Parents zoom in on screen time as pandemic pushes classes online again

Many parents have expressed increased concern over the health of their children who are being exposed to prolonged screen time as schools close for the remainder of the academic year, shifting lessons from conventional classrooms to online tools such as Zoom and Google Meet.One of them told MalaysiaNow that the online classes have had a negative effect on her two children, the younger of whom must now wear glasses at an early age.Hafizah Aarif’s eldest child, meanwhile, has developed symptoms of depression as well as a sleep disorder and has to seek medical attention.“I believe the teachers, too, face the same problem. Everyone knows that online classes pose many risks for children, especially to their health,” she said.Hafizah worries that her children will have to continue with online classes next year, saying there is no guarantee that schools will reopen in 2021.“The children may not be able to take this any longer,” she added. “Not only are they confined indoors, they are also saddled with a very busy schedule.”The education ministry recently announced the closure of schools nationwide amid a fierce spike in Covid-19 cases.Schools and other learning institutions were first shut down in March this year at the height of the movement control order (MCO). They reopened in stages beginning in June.But a spate of Covid-19 outbreaks in schools and the reinstatement of stricter variants of the MCO forced authorities to cancel classes altogether and postpone major government examinations.Putrajaya has said schools will continue their syllabus online.But Hafizah said online classes have lost their novelty for children.“In the early stage, it was fun not to go to school, to sit in front of the computer and watch the teacher,” she said.Hafizah, who shared her grievances on social media, has been receiving nonstop comments and reactions from other parents who are in the same boat.One of her posts which she made anonymously drew as many as 5,000 comments.Her main concern is her daughter, who attends a highly reputed residential school in Negeri Sembilan.“There are many alternatives to online learning, not only with gadgets.”The 16-year-old used to be cheerful, but since classes shifted online, she has been quiet and prefers to stay in her room by herself.She also frequently complains of headaches and has stopped using her smartphone.Hafizah said the doctor had diagnosed her daughter with early stage depression.“I discussed it with her, and it broke my heart when she told me that she is just too exhausted to follow online classes from morning until evening, with no rest and endless exercises.”Hafizah is not the only parent to have noticed a change in her child during the pandemic-sparked lockdown.Mohamad Imran Salehuddin says his 15-year-old son suffers anxiety over his online classes and worries if he will be able to catch everything the teacher is saying. He is also concerned about internet-related problems.“From Monday to Friday, he is easily emotional,” Imran said when contacted.Education interest group Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia, or PAGE, spoke of a need to limit the use of gadgets.“Learning is not limited to online, there are other methods. Helping the parents with household chores is also a form of learning,” said PAGE chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim.Dr Subramaniam Muniandy, who heads the Malaysian Medical Association, said despite the shortcomings of their methods, the authorities have little choice when it comes to containing the spread of Covid-19.He said the closure of schools was a necessary step, and a lesser evil than exposing children to the virus.“Having said that, there are many alternatives to online learning, not only with gadgets,” he said.Subramaniam also disagreed with a suggestion that online classes are detrimental to children’s growth, saying many have long been exposed to gadgets as seen in the popularity of social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok.The World Health Organization recommends no more than an hour of screen time a day for children two to five years old, and no screen time at all for those below the age of two.


Keeping up the fight for a refund from AirAsia

For two years, engineer Shahril Amir Muhamad has been trying everything he can to get a refund for some tickets that he bought from low-cost airline AirAsia in late 2019.He had saved for six months to collect enough money for a trip to Japan with his wife, and was eagerly anticipating the holiday.He booked two tickets to Narita, Tokyo, on Sept 30, 2019 for a flight on March 25, 2020 at a cost of RM1,622. The return tickets from Kansai to Kuala Lumpur, he booked on Jan 1, 2020 at a cost of RM2,568.On March 17, 2020, he requested a refund after the government announced the nationwide movement control order which saw Malaysia’s borders slam shut as part of attempts to keep the Covid-19 pandemic at bay.On March 23, he received an email from AirAsia informing him that his flight two days from then had been cancelled.“I was told on July 4, 2020 that my request for a refund had been approved through a credit note.“But since then, there have been no further developments and I am still waiting to receive my money back.”After waiting almost 10 months, Shahril made an online report to the consumer tribunal on May 3, 2021. He was called to attend a hearing on Oct 25.But to his disappointment, he was told that his problem was beyond the jurisdiction of the tribunal and that he would have to refer the matter to the Malaysian Aviation Commission or Mavcom.“I lodged a complaint with Mavcom the next day, and an officer contacted me two days later.“But he only explained the debt restructuring measures undertaken by AirAsia X which I already knew about from an email I received from the company on Oct 18, 2021,” he said.MalaysiaNow has reached out to Mavcom but received no response as of yet.According to a media statement issued by AirAsia on Nov 12, 2021, the RM33.65 billion debt settlement scheme proposed by the low-cost carrier was approved by 99% of its creditors through a vote at a meeting held that day.It said the proposed debt restructuring approved by the High Court would likely be completed in the first quarter of 2022.Upon agreeing to the proposal, it said, consumers would receive 0.5% of the total ticket price paid, as well as some of the profit earned from the financial years of 2023 to 2026.Creditors were also guaranteed to receive travel credit that could be used for flight tickets or goods and services provided by AirAsia X in the future, after the international borders reopened.However, it also stated that the profit-sharing mechanism would not be implemented if the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation, and restructuring or rent costs (Ebitdar) was not less than RM300 million.Shahril himself disagreed with the proposal and urged Mavcom to act in order to get him his money back.“At first, I was confident when Mavcom issued a statement saying that it would take action if AirAsia X did not return the money that customers had spent on tickets.“But then everything ended like that with no further action,” he said to MalaysiaNow.Determined to get back the RM4,000 and change that he had spent, Shahril was encouraged to hear about the experience of another passenger who had persisted until he was given a refund.Nagendran, whose story MalaysiaNow recounted in November last year, had fought to the end to recover nearly RM5,000 after his family’s trip to Cambodia was cancelled.“His success is proof that I still have hope of getting back my money,” Shahril said.


Shahidan sacked as Perlis Umno chief

Umno today announced that Shahidan Kassim had been sacked as its party chief in Perlis, a little over a month after he threatened to break ranks with the central Umno leadership if it decided to cut ties with Bersatu.In a statement signed by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, it also announced Perlis Menteri Besar Azlan Man as his replacement effective today.Shahidan was among Umno leaders who had criticised the party’s central leadership for its decision to cut ties with Bersatu, the party led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.In an interview in March on MalaysiaNow’s current affairs programme Talk, Now, he said he would not be perturbed if action was taken against the state chapter should it break ranks with top leaders over the matter.“Once Perlis Umno decides, if they want to expel us, let it be,” he had said.Shahidan was also booed by delegates at the Umno general assembly on March 27 during his speech which was seen as out of sync with the views of the Supreme Council.Shortly after, clips began making the rounds of party leaders stepping up their criticism of Zahid and his handling of the assembly where delegates had endorsed his call to cut ties with Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional.In one such clip, Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob attacked Zahid over the way he had concluded the assembly.“This recent general assembly is the worst. It’s the worst. The closing speech should have provided guidance to members on preparing for elections, as they go back to their respective states,” Ismail told a recent state-level Bangkit 15, a pre-election motivation event organised by Umno’s Training and Cadre Bureau which he chairs.In January this year, Annuar Musa was also sacked from his position as Barisan Nasional secretary-general after being seen as out of line with Zahid.


Israelis continue judicial reform protests after budget approved

Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv Saturday night for the 21st straight week against the hard-right government's controversial judicial reform plans, days after parliament approved the state budget.
Protesters gathered in other major cities, Haifa and Beersheba, as well as at dozens of junctions and locales throughout the country, to decry what they perceive as a threat to Israel's democracy.
The government's reform proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over the selection of judges.
In March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced a "pause" to allow for talks on the reforms, which were moving through parliament and split the nation.
Ongoing dialogue produced no major breakthrough, and on Wednesday Parliament approved the state budget, with Netanyahu vowing to "continue our efforts to reach understandings as broad as possible on the legal reform."
Israeli media put the number of participants in the Tel Aviv demonstration at "tens of thousands," as has occurred on previous occasions.
Among the crowd was Israel Alva, a technology entrepreneur from Karmei Yosef.
To him, the budget was "outrageous" as "it gives certain sectors perks and doesn't take the general population into consideration."
He said it was important to demonstrate against the legal overhaul since "Our DNA is democratic and liberal. We want a life of freedom and not to be told what to do."
Yael Ben Shalom, an MA student at Tel Aviv University, said she was demonstrating "because people are trying to take control over our regime and turn it into something bad" and "ruin the country’s future."
Netanyahu's government, a coalition between his Likud party and extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies, argues the changes are needed to rebalance powers between lawmakers and the judiciary.


Seremban Umno Youth chief quits to join PAS

Seremban Umno Youth chief Zool Amali Hussin today confirmed his decision to leave the party and join PAS instead, less than a month after Barisan Nasional (BN) began working with Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form the federal government.
"I have yet to issue a statement on the matter," he told MalaysiaNow.
"The ceremony for the submission of my membership form will be held this Saturday alongside a press conference."
BN, which won only 30 seats at the Nov 19 polls, joined hands with its long-time foe PH to form a coalition government following the inconclusive election results which saw no single party winning enough support to form the government on its own.
The move was met with strong objection from the Umno grassroots, in addition to several leaders from MCA and MIC who said the decision had been made unilaterally by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
It also went against Umno's long-held stance on rejecting any form of cooperation with PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim and DAP.
Anwar was sworn in as prime minister after receiving the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and with the support of groups from Sarawak and Sabah which had initially stood with Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.
The 10 BN MPs who had resisted cooperation with PH meanwhile have been keeping a low profile since the formation of the new Cabinet.
Zool Amali had previously objected to BN's decision to field a candidate from MCA in Seremban, to take on DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
He said then that an Umno candidate should be chosen to face off against the DAP leader, proposing Khairy Jamaluddin who was instead fielded in the PH stronghold of Sungai Buloh.
Khairy, who gave way to Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan in his parliamentary seat of Rembau, was defeated in Sungai Buloh by PH candidate R Ramanan.


