Still no agreement at WTO on proposal for Covid jab IP waiver

World Trade Organization (WTO) countries failed anew Tuesday to agree a proposal to suspend intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines in order to boost production and fill a void in poor nations.WTO states held talks at the global body’s headquarters in Geneva but could not reach a consensus, WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell told reporters following nine months of discussions on what he called a “very emotional issue”.Members will hold an informal meeting in early September to discuss the state of play, followed by a formal meeting on Oct 13 and 14.“There’s no way they’re going to stop discussing this. It’s too important,” Rockwell said, after hours of talks on day one of the two-day WTO General Council meeting.“It’s a very emotional issue, and it’s not going to stop.India and South Africa brought forward the intellectual property waiver idea in October.Proponents argue the temporary removal of IP rights will boost production in developing countries and address the dramatic inequity in access.That notion has long met with fierce opposition from pharmaceutical giants and their host countries, which insist patents are not the main roadblocks to scaling up production and warn the move could hamper innovation.Getting more jabsThe WTO’s 164 member states take all decisions by consensus.Rockwell said all countries agreed on the need to ramp up production quickly, but disagreed on how best to achieve the goal.He said there was surplus capacity in Senegal, Bangladesh, India, South Africa, Thailand, Morocco and Egypt, but while they might have untapped expertise, they would need to have technology and know-how on producing Covid-19 vaccines.“They have the capacity to do this. And so the question is, how do you tap into that unused capacity?” said Rockwell.The debate is focused around the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights (TRIPS) and provisions relating to the medical prevention, containment or treatment tools needed to battle Covid-19.India and South Africa can count on the backing of several dozen countries, including notably the US and China.Rockwell said the opponents of the idea included European countries, Japan and South Korea.However, a group of countries are also focused on getting “a pragmatic outcome, whatever that may be”, he added.The negotiations have hit a few particular sticking points, notably the duration of the waiver, the scope in terms of products covered and the TRIPS provisions.Other tricky areas include implementation, and the protection of undisclosed information, said Rockwell.Some 3.93 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered around the world, according to an AFP count.Just 0.3% of them have been injected in the 29 lowest-income countries, home to nine percent of the global population.“Getting production in developing countries to a higher level so that more shots can go into more arms in Africa, Latin America and Asia, is of critical importance to everyone here,” Rockwell said.


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Nearly 69% of adults, half of population fully jabbed

A total of 68.8% of the adult population, or 16,107,712 individuals, had completed their Covid-19 vaccination as of yesterday, according to the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee.A total of 313,751 vaccine doses were dispensed under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme yesterday, with 132,640 doses to first-dose recipients and 181,111 as second doses.This means 20,677,827 individuals, or 88.3% of the country’s adult population, had received at least one dose of vaccine as of yesterday.In terms of total population, 49.3% are fully vaccinated while 63.3% have received at least one dose.


'Fix the system': Indonesia parents seek justice after cough syrup crisis

Dinosaur-themed birthday decorations still hang on the walls of Safitri Puspa Rani's Indonesian home, where the family celebrated their youngest son's birthday last year.
"Knock knock! Hey everyone! It's my eighth birthday!" said a beaming Panghegar Bhumi in a video in September, while making a heart-shaped gesture with his arms.
A month later he died from acute kidney injury, days after a doctor prescribed him a cough syrup containing ingredients that have been linked to more than 200 child deaths in Indonesia, according to the country's health ministry.
"I whispered in his ears: 'The medicine is coming, please hang in there a little bit more'," Rani said, crying in her home in West Java province as she recalled the final days of her son's life.
"But I lied, there was no medicine."
The 42-year-old mother is among more than two dozen Indonesian families seeking justice for their children, whom they allege were either killed or sickened by contaminated cough syrups.
Their class-action lawsuit targets the country's health ministry, food and drug agency, and eight companies they accuse of selling the syrups – which the World Health Organization said contain an "unacceptable amount" of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol.
"These contaminants are toxic chemicals used as industrial solvents and antifreeze agents that can be fatal even taken in small amounts, and should never be found in medicines," the WHO said in January.
Since October last year, the WHO has issued alerts for The Gambia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan over syrups containing the two chemicals.
Five-year-old Farrazka was required to undergo dialysis for his failing kidneys after he took one of the medicines, his mother Indah Septian told AFP.
"When I heard that he had to have dialysis, I was so confused and did not know what to do. He is just a kid," Septian said at her home.
"Now he gets easily fatigued even when he only does a bit of activity," the 31-year-old said.
But Septian and her husband Riski Agri consider themselves luckier than other families.
"Until today I still wake up in the middle of the night and check on him. We almost lost him," 34-year-old Agri said.
'Not a priority'
Since the government sounded the alarm in October, Indonesia's food and drug agency has recalled 105 products after tests revealed excessive amounts of the two chemicals.
It has also revoked the licenses of six pharmaceutical firms.
Police have launched an investigation into five companies and arrested four suspects.
But the plaintiffs say that is not enough.
"From the beginning, this case was not considered a priority," said Awan Puryadi, the lawyer representing the families.
"All of the victims who are still alive, and are still being treated, must all be covered by the government for the rest of their lives."
They are seeking compensation of US$131,000 (about RM590,000) for every person killed and Rp1 billion for every person injured.
In a hearing last month, parents wore black shirts that read "I thought it was medicine, it was poison".
The next hearing is scheduled for March 9.
One of the accused companies in the lawsuit contacted by AFP denied putting the chemicals in its cough syrups and blamed a distributor for any contamination.
Indonesia's drug regulator, like the WHO, says the chemicals should never be used in syrup medicines because they can be toxic for humans.
But it says in the event of contamination during production, the chemicals can be consumed safely up to a level of 0.1 milligrams per millilitre.
Four other companies named in the lawsuit did not respond to a request for comment and AFP was not able to reach three firms. The seven have not commented publicly on the lawsuit or the allegations.
Expensive treatments
Without compensation, the injured children's parents face treatment costs that many cannot afford.
Eighteen-month-old Raivan was unable to move after he consumed cough syrup prescribed by a paediatrician in May, said his mother Resti Safriti.
He is now fed through a tube, and breathes through another in his neck.
In the hopes of replicating physical therapy techniques, his parents resort to rocking him on an exercise ball in their Jakarta home.
"We could not afford therapy, so we do what we can with what we have at home," Resti said.
Resti and her husband had to leave their jobs to take care of him, and she begged the government to "fix the system" that has led to her child's suffering.
"Don't let other parents and children go through this," she said. "What if this happened to your own child?"


Maybank loses bid to challenge LHDN over tax notices

Malayan Banking today failed in its bid to challenge a notice of increased assessment slapped on it by the Internal Revenue Board (LHDN) for the years 2014 to 2017, totalling more than RM30 million for all four years.A three-member Federal Court bench led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat rejected the bank’s judicial review application, confirming an earlier decision by the appeals court.Counsel for LHDN Hazlina Hussain argued that there was no question of invalidity, violation of laws or extraordinary circumstances to allow a judicial review, citing precedents in previous cases.Malayan Banking is represented by lead counsel Palpanaban Devarajoo, as well as S Saravana Kumar and Ng Kar Ngai.The apex court also instructed the bank to settle all outstanding and overdue taxes within 30 days.


