Najib, Arul Kanda ordered changes to 1MDB audit report to protect themselves, MACC man tells court

The Kuala Lumpur High Court was today told that Najib Razak and Arul Kanda Kandasamy ordered that the final 1MDB audit report be amended to protect themselves against civil or criminal action.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation branch senior superintendent Haniff Lami, 34, who is the investigating officer, said Najib used his power as the then prime minister and finance minister to order for the report to be amended before it was tabled to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Feb 24, 2016.
The 16th prosecution witness said based on his investigation, Arul Kanda, who is the former 1MDB CEO, had colluded with Najib in giving instructions for the audit report to be amended.
"Najib instructed the chief private secretary to the prime minister at the time, Shukry Mohd Salleh, to get the 1MDB audit report and submit a copy of the report to Arul Kanda for review.
"Najib then ordered that a meeting be held at his office in Putrajaya on Feb 22, 2016, which was also attended by former auditor-general Ambrin Buang and former chief secretary to the government, the late Ali Hamsa," he said.
Haniff said this when reading out his witness statement during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustafa P Kunyalam at the trial of Najib and Arul Kanda  for allegedly tampering with the final 1MDB audit report.
He said Najib had instructed Ali to hold a meeting with the National Audit Department to discuss matters which he (Najib) was not satisfied with in the 1MDB audit report.
"The report was not printed until Najib gave permission," he said.
The witness said following Najib’s instruction, Ali held a meeting on Feb 24, 2016, which was also attended by Arul Kanda, and as a result of the meeting, four amendments were made to the audit report.
"Amendments were made to two different versions of the 1MDB financial statements for 2014 and to an agreement by Country Groups Securities Thailand with ACME Time Limited, followed by amendments regarding the presence of fugitive businessman, Low Taek Jho or Jho Low, and the issue of postponing the issuance of Islamic medium-term notes.
"The 1MDB audit report that was tabled to PAC on March 4 and 7, 2016 was an amended report.
"My investigation shows that (the tampering of the report) was done by the first accused (Najib) and the second accused (Arul Kanda) to protect themselves from any civil or criminal action related to the operation of 1MDB," he said.
When cross-examined by lawyer Rahmat Hazlan, representing Najib, the witness said Najib and Arul Kanda were arrested on Dec 10 and 11, 2018, respectively, and their statements were recorded on the day of their arrest.
Haniff, however, disagreed with Rahmat's suggestion that the permission to accuse the former prime minister was issued by former attorney-general Tommy Thomas on Dec 10, 2018.
"The recording of Najib's conversation as a witness was taken on Dec 6, 2018, four days before his arrest," he said.
Najib, 68, is charged with using his position to order amendments to the final 1MDB audit report before it was presented to PAC, to avoid any action taken against him, while Arul Kanda is charged with abetting Najib in making the amendments to the report to protect Najib from being subjected to action.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Prime Minister's Department Complex, Federal Government Administrative Centre, Federal Territory of Putrajaya between Feb 22 and 26, 2016.
They were charged under Section 23 (1) of the MACC Act 2009, which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The hearing before judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan continues on Aug 18.


Why a bagful of cash, asks judge in Zahid trial

The judge in the corruption trial of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today questioned why a purported donation comprising millions of ringgit from Yayasan Albukhary to Yayasan Akalbudi was made in cash and not cheques.High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah posed the question to Zahid’s lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik who was arguing for the 27th money-laundering charge against the politician to be dropped.“All this cash meant to be a donation from Yayasan Albukhary to Yayasan Akalbudi? Wouldn’t it be easier to write a cheque? Why bring a bagful of cash?” Sequerah asked.“That’s our complaint. The prosecution did not investigate it. The answer can only come from Yayasan Albukhary,” said Hisyam.“We asked the investigating officer, but the investigating officer never investigated. Because there was no investigation, we cannot say the cash was proceeds from an unlawful activity, unless and until they investigate, and unless and until they call a witness from Yayasan Albukhary before you and give evidence.”Hisyam said as there had been no investigation, it could not be said that the money was from illegal proceeds.“We challenge and invite the prosecution to show us evidence that Yayasan Albukhary never donated,” he added.On July 27 last year, a money changer who allegedly laundered money on behalf of Zahid told the court that the former deputy prime minister had asked him to help deposit donations into the accounts of Yayasan Akalbudi, Zahid’s charitable foundation.Omar Ali Abdullah said several men from Yayasan Albukhary would arrange to meet him at various locations.He said during the first meeting at the ground floor of Fahrenheit Plaza, a man unknown to him passed him a bag filled with cash.Zahid, 68, is facing 47 charges, 12 for CBT, eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering, involving millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.He is accused of being engaged directly in a transaction involving proceeds from a lawful activity by giving instruction for the purchase of two property lots with a RM5.9 million cheque issued by law firm Messrs Lewis & Co.The defence will continue its submission tomorrow.


At least 25 killed in Rio de Janeiro shantytown shoot-out

A rooftops and alleyways gun battle in a Rio de Janeiro favela has left 25 people dead, according to local media.A policeman was among those killed. Two passengers on a passing metro train were hit by bullets but survived.The shoot-out on Thursday took place during a police operation in a favela, or slum, in the Jacarezinho area of the glamorous but violent Brazilian city.According to local news, the gang targeted in this raid is tied up with drug trafficking, mugging, murder and kidnappings.Police launched the operation against them allegedly after receiving reports that they were recruiting children as runners for their gang.Television images showed suspects trying to escape across rooftops as police stormed the favela.One slum resident posted a photo of his blood-covered floor and said two people had been killed in his house as police chased them. The man, who did not want to give his name, said he would try to move out of the area as soon as possible.“We can’t continue to live here,” he said.Other residents said officers had seized their phones, accusing them of warning gang members of the raid.Sociology professor Ignacio Cano from the Laboratory for the Analysis of Violence at Rio State University dismissed the reasons the police gave for the raid: “Everyone knows these gangs have minors working for them. To say that you’re going to launch a massive raid because you’ve discovered that dealers recruit children is a joke,” he told O Dia newspaper.Rio de Janeiro is one of Brazil’s most violent states and vast areas are under the control of criminals, many of them linked to powerful international drug-trafficking organisations.Security forces in Brazil have often been accused of using excessive force against the civilian population during anti-crime operations in major cities.A court ruling last June restricted police action in poor neighbourhoods of Rio during the pandemic unless it was deemed essential. Initial reports indicate that crime actually went down rather than up as a result.Police operations targeting favelas controlled by drug traffickers are quite common in Rio. This, however, is the deadliest operation since 2016.


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New cases drop again to just over 16,000

Another 16,073 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 1,995,771.Sarawak recorded 3,522 cases, Johor 2,030, Selangor 1,947, Sabah 1,649, Penang 1,243, Kedah 1,191, Kelantan 1,070 and Perak 1,011.Pahang recorded 878 cases, Terengganu 704, Kuala Lumpur 398, Melaka 206 and Negeri Sembilan 156.Perlis recorded 41 cases, Putrajaya 16 and Labuan 11.Another 24,813 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,746,526.Meanwhile 1,312 are in the ICU, including 967 confirmed Covid-19 patients and 345 suspected and probable cases as well as cases under investigation.A total of 698 are in need of respiratory assistance including 444 confirmed Covid-19 cases.


Sarawak’s GPS needs a boost to stay kingmaker ahead of GE15, analysts say

Despite scoring a massive victory in the Sarawak state election last year, analysts say the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition needs to shore up its support in order to retain its position as a kingmaker in federal politics ahead of the 15th general election (GE15).Otherwise, they say, the pact led by premier Abang Johari Openg risks losing its political influence in Putrajaya.James Chin said this could well be the case if Umno, the lynchpin party of Barisan Nasional (BN) which recently notched another triumph at the state level in Johor, wins a substantial number of parliamentary seats in GE15.“GE15 is very dangerous for GPS,” Chin, of Australia’s University of Tasmania, told MalaysiaNow.“If Umno and BN win a large majority in GE15 or can grow their support, GPS’ influence in Putrajaya will likely drop by a significant amount.”At the Sarawak election last December, GPS won 76 out of 82 seats, securing a simple majority and setting a new record for the most seats won by a coalition, set by Abang Johari’s predecessor Adenan Satem at the 2016 state polls.Even before that, it had positioned itself as a crucial voice in determining the federal government, backing Muhyiddin Yassin following a prolonged period of instability in the wake of the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration in 2020.Within the current government led by Umno’s Ismail Sabri Yaakob, there are 18 MPs from GPS contributing to his four-seat majority in Parliament.Chin said GPS would have to secure at least 25 parliamentary seats at GE15 in order to retain its kingmaker role.“The key challenge for GPS now is the general election,” he added.“Abang Johari has to make sure that the number of MPs from GPS increases. This is his key performance factor now.”However, Chin cautioned that GPS would have a fine line to tread.“The trick is, GPS must win big in Sarawak, but the federal government has to win small numbers.“If he gets less than that, his influence in Putrajaya will drop significantly.”GPS comprises Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).Veteran Sarawak observer Jayum Jawan agreed with Chin. However, he pointed to internal factions in Umno, saying the political instability makes it difficult to determine with whom GPS should align itself.“The challenge for GE15 is that reading who will win is much harder this time around. It could be an Umno-led coalition, based on the party’s performance in Melaka,” he added.At the Melaka election last November, BN returned to form the state government, winning 21 of the 28 seats it contested.Jayum also referred to the recent election in Johor, saying the outcome of the polls should also be taken into account.“It is significant to the perception of whether Umno is coming back,” he said.Alternatively, he added, GE15 could also be won by a Bersatu-led coalition.“What if PKR-led allies pull off a surprise? Too many factors and possibilities,” he said.Regardless, Jayum said, GPS would be paying close attention to current developments.“GPS will wait and see, to avoid any of the embarrassing U-turns for which many Malaysian political parties and politicians are well known,” he said.“Abang Johari, PBB and GPS are holding their cards close to their chests.”At the end of the day, he said, history showed that no government in Sarawak could stand alone without “federal leaning”.“The Sarawak government has always sided with the winner at the federal level.”