Heavy traffic heading to east coast

The Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) has reported a high number of vehicles on the main route to the east coast despite the enforcement of movement controls in the city.Its spokesman when contacted by Bernama today said the number of vehicles had been increasing since as early as 8am today, causing congestion especially in the area before the Bentong toll plaza.The spokesman said this might be due to the rising number of road users as well as the strict inspection conducted by police at the roadblock at the toll plaza.LLM also uploaded a photo of vehicles stuck in a traffic jam along the road on its official Facebook page.Kelantan police chief Shafien Mamat confirmed a surge of vehicle movements into the state since yesterday involving three main entry points: Gua Musang, Pasir Puteh and Jeli.He said the drivers of 75 vehicles were forced to turn back as they did not have interstate travel permits, adding that police would mount five more roadblocks in the state.“Besides that, police will also increase the number of enforcement teams to monitor the people’s level of compliance with SOPs in public places such as shopping malls,” he said.Kelantan is under movement control order until May 17.Meanwhile, Bentong district police chief Supt Zaiham Mohd Kahar said the roadblock at the toll plaza was to ensure that road users have complete interstate travel documents and comply with the rules implemented under the MCO.He said police personnel manning the roadblock have to conduct a thorough inspection to ensure that the information in the documents matches the passenger information of each vehicle, thus causing the traffic to build up.According to him, the majority of road users passing the roadblock are parents fetching their children from institutes of higher learning or hostels, as well as long-distance spouses and employees of companies allowed to operate by the international trade and industry ministry.“Since this morning, no compound has been issued and all drivers have been able to submit valid documents,” he said.Meanwhile, LLM said traffic was smooth along all major routes both southbound and northbound.


Agong sends flowers to minister Takiyuddin in hospital

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Takiyuddin Hassan received a surprise royal gesture today in the form of a get-well gift from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, MalaysiaNow has learnt.It is understood that Istana Negara sent a bouquet of flowers to Takiyuddin, who is recovering after undergoing heart surgery this week at a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur.The move comes in the wake of rising political temperatures sparked by a royal rebuke during the special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat last week, which has since been postponed due to the detection of Covid-19 cases in the Parliament vicinity.The palace statement, which among others criticised Takiyuddin for pre-empting the Agong’s consent by announcing that the government would revoke the emergency ordinances, had also sparked calls from the opposition for his resignation, with accusations of “derhaka” (treachery) levelled against the PAS leader.Yesterday, scores of opposition MPs led by Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar Ibrahim marched from Dataran Merdeka to the Parliament building, accusing Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of committing “derhaka” against the Agong and demanding that he step down.


Putrajaya mobilises multiple agencies to monitor workplace SOPs

Putrajaya today warned that steps would be taken to boost the enforcement of health SOPs at workplaces, ahead of tighter restrictions to kick in tomorrow under the movement control order.In a statement, the home ministry said it had directed all enforcement offices and agencies under its purview including the police, Rela and the immigration department to step up the number of operations for monitoring, issuing warnings and taking stern action against anyone found to have breached the SOPs.“Apart from increasing manpower and roadblock operations, monitoring activities will be carried out throughout the country including at business and industry premises, office buildings and residential areas as well as terminals and public transportation stations such as the KTM, LRT, MRT, ERL, KL Monorail and e-hailing services,” it said.The additional restrictions were announced on Saturday as part of efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19, which has seen days of daily infections in the 6,000 range.Among others, 80% of government staff will have to work from home starting from tomorrow along with 40% of private sector workers.Businesses meanwhile will only be allowed to operate from 8am to 8pm with the exception of some such as pharmacies which will be able to remain open until 10pm.More roadblocks will also be set up while public transportation will be limited to 50% of capacity and scheduled at reduced frequencies.The home ministry said a total of 100,980 personnel from various departments and agencies had been deployed since the start of the MCO.It urged all quarters to continue complying with SOPs and to cooperate with the measures put in place to check the spread of Covid-19.


Vets department unhappy with report on homeless ex-soldier

The body in charge of veterans in the defence ministry has expressed unhappiness over a report by MalaysiaNow on the plight of a homeless ex-soldier, saying the man does not qualify to be called a veteran.In a statement in response to the story that had evoked a flood of response from the public, the Veteran Affairs Department (JHEV) also confirmed that Ruslan, 46, had served as a member of the Territorial Army Regiment after health issues forced him to stop his armed forces recruitment training.“He did not continue training due to health problems. Upon completion of his basic recruitment training, he worked in the manufacturing sector. However, due to his health problems, he was retrenched and given a disability pension by Socso,” the department said in a statement.It added that Ruslan’s interest in joining the armed forces led him to join the Territorial Army where he served in Ipoh, Perak and Shah Alam, Selangor.Once a soldier, now sleeping rough on the streets of Kuala LumpurFrom homeless to adopted in fairy tale ending for former soldierThe statement went on to cite the Veterans Act 2012, adding that Ruslan did not qualify as an army veteran.“JHEV is of the opinion that the news report is inaccurate. It gives a negative impression of the defence ministry in general and JHEV in particular,” it added.For the record, nowhere did MalaysiaNow’s article on Ruslan refer to him as an army veteran.The story published on May 4 had detailed Ruslan’s homelessness after leaving the army’s military reserve force following a diagnosis of third stage pneumonia.It had sparked a flood of queries and offers of help from the public as well as the authorities.Ruslan eventually found a new home with a family in Klang, Selangor, where he helps take care of his foster parents – an elderly couple who welcomed him as a son.He had told MalaysiaNow that he felt as though he had started life afresh after years of scrounging for food and sleeping on the pavement.


Eleventh-hour bid to save Malaysian’s life as group warns Singapore against rushing duo’s execution

Lawyers for two individuals including a Malaysian have filed a fresh bid to save their lives hours before their execution tomorrow in Singapore, after the city-state’s appeals court dismissed their application to have their executions halted.The court’s dismissal of an urgent application by Malaysian citizen Pausi Jefridin and Singaporean Roslan Bakar, who have been scheduled for the gallows tomorrow despite experts’ reports on their low mental capabilities, prompted rights group Lawyers for Liberty to warn the city-state against rushing the executions.Meanwhile, a fresh judicial review application was filed on an urgent basis this evening.“This pending application must be heard by the Singapore courts, and no execution must be carried out until this legal process is exhausted.“We urge the Singapore government and the judicial authorities to ensure that the execution as scheduled tomorrow does not take place in view of Pausi and Roslan’s rights to pursue their pending legal actions to the conclusion,” LFL, which has been a vocal critic of Singapore’s human rights records, said in a statement.MalaysiaNow earlier reported that Pausi’s family in Sabah had been given a seven-day notice of his execution date.“This is grotesque cruelty,” Singaporean anti-death penalty activist Kirsten Han had said.During his trial, the court was told that Pausi had an IQ level of 67, which is below the threshold of 70 for declaring a person as intellectually disabled, based on an assessment by leading Singapore clinical psychologist Dr Danny Ng.Meanwhile, Roslan was found by experts to have “limited capacity for judgment and decision-making due to underlying cognitive defects”, according to a 2017 judgment sighted by MalaysiaNow.Their case is similar to that of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, a Malaysian diagnosed with an IQ of 69 who was to have been executed in November last year.He was granted a stay of execution after a diagnosis of Covid-19 just before the court was due to hear a last-ditch appeal to save his life.His hearing is believed to have been set for this month.Nagaenthran’s plight drew public outrage, with pleas for leniency coming from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.Under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of which Singapore is a signatory, the execution of a person with mental disability is prohibited.Similarly, Section 33B(3) of Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act prohibits the death sentence on persons who suffer from retarded development of mind that would impair their mental responsibility for their actions.


Malaysia joins US, 13 others on Hong Kong’s list of high-risk Covid-19 countries

Hong Kong has placed Malaysia on a list of countries that it considers as “high-risk” for Covid-19, alongside the US, France, Thailand and the UAE.The move, which takes effect on Aug 20, means those travelling from these countries will be subjected to longer quarantine periods and Covid-19 tests despite being vaccinated.Others newly added to the list are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Greece, Iran, the Netherlands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania and Turkey.Brazil, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa and Britain are already in Hong Kong’s high-risk category.Malaysia is among the many countries that have been affected by the global surge in cases blamed on the Delta variant.Today, Malaysia reported 22,948 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, with 178 more deaths pushing the virus toll to 13,480. Similar numbers of daily cases are being reported in Thailand and France, while the US is seeing a return to pre-vaccination levels of daily numbers and casualties.The decision to add more countries to the high-risk group comes amid concerns in Hong Kong that people from countries such as the US still pose a risk in spreading the virus despite being fully vaccinated.Travellers from countries in the high-risk category are required to have been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days before boarding a flight to Hong Kong.Upon arrival, they must undergo three weeks of quarantine, during which time a total of four tests will be conducted.


