All legal procedures followed in Najib's pardon bid, says Zahid

Umno says its intention to submit an appeal to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah for consideration for a full royal pardon to former party president Najib Razak is in accordance with legal procedures and without any political pressure.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party would follow all existing legal procedures before making an appeal to the Pardons Board for consideration of the matter.
"As a political party, we will certainly follow all existing legal procedures and when the procedures are adhered to, it will be up to the Pardons Board," Zahid, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, said in Machang yesterday.
Zahid, who is also the rural and regional development minister, said Umno had already made efforts to obtain a date for an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
On April 8, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the issue of conflict of interest in seeking a royal pardon for Najib should not arise as everyone can apply for a pardon, and all parties should comply with the stipulated rules and conditions.


Najib appeals against dismissal of Tommy Thomas misfeasance suit

Former prime minister Najib Razak has appealed against the High Court's decision to quash his lawsuit against former attorney-general Tommy Thomas over alleged misfeasance in public office for prosecuting him on charges involving 1MDB.
Najib’s counsel Yudistra Darma Dorai, when contacted today, said the notice of appeal was filed on Dec 22.
Lawyer Mervyn Lai, representing Thomas, confirmed the matter, adding that the Court of Appeal has yet to set a date for the appeal.
On Nov 25, judge Ahmad Bache granted Thomas' application to strike out Najib’s suit after finding that it was scandalous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process.
Thomas, through a notice of application to quash the suit filed on Nov 18, 2021, stated among others that if Najib's suit was continued and tried, it would disrupt the trial in the High Court of the criminal case against him. In the suit filed on Oct 22, 2021, Najib claimed that the charges against him were part of a move planned by Thomas and in line with the Pakatan Harapan government’s plan at the time.
Najib, 69, claimed that he was wrongly accused in court in the case of 1MDB, International Petroleum Investment Company, abuse of power under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and money laundering under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
He sought a declaration that Thomas committed misfeasance in public office as well as RM1.9 million in damages, including negotiation fees for the audit team to review the documentation for the preparation of facts to deal with the prosecution against him.


Sorry.


Another fire at old EPF building in PJ

The former Employees Provident Fund (EPF) building along Jalan Gasing in Petaling Jaya has caught fire again, some five years after another blaze destroyed about 40% of it in an incident attributed to the flammable cladding panels on its exterior.
Video clips circulating on social media show thick black smoke billowing from the building with flames also visible from kilometres away.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Hafisham Mohd Noor said no casualties were reported.
He said an emergency call was received at 10.39am, and that firemen reached the location about six minutes later.
"The fire affected only the fourth and fifth floors of the building. We brought the blaze under control at 11.08am," he told reporters, adding that the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The first fire at the building occurred in February 2018.
The fire and rescue department said then that the cladding panels on the building's exterior did not meet safety requirements.
It said the fire began outside where maintenance work was being done, and was the first in the country to involve inflammable cladding.


Cow dung rubdowns won’t cure Covid-19, warn Indian doctors

Since coming to power in 2014, Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party has earmarked millions of dollars for research into products using cow dung and urine.Although there is no scientific evidence, several politicians from Modi’s BJP party have advocated using the dung and urine to cure the coronavirus.Millions of Indians agree with them, or are at least prepared to give it a go.However, doctors in India are warning against the practice of using cow dung to ward off Covid-19, saying there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness and that it risks spreading other diseases.In the western state of Gujarat, some believers have been going to cow shelters once a week to cover their bodies in cow dung and urine in the hope that it will boost their immunity against, or help them recover from, the coronavirus, Reuters is reporting.In Hinduism, the cow is a sacred symbol of life and the earth, and for centuries, Hindus have used cow dung to clean their homes and for prayer rituals, believing it has therapeutic and antiseptic properties.“Even doctors come here. Their belief is that this therapy improves their immunity, and they can go and tend to patients with no fear,” said Gautam Manilal Borisa, associate manager at a pharmaceuticals company, who told Reuters cow dung helped him recover from Covid-19 last year.He has since been a regular at the Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratishthanam, a school run by Hindu monks with its own cow shelter.As participants wait for the dung and urine mixture on their bodies to dry, they hug or otherwise honour the cows at the shelter, and practice yoga to boost energy levels. They are then washed off with milk or buttermilk.Doctors and scientists in India and across the world have repeatedly warned against practising alternative treatments for Covid-19, saying these can lead to a false sense of security and complicate health problems.“There is no concrete scientific evidence that cow dung or urine works to boost immunity against Covid-19. It is based entirely on belief,” said Dr JA Jayalal, national president of the Indian Medical Association.“There are also health risks involved in smearing or consuming these products – other diseases can spread from the animal to humans.”There are also concerns that the practice could contribute to the spread of the virus as it involves people gathering in groups.Cow dung, in fact, has been used medicinally in India for centuries. A mixture of cow dung and cow urine has long been believed to cure diabetes, cancer, and arthritis.Indian’s way of thinking about sacred cows is against eating them, however their excrement and urine falls under the category of diary products. In shops in some states you can find cow dung and urine next to the milk and yoghurt.


Najib's bid to cite new evidence an attempt to delay SRC case, says prosecution

Najib Razak’s application to adduce new evidence in his SRC International trial is intended to delay the progress and conclusion of the case, the Federal Court heard today.
Ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram submitted that the application was filed to prolong the SRC International proceedings for collateral purposes as the cumulative evidence the former prime minister sought to adduce had been available to him at the trial and, in any event, was not relevant to the appeals before the Federal Court.
"My Lady, before the commencement of the trial in April 2019, everybody knew that the trial judge (Mohd Nazlan Ghazali) was from Maybank. During the defence case, this was a burden issue. They could have brought it. But none was done at that point of time.
"Moreover, there has been no evidence of conflict of interest on the part of justice Nazlan at the SRC International trial as alleged by the applicant (Najib). The applicant has made malicious and frivolous allegations against the judge, who is unable to personally defend himself from these spurious allegations," he said.
He said this in the prosecution’s submission for the former prime minister’s motion to adduce new evidence in the SRC International case in his bid to ultimately seek a retrial before a five-member panel chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.
The other judges on the bench are Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Nallini Pathmanathan, Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.
Sithambaram also said that Najib’s bid was based on what certain individuals allegedly told the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), and that the apex court should reject the request as the Pekan MP’s supporting affidavits were all based on hearsay evidence.
Najib's bid to adduce additional evidence was supported by his affidavits concerning what three MACC officers and two bankers purportedly told MACC during the SRC International investigation.
"Najib's affidavits showed that these alleged witnesses did not personally tell the appellant what they supposedly told MACC. Those witnesses' statements are hearsay upon hearsay. They did not tell the appellant. The application is not a fresh evidence bid but camouflaged (as a fishing expedition into) the alleged conflict of interest on the part of judge Nazlan," Sithambaram said.
The additional evidence Najib is seeking to adduce relates to the recent discovery that Nazlan was in 2006 the general counsel and company secretary for Maybank Group, and had the ultimate overall responsibility for the management and administration of all legal departments within the entire group. On July 28, 2020, Nazlan, who is now a Court of Appeal judge, sentenced Najib to 10 years' jail for each of the three counts of criminal breach of trust and each of the three counts of money laundering, and 12 years' jail and a RM210 million fine in default of five years' jail in the case of abuse of position.
However, Najib would have to serve only 12 years in jail as the judge ordered for all of the jail sentences to run concurrently.
The hearing continues tomorrow.


Ismail’s appointment as PM, Umno’s best shot at redemption?

