A tale of two Independence Days

The celebration of Independence Day provides us with the opportunity to contemplate the character of our nation and rekindle our connection to Malaysia’s past while reflecting upon our future. This, I suppose, is how every country marks its Independence Day.
We remember the founding of the nation and the roads we have taken since, and envision a new one ahead, aspiring to fulfil the hopes of our predecessors and the dreams of our children while affirming the foundational values and characters of our people.
This year, we see two strikingly contrasting decisions and hence two strikingly contrasting Independence Days in Malaysia and Singapore.
As part of Singapore’s commemoration and celebration of its national day, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long announced during the National Day rally the repeal of Section 377A of the country’s Penal Code, decriminalising gay sex between men.
To paraphrase the now obsolete law, Singapore has declared it permissible for “any male person, in public or private to commit or abet the commission of or procure or attempt to procure the commission by any male person of any act of gross indecency with another male person”.
The move does not appear to reflect the sentiments of the public, nor is it consistent with Singapore’s constitutional obligation to "protect, safeguard, support, foster and promote" the "religious, social and cultural interests" of the indigenous population.
Instead, the repeal of Section 377A was primarily sought by Singapore’s international, Western allies and trading partners as expressed most recently during a visit by a US congressional delegation, led by house speaker Nancy Pelosi.
This is food for thought for Malaysia this Independence Day – our region and our country are facing unprecedented pressures from abroad.
From American gambits to contain China via the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprising Australia, India, Japan and the US and the trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK and the US (Aukus), to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework right up to the demand for us to abandon neutrality over the Russia-Ukraine war, Malaysia feels the heavy hand of Western coercion.
More members of the US military are based in this region than anywhere else outside America. Aggravating matters are the spiralling global economic and energy and food crises, all of which are creating precarious situations for our country.
It would be easy, under the circumstances, for any nation to buckle under these compounded pressures and comply with the ideological agendas of more powerful countries. Succumbing to the ideological demands of the West, however, would contradict all that Merdeka represents.
No nation is independent if it cannot withstand foreign pressure, and no nation is independent if it cannot live by its own values.
Unlike Singapore, Malaysia is a land of rich resources, with inherent potential for unlimited prosperity. The ingredients of our success are homegrown, not imported or borrowed.
This capacity for economic sovereignty provides the backbone of our independence and enables our self-determination against the undue influence of outsiders. However, internal corruption and greed create cracks in our system and in our society through which foreign interference can seep.
When individuals prioritise their personal profit and advancement above the good of the nation, they care little about whom they partner, or the ills their new loyalties may bring to society.
That is why, in the lead-up to our Independence Day, the apex court's decision to uphold the conviction of former prime minister Najib Razak – easily the most monumental anti-corruption ruling in our nation’s history – perfectly exemplifies the founding spirit and principles of Malaysia.
It also sets the tone for our Merdeka celebrations. The decision has resuscitated our faith in the system and revived our trust that the country will operate in accordance with the core values of our nation.
By holding fast to the traditional cultures and beliefs of Malaysia, we safeguard our sovereignty. By holding corrupt individuals accountable, we fortify the security and stability of our society.
Our neighbour to the south marked its Independence Day by repealing its own law to legalise moral corruption. In Malaysia, we have reinforced the rule of law, affirmed the independence of the government from coercion, defied entrenched, selfish interest groups, asserted our nation’s deep-rooted beliefs and moral principles and punished corruptors.  This is what true Merdeka is all about.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Pfizer jab less effective but still protects against Indian strain, study shows

The Pfizer vaccine is slightly less effective but appears to still protect against the more transmissible Indian strain of the virus that causes Covid-19, according to a study by France’s Pasteur Institute.“Despite slightly diminished efficacy, the Pfizer vaccine probably protects” against the Indian variant, according to laboratory test results, said Olivier Schwartz, the institute’s director and co-author of the study that was published on the BioRxiv website ahead of peer review.The study sampled 28 healthcare workers in the city of Orleans. Sixteen of them had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, while 12 had received one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.People who had received two doses of Pfizer saw a three-fold reduction in their antibodies against the Indian variant, B.1.617, according to the study, but were still protected.“The situation was different with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which induced particularly low levels of antibodies neutralising” the Indian variant, the study said.Patients who had had Covid-19 within the past year and people vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer retained enough antibodies to be protected against the Indian variant, but three to six times less antibodies than against the UK variant, Schwartz said.The study shows that “this variant.. has acquired partial resistance to antibodies”, Schwartz said.Since first emerging in late 2019 in China, the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 has developed several variants, usually named for the places where it first appeared including the so-called South Africa and UK strains.The variant first detected in India appears to be much more transmissible than earlier variations.It has now been officially recorded in 53 territories, according to a World Health Organization report.To try to curb its spread, France and Germany have re-introduced tighter rules on arrivals from affected countries, including the UK.


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Agong said confidence vote in PM not needed, minister reveals

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong told Ismail Sabri Yaakob that a vote of confidence was no longer needed, the minister in charge of law has revealed.Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the prime minister had said this during the first Cabinet meeting last week.The revelation comes two days after Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders insisted that a confidence vote in Ismail be convened at the coming sitting of the Dewan Rakyat, while accusing Attorney-General Idrus Harun of committing “treason” for saying such a vote was no longer needed.Speaking at a press conference in Putrajaya, Wan Junaidi referred to provisions in the Federal Constitution allowing the king to appoint as prime minister the MP whom he believes possesses the support of the majority of MPs.Adding that 114 of the 220 MPs had voiced their support for Ismail, he said it was unlikely that they would have changed their minds so soon.He said the Agong’s consent had been based on these grounds.On Sept 4, Idrus said there was no need to legitimise the appointment of Ismail in the Dewan Rakyat, adding that it could undermine the authority of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the matter.The next day, PH leaders demanded Idrus’ resignation, saying he had “betrayed the Federal Constitution and parliamentary democracy”.The coalition’s three leaders referred to a statement issued by Istana Negara on Aug 18, prior to the Agong’s confirmation of Ismail as prime minister.A day after Muhyiddin Yassin stepped down as prime minister, the 220 MPs were told they had until 4pm on Aug 18 to submit individually signed letters on their choice of the next prime minister.On Aug 18, the palace said a confidence vote should be held later in the Dewan Rakyat in order to reaffirm the MPs’ support for the new leader.However, the palace did not repeat the request when it declared Ismail the victor on Aug 20, following a meeting of the Malay rulers hosted by Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.


Huge mistake in preliminary agreement for Penang undersea tunnel project, court told

The Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur was today told that there was a huge mistake in the contents of the preliminary agreement for the privatisation of the major roads and undersea tunnel project in Penang.Former state legal adviser Faiza Zulkifli said the mistake involved the parcels of land, which were the main items stated in the document.“I can say that this was a huge mistake as there were also small mistakes in the form of typos and statements on the parcels of land,” she said, referring to the preliminary agreement for the privatisation of the major roads and undersea tunnel project between the state government and Consortium Zenith Beijing Urban Construction Group Sdn Bhd dated Oct 29, 2013.In reply to deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, the witness said the huge mistake was when the agreement incorrectly identified the parcels of state government-owned land to be transferred to the developers.The prosecution’s 11th witness was testifying in former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng’s corruption trial. Lim is facing four charges relating to the undersea tunnel and major roads construction project in the state worth RM6.3 billion.“I’m very thorough in my work, and the Penang state government officers know it, and I would have ensured that no such thing would occur so as to protect the state government’s interests,” she said.However, Faiza said it was inappropriate for her to make comments on the contents of the agreement as she was not involved in checking and evaluating the document.“There was no instruction from any quarters, be it from the former chief minister or the State Secretary’s Office for the document to be sent for review by the state legal adviser,” she said.Meanwhile, when reading her witness statement, Faiza said she did not check the draft of the agreement in question as the chief minister (Lim) had opted to appoint a private legal firm to evaluate the preliminary agreement.“I accepted the chief minister’s decision to appoint the private legal firm to evaluate the agreement, but the chief minister should have also entrusted the legal firm with the responsibility to protect the state government’s interests.“I only knew that the document was prepared by legal firm, Lee Hishamuddin Allen & Gledhill,” she said.In today’s proceedings, the prosecution also submitted the death certificate of Ewein Zanith Sdn Bhd managing director Ewe Swee Kheng who fell from a high-end condominium at Jalan Kelawai, Penang on Oct 5. The prosecution was supposed to call the 53-year-old developer as their 15th witness.According to the first amended charge, Lim, 60, is charged with using his position as then Penang chief minister to obtain a bribe of RM3.3 million for helping a company owned by Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli to secure the construction project worth RM6,341,383,702.The offence was allegedly committed between January 2011 and August 2017 at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office.On the second amended charge, Lim is accused of soliciting bribes amounting to 10% of the profits from Zarul to be earned by the company as gratification for helping his company secure the project.The offence was allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, between 12.30am and 2am in March 2011.Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, also faces two charges of causing two plots of land, worth RM208.8 million, belonging to the Penang government to be disposed of to two companies, which are linked to the state’s undersea tunnel project.The offence was allegedly committed at the Penang Land and Mines Office, Komtar, on Feb 17, 2015, and March 22, 2017.The trial before judge Azura Alwi continues on Nov 29.