WHO urges rich countries to pay up for Covid plan

The World Health Organization (WHO) urged rich countries Wednesday to pay their fair share of the money needed for its plan to conquer Covid-19 by urgently contributing US$16 billion.WHO said the rapid cash injection into its Access to Covid Tools Accelerator could finish off Covid as a global health emergency this year.The WHO-led ACT-A is aimed at developing, producing, procuring and distributing tools to tackle the pandemic: namely vaccines, tests, treatments and personal protective equipment.ACT-A gave birth to the Covax facility, designed to ensure poorer countries could access eventual vaccines, correctly predicting that richer nations would hog doses.Covax delivered its billionth vaccine dose in mid-January.ACT-A needed US$23.4 billion for its programme for the October 2021-September 2022 period, but only US$800 million has been raised so far.The scheme therefore wants US$16 billion up front from wealthy nations “to close the immediate financing gap”, with the rest to be self-funded by middle-income countries.Omicron impetusWHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the rapid spread of the Omicron variant made it all the more urgent to ensure tests, treatments and vaccines were distributed equitably.“Wherever you live, Covid-19 is not finished with us,” he said.“Science gave us the tools to fight Covid-19; if they are shared globally in solidarity, we can end Covid-19 as a global health emergency this year.”Just 0.4% of the 4.7 billion Covid tests administered globally during the pandemic have been used in low-income countries.Meanwhile only 10% of people in those nations have received at least one vaccine dose.WHO said the vast inequity was not only costing lives and hurting economies, it was also risking the emergence of new, more dangerous variants that could rob current tools of their effectiveness and set even highly-vaccinated populations back by many months.UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres told the campaign launch that overcoming the pandemic was within reach this year, “but we need to act now”.“If we want to ensure vaccinations for everyone to end this pandemic, we must first inject fairness into the system,” he said.“Vaccine inequity is the biggest moral failure of our times and people and countries are paying the price.”Ramaphosa callACT-A has come up with a new “fair share” financing model on how much each of the world’s wealthy countries should contribute, based on the size of their national economy and what they would gain from a faster recovery of the global economy.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who co-chairs the ACT-A facilitation council, said inequitable access to Covid tools was simply prolonging the pandemic.“I urge my fellow leaders to step up in solidarity, meet their fair shares, and help reclaim our lives from this virus,” he said.Ramaphosa and his co-chair Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store have written to 55 of the wealthiest nations outlining their “fair share” and encouraging them to cough up.The plan would require the US to contribute the most, at US$6 billion.“Public health doesn’t end at our borders. All of us are at risk and all of us must respond to turn the tide. Let’s get this done,” said US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra.


Malaysian gynaecologist creates ‘world’s first unisex condom’

A Malaysian gynaecologist has created what he says is the world’s first unisex condom that can be worn by females or males and is made from a medical grade material usually used as a dressing for injuries and wounds.Its inventor hopes the Wondaleaf Unisex Condom will empower people to take better control of their sexual health regardless of their sex or sexual orientation.“It’s basically a regular condom with an adhesive covering,” said gynaecologist John Tang Ing Chinh.“It’s a condom with an adhesive covering that attaches to the vagina or penis, as well as covering the adjacent area for extra protection,” Tang said.The adhesive is only applied to one side of the condom, he added, meaning it can be reversed and used by either sex.Each box contains two condoms, and will cost RM14.99 (US$3.61). The average price for a dozen condoms in Malaysia is RM20-40.Tang makes the condoms using polyurethane, a material used in transparent wound dressings that is thin and flexible yet strong and waterproof.“Once you put it on, you often don’t realise that it’s there,” he said, referring to dressings made from the material.Tang said the condoms had gone through several rounds of clinical research and testing and would be available commercially via the firm’s website this December.“Based on the number of clinical trials we have conducted, I am quite optimistic that given time it will be a meaningful addition to the many contraceptive methods used in the prevention of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases,” Tang said.


It's for the people, Hajiji says on passing of anti-party hopping bill

Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor thanked all 75 members of the Sabah legislative state assembly who supported the Sabah State Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2023 on anti-party hopping.
He said the approval of the bill with the support of all assemblymen present at the Sabah state legislative assembly session yesterday showed that the elected representatives of the state were practising the principle of the assembly in the interest of the people and the state of Sabah.
He said the approved constitutional amendment will be gazetted within a few days or weeks because it needs to be presented and examined by Sabah Governor Juhar Mahiruddin.
"Thankfully the state assembly session has been held and I am grateful that the anti-party hopping amendment has the support of all parties. With the passage of the constitutional amendment, we will no longer have to worry about the existence of assemblymen who will jump parties in the future.
"This is in line with the anti-hopping law which was introduced at the federal level," he said at a press conference after the legislature’s sitting at Sabah state legislative assembly building in Kota Kinabalu yesterday. The motion for the bill which was tabled by Hajiji yesterday received the support of 75 assemblymen while four assemblymen did not attend the third reading; in the second reading, there was a bloc vote on Clause 2 of the bill which saw 61 assemblymen agreeing to delete Article 6(7) from the state constitution, 14 assemblymen disagreed, while four assemblymen were absent.
Article 6(7), states that the leader of a political party that has won a majority of the elected seats of the legislative assembly in a general election and who is a member of the assembly shall be the one who is likely to command the confidence of the majority.
Sabah has a total of 79 assemblymen of which 73 are elected while six are appointed.


Scientists may have discovered why certain Covid jabs can cause blood clots

German scientists now believe they have identified the cause of rare blood clots in some recipients of the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, the i newspaper reports.Those vaccines have been linked to rare, but serious, blood clots over the last few months.In the UK, the AstraZeneca vaccine has been linked to 309 clotting cases and 56 deaths out of 33 million shots.The research was led by Professor Rolf Marschalek, of Goethe University in Frankfurt, who was contacted by Johnson & Johnson, asking for guidance on how to fix the issue.The researchers, in a study not yet reviewed by experts, said the two vaccines employ adenovirus vectors, or cold viruses, to deliver vaccine material.Some of their payload enters the nucleus of cells, where some of the instructions for making coronavirus proteins can be misread.The resulting proteins could potentially trigger blood clot disorders in a small number of recipients, they suggest.The scientists say they hope their research can be used as a basis to fix the problem.The process is different with mRNA vaccines, such as those made by Pfizer and Moderna, because the genetic material of the spike protein is sent directly to the cell fluid and does not enter the nucleus.US and European drug regulators have been searching for an explanation for what is causing the rare but potentially deadly clots accompanied by low blood platelet counts, which have led some countries to halt or limit use of the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.Other scientists have suggested different theories for the clotting condition.A Johnson & Johnson spokesman said: “We are supporting continued research and analysis of this rare event as we work with medical experts and global health authorities. We look forward to reviewing and sharing data as it becomes available.”AstraZeneca declined to comment


Man accused of killing his baby carried into court after refusing to cooperate

A man believed to have killed his eight-month-old baby, whose body was found smeared with salt and kept in a sack in a house in Bachok yesterday, had to be carried into court by five policemen after he refused to enter the premises for his remand proceedings today.The police vehicle carrying the 40-year-old man arrived at the court complex at 9.20am, but he refused to get out, even after several police officers spent 10 minutes trying to persuade him.One of them then pulled him out of the vehicle and five others picked him up and carried him to the courtroom.Magistrate Mohd Dinie Syazwan Ab Shukor issued a seven-day remand order against the man starting today to facilitate further investigation into the baby’s murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.The man was arrested yesterday after police found the body of the baby covered with salt and kept in a sack underneath the kitchen table of a house in Kampung Sungai Dua, Melawi.Kelantan police chief DCP Shafien Mamat said the post-mortem revealed that the baby had suffered head injuries possibly the result of a blow or fall.He said the post-mortem was done at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital and completed at about 4am today.Based on the way the baby had died, he said police did not rule out the possibility that the father had been involved in deviant teachings.He said the man was also said to have heard voices, and had been hallucinating before committing the offence.“Until now, the man has not spoken a word for us to record his statement,” he told reporters.The baby’s 32-year-old mother, who had bruises on her body and was traumatised by the incident, was also arrested but sent to the Bachok Health Centre for treatment.Shafien said the couple tested negative for drugs.


Hishammuddin steers clear of ‘conflict’ talk with KDN, says UN seat goal on track

Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has refused to be drawn into speculation about conflict between his ministry and that of the home affairs over the country’s bid for a seat at the United Nations’ Human Rights Council (UNHRC).MalaysiaNow previously reported concerns that a reversal of earlier commitments by Putrajaya to protect the rights of refugees could deal a blow to its diplomatic image, amid speculation that a mass deportation of refugees could be in the works, as part of a grand plan by the home ministry to ensure zero illegal migrants.Such a move which would impact tens of thousands of Rohingya and other groups who fled violence in Myanmar.When contacted by MalaysiaNow, however, Hishammuddin remained reserved.“Can’t comment on rumours,” he said.However, he assured that Malaysia’s efforts to secure a seat at the UNHRC remained on target. “We are on track,” he added.Hishammuddin has been trying to build rapport with the UN’s refugees commission, UNHCR, since formally announcing Malaysia’s bid for a seat at the human rights council for the 2022-2024 term in December last year.Malaysia was first elected to the council in 2006 but its membership was discontinued after 2013. Concerns have been expressed over recent statements from Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin which could delay its return.A source said Hamzah had been critical of UNHCR and “repeatedly talked about deporting refugees even in the full knowledge that for many of them, it would be like being sent to the Killing Fields”.At a recent event, he also accused the UNHCR of failing to help Malaysia repatriate refugees to third countries.