The appointment of Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob as prime minister presents the party with its best chance for a top-level shake-up to restore the image tainted by the corruption scandals of previous leaders, analysts say.They also said Umno was in dire need of a reshuffle to strengthen its cooperation with other parties in Perikatan Nasional (PN) including Bersatu and PAS at the next general election.Shamsul Amri Baharuddin from the Institute of Ethnic Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said for starters, Umno should sack “problem people” from the party.“If there is a party election, I hope Ismail will be chosen as president because his people are not picky or embroiled in corruption cases, and are relatively clean compared to the current line-up,” he told MalaysiaNow.“I believe his appointment marks a big change for Umno. Umno would surely not be fool enough to take in more trouble-makers,” he added.“This will facilitate Umno’s campaign for the next general election.”Umno, whose leadership status was thrown into doubt after the Registrar of Societies said it had been late in postponing its party polls, is currently led by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who is facing tens of criminal charges involving graft, abuse of power and money laundering.He and former prime minister Najib Razak, who is awaiting the outcome of his appeal against his conviction and jail sentence in the SRC International case, had led a campaign to topple Ismail’s predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin from the top office.MalaysiaNow revealed last year that the duo had written to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in support of PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim for prime minister in a bid to overthrow the PN government.Ismail’s appointment to the top office marked a break from party tradition, as all six Umno prime ministers before him were also the president.Ilham Centre executive director Hisommudin Bakar said he believed Umno would give way to Ismail.“A leadership reshuffle would depend on the Umno general assembly. If they can compromise despite their differences in opinion on Ismail as prime minister, why not as president?”Turmoil in Umno if Zahid stands firmSpeaking to MalaysiaNow, Hisommudin said there would be mass turmoil in the party if Zahid insists on remaining as president.“We also need to remember that Umno had previously said ‘No Anwar, no DAP, no Bersatu’,” he added.“If this persists, it will cause problems for PN. In my opinion, the best formula for Umno now is to compromise in establishing ties with PN, which comprises Bersatu, PAS and Umno itself. Even if there are differences, they can still work together.”If Umno maintains Zahid as its president, he said, inter-party ties in PN would only last until Parliament is dissolved.“So I hope Umno and Zahid himself can give way to Ismail to prevent this from one day happening.”Shamsul meanwhile said if Umno makes no changes to its current leadership, it would have trouble regaining the people’s support after its loss in the 2018 general election.“The rural folk will ask what Umno’s achievements are now. Corruption? What can they say if the leadership is still the same?“For me, Ismail must be in charge of the new Umno leadership,” he said.Sivamurugan Pandian from Universiti Sains Malaysia agreed that Umno needs to revamp its leadership as part of its preparations for the 15th general election.“Umno needs new leaders who can provide a different approach,” he said.“In my opinion, if during the election Umno feels that it needs a new leadership line-up that is clean and free from corruption, it should do it.”In his inaugural speech as prime minister on Monday, Ismail had thanked Muhyiddin and the MPs who supported his appointment to the country’s top post.Muhyiddin resigned last week after losing his majority due to a group of Umno MPs led by Zahid and Najib who withdrew their support for him.Ismail was appointed to replace him after 114 MPs from PN, including Zahid and Najib, declared their support for him.Aliff Fikri contributed to this report.


Launch of world's first 3D-printed rocket cancelled at last second

The launch of the world's first 3D-printed rocket was ultimately scrubbed after several tries on Saturday, marking a new setback for the private owner of an innovative spacecraft billed as being less costly to produce and fly.
Engines had begun igniting on the unmanned Terran 1 rocket, built by California aerospace startup Relativity Space, when an "automation" issue caused the company to abort takeoff for the second time in less than a week.
A little later, the company tried again to launch the spacecraft from Florida's Cape Canaveral but had to abort due to pressure issues in the rocket's second stage, the company later tweeted.
"The team went HARD today and we intend to do so during our next attempt. More to come on the new launch date," Relativity said.
At one point during the three-hour launch window, which began at 1pm (1800 GMT), the countdown was put on hold when a private boat violated a danger zone.
An earlier scheduled launch last Wednesday was also postponed over last-minute propellant temperature issues.
Once it does take off, Terran 1 is set to reach low Earth orbit after eight minutes on a voyage intended to gather data and demonstrate that a 3D-printed rocket can withstand the rigors of liftoff and space flight.
If the rocket manages to attain low Earth orbit, it will be the first privately funded vehicle using methane fuel to do so on its first try, according to Relativity.
Terran 1 is not expected to carry a payload for its first flight, but the rocket will eventually be capable of putting up to 1,250kg into low Earth orbit.
The rocket is 110 feet (33.5 meters) tall with a diameter of 7.5 feet (2.2 meters).
Eighty-five percent of its mass is 3D printed with metal alloys, including the engines.
It is the largest ever 3D printed object, according to the Long Beach-based company, and is made, it says, with the world's largest 3D metal printers.
Built in 60 days
Relativity's goal is to produce a rocket that is 95% 3D printed.
Terran 1 is powered by Aeon engines using liquid oxygen and liquid natural gas – the "propellants of the future,"  capable of eventually fueling a voyage to Mars, Relativity says.
Vulcan rockets being developed by United Launch Alliance and SpaceX's Starship use the same fuel.
Terran 1 has nine 3D-printed Aeon 1 engines on its first stage and one 3D-printed Aeon Vacuum engine on its second stage.
Relativity is also building a larger rocket, Terran R, capable of putting a payload of 20,000kg into low Earth orbit.
The first launch of a Terran R, which is designed to be fully reusable, is scheduled for next year from Cape Canaveral.
A satellite operator can wait for years for a spot on an Arianespace or SpaceX rocket, and Relativity Space hopes to accelerate the timeline with its 3D-printed rockets.
"Long-term, a major benefit of 3D printing is the ability to more rapidly democratize space due to the incredible cost effectiveness, radical flexibility and customization," the company said.
Relativity said its 3D-printed rockets use 100 times fewer parts than traditional rockets, and can be built from raw materials in just 60 days.
Relativity has already signed commercial launch contracts worth US$1.65 billion (RM7.46 billion), mostly for the Terran R, according to CEO Tim Ellis, who co-founded the company in 2015.
"Medium-heavy lift is clearly where the biggest market opportunity is for the remaining decade, with a massive launch shortage in this payload class," Ellis tweeted.


In Australia, Victoria-NSW border open after months

For the first time in more than four months, the New South Wales-Victoria border is fully open and flights between the states have returned to the sky.The border was closed by NSW in July to stop the spread of Covid-19 as Victorians got down to the serious business of battling their second wave.The border opened a minute after midnight, allowing Victorians to freely visit NSW for the first time since early July without having to go into quarantine, reports Australian Associated Press. NSW is now the only state in the country with no hard border restrictions in place.During the lockdown, flights on the route dropped to as low as one flight per day for what is normally the busiest air route in the country. On Monday, Qantas and Jetstar are operating 17 return flights, carrying around 4,500 passengers.Qantas and Jetstar sold more 25,000 seats in the first 48 hours after it was announced the border restrictions would be lifted.Virgin Australia will operate four return services per day, or 28 per week, between Melbourne and Sydney and plans to progressively increase flight frequency ahead of the Christmas holidays.NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian visited the border town of Wodonga on Sunday to thank the community for its efforts during the border closure. “We never want to see this ever again,” she said.In person visits are also resuming for the 12,866 prisoners in NSW jails who have not had any visitors since the system was locked down in March.There have been 145,000 video chats but from now on visitors will be able to see inmates in person with restrictions including: temperature checks, masks, a limit of two visitors with physical contact limited to fist or elbow bumps.There have been no recorded cases of community transmission of Covid-19 in NSW for 15 days and Victoria has now been infection free for 23 consecutive days.


Activists warn of ‘shadow pandemic’ surge in gender-based violence

Rights activists are calling for proactive measures to curb gender-based violence amid a disturbing surge in cases reported throughout the Covid-19 pandemic last year.The All Women’s Action Society or Awam said reports of such violence lodged with the group rose to 261 in 2020: 159 on sexual harassment, 81 on domestic violence and 21 on rape.This marked a significant increase from 2019, where 33 cases of domestic violence, 16 of sexual harassment and three of rape were reported.The group’s spokesman Tan Chia Ee said one of the factors behind the increase in cases was the economic fluctuations induced by the pandemic.“Economic and job insecurity significantly elevates stress which can lead to an increase in violence,” she told MalaysiaNow.The trend of domestic violence was further exacerbated by the restrictions on movement as the various phases of lockdown kept many confined in the same space as their abusers, she said.Noraida Endut, director of Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Centre for Research on Women and Gender agreed, adding that the actual number of cases that occurred during the lockdowns might be underreported as victims would have been unable to leave their homes to lodge a complaint.“The restrictions on movement mean that survivors have to stay in the house with the perpetrators for a prolonged period, which will increase the chances of violence being triggered,” she said.“The movement restrictions also mean that it’s difficult for survivors to get help.”Noraida also raised concerns over the trend of gender-based violence online which she said would have as great an effect on the victims as physical abuse since perpetrators may remain anonymous while committing the acts, assuming that they are safe from the authorities.“Women communicating online who do not conform to certain social standards about being women are often targeted for harassment,” she said.“For example, if a woman expresses an opinion on social media which is seen to be deviating from social norms, she may get threats of rape or sexual assault.”Such cases are labelled the “shadow pandemic”. Tan from Awam said a holistic approach must be taken, adding that gender-based violence is a systematic issue.She told MalaysiaNow of a case in Johor in which a woman who was sexually assaulted approached the police to lodge a report and was told that she was raped because she had not resisted strongly enough. She also received threats of further harassment from the perpetrator.Tan said this showed a lack of awareness on the part of the authorities which could have a long-term impact on victims.“(We need to) improve police sensitivity in the management of gender-based violence cases to minimise the secondary traumatisation of survivors,” she said.Within the community, too, proactive measures are needed to raise awareness about the harmful impact of gender-based violence, she added.She suggested that the public be empowered with first-respondent skills so that they can offer support to survivors at an early stage.“The community is often the first point of contact for the survivor in terms of support,” she said.“This can be done at the community level, whereby awareness is concurrently increased among the survivor’s community members.”


63 reported Covid deaths take toll to 30,063

Another 63 Covid-related deaths were reported on Nov 22, taking the cumulative death toll in the country to 30,063.According to the health ministry’s Github data repository, 13 of these were brought-in-dead (BID) cases.Selangor had the highest number of reported deaths at 14 or 22.2%, followed by Johor (11) and Sabah (nine).Perak and Terengganu reported seven deaths each, Kuala Lumpur and Kedah four each, and Kelantan and Sarawak two each.Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang recorded one death each while no deaths were reported in Perlis, Penang, Labuan and Putrajaya.A total of 4,885 new cases were reported yesterday, taking the overall total to 2,591,486.As of yesterday, there were 67,986 active Covid-19 cases reported and 5,628 recoveries.


