Najib’s lawyer questions testimony of foundation’s ex-CEO

The testimony of the former CEO of Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) that Najib Razak’s then-principal private secretary had asked to coordinate the transfer of RM42 million into the former prime minister’s bank account is hearsay and inadmissible, the Court of Appeal was told today.The former prime minister’s counsel, Harvinderjit Singh, in his submission, said Ung Su Ling’s testimony was disputed as her September 2014 meeting with the late Azlin Alias and his so-called instructions were relied on as evidence in the prosecution’s case.He said the alleged instructions in December 2014 and February 2015 to Ung from Azlin were purportedly from WhatsApp messages which had not been produced and were admitted to having been disposed of.Azlin died in a helicopter crash on April 4, 2015.Harvinderjit added that neither the primary document – a mobile phone – nor WhatsApp messages had been produced.“When Ung was cross-examined during the trial, she said she had deleted the messages and disposed of the phone as she wanted to ‘erase the painful memory’,” he said in submitting before a three-member bench led by 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 Sdn Bhd funds.Harvinderjit also said that the trial judge, Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, in his decision had relied on Ung’s evidence of her conversation with Azlin to link Najib to the case.“In summary, Ung’s explanations in context of her education, background and stature did not make any sense. She was no country bumpkin. She was a lawyer by training and had quite a number of years in the corporate field.“She testified that she purportedly received instructions from Azlin through WhatsApp but deleted them after she found out that Azlin had passed away on April 4, 2015. However, she thereafter admitted that by that date, she was aware of the controversy surrounding SRC International.The lawyer said if Ung’s instructions were indeed from Azlin, she would have saved the messages to protect herself.He also said her explanation that she had deleted the messages and thrown her phone away was dubious and on the whole, incredible.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 tomorrow.


Waiting two years and counting for nearly RM20,000 back from AirAsia X

After more than two years of waiting, AirAsia X passenger Tan Wan Kiong is running low on patience.
In September 2019, just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, he and 11 of his friends spent RM19,771 on plane tickets to Lanzhou, China, as well as several other destinations.
All 12 tickets were cancelled in May 2020, after border closures put paid to any form of international travel as countries around the world slammed shut their gates in an attempt to curb the virus spread.
Today, Tan and his friends are still waiting to receive their money back.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Tan said that when given the option of refunds in credit or cash form, he had chosen cash.
"To make things easier, I paid for all of the tickets on behalf of my friends, after which they were to pay me back," he said.
"But until today, there has been nothing. I have received nothing back, not even in the form of credit."
Tan's efforts to regain his money began after their flights were cancelled in 2020.
He chose to be refunded in cash form as he had no use for credit, given the global restrictions on travel due to the pandemic.
"I submitted all of the documents as requested, and I waited for months," he said.
"I even went to the AirAsia counter at klia2. The personnel there said I would be refunded in two to three weeks' time, but that turned out to be a false assurance.
"The second time I went to the counter, I was told that they could not help me resolve my problem."
This was not the first time Tan had requested a refund from AirAsia.
In 2017, one of his flights was cancelled – but in that case, he was refunded almost immediately.
This experience gave him the confidence to continue flying with the airline as he believed that any future cancellations would be dealt with as efficiently.
At that point, he described himself as a loyal AirAsia X customer, having used the budget airline for more than a decade and hopping on flights every month or so.
"Of course, the situation now has left my friends and I very disappointed with AirAsia," he said.
"But since I was the one who booked the tickets, I will continue handling this case."
MalaysiaNow previously reported discontent among some AirAsia X passengers with the statement by airline boss Benyamin Ismail, who said that the company could not provide cash refunds to passengers because of the law.
At the press conference on June 15, Benyamin said that AirAsia X had just undergone a court restructuring process.
Under the law, he said, the company could not give cash refunds to anyone including creditors.
He added that AirAsia X would instead provide credit refunds through travel vouchers as well as a 10% cash payment.
Tan however said there should be no issues with his refund as he began the process in 2020 – before the company underwent its debt restructuring process.
A petition seeking to gather passenger support for a class action compensation suit against AirAsia had gained more than 10,000 signatures as of noon on Monday.
The petition, titled "AirAsia class action lawsuit for losses due to cancellations and changes of flights", said a great deal of money had been lost because of these issues.
"Most have not been refunded or have had to jump through many hurdles before they can even receive a portion of what they paid for their flight. When you factor in the losses from non-flight travel expenses together with flight expenses, it is only fair that AirAsia should be responsible for all these losses," it said.
MalaysiaNow is attempting to contact the organiser for further information on the plan of action once the petition achieves its goal of 15,000 signatures.
MalaysiaNow is also awaiting a response from AirAsia X regarding Benyamin's statement on refunds.


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Enforcement of law on shorter working hours pushed to Jan 1

The enforcement of amendments to the Employment Act 1955 providing for shorter working hours has been postponed to Jan 1 next year from its earlier scheduled date of Sept 1, says Human Resources Minister M Saravanan.
He said this was decided by the Cabinet today after industries and employers unanimously asked for the postponement due to several factors.
Apart from reducing working hours from 48 to 45 per week, the amended law would also increase maternity leave from 60 days to 98 and paternity leave from three days to seven.
Saravanan said engagement sessions with stakeholders found that industry players, especially employers, needed more time before the amendments came into force because they were still dealing with a shortage of foreign workers and recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
"After listening to everyone, we (the government) have come to the conclusion that we should give another three months for the recovery of the economy. Otherwise, I am just worried that if the industries suffer, a lot of us will lose their jobs. "Of course, the ministry is concerned about the interests of the employees. This (delay) is to safeguard their interests," he told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
Saravanan said the restrictions imposed on the entry of foreign workers in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic had resulted in a shortage of manpower in industries.
He said although Malaysia had now allowed foreign workers to enter again, the process of fulfilling the manpower needs of industries would take time.
"This is the final postponement. By hook or by crook, these amendments will be enforced on Jan 1," he added.
The amendments were approved by Parliament in March this year, and Saravanan had earlier said that the amended law would be enforced on Sept 1.


Hong Kong police arrest 50 in Beijing national security law swoop

Hong Kong democracy activists and opposition politicians were among dozens taken into custody on Wednesday morning on suspicion of violating the city’s controversial national security law.Around 50 people were swept up by police in the operation, local media including broadcasters Now TV and TVB reported.This appeared to be the largest roundup to date under the Beijing-imposed legislation.Former lawmakers Alvin Yeung, James To, Andrew Wan and Lam Cheuk-ting were arrested by the police national security branch on allegations of subversion, according to social media postings.The allegations were in relation to an informal primary held by opposition parties in July to choose candidates for a September legislative election that was subsequently postponed a full year by the government.Activist Ventus Lau was also detained in relation to last year’s legislative election primaries organised by the pro-democracy side, a Lau associate said in a WhatsApp post.Also arrested was former lawmaker Claudia Mo, a leading opposition figure and one of the city’s most outspoken critics of China’s policies in Hong Kong.The Apple Daily newspaper reported that prominent activist and academic Benny Tai had been taken into custody along with Robert Chung, a pollster who helped develop the website and tally the votes for the primary.A police spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg.The national security law which bars subversion, terrorism, secession and collusion with foreign forces, was imposed by Beijing on the former British colony in June, sparking international accusations led by the US that Beijing was reneging on promises to guarantee the city’s unique freedoms following its return to Chinese rule.While Beijing officials have justified the legislation as necessary to quell local unrest and restore stability to the city after historic protests in 2019, the law has so far mainly been used against non-violent political opponents and dissidents.


Black market Covid-19 negative test certs unmasked at airports worldwide

More and more countries are requiring negative Covid-19 test results from travellers upon arrival. One of the results is that people anxious to get going but without a certificate have been turning to counterfeit test results, according to The Washington Post.In September, French officials discovered false certificates were being sold at Charles de Gaulle Airport for up to €300 (RM1,500) after a passenger checked in to a flight from Paris to Addis Ababa using fake documents. Last week, seven people were arrested in Paris, each facing up to five years in prison if convicted.In northern England, the Lancashire Telegraph reported that fake documentation is being sold in Lancashire for up to £150 (RM800).One anonymous source told reporters how easy it is to get hold of other people’s negative test results and simply change the name, birthdate, and testing date. “You download the email, change it, and then print it,” he said.For him it was simply a necessary means to get around the system since he needed to fly to Pakistan. “People are doing this as you can’t get a Covid test if you have to travel to Pakistan in an emergency,” he said.“It is difficult to get a test unless you are a key worker. If you put down you have symptoms, then you don’t get the test. How can you travel then?”In Brazil four tourists were nabbed and jailed after falsifying the date on their Covid-19 tests. Officials called the lab and discovered that the testing dates didn’t match up.Worldwide, authorities are getting on top of the forgeries and finding direct ways to transmit test results so that falsified documentation doesn’t slip through the system.In Hawaii, for example, only results from approved testing partners will be accepted, and they must be transmitted digitally to the authorities.United Airlines and Cathay Pacific have been using a new app called CommonPass, currently in a trial run, to centralise health data, lab results, and vaccination data of passengers.


