Klang Valley mosques prepare for livelier Ramadan this year

Mosques in the Klang Valley are gearing up for a livelier Ramadan this year as the pandemic restrictions which threw a spanner in the works of the two previous rounds of fasting months are gradually eased.Among others, they are now allowed to host more programmes on-premise as the country transitions towards the endemic phase of Covid-19.Checks by MalaysiaNow at several mosques in the Klang Valley found preparations in full swing for Ramadan, reminiscent of the activity that had taken place before the onset of Covid-19.Azli Ariffin, secretary of Masjid Bandar Seri Putra, said all necessary preparations had already been made.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said the mosque committee was excited about welcoming congregations back to the mosque for Ramadan this year.He said the easing of requirements for physical distancing would also allow the presence of more worshippers on-site to perform the tarawih prayers.“This time around, we will do things as we did before Covid-19,” he said.“We are excited about being able to break fast together once again. We have already chosen the caterer and preparations have been made.”Mosque activities along with most others throughout the country were restricted as part of efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 beginning in March 2020.While tarawih prayers were allowed for Ramadan last year, there was a limit on the number of people permitted to attend, with strict instructions for physical distancing.The year before that, Muslims had to make do with praying in their own homes.But while programmes in conjunction with Ramadan were now allowed at mosques, he said, only adults and teenagers would be able to attend.“The spread of the Covid-19 virus is not yet over,” he said, “so there might be some who are still worried about going to the mosque with their young children.“So while Ramadan this year will be better than it was during the movement control order, it still won’t be the same as it was before Covid-19.”On the attendance of worshippers for Friday prayers on April 1, when the requirement for physical distancing was lifted, Azli said many had come, filling perhaps 80% of the mosque capacity.“Now there is no longer a fixed quota for congregations at mosques so there is no more excuse for people not to come,” he said, adding that the mosque was able to accommodate 3,500 worshippers.


No plans to join PH’s ‘big tent’ for Johor polls, says Pejuang

Pejuang does not plan to join Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) proposed “big tent” to contest in the upcoming Johor state election, says party president Mukhriz Mahathir.He said the party was still moving solo for now and any cooperation with other opposition parties might be considered later.“We will not join any coalition and our candidates will contest on the Pejuang ticket.“For now, we have no intention of offering our candidates under the PH logo or joining the PH big tent,” he told reporters today.Mukhriz also said they had entered into discussions with Muda but that no final decision had been made on cooperation for the Johor polls.“But there have been no serious talks with other parties, for example PH,” he added.On Jan 24, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said after a PH Presidential Council meeting that all opposition parties including Pejuang, Warisan and Muda should work together under the big tent concept to face the Johor election.The Johor state legislative assembly was dissolved on Jan 22. The Election Commission will meet tomorrow to fix the dates for the state election.


Frontliners, high-risk groups urged to get Covid booster jab

The health ministry recommends that frontliners and members of the public, especial high-risk groups, get a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine following the latest developments on the pandemic in China.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a Facebook post that while Covid-19 cases in the country are currently under control and decreasing, precautions must be taken.
On Tuesday, Noor Hisham said the ministry was preparing for the possibility of an increase in cases and deaths due to Covid-19 following the drastic rise in cases in China.
Measures to be taken include increasing the percentage of people eligible for booster doses, to reduce the spread of infection and deaths.


First woman reported cured of HIV after stem cell transplant

A US patient with leukemia has become the first woman and the third person to date to be cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant from a donor who was naturally resistant to the virus that causes AIDS, researchers reported on Tuesday.The case of a 64-year-old woman of mixed race, presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunisitic Infections in Denver, is also the first involving umbilical cord blood, a newer approach that may make the treatment available to more people.Since receiving the cord blood to treat her acute myeloid leukemia – a cancer that starts in blood-forming cells in the bone marrow – the woman has been in remission and free of the virus for 14 months, without the need for potent HIV treatments known as antiretroviral therapy.The two prior cases occurred in males – one white and one Latino – who had received adult stem cells, which are more frequently used in bone marrow transplants.“This is now the third report of a cure in this setting, and the first in a woman living with HIV,” Sharon Lewin, President-Elect of the International AIDS Society, said in a statement.The case is part of a larger US-backed study led by Dr Yvonne Bryson of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and Dr Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. It aims to follow 25 people with HIV who undergo a transplant with stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood for the treatment of cancer and other serious conditions.Patients in the trial first undergo chemotherapy to kill off the cancerous immune cells. Doctors then transplant stem cells from individuals with a specific genetic mutation in which they lack receptors used by the virus to infect cells.Scientists believe these individuals then develop an immune system resistant to HIV.Lewin said bone marrow transplants are not a viable strategy to cure most people living with HIV. But the report “confirms that a cure for HIV is possible and further strengthens using gene therapy as a viable strategy for an HIV cure,” she said.The study suggests that an important element to the success is the transplantation of HIV-resistant cells. Previously, scientists believed that a common stem cell transplant side effect called graft-versus-host disease, in which the donor immune system attacks the recipient’s immune system, played a role in a possible cure.“Taken together, these three cases of a cure post stem cell transplant all help in teasing out the various components of the transplant that were absolutely key to a cure,” Lewin said.


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Secret UK defence documents found at bus stop

Britain’s government said Sunday it was investigating how secret defence documents, outlining the movements of a warship that led to Russia firing warning shots off the Crimean coast, were found at a bus stop in England.The defence ministry said that an employee told it last week that the documents had been lost, and that an investigation had been launched.“It shouldn’t be able to happen,” Brandon Lewis, minister for Northern Ireland, told Sky News on Sunday.“It was properly reported at the time… there’s an internal investigation into that situation.”An anonymous member of the public told the BBC they found 50 pages of classified information behind a bus stop in Kent, southern England, on Tuesday.The papers discussed the possible Russian reaction to Britain’s HMS Defender travelling through Ukrainian waters off the coast of Crimea on Wednesday, the BBC reported.Russia on Wednesday said it fired warning shots at the navy destroyer in the Black Sea after what it said was a violation of its territorial waters.Britain however said it was making “an innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law”.According to Moscow, the incident took place off the coast of Cape Fiolent on Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that the vast majority of the international community has not recognised.The documents appear to show that the British officials knew the route could lead to a possible reaction from the Russians, but that taking an alternative passage could be considered by Moscow as “the UK being scared/running away”.The route it did take would instead “provide an opportunity to engage with the Ukrainian government… in what the UK recognises as Ukrainian territorial waters,” said another document.Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday summoned the British ambassador to “strongly protest” the incident.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as a “deliberate and prepared provocation”.Russia’s defence ministry said warning shots were fired and bombs dropped along the path of the HMS Defender.Among the other documents found at the bus stop were those that laid out plans for possible British military presence in Afghanistan after the end of Nato operations there.


Home ministry counts 688 citizenship applications for children born overseas

The home ministry has received a total of 688 applications for citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian women married to foreigners.
Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said this was from a total of 150,000 citizenship applications received by his ministry to date.
"We are sure that there are still people out there, but they have yet to submit applications... this matter is under Article 15 (2) of citizenship applications for children born overseas.
"We have segmented the applications and out of the 150,000 and it turns out that the higher category involves stateless children or children born out of wedlock," he said during a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Mumtaz Md Nawi (PN-Tumpat) who asked about the number of applications received from mothers applying for citizenship for children born overseas.
To another supplementary question from Shafie Apdal (Warisan-Semporna) regarding the government's efforts to resolve the issue of stateless children in rural areas, Saifuddin said the ministry had set up a special committee team to go to the areas to assist with the citizenship application process.
He said the home ministry also aimed to finalise the 948 citizenship applications received in Sarawak before June.
To the original question from Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) about when the amendment to the Federal Constitution could be made regarding the citizenship of children born overseas to Malaysian women married to foreigners, Saifuddin said it was expected to be tabled in September.
"The Cabinet has agreed on the establishment of a technical committee chaired by the secretary-general of the home ministry and consisting of committee members.
"This committee has held various internal discussions and we expect that they will need six months, which means that in September this year, we will be able to table it... I am optimistic that we will be able to complete it according to schedule," he said.


JPJ issues 16,300 summonses during Hari Raya op

The Road Transport Department (JPJ) issued 16,377 summonses for various traffic offences to motorists nationwide under the 2022 Hari Raya Aidilfitri Operation between April 29 and May 8.Its director-general Zailani Hashim said a total of 89,490 vehicles were inspected during the same period.“The department also issued a total of 776 notice P22 summonses, which is an order for inspection involving five main offences, namely failing to comply with traffic lights, driving on emergency lanes, using mobile phones while driving, overtaking at double lines and speeding.“For these five offences, the errant motorists will face court action as the offences cannot be compounded,” he told a press conference during the operation conducted at Jalan Kota Bharu-Pasir Pekan in Tumpat last night.He said a total of 58,182 speeding offences were also detected through the 45 automatic awareness security system cameras installed at various locations nationwide over the same period.


