No participating in election campaigns, armed forces personnel reminded

Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) personnel have been reminded not to get directly involved in campaigns for the 15th general election (GE15).
Army Chief General Zamrose Mohd Zain said direct involvement including participation in campaigning was a violation of the rules set for armed forces personnel.
"It is hoped that our personnel will not be seen holding up party banners with other supporters, shouting here and there. That is not the right way and we do not allow it.
"Nevertheless, we are not stopping them from voting for the political party that they prefer, or participating in ceramah (political talks). It is their choice, they can still vote to determine the country's future. It is hoped that they will be able to fulfil their duty on polling day," he told reporters in Port Dickson today.
The Election Commission has set polling day on Nov 19 and early voting on Nov 15.


No credit or vouchers, just our cash back please, say AirAsia passengers

AirAsia X passengers who have been waiting to be refunded for flights cancelled as far back as 2020 are urging the company to come forward and explain what is so difficult about compensating them in cash.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, they also voiced confusion about a recent statement by AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail that the company could not provide cash refunds to passengers because of the law.At the press conference, Benyamin said that AirAsia X had just undergone a court restructuring process.Under the law, he said, the company could not give cash refunds to anyone including creditors.He added that AirAsia X would instead provide credit refunds through travel vouchers as well as a 10% cash payment.But the AirAsia X passengers are continuing to insist that the low-cost airline return their money at once.Chan Shiao Yiing from Taiping, Perak, said she needed her money back to repay two of her friends who are senior citizens.In December 2019, Chan had booked six tickets to Japan worth RM7,710. The flight was scheduled to depart in April 2020.But because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the flight was cancelled and Chan was refunded in credit form.“I did not choose to be refunded in this form,” she said. “But I don’t know how to apply for a refund.“Two of the tickets were for my two friends. How can I pay them back if I myself have been refunded in credits?”Chan tried to contact AirAsia’s customer service but gave up after a long wait.“They put me on hold,” she said. “Sometimes I would be the 200th one in line.”Upake De Silva from Sydney, Australia, said he had received neither cash nor credit since his flight scheduled for December 2020 was cancelled.He spent nearly A$5,000 (RM15,166) on five tickets to bring his family from Colombo to Sydney via Kuala Lumpur. The tickets were from AirAsia and AirAsia X.“I was told that AirAsia X was in the process of restructuring its debts, but as of today, I have yet to receive any refund whatsoever,” De Silva said.De Silva did lodge a complaint with the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and received an email from AirAsia the following week.“It said the company would look into the refund issue but after that, there were no further developments,” he said.De Silva, who had always been a loyal AirAsia customer, said he was disappointed to have received such treatment, and that he was reluctant to use the airline’s services again.“My first flight with AirAsia was in 2007,” he recalled. “I was a loyal customer. But I might turn to other airlines in the future.”MalaysiaNow contacted AirAsia for an explanation of Benyamin’s statement but has yet to receive a response.“Thank you for contacting us,” an AirAsia spokesman said. “I will share this enquiry with the team. We will inform you if there are any developments.”Meanwhile, Kong Kiek Ching from Johor hopes that AirAsia will consider extending the validity period for its “unlimited pass” to accommodate passengers who have not had a chance to use it.In Kong’s case, he bought a pass on March 3, 2020, just 10 days before Malaysia imposed its first movement control order to curb the spread of Covid-19.He never got a chance to use it before its expiry on June 16, 2021.“The terms and conditions state that no cancellations or refunds are allowed,” he said.“But given the Covid-19 situation and the closure of international borders, I was told that the pass could be extended.”With the borders now open again, he had planned a trip to Melbourne, Australia.“But there are no AirAsia flights from here to there, and anyway, the pass has expired,” he said.Kong said the situation was unfair as he was completely unable to use the pass after paying RM499 for it.“I was also surprised to receive an email stating that AirAsia had already repaid me in credit, because when I checked my account balance, no credit had been received,” he said.“AirAsia should extend this pass for another year so that people like me can still use it.”


UN rights council to mull international probe after Gaza conflict

The UN Human Rights Council will consider launching a broad, international investigation into abuses in the latest Gaza conflict and also into “systematic” abuses, according to a proposal tabled Tuesday.The draft resolution will be discussed during a special session of the council Thursday, requested amid 11 days of deadly violence between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in Gaza this month.The text, presented by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, calls for the UN top rights body to “urgently establish an ongoing independent, international commission of inquiry… in the occupied palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and in Israel”.The investigators, the text said, should probe “all alleged violations and abuses” of international law linked to the tensions that sparked the latest violence.Before a truce took hold last Friday, Israeli air strikes and artillery fire on Gaza killed 253 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded more than 1,900 people in 11 days of conflict from May 10, the health ministry in Gaza says.Rocket and other fire from Gaza claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child and an Arab-Israeli teenager, an Israeli soldier, one Indian national and two Thai workers, medics say. Some 357 people in Israel were wounded.‘Systemic impunity’But the draft text goes far beyond the most recent conflict, also calling for investigators to probe “underlying root causes of recurrent tensions and instability, including systematic discrimination and repression based on group identity”.The investigation should focus on establishing facts and gather evidence and other material that could be used in legal proceedings, and as far as possible should identify perpetrators to ensure they are held accountable, it said.“Long-standing and systemic impunity for international law violations has thwarted justice, created a protection crisis and undermined all efforts to achieve a just and peaceful solution,” the draft text said.It remains unclear whether there will be enough support at the Human Rights Council to pass the resolution.Twenty of the council’s 47 members were among the 66 countries that backed holding Thursday’s special session, which was requested by Pakistan and the Palestinian authority.The rights council holds three regular sessions each year, but can hold special sessions if at least a third of members support the idea.Thursday will mark the 30th extraordinary meeting of the United Nations’ top rights body since its creation 15 years ago, and it will be the ninth focused on Israel.When the special session was announced last week, Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s ambassador in Geneva, urged member states to oppose it.“The convening of yet another special session by the Human Rights Council targeting Israel is testament to the clear anti-Israeli agenda of this body,” she said on Twitter.Israel is in fact the only country that is systematically discussed at every regular council session, with a dedicated special agenda item.That Agenda Item 7 was one of the main reasons that the US under former president Donald Trump decided to leave the council.His successor Joe Biden has returned the US to the fold as an observer, with an eye on membership, but his administration remains deeply critical of the council’s “disproportionate focus on Israel”.


Covid-19 compounds must follow govt guidelines, says law minister

Putrajaya today said that all moves to impose compounds for Covid-19 offences must be carried out according to government guidelines, with the aim of preventing the spread of the pandemic and educating offenders in order to boost cooperation in efforts to battle the virus surge.In a statement, law minister Takiyuddin Hassan said the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 or Act 342 had been amended to raise the amount of compound applicable for SOP offences.“However, the move to impose compounds under this act must be carried out according to the guidelines set by the government,” he said.He said the government had enacted guidelines for determining the compound amounts and discount rates under Act 342 to serve as a guide for authorities in enforcing SOP compliance.“According to those guidelines, failure by the licence holder and owner of a premise to adhere to operating hours is a Category Three offence punishable by a maximum compound of RM10,000,” he said, adding that a discount of 50% would be given to those who pay their fines within seven days, and 25% if the compound is paid within 14 days.“All moves to impose compounds for offences under the law are simply for prevention purposes and to educate offenders so that all parties, whether individuals or traders, are together responsible in efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the community which is still at a critical and serious level,” he said.


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Russia posts record virus deaths for third day running

Russia on Thursday reported 672 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, according to a government tally, setting a pandemic high of fatalities for the third day in a row.The country is battling a surging outbreak driven by the highly infectious Delta variant and worsened by a lagging jab drive, with President Vladimir Putin urging Russians on national television Wednesday to get vaccinated.The daily death toll released Thursday topped Wednesday’s record of 669 and Tuesday’s of 652.Saint Petersburg, which is due to host the Spain vs Switzerland Euro 2020 quarter-final on Friday in front of thousands of spectators, saw the most deaths with 115.Dozens of Finland supporters were infected in the city, where authorities have introduced minimal restrictions beyond banning food sales at fan zones, after they travelled there earlier this month for their team’s loss to Belgium.In Moscow, where the city’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said that the Delta variant – first identified in India – accounts for 90% of cases, authorities have introduced a host of new restrictions.Businesses have been ordered to send home 30% of unvaccinated employees and restaurants to only serve inside patrons who have been inoculated or infected in the past six months.Sobyanin also earlier this month required 60% of the city’s service industry workers to be fully inoculated by mid-August, with more than a dozen Russian regions since following his lead.Booster jabsOn Thursday, the Western exclave of Kaliningrad became the latest region to introduce new restrictions, barring unvaccinated tourists from taking bus tours.Also Thursday, hotels in the Krasnodar region – home to Russia’s popular Black Sea resort city Sochi – began accepting only vaccinated guests or those with a negative test.The Kremlin had set a goal of fully inoculating 60% of Russia’s population by September, but conceded earlier this week that it would not be able to meet that target even though free jabs have been available since early December.Authorities have faced a population highly sceptical of coronavirus vaccines, in particular Russia’s homegrown jabs, with independent polling showing that 60% do not plan on getting inoculated.As of Thursday, just 17.4 million of Russia’s population of about 146 million people – or about 12% – had been fully vaccinated, according to the Gogov website, which tallies Covid data from the regions.But even as Russia struggles to vaccinate its population, Moscow Mayor Sobyanin on Thursday urged the city’s residents who had been inoculated more than six months ago to already get a booster jab with the country’s homegrown Sputnik V vaccine or the one-dose Sputnik Light.Russia, with 135,886 deaths from the virus, has the highest official toll from Covid-19 in Europe – even as authorities have been accused of downplaying the severity of the country’s outbreak.Under a broader definition for deaths linked to coronavirus, statistics agency Rosstat at the end of April said that Russia has seen at least 270,000 fatalities.