Iraqi farmers driven to suicide as drought steals livelihoods

The worst drought Abed Hameed al-Brahimi has ever seen has killed virtually everything around him: his rice farm, most of his livestock and chickens - and accelerated a rural exodus that is jeopardising Iraq's future stability.
His home now resembles a desert, rather than the green oasis it was a year ago. Without water to irrigate his fields, he has not planted a single seed of rice, which used to feed his family of four and provide a surplus he could sell.
His guard dog does not bark. Thirsty and famished, it barely tilts its head in the direction of the strangers traversing its domain, oblivious to the sounds and sights around it.
"What is happening to us has never happened before. We are completely destroyed," Brahimi, 45, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, standing next to his brown fields in al-Meshkhab, a town some 200km (124 miles) south of the capital Baghdad.
"This year our lives ended all at once."
The abandonment of parched fields, suicides among destitute farmers and violent protests by jobless young men all point to a country that is struggling to recover from decades of war in the face of a worsening climate crisis.
Iraq is in the midst of three-year drought that has devastated its agriculture industry and is robbing many farmers of their only source of income, said Hadi Fathallah, a director at Namea Group, a Dubai-based consultancy firm.
It is a recipe for social unrest, he said, as people are abandoning their farms to seek work in urban areas.
"You have a scary number of young men who cannot emigrate and cannot do anything. At the end of the day, they will blow up," said Fathallah.
"They can only protest. They have nothing else they can do and that will put a lot of pressure on stability and crime."
More than 560 people were killed during months of protests in 2019 over corruption and lack of jobs, which unseated the government.
Iraq has one of the region's highest youth unemployment rates, with more than a quarter of Iraqis aged 15 to 30 without work, according to the United Nations children's agency Unicef.
Frustrations have risen with a year-long political deadlock that left Iraq without a functioning government until Oct 27, when a cabinet was finally approved.
Although soaring crude prices have boosted oil revenues, the government has no budget to deal with its dilapidated water infrastructure, power cuts, dire public services and poverty.
At the edge of his barren rice field, Brahimi beat the dry earth with his plow to demonstrate how it had been hardened by the scorching sun. It hardly budged under his blows.
"We don't have clothes. We don't have 1,000 Iraqi dinars (about RM3) to give our sons to buy school copybooks," he said as his voice rose, the rage inside him barely contained.
"We are mentally collapsing."
Zero-sum game
Iraq is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Temperatures already often hit 50 Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), while rainfall is dwindling, along with water levels in the two main rivers that irrigate most of its farmlands.
Demand for water is growing while supplies dwindle, worsened by upstream dams built by Turkey and Iran, forcing thousands of Iraqis to migrate in search of water.
The Tigris and the Euphrates are the twin spines running through Iraq, their tributaries moving water inland to the once lush plains that birthed some of humanity's earliest empires.
But their water levels are falling and the prolonged drought has forced authorities to make difficult decisions, said Hatem Hamid Hussein, Director General at the National Center for Water Resources Management.
Government rationing of limited water supplies has created a zero-sum game: supplying one area with water means depriving another.
"This year, the percentage of water in dams is only 11% of what we had in 2019," said Hussein, adding that the government halved the water allocated for farming nationally this year, which means the amount of land farmed also halved.
"If this winter is not rich in rain, it will be impossible next summer to even ensure drinking water," he said.
The farmers who grow Iraq's famous amber rice in al-Meshkhab were only allocated enough water to irrigate 5% of their farms this year. The remainder were unable to plant.
The long-grained rice - which takes its name from the perfume it emits, like that of amber resin - is a source of great pride and the foundation of national dishes like lamb quzi. It takes six months to grow in water-flooded paddy fields.
"Before this, in al-Meshkhab we grew the best amber rice," said Brahimi's neighbour, Haidar Serhan, 45, standing by his dried-out field.
"Now we cannot do anything. Everyone is leaving because of hunger," Serhan said, describing how many of his neighbours and friends have borrowed money or sold their assets to migrate to the capital in search of work.
"What can I do? I have put my fate in the hands of God. I can't go to Baghdad," he said, adding that migrating would be too difficult and expensive for him.
After decades of war, insurgency and displacement, WFP says 2.4 million of Iraq's 39 million people are in acute need of food and livelihood assistance.
Suicides
Aqeel Abdullah Al-Fatlawy will not give up without a fight.
This year, he helped organise a series of farmers' demonstrations at the local water authority offices, demanding a larger cut of the water allocation.
"We are heading into a famine here," said the 48-year-old, describing how many of his friends cannot feed their families.
Almost all local employment is tied to farming and with its demise, jobs have disappeared, he said.
Agriculture is the second largest contributor to Iraq's gross domestic producer after oil, employing almost 20% of the workforce, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
The sector contracted by 18% last year because of drought and the rising cost of inputs, according to the World Bank.
WFP has called for more research and investment to help farmers handle adverse climate conditions, rather than abandoning their lands, which only drives up local food costs and shortages.
But it is not easy.
"I have no solutions," said Abdulkhalik Mohammad al-Mayali, 59, a local official who co-ordinates between al-Meshkhab and the central government, sitting behind a thick wooden desk.
Every day, farmers come to his office to complain about their dying animals or lost crops, he said.
"We have a lot of psychological and mental issues appearing in society," al-Mayali said, describing how the drought has forced people to abandon their homes and move into slums on the outskirts of town.
Crushed by debt, 10 farmers have taken their own lives by suicide in the last year in al-Meshkhab, a region of 180,000 people, he said.
Al-Mayali vowed to raise the farmers' concerns in the capital. But Al-Fatlawy was skeptical.
"He is a politician, he talks in slogans and does nothing," he said.
Back on the farm, Abed al-Hussein Kusayr worries that time is running out. He did not plant this year and sold half of his livestock because he could not afford the soaring price of fodder and feed.
If he does not plant in the coming season, he may permanently lose his farm to salinity - a common problem in arid lands where rainfall is too low to percolate through the soil.
"As time passes, this land will be over," said the 50-year-old father of four, surveying his dead rice fields.
"If there was water, there would be life. Now that there is no water, there is no life."


Australia lashes out after US nuclear subs plan revealed

Australia’s government lashed out at “loose” comments by the former defence minister Thursday, after he revealed sensitive plans to buy US nuclear-powered submarines over their British rivals.Peter Dutton, who left office as defence minister a few weeks ago after his conservative coalition lost elections, disclosed his previously secret plans to choose the US Virginia-class submarines.The multibillion-dollar project is the centrepiece of Australian efforts to toughen its defences in the face of a more belligerent China under President Xi Jinping.The comments by Dutton, who is now opposition leader, were “damaging to Australia’s national interest”, said the new defence minister and deputy prime minister, Richard Marles.“The government has made no decision on the preferred submarine. All options are on the table,” he said in a statement sent to AFP.The choice of contractor – Britain or the US – will have a significant economic impact and would closely enmesh the Australian navy with that of the chosen nation.Dutton wrote in The Australian that he had planned to buy two Virginia-class submarines from the US by 2030 and build another eight to bring the total fleet strength to 10.He said it became “obvious” to him as defence minister that the US submarines were a better choice, in an article apparently aimed at pushing the new government into following his plan.Australia’s former government had agreed to acquire either US or British nuclear-powered but conventionally armed submarines as part of a three-way defence alliance known as Aukus sealed last September.Australia is conducting an 18-month study of its nuclear-powered submarine options as part of the Aukus deal.Marles described Dutton’s statements as “rank politics”.“The comments are loose and undermine the Aukus agreement,” he said.The cost of building even a smaller fleet of eight submarines – Australia’s original plan – has been estimated by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank to be A$70 billion (US$50 billion) at an “absolute minimum”, before accounting for inflation.‘Very unusual’“Clearly these were confidential discussions that he had with the Americans which he was not prepared to disclose while he was in office, and yet he did so afterwards,” said Sam Roggeveen, director of the Lowy Institute’s international security programme.“It’s very unusual.”The US submarines were capable of launching missiles vertically and were based on a “mature design”, Dutton wrote.The British Astute-class option, however, involved a new design with “inevitable” cost blowouts and design faults, he said.Dutton said nuclear-powered submarines are needed to compete with China because they are stealthier than Australia’s diesel-electric vessels, with no need to surface to recharge batteries.To avoid a gap in replacing Australia’s ageing fleet of six Collins-class submarines, Dutton said he had planned to directly buy two of the US submarines “this decade”.Under the plan, another eight of the US submarines would be built in South Australia, Dutton said.This would avoid waiting until 2038 for the first US-designed submarines to be built in Australia, he said.To “honour and respect” the British side, Dutton said he would have ordered more Hunter-class frigates or other defence material from Britain.Dutton said he feared the new government was “on the cusp of making a very dangerous decision” such as building a new class of diesel-electric submarines.Australia’s decision last year to buy US or British nuclear-powered submarines led to the scrapping of a multibillion-dollar submarine deal with France, infuriating Paris, which said it had been kept in the dark about the negotiations.


HFMD cases will decline in a few weeks, says Khairy

The health ministry today said it expects cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) to decline in the next two to three weeks.Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the spread of the disease is usually seasonal and as the level of children’s immunity increases, the number of cases will go down.“It will start and become a wave, and in less than a month, it will go down significantly on its own.“When many children are exposed to this virus, their immunity level will increase and the number of cases will decrease, while intervention in terms of personal hygiene, disinfection of nurseries, childcare centres and so on also helps,” he said at a press conference in Alor Setar today.Khairy said during the pandemic period over the past two years, children spent less time outdoors and were not exposed to the HFMD virus, resulting in low immunity.“Hence, due to the lack of exposure to this virus, the immunity level goes down. The child has never encountered this virus. This is the classical theory of natural immunity. When not exposed to the virus, immunity will be low.“That’s probably why the number of cases is quite high now because the Coxsackie HFMD virus is invading our children who only have naive virus (with no previous encounters to build immunity), so that’s why there will be a lot of cases at this point,” he said.He said most cases of HFMD in the country are not serious, but that parents are advised to immediately bring their children for treatment if they have symptoms and stop sending them to daycare, kindergarten, or childcare centres if they are infected.


Sarawak Christians flock online for Good Friday, Easter

Every Good Friday, Grace Brandah follows a simple routine. She spends the day fasting and then goes to church for evening Mass.This year, she fasted as usual but the Covid-19 pandemic has turned everything else upside down.Grace lives in Kampung Mambong, in Kuching, Sarawak. Like several other states in the country, Sarawak remains under conditional movement control order, with strict SOPs and health measures in place to curb the spread of Covid-19.In green and yellow zones, churches are allowed to open at 50% capacity with physical distancing of at least one metre between congregants.But Kuching itself classified as a red zone, which means that only 20 people are allowed in churches or cathedrals at any given time.This is a far cry from the thousands who would normally attend service, Kuching archbishop Simon Poh told MalaysiaNow.Before the pandemic, he said, his cathedral would be packed with anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 worshippers per service.“Even the car park would be occupied by people coming to pray,” he said.But now, the majority of these congregants must move online, where masses and services are live-streamed to individual homes.On normal weekends, some 25,000 to 30,000 worshippers follow services online. This being Holy Week, which began with Palm Sunday last week and culminates in Easter Sunday today, Poh expects about 70,000 online congregants.Some will be allowed to physically attend service, but subject to the 20-person limit. Services will also be monitored to ensure strict compliance with health SOPs.“Though congregations are not allowed in churches in red and orange zones, the designated 20 church leaders will represent us to pray during this Holy Week for all people in Sarawak, our nation and the world during this global pandemic,” Poh said.Those like Grace who must follow the service from home are grateful that technology allows them this much. But they look forward to the day when they can reunite with their fellow church members.“The feeling of joy is when you can go for Mass and venerate the cross,” the 24-year-old told MalaysiaNow.Holy Week under lockdownIn Siburan, a small town in Serian, the villages of Kampung Chupak and Kampung Batu Gong have been under enhanced MCO since March 27. This, the strictest form of lockdown which allows zero movement in and out of housing areas, will continue until April 9.Limping Ak Engki, the head of Kampung Batu Gong, said many residents in the area are now struggling with intense financial difficulties.“During Holy Week, the move has disrupted my daily work,” he told MalaysiaNow. “I don’t have workers to help harvest the crops. Now, with the lockdown, all I do is stay at home.”They are also feeling the constraints of having to attend church virtually as internet coverage at the villages is slow and patchy.“Usually we gather at church for Good Friday and then Easter Sunday,” he said.“Now, with the lockdown, most churches have gone online but the problem is my area does not have internet reception.”Pakon Ak Amit from Kampung Chupak readily acknowledges that the lockdown is for the villagers’ own good. But he also realises the impact it has had on their lives.“We cannot go to the market or to work,” he said. “This pandemic has really hit hard for those of us who depend on daily wages.”


