Still time to impose better anti-Covid measures

The recent argument by Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing, that Malaysia will lose out on at least RM30 billion in tourist dollars this year if it discriminates against visitors from China, projects a chronic overreliance on low-hanging fruits in salvaging our tourism industry and in desperately banking on Chinese tourists as our main source of revenue.
The statement and arguments rang hollow, when he stated that China has been unfairly targeted by being highlighted as a "high-risk" country when many other countries have also topped the charts of Covid-19 infections and deaths, pointing out the US recording 99 million infections with 1.08 million deaths.
He said China, on the other hand, registered 31,000 deaths with 10.16 million cases recorded, further arguing that with China's 1.4 billion population, the death toll is only 0.00002%. He also asserted that our infection rate is double that of China, with us being 14.8% compared to China’s 0.7%.
All these portray either a lack of understanding or disregard for the reality at play, in being quick to blindly accept the "official data and figures" presented. If we are serious enough to accept China's current Covid struggle as what is presented by the Chinese government in its official case count and death rate, we are either kidding ourselves or remain trapped in our eternal kowtow to Beijing in fear of inciting its wrath.
It almost makes a laughing stock the world over, to see the official data on Covid being released by Beijing on its infection, death and positivity rates, as opposed to the grim reality on the ground that has been witnessed.
It is not about discriminating against China or its citizens. It is about pure common sense in trying to take early preventive steps to mitigate potential future risks and safeguard our own country’s safety and health security. There is a reason why a growing number of countries the world over are stepping up restrictions, not out of sheer discrimination or prejudice against China, but to reduce the severity of the impact and risk to the people.
He portrayed our hypocritical conduct when there is no stricter condition or pressure to impose restrictions on American travellers or from other countries experiencing similar high cases.
The reason why we have not imposed similar strict conditions on travellers coming in from other countries, including the US, is the volume of people and the fact that there is transparency, trust and officially tallied data and details on the Covid situation, backed by global recognition and by WHO.
According to global tracker OurWorldInData, daily confirmed Covid-19 cases peaked last Dec 21 in the US with about 70,000 cases on average. However, China ceased reporting infections last Dec 25, ahead of Beijing’s decision to reopen international borders from Jan 8.
In terms of Covid-19 deaths, the US reported about 449 fatalities yesterday, based on a seven-day average, much lower than the peak of more than 2,500 daily deaths in early February 2022. China claimed zero or fewer than one daily Covid-19 death on average since June, before ceasing reporting since Dec 25, 2022.
The Cabinet has decided against imposing mandatory tests on Chinese travellers, saying only heightened measures including testing for symptoms and wastewater testing will be implemented. It cautions against any discrimination against any particular country.
The lack of the true scale and situation in China, exacerbated by its reluctance to come clean on the true picture, has created a serious and legitimate concern about future potential risks that come with them, and it is not based on China prejudice.
We have teams of experts in various fields related to Covid, public health and infectious diseases management, among many others. Not all share the same argument of us needing to be open-minded and to have no strict restrictions on travellers coming in with high risks of infections.
Some have pointed out that we must not let the fear of the unknown restrict us in carrying out common sense duties to save the economy and push away the potential huge revenue that comes with this. To counter that, it is really out of common sense and a real fear of the unknown that had, and will in the future, ensure our preparedness level and capacity in managing the unknowns.
Science, data and scientific predictions are as good as they have, but there is no 100% scientific guarantee that any new potential variant that might be created out of this spiralling and out-of-control wave in China will not do any future harm. The warning by WHO on the new XBB1.5 variant or the Kraken hastens our need to be bold and step up measures and not just rely on our secondary front of elevating booster intake and masking procedures.
Symptomatic and wastewater screening are cosmetic actions taken to appease some quarters. It is an open secret that those measures will not help relieve the scale of the after-effects. In Italy's experience, half of the passengers on some flights were affected, and symptoms will not show in their direct form or in the form of rising temperature alone.
China will officially open its border for its citizens starting today. Assuming a 50% positivity rate for travellers from China visiting Malaysia, the estimated 1,200 daily arrivals over this week translate to about 643 imported Covid-19 cases a day – just in arrivals from China.
This adds 1205 to Malaysia’s current reported caseload of 538 daily Covid-19 cases, based on a seven-day average last Dec 31.
Malaysia needs to learn from the early stages of the epidemic in 2020 when steps were not taken to prevent the entry of tourists at risk of carrying Covid-19, contributing to further problems that could be managed earlier with the right meticulous approaches.
The recent vow by Tiong that there will be special additional lanes and more translators and guides for Chinese travellers smacks of blatant hypocrisy, when we have stated that there will be no discrimination or special treatment for any tourists or travellers.
It shows a stark reality of the ineffectiveness of the tourism ministry in coming up with a future-driven, bold, effective and comprehensive strategic plan for reorienting and revamping our tourism industry and strategic planning for our tourism returns, in pivoting away towards an eternal reliance on China as the easiest low hanging fruit for us.
It makes us more complacent, derives us from the other potential, entraps us with deeper Chinese overdependence, and limits our economic revenue options and heightens our risks. It is high time that we have a paradigm shift with bold clarity in our tourism fraternity and policymakers.
Time remains of the essence. We can still impose measures of mandatory testing on arrival for all arrivals, regardless of nationality. If we can have special lanes and all the additional measures just to support Chinese visitors, surely we can have more resources and support systems to enforce mandatory testing or deeper preventive measures rather than just temperature and wastewater testing, which makes a mockery of our preparedness level.
Memories fade fast but it is crucial to be mindful of past facts and history. One of the most pressing and causal factors of the initial phase of the pandemic was China’s unwillingness to admit and share the truth and data on the spread of the virus, and its efforts to dismiss the severity of the virus and the ease of the spread. Chinese citizens were allowed to leave China freely at that time, but internal movements were curbed, which portrays the flawed and disguised approaches.
If we lack the boldness to take early steps as have been taken by others for the sake of appeasing China and trying not to harm ties, it will signal yet another subdued and fearful move in our forever-China pander and submission at the expense of our larger independent interests and the lives of the people.
It is time for our new leadership to be bold and principled enough to take the bull by the horns, to tell things as they are – and, more importantly, not to repeat the mistakes of others. Our lives and livelihoods depend on that.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


More needed to safeguard reserves, activists say as 8,000-year-old forest faces loss of protected status

Environmentalists are calling for immediate action to protect forest reserves in the wake of a proposal to degazette the 8,000-year-old Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) in Selangor, a move that could jeopardise the Orang Asli communities and endangered species living in the area.The KLNFR, the last patch of peatland forest in South Selangor, was gazetted as a forest reserve in 1927. It is home to more than 2,000 Temuan indigenous people as well as rare animals such as the Malayan sun bear, the Selangor pygmy flying squirrel, and the Langat red fighting fish.The proposal by the Selangor government late last year for the reserve to be degazetted was met with concern and outrage by NGOs and local communities, with petitions garnering over 100,000 signatures.But this is not enough, environmental activist Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil told MalaysiaNow.“We need to immediately amend laws in the country, particularly the Forestry Act of 1984 which makes the menteri besar or chief minister of a state the numero uno authority in deciding the fate of forest reserves and the flora and fauna in it,” she added.She said the authority of those in the state government should be limited to a committee with members given the right to object to proposals for development in forest areas.“If at any discussion level, a proposal is agreed upon, the final decision must be made by the public which the government must obey without excuses,” she said.Shariffa, who is president of the Association for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka), also voiced concern over the destruction of forests that had already occurred throughout the country, saying state governments should no longer be given full power to decide on the matter.She cited the loss of the Sumatran rhino as a result of uncontrolled deforestation and warned that the same could happen to the Malayan tiger, the country’s national animal, if urgent steps are not taken.Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari had defended the proposal, saying last February that 40% of the forest was already degraded due to fires.He said the development plan for KLNFR was a good idea as it would stimulate new economies and galvanise new industries on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia as well as Selangor.But Shariffa said the move would exacerbate the climate crisis and destroy wildlife in addition to affecting the way of life for the Temuan community, which has inhabited the area for over a century.“Development in a forest reserve is not modernisation as modernisation requires the use of human thinking and planning capacity to create a better life,” she said.Greenpeace Malaysia had also hit out at the proposal, warning that the degazettement of KLNFR would release 5.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, going against Malaysia’s commitment in the Paris Agreement to a 45% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030.“The degazettement also goes against the Selangor State Structure Plan 2035 to maintain 32% of the forest area in Selangor and is not aligned with the National Action Plan for Peatlands (2011-2020) and Act 313, National Forestry Act 1984 as well as other international conventions we are part of,” the NGO said in a statement last October.It likewise cited reports stating that the Temuans would be displaced from their ancestral land if the reserve is degazetted to make way for development.Activist Andrew Sebastian meanwhile said the proposal would set a bad precedent despite the protest from NGOs and local communities.He also criticised what he called a lack of environmental vision on the part of the state government which had previously moved to ban all forms of logging.“This could also be due to desperation for funds,” Sebastian, the president and founder of Ecotourism and Conservation Society Malaysia, told MalaysiaNow, noting also elements of alleged corruption and mismanagement.He urged the people to continue speaking out on such matters.“We must continue to push for environmental impact assessments and public hearings for better management processes in terms of getting the voices and opinions of the locals heard.”He added that developments, especially those involving natural ecosystems, should be grounded in science, good governance and sustainability.“We have to keep check on transparency, address some alleged corrupt practices, and keep an eye on our forests and natural ecosystems.”