Foreigners not to blame for bulk of Covid-19 infections, govt data shows

While the belief has gained traction that foreigners play a large role in the spread of Covid-19 in the country, government figures appear to tell a different story, even as public anxiety rises over the daily fluctuations in numbers.As of Tuesday, 13,504 cases were confirmed in Malaysia, a number which rose to 13,993 by Wednesday when an all-time high of 691 cases were reported. But data from the health ministry reveals that only 4.37% of transmissions involved foreigners.A government officer close to the management of Covid-19 cases meanwhile said the number of positive cases involving foreigners was actually on the decline.“This includes cases in Sabah such as undocumented migrants from the Philippines, and imported cases which are announced almost daily,” he told MalaysiaNow on condition of anonymity.According to him, positive cases are mostly transmitted between locals.“You can check all the data on them as we update our findings at each press conference held by the ministry,” he added.He estimates that of every 10 people diagnosed with Covid-19, only two are foreigners or imported cases while the rest are citizens.“I’m not sure of the exact ratio of citizens to non-citizens,” he added.“But that is the comparison we can give.”Foreigners quickly came under scrutiny once the Covid-19 virus was detected in Malaysia, with accusations of poor hygiene hurled at the Rohingya and those from Bangladesh and Pakistan.To date, 82,076 foreigners have been screened for Covid-19, of which 3,589 were found to have the virus.Of these, 3,301 or 92.03% were local transmissions while the remainder were imported cases.A total of 75,438 foreign workers have tested negative with the results of 51 more still pending.The number of cases involving foreigners rose at the end of the second phase of Covid-19 infections, around April to June, due to infections at the Sri Petaling tabligh and Selangor Mansion clusters.The former was sparked by a gathering at the Sri Petaling mosque, attended by some 1,600 people, of whom 1,500 were foreigners.When contacted, though, Universiti Putra Malaysia professor Dr Malina Osman said she believed the stigma against foreigners in the context of Covid-19 had subsided.She said the assumptions of those who had disparaged foreigners were only perceptions and not grounded in hard facts.


New cases dip to 3,300

Another 3,346 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,802,263.Another 3,052 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,729,943.Meanwhile 204 are in the ICU, including 159 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 95 are in need of respiratory assistance including 64 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 3,346 cases reported today, 49 (1.5%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 3,297 (98.5%) are in Category One and Two.


Poverty, mental illness keep Sarawak man shackled to the wall

Near the doorway of an abandoned house in Bintulu, a man dressed in shorts and a yellow singlet sits with a puppy on his lap and one foot chained to the wall behind him.Apui (not his real name) lives with his mother and four other squatter families in the ramshackle house in the middle of town.For months, this has been his daily routine. Most of the time, he sits and talks to himself. Sometimes, he lies down in the doorway and watches the world go by.There is enough slack in the chain for him to move about, but not more than a metre or two.Apui is a symbol of the squalor and poverty that characterises large parts of the town.While Bintulu was once a sleepy fishing village, a flurry of economic activity linked first to the discovery of oil and gas, then to timber, oil palm and the development of heavy industries saw a surge of life.As the town prospered, though, the gap between the rich and poor grew, and many rural folk who migrated to town in the hope of finding a better life now live as squatters.Those like Apui who are mentally ill often have it the worst. His mother spends her days selling fruits and vegetables at the local market and her evenings scavenging through rubbish dumps. There is barely enough to put food on the table, much less for medical treatment.So instead, he sits with his right ankle chained to the house to keep him from running away.As a child, Apui was like any of the other village children and when he grew older, he helped his parents work for a living.Over the years, though, he became involved in drugs and his physical and mental health began to spiral.Now, his family chains him to the house as a measure of last resort.“They have to chain him up because he is sometimes aggressive and can be violent with people,” activist Francis Ngu Hown Hua told MalaysiaNow.“They are doing this for his benefit. It’s inhumane, yes. But what else can they do? If he is left alone outside in his condition, he might harm someone.“And people outside could also harm him without knowing the true story.”‘Stench’Alone since the death of her husband some months ago, Apui’s mother does her best to take care of her son. She washes him every day and cleans out the bucket in which he relieves himself.But despite her efforts, the stench around the compound is overwhelming.Ngu said he received many complaints about Apui the last time he ran away from home.“He slept all over the place, outside the shophouses along the five-foot ways. He defecated and urinated everywhere.”Officers from the Social Welfare Department approach Apui as he sits on the ground in front of a shoplot in Bintulu.Members of the public including shop owners and customers lodged reports with the authorities.“But no action was taken,” Ngu said. “They said there was nothing much they could do other than to send him back to his family. There was no space at their facilities for another patient.”Apui’s family doesn’t know what exactly is wrong with him as he has never been formally diagnosed. They would like to send him for treatment but cannot afford to do so.Early identificationAccording to psychologist Dr Bernard Ting, given the right kind of support, people with mental health conditions can live and even thrive in their own communities.But Ting, who is attached to Hospital Sentosa, said more effort is needed for the adoption of measures to reduce the stigma against people with mental illnesses.“Early identification and proper treatment reduces the risk of aggressive behaviour,” he told MalaysiaNow.“Many mental disorders are treatable and patients can be rehabilitated – but only if they go for follow-up treatment,” he added.While aggression can stem from many factors, Ting said the majority of those with mental health issues are non-violent.“Fewer than 10% of people with severe mental disorders may be violent,” he said, “usually because they are undiagnosed and hence not treated in a timely manner.”He also said that those who are mentally ill are more vulnerable to becoming victims of violence themselves.But this is not a problem that can be solved overnight.Apart from the lack of hospitals and doctors, there is also the stigma attached to the mentally ill which makes it more challenging to treat mental diseases.“People need to be taught how to communicate with them,” Ting said.“Mental health literacy at the community level is vital to raise awareness of mental health conditions and the treatment resources available, so that our loved ones can receive timely intervention and improve their quality of life.”But for those like Apui and his family, for whom poverty is a compounding factor, it remains to be seen if diagnosis and treatment will ever turn from dream to reality.


Internet access issue to be resolved by June, says Fahmi

The issue of internet access in the country, especially in rural areas, will be resolved by June this year, says Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the communications and digital ministry, through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), would hold discussions with telecommunications companies to identify appropriate solutions.
He added that issues related to internet access could be resolved almost completely if telecommunications companies worked together, such as through the sharing of telecommunication towers.
"What I stressed to the MCMC is, if possible by this June, the problem of network sharing and quality (of internet access) will be resolved.
"In my discussions with telecommunications companies before this, they expressed their willingness to cooperate. Maybe they need some time (for discussions) between them," he said in Shah Alam last night.
He said internet access could not be measured only by the number of telecommunication towers in an area but should also be seen according to the conditions and geography, especially the 3% of populated areas which still lack internet coverage.
"We will strive for broadband wireless access, which will use technology such as satellites. Perhaps we will look into wide space TV and some other technologies which will help provide access," he said.
Fahmi also said that his ministry was examining the need to amend the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to keep pace with current digital developments.
He said the act was enacted a long time ago, and that his ministry would look into several things.
"This is not the place for me to say (about the amendment) in detail... Because it is an old (law), (it is necessary) to take into account the changes which are happening in the digital world now."


Amanah to contest 8 seats in Selangor, open to swaps

Amanah has confirmed that it will contest eight seats in the Selangor state election next month.
Selangor Amanah chairman Izham Hashim said the seats were the state constituencies won by the party at the 14th general election, namely Sabak, Meru, Pandan Indah, Hulu Kelang, Morib, Seri Serdang, Sungai Ramal and Taman Templer.
"We (parties in the coalition government) have already received our respective number of seats. In the current phase, we are open to swapping seats (with other parties in the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional alliance) but that (process) will depend on mutual agreement.
"So far we have heard (about seat swapping) but there is nothing yet, we still have time... We don't just want to contest but also want to see if we can win at that place," he said at a press conference in Shah Alam yesterday.
He said that seat swapping based on mutual agreement was expected to be completed by the middle of next week. Izham said the party was expected to field 50% new faces in addition to maintaining a 30% quota for female candidates.
"Amanah candidates are expected to be balanced. I can't announce any names yet, but I can tell you there will be a combination of incumbents, new faces and old people who have been given a new lease of life," he said.
Voters in Selangor, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang and Negeri Sembilan will go to the polls on Aug 12, following the Election Commission’s decision to hold simultaneous elections in the six states.
Nomination will be held on July 29 and early voting on Aug 8.
There are 56 seats in the Selangor state assembly.


Race and religion, Anwar's immediate challenges as PM

Analysts say Anwar Ibrahim will have his work cut out for him in dealing with the shift in Malay support towards Perikatan Nasional (PN) at the recent general election – a so-called "Malay tsunami" that could pose a significant challenge to the new government, even as the country moves away from the initial days of political deadlock which marked the aftermath of the polls.
There is also the related issue of racial and religious polorisation due to the emerging political alignments, with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang accusing Pakatan Harapan (PH) component DAP of "Islamophobia".
DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang responded by calling Hadi a liar and accusing him in turn of trying to create "another Sheraton Move conspiracy" to topple the government of PH chairman Anwar.
Mujibu Abd Muis, an analyst from Universiti Teknologi Mara, said among Anwar's first steps to tackle the situation should be to control the Malay-Muslim narrative through his Cabinet composition, to reflect a unity government rather than one run by PH.
He said this would mean DAP keeping a low profile and Umno or Amanah handling Malay-related issues.
"Anwar has learnt his lesson from the 2020 collapse of the PH government due to the Malay-Muslim narrative where we witnessed the formation of the next government by Bersatu, Umno and PAS," Mujibu told MalaysiaNow.
"Anwar needs to show that this is a unity government, not a PH government."
Analyst Oh Ei Sun meanwhile said it was time for Amanah to build up its strength instead of depending on PKR and DAP.
Oh, of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said Amanah, as a PAS splinter, carried the image of PH's Islamic struggle but had so far received less support than other Malay parties.
He said this would make it difficult for Amanah to help Anwar in the face of conflicts involving race or religion.
"Amanah has its roots in PAS and is seen as moderate and professional, but it has been rejected by PAS and a big part of the Malay community," he said.
James Chin of Australia's University of Tasmania meanwhile said hardcore PAS supporters could be expected to monitor all of the government's movements.
However, he said they would not arbitrarily accuse it of being a "non-halal" administration.
"Anwar also has credibility in the Islamic world," he said.
"So those who support the opposition might adopt a wait-and-see approach. They know that another election or a change of government at this time would cause more political instability."