All aboard! Next stop space…

Several hundred people have already booked their tickets and begun training for a spectacular voyage: a few minutes, or perhaps days, in the weightlessness of space.The mainly wealthy first-time space travellers are getting ready to take part in one of several private missions which are preparing to launch.The era of space tourism is on the horizon 60 years after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space.Two companies, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, are building spacecraft capable of sending private clients on suborbital flights to the edge of space lasting several minutes.Glenn King is the director of spaceflight training at the National Aerospace Training and Research Center, a private company based in Pennsylvania which has already trained nearly 400 future Virgin Galactic passengers for their trips.“The oldest person I trained was 88 years old,” King told AFP.The training programme lasts two days – a morning of classroom instruction and tests in a centrifuge.This involves putting the trainee in a single-seat cockpit at the end of a 8m-long arm and spinning them around to simulate gravitational force, or G force.A medical team is on hand at all times.‘Enjoy the view’Nasa’s training for shuttle crew members lasted two years but the duration has been drastically reduced by the commercial space industry because of the “numbers of people that want to get up in space”, King said.“We can’t take two years to train these people,” he said. “We’ve got to get this down to a matter of days to get these people up.“These people aren’t crew, just strictly passengers,” he noted.“For a passenger, there isn’t a lot of work for you to do other than just relax, endure the G forces of launch or reentry.“And then once you’re orbital, enjoy the view out the window.”King said the pass rate for the training course has been “99.9%”.The cost ranges from several thousand dollars to as much as US$10,000 if special care or medical monitoring is needed.The single biggest barrier to “spaceflight for all” remains the price tag.Some 600 people have booked flights on Virgin Galactic, the company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, and thousands more are on a waiting list.The cost per flight? US$200,000 to US$250,000.Virgin Galactic hopes to take its first private astronaut on a suborbital flight in early 2022, with eventual plans for 400 trips a year.Blue Origin, owned by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, has not yet published prices or a calendar.Money aside, pretty much anybody could go on a spaceflight.“You don’t have to be in perfect physical health now to be able to go to space,” King said. “I’ve trained people with prosthetic devices. I’ve trained people with pacemakers.“All kinds of people.”The US Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees the aviation industry, recommended in 2006 that future “commercial passengers” on suborbital flights fill out a “simple medical history questionnaire”.Orbital flights which go further and last longer would require a more detailed form and blood tests, X-rays and urine specimens.Such flights, which cost millions of dollars each, are envisioned by SpaceX, the company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, which has at least four planned over the coming years.‘Inspiration4’The first launch of only civilians, baptised “Inspiration4,” is scheduled to take place in September.American billionaire Jared Isaacman has fully paid for a trip powered by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will take him and three passengers on a three-day flight in low Earth orbit.In January 2022, the company Axiom Space plans to send a former astronaut and three newcomers to the International Space Station (ISS).It eventually plans trips to the ISS every six months.Seven “space tourists” visited the space station between 2001 and 2009.A company called Space Adventures served as the intermediary for those flights and has partnered with SpaceX to send four customers in orbit around the Earth next year.A Japanese billionaire, Yusaku Maezawa, has reserved a flight on SpaceX’s “Starship” in 2023 and is inviting eight other people to come along for the ride.So when can we expect space tourism to become commonplace?Difficult to say, said Robert Goehlich, an adjunct assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide.“Suborbital and orbital tourist flights are currently near to happen,” Goehlich said. “The exact forecast is a challenge for each scenario.“A new investor might accelerate any schedule,” he said, “while an accident might decelerate any planning.”Three major factors will need to come together: flights will have to be safe, profitable and environmentally friendly.“In the long run, thinking about a mass space tourism market, surely sustainability aspects will play a more dominant role,” Goehlich said.


Nazri becomes second Umno MP to revoke support for PN

Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz today became the second Umno MP to revoke his support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, as a state of emergency takes effect to prevent political disruptions in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.“It is a decision that I had thought about for some time and it is the best for my party,” Nazri, who in the past expressed public support for PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, told reporters today.He admitted that his move would not force an election, but said it would mean that the PN bloc is left with the support of 109 MPs.His decision comes days after Umno’s Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub announced he was no longer supporting PN, in the wake of a campaign by party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to quit the ruling coalition.At a meeting on Jan 5 attended by a little more than half of the 191 division leaders nationwide, Zahid had urged Umno MPs to revoke their support for PN by February so that snap polls could be held as soon as possible.He repeated complaints that the PN government had sidelined Umno, and that it was not looking after the people’s welfare.He also urged all ministers from Umno to resign, and those holding top posts in government-linked companies to give up their positions by next month.


French lingerie shops send PM underwear in lockdown protest

Frustrated lingerie retailers in France are protesting their closure during lockdown by sending underwear to Prime Minister Jean Castex along with requests they be classed as essential businesses.Since the beginning of the week, lacy panties and thongs have been posted to Castex from around France with a note requesting that lingerie shops be able to re-open their doors.Like other retailers judged to be “non-essential”, underwear shops were forced to close at the beginning of the month as France entered its third national lockdown to contain rising Covid-19 cases.The protest campaign is called “Action Culottee” – a play on words that translates as “cheeky action” – and has been coordinated by shop owners on Facebook.“We wanted to raise the alarm about the very serious situation faced by hundreds of underwear shops around the whole of France,” said a statement from the group.“We all have a very strong feeling of injustice,” it added.A rapidly filling map on the group’s Facebook page shows location pins for the retailers who have taken part around the country, with around 200 having joined in.“We chose a small thong, in orange. We wanted to be a bit cheeky with the colour,” Vesna Savovic, a lingerie seller from Sens, southeast of Paris, told the local France Bleu radio station.‘We are essential’Other campaigners point out that underwear shops cater for all sorts of demands, not just for women wanting something luxurious or seductive.“You can come to us for seduction but there are lots of other reasons,” a shop owner in southeastern France, Sylvie, told France 3 television.“Women with large chests who can’t find underwear without trying it on, women who need bras for breast-feeding, adolescents…” she added. “For us, it’s obvious that we are essential.”The prime minister’s office has been responsible for drawing up the list of essential shops which are allowed to stay open during the lockdown.These include food and drink shops, but also florists, booksellers, hairdressers and garden centres among others.“We can’t understand why we are closed… even though there are people in the street everywhere and you can spend four hours in the hairdresser getting your hair done?” campaign founder Nathalie Paredes told AFP.She says there are now 500 members of the group.France was the birthplace of the lingerie industry in the 1800s and domestic sales amount to more than €2 billion annually today.French women spend around 18% of their clothing budget on underwear, according to the French lingerie industry federation.The government is in the process of drawing up its plans to reopen the country gradually from mid-May.Daily cases in France have been topping 40,000 but the government expects them to fall to 20,000 because of the effects of the lockdown, which began on April 3.


Najib back at court again for 1MDB audit report trial

Former prime minister Najib Razak arrived at the Kuala Lumpur High Court shortly before 9am today for his 1MDB audit report tampering trial.
He arrived at the court complex in a black SUV, accompanied by vehicles from the police and prisons department.
His wife, Rosmah Mansor, was also present at the court complex.
Najib is charged with using his position to order amendments to the final 1MDB audit report before it was presented to the Public Accounts Committee to avoid any action against him.
Former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy meanwhile is charged with abetting Najib in making the amendments to the report to protect the Pekan MP from being subjected to action. Two prosecution witnesses are expected to testify at today’s proceedings: Arul Kanda and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigation branch senior superintendent Haniff Lami.
Najib was sent to Kajang Prison on Aug 23 after the Federal Court upheld his 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine for the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International funds.
Yesterday, the former prime minister was present at court for his 1MDB trial proceedings before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.


Health ministry, EC to discuss GE15 measures for Covid-positive voters

The health ministry is holding discussions with the Election Commission (EC) on the development of a safe protocol for voters with Covid-19 to cast their ballots in the 15th general election (GE15), its minister Khairy Jamaluddin said today.“Covid-19 will stay with us. If we deny them (positive voters) their right to vote, we are denying a constitutional right,” he said in a press conference after launching the annual report of Clinical Research Malaysia 2021 and the Phase 1 Realisation Project report in Putrajaya.During the Johor state election on March 12, a voter was fined RM1,000 for showing up to vote despite being under quarantine for Covid-19.Khairy said the health ministry and EC were thinking of the best measures for Covid-19 positive voters.“Some say let those infected with Covid-19 use postal votes, but how would it be for those who are infected one or two days before polling day?“If they wish to vote, who is going to take them or which channel to use? Should we have a special channel for Covid-19 patients… this matter needs more time,” he added.Khairy said public health should be the priority when discussing GE15 and when it will be held.“We need to find the most suitable timing and period of lowest risk to hold GE15 as it involves the people going out to campaign and vote,” he said.Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob previously said that dissolution of Parliament to pave the way for GE15 would be discussed among the “Top Five” in Umno, adding that if Umno was confident of winning, it would not delay, “not even for a second”.Khairy alos said that his ministry was studying the effects of the Omicron BA.2 variant in the country.“Now we are facing Omicron BA.2 and its effects on a single case. Any serious impact is being studied so that we can conclude if we are heading towards a pandemic,” he said.


