the explosion.The cause of the blast had yet to be determined.“We are trying to look for the injured,” volunteer rescue worker Anyawut Phoampai told Thai public TV station TPBS. “But the flames are high so it takes quite an effort.”He said that rescuers were also fanning out around the area to help people who reported being injured by falling debris.


US pushing India to seal big armed drone buy for Modi visit, sources say

Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington, the Biden administration is pushing New Delhi to cut through its own red tape and advance a deal for dozens of US-made armed drones, two people familiar with the matter said.
India has long expressed interest in buying large armed drones from the US but bureaucratic stumbling blocks have hampered a hoped-for deal for SeaGuardian drones that could be worth US$2 billion (about RM9.2 billion) to US$3 billion for years.
US negotiators are counting on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's White House visit on June 22 to break the log jam.
Since the date for Modi's visit was fixed, the US State Department, Pentagon and White House have asked India to be able to "show" progress on the deal for as many as 30 armable MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics, two sources said.
Modi and Biden are also expected to discuss co-production of munitions and ground vehicles, like armored personnel carriers, while Modi is in Washington, the sources said.
Spokespersons for the White House, Department of State and the Pentagon declined to comment on the negotiations.
US President Joe Biden has made deepening ties with India a cornerstone of his policy to counter China's growing influence, placing special attention this year on collaboration between the world's two largest democracies on advanced military technologies, despite their lack of a formal security alliance.
New Delhi, which often prizes its non-alignment in conflicts between great powers abroad, has frustrated Washington by maintaining some defence and economic ties with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
Breaking India's bureaucratic log jam on drones hinges on an internal meeting to generate an "Acceptance of Necessity" document, an Indian precursor to a formal "Letter of Request" which kicks off the foreign military sale process. As of Tuesday, the sources did not know if the New Delhi had generated the necessary internal document.
"That's gonna be a decision that the government of India needs to make," said a senior Biden administration official. "We think it would be good for them to go through with the purchase of MQ-9s. But those decisions are sort of more in the hands of India than they are of us."
The topic was expected to be on the agenda as Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday to finalise preparations ahead of Modi's visit.
As of last week, India's defence ministry had still not made up its mind about the number of drones it wants to buy, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Earlier, the number was pegged at 30, but that was later revised to 24, and then further down to 18 last month. Sources cautioned that none of the numbers were final.
India is also seeking components of the equipment to be domestically manufactured, something that could complicate any deal.
The Quad grouping of countries - the US, India, Australia and Japan - all operate, or have operated, the MQ-9B SeaGuardian. Currently, India is leasing MQ-9Bs as part of an intelligence-gathering operation.


Zuraida hopes to keep Cabinet post ahead of meeting with PM

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin has expressed hope that she will keep her Cabinet position, ahead of a meeting with the prime minister after switching political parties.She said this would ensure continuity in the programmes planned by the ministry.“As we know, I am meeting the prime minister next week,” she told reporters after a programme in Sungai Siput last night.“I hope there will be good news of being retained because that is easier to complete the programmes and plans laid out, apart from helping to stabilise the country and Cabinet.”Last month, Zuraida quit Bersatu to join Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM). She said she would meet with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to discuss her position in the Cabinet.On Thursday, Ismail said he would meet Zuraida this week to discuss her Cabinet post.Meanwhile, Zuraida, who has been named PBM president-designate, said the party would be looking for suitable seats to contest in Perak in the 15th general election (GE15).The Ampang MP said electoral contests in the country were getting increasingly open as no single party could dominate.“We can see that now there are no dominant parties. New or old parties all have a chance. It depends on their approach,” she added.


Ex-Goldman president giving to charity to resolve bank impasse over 1MDB

Former Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn will donate to charity rather than return past earnings that the company sought to reclaim after the 1MDB bribery scandal, Goldman said Thursday.The investment bank in October announced a plan to claw back compensation from former and current bank executives following a US$2.9 billion criminal settlement with the Department of Justice over the massive international scandal.The bank said it was seeking some US$174 million from a group of current and former bank leaders because of their role in “institutional failure” at Goldman, even though the executives were not involved in “any illicit activity”, the bank said in October.But Cohn, who served as a White House economic adviser in the first two years of the Trump administration after leaving Goldman, resisted returning the funds.When Cohn moved into government, his deferred compensation was cashed out, severing him completely from Goldman.Bloomberg News reported Thursday that Goldman had sought more than US$10 million in back compensation from Cohn, but it was not clear if he planned to donate that entire sum. The report said he was giving money to charities that work in pandemic relief and social justice.A Cohn spokesman confirmed the move, saying “Cohn is a team player, and as a good corporate citizen, he volunteered many weeks ago to make a significant charitable contribution to Goldman Sachs-sponsored organisations and looks forward to doing so.”Goldman applauded the move.“We are pleased that Gary has chosen to support charitable organisations that are doing important work and put this matter behind us,” a Goldman spokesman said.


Japan signals return to nuclear power to stabilise energy supply

Japan will restart more idled nuclear plants and look at developing next-generation reactors, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday, setting the stage for a major policy shift on nuclear energy a decade after the Fukushima disaster.
The comments from Kishida - who also said the government would look at extending the lifespan of existing reactors - highlight how the Ukraine crisis and soaring energy costs have forced both a change in public opinion and a policy rethink toward nuclear power.
Japan has kept most of its nuclear plants idled in the decade since a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 triggered a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Quake-prone Japan also said it would build no new reactors, so a change in that policy would be a stark turnaround.
Kishida told reporters he had instructed officials to come up with concrete measures by the year end, including on "gaining the understanding of the public" on sustainable energy and nuclear power.
Government officials met on Wednesday to hammer out a plan for so-called "green transformation" aimed at retooling the world's third-largest economy to meet environmental goals. Nuclear energy, which was deeply opposed by the public after the Fukushima crisis, is now seen by some in government as a component for such green transformation.
Public opinion has also shifted, as fuel prices have risen and an early and hot summer spurred calls for energy-saving.
"It is the first step towards the normalisation of Japan's energy policy," said Jun Arima, a project professor at the University of Tokyo's graduate school of public policy.
Japan needs nuclear power because its grid is not connected to neighbouring countries, nor is it able to boost output of domestic fossil fuels, he said.
Last month the government said it hoped to restart more nuclear reactors in time to avert any power crunch over the winter.
As of late July, Japan had seven operating reactors, with three others offline due to maintenance. Many others are still going through a relicensing process under stricter safety standards imposed after Fukushima.
Kishida also said the government would look at extending the lifespan of existing reactors. Local media earlier reported this could be done by not including the time reactors remained offline - years in some cases - when calculating their operating time.
Under current regulations, Japan decommissions plants after a predetermined period, which in many cases is 60 years.