Biden’s Earth Day summit shows US is serious about climate change again

Today, April 22, is Earth Day, and the US will attempt to re-assert its global leadership on climate change as President Joe Biden hosts 40 leaders at a virtual summit in the White House.Biden rejoined the Paris climate agreement on his first day in office and has made climate change a key focus of his administration.It’s expected that the US will unveil an updated carbon pledge that will see its emissions nearly halved by 2030.Among those attending will be China’s President Xi Jinping.Despite serious tensions between Washington and Beijing on a host of issues, both sides seem keen to keep climate change separate from these disputes. Last weekend, the two countries issued a joint statement saying they would tackle climate “with the seriousness and urgency it demands”.Speaking ahead of the meeting, a senior Biden administration official said, “Both countries see the need for action in the 2020s.”Officials also urged countries perceived as lagging on climate change to be more ambitious.Australia and Brazil, one said, would have to improve. Their sceptical attitude found favour in the Trump White House but now things have changed.However, while the US is talking up its ambitions, the proof of change for many observers will be in their new carbon-cutting pledge for 2030, expected to be announced at the summit.For some in the international community, even the mooted 50% cut in emissions won’t be enough.“The US should cut at least 55% from 2005 levels by 2030 to inspire others to raise their ambitions,” said Quamrul Chowdhury, from Bangladesh, a climate negotiator for the Least Developed Countries group.The US pledge will undoubtedly be the headline, whatever its size but there are also expected to be new steps announced by a number of countries.“The three that I think are most likely to step up at this summit are Canada, Japan and South Korea,” said Helen Mountford of the World Resources Institute. “China would be fantastic, but I wouldn’t expect it at this time.”This is the first big climate meeting in a critical year that will culminate in a November gathering of around 200 world leaders in Glasgow for the UN climate change summit, COP26.“We need to have the 40 leaders present here expressing their willingness to reach strong agreement by Glasgow,” said Remy Rioux, a negotiator for France during the Paris talks.“And for the US to demonstrate that they are back, and that they are back as convincingly and strongly as possible.”


Children of late minister Jamaludin Jarjis strike out grandmother's suit on RM2.29 million in cash

Two children of the late Jamaludin Jarjis yesterday succeeded in striking out the suit filed by their grandmother on the distribution of their father’s RM2.29 million in cash, kept in local and foreign bank accounts.
High Court judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz allowed the application of Nur Anis Jamaludin, 37, and Ikhwan Hafiz, 35, as defendants, to strike out the suit of Aminah Abdullah, 88, who is the mother of the late Jamaludin.
Hayatul allowed the siblings’ application on the grounds that the suit could not be maintained, based on the legal principle of res judicata, as the same facts presented in separate cases had already been heard and decided by the High Court.
The court also ruled that the suit was oppressive to both defendants, and was an abuse of the court process.
Hayatul ordered Aminah, as the plaintiff, to pay costs of RM15,000 to each defendant within 14 days.
The matter was confirmed by lawyer K Shanmuga, representing Nur Anis and Ikhwan Hafiz, and lawyer Wan Zafran Pawancheek, representing Aminah.
Based on the statement of claim filed on May 31 last year, Aminah claimed that her two grandchildren, as joint administrators of Jamaludin’s estate, had control over money amounting to RM21.3 million in the accounts of Jamaludin in local and foreign banks.
Aminah claimed that as Jamaludin’s mother, she was entitled to one-sixth of the amount deposited in the account, namely RM2.29 million, based on the faraid (Islamic law to determine the distribution of assets) system.
On Aug 13 last year, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur granted Aminah's application to include three million units of Rantai Wawasan Sdn Bhd company shares in the list of Jamaludin's estate.
However, judge Mohd Firuz Jaffril rejected Aminah's application for a declaration that the six million units of shares in the company Alpine Motion Sdn Bhd, and two units of shares in the company Ivory Insight Sdn Bhd, were part of her late son’s estate.
Jamaludin, a former science, technology and innovation minister, was killed in a helicopter crash alongside five others in April 2015.


Citing Umno links, judge recuses himself from hearing QC’s bid to lead Najib’s final appeal

A High Court judge has recused himself from hearing the application by Jonathan Laidlaw, a Queen’s Counsel (QC) of the UK, to represent Najib Razak in the former prime minister’s final appeal in the case involving the misappropriation of RM42 million from SRC International.Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh in a brief decision said he decided to recuse himself from hearing the application as one of his immediate family members was a very active politician and a divisional leader in the same political party as Najib, who is the appellant.Wan Ahmad Farid, who himself was once an Umno politician, said although he had resigned from the political party, his stand was that the public perception of the independence of the judiciary should not be put in doubt.“It is public knowledge that before being appointed to the bench, I was an active politician and at one time, a member of the administration and Dewan Negara.“I must add that, after taking my oath as a member of the judiciary, my only sacred duty is to preserve, protect and defend the Federal Constitution without fear or favour,” he said.The mention of Laidlaw’s application for ad hoc admission was initially fixed for today.In his final appeal at the Federal Court, Najib is seeking to quash his conviction and 12-year jail sentence as well as his fine of RM210 million for one charge of abuse of power, three charges of breach of trust and three charges of money laundering linked to SRC International funds.Wan Ahmad Farid said that in light of the factual narration that he alluded to earlier, his continued hearing of the originating motion and eventual decision, one way or the other, would not be seen as purely from the legal perspective, devoid of any extraneous predilections or preferences.“It would invite unnecessary criticism that would compromise the integrity of the judiciary. This is the very thing that I have to avoid despite running the risk of being accused of abdicating my judicial duty.“The public perception of the independence of the judiciary should not be put in doubt and it is not a matter of trial and error,” the judge said.Wan Ahmad Farid also said that an independent judiciary is a precious gift to any society and, once it is lost, anarchy reigns.“The independence of the judiciary must therefore be defended at all costs. For the reasons aforesaid, although there was no request made by any of the parties herein, I am recusing myself from hearing this originating motion,” he said.Earlier, the judge had asked if the parties were comfortable with him hearing Laidlaw’s admission, to which Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is representing Laidlaw, replied that he had no reservations as the judge was not involved in any SRC International or 1MDB-linked matters.Ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram who is leading the prosecution in the SRC International case said he would seek instruction from the Attorney-General’s Chambers.Bastian Vendargon from the Malaysian Bar and Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee chairman Vivekananda Sukumaran, who are objecting to the QC application, both said they would need to seek further instructions from the legal bodies.Laidlaw’s application is now fixed to be heard on July 6 before another High Court judge, Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid.On May 31, Najib filed the application to allow the QC to represent him in the SRC appeal on several grounds, including what he said was Laidlaw’s special qualifications, experience and expertise which were not available among lawyers in Malaysia.In his originating motion, Laidlaw sought to be admitted and enrolled to practise in the High Court in Malaya or Peninsular Malaysia to appear as Najib’s lead counsel in the SRC appeals at the Federal Court and all other related causes or matters.


'Not funny': Pro-PH comedian schooled on Twitter after jibe on PAS leader

An avid supporter of Pakatan Harapan (PH) has come under fire after bringing up PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's English language proficiency, as supporters of rival parties continue to trade barbs on social media more than a week after the conclusion of the 15th general election.
Jason Leong, a stand-up comedian who has been campaigning for PH while battling accusations of betrayal following the coalition's decision to join hands with scandal-tainted Umno leaders, also found himself under friendly fire over his tweet: "I have never ever met Hadi Awang in my life, but you can tell he can't speak English."
His post was met with a stream of replies from Twitter users, most of whom schooled him for raising an irrelevant topic, and others chiding him for not "making it easy" for PH supporters on social media.
"With all the fitnah and bullshit coming out from PN, I don't know whether to respond furiously or to refuse the bait. Regardless, I echo the sentiments of many others that PH should have a dedicated comms team to counter misinformation," Leong attempted to defend his statement amid a barrage of replies.
"With personal attacks like this towards PN, you're not making it easy either," came one reply.
Leong questioned: "How is this is a personal attack?", to which another user said: "They say if you have nothing nice to say then keep quiet".
Mohammad Faeez Harith, with some 77,000 followers on Twitter, turned the tables on Leong, saying: "I never met Jason Leong in my life, but you can tell he wasn't funny as a comedian should be."
A flurry of comments followed, with many agreeing that Leong was not a good comedian.
User ir.syid said he had watched one of Leong's stand-ups.
"Not that funny, I slept most of the time of it. And idk why I'm so dumb picking up his show."
"Nahhh... Next. Not worth the time," said another.
"He's a comedian? I thought he's a..." said Supetuiter, using an emoji of a clown.
Another user shared a previous post from local hip-hop king Joe Flizzow: "Don't think you are clever just because you're good at conversing. Sometimes your conversation is empty anyway."
Meanwhile, one Twitter user posted a short clip of an interview Hadi had given on an Arabic news channel, where he made a point about ideology clashes in fluent Arabic.
"Jason Leong downgrading people like he knows Arabic language," wrote Amru.
"Downgrading people makes your life better now? What a doctor you are?" asked T2woFace, referring to Leong's medical degree.
Leong meanwhile has continued to share his views on other developments, including his stand on the recent vote in the Singapore parliament to decriminalise gay sex.
"Majulah Singapura," Leong tweeted in welcoming the repeal of Section 377A of the city-state's Penal Code.