WHO eyes China lab audits next in Covid origin probe

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the second stage of an investigation into the origins of Covid-19 should include further studies in China and lab audits.In a closed-door briefing to member states, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus proposed five priorities for the next phase of the investigation.They included “audits of relevant laboratories and research institutions operating in the area of the initial human cases identified in December 2019”, according to a copy of his opening statement provided by WHO.He also suggested investigators should focus on “studies prioritising geographic areas with the earliest indication of circulation of SARS CoV-2”, the virus that causes Covid-19.And he called for more studies of animal markets in and around the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the disease was first detected.The UN health agency has been under intensifying pressure for a new, more in-depth investigation of how the disease that has killed over four million people around the world first emerged.WHO was only able to send a team of independent, international experts to Wuhan in January, more than a year after Covid-19 first surfaced there in late 2019, to help Chinese counterparts probe the pandemic origins.‘Extremely unlikely’They published a report in late March, but drew no firm conclusions about how the virus first jumped to humans.Instead they ranked several hypotheses according to how likely they believed they were, finding that it was most likely the virus jumped from bats to humans via an intermediate animal. An alternative theory involving the virus leaking from a laboratory was deemed “extremely unlikely”.The investigation faced criticism for lacking transparency and access, and for not evaluating the lab-leak theory more deeply.Long derided as a right-wing conspiracy theory, and vehemently rejected by Beijing, the idea that Covid-19 may have emerged from a lab leak has been gaining momentum.According to information obtained by AFP, WHO has now developed a protocol for evaluating laboratory safety and biological security to help ascertain whether the virus may have emerged due to a lab accident.The protocol, which the agency aims to use to investigate the Covid-19 origin as well as possible future outbreaks, provides measures for evaluating, among other things, the storage of virus samples and handling of waste.‘Premature’Tedros, who has always maintained that all theories remained on the table, told journalists on Thursday that the push to rule out the possible link to a lab leak had been “premature”.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian rejected that, standing by the first mission’s conclusion that a lab leak was “extremely unlikely”, and warning that “this issue should not be politicised”.He also rejected Tedros’s charge at Thursday’s press conference that China had failed to share the raw data needed during the first phase of the investigation, insisting the visiting experts were given adequate access.In his statement on Friday, Tedros thanked China and other countries “who wrote to me yesterday, and I agree that finding the origins of this virus is a scientific exercise that must be kept free from politics”.“We expect China to support this next phase of the scientific process by sharing all relevant data in a spirit of transparency,” he said.After the first mission went to China, Beijing has been pushing for the next phase to focus elsewhere.Diplomatic sources who viewed the document circulated to missions earlier this week as a basis for Friday’s briefing said China was the only country mentioned as a destination for the next mission.‘Essential’Tedros highlighted that getting to the bottom of the mystery of where Covid-19 came from was “essential”, for “understanding how the pandemic started and preventing future outbreaks.”The WHO chief also announced Friday the creation of a new permanent International Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens, or SAGO.The new group, he said, would “play a vital role in the next phase” of the Covid origins studies, “as well as the origins of future new pathogens.”


SpaceX launches latest space station crew to orbit for Nasa

Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX launched a four-man crew to orbit en route to the International Space Station early on Thursday, with a Russian cosmonaut and United Arab Emirates astronaut joining two Nasa crewmates for the flight.
The SpaceX launch vehicle, consisting of a Falcon 9 rocket topped with an autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule called Endeavour, lifted off at 12.34am EST (0534 GMT) from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
A live Nasa webcast showed the 25-story-tall spacecraft ascending from the launch tower as its nine Merlin engines roared to life in billowing clouds of vapor and a reddish fireball that lit up the pre-dawn sky.
The flight came 72 hours after an initial launch attempt was scrubbed in the final minutes of countdown early on Monday due to a blockage in the flow of engine-ignition fluid. Nasa said the problem was fixed by replacing a clogged filter and purging the system.
About nine minutes after Thursday's launch, the rocket's upper stage delivered the Crew Dragon into preliminary orbit as it streaked through space at more than 20 times the speed of sound. The reusable lower-stage Falcon booster, meanwhile, flew itself back to Earth and landed safely on a recovery vessel, dubbed "Just Read the Instructions," floating in the Atlantic.
Moments after the capsule reached orbit, a SpaceX mission control manager was heard jokingly radioing to the crew: "If you enjoyed your ride, please don't forget to give us five stars."
The crew's commander, Nasa astronaut Stephen Bowen, radioed back, "We'd like to thank you for the great ride to orbit today."
The trip to the International Space Station (ISS), a laboratory orbiting about 250 miles (420km) above Earth, was expected to take nearly 25 hours, with rendezvous planned for about 1.15am EST (0615 GMT) on Friday.
The crew's six-month science mission will encompass about 200 experiments and technology demonstrations, ranging from research on human cell growth in space to controlling combustible materials in microgravity.
Designated Crew 6, the mission marks the sixth long-term ISS team that Nasa has flown aboard SpaceX since the private rocket venture founded by Musk - billionaire CEO of electric car maker Tesla and social media platform Twitter - began sending American astronauts to orbit in May 2020.
The latest ISS crew was led by Bowen, 59, a onetime US Navy submarine officer who has logged more than 40 days in orbit as a veteran of three Space Shuttle flights and seven spacewalks. Fellow NASA astronaut Warren "Woody" Hoburg, 37, an engineer and commercial aviator designated as the Crew 6 pilot, was making his first spaceflight.
The Crew 6 mission also was notable for its inclusion of UAE astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, 41, only the second person from his country to fly to space and the first to launch from US soil as part of a long-duration space station team.
Rounding out the four-man Crew 6 was Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, 42, who like Alneyadi is an engineer and spaceflight rookie designated as a mission specialist for the team.
Fedyaev is the second cosmonaut to fly aboard an American spacecraft under a renewed ride-sharing deal signed in July by Nasa and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, despite heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Crew 6 team will be welcomed aboard the space station by seven current ISS occupants - three Nasa crew members, including commander Nicole Aunapu Mann, the first Native American woman to fly to space, along with three Russians and a Japanese astronaut.
The ISS, about the length of a football field, has been continuously operated for more than two decades by a US-Russian-led consortium that includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries.


North Korea notifies Japan of plan to launch satellite

North Korea has notified Japan of a plan to launch a satellite between May 31 and June 11, a Japanese coast guard official said on Monday.
Analysts say the military satellite is part of nuclear-armed North Korea's efforts to advance surveillance technology, including drones, to improve its ability to strike targets in the event of a conflict.
North Korea has also undertaken a series of missile and weapons tests in recent months, including a new, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
North Korea informed the Japanese coast guard of the planned launch, the coast guard official told Reuters, confirming earlier reports by public broadcaster NHK and other Japanese media.
The Japanese prime minister's office urged North Korea to refrain from the launch and said it would work closely with allies.
"We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from launching," the prime minister's office said on Twitter, adding it would cooperate "with relevant countries such as the US and South Korea".
The Japanese government would do all it could to collect and analyse information from the launch, it said.
North Korea had said it had completed work on its first spy satellite. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in May inspected a military satellite facility, North Korean state media KCNA reported.
The KCNA report said Kim had approved next steps of the non-permanent satellite-launching preparatory committee.
North Korean media previously criticised plans by South Korea, the US and Japan to share real-time data on Pyongyang's missile launches, describing the three as discussing "sinister measures" for tightening military cooperation.


Italy to exit Covid state of emergency on March 31

The Italian government will end the Covid-19 state of emergency on March 31, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday, promising a gradual return to normal after more than two years of the health crisis.Coronavirus cases and deaths have receded in recent weeks and the government has come under pressure from businesses and some political parties to roll back the restrictions that have been progressively introduced since early 2020.“We will continue to closely monitor the pandemic situation, ready to intervene in case of an outbreak. But our goal is to reopen fully, as soon as possible,” Draghi said in a speech in the art city of Florence.The state of emergency, which allows officials to bypass bureaucracy and impose rules via decrees, was established on Jan 31, 2020. The measure is due to expire at the end of next month and Draghi said it would not be renewed.The so-called enhanced green health pass, which shows proof of vaccination or recent recovery from Covid and is needed to access many places, will be progressively phased out, starting with outdoor activities, Draghi said.