Muhyiddin gets support of GPS-GRS, says confident of support to form govt

Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin today announced that he had obtained the support of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to form the next government after the 15th general election.
He said several other MPs had also agreed to the same commitment.
"As PN chairman, I am confident that I will obtain the support needed from MPs to allow myself to be appointed by the Agong as the 10th prime minister, in line with the Federal Constitution," he said in a statement.
In a separate statement, GPS said it had agreed to form a coalition with PN, GRS and Barisan Nasional (BN) to form a "strong and stable" federal government, based on upholding the Federal Csontitution, the constitution of Sarawak, and the sovereignty of the laws allowed for in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and IGC report.
GPS chairman Abang Johari Openg said this was also based on upholding the freedom of religion and the customs and cultures of Sarawak, and autonomi in terms of development, education and health, as well as other matters of interest to Sarawak.


Daily caseload at 480 as death toll up by 4

Another 480 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 5,024,902.
There were 957 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,975,137.
There are now 12,920 active cases, of which 12,213 or 94.5% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 0 (0%) are at quarantine centres while 666 (5.2%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 41 are in ICU with 22 in need of respiratory assistance.
Another four deaths were reported, including one who was brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 36,845.


Two teens killed as Muslims and Hindus clash over Prophet remarks in India

Two teenagers were killed on Friday in clashes between Hindus and Muslims in eastern India that followed derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad by two ruling party officials, police said on Saturday.Police opened fire to break up the violence in the city of Ranchi in Jharkhand state but it was not clear if the two victims were killed by the police or by rioters.Senior police official Surendra Kumar Jha said at least 14 police officials were injured in the incident in Ranchi and other areas. A curfew was imposed and internet services suspended to stop the unrest escalating.In northern Uttar Pradesh state police said they had arrested 230 alleged rioters after unrest spread across several towns after Friday prayers.Muslims have been protesting about comments made recently by two officials from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about the Prophet’s private life, with the demonstrations often turning into violence between Hindus and Muslims.The BJP has suspended its spokeswoman Nupur Sharma and expelled another leader, Naveen Kumar Jindal, for making the anti-Islamic remarks, which as well as upsetting Indian Muslims caused a diplomatic row from several Muslim countries.The BJP – a Hindu nationalist party – said the offensive remarks did not reflect the government’s position and that the comments were made by “fringe elements”.Party leaders have also instructed officials to be cautious when talking about religion on public platforms. Police in New Delhi said on Thursday they had filed a complaint against Sharma and others for “inciting people on divisive lines” on social media.However, some in the minority Muslim community see this as the latest instance of pressure and humiliation under BJP rule on issues ranging from freedom of worship to the wearing of hijab head scarves.


Syria polling stations open as Assad seeks fourth term

Polling stations opened Wednesday across Syria for an election guaranteed to return President Bashar al-Assad for a fourth term in office.The official news agency SANA declared voting had started as planned at 7am and state television showed long queues forming in several parts of the country.Syrians will be able to cast their ballot in more than 12,000 polling centres. Results are expected to be announced by Friday evening, 48 hours after polling closes.The vote takes place amid the lowest levels of violence since the start of Syria’s deadly conflict in 2011 – but with an economy in free-fall.The 55-year-old Assad, who has been in power since 2000, is sure to keep his job after the election, every aspect of which is controlled by him and his Baath party.He faces former state minister Abdallah Salloum Abdallah and Mahmoud Merhi, a member of the so-called “tolerated opposition”, long described by exiled opposition leaders as an extension of the regime.Exiled opposition figures were de facto ruled out by an electoral law that stipulates candidates must have lived in Syria continuously for at least the past decade.The US and the European Union have already dismissed the election as a farce.


Oil soars, stocks fall as Russia-Ukraine fears intensify

Crude oil futures on Tuesday reached their highest levels since 2014 on supply concerns and stocks sold off in a volatile session as investors eyed international responses after Russia sent troops into parts of Ukraine.Markets were jittery a day after Russia’s move but the safe-haven US dollar was slightly lower against major currencies while gold, another safety bet, was also in the red.US President Joe Biden announced the first sanctions against Russia for what he called Moscow’s beginning of an invasion of Ukraine, and he promised steeper punishments ahead if Russia continued its aggression.While the S&P 500 confirmed it is in a correction by closing more than 10% under its record high, it still finished above its session low, reached before Biden spoke.“When Biden came out and set sanctions they weren’t maybe as severe as people were fearing,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut.And while investors were jittery, Pavlik said that “people are trying to sit with what they own if they’ve adjusted their portfolio ahead of all this. For those that haven’t, it’s a little late in the game.”The European Union also agreed on new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz halted the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia and Britain took action against Russian banks.“The world is still hoping this is somewhat limited and doesn’t really spread across Europe and Ukraine,” said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia, noting that riskier assets were selling off. “Nobody’s rushing to buy.”Brent crude futures settled up 1.5% at US$96.84 per barrel after earlier topping US$99 for the highest level since September 2014, reflecting fears that Russia’s energy exports could be disrupted by any conflict. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up 1.4% at US$92.35 per barrel after earlier hitting US$96, its highest level since August 2014.The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 482.57 points, or 1.42%, at 33,596.61, while the S&P 500 lost 44.11 points, or 1.01%, falling to 4,304.76 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 166.55 points, or 1.23%, to 13,381.52.The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 50 countries, shed 0.9% after earlier falling 1.5%, with the index at levels not seen since Jan 28.Spot gold fell 0.4% at $1,898.77 after earlier climbing to its highest level since June.Yields on US Treasuries edged higher after Biden announced new sanctions on Russia in retaliation for Moscow’s dispatch of troops into what it recognised as two breakaway regions of Ukraine, but the bond market reaction was muted overall.Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 2/32 in price to yield 1.9372%, up from 1.93% in the previous session. Yields move in the opposite direction to bond prices.The dollar index fell 0.047%, with the euro up 0.14% to US$1.1326. The Japanese yen weakened 0.29% versus the greenback at 115.06 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at US$1.3581, down 0.13% on the day.The Russian rouble slid to 80.9275 against the US dollar in earlier trading, touching its lowest level against the greenback since November 2020, before reversing course. The dollar was last down 1.7% against the rouble.Russian dollar bonds extended their losses a little after the US sanctions were announced, with longer-dated issues slipping to record lows trading in the mid-90s, data showed.The premium demanded by investors to hold Russian debt over safe-have US Treasuries blew out to 329 basis points, the widest since the Covid-19 pandemic market rout in spring 2020.


UN nuclear watchdog reassures Fukushima residents on water release

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog met with Fukushima residents and representatives Wednesday, seeking to reassure them about the planned release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The planned, decades-long discharge of accumulated water from the devastated nuclear facility has been approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as meeting global standards.
Its chief Rafael Grossi, at a meeting in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, acknowledged however that concerns remains.
"All these complex graphs and statistics are one thing but the reality, the reality of people, the reality of the economy, the reality of the social mood and perceptions may be different," he told a meeting of local residents and officials.
Some 1.33 million cubic metres of groundwater, rainwater and water used for cooling has accumulated at the Fukushima site, which is being decommissioned after several reactors went into meltdown following the 2011 tsunami which badly damaged the plant.
Plant operator TEPCO treats the water through its ALPS processing system to remove almost all radioactive elements except tritium, and plans to dilute it before discharging it into the ocean over several decades.
The plan is opposed by some regional neighbours, with Beijing vocally condemning the plan, as well as some in Fukushima, particularly fishing communities who fear customers will shun their catches.
Grossi said the IAEA was not involved in the process to "give cover... to decorate something that is bad."
"When it comes to this activity here, what is happening is not some exception, some strange plan that has been devised only to be applied here and sold to you," he added.
"This is, as certified by the IAEA, the general practice that is agreed by and observed by many, many places, all over the world."
Still, there is palpable anger among some local residents who fear the reputational damage of the release.
Tetsu Nozaki, chairman of the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations, argued Japan's government was misrepresenting local sentiment, which he said remained strongly opposed to the plan.
"We fishery operators are left with no choice but to react emotionally and harden our attitude," he told Grossi.
"I beg you to realise... that this project of the release of ALPS-processed water is moving ahead in the face of opposition."
Grossi said he had no "magic wand" that could assuage concerns but pointed out the IAEA will set up a permanent office to review the release over decades.
"We are going to stay here with you for decades to come, until the last drop of the water which is accumulated around the reactor has been safely discharged," he said.
Grossi is due to visit the Fukushima plant later Wednesday, and will make stops in regional neighbours including South Korea after his Japan trip.