Emergency ordinances should be debated in Dewan, says academic

The emergency ordinances declared upon the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah should be tabled and debated in the Dewan Rakyat as long as His Majesty has not consented to their revocation, an academic says.Incumbent of the Malay Rulers Chair at Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz, said this was enshrined in Article 150, Clause 3 of the Federal Constitution.“If the king has not consented for the ordinances to be revoked, they can be scrutinised when Parliament convenes and the best way is to debate the matter, which I feel will be able to resolve the predicament faced now.“Besides that, a debate will also mean democracy is enriched, and if the legal provisions are followed, it will show more transparency on the part of the government,” she said on the Ruang Bicara programme last night.Shamrahayu said Parliament still needs to scrutinise and debate matters concerning the emergency ordinances despite them being scheduled to expire on Aug 1.If this is not done, she said Article 150, Clause 7 allows the emergency ordinances to continue for another six months after the expiry date.Meanwhile, Shamrahayu said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s reproach through a statement issued by Istana Negara should be taken as a lesson for all parties that the principle of constitutional monarchy is now taking on a new dimension.She said developments of late have shown that the king is seen as able to advise, warn and voice out views to the government.In Istana Negara’s statement, Sultan Abdullah expressed the utmost disappointment with the statement made in Parliament on Monday that the government had revoked all emergency ordinances under the ongoing emergency without His Majesty’s consent.Sultan Abdullah also said he was also very disappointed that his decree to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Takiyuddin Hassan and Attorney-General Idrus Harun for the proposed revocation of the ordinances to be tabled and debated in Parliament had not been carried out.


Moscow records pandemic high for Covid cases second day running

Russia’s capital Moscow on Saturday registered 9,120 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours, a second consecutive high, according to government figures.Saturday’s record topped the previous day’s total of 9,056 new infections, according to the government’s coronavirus tally, ballooning from 3,000 daily just two weeks ago.The new cases are being driven by the highly infectious Delta variant first identified in India and have threatened to overwhelm Moscow’s hospitals, as officials rush to roll out new beds for Covid patients.To deal with the onslaught of new patients, Deputy Moscow Mayor Anastasia Rakova said in a statement that the city would expand hospital beds to 24,000 from 17,000 over the next two weeks.Moscow, the epicentre of Russia’s outbreak, accounted Saturday for more than half of the country’s new cases, which stood at nearly 5.3 million since the start of the pandemic.The total caseload is the sixth-highest worldwide, according to an AFP tally.On Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the Delta variant accounted for nearly 90% of new cases.The highly infectious variant has forced the mayor to reintroduce a host of pandemic restrictions in the Russian capital, which for months had all but returned to life as normal.Russian authorities had banked on their four vaccines – Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona, CoviVac and the one-dose Sputnik Light – to curtail the pandemic, but has faced a populace sceptical of inoculation.Although Russia rolled out its jab drive in December, just 19 million out of a population of some 146 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the Gogov website which tallies Covid figures from the regions and the media in the absence of a national statistics office.One recent independent survey said 60% of Russians do not intend to be vaccinated.But on Wednesday, Sobyanin ordered mandatory vaccination for residents of the Russian capital working in the service industry, saying some 60% would have to be fully inoculated by Aug 15.


Risky for BN to delay dissolving Parliament, says Najib

Barisan Nasional (BN) advisory board chairman Najib Razak says the coalition will have to shoulder risks if it continues to delay the dissolution of Parliament.The former prime minister said he had gone through a similar experience before, which led to declining support for BN and, eventually, its first ever defeat, at the 14th general election (GE14) in 2018.He said he did not want the same fate to befall BN in GE15 as the current government’s tenure will expire next year.BN consists of Umno, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).“When will GE15 be held? I am not sure but I want to share this for the first time. I want to confess that we should have held GE14 after the 2017 SEA Games and maybe BN might have won big, but we delayed, and when we deferred, the situation changed,” he said at the BN convention in conjunction with its 48th anniversary celebration in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.Also present were Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan and the leaders of other component parties.On the date for GE15, Najib, who is Pekan MP, said he hoped the Umno “top five” would discuss the matter and help the prime minister decide on the right time for dissolving Parliament to pave the way for polls, because the risks are too high.The top five refers to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, deputy president Mohamad Hasan and vice-presidents Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Mahdzir Khalid and Ismail.


How airlines are nominated in global competition

Every year, airlines around the world are nominated and compete for the title of best airline.
The results are announced by Skytrax, an international air transport rating organisation, after collecting feedback from passengers through a series of questions in a worldwide survey.
With the data it collects, Skytrax shortlists the airlines with the most votes before announcing the winners according to category.
While there are several categories, the spotlight is usually on the World's Best Airline.
The winner in this category for 2022 was Qatar Airways, followed by Singapore Airlines and Emirates in third place.
Other categories include Best Low-Cost Airline, won by AirAsia; Best Cabin Crew (Singapore Airlines); and Cleanest Airline Cabin (ANA All Nippon Airways).
Still other categories include cabin class, region and airport lounge.
Airlines are also listed according to ranking from 1 to 100.
The competition is open to any airline in the world, with passengers given the opportunity to vote for the company of their choice.
According to the Skytrax website, 13.42 million eligible survey entries were accepted in the final results with 88% of them registered as of March 2020.
For the most recent contest, the survey was conducted from September 2021 to August 2022, with respondents from more than 100 countries voting for 350 airlines.
Online voting is conducted through www.worldairlinesurvey.com, where entries are screened through IP checks to ensure that passengers do not vote more than once.
Customers nominate their preferred airline and rate their satisfaction with their travel experience on a scale of 1 to 5.
Nevertheless, Skytrax also stresses that the airline announced as the winner may not necessarily be the airline of choice for all parties.
Questions have also been asked about the survey method, and the possibility that the respondents include airline employees.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, aviation expert Germal Singh Khera did not rule out the possibility that airline employees were among the survey participants.
Nevertheless, he said the sample size was too big for any one company to swing the survey results in its favour.
"It's also possible that the respondents who participated in the survey were off-duty staff," he said.
"In that case, they would be treated like a normal passenger."
He added that the evaluation of the airlines depends on the categories involved.
Participants are also polled only on the services offered by the airlines, not about the issues the airlines may be facing, he said.
"For example, it will ask for their views in terms of comfort, price level, and crew service," he said.
"They also differentiate between air and ground services. The feedback is then sorted into categories before comparisons are made between the various airlines."
When contacted, Skytrax said measures had been put in place to prevent any abuse of process.
"Our surveys office has very complex IP and AI checking systems in place, developed over 20 years, to prevent any misuse of customer voting, including airline employees," it said.


MPs subjected to rigorous verification as Agong out to ensure stability during pandemic

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong has been conducting “rigorous verification” of MPs’ choice of prime minister, including to ensure that the letters submitted to the palace yesterday were signed without any duress, MalaysiaNow understands.Those familiar with the goings-on in Istana Negara today, where the Agong is personally meeting 114 MPs, said the process appeared to ensure that MPs have full conviction in the candidate they chose to form the next government.“Each MP has to clearly introduce himself, stating their name and other identity details.“They are then asked if whatever they wrote in their certified letter yesterday was not under duress and out of their own free will,” one source told MalaysiaNow.The 114 MPs comprise those from Perikatan Nasional (PN), Umno and GPS, as well as four independents, widely believed to have named former deputy prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as their preference to lead the next government.Ismail was among the Umno leaders and Cabinet members who had refused to join their party bosses Najib Razak and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in campaigning for Muhyiddin Yassin’s ouster by revoking support for him.The thorough manner of verification could be a reflection of the palace’s concern that the new government could crumble as well if several MPs decide to revoke their support, which could throw the country into another political turmoil in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis.Yesterday, Istana Negara in a statement said party leaders were reminded by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to help any future government in battling the pandemic, adding that the people were fed up with constant politicking.Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah also told them that the prolonged political conflict was at the cost of the country’s economic recovery.This is the second time that the responsibility of choosing a new government outside a general election has fallen on the shoulders of Sultan Abdullah, who assumed the throne in 2019.A similar exercise in February 2020 saw MPs summoned to the palace to state who they supported, which eventually saw Muhyiddin appointed as the eighth prime minister.The source said this time, however, the palace was out to ensure that MPs stick to their choice, and that the next government will not collapse until the next general election due in 2023.


Ismail denies retirement plans

Former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today denied claims that he wished to retire from politics, saying he would remain active as the MP for Bera even though he was no longer an Umno vice-president.
Ismail said he would also continue carrying out his duties as Bera Umno division chief after winning the post unopposed.
"I am still the MP for Bera, so I will continue to serve as the division chief.
"There is no reason for me to retire. I never said I wanted to retire, I just gave the impression that I would not be running for the vice-presidency," he said at a press conference in Bera.
Although it was understood that he had won unopposed after the Bera Umno secretary announced that there were no other nominations by the deadline of 5pm on Feb 26, Ismail said he would wait for the final decision from the Umno headquarters.
On whether he would make a comeback in any of the party's top positions or continue to defend the Bera parliamentary seat at the next general election, Ismail said time would tell.
"Five years is a long time. I will be old at that time... already 68 years old. For some people, 68 is still young and some people feel old.
"Let’s see (if I’ll contest at the next election). I have groomed some young and capable leaders in Bera as well.
"If they perform well, I have no problem giving way to them. Five years is a long period, anything can happen... let’s wait," he said.