Umno leaders violating party constitution by contesting on other tickets, says veep

Two Umno leaders dropped from contesting the 15th general election (GE15) have breached the party constitution by opting to stand on a Perikatan Nasional (PN) ticket, says Umno vice-president Mahdzir Khalid.
Mahdzir said the Umno constitution clearly spelt out the kind of penalty that can be imposed on members who violate party regulations.
"To me, it should not have happened but it did. It’s not right for people to resort to such a drastic action," he said on the actions of Arau incumbent Shahidan Kasim and Maran incumbent Ismail Abdul Muttalib.
Speaking to reporters in Kuala Nerang today, he said the reality in politics was that leaders should accept it with an open heart if they are not selected to contest.
Shahidan and Ismail were announced as PN's candidates for Arau and Maran respectively by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in Marang, Terengganu, yesterday.
Asked if the two had been stripped of their Umno membership, Mahdzir said this was provided for in the party constitution. However, he declined to elaborate, saying the focus now was on winning GE15.
Shahidan, the federal territories minister, and Ismail, the deputy housing and local government minister, won their seats on a Barisan Nasional ticket in GE14.
However, for GE15, Umno picked Rozabil Abd Rahman for the Arau seat and Shahniza Shamsudin for Maran.


Little respite for doctors on Ukraine's eastern front

Andrii, a doctor working in Ukraine's Donetsk region, has virtually no time to take breaks during his shifts at a military hospital near the front lines of the war against Russia.
Ambulances shuttle back and forth to the hospital, carrying soldiers wounded in fighting that has engulfed towns in Ukrainian-held parts of Donetsk.
Andrii, who asked to be identified only by his first name, meets patients being brought in by ambulances and scurries down narrow corridors to assess and treat the most recent arrivals.
No sooner has he recorded the time of death of one serviceman than he is examining another wheeled in on a stretcher.
He cuts off the trousers of one injured man and instructs a nurse to prepare an infusion.
"Your belly doesn't hurt does it?" he asks the man, taking notes.
Andrii, 47, is from Kyiv and was working there until Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February when he moved to the front line. Treating young soldiers seemed the most natural thing to do in conditions of war, he says.
"I'm just doing my job. All of us do what's needed, we're just fulfilling our duty," he says.
"The only thing important is that there is a person that does this job. To a certain extent at least. I'm not saying that I’m doing something 'extra', just everyone is doing their work, and all of this together creates a certain teamwork spirit."
His workload? That depends on the war, he says.
Russian forces initially planned to advance on the capital Kyiv but changed strategy after meeting resistance from the Ukrainian army.
The Kremlin, which calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation", said it would concentrate on securing the entire Donbass region of eastern Ukraine - parts of which were occupied by Russian forces and their proxies in 2014.
Russian forces captured virtually all of Luhansk region in battles through June that killed thousands on both sides. Now, they are pushing steadily southward in Donetsk.
Andrii and his colleagues treat the most debilitating injuries inflicted on Ukrainian soldiers. They work 12-hour shifts in theory but often stay longer if there are a lot of urgent cases.
"The most difficult moments are psychological," says Mykhailo, the head of the hospital's surgery department, who also did not want his surname to be published.
"When you get 20 or 22-year old boys, young boys, and they have serious injuries. When they lose their limbs, or their sight, when they become disabled."
Mykhailo has dealt with the stress by setting up a fitness club with some of his colleagues.
But tension is everywhere.
"A grenade may be concealed where you least expect it," reads a poster taped to a corridor wall in the hospital.
Still, the medical teams keep working as ambulances keep arriving and patients are brought in for immediate attention.
A nurse starts humming a tune to try and lighten the atmosphere and offers encouragement to one of the injured.
"You are a fine young man," she says.


Najib wasn’t an ‘insider’ at SRC, lawyer says in ex-PM’s appeal

The Court of Appeal was today told that Najib Razak was not a director or shadow director at SRC International to be found guilty of misappropriating RM42 million of the company’s funds.The former prime minister’s counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said trial judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali had adopted the civil law and common law concept of shadow director from England to convict Najib.“Section 402A of the Penal Code on the definition of a director was ‘something similar to the shadow director’ but it was not the same as in England.“Najib was not an insider in the company as required under the Penal Code to have committed criminal breach of trust (CBT). Najib was the outsider. The prosecution also did not establish the elements of the CBT charge to be called to enter defence,” he added.The veteran lawyer submitted this before a three-member bench led by judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil in the hearing of Najib’s appeal against his conviction and jail sentence for the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International funds.The other judges on the bench were Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.Shafee said the trial judge had erred in law in importing a common law from England to implicate the Pekan MP of the offence.“It must be proven that the appellant had control and was entrusted with the RM42 million to be found guilty.“The appellant submits that the trial judge committed a grave error by relying on the common law and stretching the language of Section 402A of the Penal Code beyond the natural and ordinary meaning of the provision,” he said, adding that this has caused serious prejudice and injustice to Najib.The Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 28 last year sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and fined him RM210 million after finding him guilty on seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of position involving RM42 million in SRC International funds.The hearing of the appeal continues.


Funeral flouters cause Israel to extend lockdown as infections halt turnaround

Israel extended a national lockdown on Sunday as coronavirus variants offset its vaccination drive and officials predicted a delay in a turnaround from the health and economic crisis.Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews attended the Jerusalem funerals of two prominent rabbis on Sunday, highlighting Israel’s challenges in enforcing restrictions and drawing criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition partners.Netanyahu has promoted a speedy vaccination of Israel’s most vulnerable, around 24% of nine million citizens, as the best way to a quick reopening of the economy in February.But a projected mid-January turnaround in curbing the pandemic did not happen.Serious cases have surged among Israelis who have not yet been vaccinated. Officials blame this on super-communicable foreign virus strains and on lockdown flouters.Netanyahu’s cabinet voted to extend the five-week-old national lockdown until Friday, pending parliamentary approval, Israeli media reported.Violations by ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are among Netanyahu’s supporters, have been played up by political rivals in questioning the lockdown’s efficacy – and building opposition to him ahead of a March 23 election.“Either everyone is locked down, or everything is opened up for everyone. The days of chicanery are over,” Defence Minister Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s centrist coalition partner and now election competitor, wrote on Twitter.In an apparent defence of ultra-Orthodox Jews, Netanyahu said that lockdown violations had taken place among secular Israelis and the country’s Arab minority, as well.“To concentrate on the violations of one group and ignore the violations of others… they must all stop. This is the time for unity,” Netanyahu said in a statement ahead of the cabinet vote.The ultra-Orthodox, whose often high-density communities make up around 15% of Israel’s population, account for some 35% of recent contagions, according to the health ministry.As of Saturday, 1.7 million Israelis had received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine more than a week ago, achieving the maximum 95% protection, the health ministry said.Around another 1.3 million had either received one dose and were awaiting the second or had received the second dose within the last week and so were not yet designated as fully vaccinated.


Zahid tells court would have rejected donations from illegal activities

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday that as a Muslim, he would have reject donations channelled to Yayasan Akalbudi if he knew they had come from illegal activities.
Zahid, 69, referring to a RM10 million contribution from a donor from Sarawak through businessman Wong Sang Woo @ Wong Shuh Chain, said the money received in 10 cheques was clean.
"The donor was from Sarawak and Wong was a partner to that donor who is not from Malaysia. As he was abroad, he handed over the donation through Wong.
"As such, I was of the view that the money received was not derived from illegal activities or illegal sources. As a Muslim, if I knew it was from illegal sources, I would have turned down such contributions. That is my stand," he said.
The former deputy prime minister said this during re-examination by his lawyer, Hamidi Mohd Noh, when making his defence against 47 charges: 12 of criminal breach of trust, eight of corruption and 27 of money laundering, involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi. Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Christ Sheldon Merun previously told the court that Zahid had requested a RM10 million donation from Wong, a director of Chia Bee Enterprise Sdn Bhd, at a dinner in 2015, where the accused had said that the contribution was to assist the poor and needy.
MACC investigating officer Mohd Amirudin Nordin Wong also testified that Wong could not be located to testify while a check with the immigration department showed that he was abroad. He said that only Wong's witness statement could be produced in court.
On the RM7.5 million donation received by Yayasan Al-Bukhary, Zahid said although the donation was received from his friend, Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary in the form of cash, it was not for his personal use.
Zahid said the money was a political contribution or a charitable donation based on bai’ah (allegiance), and therefore was not deposited into his personal account.
"The money could not be deposited into Yayasan Akalbudi in cash. Omar Ali Abdullah, a money changer, converted the cash (RM7.5 million) into cheque payments and into the account of Messrs Lewis & Co who are the trustees of Yayasan Akalbudi.
"Switching it to cheques was the initiative of Omar Ali himself, and not upon my instruction," he added.
The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues today.


Health authorities considering SOP leeway for campaigns in Sarawak rural areas

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today said that the authorities are considering giving some amount of leeway for campaigns in rural parts of Sarawak for the upcoming state election.Speaking at a press conference, he said the Sarawak state secretary had submitted requests that differed slightly from those for the recently concluded election in Melaka.“Different areas do not have internet access,” he said. “So the health ministry has held a series of discussions with the Sarawak government.”Adding that several issues need the agreement of the health ministry and Election Commission, he said it was the duty of Deputy Health Minister II Aaron Ago Dagang to finalise the matters under discussion regarding requests based on locality.A copy of proposed SOPs for the Sarawak election dated Nov 4 shared by the Sarawak Public Communication Unit says that campaigns and lectures will only be allowed at villages and longhouses in certain state constituencies.Only the candidates or politicians contesting will be allowed to do campaign, subject to a maximum headcount of eight people, as well as official government workers.Likewise, it states that house-to-house visits throughout the campaign period will be prohibited except in village areas and longhouses in certain state constituencies.The Melaka election on Nov 20 was held under tight health SOPs with an unprecedented ban on face-to-face campaigning and house visits. Candidates were advised to campaign mostly on social media platforms, which led to concerns over the effectiveness of outreach efforts ahead of polling day.