First 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to arrive in June

Malaysia will receive its first 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in June, says Khairy Jamaluddin, the minister in charge of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.He said he received the delivery schedule from AstraZeneca Malaysia today, and that the vaccines would be coming from AstraZeneca’s contract manufacturing plant in Thailand.“I have confirmation that the delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines is from AstraZeneca as opposed to Covax; this is a direct procurement,” he told the media after launching the corporate collaboration for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme in Putrajaya today.Asked if India’s vaccine export ban would affect the delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines through Covax to Malaysia, Khairy said it should not be the case as Malaysia’s AstraZeneca supply from the Covax facility was coming from the manufacturer SK Bioscience in South Korea and not from Serum Institute of India (SII).“Unless there is something to do with the supply chain that we need to look into, as far as I know it shouldn’t affect us,” he said.It was reported that India had put a temporary hold on all major exports of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine made by SII to meet domestic demand as infections rise.It was said that the move would affect supplies to the World Health Organization-backed Covax vaccine-sharing facility, from which many countries are expected to get their respective doses.On reports that some residents in Bangi were reluctant to register for Covid-19 vaccination because they were unable to choose the type of vaccine and had concerns about adverse effects, Khairy said the wait-and-see approach would be resolved after more people are vaccinated, to demonstrate that the vaccines are safe and effective.“Those who are reluctant will be more willing to come forward to register and receive vaccines once it is clearly demonstrated,” he said.He said more volunteers would be trained under the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force so that they have the data and information to explain the safety aspects of the vaccines to the public.“Hence for now, I don’t think we should force or set a deadline, we should continue engagement and communication with the public,” he said.


Khairy welcomes academic research on medical marijuana

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today welcomed industry or academia-initiated research on the medical use of marijuana, saying his ministry has been consistent in practising policies based on evidence.“So far, there have been no full submissions for a clinical study/trial,” he said in a post on Twitter.“Much expressions of interest, talk and social media advocacy.”Adding that the health ministry welcomed clinical studies on the use of CBD or cannabidiol for medicinal purposes, Khairy said such efforts could be coordinated by the ministry’s Institute for Clinical Research and Clinical Research Malaysia.“We are ready to collaborate,” he said.The use of medical marijuana is currently controlled under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 or Act 234.Proponents of the use of marijuana for medical purposes include Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who has been vocal in urging the government to consider its legalisation.


Sudanese army suspends ceasefire talks

Sudan's army suspended talks with a rival paramilitary force on Wednesday over a ceasefire and aid access, raising fears the six-week-old conflict will push Africa's third largest nation deeper into a humanitarian crisis.
The general command of the armed forces said in a statement it suspended talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah, accusing the other side of a lack of commitment in implementing any terms of the agreement and a continuous violation of the ceasefire.
The negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in early May, had produced a declaration of commitments to protect civilians and two short-term ceasefire deals, although those deals were repeatedly violated.
Residents had reported heavy clashes in southern Khartoum and in Omdurman across the River Nile until late on Tuesday.
The army, which relies on airpower and artillery, and the RSF, a more lightly armed force but a tough adversary in Khartoum street battles, had agreed to extend a week-long ceasefire deal by five days just before its Monday expiry.
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a career military officer, and RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, a former militia commander known as Hemedti, have been locked in a battle for power since April 15. Neither side seems to have an edge.
"We do not want to use lethal force. We still haven't used our maximum strength... We don't want to destroy the country," Burhan said in a military video released on Tuesday, speaking to cheering forces at a military base with a gun slung on his back
"But if the enemy does not obey and does not respond we will be forced to use the strongest force we have," he said.
The RSF said in a statement late on Tuesday it was committed to the ceasefire "despite repeated violations" by the army.
Sudan has a history of political upheaval, coups and conflicts, but violence has usually hit regions far from Khartoum. This time, fighting has centred on the capital, an urban sprawl at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers and home to millions of people.
Commenting on the Sudanese army's withdrawal from the Jeddah talks, Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt, African Union spokesperson on the crisis in Sudan, said: "It is not surprising. It happens often. We hope the mediator will succeed to bring both parties for working on expected ceasefire."
The capital has seen widespread looting and frequent power and water supply cuts. Most hospitals have stopped functioning.
Truce violations
Before the ceasefire deal was renewed, an army source said the army had demanded the RSF withdraw from civilian homes and hospitals as a condition for an extension. After the five-day extension was agreed, talks continued on the truce terms.
The truce has been brokered and is being remotely monitored by Saudi Arabia and the US. They say it has been violated by both sides, although the truce has still allowed the delivery of aid to an estimated 2 million people.
The war has killed hundreds of people, displaced more than 1.2 million inside Sudan and driven 400,000 others across borders to neighbouring states, the United Nations says.
Clashes have also erupted outside the capital, including Darfur, a region in the far west of Sudan where a conflict that erupted in 2003 has flared on and off for years.
The United Nations, some aid agencies, embassies and parts of Sudan's central government have moved operations out of the capital to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, which has stayed calm.
Leaders of the army and RSF, which emerged from militias the government used to quell an earlier uprising in Darfur, held top positions on Sudan's ruling council after former President Omar al-Bashir, also an army commander, was toppled in 2019.
After Bashir was ousted in a popular uprising, the army with RSF leaders staged a coup in 2021 before they were due to hand leadership to civilians.
Army chief Burhan and RSF leader Hemedti fell out over the chain of command and restructuring of the RSF under the planned transition to civilian rule. After conflict flared, Burhan sacked Hemedti as his deputy in the ruling council.


UK ambulance workers announce strike dates in December

More than 10,000 ambulance workers across England and Wales will strike later this month over pay and conditions, the GMB union said on Tuesday, adding to widespread industrial action across Britain's health service over the Christmas period.
The union said its members, including paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers, at nine regional ambulance services would walk out on Dec 21 and 28.
Workers across a wide range of sectors are currently taking, or planning to take, industrial action in Britain as inflation outstrips wage increases, and with the economy likely already in a recession.
"The last thing they want to do is take strike action, but the government has left them with no choice," GMB's National Secretary Rachel Harrison said.
Two other trade unions, Unison and Unite, have also said that ambulance workers who are their members would strike on Dec 21 over a pay dispute.
British health minister Steve Barclay said people should continue using online emergency services for urgent advice and to call the emergency number in life-threatening situations.
"Our priority is to ensure emergency services continue to operate for those who need it and limit disruption," Barclay said in a statement.
Britain's state-run National Health Service is already grappling with planned industrial action by thousands of nurses after the government refused to meet demands for pay hikes.
Chairman of the governing Conservative Party Nadhim Zahawi said on Sunday the government was looking at bringing in the military to help keep public services running if key workers took strike action.


Parliament will be convened at the right time, govt assures again

Putrajaya today reiterated its assurance that Parliament will be convened at the appropriate time, whether before or on Aug 1 when the state of emergency is slated to end, in the wake of a memorandum submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on ending the emergency declaration.In a statement, law minister Takiyuddin Hassan said the government took note of calls by some for Parliament to be convened despite the ongoing measures against Covid-19.“The government is aware of its constitutional responsibilities to ensure the country’s democratic process is guaranteed through Parliament sittings, but the priority at the moment is on efforts to ensure that the spread of Covid-19 can be fully contained, including protecting the health of MPs, officers and all those involved,” he said.He added that when Parliament could be held would depend on the advice of experts including from the health ministry and National Security Council.“As long as the emergency is in force, all parties including the opposition can still convey their views to the government through the approved channels, including through the special independent committee established under the emergency ordinance to advise the Agong on matters related to the emergency enforcement.”On April 20, the Committee for Ending the Emergency Declaration, formed by Amanah’s Khalid Samad, handed over a petition to the Agong’s private secretary calling for an end to the state of emergency.Khalid later announced that the palace had agreed to grant an audience to the committee, known as Tamat Darurat, although no date was given.The delegation at Istana Negara was joined by MPs including former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu although PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim was a no-show as he had been attending an event in Port Dickson.The emergency was declared in January amid a sharp spike in Covid-19 infections across the country.It coincided with the second declaration of movement control order, known as MCO 2.0.Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had assured that the civilian government would continue to function despite the suspension of Dewan Rakyat debates.He also said a general election would be called at the end of the emergency subject to improvements in the Covid-19 situation.Takiyuddin today said there should be no suspicions of abuse of power as the government is functioning as usual.“This includes the aspect of administrative monitoring by enforcement authorities, especially the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the National Audit Department and the Public Accounts Committee,” he said.