Give students a way to protest sexual harassment, experts urge

Experts have called for an appropriate platform for students to express their views following the move by several youth organisations to arrange a so-called National School Walkout Day in reaction to issues of sexual harassment at school.The move had sparked criticism by some who said it encouraged students to play truant.But experts who spoke to MalaysiaNow said students had resorted to such unconventional methods of protest as they were not taken seriously when they went through the proper channels.Sociologist Syarifah Fatimah Al Zahrah Al Attas from the International Islamic University Malaysia said the responsibility for speaking up against sexual harassment in school shouldn’t be on students alone as they often hold a less powerful position in the school hierarchy.Instead, she said, teachers and parents should provide students with avenues to be heard.“If you feel like walking out of school is not the right way to protest, what alternatives are you providing for them?“If we don’t want them to protest, show them the options where their voices are heard and proper action is taken,” she said.In any case, she said, it is the responsibility of adults to ensure that schools are a safe place for students.She added that school authorities should not get defensive when such issues are raised by students as this would only send the message that these issues should be hidden instead of addressed.“In the case of children being sexually harassed, if we don’t take it seriously then we have not done our responsibility to protect them.“One case is already too many,” she said.Karen Lai, programme director at the Women’s Centre for Change Penang, said students should continue speaking up for their rights even if their voices are not acknowledged.She said silencing victims is often a tactic used to prevent the issue from being further discussed and that eventually, no appropriate action would be taken against perpetrators.“If we don’t want them to protest, show them the options where their voices are heard and proper action is taken.”She added that teachers should also speak up for the safety of their students.“Teachers need to find the courage to speak up,” she said. “We are educators responsible for shaping young minds and their views.“If we don’t speak up for students, it sends a terrible message that the victims need to be blamed and the status quo defended even when there are offensive remarks.“We are correct to be outraged,” she added.The National School Walkout Day had called for students and teachers nationwide to absent themselves from one school day or class period.Shreya Menon Krisnan and Adillah Zaki, two of the youths who co-organised the movement, said they had done so to show solidarity with the victims.Shreya said the protest was in order to show the need for an immediate change in the school system, so that perpetrators would be held accountable instead of the victims being silenced.“I think we need to realise today that these students did use the proper channels,” she said. “If you’ve read closely what has happened, you may realise that it’s the system that protects the malfeasance of these harassers.”She said the protest was to make those in the system listen to the survivors and realise that offences committed should not be swept under the rug.Adillah meanwhile said the proper channels are often misused, leading to a lack of action.“Personally, I believe the protesting method matters because it needs to be safe for its participants especially if you’re involving children and it is during a pandemic.“This is why National School Walkout Day repeatedly emphasised the child’s safety including their emotional and mental well-being.“A ‘wrong way to protest’, in my opinion, would be one that carelessly puts participants and bystanders in danger.”


Chinese city of 11 million bans people leaving in bid to contain Covid-19 outbreak

Shijiazhuang, the capital of northern China’s Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, on Thursday barred people from leaving in an effort to curb the rising spread of a new Covid-19 outbreak.This comes as the country as a whole reported the biggest rise in daily infections in more than five months.Hebei province accounted for 51 of the 52 local cases reported by the National Health Commission on Thursday, more than twice as many as the 20 cases reported there on Wednesday.Authorities in Shijiazhuang, the largest city in Hebei province and home to 11 million people, have launched mass testing drives and banned gatherings in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, reports Reuters.In addition to barring people from leaving the city, people and vehicles from areas of the city considered high-risk were not allowed to leave their district, authorities said.Hebei entered a “wartime mode” on Tuesday, in which investigation teams were set up at provincial, city and district levels to trace close contacts of those who have tested positive.Chinese state television earlier reported that Shijiazhuang had banned everyone from entering its main railway station. The city had previously required travellers to present a negative nucleic acid Covid-19 test result taken within 72 hours before boarding a train or a plane in the province.Total new Covid-19 cases for all of mainland China stood at 63 on Thursday, compared with 32 reported a day earlier, marking the biggest rise in daily cases since 127 were reported on July 30.The number of asymptomatic carriers who have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease but have yet to develop any symptoms, also rose, to 79 from 64 a day earlier.The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in mainland China since the outbreak first started in the city of Wuhan in late 2019 now stands at 87,278, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.In China’s northeast, the city of Dalian in Liaoning province has also reported local infections in recent days. Residents in medium or high-risk areas have been barred from leaving the city.Authorities in Guangdong province in southern China late on Wednesday reported a patient infected with the much more transmissible variant of the coronavirus discovered in South Africa.Some scientists worry that Covid-19 vaccines currently being rolled out may not be able to protect against this variant because of mutations that have been observed.


Foreign judges to stay in Hong Kong’s judicial system

Hong Kong will continue to invite foreign judges to sit in its courts, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday amid international concern about the impact of the sweeping national security law.The city’s legal system remains “hard as a rock” she assured those worried over the ability of Hong Kong’s judicial system to uphold human rights while applying the new law.Such worries intensified last week when the judiciary said British judge Brenda Hale would step down from the top court next month.Hale, Britain’s former Supreme Court president, is one of 13 overseas non-permanent judges on the Court of Final Appeal, whose presence has long been seen as a symbol of the rule of law after Britain returned its former colony to China in 1997.Hong Kong’s foreign judges stem from a necessary arrangement established at its 1997 handover to help maintain its credibility as an international financial hub.The judges come from common law jurisdictions like Britain, Canada and Australia and serve as non-permanent members of the court, which means they are called on periodically to sit on cases.Lam said, “The chief justice will continue to invite experienced overseas judges to Hong Kong courts.”The judiciary said last week Hale did not wish to have her appointment extended “for personal reasons”.In remarks made to a recent legal seminar in Britain, Hale said Hong Kong’s legal system “is functioning in accordance with the rule of law, at least as far as commercial law is concerned”.She added, “The jury is out on how they will be able to operate the new national security law. There are all sorts of question marks up in the air.”The current president of Britain’s Supreme Court, Robert Reed, is also on the Court of Final Appeal and recently met British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to discuss the situation under the new law.Reed told a House of Lords’ panel in March he would not be prepared to serve or nominate any of his judges to serve if there was “any undermining of the independence of the Hong Kong judiciary”.Australian judge James Spigelman resigned last September, citing the law in a comment to Australia’s national broadcaster, but other foreign judges have since extended their terms or joined the court.


Brazil reports second straight day of record Covid-19 deaths

Brazil registered a record of Covid-19 deaths for the second straight day Wednesday, with 1,910 lives lost to the pandemic.With a surge in cases currently pushing health systems to the limit in many areas, Brazil has recorded a total of 259,271 deaths, according to the health ministry – the second-highest death toll worldwide, after the US.“For the first time since the pandemic began, we are seeing a deterioration across the entire country,” public health institute Fiocruz said before the latest figures were published.“The situation is alarming.”Brazil’s 24-hour death toll had just set a new record Tuesday, at 1,641.The sprawling country of 212 million people is having its deadliest week of the pandemic, with an average of 1,331 deaths per day.Brazil has struggled to control Covid-19 throughout.Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro faces sharp criticism for downplaying the new coronavirus, flouting expert advice on containing it with lockdowns and face masks, and over his government’s slow pace in vaccinating the population.Now, the situation has been exacerbated by a surge in cases stemming from the holidays and carnival season, when many people ignored the cancelation of official events to hold large gatherings and clandestine parties.Experts say the emergence of a new virus variant known as P1 in the Amazon rainforest city of Manaus is also to blame for the recent surge.The variant is now present in 17 of Brazil’s 27 states, and has been detected in more than two dozen countries.Studies indicate it is more contagious than the original strain of the virus and can re-infect people who have already had Covid-19.‘Brink of collapse’Intensive care units are currently more than 80% full in 19 Brazilian states, according to Fiocruz.That means the hardest-hit states will have a tougher time sending overflow patients to neighboring ones.Meanwhile, the country’s vaccination campaign got off to a relatively late start, in mid-January, and has been hit by shortages.Brazil is so far using Chinese-developed CoronaVac and the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine, both of which require two doses.It has administered a first dose to 7.1 million people and two doses to 2.1 million.But it is far off pace to meet Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello’s pledge of vaccinating the entire population by the end of the year.“We weren’t ready,” said Isabella Ballalai of the Brazilian Immunological Society.“This was predictable. We knew there was a new variant and there should have been a lockdown,” she told AFP.Instead, in the absence of a nationwide response from the federal government, Brazilian states and cities have resorted to piecemeal containment measures.In the latest example, Sao Paulo declared new “code red” restrictions Wednesday, ordering non-essential businesses closed for two weeks from Saturday.The partial lockdown bars all but “essential activities” in the state of 46 million people, but allows schools and churches to remain open, along with health services, supermarkets and public transportation.“We’re going to face the two worst weeks since March last year,” said Governor Joao Doria.“Sao Paulo and Brazil are on the brink of a health system collapse.”Doria, who is expected to challenge Bolsonaro in the 2022 presidential election, lashed out at his rival.“This is your fault. It’s because of your denialism,” he said, addressing Bolsonaro in a news conference.“More than 1,000 people are dying every day in Brazil. It’s like five plane crashes a day…. Many of the Brazilians who have been buried died because you didn’t do what you were supposed to: lead.”