Iran arrests school poisoning suspects as cases top 5,000

Iran announced Tuesday it had made the first arrests in a spate of mystery poisonings of schoolgirls that has affected more than 5,000 pupils since late November.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had called Monday for the perpetrators of the "unforgivable crime" to be tracked down "without mercy" as public anger mounts.
The interior ministry said in a statement on Tuesday "a number of people" suspected of manufacturing hazardous substances had been arrested in six provinces, including a pupil's parent.
Iran's deputy interior minister, Majid Mirahmadi, told state television earlier on Tuesday that the "intelligence agencies" had made several arrests, "and the relevant agencies are conducting a full investigation".
Scores of Iranian schools have been hit by poisonings since late November, with pupils suffering symptoms ranging from shortness of breath to nausea and vertigo after reporting "unpleasant" odours on school premises. Some have been treated in hospital.
"Twenty-five (out of 31) provinces and approximately 230 schools have been affected, and more than 5,000 schoolgirls and boys poisoned," Mohammad-Hassan Asafari, a member of the parliamentary fact-finding committee, told the Isna news agency on Monday.
"Various tests are being carried out to identify the type and cause of the poisonings. So far, no specific information has been obtained regarding the type of poison used."
The mystery poisonings have triggered a wave of anger and demands for action from the authorities.
According to the interior ministry statement, arrests had been made in Khuzestan, West Azerbaijan, Fars, Kermanshah, Khorasan and Alborz provinces.
One of those arrested had allegedly used their child to insert the "irritant" into the school, and then recorded videos of sick students which were sent to "hostile media" to "create fear... and close schools", the statement said.
It added three suspects have criminal records "including involvement in the recent riots", a term used by the Iranian authorities to describe the protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death in custody.
Amini, 22, had been arrested over an alleged violation of strict dress rules for women and died on Sept 16.
'Fear and despair'
President Ebrahim Raisi tasked the interior and intelligence ministries last week with providing continuous updates on the poisoning cases, dubbing them "the enemy's conspiracy to create fear and despair" among the people.
"In less than 5% of the students transferred to hospital, irritant materials were found which led to their ill-health," the interior ministry said on Monday.
"Fortunately, so far, no toxic or dangerous substances have been found in any of the students transferred to medical centres."
Deputy Health Minister Saeed Karimi said symptoms included "respiratory irritation, stomach ache, weakness and lethargy".
"These inhaled irritants may not necessarily be a gas but may be in the form of a powder or paste or even a liquid, which when poured over a heater or vaporised by heat can cause complications," he added.
The latest case – reported by the Isna news agency – involved 40 pupils, all of them female, in the restive southeastern city of Zahedan on Tuesday.
The White House called Monday for a "credible independent investigation" into the poisonings.
The first cases were reported in Iran's Shiite clerical capital of Qom in late November, a month after the Amini protests that later spread to universities and schools.
On Tuesday, Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi warned "those who spread lies and rumours" about the poisonings that "they will be dealt with decisively and legally," the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.
"In the past week, court cases and charges have been filed against the managers of the Hammihan, Rouydad 24 and Shargh media, as well as several individuals," Salehi added.


Mass ‘real world’ study confirms efficacy of Pfizer vaccine

The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine proved 94% effective in a huge real world study published Wednesday that involved 1.2 million people in Israel, confirming the power of mass immunisation campaigns to end the coronavirus pandemic.The good news came as Ghana became the first country to receive shots under the global Covax scheme, paving the way for poorer nations to catch up with wealthier parts of the world.The Israeli study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, also demonstrated there is likely a strong protective benefit against infection, a crucial element in breaking onward transmission.“This is the first peer-reviewed large scale evidence for the effectiveness of a vaccine in real world conditions,” Ben Reis, a researcher at Harvard Medical School and one of the paper’s authors, told AFP.It involved almost 600,000 people who received the shots and an equal number who hadn’t but were closely matched to their vaccinated counterparts by age, sex, geographic, medical and other characteristics.The efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19 was 94% seven or more days after the second dose – very close to the 95% achieved during Phase 3 clinical trials.More than 217 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, according to an AFP tally Wednesday, though the vast majority have been given in high-income countries.Hopes are high that the inoculations will allow the world to finally emerge from a pandemic that has killed more than 2.4 million, infected 112 million, and hammered the global economy.But health experts have warned that unless the whole world has access to vaccines, the pandemic will not end.The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) applauded the first delivery of the Covax vaccines Wednesday.“At last!” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet.WHO is one of several organisations behind Covax, which aims to deliver at least two billion doses globally by the end of the year.The 600,000 doses delivered to Ghana in a ceremony broadcast live on television are from Oxford-AstraZeneca, and will be administered in several Ghanaian cities from Tuesday.They are part of an initial tranche of deliveries bound for several low- and middle-income countries, including to Ivory Coast this week.Covax, led by Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, is seeking to ensure vaccines are equitably distributed globally.In South Africa, struggling with a recession as well as the pandemic, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the government planned to allocate 10 billion rand (US$688 million) to buy and deliver coronavirus vaccines over the next two years.Single-shot vaccineMore upbeat data meanwhile emerged about Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine, which was shown to be highly effective against severe Covid-19, including newer variants, in detailed data released by the US regulator.The vaccine is likely to be authorized soon, making it the third available in the hardest-hit country.US biotech firm Moderna also announced its new Covid vaccine candidate aimed at the dangerous South African coronavirus variant had been shipped to government labs for testing.But Europe’s vaccine rollout faced fresh problems after AstraZeneca said it would only be able to deliver half its promised doses to the EU, deepening tensions with the bloc over supply shortfalls.It is the latest setback for the bloc, which has come under fire for its sluggish vaccine rollout.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen was locked in a war of words with AstraZeneca earlier this year after accusing the British-Swedish firm of breaking a contract by delaying vaccine deliveries.But she struck a more affable tone Wednesday, saying she was “optimistic” about the rollout.“New questions are always arising that we can generally resolve amicably,” she told a German newspaper.Elsewhere on the continent, Hungary forged ahead with its own campaign, administering Chinese-made Sinopharm jabs in a first for the EU, having already become the first EU nation to administer Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.Ukraine also celebrated a landmark Wednesday, giving a doctor the country’s first Covid shot, a slow start to its own vaccination programme that has sparked widespread anger there.In Israel, parliament passed a law allowing the government to share the identities of people not vaccinated against the coronavirus with other authorities, raising privacy concerns for those opting out of inoculation.In sports, a Six Nations rugby match between France and Scotland will go ahead in Paris this weekend as planned despite an outbreak of coronavirus cases in the home camp involving 15 players and staff.


Protests erupt in Indian parliament over military-grade spyware scandal

India’s parliament erupted in protests on Tuesday as opposition lawmakers accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using military-grade spyware to monitor political opponents, journalists and activists, the AP is reporting.The session was disrupted repeatedly with slogans shouted against Modi’s government and demands for an investigation into how the spyware, known as Pegasus, was used in India.“This is a national security threat,” an opposition Congress party official, Kapil Sibal, said at a news conference.The protests came after an investigation by a global media consortium was published on Sunday which provided evidence that the spyware from Israel-based NSO Group, the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire company, was used to allegedly infiltrate devices in 50 countries.In India, the list of potential surveillance targets included senior Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, at least 40 journalists, a veteran election strategist critical of Modi and a top virologist, according to the investigation.Newly appointed information technology minister Ashwani Vaishnaw dismissed the allegations on Monday, calling them “highly sensational”, “over the top”, and “an attempt to malign the Indian democracy”.Minutes after his statement in Parliament, India’s independent The Wire website revealed that his name also appeared on the list as a potential surveillance target in 2017. He was not a member of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party at that time.NSO Group has said it only sells its spyware to “vetted government agencies” for use against terrorists and major criminals.The Indian government has so far dodged questions over whether it is a client of the group.A list of more than 50,000 cellphone numbers was obtained by the Paris-based journalism nonprofit Forbidden Stories and the human rights group Amnesty International, which was then shared with 16 news organisations.Journalists were able to identify more than 1,000 individuals in 50 countries who were allegedly selected by NSO clients for potential surveillance, including 300 verified Indian numbers, The Wire reported.In India, the investigation has fuelled a slew of angry reactions from officials.Home Minister Amit Shah called the investigation an attempt to “derail India’s development trajectory through their conspiracies” and said it was “timed to cause disruptions in Parliament”.The former IT minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said there was “not a shred of evidence linking Indian government or the BJP” to the allegations. Prasad called it an international plot to defame India.Rights groups say the findings bolster accusations that not just autocratic regimes but also democratic governments, including India, have used the spyware for political ends.Recently, the Washington-based Freedom House downgraded India, the world’s most populous democracy, from “free” to “partly free”.Rahul Gandhi, the most influential Indian name revealed so far, was Modi’s main challenger in the 2014 and 2019 general election. Two of his phone numbers used between mid-2018 and mid-2019, in the run-up to the election, appear on the list.Gandhi no longer has the devices so it was not possible to analyse them to determine if they had been hacked, The Wire reported. They also found at least nine numbers of people in Gandhi’s circle.The list also included Gangandeep Kang, a top virologist, Prashant Kishor, a longtime political strategist who helped Modi to power in 2014 but is now one of his strongest opponents, and Ashok Lavasa, a former top official in India’s Election Commission.Phone numbers of a Supreme Court staffer who accused the former chief justice, Ranjan Gogoi, of sexual harassment in 2019, also appeared in the data just days after she recorded her allegations. Gogoi was later cleared of the allegations, which he had denied.


