PM denies DPM talk, says rumours on his health malicious

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has denied rumours on his health, calling them malicious lies.“Medical experts who treated the prime minister have confirmed him to be cancer-free,” a brief statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.The statement also denied a rumour on the appointment of a deputy prime minister.Since last week, several social media and WhatsApp messages have been claiming that Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein or Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will be appointed as DPM.A Chinese daily also made similar claims, which were repeated by a Malay tabloid and an online portal.Another rumour claimed that Muhyiddin is seeking treatment in Singapore.This is not the first time the prime minister has had to dispel rumours about his health.In the aftermath of the 2018 election, Muhyiddin took leave to seek treatment in Singapore to remove a tumour and undergo chemotherapy.In June last year, the Pantai Medical Centre confirmed that the prime minister was cancer-free.Earlier today, MalaysiaNow quoted a senior source in Putrajaya as saying that talk on the appointment of a DPM was linked a campaign by hawks in Umno ahead of the party’s general assembly late this month.A similar rumour surfaced in the run-up to the tabling of the 2021 budget, where it was claimed that Muhyiddin would appoint a DPM from Umno as a form of concession.


Selangor expects drop in number of severe Covid-19 cases by end-August

Selangor expects that Covid-19 cases in Category Three and Four will reduce by the end of this month in line with the increase in the number of vaccine recipients in the state, Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said today.He said as of yesterday, a total of 5,761,304 doses had been administered to residents through vaccination centres in the state under the Selangor National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) and Selangor vaccination programme (SelVax).“Of the total, 3,665,093 individuals or 77.17% of the adult population in Selangor have received their first dose of vaccine, while 2,096,211 (44.14%) have received two doses,” he said at an online press conference.“Therefore, based on what has been planned, we expect that by the end of August or September, we will see the results of vaccination, which is a reduction in Category Three and Four cases,” he said.He said this would in turn reduce the pressure on hospitals and the medical sector and enable the state to achieve herd immunity or to transition to the next phase of the National Recovery Plan.Amirudin said the total number of vaccine recipients only involve Selangor residents who are inoculated in the state and not those who receive their vaccine in other states, especially Kuala Lumpur.“Therefore, I believe that the percentage of adults who have completed their vaccination is almost 50% to date,” he said.


The need for stiffer penalties over fake news

In March 2020, news of the “arrest” of ex-finance minister Lim Guan Eng’s son in Singapore created waves. A national Chinese daily, picking up on chatter in cyberspace, first reported that the younger Lim was detained for bringing RM2 million into Singapore without due process. In no time, the news went viral as other major news establishments amplified the “development”.Hours later, IGP Abdul Hamid Bador refuted the claim. No one was arrested in Singapore for bringing huge amounts of cash into the republic, least of all the younger Lim. In other words, it was all fake news.But as far as the Lims were concerned, the damage had been done. With Malaysians whipped into a frenzy, the reputational damage as well as the political ramifications were felt long after the end of the news cycle concerning the “misdeed” that did not take place at all.Worldwide, as information becomes more easily accessible, misinformation has become a global problem. Countries the world over are coming up with novel ways to stem this scourge.In Malaysia, under the Fake News Emergency Ordinance, those who create or spread fake news face a fine of up to RM100,000, a jail term of up to three years or both from March 12. The opposition has kicked up a fuss over the law, saying that it tramples on free speech.Don’t critics know the difference between “free speech” and “responsible speech”? The former is when all and sundry can throw mud at each other, like the “news” of Lim Guan Eng’s son being detained in Singapore. The latter is to articulate in a manner where we do not abuse others’ reputation or cause injury.Why make an issue of the penalties for spreading fake news if one has no desire to do it and sincerely believes in responsible speech? According to a recent piece in The Economist, between March and October last year, 17 countries passed new laws against “online misinformation” or “fake information”. Malaysia is not alone.Fake news has become a problem, and not just in Malaysia. Donald Trump was elected US president by whipping up sentiments using fake news and half-truths such as how his rival Hillary Clinton’s Democratic party officials were involved in a child sex ring. Dubbed “Pizzagate”, the claim has been discredited. Trump and his supporters continue to cause much damage by spreading fake news as do many leaders in deveoped nations.In Malaysia now, anti-vaxxers are spreading false news about how the Covid-19 vaccines contain non-halal substances or are part of a Jewish conspiracy to brainwash. If left unchecked, the claim will continue to grip tight, defeating our aim of getting at least 70% of our population vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, and scuttling our economic recovery plan.This is no different from how news about Lim Guan Eng’s son’s purported arrest spread. Purveyors of fake news need to be taught a lesson. And those who have no intention of spreading it or do not wish to see others fall victim to it, have no reason to fear.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Schools can't handle floods and polls at the same time, warns education minister

