China reportedly delays key economic meeting amid signs of surging infections

Chinese leaders have reportedly delayed a key economic policy meeting amid growing signs that Covid-19 infections are surging nearly a week after Beijing jettisoned some of the world's toughest restrictions.
President Xi Jinping and other Politburo members and senior government officials had been expected to attend the closed-door Central Economic Work Conference, most likely this week, to chart a policy course for the embattled Chinese economy in 2023.
A Bloomberg News report on Tuesday night, citing people familiar with the matter, said the meeting had been delayed and there was no timetable for rescheduling.
Policy insiders and business analysts said the leadership was expected to map out further stimulus steps and discuss keenly anticipated growth targets in the annual three-day session.
The delay comes as authorities continue to overturn the previously resolute "zero-Covid" policy championed by Xi.
Long queues are appearing outside fever clinics in a worrying sign that a wave of infections is building, even though official tallies of new cases have dropped in recent weeks as authorities reduce testing.
And companies in China, from e-commerce giant JD.com to cosmetics brand Sephora, are rushing to minimise the impact of surging infections - doling out test kits, encouraging more work from home and, in some cases, procuring truckloads of medicine.
The signs come as China attempts to swiftly align with a world that has largely reopened, following unprecedented protests last month in China three years into the pandemic.
The protests were the strongest show of public defiance during Xi's decade-old presidency and come amid growth figures for China's US$17 trillion (about RM75.3 trillion) economy that were some of the worst in 50 years.
Despite rising infections, people in China cheered the withdrawal on Tuesday of a state-mandated app used to track whether they had travelled to Covid-stricken areas.
As authorities deactivated the "itinerary code" app at midnight on Monday, China's four telecoms firms said they would delete users' data associated with the app.
"Goodbye itinerary code, I hope to never see you again," said a post on social media platform Weibo, where people cheered the demise of an app that critics feared could be used for mass surveillance.
"The hand that stretched out to exert power during the epidemic should now be pulled back," wrote another user.
And in a further sign of policy easing, Chinese healthcare company 111.inc has started selling Pfizer's Paxlovid for Covid-19 treatment in China via its app - medicine previously only available in some hospitals.
It sold out just over half an hour after the listing was reported by local media, according to the platform's customer service.
For all the relief over last week's decision to begin overturning the government's zero-Covid policy, there are fears that China may now pay a price.
Infections are expected to rise further during the Chinese New Year holiday next month, when people travel across the country to be with their families, - a risk for a 1.4 billion population that lacks "herd immunity" and has relatively low vaccination rates among the elderly, according to some analysts.
The moves made last week to unwind the Covid curbs included dropping mandatory testing prior to many public activities and reining in quarantine.
Hong Kong relaxes
Beijing's envoy to the US on Monday said he believes China's Covid-19 measures will be further relaxed in the near future and international travel to the country will also become easier.
China has all but shut its borders to international travel since the pandemic first erupted in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in later 2019. International flights are still at a fraction of pre-pandemic levels and arrivals face eight days in quarantine.
Financial hub Hong Kong, which already has less stringent border controls than mainland China, on Tuesday said it would drop a requirement for incoming travellers to avoid bars and restaurants in the three days after arrival.
Hong Kong will also scrap its mobility-tracking app governing access to restaurants and venues such as gyms, clubs and salons, Chief Executive John Lee said.
While the lifting of controls is seen as brightening the prospects for global growth longer term, analysts say Chinese businesses will struggle in the weeks ahead, as a wave of infections creates staff shortages and makes consumers wary.
Analysts say the decline in reported new cases could reflect the dropping of testing requirements rather than the actual situation on the ground.
"The rapid surge of infections in big cities might be only the beginning of a massive wave of Covid infections," said Ting Lu, Chief China Economist at Nomura.
"We reckon that the incoming migration around the Chinese New Year holiday in late January could bring about an unprecedented spread of Covid."
Experts say China's fragile healthcare system could be quickly overwhelmed if those fears are realised.
In Beijing, empty seats on commuter trains and deserted restaurants highlight some people's caution.
"Maybe other people are afraid or are worried about kids' and grandparents' health. It’s a personal choice," Gao Lin, a 33-year-old financier, told Reuters.
China stocks edged lower on Tuesday as a recent rebound triggered by reopening hopes gave way to concerns about spreading infections. The yuan currency was little changed, but it is already set for its worst year since 1994, when China unified the official and market exchange rates.


From sprinting to gold to without a licence on the road for ex-para athlete

At one point in time, Mohd Raduan Emeari represented the country in the international sports arena, standing in the spotlight on podiums and bringing home gold medals in Malaysia’s name.Today, though, he has trouble even moving around as he does not possess a document considered a basic form of identification for most: a driving licence.Raduan was once part of an elite group of athletes who pushed past their physical disabilities to achieve their dream of competing on a level as professional as any other.Despite suffering from cerebral palsy, he became a national para-athlete, representing Malaysia in the 100m sprinting event at international competitions such as the Asean Para Games and even the Paralympics.But it is this condition that makes it difficult for him to sit for the test.“I can read, but I have a hard time understanding long written questions and using a computer,” he said in an interview with MalaysiaNow.“This is why I cannot get a driving licence, which is what I truly need.”Former national para-athlete Mohd Raduan Emeari shows the medals he won for the country at his home in Kuala Selangor.Since retiring from sports, Raduan has been working as an attendant at a petrol station in Kuala Selangor – a realisation that recently caused a stir among many who asked how a former national athlete could now be found in such a position.He also works part-time as an assistant trainer with the National Sports Council (MSN), training athletes with disabilities as young as 14 years of age.In order to get to work, he must travel from his home in Bukit Belimbing, Kuala Selangor to Kampung Pandan or Shah Alam. He has a motorcycle but without a licence, he makes the trip by bus.“It’s hard to move around without a driving licence,” he said. “My workplace is far away from my house.“During desperate times, I am afraid that I might get caught by the police but I need to put food on the table.”Raduan competed in the Asean Para Games from 2005 to 2017, winning five gold medals for the country.He also competed in the 2010 Guangzhou Para Asian Games and the 2014 Incheon edition as well as the 2008 Paralympics Games in Beijing.Mohd Raduan Emeari’s collection of photographs showing proud moments at various international competitions.In 2016, he was admitted into the Podium Programme, a training scheme for national athletes. MPN director-general Ahmad Shapawi said earlier this month that Raduan had received a monthly allowance of RM4,500 until he was dropped from the programme at the end of 2017 due to “performance factors”.When asked about life after that, Raduan said it was difficult for him to land a job.“Although MSN offered me a job, I had to refuse it because I had family problems and my late father was sick at the time,” he said.“I had to find another job to suit my living conditions and it was not easy.”While former national athletes are eligible for a government pension, Raduan does not qualify, despite his string of podium achievements.“Only Paralympic athletes who win a medal receive a permanent pension,” he said.“I managed to bring home medals at big competitions such as the SEA Games, Asian Games and the Open Games from 2005 to 2017. I also competed at the Paralympics but I did not get a medal, so I am not qualified to receive a pension.”Now 39, Raduan nonetheless appears content with life. When asked what he wished for, he simply laughed.“I just want to move on and survive in life,” he said.


Sarawak detects 2 new clusters linked to Gawai celebrations

Two of three new clusters announced by the Sarawak state health department yesterday involved the recent Gawai celebrations, the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said.In a statement, SDMC said the Kampung Sebandi Hilir cluster, a community cluster detected in Kampung Sebandi Hilir in Lundu district, was triggered by a pre-Gawai celebration during a “miring” gathering ceremony on May 31.A total of 34 individuals were screened, with nine testing positive for Covid-19 including the index case, while 25 others tested negative.SDMC said the Melatai cluster was another community cluster involved in a settlement in the Melatai area, at Jalan Selirik in Kapit, about 427km from Kuching, due to social movements and visitations during the Gawai celebration.“A total of 139 individuals were screened, with 45 testing positive, 23 negative and 17 still awaiting their results,” it said.The third cluster, the Kampung Tabuan Haji Drahman cluster, is a community cluster involving Kampung Haji Drahman, where the virus was transmitted through close family contact and social movement among the residents.A total of 62 people were screened, 33 of whom tested positive including the index case.Sarawak recorded 569 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, with 371 detected in the districts of Sibu, Kuching, Kapit, Miri and Bintulu, and four fatalities.SDMC also said an enhanced movement control order (EMCO) is being enforced at the Jarop, Changkoi and Lubok Antu longhouses in Sri Aman from June 11 to 24 following a spike in Covid-19 cases.Kampung Sebandi Hilir, Lundu has been placed under EMCO from June 12 to 25 and the Kintan, Merampu and Pakan longhouses, located about 45km from Sarikei town, from June 12 to 28.