Law allows jailed Najib to attend Dewan Rakyat, says speaker

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun today said that former prime minister Najib Razak, who is serving a 12-year jail sentence for the misappropriation of tens of millions, is allowed by law to attend parliamentary proceedings.
However, he said the Pekan MP would need to obtain approval from the prison department.
"He is in the prison's custody, so it's up to them to release him from their custody," he said.
"If they release him, they are the ones who will determine the terms and conditions involved. Again, this is not under my authority," Azhar said.
When asked by Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad about when Najib would lose his status as an MP, Azhar said he was bound by the law.
"The law is not always as it ought to be. We can go on fighting until the cows home over what the law ought to be," he said.
He then read out Article 48(4) of the Federal Constitution which states: "If within the said period of 14 days, an appeal or any other court proceeding is brought in respect of such conviction and sentence, the disqualification takes effect upon the expiry of 14 days from the date such appeal or court proceeding is disposed of by the court."
Najib began serving time on Aug 23 for the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International funds, after the Federal Court dismissed his final appeal against his conviction and sentence.
He filed a petition for pardon on Sept 2, and for a review of the Federal Court's judgment on Sept 6.
Azhar subsequently said that Najib would remain MP for Pekan pending the results of both review and petition.


New cases hover at just over 1,000 in lowest this year

Another 1,063 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 326,034.Selangor recorded 323 cases followed by Sarawak (183) and Penang (175).Johor recorded 91 cases, Kuala Lumpur 86, Kelantan 67, Sabah 38, Kedah 32, Perak 24, Terengganu 23, Negeri Sembilan 17, Pahang two and Melaka and Labuan one each.Active cases stand at 15,204 with 152 in the ICU and 68 in need of respiratory assistance.Five new clusters were detected:1. Jalan Kampung Hilir (Sibu in Sarawak; 41 screened, 35 positive)2. Nanga Bulo (Julau in Sarawak; 160 screened, 34 positive)3. Banggol Chicha (Pasir Mas, Kota Bharu and Tumpat in Kelantan; 87 screened, 17 positive)4. Jalan Sanyan (Sibu in Sarawak; 19 screened, all positive)5. Jalan Taiping (Kepong, Cheras and Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur; 137 screened, eight positive)Eight others ended, leaving 428 active clusters across the country.Another 1,365 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 309,612.However, five more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 1,218.


Taib Mahmud sworn in as Sarawak governor for third term

Abdul Taib Mahmud took his oath of office as Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak for the third term in a ceremony at Dewan Lapau of the state assembly building today.The ceremony began with Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg reading out the instrument of appointment of Taib as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, after which Taib took his oath of office and signed the letter of appointment before Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim.Also present were Taib’s wife, Raghad Kurdi Taib, Abang Johari’s wife Juma’ani Bujang, and several members of the state cabinet.Taib received his instrument of appointment to continue his service for another two years from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.He was appointed as Sarawak governor for the first time from March 1, 2014 until Feb 28, 2018 and for the second time from March 1, 2018 until Feb 28, 2022.Taib was the fourth chief minister of Sarawak and held the post for 33 years from March 26, 1981, after succeeding his uncle Abdul Rahman Ya’kub.The eldest of 10 siblings, he was born on May 21, 1936 to Mahmud Abang Yahya and Hamidah Ya’kub.Taib served as a judge’s associate in the Supreme Court of South Australia after completing his law studies at the University of Adelaide, before returning to Sarawak.He entered politics in 1963 when he joined the Sarawak Legislative Council where he served until 1966.


Opposition fails to stop RM5.4 billion budget for Zuraida’s ministry

The RM5.36 billion allocation for the housing and local government ministry headed by Zuraida Kamaruddin was successfully passed in the Dewan Rakyat after a lengthy debate between MPs over the RM8.6 million set aside for local community mobilisers (penggerak komuniti tempatan or PeKT).The bloc vote, the seventh so far, saw 106 MPs in support of the budget, 96 against and 18 absent.This marks the 19th ministerial allocation to be passed so far.Earlier, four motions to reduce the allocation for PeKT were rejected following debate by the MPs for Tanjong Malim, Lembah Pantai, Pasir Gudang and Tuaran who had submitted the motions in question.Four other MPs from the government bloc – Arau, Padang Rengas, Tambun and Tanjong Karang – had argued against this.The budget for 2021 – RM322.5 billion, the country’s largest ever – was passed at the policy stage on Nov 26 in what was seen as a crucial test of support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.It was passed by voice vote after the opposition failed to garner enough support to force a bloc vote.


China moves to curb rare, nationwide protests

Chinese security forces on Monday filled the streets of Beijing and Shanghai following online calls for another night of protests to demand political freedoms and an end to Covid lockdowns.
People have taken to the streets in major cities and gathered at university campuses across China in a wave of nationwide protests not seen since pro-democracy rallies in 1989 were crushed.
A deadly fire last week in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang region, was the catalyst for public anger, with many blaming Covid-19 lockdowns for hampering rescue efforts.
Beijing has accused "forces with ulterior motives" for linking the fire to Covid measures.
At an area in the economic hub of Shanghai where demonstrators gathered at the weekend, AFP witnessed police leading three people away. China's online censorship machine also worked to scrub signs of the social media-driven rallies.
A planned protest in the capital Beijing later on Monday came to nothing as several dozen police officers and vans choked a crossroad near the assembly point in the western Haidian district.
Police vehicles lined the road to nearby Sitong Bridge, where a lone protester hung banners last month denouncing President Xi Jinping before being detained.
Demonstrators had shared online a plan to march to the bridge following a successful rally the day before near the Liangma river.
In Hong Kong, where mass democracy protests erupted in 2019, dozens gathered at the Chinese University to mourn the victims of the Urumqi fire, an AFP journalist said.
"Don't look away. Don't forget. We are not foreign forces. We are Chinese youth," they shouted.
People also displayed banners and held flowers in the central district of the financial hub, on which Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law after the 2019 protests.
And in Hangzhou, just over 170km southwest of Shanghai, there was strict security and sporadic protests in the city's downtown, footage circulating on social media and partly geolocated by AFP showed.
Chants and banners
Protesters have notably used the rallies to call for greater freedoms, with some even demanding the resignation of President Xi, recently re-appointed to a historic third term as China's leader.
Large crowds gathered Sunday in Beijing and Shanghai, where police clashed with demonstrators as they tried to stop groups from converging at Wulumuqi street, named after the Mandarin for Urumqi.
The BBC said one of its journalists had been arrested and beaten by police while covering the Shanghai protests, although China's foreign ministry insisted the reporter had not identified himself as such.
In Washington, the White House said President Joe Biden is monitoring the unrest closely. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby would not describe Biden's reaction to the protesters' demands but said the president supported their rights.
"People should be allowed the right to assemble and to peacefully protest policies or laws or dictates that that they take issue with," Kirby said.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned that China posed a "systemic challenge" to UK values and interests, as his government condemned the reported beating of the BBC reporter.
Sunak said the so-called "golden era" of UK-China relations trumpeted by former prime minister David Cameron was "over, along with the naive idea that trade would automatically lead to social and political reform."
He said Britain would thus "need to evolve our approach to China."
In Beijing on Monday, where at least 400 people gathered for several hours the previous night, a repeat rally took place, an AFP journalist said.
One protester told AFP that she and five of her friends who attended the protest received phone calls from Beijing police demanding information about their movements Monday evening.
In one case, she said, a police officer visited her friend's home after they refused to answer their phone.
"He said my name and asked me whether I went to the Liangma river last night... he asked very specifically how many people were there, what time I went, how I heard about it," she told AFP, asking to stay anonymous for safety reasons.
AFP journalists at the tense scene of the Shanghai protests on Monday also saw a heavy police presence, with temporary blue fences in place along the pavements to stop further gatherings.
Three people were then detained by police at the site, an AFP journalist saw, with law enforcement preventing passersby from taking photos or video of the area.
Shanghai police did not confirm to AFP how many people had been detained despite repeated enquiries.
An AFP journalist also filmed people being detained on Sunday.
'Fed up'
China's strict control of information and continued travel curbs tied to the zero-Covid policy make verifying the numbers of protesters across the vast country challenging.
But such widespread rallies are exceptionally rare, with authorities harshly clamping down on all opposition to the central government.
At the scene of the Beijing riverside rally, where rows of police vehicles were in place on Monday, a jogger in her twenties told AFP she had seen the protests on social media and that she supported them.
"This protest was a good thing, it sent the signal that people were fed up with too strong restrictions," said the jogger, who asked not to be identified.


Wanita Umno chief under fire over Cabinet reappointment

A number of social media users today hit out at Noraini Ahmad’s reappointment as higher education minister despite her resignation earlier this month as part of efforts to force Muhyiddin Yassin to step down as prime minister.The Parit Sulong MP had taken to Twitter to thank Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob for reappointing her to the position in his Cabinet.She also pledged to carry out her duties to the best of her abilities in line with the Malaysian Family concept.“Haish, same old portfolio, the results will surely be the same too,” Twitter user Bryan Foo wrote on the social media platform.Others urged the Wanita Umno chief to resign again.“Do you think you fulfilled your previous duties as well as you could have?” asked Kakak Mongka.“Just resign, YB,” said another user called Lennon.Still others called on her to reduce the cost of tuition fees for higher education and to speed up the vaccination process for students and staff at institutes of higher learning.“Please push for our fees to be reduces, and for staff members and students to be vaccinated befoew allowing face-to-face lectures to resume next semester,” said user Shfarin.“I am worried about the mental health of students and lecturers.”Noraini resigned as higher education minister on Aug 6, saying she would abide by the directive of the Umno Supreme Council to revoke her support for Muhyiddin and his Perikatan Nasional government.