Global Covid-19 cases top 32 million

Global Covid-19 cases surpassed 32 million on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reports.According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, the global case count reached 32,048,333, with a total of 979,454 deaths worldwide as of 3.23pm local time (1923 GMT).The US reported the most cases and deaths around the world, at 6,962,333 and 202,467, respectively. India recorded 5,732,518 cases, just shy of the US caseload. Brazil followed India with 4,624,268 cases and 138,974 deaths, the world’s second-largest death toll.Countries with more than 700,000 cases include Russia, Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Spain, while other countries with over 35,000 deaths include India, Mexico, Britain and Italy.


Russia reports record Covid deaths for fifth straight day

Russia on Saturday reported 697 Covid-19 deaths in the previous 24 hours, the fifth straight day the country has set a new record as it battles the surging Delta variant.It also recorded 24,439 new coronavirus infections, the highest figure since the middle of January when Russia was emerging from its second wave of the pandemic.Moscow, the biggest virus hotspot nationwide, recorded 116 deaths, close to the city’s pandemic record seen earlier this week.Russia’s coronavirus outbreak has been surging since mid-June against a background of reluctance among many to get vaccinated and suspicion of home-grown shots.So far just 16% of Russia’s 146 million people have been jabbed.Moscow on Thursday began offering third doses to those who received their second more than six months ago to boost their defence against new variants.President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday urged Russians to “listen to experts” rather than rumours about the virus and vaccines, although he also said he was opposed to making inoculations compulsory nationwide.The government has also ruled out a nationwide lockdown – even as it has acknowledged that it will miss a target of vaccinating 60% of people by August.So far 137,262 people have died among 5.5 million infected in Russia, according to official figures.A wider definition of Covid deaths from statistics agency Rosstat tallied 270,000 by late April.


3 other Rumah Bonda residents saw Siti Bainun abusing Bella, witness tells court

A close friend of Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali told the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court yesterday that three residents of the welfare home saw her abusing the teenage girl with Down syndrome known as Bella at a condominium unit last year.
Zurianty Sudin, 39, said the three – Eyna, Aida and Balqis – were living with Siti Bainun and Bella when the incident happened.
The first prosecution witness, who was called back to testify, said this during cross-examination by lawyer Mohammad Farhan Maaruf, representing Siti Bainun at her trial for the neglect and abuse of the 13-year-old girl.
Farhan: Apart from Yasmin, (Yasmin Nahar Mahmood) to your knowledge, do you agree no one ever saw Siti Bainun abusing Bella?
Zurianty: I don’t agree. Farhan: Which means, you are aware that other individuals apart from Yasmin witnessed Siti Bainun abusing Bella.
Zurianty: Yes.
Yasmin earlier testified that she had seen Siti Bainun abusing Bella every day from March 2021 until June 24, 2021.
Replying to a question from Siti Bainun's lawyer, Nurul Hafidzah Hassan, the witness, said she knew an activist named Mona Din and had communicated with the woman for the first time on Facebook.
Zurianty said she was surprised when the video of Bella's injury went viral after the activist shared it on Facebook as she had never given the video to Mona Din and was not in support of making the case viral on social media.
However, Zurianty admitted that she had uploaded a post on Bella's case on her Facebook.
Siti Bainun, 30, faces two charges of neglecting and abusing the girl, to the extent that she suffered physical and emotional injuries, between February and June 2021 at a condominium unit in Wangsa Maju.
The trial before judge Izralizam Sanusi continues today.


Illogical for monthly payments to have been made to Zahid for 4 years, court told

The Shah Alam High Court was today told that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as a public servant, namely the home minister, should not have received cash contributions or valuables, in line with Section 165 of the Penal Code.
Deputy public prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran said Zahid receiving such contributions was like making a mockery of the law.
"He may be a politician, but at the material time, he was holding the position of a minister. His salary was paid by the government, using taxpayers’ money. He was paid to serve the public," said Raja Rozela in her submission at the end of the prosecution’s case.
Section 165 of the Penal Code states that whoever, being a public servant, accepts or obtains, or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain, for himself or for any other person, any valuable thing, without consideration, from a person concerned in any proceeding or business transacted by such public servant, commits an offence which carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both. Raja Rozela said the existing laws such as Section 165 of the Penal Code, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and the Income Tax Act 1967 did not recognise political contributions to individuals in their capacity as public servants.
She also said it was illogical for Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) to have made monthly payments to Zahid for a period of four years while he was home minister.
"If these were political contributions, they should not have been disbursed this way. They should have been in one payment, but in this case, the payments were made monthly for four years.
"The payments were made to him (Zahid), not to Umno," she said.
Zahid, 69, faces 33 charges of receiving bribes amounting to S$13.56 million from UKSB for himself as the home minister at the time, to extend the contract of the company as the operator of the OSC service in China and the VLN system, as well as to maintain the contract agreement to supply the VLN integrated system to the same company by the ministry.
On another seven counts, he was charged with obtaining for himself S$1,150,000, RM3 million, 15,000 Swiss francs and US$15,000 from the same company which had links with his official duty.
He was charged with committing the offences at Seri Satria, Precinct 16, Putrajaya, and Country Heights, Kajang between October 2014 and March 2018.
The prosecution will continue its submission before judge Mohd Yazid Mustafa tomorrow.


Daily cases inch past 15,900 to another new high

Another 15,902 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 996,393.Selangor recorded 7,351 cases, Kuala Lumpur 2,406, Kedah 867, Johor 804, Sabah 712, Negeri Sembilan 625, Melaka 631, Penang 505, Kelantan 502, Perak 469, Pahang 406, Terengganu 267 and Sarawak 261.Putrajaya recorded 59 cases, Labuan 30 and Perlis seven.Active cases stand at 153,633 with 950 in the ICU and 468 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 9,471 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 834,858.However, 184 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 7,902.


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No bankruptcy order, Jamal says eligible to contest GE15

Barisan Nasional's (BN) Sungai Besar candidate Jamal Md Yunos has denied being issued a bankruptcy order that could disqualify him from contesting the 15th general election (GE15).
In a statement today, Jamal dismissed Seputeh MP Teresa Kok’s claim that bankruptcy proceedings against him had commenced on Aug 30.
He said that case management would only be held on Nov 30, adding that his lawyer would be challenging the matter.
He said he was currently in the appeal process regarding the High Court’s order for him to pay RM300,000 as compensation and RM50,000 in costs to Kok for defaming her.
The Sungai Besar Umno division chief said Kok’s insistence that the Election Commission (EC) object to his potential nomination as a GE15 candidate was premature, futile and wrongful as well as a desperate attempt to disqualify him as a candidate in the polls.
"The facts are very clear, I have not been served with any bankruptcy order in line with the Insolvency Act 1967," he said.
He said his eligibility as an election candidate therefore remained valid on nomination and polling day, until a bankruptcy order is issued and all appeals have been disposed of in accordance with the eligibility for nomination under Article 48 of the Federal Constitution.
Kok was recently reported to have sent a letter to EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh on Jamal being named as BN’s candidate in Sungai Besar, claiming that he had yet to settle the terms of a judgment in a suit that she filed against him, which could lead to him being declared a bankrupt.
In July, Kok was awarded RM300,000 in damages after winning a defamation suit against Jamal over the alleged misuse of Yayasan Warisan Anak Selangor funds.


Taliban release decree saying women must consent to marriage

Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Friday released a decree on women’s rights which said women should not be considered “property” and must consent to marriage but failed to mention female access to education or work outside the home.The Taliban has been under pressure from the international community, who have mostly frozen funds for Afghanistan, to commit to upholding women’s rights since the hardline Islamist group took over the country on Aug 15.“A woman is not a property, but a noble and free human being; no one can give her to anyone in exchange for peace… or to end animosity,” the Taliban decree, released by spokesman Zabihillah Muhajid, said.It set out the rules governing marriage and property for women, stating women should not be forced into marriage and widows should have share in their late husband’s property.Courts should take into account the rules when making decisions, and religious affairs and information ministries should promote these rights, the decree said.However, it made no mention of women being able to work or access facilities outside the home or education, which have been major concerns from the international community.During its previous rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban banned women from leaving the house without a male relative and full face and head covering and girls from receiving education.The Taliban say they have changed and high schools for girls in some provinces have been allowed to open. But many women and rights advocates remain sceptical.The international community, which has frozen billions in central bank funds and development spending, has made women’s rights a key element of any future engagement with Afghanistan.The country, which is also suffering from a banking liquidity crisis as the cash flow dries up due to sanctions, is facing the risk of economic collapse since the Taliban took over.