Rogue employee or Goldman scapegoat? Ex-banker’s 1MDB graft trial to kick off

A former Goldman Sachs banker charged with helping to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars from 1MDB will go on trial in the US next week, in a case that could shed light on how the bank responded to warnings of corruption.Roger Ng, Goldman’s former investment banking chief in Malaysia, will be the first – and likely only – person to stand trial in the US over one of the biggest financial scandals in Wall Street history.Ng’s former boss, Timothy Leissner, pleaded guilty in 2018 to money laundering and corruption charges, while a Goldman subsidiary in 2020 pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate an anti-bribery law.Ng has pleaded not guilty to three counts of conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-bribery law. Opening statements are scheduled for Monday in federal court in Brooklyn.Prosecutors say Ng and Leissner evaded Goldman’s internal compliance protocols. But Ng’s lawyers say he had no role in the crimes and that Leissner falsely implicated him in an effort to reduce his punishment. Leissner, Goldman’s former Southeast Asia chairman, has not yet been sentenced.Legal experts said Ng faces tough odds since prosecutors will likely show the jury emails and online chats indicating his involvement, as well as financial records showing he benefited from the scheme. They are also expected to call Leissner as a witness.“They have a bit of a mountain to climb especially since his boss has turned on him and will provide the testimony necessary to link him into the conversations, the actions, the strategy which facilitated the criminal act,” said Michael Weinstein, a white-collar criminal defence lawyer at Cole Schotz PC and a former federal prosecutor.The charges against Ng, 50, are related to some US$4.5 billion US prosecutors say was embezzled between 2009 and 2014 from 1MDB, a fund launched in 2009 by former prime minister Najib Razak to spur economic growth.During that period, prosecutors say, Goldman earned US$600 million in fees for helping 1MDB sell US$6.5 billion in bonds. But Ng, Leissner, and businessman Jho Low conspired to pay US$1.6 billion in bribes to officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi to win the business for Goldman, according to prosecutors.Low has not been arrested by US or Malaysian authorities. Putrajaya says Low is in China, which Beijing has denied.Goldman Sachs in 2020 paid a US$2.3 billion fine, returned US$600 million in ill-gotten gains and agreed for its Malaysian subsidiary to plead guilty in US court as part of a deal, known as a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), with the Department of Justice.Ng’s lawyers acknowledge he introduced Low to Leissner, but say he had no further role in the scheme and later warned his superiors at Goldman that Low was “not to be trusted,” a November 2020 court filing shows.“He just wasn’t involved with Leissner and Low and a host of other people in this stunningly massive series of crimes,” said Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Ng, describing his client as a “fall guy.”Agnifilo said financial inflows that Ng received that prosecutors call ill-gotten gains had nothing to do with 1MDB.‘Institutional failures’The long-running scandal, which came to light in 2015, has had far-reaching consequences and led to widespread public outcry in Malaysia. Najib, who was voted out of office in 2018, is accused of receiving more than US$1 billion traceable to 1MDB. Najib, who has appealed a 12-year prison sentence, has consistently denied wrongdoing.At least six other countries, including Singapore and Switzerland, have launched investigations into 1MDB’s dealings.But after reaching the DPA in 2020, Goldman itself is unlikely to face any material damage from Ng’s trial, said Odeon Capital analyst Dick Bove. Chief executive David Solomon has revived the bank’s fortunes since his appointment as CEO in October 2018, delivering record annual profit in 2021.“No one is going to come after David Solomon over what this guy did in Malaysia years ago,” Bove said. “I’m sure that there will be a lot of incendiary information that comes out, but from the standpoint of Wall Street, these pieces of information will be nothing but an embarrassment and annoyance.”While Solomon in 2018 blamed the scandal on employees who “broke the law” and said the company’s compliance was strong, he said at the time of the October 2020 settlement that there were “institutional failures” at the bank.That shift could make it hard for Ng to argue he is simply a scapegoat, said former federal prosecutor Bruce Searby.The argument “doesn’t take any responsibility away from Roger Ng,” said Searby, now a white-collar defence lawyer in Washington, DC.


Interstate travel by 30 people from red zones to blame for 90 more cases in Terengganu

Interstate travel by 30 individuals from Covid-19 red zones to Terengganu during the recent Aidilfitri celebration caused the spread of infection to 90 others in the state.Terengganu health director Dr Nor Azimi Yunus said the violation of SOPs on interstate and inter-district travel was uncovered as those infected involved many family members, and also because of the surge in cases in the affected localities, which are in three districts in the state.“In Kuala Terengganu, 40 people tested positive for Covid-19 due to interstate travel by 13 individuals, while in Hulu Terengganu, nine individuals who crossed into the state caused 26 people to be infected with the virus.“In Kemaman, eight individuals who embarked on interstate and inter-district travel caused 24 people to test positive for Covid-19.“Had these people complied with the SOPs, the infection would not be extensive and would also not involve the grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins,” she said in a post on her Facebook page.Nor Azimi also confirmed that the Gong Badak branch of the Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd outlet in Kuala Nerus has been ordered to close for 14 days until June 6 after 17 of its staff tested positive for Covid-19.


Flood evacuee numbers continue to rise in Kelantan, Terengganu

Kelantan and Terengganu continued to record an increase in evacuees while the number dropped in Pahang last night.In Kelantan, the number of evacuees increased to 1,186 people from 350 families as of 9pm compared to 856 people from 245 families earlier yesterday evening.According to the Social Welfare Department (JKM) Disaster Info application, 14 relief centres were operating in two districts: nine in Jeli and five in Kuala Krai.The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) portal reported that Sungai Golok in Kampung Jenob, Tanah Merah is at danger level with a reading of 23.74m.The Public Works Department (JKR) disaster management portal meanwhile said the route along Jalan Jeli-Dabong at Kampung Reka, Jeli had been closed to all vehicles after becoming inundated.In Terengganu, the number of evacuees increased to 137 people from 42 families last night compared to 69 people from 22 families in the evening.A second relief centre was opened in Dungun at the Kampung Shukur multipurpose hall.Terengganu state disaster management secretariat chief Rosman Abdullah said Dungun was the only district to be hit by floods yesterday but that monitoring was also focused on the Besut, Hulu Terengganu and Kemaman districts.“The number of evacuees is expected to rise tonight as most major rivers are still showing an upward trend,” he said.The DID portal said that three rivers in the state had passed the danger level last night – Sungai Besut at Jambatan Keruak, Besut (35.03m), Sungai Dungun in Kampung Pasir Raja, Dungun (38.63m) and Sungai Telemong in Kuala Ping, Hulu Terengganu (19.89 m).However, in Pahang, the JKM Disaster Info application reported that the number of evacuees had dropped to 3,390 people at 33 relief centres in Bentong, Temerloh, Kuantan, Maran and Pekan districts.The DID portal also reported that Sungai Kuantan in Bukit Kenau was at warning level while Sungai Dong (Raub), Sungai Triang in Chemomoi (Bentong), Sungai Kundang (Maran) and Sungai Lembing (Kuantan) were at alert levels.The DID said floods were likely to occur in stages in several other districts in the state – Kuantan, Rompin, Pekan, Bera, Maran, Jerantut, Temerloh, Lipis, Raub and Bentong – following the severe weather warning with continuous heavy rains issued by the Meteorological Department earlier in the evening.In Selangor, the JKM Disaster Info application said the number of evacuees remained at 466 from 132 families, with 20 people at Sekolah Rendah Agama Dusun Nanding, 77 at SMK Abdul Jalil in Hulu Langat, 201 at the Kuala Selangor Indoor Stadium and 168 at SMK Kuala Selangor.The Selangor state health department said on Facebook that three rural clinics – KD Kampung Nenas in Klang, KD Dusun Tua and KD Batu 18 in Hulu Langat – had been temporarily closed due to the floods.In Negeri Sembilan, there was no change with 29 evacuees still being sheltered at the Kampung Puom community hall in Jelebu as of 9pm.


1MDB whistleblower tells Najib to get a ‘thorough mental health check-up’

The former director of PetroSaudi International who turned whistleblower in the 1MDB scandal has launched a scathing attack on Najib Razak after the former prime minister accused him of stealing data in exchange for money from a UK-based businessman.“You are still writing lies about me, and about others. They [sic] could be two reasons for doing so. The first one is that you think that by repeating lies they will be transformed into reality. The second option is that ageing has some memory consequences for you,” wrote Xavier Justo, whose act of leaking tens of thousands of documents was central to unveiling shocking details in the 1MDB scandal.Najib had said in a Facebook post that a spiteful Justo had stolen emails from PetroSaudi after he was “fired” from the company.“Later a British man named Kamal Sidiqqi contacted Justo so that Justo could sell the PetroSaudi data he stole to Clare Brown from Sarawak Report,” Najib had said.Najib also said that none of the documents or emails that Justo had leaked pointed to wrongdoing by him in the 1MDB scandal.But Justo said there had been evidence in courts including in Switzerland, Malaysia and the US that would prove Najib’s guilt.He also posted a screenshot of his resignation email in 2011, saying Najib should go for a thorough mental health check-up.“I hope this will at least stop you from claiming that I was fired as you can see that I resigned.“Other proofs of your lies are in the courts so I don’t feel compelled to expose them here,” he added.He accused Najib of conspiring with Saudi national and PetroSaudi CEO Tarek Obaid and Patrick Mahony, another director in the company, in forcing him to mention Siddiqi’s name in a confession.Both Obaid and Mahony have been charged in Malaysia alongside fugitive Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, over their alleged involvement in siphoning off money from 1MDB.Justo said Najib was also being disrespectful towards Siddiqi’s family who was still mourning his recent death.“He was a great fan of Malaysia and his people but the difference between him and you (I will include Jho Low, Tarek Obaid and Patrick Mahony in the you) is that he never took money from the Malaysian people,” he added.