Jho Low told Najib ‘not to speak too much’ with audit firm on 1MDB, court hears

The High Court was today told that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, had instructed Najib Razak “not to speak too much” on 1MDB to audit firm KPMG Malaysia as a strategy before the meeting with the firm.Former 1MDB chief financial officer Azmi Tahir, when disclosing the matter, said the instruction was made through an email titled “Urgent: Briefing Package for YAB PM”, which he sent to the former prime minister and 1MDB representatives, himself included, before the meeting, which was held on Dec 15, 2013, at Najib’s residence.“In the email, Jho Low instructed Najib not to speak too much with KPMG and it must be said that Najib had been briefed, that he knew about all the investments and transactions in 1MDB, and (that he was) confident with the existing documents.“Jho Low also instructed Najib to express his confidence in BSI Bank based on the facts provided,” he said when reading his 127-page witness statement at Najib’s corruption and money laundering trial involving RM2.3 million belonging to 1MDB.He told the court that the meeting was held because KPMG wanted to know Najib’s knowledge of 1MDB’s US$2.3 billion abroad, especially the investment by Brazen Sky Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) established on July 12, 2012 to repatriate investment monies by 1MDB.On the meeting held at Najib’s house on the night of Dec 15, 2013, Azmi, who is the 12th prosecution witness, said he found that Najib had also received the same email from Jho Low and that he (Najib) had discussed matters outlined by Jho Low in the email with KPMG representative Johan Idris.He said there were also other KPMG representatives who wanted to attend the meeting, but that Najib did not allow them to enter his house.During the meeting, Johan had asked Najib about the investment in Bridge Global Absolute Return Fund SPC and Najib replied that he knew about Brazen Sky Limited’s investment in Bridge Global Absolute Return Fund SPC.“At the meeting, Najib also questioned KPMG for still raising suspicion on the ‘underlying assets’ of the investment when BSI Bank itself had shown the investment statement.“Najib also told KPMG to close the 1MDB account before Dec 31, 2013,”he said, adding that after the meeting, KPMG still did not close the 2013 financial report because it was not satisfied with the answers given.Azmi said that at the end of 2013, 1MDB terminated KPMG’s contract and that it was replaced by audit firm Deloitte.Azmi said although he was the CFO in 1MDB, where the audit came under his jurisdiction, it was Jho Low who had arranged all the documentation and talking points for Najib to answer questions raised by KPMG.Najib, 68, is facing four charges, namely using his position to obtain bribes amounting to RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.


Queen Elizabeth’s husband Prince Philip dies at 99

Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip, who recently spent more than a month in hospital and underwent a heart procedure, died on Friday, Buckingham Palace announced. He was 99.“It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” it said in a statement.“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.“The royal family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”The palace added that further announcements would be made “in due course”.Britain’s Prince Philip arrives for a ceremony at Windsor Castle, England, July 22, 2020. Photo: APFears over the health of the duke of Edinburgh, as he was formally known, had been heightened after he recently spent a month in hospital for treatment.He left hospital on March 16 following what was described as a successful procedure for a pre-existing condition and treatment for an unspecified infection.He was first admitted on Feb 16 on the advice of his doctor after he complained of feeling unwell.Philip had returned to Windsor Castle, west of London, where he had been isolating with the queen – Britain’s longest-serving monarch – since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year.He was due to turn 100 in June.The news of his death saw television channels interrupt regular programmes and start special coverage marking his life.The BBC announced his death and played the national anthem, “God Save the Queen”.Philip had increasingly struggled with his health in recent years, and had retired from public life.In the run-up to Christmas 2011, Philip was taken to hospital by helicopter after suffering chest pains.The Greek-born former naval officer was then treated for a blocked coronary artery and had a stent fitted.


Special committee says ready to discuss suicides among women and children

The government’s special committee on women and children’s affairs has become the latest to voice concern over the recent trend of suicides among women and youth, saying the matter will be raised as an issue of priority when it convenes for a meeting.Azalina Othman Said, the chairman of the Special Select Committee on Women and Children Affairs and Social Development, said the committee’s purpose is to investigate and report proposals, petitions, reports and other documents related to the well-being of women and children and social development.“This special select committee is empowered to call up anyone including those who have expertise and skills under Meeting Rule 83 (2),” she said in a statement.“Aside from that, as enshrined under Meeting Rule 86, the committee will also prepare and present a statement containing the recommendations related to the issue.”The police said yesterday that 609 suicide cases had been recorded in 2019, 631 in 2020 and 468 from January to May this year – an average of two suicides a day from 2019 to May 2021.In terms of gender, 281 men and 1,427 women were recorded as having killed themselves from 2019 to May 2021.“The majority of them – 872 – were aged 15 to 18 while 668 were aged 19 to 40,” the police statement said.Azalina today said she was confident that optimising the function and role of the special select committee would help the government find a solution quickly to prevent the matter from continuing to threaten and cause concern in society.


WHO says quarantine can be shortened in places with high Covid cases

The World Health Organization said on Thursday countries struggling with surging Covid-19 infections may shorten the recommended quarantine duration of 14 days in some situations.The UN agency said its new guidelines may be helpful for places where essential services are under pressure.For example, quarantine could be shortened to 10 days without a test, and to 7 days with a negative test – provided the person does not develop any symptoms, WHO said.Where testing to shorten quarantine is not possible, the absence of symptoms could be used as a proxy for testing, the agency said in its new interim guidance.WHO also said countries may consider relaxing their contact tracing measures in similar situations.For contacts of people infected with Covid, those at highest risk of getting infected such as healthcare workers should be prioritised, as well as those at high risk of severe disease such as people with underlying ailments or the unvaccinated.Some countries such as US, Germany and Switzerland have already shortened the quarantine period to cope with a wave of Omicron-driven coronavirus infections.


Poser over RM14 million zakat money spent by FT Islamic council

A lack of clarity on one of the categories of zakat recipients has resulted in the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) not channelling RM14.73 million to those for whom the money was intended, the latest Auditor-General’s Report has revealed.Series 3 of the 2019 audit report said the money was given to welfare agencies, and not to the category of “asnaf fisabilillah”, or those involved in the propagation of Islam.“Checks revealed that the situation arose due to the definition of asnaf fisabilillah being too general and not detailed according to the type of expenditure on which zakat money is allowed to use,” the report said.It also noted the absence of a religious edict, or fatwa, to specify the type of projects for which zakat money can be used.The RM14.73 million is part of RM206.9 million of zakat funds paid between January and December 2019 as well as the previous year.The auditor-general also found that between 2013 and 2017, RM4.72 million was paid as consultation fees for development projects, despite the projects’ postponement.The auditor-general called for a specific fatwa spelling out the types of development projects which could use zakat funds on a “case by case” basis, to ensure no leakage or wastage.


Good riddance, Sarawak educators say to UPSR

Educationists in Sarawak have hailed the government’s move to abolish the UPSR examination taken by Standard Six students before the transition to secondary school, saying this will allow teachers more opportunity to unearth creative learning skills in their pupils.Adam Prakash of the Sarawak Teachers Union said cancelling UPSR, the popular abbreviation for the Primary School Achievement Test or Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah, was a step in the right direction.“This is one less stress factor for students, parents and teachers at the primary education level,” he told MalaysiaNow.“Children will have fun being in school, and teachers will enjoy their work as the focus now is actually on teaching and learning and not the public examination.”He said academic assessments like UPSR which put heavy emphasis on lesson drills to help students score good grades cause neglect for their social well-being. Meanwhile, he said, teachers must focus on memorisation over the application of knowledge by students.“This is one less stress factor for students, parents and teachers at the primary education level.”“We have robbed our children of fun learning at school and play time in the evening because they have to go for tuition classes,” he said.“Our children have been made subject to assessments and tests from the first year in school. Facing a public exam at an early age, coupled with the demands by parents and schools to do well, is very stressful.”Ahmad Malie, whose Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers Union had previously urged authorities to scrap the UPSR exam, agreed.He said UPSR had made the learning environment “stiff” as teachers focused on helping their students achieve as many A’s as possible.With more space now to focus on completing the syllabus, he said, pupils would be able to have a better grasp of their lessons.“I think the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on education has given the ministry space for this move,” he said.“Scrapping UPSR will give teachers and students a chance to focus more on learning the lesson content. It will encourage creativity and will definitely make it more fun for pupils.”Education Minister Radzi Jidin announced on Wednesday that the UPSR exam would be abolished this year.He also said the Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 or PT3 exam for this year would be cancelled.Ahmad said it would be better for the government to get rid of the PT3 exam as well, adding that its focus is no different from that of its precursor, the Penilaian Menengah Rendah or PMR.“Parents and many people are still asking how many A’s our children get in PT3. This exam mentality still exists,” he said.