Higher education reforms, steps to cover increase in haj costs to be raised at Dewan

Plans to realise educational reforms at higher learning institutions (IPTs) and government measures to cover the increase in cost of performing the haj and umrah will be among the issues of focus at today’s Dewan Rakyat sitting.
According to the order paper, the question about educational reforms will be raised by Saifuddin Abdullah (PN-Indera Mahkota) to the higher education minister.
Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri Yaakob (BN-Bera) will ask about the measures and assistance to be provided by the government to accommodate the sudden increase in cost of performing the haj and umrah.
Muhammad Islahuddin Abas (PN-Mersing) will ask the defence minister about the implementation of the Livelihood Assistance Programme or BSH for Malaysian Armed Forces veterans who do not have pensions, especially in the B40 category.
Questions about the quality and cost of the 5G services offered by telecommunications companies, efforts to reduce costs for users, and how long it will take for the whole country to get 5G coverage will be asked by Lim Guan Eng (PH-Bagan) to the communications and digital minister.
After the question-and-answer session, the sitting will continue with the debate session on the Supply Bill 2023 at the committee level.
The bill will be debated at the committee level for 10 days.


Electricity tariff subsidies to cost govt RM6.51 billion this year

The government will be spending RM6.51 billion on electricity tariff subsidies this year to ensure that there is no increase in electricity tariffs to help the people deal with inflation.
Deputy Energy and Natural Resources Minister Ali Biju said this followed the announcement by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on June 24 that the government would maintain a rebate of two sen per kilowatt hour (kWh) for all domestic consumers and a surcharge of RM3.70 sen/kWh for all non-domestic consumer in the peninsula from July 1 until Dec 31, 2022.
"This means that all users in the peninsula will pay electricity tariffs at the same level as they have been paying since January 2022," he said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara today.
He was replying to Khairil Nizam Khirudin who wanted to know the amount of subsidies that had been and would be allocated by the government through the Energy Commission to ensure that there is no increase in electricity tariffs to help the public cope with inflationary pressure.
Ali said that from January 2021 until June, the government had allocated RM715 million to maintain a rebate of two sen/kWh for all domestic consumers even though a surcharge of RM3.70 sen/kWh should be imposed on electricity consumers in the peninsula starting January 2022.
He also said that any subsequent electricity tariff decisions would be based on the imbalance cost past through mechanism at the end of this year, which will depend on the price of fuel supply at the global level.
He said the ministry through the Energy Commission and finance ministry would study the possibility of providing targeted energy subsidies.


Conditional MCO in Kedah village from Oct 18 to 31

A conditional movement control order (CMCO) will be implemented in Kampung Padang Che Mas, Baling, Kedah from Oct 18 to 31, says Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob.He said the decision was made at a special meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) today, after receiving input from the Kedah state NSC on the Covid-19 situation in the village.“The CMCO involves 1,150 residents and 151 houses in the area,” he said in press conference broadcast on Facebook today.He said as of Oct 12, 236 individuals in the village had been screened and directed to self-quarantine at home, donning quarantine bracelets.“Of the total, 25 positive cases were recorded involving five families, and another 100 individuals are still waiting for the results,” he said.He said all residents would be required to comply with SOPs including the prohibition of movement in and out of the village. Only two people per family will be allowed to go out for food and necessities, while schools and other education institutions will be closed.


Post-Ramadan Covid-19 outbreaks alarming Indonesians

A jump in coronavirus cases on Indonesia’s two most populous islands has health experts worried that the worst could be yet to come.Case numbers have risen sharply in Java and Sumatra three weeks after holidays that followed the Islamic fasting month, when millions ventured across the archipelago, ignoring temporary travel bans, reports Reuters.The surge has come at a time of few curbs on movement, and when dangerous variants are driving record fatalities in the country’s neighbours and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.In Kudus, central Java, cases have skyrocketed by nearly 8,000% according to Wiku Adisasmito of Indonesia’s Covid-19 taskforce.Defriman Djafri, an epidemiologist from Andalas University in Pandang, said fatalities in West Sumatra in May were the most on record.In Riau on Sumatra, cases more than doubled from early April to over 800 per day by mid-May, said Wildan Asfan Hasibuan, provincial taskforce adviser.Wildan attributed the spike to increased mobility and the spread of coronavirus variants, which are driving spikes in many countries.However, the precise impact of variants is hard to determine in Indonesia, which has limited genomic sequencing capacity.The country also has testing and tracing problems, and its immunisation drive has progressed slowly, with just one in 18 people targeted for inoculations fully vaccinated so far.Informal estimates indicate cases could be far higher than the nearly two million known infections, which is among Asia’s highest caseloads.Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist from Australia’s Griffith University, said Indonesia should take Covid-19 variants more seriously, particularly the Delta variant, which is in its early stage of spreading.“If we don’t change our strategy, we will face a surge of cases in the community, and mortality will increase,” he said.“Sooner rather than later it will reach the more vulnerable and we will face an explosion of cases which we cannot contain or respond to in our health facilities.”


Myanmar frees 600 protesters detained at anti-coup rallies

Myanmar freed more than 600 coup detainees from prison on Wednesday, amid fresh outrage at the junta’s brutal crackdown on protesters.The regime has unleashed a deadly wave of violence as it struggles to quell nationwide protests against the Feb 1 ouster and arrest of Suu Kyi.The 75-year-old Nobel laureate was due to have a court hearing on Wednesday in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, on criminal charges that could see her permanently barred from political office.But her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said the hearing was adjourned until April 1 because of problems with video conferencing caused by a junta-imposed internet shutdown.In commercial hub Yangon more than 600 people held for protesting against the coup were released on Wednesday from Insein prison.“We released 360 men and 268 women from Insein prison today,” a senior prison official told AFP on condition of anonymity.Lawyer Khin Maung Myint, who was at Insein prison for the hearing of two other clients, said 16 busloads of people left the jail at 10am (0400 GMT).“They were sent to related police stations to go back home… Some clients called me (after) informing me of their release,” he told AFP.Local media showed images of the prisoners on the buses flashing the three-fingered salute – a sign of resistance for the anti-coup movement – as people waiting outside the prison waved at them and returned the gesture.Activists called for a nationwide “Silent Strike” on Wednesday, and streets were bare in the cities of Yangon and Naypyidaw.In the southern city of Myeik, rows of dolls were set up along roads, holding up tiny signs reading “We need democracy” and “We wish for Mother Suu to be healthy.”At least 20 children killedThere was chaos overnight in Mandalay with barricades burning, arrests, homes raided by security forces, beatings and machine guns ringing out over multiple neighbourhoods, local media reported.Three people were killed on Tuesday including seven-year-old girl Khin Myo Chit, shot dead at her home in Mandalay, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a local monitoring group.AFP has yet to independently verify the girl’s death.Aid group Save the Children and AAPP both say that at least 20 people aged under 18 have been killed in the crackdown.“We are horrified that children continue to be among the targets of these fatal attacks on peaceful protestors,” Save the Children said in a statement.“The safety of children must be protected under all circumstances and we once again call on security forces to end these deadly attacks against protesters immediately.”The charity said it was also extremely worried about “hundreds of young people” being held in detention.Myanmar’s junta on Tuesday defended its seven-week crackdown, insisting it would not tolerate “anarchy”.AAPP has verified 275 deaths since the coup, but warns the toll could be higher, and says more than 2,800 people have been detained.Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun put the death toll lower at 164, and branded the victims “violent terrorist people” at a Tuesday news conference in the capital Naypyidaw.Suu Kyi graft claimsSuu Kyi’s lawyer said that on Wednesday morning there was a large police presence outside the court gates and lawyers were not being allowed into the building.Khin Maung Zaw said he has still not been able to speak to his client privately.Suu Kyi faces several criminal charges, including for owning unlicensed walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions by staging a campaign event in 2020.She is also being investigated for corruption allegations.The military junta alleges the detained chief minister of Yangon confessed to giving Suu Kyi US$600,000 in cash, along with more than 11kg (US$680,000 worth) of gold.The junta has also been targeting the media.Thein Zaw, a photographer for Associated Press, who has been charged with “spreading false news” is also due for a second legal hearing at a court in Yangon’s notorious Insein prison on Wednesday.If convicted he faces up to three years jail.He was arrested while covering a protest late last month alongside other reporters.More than 40 journalists and photographers have been arrested since the coup last month, according to a local monitoring group.