Health warnings as Bangkok chokes on pollution

Nearly 200,000 people in Thailand have been admitted to hospital because of air pollution this week, officials have said, with Bangkok shrouded in a harmful haze.
The Thai capital, home to an estimated 11 million people and one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, has been blanketed for days by an unpleasant yellow-grey mix of vehicle fumes, industrial emissions and smoke from agricultural burning.
More than 1.3 million people have fallen sick in the kingdom since the start of the year as a result of air pollution, with nearly 200,000 admitted to hospital this week alone, according to the public health ministry.
Kriangkrai Namthaisong, a doctor at the ministry, on Wednesday urged children and pregnant women to stay indoors.
Anyone going outside should wear a high-quality N95 anti-pollution mask, he added.
During another pollution peak in late January and early February, city authorities urged people to work from home.
A spokesman for Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt – elected last year with promises to improve the city's environment – said they would not hesitate to issue another similar order if the situation got worse.
Aekvarunyoo Amrapala told AFP that nurseries run by the city had set up special "no dust rooms" with air purifiers to protect young children, as well as checkpoints to monitor vehicle emissions.
The public health ministry said 50 districts in Bangkok on Wednesday recorded unsafe levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 particles – so tiny they can enter the bloodstream – while on Thursday they remained well above World Health Organization guidelines.
PM2.5 levels have been above safe limits for most of Bangkok for the past three days, according to the government's pollution control department.
The situation was worse in the northern city of Chiang Mai, in an agricultural region where farmers burn crop stubble at this time of year.
Around midday (0500 GMT), the popular tourist destination was ranked the third-most polluted city in the world by monitoring firm IQAir.


42.4% of population, 59.1% of adults double-jabbed

Some 42.4% of the country’s population or 13,842,928 individuals had completed both doses of Covid-19 vaccine as of yesterday, according to the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee.As of yesterday, 18,792,979 individuals or 57.5% had received a first dose, bringing the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme so far to 32,635,907 doses.The percentage of adult population who are fully vaccinated meanwhile increased to 59.1%.In terms of daily vaccination rate, 423,380 doses were dispensed yesterday with 261,994 as second doses and 161,386 as first doses.


New cases top 2,800

Another 2,897 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,746,833.Another 3,434 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,673,084.Meanwhile 302 are in the ICU, including 244 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 169 are in need of respiratory assistance including 94 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 2,897 cases reported today, 50 (1.7%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 2,847 (98.3%) are in Category One and Two.


Washington outlines new global strategy: China looms large

The US must meet the challenge posed by a rising China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.In his first major address since taking office, Blinken outlined the Biden administration’s vision of America’s role in the world, reports Politico.That vision, according to Blinken, includes finding ways to tackle challenges from battling technological attacks, to addressing climate change, to strengthening democracy.And on virtually every front, he said, the US will likely have to deal with the communist government in Beijing.“China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system: all the rules, values, and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to,” Blinken said in the speech, delivered at the State Department.The speech underscored how much US national security is shifting away from terrorism and focusing more on competition with “great powers” such as China.He said the Biden administration is prioritising elevating diplomacy while maintaining military supremacy; cooperating with foreign allies; and standing up for human rights.Blinken also hit another favourite Biden theme: the need to strengthen democracy.“Shoring up our democracy is a foreign policy imperative,“ he said. “Otherwise, we play right into the hands of adversaries like Russia and China, who seize every opportunity to sow doubts about the strength of our democracy. We shouldn’t be making their jobs easier.”He dismissed, however, some past US attempts to bring about democracy abroad.“We will not promote democracy through costly military interventions or by attempting to overthrow authoritarian regimes by force,” he said. “We’ve tried these tactics in the past and they haven’t worked. They’ve given ‘democracy promotion’ a bad name.”America faces its “biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century: our relationship with China,” he said.“That relationship will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be, and adversarial when it must be.“The common denominator is the need to engage China from a position of strength.”


Rohingya refugees face soaring hunger and crime after aid cuts

Every day 5-year-old Jannat hunts for bottles and cans in the Rohingya refugee camp where she lives in Bangladesh – when she collects enough, she buys a snack to stave off her hunger pangs.
She is one of a growing number of children turning to garbage picking since the United Nations slashed rations for nearly 1 million Rohingya camp residents to just 9 cents a meal this month.
The cuts - forced by a massive shortfall in funding - have stoked fears of a rise in acute malnutrition and child deaths in the world's largest refugee settlement.
"The Rohingya face grim choices to make ends meet. There will be grave repercussions," said Simone Parchment, deputy director for Bangladesh at the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which has been supporting the refugees since they fled Myanmar.
Aid agencies predicted the cuts would fuel soaring crime and gang violence, potentially destabilising the camps, and encourage human trafficking as more people try to flee overseas, with ramifications for the wider region.
Increasing hunger could also drive up child marriage, child labour and domestic abuse as tensions spiral.
Jannat's father, Karim, said his daughter was already losing weight. The family often skip breakfast and now subsist on rice and beans.
"Sometimes my children ask for an apple, but we don't have the money. It makes us feel so guilty and helpless," said community leader Karim, who asked to use pseudonyms for him and his family.
The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority from Myanmar's Rakhine state, live in bamboo and tarpaulin huts in Cox's Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh.
About 730,000 fled there following a 2017 army crackdown which the UN said was genocidal in intent, joining others from previous waves of displacement.
As World Refugee Day is marked globally on June 20, refugees told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a video call that hunger was driving some families to marry off their daughters as young as 13 or 14 so they had fewer mouths to feed.
The Rohingya said crime was surging and were particularly alarmed by a spike in child kidnappings.
"A few weeks ago kidnappers cut off the hand of a teenager when his family couldn't pay the ransom," said Karim, adding that criminals target families with members abroad who they think will send money.
Acute malnutrition
The WFP first cut the value of the monthly food voucher from US$12 (about RM55) to US$10 in March, but was forced to reduce it to US$8 this month after donors failed to stump up. It needs US$48 million to restore full rations.
Wendy McCance, Bangladesh country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) aid agency, warned things could get even worse with a further cut expected this year.
Not so long ago, Karim's family could afford to eat chicken or fish curry five times a week, with a few vegetables and fruit.
But last month his shopping list was reduced to three items - rice, oil and salt. He could not even stretch to a little turmeric to add flavour to the family's monotonous diet.
The WFP said the latest cut would likely lead to a "precipitous spike in acute malnutrition", increasing child deaths, sickness and stunting.
Even before the first reduction, one in eight children was acutely malnourished and two in five stunted, impacting their cognitive and physical development and future opportunities.
Donor fatigue is common in prolonged crises. Competing demands include the war in Ukraine, the earthquake in Turkey and Syria and drought in East Africa.
The WFP has also cut rations in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi, Chad, Ecuador, Mali, Palestine, Tanzania and Uganda.
But a group of UN experts said the "catastrophic cuts" for the Rohingya were "a stain on the conscience of the international community".
They said many governments had offered strong rhetorical support for the Rohingya but failed to contribute a single penny towards humanitarian relief in Bangladesh.
A US$876 million humanitarian plan to meet the Rohingya's broader needs is only a quarter funded.
Not allowed to work
Unlike some other refugee populations, the Rohingya are almost totally dependent on aid as they are barred from working by Bangladeshi authorities and cannot leave the camps.
There are no formal schools for their children and they have no access to land to grow their own food.
Some Rohingya make a little money helping humanitarian groups and UN agencies in the camp with jobs like guarding warehouses and building drains.
Although Bangladesh has fenced off the camps, others go fishing at night or work illegally in Cox's Bazar – often accepting below average pay as day labourers, causing tensions with locals in what is one of the country's poorest districts.
Bangladesh wants the refugees to return to Myanmar, but the Rohingya say they will not go back unless they are granted citizenship and their safety is assured.
UN agencies and humanitarian groups want Bangladesh to lift its restrictions so the refugees can begin to support themselves.
"Refugees are at breaking point," said the NRC's McCance. "They need access to livelihoods, land and safe places to live so they can stop relying on aid."
The ration reductions come amid deteriorating security in the camps where a gang culture is taking hold and armed groups, including some militant groups involved in fighting in Myanmar, are increasingly active.
McCance said the food cuts would likely increase gang violence and that armed groups may exploit people's desperation to recruit new members as they jostle for power.
The criminal gangs - some of them connected to the armed groups - are involved in prostitution, arms smuggling and drug trafficking, mostly amphetamines produced in Myanmar and headed for India.
As violence spirals and food dwindles, increasing numbers of refugees are considering risky voyages abroad.
Thousands have already fled to Malaysia and Indonesia, sometimes paying smugglers thousands of dollars.
The refugees know the journeys are dangerous. The boats are often rickety and hundreds have drowned at sea, but many feel they have no choice.
"We don't want to be dependent on others for the rest of our lives. We need to stand on our own feet," Karim said.
"We will go with anyone who tells us there is hope."