Malaysia considering single-dose CanSino vaccine

Minister Khairy Jamaluddin says Malaysia may look into procuring the single-dose CanSino Covid-19 vaccine from China.Khairy, who is in charge of the country’s vaccine procurement, said the CanSino option appeared to be better than that of Johnson & Johnson as the US pharmaceutical company would only be able to ship its supply in the fourth quarter of the year.“Therefore, we will speed up negotiations with CanSino so that we can get a single-dose vaccine in our portfolio,” he said at a joint press conference with Health Minister Dr Adham Baba on the development of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme in Putrajaya today.According to media reports, China has launched a single-dose Covid-19 vaccine known as Ad5-Ncov, which is an adenoviral vector vaccine developed in collaboration between Chinese biotechnology company CanSino Biologics and a group of researchers.Malaysia has so far gained access to Covid-19 vaccine supplies through the Covax facility, and initial purchases from five Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers: two-dose vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac and CanSinoBIO, and single-dose vaccine Sputnik V from Russia.Khairy said Malaysia might decide not to proceed with its order from Johnson & Johnson, adding that the matter will be finalised at a meeting on Thursday.“Looks like we might have to drop it. They can only give two million doses at the end of the year and for us, it is too late,” he said.Khairy said the government was also in talks to bring in another vaccine made by Novavax from the US, where clinical trials conducted in the UK found that the two-dose vaccine had an efficacy rate of 89.3%.He said Malaysia has so far received 520,650 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine with an additional supply expected on March 11.As for the Sinovac vaccine, he said 100,000 doses of the finished product from Beijing will be received on March 15, followed by another 100,000 doses on March 19.Khairy said he would be the first individual to receive the Sinovac vaccine once it arrives in Malaysia.The Drug Control Authority on March 2 approved the conditional registration of three Covid-19 vaccines for use during a disaster, namely Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca Solution for Injection; CoronaVac Suspension for Injection – Sinovac; and Comirnaty Concentrate for Dispersion for Injection.Adham, when asked whether he had received reports of anyone suffering from severe side-effects after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine injection, said no serious cases have been reported so far.He said there were minor effects such as pain in the arm, adding however that it was nothing to be worried about.To date, 139,720 people have been given the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.


Poser over Selangor’s move to charge 8 times more than Putrajaya for vaccinating workers

There are concerns that a Selangor government initiative to undertake the vaccination of industrial workers in the state might be hampered by high charges to the public, as the state continues to report the highest number of Covid-19 infections which have been blamed for the unpopular decision to re-impose the lockdown.Selvax, Selangor’s vaccination programme which aims to inoculate some one million workers, will charge employers almost eight times more than what a similar programme by Putrajaya to vaccinate the industrial sector is charging per head.Under the programme, which will be carried out by a state-linked company, employers will be charged RM350 to complete two doses of vaccine.Meanwhile, Pikas, the massive industrial vaccination drive launched last month by the international trade and industry ministry (Miti), charges only RM45 per worker, the cost of which will be borne by employers.A minimum of 1,000 workers is needed in order to qualify for Pikas, under which companies will have to identify their vaccination venue conforming to rules set by the health ministry.A company may also combine with other companies within the same locality to account for the 1,000 employees.The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) recommended combining in order to qualify for Pikas, but said companies might also be prepared to fork out higher costs under Selvax as the benefits outweigh the possible losses they might incur under the continued lockdown.“To avoid such losses that may be higher, many employers choose to pay full costs under Selvax,” MEF president Syed Hussain Syed Husman told MalaysiaNow.But he said it was up to the employers to choose between Selvax or Pikas, or to let workers opt for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme through the MySejahtera app.Syed Hussain believes that small companies might be prepared to pay RM350 per worker under Selvax.But several medium-scale companies with 100-200 employees told MalaysiaNow they would not opt for Selvax due to the high costs.“We prefer to either wait for the cheaper alternatives offered by the (federal) government, or to combine with other companies to qualify for Pikas,” said a company executive in Sungai Buloh.The sentiment was shared by a company boss who only wanted to be known as Chin, who employs about 120 people at his factory outside Shah Alam.Saying the company had been losing tens of thousands of ringgit each day due to the stricter lockdown in Selangor, Chin said he would save close to RM40,000 if he opted to combine with other factories in his area for Pikas.“And in these times when we have been told to lock down for the past two weeks, that is a lot of money which would be better spent on paying our workers,” said Chin.When contacted, Rodziah Ismail, one of two excos tasked with Selvax’s industrial vaccination, referred MalaysiaNow to a report on the state’s news portal Selangorkini.The report quoted Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari as denying that the state was profiteering from Selvax, saying its cost is not only for the vaccines.“It’s not only vaccines and vaccine boxes, we also mobilise more than 5,000 staff and incur certain costs for vaccination centres (PPVs) and so on,” he said.The report did not specify the costs involved.A breakdown given by MITI on the Pikas programme shows that the charge of RM45 per worker covers RM30 for costs related to preparations for the vaccination centre, and RM15 for vaccine administration costs to ProtectHealth, the health ministry’s company tasked with public health services.While Putrajaya has been unable to disclose the costs of the various vaccines it has procured so far due to agreements it signed with suppliers, MalaysiaNow has reliably learnt that it would not cost more than RM80 for each dose of vaccines.“This price is an estimate for the higher priced vaccines,” a source told MalaysiaNow.The source further said the price could be brought down through bulk purchases.Efforts by MalaysiaNow to obtain an explanation from the various parties responsible for Selangor’s battle against Covid-19 have been futile.Malaysia’s vaccination drive has gained momentum since it was launched in March, and yesterday recorded the highest number of doses delivered at 376,909, with more than 10 million people having already received at least a first dose of vaccine.Aliff Fikri contributed to this report.


Gales lash India and Pakistan coast as cyclone approaches

Howling gales and crashing waves pounded the coastline of India and Pakistan on Thursday hours before a powerful cyclone was due to make landfall, with those unable to flee seeking shelter where they could.
Nearly 150,000 people have fled the predicted path of Cyclone Biparjoy, whose name means "disaster" in Bengali, with meteorologists warning it could devastate homes and tear down power lines when it lands late Thursday.
Powerful winds and storm surges were forecast to hammer a 325km stretch of coast between Mandvi in India's Gujarat state and Karachi in Pakistan.
Jayantha Bhai, a 35-year-old shopkeeper in India's beach town of Mandvi, told AFP soon after dawn on Thursday that he was afraid for his family's safety.
"This is the first time I've experienced a cyclone," Bhai said, a father of three boys aged between eight and 15, who planned to wait out the cyclone in his small concrete home behind the shop.
"This is nature, we can't fight with it," he said as driving rain lashed his home.
India's Meteorological Department predicted the "very severe" storm would hit near the Indian port of Jakhau on Thursday evening, warning of "total destruction" of traditional mud and straw thatched homes.
At sea, winds were gusting at up to 180km per hour, with speeds predicted to reach 115-125 kph and gusts of up to 140 kph by the time it makes landfall.
India's meteorologists warned of the potential for "widespread damage", including the destruction of crops, "bending or uprooting of power and communication poles" and disruption of railways and roads.
Schools turned shelters
In India, the Gujarat state government said 75,000 people had relocated from coastal and low-lying areas to shelter.
Pakistan's climate change minister Sherry Rehman said on Wednesday 73,000 people had been moved from southeastern coastal areas and housed in 75 relief camps.
"It is a cyclone the likes of which Pakistan has never experienced," she told reporters.
Many of the areas affected are the same inundated in last year's catastrophic monsoon floods, which put a third of Pakistan under water, damaging two million homes and killing more than 1,700 people.
"These are all results of climate change," she said.
Storm surges were expected to reach 3.5 metres, with flooding possible in the megacity of Karachi, home to about 20 million people.
"Our concern is when the cyclone is over, how will we feed our children?" said 80-year-old Wilayat Bibi, in a relief camp in the city of Badin.
"If our boats are gone. If our huts are also gone. We will be languishing with no resources."
'Terrified'
Late on Wednesday, a short distance from India's Jakhau port, about 200 people from the Kutch district huddled together in a single-storey health centre.
Many were worried about their farm animals, which they had left behind.
Dhal Jetheeben Ladhaji, 40, a pharmacist at the health centre, said 10 men had stayed behind to look after hundreds of cattle crucial to their village's livelihood.
"We are terrified, we don't know what will happen next," Ladhaji said.
"We are praying to God that the cyclone does not come, and that these people who are staying in the shelter can go back to their homes with smiles on their faces."
Cyclones – the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the Northwest Pacific – are a regular and deadly menace on the coast of the northern Indian Ocean, where tens of millions of people live.
Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer with climate change.
Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate researcher at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, said cyclones derive their energy from warm waters, and that surface temperatures in the Arabian Sea were 1.2 to 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer than four decades ago.


Russian superyacht in Fiji leaves for US amid legal wrangling

A Russian-owned superyacht docked in Fiji departed for the US on Tuesday after a court in the Pacific island nation ordered its removal, saying it was a waste of money to maintain amid legal wrangling over its seizure.The US Justice Department’s Taskforce KleptoCapture has focused on seizing yachts and other luxury assets of Russian oligarchs in a bid to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.The 106-metre (350-foot) Amadea arrived in Fiji on April 13 after an 18-day voyage from Mexico. It was seized by Fiji authorities after the country’s High Court granted a US warrant last month that linked the yacht to sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov.The FBI has said the US$300 million luxury vessel had running costs of US$25 million to US$30 million per year, and the US would pay to maintain the vessel after it was seized.However, Fiji’s government has been footing the bill while an appeal by the vessel’s registered owner, Millemarin Investments, worked its way through the country’s courts.The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that public interest demands the yacht “sail out of Fiji waters”, because having it berthed in Fiji was “costing the Fijian Government dearly,” according to the judgment.The vessel “sailed into Fiji waters without any permit and most probably to evade prosecution by the US,” it added.Anthony Coley, a spokesperson for the US Justice Department, posted on Twitter that the Amadea set sail for the United States on Tuesday “after having been seized as the proceeds of criminal evasion of US sanctions against Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov.”The US alleges Kerimov beneficially owns the Amadea, although lawyers for the vessel have denied this and told the court it was owned by another Russian oligarch, Eduard Khudainatov, the former chief of Russian energy giant Rosneft, who has not been sanctioned.Last month, another luxury yacht reportedly owned by Khudainatov worth some US$700 million was impounded by police in Italy.The FBI said in the seizure warrant the Amadea had tried to avoid being seized “almost immediately” after Russian troops entered Ukraine, turning off its automated tracking system on Feb 24.The vessel’s lawyer, Feizal Haniff, declined to comment on the judgement.“The decision acknowledges Fiji’s commitment to respecting international mutual assistance requests and Fiji’s international obligations,” Fiji’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Christopher Pryde, said in a statement.He said the court agreed “issues concerning money laundering and ownership” needed to be decided in the originating US court.