Why the government should not deport Myanmar migrants

2020 was a long and difficult year for Malaysia. The battle against Covid-19 took centre stage, but also proved a catalyst for other issues to be thrust into the spotlight: socioeconomic inequality, poverty, domestic violence and of course, xenophobia.Now, a glimmer of light appears at the end of the tunnel: the coronavirus vaccine is set to arrive on our shores this month and with the government’s rollout plan targeting 126,000 individuals a day including foreign workers, it appears that Malaysia may be able to get a handle on the virus.However, xenophobia is just as fatal and destructive as any virus. Even as the government tells Malaysians that foreigners must be vaccinated for humane reasons, it has agreed to deport a whopping 1,200 Myanmar nationals back to their country which recently underwent a military coup.This decision is not just a human rights violation but could also prove dangerous for Malaysian society as well as Malaysia’s foreign policy interests.It may breach our international legal obligationsNon-refoulement, a key principle of international human rights law, prohibits the return of individuals to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or other irreparable harm.The government has said that those who will be deported are workers accused of lacking valid travel documents and overstaying their visas, and that no Rohingya or United Nations-registered refugees will be deported.However, the government has not clarified how it has established this. The United Nations refugee agency has not been able to access detention centres since 2019, and so cannot determine whether these detainees would qualify as refugees. The agency has also told the media that it is currently seeking more information, and pointed out that women and children in vulnerable situations may be among those held in these centres.Given this ambiguity, it is paramount that the government at very least delay the deportation process until and unless it can provide the United Nations with access to these 1,200 people to ensure that they are indeed merely economic migrants and not vulnerable or oppressed peoples.If the government fails to do so, it may unknowingly violate the principle of non-refoulement.It will legitimise the Tatmadaw after our initial firm stance criticising the coupLast week, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin conducted a diplomatic visit to Indonesia where he met with President Joko Widodo.At this meeting, the two leaders agreed that the military takeover in Myanmar by the Tatmadaw was a cause for concern and that their respective Foreign Ministers would push for an Asean-wide meeting to discuss the matter.This came after the government released a strongly-worded statement condemning the coup and asking the Tatmadaw to prioritise peace and stability.If the Malaysian government were to now cooperate with Myanmar’s new, unconstitutional leadership, it would send a signal to not just Asean but also the world that it is prepared to parlay with and therefore legitimise the military.It would also make any future statements or en bloc meetings a paper tiger – big words that are ultimately ineffectual.It will cause undocumented foreign workers to avoid being vaccinatedDomestically, this deportation exercise will cause great harm to Malaysians who are currently obeying shelter-in-place directives and doing their level best to flatten the curve.With an economy heavily reliant on migrant workers – both documented and undocumented – it is necessary that all workers here are vaccinated to prevent the spread of the virus.Covid-19 does not see race, religion or immigration status, and new clusters can and will blossom if a large section of the populace is left untreated.A deportation exercise will spook migrant workers and cause them to go to ground out of fear of being repatriated. Workers in sectors such as construction or F&B may report for work as normal, but avoid presenting themselves for vaccination and instead flee the authorities.Given that there are at least two million undocumented migrant workers in Malaysia, it is dangerous to public health to have a group this large potentially remain unvaccinated.If the government is serious about addressing the pandemic holistically, it cannot run the risk of having migrant workers avoid this essential measure.So what now?Given these factors, it is extremely unwise for the government of Malaysia to continue with this deportation exercise, regardless of detention centre capacity. It is high time for the government of Malaysia to allow lawyers and activists into detention centres to determine the status of those held and release asylum-seekers into the community – this would automatically ease overcrowding.An amnesty programme would also go a long way towards bolstering trust in the government among the migrant community while we work on our larger labour policies.The government should also continue to engage with its Asean partners to address the regional issues posed by the coup in Myanmar, and maintain its pledge to uphold principles of international law.Mahajoth Singh is with rights group Lawyers for Liberty.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Asean to hold first joint military exercise off Indonesia

The Southeast Asian bloc Asean will hold its first-ever joint military exercise in the South China Sea, its chair Indonesia said on Thursday, the latest multilateral security drills at a time of rising tension and uncertainty in the region.
The decision was taken at a meeting of military commanders of the 10-member Asean in Indonesia, which will host the exercise in the North Natuna Sea, the southernmost waters of the South China Sea.
Indonesia's military chief, Admiral Yudo Margono, told state-run news agency Antara the exercise would be in September and would not include any combat operations training. The purpose, Margono said, was strengthening "Asean centrality".
Asean's unity has for years been tested by a rivalry between the US and China that is being played out in the South China Sea. Asean members Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia have competing claims with Beijing, which asserts sovereignty over vast stretches of ocean that include parts of Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Indonesian military spokesman Julius Widjojono said the exercise was related to the "high risk of disaster in Asia, especially Southeast Asia."
A conduit for about US$3.5 trillion (RM16.16 trillion) of annual ship-borne trade, the South China Sea has seen constant tension of late as China presses its claims with a huge deployment of coast guard and fishing boats as far as 1,500km off its coastline.
China claims sovereignty via an expansive "nine-dash line" based on its historic maps, which an international arbitration court in 2016 ruled had no legal basis.
Asean has been pushing for a long-awaited maritime code of conduct with China to be completed and several of its members have had run-ins with Beijing in recent months.
Vietnam criticised China's deployment of a research vessel near several gas blocs in its EEZ, while Beijing was accused of sending suspected maritime militia into waters where navies of India and Asean countries held an exercise.
The Philippines chided China's coast guard for "dangerous manoeuvres" and "aggressive tactics" and plans to hold joint patrols with the US, on top of an inaugural trilateral coast guard exercise they held with Japan this week.
China maintains its coast guard is performing regular operations in what is Chinese sovereign territory.


Walkout the last resort if our demands are not met, say contract doctors

The organisers behind a group of contract doctors who have yet to be given permanent positions say they are ready to stage a walkout from the workplace if the authorities do not respond with a solution to their problems within 26 days.A doctor involved in the movement who wished to be known as Dr Wan said the walkout would take place at hospitals across the country at a set date but would not disclose when.“The hartal movement began on Facebook in early June. There was a vote calling for a hartal,” he said, using the term which refers to a strike.“This is not a warning, but a wake-up call for the government to respond to our needs,” he told MalaysiaNow.He added that the move would be a last resort following a memorandum and engagement sessions with the government, hospital and related associations.“The idea is that, on the set day, these contract doctors will be asked not to work so that the government realises the importance of the role they play,” he said.He said no action had been taken against the doctors so far although he claimed they had been threatened and intimidated by the state health department.An estimated 23,000 contract doctors are currently in government service, the most senior of whom began working in 2016.Wan said the contracts of doctors who began working that year would expire at the end of the year, adding however that the government had yet to decide on their status.“By right, 70% of them should be absorbed into permanent positions but until now, fewer than 700 have been confirmed,” he said.He said the movement had received support from all levels of the health fraternity, including senior doctors, specialists and consultants.Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said at a press conference yesterday that the issue of contract doctors who had yet to be absorbed would be brought to the Cabinet.“I urge doctors in the existing contract scheme to be patient and calm,” he said.“The working paper has been completed and we will see the decision of the Cabinet later.”It is understood that the “Hartal Doktor Kontrak” movement has yet to respond to Adham’s statement.A senior doctor with the health ministry, Dr Rafidah Abdullah, voiced her solidarity with the movement.Describing the move to threaten contract doctors as an act of cowardice, Rafidah said there was nothing wrong with gathering the views of everyone and finding a solution agreeable to all.“There are more than 23,000 contract medical officers – I want transparency on the percentage that can be absorbed from one point to the next.“I also want to see transparency in the selection of those given permanent positions. What are the criteria and how is it done,” she said in a thread on Twitter.Attempts to reach health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah for comment have so far failed.


No order for HR minister to be relieved from post, says Loke

No directive has been issued by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar to be relieved from his post following the arrest of his officers, says DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.
"So far, there has been no such instruction from the prime minister for Sivakumar to take leave," the transport minister said at a press conference in Putrajaya today.
Yesterday, Sivakumar who is also the Batu Gajah MP, was present at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya to give his statement on the case believed to be related to foreign worker recruitment contracts.
Loke said MACC was still investigating the case.
"We (DAP) are monitoring the development of the case," he said.