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Question mark over outcome of SC’s 2-year probe into bribery allegations linked to AirAsia

An investigation launched by the Securities Commission (SC) into AirAsia two years ago, related to an international bribery scandal that led to the arrest and jailing of former airline CEOs in at least two countries, appears to have seen no closure, MalaysiaNow has learnt.On Feb 3, 2020, the SC announced that it would investigate AirAsia, just three days after prosecutors in the UK named the budget airline in a US$4 billion settlement deal with Airbus over allegations that the aircraft manufacturer had bribed officials worldwide to secure orders for its planes.Among others, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said Airbus had paid a bribe of US$50 million to secure plane orders from AirAsia.In its response, the SC said that details revealed in the case against Airbus had disclosed “several allegations against AirAsia Group Bhd and AirAsia X Bhd”.“As both are listed on Bursa Malaysia, the SC will examine the allegations and review all available evidence to determine if there is any breach of securities laws,” SC chairman Syed Zaid Albar had said.When contacted about the status of the probe, SC replied with a one-liner.“SC cannot comment anything on investigations,” a spokesman for the capital market regulator told MalaysiaNow.The SFO had alleged a bribe of US$50 million from Airbus in the form of sponsorships of a sports team owned by two persons it named as “Executive 1” and “Executive 2” in AirAsia.“AirAsia Executive 1 and AirAsia Executive 2 were key decision makers in AirAsia and AirAsia X, and were rewarded in respect of the order of 180 aircraft from Airbus. The payments to the sports team were intended to secure or reward improper favour by them in respect of that business,” the SFO said in court documents sighted by MalaysiaNow.AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes and executive chairman Kamarudin Meranun subsequently announced that they were stepping down pending the investigation, but said they would remain as advisers during the two months they were away.The company also announced an internal inquiry into the allegations, to be carried out by a committee comprising non-executive directors.The committee later cleared Fernandes and Kamarudin, and both were reinstated to their positions on March 20, 2020.But while AirAsia’s internal probe cleared the company’s bosses, two persons familiar with the issue told MalaysiaNow that they had not heard anything more from the SC on its investigation.“There has been silence ever since,” said one of them.Action in Sri Lanka, IndonesiaThe bribery scandal triggered a worldwide investigation, with authorities in Sri Lanka and Indonesia bringing charges and jailing two airlines CEOs.Days after details of the scandal were revealed in early February 2020, authorities in Sri Lanka arrested Kapila Chandrasena, a former CEO of SriLankan Airlines, and his wife Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayaka. They were charged with receiving a US$2 million bribe related to an agreement to purchase 10 Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines.Four months later, an Indonesian court jailed Emirsyah Satar, a former CEO of Garuda Indonesia, for bribery and money laundering related to the procurement of planes and engines from Airbus and Rolls-Royce.


Singapore president rejects Nagaenthran’s bid for clemency

Singapore authorities have rejected yet another petition for clemency submitted on behalf of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, leaving him without further legal avenue to appeal against his looming execution in the city-state.Benny Lee, the principal private secretary to Singapore President Halimah Yacob, said the petition dated Dec 3, 2021 had been denied.“Please be informed that the position, as communicated in our letter dated June 1, 2020, remains unchanged,” he said in a letter to Nagaenthran’s mother, Panchalai Supermaniam, on March 31 – two days after the Court of Appeal dismissed Nagaenthran’s appeal against his death sentence.“The sentence of death therefore stands.”Nagaenthran, now 34, was arrested in 2009 for trafficking a small amount of heroin into Singapore, which has some of the world’s toughest drug laws.He was handed the death sentence the following year.Supporters say Nagaenthran has an IQ of 69 – a level recognised as a disability – and was coerced into committing the crime.He was scheduled to be hanged in November last year but the verdict sparked criticism due to concerns he has intellectual disabilities, with the European Union and British billionaire Richard Branson among those condemning the decision.Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob were among Malaysian government leaders who had also written to Singapore authorities asking for leniency on behalf of Nagaenthran.The 2020 letter referred to by Lee stated that Halimah, “after due consideration of the petition and on the advice of the Cabinet”, had decided that Nagaenthran’s death sentence should stand.On March 29, the Singapore Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against his sentence, calling it an abuse of the court process.


Over 500 cops to control traffic in Gua Musang

The Kelantan police force will deploy more than 500 personnel during the eight-day Op Selamat road safety campaign in Gua Musang beginning April 20.
Kelantan police chief Muhamad Zaki Harun said the number includes 254 traffic police officers deployed to control the anticipated traffic congestion.
"This year, we will focus more on traffic flow in Gua Musang as the main road has been temporarily closed for repair work.
"We expect this road to be heavily congested because Kelantan folks will take this opportunity to return to their hometowns for the Aidilfitri celebration after several years of Covid-19 restrictions," he told reporters at the breaking of the fast event at the Kelantan police contingent headquarters last night.
Zaki said Op Lancar would be held for two days starting Tuesday as a preliminary preparation to identify traffic flow in Gua Musang.
Through Op Lancar, he said the police would determine roads that will be closed, diverted, or turned into one-way lanes to overcome traffic congestion.
"Only 10% of over 3,000 police personnel would be allowed to take leave during the holidays," he said.


‘Learn to live with’ the virus, PM tells Britons

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Monday unveil a plan to lift coronavirus restrictions from July 19, while urging the population to “learn to live with” the virus.Johnson had initially aimed for a full reopening on June 21 but was forced to push back the date because of a surge in the highly contagious Delta variant. That variant now accounts for nearly all new Covid cases in Britain.The prime minister will give a press conference and Health Minister Sajid Javid is scheduled to address parliament on the issue.After Russia, Britain has the highest coronavirus death toll of any European country, at more than 128,000. It is gradually ending a third lockdown period, although some restrictions remain.Night clubs have not been allowed to open, large-scale events do not run at full capacity and service is still restricted in pubs.The prime minister’s office says the latest figures indicate that the number of cases will continue to rise as restrictions are lifted, but also that “the link to hospitalisations and deaths has been weakened” thanks to vaccinations.In December, Britain was one of the first countries to roll out an inoculation programme and around 64% of the adult population has now received two doses of a covid vaccine.“Today we will set out how we can restore people’s freedoms,” Johnson was quoted as saying in a statement released ahead of his press conference.Mask rules controversyBut he nevertheless stressed that the pandemic was not over – that people must “begin to learn to live with this virus” and “exercise judgement” when going about their lives.For several days, the government in London has suggested it would appeal to people’s common sense and might make wearing masks optional in public, although the Scottish government is taking a more cautious line.Some academics who advise the government have sharply criticised easing the rules on wearing masks.Stephen Reicher, a professor of social psychology at the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland considered it “frightening to have a ‘health’ secretary who wants to make all protections a matter of personal choice when the key message of the pandemic is ‘this isn’t an ‘I’ thing, it’s a ‘we’ thing.“Your behaviour affects my health,” Reicher said.Susan Michie, a psychology professor who specialises in behaviour change, was also critical. “Allowing community transmission to surge is like building new ‘variant factories’ at a very fast rate,” she said.Over the weekend, the British Medical Association urged the government to maintain some restrictions owing to an “alarming” increase in the number of Covid cases, which are nearly at 30,000 a day.


South Korea police arrest dozens for corporate spying after probe, reports say

South Korean police have arrested 77 people involved in 35 cases of suspected industrial espionage discovered during a recent nationwide investigation, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday.
Most cases only involved domestic companies, although eight were related to the leak of technology secrets to China or other countries, Yonhap quoted the National Police Agency as saying.
The agency could not immediately be reached for comment.
The number of international cases was double that of a similar probe conducted one year ago, Yonhap said, citing police data.
One suspect was arrested for leaking confidential corporate information upon moving from a South Korean employer to a Chinese company, which promised hundreds of millions of won (hundreds of thousands of dollars) to cover housing, schooling and living expenses in return for the information, the report said.


Appeals court dismisses govt's bid to strike out Indira Gandhi suit

The Court of Appeal today dismissed an appeal by the inspector-general of police (IGP) and three others to strike out a nonfeasance lawsuit against them by a kindergarten teacher over their alleged failure to arrest her ex-husband and return her daughter who was abducted by him.
A three-member panel comprising justices Hanipah Farikullah, M Gunalan and Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim held that the suit filed by M Indira Gandhi should be dealt with by way of a trial.
Besides the IGP, the others named as the defendants in the suit are the police, the home ministry and the government.
"We are of the considered view that based on the facts and circumstances of this case, there are complex issues of law including issues on the interpretation of Section 7 (2) of the Government Proceedings Act, Section 20 of the Police Act and also on the common law position on the tort of nonfeasance by a public officer," said Hanipah.
She said Indira's claim was not an obviously unsustainable case to warrant it being struck out. There was no error by the High Court in its decision to dismiss the striking-out application brought by the IGP and the three others, she said, adding that there was no merit to the government's appeal.
She also ordered the defendants to pay Indira RM10,000 in costs and set Sept 14 for case management at the High Court.
On July 16 last year, then High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali who is now a Court of Appeal judge dismissed the government's application to strike out Indira's suit claiming that the IGP had deliberately and negligently disregarded a mandamus order issued by the Federal Court by failing to investigate or take appropriate action to return her youngest child Prasana Diksa.
She alleged that the IGP, the home ministry and the government had a role to play in making decisions or ordering the police to execute the committal warrant against Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, formerly known as K Pathmanathan, as ordered by the Federal Court on April 29, 2016.
She is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages and a declaration that the IGP had committed a tort of nonfeasance in public office, and that the home ministry and the government were vicariously liable for the tort of nonfeasance committed by the IGP. Prasana was taken away by Riduan when she was 11 months old, shortly after he converted to Islam.
In 2009, Riduan unilaterally converted their three children to Islam without Indira's consent before going to the Shariah Court to obtain custody of the children. In 2018, however, the Federal Court ruled that the unilateral conversion of the three children as null and void.
The Ipoh High Court in 2010 granted Indira full custody of the children.
In 2016, the Federal Court affirmed the mandamus order issued by the High Court directing the police and the appellants to apprehend Riduan and retrieve Prasana to be returned to Indira.
Senior federal counsel Andi Razalijaya A Dadi appeared for the government at the proceedings today, which were conducted online, while a team of lawyers led by Rajesh Nagarajan represented Indira.