France says won’t stand for Canada-style ‘Freedom Convoys’

French police warned Thursday they would prevent so-called “Freedom Convoys” from blockading Paris, as protesters against Covid rules began to drive towards the capital.Inspired by truckers paralysing the Canadian capital Ottawa, cars and heavy vehicles from across France have been called on to converge on Paris on Friday.The movement has raised fears of a repeat of the 2018 “yellow vest” anti-government protests that rocked France, only two months before President Emmanuel Macron is expected to seek re-election.“There will be a special deployment… to prevent blockages of major roads, issue tickets and arrest those who infringe on this protest ban,” the Paris police force said in a statement.Police chief Didier Lallement had ordered officers to be “firm” with infringers, it added.The city’s ban order will remain in force until Monday.Police said that anybody blocking roads faced up to two years in prison, a fine of 4,500 euros (US$5,140) and a three-year driving ban.The authorities in neighbouring Belgium also issued warnings as participants appeared to want to continue on to Brussels, the Belgian and European Union capital, on Monday for what they called “a European convergence”.Brussels mayor Philippe Close said the city would ban the demonstrations on the simple grounds that no-one had applied for a permit for the convoys to enter.“Measures have been taken to prevent the blockade of the Brussels region,” Close wrote on Twitter.‘Make our voices heard’Many protesters appeared undaunted in France.“We’ll be heading to the capital whatever happens,” rubbish collector Adrien Wonner, who was planning to set off from the northern Normandy region, told AFP.The 27-year-old, a past “yellow vests” protester, added that demonstrators wanted “to make our voices heard” but “not to blockade” Paris.Anger over coronavirus restrictions are high on their agenda, particularly the “health pass” system that prevents the unvaccinated from entering enclosed public areas such as restaurants, bars, long-distance trains or sports stadiums.Remi Monde, a prominent social media backer of the convoys, told AFP that their top demand was a “withdrawal of the health pass and all the measures that compel or pressure people to get vaccinated”.After conventional demonstrations failed to achieve results, “we want to try something else, and see what the government’s response will be to joyous, pacifist people,” he added.The movement is “far from having a solid structure” but “this especially media-friendly new form of action could give new momentum to different protest groups,” a police report seen by broadcaster RTL and newspaper Le Parisien said earlier this week.Vaccine pass ‘aberration’Eyhande Abeberry, 52, told AFP that the vaccine pass was “an aberration” at the Wednesday send-off for one of the convoys in the southern French city of Bayonne.But like in Ottawa, the French protests were poised to extend beyond Covid issues, also covering low wages and high energy costs – the same grievances that fuelled the “yellow vests” demonstrations.“There are many similarities with the yellow vest movement,” said Laurence Bindner, a co-founder of JOS Project, a platform for the analysis of extremist online content.The “yellow vests” – so called because they wore florescent safety jackets that vehicles in France are required to have – had quickly added “anti-system protests” to their original grievance over fuel price rises, she told AFP.Bindner said “we may have to expect extreme elements” among the current protesters, but any future easing of Covid restrictions could cause the movement to “soften” its approach.Macron’s government has already mobilised billions of euros (dollars) to limit the impact on households of surging gas and petrol prices.Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said that she “understood” the protesters, saying that the demonstrations were “another form” of the “yellow vest” movement.Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said he recognised the public’s “weariness” with infection control measures, but insisted that France had been among the European countries with “the fewest restrictions that infringe on citizens’ freedom”.Attal also indicated that the country may be in a position to drop its obligatory vaccine pass in late March or early April as cases fall. The presidential election’s first round is scheduled for April 10.


South Africa seeing rise in reinfections from Omicron, mild symptoms, says scientist

South Africa is seeing an increase in Covid-19 reinfections due to the Omicron variant but symptoms for reinfected patients and those infected after vaccination appear to be mild, a scientist studying the outbreak of the new strain said.The new variant, which has caused global fears of a surge in infections, was first detected in southern Africa and is fast overtaking Delta to become the dominant variant in South Africa, where case numbers are rising dramatically.“Previous infection used to protect against Delta but now with Omicron that doesn’t seem to be the case,” said Anne von Gottberg, microbiologist at South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases.She told an online news conference hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) that she and her colleagues believed reinfections with Omicron and breakthrough infections in vaccinated patients would feature less severe symptoms.Von Gottberg said the travel bans imposed by many countries on passengers from South Africa were having a negative impact on the logistics of scientific research into Omicron.“There are fewer flights to choose from to bring in reagents, to bring in equipment, in addition to send out specimens and isolates for people to be able to then work with Omicron,” she said.Isolates are cultures of micro-organisms isolated for study.African leaders have complained about the travel restrictions, saying their countries were being penalised for their transparency in reporting data on the new variant.More than 50% of African nations can now do the genomic sequencing to identify the variant, WHO said, and those that cannot are partnered with nations that can.WHO officials told the same event Covid-19 vaccination was improving in Africa, with five countries including South Africa now having vaccinated more than 40% of their populations, although coverage remained low elsewhere.At a separate online news conference, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control, Dr John Nkengasong, said supplies of vaccines to the continent had improved.“Vaccines are beginning to flow to the continent in a very predictable and steady manner,” he said, adding that the challenge now was to ensure those supplies were actually used, in a context where vaccine hesitancy remains high.“The uptake is not as we would have loved to see,” he said.Some African countries had delayed the deliveries of vaccines, including those of doses provided under the African Union’s African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, he said.


RM500 loss-of-income aid to help those affected by pandemic

The one-off Bantuan Kehilangan Pendapatan (BKP) or loss-of-income aid of RM500 per person will be paid out from tomorrow to assist those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Mnister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.He said the aid would benefit almost 870,000 individuals who had lost their source of income this year.“The total aid has an implication of RM434 million in expenditure to ensure the well-being of the ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ (Malaysian Family),” he said in a statement today.The BKP is given to workers who have lost their source of income based on data from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) or Social Security Organisation (Socso) in 2021.Ismail said the government continued to be committed to ensuring the well-being of the Malaysian Family, especially the target groups adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.He voiced hope that this aid and other forms of cash assistance provided by the government could lessen the financial burden of those going through challenging times.Checks on BKP approval can be made from tomorrow through the BKP portal at https://bkp.hasil.gov.my. Further information is available in the FAQs on the portal.


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16 company directors nabbed for alleged embezzlement of govt grants

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrested 16 company directors last night on suspicion of being involved in the misappropriation of funds from the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra).The suspects, aged between 24 and 68, were nabbed in a massive operation around the Klang Valley conducted since Monday.According to sources, it is estimated that tens of millions of ringgit had been misused by the group which originally applied for Mitra grants to organise socioeconomic programmes for the Indian community.The investigation into the case will cover all applications and spending of funds channelled by Mitra since 2018.“We estimates that almost 60% of the grant allocation received by companies, individuals and foundations for the purpose of implementing socioeconomic programmes did not reach the target groups.“The grant was applied from Mitra and was misappropriated for the benefit of certain individuals,” sources said.They added that no programmes were held and no statement of expenditure could be produced to the authorities.“Mitra was restructured in 2018 during the Pakatan Harapan administration and placed under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department.“However, since April 2020, Mitra has been under the national unity ministry and it is estimated that it received a budget of RM100 million a year,” the sources said.The suspects will be brought to the Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court today for a remand application under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code.MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki, when contacted, confirmed the arrests.He said the case is being investigated under Section 16(a) and Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009.


Mahathir gives Anwar 7 days to retract claim on wealth

Former leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad has given Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim seven days to retract his claim of having amassed wealth for himself and his family members, failing which he said action will be taken.
Speaking at a press conference in Putrajaya, Mahathir described the remarks made at a recent PKR event as "severe slander".
He was referring to the PKR congress, where Anwar in his presidential address made a veiled jibe at Mahathir after the former prime minister accused him of trying to silence dissent.
In his speech, Anwar said among others that a "certain person" who had led the country "for 22 years plus 22 months" was now talking about the plight of the Malays.
"How would they not if you monopolised them for yourself, your family and your children? Now that you've lost power, you talk about the masses," Anwar had said.
Mahathir said although Anwar had not named him, it was clear who he meant.
"This is slander, unless he can show proof that I received billions of ringgit and spirited the money abroad, and that I don't pay taxes," he said.
"He made many accusations in his speech. Now he is the prime minister, and it is incumbent on the prime minister not to make accusations lightly without clear proof."
Mahathir added that his lawyer Rafique Rashid had started the process of serving the notice to Anwar yesterday.
He said his notice to Anwar was a "test case", adding that there were no plans at the moment to take action against others who made the same claim.
"In the case of Anwar, he is the prime minister. So he is more credible. Other people may say a lot of things, but they are not taken seriously.
"Anwar said this in a meeting to his (party) members, accusing me of running away with money, or not paying my income tax and all that. That is very serious coming from the prime minister."