Bank Negara maintains OPR at 3.00%

Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided during today's meeting to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 3.00%.
BNM said that at the current OPR level, the monetary policy stance is slightly accommodative and remains supportive of the economy and the MPC continues to see limited risks of future financial imbalances.
The central bank said in a statement that the MPC remained vigilant to ongoing developments and will continue to monitor incoming data to inform the assessment of the outlook of domestic inflation and growth.
"The MPC will ensure that the monetary policy stance remains conducive to sustainable economic growth amid price stability," it noted.
BNM added that the global economy continues to expand, driven by resilient domestic demand supported by strong labour market conditions.
Global growth, however, remains weighed down by persistent core inflation and higher interest rates, it said.
"While China's reopening remains supportive of the global economy, its pace of recovery has slowed in recent months. Globally, headline inflation continued to moderate, but core inflation remains above historical averages. For most central banks, the monetary policy stance is likely to remain tight," it said.
The growth outlook remained subject to downside risks, it noted, mainly from a slower momentum in major economies, higher-than-anticipated inflation outturns, an escalation of geopolitical tensions and a sharp tightening in financial market conditions.
Following a strong outturn in the first quarter of the year, the Malaysian economy expanded at a more moderate pace in recent months as exports were weighed down by slower external demand as expected, said the central bank.
Growth for the remainder of the year, it said, will continue to be driven by resilient domestic demand with household spending continuing to be underpinned by favourable labour market conditions, particularly in the domestic-oriented sectors.
On another note, it said tourist arrivals have been steadily improving and are expected to continue rising, thereby lifting tourism-related activities.
As for investment activity, BNM highlighted that it would be supported by continued progress of multi-year infrastructure projects while domestic financial conditions also remained conducive to financial intermediation amid sustained credit growth.
"While the growth outlook is subject to some downside risks stemming from weaker-than-expected global growth, upside risks mainly emanate from domestic factors such as stronger-than-expected tourism activity and faster implementation of projects," BNM said.
On the other hand, the central bank viewed that headline inflation has continued to ease amid lower cost factors.
While core inflation has also moderated, it remains elevated relative to the long-term average amid lingering demand and cost factors, it noted.
Moving forward, BNM said that for the second half of 2023, both headline and core inflation are projected to trend lower, broadly within expectations.
"Risks to the inflation outlook remain highly subject to the degree of persistence in core inflation, changes to domestic policy on subsidies and price controls, as well as global commodity prices and financial market developments," it added.


In Sarawak, no solution in sight for the homeless and mentally ill

In the small town of Bintulu in Sarawak, a group of men roam about, some scavenging and others wandering aimlessly through the streets.When night falls, they lie down on pieces of cardboard laid out on sidewalks and in alleys. Sometimes, they sit on the curb, begging for alms with their belongings tied up in bundles beside them.This is by now a familiar sight for residents in the oil and gas town.Many of these homeless people came from the countryside in search of work. In the early 1980s, they crammed into a big squatter settlement that grew in the middle of the town. In 1987, though, the settlement was razed to the ground and the squatters scattered.The pandemic years were especially difficult for those who sleep rough, some of whom have taken to behaving more aggressively to the people around them. Half-naked, they wander through the streets talking to themselves, some of them carrying parangs or knives.With no facilities available to them, they relieve themselves on the streets, wherever they happen to be.Sometimes, they also become violent.“Early this year, a driver was randomly beaten up by a homeless man with a piece of wood,” activist Francis Ngu told MalaysiaNow.“He hit him as he passed by the road.”Mentally illIncidents like this have fuelled concerns about a rise in the number of mentally ill people among the homeless.According to Ngu, members of the public normally inform the welfare department about cases of people living on the streets.However, he said no long-term action has been taken.A disabled man in a wheelchair makes his way down a highway in Bintulu.Sarawak Welfare, Community Well-Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Fatimah Abdullah acknowledged an increase in the number of homeless and mentally ill people in Bintulu.Throughout the state, Bintulu has the highest number of such cases on record at 48. It is followed by Kuching (31), Sibu (28), Miri (24) and other cities and towns.As of December last year, a total of 158 homeless individuals had been reported in Sarawak as a whole.Ministry studies on the cause of homelessness show that 38% of cases are due to family problems, 33% have mental health issues, 12% have nowhere to stay, 10% are alcoholics, and 5% are jobless.But while the welfare department is responsible for taking the homeless into custody, the situation becomes more complicated when mental illness is involved.“Cases of mental health problems are under the purview of the health ministry,” Fatimah told MalaysiaNow.“The welfare department cannot provide the proper care and support for the mentally ill. We don’t have the institutions, and the officers are not trained in this area.”TreatmentIn Kuching, there is one facility dedicated to the care of mental health patients – Hospital Sentosa.According to the Sarawak Mental Health Association, though, treatment is available for mental health problems at all government health clinics and hospitals in the state.Its president Dr Ismail Drahman said Sarawak had come a long way in this regard.“Twenty years ago, this service was quite lacking and we did not have enough members,” he said.“But now, it is everywhere.”Affordability is also less of a problem for low-income families as they are charged only a few ringgit for registration.“Either RM1 or RM5, and if they can’t afford it, they don’t have to pay,” Ismail said. “So the cost of treatment is free.”At non-specialist hospitals, patients are referred to institutions with psychiatrists.“The disease can then be stabilised to prevent them from becoming confused or causing problems to the public or their families,” Ismail added.Nevertheless, he said, mental health facilities in Sarawak are in need of an upgrade.“In Bintulu and some other areas, we do not have the facilities to place more aged patients because the hospital is to provide acute treatment.”Once the patients are stabilised, he added, they are released to their families who must then monitor their health and provide care for them.But there is always the possibility of a relapse.Fatimah said the welfare department has been trying to reach as many homeless people as possible, adding that it was important to identify the cause of homelessness and to then work from there.“Sometimes the health department tells us that a person has already been treated and given medication,” she said. “So where should they go?”For her, this is a gap that must be addressed by the ministries in tandem with NGOs and the patients’ families.“We need to work together,” she said. “We have to sit down together to see if we can find a way out.”


China pledges support for Hong Kong amid Covid surge

China will fully support Hong Kong with its “dynamic zero” coronavirus strategy as the territory battles an escalating outbreak, its office overseeing matters in the city said.The central government was “highly concerned” about the safety and health of residents as well as the economy and people’s livelihoods, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), which comes under China’s State Council or cabinet, said in a statement.It said it would hold a meeting of mainland and Hong Kong officials in neighbouring Shenzhen “in the near future” to “maintain stability” and come up with policies to support Hong Kong’s fight against the disease.“As long as Hong Kong asks, the motherland will surely respond… Hand in hand, we will surely be able to overcome the epidemic soon,” it said.The Chinese government will help improve Hong Kong’s testing capability and set up another quarantine facility, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a Beijing-based source.The mainland is also preparing to send thousands of medical and lab workers and millions of testing kits to Hong Kong, with the daily coronavirus screening capacity to be increased from 100,000 tests to 3000,000 tests.The global financial hub has seen a 10-fold rise in cases since Feb 1 and medical experts warn the city could see 28,000 daily infections by the end of March, with the unvaccinated elderly a particular worry.The increase is proving to be the biggest test for Hong Kong’s policy of virus suppression as capacity for hospital beds, isolation and coronavirus testing nears its maximum.Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to test every day, including elderly and children, queuing for hours in tightly packed lines outside testing centres and raising the risk of infection.Following mainland China, Hong Kong is trying to curb outbreaks as soon as possible, in contrast with many other places that are trying to “live with Covid”, relying on high vaccination rates to bring protection while easing restrictions.The city’s stringent restrictions have turned it into one of the world’s most major isolated cities.The HKMAO said it was also actively coordinating with the Guangdong provincial government to ensure the supply of vegetables, fresh food and other necessities into Hong Kong.The former British colony saw a run on vegetables this week after several cross-border truck drivers, who bring in goods from the mainland, tested positive for coronavirus.China previously assisted the city in 2020 with a mass coronavirus testing scheme when it sent 600 people to operate lab facilities and tested nearly 2 million of the city’s 7.5 million residents.Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said this week said she was deeply sorry and anxious for the long waits residents faced to get tested or enter isolation facilities. She said last week she had requested help from mainland China to boost testing capacity.


Daily caseload tops 4,700

Another 4,744 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,844,969.Another 3,646 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,766,254.Meanwhile 129 are in the ICU, including 110 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 72 are in need of respiratory assistance including 48 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 4,744 cases reported today, 30 (0.6%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 4,714 (99.4%) are in Category One and Two.