Virus variants no longer named after countries, says WHO

Covid-19 variants are to be known by letters of the Greek alphabet to avoid stigmatising nations where they were first detected, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Monday.The new system applies to variants of concern – the most troubling of which four are in circulation – and the second-level variants of interest being tracked.“They will not replace existing scientific names, but are aimed to help in public discussion,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead.Under the new system, the variants of concern take on the following names: the hitherto so-called British variant B.1.1.7 becomes Alpha; the B.1.351 first discovered in South Africa becomes Beta, while the Brazilian P.1 becomes Gamma.The so-called Indian variant B.1.617 is split into sub-lineages, of which the B.1.617.2 variant of concern becomes Delta.The B.1.617.1 variant of interest is called Kappa.Besides these names, there are two other scientific names in use for each mutation, while different geographic names have been used to describe the same variant.For example, within Britain, what other countries have been referring to as the British variant is often called the Kent variant – the county in southeast England where it was first discovered.The lineage names such as B.1.1.7.2 will still continue to be used in scientific circles, for the mutation information that their name conveys.‘Stigmatising and discriminatory’“While they have their advantages, these scientific names can be difficult to say and recall, and are prone to misreporting,” WHO said in a statement.“As a result, people often resort to calling variants by the places where they are detected, which is stigmatising and discriminatory.“To avoid this and to simplify public communications, WHO encourages national authorities, media outlets and others to adopt these new labels.”Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden signed a hate crimes law aimed at protecting Asian Americans who have suffered a surge in attacks during the Covid-19 pandemic.US anti-extremism groups say the number of attacks and hate crimes against Asian Americans has exploded since the beginning of the crisis.They lay some of the blame with former president Donald Trump, who repeatedly referred to Covid-19 as the “China virus”.WHO has been trying to come up with simplified new nomenclature for the variants for several months.The Greek alphabet contains 24 letters but there is no plan yet as to where to go next if they are exhausted.Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta and Iota have already been ascribed to variants of interest.


4.2 million yet to register as voters

A total of 4.2 million people aged 21 and above who are eligible to vote have yet to register as voters, the Dewan Negara was told today.Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Shabudin Yahaya said the figure represents 22% of the total number of Malaysians who are currently eligible to vote.“This figure does not bode well for the development of the electoral roll.“Currently, the number of voters who are 21 years old and above is about 15 million. When we implement the voting at 18 system, we will add another six to seven million voters,” he said during question time.He was responding to Ismail Yusop about the measures taken by the government to empower new voters ahead of the move to implement voting at the age of 18.Shabudin said the Election Commission (EC) should not be responsible for raising awareness about the issue.Instead, he said, it was the responsibility of all, including NGOs and political parties.He said the government, specifically the EC, had carried out campaigns and programmes including an online voter registration programme via https://mysprdaftar.spr.gov.my launched on July 18 last year, which received a good response, especially from young voters.The EC is also in the midst of preparing for the implementation of the lower voting age as well as automatic voter registration in accordance with the amendments to Article 119 (4) of the Federal Constitution which had been passed by the Parliament, he added.


Stop court cluster, Mahathir tells voters ahead of Johor polls

Pejuang chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad today urged voters in Johor to put a stop to plans by the court cluster to return to power through a series of state elections, saying the effect of the polls next month will have a huge impact on the general election to come.“This state election was planned by the group known as the court cluster and by kleptocrats from Umno,” he said in an open letter.“Their purpose is to bolster their positions in states as an early step before the 15th general election. Their plan is that when they win in the upcoming general election, they will be able to use their position to settle their cases of abuse of power, and theft of the people’s money and possessions.”While some have said that the court cluster and so-called kleptocrats are not contesting the election themselves, he said candidates running on Umno/Barisan Nasional tickets would lend strength to this group.“Your votes will determine which party leads the next Johor administration,” he said.Mahathir’s letter comes days after former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin issued a similar warning, saying the person who leads Umno during the election is the party president.“If they win the election, in general the person who is appointed as prime minister is the party president. If this should happen, then the plans of the court cluster will be achieved.“They will return to power and settle their problems, God forbid,” he said in a Facebook post.“The only way to defeat the court cluster is to ensure that BN does not win the Johor election.”The court cluster refers to a group of Umno MPs including former prime minister Najib Razak and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who are facing criminal charges in court.


Amanah banks on 'unity' formula to recapture Kedah in state polls

Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) will use the "unity" formula to support its political allies in the coalition government to jointly recapture Kedah in the upcoming state elections, its vice president Adly Zahari said.
Adly, who is also deputy defence minister, said he was confident that through this approach, and the consensus reached between Amanah and its political allies, there was a good chance of capturing Kedah.
"I am confident that this 'unity' formula offers much scope not only to defend the three states (Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan) but also to recapture Kedah and at the same time, Kelantan and Terengganu," he told reporters after presenting the Prior Experiential Learning-RPEL recognition programme and Perhebat certificates to Malaysian armed forces veterans in Sungai Buloh today.
Meanwhile, commenting on the meeting between Khairy Jamaluddin and key leaders of the coalition government and Perikatan Nasional, Adly said this was the best way to determine the future and political career of the former health minister.
"I believe that the unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is doing well because it takes into account all views and is based on the spirit of unity from the beginning," he said.
Khairy's presence in discussions with several business figures and economic experts, including Umno vice-president Johari Abdul Ghani raised questions about his decision to join the coalition government after he was sacked by Umno on Jan 27.


Dam supplying water to Crimea blown up in southern Ukraine

Ukraine and Russia accused each other on Tuesday of blowing up a dam and causing widespread flooding in southern Ukraine, while Russia said it had thwarted another Ukrainian offensive in eastern Donetsk and inflicted heavy losses.
Russia launched a new wave of overnight air strikes on Kyiv and Ukraine said its air defence systems downed more than 20 cruise missiles on their approach to the city.
The South command of Ukraine's Armed Forces said Russian forces blew up the Soviet-era Nova Kakhovka dam in occupied Kherson region.
Unverified videos on social media showed intense explosions around the dam and water surging through. The dam, 30m tall and 3.2km long, was built in 1956 on the Dnipro river.
It holds water equal to that in the Great Salt Lake in the US state of Utah and also supplies water to Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, and to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is also under Russian control.
"The scale of the destruction, the speed and volumes of water, and the likely areas of inundation are being clarified," the Ukrainian military said on Facebook.
Russian news agencies said the dam had been destroyed in shelling while the mayor of Russia-controlled Nova Kahhovka city was quoted as blaming an act of terrorism - Russian shorthand for an attack by Ukraine.
There was no "critical danger" to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia facility - Europe's largest nuclear plant - Russia's Tass state agency cited a Moscow-backed official in the Zaporizhzhia region as saying.
The Russian installed head of the Kherson region said evacuation near the dam has begun and that water would reach critical levels within five hours.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports and it was unclear whether any of the latest fighting marked the beginning of Ukraine's long-anticipated counter-offensive.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will hold an emergency meeting over the Nova Kakhova dam blast in southern Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, said on Twitter on Tuesday.
Ukrainian officials have made no mention of any broad, significant new campaign, although in his nightly address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was enigmatic, hailing "the news we have been waiting for" and forward moves in Bakhmut in Donetsk.
Ukranian attacks
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on Feb 24 last year in what the Kremlin expected to be a swift operation, but its forces suffered a series of defeats and regrouped in the country's east.
Tens of thousands of Russian troops dug in over the winter, besieging Bakhmut for months and bracing for an expected Ukrainian counter-attack to try to cut Russia's so-called land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula.
Russia says it thwarted a major Ukrainian attack in the Donetsk region over the weekend and on Tuesday the defence ministry said a fresh Ukrainian assault had also been repelled.
Russian forces inflicted huge personnel losses on attacking Ukrainian forces and destroyed 28 tanks, including eight Leopard main battle tanks and 109 armoured vehicles, it said. Total Ukrainian losses amounted to 1,500 troops.
"Having suffered heavy losses the day before, the Kiev regime reorganized the remnants of the 23rd and 31st mechanized brigades into separate consolidated units, which continued offensive operations," the ministry said on Telegram.
"A complex fire defeat was inflicted by army forces, assault and operational-tactical aviation, missile forces and artillery, as well as heavy flamethrower systems."
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv about Russia's assertions. Russia and Ukraine have often made claims of inflicting heavy human losses on each other which could not be verified.
The Washington Post reported that some US officials thought Ukraine's counter-offensive was underway, but White House national security spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on whether this was the case.
"I'm not going to be talking for the Ukrainian military," he told a briefing, adding that the US had done "everything we could... to make sure that they had all the equipment, the training, the capabilities to be successful."
The success or failure of a counteroffensive, expected to be waged with billions of dollars worth of advanced Western weaponry, is likely to influence the shape of future Western diplomatic and military support for Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Reuters on Monday that Ukraine now had enough weapons for a counteroffensive but declined to comment when asked whether it had begun.
In its evening report on Monday, Ukraine's General Staff made no mention of any large-scale offensive, nor did it suggest any deviation from the usual tempo or scope of fighting along front lines that have not changed significantly for months.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram that Ukraine was "shifting to offensive actions" along parts of the front but dismissed suggestions of a major operation.
Writing on Telegram, Russia's Wagner militia leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Moscow's claims of huge Ukrainian losses were "simply wild and absurd science fiction."
Russia now controls at least 18% of internationally recognised Ukrainian territory and has claimed four more regions of Ukraine as Russian territory after annexing Crimea in 2014.