Pakistan floods cost at least US$10 billion, planning minister says

Early estimates put the damage from Pakistan's recent deadly floods at more than US$10 billion, its planning minister said on Monday, adding that the world has an obligation to help the South Asian nation cope with the effects of man-made climate change.
Unprecedented flash floods caused by historic monsoon rains have washed away roads, crops, infrastructure and bridges, killing at least 1,000 people in recent weeks and affecting more than 33 million, over 15% of the country's 220 million population.
The climate change minister has called the situation a "climate-induced humanitarian disaster of epic proportions."
"I think it is going to be huge. So far, (a) very early, preliminary estimate is that it is big, it is higher than US$10 billion," Ahsan Iqbal told Reuters in an interview.
"So far we have lost 1,000 human lives. There is damage to almost nearly one million houses," Iqbal said at his office.
"People have actually lost their complete livelihood."
Iqbal termed the recent floods worst than the 2010 in Pakistan, for which United Nations (UN) had issued its largest ever disaster appeal.
The minister said it might take five years to rebuild and rehabilitate the nation, while in the near term it will be confronted with acute food shortages.
To mitigate the shortage, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the country could consider importing vegetables from arch-rival India.
The two neighbouring countries have not had any trade for a long time.
"We can consider importing vegetables from India," Ismail told local Geo News TV, adding other possible sources of food imports included Turkey and Iran.
Food prices have already shot up due to flooded crops and impassable roads.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was saddened by the devastation caused by the floods.
Climate change victim
Social media users posted videos showing stranded people and whole families washed away by floodwater. Reuters was unable to independently verify such footage.
Southern, southwestern and northern Pakistan have been the hardest hit by the floods, which have swept large swaths of farmland and stored crops, also isolating the regions from rest of the country for the last several days.
Tens of thousands of families have left their homes for safer places, moved in with their relatives, or to state run camps, while others have been spending nights in the open, waiting for any help, such as tents, food and medicine.
Pakistan has appealed for international help and some countries have already sent in supplies and rescue teams.
The nation's foreign minister told Reuters on Sunday he hoped financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund would provide financial aid, taking the economic cost of the floods into account.
However, Iqbal said any formal requests for financial help would need to wait until the entire scale of the damage was known, something Pakistan was now evaluating with partners, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
The Canadian government on Monday announced US$5 million in funding for humanitarian assistance to Pakistan to deal with the flooding.
Iqbal also said the world owed Pakistan, which was a victim of climate change caused by the "irresponsible development of the developed world."
"Our carbon footprint is lowest in the world," he said. "The international community has a responsibility to help us, upgrade our infrastructure, to make our infrastructure more climate resilient, so that we don't have such losses every three, four, five years," he said.
"Those areas which used to receive rainfall aren't receiving rainfall and those areas which used to receive very mild rains are receiving very heavy rainfall," he added.
Iqbal said 45% of cotton crops had been washed away with early wheat sowing in southern Pakistan also affected, as large swaths of land remained inundated with flood water, and severe damage to rice fields as well as vegetable and fruit crops.
Pakistan's finance ministry in its latest economic outlook update has warned of the impact on critical seasonal crops, particularly cotton, which is key for Pakistan's textile sector that makes up more than 60% of the country's exports.
Analysts say the impact could be devastating for the country, which was already in the midst of an economic crisis, faced with high inflation, a depreciating currency and a current account deficit.
The IMF on Monday approved long awaited over US$1.1 bln in bailout funds to resume a programme that had been stalled since early this year.


LRT users told to check for Covid-19 after passenger tests positive

Passengers on the Kelana Jaya LRT line during the morning and evening peak hours on June 1 and afternoon peak hours on June 3 are advised to undergo screening for Covid-19 as a fellow commuter has been confirmed as positive for the virus.In a statement today, Prasarana Malaysia said the Rapid KL Customer Service Unit received a message from a female passenger saying she had tested positive for Covid-19 in the late afternoon of June 3.It said the woman also shared the following information from her MySejahtera application to confirm her trips on those two days:Date: June 1Travel time: 10.10am (LRT University station to Abdullah Hukum station)Date: June 1Travel time: 5.23pm (LRT Abdullah Hukum station to University station)Date: June 3Travel time: 9am (KL Rapid Bus [WUW 414] from University station to MidValley)Date: June 3Travel time: 5.15pm (LRT Abdullah Hukum station to University station)


The real culprit behind Muslim inheritance woes?

Md Handara has lived on his grandfather's land since he was a child.
Before his father passed away, two more lots of land were bought and placed under his grandfather's name.
His father also changed his citizenship and became a Singaporean, while Handara himself spent time living in the island republic.
After his father's death, a dispute arose between his family and that of his father's younger brother over the ownership of the land.
Several decades later, the clash remains ongoing.
"At first, we tried to handle it ourselves," Handara, who is now in his 40s, told MalaysiaNow.
"We went to the land office, thinking that it could be settled there, but it turned out that we needed to take our case to court."
The court case itself began in 2016, with his aunt's family seeking a division of the property.
All three plots of land are in a southern state and, taken together, are worth more than half a million ringgit.
Handara himself wants to buy the land on which he is currently living. Everyone else has agreed with the exception of one heir, which has caused the case to drag on.
This is one of thousands of unresolved cases on the division of family inheritance.
MalaysiaNow previously reported that some RM70 billion in assets had been frozen in the country as of two years ago due to what has been described as the inefficient management of faraid, or the Muslim inheritance system.
The challenges in the distribution of these assets include legal complexities as Malaysia employs both the civil and shariah systems.
But for Ismail Yahya, a former Terengganu chief shariah judge, there are no insurmountable hurdles whether big or small in terms of the administration and distribution of Muslim inheritance.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said there was also no need to look for middle ground between the two systems, or to form a unit to monitor the implementation of faraid.
"We can still handle inheritance issues through the existing legal system.
"What is happening now is that the heirs are not aware of the necessary information," he said, adding that some are stuck in a comfort zone while others are are at odds with each other.
Ismail, a former Terengganu mufti, said heirs need to be aware of their responsibility towards the estate of the deceased after the individual's death.
This covers basic matters such as how to act on the estate, the institutions involved, the types of property, and the letters and documents needed for each estate.
"They also need to know who among them is to be entrusted with managing the filing of a petition to administer and settle the estate of the deceased," he said.
To speed up the process, he said, the heirs must agree so that the inheritance can be settled by consensus after they determine their respective portions.
He said property that has too many names in the form of undivided shares is also at risk of losing its value.
"The need for an agreement to settle the estate is the main factor that determines the speedy or slow division and settlement of inheritance, whether at the small estate division office or even at the civil High Court," he added.
"The issue is the attitude of the heirs and whether they will take positive action in settling the estate of the deceased."


PN is for all races, says Muhyiddin in welcoming PAS support

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today welcomed the latest statement of support from PAS urging Muslim groups to back the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, but said it is also important for the ruling coalition to be supported by all communities.“What is important is that as a party that supports the struggle for the nation, we must get support from all communities,” Muhyiddin told reporters during a visit to the Kuching hospital, accompanied by Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg.He said it was also important that the parties represent all races.“It is not about Malays,” he said.PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang today issued the strongest yet signal to Umno that his party would no longer entertain calls to abandon PN, the coalition that PAS and Muhyiddin’s Bersatu is a part of.When asked to comment on the federal government’s move to appeal against the High Court ruling allowing Christians to use the word “Allah” in their religious publications for education, Muhyiddin said he would leave the matter to the court.“The appeal is on, so let’s wait for the result. I would not want to express my personal feelings because it could be sub judice.“The attorney-general has appealed to that, and I will leave it entirely to the court.”Putrajaya said on March 15 that it would appeal against the court ruling annulling the directive prohibiting Christians from using “Allah” and three other words in their religious publications.The High Court in Kuala Lumpur had ruled five days earlier that Christians could use “Allah”, “Baitullah”, “Kaabah” and “solat” in their publications for educational purposes.Court of Appeal judge Nor Bee Ariffin, sitting as a High Court judge, had allowed a judicial review application by Sarawak native Christian, Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, whose legal battle on the matter began 13 years ago.Nor Bee in her ruling held that the 1986 directive by the home ministry barring the use of the four words was filled with illegality and irrationality.


Malaysia committed to addressing child marriage, says minister

Malaysia is committed to addressing child marriage as part of efforts to meet at least eight of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) relating to poverty, food security and health, says Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rina Harun.She said Malaysia’s commitment to the SDG Goal 5 (Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls) refers to the elimination of all harmful practices, including early and forced marriages and those involving children.“Malaysia is committed to addressing child marriage, as seen in the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) in 1995 and the subsequent removal of the reservation to Article 16(2) about child marriage in 2010.“The Malaysian government also ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1995, in which we committed under Article 24(3) to taking all effective and appropriate measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of the children,” she said.Rina said this in her opening remarks at the online launch of Unicef’s advocacy brief titled “Towards Ending Child Marriage” today.She said in Malaysia, an average of 1,500 children, regardless of racial and religious background, are involved in child marriages. She said this practice occurs in both urban and rural areas and among Muslim and non-Muslims, even among the Orang Asli as well as migrant and refugee communities.Due to this, she said, the government had introduced a five-year National Strategy Plan in Handling the Causes of Child Marriage last year, containing short, medium and long-term actions involving government agencies, civil society and communities from 2020 to 2025.“Both the National Strategy Plan and the advocacy brief recognise that the enactment of laws alone is insufficient to combat child marriage effectively, and should be supplemented with a comprehensive set of measures to facilitate their implementation and enforcement, along with a follow-up, monitoring and evaluation of the results achieved.“Today’s launch provides an opportunity for the government and all stakeholders to renew our commitment to addressing child marriage together through the implementation of the National Strategy Plan and other complementary efforts,” she said.Meanwhile, Unicef representative to Malaysia and special representative to Brunei Darussalam Rashed Mustafa Sarwar said the National Strategy Plan in Handling the Causes of Child Marriage, launched in January last year, was a positive indication of the government’s commitment to addressing the issue.The advocacy brief launched today outlined recommendations for the way forward in nine key areas, in particular legal reforms; centrality of data; addressing social and cultural norms, and capacity development; sexual and reproductive health education; specific girl empowerment programmes and engagement with men and boys.