Pfizer Covid vaccine for under-fives effective with three doses

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine is safe and effective when given as three doses to children under five years, the companies said Monday, welcome news for parents of the only age group not yet eligible for immunisation in most countries.The announcement comes as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning highly-anticipated meetings in the coming weeks to weigh authorisation.In a clinical trial, Pfizer-BioNTech evaluated three doses, given at three micrograms, and found the vaccine evoked a strong immune response in children aged from six months through four years.Side effects were similar in the vaccine and placebo groups.Vaccine efficacy was 80.3%, according to a preliminary estimate – though this was based on very low numbers and may change significantly by the time of the final estimate.“We are pleased that our formulation for the youngest children, which we carefully selected to be one-tenth of the dose strength for adults, was well tolerated and produced a strong immune response,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in a statement.“We look forward to soon completing our submissions to regulators globally with the hope of making this vaccine available to younger children as quickly as possible, subject to regulatory authorisation,” he added.The FDA has tentatively scheduled three dates in June where experts will meet and likely decide whether to authorise the Pfizer Covid vaccine for under-fives and the Moderna vaccine for under-sixes, which is given as two shots of 25 micrograms.The agency was originally set to evaluate the Pfizer vaccine given as two doses in February, but data showed it did not provoke a strong enough immune response in children aged two to four. The FDA then asked to see data for a third shot.Results welcomedIn the latest study, 1,678 children received a third dose at a time when Omicron was the predominant variant.An analysis of a subset of participants showed antibody levels were similar to 16- to 25-year-olds who were given the full strength vaccine at two doses.No new adverse events were identified, and the majority of side effects were mild or moderate.Three doses of the vaccine “appear to be very safe and highly effective in preventing not only severe disease, hospitalisation, and death from Covid, but even symptomatic Covid at a time when Omicron was the dominant variant,” Celine Gounder, editor-at-large for public health at Kaiser Health News told AFP.“However, we know that protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and milder symptomatic disease wanes over time,” added Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist.“Pfizer is reporting follow-up data only out to seven days after the third dose of vaccine. It’s too early to say how the three-dose series would perform out to several months or a year.”Jeremy Faust, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine, told AFP: “My first impression is very positive. These numbers are exactly the kinds of signals we wanted to see.”“I wish the two-dose series had worked for Pfizer-BioNTech. It didn’t. But the three-dose series appears to have given these very young children the protection we want them to have,” the doctor added.If and when both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines are authorised, parents will have to consider whether they want their children to receive Moderna’s two dose vaccine – which will offer faster protection – or Pfizer’s three doses – which will take longer to be effective but may ultimately be more protective.As with adults, the first two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine are given to under-fives three weeks apart, but then the third is given two months after the second.Severe disease from Covid is very rare among under-fives but can occur, with 477 US deaths in this age group since the start of the pandemic, or about 0.1% of all deaths.Children can also contract a rare post-viral condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), which has affected some 8,210 US children and killed 68.Like adults, some children who get Covid may go on to develop long Covid, with new, ongoing or returning symptoms, including brain fog and fatigue.


Oct 25 hearing for Najib's appeal for bank documents in 1MDB trial

The Court of Appeal has set Oct 25 to hear Najib Razak's appeal for bank documents related to US investment bank Goldman Sachs and former Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz's family.
The hearing date was fixed following case management before Court of Appeal deputy registrar Mohd Khairi Haron today.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib, when contacted, confirmed the hearing date.
Yesterday, a three-man Court of Appeal panel led by justice P Ravinthran directed that case management be conducted today after allowing the application by Najib's defence team to postpone the appeal hearing.
At yesterday's court proceedings, lawyer Effa Azuin Aidrul Hisham, a lawyer on Najib's defence team, requested that the court postpone the hearing as senior counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was down with a fever.
Najib is seeking to obtain banking documents for use in his trial on the misappropriation of RM2.3 billion funds from 1MDB.
He is appealing against the decision of the High Court on July 12 last year to dismiss two of his discovery applications to compel the prosecution in his 1MDB trial to disclose banking documents linked to Zeti's family regarding claims that her family received money from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.
Najib filed a court order on March 24 last year, seeking to compel the prosecution to provide several bank statements from companies, including Aktis Capital Singapore Pte Ltd, Country Group Securities Public Company Ltd, ACME Time Ltd (BVI), Butamba Investments Ltd, and Central Holdings Ltd, believed to be related to Jho Low and Zeti’s family in his 1MDB case.
The Pekan MP also filed a second application on April 7 last year, seeking to obtain the 2020 confidential settlement agreement between the government and Goldman Sachs Group, and the transcripts or forensic report on the phones of former Goldman Sachs partner in Asia, Tim Leissner.
Najib is on trial for four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial is ongoing in the High Court before justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.


Russia invasion convoy masses near Ukraine capital

A huge Russian military convoy was massing on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital Tuesday as fears grew the invading forces were set to launch devastating assaults aimed at taking control of Kyiv and other major cities.Satellite images showed a long build-up of armoured vehicles and artillery starting 29km (18 miles) north of the city, as Moscow defied mounting global pressure and a wave of international sanctions that have smashed Russia’s economy.Initial ceasefire talks between Moscow and Kyiv on Monday failed to secure a breakthrough, with Russia shelling residential areas in Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv and other areas of the country after the negotiations.The Russian army has been regrouping and massing its forces over the past 24 hours “primarily to encircle and take control of Kyiv and other major cities,” the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces wrote on Facebook.The column is more than 65km long and covers the entire road from near Antonov airport outside Kyiv to the town of Prybirsk, US satellite imaging company Maxar said.“Some vehicles are spaced fairly far apart while in other sections military equipment and units are traveling two or three vehicles abreast on the road,” Maxar said.The images also showed “additional ground forces deployments and ground attack helicopter units” in southern Belarus near the Ukraine border.Eastern city Kharkiv’s mayor Igor Terekhov, quoted by Ukrainian media, warned that Moscow’s armoured vehicles and tanks are “everywhere around the city”.Russian forces killed several civilians including children late Monday, he said.‘Flowers for the grave’The mayor of Kherson, Igor Kolykhayev, also wrote on Facebook that the Russian army had set up checkpoints at all of the city’s entrances, but said it “remains Ukrainian” and “will be able to resist”.Explosions were also reported in and around Brovary, a city on the outskirts of the capital.In Kyiv, many were preparing for a fresh assault with makeshift barricades dotting the streets.“We will greet them with Molotov cocktails and bullets to the head,” bank employee Viktor Rudnichenko told AFP. “The only flowers they might get from us will be for their grave.”More than 350 civilians, including 14 children, have been killed since the invasion last Thursday, Ukraine says, while more than half a million people have fled the country.Moscow claimed Monday it had “gained air superiority over the entire territory of Ukraine”.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a global ban on Russian planes and ships entering the world’s airports and seaports in a bid to stem Moscow’s assault.War crimes probeRussian President Vladimir Putin announced his demands to bring the war to an end in a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Monday.They included recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea and Ukraine’s demilitarisation.Instead, Western nations have moved to increasingly isolate Russia, responding with an intensifying diplomatic, economic, cultural and sporting backlash.The weekend featured a momentous series of announcements from Europe, with Germany unveiling a historic change to its defence policies.The EU also said it would buy and supply arms to Ukraine, the first such move in its history.Moscow came under fire on Monday at the UN General Assembly and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which opened a war crimes investigation.“I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine” since 2014, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement.Russia also faced urgent calls at an extraordinary UN General Assembly debate to end its “unprovoked” and “unjustified” assault.Inside the General Assembly hall Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded: “The fighting in Ukraine must stop. Enough is enough.”The US expelled 12 members of Moscow’s UN mission from America on Monday for being “intelligence operatives”.Canada announced a ban on Russian oil imports Monday.The European Union and its allies were also preparing more sanctions against Russia in the coming days to “raise the cost” of war in Ukraine, an aide to Macron told reporters.And Turkey said it would implement an international treaty to limit ships passing through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits, a move requested by Ukraine to block the transit of Russian warships.The Russian ruble crashed to a record low as sanctions imposed by the West over the weekend had an immediate impact in Moscow, forcing the central bank to more than double its key interest rate to 20%.Putin also announced emergency measures intended to prop up the ruble, including banning residents from transferring money abroad.Many Russians raced to withdraw cash.Retired soldier Edward Sysoyev, 51, fidgeted impatiently while in line at a bank in Moscow.“Ninety percent of Russians are going to rush to withdraw their rubles and change them into dollars, property or even gold… it’ll be ordinary people who pay for this military bun-fight,” he said.Sporting isolationThe response from the world of sports also gathered steam, as Russia was expelled from the World Cup and the country’s clubs and national teams were suspended from all international football competitions “until further notice”, FIFA and UEFA said.The International Olympic Committee on Monday urged sports federations and organisers to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international events.Authorities in badminton, rugby, ice hockey, basketball and Formula One have all moved to act against Russia, either banning Russian national teams and clubs, or suspending events in Russia.The growing sporting isolation comes as hundreds of thousands flee their homes west into Europe after the Russian invasion.More than half a million people have already fled abroad, the UN refugee agency said Monday, with neighbouring Poland alone having taken in nearly 300,000 people.Many more are expected to follow.Iryna Plakhuta, a pregnant 43-year-old executive, had to leave her family behind in the capital because of fears over her safety.“Our husbands stayed in Kyiv,” she said. “They are protecting Ukraine. It’s so hard.”


Will the oval shape reverse PKR’s zero score misfortunes?