Aerospace expert urges more teeth for space law after China rocket crash

An aerospace expert has called for further improvements to the country's space law to pre-empt adverse effects in the event of another incident such as the recent crash of debris from a Chinese rocket in parts of Sarawak.
Renuganth Varatharajoo, a professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia, said the Malaysian Space Board Act 2022 (Act 834), gazetted on Jan 25, was a step in the right direction for the country.
"It's good that we have our own act, but we need to enhance and improve it, and put in more provisions," he said.
"What is important now is that all those countries that are going to launch have to actually abide by these conditions, assuming that as soon as the rocket is launched, the debris might hit and kill somebody."
China's Long March 5B rocket, which blasted off July 24 to deliver a laboratory module to the new Chinese space station under construction in orbit, fell back to Earth over the Indian Ocean on July 30.
China had said it would closely track the debris but that it posed little risk to anyone on the ground.
Objects were later found in Kampung Nyalau, Bintulu and Kampung Sepupok Lama, Niah, Miri. The science, technology and innovation ministry said these had been sent for analysis by the chemistry department with the assistance of the Malaysian Space Agency.
No reports were made of injuries or damage to property.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Renuganth said the chances of falling debris hitting a city were low as 70% of Earth is covered in water.
"But this is not to say that there are zero chances. The chances of risk are always there," he said, adding that space collisions were becoming more frequent due to the growing number of vehicles launched into space.
While Malaysia had Act 834, he said, it only described the general responsibilities of the nation in terms adopted from an international treaty by the United Nations.
"Does Malaysia have a law to address such incidents? Yes. But can we charge for any damage caused by the spacecraft? At the moment, we can't," he said.
For the space law to be effective, he said, it required more detailed provisions and regulations to address dangerous incidents under international space law.
And while the international space act provided guidelines on the prevention of debris, he said, there was no standardised and coordinated space traffic management system on the global level.
"For example, let's say a piece of debris lands on your office. What happens? Are they going to pay you compensation? No. Does this treaty help address this issue? No.
"There are no provisions for this. It's not up to that extent."
Decades ago, he said, fewer incidents occurred because there was less traffic in space.
"Now, many countries have begun launching satellites, so traffic has grown, and we can see incidents starting to come in.
"But you can't fight it, you can't bring this to court because there are no provisions," he said.
"This is why there are complications, because the details are not yet there."
He said Malaysia should also work with other countries so that the global space act can be extended with compensation.
"Yes, we have our own act, but is the same act that we have here applicable and agreed to by others?
"Everyone has their own definition of space and space utilisation," he said. "Based on that, people define their own space act or space law.
"There needs to be a better understanding of space. Space is everyone's territory, it's no-man's land. And all nations need to take full responsibility for these precautions."


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Single minded: All set in China for world’s biggest shopping frenzy

The world’s largest online shopping bonanza began in China Wednesday with an army of workers and robots primed to sort packages, and international superstars hired to drive sales, on “Singles’ Day”.Conceived as an antidote to Valentine’s Day, the event falls on the eleventh of the eleventh – with all its ones – and was meant to be an occasion for individuals to treat themselves to something new.It has morphed into something else, however, and Nov 11 is expected to generate sales far outstripping the pre-Christmas “Black Friday” in the US.It will also be closely watched in China for signs of consumer sentiment during the coronavirus pandemic.The event started in 2009 with apparel sales on e-commerce giant Alibaba’s Tmall platform.But in a nation of online shoppers, it now rakes in double what US retail giant Amazon does in a month, according to a recent report by consultants Bain & Co.“Over the past five years, the ‘Double 11’ sales event has grown by an annual 35%, generating 410 billion yuan (approximately US$60.4 billion) in gross merchandise value for retailers and brands,” the report said.Reignite domestic demandAt Alibaba’s logistics hub, some 1,000 robots hummed in readiness Tuesday, with an anticipated flood of orders.In China, where the coronavirus first surfaced, the recovery in retail sales has lagged behind that of industrial sectors, with authorities and retailers trying to reignite domestic demand.Alibaba – quite literally playing on the numbers – has this year extended “Singles’ Day” from 24 hours to an 11-day shopping campaign.And in a continued riff to hype the event, superstars such as Katy Perry have been hired to appear at an 11.11 Gala in Shanghai – to be broadcast online.Singer Taylor Swift and supermodel Miranda Kerr are also expected to take part in interactive live broadcasts with Chinese consumers.“Singles’ Day sales stats could be a useful anecdote of rebounding consumption,” said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi, in a report this week.The Economist Intelligence Unit said it expects China’s retail sales recovery to firm in the last three months of the year – well supported by this shopping festival.“China’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic before other major economies will also support consumer confidence,” it said.


Hague court rejects India's objections over water treaty arbitration

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague rejected on Thursday India's objections to a Pakistan-initiated procedure over water use in the Indus River basin, reopening a procedure that had been blocked for many years.
India called the arbitration proceeding illegal as a neutral expert was also looking at the issue and the World Bank-brokered treaty prohibits parallel proceedings.
The South Asian neighbours have been arguing over hydroelectric projects on the shared Indus River and its tributaries for decades, with Pakistan complaining that India's planned hydropower dams in upstream areas will cut flows on the river which feeds 80% of its irrigated agriculture.
To resolve the dispute, Pakistan sought resolution through PCA arbitration proceedings in 2016, prompting India to request that the World Bank appoint a neutral expert under the terms of the treaty. India has boycotted The Hague court proceedings and questioned the competence of the court.
"In a unanimous decision, which is binding on the Parties and without appeal, the Court rejected each of the objections raised by India and determined that the Court is competent to consider and determine the disputes set forth in Pakistan's Request for Arbitration," the court said in a statement.
It gave no details on when and how the case will continue, but added that it will address the interpretation and application of the bilateral Indus Water Treaty, notably the provisions on hydro-electric projects, as well as the legal effect of past decisions of dispute resolution bodies under the Treaty.
A spokesperson for India's foreign ministry, Arindam Bagchi, said India's "consistent and principled position has been that the constitution of this so-called court of arbitration is in contravention of the clear letter and spirit of the Indus Water Treaty".
He said India was participating in the proceedings of the neutral expert, which he called "the only treaty-consistent proceedings at this juncture".
"Legal sophistry" will not compel India to participate in the proceedings of the PCA, Bagchi said.
India says the construction of its Kishanganga and Ratle Hydro Electric projects is allowed by the treaty.
Pakistan's Foreign Office said that it remained fully committed to the implementation of the Indus Water Treaty and its settlement mechanism, which it termed a "foundational agreement" between the two countries.
"We hope that India would also implement the Treaty in good faith," Foreign Office spokesman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement on Thursday night.


Immigration slammed for xenophobia, hypocrisy over warnings to Rohingya refugees

Rights group Amnesty International Malaysia today hit out at the immigration department over a poster warning Rohingya refugees against coming to Malaysia, contrasting its message with the authorities’ recent show of support for the Palestinians.In a statement, it said “strategic communications” and policies such as those shown in the poster would only “foster a climate of hatred, violence and xenophobia”.“They harm lives, they punish people for trying to survive, they justify discrimination,” it added.The poster, uploaded to the immigration department’s Twitter page, showed men in uniform carrying guns with military planes overhead against a backdrop of vessels including a boat packed with what appear to be migrants.Update: The poster has since been taken down.The caption of the poster reads: “Migran etnik Rohingya, kedatangan anda tidak diundangi” (Rohingya migrants, your arrival is not lawful).Amnesty said it was “despicable” to tell a community which had undergone ethnic cleansing and endured “unimaginable brutality for generations” that “they are not only unwanted in our country, but that we will use brute force against them”.“It is also particularly grotesque coming from leaders who will crow to the international community about their concern for Palestinians one week, then in the next breath threaten violence against others who are traumatised and displaced.“How does the Malaysian government justify that hypocrisy?”Adding that refugees and migrants deserve to have their humanity upheld, it said “people will come because they want to survive”.“We can choose to spend so much money and resources on acts of violence and hatred, or we can create a response of care and protection.“The Malaysian government must explain why, especially in the time of a global pandemic, they have chosen to attack people in need,” it said.


Satellite attack: the mounting arms race in space

Last year a US general made an ominous revelation: two Russian satellites in orbit were stalking a US spy satellite high above the earth.It wasn’t clear if the Cosmos satellites could attack USA-245, an American surveillance spacecraft.“It has the potential to create a dangerous situation in space,” said General Jay Raymond, head of the Pentagon’s Space Command.The incident passed, but it marked a new stage in the mounting arms race in space, where potentially bomb-armed satellites, laser-shooting spacecraft and other technologies have moved from science fiction to reality.The stakes were made clear Monday when Russia launched a missile from Earth and blasted to pieces one of its satellites in a show of force.Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the act “reckless.”“It demonstrates that Russia is now developing new weapons systems that can shoot down satellites,” he said at a meeting Tuesday with EU defense ministers.Kamikaze satellitesThe militarisation of space is as old as the space race itself – as soon as Sputnik was launched into orbit in 1957, Washington and Moscow began exploring ways to both arm and destroy satellites.In the beginning, the biggest worry was nuclear weapons in space. In 1967 the superpowers and other countries signed the Outer Space Treaty, banning weapons of mass destruction in orbit.Since then, Russia, the US, China and even India have explored ways to fight in space outside of the treaty.That competition today focuses on destroying a rival’s satellites, which are increasingly essential to every advanced military for communications, surveillance and navigation.In 1970, Moscow successfully tested a satellite loaded with explosives that could destroy another satellite in orbit.The US answered back in 1983, when then-president Ronald Reagan announced his ambitious Strategic Defense Initiative – the “Star Wars” program promising precision-guided anti-missile missiles and satellites emitting laser beams or microwaves – to make the US militarily superior.Much of the technology envisioned was unfeasible. But in a landmark move, the Pentagon used a missile to destroy a failed satellite in a 1985 test.Since then, rivals have sought to show they had the same targeting skills: China in 2007 and India in 2019.After trying for some time, Russia’s successful shoot-down on Monday was unsurprising for many experts.“The Russians did not need to detonate the satellite to demonstrate that they had the ability to do so,” said Isabelle Sourbes-Verger, a space expert at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research.It was a demonstration “that if necessary in asymmetric responses, Russia will not permit the US to be the only one in control of space,” she said.Space stalkersCountries are intensely secretive about their military space activities, and because many of the technologies involved are dual-use – useful for both civilian and defense purposes – their capabilities are not fully clear.But the race is such that by 2019, the year the Pentagon established its Space Force, it believed that Russia and China had the potential to surpass the US.“Maintaining American dominance in that domain is now the mission of the US Space Force,” said then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.The race has evolved from the idea of killing satellites with missiles, or kamikaze satellites, to finding ways to damage them with laser or high-powered microwave weapons.Both Russia and China have developed “space stalker” satellites that can be manipulated to physically interfere with others, according to Brian Chow, an independent space policy analyst who spent 25 years at the Rand Corp think tank.With robotic arms, “they can just stalk the opponent satellite and move it somewhere else, or bend an antenna” to render it useless, said Chow.Those satellites remain few, but Russia’s deployment of two to menace the US satellite in 2020 shows the technology has arrived.China and the US both have ultra-secret programs of small, reusable, robotic, winged spacecraft which could potentially be used with weapons and damage a rival’s satellites.Countries are also developing surface-based weapons to jam and spoof satellite signals, and to use directed energy to damage them.The US Defense Intelligence Agency said in 2019 that China had five bases with ground-based lasers that could be used to disable enemy satellites.“Every satellite that passes over China would be subject to attack,” said Chow.