New infections at 101 as death toll remains unchanged

Another 101 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 17,986.
There were 315 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,988,143.
There are now 9,998 active cases, of which 9,635 or 96.4% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 0 (0%) are at quarantine centres while 351 (3.5%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 12 are in ICU with 10 in need of respiratory assistance.
No new deaths were reported, leaving the death toll unchanged at 36,932.


Home ministry says open to talks with NGOs on Sosma

The home ministry says it is willing to hold discussions with any party including NGOs to provide accurate information on the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).
Deputy Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the discussions were also aimed at avoiding misunderstanding about the laws in the country, including Sosma.
"We are ready to hear the views and give the opportunity to the NGOs to come meet us so that we can give them accurate information for better understanding.
"They may not have accurate information. So we can share what we have," the Lenggong MP said after an event in Lenggong today.
He added that every law was formulated to protect the interests of the people and the country.
Yesterday, Muda vice-president Zaidel Baharudin was reported as saying that the government should review Sosma as it was seen as "very one-sided", and come up with a better law.


4 more days for tax submissions, LHDN issues reminder

The Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) has issued a reminder for taxpayers to file their taxes online by May 15.In a statement, it said more than 2.58 million tax return forms for the 2021 year of assessment had been received from individual taxpayers as of April 30.Of these, some 2.48 million or over 96% of the forms were submitted through e-filing. The remainder were submitted manually or through paper forms.The deadline for the manual filing of taxes was on April 30.


Airport testing a must to save international airlines

The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) wants an airport Covid-19 test quickly, so governments can open open borders once more, before more international airlines go bust.IATA is calling for the development of a “rapid, accurate, affordable, and easy-to-operate” test, which could be offered to passengers on international flights before departure.In a press release, it says it will work with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to develop a test that can be deployed to airports and airlines.Nations and trade blocs have closed borders or mandated 14-day quarantine periods for foreign visitors in an effort to keep their citizens safe from the virus.This approach has been disastrous for the international aviation industry. According to IATA, international travel is down 92% compared to 2019.It says the only way to reopen borders and allow free travel once more is to start offering rapid testing at airports. Accurate tests for arrivals could mean the end of quarantines.“This will give governments the confidence to open their borders without constant changes in the rules imposed on travel,” Alexandre de Juniac, director general of IATA, said in a press release.IATA data suggests the public would support airport testing schemes. Their research suggests 88% of those polled agree that testing should be required of all travellers and also say they would undergo testing as part of the travel process.Airports are also keen.London Heathrow is working with partners to offer on-arrival testing with results in hours instead of days, which could end the need for a 14-day quarantine. However, the British government has not yet approved the plan.While antigen tests can produce results in as little as 15 minutes, making them suitable for airport testing, they can also create “false negatives”, unlike the laboratory-dependent PCR tests which take longer to return a result but are more reliable.


Industry players fine with RM1 million compounds but say clear guidelines needed

Industry players have no objection to the government’s move to increase the maximum amount of compound for companies that repeatedly violate health SOPs, but want clear guidelines in place before the fines, possibly of up to RM1 million, come into effect.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, they said discussions should be held with stakeholders before any decision is made.Retail tycoon Ameer Ali Mydin said this would allow businesses to understand the issue and provide their input.“Previous experience has shown that the guidelines were never clear and were subject to the interpretation of officers on the ground,” Ameer, who owns the Mydin hypermarket chain, said.“If they discussed with us that such and such are the guidelines, I think that would be very fair.”A bill to amend the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 or Act 342 was tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 14.The amendments, among others, would allow individual offenders to be compounded up to RM10,000 instead of the current RM1,000.The amendments under Section 25 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Bill 2021 also propose that errant companies be compounded up to a maximum of RM1 million.However the amendments may be further revised to reduce the fines by as much as half of the amounts currently stated.Ameer said he agreed with the maximum amount of RM1 million presently proposed as the Covid-19 pandemic was a serious matter especially given the threat of new variants.However, he said the fines themselves are arbitrary, as are the guidelines for business operations.Malaysian Employers Federation president Syed Hussain Syed Husman likewise saw the maximum figure of RM1 million as justified.“Repeat offenders from large companies did not not take the earlier penalties imposed on them seriously,” he said.However he urged the government against imposing heavy penalties for minor offences, agreeing that clear guidelines are needed for this.He gave the example of the burger seller who was fined RM50,000 earlier this year for violating SOPs.“The guidelines are to ensure justice for those who cannot afford it, apart from imposing appropriate values on those who make huge profits and yet ignore the SOPs,” he said.“We hope this will apply to offenders in both the private and public sectors who are repeat offenders.”Ameer meanwhile cited the example of the guidelines on sanitisation which he said were forcing companies to spend unnecessarily.“We need clear guidelines on what kind of sanitisation is needed,” he said. “Our understanding is that the Omicron variant spreads through the air. We spray the air but do we still need to sanitise tables, hand rails and escalators?“Are we still required to take temperatures? This might no longer be relevant considering that many who test positive for Covid-19 are asymptomatic. We are not detecting infected people by doing this.”Soh Thian Lai, president of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, however voiced concern over the proposed amendments, suggesting instead a targeted approach to penalties.He said only 32,388 or 2.7% of some 1.1 million companies in Malaysia are large businesses while the rest are SMEs.“If it is the objective of the government to punish errant companies that ‘rake in millions in profit’, it should come up with a different and targeted approach instead of punishing the majority of companies which are SMEs struggling to survive,” he said.He added that such companies might be forced to close down if slapped with a million-ringgit fine.Soh, too, said further engagement should be held with the authorities to discuss a “win-win solution” for all parties.He said manufacturers are often subjected to raids and visits by different agencies which have “inconsistent interpretations” of the SOPs.“We are greatly concerned that we will be targeted again by enforcement officers with inconsistent interpretations of the SOPs as the higher fines from the amendments to Act 342 may create opportunities for the abuse of power and corruption,” he said.


Hearing of Najib’s 1MDB audit report case extended 10 more days

The hearing of Najib Razak and former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy’s case over alleged tampering with the final 1MDB audit report has been extended another 10 days until October.Najib’s lawyer, Nur Syahirah Hanapiah, said the additional dates for the trial were set by High Court deputy registrar Catherine Nicholas during case management in her chambers today.“The court has set Aug 11 and 12 to continue hearing the case, while the additional dates given to hear the case are Sept 6 to 9, Oct 4 to 7 and Oct 20 and 21,” she said.So far, seven prosecution witnesses including former chief secretary to the government Ali Hamsa and former auditor-general Ambrin Buang have been called to testify at the trial before judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.Najib, 67, is charged with using his position to order amendments to the 1MDB audit report which was already “finalised” by the auditor-general before the report was “finalised again” and presented before the Public Accounts Committee to avoid any action taken against him.Arul Kanda, 44, is charged with abetting Najib in making amendments to the report to protect the Pekan MP from being subjected to disciplinary, civil or criminal action in connection with 1MDB.They were charged with committing the offence at the complex of the Prime Minister’s Department, Federal Government Administrative Centre, between Feb 22 and 26, 2016.They were charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.


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Paris 2024 Olympics flame to be lit on April 16, 2024, source says

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games flame will be lit on April 16 next year, marking the countdown to the July 26-Aug. 11 games in the French capital, an Olympic movement source said on Thursday.
The flame will be lit at Greece's ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Games, and will remain in the country for about a week before a handover ceremony in Athens and departure to France, the source told Reuters.
In a traditional ceremony at the site of the ancient Games, an actress playing a high priestess lights the torch for every Games – summer or winter – using a parabolic mirror before passing the flame to the first torchbearer at the edge of the ancient Olympic stadium in Olympia.
Following a brief domestic relay in Greece the flame is then handed over to the host city.
Paris organisers have said they will use a three-masted ship the 'Belem' to take it the port city of Marseille, where the sailing competitions of the Olympics will take place.
Usually the flame, held in a safety lantern, is flown by plane to the Olympic Games host city.
Marseille, founded by the Greek settlers of Phocaea around 600 BC, is the starting point of the French leg of the relay which will end in Paris on July 14.
Paris 2024 organisers have been planning to install the Olympic flame on the Eiffel Tower, according to sources.


Daily caseload continues to hover at 2,100 as another death reported

Another 2,127 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,538,922.There were 1,390 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,476,828.There are now 26,362 active cases, of which 25,350 or 96.2% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, eight (0.0%) are at quarantine centres while 981 (3.7%) have been hospitalised.A total of 23 are in ICU with 16 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 60.1%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 5.2%.One more death was reported, taking total deaths to 35,732.