PKR’s strategy to detach itself from Pakatan Harapan (PH) at the coming state polls in Johor has left political observers unconvinced that it will reverse the party’s losing streak at every state election since the last general election in 2018.The decision, announced by PH leaders in a joint statement, came in the wake of a growing perception within the PH coalition that PKR, whose president Anwar Ibrahim doubles as both chairman and prime ministerial candidate, is the weakest link in the coalition’s bid to return to power.One DAP insider recently told MalaysiaNow of discontent with the leadership over PKR’s “constant claim to dominance” by demanding the biggest share of seats at every election.“The past three elections, in Sabah, Melaka and Sarawak, have only shown that PKR’s ‘big brother’ role will no longer be acceptable to allies,” said the source.But a Johor PKR leader when contacted denied that the decision showed a rift within PH.“The move was a long time coming. We believe our party has its own set of supporters in certain constituencies, that’s all. Unlike DAP, it is not too threatened by a loss of support from its traditional vote bank,” he told MalaysiaNow on condition of anonymity.“As for Amanah, the party has been depending on goodwill by DAP when it comes to where it can contest, as Amanah is dependent on non-Malay votes to make itself present in the legislative assembly.”Hours after the announcement yesterday, a PKR leader defended the move to use the party’s logo, saying it was because PKR felt the need to distance itself from the two-year PH government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a figure despised by loyal PKR supporters.In 2018, PH which also included Bersatu at the time, went to the polls using PKR’s oval-shaped logo, after the coalition’s application to register was denied.The PH coalition was officially registered as a party a week after it came to federal power in 2018. It broke up two years later following Bersatu’s decision to quit the coalition, as well as a major split in PKR which saw the exodus of prominent leaders.Doom awaits PKR in Johor?Analysts contacted by MalaysiaNow agreed that the move by PKR to use its own logo in Johor would backfire, saying the party was staring at another major electoral defeat in the southern state.PKR was completely wiped out in the state elections of Melaka and Sarawak late last year, while in the Sabah election a year earlier, it won only two of the seven seats it contested.Political observer James Chin said the perception that PKR is causing political instability still lingers in the minds of voters.He said the party’s defeat in Melaka was a form of punishment for Anwar’s role in triggering a state election during the pandemic.Chin also said that the latest move by PKR not to include itself under the PH banner was a sign of disunity, adding this would not sit well with voters who prefer stability.“I think Anwar is losing his political antenna,” Chin told MalaysiaNow.“He has been misreading a lot of things lately and I think he will do a lot of damage.”But Chin said not all is well with DAP either, pointing to recent statements coming from the party’s leaders which showed dissatisfaction with state chief Liew Chin Tong.“So there will be problems in the urban areas, definitely,” he warned.‘Time to put PKR logo to test’Another analyst said it was mindboggling for PKR to now fight outside of the PH coalition.“I mean, come on. The PH logo, it says ‘Pakatan Harapan’, what could be clearer than that?” said Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.“Now you’re saying it leads to confusion and so on. It’s really hard to believe.”Oh said what the party needs in the wake of its electoral defeats is “soul searching”.“I think it’s PKR’s problem. They tend to blame the losses on everyone else and not themselves. They do not face their own problems squarely in the face, but instead tend to blame the partners,” Oh said, adding however that the PH brand has not failed.He said PKR had been embroiled in a blame game since the Melaka election, referring to claims by leaders that its oval-shaped party symbol had more appeal among voters there than the PH logo.“So let them test it out in Johor, and they will indeed see whether their logo is as strong as their claim,” Oh added.He also said that PKR’s allies DAP and Amanah would be “quite disappointed”.“Anwar as the leader of the coalition should play his role as the uniting factor. What’s the point of forming PH?” he asked.Chin meanwhile is convinced of squabbling within PH.Despite the claim that the coalition has finalised the allocation of seats, he said there had been no details.“This simply means that there are many seats yet to be settled within PH. This is surprising because everybody knew the Johor election was coming.”Additional reporting by Nur Shazreena Ali.


Ex-MCA bigwig Ong 'cautiously optimistic' about Pandan election fight

Former MCA heavyweight Ong Tee Keat says he is "cautiously optimistic" about the upcoming contest for his one-time seat of Pandan, which he will be vying for this time on a Warisan ticket after years away from the political limelight.
Ong, who held the Pandan seat for two terms from 2004 to 2013 after four terms as the MP for Ampang Jaya, said his bid for a political comeback was prompted by the aspirations and ideals of Warisan which he described as "a precious scarcity" amid the often race-based polemics besetting the country.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow after a hiatus of close to 10 years, he said his desire to contest in Pandan was largely driven by the unhappiness expressed to him by some of the locals.
"Their feedback was that the constituency had been left unattended for the past 10 years," he said.
Ong joined MCA in 1981 and was elected as the party president in 2008. He was also appointed as the transport minister that year.
He was known for his role in exposing the leakage of renovation funds meant for a Chinese school in 2006, and for punishing his then deputy in MCA, Dr Chua Soi Lek, for what became known as the DVD sex scandal.
He also initiated investigations into the Port Klang Free Zone.
Known as a "lone ranger", Ong served as a deputy Dewan Rakyat speaker from 1990 to 1999.
At the 2013 general election, he was replaced as a candidate at the last minute, with MCA choosing Lim Chin Yee to go against Rafizi Ramli of PKR.
He left MCA in 2017 after having been with the party for more than 30 years.
Eyeing a comeback in the Pandan seat, he will face off against Rafizi who is likewise seeking a return to the political arena.
He said the people of Pandan wanted a committed MP who would serve and listen to them.
"The people are concerned about bread-and-butter issues, particularly amid the pandemic-induced economic fallout," he said.
On locking horns with Rafizi for the seat, he said it made no difference to him who his opponent would be.
"I have never been cowed by any big egos in my political career," he said.
"Neither will I be deterred by rhetoric. People only believe in the delivery of deliverables that can benefit the nation."


We’re not rich, really, says wife of burger seller as photos make the rounds

The wife of a burger seller in Kelantan who was recently slapped with a RM50,000 compound for breaching Covid-19 SOPs today spoke up against social media users claiming that their family is rich, in the wake of several photos making the rounds which they say depict her and her husband living a luxurious lifestyle.One of the photos shows Norlaili Shafii and her husband Wan Mohd Faisal Wan Kadir standing in front of a Honda Civic while another shows Faisal eating at an expensive steak restaurant.The photos sparked a backlash from internet users, many of whom had criticised the authorities for fining Faisal the maximum amount, calling it excessive.Norlaili told MalaysiaNow that they had bought the car in 2018, denying claims that they had paid for it in cash.“If we had known that Covid-19 was going to strike, we would not have bought it. We haven’t even finished paying the interest,” she said.As for the steak dinner, she said it had been a birthday celebration for a family member, the cost of which was shared.She said their house was completed just last year, a few months before the first movement control order (MCO) was declared.“We used our savings of 15 years from selling burgers to build that house,” she added. “Now we don’t have a lot of money to pay the fine.”She said Faisal had lodged an appeal with the authorities on Tuesday.“We can pay if it is just RM1,000,” she said. “(But) even if it is reduced to RM10,000, we don’t have the money.”Faisal was issued the fine for operating his stall beyond the permitted hours.Norlaili said her husband used to sell burgers from a roadside stall and only began selling burgers from their home after the MCO was put in place.“We were fined because the police said someone reported us,” she added.“I replied that there are roadside stalls out there that are still operating after 10pm – why don’t the police compound them as well?“The police replied that I have to take photos or make a report before they can take action,” she said, adding that it was “unfair”.Faisal’s compound of RM50,000 has been compared by many with the total fine of RM60,000 imposed on celebrity businesswoman Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor and her family for breaching SOPs at her wedding.Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin recently urged authorities to enforce health SOPs in a humane manner, with other small traders compounded for similar offences as well.


Don’t push for GE15 during pandemic, says Umno’s Tajuddin

No party including Umno should pressure the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government to hold the 15th general election (GE15) any time soon as the country should be focusing on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, say Umno elections director Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.The Pasir Salak MP urged Umno members to help in the government’s efforts to curb the spread of the deadly virus.“As the Umno elections director, I believe we all need to be committed to continue helping to make a success of the national agenda and to free the people from this pandemic.“The Umno election machinery at the state and parliament (levels) which is ready for GE15 now should be mobilised to help the government contain Covid-19,” he said in a statement today.Tajuddin, who is an Umno Supreme Council member, said instead of politicking all the time, parties should focus on the issue of security and people’s well-being which had become more critical in the wake of high numbers of Covid-19 cases.He said the 3.5 million Umno members throughout the country could be mobilised to help the government flatten the Covid-19 curve and enable the people to return to normalcy in their daily lives.