Ku Li the odd one out from Umno who didn’t support Ismail for PM

Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is likely the only one from Umno who did not support Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s nomination for prime minister, based on a list of 114 MPs scheduled for audiences with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara today.The MPs have been called to verify their choice of the new prime minister as stated in their statutory declarations submitted to the palace yesterday.MPs from Umno, GPS and Perikatan Nasional (PN) as well as four independents, all of whom had endorsed Ismail, are scheduled for the audiences, spread into five batches.Caretaker prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and other Bersatu leaders have been scheduled for an audience with the Agong at 11.10am, alongside Umno’s Najib Razak who had campaigned hard alongside PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim to topple the previous government.Ismail, meanwhile, has been included in the 2pm session.It is almost certain that Ismail will be asked by the Agong to form the next government, which will be a repeat of the same coalition of PN, Umno and GPS.About a dozen Umno MPs including Najib and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in an about-turn on Tuesday, stated their unanimous support for Ismail.Ismail was among the Umno leaders and Cabinet members who had refused to join Najib and Zahid in revoking support for Muhyiddin.His candidacy was believed to have been endorsed by PN chairman Muhyiddin following what was speculated to be a deal that could see Bersatu returning to play a key role.Ismail’s imminent appointment as the ninth prime minister followed the Agong’s reminder to political party chiefs on Tuesday to put the people’s welfare above themselves.Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah also told the leaders that the people were fed up with constant political bickering, and urged all parties to work together with the new government.


Kelantan schools to remain closed until Hari Raya break

Schools and educational institutions under the education ministry in Kelantan will remain closed from May 3 until the Hari Raya holidays.It was previously reported that schools in the state would remain closed until May 1.Kelantan Education Department director Zulkernai Fauzi said as announced by the ministry, school learning sessions would be held online through the home-based teaching and learning method (PdPR), from May 16 to 27.“The midterm break will start on May 28 and continue until June 12, and schools will reopen on June 13,” he told Bernama when contacted today.On Tuesday, Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the movement control order (MCO) in Kelantan would be extended until May 17 given the increase in Covid-19 cases.Yesterday, Kelantan recorded 401 new Covid-19 cases with 32 active clusters.Meanwhile Sekolah Menengah Imtiaz Yayasan Terengganu in Setiu, Terengganu, has been ordered to close for 14 days from Wednesday until May 11 after 11 students and a teacher tested positive for Covid-19.State health director Dr Nor Azimi Yunus said all students, teachers and school staff had been ordered to undergo screening and quarantine.“The school closure is to enable the disinfection process and health screening to be carried out,” she told Bernama today.Nor Azimi reminded all teachers to comply with the SOPs to prevent greater infections in schools.“Teachers must always keep their distance from students including during ‘tasmik’ (checking of Quran recitation) session because there have been infections during this session involving more than one person,” she said.


Turkey quits treaty aiming to prevent violence against women

Turkey officially withdrew on Thursday from an international treaty to prevent violence against women, Reuters is reporting.The country at the crossroads of Asia and Europe was the first to sign the treaty which bears the name of its largest city, 10 years ago.The Istanbul Convention states that men and women have equal rights and obliges state authorities to take steps to prevent gender-based violence against women, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators.Many members of President Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party had advocated for a review of the agreement, arguing it is inconsistent with Turkey’s conservative Muslim values by encouraging divorce and undermining the traditional family unit.The decision to withdraw drew condemnation from many Turks and Western allies when  Erdogan announced it in March. Critics say the withdrawal puts Turkey even further out of step with the EU, which it applied to join in 1987.Proponents of the convention and related legislation say more stringent implementation is needed, not less. Thousands were set to protest across Turkey, when a court appeal to halt the withdrawal was rejected this week.“We will continue our struggle,” Canan Gullu, president of the Federation of Turkish Women’s Associations, said on Wednesday. “Turkey is shooting itself in the foot with this decision.”She said that since March, women and other vulnerable groups have been more reluctant to ask for help and less likely to receive it because Covid-19 has been fuelling economic difficulties which have caused a dramatic increase in violence against women.Femicide has surged in Turkey, with one monitoring group logging roughly one per day in the last five years.“Our country’s withdrawal from the convention will not lead to any legal or practical shortcoming in the prevention of violence against women,” Erdogan’s office said in a statement to the administrative court on Tuesday.Many conservatives also see the Convention as promoting homosexuality through its principle of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.Hate speech is on the rise in Turkey. The country’s interior minister recently described LGBT people as “perverts” in a tweet. Erdogan has rejected their existence altogether.This month, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic sent a letter to Turkey’s interior and justice ministers expressing concern about a rise in homophobic narratives by some officials, some of which targeted the convention.“All the measures provided for by the Istanbul Convention reinforce family foundations and links by preventing and combating the main cause of destruction of families, that is, violence,” she said.The AP reports that a total of 77 women have been killed since the start of the year, according to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform. Some 409 women were killed in 2020, with dozens found dead under suspicious circumstances, according to the group.


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New cases inch towards 14,000

Another 13,944 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,939,198.Another 5,421 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,824,071.Meanwhile 138 are in the ICU, including 81 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 71 are in need of respiratory assistance including 34 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 13,944 cases reported today, 73 (0.52%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 13,871 (99.48%) are in Category One and Two.


US Indo-Pacific plan only a ‘good beginning’, Azmin says

Malaysia views US President Joe Biden’s proposed Indo-Pacific economic bloc as a welcome initiative but sees a bigger immediate opportunity in selling its access to a China-led trade pact to lure investment from global companies, International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said on Friday.The Biden administration’s proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) aims to offer a US-led platform for negotiating common regional standards around digital trade and data flows, labour standards, carbon emissions reductions and governance. But to the chagrin of some countries and business groups, it will not reduce tariffs between members or include traditional enhancements to market access.Azmin told Reuters in an interview that the newly launched Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) gives companies the ability to use Malaysia as a hub to access a market comprising a third of the world’s population and a third of global GDP output.“It represents almost 2.3 billion people under RCEP,” Azmin said. “So again, we would like to invite these big companies to come to Malaysia and to use Malaysia as a gateway to penetrate a bigger market access and also to enjoy lower tariffs in terms of our export product.”The 15 member RCEP bloc includes China, the world’s second largest economy and Japan, the third largest, along with Vietnam and Australia.Malaysia also is touting access to another regional trade bloc, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes a number of RCEP countries other than China and adds Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile.The IPEF plan was a key topic of discussion at a Washington leaders summit of Asean, though it is not expected to be formally launched until Biden travels to Japan next week.Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Thursday called for Washington adopt a “more active” trade and investment agenda with Asean countries.Azmin said IPEF “is not a TPP 2.0,” referring to the pan-Pacific trade deal that former US president Donald Trump quit in 2017, but said it represents a first-ever formal economic engagement between with the US.“It is a good beginning for us to engage on various issues, including the non-traditional elements like environment, climate change, labour practices, governance,” Azmin said.Malaysia still needs to decide which of the so-called IPEF pillars to join, he added. Vietnam’s prime minister also on Wednesday said more time was needed to study the IPEF.To make the project more attractive to Asian countries without reduced US import tariffs, Azmin said he suggested to US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that the IPEF include some provisions to provide more technical assistance and capacity building to member countries to help them close gaps between their differing levels of development.This would help less developed countries to comply with international standards on labour and environment, he added.


Kenyan trafficker extradited to US after endangered animal poaching sting

An African charged with conspiring to smuggle 10 tonnes of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horns was extradited on Monday from Kenya to the US.Manhattan prosecutors told reporters Mansur Mohamed Surur faces a federal court indictment charging him with conspiring in the illegal poaching of over 35 rhinos and more than 100 elephants.The resulting 190kg of rhinoceros horns and 9,000kg of elephant ivory were valued at more than US$7 million, authorities said.Mansur was arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, last July, after law enforcement agents intercepted a package containing two rhinoceros horns sold to an American law enforcement operative who had posed as a Manhattan-based buyer.Prosecutors said Mansur and the criminal smuggling enterprise he was part of were responsible for the illegal slaughter of thousands of animals, most of which are endangered.According to court papers, Mansur and co-defendants exported and agreed to export the rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory to foreign buyers, including some in New York.When they were shipped, the rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory were sometimes hidden in pieces of art such as African masks and statues, prosecutors said.The smugglers received and deposited payments from foreign customers that were sent in the form of international wire transfers, some of which were sent through US financial institutions.At an initial appearance before a judge, Mansur pleaded not guilty. He was detained without bail.Mansur was charged with conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking, wildlife trafficking, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to distribute and possess one kilogram or more of heroin. The last charge carries the potential for life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.Two co-defendants were brought to the US last spring to face charges. A fourth individual is a fugitive.According to the World Economic Forum, the revenue produced by endangered animal trafficking and the illegal sale of their body parts generates over US$20 billion worldwide per year.