Explosion at German chemical complex declared extreme threat

An explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies shook the German city of Leverkusen on Tuesday, sending a large black cloud rising into the air.First responders say at least 16 people were injured and five remain missing, the AP is reporting, but the toll is expected to rise.Germany’s Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance classified the explosion as “an extreme threat” and asked residents to stay inside, turn off ventilation systems and keep windows and doors closed, German news agency dpa reported.The city of Leverkusen said in a statement that the explosion at the Chempark site, about 20 km north of Cologne on the Rhine river, occurred in storage tanks for solvents.Currenta, the company operating the chemical park, said the explosion happened at the in the morning in the storage tanks of their waste management centre and then developed into a fire.Police in nearby Cologne said a large number of officers, firefighters, helicopters and ambulances from across the region had been deployed to the scene.They asked all residents to stay inside and warned people from outside of Leverkusen to avoid the region. They also shut down several nearby major highways.Residents said the blast could be heard far away, with some saying their windows were rattled by the force of the explosion. Many shared images on social media of the smoke billowing from the chemical site.Daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger reported that the smoke cloud was moving in a northwestern direction toward the towns of Burscheid and Leichlingen.Leverkusen, Germany’s fourth biggest city, is home to Bayer, one of the country’s biggest chemical companies, where many residents work.


China places 5 million more under lockdown to stamp out virus cluster

Chinese authorities sealed off a city of almost five million people and imposed strict travel restrictions on several others on Tuesday as they worked to quash a number of Covid-19 clusters near Beijing.The country had largely curbed the spread of the coronavirus, which first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, with small outbreaks swiftly snuffed out using mass testing, local lockdowns and travel restrictions.But Hebei province in northern China has reported 560 new cases in recent weeks – 234 of which are asymptomatic – sparking a raft of new lockdowns and restrictions.Residents of Langfang, a manufacturing hub around 55km south of Beijing, have been banned from leaving the city for seven days unless absolutely necessary.“All family gatherings should be cancelled… all marriages postponed and funerals simplified until the epidemic situation has subsided,” the Langfang city government said in a statement.Officials will now rush to test all 4.9 million residents in two days, the local health bureau said, after one case was discovered in Langfang’s Gu’an county.Authorities last week launched a mass testing drive and closed transport links, schools and shops in the neighbouring city of Shijiazhuang – the epicentre of the latest outbreak – with its 11 million residents required to undergo two rounds of testing.Neighbouring Xingtai, home to seven million people, has also been locked down since last Friday.The worsening situation prompted Hebei province’s local government to indefinitely postpone an annual legislative meeting that was due to be held this month.A steady trickle of new coronavirus cases has surfaced in China’s northern provinces since October, prompting strict restrictions despite the number of infections being small compared to outbreaks in many other countries.The curbs come ahead of February’s Lunar New Year, when hundreds of millions criss-cross China to visit family and friends, and authorities are anxious to contain the spread of the virus before the massive annual migration.Suihua city in Heilongjiang province – home to over 5.2 million – was sealed off on Monday after the city reported one confirmed case and 45 asymptomatic cases.Shanxi province has also limited internal travel and rolled out mass testing, after a patient from neighbouring Hebei province was reported to have travelled there.


Trial judge was not biased, prosecution says in Najib’s SRC appeal

Najib Razak was not put at a disadvantage in his SRC International trial when Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali provided only key points in ordering the former prime minister to enter his defence, the Court of Appeal was told today.Ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram said that under the law, a trial judge is not required to give a reason in his oral ruling when he finds the prosecution has established a prima case and orders the accused to enter their defence.“The contention that the appellant (Najib) has been prejudiced for not being able to put up his defence properly or to submit on those missing reasons was without basis.“It is submitted that a miscarriage of justice had not occurred since all the rules of procedure and evidence were followed in this trial,” he said.Sithambaram submitted this before a three-member bench led by judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil in the hearing of Najib’s appeal against his conviction and jail sentence for the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International funds.The other two judges on the bench were Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.“The task of the defence was to respond to the entire prosecution’s case and not to rebut the prima facie findings of the trial judge,” Sithambaram said.He added that calling for the defence of the accused based on an oral ruling was not a judgment.“There is no such thing as two judgments, only one when an accused is either acquitted or convicted of a criminal charge,” he said, adding that the defence’s position that the accused was denied a fair trial was a desperate argument.Sithambaram said if the argument of the defence was accepted, no trial judge in the future would give oral or written reasons to call for the defence of accused persons.“In our case, the trial judge gave key points to order Najib to enter his defence for all the charges, although he was not required to. It was a bonus for the defence to get some point for Najib to enter defence but yet they complain,” Sithambaram said adding that as a lawyer, he would have been happy to get some inkling of why his client was asked to enter his defence.He also said that the claim by the defence that Nazlan was biased in the trial was “totally unwarranted”.“The summation of defence lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, both inside and outside court, is that the judge was biased in handling the defence case. Meaning that the trial judge was biased in favour of the prosecution.“This is a very serious allegation. I am in support of the judgment demonstrating that those accusations against the judge are unwarranted from the evidence adduced. Totally unwarranted. There is no basis to say the judge was (acting as) a ‘second prosecutor’ or hopelessly incompetent or demonstrated incompetence.“This summation (by the prosecution today) is made to save the integrity of the grounds of judgment, and in a wider context to ensure that the due administration of justice is not in any way tainted. This is an important case followed by the public, and people reading (news covering the trial) may think the judge was biased and incompetent without basis.“The appellant or defence is attacking the judge. It is important for the prosecution to make this submission as the judge is unable to defend himself against the allegations hurled against him,” he added.The Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 28 last year sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and fined him RM210 million after finding him guilty on seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of position involving RM42 million in SRC International funds.The hearing of the appeal continues.


Turkish, Malaysian exports to enjoy duty-free treatment effective 2023

Effective Jan 1, 2023, about 99% of Turkish exports to Malaysia will enjoy duty-free treatment, while almost 86% of Malaysia’s exports to Turkiye will enjoy a similar advantage under the Malaysia-Turkey Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA).
The decision was made during the inaugural joint economic and trade council (JETC) meeting in Ankara on Thursday, which was co-chaired by International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali and his counterpart, Turkiye’s Minister of Trade, Mehmet Mus.
The JETC was held in conjunction with the signing of the protocol to amend the free trade agreement (FTA) between the Malaysian government and Turkiye to broaden the existing MTFTA, which came into force on Aug 1, 2015.
The protocol, which was completed within a 15-month period, has been expanded in scope to include trade in services, investment and e-commerce.
In a statement issued by the international trade and industry ministry on the JETC meeting, Azmin said the expansion of the MFTA’s scope would enhance cross-flows of investments and improve mobility for professionals between Malaysia and Turkiye, among others.
The move will also foster greater consumer confidence in online transactions through the harmonisation of rules and adoption of facilitation mechanisms, and micro, small and medium enterprises will also benefit from it as it will boost their participation in international trade.
During the meeting, both nations discussed various issues regarding bilateral trade and economic cooperation, including the possibility of further strengthening collaboration in industrial sectors such as the halal industry as well as anti-dumping measures to prevent unfair competition.
Azmin also proposed the formal establishment of a bilateral task force for semiconductor supply chain resilience, which was well received by Turkiye.
The task force will formalise a cooperation framework towards ensuring the resilience of the semiconductor supply chain through research and development, design capabilities, production sharing capacity, talent development and market access.
Azmin and his Turkish counterpart also noted that Malaysia and Turkiye are strategically positioned to become the preferred manufacturing hub for Asean and the European Union, respectively.
In this vein, exporters from both countries are encouraged to leverage their strategic locations as a springboard into the larger regional market.
Malaysia will host the next senior officials level joint committee meeting next year.


Oct 19 hearing for bid by Irwan Serigar, Arul Kanda to strike out US$6.59 billion claim by 1MDB

The applications of former treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah and former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy to strike out a US$6.59 billion suit filed by 1MDB against them will be heard on Oct 19.Lawyer Lavinia Kumaraendran, representing Irwan, said the defendants and plaintiff had agreed for the two applications to be heard simultaneously on Oct 19 before judicial commissioner Amarjeet Singh.When contacted today, she said case management had been fixed for Oct 16.The application to strike out the suit was filed by Arul Kanda last month while Irwan filed his on Feb 18.In his application, Irwan alleged among others that the suit against him was premature as the investment of Brazen Sky Limited and payment of Aabar Investments PJS Limited were not clearly unsustainable as the court had yet to determine that 1MDB suffered losses of US$1.83 billion and US$3.5 billion.1MDB filed the suit against Arul Kanda and Irwan in May last year, alleging that they had committed breach of trust and conspiracy, causing the company to suffer losses amounting to US$1.83 billion in relation to its investment in 1MDB-Petrosaudi Ltd which was converted into the alleged Brazen Sky Limited investment said to be found in the Bridge Global Fund.1MDB also alleged that the two defendants committed breach of trust and conspiracy by misappropriating 1MDB money amounting to US$3.5 billion paid to Aabar Investments and US$1.265 billion paid to IPIC on May 9, 2017.1MDB claims that Irwan also conspired with Arul Kanda to cause the company to implement the Employment Extension Agreement and made a substantial payment of RM2,905,200 to Arul Kanda in accordance with the agreement, regardless of 1MDB’s interests, causing the company to suffer losses and damage.1MDB is demanding among others that the two defendants pay US$6.59 billion for the breach and an additional RM2.9 million from Irwan in relation to the Employment Extension Agreement.