Iran prepares to bury killed nuclear scientist as it mulls response

Debate raged in Iran on Sunday over how and when to respond to a top nuclear scientist’s assassination, blamed on arch-foe Israel, as his body was honoured at Shiite shrines to prepare it for burial.Two days after Mohsen Fakhrizadeh died from wounds sustained in a firefight between his guards and unidentified gunmen near Tehran, parliament demanded a halt to international inspections of Iranian nuclear sites while a top official hinted Iran should leave the global non-proliferation treaty.Iran’s Supreme National Security Council usually handles decisions related to the country’s nuclear programme, and parliamentary bills must be approved by the powerful Guardians Council.President Hassan Rouhani has stressed the country will seek its revenge in “due time” and not be rushed into a “trap”.Israel says Fakhrizadeh was the head of an Iranian military nuclear programme, the existence of which the Islamic republic has consistently denied, and Washington had sanctioned him in 2008 for activities linked to Iran’s atomic activities.The scientist’s body was taken for a ceremony on Sunday at a major shrine in the holy city of Qom before being transported to the shrine of the Islamic republic’s founder Imam Khomeini, according to Iranian media.On Monday live video from Tehran, shared by national outlet Iran Press, showed uniformed men gathering around images of Fakhrizadeh seemingly ahead of a procession.His funeral will be held in the presence of senior military commanders and his family, the defence ministry said on its website, without specifying where.Demands for ‘strong reaction’Israel has not officially commented on Fakhrizadeh’s killing, less than two months before US president-elect Joe Biden is set to take office after four years of hawkish foreign policy under President Donald Trump.Trump withdrew the US from a multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018 and then reimposed and beefed up punishing sanctions as part of its “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.Biden has signalled his administration may be prepared to rejoin the accord, but the nuclear scientist’s assassination has revived opposition to the deal among Iranian conservatives.The head of Iran’s Expediency Council, a key advisory and arbitration body, said there was “no reason why (Iran) should not reconsider the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty”.Mohsen Rezai said Tehran should also halt implementation of the additional protocol, a document prescribing intrusive inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilitates.Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Saturday for Fakhrizadeh’s killers to be punished.Parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf called Sunday for “a strong reaction” that would “deter and take revenge” on those behind the killing of Fakhrizadeh, who was aged 59 according to Iranian media.Call for strikesFor Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Fakhrizadeh’s killing was clearly tied to Biden’s arrival in office.“The timing of the assassination, even if it was determined by purely operational considerations, is a clear message to president-elect Joe Biden, intended to show Israel’s criticism” of plans to revive the deal, it said.The UAE, which in September normalised ties with Israel, condemned the killing and urged restraint.The foreign ministry, quoted by the official Emirati news agency WAM, said Abu Dhabi “condemns the heinous assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, which could further fuel conflict in the region.“The UAE calls upon all parties to exercise maximum degrees of self-restraint to avoid dragging the region into new levels of instability and threat to peace,” it said.Britain, a party to the nuclear accord, said Sunday it was “concerned” about possible escalation of tensions in the Middle East following the assassination, while Turkey called the killing an act of “terrorism” that “upsets peace in the region”.In Iran, ultra-conservative Kayhan daily called for strikes on Israel if it were “proven” to be behind the assassination.Kayhan called for the port city of Haifa to be targeted “in a way that would annihilate its infrastructure and leave a heavy human toll”.Iran has responded to the US withdrawal from the 2015 deal by gradually abandoning most of its key nuclear commitments under the agreement.‘Revive Iran’s nuclear industry’Rezai called on Iran’s atomic agency to take “minimum measures” such as “stopping the online broadcast of cameras, reducing or suspending inspectors and implementing restrictions in their access” to sites, Isna news agency reported.Iran’s parliament said the “best response” to the assassination would be to “revive Iran’s glorious nuclear industry”.It called for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to be barred from the country’s atomic sites, said the legislature’s news agency Icana.Some MPs had earlier accused inspectors of acting as “spies” potentially responsible for Fakhrizadeh’s death.But the spokesman for Iran’s atomic energy organisation, Behrouz Kamalvandi, told Irna on Saturday that the issue of inspectors’ access “must be decided on at high levels” of the Islamic republic’s leadership.


China enforces minimum wage for delivery riders amid crackdown on mega tech

Chinese regulators have ordered online platforms to pay their food delivery riders the country’s minimum wage and improve work conditions.This is seen as part of the state’s effort to rein in Big Tech and emphasise consumer and workers’ rights, reports Bloomberg.The mandate was issued on Monday by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and six other government agencies and is aimed at expanding basic labour rights for riders, including minimum wage, work safety, food safety, and access to insurance coverage.Meituan, a food delivery service that employs about three million riders delivering an average of more than 27 million food orders a day in 2020, lost US$40 billion (RM170 billion) in market value when the new regulation was announced.The news comes in the wake of complaints by riders that they lack proper labour safeguards. A recent government video showing a local labour official working a 12-hour shift as a Meituan rider went viral on Chinese social media.According to Statista, China’s minimum wage varies by region, with Beijing at the highest with 24 yuan (RM15) per hour and Qinghai lowest at 13 yuan (RM8) per hour.The guideline also touches on “strict algorithms” that facilitate unreasonable delivery deadlines that can force riders to ignore traffic safety rules in order to not get in trouble with bosses and meet their quota.Delivery time requirements should be appropriately relaxed, SAMR said. The regulator also ordered platforms to build worker unions and provide working comforts such as rest stations for riders, smart meal-retrieval cabinets, and smart helmets.The policy comes on top of recent moves by Beijing and the CCP to crack down on giant tech companies, including removing ride-hailing app Didi from app stores.Just a few days ago, the government ordered WeChat owner Tencent to end its exclusive contracts with music copyright holders in order to stimulate competition in the market.Beijing has also unveiled a massive overhaul of China’s US$120 billion private tutoring sector, under which all institutions offering tuition on school curricula will be registered as non-profit organisations.The new rules say: “Curriculum subject-tutoring institutions are not allowed to go public for financing; listed companies should not invest in the institutions, and foreign capital is barred from such institutions.”That pushed down the stock market value of private education firms in the US, Hong Kong and mainland China.Following these crackdowns, shares of Chinese companies listed in the US have seen their biggest two-day fall since the 2008 financial crisis, says the BBC.The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index, which follows the 98 biggest US-listed Chinese stocks, has fallen by almost 15% in the last two trading sessions.The index has now plummeted by more than 45% since hitting a record high in February.


Najib applies to examine LHDN officers over bankruptcy notice

Najib Razak has applied to examine five Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) officers over their affidavits on the bankruptcy notice against the former prime minister for failing to pay RM1.69 billion in additional tax arrears.Najib’s lawyer Wee Yeong Kang, when contacted by Bernama, said the application was filed on Sept 22 according to Rule 47 of the Insolvency Rules 2017.Najib, 68, applied for a court order to examine the five male officers on grounds that LHDN had failed to provide details on how the total amount of tax he was slapped with had been calculated.Wee said during the online case management before High Court deputy registrar Ida Rahayu Sharif today, LHDN’s team had informed that they would file an application to strike out the examination application.“The court then directed LHDN to file the application on Oct 13 and further case management has been set for Nov 9,” said Wee.Senior revenue counsel Al-Hummidallah Idrus, who represented LHDN at the proceedings, confirmed the matter when contacted.The government, through LHDN, filed a bankruptcy notice in the High Court on Feb 4 against Najib as a debtor.Based on the notice, Najib has to pay RM1.69 billion with a 5% interest rate per annum on the total balance from July 22, 2020 (the date of High Court’s decision) to Feb 4, 2021. The total payable amount as of the latter date was RM1,738,804,204.16.On July 22 last year, the High Court ruled that Najib had to pay LHDN RM1.69 billion in additional tax and penalties for the period of 2011 to 2017 after allowing LHDN’s application to enter a summary judgment against the former.A summary judgment is when the court decides a particular case summarily, without calling witnesses to testify in a trial.On Sept 9, the Court of Appeal affirmed the High Court ruling after dismissing Najib’s appeal over the matter.Najib then filed an application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court on Sept 13 against the Court of Appeal’s decision.


China, NZ sign trade deal as Beijing calls for reduced global barriers

China and New Zealand inked a deal on Tuesday upgrading a free trade pact to give exports from the Pacific nation greater access to the world’s second-largest economy, reports Reuters.New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters, “China remains one of our most important trade partners. For this to take place during the global economic crisis brought about by Covid-19 makes it particularly important.”The trade deal provides for tariffs to be either removed or cut on many of New Zealand’s exports, ranging from dairy to timber and seafood.China’s new deal with Wellington also opens up sectors such as aviation, education and finance. In exchange, New Zealand will increase visa quotas for Chinese language teachers and tour guides, the official Xinhua news agency said.“The upgrade shows the two sides’ firm determination to support multilateralism and free trade,” Zhao Lijian of China’s foreign ministry, told a news briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.China is now New Zealand’s largest trading partner, with annual two-way trade of more than US$21.58 billion.New Zealand was the first developed nation to sign a free trade pact with China in 2008, and has long been touted by Beijing as an exemplar of Western engagement.This week, speaking at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, President Xi Jinping criticised isolationism and “Cold War” thinking and called for barriers to trade, investment and technological exchange to be removed.In recent months, Beijing has signed an investment pact with the European Union and joined the world’s largest free trade bloc in the 15-country Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which includes New Zealand.China has also expressed interest in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the successor to a pact from which Washington withdrew.But ties have been tested under Ardern’s government as New Zealand criticised China’s influence on small Pacific islands and raised human rights concerns about Muslim Uighurs.Ardern also backed Taiwan’s participation at the World Health Organization despite a warning from Beijing.


Apex court to decide on Najib's SRC review bid by end-March

The hearing of former prime minister Najib Razak’s application for a review of his RM42 million SRC International case at the Federal Court ended yesterday after six days of submissions from both parties.
Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abdul Rahman Sebli, who chaired a five-member bench, said the court needed time to deliberate and that the parties would be notified of the date no later than March 31, for the court to deliver its decision.
"We are not in the position to decide the matter today," he said.
The other four judges on the bench were Federal Court judges Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Rhodzariah Bujang and Nordin Hassan and Court of Appeal judge Abu Bakar Jais.
Throughout the six-day proceedings, Najib's counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah argued that the bench which heard Najib’s main appeal had made a fundamental error in law by not allowing the adjournment of the trial and not allowing Najib’s ex-counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik to discharge himself. He also said that a Facebook post by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat’s husband on May 11, 2018, before the 14th general election, had amounted to a public declaration of hatred against Najib.
He said the top judge should have known about the post and asked the parties involved whether she should recuse herself from the panel.
Meanwhile, ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram concluded that there was no breach of natural justice or miscarriage of justice or abuse of the court process in the case as the defence was given all opportunity to submit its final appeal but Hisyam chose not to take the opportunities given on the pretext that he was not prepared.
He also said that Najib had taken on new lawyers in the hope of postponing the hearing of the appeal, and that the court had the right to refuse the adjournment sought.
Najib, in his review application, is seeking to overturn the decision made by a five-member bench of the Federal Court led by Tengku Maimun on Aug 23 last year, upholding his conviction, 12-year jail sentence and fine for the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International funds.