Strengthening family ties could help cut divorce rate

Even before the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rising cost of living and higher financial commitments in raising a family were among the main factors of a higher divorce rate in Malaysia in recent years.The Marriage Tribunal in the National Registration Department revealed that out of 6,901 marriages that ended in divorce in 2018, 2,971 cases (or 43.1%) were related to financial problems in the family.Ongoing financial distress coupled with other factors such as communication problems, inability to resolve conflicts, stress from family responsibilities and a high-pressure environment of confinement resulted in a 12% increase in divorce – from 50,862 cases in 2018 to 56,975 in 2019, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).Table 1 also shows that Muslims recorded a higher number of divorces compared to non-Muslims.Lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures were a contributory factor to a further increase in divorce cases during the pandemic. Perhaps some have argued that work or study from home arrangements would provide the opportunity to strengthen family ties.However, some couples who share opposite personalities, for example (one introvert, the other extrovert), would inevitably experience friction due to different lifestyle values when spending more time together at home.They were forced to interact and engage with each other within a confined space more often than before. Married couples could not enjoy outdoor leisure activities (i.e., jogging, meeting with their extended families and friends for meals, travelling) as per the pre-pandemic era.There is also a lack of platform or avenue to express their emotional problems freely. As a result, they could get easily provoked, and riled up or frustrated with each other.Arguments between couples on childcare, housework, cooking and grocery shopping, loss of jobs or decrease in income were among the causes that eventually resulted in divorce during the pandemic.Numerous findings showed a share of childcare, housework, cooking and grocery shopping among married couples during the Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately increased. Such a phenomenon is also applicable to working parents whereby women had to bear all the family responsibilities besides fulfilling their employers’ expectations in a WFH environment.Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted the self-employed or individuals who worked in hard-hit sectors such as hospitality, leisure, retail and tourism.For instance, as many businesses were forced to close temporarily when the movement control order (MCO) commenced in early March last year, the DOSM revealed in its survey findings that 46.6% of the self-employed lost their jobs.According to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recent statement in September, around 580,000 households who were initially in the middle 40% (M40) category have slipped into the bottom 40% (B40) category.This is not surprising.For example, work associated with the hospitality, leisure, retail and tourism industry, for instance, is not conducive to WFH. Those in the industry have been struggling to put food on the table due to layoffs or under-employment caused by shorter working hours on the back of pay cuts.Although the National Population and Family Development Board did not conduct any specific survey on reasons behind divorce cases, 80% out of 1,148 respondents (i.e., parents age 18 and above) started to feel the pinch of the pandemic even more, both economically and on their mental health, during MCO 2.0.The survey also found that 84.1% suffered from emotional pressure or stress and 63% experienced depression, of which 20.4% had anger management issues.As a result, a total of 76,786 divorces were filed nationwide between March 2020 to August 2021, according to Deputy Law Minister Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.Although non-Muslims recorded a lower number of divorces, i.e. 10,346 cases between March 2020 to August 2021 compared to 2019, Table 2 shows that Muslims recorded a 46% increase in divorces, i.e. 66,440 during the MCO.There is also an increasing fear that children from divorced families will drop out of school or be out of work in the long run. Low self-esteem and educational attainment might hinder their ability to earn a living for themselves and their families in the future.When divorcees cannot overcome their financial obligations, they first fall into mental depression and illness. If they cannot find new ways to cope with the pain from their loss of loved ones or income, committing suicide could be a likely outcome even though they are aware that suicide is a harmful act not only to themselves but also to their immediate family, friends and the wider community.Single mothers are a particularly socially and economically vulnerable group at risk of various physical and mental health problems.According to Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh, most mothers are left without any income after divorce. With a greater responsibility of taking care of their children, they might be more easily stressed out and cases of child abuse could rise.The women, family and community development ministry recently reported that 2,040 child abuse cases were recorded in the first four months of 2021. Out of the 2,040 cases, nearly 30% were physical and sexual abuse.In an effort to further reduce the divorce rate in Malaysia, Emir Research has the following policy recommendations for the current administration to consider:• Work closely with counsellors and NGOs that advocate and promote the strengthening of the family institution and familial relations to understand the problems that arise from married couples who are at the crossroads and on the brink of divorce;• Create an awareness campaign on the importance of marriage besides illustrating the potential physical, social, psychological and economic disadvantages of divorce;• Encourage all family members to put regular time aside every week (e.g. family day every Sunday), for the purpose of family bonding.As Malaysia moves towards the endemic stage, families can play outdoor games or do a physical activity together like going for a walk, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air regularly in public parks, etc.In turn, these activities will help to reinforce family cohesion and foster deeper bonds, especially during tough times caused by the ongoing pandemic; and• Encourage companies to promote an empathetic culture where employees with family commitments do not feel pressured to keep their struggles private.Acknowledging domestic problems would motivate employees to perform their associated tasks better. They will also feel more comfortable approaching a supervisor to share their life struggles that may negatively affect their work performance.When married couples can find ways to improve their relationship and marriage, they can in turn strengthen the family ties with their children through frequent communication and bonding activities.In the long run, this would contribute to creating a more harmonious and happy society that is beneficial to the nation/civilisation as a whole.Amanda Yeo is a research analyst at independent think tank Emir Research.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Govt committed to fair and factual reporting, PM says

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today reiterated the commitment and strong determination of the government to revive the principles of civil society through fair and factual media reporting.
He said this in a tweet in response to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report stating that Malaysia has been ranked 73rd with 62.83 points in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index compared to the 113th spot with 51.55 points last year.
Malaysia is also ranked the highest among the Asean countries, ahead of Thailand (106), Indonesia (108), Singapore (129), the Philippines (132), Brunei (142), Cambodia (147), Laos (160), Myanmar (173) and Vietnam (178).
The index, published on the RSF website, aims to compare the level of media freedom in 180 countries and regions in the world.
In his tweet, the prime minister also expressed hope that the media will continue to work and uphold the principles of democracy.


Period poverty continues despite naysayers

Every month, when their periods arrive, Aunty Kartika and Makcik Izzah have to borrow pads from each other to get through the week.
For seven years now, they have been neighbours, living on the same floor of the low-cost housing project in Kota Damansara, Selangor.
At times, neither of them can afford to buy sanitary napkins. With no one else to turn to, they are forced to use rags or even old nappies when their periods arrive.
For them, this is always the most stressful time of the month.
“I am always uncomfortable when my period comes,” Izzah said in a recent interview with MalaysiaNow.
“Especially when I have to use old nappies — it makes me feel unclean. I get easily angry and very emotional,” she added.
“I can’t get anything done around the house because I’m so agitated.”
Kartika and Izzah are among the many women who are unable to afford sanitary products each month, a problem known colloquially as period poverty.
MalaysiaNow first reported on the issue in January 2021, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But a period poverty advocacy movement comprising NGOs and researchers known as Peduli Merah said awareness remains low.
“There are even some who deny that it is a problem,” its spokesman Nursyuhaidah A Razak told MalaysiaNow.
She said some believe that the issue is made up or deliberately portrayed as worse than it really is.
“People think it’s illogical for there to be anyone who cannot afford to buy sanitary napkins every month,” she added.
And while the group aims to spread awareness about the problem of period poverty, there are also those who misunderstand its efforts.
“When there are women who choose to get pregnant in order to save on pads, some people say that this is why poor people have so many children and even dump some of their babies.
“So it gets turned into an issue of baby dumping,” she said, adding that such experiences had been related by stateless girls in Sabah.
One packet of 14 sanitary napkins at a sundry store is sold for about RM11 to RM17. Women can use between 14 and 20 pads throughout the week of their period.
Households with more than one woman can require about 60 sanitary napkins per month, the cost of which can breach RM51.
Nursyuhaidah said many people also see period poverty as a frivolous matter.
“They think, do even pads need to be made into an issue? This needs to be corrected as well,” she said.
“Again and again, we say: this is not just about buying pads. The root issue is that pads are a basic necessity. The question should be: why are some people unable to afford them?”
On July 20, the women, family and community development ministry said the government had so far spent RM2.39 million or 77% of its allocated budget on sanitary napkins for B40 students as well as educational programmes about hygiene.
But Nursyuhaidah said no one had yet approached her group to donate sanitary pads for the urban poor.
This makes it difficult to compare the situation and the trend of donations before and after the pandemic.
“Normally, we are the ones who approach the donors and ask them first,” she said.
“No one has ever turned away the offer of sanitary pads if it is made.”