Ukraine clings to Bakhmut but time may be running out as Russians advance

Ukrainian forces hung onto their positions in the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut early on Thursday under constant attack from Russian troops seeking to claim their first major victory for more than half a year.
Russia says seizing Bakhmut would open the way to fully controlling the rest of the strategic Donbas industrial region bordering Russia, one of the main objectives of its invasion a year ago on Feb 24.
Ukraine says Bakhmut has limited strategic value but has nevertheless put up fierce resistance. Not everyone in Ukraine is convinced that defending Bakhmut can go on indefinitely.
"I believe that sooner or later, we will probably have to leave Bakhmut. There is no sense in holding it at any cost..." Ukranian member of Parliament Serhiy Rakhmanin said on Ukrainian NV radio on Wednesday night.
"But for the moment, Bakhmut will be defended with several aims – firstly, to inflict as many Russian losses as possible and make Russia use its ammunition and resources."
No lines of defence should be allowed to collapse, Rakhmanin said, and "there are two ways to approach this – an organised retreat or simple flight. And we cannot allow flight to take place under any circumstances."
The battle for Bakhmut began about seven months ago, but in recent weeks Russian advances have left defenders fighting on three sides, with their only way out to the west.
Thousands of civilians remain inside the ruined city, which had a pre-war population of around 70,000.
'Under control'
A statement on Wednesday night by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said the Russians were attempting to advance on Bakhmut "without interruption" and President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces "are keeping each sector of the front under control."
Russian forces were making preparations for new attacks in central Zaporizhzhia region and on the southern front in the Kherson region, the military statement said. More than 40 towns and villages were shelled, it said, including the regional centre of Kherson and other towns on the west bank of the Dnipro River, abandoned by Russian forces in November.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the latest battlefield accounts.
The war took centre stage on the eve of a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi with the EU foreign policy chief saying its success would be measured by what it could do to help end the conflict.
Ukrainians and Russians traditionally mark March 1 as the start of spring. Already, frozen ground has melted at the front, ushering in the season of sucking black mud – "bezdorizhzhia" in Ukrainian, "rasputitsa" in Russian – that has been notorious in military history for destroying attacking armies.
"Winter is over. It was a very difficult one and every Ukrainian, without exaggeration, felt the difficulties," Zelensky said in his nightly video message, delivered after a meeting devoted to energy issues.
"But we managed to provide Ukraine with energy and heat. The threat to the energy system remains. And work goes on to ensure the energy system keeps functioning," Zelensky said.
Russia mounted regular waves of missile strikes on power stations in what Ukraine said was a calculated strategy to destroy the morale of civilians.
Ukraine and its Western allies describe Russia's war as unprovoked with the aim of crushing its European-leaning neighbour, which like Russia was part of the Moscow-dominated Soviet Union until its break-up in 1991.
Russia accuses the West of provoking what it calls its "special military operation" to eliminate security threats, and of prolonging the conflict by backing the Kyiv government with weapons.
Russia's top lawmaker said on Wednesday he was introducing amendments to a wartime censorship law that would increase the maximum penalty for discrediting the army from five to 15 years in jail and extend the law to cover the Wagner mercenary force.
Moscow introduced sweeping censorship laws shortly after ordering tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine a year ago.
A Russian defence ministry journal said Moscow was developing a new type of military strategy using nuclear weapons to protect against possible US aggression, RIA news agency reported on Thursday.
The article is the latest in a series of combative remarks by Russian politicians and commentators following the invasion of Ukraine a year ago, that have suggested Moscow would, if necessary, be prepared to deploy its vast nuclear arsenal.


Malaysia just 2.3% away from full adult vaccination

A total of 22,876,224 individuals or 97.7% of adults had completed their Covid-19 vaccination as of yesterday, with just 2.3 percentage points to go to achieving a 100% rate.According to the CovidNow portal, 23,162,767 individuals or 98.9% have received at least one dose of vaccine.In terms of adolescents, a total of 2,763,787 individuals or 87.8% have completed their vaccination while 2,854,126 or 90.7% have received at least one dose.A total of 252,817 vaccine doses were administered yesterday, with 2,898 as first doses, 4,549 as second shots and 245,370 as booster jabs.This brings the cumulative number of vaccine doses given under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to 58,812,436, including 7,356,445 booster jabs.


Pandemic sees criminals target online shoppers, says Europol

The Covid-19 pandemic has sparked a sharp rise in online shopping fraud, Europe’s policing agency warned on Thursday, saying criminals continued to prey on victims working from home.Fears of catching the virus have driven a sharp increase in online shopping, which in turn has led to a major rise in delivery fraud in the second year of the pandemic, Europol said in its annual cybercrime report.“The extension of lockdowns throughout Europe has brought with it a number of new e-commerce opportunities, which have often proven to be a target for criminals,” the Hague-based agency said.“Criminals offer goods and receive payment without delivery, defraud online shops with weak security measures, or use delivery services as phishing lures,” it said.Mobile phones in particular were being targeted, with criminal gangs posing as delivery services pretending to offer information about a parcel, but in reality hoping to get the victim’s account and credit card details.This included sending messages via SMS on mobile phones, a practice referred to as “smishing.”Meanwhile, the dark web continued to be the main market place for illicit activity, despite recent global police successes in taking down illegal websites such as DarkMarket in January.Europol said cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero remained the most popular form of payment for illegal goods and services on the dark web.Weapons appear to be increasingly traded on the dark web as well as through encrypted chat groups, Europol said.Novel weapons, such as those made by three-dimensional printers, were also on the rise.For instance, Spanish police in September last year busted a workshop where these weapons were being made.There, law officials seized templates for guns downloaded from the dark web and several 3D printers, “one of which was in the process of printing a small firearm,” Europol said.


Big mistake if we clash with PAS, warns Umno man

An Umno leader has warned that clashing with PAS during the 15th general election could bring about a repeat of the 2018 results in which Pakatan Harapan (PH) scored a historic victory against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government.Ahmad Maslan, the Umno secretary-general, said the close ties between the country’s two largest Malay parties should not be tainted by the “personal agendas” of some to the point of causing conflict over parliamentary seats, as had happened in GE14.“We have held seat negotiations to prevent any clashes,” he told MalaysiaNow.“We do not want a repeat of history where we lost 32 parliamentary seats in GE14 because of conflict.Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan.“Imagine if 32 seats were taken away from the 121 that PH won on the night of May 9,” he added. “PH would not have won. We do not want this to happen again.”MalaysiaNow previously reported that cracks had begun to appear in Muafakat Nasional, the charter of cooperation inked between PAS and Umno in September last year.A source familiar with talks on seat distribution said there had been disagreements over seats in Kedah and Terengganu.But Ahmad said there were only few problems between Umno and PAS, adding that the bulk of negotiations at the highest levels were proceeding well.“We don’t have many issues with PAS,” he said. “We haven’t begun negotiations with Bersatu, so we don’t yet know what the situation there is like.“But with PAS, negotiations have been cordial so far. We ask that there be no clashes, because if there are, we will lose out and PH will win.“Do not allow a repeat of the mistakes we made in GE14 by clashing with PAS. We were the ones who lost. We should be the ones ruling right now.”In the May 9, 2018 polls, three-way fights between PH, BN and PAS saw the coalition led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad ousting the administration of Najib Razak on the back of the 1MDB scandal.The subsequent cooperation between Umno and PAS saw them defeating PH in several by-elections in Semenyih, Rantau, Cameron Highlands, Kimanis, and Tanjung Piai.


For Anwar, friendly fire a bigger threat than govt-opposition showdown

A modern-day Malaysian Rip Van Winkle who woke up from a six-month slumber yesterday could be forgiven for thinking that the country's political landscape had not changed much since the 15th general election (GE15).
The polls saw Anwar Ibrahim made prime minister after winning support from several disparate parties. But beyond that, little has changed. The coalition parties Anwar cobbled together had been at loggerheads for the longest time. And they are still at it despite supposedly being on the same political side now.
To paraphrase ex-prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, this unholy alliance is like a forced marriage of convenience. He stopped short of saying that this political matrimony is set to crumble – as most marriages not built on trust and love are.
And who can blame Ismail when the coalition partners in Anwar's government do not even have the decency to bury their "marital woes" but choose to openly bicker about their differences?
For example, DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang openly sparred with Umno stalwart and ex-deputy minister Puad Zakarshi over Umno's decision to appeal to the Agong to set jailed former prime minister Najib Razak free.
Lim said that freeing Najib would impede efforts to reinvigorate Umno. Puad responded by telling Lim to just shut up – openly, without blunting his words and with the arrogance Umno is known for. Bad blood truly runs deep between the two parties.
MCA and DAP, too, have no compunctions about openly quarrelling as they have for decades. Supremos from both parties – MCA's Wee Ka Siong, an ex-transport minister, and current minister, DAP's Anthony Loke – traded barbs and insults about alleged exorbitant airfares to Tawau during the Hari Raya period.
Or when MCA asked Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar from DAP to go on leave after two of his officers were hauled up by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over a corruption scandal – DAP shot back, asking why MCA had stayed silent when Najib plundered the country, opening old wounds between both parties.
It's not just MCA asking Sivakumar to go on leave. PKR's Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim also did the same in a move that is sure to test ties within the fragile coalition.
And across the South China Sea, it is quite clear that DAP and Gabungan Parti Sarawak have not quite buried the hatchet despite saying otherwise. DAP's Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii and the state government got into a shameless war of words over the latter's plans to set up a boutique airline.
In any case, the Sarawak chapter of DAP has announced that it intends to stay as the opposition in the state legislative assembly. How does that even work, and how is it sustainable? At the federal level, DAP and GPS are buddies, but at the state level they are sworn enemies? Isn't that like a couple keeping their marriage in the morning and staying divorced at night?
What kind of marriage is this government monstrosity? A popular adage says that marital problems start to creep in during the seventh year, hence the "seven-year itch". Anwar's government is not even seven months old but appears to be imploding already.
What's more ironic is that Loke, presumably worried about the spate of "friendly fire" within the government, recently accused Perikatan Nasional (PN) of being willing to stop at nothing to bring down the federal government.
Seriously? The government is doing a much better job at bringing down Anwar than PN ever will. The coalition partners in the government are shooting themselves in the foot every day, so it would be a stretch to blame PN for its eventual downfall.
And if the Rip Van Winkle mentioned at the start of this article were to stay asleep for a few months more, he might wake up to the exact political landscape that we had pre-GE15 – a world where Umno and DAP, as well as MCA and DAP, fight daily and Anwar is not the prime minister.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


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Myanmar’s shadow government to create its own police force

A parallel government opposed to military rule in Myanmar announced on Tuesday it was forming its own police force, in its latest effort to hamper the junta’s efforts to govern after a coup last year.Myanmar has been in turmoil since the overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, which ended a decade of tentative democracy and sparked nationwide opposition by groups determined to force the generals to cede power.The military has labelled its opponents “terrorists”, including the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), an alliance of anti-junta groups of which many members are in hiding or in self-imposed exile.The NUG said it was ready to take responsibility for domestic law enforcement with a police force accepted by the people.Its purpose was “to take lawful action against the terrorist military council for committing human rights violations, war crimes and terrorism acts against the people,” the NUG said in a statement.It is not immediately clear how and when the NUG would form and operate a police force and how many personnel it would recruit. Spokespersons for the NUG and the ruling military council could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment.The NUG has since last year led a campaign to raise funds and stifle the military’s efforts to consolidate power, ranging from tax boycotts and overseas bond issues to a mock sale of junta chief Min Aung Hlaing’s mansion.The NUG last year called for the public to rise up against the military in a “people’s defensive war”, announcing the formation of People’s Defence Forces, which have battled troops in the countryside.About 700,000 people have been displaced by fighting and instability in Myanmar since the coup, according to the United Nations.