Welfare home founder charged with mistreating Down syndrome girl

The founder of the Rumah Bonda welfare home, Siti Bainun Ahd Razali, was again charged at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur, this time with mistreating a 13-year-old girl with Down syndrome.Siti Bainun, 29, pleaded not guilty to the charge which was read out to her before judge Izralizam Sanusi.She was charged as a person having care of the child with mistreating the girl in a manner likely to have caused her physical and emotional injury.She was accused of committing the offence at a condominium unit in Wangsa Maju between February and June this year.The charge, framed under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both, upon conviction.On Aug 20, Siti Bainun pleaded not guilty to a charge of neglecting the girl in a manner likely to have caused her physical and emotional injuries at the same location and within the same time frame.The court allowed her bail of RM5,000 with one surety and ordered her to not to intimidate the witness.It also told her to surrender her passport and to report to the nearest police station.The court set 15 days for the trial beginning March 30 next year.Deputy public prosecutor Noor Shakira Aliana Alias appeared for the prosecution, while Siti Bainun was represented by lawyers Farhan Maaruf and Nur Aminahtul Mardiah Md Nor.


Tesla to recall 135,000 vehicles in US over computer issue

Tesla will recall nearly 135,000 cars to repair a computer memory failure that could pose a safety risk, US regulators said on Tuesday.The electric car manufacturer notified the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the massive recall over the problem affecting the cars’ touchscreen that could cause a loss of some features.The recall covers the 2012 to 2018 Model S sedans and the 2016 to 2018 Model X SUVs equipped with a NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, Tesla said in its notification to NHTSA.When the flash memory in the touchscreen reaches the end of its useful life, it “can cause failures of the center display software components, and may indirectly cause loss of the rearview camera display, defrost/defog control settings and exterior turn signal lighting,” the manufacturer said.Tesla said it will repair the issue at no cost to car owners, starting in late March.NHTSA opened a preliminary investigation into the issue of backup camera failures in June 2020.About 159,000 vehicles were affected by the memory issues, according to NHTSA. However, Tesla said the recall does not cover those that already were upgraded to the Intel Atom processor.While vehicles can still be driven, and Tesla said it was not aware of any accidents as a result of the issue, the failure “may increase the risk of a crash”.


Climate change, El Nino drive hottest June on record

The world saw its hottest June on record last month, the EU's climate monitoring service said Thursday, as climate change and the El Nino weather pattern looked likely to drive another scorching northern summer.
The EU monitor Copernicus also said preliminary data showed Tuesday was the hottest day ever recorded – beating the record set only the day before.
It's the latest in a series of records halfway through a year that has already seen a drought in Spain and fierce heat waves in China as well the US.
"The month was the warmest June globally at just over 0.5 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, exceeding June 2019 – the previous record – by a substantial margin," the EU monitor said in a statement from its C3S climate unit.
Temperatures reached June records across northwest Europe while parts of Canada, the US, Mexico, Asia and eastern Australia "were significantly warmer than normal", Copernicus noted.
On the other hand it was cooler than normal in western Australia, the western US and western Russia, it said.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said "the situation we are witnessing now is the demonstration that climate change is out of control".
He reiterated his wish that "developed countries can get to net zero emissions as close as possible to 2040 and the emerging economies as close as possible to 2050".
'Hottest day ever'
The tumbling records reflect the impact of global warming driven by greenhouse gases released from human activity.
Copernicus told AFP preliminary data showed a global average temperature of 17.03 C on Tuesday, beating another record of 16.88 C already set on Monday.
For June, Copernicus noted that sea surface temperatures were higher globally than any previous June on record, with "extreme marine heat waves" around Ireland, Britain and the Baltic.
Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest extent for June since satellite observations began, at 17% below average.
C3S scientist Julien Nicolas told AFP the June record was driven largely by "very warm ocean surface temperatures" in the Pacific and Atlantic due to El Nino, a periodic warming phenomenon.
Marine heatwaves struck the Atlantic and low winds meant the warm surface did not mix with colder water deeper down.
"On top of that is this warming trend of the ocean absorbing 90% of heat released by human activity," he added.
The global temperature was 0.53 C above the 30-year average at an average of 16.51 C, he calculated.
"June 2023 is way above the others. This is the kind of anomaly we are not used to," Nicolas said.
Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the UN's World Meteorological Organization, warned on Monday that El Nino "will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean."
He urged governments "to mobilise preparations to limit the impacts on our health, our ecosystems and our economies."
Deadly heat waves
El Nino is a naturally occurring pattern that drives increased heat worldwide, as well as drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere.
In addition, human activity – mainly the burning of fossil fuels – emits roughly 40 billion tonnes of planet-warming CO2 into the atmosphere every year.
As well as withering crops, melting glaciers and raising the risk of wildfires, higher-than-normal temperatures also cause health problems ranging from heatstroke and dehydration to cardiovascular stress.
In the US, local officials said last week that at least 13 people died from an extreme heatwave in Texas and Louisiana.
China issued its highest-level heat alert for northern parts of the country as Beijing baked in temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius.
After a record hot June in Britain, water use restrictions were imposed in parts of southeastern England, and Scotland put regions on water scarcity alert.
The world has warmed an average of nearly 1.2 C since the mid-1800s, unleashing extreme weather including more intense heatwaves, more severe droughts in some areas and storms made fiercer by rising seas.