Mahathir, Muhyiddin in cahoots to defend their wealth, says Anwar

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the cooperation between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin is nothing new and is aimed at defending "their ways and wealth", following a meeting of the former leaders yesterday ahead of the elections to be held in six states.
"That group will continue to conspire to defend their ways and their wealth.
"So we are responsible for saving our beloved country," Bernama quoted him as telling reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
He also said that the alliance between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional in facing the elections next month would not be affected by the renewed ties of Mahathir and Muhyiddin.
The former prime leaders met at Mahathir's house on July 4 to discuss an understanding on several issues, including the future of the Malays.
"In principle, we agreed to strengthen the unity of the Malays and increase support for Perikatan Nasional, especially ahead of the elections in six states," Muhyiddin said.
The six states in question are Selangor, Kedah, Terengganu, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, and Kelantan.
Voters in these states will head to the polls on Aug 12, with nomination on July 29 and early voting on Aug 8.


We’ve officially entered a new solar cycle, says Nasa

Our sun has been having rather a quiet year, although you may not have noticed given the tumultuous year it’s turning out to be here on Earth.Ever since scientists started to track the sun’s dark spots, they have noticed a pattern of calm and rage that repeats roughly every 11 years, reports ScienceAlert.com.Since the middle of the 18th century when observations were first recorded, there have been 24 of these solar cycles.Scientists keep a detailed record of the small sunspots to enable them to mark the beginning of a new cycle.December 2019 marked the start of cycle number 25, according to a panel made up of experts from Nasa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).While the cycle of highs and lows takes place over 11 years, it is more accurately a reflection of a larger 22-year cycle defined by a complete reversal in the sun’s polarity.Every 11 years the poles swap, eventually returning to their rightful places at the end of the next loop.Down here on our planet’s surface, shielded by kilometres of atmosphere, solar cycles are barely noticeable.If you’re lucky, you might see a slight increase in aurora activity, but we don’t have to be too concerned about a solar flare destroying life on Earth.“The sun’s impact on our daily lives is real,” says Doug Biesecker, a solar physicist at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado. “Just because it’s a below-average solar cycle, doesn’t mean there is no risk of extreme space weather.”What all this seems to mean for us trying to make it through 2020 unscathed, is that last year was as boring as the sun is going to get for the next decade.


Keep mosques free from politics, Agong says

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah yesterday called on Muslims to continue safeguarding the institution of mosques from becoming a political arena for any party.
Sultan Abdullah said that mosques need to be institutions which are holy, noble and respected, to be an example to other religions.
"We don't want this mosque institution to be where we are divided... Nauzubillah (God forbid). We all have to decide that the harmony of the mosque institution is safeguarded by us all, Muslims, not just the leaders but the congregation of the mosque.
"I always remind everyone, especially those in Pahang, that the mosque cannot be mixed with any political elements whatsoever," he said when officiating the Ar-Razzaq Mosque and the breaking of fast in Bachang. Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah was also in attendance, as well as Yang Dipertua Negeri of Melaka Mohd Ali Rustam and Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh.
Sultan Abdullah congratulated Ab Rauf on his appointment as the 13th chief minister of Melaka and expressed his gratitude to former chief minister, Sulaiman Md Ali, who made arrangements for their Majesties’ previous visit to the state.
"I would like to thank everyone for the preparations (of the visit). I appreciate Sulaiman's efforts.
"Today means so much to me and my family, to be able to visit (Melaka). The third time since 2019. In these three, or four years, I got to know three Melaka chief ministers, while in Kuala Lumpur, with four prime ministers.
"This is a history for me and my family and it will be etched in my heart and memory when I return to Pahang," the king said.


US$60 experimental vaccine rolled out in east Chinese city

A US$60 double-dose experimental coronavirus vaccine is being made available to some residents in an eastern Chinese city, health officials have said, the first details of a mass rollout for an as-yet unproven vaccine.Officials in Jiaxing city said Thursday residents aged between 18 and 59 with “urgent needs” can seek consultations at clinics for a Sinovac Biotech vaccine that authorities have been giving to groups such as medical workers.The statement from Jiaxing’s centre for disease control and prevention did not specify what constituted “urgent needs”.Authorities did not say how many people in the city had been given the vaccine, which comes in two doses, administered up to 28 days apart and costing a total of 400 yuan (US$59).China has already given hundreds of thousands of essential workers at ports, hospitals and other high-risk areas across the country an experimental vaccine, according to officials.But even as 11 Chinese vaccines have entered clinical trials – with four in advanced Phase Three trials – none have been approved for mass market distribution.China is desperate to win the global race for a vaccine against a virus which emerged in the central city of Wuhan, as it seeks to complete its narrative of recovery from the public health and economic calamity.China has approved some candidates for emergency use, with officials saying they have not seen serious adverse reactions.Beijing has also made bold predictions on a broader rollout before year-end as it battles a storm of international criticism over its early handling of the outbreak.Health officials told a press conference last month that the country expects to be able to produce 610 million vaccine doses annually by year-end, stressing it would be affordable.Chinese President Xi Jinping has also previously declared that Chinese vaccines would be made a “global public good”.China has signed up to a World Health Organization-led bid to ensure future Covid-19 vaccines are distributed to developing countries, the biggest economy yet to join the attempt to control the pandemic.Beijing has not given details on how much money it would commit to the deal, which has a fundraising goal of US$2 billion and aims to provide 92 low and middle-income countries with a future vaccine.


Cases soar to new high of 1,228

New Covid-19 infections reached a staggering 1,228 cases in the last 24 hours, in a sign that the pandemic is headed for the worst it has been since it was detected on Malaysian shores.Of these, 889 or 72.4% were recorded in Sabah, the most the state has reported so far. The Klang Valley meanwhile saw 95 cases (7.7%), 29 of which were from existing and new clusters.Negeri Sembilan recorded 96 new cases, followed by Selangor (76), Kedah (76), Penang (23), Labuan (21), Perak (10), Sarawak (eight), Kuala Lumpur (19 including 11 imported cases), Johor (seven) and Melaka (three).The health ministry also announced another seven deaths today, bringing the total fatalities from the deadly virus to 221.Active cases now stand at 8,966 with 92 in ICU and 31 in need of respiratory assistance.Meanwhile, 671 patients were discharged from hospital, taking total recoveries to 16,555 or 64.31%.


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Only Jho Low can say why SRC funds went into Najib’s accounts, appeals court told

The Court of Appeal was told today that only fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, could answer why funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd ended up in Najib Razak’s bank accounts.The former prime minister’s counsel, Harvinderjit Singh, said this when questioned by judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil on why millions of money was transferred into Najib’s accounts.Karim: Why was the RM5 million and RM27 million deposited into Najib’s accounts?Harvinderjit: Only Jho Low could answer that. But we can tell you that the RM27 million was put into Najib’s account because (former AmBank relationship manager) Joana Yu Ging Ping said the account balance was low.Karim, who presided over the appeal with Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, also questioned Harvinderjit over Jho Low’s involvement in SRC International as the businessman had not held any post in the company at that time.Karim: Jho Low (was) not an officer and (had) nothing to do with SRC. When did Jho Low get involved? But you are saying that Jho Low gave instructions to Joana Yu, she was in communication with Jho Low. Suddenly, Jho Low appeared?Harvinderjit: The reason Jho Low appeared was because of the cheque. Jho Low could transfer money out of SRC through former SRC director Terence Geh.Karim: Are you saying that the late Azlin Alias (Najib’s former principal private secretary) had nothing to do with that? Everything was (by) Jho Low?Harvinderjit: Yes.Azlin died in a helicopter crash in April, 2015.Harvinderjet also submitted that Jho Low was involved in the convoluted monetary trail involving the accounts of SRC International, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd, Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd (IPSB) and Najib.The lawyer said that Jho Low and several others were involved in the monetary transfers involving Najib’s accounts, and that the former prime minister had no knowledge of them.“Why would the prime minister knowingly take money from a government-linked company and put it in his accounts?” asked the lawyer.The Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 28 last year sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and fined him RM210 million after finding him guilty on seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of position involving RM42 million in SRC International funds.The hearing of the appeal continues.


UK MI5 chief says expulsion of Russian spies has delivered significant blow

The expulsion of more than 400 suspected Russian spies from across Europe this year has struck the "most significant strategic blow" against Moscow in recent history and taken Vladimir Putin by surprise, Britain's domestic spy chief said.
In his annual update on the threat to Britain, Security Service (MI5) director General Ken McCallum also repeated warnings about Chinese attempts to influence lawmakers and those in public life, and Beijing's attempts to monitor and harass the Chinese diaspora.
McCallum said a massive number of Russian officials had been expelled from across the world including over 600 from Europe of which more than 400 were judged to be spies.
"This has struck the most significant strategic blow against the Russian Intelligence Services in recent European history," he said in a speech at MI5's London headquarters.
"And together with coordinated waves of sanctions, the scale has taken (Russian President) Putin by surprise."
He also described suggestions from Moscow that Britain was involved in blowing up Nord Stream gas pipelines as "silly claims".
He said the expulsion action followed a template set by Britain in the wake of the nerve agent poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, southern England, in 2018 which prompted a wave of diplomatic expulsions.
McCallum said this year Britain had refused more than 100 Russian diplomatic visa applications on national security grounds.
On China, the spy chief said the Chinese authorities were using all the means at their disposal to monitor and intimidate the Chinese diaspora.
He referenced an incident last month in Manchester, northern England, when a man who was protesting outside a Chinese consulate said he was dragged inside the grounds by masked men, and then kicked and punched.
"To intimidate and harass UK nationals or those who have made the UK their home cannot be tolerated," McCallum said.