US, South Korea, Japan envoys meet on North Korea nuclear tension

Officials from the United States, South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Friday for talks on North Korea amid signs the isolated country is preparing to conduct a nuclear test for the first time since 2017.US Special Representative Sung Kim met his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Kim Gunn and Funakoshi Takehiro, after a US assessment that the North was preparing its Punggye-ri test site for what would be its seventh nuclear test.“We are preparing for all contingencies in close coordination with our Japanese and ROK allies,” Kim said at the beginning of the meeting, referring to South Korea by the initials of its official name, the Republic of Korea.This year, North Korea has tested several ballistic missiles, including one thought to be its largest intercontinental ballistic missile, in violation of UN sanctions.“We want to make clear to the DPRK that its unlawful and destabilising activities have consequences and that the international community will not accept these actions as normal,” the US envoy said, referring to North Korea.South Korea’s newly appointed nuclear envoy, Kim Gunn, said North Korea’s “relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons will only end up strengthening our deterrence”.“The course that Pyongyang is currently embarking on has only one inevitable destination: reduce security for North Korea itself,” the South Korean diplomat said.Last week, the US called for more UN sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile launches, but China and Russia vetoed the suggestion, publicly splitting the UN Security Council on North Korea for the first time since it started punishing it in 2006, when it conducted its first nuclear test.Japan’s Funakoshi stressed the need for coordination, vowing to “enhance regional deterrence, including trilateral security cooperation”.The officials said the door for dialogue was open and expressed concern over the Covid-19 situation in North Korea.Earlier, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the US would not link humanitarian aid for North Korea as it battles Covid to denuclearisation.


Imagining new learning spaces for online higher education

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit all sections of society hard. In particular, higher education institutions (HEI) have faced severe disruptions not just to access to campuses but to the learning and teaching processes at the very heart of our core mission.With campuses closed for extended periods the whole higher education community, including students, faculty and university managers, have faced huge challenges in responding to the demands of online teaching and learning. It is important for leaders and managers in higher education to recognise these challenges and to understand how we can respond positively to the needs our most important stakeholders – our students and our faculty.The biggest challenge has been the struggle to adapt. Switching from traditional classrooms and face-to-face learning to computer-based study in a virtual classroom makes the learning experience entirely different for students. It also makes the teaching experience entirely different for faculty members, most of whom have no training, experience or appetite for this disruption to their normal approach.Motivational issues have also posed huge challenges. Self-motivation is an essential requirement for e-learning but many online learners lack it, much to their surprise. After enrolling in distance learning courses, many learners fall behind and nurture the idea of giving up.Difficulties in handling self-directed learning and new technological media also seem insurmountable. Often academic staff are equally baffled and overwhelmed and face similar motivational challenges as our students.Contrary to many claims by university leaders, students have found it hard to spring into action. They have faced challenges in accepting and even accessing course material in a wide variety of unfamiliar, multimedia formats and often they do not enjoy taking part in online discussions which can continue indefinitely.It has also been difficult for many to focus on their work in an unstructured environment with new scheduling protocols where classes are often just a date posted on a learning management system. Staying on top of their work has also been difficult for many since they are often not required to go to a classroom with an assignment prepared. There is also an increasing reliance on audio-visual material which can be consumed passively like an online movie.These challenges are part of the learning process that everyone in the higher education community is trying to accommodate and they must be recognised as part of the situational analysis to help us devise new strategies. Fortunately, new learning spaces are paving way forward in higher education at many universities including MUST.The internet of things is helping us develop “smart classrooms” which allow teachers to share feedback, results and observations with students and other stakeholders in real-time.Augmented reality and virtual reality technologies allow us to explore immersive learning which aims to create total clarity around the subject in question to improve the experience of the learning process so that students do not forget the knowledge derived from teaching and learning sessions.Gamification uses technology to mingle learning with playing so that together they create an immersive educational experience for students to learn even the toughest of exercises and instructions.Personalised learning allows students to pursue the learning options that suit their individual requirements, aptitudes and appetites. Adoption of blended learning and adaptive learning leverage technology enable a more individual approach for those students who need more attention and special treatment.Our research also suggests that the most popular programmes will offer credible certificates at value for money prices which can be obtained either quickly or within flexible schedules that suit student timescales and career aims. Creative attention must be paid to developing virtual versions of the value-drivers of traditional programmes such as networking, career counselling and extra-curricular activities and this must be done within an inclusive stakeholder process rather than a top-down approach.Most importantly during these challenging times it is essential that leaders and managers in the higher education community reach out and listen to the needs of our students and faculty rather than dismiss them as troublesome complainers. Through an active process of stakeholder engagement we can develop value innovators to enhance learning and teaching options based on a shared understanding of the challenges we all face.Positive leadership and engagement process like this, which are after all what we teach in our management classes, provide the raw data and materials to imagine and create new learning spaces for online higher education.An inclusive process using exciting technologies also helps adaptation to change and improves the chance of successful implementation of new ideas in the classroom so that they are not disruptive but proactive and positive enhancements to student experiences and which improve learning outcomes. This makes the shift to online learning an exciting journey of discovery rather than a forced march to mediocrity.Professor Premkumar Rajagopal is president of the Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) and Professor Geoffrey Williams is an economist and specialist in higher education management in the business school at MUST.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


J&J says second dose of Covid vaccine boosts protection

Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday a second dose of its Covid-19 vaccine boosted immunity beyond the first dose.In two clinical studies that have not yet been peer-reviewed, the additional shot evoked a nine-fold increase in antibodies to the coronavirus, the company said in a news release.President Joe Biden’s administration has announced plans for all Americans vaccinated with mRNA vaccines – Pfizer and Moderna – to receive a third dose eight months after the second in the series.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said it expects a second dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be required, but that it needs more data before making a firm recommendation. Wednesday’s announcement will likely help inform that strategy.The company’s news release did not specify when the second dose was taken, but information about the trials on government websites shows the company was testing multiple intervals, beginning at six months.The news comes after the CDC announced the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines overall have fallen after the hyper-contagious Delta variant became dominant.In an ongoing study of US health workers who were overwhelmingly vaccinated with the Pfizer and Moderna shots, effectiveness against all forms of infection fell from 91% prior to Delta to 66%.But protection against severe Covid-19 and deaths has remained more stable, exceeding 90% according to most studies.


19 arrested for defying SOPs in CNY gathering

Police arrested 19 people on Sunday night for defying the movement control order (MCO) while celebrating Chinese New Year at a homestay in Taman Suria near Batu Pahat.Batu Pahat district police chief ACP Ismail Dollah said the 11 men and eight women, aged 20 to 42, were caught playing cards in the 11.45pm raid.The 19 individuals, who were from Seremban, Batu Pahat and Kluang, had gathered at the rented homestay since Feb 13 to celebrate Chinese New Year.Police also seized 104 playing cards and RM2,612, Ismail said in a statement today.


Ringgit has stabilised, no need to raise OPR

Last week, the financial markets committee (FMC) at Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) made it very clear that the current weakness in the ringgit against the dollar does not reflect economic fundamentals. They are right.
A lot of the negative sentiment in the markets reflects the underperformance of the ringgit relative to other currencies for most of the year. However, BNM correctly stands by its position that this weakness is driven by external factors outside the control of Malaysian policymakers as well as news and sentiments in the financial markets.
The ringgit has performed slightly worse than other countries for many reasons, including lower interest rates. Even recent hikes did not affect the ringgit much, so other factors outside Malaysia are more important than the policy stance here.
They noted very clearly that there is a mismatch between financial market sentiment and underlying economic fundamentals. The ringgit and stock market performance should not be taken as barometers of the economy, and the underlying value of the ringgit should be stronger if we look at the strength of economic fundamentals.
The economy grew 8.7% in 2022 and 5.7% in the first quarter of 2023. It is forecast to grow by 4 to 5% by the end of the year. Inflation has slowed to around 2.8% and will fall toward and below 2.5% in the next few months. Interest rates have risen much less than in other countries and are now in the normal range of around 3.0%. Monetary policy still accommodates underlying growth.
This success is due in large part to BNM sticking to its mandate and using the overnight policy rate (OPR) to maintain price stability, financial stability and sustainable growth, rather than chasing market sentiments on the ringgit. They have been very independent and conservative, with only four rate hikes since March 2022 compared to 15 rate hikes in Hong Kong over the same period.
By contrast, policymakers in Singapore and Hong Kong have been using active exchange rate intervention to protect their currencies, even if it means a loss of economic growth. This is because they have different economic structures, whereby the exchange rate has a much bigger influence through trade and financial flows.
Raising interest rates in Hong Kong and Singapore to defend their currencies has proved very costly in both cases. Hong Kong raised its rates by 500bps since March 2022 and fell into recession, contracting in every quarter last year. Its GDP fell by 3.5% overall in 2022.
Singapore's GDP contracted in the first three months of the year, and now risks a technical recession due to a 320bps hike in rates since March 2022 to defend the Singapore dollar.
If BNM had done the same and matched every rate hike by the US federal reserve, the OPR would be 6.75% instead of 3%. This would crush borrowers, risk recession and collapse the ringgit.
So market speculators and those calling for a hike in the OPR to defend the ringgit must learn these lessons. BNM has done a good job setting the OPR according to domestic conditions that are strong enough to balance the volatility in the exchange rate without the need to raise interest rates too much.
So the FMC statement has done its job ahead of the monetary policy committee's meeting on July 6 and stopped the decline of the ringgit, which has been stable at around RM4.66 to RM4.68 to the dollar.
They emphasised that BNM would intervene only in line with its mandate if movements in the exchange rate were excessive. This means that intervention is only justified if it affects the mandate of price stability, financial sector stability and sustainable growth.
Although they acknowledged that the current movements in the ringgit are excessive when compared to economic fundamentals, it does not appear that this would necessarily affect the mandate as inflation is falling, the financial sector is stable and the economy isexpected to grow between 4 and 5%.
They also noted the consensus among financial analysts for the ringgit to strengthen to around RM4.50 by the end of the year. Separately, some put their estimates around RM4.20 to RM 4.30, more closely reflecting long-term norms.
Interestingly, BNM also noted that many exporters and corporations are holding lots of foreign reserves which are profitable at current rates. Encouraging firms to buy ringgit with their foreign currency reserves will help strengthen the ringgit in the short term as a market-driven response. They could lose that opportunity if they wait.
This clearly signals that the market itself can help correct the mismatch between the current spot rate and the underlying economic fundamentals. So things are not that bad; the ringgit strengthened slightly after the statement and has remained stable for a full week.
Apart from this, BNM can do very little, if anything, to systematically influence the ringgit in the short term. As we have seen from recent hikes, the OPR only has a short-term impact, and keeping the OPR high could damage the ringgit in the long term. Foreign currency reserves are too low to intervene for long and would quickly run out.
It is also important to note that intervention by BNM does not necessarily mean hiking the OPR if the depreciation in the ringgit has stopped. Based on fundamentals and the stable ringgit, there is less need to raise the OPR now, especially since it is already in the normalrange.
So we can safely pause any increase in the OPR in the next meeting.
Geoffrey Williams is an economist at the Malaysia University of Science and Technology.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