Online shift makes body shaming easier than ever

A psychologist has warned of the negative effects of body shaming, the manifestation of which has moved largely online.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Meriam Omar Din said social media is now the easiest platform for internet users to express themselves, sometimes to the extent of setting aside values such as decency and morality.“It’s the easiest channel for getting public attention and sparking an immediate reaction, at the very least through ‘likes’ and comments,” she said.Sometimes, issues turn into a tussle which ends with one party body shaming the other in order to put down their image.“Respect for others is no longer important,” Meriam said. “They curse and criticise freely and without shame.”She said many who enjoy body shaming others are often unable to argue with facts or intelligent explanations and instead attempt to attract attention by humiliating other people on social media.“Respect for others is no longer important.”“Shaming others may also be a response triggered by the stress of their own feelings because they believe they are not being shown respect either.“We should return to the culture of not insulting others or criticising them using rude words. Otherwise, we do not need to follow or befriend such people on social media.”In the case of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rina Harun who recently lost some weight, a photo of her new physique which went viral on social media attracted a wide range of reactions, including from those who appeared more interested in talking about her body than they were about her responsibilities as a minister.Another woman who spoke to MalaysiaNow said she was teased as a child at school due to her dark complexion.She said her schoolmates and even some of her teachers had made fun of her.“I felt ashamed and insecure in front of people,” she said, asking that her name be withheld.Edward Paul, a lawyer based in Sabah, said those who body shame can be prosecuted as it is considered a crime under Section 509 of the Penal Code.He said the act could be seen as a form of attack with the aim of shaming or causing loss of face.“There are two situations in which this can happen. The first is openly, in front of others such as in an office. Here, the victim can make a police report and take legal action.Those who body shame can be prosecuted as it is considered a crime under Section 509 of the Penal Code.“The second situation is on social media, where victims can lodge a report with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.”But if victims refuse to speak up, he said, no legal action can be taken which would encourage perpetrators to continue heaping abuse.“It doesn’t matter if it is in the form of mocking someone or something that could shame them,” he told MalaysiaNow.Those who commit such offences could face action under Section 233(1)(a)(b) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, Section 509 of the Penal Code and Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955.Those who shame others on social media meanwhile could be convicted under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act which carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, a jail term of not more than a year, or both.Offences which fall under Section 509 of the Penal Code are punishable by jail of up to five years while those convicted under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act can be fined a maximum of RM100.


Germany aims to offer Covid jabs to teens 12 and above by end-August

Germany will aim to offer Covid-19 vaccines to all children aged 12 and over by the end of August once a jab is approved for younger people by the European regulator, Health Minister Jens Spahn said Thursday.All 12- to 18-year-olds will be offered vaccines in the summer “on the condition of the expected approval, if nothing unforeseen happens”, Spahn said after a meeting with regional health ministers in Berlin.The European Medicines Agency said this week it had begun evaluating the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, after a similar request in the US.The vaccine is currently only approved in the EU for use on people aged 16 and over, but its possible authorisation for children is seen as a crucial step towards achieving herd immunity.Germany has said it aims to make jabs available to all adults from some time in June, lifting its priority list that decides who gets to go first.But Spahn also said Thursday that the AstraZeneca vaccine will now be offered to everyone immediately.Germany has previously recommended the AstraZeneca jab only for people 60 and older following concerns over blood clotting cases among younger recipients of the vaccine.After a slow start to its vaccination campaign, Germany began accelerating its inoculation campaign in April and last week vaccinated more than a million people in one day.Some 30.6% of the population had received a first dose by Thursday, according to official data.People who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will no longer have to abide by curfews and contact restrictions under a draft law passed by the parliament on Thursday.The new freedoms, which also apply to those who have recovered from Covid-19, could come in as soon as this weekend.


Turkey condemned for quitting international treaty to prevent violence against women

The Istanbul Convention, signed by 45 countries and the EU, requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting domestic violence and similar abuse.Aside from Turkey, the treaty had so far only been ratified by 34 countries.But Turkey now says the treaty – which seeks to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence – was incompatible with its family values because it has been “hijacked” by people trying to “normalise homosexuality”.In a move which sparked large protests by Turkish women, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government unilaterally quit the convention on Saturday, nearly 10 years after it became the first signatory to the landmark agreement.Women’s rights activists say the Istanbul Convention was crucial to combating domestic violence in Turkey.On Sunday, US President Joe Biden issued a statement to express his disappointment, joining a growing chorus of criticism.“Around the world, we are seeing increases in the number of domestic violence incidents, including reports of rising femicide in Turkey,” he said.“Countries should be working to strengthen and renew their commitments to ending violence against women, not rejecting international treaties designed to protect women and hold abusers accountable. Turkey’s move is a disheartening step backward.”The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Turkey was sending “a dangerous message across the world” about the rights of women.In a tweet, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wrote: “Women deserve a strong legal framework to protect them.”Marija Pejcinovic Buric, the head of Europe’s top human rights body, the Council of Europe, said, “This move is a huge setback and all the more deplorable because it compromises the protection of women in Turkey, across Europe and beyond.”Erdogan’s office issued a statement explaining its decision.“The Istanbul Convention, originally intended to promote women’s rights, was hijacked by a group of people attempting to normalise homosexuality – which is incompatible with Turkey’s social and family values. Hence the decision to withdraw,” the statement said, without giving further details.It said Turkey was not the only country that had “serious concerns” about the Istanbul Convention.Critics of the accord said it was being used to advocate for greater acceptance of the LGBT community and lifestyles in Turkey.At least 300 women were murdered in the country last year, according to Turkey’s We Will Stop Femicide Platform.However, the group said the number could be even greater, as dozens more women were found dead in suspicious circumstances.


Hold GE on Saturday, education minister says

The education ministry is hoping that polling day for the 15th general election (GE15) will be set on a Saturday so that school operations will not be affected, Education Minister Radzi Jidin said today.
He said having polling day on a Saturday would also facilitate preparations, especially for the Election Commission (EC).
"It is easier if it is done on Saturday because there are states that have school on Sundays," he said when met after an event in Putrajaya.
During GE14, the EC set Wednesday as polling day.


Final round of PH, BN seat talks tonight, says Rafizi

The final round of negotiations between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) on seat allocations for the upcoming state elections will take place in Kuala Lumpur tonight.
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli said he will be leading the talks for PH while Mohamad Hasan will be heading the BN negotiating team.
Rafizi said negotiations will focus on the agreement of the component parties in the coalition government in determining the seat allocations in the six states facing elections, namely Penang, Kedah, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Kelantan.
"We (PKR) already have our candidates and in view that this is the first time we are contesting state elections with the other parties in the unity government, we have to first finalise seats through negotiations.
"Decisions made tonight will be brought to the PH and BN chairmen for a final decision,” he told the media after attending the 12th Malaysia Plan mid-term engagement session with the economy minister in Malacca today.
Rafizi, who is the economy minister, said once negotiations are done, the names of three proposed candidates will be shortlisted to be discussed with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
He said PKR had opened its doors to individuals interested in becoming candidates for the state polls, but they had to first go through a strict vetting process.
"For the other parties, it depends on their own criteria, but for PKR itself, we opened it to party division and wing members who were interested," he said.


Russian forces cut off last routes out of eastern Ukraine city

Russian forces cut off the last routes for evacuating citizens from the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, a Ukrainian official said, as the Kremlin pushed for victory in the Donbas region.The last bridge to the city was destroyed, trapping any remaining civilians and making it impossible to deliver humanitarian supplies, said regional governor Sergei Gaidai, adding that some 70% of the city was under Russian control.Ukraine has issued increasingly urgent calls for more Western heavy weapons to help defend Sievierodonetsk, which Kyiv says could hold the key to the battle for the eastern Donbas region and the course of the war, now in its fourth month.Late on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the battle for the eastern Donbas would go down as one of the most brutal in European history. The region, comprising the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, is claimed by Russian separatists.“For us, the price of this battle is very high. It is just scary,” he said.“We draw the attention of our partners daily to the fact that only a sufficient number of modern artillery for Ukraine will ensure our advantage.”Russia’s main goal is to protect Donetsk and Luhansk, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, after the leader of one of the separatist regions asked for additional forces from Moscow.Ukraine needs 1,000 howitzers, 500 tanks and 1,000 drones among other heavy weapons, Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Monday.Moscow issued the latest of several recent reports saying it had destroyed US and European arms and equipment.Russia’s defence ministry said high-precision air-based missiles had struck near the railway station in Udachne northwest of Donetsk, hitting equipment that had been delivered to Ukrainian forces.Ukraine’s interior ministry on Telegram said that Udachne had been hit by a Russian strike overnight Sunday into Monday, without mentioning whether weapons had been targeted.Moscow has criticised the US and other nations for sending Ukraine weapons and has threatened to strike new targets if the West supplied long-range missiles.The European Commission will recommend granting Ukraine official status as an EU candidate country, Politico reported late on Monday, citing several unnamed officials.Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday that the EU executive’s opinion on Ukraine’s request to join would be ready by the end of this week.Mariupol again?Russia’s RIA news agency quoted a pro-Moscow separatist spokesperson Eduard Basurin as saying Ukrainian troops were effectively blockaded in Sievierodonetsk and should surrender or die.The situation risked becoming like Mariupol, “with a large pocket of Ukrainian defenders cut off from the rest of the Ukrainian troops”, according to Damien Magrou, spokesperson for the International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine that has had forces in Sievierodonetsk.During the fall of Mariupol last month, hundreds of civilians and badly wounded Ukrainian soldiers were trapped for weeks in the Azovstal steelworks.Russia has denied targeting civilians in what it calls a “special operation” to restore Russian security and “denazify” its neighbour.Ukraine and its Western allies call this a baseless pretext for an invasion which has killed thousands of civilians and raised fears of wider conflict in Europe.More than 5 million people have fled and the world has been hit by a food and energy crisis, dividing Western nations over how to handle it.After failing to take the capital Kyiv following the Feb 24 invasion, Moscow focused on expanding control in the Donbas, where pro-Russian separatists have held territory since 2014. Russia has also tried to capture more of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.“The entire front is being subjected to constant shelling,” Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian TV on Monday evening.The towns of Maryinka, Krasnohorivka, Vuhledar were hit in the coal-producing belt and Avdiivka, home to a big coking plant, he said.Gaidai said a six-year-old child was among those killed in the latest shelling of Lysychansk.Officials in the Russian-backed separatist-controlled Donetsk region said at least three people, including a child, were killed and 18 were wounded by Ukrainian shelling that hit a market in Donetsk city.The Donetsk News Agency showed pictures of burning stalls at the central Maisky market and several bodies on the ground. The news agency said 155-mm calibre Nato-standard artillery munitions hit parts of the region on Monday.Reuters could not independently verify the reports.In Bakhmut, in Donetsk, a resident who gave her name as Valya surveyed the wreckage of an apartment block local authorities said had been hit by an air strike.“We went to bed, we are old people, you know. And then all of a sudden… Terrifying, look what happened,” she said. “There is nothing good happening here.”