Umno leader goes solo in frantic bid to shore up support for Anwar?

A high-ranking Umno politician opposed to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has broken ranks with fellow leaders in pressuring MPs from the Malay party to sign statutory declarations in support of Anwar Ibrahim, MalaysiaNow has learnt.This comes ahead of a crucial Dewan Rakyat vote on Thursday which could decide the future of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.It is learnt that the leader, seen as still wielding influence in Umno, met a group of MPs from the party at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur last week in an attempt to convince them to topple Muhyiddin.“But there has been no success, at least not yet, in getting the MPs to support the PKR leader,” a source from Umno told MalaysiaNow on condition of strict anonymity.MalaysiaNow could not independently verify the claim, and as such has decided not to identify the leader.Last month, former Umno president Najib Razak and his successor Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wrote a joint letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong expressing their support for Anwar to be named as prime minister.“There has been no success, at least not yet.”The letter was sent in time for Anwar’s audience with Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, but the PKR leader failed to submit the names of MPs whom he said supported him in his plan to bring down Muhyiddin’s government.Following outrage by Umno leaders over the move, Zahid issued a statement declaring a political ceasefire and renewed his support for Muhyiddin.Najib, who is facing multiple corruption charges in addition to being convicted over a RM46 million transaction linked to 1MDB, has made no secret of his support for Anwar.Najib and Anwar also appeared to take a common narrative in criticising the budget tabled on Nov 6, with both leaders saying their support depends on the government allowing larger EPF withdrawals and a blanket extension of the bank loan moratorium.Any failure by the government to get the 2021 budget passed this Thursday could mean the collapse of the eight-month-old PN administration.That scenario could trigger pandemic-season snap polls which health authorities have warned against, as it is highly unlikely that Anwar would be able to amass the numbers needed in the Dewan Rakyat to form the government.The palace had previously warned MPs to put aside their political differences and ensure that the budget’s crucial financial allocations for frontliners in the battle against Covid-19 are approved.Meanwhile, the same source told MalaysiaNow that during a meeting at a hotel last week, MPs were confused by the “aggressive” campaign by the said leader.“People will know who opposed the budget, so the Umno MPs are not going to cave in to the pressure from the influential leader.”“They pointed out that Zahid had already reaffirmed Umno’s commitment to the PN bloc,” it added.Many of the MPs were also not ready to be seen as going against the palace’s repeated reminders to stop politicking in order to focus on battling the spread of Covid-19.“This is especially so as the voting this week is not confidential, and those who oppose will be known.“People will know who opposed the budget, so the Umno MPs are not going to cave in to the pressure from the influential leader,” the source said.While there has been no clear indication of how opposition MPs will vote, it is understood that the budget could still be passed.The last time such a vote took place was on a government motion to replace the Dewan Rakyat speaker, which the ruling bloc won by a two-vote majority.This time, it is understood that Umno and PAS have reached an agreement to support the budget bill, with efforts underway to get Warisan and Pejuang to ensure it is passed.This comes in the wake of a call by Barisan Nasional secretary-general Annuar Musa for the three Malay-based parties – Umno, Bersatu and PAS – to form a “grand coalition”.


Without me, Anwar is nobody, says Dr M

Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Anwar Ibrahim owes his rise on the political ladder to him, dismissing the stand among supporters of the PKR leader that he had been the main hurdle in Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) bid to return to power.The former prime minister said it was Anwar who had rejected him in the aftermath of the collapse of the PH government last year.“I never rejected him. Actually, Anwar is who he is because of me. Without me, Anwar is nobody. I promoted him up to become the deputy prime minister,” Mahathir said in an interview with Bernama last night, referring to the 1990s during his first 22 years of leading the government.“There is no problem for me to work with him. But the problem is, he doesn’t want to work with me. And then, he said, ‘Dr Mahathir doesn’t like me, he doesn’t want to work with me, that’s why we split up.’ So the blame was on me,” said Mahathir.Anwar was a prominent Islamist leader who led large-scale anti-government protests in the 1970s before he was brought into Umno when Mahathir took over power from Hussein Onn in 1981 to become the fourth prime minister.Mahathir soon appointed Anwar to his Cabinet, a move seen as neutralising the influence of PAS. In less than two decades, Anwar quickly rose in Umno, becoming its deputy president and the deputy prime minister before his dramatic sacking in 1998 on charges of sodomy and abuse of power.‘He wanted to be PM, zero role for me’Mahathir’s comments came after a palace deadline for MPs to submit the name of their choice of prime minister to form the next government.He said PH’s attempt to return to power had failed even when Perikatan Nasional was shaky due to its thin margin.But he said efforts to forge cooperation with PH under Anwar did not happen because of Anwar’s insistence that Mahathir should not play any role.“The condition imposed on me was that I should not hold any position in PH, let alone be the prime minister. He wanted to be prime minister. So I said to him, ‘I’ll be prime minister for six months, then you take over’,” said Mahathir.“Then what is my role? I cannot be the prime minister, I cannot be in the party. He rejected me. But he cleverly told the people that it was I who rejected him.”Under a deal agreed on among PH leaders, Mahathir, who led the government for the second time following the coalition’s historic electoral victory in 2018, was to hand over the top post to Anwar.The coalition however fell apart before the transition could take place, with component parties bickering over the date for Mahathir to step down.


Spying on ourselves – pandemic phone apps being misused to gather data on Asians

One result of the pandemic we have all become used to is checking in and out of places we go using our phone.That has been sold to us by our governments as a Covid-19 tracking and tracing aid to find who we’ve been mixing with in the event of an infection outbreak.That constitutes a treasure trove of data going straight to the authorities and then perhaps their security organisations.Under the guise of fighting the pandemic, authorities from China to Russia have increased surveillance of their own people and then used the data collected to clamp down on free speech, according to digital privacy experts.The Right to Privacy Index (RPI) published by British-based Verisk Maplecroft, rated 198 countries for privacy violations stemming from mass surveillance operations, and retention of personal data leading to home searches and other breaches.Asian countries scored worse on average than nations in other regions.Among the worst-scoring Asian nations are Pakistan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, India and the Philippines.But other Asian countries are not far behind.“Asia risks sleep-walking into serious privacy breaches if there isn’t transparency when it comes to data use with respect to Covid-19 surveillance measures,” Singapore-based Sofia Nazalya, author of the RPI told Reuters.China has taken the biggest steps to track the virus using mass surveillance, Nazalya said, citing mandatory health apps becoming permanent and an increase in the use of facial recognition technologies.Using similar technology, Cambodian authorities introduced emergency powers such as unlimited social media surveillance to tackle “fake news”, which often targeted government critics, according to the RPI.When the Covid-19 threat recedes, will governments be willing or able to give up their all-seeing surveillance and all-reaching data-collection?“What is the point of making these apps permanent if there’s no need to,” Nazalya said. “It’s a disproportionate response to a threat that arguably is no longer as big as it was.”


China removes six officials after Manchester consulate incident, UK says

China has removed six officials from Britain who police wanted to question over the treatment of a man who said he was kicked and punched while protesting outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester, British foreign minister James Cleverly said.
Cleverly said the removal of the officials, including the consul general in Manchester, came after a police request to interview them over the incident.
"I am disappointed that these individuals will not be interviewed or face justice," Cleverly said in a written statement.
"Nonetheless, it is right that those responsible for the disgraceful scenes in Manchester are no longer – or will shortly cease to be - consular staff accredited to the UK."
Police had been investigating the alleged assault on a protester who was beaten by several men after being dragged inside the grounds of the consulate in northwest England during a demonstration against President Xi Jinping.
"Images carried on social media showed what appeared to be completely unacceptable behaviour by a number of individuals near the entrance to the consular premises," said Cleverly, who summoned the acting ambassador over the incident.
Cleverly said that police had requested six Chinese officials waive diplomatic immunity so they could be questioned and the embassy had been informed, giving them a week to act.
"In response to our request, the Chinese government have now removed from the UK those officials, including the consul general himself," Cleverly told broadcasters.
Greater Manchester Police said in a statement it would continue to investigate the events surrounding the protest.
Chair of the British parliament's foreign affairs committee, Alicia Kearns, said the government should bar the officials from ever returning to Britain.
The October protest took place on the first day of the twice-a-decade congress of China's ruling Communist Party in Beijing at which Xi won an unprecedented third leadership term.


Selangor migrant workers win Goodyear legal battle

Dozens of foreign workers in Selangor have won a legal battle against US tyre giant Goodyear for underpaying them, their lawyer said Friday, the country’s latest case of migrants being mistreated.Malaysia is home to millions of overseas workers from poorer parts of Asia, who do low-paying jobs in factories, on plantations and as domestic workers.Sixty-five migrants from Myanmar, Nepal and India working at a Goodyear plant in Selangor lodged a case at the industrial tribunal, lawyer R Chandra Segaran told AFP.They accused the company of not complying with a collective labour agreement by failing to give them shift allowances, bonuses and pay rises, the lawyer said.The losses they suffered amounted to about RM2 million (US$485,000) over several years, he said.The company argued the migrants were not covered by the agreement but the tribunal ruled in the workers’ favour on Wednesday, and ordered Goodyear to pay them back.“The migrant workers were short-changed,” Chandra said.The ruling amounted to a victory that signalled “everyone should enjoy the same benefits as Malaysian workers do”, he added.“Migrant workers should not be discriminated against.”It was not immediately clear whether Goodyear would appeal the ruling. The company did not respond to requests for comment.The tribunal previously ruled against Goodyear in similar cases involving 119 migrant workers, but the company is appealing.Malaysian companies frequently face criticism over their poor treatment of migrant workers.Last year, thousands of South Asian migrants working for Top Glove, the world’s top surgical glove maker, were infected after a coronavirus outbreak in their overcrowded, filthy dormitories.The US has banned imports of some of the firm’s gloves due to forced labour concerns.