Malaysia to summon Chinese envoy over airspace intrusion

Malaysia will issue a diplomatic note to protest the intrusion of more than a dozen Chinese air force aircraft into Malaysian airspace to Beijing, Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.He said Wisma Putra will also summon the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia on the breach by 16 aircraft belonging to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).“I will also relay Malaysia’s serious concern on the matter to my counterpart in China.“Malaysia’s stand is clear – having friendly diplomatic relations with any countries does not mean that we will compromise our national security. Malaysia remains steadfast in defending our dignity and our sovereignty,” Hishammuddin said.Yesterday, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) revealed that 16 aircraft from PLAAF had flown “suspiciously” close to the national airspace over the Malaysian Maritime Zone (MMZ) before being intercepted.The aircraft, identified as the Ilyushin Il-76 and Xian Y-20, had flown through the Singapore flight information region (FIR) at heights of 23,000 and 27,000 feet at a speed of 290 knots, which equals to about 530 km/h, before entering the Malaysian Maritime Zone and the Kota Kinabalu FIR and reaching some 60 nautical miles off the Sarawak coast.RMAF said it launched a fleet of planes at 1.33pm to carry out visual identification when the aircraft failed to heed its directive to contact the Kota Kinabalu air traffic control.“This incident amounts to a serious threat to national sovereignty and aviation safety, taking into account the air traffic density in the airways at the KK FIR,” it said.


89% of dry taps in Klang Valley running again

Water supply to 1,156 areas or 89.47% of the 1,292 locations affected by unscheduled water cuts in the Klang Valley was fully restored as of 6.30am today.Air Selangor said the remaining 136 areas were still in the recovery process.It said Petaling recorded 95.72% restoration followed by Gombak (94.89%), Kuala Lumpur (85.02%) and Klang/Shah Alam (59.32%), while water was fully restored in Hulu Selangor, Kuala Langat and Kuala Selangor.“Eight areas have not achieved full recovery although they are listed in areas (Petaling, Klang/Shah Alam, Gombak and Kuala Lumpur) which should have fully recovered by midnight, Sept 7. Another 54 affected areas still have not received supply, which should be restored at midnight, Sept 8.“Consumers are advised not to store or use water excessively to ensure that the recovery process in areas still affected by disruptions can proceed smoothly according to the restoration plan of Air Selangor,” it said in a statement today.It also said it was trying to stabilise the distribution system to restore supply to the affected areas.Water supply in the Klang Valley has been disrupted since Thursday after the Sungai Selangor Phases 1, 2 and 3 and Rantau Panjang water treatment plants were shut down due to pollution in the raw water source.


62 spots in Klang at risk of floods due to northeast monsoon

Sixty-two localities in the Klang district are at risk of flooding due to the high tide phenomenon and the northeast monsoon occurring from now until December.
Klang district disaster management committee (JPBD) chairman Shahman Jalaludin said more than 10,000 residents in Kampung Telok Gong, Sungai Serdang, Kampung Tok Muda and Pulau Indah would be affected by the situation. "There are 62 risk areas in Klang that we have identified as flood-prone, but it will happen when the high tide collides with rainwater.
"Like yesterday, even though there was a high tide, there was no rain and the situation was under control. Our only concern is that in October and November, the risk of flooding is greater when the rain adds to the danger of high tide," he told reporters after inspecting flood tyre barriers at the Tok Muda Jetty yesterday.
Shahman said based on the Malaysian Meteorological Department's weather forecast for the period of September 2022 to February 2023, Selangor is expected to experience a shift from the southwest monsoon to the northeast monsoon. "Due to the transition of the monsoon, an average of 100 to 400mm more rainfall is expected from the middle of this month and there is a risk of catastrophic flooding. During the same period, the phenomenon of the flooding is expected in coastal areas along Port Klang.
"According to the forecast by the National Hydrographic Centre in Pulau Indah, the highest water level is expected to reach 5.5m," he said.
He said both phenomena could cause seawater to overflow into the settlement areas, posing the risk of floods in the particular areas.
Shahman urged those living near or in areas at risk of floods to always keep an eye on the situation and the weather and to comply with the instructions from the authorities, especially if they are asked to evacuate.
He added that the committee has planned community empowerment programmes such as the establishment of a community emergency response team involving different levels of the local community.
The team will be provided training and basic disaster management skills at Taman Sri Muda on Sept 18 and Pulau Ketam on Sept 24 and 25.


Hong Kong police detain more than 20 on Tiananmen anniversary

Hong Kong police on Sunday detained more than 20 people, including key pro-democracy figures trying to commemorate the anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown, as hundreds in Taiwan mourned the dead with a vigil.
For years, tens of thousands of Hong Kongers would converge on the city's Victoria Park and its surrounding neighbourhood to commemorate the events of June 4, 1989 – taking part in candlelight vigils.
But since Beijing's imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 to quell dissent, the annual vigil has been banned and its organisers charged under the law.
This weekend, scores of police were deployed in the area, stopping people for searches and questioning. Some found with a candle – regarded as a symbol of the Victoria Park vigil – were questioned and detained.
More than 700km away on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, hundreds gathered at Taipei's Liberty Square to chant "fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong" as night fell.
They lit candles in the shape of "8964" – numerals forbidden in mainland China because they refer to the events of June 4, 1989.
"We need to cherish the freedom and democracy we have in Taiwan," Perry Wu, 31, told AFP.
"I feel really sad to see the news of people getting arrested today in Hong Kong."
Hong Kong police said late Sunday they had detained 23 people between the ages of 20 to 74 who were suspected of "breaching the peace".
One woman, 53, was arrested for obstructing police officers.
Among the most prominent activists AFP saw bundled into police vans was Chan Po-ying, the leader of the League of Social Democrats, one of the few remaining opposition parties.
The veteran activist, who was released hours later, held a small LED candle and two flowers before she was seized by police.
Other recognisable figures taken were Alexandra Wong, a well-known activist nicknamed "Grandma Wong" and Leo Tang, a former leader of the now-disbanded Confederation of Trade Unions.
On Saturday, Hong Kong police arrested four people for "seditious" acts and "disorderly conduct". Another four were detained on suspicion of breaching the peace.
The office of UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a tweet late Sunday it was "alarmed by reports of detentions" in Hong Kong and called for the "release of anyone detained for exercising freedom of expression & peaceful assembly."
'Let the world know'
Discussion of the Tiananmen crackdown is highly sensitive for China's communist leadership and commemoration is forbidden on the mainland.
The government sent troops and tanks to Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 to break up peaceful protests, brutally crushing a weeks-long wave of demonstrations calling for political change.
Hundreds – by some estimates, more than 1,000 – were killed.
Hong Kong was for decades the only Chinese city with a large-scale commemoration – a key index of the liberties and political pluralism afforded by its semi-autonomous status.
This year, Victoria Park was transformed for a "hometown carnival fair" organised by pro-Beijing groups.
Erase memories
Beijing has gone to exhaustive lengths to erase the 1989 event from public memory in the mainland.
All mention of the crackdown is scrubbed from China's internet.
Over the weekend, sites of more recent protests – a bridge in Beijing where a "freedom" banner was unfurled, and Wulumuqi Street in Shanghai where demonstrations happened in November – also saw heightened security.
Hong Kong authorities were vigilant in the weeks before June 4, with police seizing a commemorative "Pillar of Shame" statue for a security trial and removing books on the Tiananmen crackdown from public libraries.
But there were still pockets of defiance on Sunday around Hong Kong – a shop gave away candles, while a bookstore displayed Tiananmen Square archival material.
At the US consulate in the evening, dozens of candles could be seen shimmering in the large complex's windows.
'Face the consequences'
Sidestepping questions about whether public mourning was allowed, Hong Kong's leader John Lee had repeatedly maintained that the public must act according to the law or "be ready to face the consequences".
Vigils held around the world, from Japan to Australia, saw people standing with candles next to images of the brutal crackdown.
Before marching to the Chinese embassy in London, protesters staged a re-enactment featuring a blow-up tank and women dressed in white, emulating a statue to liberty set up on Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Most attendees were from Hong Kong, including a young couple working in banking who said they left because they could not bring up their future children under Beijing's authoritarian education system.
A 59-year-old poet from China's Sichuan province, told AFP at the Trafalgar Square rally that his family fled soon after brutal crackdown.
"Chinese people in my generation know what happened, but the younger ones, not really," said the man, who declined to be named for fear of Chinese reprisals.
"Their parents, their grandparents, need to keep up the knowledge, and we all need to remember at events overseas like this."