919 new cases, 996 recoveries

Another 919 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, pushing total confirmed infections in the country to 43,791.Of these, 319 were recorded in Sabah, followed by Negeri Sembilan (240), Selangor (174), Penang (63), Kuala Lumpur (49), and Labuan (35).Perak recorded nine new cases while Melaka, Sarawak and Johor recorded eight each.Kedah recorded three new cases, Kelantan two and Putrajaya one.Active cases stand at 11,419 with 92 in the ICU and 35 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 996 patients were discharged, taking total recoveries to 32,069.However, one more death was reported, bringing the virus toll to 303.


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WhatsApp agrees to be more transparent on policy changes, EU says

Meta Platforms' WhatsApp has agreed to be more transparent about changes to its privacy policy introduced in 2021, the European Commission said on Monday, following complaints from consumer bodies across Europe.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and the European Network of consumer authorities told WhatsApp last year that it had not clarified the changes in plain and intelligible language, violating the bloc's laws.
EU members' national regulators can sanction companies for breaches.
WhatsApp has now agreed to explain changes to EU users' contracts and how these could affect their rights, and has agreed to display prominently the possibility for users to accept or reject the changes and ensure that users can easily close pop-up notifications on updates.
The company also confirmed that users' personal data is not shared with third parties or other Meta companies, including Facebook, for advertising purposes.
"Consumers have a right to understand what they agree to and what that choice entails concretely, so that they can decide whether they want to continue using the platform," Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said.


Biden royally baffles audience with 'God save the queen, man'

Joe Biden on Friday left Americans scratching their heads with an off-the-cuff remark that was, well, royally unusual for a US president: "God save the queen, man!"
What he meant, which queen he was referring to, and why he threw in what sounded like the traditional patriotic British cry, no one could immediately tell.
Queen Elizabeth II, whom Biden met, died in September 2022 and was replaced by a king – her son Charles.
Biden had just completed an impassioned speech at the National Safer Communities Summit in Connecticut on getting Congress to toughen gun ownership laws when he made the remark from the stage.
The pool journalist responsible for following the president all day on his travels couldn't help. He messaged the worldwide group of outlets receiving pool reports: "Several of you have asked me why he might have said that. I have no idea."
That the president tacked on a classic down-to-earth Bidenism – "man" – didn't help either.
Later, White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton somewhat cleared up the mystery, telling reporters that Biden had been "commenting to someone in the crowd."
The queen of Connecticut, however, was not immediately identified.


Proposal for RCI into combat ship scandal to be presented to Cabinet

The proposal for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to investigate the littoral combat ships (LCS) project for the Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM) will be presented to the Cabinet today.
Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, when winding up the debate on the motion related to the issue in the Dewan Negara yesterday, gave his assurance that he would present the matter himself to obtain the approval of the Cabinet.
"It is my responsibility to present the matter to the Cabinet on Aug 17 and I will do it. The Cabinet also needs to present (the proposal to set up the RCI) to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," he said.
He said this in his reply to several members of the Dewan Negara, who urged the government to establish an RCI to investigate the LCS project, to examine all aspects so that no guilty party escapes prosecution.
Hishammuddin also said that based on the Cabinet's decision in April, the defence ministry would continue the LCS project for the benefit of TLDM.
He said Mindef would ensure that the mobilisation phase is implemented well, to enable Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) to start negotiations with original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in Europe as well as local vendors, from June 20 to Dec 21.
Hishammuddin added that there is no additional provision for the six-month period of the mobilisation process, and no need for the project to be continued by other companies as this would further delay the project.
He said the government had also decided to establish a special governance committee, to be chaired by the secretaries-general of the treasury and defence ministry, to closely monitor the process for the next six months.
Meanwhile, Hishammuddin said the Prime Minister's Department had begun the process of declassifying the report of the Special Committee on Governance Investigation, Government Procurement and Finance, adding that this is expected to be completed soon.
Regarding the LCS forensic audit report, he said the Cabinet was waiting for a response from the Attorney-General's Chambers and the National Audit Department since the forensic audit is owned by BNS and not the government.
Earlier, Lim Hui Ying tabled a motion for the Dewan Negara to debate the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the LCS procurement, which had revealed irregularities and abuse of power.
Ten members of the Dewan Negara debated the motion, including Razali Idris and Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, who urged the government to, among others, establish an RCI for the LCS project.
They expressed concern that if an issue of this magnitude is not investigated, it would tarnish the name and position of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the supreme commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces.
They also said that an RCI could provide transparency to the investigation of the project, and give confidence to the people.
Meanwhile, Hishammuddin said that four littoral mission ships (LMS) have been delivered. He said it was likely that the second batch of LMS would be supplied with weapons so that the LCS issue does not affect the sovereignty and security of the country's waters.
On the prosecution of former BNS managing director Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor, Hishammuddin said the action taken against the former navy commander was not something easy, and should not be considered a small matter.
He said the prosecution was carried out based on the PAC report, which showed embezzlement involving several officials.
"If we want to look at political considerations, we want politicians who are considered as sharks to be prosecuted, but that does not mean that those who are being prosecuted now are the small fry. It has been acknowledged by PAC (in the report)," he said.
Ramli was charged in the Sessions Court yesterday with three counts of criminal breach of trust of the company's funds amounting to RM21.08 million in relation to the LCS project.
On Aug 4, PAC disclosed that the committee had held nine proceedings regarding the LCS issue starting on Nov 18, 2020, with the last one on March 8 this year. It said it had called several witnesses and the results of the proceedings found that the LCS project contract was awarded to BNS through direct negotiation, with the government paying RM6.083 billion for the completion and delivery of five ships by August this year. However, not even one ship has been delivered.