Close ranks to fight Covid-19, Agong tells politicians

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong today called on politicians to work together in the fight against Covid-19 for the safety and well-being of the people and the country.In a statement ahead of Ramadan this week, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said Muslims should continue to be steadfast and disciplined and to follow health SOPs.“His Majesty also advises politicians in the country to close ranks and to stand shoulder to shoulder to fight the spread of Covid-19 for the safety of the people and well-being of the country,” the statement issued by Istana Negara said.Sultan Abdullah also said that programmes organised throughout the country during Ramadan should comply with the SOPs and guidelines laid down by the government.The Agong has repeatedly called on politicians and the public to cooperate in efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19.About two weeks ago, he said efforts to fight the pandemic should be shouldered by all quarters in the spirit of brotherhood, including through close cooperation between the government and the people.He also urged the people to play their roles to protect themselves and others through the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme which kicked off earlier this year and is due to commence its second phase.He likewise called early this year for the people to continue adhering to SOPs in the face of lockdown measures and the state of emergency.Late last year, he reminded politicians to cease any politicking that could disrupt the stability of the country’s administration, urging all quarters to set aside their differences and play their respective roles to help the government battle Covid-19.


Zahid talks of traitors as Umno assembly reveals party’s deep divide

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today issued a warning to his “opponents” within the party, saying he has never been complacent over the pressure against him despite frequently choosing to remain silent.The Bagan Datuk MP said while he did not care about external attacks, he could not accept the actions of some whom he described as wolves in the fold.“I am disappointed in these people who have betrayed the party from within,” he said in his policy speech at Umno’s general assembly at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.“There is no point putting my back up against the wall. I am not infallible, neither am I perfect. Everything we do must have its limits.”While he did not mention specific names, he is believed to have been referring to the group of Umno leaders aligned with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is also a party vice-president.Zahid himself is one of the main party leaders in league with former prime minister Najib Razak, who appears to be pushing for Ismail to dissolve Parliament in order to pave the way for the 15th general election.Ismail however has said that such calls are only coming from a small group in Umno, urging his party to respect the authority of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the dissolution of Parliament.In his speech today, Zahid reminded the Umno delegates about solidarity in the party’s struggle.“Some of our friends left us while we were in difficult times, and others are with us conditionally.“So choose friends that are truly sincere and honest. Choose friends who will be there until the end.“Choose friends who are loyal to the party. In our struggle, there are friends, and amid our friends, there are enemies,” he said.


Daily caseload below 2,900 as another 4 deaths reported

Another 2,898 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,984,272.
There were 2,789 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,920,616.
There are now 27,008 active cases, of which 24,924 or 92.3% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 14 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 1,973 (7.3%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 97 are in ICU with 57 in need of respiratory assistance.
Four more deaths were reported, taking total deaths to 36,648.


Pentagon's Ukraine accounting error revised up to US$6.2 billion

The Pentagon found it had overestimated the amount of funding for ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by US$6.2 billion (about RM28.8 billion) due to an accounting error, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, more than double the amount previously disclosed.
The value of the accounting error was revised up from the US$3 billion that was first reported by Reuters in May, the result of assigning a higher-than-warranted value on US weaponry shipped to Ukraine.
Additional funding was uncovered as Pentagon officials researched the situation more thoroughly and clarified protocols for valuing equipment based on Financial Management Regulation and Department of Defense policy, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said.
The US$6.2 billion breaks down to US$3.6 billion for fiscal year 2023 and US$2.6 billion for fiscal year 2022, she said, adding that the errors did not impact the size of presidential drawdown authority or support for Ukraine.


Weekly dengue cases up 14.6%, 2 deaths recorded

The number of dengue fever cases reported in the 19th epidemiological week, which runs from May 7 to 13, increased by 14.6% to 2,242 cases compared to 1,956 cases in the previous week while two deaths were reported due to dengue fever complications.
Health director-general Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said the cumulative number of dengue cases reported to date was 41,175 compared to 14,724 cases for the same period in 2022, which is an increase of 179.6%.
"There were 26 deaths from dengue fever complications reported compared to nine deaths for the same period last year," he said in a statement yesterday.
According to him, 87 hotspots were reported this week, the same as the previous week, with 49 localities in Selangor, Penang (22), Sabah (seven), Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (five), Kedah (three), and Perak (one).
Meanwhile, he said the cumulative number of chikungunya cases to date is 130.
For Zika surveillance, a total of 1,087 blood samples and 45 urine samples were screened and the results were all negative.


Anwar questions PH ‘grand coalition’ proposal

PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim today questioned a proposal by two top Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders to unite opposition blocs under a “grand coalition” that would see cooperation with other parties outside of PH.“Is it to bring about change for the better, or to defend the state of deception and decadence that is currently in place?” he told reporters after attending a book launch in Shah Alam today.On Dec 17, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu warned the PH leadership against placing their trust in MPs from the ruling bloc to gain power, in what appeared to be a veiled jibe at Anwar’s recent attempts to get Umno MPs to his side.The duo also urged PH to build its strength with opposition parties outside of PH, saying it should work towards “uniting our friends among the opposition MPs who stood by us”, a reference to MPs from blocs led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Warisan president Shafie Apdal.Anwar today warned against using any new proposal for a grand coalition of opposition parties as a ploy to wrest power while “closing our eyes to corruption, wastage and greed by those who are with us”.He said any proposal, including to unite Malay-based political blocs, should guarantee a better deal for the nation.Asked if PH would reach out to Mahathir to discuss the plan, Anwar said any such plan should be based on principles.“Do not bring your personal agenda and continue the past decadence,” he added.He also said it was irrelevant who leads the government in the event that the opposition comes to power, adding that the person should be committed to reforms.“It doesn’t matter (if it’s) Anwar, or whoever from whichever party. (He) must commit to undertake reforms, good governance, combat corruption and not protect your family and your cronies or enrich them in the name of change and the people’s mandate.“You must be clear in your agenda to combat excesses, including corruption.”On Dec 15, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional government scored a narrow victory with 111 votes against 108 for the final reading of the 2021 budget.The vote was keenly followed as it would have shown whether Muhyiddin still had the confidence of the majority of MPs to remain in power.It came on the back of several statements by Anwar and his supporters that he had the majority to form the government.In October, MalaysiaNow revealed that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak had written to the palace expressing support for the opposition leader.Najib had also openly called on Barisan Nasional MPs to consider backing Anwar.


Thousands protest in NZ against Covid-19 vaccine mandate

New Zealand beefed up security measures at its parliament on Tuesday as thousands of people gathered to protest against Covid-19 vaccine mandates and government lockdowns.All but two entrances to the parliament building, known as the Beehive, were closed off in the presence of unprecedented levels of police and security personnel, as mostly unmasked protesters marched through central Wellington and congregated outside parliament.While the demonstration was peaceful, many people were seen holding signs and placards with messages like “Freedom” and “Kiwis are not lab rats” and shouting slogans as they demanded the government roll back compulsory vaccination and lift restrictions.“I will not be coerced and I will not be forced into taking something I don’t want in my body,” a protester said outside parliament.“I’m asking (the government) to give us back 2018. Simple as that. I want my freedoms back.”New Zealand has struggled to fight off a highly infectious outbreak of the Delta variant this year, forcing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to move from its strategy of elimination through lockdowns to living with the virus with higher vaccinations.Ardern last month said the country would require teachers and workers in the health and disability sectors to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and has promised to end restrictions only after 90% of the eligible population is inoculated.That threshold is higher than many other countries and has invited criticism from people calling for more freedoms, while the mandate will be a hurdle for those looking to get back to work but still avoiding the jab.“Treat us like people!” another protester exclaimed when asked about the government’s stance on mandating the vaccine.“I’m here for freedom. The government, what they’re doing, is anti-freedom.”New Zealand still has among the lowest Covid-19 cases in the world with under 8,000 cases reported so far and 32 deaths. It reported 125 new cases on Tuesday and its total double-dose vaccination rate had reached nearly 80% of its eligible population.


Malaysia expected to see GDP growth of 5.3% to 6.3% in 2022

Malaysia is on track to achieving a GDP growth of between 5.3% and 6.3% in 2022, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said today.
"I feel very optimistic that we will achieve the GDP forecast of between 5.3% and 6.3%," he said in an interview with CNBC this morning.
Zafrul said Malaysia’s economic growth is expected to accelerate in the third quarter of 2022 (Q3 2022), continuing the positive economic momentum in the first half of the year, driven by private consumption following the resumption of economic activities in the country.
Malaysia’s GDP expanded by 8.9% in Q2 2022, aided by a boom in overseas trade with both export and import values hitting record highs in June.
However, the country’s economic outlook going into 2023 is expected to be challenging due to concerns over a global economic slowdown, China’s stumbling growth and the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary tightening.
"Even the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have revised their global growth forecast, (due to events such as) the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
"China, which is Malaysia’s largest trading partner, has also implemented a very conservative Covid-19 policy, and this has disrupted the supply chain between Malaysia and China," Zafrul said.
Meanwhile, he said Malaysia's budget deficit is expected to remain at 6.0% in 2022, noting that the debt-to-GDP ratio currently stands at 60% – well below the ceiling of 65%.
"We will have to stick to that 6.0% deficit. We need to make sure that the revenue is as per budget or at least matches what we need to do to cover the higher expenses due to subsidies," he said.