US says Saudi prince approved Khashoggi murder but spares him sanctions

The US on Friday for the first time publicly accused Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of approving the gruesome murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, unveiling a raft of punitive measures but stopping short of directly targeting the powerful heir apparent.The prince, who is de facto ruler of the longtime US ally and oil provider, “approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi”, said an intelligence report newly declassified by President Joe Biden’s administration.The report said that given Prince Mohammed’s influence, it was “highly unlikely” that the 2018 murder could have taken place without his green light. The killing also fit a pattern of “the crown prince’s support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad”.Khashoggi, a critic of Prince Mohammed who wrote for The Washington Post and was a US resident, was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, then killed and cut into pieces.The Treasury Department announced it was freezing assets and criminalising transactions with a former intelligence official as well as the Rapid Intervention Force, an elite unit that the report said “exists to defend the crown prince” and “answers only to him”.In honour of the slain writer, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the “Khashoggi Act” that will ban entry into the US of foreigners who threaten dissidents or harass reporters and their families and immediately placed 76 Saudis on the blacklist.“We have made absolutely clear that extraterritorial threats and assaults by Saudi Arabia against activists, dissidents and journalists must end. They will not be tolerated by the US,” Blinken said in a statement.Not seeking ‘rupture’But the US stopped short of directly targeting the 35-year-old crown prince, known by his initials MBS, with officials contending there was no precedent for sanctions on a senior leader of an ally.Blinken, questioned by reporters, said that “this is bigger than any one person”, explaining that Biden is trying “not to rupture the relationship, but to recalibrate to be more in line with our interests and our values”.An advocacy group founded by Khashoggi, Democracy for the Arab World Now, called on Biden to go further by imposing sanctions on Prince Mohammed – with a number of lawmakers from Biden’s Democratic Party also pushing for more action.“We must also ensure that there are real consequences for individuals like MBS; if not, autocrats around the world will get the message that impunity is the rule,” said Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.The Saudi foreign ministry in a statement denounced the “negative, false and unacceptable assessment” and rejected “any measure that infringes upon its leadership”.The Saudi government, which in the initial days said it had no information on Khashoggi, says it accepts responsibility for the killing but casts it as a rogue operation that did not involve the prince.Biden’s decision to release the report – first completed under Donald Trump – was a sharp departure from his predecessor, who had vowed to keep working with Saudi Arabia due to the kingdom’s lavish purchases of US weapons and shared hostility toward Iran.Biden spoke by telephone late Thursday with 85-year-old King Salman after the White House made clear he had no intention of speaking to the crown prince, who by contrast had formed a friendship with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.Fatal consulate appointmentA veteran Saudi journalist who had gone into self-exile, Khashoggi was told by Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US to go to the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul if he wanted to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage to a Turkish woman, Hatice Cengiz.Within minutes of entering the building on Oct 2, 2018, the 59-year-old was strangled and his body dismembered by a 15-member team allegedly sent from Riyadh under the direction of a top aide to Prince Mohammed, Saud al-Qahtani.The intelligence report said seven of the 15 Saudis came from the Rapid Intervention Force, which it said had earlier acted to suppress dissent in the kingdom and abroad.The Central Intelligence Agency had quickly concluded with high confidence that Prince Mohammed ordered the assassination but Trump refused to release the report and called for moving on.A US official said it was “obviously reality” that the new administration will still have to deal with the prince, who is also defense minister, on issues including oil, Iran and Yemen, where Biden has cut support for Saudi’s devastating offensive.Few observers of Saudi Arabia believe the murder could have taken place without the knowledge of Prince Mohammed, a calculating strongman who has jailed a number of critics and locked up competing factions in the royal family.Under heavy pressure from the US and the international community, the Saudi government put some of the perpetrators on trial.The closed-door trial exonerated the two officials widely seen as the masterminds: Qahtani, the royal court’s media adviser, and deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri – who was slapped with sanctions Friday by the Treasury Department.Five unnamed defendants were sentenced to death and three others given stiff prison terms. Nine months later, the death sentences were withdrawn by the court and replaced with sentences of up to 20 years.Rights groups called the case a farce but it satisfied the Trump administration, which blacklisted 17 suspects including Qahtani but not Assiri.


Selangor logs over 3,000 cases as daily infections cross 8,000 again

Another 8,209 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 595,374.Selangor recorded 3,125 cases, Kuala Lumpur 801, Johor 752, Sarawak 594, Negeri Sembilan 576, Kelantan 414, Perak 384, Kedah 373, Melaka 322, Penang 303, Sabah 203, Pahang 135 and Terengganu 127.Labuan recorded 62 cases, Putrajaya 33 and Perlis five.Active cases stand at 83,331 with 880 in the ICU and 446 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 7,049 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 508,947.However, 103 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 3,096.


Face-to-face campaigning for Sarawak polls given okay in low internet access areas

Face-to-face campaigning through talks and lectures for the upcoming Sarawak election will only be allowed in 64 areas identified as having low internet access.According to the official SOPs for the polls, these areas comprise: Omar, Tasik Biru, Tanjong Datu, Asajaya, Muara Tuang, Stakan, Serembu, Mambong, Tarat, Tebedu, Kedup, Bukit Semuja, Sadong Jaya, Simunjan, Gedong, Sebuyau, Lingga, Beting Maro, Balai Ringin, Bukit Begunan, Simanggang, Engkilili, Batang Ai, Saribas, Layar, Bukit Saban, Kalaka, Krian, Kabong, Kuala Rajang, Semop, Daro, Jemoreng, Repok, Meradong, Pakan, Meluan, Ngemah, Machan, Dudong, Bawang Assan, Dalat, Tellian, Balingian, Tamin, Kakus, Pelagus, Katibas, Bukit Goram, Baleh, Belaga, Murum, Jepak, Kemena, Samalaju, Bekenu, Lambir, Marudi, Telang Usan, Mulu, Bukit Kota, Batu Danau, Ba’Kelalan and Bukit Sari.Party organisers, secretaries, candidates and speakers must take Covid-19 RTK Ag self-tests before the event, and only vaccinated individuals will be allowed to attend.Attendance meanwhile will be limited to 50% of the premise capacity or a maximum of 150 people at any given time.Only residents who stay in the village or longhouse are allowed to attend, with the responsibility on candidates and parties to ensure that outsiders are not involved.Physical distancing must be observed at all times, along with other mandatory health measures such as the wearing of face masks, temperature checks and the scanning of QR codes or manual check-ins.Each talk or session must be capped at two hours and cannot continue later than 10pm.Lectures or talks are prohibited at open or public areas, along with any form of entertainment during the campaign while any food must be pre-packed.The Sarawak election take place on Dec 18. Nomination day will be held on Dec 6, with 12 days of campaigning to follow.


Top AI CEOs, experts raise 'risk of extinction' from AI

Top artificial intelligence executives including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday joined experts and professors in raising the "risk of extinction from AI", which they urged policymakers to equate at par with risks posed by pandemics and nuclear war.
"Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war," more than 350 signatories wrote in a letter published by the nonprofit Center for AI Safety (CAIS).
As well as Altman, they included the CEOs of AI firms DeepMind and Anthropic, and executives from Microsoft and Google.
Also among them were Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio - two of the three so-called "godfathers of AI" who received the 2018 Turing Award for their work on deep learning - and professors from institutions ranging from Harvard to China's Tsinghua University.
A statement from CAIS singled out Meta, where the third godfather of AI, Yann LeCun, works, for not signing the letter.
The letter coincided with the US-EU Trade and Technology Council meeting in Sweden where politicians are expected to talk about regulating AI.
Elon Musk and a group of AI experts and industry executives were the first ones to cite potential risks to society in April.
Recent developments in AI have created tools supporters say can be used in applications from medical diagnostics to writing legal briefs, but this has sparked fears the technology could lead to privacy violations, power misinformation campaigns, and lead to issues with "smart machines" thinking for themselves.
AI pioneer Hinton earlier told Reuters that AI could pose a "more urgent" threat to humanity than climate change.
Last week OpenAI CEO Sam Altman referred to EU AI - the first efforts to create a regulation for AI - as over-regulation and threatened to leave Europe. He reversed his stance within days after criticism from politicians.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet Altman on Thursday.


India's state-funded helmet promises 'fresh air' in battle on winter smog

As India's capital of New Delhi prepares for winter - and the accompanying season of acrid smog - the government is promoting a motorcycle helmet fitted with filters and a fan at the back that it says can remove 80% of pollutants.
State agencies have pumped thousands of dollars into Shellios Technolabs, a startup whose founder Amit Pathak began work on the helmet, which he calls the world's first of its kind, in a basement in 2016.
That was the year of the first headlines about the filthy air that makes New Delhi nearly unbreathable from mid-December to February, as the heavy cold traps dust, vehicle emissions and smoke from burning crop waste in nearby states.
"Inside a home or office, you could have an air purifier," said Pathak, an electrical engineer. "But the guys on the bike, they have no protection at all."
So his company designed a helmet with an air purification unit, fitted with a replaceable filter membrane and a fan powered by a battery that runs six hours and can be charged through a microUSB slot.
Sales of the helmet began in 2019, and tests on New Delhi's streets by an independent laboratory confirmed it can keep more than 80% of pollutants out of users' nostrils, Pathak added.
A 2019 test report seen by Reuters shows the helmet cut levels of lung-damaging PM 2.5 airborne particles to 8.1 micrograms per cubic metre from 43.1 micrograms outside.
India's science and technology ministry says the helmet offers "a breath of fresh air for bikers". That may not come a moment too soon in a country that was home to 35 of the world's 50 worst polluted cities last year.
Pathak sees a big opportunity amid annual demand for 30 million helmets, but declined to reveal his production or sales figures.
Each helmet retails at 4,500 rupees (US$56), or nearly four times the cost of a regular one, effectively putting the device beyond the reach of many riders in India.
Since the weight of 1.5kg (3.3 lb) is heavier than existing devices, Shellios has tied up with a big manufacturer to develop a lighter version from a thermoplastic material rather than fibreglass, a step that will also cut the cost.
The new version is expected to come out within a few months.
Pathak said the company had also drawn interest from southeast Asian nations such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.