Growing up amid the garbage of a slum village in Sarawak

Sitting on a patch of muddy ground outside her grandparents’ house in Bintulu, four-year-old Michelle plays with a toy that she found at a nearby rubbish dump.It is a swelteringly hot afternoon, but Michelle and the other village children are out in full force, chasing each other barefoot across trash-laden pathways and playing hide-and-seek among the squalid shacks.The dump, one of many in the area, contains piles of items considered as refuse by the more affordable who threw them out. But for those living in slum villages such as Michelle’s, they are a priceless lifeline.Each day, the villagers venture out from their homes and comb through the garbage looking for items to sell.For the children, meanwhile, the dump site is the only playground they have ever known. The boys frolic in the polluted river while the girls play with marbles amid the piles of garbage.Children splash about in a dirty stream as a villager checks the laundry lines set up along the bank.Michelle spends most of her time dashing through the dump with her friends. In the evening, she wanders with her grandfather while waiting for her grandmother to return from her day of scavenging.This is the life of children like her, whose families live on the fringe of the garbage fields, scraping a living from the waste unloaded there each day.Bintulu, once a sleepy fishing village, began bursting with activity after the discovery of a massive oil and gas reserve nearby. After energy came timber and oil palm plantations, and then heavy industries such as aluminium smelting and cement manufacturing.These sequential booms turned Bintulu into a land known for its offer of easy money for the underskilled. But as it became more prosperous, the income gap began to widen.Inequality quickly rose, and many rural folk who first migrated to the town in the early 1980s now live as squatters at dump sites such as Michelle’s.Villagers stand near the heaps of garbage which provide them with a much needed lifeline.But for all their scavenging, they have barely made a dent in the garbage dumped at these sites.“Today, many live cramped against the edges of trash mounds, which spill around street corners and devour courtyards,” Francis Ngu Hown Hua, who has spent half his life in Bintulu, told MalaysiaNow.He said most of the squatters hail from the countryside and have little education and few skills that would enable them to adapt to life in the city.Michelle’s grandparents are just two among many.Nurirastri, Michelle’s grandmother, hoists a plastic sack on her back filled with items scavenged from the garbage dump near their home.Her grandmother, Nurirastri, said she and her husband moved to Bintulu from Sibu after getting married.For years, they have walked to the dump site each day where they collect scraps of metal, electronics, rubber and plastic bags to sell for recycling.They took Michelle in after her mother, who was only 14 when she had her, ran away.Now, Nurirastri goes to the dump site alone and combs through the trash looking for valuables to sell while her husband takes care of Michelle at home.At night, they switch shifts: Nurirastri watches over Michelle while her husband goes to look for more items that they can exchange for cash.“Usually he will stay out until 4 o’clock in the morning,” Nurirastri told MalaysiaNow.Things became much more difficult with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, but they still struggled to do what they could for the child, even when they themselves fell ill.Nurirastri suffers from chronic pain in her stomach. “It is very painful; it feels like something sharp stabbing me,” she said.“But fortunately, Francis helped me. He gave me some medicine, and I go out to work after the pain goes away.”Francis drops in whenever he can to check on the small family, asking if they have enough food and milk for Michelle.Michelle reaches out for her grandmother’s hand as she stands beside bottles of drinks and a bag of diapers given to the family.He said many villagers lack documentation such as birth certificates and identity cards, which limits their access to social services.“They also cannot afford to go for check-ups,” he said.Living alone amid the piles of garbage, they do the best they can to raise their children but the environment is not conducive.“Scavengers use tainted water for rinsing food and bathing although they purify their drinking and cooking water,” Francis said.“Children can be seen fishing in stinking pools of water near the site.”For many, this will be their life for the foreseeable future as a lack of access to healthcare and the massive social stigma leaves them with nowhere else to go.It is not clear how many children are born into this world of decay, but Francis said they will likely be there to stay.Villagers paddle their way down a murky brown creek to their homes along the bank.At the dump site, Nurirastri and her husband continue to scavenge, hoping that the little they earn from going through the trash will one day be enough to help Michelle escape their slum village.“My hope is that we will be able to own a house in a better environment,” Nurirastri said.“We do this for Michelle. We want her to go to school and become a successful person. I know that we cannot give her a material heritage but the important thing is knowledge.”It is perhaps the greatest irony of all that to earn enough to leave the dump site, they must continue to live there, at least for now, venturing out from their small shack each day to sift through the trash in the hope of one day fulfilling their dream to escape.


Child marriage in Malaysia: how old is too young? It depends on who you ask

When is a child, especially a girl, old enough to marry?Different cultures have different answers.In Malaysia, child marriage is often considered to be confined to rural Muslim communities due to frequent media reporting cases of underage girls undergoing marriage to older men. It’s regarded by the mainstream as old-fashioned and nowadays wrong.Although it is indeed true that child marriage is prevalent in Muslim communities, it is also a problem in every ethnic and religious community in Malaysia, said Sarah Norton-Staal, Unicef Malaysia’s chief of child protection in the online launch of Unicef’s advocacy brief titled “Towards Ending Child Marriage”.Unicef statistics show that between 2013 and 2017, there were 2,367 cases of non-Muslim child marriages recorded by the National Registration Department.“Child marriage occurs in urban and rural settings, across all states in Malaysia and throughout all ethnic and religious communities,” Norton-Staal told MalaysiaNow. “Both boys and girls are affected by child marriage, but the impact is greater on girls.”Although activists tend to speak of a child marriage “problem”, Noor Aziah Mohd Awal, children’s commissioner at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), said some religious authorities do not see child marriage as a sensitive issue or worth discussing, and certainly not a problem.She cited the 2018 findings from the women, family and community development ministry which showed that half of the states in the country – Sarawak, Pahang, Terengganu, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Negeri Sembilan – do not wish to change the age limit for marriage.“Both boys and girls are affected by child marriage, but the impact is greater on girls.”Noor Aziah said in 2020 Selangor changed its law and made 18 the minimum age for both boys and girls, making it the only state to have achieved a legal reform.Child’s rights activists collectively urged legal reform to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 in a recent event by Unicef.Activists say the lack of a standardised minimum age for marriage is the main contributing factor to the “problem” in this country.Child marriage is allowed under Islamic law, civil law and customary laws in Malaysia.In Islamic family law, children under the age of 18 are allowed to get married provided that they have the approval of the shariah court.In civil law, which governs non-Muslims, girls aged 16 and 17 are allowed to marry if approved by the state chief minister.Under customary laws for non-Muslim indigenous people, there is no age limit for marriage.Noor Aziah pointed out other factors that drive child marriage in Malaysia. These include lack of access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services; poverty; cultural acceptance of child marriage; and lack of parental understanding of SRH.The reluctance of religious groups to implement sex education and other issues that lead up to child marriage has been a challenge for years, she said.Unicef’s Norton-Staal said some religious leaders are supportive of the cause and there is a clear recognition and acceptance of the importance of strengthening comprehensive sexuality education.“Malaysia attended the Global Population Conference in Nairobi a few years ago and endorsed the commitments made, including strengthening sexual reproductive health education.“So I believe the political will is there and that even among some religious leaders there is a recognition of that importance.”Lee Lyn-Ni, child protection specialist at Unicef Malaysia told MalaysiaNow, “Setting the minimum age of marriage at 18 provides an objective rather than a subjective standard of maturity, which safeguards a child from being married when they are not physically, mentally or emotionally ready.“It will also ensure that children are able to give their free and full consent and have the minimum level of maturity needed before marrying.”


The trouble with targeted subsidies in tackling cost of living

The government has been urged to conduct a detailed study before implementing targeted subsidies with the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) voicing concern that such measures will necessarily differ according to state.
Fomca CEO Saravanan Thambirajah said each state had its own poverty level determined by individual challenges in cost of living.
For example, he said, someone earning RM8,000 in Kelantan or Terengganu might be considered part of the high-income bracket or T20 group.
But the same person earning that amount in Selangor or Penang would only be categorised in the M40 or middle-income group.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said the provision of subsidies or assistance at a flat rate would therefore do little to help solve the overall cost of living issue.
"Looking ahead, the government might not be able to bear the giving of subsidies for all," he added.
But even the giving of targeted subsidies would come with its own set of difficulties, he said.
For Saravanan, the biggest challenge for the government would be determining which group should receive such assistance – a tricky question in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the M40 were badly affected by the pandemic with some living at the B40 level but receiving no aid as they do not meet the necessary criteria.
"So the government needs to conduct a detailed study and refer to communities to truly ascertain which group deserves to receive assistance," he said, adding however that this could take a long time.
Economist Zouhair Rosli meanwhile said that the problem of low savings was actually driven by the underlying issue of low wages.
Speaking at a recent webinar on current economic issues, he described this as a structural issue which he said had long plagued the country.
"It's not rocket science," Zouhair, a senior analyst at DM Analytics, added.
"And it's not a matter of financial mismanagement."
Because of this, he said, many had no emergency savings and had a hard time weathering the challenges brought on by the pandemic.
He said this was why some of them had continued urging the government to allow further withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund.
Another structural problem, according to Zouhair, was the struggle of graduates to find jobs equivalent to their qualifications.
He said the root of this problem was not a choosy attitude on the part of the graduates but rather the fact that many job openings did not require high education skills.
"The main problem is that there are no jobs," he said.
"Out of 100 job openings, perhaps only 15 would be suitable for graduates."
He said this was why it was important for the government to focus on attracting high-quality investors such as companies in the machinery and information and communication technology sectors.
"I don't see any commitment in the latest budget either to giving workers a higher distribution in wages," he said.
"We already know that our salaries are low. The government should take this seriously. It doesn't matter who it is because the situation didn't change either under any of the past administrations."


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Pejuang still hopeful of working with PN for state polls

Pejuang is still hopeful that Perikatan Nasional (PN) will consider its request to join or cooperate with the coalition for the upcoming state elections.
Its president Mukhriz Mahathir said Pejuang did not want to be perceived as spoilers who split the Malay vote, and felt that consolidating efforts to securing those votes was the best approach for PN to face rivals Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional.
He said Pejuang’s aim in contesting was not to dominate politics, have grand designs for top positions, or rule any of the states.
"We are aware of our limitations," he told reporters in George Town.
Voters in Selangor, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang and Negeri Sembilan will go to the polls on Aug 12, following the Election Commission’s decision to hold simultaneous elections in the six states.