Survivors spotted after plane goes missing in Siberia

A Russian plane carrying at least 17 people that went missing on Friday in the Siberian region of Tomsk has been found and survivors have been spotted, officials said.The plane, operated by Siberian Light Aviation (SiLA), was flying from the town of Kedrovy to the regional capital Tomsk when communication was lost, Governor Sergei Zhvachkin’s office said in a statement.It said 17 people were on board including three crew members and four children, though the emergencies ministry later said there were 19 people on board.The ministry announced later that the plane had been found, apparently after making a “hard landing”, and that survivors had been seen.Russian news agencies quoted officials saying it appeared that all the passengers and crew had survived.News agency TASS reported that the An-28 plane had passed all safety checks but cited a SiLA executive as saying that the flight had been delayed by 10 hours because of bad weather.The latest incident follows a July 6 crash of an An-26 plane in Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, killing all 28 people on board.Antonov planes were manufactured during the Soviet era and are still used throughout the former USSR for civilian and military transport. They have been involved in a number of accidents in recent years.A local transport source told the Interfax news agency that the plane was built in 1989 and used by Russian airline Aeroflot and in ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan before going into service with SiLA in 2014.The An-28 is a twin-engine light turboprop plane with a usual capacity of 17 passengers.Russia, once notorious for plane accidents, has improved its air traffic safety record in recent years.But poor aircraft maintenance and lax safety standards persist.In May 2019 a Sukhoi Superjet belonging to the flag carrier airline Aeroflot crash-landed and caught fire on the runway of a Moscow airport, killing 41 people.In February 2018, a Saratov Airlines An-148 aircraft crashed near Moscow shortly after take-off, killing all 71 people on board. An investigation later concluded that the accident was caused by human error.Flying in Russia can also be dangerous in the vast country’s isolated regions with difficult weather conditions such as the Arctic and the Far East.


Australia wants ‘full investigation’ into China laser incident, says Morrison

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a Chinese naval vessel that pointed a laser at an Australian defence plane was potentially visible from Australia’s mainland, as Canberra demands a “full investigation” by Beijing.Morrison said on radio on Monday his government had not received an explanation from China over the incident last Thursday, considered by Canberra as a “dangerous and reckless act”.A Chinese navy vessel within Australia’s exclusive economic zone directed a laser at an Australian military aircraft in flight over Australia’s northern approaches, illuminating the plane and potentially endangering lives, Australia’s defence said on Saturday.The P-8A Poseidon – a maritime patrol aircraft – detected a laser emanating from a People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) vessel, the Defence Department said, releasing photographs of two Chinese vessels sailing close to Australia’s northern coast.A Chinese guided missile destroyer and an amphibious transport dock were sailing east through the Arafura Sea between New Guinea and Australia at the time of the incident, and later passed through the narrow Torres Strait.“It’s possible people could even see the vessel from our mainland, potentially,” Morrison told reporters in Tasmania on Monday.Australia had called through diplomatic and defence channels for “a full investigation into this event”, he said on local radio.He compared the incident to a hypothetical situation of an Australian frigate pointing a laser at Chinese surveillance aircraft in the Taiwan Strait, adding: “Could you imagine their reaction to that in Beijing?”The Chinese embassy in Canberra did not respond to a request for comment. Beijing has not commented publicly about the incident.


Probe election funding for PKR, DAP as well, Anwar told

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been urged to investigate the election expenditure of Pakatan Harapan (PH) components PKR and DAP, as well as Barisan Nasional (BN) amid reports that the anti-graft agency is probing Bersatu to determine the source of its election funding.
Marzuki Mohamad, the former principal private secretary to Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin during his time as prime minister, said both DAP and PKR had spent big on election material including flags, posters, billboards, lorries and social media campaigns.
"This does not include the rental for the jet and helicopter used by Anwar during the campaign period, or the other costs involving the party machinery," he said.
"According to my rough estimate, the total cost of PKR and DAP's election campaigns would amount to hundreds of millions of ringgit. Where did these funds come from?"
Marzuki had urged PKR and DAP to publish their account statements, including the trustee accounts held on behalf of the parties, if any.
Anwar later said that PKR would do so if asked by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
"The MACC can run a check on any party. Bersatu does not disclose its account, it was investigated," the PKR president said.
"I have no problem as the PKR account is audited and submitted to the Registrar of Societies on schedule every year."
In a Facebook post, Marzuki asked if PKR and DAP had received any funding from business tycoons who have dealings with the state governments of Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, which are administered by PH.
"It would not be fair to investigate only Bersatu due to accusations of spending big," he added.
"PKR and DAP also spent a lot."
He said BN too should be investigated over its election funds, adding that BN ministers had formed part of the Perikatan Nasional (BN) government while the prime minister after PN's administration had also come from BN.
"I believe that the prime minister is a fair person who always holds fast to the principles of justice," he said.
"So be fair in all acts."


Novavax starts Covid vaccine trials on children

US biotech firm Novavax said Monday it had started clinical trials of its proposed Covid-19 vaccine on children, in a programme that will involve up to 3,000 adolescents aged 12-17.Far fewer children have been sick with Covid-19 compared to adults, and most have mild to no symptoms, but they can be infected and spread the virus.Novavax said the trials would test “the efficacy (and) safety” of the vaccine, with participants receiving either the vaccine candidate or placebo in two doses, 21 days apart.Participants will be monitored for up to two years after their injections.The Novavax vaccine has not yet been authorised in any country, including for adults, but the company plans to file for emergency authorisation in Britain “in the second quarter of 2021”, followed by in the US.Novavax announced at the end of January that clinical trials conducted in Britain involving 15,000 adults showed 89.3% efficacy.The Novavax vaccine, which uses different technology from the doses already widely licensed around the world, is a protein-based vaccine engineered from the genetic sequence of the first strain of the coronavirus.It can be stored at a temperature between two and eight degrees Celsius.Other vaccine companies including Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer are also conducting trials in adolescents.Europe’s medicines watchdog said Monday it had begun evaluating the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, after a similar request in the US.Vaccine authorisation for children is seen as a crucial step towards achieving herd immunity.


Japan puts missile defences on alert as North Korea warns of satellite launch

Japan put its ballistic missile defences on alert on Monday and vowed to shoot down any projectile that threatens its territory, after North Korea notified it of a planned satellite launch between May 31 and June 11.
The nuclear-armed North says it has completed its first military spy satellite and leader Kim Jong Un has approved final preparations for the launch.
It would be the North's latest step in a series of missile launches and weapons tests in recent months, including one of a new, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.
Tokyo expects North Korea to fire the rocket carrying its satellite over Japan's southwest island chain as it did in 2016, a defence ministry spokesperson said.
Analysts say the new satellite is part of a surveillance technology programme that includes drones, aimed at improving the ability to strike targets in wartime.
"We will take destructive measures against ballistic and other missiles that are confirmed to land in our territory," Japan's defence ministry said in a statement.
Japan would use its Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) or Patriot Missile Pac-3 to destroy a North Korean missile, it added.
Any North Korean missile launch would be a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions condemning its nuclear and missile activity, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.
"We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from launching," his office said on Twitter, adding that it would co-operate with the US, South Korea and other countries and do all it could to collect and analyse information from any launch.
South Korea joined Japan in calling on the reclusive North to scrap its plan, which it described as "illegal".
"If North Korea presses ahead, it will pay the price and suffer," a spokesperson of the South's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Kim Gunn, the South's special envoy for peace and security affairs on the peninsula, held a three-way telephone call with his counterparts from Japan and the US, the ministry added.
They agreed to work together closely in leading a united response by the international community to Pyongyang's planned move, it said.
But with no serious leverage left on Pyongyang, calls by Tokyo and Seoul to halt the launch will have little effect, said Chad O'Carroll, chief executive of Korea Risk Group, which monitors North Korea.
"Coming amid major US-ROK military drills and in the wake of South Korea’s own satellite launch, North Korea is likely to view Seoul’s critique as extremely hypocritical."
South Korea's domestically made space rocket delivered a commercial grade satellite into orbit for the first time on Thursday.
North Korea has tried several times to launch "earth observation" satellites, of which two appeared to have been successfully placed in orbit, the latest in 2016.
In May, its leader, Kim, inspected a military satellite facility, the KCNA state news agency said.
In April, Japan sent to the East China Sea a destroyer carrying the SM-3 interceptors that can hit targets in space, and sent ground-based PAC-3 missiles, designed to strike warheads closer to the ground, to the Okinawan islands.
"The government recognises that there is a possibility that the satellite may pass through our country's territory," Hirokazu Matsuno, the chief cabinet secretary, told a regular briefing after the North informed the Japanese coast guard of the plan.
North Korean state media have criticised plans by Japan, South Korea and the US to share real-time data on its missile launches, characterising the three as discussing "sinister measures" to tighten military co-operation.