Reported Covid deaths see drop to 17

Another 17 Covid-related deaths were reported on Dec 3, taking the cumulative death toll in the country to 30,538.This is a reduction from the past week with no states reporting two-digit deaths.According to the health ministry’s Github data repository, four or 23.5% of these were brought-in-dead (BID) cases.Selangor had the highest number of reported deaths at three or 17.6%.Negeri Sembilan, Perlis, Sabah, Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur reported two deaths each while Johor, Kelantan, Melaka and Sarawak reported one death each.No deaths were reported in Kedah, Pahang, Perak, Penang, Labuan and Putrajaya.A total of 5,551 new cases were reported yesterday, taking the overall total to 2,649,578.As of yesterday, there were 62,486 active Covid-19 cases reported and 5,301 recoveries.


Gunmen kidnap Islamic schoolchildren in Nigeria

Nigerian officials say gunmen kidnapped an unknown number of students from an Islamic school in Nigeria on Sunday.A teacher told the BBC that 150 students were missing from the school in the town of Tegina, while other reports put the figure at about 200.The pupils were at the Salihu Tanko Islamic School, in the north-central Nigerian state of Niger, when they were abducted by the men, who were firing “indiscriminately”, said state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun.He said the abduction was carried out by “armed bandits on board motorcycles in their numbers” and while they were still trying to ascertain exact numbers of children missing, they believe it to be around 200.All “tactical teams” have been mobilised to rescue the victims and the police will “ensure the children are rescued unhurt”, he said.Abductions of students carried out for ransom are increasingly common in northern states.Tegina is not far from the town of Kagara, where 27 students were abducted in February.Also in February nearly 300 girls were taken by armed men from a boarding school in Jangebe, Zamfara state. Most were later freed.In the latest incident, witnesses quoted by This Day news site said gunmen on motorcycles rode through the town, shooting at random people.As people fled, the attackers stormed the Islamic school and seized the children. The school is attended by boys and girls, aged six to 18.Authorities said two people were shot during the attack and one had since died. A number of people travelling in a car were also reportedly kidnapped.The attack in Tegina comes a day after 14 people kidnapped from a university in the neighbouring state of Kaduna were released.There have been at least six kidnappings of students in north-west and central Nigeria since December, with more than 800 students and staff abducted.The 2014 kidnap of 276 schoolgirls in the north-eastern town of Chibok by Islamist militants Boko Haram brought global attention to the scourge of raids on schools in Nigeria, but more recent attacks are suspected to be the work of criminal gangs.


Daily cases fall below 20,000

Another 19,257 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 1,243,852.Selangor recorded 7,084 cases, Kuala Lumpur 2,450, Kedah 1,514, Sabah 1,255 and Johor 1,182.Penang recorded 959 cases, Kelantan 930, Negeri Sembilan 884, Perak 774, Pahang 714, Sarawak 573, Terengganu 425 and Melaka 414.Putrajaya recorded 56 cases, Perlis 41 and Labuan two.Active cases stand at 224,120 with 1,097 in the ICU and 575 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 16,323 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 1,009,343.However, 210 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 10,389.


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Mahathir to take Anwar to court over claim on family wealth

Dr Mahathir Mohamad will proceed with legal action against Anwar Ibrahim over the prime minister's claim of Mahathir having amassed wealth for himself and his family members, the former leader's lawyer said today.
Rafique Rashid said a response to Mahathir's letter of demand had been received from Anwar's lawyers on April 17.
"The letter merely denied all claims without providing evidence, on the grounds that Anwar would answer these in court," he said.
"In light of this response, Mahathir has instructed our law firm to pursue further legal action against Anwar."
Mahathir said on March 28 that he would give Anwar seven days to retract the remarks, made at a PKR event.
It is understood that this was later extended to two weeks.
Anwar, in his presidential address at the event, had made a veiled jibe at Mahathir after the former prime minister accused him of trying to silence dissent.
In his speech, Anwar said among others that a "certain person" who had led the country "for 22 years plus 22 months" was now talking about the plight of the Malays.
"How would they not if you monopolised them for yourself, your family and your children? Now that you've lost power, you talk about the masses," Anwar had said.
Mahathir, who described the remarks as slander, said the prime minister should not make such comments without clear proof.


Leak of MACC probe into judge Nazlan explained in Dewan Rakyat, says Azalina

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said says she provided an oral reply in the Dewan Rakyat on Feb 23 about the leak of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation on Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali's case and the outcome of the probe.
In a statement last night, she said the matter was raised by Tenggara MP Manndzri Nasib and Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan.
Azalina said she explained that the MACC, in a letter dated Feb 21, had said that it submitted a report on Nazlan to the chief justice in connection with the breach of the Judges' Code of Ethics 2009.
"I also informed the Dewan Rakyat that this matter is under the purview of the chief justice, in accordance with Clauses 3 and 3A of Article 125 of the Federal Constitution.
"My reply to Messrs Shafee & Co's letter is in line with my answer in the Dewan Rakyat as well as the facts that I am aware of in carrying out my duties as a member of the administration to Parliament," she said. Azalina had also asked the law firm to submit an official application to MACC if it wished to obtain the results of the investigation.
"As I have emphasised before in the Dewan Rakyat, any matter related to this is under the jurisdiction of the judiciary.
"The government always respects and continues to abide by the principle of the separation of powers doctrine," she added.


NZ extends Delta outbreak lockdown

New Zealand extended a national Covid-19 lockdown Friday as case numbers continued to rise and a Delta variant outbreak spread from Auckland to the capital Wellington.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the initial three-day lockdown, which would have expired overnight Friday, would be extended by another four days.She said New Zealand was still trying to assess the scale of the outbreak, which emerged in Auckland this week, ending the country’s run of six months without community transmission.“We just don’t quite know the full scale of this Delta outbreak. All in all, this tells us we need to continue to be cautious,” she said.Ardern said all the cases, including those in Wellington, were linked, giving less cause for concern.“That’s important, as it means we’re starting to build a picture of the edges of this cluster,” she said.“At this stage, we don’t have random cases popping up.”New Zealand has won widespread praise for its coronavirus response, which focuses on eliminating the virus in the community rather than containing it, and has seen only 26 deaths in a population of five million.But its vaccine rollout has been less stellar, with only around 20% of the population fully inoculated.Neighbouring Australia has been pursuing a similar “Covid zero” strategy, but is struggling to contain outbreaks of the Delta variant.The New Zealand outbreak has been traced back to a traveller who returned from Sydney earlier this month, although it remains unclear how the virus jumped quarantine containment into the community.


Korea Inc's foreign labour crunch puts older workers back in factories

When Hwang Kwang-jo's factory in Seoul faced a staffing crunch earlier this year after the departure of Nepalese workers and younger locals, he hired a 61-year-old to pick up some of the work.
While the job, which involves handling heavy alloy bars, is less than ideal for workers close to retirement, the pandemic has diminished South Korea's pool of foreign labour, forcing firms to widen the net.
Compounding that challenge is younger Koreans' reluctance to take up blue-collar jobs.
"It's incredibly difficult to fill vacancies, I never received any resumes from those in their 20s," said Hwang, chief executive at Iljin Enterprise, an aluminium moulding plant that usually employs about 35 people. "We were able to find Mr Oh in April after the two Nepalese had to leave the country due to visa issues."
The scramble for labour in South Korea, where unemployment hit a near-record low of 2.9% in July, has led to a surge in the number of elderly people in the workforce with 58% of the job increases driven by people aged 60 and older.
But even that hasn't been enough to ease staff shortages across the industrial and farming sectors in Asia's fourth-largest economy, setting up new price pressures with inflation already running at a 24-year high.
In South Korea, the world's fastest ageing society, 33.1% of people aged between 70-74 are still working, topping the OECD's scale measuring the employment for the age group and far higher than the OECD average of 15.2%.
Central bank data shows over 230,000 of those aged 60 or over have found jobs at factories and construction sites since early 2020, while younger people have been leaving those sectors.
While South Korea's foreign worker contingent, at 848,000, is relatively small compared with other industrialised economies, migrants make an important contribution to the factory sector.
Since early 2020, the monthly inflow of new foreign workers is about 35% of what the country had in 2019, before the pandemic, government data showed.
Japan is experiencing a similar problem, with strict pandemic controls keeping migrant labour out, prompting an even greater reliance on the elderly population to fill vacancies.
Hwang at Iljin Enterprise says while the physical demands of work at his factory make it better suited for younger foreign and local workers, he doesn't have much choice.
"If I can't get any younger folks or foreign workers, it would be my bottom choice but I might need to hire more older folks," said Hwang, who recently gave all his crew a raise on top of the 700,000 won monthly bonuses he gave his foreign staff.
The government said last week it plans to loosen visa restrictions and cut red tape for foreign workers to help fill vacancies.
For Kim Ji-hwang, a land developer in Danyang, two-and-a-half hours south of Seoul, a staff shortage prompted him to hire 64-year-old Park Jang-young.
Park's new job requires him to clean trucks and equipment at the development site and earns him about 3.7 million won (US$2,844.18) a month, significantly more than his previous job at a parking lot.
"I know my boss prefers to find younger folks but young people go to Seoul after graduation - even foreign workers are picky, they have a good network and community to share information about pay, working conditions," Park said. "I will stick to this job unless I get fired - it's good pay I think for my age."