Mat Sabu says emergency rule an attack on Parliament a la Capitol storming

Amanah president Mohamad Sabu today became one of the first opposition politicians to condemn the state of emergency announced by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, comparing the declaration with the situation in the US where a state of emergency was declared in Washington to prevent a repeat of violent protests at Capitol Hill by supporters of outgoing president Donald Trump.“Muhyiddin follows Donald Trump’s way. Attacking the Parliament (Capitol), declaring an emergency and disrespecting the election results,” Mohamad, also known as Mat Sabu, said in a Twitter post.The state of emergency, announced this morning, came amid a spike in Covid-19 cases which has seen daily numbers entrenched in the four-figure range.The emergency period will run until Aug 1 but could end earlier if the number of positive cases can be controlled and reduced, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said in announcing the matter.This comes a day after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that the movement control order would be reinstated in six states.Speaking on the state of emergency today, he said the civilian government would continue to function, with no military coup or curfew enforced.He also said Parliament would not convene throughout the emergency period, and no elections would be held.In the US, meanwhile, Trump declared a state of emergency in Washington DC ahead of president-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan 20.This came amid warnings by the FBI on armed protests planned at all 50 US state capitols in the aftermath of the events of Jan 6, when a group of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building, clashing with police, damaging property, seizing the inauguration stage and occupying the rotunda.The unrest took place after Trump urged his supporters to protest what he claims is a stolen election.


Court gives green light for woman to challenge home ministry's rejection of citizenship bid

A 67-year-old woman today obtained leave from the Kuala Lumpur High Court to initiate a judicial review proceeding to challenge the home ministry's decision rejecting her application for Malaysian citizenship.
Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid allowed the application by the woman, who has seven children, after her lawyer, Larissa Ann Louis, informed the court that the Attorney-General's Chambers, in a letter dated Jan 3, did not object.
The judge then fixed Jan 19 for case management.
The woman filed the application on Nov 22, 2022, naming the home ministry secretary-general, the National Registration Department (JPN) director-general, and the government of Malaysia as the first to third respondents.
She is seeking, among others, a declaration that the decision by the defendants in rejecting her application for Malaysian citizenship in a letter dated Aug 23, 2022, was null and void.
According to an affidavit filed in court, the woman said she was born in 1955 at Hospital Teluk Anson in Perak, but was abandoned by her biological mother. She was raised by her adoptive Malaysian parents while her biological parents are now deceased.
Her husband, whom she married in 1974, was stateless but held permanent residency. He died in 2016.
In 2017, the woman applied to JPN for Malaysian citizenship by naturalisation under Article 19 of the Federal Constitution, but her application was rejected on Aug 23 last year with no reason given.


UK restricts Chinese cameras in government buildings over security fears

The British government on Thursday told its departments to stop installing Chinese-linked surveillance cameras at sensitive buildings, citing security risks.
The decision comes after a review of "current and future possible security risks associated with the installation of visual surveillance systems on the government estate," cabinet office minister Oliver Dowden said in a written statement to parliament.
"The review has concluded that, in light of the threat to the UK and the increasing capability and connectivity of these systems, additional controls are required," Dowden said.
The British directive applies to cameras made by companies subject to Chinese security laws and includes guidance for departments to disconnect such devices from core computer networks and to consider removing them altogether.
It comes months after dozens of lawmakers called for a ban on the sale and use of security cameras made by Hikvision and Dahua, two partly state-owned Chinese firms, over privacy fears and concerns of the companies' products being linked to human rights abuses in China.
Hikvision in a statement to Reuters denied the claims, saying the company will further seek to engage with British authorities to understand the decision.
"Hikvision cannot transmit data from end-users to third parties, we do not manage end-user databases, nor do we sell cloud storage in the UK," a company spokesperson said.
The British office of Dahua did not immediately respond to emails from Reuters seeking comment.
The US has slapped trade and usage restrictions for cameras made by Hikvision, Dahua and other Chinese firms.
A majority of British public bodies use surveillance cameras made by Hikvision or Dahua, privacy advocacy group Big Brother Watch said in July.
A number of government departments including the interior and business ministries have had Hikvision cameras visibly in use on the front of their buildings, the group had said.
Dowden's statement said that following the government review: "Departments have therefore been instructed to cease deployment of such equipment onto sensitive sites, where it is produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China."
"Since security considerations are always paramount around these sites, we are taking action now to prevent any security risks materialising."


Long road to work-life balance in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur, known throughout the world as the capital of Malaysia, is also recognised for another, less positive, reason: according to a survey by US technology firm Kisi, it was the third most overworked city in 2022, behind Hong Kong and Dubai which came in second and first respectively.
This is not the first time it has made it into the top 10 most overworked cities list, either.
Last year, Kuala Lumpur came in eighth while in 2020 and 2019, it was ranked fourth.
This year's survey took into account a number of recent developments including global inflation, the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The survey, which was carried out in 49 cities globally as well as 51 in the US, was based on three categories: work intensity, society and institutions, and liveability.
The first category considered the aspects of remote working and minimum vacation time, the unemployment rate, and those who work multiple jobs.
Society and institutions covered the impact of the pandemic and the support and healthcare provided by the city, while liveability considered the issues of affordability, culture, outdoor spaces, safety and wellness.
In terms of overworked population, Kuala Lumpur scored 17.10%, behind Dubai (23.40%) and Hong Kong (17.09%) despite coming in last in terms of multiple job holders at 1.10%.
In terms of outdoor space, it ranked second last after Dubai. It also offered just eight days of minimum vacation compared to Dubai at the top with 30.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, though, HR expert S Arulkumar recommended taking the survey findings with a pinch of salt.
"It only represents a small sample, and it's tricky to make sweeping statements," Arulkumar, the co-founder of HR Forum and Social Compliance Malaysia, added.
"Details are required. Are they government servants or from the private sector? What are the types of industries, and so on? Each of these categories is unique and independent."
He acknowledged cases of overwork due to the system, or out of choice due to personal aspirations.
"But to a larger extent, it's also due to competency and productivity," he said.
"These two factors alone outweigh the rest."
Academic Zaid Ahmad of Universiti Putra Malaysia meanwhile said Kuala Lumpur's inclusion on the list came as no surprise given its status as the most urbanised part of the country.
"Kuala Lumpur has always been the centre of migration for us," Zaid, of the faculty of human ecology, told MalaysiaNow.
"When people move to Kuala Lumpur from rural areas, they sometimes have problems managing their time and other aspects of life."
During the early days of urbanisation, he said, there had been no question of finding a work-life balance.
"In the city, it's the survival of the fittest. This created a new, workaholic lifestyle.
"People talk about work all the time because it is a necessity, not a choice."
According to the US study, the top spots for cities with the best work-life balance were taken by European cities: Oslo (Norway), Bern (Switzerland) and Helsinki (Finland).
Back in Malaysia, Arulkumar said multi-pronged efforts are needed for improvements in work-life balance.
He said a more sustainable way was to have a well educated and highly skilled workforce to resolve the issue of competency and productivity.
"Any other intervention would only provide a 'Panadol' effect," he said.
"Legislation will help, such as the recent amendment to the Employment Act reducing weekly work hours from 48 to 45. But only to a certain extent.
"Employers will probably try to find ways to avoid overtime pay, and this, in turn, could reduce long work hours."
Zaid meanwhile said Kuala Lumpur was not a conducive environment for work-life balance, citing its famous traffic jams, flash floods and pollution levels.
"Human habitats must be based on their nature," he said.
"Without balance, people won't live normally. This is where urban and development planners play a role, to view the well-being of people from a bigger perspective – not just in terms of money and income."


Trump escapes fine in Playboy model ‘catch and kill’ pay-off case

A tabloid magazine publisher accused of buying and then burying a story about an alleged ex-lover of Donald Trump in 2016 has agreed to pay a fine for violating US election laws.Trump will not be punished or the subject of further inquiry, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has ruled but the publisher of the National Enquirer will pay a fine of nearly US$200,000.The FEC found that the money paid to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal during the presidential election amounted to an illegal campaign contribution.The former president has denied ever having an affair with McDougal, but she has said she sold her story to the Enquirer for US$150,000, in an agreement that banned her from talking publicly about the alleged 2006 affair with Trump.The FEC ruling states that the Enquirer’s publisher, “knowingly and wilfully” violated election laws by paying for the rights to McDougal’s story but never publishing it, in a media practice known as “catch and kill”.The publisher’s chief executive David Pecker is a close friend of Trump and he previously acknowledged, in a deal to avoid criminal prosecution, that the payment was made to “suppress the woman’s story” and “prevent it from influencing the election”.Documents relating to the case were released on Tuesday by Common Cause, a not-for-profit government watchdog group, which had filed a complaint to the FEC over three years ago related to the payment to McDougal as well as another payment to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels.According to federal officials, the payment to McDougal was made in coordination with then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who later served time in jail for crimes including violations of election finance law.Paul S Ryan, Common Cause’s vice-president of policy and litigation, called the ruling “a win for democracy”, but said “the only one not to be held accountable” in the case was the former president.


New US ambassador takes over in KL

A former political counsellor at the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur has returned to Malaysia as the new US ambassador, replacing Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir.Brian McFeeters previously served at the US embassy from 2009 to 2011.“It is wonderful to be back in Malaysia. During my time here 10 years ago I was privileged to meet and work with many talented and dedicated Malaysians,” he said in a statement released by the embassy to announce his appointment.“Our overall goal is stronger relations with the Malaysian people and government.”McFeeters, who was nominated under the Donald Trump administration last year, also speaks Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia.He is widely seen as familiar with Southeast Asia, having served in Jakarta and Seoul.His last posting was as deputy ambassador in Iraq.He was also deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Jakarta and deputy political counsellor in Seoul.