After sacking, Shahidan takes aim at Zahid, calls for action over letter and audio

Sacked Perlis Umno chief Shahidan Kassim has called for disciplinary action against those who went against the party’s decision not to cooperate with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, hours after he was removed from his post today.“We know about a letter written by the president jointly with Najib Razak to the Agong,” he told reporters today, believed to be a reference to the joint letter by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Najib to the palace to express support for Anwar’s bid to topple the Perikatan Nasional government.“This is a violation of the party’s policy of not cooperating with Anwar,” he added.He said similar action should be taken if the recent audio recording of a telephone conversation between Zahid and Anwar proves to be genuine.Shahidan meanwhile hinted that he could reveal more details of what he knows about those in Umno who are cooperating with Anwar, but said he would decide on whether to do so after Ramadan.He said he could not understand the Umno general assembly’s decision to cut ties with Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional (PN), when the Umno Supreme Council said it would only cut ties once Parliament is dissolved to make way for the general election.As such, he said he had not violated any party decision in protesting the call for Umno to cut ties with Bersatu and PN.“If I had gone against the party decision, then disciplinary action should be taken against me. But there is no general election yet, so I cannot face disciplinary action.”He said as the PN backbenchers’ chief, it was his duty to ensure the ruling MPs stay together.Shahidan however added that he had no problem accepting the decision by Zahid to remove him from the post.He said it was the prerogative of the party president to choose state liason chiefs.“Politically, it is my deputy who should be considered for the post. But since the president has decided, we will abide although there is nothing official other than what we heard through the media,” he said.He also said he suspected there had been a planned attempt to disrupt his speech at the Umno general assembly last month when he was booed by some of the delegates.The Umno Supreme Council is expected to meet tomorrow.But Shahidan said he would give it a miss in keeping with the decision today.Shahidan was among Umno leaders who had criticised the party’s central leadership for its decision to cut ties with Bersatu, the party led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.In an interview in March on MalaysiaNow’s current affairs programme Talk, Now, he said he would not be perturbed if action was taken against the state chapter should it break ranks with top leaders over the matter.“Once Perlis Umno decides, if they want to expel us, let it be,” he had said.Shahidan was also booed by delegates at the Umno general assembly on March 27 during his speech which was seen as out of sync with the views of the Supreme Council.


India’s beaten and bruised Covid doctors demand action after repeated assaults

Since the start of the pandemic in India, an increasing number of doctors have been attacked by families of Covid patients.The recurring complaint is that their loved ones weren’t treated properly or weren’t allocated a bed on time, says the BBC.Doctors have protested and gone on strike demanding stricter laws to prevent physical attacks, as well as more staffing and better infrastructure to relieve the pressure on them.Most violent incidents don’t lead to police complaints or investigations. When they do, the accused are often released on bail quickly and the case is settled outside court.Earlier this year, the family of a Covid patient who died in India’s devastating second wave damaged property and abused staff at Apollo Hospital in the capital, Delhi.Despite being a prominent private hospital, it did not press charges. In fact, hospital administrations rarely get involved in such cases, leaving staff more vulnerable.Doctors say one problem is that there is no specific law protecting them.“We have found that existing laws are not effective and that is why they are not a deterrent. A strong law is urgently needed so people understand that there will be consequences for beating doctors,” said Dr Jayesh Lele, secretary general of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).With a membership of more than 330,000 doctors, the IMA has been campaigning hard for a stringent law to deter attacks against healthcare professionals.“Such violence is not premeditated, but more an outcome of an emotional trigger caused by death. Hence, laws don’t work as a deterrent,” said Shreya Shrivastava, who has been tracking violence against doctors.She said the government introduced a jail term of up to seven years as punishment for attacks on health workers treating Covid patients but that hasn’t helped.Dr Vikas Reddy, a doctor at Gandhi Hospital in the southern city of Hyderabad, was attacked with chairs in June last year by relatives of a man who had died from Covid. He filed a police complaint, but no-one has been arrested yet.“We have to spend time with patients and their families to explain the things we can and can’t do. And if they disagree, they need to take the patient to another hospital. But we don’t have that kind of time,” he said.India has one of the worst doctor-patient ratios globally. In 2018, there were 90 physicians per 100,000 people, according to World Bank estimates. That’s far lower than China (200), the US (260) or Russia (400).And the pandemic has stretched an already thin workforce to breaking point.Shrivastava’s research revealed that attacks on healthcare workers usually happened when patients were in emergency wards or ICUs, shifted from one hospital to another or when they died. And all of this has become more frequent during the pandemic.“Being inside a Covid ward is like being at war,” said Dr Lele.Then there is the issue of trust. A largely unregulated and expensive private sector provides two-thirds of all healthcare services in India.Shrivastava said people have been dying of Covid despite costly care, weakening trust in the system. And media reports of medical negligence, which tend to outnumber stories of doctors’ struggles, make people more suspicious.