142 evacuated in Sabah due to floods

A total of 142 people from 36 families in Sabah had been evacuated to four relief centres (PPS) as of 8am following floods in Penampang, Putatan, Papar and Beaufort.
This marked an increase from 88 people from 16 families yesterday.
In a statement, the Sabah disaster management committee secretariat said the four PPS were Dewan Kebudayaan in Penampang, which houses 20 victims from four families; Dewan PPR Sri Keramat, Putatan (61 people from 11 families); Kompleks Latihan dan Pemulihan OKU in Papar (10 people from two families); and Dewan DSP Mohd Dun Banir, Beaufort (51 victims from 19 families).
The PPS were opened on Sunday and Monday following the continuous heavy rain which began last Saturday.
Cloudy weather has been reported around Kota Kinabalu and the west coast of Sabah this morning, while the Malaysian Meteorological Department predicts thunderstorms in several locations and rain in the afternoon in the affected areas, except for Putatan.


European powers urge Israel to halt West Bank settlements expansion plans

The governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK have called on Israel to drop its plans to build hundreds of new houses illegally in an area of the occupied West Bank which would isolate a Palestinian neighbourhood.“We urge the government of Israel to reverse its decision to advance the construction of 540 settlement units in the Har Homa E area of the occupied West Bank,” the European countries said in a statement on Thursday.On Wednesday, the EU’s foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano also warned that the settlement and another in the Givat Hamatos area would “cut off” Bethlehem from East Jerusalem, which the international community recognises as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.Stano also said the European bloc “reiterates its firm condemnation of violence and calls for calm and restraint”.The comments come after Israel announced last month that the Israeli government plans to build homes in Har Homa and a further 2,000 in nearby Givat Hamatos.The planned expansions of the two Israeli settlements are particularly controversial as they would separate the Palestinian neighbourhood of Beit Safafa from the rest of the West Bank.This week the territory has seen several bouts of violence as tensions rise over Israeli settlements.In the northern West Bank on Monday, Israeli settlers raided a Palestinian village, hurling stones and lighting fires. Police arrested 11 Palestinians and four people were injured by rubber bullets.The attack was reported to be revenge for a Palestinian drive-by shooting in the area which injured three Israelis on Sunday.Israeli settlers have been known to carry out so-called “price tag” attacks on Palestinian communities in response to violence against settlers.The United Nations last month warned that violence, including assaults and property destruction, by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank has increased substantially in recent months.During the first three months of 2021, more than 210 incidents of violence by settlers were recorded, including the death of one Palestinian, it said.The violence has been mainly intended to “intimidate and terrorise Palestinians”, and prevent them from accessing their land while pushing others to move.Confrontations broke out in another village in the northern West Bank late Sunday during an Israeli military raid.The Palestinian health ministry said five people were wounded by live ammunition in the village of Beita.The military said troops entered the village to search for suspected attackers after the shooting and that Palestinians hurled rocks and firebombs at the soldiers who responded by opening fire.


Should we be worried about the high vacancy levels in living quarters?

This was written to response to the article "The problem of 1.9 million unoccupied homes".
Key findings from the Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020, published by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), show that living quarters in Malaysia amounted to 9.6 million in 2020. This included 7.7 million occupied dwellings and 1.9 million vacant units. Of these vacant units, 22% were in Selangor, 13% in Johor, 8.5% in Perak, 8.2% in Sarawak, 8.1% in Sabah etc.

At first glance, the number of vacant units is whopping as it shows a steep increase from 700,000 in 2010. Compared with the number of households, there were 9.6 million living quarters against 8.2 million households in 2020.
Except for Perlis, every state showed a higher number of living quarters than the number of households. This not only gives rise to the question of a housing mismatch in terms of product, location, and pricing, it also leads to a bigger concern with regards to housing affordability, as houses in the country are oversupplied but people can hardly afford one in actual fact.
As shown by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in the 2H2021 Financial Stability Review, to afford a house priced up to RM300,000 – which is the maximum price of affordable housing in Malaysia – a household needs to earn at least RM8,333 per month. Unfortunately, as much as 76% of Malaysian households earned lesser than the stated income in 2020.

Table 1: Number of living quarters, households, and existing stocks of residential housing + service apartments

However, one should realise that the term “living quarters” used by DOSM refers to a structure that is separate (if it is surrounded by walls, fence, etc, and is covered by a roof) and independent (if it has direct access via a public staircase, communal passageway or landing, without passing through others’ premises).
In other words, “living quarters” not only covers formal housing stock which is built with development orders – as captured by Napic – but also includes informal housing such as improvised/temporary huts, raft houses, collective living quarters, charitable/social welfare institutions, religious homes, temporary quarters for workers, etc.
So, to really keep track of the balance of the housing supply-demand system in the market, the number of households should be compared with the existing stocks of residential housing and service apartments released by Napic.
For example, there were 6.3 million residential houses and service apartments recorded in Malaysia as of 1Q2022. With a supply-demand ratio of 0.77, and a saturated threshold set at 1.1, the overall housing market in the country is still far from an oversupply.
While some prime property market areas like Penang (1.11) and Kuala Lumpur (1.08) could have shown a ratio that exceeds or nears the saturated threshold, other primary property market areas like Negeri Sembilan (0.97), Johor (0.95), and Selangor (0.94) have yet to approach the “near-to-saturation” status. This implies that the number of living quarters cannot be simply used to reflect the housing supply-demand status of the country.
Besides, the data on vacant living quarters by main reasons of vacancy (i.e, newly completed/for rent or sale, for repair/renovation, holiday resort/transit, homestay, seasonal workers quarters, dilapidated) should be interpreted with caution, as the number of vacancies is based on filed observations when the survey is conducted, which tends to be less than the actual number of vacant living quarters.
For example, 58.7% of the vacant living quarters in Selangor, or 197,065 units out of 288,902, are identified as vacant due to being “newly completed/for rent or sale”. This figure can only provide an idea of the status of vacancy, and cannot represent the true scenario of the state as the total number of vacant living quarters in Selangor is recorded at 343,562 units.
Also, this figure cannot be used to support statements which claim that the housing market is overpriced or less affordable to mass buyers as it gives no information on the breakdown of housing types (formal vs informal), pricing (affordable vs high-end), or ownership (purchased vs unsold) that contribute towards vacancies in living quarters.
To better gauge the status of the housing supply-demand in the country, statistics on residential and service apartment overhangs should be referred to and further cross-referenced with the annual stock growth in which overhangs provide an indication on housing demand in association with the varying economic performance, housing preferences, market sentiment, housing affordability, credit accessibility etc while the annual stock growth represents the number of completed units added into the existing inventory stock in a particular year.
As shown in the Figure 2, the overhang tends to become more severe whenever there is an excessive supply into the existing inventory stocks. The spike of residential overhangs in 2017 and service apartment overhangs in 2019 is clearly the result of an excessive supply of residential housing in 2016 and service apartments in 2018. Though the supply has been reducing since then, a general market slowdown due to the global economic downturn has affected the property market sentiment, which limited the market absorptivity thus leading to an ever-higher number of overhangs.

Figure 2: Annual stock growth vs number of overhangs, 2003 – 1Q2022

By studying the breakdown of overhangs by price range for the past five years, one finds that the majority of overhangs in residential housing are concentrated in products priced RM500,000 and below.
Meanwhile, the majority of overhangs in service apartments are contributed by products priced RM500,000 and above.
This indicates that the impact of overpricing on service apartment overhangs is more severe than that of residential housing where the supply has been gradually adjusted to meet the demand of mass buyers. A high number of overhangs in the affordable housing segment (RM300,000 and below) is likely the result of reduced housing affordability due to the depriving household income, which is in contrast to overhangs in service apartments which are likely due to a product mismatch in terms of pricing.

Realising that service apartments – a form of residential property built upon commercial titled land – has become a common property type for most of the newly launched projects today, it is necessary to formulate a price index for service apartments in order to continuously monitor its pricing development and to serve as a benchmark against households’ affordability, so as to ensure the provision of a more accurate and reliable statistic that better reflects the housing delivery system in the country.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Prayer items damaged in Penang temple fire

A fire broke out at the 131-year-old Kek Lok Si Temple in Air Itam early today.A spokesman at the Penang Fire and Rescue Department said the fire was believed to have started at about 12.50am in the temple and had damaged some of the prayer paraphernalia in the building.The fire did not affect the building structure of the temple as had gone viral, he said when contacted today.He said firefighters took about 10 minutes to douse the flames and the department was investigating the cause of the fire and the losses incurred in the incident.