Parties warned against UEC 'vote bait' ahead of GE15

Government and opposition parties alike have been warned against politicising the matter of education, particularly among the Chinese community, in the run-up to the Nov 19 polls as coalitions turn their focus towards the manifestos that will contain their election vows to the public.
Education, an issue close to the hearts of the Chinese in general, featured prominently in campaigns for the last general election, with both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) pledging to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) as a qualification for entering local institutions of higher education.
The UEC, issued to students who graduate from Chinese independent high schools, is already recognised by private institutions in the country as well as a number of overseas universities and those in Penang, Melaka, Sabah, Sarawak and Selangor.
However, it is not regulated by the education ministry at the central level.
In its 2018 election manifesto, BN said it would grant recognition for the UEC on condition that certificate holders obtain a credit in Bahasa Melayu and a pass in history in the Form Five SPM examination.
PH meanwhile promised that the UEC would be allowed as proof of qualification for public universities if students also had a credit in SPM Bahasa Melayu.
Today, though, four years later and on the verge of the 15th general election (GE15), the UEC remains unrecognised.
Voicing its disappointment at the matter, the Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia, better known as Dong Zong, said the UEC was recognised by more than 80 universities worldwide.
"At election time, political parties will move on to Chinese education issues," its president Tan Tai Kim told MalaysiaNow.
"But it's time to give the UEC recognition. Stop turning this issue into another political narrative."
Task force findings
After its historic victory at the May 9, 2018 polls, PH established a task force known as the UEC Policy Task Force (PPDUEC) to kickstart the recognition process.
The PPDUEC spoke to a number of stakeholders on the issue, including Dong Zong.
"They spoke to more than 60 organisations," Tan recalled.
"We provided them with many reports, including on the syllabus and mechanism (of the UEC)."
However, the findings were never presented in Parliament.
In July 2018, just two months after the general election, then deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching reportedly said that she wanted the UEC recognised by the end of the year.
She also said there was no need for the issue to be brought to Parliament for debate.
Nevertheless, the matter was still unresolved at the collapse of the PH government in February 2020.
Mixed feelings
PH suffered a strong backlash due to its inability to fulfil its UEC vow, along with a number of others, within the course of its 22 months in power.
Today, about a month ahead of GE15, some UEC graduates have mixed feelings about the matter.
Jeremy Sim, 25, said it was "impossible" to get the certificate recognised within just one or two years.
"I believe the ex-deputy minister understands," he added, referring to Teo.
Yiu Jee Gee, who graduated from a Chinese independent high school in 2013, said she would not evaluate the performance of PH or DAP based solely on the UEC issue.
"To me, it seems they were using this agenda," she said.
"Compared to the rhetorical promises during the election, not many practical actions were taken."
Yiu, 27, said she would evaluate DAP from a more comprehensive perspective at the upcoming election before deciding on her support for the party.
Another graduate who introduced herself as Chong said the focus should be on the education system as a whole rather than whether or not the UEC is recognised.
"No doubt, recognition would be the best thing," Chong, 24, said.
"But I believe if this was proposed by parties other than DAP, chances are high that the promise would also be unkept."
In the meantime, she said, UEC graduates would still be able to further their studies at private universities or overseas.
"For a better future, channel the focus and energy to our country's education and economy," she said.


7 districts in Kelantan to come under MCO

Seven districts in Kelantan will be placed under movement control order (MCO) from April 16 to 29.Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the districts involved are Kota Bharu, Pasir Mas, Pasir Puteh, Bachok, Machang, Tumpat and Tanah Merah.“The health ministry confirmed a 30.5% spike in cases in the state over a period of 14 days, from 756 cases to 1,088 cases. All seven districts are in the red zone.“In addition, there are also nine new clusters recorded in the past 14 days with a high infectivity rate within the community,” he said in a statement on the conditional MCO (CMCO) and recovery MCO (RMCO).He said enforcement of the MCO is to control the movement of residents in these localities and to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infections to other areas.“Roadblocks will be mounted at all district and state borders. All economic and business sectors approved by agencies and ministries will be allowed to operate during the MCO period.“The implementation of MCO of these districts will be in accordance with the general MCO SOPs that were updated on Feb 26, 2021,” he said.Meanwhile, enhanced MCO (EMCO) will be enforced at Kampung Tanjung Batu Keramat, Kota Belud in Sabah and three localities in Muadzam Shah, Pahang, namely Ladang Leepang, Ladang Laukin and Kampung Inoi until April 28, he said.“The implementation of EMCO is to enable the ministry to conduct early detection of suspected Covid-19 cases, and to ensure close contacts can be isolated as soon as possible to stem the spread of infection from risk areas to other areas,” he said, adding that the EMCO in Kampung Juara, Pulau Tioman, Rompin, Pahang would end on Thursday, earlier than the scheduled April 20.


Thousands evacuate as numbers rise in flood-hit states

The number of flood evacuees seeking shelter at relief centres (PPS) in Pahang, Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Sabah rose this morning compared to yesterday.In Pahang, the state disaster management committee secretariat reported that there were 2,188 flood victims at 51 PPS in eight districts.Of the total, 1,421 were victims of the second wave of floods with the Lipis district registering the highest number of evacuees at 553 people followed by Rompin (340) and Raub (278).Eight roads have been closed due to floods, including Jalan Sungai Lembing in Kuantan, Jalan Kuala Lumpur-Kuantan (Maran), Jalan Kuantan-Segamat (Pekan), Jalan Temerloh-Jerantut (Temerloh) and Jalan Bentong-Gua Musang (Lipis).According to the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) website, six rivers in the state are at danger level: Sungai Tanum at Chegar Perah in Lipis, Sungai Pahang in Paya Gintong (Jerantut) and in Kuala Krau (Temerloh), Sungai Serting in Pdg Gudang (Bera), Sungai Luit in Kampung Subuh (Maran) and Sungai Pukin (Rompin).The Malaysian Meteorological Department has forecast rain in all flood-affected districts in Pahang today.In Melaka, the number of evacuees rose to 2,537 people from 656 families at 8am today, from 1,778 people (462 families) at 8pm yesterday.Melaka Civil Defence Department (APM) director Cuthbert John Martin Quadra said the victims were from 14 areas in Alor Gajah, nine areas in Melaka Tengah and nine areas in Jasin.“A total of 1,015 evacuees from 270 families are at 10 PPS in Alor Gajah, 1,391 from 356 families at nine PPS in Melaka Tengah and 131 people from 30 families at two PPS in Jasin,” he said in a statement.In Johor, the number of flood victims increased to 3,841 in six districts, compared with 2,553 people reported yesterday.State health and environment committee chairman R Vidyananthan said Mersing was the latest district to be hit by floods after 366 victims from 90 families were evacuated to six PPS.In Sabah, the number of evacuees rose to 2,435 people from 874 families this morning compared to 1,823 people from 599 families last night.The Sabah disaster management secretariat said 23 PPS had been opened in six districts in the state since last Friday.The affected districts are Kota Marudu with 1,973 people from 520 families at 12 PPS; Paitan (97 people from 23 families at three PPS); Pitas (79 people from 22 families at two PPS); Sandakan (197 people from 42 families at two PPS); Telupid (51 people from eight families at two PPS; and Beluran (38 people from 10 families at one PPS).In Negeri Sembilan, updates on the Welfare Department’s InfoBencana application showed that the number of flood victims at 22 PPS in the state had increased to 2,041 individuals from 554 families as of 7am compared with 1,892 from 505 families last night.State Public Works Department director Wan Hasnan Wan Musa said 15 roads in several districts in Negeri Sembilan had been closed to traffic while three more, including in Tampin, were only passable to heavy vehicles following landslides and floods.In Terengganu, state disaster management committee secretariat Mohd Rosman Abdullah said the number of evacuees remained at 137 people from 42 families at two PPS in Dungun this morning.“The two PPS are at Dewan Orang Ramai Kampung Shukor with 68 evacuees from 20 families and Dewan Orang Ramai Kampung Pasir Raja (69 victims from 22 families),” he said.DID meanwhile reported that only Sungai Kemaman at the Paya Paman pump house in Kemaman had surpassed the warning level this morning.In Selangor, two PPS in the Kuala Langat district were reopened yesterday to house 40 flood victims.They are at Dewan Orang Ramai Kampung Kelanang (25 people) and Balairaya Majlis Pengurusan Komuniti Kampung Banting (15 people).Sungai Langat in Bukit Changgang, Kuala Langat is reported to be at the danger level with a reading of 4.29m while the water level at Sungai Langat in Dengkil, Sepang has reached a warning level of 7.07m.