Singapore court gives same-day deadline to lawyerless inmates after invoking 'abuse of process' on suit

A pre-trial hearing for a suit filed by 24 death row prisoners against Singapore authorities saw them accused of "abusing the process", in a repeat of similar accusations thrown by the court against the lawyers who were involved in challenging the city-state's draconian death penalty.
It is understood that the court asked the prisoners to send further submissions to support their suit by 6pm today, leaving them with only hours to work through complex legal terminology and procedures to support their suit.
The move was described by a local rights activist as "unprecedented and outrageous".
"The 24 of them are representing themselves, with no lawyer to help," Kokila Annamalai, who is part of Singapore-based rights group Transformative Justice Collective, told MalaysiaNow.
"The prisoners have been provided an extremely short timeline to file submissions and argue their case before the court. This is unprecedented. It's really outrageous."
MalaysiaNow has been unable to verify if the deadline was met.
Yesterday, the prisoners filed a historic suit against the Singapore government, accusing the authorities of scuttling their right to justice after a series of troubling executions of inmates who were forced to defend themselves without lawyers in their final hours.
Just today, the city-state carried out two more executions. It is expected to hang another pair on Friday, bringing the total number of those executed under Singapore's draconian drug laws to 10 people in less than four months.
Kokila also questioned why the court had departed from the usual procedure of letting the attorney-general contest the suit within two weeks of its filing.
The prisoners' suit is not the first legal challenge by death row inmates against the authorities.
Last year, 17 Malay prisoners accused the authorities of ethnic bias in their prosecutions. The suit was thrown out, and two lawyers – M Ravi and Charles Yeoh – were slapped with heavy penalties under charges of abusing the process.
Yeoh has since sought refuge in the UK.
The penalties against the duo and other vocal lawyers have led to a climate of fear in Singapore's legal fraternity, with many death row prisoners having to represent themselves in their final hours.
Among them was 64-year-old Nazeri Lajim, a Singaporean who had been addicted to drugs since the age of 14. He had to appear for himself in a desperate plea to judges for more time to see his family members before his execution.
Singapore has scoffed at critics who question its death penalty for drug offences, despite statistics showing that most hired to courier drugs are from poor families.
Critics also point out that the drug kingpins have largely escaped arrest.
The PAP-led government, on the other hand, insists that executing drug convicts has been effective even as neighbouring Malaysia announced that it was abolishing its mandatory death penalty.


Japan to produce 90 million AstraZeneca Covid-19 shots as Olympics loom

AstraZeneca will make more than 90 million coronavirus vaccine shots in Japan, as concerns mount over whether the country will have enough doses to begin its delayed inoculation campaign.Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters on Thursday, “We believe it is very important to be able to produce the vaccines domestically.”Japan plans to begin its inoculation push in late February, using Pfizer’s vaccine shots for frontline medical workers.The country lags behind most major economies in starting inoculations due to its dependence on overseas makers and a requirement that the vaccines undergo domestic trials.Tokyo has arranged to buy 120 million doses of the British vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The Nikkei newspaper reported yesterday that 90 million doses would be made in Japan while the remainder will be imported.AstraZeneca began Japanese trials of the vaccine last summer and has partnered with Daiichi Sankyo, JCR Pharmaceuticals and other local manufacturers to make and distribute the shots. It has not yet filed for Japanese approval of its vaccine, even though its domestic trials started before Pfizer’s.Japan faces major logistical hurdles that some experts say will make it difficult for it to vaccinate a large percentage of its population ahead of the planned start of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo from July.The world’s largest sporting event is planned to involve over 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries who must all be kept safe from a virus that has infected 100 million people and killed more than two million worldwide.CNN reported on Wednesday that as the opening date draws closer, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach continues to insist that the event will go ahead.“Our task is to organise Olympic Games and not to cancel Olympic Games,” he said, adding that the IOC is working “day and night” to host a safe event.


More than 41,000 still at flood centres in four states

The number of flood evacuees housed at temporary relief centres in four states dropped slightly this morning to 41,154 compared to 41,994 last night.
In Johor, the number of evacuees dropped to 40,847 at 8am compared to 41,661 at 8pm yesterday.
The Johor disaster management committee (SDMC) said in a statement that 11,496  families were still taking shelter at 139 relief centres in the four affected districts.
"Batu Pahat remains the worst-hit district with 39,256 evacuees, followed by Muar (781 people from 226 families), Tangkak (576 people from 241 families) and Segamat (234 people from 63 families)," it said.
The water levels of four rivers in Batu Pahat were still above the danger mark, with Sungai Bekok at Bekok Dam registering 19.47m, Sungai Senggarang in Senggarang at 3.63m, Sungai Simpang Kiri in Sri Medan at 2.40m and Sungai Simpang Kiri in Parit Sulong at 2.05m.
Sungai Muar at Bukit Kepong in Muar was at 3.57m.  In Melaka, the number of flood evacuees in Jasin dropped to 61 people from 14 families as of 8am, compared to 87 people from 20 families last night.
In Pahang, the SDMC secretariat reported that the number of evacuees at two centres in Rompin remained at 155 people from 54 families.
In Sarawak, the SDMC secretariat said the number of evacuees remained at 91 people from 18 families in Kuching as of 7am.