Renewal of Convent Bukit Nanas lease, a just and proper move

The prime minister and Cabinet are to be commended for their timely and welcome intervention in the non-renewal of lease for the Convent Bukit Nanas (CBN) school matter.The recent revelation as reported in the media by a former minister in charge of natural resources and the present federal territories minister that they were unaware or not fully informed at the relevant time of the lease extension issue for CBN had raised concerns about the formulation and implementation of federal government land and education policies for mission schools.It appears as reported in the media that the policy purportedly used to justify the non-renewal of the CBN lease by some federal land agencies was not one formulated at the Cabinet level and may have contradicted the earlier publicly declared policy by then-deputy prime minister and education minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, as reported in The Star on Jan 25, 2013.It was reported in The Star that Muhyiddin had stated that the education ministry had no objection to extending the leases for mission schools as long as they were used for education. It was also reported that then-director-general of education, Abdul Ghafar Mahmud, had stated that a circular would be sent to all state education directors telling them that mission school authorities should be consulted when appointing school heads.Since that date there appears to have been no publicly announced change in policy. Any such change would have to be made by the Cabinet after considering all factors and the input from stakeholders, since the mission schools would have taken steps in line with that policy. Certainly it is not within the power of federal land agencies or even a single ministry to change such policies without Cabinet approval.In view of the above, it was just and proper that the prime minister and Cabinet intervened to reverse the decision of the federal lands commissioner and grant an extension of the lease for CBN. This is consistent with the lauded policy of the government for mission schools to have a role in nation-building, a role they continue to perform with dedication and distinction.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


New York lawyers sanctioned for using fake ChatGPT cases in legal brief

A US judge on Thursday imposed sanctions on two New York lawyers who submitted a legal brief that included six fictitious case citations generated by an artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT.
US District Judge P Kevin Castel in Manhattan ordered lawyers Steven Schwartz, Peter LoDuca and their law firm Levidow, Levidow & Oberman to pay a US$5,000 (about RM23,300) fine in total.
The judge found the lawyers acted in bad faith and made "acts of conscious avoidance and false and misleading statements to the court."
Levidow, Levidow & Oberman said in a statement on Thursday that its lawyers "respectfully" disagreed with the court that they acted in bad faith.
"We made a good faith mistake in failing to believe that a piece of technology could be making up cases out of whole cloth," the firm's statement said.
Lawyers for Schwartz said he declined to comment. LoDuca did not immediately reply to a request for comment, and his lawyer said they are reviewing the decision.
Schwartz admitted in May that he had used ChatGPT to help research the brief in a client's personal injury case against Colombian airline Avianca and unknowingly included the false citations. LoDuca's name was the only one on the brief that Schwartz prepared.
Lawyers for Avianca first alerted the court in March that they could not locate some cases cited in the brief.
Bart Banino, a lawyer for Avianca, said on Thursday that irrespective of the lawyers' use of ChatGPT, the court reached the "right conclusion" by dismissing the personal injury case. The judge in a separate order granted Avianca's motion to dismiss the case because it was filed too late.
The judge wrote in Thursday's sanctions order that there is nothing "inherently improper" in lawyers using AI "for assistance," but he said lawyer ethics rules "impose a gatekeeping role on attorneys to ensure the accuracy of their filings."
The judge also said that the lawyers "continued to stand by the fake opinions" after the court and the airline questioned whether they existed. His order also said the lawyers must notify the judges, all of them real, who were identified as authors of the fake cases of the sanction.


Any move to close schools will be based on joint assessment, says health minister

Any decision on the closure of schools will be made based on a joint assessment by the district health office, education ministry and state governments, says Health Minister Dr Adham Baba.He said this would include assessments of cases that involve school staff and students who have to undergo quarantine or home surveillance order after testing positive for Covid-19.“However, if the cases only involve students and not school staff, the school can remain open,” he told reporters yesterday when asked whether the ministry had proposed that schools be closed due to the spread of Covid-19 there.This followed the directive by the Kelantan education department that all schools and educational institutions in seven districts placed under movement control order be closed until April 24.Meanwhile, Adham said a total of 9,916 individuals aged 75 and above are scheduled to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in the second phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, which starts today.They will be inoculated at 30 vaccination centres nationwide: five each in Kedah, Pahang and Penang, four in Sabah, three in Terengganu and Melaka, two in Negeri Sembilan and one each in Perlis, Sarawak and Labuan.


US will offer Hong Kongers temporary ‘safe haven’

Hong Kong citizens will be allowed to stay in the US for up to 18 months because their basic freedoms, which were guaranteed by China at the handover from Britain in 1979, are now being violated by Beijing.President Joe Biden said on Thursday there were “compelling foreign policy reasons” to allow Hong Kong visitors to stay because China has been “undermining Hong Kong’s remaining democratic processes and institutions, imposing limits on academic freedom, and cracking down on freedom of the press”.Since Beijing introduced a new security law for the Chinese territory which expands the definition of patriotism, making “acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion” criminal offences, many protestors and pro-democracy advocates have been arrested or fled.Biden pointed to the arrests of hundreds of activists and opposition politicians, under the new security law.However, Liu Pengyu, the spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, said the US government’s actions “disregard and distort facts, and grossly interfere in China’s internal affairs”.Samuel Chu of the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, which campaigned for the move, told the BBC the group estimates that it could affect some 100,000 people.“It is a significant number because, I think, it’s a pretty good chance that a pretty large number of visitors would benefit from this,” he said. “The situation in Hong Kong has been unfolding pretty publicly, and you’ve seen people travelling and leaving Hong Kong in droves, not just to the US but other countries.”The US government says around 155,000 visitors arrived from Hong Kong in 2019 and 23,000 came in 2020, the reduced numbers being because of the Covid-19 pandemic.In July, the US government warned companies of the new risks of doing business in Hong Kong under the security law.In January, London introduced a policy allowing residents of the former British colony to stay in the UK for up to five years and apply for permanent residency in response to the draconian new security law.The British government estimates over five million Hong Kong residents are eligible and expects 300,000 people to take up the offer in the first five years.UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab welcomed the US offer as a “big-hearted decision”.


Japan expands virus emergency after Paralympics open

Japan moved Wednesday to expand a virus state of emergency to eight more regions, a day after the Paralympic opening ceremony, as rising infections put hospitals under pressure.The step comes with summer school holidays ending and top infection experts suggesting delaying the start of classes to reduce infection risks.The country has been recording more than 20,000 new infections a day in recent weeks, and in urban areas like Tokyo patients in serious condition have been left waiting for hours or travelling long distances in ambulances to find available hospital beds.Government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said a panel of experts had approved a plan to place eight more regions under the emergency already in place in 13 areas including Tokyo.The decision is expected to become official later in the day, when Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga convenes a special meeting of ministers.The measure largely limits the sale of alcohol by restaurants and bars and asks them to close early, while urging the public to work from home and avoid non-urgent outings.“This puts further burden on the Japanese people, but we ask for their continued efforts to prevent infections,” Kato told a regular briefing.The government also plans to bring four other regions under a less strict measure that already affects eight regions.In all, the planned move will mean 33 of Japan’s 47 regions are under heightened anti-infection rules as the country hosts the Paralympics after the Olympics.Organisers say their countermeasures have stopped infection spreading from participants to the Japanese public but some experts argue holding the events has undermined government messaging on the virus and encouraged people to go out.A top adviser to the government on the virus told lawmakers Wednesday that municipalities should be able to consider extending the summer vacation for school children to prevent infections.The government has so far ruled out blanket school closures, and is proceeding with a vaccination programme that began slowly but has picked up speed, with around 40% of the population now fully inoculated.So far Japan has recorded around 15,500 deaths in the pandemic.


Health experts warn of Parkinson's 'pandemic'

Local health experts are warning of an increase in Parkinson's disease cases in Malaysia, going as far as to describe it as a pandemic of sorts despite its non-infectious nature.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Dr Lim Shen Yang said there was no specific epidemiological data to determine the actual number of Parkinson's patients in the country.
Nevertheless, he said Malaysia might follow the trend seen in other countries where cases of Parkinson's disease have increased over the past two decades.
"It's partly due to population ageing, but there are also other factors at play such as environmental pollution," Lim, a senior consultant in neurology at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, added.
He said genetic factors also play a role, especially in younger patients.
"We found examples of young Malay and Chinese patients with certain genetic mutations that contribute to Parkinson's," he added.
Lim, alongside fellow medical expert Dr Tan Ai Huey, recently contributed an article on the disease to a prestigious international journal.
Their article became the cover issue of the August edition of Nature Reviews Neurology, on the link between the gut-brain axis and Parkinson's disease.
Another publication listed neurological problems as the leading cause of disability in the world, with Parkinson's taking first place.
One report estimated a doubling in number of patients to six million from 1990 to 2015.
This figure is expected to continue increasing, to 12 million globally by 2040 due to ageing.
According to United Nations projections, Malaysia is expected to become an ageing country by 2030.
This means that about 15% of the population will be aged 60 and above.
Previous studies forecast that the percentage of senior citizens in Malaysia would increase from 7% to 14% in 28 years.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently issued a technical briefing on Parkinson's disease, stating the need for urgent public health feedback.
WHO also sought Lim's views for the publication of its health journal.
Lim said WHO was focusing on Parkinson's disease as government, social and health systems around the world were generally ill-equipped to deal with the increasing number of patients.
"For example, Malaysia is still very short of neurologists who provide expert care for these patients, with around only one neurologist per 300,000 population," he said.
"This is in contrast with, say, around 1:20,000 in Taiwan, South Korea or Japan."
He also spoke of insufficient facilities such as nursing homes for the provision of long-term care for those in the advanced stages of the disease.
Parkinson's disease occurs when part of the brain cells begin to deteriorate as individuals age.
Symptoms include tremors in some parts of the body, stiffness in the limbs, slow movements and postural imbalance.
Lim said Parkinson's can also bring about other issues such as forgetfulness or dementia, behavioural changes and bladder and sleep problems.
A major challenge in dealing with the disease is a lack of awareness about the condition and the suffering that it can cause.
This might be because the disease generally inflicts older people who are no longer socially active, Lim said.
Even more worrying is the fact that clinical services for this disease do not receive sufficient funds.
"Nurses and physiotherapists trained in dealing with Parkinson's disease are virtually non-existent in Malaysia, unlike the thousands available in the UK or the Netherlands," Lim said.
And in terms of prevention, there appears to be a lack of will to ban the use of chemicals that are highly likely to contribute to the disease.
For example, Lim said, Paraquat – a type of toxic chemical used in plant fertilisers – is banned in many other countries but still utilised in Malaysia's agriculture sector.
Calling for greater awareness and a willingness to acknowledge that Parkinson's disease was a looming crisis, he said the government and society alike needed to initiate steps and plans for the sustainable care of an ageing population.
"Within the medical profession, specialties like neurology, geriatrics, general internal medicine, family medicine, and palliative care need increased emphasis, such as by making more training positions available at university hospitals which are currently very scarce," he said.
He added that NGOs like the Malaysian Parkinson's Disease Association had played an important role in the lives of patients and their families for decades.
According to the UK's National Health Service website, there is currently no cure for Parkinson's disease, although there are treatments that can reduce the symptoms.
Lim said that progress in research on treatments was crucial, adding that the government was said to be providing assistance through its high impact research scheme.
"The industry has an important role to play, to help make the fruits of these scientific advancements available and affordable to larger segments of society," he said.