Israeli settlers agree to leave flashpoint West Bank outpost

Jewish settlers agreed Monday to leave a new outpost in the occupied West Bank that has stirred weeks of Palestinian protests following a deal with Israel’s government, officials said.Under the agreement, confirmed by settler leaders and the interior ministry, the settlers will leave the Eviatar outpost within days but their mobile homes will remain and Israeli troops will establish a base in the area.According to a statement from regional settler leader Yossi Dagan, the defence ministry has agreed to study land claims to assess the prospect of a future recognised settlement.Dagan said the agreement had been approved by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked.Shaked’s office confirmed the deal, but spokespersons for Bennett and Gantz were not immediately available to comment.About 50 Jewish families moved to Eviatar last month, erecting huts, tents and caravans – in defiance of international and Israeli law – on land near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, which Palestinians claim for a future state.Eviatar settler Tzvi Succot, a leader in the outpost community, said he supported the agreement because he believed it would ultimately lead to a permanent Jewish community.“The most important thing for us is that the buildings stay here, that a Jewish presence remains on this hill,” Succot told AFP.Palestinians protestPalestinians in the nearby community of Beita have responded with night-time protests, flashing horns, burning tyres and shining laser beams to keep the settlers awake.Those protests continued on Monday when they directed green light beams towards Jewish settler homes and hoisted Palestinian flags.Moussa Hamayel, the deputy head of the Beita municipality, told AFP that the Palestinian community had “completely rejected” the purported compromise.Israeli troops have killed four Palestinians including a teenager in unrest sparked by the protests.Eviatar is named after a settler fatally stabbed near Beita in 2013.Israeli authorities had evacuated an earlier version of the outpost.But Israeli families returned in May after a Palestinian man shot dead a student nearby.Gantz ordered the settlement removed, but Benjamin Netanyahu – who served 12 unbroken years as prime minister before he was unseated on June 13 – froze the decision.Bennett, who ousted Netanyahu by joining a broad coalition including left-wingers and an Arab party, is the former head of the Yesha Council, a settlers’ lobbying group.All Jewish settlements in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, are considered illegal by most of the international community.


Umno must be in driver’s seat, Tok Mat lays out ground rules for cooperation

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has insisted that the Malay party must be in the driver’s seat in any future cooperation, in a speech setting the tone of the Umno general assembly today.Mohamad, also known as Tok Mat, said Umno was prepared to sit with any party as long as it benefits Umno, Malays and Islam.“What is important is, any party that wants to work with us must believe in Umno’s ability to be in the driver’s seat. Not a second player who is simply picked up to fulfil the quota, or the number of seats required.“There is no party or individual who can tell or direct Umno how and with whom we should negotiate to form a government,” Mohamad said in his speech to officiate the three wings of Umno Youth, Wanita, Puteri in Kuala Lumpur.Mohamad also said Umno would not compromise on the distribution of seats with its political allies.“Umno seats are Umno seats, then, now and forever. They are not to be given away in order to extend a lifeline to any party,” he said.He said Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) are a “living entity” that is ready to adapt to any new political formula.He also said Umno should prepare to go through a process of political correctness, saying it is trying to survive in a challenging era that demands that the party leave its comfort zone.Mohamad expressed confidence that Umno would return to its former glory when it dominated the federal government as part of BN.He said it was critical for the party to win the next general election.“Umno must immediately return to being the government in a dignified, democratic manner and based on the real mandate of the people.“This election is very critical. There are only two possibilities. Either we win and govern, or we are again in the opposition to be trifled with.“At this time, we do not have Plan B, or any other plan. We must win,” he added.The general assembly this time is convened on the back of calls by several party leaders to cut ties with Bersatu.Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and his predecessor Najib Razak have been at the forefront of attacks against the Perikatan Nasional government.At the heart of their grievances is that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who formed Bersatu after his fallout with Najib over the 1MDB scandal in 2015, has sidelined Umno in filling key government posts.


Singapore posts daily record of over 19,000 local cases

Singapore reported a record 19,179 local coronavirus infections on Tuesday.The city-state has recorded 191,882 cases of the virus over the last 28 days, but 99.7% of them had no or mild symptoms.Of Tuesday’s local cases, 16,102 were detected through antigen rapid tests. They are assessed to have no or mild symptoms and carry low risk.


US plans to sell armed drones to Ukraine in coming days, sources say

The Biden administration plans to sell Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones that can be armed with Hellfire missiles for battlefield use against Russia, three people familiar with the situation said.The sale of the General Atomics-made drones could still be blocked by Congress, the sources said, adding that there is also a risk of a last minute policy reversal that could scuttle the plan, which has been under review at the Pentagon for several weeks.Ukraine has been using several types of smaller shorter range unmanned aerial systems against Russian forces that invaded the country in late February. They include the AeroVironment Puma AE, and the Turkish Bayraktar-TB2.But the Gray Eagle represents a leap in technology because it can fly up to 30 or more hours depending on its mission and can gather huge amounts of data for intelligence purposes. Gray Eagles, the Army’s version of the more widely known Predator drone, can also carry up to eight powerful Hellfire missiles.The sale is significant because it puts an advanced reusable US system capable of multiple deep strikes on the battlefield against Russia for the first time.The administration of President Joe Biden intends to notify Congress of the potential sale to Ukraine in the coming days with a public announcement expected after that, a US official said.A White House spokesperson referred inquiries to the Pentagon and a Pentagon spokesperson said there was “nothing to announce.”Money from the recently passed US$40 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative has been set aside to fund both the possible sale and the training needed for the drones, the US official and one of the people familiar said.“Generally the MQ-1C is a much larger aircraft with a max take-off weight around three times that of the Bayraktar-TB2, with commensurate advantages in payload capacity, range, and endurance,” said drone expert Dan Gettinger with the Vertical Flight Society.The MQ-1C is also compatible with a greater variety of munitions than the Bayraktar-TB2. The Ukrainian Bayraktars are equipped with 22kg (48 pound) Turkish-made MAM-L missiles, around half the weight of a Hellfire.Training on the UAV system made by General Atomics usually takes months, Gettinger said, but a notional plan to train experienced Ukrainian maintainers and operators in a handful of weeks has been proposed in recent weeks, the sources said.Arming the drones with Hellfire missiles will be done via a future Presidential Drawdown Authority once training on the drones has been completed, the US official and one of the sources said.Up until an announcement on Wednesday that Ukraine would get four Himars rocket systems, the Pentagon has stressed that smaller systems such as Javelin anti-tank systems and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which allies are shipping to Ukraine via truck near-daily, are most useful.Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin Corp jointly produce Javelins, while Raytheon makes Stingers.