9.6% of children given first Covid vaccine jab

A total of 341,960 or 9.6% of children aged five to 11 had received a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) as of yesterday.According to the CovidNow website, a total of 13,728,147 individuals or 58.3% of the adult population have received a booster dose.A total of 22,941,779 individuals or 97.5% have completed their vaccination and 23,218,655 or 98.7% have received at least one dose of vaccine.In terms of adolescents, a total of 2,797,767 individuals or 89.9% have completed their vaccination while 2,880,352 or 92.6% have received at least one dose of vaccine.Yesterday, a total of 173,669 vaccine doses were given, with 54,398 doses, including 51,556 for children aged between five and 11, as first doses.Meanwhile 1,544 doses were given as second shots and the remaining 117,727 as booster jabs.This brings the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered under PICK to 65,702,191.


'Now Everyone Can Smoke' as Malaysian drug dealers head online

Drug dealers and sellers have begun to leverage online platforms and applications such as Telegram and Instagram to sell illicit goods, with everything from prescription medication to recreational drugs up for grabs.
The transaction process is simple: on Instagram, for example, sellers use hashtags, allowing potential buyers to track phrases such as #goGreen or #allcansmoke.
On Telegram, meanwhile, accounts under the name "green" have been found to be actively selling marijuana, with promotional prices offered nearly every week.
Prospective customers can pick which menu they like and browse through the prices which are updated daily.
In Malaysia, accounts with names such as "GoGreenBot", "Go Green Malaysia", "Malaysia Marijuana Culture", and "Weed Malaysia Go Green" are actively offering several types of cannabis including top picks from Colombia and Thailand.
These groups operate under the slogan "Now Everyone Can Smoke".
Checks by MalaysiaNow of one of these groups found discounts and user testimonials shared nearly every day by the anonymous administrator.
Customers would then contact the administrator's account through direct messaging.
Purchases could be made in person or online, with the condition that sensitive words such as "cannabis", "marijuana" or "green stuff" were not used in the transactions.
If buyers chose to make face-to-face transactions, meetings would be arranged with a courier agent with the drugs hidden in innocuous-looking packages.
But despite the level of activity, there appear to be no concrete statistics on the purchase of drugs through social media.
Target group
While there has been debate on legalising cannabis for medical purposes, Malaysia still has some of the toughest laws against the substance.
Anyone found in possession of 200g of marijuana is presumed to be trafficking illegal drugs and could face the death sentence, while those in possession of 50g or less face imprisonment of up to 10 years.
A recent survey by the Malaysian government found that some 617,000 people aged 15 to 40 had used drugs and abused substances at least once in their lifetime, while about 395,000 had used drugs and substances in the last 30 days.
MalaysiaNow's checks found that young people are by and large the main target of drug cartels.
There is always the risk of buyers being sold out and caught by the authorities, and there are no guarantees of the quality of the drugs that change hands.
Nevertheless, for young people, the internet appears to be the go-to place for easy access to drugs.
"There is no relationship between the buyers and sellers," a 29-year-old Telegram community member said on condition of anonymity.
"They don't know each other. So buying and selling is easy, and there is very little doubt."
The young man said he found out about the Telegram accounts through chatter with his colleagues at work.
The accounts were believed to have been established several years ago, although the groups' names were changed several times to dodge the authorities.
While he himself has taken marijuana outside of office hours, the youth said not everyone in the community buys the drugs just to get high.
"Some of them buy marijuana for medical purposes," he said.
"But how medical marijuana works, I'm not sure. I've only ever heard about it, I've never seen it for myself."
'Front' in Kedah?
MalaysiaNow is still working to uncover more information about the "Go Green Bot" Telegram account which became active after Thailand allowed the cultivation of cannabis and the use of the drug in food and drinks.
In this group, interested buyers are directed to make payments to an AmBank account under the name of HZ Food Store.
Checks at the Companies Commission of Malaysia found a company in Jitra, Kedah with a similar name, claiming to be in the wholesale food and beverage business.
Locals met by MalaysiaNow said the owner also runs a restaurant and has a bread factory across the border, where a thriving cannabis industry spans several countries including Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Due to banking regulations, MalaysiaNow is unable to track down the name of the AmBank account holder for HZ Food Store.


After US$15 billion award, Sulus target Malaysian properties in Paris

French bailiffs attempted to enforce a seizure order on three Paris properties owned by the Malaysian government in a case linked to a US$15 billion (RM67.15 billion) court award to the descendants of a former sultan, according to the heirs' lawyers and court documents seen by Reuters.
The bailiffs tried to assess the properties on Monday following a court-issued seizure order in December, but Malaysian officials at the Paris embassy turned them away, the lawyers and the Malaysian government said.
The Filipino heirs of the last sultan of Sulu are seeking to enforce a US$14.9 billion award granted to them by a French arbitration court last year to settle a dispute with the Malaysian government over a colonial-era land deal.
Malaysia, which did not participate in the arbitration, maintains the process was illegal and has obtained a stay on the ruling in France.
The Paris properties are only the third set of Malaysian assets that the heirs have publicly acknowledged going after. They have secured a seizure order for Luxembourg units of state oil firm Petronas and have sought permission from a Dutch court to seize assets in the Netherlands.
The award is enforceable globally against most Malaysian assets, aside from diplomatic premises, under a UN convention on arbitration.
Despite the stay, a French judge in December last year granted the heirs' request to seize three Malaysian government properties in Paris to settle a debt of €2.3 million (US$2.46 million) that they said was owed to them, according to court documents shared by the heirs' lawyers.
The seizure attempt in Paris has not been reported previously.
Malaysia had been ordered to pay the heirs the sum under a preliminary arbitration award granted to them in Spain, which was not bound by the stay in France, the lawyers said.
The law minister did not respond to a request for comment on the preliminary award.
The French judge also found that the properties, located in the 16th arrondissement near the Malaysian embassy in Paris, did not qualify as diplomatic premises, according to the court documents.
Unlike the embassy, they bore no official signage and were not subject to French tax exemptions, the judge said.
On Monday, French bailiffs attempted to evaluate the three properties in preparation of a sale, the lawyers said. The proceeds of the sale would go to the heirs.
A spokesman for the law minister said the bailiffs appeared at the Malaysian embassy in Paris but were turned away. They declined to comment further. Wisma Putra and its embassy in Paris declined to comment.
Reuters could not establish if the bailiffs attempted to enter all three properties subject to the seizure order.
Paul Cohen, a lawyer for the heirs, said the court order was "unambiguous" in its directive to seize the properties and that it would be up to the court to decide the next steps.
"To the extent that Malaysians blocked entry to the bailiffs, they are in open defiance of a French court order," Cohen said.
Putrajaya and the French court, the Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last month, Luxembourg court bailiffs issued fresh seizure orders for two units of Petronas in a similar effort. The company has said the heirs' actions were baseless and that it will continue to defend its legal position.
Putrajaya previously vowed to take all legal measures to protect its assets worldwide.
The dispute stems from a deal signed in 1878 between two European colonists and the sultan of Sulu for use of his territory in present-day Malaysia – an agreement that independent Malaysia honoured until 2013, paying the monarch's descendants a token sum annually.
Putrajaya stopped the payments after a bloody incursion in 2013 by supporters of the former sultanate who wanted to reclaim land from Malaysia. The heirs of the sultan, who once controlled a territory spanning rainforest-covered islands in the southern Philippines and parts of Borneo island, say they were not involved in the incursion and sought arbitration over the suspension of payments.


Hong Kong could soon bin unused vaccine doses

Hong Kong may soon have to throw away coronavirus vaccine doses because they are approaching their expiry date and not enough people have signed up for the jabs, an official warned Tuesday.Hong Kong is one of the few places in the world fortunate enough to have secured more than enough doses to innoculate its entire population of 7.5 million people.But swirling distrust of the government as it stamps out dissent – combined with online misinformation and a lack of urgency in the comparatively virus-free city – has led to entrenched vaccine hesitancy and a dismal inoculation drive.On Tuesday a member of the government’s vaccine task force warned that Hong Kongers “only have a three-month window” before the city’s first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines go out of date.“The vaccines all have expiry dates,” Thomas Tsang, a former controller of the Centre for Health Protection, told RTHK radio.“They cannot be used after the expiry date and the community vaccination centres for BioNTech will, according to present plans, cease operating after September.”“The whole world is scrambling for vaccines and it is just not right that we can buy a vaccine overnight and we just have it. What we have is probably all we have for the rest of the year,” he added.Hong Kong bought 7.5 million doses each of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and China’s Sinovac.The latter has yet to be approved by the World Health Organization but was fast-tracked for use by city health regulators.It also pre-ordered 7.5 million doses of AstraZeneca jabs but scrapped that deal earlier in the year with authorities saying they planned to use the money for second-generation vaccines next year.So far just 19% of the population has received one dose of either vaccine while 14% have received two doses.Hesitancy is common even among the city’s medical workers. Earlier this month, the city’s Hospital Authority revealed only a third of its staff had taken the opportunity to be vaccinated.There are currently millions of unused Pfizer-BioNTech shots, which must be stored at ultra-low temperatures and have a six-month shelf life.A total of 3,263,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been shipped to Hong Kong so far but only 1,231,600 have been administered.Hong Kong’s vaccine hesitancy comes as many nearby countries are scrambling to secure enough doses as the coronavirus wreaks havoc.In recent weeks, some Hong Kong politicians have suggested the city could look to send unused vaccines overseas if take-up does not improve.Public trust in the Hong Kong government has been at a historic low since Beijing and local authorities cracked down on dissent to end huge and often violent democracy protests that broke out in 2019.