In new breakthrough, Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine nearly 95% effective

US biotech firm Moderna on Monday announced its experimental vaccine against Covid-19 was almost 95% effective, marking a second major breakthrough in the quest to end the pandemic.Moderna released early results from a clinical trial with more than 30,000 participants, after American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech last week said their vaccine was 90% effective.Both frontrunners are based on new technology that uses synthetic versions of molecules called “messenger RNA” to hack into human cells, and effectively turn them into vaccine-making factories.“This positive interim analysis from our Phase 3 study has given us the first clinical validation that our vaccine can prevent Covid-19 disease, including severe disease,” said Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel.“Today’s news of a second vaccine is further reason to feel hopeful,” tweeted president-elect Joe Biden, but he cautioned that its widespread distribution was months away.“Until then, Americans need to continue to practise social-distancing and mask-wearing to get the virus under control,” he said.Moderna plans to submit applications for emergency approval around the world within weeks, and says it expects to have approximately 20 million doses ready to ship in the US by the end of the year.The company, which has received US$2 billion from the US government under “Operation Warp Speed”, added it is on track to manufacture between 500 million to a billion doses globally in 2021.Global infections from Covid-19 have soared past 54 million with more than 1.3 million deaths since the virus emerged in China late last year.President Donald Trump also weighed in on Twitter, to take credit: “Please remember that these great discoveries, which will end the China Plague, all took place on my watch!”Beginning of the end?Moncef Slaoui, who leads Operation Warp Speed, told MSNBC he hoped the two would be approved “somewhere towards in the first half of December”, with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine the next on the horizon early next year.The Moderna vaccine, which was co-developed by the US National Institutes of Health, is given in two doses 28 days apart, and the preliminary results are based on the 95 of the 30,000 volunteers who fell ill with Covid-19.Of the 95, 90 had been in the trial’s placebo group, and five in the group that received the drug, called mRNA-1273, translating to an efficacy rate of 94.5%.There were 11 people who fell severely ill, all of whom were in the placebo group.A small fraction of people experienced severe symptoms such as fatigue, muscle and joint pains, or redness at the injection site, but these side-effects were short lasting.“The light at the end of the tunnel just got even brighter,” tweeted Atul Gawande, a member of Biden’s coronavirus advisory board and a surgeon at a Harvard-affiliated hospital.Crucially, Moderna also announced that its vaccine can remain stable at standard refrigerator temperatures of 2 degrees Celsius to 8 degrees Celsius for 30 days.The company added it could be kept in long-term storage at standard freezer temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius for up to six months.Pfizer’s vaccine, on the other hand, needs to be stored in deep-freezer conditions of -70 degrees Celsius which could complicate supply chain logistics, particularly in less developed countries.On the downside, Moderna’s vaccine has about three times more genetic material per dose than its Pfizer counterpart, Zoltan Kis, a research associate at Imperial College’s Future Vaccine Manufacturing Hub, said.This would raise production costs and make it harder to scale up.Questions remainThe promising results of both vaccines are seen as a validation for mRNA technology, which has never before been brought to regulatory approval but has the potential to transform the field.It is not yet clear how long lasting the protection will be from either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, nor how well they work for the elderly, the age-group at highest risk from Covid-19.Another open question is whether they stop people who are exposed to the virus from transmitting it on to the other people, even though they may be themselves protected from the disease.


No country could ban smoking, says Anwar amid protest over nicotine delisting

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today said it was difficult for the government to prohibit smoking, assuring however that the generational endgame bill to ban the habit in the younger generation would be tabled in May amid an outcry over the recent move to delist liquid or gel nicotine as a poisonous substance.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, he said a ban on smoking would also be considered as drastic action.
"We should act to raise awareness, but no country in the world could implement the extreme move to ban vape and cigarettes.
"While we campaign about the negative effects, we will continue with taxation so that the substance does not become widespread," he said to a question from Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi (PN-Kuala Langat).
Yunus had asked whether the government believed that the youth would become more inclined towards addiction and diseases linked to smoking following Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa's move to delist nicotine as a controlled substance under the Poisons Act 1952.
The decision was made despite unanimous objection from the Poisons Board.
Anwar acknowledged the objections from health groups but said it was hard for the government to prohibit the act of smoking.
"Religious scholars say it is haram but the problem has persisted for thousands of years," he added.
"We take the moderate approach of imposing taxes."
He also said that the Tobacco Products and Smoking Control Bill would be tabled during the Parliament session in May.
"I apologise for the delay because many MPs asked for a review of several provisions," he said.
"The bill was not unilaterally rejected."
The vape liquid tax, announced during the budget presentation last year, was implemented on April 1 at a rate of 40 sen per milliliter of liquid.
A total of 50% of the duty will be channelled to the health ministry.


Set festive season flight ticket prices based on CSR, airlines told

Airlines should set the price of festive season flight tickets for Sabah and Sarawak based on corporate social responsibility (CSR), and not just on demand and supply, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said the issue of expensive flight ticket prices had been discussed at the Cabinet level, and various efforts had been made by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the federal government to address the problem.
“The transport minister (Anthony Loke) has discussed with the airlines not to use the basis of these flight tickets according to demand and supply, and that there must be an element of CSR to it.
“We hope that during the upcoming festival, this matter will be resolved immediately, and we are very concerned about the problems faced, especially the cost of flights for people from Sabah and Sarawak working in the Peninsula. We will see at the Kaamatan festival and Gawai day celebrations that this problem does not arise again,” he said.
He said this at a press conference after attending a get-together at MRSM Kota Kinabalu, now known as MRSM Tan Sri Musa Aman, which was also attended by Mara chairman, Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki. Zahid said apart from that, establishing a boutique airline connecting the Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak, is also one of the measures which can ensure that the price of flight tickets is competitive.
Asked about Sabah Deputy Chief Minister I Jeffrey Kitingan's proposal regarding the creation of the Borneo civil aviation authority to regulate the aviation industry in Sabah and Sarawak, he said that he hoped that the matter would be brought to the Cabinet for discussion.
“Regarding this issue, I hope the minister responsible for Sabah and Sarawak, minister in the prime minister's department (Sabah, Sarawak affairs and special functions), Armizan Mohd Ali, who is also a member of parliament for Papar, will bring this issue to the Cabinet,” he said.
In Kota Kinabalu, when speaking at the Sabah Umno liaison committee’s Aidilfitri open house at the party's building compound yesterday, Zahid expressed concern over complaints of the people of Sabah and Sarawak regarding the issue of expensive airline tickets.
He said that he had heard the complaints of people from both states who had to pay expensive airfares to return to their respective hometowns to celebrate Aidilfitri.
“Hence, in this regard, we hope we will be able to facilitate and give opportunities to the B40 and M40 groups, who have very limited finances. Although some can afford it, they may have responsibilities and a lot of expenses incurred.
“Give them the opportunity to return to their hometowns in Sabah and Sarawak with cheap fares,” he said, asking the transport ministry to pay attention to the issue, especially for the upcoming Kaamatan festival and Gawai day celebrations.


Daily caseload dips below 1,600 as another 5 deaths reported

Another 1,591 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,513,631.There were 2,185 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,455,498.There are now 22,447 active cases, of which 21,480 or 95.7% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 18 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 922 (4.1%) have been hospitalised.A total of 27 are in ICU with 17 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 58.6%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 5.9%.Another five deaths were reported, including two who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 35,686.


Canada emergency powers still needed, PM says, citing signs of new blockade

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said his government still needed temporary emergency powers in the wake of a truckers’ blockade, citing “real concerns” about threats in the days ahead.Trudeau told a televised news conference there were signs some truckers were regrouping outside the capital Ottawa and might come back to try to restart a three-week occupation that brought downtown Ottawa to a halt.The protesters initially wanted an end to cross-border Covid-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers, but the occupation turned into a demonstration against Trudeau and the minority Liberal government.“This state of emergency is not over. There continue to be real concerns about the coming days,” Trudeau told reporters.Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act last Monday granting authorities broader powers to stop the demonstrations in Ottawa and blockades of several Canada-US border crossings.Police spent two days clearing protesters from the downtown core, making 191 arrests and towing 79 vehicles by the time the operation ended on Sunday. Downtown Ottawa was deserted on Monday but Trudeau said dangers remained.“Right now… people (are) out there indicating that they are ready to blockade, to continue their illegal occupations to disrupt Canadians’ lives. We feel that this measure needs to remain in place,” he said.Trudeau also called for people to work together, saying “we don’t know when this pandemic is going to end, but that doesn’t mean we cannot start healing as a nation”.Some members of the official opposition Conservative Party accuse Trudeau of abusing his powers. Legislator Dean Allison decried what he called “authoritarian military style measures” against the protesters.Legislators in the House of Commons are due to vote at about 8pm Eastern Time (0100 GMT Tuesday) on whether to back Trudeau’s move. The left-leaning New Democrats say they will back the Liberals, ensuring that the measure will be approved.