Covid-19 case reported at another PJ mall

Padini Holdings today confirmed a case of Covid-19 among its staff at Brands Outlet in Paradigm Mall, making the shopping centre the latest in a string of malls which have reported positive cases.In a statement on Facebook, Padini said the individual is currently receiving medical attention while other staff members at the outlet will be screened and quarantined for 14 days.The outlet itself has been temporarily closed for sanitisation and deep cleaning, with contact tracing underway.“The safety and health of the team members and shoppers remains our priority. As such, all the information regarding Covid-19 shall be shared quickly and accurately. We apologise for the inconveniences caused,” Padini said.Earlier today, 1 Utama Shopping Centre confirmed a case of Covid-19 among the staff members of its Mac City Service Centre.Nu Sentral, Sunway Pyramid, and KL Gateway Mall have also reported cases of Covid-19 among its personnel.


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Polio virus found in New York City wastewater, suggesting local transmission

Health officials identified the virus that causes polio in New York City's wastewater, suggesting local transmission of the virus, state authorities said on Friday, urging unvaccinated New Yorkers to get vaccinated.
"The NYC Heath Department and the New York State Department of Health have identified polio virus in sewage in NYC, suggesting local transmission of the virus," the city's health department said in a statement on Friday.
"Polio can lead to paralysis and even death. We urge unvaccinated New Yorkers to get vaccinated now."
The identification comes weeks after a case of polio in an adult was made public on July 21 in Rockland County, marking the nation's first confirmed case in nearly 10 years.
Earlier this month, health officials said the virus was found in wastewater in the New York City suburb a month before health officials there announced the Rockland County case.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said at the time it was not yet clear whether the virus was actively spreading in New York or elsewhere in the US.
There is no cure for polio, which can cause irreversible paralysis in some cases, but it can be prevented by a vaccine made available in 1955.
New York officials have said they are opening vaccine clinics to help unvaccinated residents get their shots. Inactivated polio vaccine is the only polio vaccine that has been given in the US since 2000, according to the CDC. It is given by shot in the leg or arm, depending on the patient's age.
Polio is often asymptomatic and people can transmit the virus even when they do not appear sick. But it can produce mild, flu-like symptoms that can take as long as 30 days to appear, officials said.
It can strike at any age but the majority of those affected are children aged three and younger.


GPS to remain united in serving the people, says Abang Johari

Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg says the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will remain united in its focus to serve the people.He also said leaders should put the interest of the people above their own in order to ensure a stable government.“In politics, our intentions must be right,” he said in his speech at an event in Bintulu last night.“We must put the people’s interest above everything else. If we put our personal interest first, a struggle for power will happen.”Referring to Umno, he said this was what had happened in Melaka. “The people got fed up,” he added.Abang Johari also spoke against the culture of “political frogs”, saying it had caused instability in the country.He added that the GPS state government has no issue with Christians in Sarawak using the word “Allah”.“It is between you and your God,” he said. “Why create unnecessary problems?”He likewise said that the matter of the Timah whiskey should not be made into a big issue.“The people in the peninsula like to make small things into a national issue,” Abang Johari said. “For Timah, just because the name is Timah, it became a problem.“The fact is that ‘timah’ in Malay means tin, but they thought it is Fatimah, the name of a lady.”


Vitamin D may help fight Covid-19, says new research

Multiple research studies are suggesting that vitamin D may help protect people from coronavirus infections, according to the Straits Times of Singapore.Known as the “sunshine vitamin”, vitamin D is mainly made in the skin on exposure to the sun. It can also be obtained from sources such as eggs, liver and oily fish.Prolonged lockdowns reduce exposure to the sun which could increase vulnerability to viruses like Covid-19 and have other negative health effects.British medical journal The Lancet cited studies which suggest that vitamin D may be able to protect against acute respiratory infections such as Covid-19.The journal suggested increasing efforts to ensure the public have sufficient vitamin D as “such efforts might reduce the impact of Covid-19 in populations where vitamin D deficiency is prevalent”.A Singapore study analysed Covid-19 patients aged 50 and above at Singapore General Hospital.Their results, published in the science journal Nutrition last week, found that treating patients with a combination of vitamin D, magnesium and vitamin B12 was found to reduce the number who went on to require oxygen support or admission to intensive care.Dr Ben Ng, an endocrinologist from Arden Endocrinology Specialist Clinic at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre, said the pandemic will mean many people have decreased levels of vitamin D, given the reduction in outdoor activities.“I would encourage all patients who may be at risk of vitamin D deficiency to consider taking a replacement,” he said, adding that a daily dose of up to 1,000 units is extremely safe.Singapore Institute of Technology assistant professor Verena Tan said there is evidence that vitamin D is critical for good immune function and a deficiency may compromise immune response and increase risk of infection and disease.While she stopped short of suggesting people take vitamin D supplements without a doctor’s recommendation, she did note that healthy vitamin D levels can enhance immunity.While cautious, doctors seem to agree that treating vitamin D deficiency can be beneficial to one’s overall health, and so may help prevent or treat Covid-19.


New cases hover at 7,500

Another 7,509 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,384,542.Another 9,531 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,261,289.Meanwhile 695 are in the ICU, including 630 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 347 are in need of respiratory assistance including 281 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 7,509 cases reported today, 116 (1.5%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 7,393 (98.5%) are in Category One and Two.


Learn from the past, restaurant owners say on Menu Rahmah

The government has been urged to take a leaf from the experiences of past affordable food programmes, as concerns rise about the sustainability of its Menu Rahmah initiative just weeks after its launch.
Under the Menu Rahmah programme, meals are sold for as low as RM5 per set as part of the government's efforts to alleviate the financial burden of those in the lower-income bracket.
But with the cost of raw goods and essential food items on the rise, the question remains of how long the initiative can continue on its present model of volunteerism.
Fairuz Deli, who has been in the restaurant and catering business for more than 30 years, said the concept of budget meals would not last for long without funds or subsidies from the government.
He suggested that the government learn from the Menu Rakyat 1Malaysia (MR1M) programme implemented during the Najib Razak administration more than a decade ago.
At that time, he said, a chain of restaurants known as Restoran Ukhwah was established and some 1,115 eateries participated in the initiative to provide side dishes for RM3 to RM5, inclusive of beverages.
Fairuz, who then owned an eatery in Taman Sri Murni Selayang, was among the restaurant operators who participated in MR1M.
He said business operations continued for the first six months despite the spike in cost of goods that came about in 2011.
"The price of red chilli, fish and vegetables really rose then, from RM8 to RM13 or even RM15 per kg," he recalled.
"Vegetables went from RM2.50 to RM3.50, tomatoes that used to cost RM4 rose to RM5, and lime went from RM3 to RM5.
"And prices have continued rising, even until today," he added. "How could we be expected to go on?"
And so, after six months, he said, he stopped selling food at midday and began running his business from afternoon to late night instead.
This allowed him to recuperate some of the money that he lost due to expenses that overtook profits.
Today, Fairuz runs a restaurant in Section 7, Shah Alam. Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said he did not intend to embark on such a venture again by joining the Menu Rahmah programme.
He said customers could still enjoy affordable meals at his restaurant without him needing to participate in the initiative.
"You can get toast and a drink, or roti jala with chicken curry or white rice with egg sambal and vegetables for less than RM7," he said.
"For years, I have been serving the students who come here to eat. I don't think there's a need to wait for Menu Rahmah or anything like that."  Economic concerns
Fairuz also voiced concern about how long Menu Rahmah would last given the current economic challenges.
He said many businesses were already suffering from high operation costs and the cost of rental and utilities, in addition to paying the monthly salary of their workers.
"Unless there are funds or subsidies from the government, I think it will fold after four months," he said.
"Look at all the restaurants here that have been taken over by others. And prices have only gone up since 2011.
"It cannot last," he said. "When things are so expensive, how can we sell them at affordable prices?"
The domestic trade and cost of living ministry, which is overseeing Menu Rahmah, said yesterday that talks were ongoing on the provision of incentives for those involved in the initiative.
Deputy Minister Fuziah Salleh said the talks were still at an early stage, and that the form of incentives had not been decided.
At a Restoran Ukhwah outlet in Medan Tuanku, Kuala Lumpur, business appeared slow.
A customer who introduced himself as Anuar Khan said the original business had long been taken over by another operator.
Anuar, who regularly visits the restaurant, said the MR1M programme once implemented there had stopped so long ago that he barely remembered it anymore.
In Kota Warisan, Sepang, meanwhile, restaurant owner Syazwani Abdul Hamid said he had been enthusiastic at first about joining the Menu Rahmah programme.
After a week, though, he said the enormity of the task began to sink in.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said the price of the meals was not enough to cover the operating expenses, especially the cost of employee salaries.
He also expressed reservations about how to ensure that the meals reach the target demographics.
"Actually, it can be done," he said. "We can prepare rice sets at that price level.
"But we are the ones who must bear the cost. We can reduce the amount of chicken that goes into the meal, but the price of oil, for example, is still very high. And that isn't taking into consideration the cost of other essential ingredients.
"We also need to pay the people who wash and cook. They don't work for free."
Eventually, Syazwani decided to stop providing Menu Rahmah meals. Today, he sells only regular mixed rice.
"I think this is better because the customers can decide for themselves," he said.
"If they want more, they pay more. If they want to save, they can choose fewer things. And it makes things easier for me in terms of administration."
Syazwani said he still believed in the Menu Rahmah programme and its benefits, especially for those in need who are struggling to keep up with the cost of living.
But he too said that without government funds, the programme might not last long.
He said the government should also come up with ways to lower the inflation rate or provide subsidies for restaurant owners participating in the Menu Rahmah initiative.
"They need to understand, nothing is free in life – especially not now, when everything is becoming more expensive," he said.