97.2% of adults, 86.7% of teens fully jabbed

A total 22,746,838 individuals of 97.2% of adults had completed their Covid-19 vaccination as of yesterday.Based on the CovidNow portal, 98.6% or 23,067,954 individuals have received at least one dose of vaccine.Meanwhile, 90.1% of adolescents, or 2,836,326 individuals aged between 12 and 17, have received at least one dose of vaccine while 86.7% or 2,729,900 individuals have completed their vaccination.A total of 125,838 doses of vaccine were administered yesterday, with 6,322 as first doses, 4,572 as second shots and 114,944 as booster jabs.This brings the total number of vaccine shots administered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to 54,470,578, including 3,281,238 booster jabs.


1,114 new cases, 803 recoveries

Another 1,114 Covid-19 cases were reported today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 46,209.Of these, 391 or 35.1% were reported in Sabah, followed by Negeri Sembilan 371, 33.3%).The Klang Valley saw 217 cases, 145 or 66.8% of which were from existing clusters. Selangor recorded 200 cases, Kuala Lumpur 13, and Putrajaya four.Perak recorded 53 cases, Penang 34, Johor 15, Kedah 10, Labuan eight, Melaka six, Kelantan five, and Sarawak four.Active cases stand at 12,131 with 103 in the ICU and 43 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 803 patients were discharged, pushing total recoveries to 33,772 or 73.1%.However, two more deaths were recorded, bringing the virus toll to 306.


Lawyers blast bid to penalise them for defending death row duo as Singapore court reserves judgment

The High Court in Singapore today reserved judgment in the case of Malaysian Pausi Jefridin and Singaporean Roslan Bakar, but not before the Attorney-General’s Chambers requested that penalties be imposed on their two lawyers.This puts on hold the looming executions of Roslan and Pausi, who were initially scheduled to be executed on Feb 16 in a move which sparked renewed criticism of the city-state for its continued use of the death sentence on drug mules.However, senior prosecutor Francis Ng representing the AG asked judge Kannan Ramesh to impose an order for personal costs against the duo’s pro bono lawyers Violet Netto and M Ravi, a move slammed by Violet.“How can you penalise us for doing our job?” she was quoted as saying by Malaysian human rights lawyers observing the case.“You are threatening us,” the 78-year-old added.This comes days after the Singapore attorney-general served contempt of court applications on Ravi, allegedly based on his conduct during two cases handled in November last year.Ravi was said to have been “rude” to the court, a claim slammed by rights group Lawyers for Liberty as a “ridiculous reason to cite defence counsel for contempt”.Singapore has consistently discouraged lawyers from taking up legal challenges by death row prisoners by ordering personal costs against them.This trend has escalated since the infamous case involving Sarawakian Kho Jabing, where defence lawyers were subjected to costs orders.Kho was executed in May 2016. The case sparked outrage over the speed at which authorities rushed his execution, bringing him to the prison gallows at 3.30pm, hours after his case was dismised.Roslan and Pausi had been scheduled to hang for trafficking drugs in Singapore, which has some of the world’s toughest drugs laws.This was despite criticism from a number of quarters including the United Nations which said that the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences was incompatible with international human rights law.Concern was also raised over medical reports on their intellectual capabilities which would render their executions illegal under Singapore laws as well as international treaties.They were granted a last-minute respite by Singapore President Halimah Yacob on Feb 17.Their case is similar to that of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, a Malaysian diagnosed with an IQ of 69 who was to have been executed in November last year.He was granted a stay of execution after a diagnosis of Covid-19 just before the court was due to hear a last-ditch appeal to save his life.Another appeal has been scheduled for March 1.


Zahid immune from prosecution, court told in graft case

The High Court was told today that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is immune from prosecution as all the information about transactions relating to his family-run Yayasan Akalbudi charity foundation was disclosed by the former deputy prime minister.Counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, who is representing Zahid, said his client was claiming immunity from prosecution under Section 30(7) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act.“The accused (Zahid) had on July 2, 2018, and July 3, 2018, made two statements pursuant to Section 30(3)(b) of the MACC Act. By these two statements, the accused had disclosed information and therefore under Section 30 (7) of the MACC Act, he is clothed with immunity from prosecution.“These two statements were admitted through SP89 (89th prosecution witness Fairul Rafiq Hamirudin), the first investigation officer called by the prosecution. He confirmed under cross-examination that he had access and custody of the above statements. He also confirmed that he had vetted the statements.“SP89 further confirmed the following, that both the statements were given pursuant to order under Section 30 (1)(a) of the MACC Act and that the accused was not prosecuted for an offence under Section 27 of the MACC Act in respect of both statements for giving information that is untrue,” he said in his submissions at the end of the prosecution’s case involving Zahid before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.Hisyam said based on the information given in one of the two statements, his client was immune from 46 out of the 47 charges and, under the circumstances, could not be prosecuted.“Thus, applying Sub-section 30(7) to the facts of this case, it is respectfully submitted that the accused is therefore immune and cannot be prosecuted for 46 out of the 47 offences. These 46 offences are in respect of all 12 criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges, seven out of the eight corruption charges and for all 27 money laundering charges,” he said.On the outset, Hisyam said the charges against his client were instituted by former attorney-general (AG) Tommy Thomas.Quoting a passage from the former AG in his recent book entitled “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, the lawyer said Thomas had explained that he only charged Zahid after being satisfied of having a realistic chance of securing a conviction based on overwhelming evidence against the accused.However, Hisyam said having heard, read and seen the evidence by the prosecution, despite the then-AG’s confidence in securing a conviction, the reality was that the charges were framed on thin ice.Hisyam further submitted that his client had been unnecessarily and over-prosecuted.The lawyer said the charge sheet had accused Zahid of committing CBT when he (Zahid) transferred RM17.9 million in funds from the charity to a trust account under the name of Lewis & Co.“It is obviously wrong in law to say that there is CBT when Yayasan Akalbudi retains ownership of the said monies when the said monies reached the hands of Lewis & Co’s client account. A diligent student of criminal law will tell us that there is no CBT as Yayasan Akalbudi still retains ownership when the funds reached the clients’ account of Lewis & Co. With respect, a strong inference can be made is that there is (an) oblique motive in the filing of these charges.“The accused has been unnecessarily charged not based on law or evidence. Again, the right thing to do is for the prosecution to withdraw the CBT charge when there is obviously no CBT… My client has been unnecessarily charged not based on law or evidence,” he said.Hisyam also argued that it was not in the public interest when an accused person is unnecessarily or wrongly charged.“It eats up judicial time. In fact, it is an abuse of process. This honourable court must sound the alarm that judicial time is precious and cannot be abused. To the accused, irreparable harm has been done. It is inherent in the office of the public prosecutor that he acts fairly for he is a minister of justice. The public prosecutor must be fair to the accused,” he said.Zahid, 68, is facing 47 charges – 12 of CBT, eight of corruption and 27 of money laundering-involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.The hearing of submissions before Sequerah continues tomorrow.


Bank claims Bandar Sunway shop lot in govt’s forfeiture suit against family of ex-Tabung Haji chairman

A bank has become a third party in claiming a shop lot belonging to Azeera Management Consultants (M) Sdn Bhd in relation to the government’s suit to forfeit the property in Bandar Sunway.The government is applying to forfeit almost RM16 million from accounts belonging to the wife of former Tabung Haji chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim and their four children, as well as a shop lot owned by the company.Deputy public prosecutor Nik Haslinie Hashim informed the court that the third party, Maybank Islamic Bhd represented by lawyer Poh Choo Hoe, had appeared in court today.“I request the court to record that there is a claimant in this application. The claimant (Maybank) today claimed a property, which is the sixth item on the government’s gazetted list (one shop lot),” Nik Haslinie said before High Court judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin.Jamil then set June 29 for hearing the government’s application to forfeit the money and the shop lot.“The parties need to file an affidavit if necessary, and include written submissions a week before the date of the hearing (June 29),” he said.The proceedings to gazette the third-party notice were also attended by lawyer Marina Mohamed, who represented the respondents: Azeez’s wife Khadijah Mohd Noor, their four children – Mohamed Khairul Anwar, Mohamed Khairul Azman, Khaleeda Azwa, Khaleeda Azeera – and Azeera Management Consultants.The forfeiture suit was filed by the government against Azeez’s family members in September 2019.