US bans imports from another Malaysian glove maker over forced labour allegations

The US customs agency has banned imports from disposable glove maker YTY Industry Holdings Sdn Bhd (YTY Group) over suspected forced labour practices, the seventh such ban on a Malaysian company in two years.The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Friday it took the action “based on information that reasonably indicates the use of forced labour in YTY Group’s manufacturing operations”.YTY Group did not immediately respond on Saturday to an emailed request for comment.Malaysian factories, including some of the world’s major suppliers of palm oil and medical gloves, have come under increased scrutiny over suspected abuse of foreign workers, a significant part of the country’s manufacturing workforce.CBP said it had identified seven of the International Labour Organization’s 11 indicators of forced labour during its investigation into YTY Group, including intimidation and threats, debt bondage, abusive working and living conditions, and excessive overtime.The agency also determined on Friday that palm oil producer Sime Darby Plantation Bhd uses forced labour in their operations and that the firm’s goods were subject to seizure.Effective Friday, the agency will detain goods made in Malaysia by YTY Group and its units YTY Industry Sdn Bhd, Green Prospect Sdn Bhd and GP Lumut at all US ports of entry.


Boy found drowned in water tub, parents arrested

A seven-year-old boy died in Taman Krubong Jaya, Melaka, yesterday after he was believed to have been abused by his mother and stepfather.Melaka contingent police headquarters Criminal Investigation Department chief ACP Mohd Sukri Kaman said the child allegedly drowned in a water tub in his house in the 4pm incident.He said preliminary investigations found physical injuries on the victim’s body and that both parents, aged 32 and 38, have been detained.“At about 4pm yesterday, the Melaka Tengah district IPD operations room received a call from a man informing that his son had drowned at his house in Taman Krubong Jaya.“Checks at the scene found the seven-year-old male victim had bruises and injuries on several parts of his body,” he said when contacted today.He said the body had been taken to the Melaka Hospital Forensic Department for post-mortem. The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.


US Covid-19 cases surpass 19 million

The total number of Covid-19 cases in the US topped 19 million on Sunday, according to the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.The US’ Covid-19 case count rose to 19,000,572 with a total of 332,145 deaths as of 11.22am local time (1622 GMT), reported Xinhua news agency.California, which leads with 2,123,163 cases, became the first US state to have more than two million cases. Texas reported 1,668,263 cases, followed by Florida with 1,264,588 cases. The states of Illinois and New York both registered more than 900,000 cases.Other states with over 500,000 cases include Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin, the CSSE data showed.The US remains the nation worst hit by the pandemic, with the world’s most cases and deaths, making up more than 23% of the global caseload.Based on current projection scenario, an updated model forecast by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington projected a total of 567,195 Covid-19 deaths in the US by April 1, 2021.


Israel army finds ‘no suspicion’ of crime in journalist shooting

Israel’s army said Monday that if an Israeli soldier fired the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, it did not appear that the soldier was guilty of criminal misconduct.“Given that Ms Abu Akleh was killed in the midst of an active combat zone, there can be no immediate suspicion of criminal activity absent further evidence,” it said in a statement citing Military Advocate Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.Tomer-Yerushalmi will ultimately be responsible for determining whether any individual soldier faces disciplinary action over the fatal May 11 shooting during clashes in the occupied West Bank flashpoint of Jenin.She stressed that Israel does not yet know whether Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American, was killed by stray Palestinian gunfire or by an Israeli bullet aimed at a Palestinian militant.The army “is taking every effort to examine the circumstances of the incident in order to understand how Ms Abu Akleh was killed,” the statement said.Qatar-based Al Jazeera has accused Israel of killing Abu Akleh “deliberately” and “in cold blood”.Tomer-Yerushalmi restated Israel’s request to examine the bullet extracted from the body of the reporter. The projectile is in the Palestinian Authority’s custody.“The inability to inspect the bullet, which is being held by the Palestinian Authority, continues to cast doubt on the circumstances of Ms Abu Akleh’s death,” the statement said.The army has said it had zeroed in on one incident where an Israeli soldier using “a telescopic scope” fired at a “Palestinian gunman”.That gunman “was near” to Abu Akleh, the army has said, adding that it wants to compare the bullet with the weapon fired in this incident.Israel has offered to conduct the ballistic examination with Palestinian and American experts present.The Palestinian Authority has rejected holding a joint probe with Israel, saying Israel was “completely responsible” for Abu Akleh’s death.The Palestinian foreign ministry said Monday it has submitted a report to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the “execution” of Abu Akleh.The ministry, in a statement, “called on the ICC to adopt this report in order to expedite its investigations and bring criminals and murderers to international justice”.In line with army procedures, Tomer-Yerushalmi decides on next steps in the military probe based on the initial findings, known as a commander’s inquiry.“A final decision as to whether a criminal investigation will be launched will only be made after further facts from the (army’s) operational investigation and other sources are available,” the statement said.


Over 1,000 complaints of bosses breaching MCO SOPs lodged with govt

The human resources ministry has received 1,120 complaints against employers related to movement control order (MCO) SOP violations from May 25 to yesterday.Minister M Saravanan said the complaints included employers forcing workers to work overtime and the physical presence of employees in offices exceeding the limit allowed by the authorities.He said the complaints are being investigated by the ministry through the Labour Department (JTK), which has been empowered by the National Security Council (NSC) to issue compounds of up to RM50,000 against employers found guilty of breaching the SOPs.“Please, in the current situation, (employers) do not take advantage. When we take action, don’t blame the government. Breaking the Covid-19 infection chain is the responsibility of all parties.“When the government asks to reduce the number of employees at the workplace, follow the SOPs. That’s all,” he told reporters today.Saravanan also said that his ministry is not involved in the authorisation of economic sector operations and work travel permits through the Covid-19 Intelligence Management System (CIMS 3.0).However, he said the ministry has the power to order companies that breach SOPs to close.


Prosecution opposes Queen Counsel’s bid to lead Najib’s final SRC appeal

Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul in an affidavit filed yesterday objected to UK Queen’s Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw’s application to represent Najib Razak in the former prime minister’s final appeal in the case involving the misappropriation of RM42 million belonging to SRC International.Ashrof said Laidlow did not show any qualifications or special experience in the laws of Malaysia and was not qualified in Bahasa Malaysia.He also claimed that Laidlaw did not possess any more knowledge than a local lawyer to argue the appeal in the Federal Court.“It is difficult to understand how the applicant, who is foreign to the local laws here, can be said to be better equipped and qualified than senior counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who often appears before all levels of Malaysian courts to argue cases similar to the charges (in the SRC case),” said Ashrof.In his appeal at the Federal Court, Najib is seeking to quash his conviction, 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine for one charge of abuse of position, three charges of breach of trust and three charges of money laundering linked to SRC International funds.Ashrof also said that Laidlaw did not have the Bahasa Malaysia qualifications required under Subsection 11 (2) of the Legal Profession Act (Act 166) to be allowed an ad hoc application under Section 18 of the same act.“The applicant is not a qualified person to be admitted as an ad hoc advocate and solicitor under Act 166.“I state that if the court ignores the political position of the appellant (Najib) in this appeal, the case will be like any other criminal appeal which does not deserve any special consideration to admit foreign lawyers to argue the appeal to be heard in the Federal Court,” he said.Ashrof added that it was hard to accept that out of 21,625 advocates and solicitors in Malaysia, none had the special qualifications or experience needed to handle the appeal apart from Laidlow.“The fact that Shafee handled Najib’s trial at the Court of Appeal is a clear testament that the senior lawyer has the special qualifications and experience to handle appeals related to the charges at the Federal Court.“The charge in the Federal Court is also not a new charge but the same charge handled by Shafee at the High Court and the Court of Appeal. Therefore, this application is without merit and must be rejected outright,” he said.On Jan 25, legal firm Messrs Shafee & Co submitted a letter to the Secretariat of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat about Najib’s intention to appoint a QC to assist him on complex issues and legal questions in the SRC International appeal at the Federal Court.On April 29, the Federal Court set 10 days in August to hear Najib’s appeal against his conviction and jail sentence for the misappropriation of the company’s funds.On Dec 8, 2021, the Court of Appeal upheld Najib’s conviction and 12-year prison sentence as well as the RM210 million fine for misappropriating RM42 million in SRC International funds.Justice Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, who presided with fellow judges Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, unanimously dismissed Najib’s appeal against the High Court’s decision on July 28, 2020.The Federal Court is Najib’s final avenue of appeal against his conviction and sentence.