Australia needs workers but a million are stuck at the door

A blowout in visa processing times in Australia has left about a million prospective workers stuck in limbo, worsening the acute staff shortages that have crippled businesses and dampened economic sentiment.
Strict border controls for two years and an exodus of holiday workers and foreign students have left corporate Australia struggling to fill jobs and keep their businesses going.
However, a seemingly simple solution to the problem of letting more migrants enter has hit a roadblock due to a backlog of over 914,000 applications for permanent and temporary visas as of Aug 12, according to immigration data seen by Reuters.
Of these, about 370,000 are visas in key temporary categories of visitors, students and skilled visas that are key for the country's economic recovery. It also includes applicants already in Australia and looking to change their visa status to a more permanent one.
The delays are largely due to resource shortages at immigration offices and a huge backlog of applications that were left unattended for two years as the pandemic forced the government to seal the borders.
Australia's labour squeeze comes as competition for skilled labour intensifies around the world, especially in industries where the Covid-19 pandemic forced employers to cut jobs or push staff to work remotely.
Industrialised nations like the US and others in the EU and Asia have been looking to loosen immigration rules and sweeten offers to attract the best talent. New Zealand is also making temporary changes to immigration rules to fill a labour gap.
The new Australian government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is bringing together politicians, business, unions and others to thrash out the problem at a national Jobs and Skills Summit this week.
"The Government acknowledges the importance of immigration and visitors in addressing current labour shortages and stimulating economic activity," a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs told Reuters.
"We are committed to reducing on-hand visa applications to pre-Covid-19 levels, and have ramped up activity to accelerate processing times," the spokesperson added.
The department has brought more than 180 new staff into visa processing roles since May to tackle the massive backlog. In the last two months it has managed to process nearly 1.14 million applications of people who are outside Australia.
But with more than 600,000 temporary visa holders leaving the country since the pandemic, a lot more needs to be done to fill the large gaps in the health, construction and hospitality industries.
Albanese's government has blamed the previous administration for the delays.
"The former Government devalued immigration, with the visa application backlog increasing to nearly 1,000,000 on their watch," Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said in a statement in July.
According to recent government data, for the first time, there are more jobs in the Australian market than job seekers. Wage growth rose at the fastest pace in almost eight years in the second quarter, and the unemployment rate hit a fresh 48-year low in July.
Extreme measures
Meanwhile, the wait for those wanting to get to Australia has been excruciatingly long. Migration agents who spoke to Reuters complained that waiting periods for various types of visas can go up to six months or more.
Australian companies facing losses, and in some cases closure, are resorting to desperate measures to attract and retain talent.
A Sydney cafe rented an electronic billboard on a main highway to advertise its vacancy.
"No Nights. No Weekends," said the advertisement for a head chef.
"In our local trading area alone there are 300 positions vacant for similar positions," said Kristy Bannister, who manages Bay Ten Espresso.
"The investment was higher than we would usually spend, but we felt we had no choice but to try an unusual measure under an extreme circumstance," Bannister said.
The cafe was eventually successful in hiring a chef who found out about the position through the billboard.
Coal miner Whitehaven Coal said last week it would build its own residential properties in remote areas, to attract talent to sites that are not near adequate housing.
"I don’t see it easing at all. If anything, it is continuing to tighten," Whitehaven managing director Paul Flynn told of the skills shortage in a media briefing.
"We have the added dimension of being considered remote by some people and when there are competing opportunities in cities, then we have to do something a little different," he said.


Disfigured by acid, the face of violence against Yemen’s women

Married at the age of 12, rejected at 16, and then disfigured in an acid attack, Al-Anoud Hussain Sheryan’s fate is a shocking illustration of abuse in a society beset by war and poverty.Now aged 19, the Yemeni woman agreed to relate her ordeal at the hands of her abusive husband – rare testimony in a country where domestic violence is largely hidden.“He grabbed me by the hair and poured the acid on me while laughing,” she told AFP as she sat with her veil framing a face badly scarred by last October’s assault that also left deep wounds on her body.“I went through hell,” she said, describing her years of marriage which she said she spent chained and often beaten.When her father died, Al-Anoud’s mother remarried and then hurried to find a husband for her daughter.“She wanted to protect me,” she said.Having lived for four years as a “slave”, Al-Anoud was eventually kicked out by her husband, taken in by her sister and began training as a nurse.But her ex-husband decided he wanted her back, and when she refused, he took his revenge.After being hospitalised in a clinic where she had once been employed, Al-Anoud is now waiting to undergo the three plastic surgery operations needed to repair some of the damage.Her doctor Moutawakal Chahari said the procedures will be complex and expensive, and even the bills for the first aid she received had not yet been paid.Apart from this, he stressed the “irreparable psychological effects” of her ordeal.A grim tallyAl-Anoud filed a complaint against her ex-husband after the attack, but he vanished and remains at large.She is hoping that someone, anyone – a humanitarian agency, one of the stretched government services, or a grassroots non-government group – can give her the financial assistance she needs.“I want the police and the courts to punish the criminal who did this, but I also want to reclaim my youth, my studies and my work. I want to regain my life,” she said.Child marriage is a feature of Yemeni society but six years of war, which has left the country on the brink of famine, has made it more common and “greatly increased” violence against women, said Tayseer Walid of the Yemeni Women’s Union in Sanaa.Families are forced to “rid themselves of the expense of children, especially girls, because of poor financial situations”, she told AFP.Many organisations advocating for women and girls had to shut down after war broke out, and those which struggle on do so with scant resources to address the daunting legal, medical and psychological needs.When it comes to the status of women in Yemen, the numbers speak for themselves. A UN survey conducted in 2013 found a third of Yemeni women aged 24-32 were married before the age of 18, and 9% of those were married before 15.Unicef has estimated that in 2020 Yemen had some four million married children, 1.4 million of them under 15.Cry for helpIn a 2020 report, the United Nations Population Fund, which deals with sexual and reproductive issues, estimated that 2.6 million women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence in Yemen.It pointed out that in the era of Covid-19, with lockdowns that cause great strain, “cases of domestic violence are on the rise”.The grinding conflict between Iranian-backed Huthi rebels and the government supported by a Saudi-led military coalition has left tens of thousands of people dead and millions displaced.It has plunged the country – the poorest on the Arabian Peninsula – into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN, which has expressed fears that some “16 million people will go hungry” in 2021.While violence against women is one of the hidden facets of the humanitarian crisis, the UN Development Programme has launched one of the few initiatives to combat this phenomenon.With the support of the Japanese government, it has launched a mobile app to provide counselling to survivors of gender-based violence throughout Yemen, saying that attacks on women and girls have increased 63% since 2015.The application, first tested in the country’s south which is in government hands, directs victims to protection and support services.