At some shops, Covid status checks few and far in between

Some businesses have adopted a lax attitude towards the enforcement of Covid-19 SOPs, leaving the window of opportunity wide open for even those told to undergo home quarantine to enter their premises.Checks by MalaysiaNow at some business premises including a large supermarket in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, found that those tasked with checking the status of customers at the entrance did not examine their MySejahtera profile before letting them in.At several sundry shops, petrol stations and smaller grocery stores in the area, customers only had to scan the QR code and undergo temperature checks.Similar situations were seen even at a large supermarket in Seremban 2 where the security guards at the entrance allowed all customers to enter without checking their status.These checks appear to confirm an inconsistent level of SOP enforcement, raising questions over the safety of customers who risk being exposed to the Covid-19 virus while at such locations.At other malls in Seremban, though, security was tight with customers asked to show proof of their low-risk status in their MySejahtera profile before being allowed in.On Sunday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said high-risk individuals placed under home supervision orders (HSO) and even some who were positive for Covid-19 were still checking into premises.He said in Kedah, more than 500 MySejahtera check-ins by those who were positive for the virus or who had been placed under home quarantine had been detected.Of these, he said, 18% had occurred at supermarkets in the state.He said checks need to be tightened on the MySejahtera status of individuals at all premises, especially supermarkets, to ensure that such people do not enter.Negeri Sembilan health, consumerism and environment exco S Veerapan said he had received no reports so far on such violations of HSO.He said constant checks are carried out to ensure that similar incidents do not happen in Negeri Sembilan.“In Negeri Sembilan, those who need to be quarantined are placed at quarantine and treatment centres,” he said.“We also have centres for the placement of those who are awaiting their results after coming into close contact with Covid-positive people.“If they test negative, they are free to go but if they test positive, they will be sent to a quarantine centre.”


Muhyiddin wants RM300,000 channelled to MPs for flood aid

Pagoh MP Muhyiddin Yassin today urged the government to allocate at least RM300,000 to MPs including those in the opposition bloc whose constituencies have been affected by the ongoing flood crisis.
He said this would allow aid to be immediately channelled to flood victims, especially those in Johor.
"I would like to thank the prime minister who approved an immediate allocation of RM50 million for Johor, but I propose that this be increased to RM100 million given the severity of the flood situation this time around," he said in his debate on the Supply Bill 2023 in the Dewan Rakyat.
Nearly 50,000 people were still at temporary relief centres in Johor as of this morning, with Batu Pahat the worst affected district.
Anwar had announced the RM50 million allocation for Johor, citing the need for infrastructure repair due to the floods.


US seizes US$3.6 billion of stolen bitcoin in record haul

The US Justice Department announced Tuesday it had recovered more than 94,000 bitcoin stolen in 2016, currently valued at US$3.6 billion, a record seizure.A couple accused of seeking to launder the bitcoin were arrested in New York, the department said. Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife Heather Morgan, 31, were set to appear in federal court over the charges later in the day.They face up to 20 years in prison.Lichtenstein and Morgan allegedly sought to launder the proceeds of 119,754 bitcoin – then valued at US$65 million – that were stolen during a 2016 hack of the virtual currency exchange Bitfinex.“Today’s arrests, and the Department’s largest financial seizure ever, show that cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals,” deputy attorney-general Lisa Monaco said in the statement.Prosecutors said some of the stolen cryptocurrency was sent to a digital wallet controlled by Lichtenstein, who describes himself on social media as a “technology entrepreneur, coder and investor.”Gold and NFTsAbout 25,000 of the stolen bitcoin were transferred out of the wallet over the next five years “through a labyrinth of cryptocurrency transactions,” and some of the funds were deposited into accounts the couple opened online, including by using false identities.One of Morgan’s aliases is “Razzlekhan.” A video posted online under that name shows a young blonde woman rapping near the New York Stock Exchange.In the song, the woman refers to herself as a “crocodile of Wall Street” and a “risk-taker.”The couple combined “old-fashioned methods” and “very complex transactions,” a prosecutor said at a press briefing.The funds were used to buy items such as gold or digital NFTs (non-fungible tokens), according to US officials.The remaining bitcoin, now valued at US$3.6 billion, was recovered last week by US investigators.They executed a search warrant to scour the couple’s online accounts and were able to recover the security key that gave them access to the digital wallet.Bitfinex has offered a multimillion-dollar reward for information leading to the recovery of the stolen funds, but the Justice Department declined to say whether that played a role in the arrest of Lichtenstein and Morgan.‘Zone of lawlessness’Authorities had called on victims of the initial theft to come forward in order to recover their losses.The investigation continues, the Justice Department said, declining to comment on who was behind the initial hack.Bitcoin has existed since 2008 and has seen significant price fluctuations since then. The cryptocurrency attracts big names in finance but, according to US authorities, allows criminal networks to make their financial flows more opaque.This case “demonstrates once again that we can follow money through the blockchain,” said assistant attorney-general Kenneth Polite Jr, referring to a decentralized technology for storing and transmitting information, “and that we will not allow cryptocurrency to be… a zone of lawlessness within our financial system.”


Cops, govt slammed after teens arrested over video rants on SPM history paper

A group of human rights lawyers has condemned the arrest of two students following a video recording in which they criticise the history paper for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination for which they had just sat.
Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said the manner in which the pair were arrested was shocking, and called for an explanation from Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil and Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
"We are deeply concerned that the actions of the police in this case will strike a chill in parents all across the country if left unaddressed and unrebuked," the group said in a statement.
It also experessed shock that the two boys were subjected to a police raid in their home in addition to a drug test.
"This would have caused extreme trauma to them and their family. And all this over a video where they vented their frustrations on their SPM history paper."
The boys' arrest came amid criticism that the authorities are clamping down on free speech on social media platforms including TikTok, where individuals have been hauled up over comments attacking the government.
In the video that went viral, the two boys were heard swearing while mocking questions on Singapore history in the exam paper, saying they were not relevant for Malaysians.
They have since apologised for their actions.
Yesterday, Hulu Selangor police said they had arrested them based on a report lodged by a teacher, and that an investigation was launched under Section 233 of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act, as well as under the Minor Offences Act which deals with "insulting behaviour". LFL said the matter was something for the school and parents to deal with, not a police case.
"Even if there were unsavoury comments that were uttered, it does not warrant intervention by the police force.  "They were just teenagers who were being childish and who had already apologised for the video that they made, yet they were treated like hardened criminals."
LFL also said that the use of Section 233 in nabbing the boys went against the promises of reform by Pakatan Harapan (PH).
"Members of the government should be well aware of how disproportionately wide Section 233 is in criminalising speech online, having been on the receiving end of it while they were in the opposition.
"The fact that PH now indiscriminately wields the weapon that it once vehemently opposed smacks of George Orwell’s Animal Farm," it said, referring to the 1945 political satire.
LFL also reminded the authorities of the Federal Constitution's guarantee of freedom of expression.
"Though freedom of speech is not unfettered, the right is not something to be limited lightly. Criticism on the governments should not be criminalised, and childish vents by teenagers even less so.
"Are we to subject every teenager to arrest and prosecution for simply ranting online? Is this what we have come to?"
PH had pledged to uphold media freedom and the freedom of speech in its manifesto for the 15th general election.
It also vowed to abolish acts seen as oppressive by revising and repealing provisions that could be used to restrict the freedom of expression, including the Sedition Act, the Communications and Multimedia Act, and the Printing Presses and Publications Act.


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Delta variant drives virus spread to 3 China provinces

China Thursday reported small coronavirus outbreaks driven by the Delta variant in three provinces as a cluster linked to an eastern airport spreads despite mass testing and a vaccination drive.The flareup, which began after nine workers at the Nanjing airport tested positive on July 20, has since seen 171 cases detected in Jiangsu province, while infections have spread to at least four other provinces.It is geographically the largest spread for several months, challenging China’s aggressive containment efforts which have relied on mass testing, lockdowns and swift contact tracing.The virus first emerged in the central city of Wuhan, but China has extolled its success in largely extinguishing the pandemic inside its borders, allowing the economy to rebound.The new outbreak, coupled with cases seeping over the porous border with Myanmar, is threatening that record.Officials in Jiangsu have locked down hundreds of thousands of residents, Lu Jing, a member of the epidemic prevention task force told reporters Thursday.“Internet cafes, gyms, cinemas and karaoke bars and even libraries in Nanjing have been shut down,” he said.The city has tested all 9.2 million residents twice as officials rush to curb the spread of the disease, he said adding the highly contagious Delta variant is posing challenges to containment efforts.The southwestern province of Sichuan reported three new cases Thursday while Beijing reported one locally transmitted case, the first in six months.The patient living on the outskirts of the Chinese capital had tested positive after returning from a theatre festival at a tourist hotspot in central China, health officials said.Meanwhle, a high-end hotel in downtown Beijing has been locked down after media reported an imported case was found among the guests.Police and workers wearing PPE suits and disinfectant hoses were seen outside the Legendale Hotel on Thursday.Most of the patients testing positive in the latest outbreak have already been vaccinated, raising concerns about the efficacy of vaccines against new variants.China is racing to vaccinate at least 65% of its 1.5 billion population by the end of the year.The country has given out some 1.5 billion doses of the vaccine as of Wednesday, the National Health Commission said, without offering details on the number of people fully vaccinated.