Umno siding with Najib, analyst says after Azalina's AG comments

A political analyst sees the recent remarks by Umno's Azalina Othman Said on the replacement of the attorney-general as a sign that the party has chosen to align itself with former leader Najib Razak, who recently began serving a 12-year prison sentence for the misappropriation of tens of millions in the SRC International case.
Oh Ei Sun, of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said Umno could be hoping to rally Najib's sizeable support base within the party.
If Azalina wished to be part of Umno's main stream, he added, she would have to give favourable remarks on Najib's legal plight.
Nevertheless, he said that the party's "pro-Najib" position meant that it was "officially kissing good-bye" the fence sitters who might have considered supporting a "renewed, reformist Umno".
Azalina had suggested at a special meeting of Umno division leaders last weekend that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob replace the attorney-general, as it is within his power to do so.
"Whoever is prime minister must make the attorney-general his man," she told Umno members at the gathering where speakers took turns condemning last week's Federal Court decision to send Najib to jail after losing his final appeal in the SRC International case.
Azalina, who resigned from the deputy speaker’s post during the brief power vacuum last year, was among a group of Umno MPs aligned with Najib who retracted their support for Muhyiddin Yassin, triggering his resignation as prime minister in August 2021.
Her remarks on the attorney-general earned her criticism from a number of quarters, including DAP's Ngeh Koo Ham who just a year ago defended her in the wake of a failed bid by Umno to appoint her as the Dewan Rakyat speaker.
Ngeh said in a statement on Aug 29 that Azalina should resign as special adviser to the prime minister on law and human rights, and that she was unfit for the job.
"In the context she made the call, she is saying the PM should appoint an AG who will act according to the PM's dictates, including abusing the power of the AG acting as public prosecutor to withdraw charges against the corrupt and those who abused power, especially the Umno leaders," he said.
Azalina submitted her resignation in a letter dated that same day, giving one-month's notice to Ismail.
Political analyst Wong Chin Huat said an attorney-general functions as both legal adviser and public prosecutor.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said the prime minister should have his own legal adviser.
"It can be an MP, or even a Cabinet minister," he said.
"Azalina would be right if she meant it only for the former. In the context of the Umno rally that day, however, it could only mean the latter."
Adding that a change in attorney-general would mean changing the public prosecutor, Wong, who is attached to Sunway University, said this was the root of the public alarm over her remarks.
Citing previous high-profile acquittals by the Attorney-General's Chambers including that of former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman and ex-intelligence chief Hasanah Ab Hamid, he said: "A new attorney-general that acts according to Umno's wishes might just drop all of the charges against Najib in his four remaining cases,"
Najib was convicted on July 28, 2020 of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering related to RM42 million in SRC International funds.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court sentenced him to 12 years in jail and fined him RM210 million. His conviction and sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeal on Dec 8, 2021, and again by the Federal Court on Aug 23 this year.
Analysts said after he was sent to jail that Umno might be viewed as a corrupt party since Najib had been found guilty in court for a third time. However, they also said that Umno might attract more support from those who view Najib's verdict as proof that the party is doing its best to stamp out corruption.
Wong said Umno leaders such as Ismail and deputy president Mohamad Hasan had promised or called for reforms in the AGC, including separating the role of the government's legal adviser and that of public prosecutor.
"This is both possible and necessary to be done before GE15, if Parliament gets to complete its term until July 15, 2023," he said.
He added that the Federal Court verdict had given Umno a golden opportunity to break with its scandal-tainted past under Najib's leadership.
"Umno should seize this opportunity to present itself as a rational party that loves the country more than its leaders," he said.


New virus outbreak hits Australia after containment success

A sudden coronavirus cluster emerged Monday in an Australian city that had gone seven months without a significant outbreak, with the virus again escaping from the country’s hotel quarantine system.South Australia state reported four cases had been detected in Adelaide on Sunday, before the cluster grew sharply overnight to 17 people Monday – the largest there since April.“We just kept getting positives coming off the machine,” chief health officer Nicola Spurrier told public broadcaster ABC.Spurrier said it was “very clear” the cluster was linked to a hotel used to quarantine travellers returning from overseas, where one of the infected people works.“We haven’t got the genomics yet, but I’m absolutely certain it has come from a medi-hotel,” she said.Officials moved quickly to contain the outbreak, ordering hundreds of people to isolate while closing linked schools and businesses.South Australia last detected a Covid-19 cluster outside border quarantine in August, when health authorities swiftly prevented the small handful of cases spreading using similar measures.But there are fears the latest outbreak has the potential to infect high-risk populations, with a prison guard and aged care workers reportedly among those testing positive.It comes just as Australians were breathing a collective sigh of relief after squashing a second-wave outbreak in Melbourne that originated from security bungles at hotel quarantine.Melbourne, which recorded thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths in recent months, has now gone more than two weeks without a single new case.The country’s internal borders are due to be almost fully reopened by Christmas, but the Adelaide cases prompted other states to immediately impose new restrictions on anyone travelling from South Australia.Overall, Australia has been relatively successful in containing the virus, with just over 27,700 cases and 907 deaths recorded since the pandemic began.


ICC says may investigate possible war crimes after Russian invasion of Ukraine

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan on Friday expressed his concern over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said his court may investigate possible war crimes in the country.“I have been closely following recent developments in and around Ukraine with increasing concern,” Khan said in a statement.“I remind all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine that my office may exercise its jurisdiction and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within Ukraine.”Following the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the subsequent fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian government forces, Ukraine accepted ICC jurisdiction for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on its territory since February 2014.In December 2020, the office of the prosecutor announced it had reason to believe war crimes and other crimes were committed during the conflict in eastern Ukraine.The preliminary examination was closed, but a formal request to judges to open a full investigation has not been filed yet. Judges must agree before an investigation can be opened.In December last year, Khan said there was no update on the case when asked about progress of the examination.Russia is not a member of the ICC and has opposed the ICC case.However, the court can investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Ukraine regardless of the nationality of the alleged perpetrators.


Ex-Perak MB Faizal Azumu made special adviser to PM

Bersatu deputy president Faizal Azumu has been appointed as special adviser to the prime minister with ministerial status, the Prime Minister’s Office announced today.In a statement, it said Faizal, the Tambun MP, would be responsible for advising Muhyiddin Yassin in community network affairs, communities and socio-economic development.“This office congratulates him on this appointment,” it said.Faizal, the former Perak menteri besar, resigned from his position on Dec 5 after failing to obtain the majority support of state assemblymen in a vote of confidence.He was replaced by Kota Tampan assemblyman and Perak Umno chairman Saarani Mohamad.


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New cases stay above 5,000 mark

Another 5,298 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 214,959.Selangor recorded 2,460 cases, followed by Johor (1,020), Kuala Lumpur (783), Sabah (298), Melaka (153) and Sarawak (135).Terengganu recorded 83 cases, Pahang 74, Penang 69, Perak 63, Kedah 53, Negeri Sembilan 42, Kelantan 30, Labuan 24, Putrajaya six and Perlis five.Active cases stand at 48,150 with 313 in the ICU and 127 in need of respiratory assistance.Ten new clusters were detected:1. Jalan Kewajipan (Petaling in Selangor; 500 screened, 125 positive)2. Persiaran Sabak (Petaling in Selangor; 440 screened, 44 positive)3. Jalan Ithnin (Johor Bahru in Johor; 294 screened, 67 positive)4. Jalan Rami Tiga (Muar in Johor; 93 screened, 47 positive)5. Jalan Mega (Johor Bahru in Johor; 49 screened, 25 positive)6. Sri Plentong (Johor Bahru in Johor; 44 screened, 19 positive)7. Tapak Bina Jalan Chulan (Lembah Pantai in Kuala Lumpur; 562 screened, 151 positive)8. Jalan Masjid Tanah (Alor Gajah in Melaka; 1,023 screened, 69 positive)9. Jalan Tronoh (Perak Tengah in Perak; 87 screened, 23 positive)10. Bercham Raya (Kinta and Kuala Kangsar in Perak; 21 screened, 11 positive)Five others ended, leaving 392 active clusters across the country.Another 4,522 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 166,049.However, 14 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 760.


Dr Mahathir doing better, able to joke, says family

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is improving in health and was able to joke with his family at the hospital today, his eldest child Marina Mahathir said.Concerns had been swirling about the veteran leader’s health since his readmission to the National Heart Institute (IJN) early last week.But Marina said Mahathir’s appetite was improving and that he had been told of the well wishes expressed by many including international leaders.“Mahathir and the family are moved, and wish to thank everyone who has been praying for his swift recovery,” she said.“He has also asked that people do not worry too much about his health.”She added that Mahathir would continue receiving treatment under specialist care at IJN although no visitors apart from close family members would be allowed.Mahathir was readmitted to IJN early last week after undergoing an elective procedure on Jan 7.He was previously admitted to IJN in December, when doctors said they were conducting a series of tests on the 96-year-old veteran leader.