Rosmah claims AG acted beyond jurisdiction in appointing Sri Ram

Rosmah Mansor claims that Attorney-General Idrus Harun acted beyond his jurisdiction in appointing Gopal Sri Ram as senior deputy public prosecutor to lead the investigations into the 1MDB scandal and the prosecution of those involved.The wife of the former prime minister Najib Razak made the claim in her supporting affidavit filed with a notice of motion to disqualify Sri Ram as the senior deputy public prosecutor to lead the prosecution team in her money laundering and tax evasion trial.The notice was filed yesterday and copies distributed to the media by her lawyer Geethan Ram Vincent today.In the supporting affidavit, Rosmah said after examining the former Federal Court judge’s letter of appointment as the senior deputy public prosecutor, dated May 21, 2021, under Section 376 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, she found that the appointment did not refer to her case.She said if the court was of the view that Idrus had acted in an orderly manner in line with his statutory powers, then Sri Ram was still not a “fit and proper” individual to prosecute the case.“I would like to stress that my lawyers will make detailed submissions on this matter during the hearing and it is obvious that Sri Ram should be removed as the lead prosecutor in the case,” she said.In the notice of motion, Rosmah also claimed that Sri Ram’s appointment was illegal and void.The notice will be heard before High Court judge Zaini Mazlan on Feb 3.Rosmah, 70, is facing 12 charges of money laundering involving RM7,097,750, and five charges of failing to declare her income to the Inland Revenue Board.The offences were allegedly committed at Affin Bank in Jalan Ampang, between Dec 4, 2013, and June 8, 2017, and the Inland Revenue Board in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim between May 1, 2014, and May 1, 2018.


PN to wait for victory before announcing Johor MB candidate, too

Perikatan Nasional (PN) will only announce the name of its menteri besar candidate after successfully forming the state government in the 15th Johor state election, its chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said today.Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu president, said voters should not feel hesitant or worried as PN is fielding many qualified and experienced candidates to govern the state.“When it has been confirmed that we got a number of seats that can form the government, only then will we name (the menteri besar) and the name will be submitted to obtain the sultan of Johor’s consent,” he said after officiating an event in Pagoh.PN is fielding 56 candidates in the state election this weekend.Muhyiddin said he hoped for a voter turnout of 70 to 75%, including those aged 18 and above and who will be voting for the first time.“Hopefully, voters residing outside of Johor will take the opportunity to return home to vote in their respective state constituencies,” he said.


Putrajaya on alert after cyberattack threat

The National Security Council (NSC) has warned all government agencies to be on their guard against cyberattacks, following a recent threat to government websites.In a statement issued through the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa), government agencies were alerted to a video on social media posted by “Anonymous Malaysia”.“The government is very concerned and is prioritising the security of its information technology infrastructure and the country’s crticial systems by outlining actions to strengthen the information technology system, including improving the knowledge and skills of relevant officials,” the statement said.This comes after a group of hackers calling itself “Anonymous Malaysia” said it would carry out cyberattacks on government websites and online assets.In a video, it accused authorities of ignoring data security, saying it had caused a breach of personal data.“They were unwilling to recognise and learn from their mistakes. It has been a long time that we have been silent. It’s time we opened your eyes.“We are legion, we do not forgive, we do not forget. Expect us,” said a person in the video wearing a Guy Fawkes mask.Last year, Putrajaya launched the Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy (MCSS), which among others aims to enhance the management of the country’s cyber security and to strengthen related laws and enforcement.In 2017, a massive data breach saw the information of more than 46 million mobile phone subscribers leaked on to the dark web.The leaked information included mobile numbers and home addresses.


Najib panned online after questioning calls for targeted EPF withdrawals

Former prime minister Najib Razak came under fire on social media today after criticising the proposal by Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin for the government to allow targeted withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
Najib, who just a year ago pushed for more EPF withdrawals himself, said on Facebook that the government had already allocated RM1 billion to be channelled to the accounts of EPF contributors between the age of 40 and 54 with savings of less than RM10,000.
But Muhyiddin, the Pagoh MP, had said in the Dewan Rakyat that the government could save that amount without needing to release such a large allocation.
"Is this so?" Najib said in his Facebook post.
"Has Muhyiddin obtained the green light from each of the two million eligible EPF members to give up the RM500 allocation?"
He was criticised by other users who said Muhyiddin's proposal was more in line with their request for targeted withdrawals from the retirement fund.
They also said that Najib did not understand what the people wanted, and was responding to a different topic.
"People aged 40 and above whose savings are less than RM10,000 – what group is that?" said Facebook user Hairosnizam Roslan.
"If you want to do something, the benefits should be comprehensive."
Others questioned the number of EPF members who meet the criteria for the RM500 assistance.
"Logically, how many people are there between 40 and 54 years of age with savings of less than RM10,000?" said Mohd Ashraf.
Alidie Sofhia meanwhile said the government was offering something that the majority of people had never requested.
"They would prefer to be able to withdraw their savings right now," she added.
Faizal Hud meanwhile said that "rich people sitting in jail" did not understand the present needs of the people.
Najib is currently serving a 12-year jail term at Kajang Prison for the misappropriation of tens of millions in SRC International funds.
The government has been under pressure to allow targeted EPF withdrawals to help the people cope with the rising cost of living.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim previously said that the government was looking into other ways to help those in need without them needing to dip into their retirement funds.


New cases dip to 17,400 as 30 more deaths logged

Another 17,476 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,219,395.There were 17,321 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 3,977,403.There are now 206,979 active cases, of which 201,924 or 97.6% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 615 (0.3%) are at quarantine centres while 4,177 (2.0%) have been hospitalised.A total of 263 are in ICU with 162 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 57.2%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 29.9%.Another 30 deaths were reported, including five who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 35,013.