'Granary of China' braces for more wheat-damaging rain

China's largest wheat-growing province of Henan is expected to be hit by more rain in the coming days, state forecasters said on Thursday, complicating efforts to harvest grain already damaged by wetter than normal weather in late May.
Known as the "granary of China", the south of Henan had been struck by higher-than-normal rainfall in the last week of May days ahead of the harvest of wheat planted last winter. The rains have caused some grain to sprout or be hit by blight.
China's winter wheat accounts for the majority of the country's annual wheat output.
Medium to heavy rain can be expected in the south of Henan on Saturday, national weather forecasters said on Thursday.
Most of the country's other key wheat-growing provinces, including the central and southern parts of Henan, Anhui, Hebei, Jiangsu, and southern Shaanxi, have also been drenched by recent rain, said Ma Wenfeng, a senior analyst with Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultancy.
"The area affected is relatively large... This basically covers the wheat-producing areas in central and southern China," said Ma.
The world's top grower of the grain was expecting a bumper crop this year of 137 million tonnes.
Around 30 million tonnes will be impacted by the precipitation, estimated Ma, with between 10 million and 20 million tonnes likely to have sprouted, meaning it is unfit for human consumption.
The agricultural ministry earlier this week urged local authorities to dispatch emergency teams to drain water from fields, speed up access by harvesters and mobilise drying machinery to save as much of the crop as possible.
On Wednesday, the agriculture bureau of Anhui province urged farmers, "Don't wait... speed up the harvest!", as it sought to protect the crop from further damage.
China, including provinces like Henan, is no stranger to floods and droughts. But abnormal weather patterns still risk devastating key crops and squeezing supplies.
The recent wet weather was the worst to occur during the wheat ripening period in 10 years, the Henan provincial agricultural department told state media, affecting all 17 cities in the province, especially the southern cities of Zhumadian and Nanyang.


Daily caseload dips to 4,500 as death toll up by 10

Another 4,503 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,664,213.
There were 3,847 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,581,365.
There are now 46,906 active cases, of which 45,318 or 96.6% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 24 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 1,505 (3.2%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 59 are in ICU with 30 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 62.0%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 15.8%.
Another 10 deaths were reported, including four who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 35,942.


US investing US$200 million on virus variant detection

US President Joe Biden’s administration said Wednesday it was investing nearly US$200 million to identify emerging strains of the coronavirus through expanded genome sequencing.According to a statement, the investment will increase sequencing carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “more than threefold from about 7,000 samples per week to approximately 25,000”.The US has been lagging behind dozens of countries in its efforts to track virus variants, putting at risk the progress made in containing its Covid-19 outbreak.CDC director Rochelle Walensky told reporters that as of Tuesday, the US had detected 1,277 cases of the B.1.1.7 varant first identified in Britain, including the first case with the dangerous E484K mutation, which is common to the South African and Brazilian variants and makes them less susceptible to antibodies.Nineteen cases of the B.1.351 variant first identified in South Africa and three cases of the P.1 variant have also been detected.The administration is also spending US$650 million to increase testing in schools and underserved sites such as homeless shelters, and US$815 million to increase domestic manufacturing of testing supplies.The US is the hardest-hit country in the world, with more than 488,000 deaths and 2.4 million confirmed infections, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University.While its immunisation campaign got off to a shaky start, the vaccination rate is now increasing.More than 39 million people have received one or more dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, almost 12% of the US population of 330 million.In positive news, Anthony Fauci, Biden’s top adviser on the pandemic, told reporters that in addition to protecting people from Covid-19, new studies from Spain and Israel showed that vaccines also appeared to reduce the viral load of people who were asymptomatically infected.“The vaccine is important not only for the health of the individual to protect them against infection and disease, including the variants… but it also has very important implications from a public health standpoint, for interfering and diminishing the dynamics of the outbreak,” he said.


Public free to speak on social media, but not on sensitive issues, says Fahmi

Members of the public are free to create and express creative content on social media platforms provided that it does not touch on sensitivities related to the 3Rs of race, religion and royalty, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil says.
Fahmi said the ministry would continue to monitor such content with the cooperation of social media platform providers to ensure that it does not touch on 3R sensitivities.
"In terms of public security, the government will take swift action in the event of any public disturbance caused by such actions or problems through the spread of deviant teachings, militant extremism, and terrorism.
"In Malaysia, we do not prevent anyone from expressing themselves or voicing out, but we have laws, manners, and culture.
"It is important to remember that while we have the freedom to speak, we do not have the right to spread slander against anyone or spread fake information," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Fahmi added that his ministry, particularly the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, did not often ask social media platform providers to delete content unless it received complaints from the public, or the content was found to touch on the 3Rs.
"Nearly 95% of content that is removed is due to the content creator violating the community guidelines (set by the platform provider). If this happens repeatedly, the platform itself will close the account," he said.


Speed up citizenship approval for kids born to Malaysian women overseas, govt told

The Association of Family Support and Welfare Selangor and Kuala Lumpur (Family Frontiers) today urged the National Registration Department (JPN) to speed up citizenship approval for children born overseas to Malaysian women.Family Frontiers spokesman Bina Ramanand said some 70 Malaysian mothers had submitted citizenship documents under Borang D or the foreign birth registration form for overseas-born children, with some submitted in December 2021. None has received an update on the matter.“We are wondering why the processing should take so long. The mothers who checked the status were told it would take six months to process,” she told reporters after following up on the issue at JPN’s headquarters in Putrajaya today.On Sept 9 last year, the High Court declared that children born overseas to Malaysian women married to foreigners should be given automatic citizenship.The High Court also ordered the government to issue the relevant documents including identity cards to such children.Ummal Remiza Khaja Mohideen, who is fighting for her eldest daughter’s right to Malaysian citizenship, said she submitted the relevant documents to JPN in March but was still waiting for an answer.Ummul Remiza is married to a Nigerian and has two other children who were born in Malaysia.


Aussie cops call elderly couple’s death a ‘terrorism incident’

Australian detectives suspect the deaths of an elderly couple in their Brisbane home is a “terrorism incident” carried out by a knife-wielding man who was shot dead by police, officials told reporters on Friday.Media sources report that according to the police, the assailant, Raghe Abdi, 22, threatened police with a knife before he was shot dead on a highway on the outskirts of Brisbane on Thursday morning.The bodies of an 87-year-old man and an 86-year-old woman were found in their home later on Thursday, near where Abdi died, Queensland state Police Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford said.Linford declined to detail how they had died but homicide detectives found evidence that Abdi had been in their house, she said.“Further examination of both that scene and the scene of the police shooting yesterday, has uncovered for us what we believe to be a direct link between the two matters,” she said in a press conference on Friday.She added that an item allegedly discovered on Abdi was believed to have been taken from the deceased couple’s home, while several items at the home were linked to the man.Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll told reporters the known extremist had been acting alone. “We had no choice but to declare this as a terrorism incident,” she said.Australian federal police suspect that Abdi had been influenced by the Islamic State group. He was arrested on suspicion of trying to join extremists when he attempted to depart Brisbane Airport for Somalia in May 2019. He was released without charge due to insufficient evidence, but his passport was cancelled.In June 2019, he was charged with further offences including refusing to give detectives the pass code for his phone.He was free on bail and had been ordered to wear a GPS tracking device, which he had cut off sometime before he was shot.His lawyer told national broadcaster ABC that the police were incorrect to connect him with terrorism and labelled yesterday’s shooting as a “significant adverse mental health event”.