Azam fights back on claims against him, mulls legal action

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki today said he would take legal action against those who had made accusations against him over the ownership of shares in certain companies.Speaking at a press conference in Putrajaya, he said the shares in question had been transferred to his brother’s account.He also said the accusations were made in order to tarnish his reputation of more than 30 years with MACC.“Regarding the claim that I control many companies, it is a lie spread to destroy my reputation,” he said.“I strongly deny it, and once I have obtain advice from a lawyer, I will take legal action against those who tarnished my reputation.”While issuing no further details on the action or parties that would be brought to court, he said the owner of Twitter account “Edisi Siasat” would likely be be subject to action.Azam also spoke of efforts by those with interests who had an agenda against MACC to erode public trust in the anti-graft agency.“They used certain parties to put pressure on MACC,” he said.He said no wrongdoing was committed in allowing his brother, Nasir Baki, to conduct business using his account to buy shares on the open market.He said this was why he had previously remained silent on the matter.Former Anti-Corruption Advisory Board member Edmund Gomez was among those who had raised the issue of Azam’s ownership of shares.Gomez had voiced dissatisfaction over the lack of an investigation regarding the matter, and resigned from the board.Veteran lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla meanwhile had called for a special investigation committee to look into the claims, and opposition MP Gobind Singh Deo had urged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to take action instead of remaining silent.


Nora Anne’s family to file for revision of misadventure ruling

The family of Nora Anne Quoirin will file for a revision of the Seremban Coroner’s Court ruling that the Franco-Irish teenager’s death was due to misadventure.The family’s lawyer Louise Azmi told Bernama this when contacted today.“Yes, we got the instruction from the family. We will file it at the Seremban High Court as soon as possible,” she said.On Jan 4, coroner Maimoonah Aid ruled that no one was involved in the 15-year-old’s death which she said was a case of misadventure.A total of 48 witnesses, including the teenager’s parents, Meabh Jaseprine Quoirin and Sebastien Quoirin, testified during the inquest, which began on Aug 24 last year.Nora Anne went missing on Aug 4, 2019, a day after she and her family arrived in Malaysia for a two-week vacation at a resort in Pantai, Seremban, about 60km south of Kuala Lumpur.Ten days later, Nora Anne’s body was found near a creek in a ravine located about 2.5km from the resort, following a massive search.The preliminary post-mortem report stated that the death of the teenager with disabilities had no criminal elements, and she was confirmed to have died from gastrointestinal bleeding due to prolonged hunger and stress.


No dine-in for a week in Kuching as Sarawak battles virus surge

Dine-in activities in Kuching and other southern districts in Sarawak will be banned for a week as state authorities tighten Covid-19 restrictions amid a new wave of infections which saw over 2,500 more cases reported today alone.The state disaster management committee said under the stricter SOPs, business operation hours would also be shortened from 5am to 8pm while people would be banned from being at public places without good cause after 10pm.The tighter SOPs will apply to the districts of Kuching, Bau, Lundu, Samarahan, Asajaya, Simunjan, Serian and Tebedu from Aug 22 to 29.Sarawak today reported a total of 2,548 new cases, taking its cumulative caseload to 94,564.Kuching itself logged 1,601 new infections.Of the total cases recorded in Sarawak today, 2,547 or 99.96% were in Category One and Two, and one was in Category Five.


Bangladesh ready to move more Rohingya to remote new island

Bangladesh authorities are ready to move a second batch of Rohingya refugees to the remote island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal in the next few days, officials said on Sunday.The transfer will take place despite calls by rights groups not to carry out any more relocations of the hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees who fled Myanmar.Around 1,000 Rohingya will be moved to the island after Bangladesh relocated more than 1,600 earlier this month, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter said.“They will be moved to Chittagong first and then to Bhasan Char, depending on the high tide,” one of the officials, who declined to be named as the issue had not been made public, told Reuters.The Bangladesh government official in charge of refugees, Mohammed Shamsud Douza, said the relocation was voluntary. “They will not be sent against their will.”The United Nations has said it has not been allowed to carry out a technical and safety assessment of Bhasan Char, a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal and is not involved in the transfer of refugees to the island which emerged from the sea only 20 years ago.Bangladesh says it is transferring only people who are willing to go and the move will ease chronic overcrowding in camps that are home to more than one million Rohingya.However, refugees and humanitarian workers say some of the Rohingya are being coerced into going to the island.Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abdul Momen told Reuters earlier this month the UN should first assess and verify how conducive the environment in Myanmar’s Rakhine state is for repatriating the refugees, before carrying out any assessment of Bhasan Char.Several attempts to start repatriating Rohingya refugees to Myanmar have failed after they said they were too fearful of further violence to return.


US nears 500,000 Covid-19 deaths

The US was on the brink Sunday of the grim milestone of 500,000 Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic, as the nation’s top virus expert warned a semblance of normalcy may not return until the end of the year.Signs of hope were emerging in the rollout of vaccines and the dropping off of a massive winter spike in infections, but the heavy toll continues to mount in a nation that has reported the most fatalities and cases in the world.“It’s terrible. It is historic. We haven’t seen anything even close to this for well over a hundred years, since the 1918 pandemic of influenza,” Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to US President Joe Biden, said on NBC’s “Meet The Press”.“It’s something that is stunning when you look at the numbers, almost unbelievable, but it’s true,” he added, as the toll on the Johns Hopkins University tracking website stood at some 498,000.After the first Covid-19 death was announced in the US in February 2020, it took about three months to pass the 100,000 mark, during a first wave that hit New York particularly hard.But as the outbreak spread across the country, the pace of deaths increased, with the toll jumping from 400,000 in just over a month amid a spike fuelled in part by holiday gatherings.Fauci noted that the number of daily new infections was on a steep decline after peaking in January, but he added normal life may still be some way off.“I think we’ll have a significant degree of normality… as we get into the fall and the winter, by the end of the year,” Fauci said on CNN’s “State of the Union”.Damage done by pandemicBiden said last week the programme to deliver vaccines into people’s arms is as complicated as the already intense challenges of manufacturing them in huge quantities at speed.“There has never, ever, ever been a logistical challenge as consequential as what we’re trying to do, but we’re getting it done,” he said.According to Biden, his goal of administering a million shots a day for a total of 100 million in the first 100 days of his presidency is on track to be easily surpassed, with a current average of 1.7 million vaccinations a day.With the US death toll set soon to pass 500,000, Biden said he did not want to give firm predictions of when the crisis will be curbed.However, he said that 600 million doses – enough to provide the two-dose regimen to most of the country – were expected to be ready by the end of July.More than 61 million people have received at least one shot of vaccine in the US, with some 18 million getting the full two doses.The freezing weather and snow storms that hit the US for over a week have slowed the nation’s vaccine efforts, with some six million doses delayed.“We’ve gotten two million (doses) out, and we project that by the middle of the week we will have caught up,” said Fauci on “Meet the Press”, calling it a “temporary setback”.Though concern has grown around variants of the virus, especially those that appear to spread more easily and render current shots less potent, Fauci sounded a hopeful note on whether another surge was coming.“I don’t think at all that it is inevitable,” he told CNN. “The vaccines we are currently distributing now, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, work very well against the UK variant.”America might be past the worst of the pandemic, but the damage is deep and painful.To illustrate this milestone of half a million deaths, The New York Times published a front-page graphic running the length of the page, with each small point representing a dead American.The bottom of the column, which represents the deaths of recent months, is particularly dark and almost uniformly black.


Zahid fails to stay defence proceedings in graft case

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today rejected Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s request to stay the prosecution’s cross-examination of him pending the outcome of an appeal, ruling that the accused would not be prejudiced during the cross-examination.Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah in his decision said there were no special circumstances to warrant Zahid’s application for a stay.“The accused (Zahid) has the liberty to interview the witnesses any time, some of whom are family members, and the prosecution is also committed to assisting him. He is not being denied a fair trial,” the judge said.The former deputy prime minister had filed the application to stay his defence proceedings pending a decision by the Court of Appeal on his appeal to obtain copies of the recorded statements of defence witnesses in his corruption case involving Yayasan Akalbudi funds from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.The cross-examination of Zahid began last Thursday after several days of him taking the stand to defend himself in the case.In dismissing the stay application, Sequerah said the court was bound by the precedent case involving Najib Razak where the Federal Court denied him access to the witness statements he was seeking.“Following the determinative principle in Najib Razak’s case in the Federal Court which, of course, binds this court, I find that the applicant (Zahid) has failed to meet the required threshold.“The application is dismissed and the trial process and cross-examination of the accused will continue,” he said.Sequerah then adjourned the trial until tomorrow after Zahid’s lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik informed him that some of his client’s lawyers were unwell.Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran submitted that continuing the proceedings in the High Court was not prejudicial to the applicant’s right to a fair trial nor would it cause injustice.She argued that the applicant was never hindered from preparing and proceeding with his defence as the witnesses listed in his affidavit were either known to him or related to him by blood.“It is more advantageous to the applicant that his case proceeds in the High Court as he will have an earlier opportunity to vindicate himself,” she said.Raja Rozela added that Zahid was facing very serious charges and that the trial involving a former deputy prime minister was being closely watched by the public.“This trial has taken three years and the application is an obvious attempt to delay an early completion of the trial.“This trial is also of public and national importance and any attempt to impede the progress of the proceedings must be rejected,” she added.Hisyam countered that the application was not to delay the trial but to ensure that his client got a fair trial.“This case is of public interest and Zahid must give full and complete evidence during the main examination before being cross-examined,” he said.In response to the prosecution’s contention that the trial had taken three years, Hisyam said the defence could not be blamed for the shutdown imposed due to the movement control order during the Covid-19 outbreak.On Jan 24, the court ordered Zahid to enter his defence for 12 charges of criminal breach of trust, eight of corruption and 27 of money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to the charity foundation after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against him.