Terrorism suspected after mass stabbing in Sweden

Eight people have been injured, three seriously, in a stabbing attack in a southern Swedish town. Police are treating the attack as suspected terrorism.The assailant, who is in his 20s, struck in five different locations in the centre of Vetlanda on Wednesday afternoon. Within minutes he was shot and wounded by police and is now in custody.Prime Minister Stefan Lofven posted on Facebook, “The horrific violence is a reminder of how frail our safe existence is. We face these despicable actions with the combined force of the community.”Five different crime scenes, a few hundred metres apart have been identified, the local police chief said.One eyewitness, a florist, told local newspaper Vetlanda-Posten: “We heard a scream from the street. Then we saw a man enter the store, shouting that he had been stabbed. Blood was pouring from his shoulder.”Detectives initially said they had classified the attack as attempted murder but later announced they had opened a terrorist investigation and were working closely with Swedish security police.According to the local police chief, the suspect is a resident of the area and previously known to police but in the past he was only suspected of “petty crimes”.In December 2010, an Iraqi-born refugee carried out a suicide bomb attack in Stockholm city centre, slightly injuring passers-byIn April 2017, an Uzbek failed asylum seeker who sympathised with the Islamic State group used a stolen lorry to kill five people on a pedestrian street.


Drop in vaccine protection could be behind Sarawak surge, says Khairy

The health ministry is not ruling out the possibility that the waning effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines over time is driving virus transmission in Sarawak.Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the ministry is also studying the need to administer booster shots, especially to the elderly, immunocompromised and healthcare workers to overcome the situation, as has been implemented in other countries.“So, we are certainly not ruling that out,” he told reporters yesterday when asked about the possibility of waning effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines.Sarawak has recently been witnessing a surge in daily cases, with a total of 3,118 cases recorded yesterday.Khairy said he expects to visit Sarawak next week to discuss with the state government additional measures to reduce transmission.“I have asked for recommendations to be made before the next Special Committee on Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply meeting next week,” he said.He said testing, tracing and isolation are important in Sarawak right now as what is happening in the state could also happen in other states in a few months’ time.“If it is because of the waning effects of the vaccines, we have to see what are the immediate measures we can take to stop the increasing rate of transmission in Sarawak, and use that as a playbook for other states which may encounter a similar situation,” he said.He said people also need to be educated to take responsibility for their own health as part of public health measures.He said people with symptoms need to conduct tests quickly and isolate, adding that a new contract tracing technology would be introduced at the end of the month to assist the ministry in tracing close contacts.He said a national testing strategy is one way of moving forward in the mitigation phase, adding that certain schools will be involved in the testing exercises, in addition to vaccination.


Nothing personal, Mahathir says on attacks against Najib

Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said he was not seeking personal revenge against Najib Razak in his attacks against the former prime minister, adding that Najib’s brother himself had asked him to act at the outbreak of the 1MDB scandal.“There is no desire for personal revenge on my part towards Najib,” he said in his second letter to voters ahead of the Johor election.“I would like to remind everyone that as the 1MDB scandal erupted, Najib’s brother, Nazir, himself came to meet with me, asking me to do something as billions had gone missing and justice had not been delivered for the crimes committed.”Adding that Nazir had written at length on the 1MDB scandal and the “crimes” committed by his brother, Mahathir said he had done so out of shame that his family was embroiled in such wrongdoings.“Much more was written by Nazir revealing Najib’s scandal in detail,” he said.Mahathir said he had supported Najib before the 1MDB scandal, even putting pressure on Abdullah Badawi to appoint Najib as deputy prime minister.“I believed that Najib was qualified, and I felt indebted to his father Tun Razak who had helped me in my political career,” he said.“But sadly, Najib is not like his father. Tun Razak was a nationalist who fought for the nation with integrity. Najib meanwhile stole the country’s assets with the help of Jho Low.”Mahathir, in his previous letter to voters, had urged them to put a stop to plans by the so-called court cluster to return to power through a series of state elections.He said the results of the polls next month would have a huge impact on the general election to come.In his letter today, he repeated his call to voters.“He must be stopped because if he returns to power, this means that the country will be controlled and ruled by a kleptocrat from the court cluster, to be robbed and plundered.”


Strike three for once-loyal AirAsia passenger

A once-loyal AirAsia customer is thinking twice about using the budget airline for future trips after enduring three flight cancellations in the space of just two years.
Mohd Faiz Mustaffa's flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bandung, Indonesia, was scheduled to depart in November.
However, it was scrapped by the low-cost airline and, according to him, without any concrete explanation.
Faiz, an engineer working in Singapore, booked three round-trip tickets on July 14, paying a total of RM1,948.
The flight was supposed to depart from klia2 on Nov 23 and return on Nov 26.
But Faiz was informed through a text message and email last week that his flight from klia2 to Bandung had been cancelled.
The email simply stated that the flight had been cancelled due to "operational issues".
"I was confused because only the flight to Bandung was cancelled," he said, referring MalaysiaNow to a screenshot of his flight details.
"The flight from Bandung to klia2 still says 'confirmed'."
According to Faiz's plane tickets, the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bandung is AK 416 while the return flight is QZ 173.
Until today, he has been unable to reach anyone at the company and has instead been doing his best to resolve the issue through AirAsia's AVA chat bot.
"When I enter the reservation number, it clearly states that the flight from klia2 to Bandung has been cancelled, but not the return flight," he said.
"I'm very confused. I've tried dealing with AVA, but the system is only capable of answering certain questions."
Faiz is still trying to get in touch with someone from AirAsia.
He is also worried about what will happen next as he has not received any further information about his flight cancellation, including whether he will be given a refund.
This is not the first time his AirAsia flight has been cancelled.
Two other flights booked with the budget airline following the onset of Covid-19 were also cancelled, although in those cases he was made to understand that this was due to public safety concerns.
"So I continued to trust in the airline," he said.
"I got these tickets to Bandung on a promotion. But this flight was cancelled, too, even though the country is supposed to be transitioning to the endemic phase."
For him, the question is why AirAsia bothered promoting those tickets only to end up cancelling the flight.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Faiz said he had used AirAsia's services since 2013. Describing himself as a loyal passenger, he questioned his treatment by the airline and insisted that the company refund him in cash, according to his original payment method.
"I paid in cash, so my refund should be in cash too, not credited to an account on the AirAsia app," he said.
Elsewhere, Swiss passenger Uwe Guenther who had planned to fly from Bali to Labuan Bajo said the airline contacted him last week, offering to reinstate him on his original flight after his experience with the airline was highlighted by MalaysiaNow.
He was also offered a refund for the money he had spent on his flight tickets.
Guenther, a civil engineer from Zurich, had previously questioned AirAsia's move to re-sell the tickets for his cancelled flight at a higher price.
He bought six tickets with AirAsia in March but was told in July that the flight was cancelled due to the familiar refrain of "operational issues".
"AirAsia phoned me from Malaysia and promised me a refund," he told MalaysiaNow.
"The person on the phone promised me a confirmation email as well, but this has not yet arrived. He even offered to fly me on Aug 18 but I told him that I will never fly with that airline again, and that I have bought tickets with other airlines, in any case."
MalaysiaNow has contacted AirAsia about these two cases but has yet to receive a response.


More to high prices than consumer behaviour, economist tells Rafizi

An economist has called for sound "economic reasoning" as Malaysians continue to grapple with the rising price of household goods, saying inflation is rooted in more than just consumer spending following recent remarks by the government against a backdrop of a stagnant inflation rate.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli had said that demand should go down when prices increase.
"Demand has not gone down despite rising prices, particularly in the foods and non-alcoholic beverages category, which is also the main driver of the consumer price index (CPI)," Rafizi said at a press conference last week.
The Pandan MP also said that "by right, when the price of chicken increases, people should avoid buying chicken", although he later said on Twitter that he had been referring to "the need to address the supply and demand side so that a more elastic consumer demand becomes a force to reckon with in influencing the price of goods".
The CPI is an indicator of change in the cost of purchasing certain goods and services.
Rafizi's remarks came as the statistics department revealed that the inflation rate for last month had remained at 4%.
Carmelo Ferlito of the Centre for Market Education however said that the inflationary pressure in the market and the spike in prices of goods was driven by the expansion in fiscal policies taken by the government over the last few years.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said the current inflation was due to an excessive amount of money in the market following the implementation of relief packages to the tune of RM305 billion in 2020 and RM225 billion last year.
While private consumption rose by 1.9%, he said, government consumption grew by 6.6% in 2021.
"While we understand the aim of shaking consumers with these statements, we also believe that the ministry could send out strong messages without compromising the accuracy of economic reasoning," he said.
He also said that the impact of monetary expansion could not be fully seen in CPI behaviour due to deflationary pressures.
"At the producer price level, instead, the increase is higher not only because of supply-side shocks, but because production prices anticipate what happens at the consumption level," he said.
Malaysians have been struggling to keep pace with the increase in prices attributed, in part, to disruptions in the supply chain due to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
In April, the price of chicken hit RM10 per kg.
Carmelo said Rafizi did not appear to have considered the concept of elasticity in his remarks.
"When the price of goods increases, individuals and businesses will buy less. But how much less? A lot or a little?
"The minister mentioned the case of food, ignoring that elasticity of demand tends to be low – a minimal reaction of the quantity demanded in front of price changes – for goods which are necessities and with fewer substitutes, in particular in the short-run.
"Adjusting consumption habits takes time," he said.