Taiwan air force suspends training after second fatal accident in 2022

Taiwan’s air force suspended flight training of new pilots on Tuesday after a jet trainer crashed killing its pilot, the defence ministry said, the second fatal accident the air force has experienced in 2022.The ministry said the AT-3 jet crashed during a training mission from the Gangshan air base in the southern city of Kaohsiung and the body of the pilot had already been found.The AT-3 is a domestically-developed advanced trainer that first flew in 1980 and can carry weapons.Air force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei told reporters the aircraft had gone missing a few minutes after take-off, piloted by 23-year-old Hsu Ta-chun.The aircraft was in good working order with no major maintenance issues reported over the past year, Huang added.The air force has now suspended flight missions for its trainee pilots, he said.President Tsai Ing-wen is “deeply saddened” by the loss and has instructed the Defence Ministry to investigate what happened, her office added in a statement.In March, a Mirage 2000 fighter jet crashed into the sea off the island’s southeast coast, the second combat aircraft lost in three months. The pilot was rescued alive.In January the air force suspended combat training for its F-16 fleet after a recently upgraded model of the fighter jet crashed into the sea, killing the pilot.Last year, two F-5E fighters, which first entered service in Taiwan in the 1970s, crashed into the sea after they apparently collided in mid-air during a training mission.In late 2020, an F-16 vanished shortly after taking off from the Hualien air base on Taiwan’s east coast on a routine training mission.While Taiwan’s air force is well trained, it has been strained from repeatedly scrambling to see off Chinese military aircraft in the past two years, though the accidents have not been linked in any way to these intercept activities.China, which claims the democratic island as its own, has been routinely sending aircraft into Taiwan’s air defence zone, mostly in an area around the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands but sometimes also into the airspace between Taiwan and the Philippines.


Prisons dept mulls off-days from jail to solve overcrowding

Prison authorities are considering allowing emergency management days (EMD) for low-risk prisoners as one of several measures to address the problem of overcrowded jails nationwide.
The prisons department said this was one of five measures to reduce congestion in prisons, including Sungai Buloh Prison where it said there had been some success.
"Through the measures taken, the problem of overcrowding at Sungai Buloh Prison has been reduced. There is an excess of 36% compared to the maximum capacity of 4,200 prisoners, which is an additional 20% of existing capacity," the department said.
The EMD has been used in many countries, where prisoners can apply to leave jail, including during personal emergencies, on certain conditions, especially good behaviour.
The department said apart from the EMD proposal, it is also installing double decker beds in cells and dormitories.
Prison authorities are also focusing on rehabilitation through community activities involving 82,487 inmates, as well as working with the courts to speed up trials.
The department said former sites used for the National Service Training Programme and satellite prisons will also be utilised to house inmates.


Woman in ‘basikal lajak’ case gets reprieve from jail for now

Sam Ke Ting who was ordered to serve six years in jail and fined RM6,000 for reckless driving resulting in the death of eight teenagers on modified bicycles in 2017 today obtained a stay of her sentence pending the disposal of her appeal at the Court of Appeal.A three-man bench led by judge P Ravinthran allowed her leave to appeal with a hearing date for the merits of her appeal to be set at a later point.Sam was also released on bail of RM10,000 with one surety pending the hearing of her appeal.Ravinthran was joined on the bench by Lee Heng Cheong and Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.Sam, who was 22 at the time of the incident, was charged with driving recklessly or dangerously at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam in Johor Bahru, resulting in the death of eight cyclists at 3.20am on Feb 18, 2017.She was charged under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and a RM20,000 fine upon conviction.On Oct 28, 2019, she was acquitted and discharged by the Johor Bahru Magistrate’s Court.On Feb 18, 2021, however, she was ordered to enter her defence after the prosecution succeeded in proving a prima facie case against her.Magistrate Siti Hajar Ali ruled on Oct 10, 2021 that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against Sam beyond reasonable doubt.On April 13, though, the High Court in Johor Bahru said the defence failed to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case which had proven the essence of the offence, overturning the Oct 10 ruling upholding the previous decision to acquit and free her of the charge.Sam was also disqualified from driving for three years and told to serve another six months in jail if she failed to pay the fine.According to Bernama, the three-man panel allowed Sam’s application today after receiving no objection from deputy public prosecutor Manoj Kurup.Manoj said the prosecution had no objection to the application as the case was of public interest and Sam would not run away.Ravinthran then allowed the application for leave to appeal, and an appeal to stay the execution of the sentence.“We have discussed, and the applicant (Sam) has been released on bail of RM10,000 with one surety,” said Ravinthran in the unanimous decision.The court also allowed an application by lawyer Muhammad Faizal Mokhtar, representing Sam, to amend the notice of appeal by including a question of law.Faizal said the application was made as he had difficulty obtaining the notes of the High Court proceedings on the case due to time constraints.According to the lawyer, there were six legal questions that need to be answered, including whether Sam’s unsworn testimony was admissible as an explanation to her defence and whether there was a burden on her to prove her responsibility to be more careful on the road than the group of cyclists who obstructed the way.Faizal, in his submission for a stay of execution of the sentence and when appealing for bail, also said that based on the court records, his client had been present at every trial.When met by reporters after the proceedings, Faizal said his client advised the public not to debate the case by raising racial issues.“My client is a person who abides by the rule of law and abides by the court’s decision,” he said.Faizal also said that his client was well taken care of in prison and that she thanked her family, friends and all those who had supported her.


276 Covid-19 clusters detected, 125 ended, says health minister

A total of 276 clusters have been detected since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country at the end of last year, of which 151 are still active and 125 have ended.Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said of the 151 active clusters, the residence cluster had recorded the highest number at 64.“This was followed by the workplace cluster with 63 clusters, detention cluster (nine); high-risk group cluster (health personnel and senior citizens) (nine); religious cluster (other than Seri Petaling tabligh cluster) (three) and import cluster (three),” he said in a written reply during Minister’s Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.He was responding to Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (Bersatu-Sabak Bernam) who asked the health minister to state the number of Covid-19 clusters in the country, how many have been successfully controlled, and how many are still active.Adham said the largest cluster reported to the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre was the Seri Petaling tabligh cluster which involved 3,375 cases and the screening of 42,023 people.“The first case of the cluster was confirmed on March 11 and the cluster was officially ended on July 8.“The index cases were individuals who attended a religious gathering at the Sri Petaling mosque and the cause was believed to be an imported infection from Indonesia,” he said.Yesterday, 972 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded, bringing the total number of active cases to 11,308.