Health minister suspended after fire kills 82 at Iraqi Covid hospital

More than 80 people died Sunday when a fire ripped through a Baghdad hospital for Covid-19 patients, sparking outrage and the suspension of top officials overseeing Iraq’s crumbling health services.The blaze at eastern Baghdad’s Ibn al-Khatib hospital began when badly stored oxygen cylinders blew up, medics said.Many of the victims were on respirators and were burned or suffocated in the resulting inferno.“It took just three minutes for the fire to reach most floors” of the hospital, the fire service said.The health ministry said 82 people were killed and 110 wounded, while the Iraqi Human Rights Commission said 28 of the victims were patients who had to be taken off ventilators to escape the flames.The blaze tore across multiple floors in the middle of the night, as dozens of relatives were visiting patients in the intensive care unit, a medical source said.Bakr Qazem, son of one the victims, said he was at the hospital when he felt “a strong explosion”.“We saw a fire and were not able to save the patients,” he told AFP tearfully from Najaf, the Shiite holy city where he had taken his father’s body for burial.Throughout the day, funeral processions filled the city, where the vast majority of Iraq’s Shiites are buried.According to Iraq’s fire service, “the hospital had no fire protection system and false ceilings allowed the flames to spread to highly flammable products”.It added that firefighters had been late reaching the hospital, in the remote outskirts of Baghdad.NegligencePrime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi suspended Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi – who is backed by the powerful Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr – as part of a probe also including the governor of Baghdad.The fire triggered outrage on social media, with a widespread hashtag demanding the health minister be sacked.The Hezbollah Brigades, one of Iraq’s most radical pro-Iran factions, on Sunday evening demanded that the government quit.Kadhemi, in a tweet, urged Iraqis “to be united in solidarity and to refrain from playing politics with this national catastrophe”.He has also declared three days of national mourning and put aside 10 million dinars (around US$6,900) for the family of each victim.Parliament said it would devote its Monday session to the tragedy.Witnesses said the evacuation of the hospital was slow and chaotic, with patients and their relatives crammed into stairwells as they scrambled for exits.“It was the people (civilians) who got the wounded out,” Amir, 35, told AFP, saying he had narrowly saved his hospitalised brothers.Decades of neglectIraq’s hospitals have been crippled by decades of conflict and poor investment, and lack everything from medicines to beds.Many Iraqis blamed negligence and graft for the inferno.“The tragedy at Ibn al-Khatib is the result of years of erosion of state institutions by corruption and mismanagement,” President Barham Saleh tweeted.The Iraqi Human Rights Commission denounced a “crime against patients exhausted by Covid-19… Instead of being treated, (they) perished in flames.”Witnesses and doctors told AFP many badly burned remains had yet to be identified.On Sunday evening yet another blaze broke out – this time at a shopping centre in the central city of Kirkuk. No casualties were immediately reported.Mounting virus casesOne of the victims of the hospital blaze, Ali Ibrahim, 52, had been treated for coronavirus at the Ibn al-Khatib facility and was buried by his family on Sunday nearby.“He had spent 12 days in hospital and was due to be discharged on Saturday evening after recovering,” one of his relatives told AFP. “He was just waiting for the result of the last Covid-19 test.”Kadhemi also suspended the head of the health department in eastern Baghdad, the hospital’s chief and its directors of security and maintenance.The premier pledged to submit the results of the probe to the government within five days.The UN’s top representative in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, voiced “shock” at the tragedy and called “for stronger protection measures to ensure that such a disaster cannot reoccur”.Pope Francis, who paid an historic visit to Iraq in early March, called for “prayers” for the fire’s victims.On Wednesday, the number of detected Covid-19 cases in Iraq topped one million, the highest of any Arab state.The health ministry has recorded more than 15,000 deaths since the pandemic broke out last year, from a population of 40 million.Iraq launched its vaccination campaign last month and has received nearly 650,000 vaccine doses, the majority by donation or through the Covax scheme for less wealthy nations.Around 300,000 people had received at least one dose as of Sunday, the ministry said.


Constitutional changes to empower Sabah, Sarawak may see MPs in second ever show of unity

A set of crucial constitutional changes to be put to vote in the Dewan Rakyat today could see MPs across all parties uniting to pass a bill to empower Sabah and Sarawak’s status in the Malaysian Federation, the second show of unity in Parliament after the Undi 18 amendment two years ago.The bill contains four proposals to amend several clauses in the Federal Constitution, bringing it in line with the provisions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).When it was first put to vote under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, it failed to obtain support from Sarawak’s Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), as well as Umno and PAS MPs which made up the opposition at the time.Critics said then that the amendments were only cosmetic, and that they did not clearly state the main demands for Sabah and Sarawak’s economic and territorial rights.This time, however, GPS MPs have vowed to support the bill following several modifications.A source in PKR said MPs from PH are also expected to support the bill despite its own bill failing to obtain support when it was last put to vote.“With the looming Sarawak election and the sentiments for greater equality being made a focus of the campaign, it would be suicidal for PH to oppose or abstain,” the source told MalaysiaNow.The bill, drafted following several sessions with both ruling and opposition MPs, will among others see Sabah and Sarawak being called “Borneo states”, restoring a controversial amendment in 1976 which lumped the two states together with the other peninsular states in alphabetical order.When MA63 was first signed in 1963, the federation was divided into the states of Malaya, the Bornean states and the state of Singapore. Singapore left the federation two years later.Including ‘Malaysia Day’ in constitutionAnother amendment today is on the definition of the federation, to show that the inclusion of Sabah and Sarawak was an extension of the original federation of Malaya in 1957, as well as to state the exit of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965.In the second reading of the bill today, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the change was in line with demands by Sabah and Sarawak as stipulated in MA63.“The proposal will also give recognition to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 in the Federal Constitution,” he told Dewan Rakyat.A third amendment is to include the definition of Malaysia Day on Sept 16, 1963, giving it a constitutional mention and the same status as Merdeka Day which is marked annually as Malaysia’s independence day on Aug 31.“It is also consistent with the interpretation of ‘Merdeka Day’ provided under Clause (2), Article 160 of the Federal Constitution,” said Wan Junaidi.The fourth amendment is to Article 161A on the definition of “native”, removing a list of native races specified in the constitution in order to allow Sarawak and Sabah to decide who deserves to be called natives.The move will have profound economic and political consequences as the constitution accords those regarded as “natives” of Sabah and Sarawak a “special position” alongside the Malays, including quotas in public service and education, as well as other government facilities.A constitutional amendment requires a two-third majority to pass.Earlier today, party leaders urged their MPs to be present in the Dewan Rakyat by 4pm, to ensure a two-third majority support for the bill.If the 220 MPs vote to pass today’s bill, it will be the second unanimous vote passed in the Dewan Rakyat.In July 2019, a constitutional amendment tabled by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 was backed by both sides of the political divide, with all 211 MPs present voting for it.


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Thailand to try alternative vaccination method to stretch supplies

Doctors in Thailand have been given the go-ahead to start giving Covid-19 booster shots under the skin, rather than injecting them into muscles, officials said on Monday, in an effort to strengthen immunity and stretch vaccine supplies.Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the method, which doctors began exploring last month, could be used at the discretion of medical professionals, providing it was supported by evidence.Chalermpong Sukonthaphon, director of the Vachira Hospital in Phuket, said his hospital had been given the green light to use the technique from Friday, as trials had showed it triggered a similar immune response to the regular method.“One vaccine dose can be used for five intradermal injections,” Chalermpong told Reuters.Phuket’s population was among the first to be inoculated in Thailand, as a pre-requisite for the island to reopen to vaccinated foreign tourists in July.Starting in April they received two doses of the vaccine of Sinovac, for which booster shots of other vaccines have been issued in several countries after concerns about its resistance to the Delta Covid-19 variant.Thailand has turned to unconventional approaches due to problems in supplies, despite manufacturing the AstraZeneca vaccine locally.So far, only 21% of the estimated 72 million people living in the country have been fully vaccinated.Authorities have also decided to administer separate shots of Sinovac’s vaccine followed by that of AstraZeneca, a technique yet to be adopted elsewhere.Thailand has reported more than 1.4 million infections and 15,000 deaths, the majority since April this year.


US, South Korea to update war plans while urging diplomacy with North Korea

The military chiefs of the US and South Korea said on Thursday they plan to update contingency war plans and review their combined military command while urging North Korea to return to diplomacy.North Korea’s missile and weapons developments are increasingly destabilising for regional security, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said after talks with his South Korean counterpart, Suh Wook.Austin and US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were in Seoul for the first such annual military talks with South Korean officials since US President Joe Biden took office in January, and the last before South Korean President Moon Jae-in leaves office in May.North Korea has continued to rebuff US entreaties for diplomacy since Biden took over from Donald Trump, who had three summits with leader Kim Jong Un.The US calls on the North to engage in dialogue, Austin told a news conference, saying diplomacy is the best approach to pursue with North Korea, backed up by a credible deterrent.The changing security environment prompted the US and South Korea to agree to update longstanding operational planning for a potential conflict with North Korea, as well as review their combined military command, Suh said.The US stations around 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in an armistice but not a peace treaty.Currently, the US would command those troops in the event of war, but South Korea has been seeking to gain “operational control” (Opcon).Suh said the two sides made progress on meeting conditions for Opcon transfer to South Korea.The US has pledged to maintain the current level of US troops in South Korea, he added.This week the Pentagon released a global posture review that calls for additional cooperation with allies and partners to deter “potential Chinese military aggression and threats from North Korea,” including a previously announced decision to permanently base an attack helicopter squadron and artillery division headquarters in South Korea.


Chinese TV drama of Covid-19 frontline nurses decried as sexist

The first TV drama based on real life stories about front-line workers in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the centre of the first coronavirus outbreak, was eagerly anticipated by viewers across China.The show’s title, “Heroes in Harm’s Way”, is what female medical staff are often described as and indicated it would be a positive portrayal of strong women on the disease frontline.However, some guessed that this might not be the case as the Chinese name of the show translates more literally as “Beauties who go against the tide”.This insinuates that women in front-line medical roles are rare rather than the great majority.The show’s pilot premiered on China’s main TV channel on Sept 17.Almost immediately, viewers were upset by how the show portrayed women on the coronavirus frontline. Some were quick to describe the show as sexist.Despite the promise to highlight the important role of women, most female characters were shown in roles junior to men. Nurses were portrayed as only being interested in gossiping about male doctors.Online, the show received many critical comments. Viewers took particular offence over its depiction of women as submissive.Social media users felt that this was a derogatory and untrue depiction of women in healthcare, making it look like they were reluctant to go to the frontline and had to obtain the consent of their husbands if they did want to go.The reality, as many are pointing out, is that women not only played a decisive role in Wuhan hospitals, they constituted the overwhelming majority of staff.In Wuhan, where there were more than 46,000 cases of Covid-19, around 75% of front-line medical workers in the city were women.The Chinese government has done a lot in recent months to highlight the role of women during the Covid-19 outbreak.Xinhua, the official state-run press agency, has focused on how female medical workers fought on the frontline while their husbands took responsibility for the home.Online, many have quoted Mao Zedong, saying that “women hold up half the sky”.Perhaps the show’s producers will take note and ensure that future episodes portray women on the frontline more accurately.