Speaker submits Selangor assembly dissolution notice to EC

Selangor state assembly speaker Ng Suee Lim submitted the notice of the dissolution of the state assembly to the Selangor Election Commission (EC) director Shafie Taib at the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah in Shah Alam this morning.
The notice was submitted after the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah consented to and signed the proclamation on the dissolution of the state assembly last Monday, paving the way for the state polls to be held.
Selangor is one of the six states to hold their state elections after the 15th general election was held in November last year. The other five states are Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
Kelantan dissolved its state assembly yesterday.


Singapore showing utter disregard for life, says Amnesty in global call to condemn 'wave of hangings'

Global rights organisation Amnesty International has urged the international community to step up the pressure against Singapore over what it calls a "relentless wave of hangings", in the wake of the city-state's execution of Nazeri Lajim just hours after he appeared without a lawyer in a final bid to stay alive.
"We call on governments, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the International Narcotics Control Board to increase pressure on Singapore so that international safeguards on the death penalty are respected and drug control policies are rooted in the promotion and protection of human rights.
"Singapore’s highly punitive approach does neither," said Amnesty's expert on the death penalty, Chiara Sangorgio.
She said Singapore's death penalty which is applied as a mandatory punishment for drug-related offences goes against international human rights laws and standards.
"Everyone executed in Singapore in 2022 was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty for drug-related offences.
"Rather than having a unique deterrent effect on crime, these executions only show the utter disregard the Singaporean authorities have for human rights and the right to life," Sangorgio added.
Nazeri, a 64-year old Singaporean who had been addicted to drugs since the age of 14, was hanged early this morning at Changi Prison, the fifth execution carried out by the state this year despite increasing scrutiny over its continued use of the death penalty.
It came a day after a frail Nazeri made a desperate request of the judges of Singapore's appeals court to give him more time to see his family members before his execution.
Nazeri had to appear for himself amid a climate of fear within Singapore's legal fraternity of representing death row inmates, with several vocal lawyers already penalised or losing their licence to practise.
The PAP-led Singapore government, which has ruled the republic since its exit from Malaysia, has rejected criticism of its death penalty, saying it has been effective in controlling the drug menace.
But an increasing number of Singaporeans appear to be against this view, with protests even held to call for the abolition of the death penalty.
Critics have also pointed out that almost all of those executed under Singapore's drug laws have been mules from poor families, a view shared by British aviation magnate Richard Branson who had pleaded for the life of a Malaysian man executed despite a diagnosis of intellectual disability.
Amnesty said the executions had never deterred crime, adding that they "only show the utter disregard the Singaporean authorities have for human rights and the right to life".
"Going against a worldwide trend towards abolishing the death penalty, Singapore is just one of four countries known to have executed people for drug-related offences in recent years," it added.


Better the devil you know? Sarawak parents torn as jabs roll out for kids

Excitement buzzes in the air at a school in Kuching as children eagerly greet each other after two years apart due to Covid disruptions.Back at home and in the office, parents too are heaving a sigh of relief – but gladness is tempered with concern as infections continue to spread in the state and throughout the rest of the country.There are also those who worry that spikes in case numbers will cause schools to shut down again, throwing into fresh disarray the daily schedules of parents and children alike.Dayang Ida, a mother of three in Semariang, is one of many trying to balance keeping her children safe and making sure that they can continue receiving an education.While keeping them at home would be her best chance at achieving the former, she also acknowledges that this comes at a cost.After nearly two years of attending classes on-screen, her eight-year-old daughter continues to struggle with basic reading and spelling.Now that schools have reopened, she is determined to do what she can to keep her children there, and to keep them safe from the virus.Three days a week, every week, she makes her children test themselves for Covid-19 with home-use saliva kits. This amounts to hundreds of ringgit each month.“But this is the only way to deal with the volatility of the situation,” she said. “Like it or not, I must do this for my children.”In Sarawak, daily cases have plummeted since last year, but the reopening of schools was accompanied by a sharp rise in education-related clusters.Earlier this week, the government began rolling out the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Kids or PICKids, under which children as young as five years old are eligible for vaccination.Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Thursday that 15% of those in the target group had registered for the jab.In Sarawak itself, 91.8% of adults are fully vaccinated and 83% have received a booster shot. Some 88.4% of teenagers are also fully jabbed.But Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said an estimated 15% of 40,000 parents in Sarawak disagreed with having their children vaccinated, mostly due to concerns about possible complications post-jab.“Some are worried about the safety of the vaccine and want to be given the advantage of choosing the type of vaccine,” he added.Yet concerns about vaccination are matched by worries over unvaccinated children contracting Covid-19.Dr Ong Eng-Joe, a paediatrician at Borneo Medical Centre, said it was crucial for eligible children in the lower age group to be vaccinated against the virus.“If the children are not vaccinated when eligible, they could be at risk of severe Covid-19,” she told MalaysiaNow.While adverse events from mRNA vaccines can occur, they do so very rarely, she said, adding that this is thought to be related to the amount of mRNA as well as the interval between dosage.“The Pfizer vaccine for children aged five to 11 has a lower amount of mRNA – one-third – than the adult formulation, and the number of adverse events is very small,” she said.“The benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks.”Back in Kuching, Dayang Ida is still worried, but she also hopes that the rollout of vaccine jabs for children means that schools will never have to close again.But at the same time, she remains cautious about the future.“It’s slowly getting better but I don’t think it will ever go back to how it used to be,” she said.


China ‘not behind disappearance’ of second US naval facility in Cambodia

Satellite imagery has alerted American military analysts to what seems like the demolition of another US-funded naval facility in Cambodia.The images showed that the Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat maintenance facility at Ream Naval Base was there on Oct 1 but had vanished by Nov 4, Reuters reports.In response to US questioning, Cambodian military authorities said they were merely relocating the facility and called US suspicions of Chinese involvement unfounded.This is the second time the US has suspected Chinese hands at work in developments at Ream.Last month satellite images showed that the US-funded Cambodian Navy tactical headquarters facility at the naval base appeared to have been demolished instead of being repaired as the Pentagon had offered to do.Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s office claimed that the buildings were taken down and moved for renovation.US observers said the satellite images support claims that the facilities were being relocated but they were unconvinced that the building needed renovation as it is only three years old.Mystery now surrounds the fate of the two US-funded facilities and American suspicions of a Chinese connection have not been allayed.Phnom Penh has repeatedly denied reports it has reached a secret deal to let Beijing station its forces at the base.Cambodia is one of China’s closest allies in Southeast Asia and receives billions of dollars of aid from Beijing as well as political backing for strongman Hun Sen in the face of Western criticism.


Health ministry ready to tighten SOPs at borders

The health ministry says it is prepared to change the existing healthcare policy for Covid-19 pandemic management at the country’s borders, including by tightening the SOPs for health checks.
Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the extension of Malaysia as a "local infection area" until June would give the ministry the space to make the necessary changes, with the resurgence in Covid-19 cases in China.
She said the ministry took seriously the concerns of the people regarding the increase in Covid-19 cases in China, as well as the restrictions imposed by several countries on travellers from the republic.
"It will be implemented if necessary, not only on visitors or travellers (Malaysians and non-citizens) arriving from China but also from other countries.
"The ministry will step up the methods of containing the spread of Covid-19 in the country as well as its readiness to face any increase in cases," she said in a statement.
Zaliha said the ministry was also prepared to increase the country's health capacity to face any possibility.
She said it would always adopt policies that are guided by and based on science and accurate data, in addition to working together with the World Health Organization (WHO), China and Asean member countries.
"WHO has held a meeting with China to share the latest data and it will continue to find detailed information on the situation and management of Covid-19 in the country.
"Based on the information reported by China to WHO, the variants and sub-variants in China have also been detected in Malaysia," she said.
China reported a spike in Covid-19 cases late last year due to the Omicron variant. This resulted in several countries deciding to restrict the entry of travellers from China as a preventive move to stop the spread of the pandemic. In a related development, Zaliha said that based on existing information, the Covid-19 vaccine was effective in providing protection from severe symptoms due to the virus infection, and would reduce hospital admissions.
She also said that the bivalent vaccine would be supplied to Malaysia soon following the approval of the conditional registration by the Drug Control Authority.
"An announcement will be made when the supply is received," she said, urging those who had received their first booster dose six months ago or more to get a second booster dose.
She said there was no need to wait for the bivalent vaccine as the existing monovalent vaccine was still very effective at reducing serious symptoms and deaths, she said.
Zaliha said she hoped to see an increase in the number of people taking the booster dose, especially among the high-risk group.
Currently, only 49.8% of Malaysians have received their first booster shot and only 1.9% have taken their second booster dose, she added.
She also reminded the public to continue taking care of their health and that of their families, and to adhere to health advice and recommendations.


Kedah likely to dissolve state assembly on June 28

Kedah plans to dissolve its state assembly on June 28 in conjunction with the day of wukuf, said Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.
Sanusi said he would have an audience with Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah, on June 25 to seek the consent of His Highness for the dissolution date.
"I will have an audience (with the sultan) on June 25. I am going to present to Tuanku Sultan that June 28 is the date of dissolution proposed by the state government. If Tuanku consents to the proposal, I will make an official announcement," he told reporters after a ceremony to hand over tents, tables and chairs to the village head council under a community programme at Wisma Darul Aman in Alor Setar today.
Sanusi, who is also Perikatan Nasional (PN) election director, said seat allocations for PN candidates in Kedah had been settled.
He also said PN's Kedah menteri besar candidate would be decided by the coalition’s central leadership.
Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Kelantan were reported to have reached an understanding to dissolve their state assemblies by the end of this month to pave the way for simultaneous state polls.