KL-based clinic offering Covid-19 tests for RM60

A Kuala Lumpur-based clinic is offering Covid-19 antigen rapid tests at just a fraction of the going price in a bid to provide affordable screening for everyone, including for foreign workers.While such test kits cost between RM120 and RM180 at most private healthcare facilities, Laurent Bleu Medical Clinic, a subsidiary of UCSI Group, is offering them at only RM60.The service is being offered daily at Level 1 Carpark, F10, CMC Central, Jalan Cerdas, Taman Connaught in Kuala Lumpur from 9am to 9pm.Laurent Bleu CEO Natasha Ng said the lower rate is part of the centre’s corporate social responsibility initiative and in line with the government’s move to screen foreign workers in red zones.“Ideally, our effort is to make this screening accessible to all and essentially flatten the curve,” she said in a statement.As workers who contribute to the Social Security Organisation (Socso) are entitled to a subsidy of RM60, she said employers would be able to claim 100% of the cost for Socso-covered employees.“We understand that the health ministry is doing all it can to address the Covid-19 outbreak, as the authorities focus on those who have had close contacts with confirmed cases or clusters.“Employers trying to comply with the government’s mandate of compulsory screening for foreign workers starting Dec 1, or anyone who wants to get themselves screened would not be able to do so at government healthcare facilities because they do not meet the criteria.“For them, they may come to us and pay just RM60 and claim from Socso after,” she said.The entire process from registering and swabbing to obtaining the results will take approximately 30 minutes per person.Those who are interested can WhatsApp +60 10-528 6368 or email [email protected]Appointments are encouraged to prevent waiting times while onsite screenings are via appointment only.


An emergency state of unpleasantness

When Ad (not his real name) looked back at his weekend, he felt only annoyance. His Friday started with speculation of a state of emergency which, in and of itself, he was fine with. It seemed fitting for greater restrictions to be declared as Covid-19 cases had been spiking.The public too seemed unperturbed, perhaps adding to the acceleration of damage.But eventually, panic began setting in, flooding chat groups and social media.What happened over that weekend saw the people turn against the politicians. Hashtags began making the rounds on social media, protesting the circumstances that had been revealed to the people. The movement signalled an anger and a sense of panic, with posters also in protest plastered on walls and on public transportation to be seen by commuters on their daily commutes. It was quiet revolt that did not go unnoticed.Soon, more news breathed new rumours of grassroots’ contempt towards the figures that started the alarming chain of events and the theories behind the event.That weekend saw the people’s views characterised by anger and blame. Public figures were criticised for their hunger for power. Icons once idolised were associated with desperation.Did the patriarch, Abahku, who once joked about caning, and his gang realise this? Their resentment started months ago when the current government and their jostling for positions came to fruition. They rejoiced in power but this was cut short when figures of reformation began to poke at openings.I might have missed out on the details that added to the complexity of this political deviancy. What good could that argument do if the people were disheartened and displeased?Although speculation of an emergency was not yet confirmed, feelings will always precede events. The anxiety was not unreasonable, either.Ad’s anxiety was over the uncertainty of his future.As a student who had learnt of politics and the economy, he knew that political instability would not be good. His fear was of the conditions that would preside due to the past few months and leading up to the weekend – fear over the loss of his planned career and his livelihood.But not every youth would react as Ad did. There are those who would not be steered towards the bureaucratic horror that took place. News was scrolled through and read in passing. They had jobs to hold on to, meals to plan with what money they could save, and studies to struggle through.In her song “Flesh Without Blood”, Canadian singer Grimes sang “I don’t see the light I saw in you before.” While this may be a lament of past loves or the things Elon Musk said, it also expressed people’s feelings about the politicians who had pledged their service to the people but gave no thought for the little man.Or perhaps they did, but their thoughts were blurred in the transmission of messages to the people, who would have a hard time reciprocating any form of love at the moment.Malaysians have been exiled from the ideal state that the country could achieve. Our fall from grace may be credited to the providers of services that failed to pay tribute to the people who positioned the authorities on their throne. That throne itself is under constant threat of uncertainty and instability.As the threat lingers, the future of youths will continue to be uncertain due to actions they never asked for. Their worry will stay, as will the anxiety that precipitates every speculation in the political arena.I do not know how to ease the people’s current bitterness, but I know that to keep on in the way we have been made to endure will no longer do us any good.Until we can live without the heaviness we now carry, there will be no bakti to wish for ourselves or anyone else.


UN court rejects appeal of former Bosnian Serb military chief against life for 8,000 Muslim deaths

Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic has lost his appeal against a 2017 conviction for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.The UN court upheld the life sentence for his role in the killing of about 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995.The massacre, in an enclave supposed to be under UN protection, was the worst atrocity in Europe since World War Two.It is not yet clear where Mladic will serve the rest of his sentence.The five-person appeals panel in The Hague found Mladic had failed to provide evidence to invalidate the previous convictions against him, although the presiding judge dissented on almost all counts.Mladic had denounced the tribunal during his appeal hearing in August, calling it a child of Western powers. His lawyers had argued he was far away from Srebrenica when the massacre happened.Mladic, known as the “Butcher of Bosnia”, was arrested in 2011 after 16 years on the run.In Sarajevo, one Bosnian newspaper led its online coverage of the verdict with the headline: “Look at the butcher’s tears when he realises that he will die behind bars.”But the reaction among Mladic’s supporters was vastly different. His son, Darko Mladic, said his father “did not have a chance for a fair trial” and described the proceedings as “a travelling circus”.The current president of the Bosnian Serb enclave, Zeljka Cvijanovic, said the tribunal had “once again confirmed its role as anti-Serb court, which establishes responsibility for war crimes not by evidence, but by the ethnicity of the indicted”.Some of the survivors who travelled to The Hague hoped that Ratko Mladic would use his last public appearance to offer an apology that could help reconciliation in the still divided region.But when the final judgment came, the man guilty of severing so many lives offered only silence.


Shafee’s money laundering trial postponed as witness unwell

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today postponed Muhammad Shafee Abdullah’s trial for charges of money laundering and making false statements to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) to tomorrow as the seventh prosecution witness was unwell.Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz told judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin that LHDN tax officer Syed Nasrul Fahmi Syed Mohamad had informed him about his ill health at 8am.“The witness is still under cross-examination. Our next witness would be the investigating officer. Hence, we request today’s trial be postponed to tomorrow,” he said.As Shafee’s counsel Harvinderjit Singh did not object, the court then adjourned today’s trial with the hearing to continue tomorrow.On Sept 13, 2018, Shafee pleaded not guilty to two charges of receiving RM9.5 million in proceeds from unlawful activities through two cheques issued by former prime minister Najib Razak which were deposited into his CIMB Bank account.He was also charged with two counts of engaging in transactions resulting from illegal activities, namely submitting incorrect tax returns, which is in violation of Paragraph 113 (1) (a) of the Income Tax Act 1967, for the financial years ending Dec 31, 2013, and Dec 31, 2014.


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Russia to export nasal Covid vaccine, roll out new jab for children

Russia announced progress in its Sputnik suite of Covid-19 vaccines on Wednesday, with a new version aimed at children and a nasal spray that President Vladimir Putin said he had taken as a booster.Putin said in televised comments that he had been re-inoculated six months after his initial dose of the Sputnik V vaccine because his antibody levels had dropped.He said the booster took the form of an injection, followed the next day by a powder sprayed into both nostrils.“That was all – I didn’t feel anything. Nothing. Today, after these two procedures, I already did some sport in the morning,” he said.Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which invested in Russia’s flagship vaccine and markets it overseas, said Russia would sell the nasal form to other countries next year.Research has been going on in countries around the world to develop nasal sprays to help prevent and treat Covid-19, particularly given that the lining of the nose has been identified as a key entry point for the virus.The classic version of Sputnik V, consisting of two injections, has not yet been approved by the World Health Organization and European Medicines Agency. Until that happens, the nasal form, which is still being tested in Russia, would likely face similar regulatory headwinds.RDIF and the Gamаleya Institute, which developed the shot, said that trials in San Marino with 18,600 participants showed that Sputnik V was 80% effective six to eight months after inoculation.Russia was quick to develop Sputnik V last year but the Kremlin has blamed a recent surge in cases on widespread public reluctance to get vaccinated. October was the deadliest month of the pandemic so far in Russia.Many people are hesitant to take the jab and distrustful of official assurances about its safety – an attitude that Putin has tried to counter by talking about his own experience of it.Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova announced separately that the health ministry would register a new Sputnik M vaccine for use for children aged 12-17 later on Wednesday, with shots expected to be available at the end of December.


Confusion as Brazil faces Covid surge with 2 health ministers

Just as Brazil struggles to deal with a surge in Covid-19, President Jair Bolsonaro’s government is facing confusion over who the country’s health minister is – the one he sacked last week or his still-unofficial replacement.Bolsonaro announced last Monday he was firing army general Eduardo Pazuello and replacing him with cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga.However, a week later, neither the widely criticised outgoing minister’s departure nor the incomer’s appointment has been made official in the government gazette.“We’re in the middle of a pandemic… and we have two health ministers. Which in reality means we don’t have any,” said Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, one of Bolsonaro’s fiercest critics.“The incoming one isn’t authorised to act as minister, and the outgoing one doesn’t have any actual power. He’s an ex-minister who’s still on the job.”Brazilian media reports say Bolsonaro is scrambling to find a way to keep Pazuello’s ministerial immunity, to protect him from being prosecuted for the ministry’s shortcomings during his 10-month tenure.Pazuello notably faces investigation for failing to ensure oxygen supplies to the northern city of Manaus, where there were horrific scenes in January of Covid-19 patients suffocating to death when hospitals ran out.Pazuello and Queiroga attended several meetings and public events together last week, taking turns speaking.It is still unclear how different the new minister’s approach will be to Covid-19, which is again pushing many Brazilian hospitals to the breaking point.The country’s average daily death toll has more than tripled since the start of the year, to 2,259, currently the highest worldwide.Experts say the surge is being fuelled by a local variant of the virus that is suspected to be more contagious.Queiroga will be Bolsonaro’s fourth health minister of the pandemic.The first two, both doctors, fell out with the far-right president over his defiance of expert advice on containing the virus.Further complicating Bolsonaro’s plans, Queiroga must formally remove his name from the ownership of two private health clinics he manages in his home state of Paraiba, in northeastern Brazil, before starting the new job.