Life before Merdeka, and the value of freedom

In a small flat in the capital city, 85-year-old Krishnan Nair rummages through his cupboards to find a bundle of photographs, faded and yellow with age.
Some of the photos, at 70, are nearly as old as he is. At the back of each picture, written in pen, is the location of the shot and the names of those smiling for the camera.
Looking at them, Krishnan smiles as well, recalling life at that time before Malaysia achieved independence in 1957.
As a retired police officer, it was a fight that he experienced up close.
Krishnan served with the police force in Malaya during the British occupation. Much of his early life was spent under British and then Japanese rule.

Retired police officer Krishnan Nair holds a photo of him receiving an award in recognition of his service.

His childhood was spent in Jalan Junid, Muar, in Johor. At that time, the village where he lived had only a few houses and a handful of small shops that sold groceries and basic necessities.
Each day, he would walk to school with his older brother and sister. At night, the villagers would pick the yams they grew in their gardens and boil them for dinner.
"We always had beriberi disease," he said. "We would visit the doctor, and he would press our hands and our legs and say that we were malnutritioned.
"Because we only ate yams."
There was also the danger of malaria, which spread throughout the area when Krishnan was about seven years old.
"My father died of malaria," he said. "My older brother told my mother not to worry, that he would take care of the family.
"But the next day, he died of malaria, too. My mother was so sad."

Krishnan Nair recalls life under Japanese occupation before Malaysia achieved independence.

Nevertheless, for all its hardships, Krishnan, who now lives in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, has fond memories of his childhood.
He said there was harmony, growing up under British rule.
He recalled roaming about with his friends in Muar and having picnics at popular spots, regardless of race, religion or age.
He said things changed when the Japanese army entered Malaya.
After that, he said, people began living in fear, thinking only of their own safety.
Whenever they crossed paths with a Japanese soldier, he said, they had to stop and bow as a gesture of respect. Otherwise, the soldier would hit them with the butt of his gun, regardless of their sex or age.
"There were men who were pulled by the Japanese into lorries," Krishnan said. "No one ever knew where they were taken, but they took women, too.
"People said the soldiers took them to work as labourers on project sites."
Afraid that his sister would be taken, too, his mother told her to wear men's clothes.
Even today, Krishnan has no idea what befell his friends who were taken away by the Japanese soldiers. Once they were taken, he never saw them again.
Village life
In another flat unit, an elderly couple turned the pages of their photo album, taking a similar trip down memory lane.
Maznom Mohd Yusof grew up in Kampung Tanah Merah, Kuala Kangsar, during the British occupation.

Maznom Mohd Yusof and her husband Mokhtar Ishak smile as they look back at old photos.

 Now 75, she was once the head nurse at Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Looking back on her childhood and teenage years, she said she had always been very active.
After school, she would help her mother sell rice wrapped in banana leaves at a stall near their house.
During school holidays, she and her friends loved nothing more than to splash about in the river.
"If we saw British soldiers, we would stop and watch them pass," she said. "Sometimes when they saw children, they would throw us chocolate.
"Everything was okay. The villagers all knew each other and would greet one another whenever we met."  As children, she said, neither she nor her husband Mokhtar Ishak really understood the meaning of independence.
"On Aug 31, there was a celebration at school," she said.
"We ate and sang songs together. It was so much fun. And we felt proud because our teachers told us that our country was free."
Krishnan however has very different memories of the first Merdeka Day that Malaysia ever marked.
At that point, he was stationed in Tangkak, Johor. It was still during the Malayan Emergency of 1848-1960 as the communist threat continued in a number of states.
"I knew it was Merdeka," he said. "Everyone knew it was Merdeka.
"But we had to keep working, to monitor and scout through the woods to keep the communists in check."
Today, he, Maznom and Mokhtar are grateful for the progress the country has seen since then.
"When I tell my children my stories about what it was like before, they laugh and say they don't believe me," Krishnan said.
"But when I show them my pictures, they feel proud. What they have today cannot be compared with the hardships we experienced before.
"I'm proud to have fought for my country's independence, and I'm proud that it's still safe.
"Many of my friends went to fight with me but they died – they never returned. The younger generation needs to know the value of such freedom."


Kelantan to dissolve state assembly on June 22

The Kelantan state legislative assembly will be dissolved on June 22 to pave the way for the state election, Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob said.
He said the dissolution of the state assembly has received the consent of the Sultan of Kelantan Sultan Muhammad V.
"Today, I want to declare the dissolution of the 14th state assembly. This is after I was granted an audience with the sultan to seek consent for the dissolution of the state assembly in accordance with Clause 2 Article 46 of the state constitution.
"The sultan gave his consent for the state assembly to be dissolved on June 22," he told a press conference after the state executive council meeting in Kota Bharu today.
He said the state government would send the notice of dissolution of the state assembly to the Election Commission for further action.
Three states under Pakatan Harapan, namely Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan, and three under Perikatan Nasional – Terengganu, Kedah and Kelantan – did not dissolve their respective state assemblies by the time the 15th general election was held in November last year.
Leaders of the states, however, agreed to do so within the last two weeks of June to enable state elections to be held simultaneously in the six states.
Penang has already announced that its state assembly will dissolve on June 28, while Negeri Sembilan is expected to do so on June 30.


Thai cops nab 89 foreigners partying at beach bar, flouting Covid-19 rules

Police raided a party at a bar on a popular resort island in southern Thailand and arrested 89 foreigners for violating coronavirus regulations, officials said on Wednesday.The Tuesday night raid on the Three Sixty Bar on Koh Phangan also netted 22 Thais, including one identified as the bar’s owner and another who sold drinks there, said police Colonel Suparerk Pankosol, superintendent of the provincial immigration office.Island police had tracked the party plans on social media, where the bar was promoting the event to celebrate its fifth anniversary. Entry tickets were 100 baht (US$3.30), with food and drink extra, reports Sky News.Those arrested were from more than 10 countries, including the US, UK, Switzerland and Denmark.Photos of the raid distributed by police show almost all partygoers clothed and wearing face masks.The gathering was illegal under a national state of emergency declared last March to combat the coronavirus.Koh Phangan in Surat Thani province is a popular destination for young travellers and is especially known for its all-night Full Moon beach parties.Thailand has barred virtually all tourists from entering the country since last April, so it is thought that most of the partygoers will have been tourists stranded in the country since then.In an effort to generate a little money in its devastated tourist economy, Thai authorities have recently made it possible for selected foreigners to enter the country on, for example, long-stay golfing vacations.However, the process of obtaining a visa is expensive and labyrinthine and has attracted few takers.In any case, the available visas were certainly not aimed at attracting the kind of free spirited backpacking tourist who would flout the law at Full Moon beach parties.


Increase in tourist arrivals can boost ringgit, says deputy finance minister

An increase in foreign tourist arrivals can strengthen the value of the ringgit, which is currently relatively low, says Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan.
He said more than 200 million tourists from China were planning their trips abroad and voiced hope that they would choose Malaysia as their destination.
"We want a lot of tourists because they generate revenue for the country, including the tourism, hotel, food and beverage sectors.
"At the same time, the demand for the ringgit by tourists when they visit Malaysia can boost the performance of the local currency," he told reporters after a working visit to the Port Dickson passenger jetty yesterday.
He said agencies such as the customs department also played an important role in enhancing the tourism economic sector. "Delays at the airport and at the jetty are a recurring thing. I think when we need a lot of tourists to come to this country, one of the agencies that plays an important role is customs, which is to manage the arrival of tourists efficiently.
"Nevertheless, I see improvements being made. For example, at this jetty, customs uses the approach of collecting goods to be screened at the scanner while other passengers line up waiting for their turn at the counter. It is a method that can speed up the queue," he said.


Ministers to set KPI at upcoming retreat, says Anwar

A retreat will be held next week, specifically for Cabinet ministers to set the key performance indicators (KPI) for each ministry, says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the retreat was to get the ministers’ input after more than a month’s work, and to present matters that could be carried out or improved on.
"After that, we will make an announcement about the KPI and the hopes of each minister and ministry," he said at a question-and-answer session during dinner with the Malaysian diaspora at the embassy of Malaysia in Kuningan, Jakarta.
Also present were his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir, International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz and Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.
Earlier, Anwar said in his speech that the government was striving to boost economic growth again, and that the main focus of his administration would be strengthening a sustainable economy by attracting investments and ensuring social justice.
"Malaysia must be free from the greed of the elite minority who have used their power to enrich themselves and their clans. I will not compromise at all although it will threaten my position," he said.