Why appeal to deny equal citizenship, lawyers group asks govt

Rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) today slammed the government’s move to appeal the recent court ruling allowing automatic citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers, saying there should be no gender discrimination in the application of the country’s laws.In a statement, LFL coordinator Zaid Malek noted the home ministry’s previous claim that giving Malaysian women the right to bestow their citizenship on their children born overseas would threaten national security and sovereignty as they could be granted dual citizenship.“It is absurd to imagine that a child could be a threat to national security on these grounds,” he said.“This is not a good reason to deny Malaysian women the right to choose their children’s nationality, especially as the same concern is not applied to Malaysian men with foreign spouses, whose children can acquire citizenship in either of the parent’s country.”The High Court in Kuala Lumpur had ruled on Sept 9 that children born overseas to Malaysian women married to foreigners are automatically entitled to Malaysian citizenship by operation of law.Judge Akhtar Tahir ruled that Malaysian women married to foreign men have the same right as Malaysian men married to foreign women in this regard.The suit was filed on Dec 18 last year by the Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & Kuala Lumpur (Family Frontiers) and six Malaysian women married to foreigners.They sought six specific court orders, including a declaration that Section 1(b) and Section 1(c) of the Second Schedule, Part II of the Federal Constitution be read harmoniously with Article 8 (2) to include Malaysian mothers as a condition for children born abroad to be given automatic Malaysian citizenship.Zaid said the “narrow interpretation” of this legal provision had caused many Malaysian mothers to “live in fear that their children could be rendered stateless”.“The larger consideration here should be the effect on the child’s future should they be rendered stateless because of a gendered interpretation of the constitution,” he added.Noting as well that Malaysia was one of only 25 countries that continue to discriminate against women in its citizenship laws, he urged the government to withdraw its appeal against the High Court ruling.“It is unacceptable that the government has decided to prolong the difficulties that Malaysian mothers with foreign spouses face when acquiring Malaysian citizenship for their children born overseas,” he said.“We believe that the High Court was correct to read Article 8 and Article 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution together as there cannot be gender discrimination in the application of our laws.“It is time for Malaysia to move forward and join the majority of other countries in acknowledging that parents, regardless of gender, should have the right to pass down their nationality to their children.”


You can forget about becoming PM, Pejuang’s Khairuddin blasts Anwar as rumours swirl over palace meetings

Former Umno man Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who recently appealed to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to meet with political leaders from all parties, has launched a scathing attack on Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim as rumours on an imminent transfer of power to the opposition make the rounds once again on social media.Khairuddin, a loyalist of Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is remembered for his rebellion in Umno in the early days of the 1MDB scandal, rejected the claim that Anwar has enough support to form the government or become the prime minister.“Anwar is Anwar, a man with a lust for power and who is impatient to become the PM,” he told MalaysiaNow.“He is so full of himself,” he added, using the Malay slang “syok sendiri”.Khairuddin said Anwar had many times exposed himself by claiming to have “convincing” and “formidable” numbers to form a new federal government.“But at his last press conference on securing enough support to become PM, Anwar said he had ‘sufficient numbers’.“So from ‘convincing’ and ‘formidable’, it is now ‘sufficient numbers’,” Khairuddin said.“Everyone including the Agong no longer believes his lies and psychological warfare in the political game. That’s all Anwar is good at.”Yesterday, Khairuddin who is also chairman of Mahathir’s Pejuang pro-tem committee for the federal territory, said Istana Negara had summoned the leaders of all political parties.Reports pointing to a plan to form a “unity government” to “save Malaysia” were however disproved as it is understood that these are part of the palace’s routine meetings with political leaders to get their feedback on efforts to contain the pandemic during the state of emergency.Opposition politicians are also among 19 members of a bipartisan committee agreed on by the government, which is tasked with advising the Agong on measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic throughout the virus emergency.This latest speculation on the palace’s decision to meet with political leaders comes more than a month after a petition was sent to the Agong by the Committee for Ending the Emergency Declaration (Tamat Darurat), a group which includes Khairuddin, seeking an audience with Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah to convey its stance on the state of emergency.Khairuddin, in a series of hard hitting remarks against Anwar, said the latter had proven to be an “expert” only in deceiving the public with his psy-war tactics.“Indeed, he has not learnt anything from the past.“Had he remained patient when PH was in power, today he would be the PM,” said Khairuddin.PH leaders had named Anwar as the prime minister-in-waiting after Mahathir, but the transition did not take place as the coalition government collapsed in February 2020 due to infighting both within PKR as well as among the four coalition parties.PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali had then left the party with several key MPs, who later joined Bersatu to form a federal coalition comprising Umno, PAS, GPS and several disparate parties.Khairuddin said it was Anwar’s political game that had led to the crisis in PKR, sparking Azmin’s exit.“Today, support for Anwar both within and outside of PKR has weakened.“No one has confidence in Anwar anymore. He is full of rhetoric and he cannot work.“It is no longer relevant for him to paddle his ‘sufficient numbers’ to become the PM.“Anwar will not and cannot become the PM. Anwar’s political era has passed, and it will never ever come back again,” said Khairuddin.


Michelle Yeoh wins best actress Oscar for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

Michelle Yeoh won the Academy Award on Sunday for best lead actress for her role as a Chinese American laundromat owner dealing with family turmoil in "Everything Everywhere All at Once."
Yeoh, 60, was widely regarded as the front-runner for the award after claiming a Screen Actors Guild honor and a Golden Globe award for the role. This was her first Oscar nomination.
"For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that dream big and dreams do come true," Yeoh said while accepting her award. "And ladies, don't let anybody ever tell you you are past your prime."
In "Everything Everywhere," Yeoh's character, Evelyn Wang, is struggling to finish her taxes when she is swept into alternate universes. The science-fiction film was a critical and commercial success and is vying for the best picture Oscar.
Yeoh got her start in Hong Kong action movies in the 1990s and broke through in Hollywood when she was cast as the first ethnic Chinese Bond girl in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies" opposite Pierce Brosnan.
Since then, she has enjoyed success in a range of genres, solidifying her reputation as both a big-budget action star and formidable acting talent.
Her best-known films include Ang Lee's 2000 martial arts movie "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," the 2005 period drama "Memoirs of a Geisha" and the 2018 romantic comedy "Crazy Rich Asians."


Cebu Air seeks US$500 million fresh capital to come through pandemic

Cebu Pacific Air is seeking to ensure that it is ready to operate whenever the recovery from the impact of Covid-19 comes around.The Philippines’ largest carrier has notified the Philippines’ stock exchange that it will be seeking approval for the issuance of up to US$250 million in new convertible preferred shares.The carrier will also offer another US$250 million in privately placed convertible bonds.It is hoped the deal will be completed by Nov 20.The new convertible preferred shares will be made available to all stockholders, giving the opportunity for all investors to participate; while the privately placed convertible bonds, will be made available to a limited number of reputable international investors.“We need to create a longer runway for Cebu Air so that we can continue providing affordable and accessible air transport services for everyone,” said Lance Gokongwei, chief executive of Cebu Pacific and JG Summit Holdings.“The airline industry faces significant challenges as a result of the pandemic. Travel restrictions imposed by various governments, both local and abroad, have led to abrupt reduction in passenger traffic and casts uncertainty over the near term prospects of the company,” he said.“Due to this exceptional change in market conditions and industry dynamics, the corporation saw the urgent need to fast-track its transformation.”The airline is a subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings and is a member of the Value Alliance, the world’s only budget airline alliance.In 2010, Cebu Pacific became the Philippines’ largest airline based on number of passengers flown on domestic and international routes.


Pejuang names Dr M and son in top line-up, says no to snap polls

Pejuang, the political bloc formed by Dr Mahathir Mohamad following his fallout with Bersatu last year, today named him and his son Mukhriz Mahathir as part of the party’s top line-up as it awaits approval for its application with the Registrar of Societies.In a press conference today, Mukhriz said Mahathir would be the chairman while he would be the president.Former Bersatu secretary-general Marzuki Yahya meanwhile is the deputy president.Mukhriz today repeated his bloc’s opposition to the Covid-19 emergency proclamation, saying it was nothing but Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s bid to remain in power.However, Pejuang said it was opposed to any move to call for snap polls.It said having a general election as the country battles the Covid-19 pandemic would be irresponsible, adding that the spike in virus cases was due to the Sabah election in September last year.“It is not right to have the 15th general election until 2023 at the end of term.“We should not be exposing people to Covid-19,” said Mukhriz.He also questioned the effectiveness of the Special Independent Emergency Committee, the 19-member bipartisan advisory body whose members include three representatives from Pakatan Harapan, which Pejuang is not a part of.“We question what the committee selected and consented to by the Agong can do.“Can it make a united decision taking into account the three opposition MPs?” he asked.Last week, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah consented to the appointment of former chief justice Arifin Zakaria to lead the committee to advise him throughout the emergency period which expires in August.In detailing the nature of the emergency last month, Muhyiddin had said a civilian government would remain despite the suspension of Parliament to prevent snap polls, with all daily activities to be allowed.He had also promised to call for a general election if the special committee felt that the public health situation was under control.“This is my commitment which I will fulfil,” he added.