Court dismisses appeal by Muslim-convert mother over conversion of children to Islam

The Court of Appeal today dismissed the appeals by a Muslim-convert mother and the Federal Territory Registrar of Muallaf against a High Court’s decision to quash the unilateral conversion of her two children to Islam.A three-member bench led by justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah in a unanimous decision said the Court of Appeal was bound by the Federal Court’s decision in the case of kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi.“We are of the view that the High Court judge and this Court of Appeal are bound by the Federal Court’s decision in Indira Gandhi’s case.“We find no appealable error made by the learned High Court judge. Therefore, we find no merit in these appeals. Both appeals are dismissed. The decision of the High Court judge is affirmed. No order as to costs,” Zabidin said at the virtual proceedings today.The other two judges were S Nantha Balan and Nordin Hassan.On Oct 16, 2018, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur allowed the judicial review by the father of the children, a Buddhist, to quash the unilateral conversion to Islam of his two children born in a civil marriage by the woman who was a Buddhist at the time.Then High Court judge Azizah Nawawi who is now a Court of Appeal judge had said that it was not in dispute that the certificates of conversion of the children were issued without the consent of the children’s father.She said she was bound by the Federal Court decision in the Indira Gandhi case in which the Federal Court’s five-man panel in January 2018 ruled that the consent of both parents is required before a child born in a civil marriage can be converted to Islam.In that case, Indira, a Hindu mother had filed a similar judicial review application to challenge her Muslim convert ex-husband’s unilateral conversion of their three children.In today’s matter, the father of the children had filed a judicial review to quash the conversion of his two young children who were converted to Islam in May 2016 without his knowledge and consent.The identities of the family cannot be disclosed due to a High Court order issued on May 21, 2018.The Court of Appeal’s decision in September 2018 which granted full custody of the children to the father was affirmed following the mother’s failure to obtain leave to pursue her appeal in the Federal Court.Lawyer Nizam Bashir represented the Registrar of Muallaf, while senior federal counsel Nik Isfahanie Tasnim Wan Ab Rahman appeared for the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department director-general, the education ministry director-general and the government.Lawyer K Shanmuga represented the father, while lawyer Arham Rahimy Hariri appeared for the mother.


2 more deaths, 89 new infections

A total of 89 new cases were recorded today, bringing the number of Covid-19 infections back down to double digits after several days in the triple-digit zone.According to the health ministry, 86 of those were local transmissions while the remaining three were imported.Sabah recorded the most cases at 35, followed by Kedah (13), Selangor (10) and Johor (eight).Two more deaths were also recorded in Kedah and Sabah, taking the virus toll to 136.Twenty-eight patients were discharged, bringing recoveries to 9,967 or 88.8% of total cases, which now stand at 11,224.Sixteen patients are being treated in the ICU with three in need of respiratory aid.


Malaysia to continue with AstraZeneca jabs, says Khairy

Malaysia will proceed with the purchase and acquisition of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine as there has been no evidence that it causes blood clots, says minister Khairy Jamaluddin.Khairy, the minister in charge of procuring vaccines for the country, said AstraZeneca had informed Malaysia of the side effects of the vaccine.So far, he said, there was no data to indicate any direct link between the jab and reports of blood clots which had resulted in deaths in several countries.“As of now we will not take another stand. The purchase of the AstraZeneca vaccines remains the same,” he said at a joint press conference with Health Minister Dr Adham Baba on the development of the immunisation programme in Putrajaya today.Several countries such as Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Thailand have paused the rollout of AstraZeneca’s vaccine following reports of blood clots occurring in several individuals after being vaccinated.Khairy, who is also science, technology and innovation minister, said the ministry would study the clinical data on incidents that have occurred abroad to enable experts to draw conclusions on the vaccine use.Meanwhile, Adham said the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) conducts thorough studies on any Covid-19 vaccine to be used in Malaysia.“We trust the NPRA’s decisions, and in the case of the AstraZeneca vaccine we have looked into its quality and safety,” he said.The Drug Control Authority (DCA) on March 2 approved the conditional registration of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.Meanwhile, Khairy said Malaysia would take delivery of additional Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in stages for the first phase of the immunisation programme.“Today saw the delivery of 83,070 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, we will be receiving 124,020 doses on March 22 and another 125,190 on March 26,” he said.“Cumulatively, Malaysia will receive 1,000,350 doses of vaccine which will completes the delivery for the first quarter,” he said, adding that 100,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine will also be delivered today.Asked why Malaysia had procured Covid-19 vaccine in large quantities, Khairy said the bulk purchase was to facilitate the mitigation process, which is to reduce the risk of delays in the delivery of vaccines.“There is a possibility that we may need to give a ‘booster shot’ which is another dose next year if the pandemic remains, so it is good to have ready stock,” he said.


Budget increase for development of Islam, Bumiputeras nothing new

Allocations for Islamic development and Bumiputera upliftment makes up 3.9% of the total budget for 2021, about 0.9% more than in the previous budget.The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government allocated RM12.5 billion for the purpose, while Pakatan Harapan (PH) allocated RM9.3 billion.The increase for Islamic and Bumiputera programmes has been an annual trend, with such funding becoming a permanent feature of the national budget.It also saw an increase in the two years that PH was the federal government.In 2018, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced RM1.2 billion for Islamic development, RM100 million more than the allocation in Barisan Nasional’s 2018 budget, its final before its fall from power that year.This was further increased by another RM100 million the following year, to RM1.3 billion, an allocation parked under the Prime Minister’s Department.The recent 2021 budget by PN also saw a RM100 million increase from the previous budget, with RM1.4 billion allocated for Islamic affairs.The figures refute claims that the current government has allocated more for the Malay-Muslim demography.“It’s a trend that has been continued by successive administrations since Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first term in power,” a source familiar with the preparation of the yearly budgets told MalaysiaNow.Under Mahathir, allocations for Islamic development received a boost on the back of his administration’s “Infusion of Islamic Values Policy”, a low-key Islamisation drive to beef up the religious credentials of the Umno-led government.Mahathir had then joined hands with Anwar Ibrahim, bringing the once popular Muslim student leader into the government to counter the growing influence of PAS in the 80s and the early 90s.During his reign, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, or Jakim, was established under the Prime Minister’s Department with a central role in the management and development of Islamic affairs and policies.Since then, the department has been allocated yearly budgets, with the last few years seeing the figure passing the RM1 billion mark.The PH government defended its decision to continue the practice of allocating a huge budget for Jakim, saying it was also to pay religious teachers and the salaries of mosque officers and imams nationwide.Last year, then-minister in charge of Islamic affairs Mujahid Yusof Rawa scoffed at critics who questioned the huge budget for Jakim.The 2021 budget allocates about RM3 billion more for Bumiputera upliftment programmes.Last year, the PH administration allocated RM8 billion, the bulk of which, some RM6.6 billion, went to Majlis Amanah Rakyat or Mara, the government’s Bumiputera powerhouse.


Police will help investigate meat cartel case, says top cop

Top cop Abdul Hamid Bador says the police will assist the domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry with investigations into the meat import cartel case.He said the department had also opened investigation papers over the issue based on reports lodged by several individuals and NGOs.“This issue is related to trade, so the most relevant (authority) to investigate it is the ministry, but in the meantime the police will investigate reports claiming that there are cartels that commit irregularities with regards to imported meat.“If it is proven that such activities exist and it causes concern to the public, we will enforce the law,” he said at a press conference today.However he added that no arrests have been made so far in connection with the case.The media had reported that a meat cartel was believed to be involved in smuggling non-certified meat from China, Ukraine, Brazil and Argentina before repackaging it with fake halal labels at a warehouse in Senai, Johor.


Top palace official dismisses claim of bid to block Ismail, force unity govt

Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin says he will not entertain a blogger’s claim that he is involved in attempts to block Ismail Sabri Yaakob from being sworn in as the next prime minister if he does not establish a unity government.“Please don’t entertain RPK. Let the public read and analyse on their own,” Fadil told MalaysiaNow, referring to Raja Petra Kamaruddin who blogs on the Malaysia Today website.This follows calls from the opposition side for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to ignore the majority support of MPs for Ismail, and instead establish a unity government including Pakatan Harapan leaders.Yesterday, 114 MPs from Perikatan Nasional, Barisan Nasional and the independent bloc were called to the palace to confirm their support for Ismail, the Umno vice-president.But Raja Petra in a blog post claimed there were attempts to stop Ismail from being sworn in as prime minister if he did not agree to choose Anwar Ibrahim as his deputy and form a unity government with PH.Raja Petra also labelled Fadil and Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council president Mohd Annuar Zaini as “staunch supporters” of Anwar, claiming they were behind the leak of confidential palace documents to the media.“No worries, surrender to Allah,” Fadil said when asked about the claims.Raja Petra had previously posted on his blog questioning the leak of palace correspondence with top officials.His post was accompanied by a picture of Fadil in what appeared to be an attempt to portray him as the source.Ismail is said to have obtained the support of 114 MPs compared to Anwar who is believed to have 105 MPs behind him.Yesterday, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said if there were only two names for the position of prime minister, the second could be appointed as deputy prime minister in the formation of a unity government.