New Covid-19 cluster detected in Lahad Datu, Sabah

A new Covid-19 cluster has been detected in Lahad Datu, Sabah, the health ministry said yesterday.Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the cluster, known as the Benteng LD Cluster, was discovered following the screening of new detainees at the lock-up of the Lahad Datu district police headquarters.“A total of 50 detainees were screened on Aug 28 with seven positive cases detected while 43 individuals tested negative for the virus,” he said in a press conference in Putrajaya yesterday.Noor Hisham said of the positive cases, six were illegal immigrants and the seventh was a Malaysian. The detainees, who were asymptomatic, were admitted to the Lahad Datu hospital.“Prevention and infection control measures such as cleaning and disinfection processes have been carried out at the identified locations. Active case detection activities and close contact screening are ongoing,” he added.He said the cause of infection was still under investigation.In the meantime, he said, the health ministry had found a slight increase in the infectivity rate or R-naught (R0).“On Aug 26, the reported R0 was 0.74, but now it has increased to 1.0,” he said.He also said the ministry welcomed the decision to block the entry of long-term pass holders from India, Indonesia and the Philippines from Sept 7 onwards.He urged members of the public to continue observing the government’s SOPs.“Members of the public must play their roles in the fight against Covid-19 with a full sense of responsibility to the community and the country,” he said.


GST not a magic bullet, says tax expert

A financial expert has played down any need to reintroduce the goods and services tax (GST) to replace the current sales and services tax (SST) ahead of the tabling of Budget 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat at the end of the month.Malaysian Institute of Accountants president Veerinderjeet Singh said the GST was not a “magic bullet” that could solve Putrajaya’s fiscal problems, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic had led the government into an overspending mode.“It cannot be introduced that quickly,” he told MalaysiaNow. “First you must change the law, then you have to create awareness and educate the public.“We may need at least a year for an awareness campaign.”The 6% GST was introduced by the Barisan Nasional government under Najib Razak in April 2015, replacing the SST as part of Putrajaya’s tax reforms.In 2017, it brought the government RM40 billion in revenue.The following year, Pakatan Harapan (PH) replaced it with the SST after coming to power in the May 9 general election. This was one of the main pledges in PH’s election manifesto, with the coalition arguing that the GST had led to an increase in cost of living.PH lost federal power early last year after the resignation of Dr Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister.Several quarters have since urged the government to bring back the GST, including the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development which made the suggestion last month.Najib himself defended the tax in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, saying it had played an important role in reducing the income gap between the rich and the poor.He also said it had helped to reduce leakage due to the contraction of the black economy.Veerinderjeet, who has written several books on taxation, said the GST had brought in more revenue as it covered more goods than the SST.“The GST covered almost 70% of goods and services,” he said. “When this was abolished and we brought back the SST, the coverage of goods and services was only 38%.”Maintaining that there is no current need to reintroduce the GST, he suggested widening the scope of goods and services covered by the SST.Adding that the people are already suffering the effects of the pandemic, he said a new tax would only lead to a hike in the price of goods.He also proposed that the government come up with new rules for the GST in the event that it is reintroduced, saying GST refunds in the past were too slow.In the long term, he said, the government should introduce tax reforms in terms of structure and the administrative capabilities of the tax department, in addition to tax incentives.“It should be a five to seven-year plan,” he said. “You need to look at what taxes we have at the moment – how we can improve them and how we can make it easier for the people to comply.”However, he cautioned that the government should not give tax incentives too easily in seeking to attract investments in the country.“Give them to the type of businesses that we want to attract. Businesses that are more sustainable, that contribute to the country and bring new technology.“It should not be given to labour-intensive industries,” he said.Veerinderjeet also said the government could consider a special-purpose tax in the upcoming budget to help fund the battle against Covid-19.“This means a special tax that we impose on certain businesses for a period of time, let’s say two years.“This allows the government to collect some funds from the businesses that are profitable, which can accommodate paying some amount to the government,” he said, adding that the government would decide which sector on which to impose the tax.He said this money should be used specifically for healthcare.“Why don’t we ask corporations to make donations to the government? It is a tricky issue. Donations are tax deductible, which means income tax revenue will fall.“You may not collect that much at all,” he said.


New teachers from mass recruitment drive need to be equipped, say educationists

Educationists say the candidates selected through the mass recruitment drive for teachers should be equipped with the necessary skills set in order to ease the burden on current teachers, many of whom are struggling with a lack of support and resources.Chan Soon Seng, CEO of Teach For Malaysia, said the shortage of teachers which the mass recruitment aims to remedy was a long-standing problem, especially in rural areas.This had caused many teachers to take on more classes than they normally would, he said, adding that this could lead to burnout.“(They also have to) teach subjects with which they are not familiar, or many subjects which means they are not able to specialise or become experts in one particular subject,” he said.In some situations, he added, there are simply no teachers for subjects which limits the scope of learning for students.Chan also spoke of a lack of resources to provide effective online learning for students, which he said had led to many teachers dipping into their own pockets to purchase the equipment needed.While the arrival of new teachers would make a difference, he said, the government should focus on supporting current teachers in online learning.“This may mean providing teachers with delivery services so they can send materials to students, or the resources they need to create learning packets and materials.“Once schools reopen, that’s when having the additional supply of teachers may have a bigger impact. This could help schools ensure that they have enough teachers for physically distanced classrooms, if needed, and to cater to the differentiated needs of students which have been exacerbated by the pandemic,” he said.The education ministry said last month that some 18,000 teachers would be recruited as part of efforts to address the shortage of educators in the country, with placements expected to begin in October.Education Minister Radzi Jidin said graduates in education would be given priority although those from other fields would be recruited as well.Azlin Norhaini Mansor, chairman of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Research Centre For Educational Leadership And Policy, agreed that the recruitment drive could help solve the shortage of teachers but said requirements should be further refined.She told MalaysiaNow that candidates should already possess the necessary teaching skills, saying there is “no room to train them” as the issue had been around for a long time.“The ministry must also focus on developing competency in teachers at schools with fewer students, students with special needs, pre-schools, and technical and vocational institutions,” she said.“Without the right teaching skills, I’m afraid it will affect the quality of the learning process.”She recommended evaluating teachers for recruitment based on the needs of individual schools, saying each school has different needs according to location, subjects offered, building capacity and student diversity.“These must be taken into account when determining the number and options of teachers required. The education ministry needs to review its placement approach and improve it,” she added.“This one-off recruitment may fail if the selected candidates are not placed at schools with the proper options for them.”Chan, on the other hand, suggested that candidates be given pre-service training, saying most education graduates have not been trained for the home-based learning approach employed during the pandemic.“It is critical to ensure there is continuous support to equip incoming teachers with the digital skills to facilitate online learning, and integrate digital skills into in-person learning once schools reopen.“They will also need to be equipped with the skills to deliver non-digital modes of home-based learning, as many students do not have connectivity,” he said.


Umno hawks’ plan for pandemic polls in defiance of Agong, analysts say

While the Agong was fording flood waters to visit those who had lost homes and possessions in Pahang and the prime minister was meeting with those in distress in Johor, Umno leaders were gathering in Kuala Lumpur to plan a change of government by forcing a snap election.Yesterday, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in a meeting with division leaders attempted to persuade MPs to revoke their support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government by February so that snap polls could be held as soon as possible.Malay politics observer Kamarul Zaman Yusoff of Universiti Utara Malaysia said Zahid should not be hasty in calling for the 15th general election (GE15) to be held at a time when daily Covid-19 cases are on the rise and the death toll has passed 500.“Zahid’s plan to force snap polls goes against the decree by Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah that politicians put aside their differences and work with the government to battle the Covid-19 pandemic,” he told MalaysiaNow.The decree was one of several made by the king last year, urging politicians from both sides of the divide to work together in the face of rising case numbers.Aside from calling on Umno MPs to turn their back on the PN government, Zahid also sacked Annuar Musa as Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general, replacing him with Ahmad Maslan.“Zahid’s plan to force snap polls goes against the decree by Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah that politicians put aside their differences and work with the government to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.”Annuar has been among the most vocal against any plan by the party to quit PN and form an alliance with Anwar Ibrahim, who has been hoping to engineer a defection of MPs from the ruling bloc to form the government.Analyst Azmi Hassan said even without the threat of Covid-19, no one party would be able to obtain a comfortable majority in the event that a snap election is called.“Right now, whether it’s PN, BN, MN (Muafakat Nasional) or PH (Pakatan Harapan), no one will be able to get a clear majority if GE15 is called now,” the former Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturer told MalaysiaNow.Because of this, he said, cooperation among political parties would need to be strengthened ahead of time if any group is to form the government with a solid majority.“The bottom line is, GE15 will not resolve the political crisis as long as the individual parties do not work together.”Yesterday, MalaysiaNow reported that Zahid said Umno had no choice but to leave PN, accusing the ruling coalition of being out of touch with the people.At the closed-door meeting, Zahid 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.Zahid, who was deputy prime minister and home minister in the BN government, currently faces 47 charges of corruption involving millions of ringgit from the Yayasan Akalbudi foundation.Jayum Jawan of Universiti Putra Malaysia agreed that an election would not put an end to the political crisis as long as no single party emerges as the dominant group with a majority strong enough to form the federal government.“The political instability will continue until a general election is held as none of the parties can obtain a majority on its own,” he told MalaysiaNow.Kamarul said Umno would have to wait for an official decision at the Umno general assembly scheduled for Jan 31.“If Umno insists on forcing its hand, it will probably be the one to suffer the consequences,” he said.