French president visits Polynesia to ‘strike back at obvious Chinese lust’

France’s President Emmanuel Macron is visiting former French colonies in the South Pacific  in an attempt to showcase France’s commitment to the region.Macron will visit four places, spread out across an ocean territory that’s as large as Europe.France wants to demonstrate its concerns about the impact of climate change on Pacific island territories, the legacy of French nuclear testing on its atolls, and most of all, growing Chinese dominance in the region.Macron started his trip on Saturday night in Tahiti with a visit to a hospital and an appeal to islanders to get vaccinated against Covid-19, Bloomberg reports.With the world’s eyes on the Tokyo Olympics, Macron will also discuss Tahiti’s role as host of the Olympic surfing competition for the 2024 Paris Games.The trip is aimed at reinforcing France’s geopolitical presence in the Pacific but he may also face protests. Local activists held two demonstrations this month over long-standing demands for compensation, and an apology, over the nuclear tests carried out on atolls in the region from 1966-1996.The tests remain a source of deep resentment, seen as evidence of racist colonial attitudes that disregarded the lives of islanders.Also, a Polynesian collective angry over French government plans to require health passes at restaurants and other venues has threatened unspecified action.The French president is head of state but since 2004, the former colony has autonomous status, defined as “an overseas country within the republic” which “is governed freely and democratically, by its representatives”.Historian Jean-Marc Regnault of the University of French Polynesia says this trip is linked to France’s determination to show its power in the Indo-Pacific.France is trying to “strike back at obvious Chinese lust” for Pacific resources, said Regnault, who wrote a recent book called “The Indo-Pacific and the New Silk Roads.”China is the biggest trading partner for its Asian-Pacific neighbors, who are eager to profit from its appetite for industrial components and iron ore, timber, oil and food. But they are increasingly uneasy about Beijing’s use of access to its markets to push for political concessions.France, the United States, Japan and other governments worry China is seeking to gain influence in their strategic spheres.Macron won’t be able to avoid the historical nuclear issue, though he’s not expected to make any new promises during the visit.He ordered high-level meetings earlier this month on the issue in an operation called Reko Tika, which means “truth and justice” in the paumotu language.But the Polynesian delegation reported minimal progress on their demands, including declassifying government archives and facilitated compensation over health and environmental damage from the nuclear tests.


4 opposition MPs, DAP leader break ranks with Anwar over talks with Umno

Several MPs from the opposition bloc today urged Pakatan Harapan (PH) leader Anwar Ibrahim against forming any political alliance with Umno, in the wake of confirmation by the PKR president of preliminary talks between the two parties.Pulai MP Salahuddin Ayub (Amanah), Sepanggar MP Azis Jamman (Warisan), Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda) and Selangau MP Baru Bian (PSB) together with DAP senator Liew Chin Tong said the main focus at the moment should be to strengthen the opposition bloc.“While Perikatan Nasional has failed to show its commitment (to the country), the opposition bloc should together show the way in developing policies and initiatives that will benefit the people.“We urge opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to strengthen the opposition bloc and reject any form of cooperation with kleptocrats. Any cooperation with any party should be based on this principle,” they said in a joint statement.Anwar had said at a press conference yesterday that discussions with Umno were still at an early stage, and that no formal agreement had been made.“We are in the midst of initial discussions,” he said, adding that it was his right to enter into discussions with anyone.“I do not deny such a possibility (for cooperation),” he said.He also said that any cooperation would be based on “common perimeters” such as the status of Islam, Malay rulers and the national language, maintaining however that PKR remains committed to its “comrades” in PH.In Umno, meanwhile, information chief Shahril Hamdan had pushed back against calls to engage with PH, saying its refusal to work with Bersatu in the next general election should not be seen as acceptance of its other political enemies.He also said that Umno was still bound by the decision reached at the party’s general assembly in 2019, rejecting cooperation with PKR and DAP.Other Umno division leaders including the party’s Bandar Tun Razak chief Rizalman Mokhtar and its deputy chief in Putrajaya, Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, also said they had no interest in forming an alliance with Anwar, reiterating their commitment to the “No Anwar” rule of thumb.Faisal told MalaysiaNow that only a section of the party leadership was banking on Anwar returning to power.“Not everyone in Umno thinks this way,” he added.


China’s tech titans face new anti-monopoly crackdown

New anti-monopoly rules for China’s e-commerce giants were introduced on Sunday as regulators try to crack down on anti-competitive behaviour.The rules suggest increasing unease in Beijing with the growing influence of digital platforms and are aimed at stopping China’s e-commerce monsters Alibaba and JD.com from abusing their dominant market position. Together they account for roughly three-quarters of Chinese ecommerce.Alibaba alone boasts nearly 900 million mobile monthly active users – more than half of China’s population.China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) wants to stop price-fixing, predatory pricing and unreasonable trading conditions.The new rules stop e-commerce platforms from forcing vendors to deal exclusively with them. There are also rules against restricting technologies and using data and algorithms to manipulate the market.The rules will also apply to financial technology (fintech) and payments companies such as Tencent’s WeChat Pay and Ant Group, Alibaba’s payments affiliate.SAMR said reports of anti-competitive behaviour have been increasing, and that it was facing challenges regulating the industry.“The behaviour is more concealed, the use of data, algorithms, platform rules and so on make it more difficult to discover and determine what are monopoly agreements,” SAMR said.On Monday, SAMR announced it had fined online discount retailer Vipshop nearly US$500,000 (RM2 million) for unfair competition.Between August and December last year, the retailer developed a system to obtain information on brands it and competitors sold, which gave it an advantage. The regulator said Vipshop used its system to influence user choices and transaction opportunities and to block sales of particular brands.SAMR is also currently carrying out an antitrust investigation into Alibaba, following Ant Group’s decision to drop a planned US$37 billion share market launch after regulators intervened.The moves come as the EU and the US are also seeking to curb the power of internet giants.


PAS worried about low voter turnout due to weather

PAS has expressed concern about the possibility of a low voter turnout in the 15th general election (GE15) in the event of morning downpours on polling day this Saturday.
The party’s deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said he hoped that voters would go out to vote early as several states are forecast to experience thunderstorms in the afternoon.
"We request voters to go out to vote early, and not to wait until the evening because of the current uncertain weather conditions. I hope that the target of 70% voter turnout across the country can be achieved," he said after attending Perikatan Nasional's "Grand Finale Talk" at Dataran Kemahkotaan in Machang last night.
Bernama reported yesterday that based on weather forecasts, some states would experience rain in the early morning on Saturday, with thunderstorms expected across the country in the afternoon.
Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) deputy director general (operations) Lim Ze Hui said the areas expected to experience rain in the early morning were in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and west of Johor.
Although Kelantan and Terengganu are expected to experience continuous rain throughout the day, MetMalaysia does not expect any unusual rainfall for the two states.
For the states in the north, the weather is expected to be good in the morning.


China vaccine doses pass one billion mark

The number of Covid-19 jabs administered in China has passed the one billion mark, health officials said Sunday, more than a third of the doses given worldwide.The announcement by the National Health Commission comes after the number of shots administered globally surpassed 2.5 billion on Friday, according to an AFP count from official sources.It is unclear what percentage of China’s population has now been inoculated but its vaccination drive got off to a slow start after a successful fight against the virus left little sense of urgency to get jabbed.A lack of transparency and previous vaccine scandals have also led to resistance among residents.Authorities have set an ambitious target of fully vaccinating 40% of the country’s nearly 1.4 billion people by the end of this month.Some provinces are offering vaccines for free to encourage people to roll up their sleeves. Residents in central Anhui province have been given free eggs, while some living in Beijing have received shopping coupons.A recent outbreak of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus in the southern city of Guangzhou has also served as a wake-up call for many dragging their feet.China reported 23 new coronavirus cases Sunday.The country has four conditionally approved vaccines, whose published efficacy rates remain behind rival jabs by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have 95% and 94% success rates respectively.China’s Sinovac previously said trials of its shot in Brazil showed around 50% efficacy in preventing infection and 80% in preventing cases requiring medical intervention.Sinopharm’s two vaccines have efficacy rates of 79% and 72% respectively, while the overall efficacy for CanSino’s stands at 65% after 28 days.China is expected to produce more than three billion vaccine doses this year, state news agency Xinhua reported in April.Health authorities have not said when China will reach herd immunity or what proportion of its vaccine doses will be sold abroad.


Confidence vote a normal matter, says Muhyiddin

Muhyiddin Yassin today said that the tabling of a motion of confidence against the prime minister is normal and that he is ready and neither scared nor worried about facing it and proving that he still has the majority support of MPs at next month’s Parliament sitting.“Yes, the confidence motion for prime minister is normal in Parliament, but what should be considered is the country’s current situation and problems.“Can the country handle more problems should there be a change (of government) or political chaos? I’m not anticipating that… but it may affect the National Recovery Plan and other efforts such as the vaccination programme,” he told reporters at the Sungai Raya district office in Muar today.However, he said he would leave it to the discretion of the MPs to decide on the best course of action.He was responding to the statement by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi questioning the majority support for the prime minister and on the motion of confidence to be tabled in Parliament next month.Muhyiddin said the proposed tabling of the motion of confidence against him in Parliament had received the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.“I want to reiterate that I had an audience with the king which lasted almost an hour a few days ago.“Many issues were discussed during the meeting, including whether I have sufficient support. I am confident that until today, I still have it (majority support) despite the announcements made by certain quarters allegedly withdrawing their support for me.“Things are not always what they seem. This is a political issue and that’s why His Majesty consented to it (to be brought to Parliament),” he said.