Make SOPs part of school discipline, educators say as Covid cases rise

Educators have called for Covid-19 SOPs to be made part of school discipline amid news of an increase in school-related virus clusters and warnings by the health ministry that affected centres will be advised to close.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, National Parent-Teacher Associations Consultative Council president Mohd Ali Hassan said students should individually and collectively abide by health SOPs.“Disciplinary action should be taken against any student who neglects to comply with the SOPs,” he said. “The students must also share the spirit of ‘Protect Yourself, Protect Everyone’.”He said some steps that can be taken include issuing reminders in the form of memos or letters to those who breach SOPs, a copy of which must be sent to their parents or guardians.Yesterday, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said 20 school-related clusters had been recorded from March 20 to April 4.At a press conference, he said the so-called education cluster is mostly caused by infections from colleagues and social contacts.Depending on the results of health and risk assessments conducted by the district health office, he said, school administrations could be advised to close schools or classes which record positive cases until preventive measures have been taken.Ali said the increase in positive cases at schools meant that students and teachers should be ready for face-to-face or home-based teaching and learning, depending on instructions received from authorities.He suggested that SOPs be tightened at school entrances for parents dropping their children off as well as for school staff including canteen workers.He also called for teachers to be given priority in receiving vaccine shots.“Teachers who refuse vaccination should provide a show-cause letter for not complying. Appropriate action can then be taken by the relevant district education office,” he said.Aminuddin Awang, president of the National Union of the Teaching Profession, said the increase in clusters related to the education sector should not necessarily be traced back to the schools themselves.“School administrations cannot possibly know where all the students have been before coming to school, what their activities are and who their close contacts are.”He said schools had by and large put in place effective preventive measures within their compounds, adding that the problem lies outside.“There is no control outside the schools,” he said. “In this case, do not blame the schools if there is an increase in school-related clusters.“Schools are victims of what happens outside.”


A message from doctors to anti-vaxxers

Those who are eligible for the Covid-19 vaccines but still refuse to get vaccinated will only make life more difficult for themselves as they will not be able to enjoy many of the benefits of those who have been fully vaccinated. This, after the health minister warned of tougher rules for those refusing vaccination without valid medical reasons.We are already starting to see the effectiveness of vaccines in bringing cases down in the country. Sufficient time has been given to educate the public on the benefits of vaccines with more than enough evidence available and yet there are less than 10% of the population who still refuse vaccination.As doctors, we have seen anti-vaxxer patients change their tune about vaccines when a family member or they themselves are infected with Covid-19. Often we see that when a family member dies from Covid-19, all of a sudden the vaccines become important to the surviving family members.So our advice to anti-vaxxers is to get vaccinated before they or their loved ones become Covid-19’s next victim.It should be noted that while cases have dipped significantly, there are still patients hospitalised for Category Three, Four and Five Covid-19 infections. The majority of these cases are among unvaccinated individuals.In the early stages of the pandemic when there were no vaccines available, we saw mainly the elderly and those with comorbidities hospitalised for Covid-19. However, it is different now. With the presence of the Delta variant in the community, we are now seeing healthy individuals with no prior medical issues hospitalised for Covid-19. Many are also suffering from long Covid where symptoms such as fatigue, respiratory and neurological symptoms last from several weeks to months which is an unpleasant experience to say the least.The MMA agrees that additional measures on top of the SOPs such as frequent testing will be needed for unvaccinated individuals reporting to work. Though it may be an inconvenience to them, it will serve to protect them, their loved ones and colleagues. But the best protection available which they can give themselves is vaccination.The government needs to drive the awareness of the need to vaccinate in order to protect themselves and others around them. The vaccine does reduce the number of severe cases of Covid-19, though in tandem with protective measures like wearing of face masks and social distancing.Malaysia has progressed to Phase Three and Four of the National Recovery Plan due to only one reason and that is vaccinations.We also recommend that aside from educating the public on vaccines, counseling services be offered to those fearing vaccination as fear is a major factor contributing to vaccine hesitancy.Dr Koh Kar Chai is president of the Malaysian Medical Association.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Aussies skirt vaccine rules with black market certificates

A ban on unvaccinated Australians entering bars and restaurants nudged thousands to get jabbed – but it has also seen the rise of a thriving black market in fake Covid-19 vaccine certificates online.Twenty-four-year-old Molly – who asked to conceal her real name – is hitting the town.When Melbourne last month clambered out of 260-plus days of sporadic lockdowns, the allure of the city’s vibrant social scene was too much to resist, even though she is unvaccinated.“I’m not anti” vaccine, she told AFP, “but I don’t agree with it being so mandatory.”In the last few weeks, she has used a fake vaccine passport acquired through social media to dine at multiple restaurants across the city.“There was a link going around a few months ago: you put in your details, and it gives you a vaccine passport,” she explained.The link has since been removed, but Australian authorities are playing whack-a-mole with a host of similar sites and apps that are keen to cash in.Across the country, Google searches for fake certificates soared when rules for the non-vaccinated were announced in early October, surging again when they entered into force.One still-active website purports to sell certificates from Australia, the US, Britain, Ireland and Pakistan for around US$500 apiece.Health experts worry that fake certificates put owners at risk, could fuel outbreaks and complicate contact tracing.The number of fakes in circulation is difficult to estimate, but one Telegram channel touting fraudulent Australian certificates has more than 64,000 members alone.“You can get them pretty easily on the dark web,” said Vince Hurley, a veteran detective who now teaches criminology at Macquarie University.“The price ranges from AUS$100 (US$74) to AUS$1,000 depending on the quality, on the reputation of the person selling and comments from other individuals.”Despite the risk of up to 10 years in jail and fines topping US$7,400, some Australians have bought the fake certificates, or created their own homemade workarounds.Salim, 27 – who also asked for his real name not to be used – created his own vaccine passport by using a friend’s real one as a template.He has successfully used it in restaurants, gyms and salons, and is not deterred by any legal risks.“I’m forced to do this because I wasn’t given a choice. I’m not robbing a bank, I’m not hurting anyone,” he told AFP.“I know at least 10 people who have fake vaccination papers,” he added.You’re not coming inThe Australian Federal Police is aware of the problem and has vowed to “maintain the integrity of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Australia,” according to a spokesman.To address the issue authorities have begun to reboot the first vaccine passports with flickering digital holograms, QR codes and other anti-counterfeit measures.But according to Hurley, there is a “law of diminishing returns” policing the black market, with forces needing to engage in the highly “labour intensive” job of “having dedicated police sitting at a desk, monitoring online”.Day-to-day policing of certificates is left to venues, which are required by law to check the status of everyone they admit.Anthony Hammond, the owner of two pubs in Melbourne, says his industry has been left in the lurch when it comes to policing themselves.The pub owner’s venues have been “flat out” since reopening to revellers, and staff have been examining a dizzying array of certificates on apps, smartphone wallets and in hard copy.“We don’t know anything about them. I wouldn’t even know what they would look like, we’ve had no education by the government or whoever,” he said.“You’re going to have some people doing the wrong thing. How can we prevent that?”


Khairy issues ‘top up’ reminder as deadline for booster shot looms

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today reminded senior citizens and those who were inoculated with the Sinovac jab to get their booster shots by March 1 or lose their fully vaccinated status.In a Twitter post, he said the vaccination status of senior citizens who had not received a booster jab by then would change to “incomplete” in their MySejahtera application.“The same goes for all Sinovac recipients regardless of age,” he said. “Top up your protection to stay safe from Omicron.”Khairy said yesterday that some 3.5 million individuals initially inoculated with Sinovac had yet to receive a booster shot, along with 32% or about a million senior citizens.Noting a reluctance among Sinovac recipients to receive a booster jab of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine, he said the health ministry had decided to allow them the option of receiving Sinovac as a booster shot by appointment.Khairy said in December last year that senior citizens above the age of 60 and those who had received two shots of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine would need to take a third booster jab in order to maintain their status as fully vaccinated.He said this was in line with the proposal by the World Health Organization through its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation.“If they have not received their booster shots by February 2022, their vaccination status will be changed to incomplete, and they will not be eligible for the facilities accorded to those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19,” he said.The government began administering booster shots for fully vaccinated people on Oct 13 last year.As of yesterday, just over 53% of adults or 12,473,139 individuals had received a booster jab.


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Another PH state declares holiday on election eve

Penang today declared a special holiday on Nov 18 to encourage people to vote in the 15th general election, becoming the third state in the country to have made such a move.
Selangor and Negeri Sembilan had also declared a public holiday, saying this would help voters to fulfil their responsibilities in the polls.
All three states are under Pakatan Harapan rule.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob previously said that an announcement would be made on whether a public holiday would be declared nationwide on the eve of the election.


Bosses group thanks Muhyiddin, Miti for pro-business policies

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) today thanked Muhyiddin Yassin and his Cabinet for what it described as industry-friendly policies, saying constant engagement was held with all stakeholders on the needs of the business sectors.It said the international trade and industry ministry had played an integral role in managing the Covid-19 SOPs as well as the Pikas public-private initiative to encourage vaccination within the private sector.It likewise voiced appreciation for the human resources ministry and its agencies including Socso.“MEF had access to many high-level platforms such as the National TVET Council, the National Employment Council and the Economic Recovery Council, and we thank the past government for all that was done for the employers and the country,” MEF president Syed Hussain Syed Husman said in a statement.“These engagements were supported by the provision of financial aid to employers and the people with the implementation of strategic initiatives such as Prihatin, Penjana, Pemerkasa, Laksana and Pemulih which supported business continuity, job creation and livelihoods.”He also thanked the Perikatan Nasional government for allowing companies classified as non-essential under Phase One of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) to reopen this week.“This has provided much relief to the SMEs and micro enterprises that were classified as non-essential under Phase One of the NRP, and MEF is grateful for this,” he said.


88.8% of adults fully vaccinated as total jabs cross 45 million

A total of 20,915,720 people or 88.8% of the adult population had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as of yesterday.Meanwhile 24,200,366 or 94.6% have received at least one jab, including of the single-dose CanSino vaccine.In terms of total population, 64% are now fully vaccinated with 74.1% having received at least one dose of vaccine.A total of 209,907 doses of vaccine were administered yesterday, taking the cumulative number of jabs given under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to 45,007,832.