The education ministry today said that now is not a good time to hold the 15th general election (GE15), given that school personnel, especially teachers and administrators, will be involved in the management of polling centres as well as flood evacuations.
Education Minister Radzi Jidin also said that it was a very risky period as the country would be facing the possibility of floods due to the monsoon season.
Speaking at a press conference in Selangor, he also cited the restructuring of the education sector following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Traditionally, he said, schools are accompanying components in both flood and election season.
He said teachers and school personnel would be involved in both scenarios, with school buildings themselves used as well.
"This is why I said earlier, it is as if we have no other time to hold this election," he added when asked about the ministry's preparations in the event that GE15 is held in the near future.
"Why do we need to hold it now? If we talk about the people's interests, we should know how important this period is," he said.
Yesterday, Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin also voiced opposition to an early election, urging the government to instead prepare for the end-year flood season.
He said holding GE15 during the flood season would only burden the people.
Radzi meanwhile said his ministry was implementing a number of initiatives to ensure that the education sector is on firm footing.
"This is why our stand is that priority should be given to the people's welfare," he added.
"Our children should be given the best."


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UN states agree to US$6 billion peacekeeping budget, averting shutdown

United Nations member states agreed on Tuesday to a budget of US$6 billion for its worldwide peacekeeping missions for the next year, diplomats said, narrowly averting a shutdown of the operations.The 193-member UN General Assembly budget committee agreed to the peacekeeping budget for the year until Jun 30, 2022. It will be formally adopted by the General Assembly on Wednesday, reports Reuters.Top UN officials said on Monday that UN peacekeeping missions – most of which are in Africa and the Middle East – had been advised to start putting contingency plans in place in case a new budget was not adopted by June 30.Some diplomats blamed tough negotiations between China and Western countries over the size of contributions for threatening to delay an agreement.The US is the largest contributor to the peacekeeping budget, responsible for about 28%, followed by China with 15.2%, and Japan with 8.5%.“Our chronic inability to respect deadlines puts the entire peacekeeping architecture in unprecedented jeopardy,” European Union diplomat Thibault Camelli told the budget committee on Tuesday. “For future negotiations, we owe it to the women and men in the field who carry out the peacekeeping mandates to finish our work in a timely fashion.”Catherine Pollard, the UN head of management strategy, policy and compliance, told reporters on Monday that if the June 30 deadline was missed then secretary-general Antonio Guterres could only spend money to safeguard UN assets and ensure the protection of staff and peacekeepers, not pursue their duty of peacekeeping.There are peacekeeping missions currently underway across three continents: two in Asia, four in the Middle East, seven in Africa, and two in Europe. The purpose behind these is mostly to keep civilians safe and attempt to secure areas that are engaged in violent conflict.The largest outside of Africa is the Unifil operation in Lebanon, with just over 10,000 peacekeepers, and which includes troops from Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.The UN marks the International Day of UN Peacekeepers every year on May 29 as an occasion to pay tribute to the contribution civilian and uniformed personnel have made to the organisation.More than 4,000 peacekeepers have died since 1948, and the undertaking remains dangerous in the 21st century, particularly given the rise of groups such as the Islamic State and Boko Haram.Last year, 130 peacekeepers died serving under the UN flag.


Energy and natural resources ministry makes it 8-0 for PN

The allocation for the energy and natural resources ministry was also passed by voice vote today, marking the eighth budget victory for Perikatan Nasional following the debate at the committee level.This follows the move by the majority of MPs to pass the budgets for the agriculture and food industries ministry and the rural development ministry.Allocations for five other portfolios were also previously passed: the plantation industries and commodities ministry, the foreign ministry, the national unity ministry, the finance ministry and the Prime Minister’s Department.The budgets for the Prime Minister’s Department and the finance and plantation ministries were passed by bloc vote while the two others were passed by voice vote.The budget for 2021 – RM322.5 billion, the country’s largest ever – was passed at the policy stage on Nov 26 in what was seen as a crucial test of support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.It was passed by voice vote after the opposition failed to garner enough support to force a bloc vote.


New benchmark tests speed of systems training ChatGPT-like chatbots

MLCommons, a group that develops benchmark tests for artificial intelligence (AI) technology, on Tuesday unveiled results for a new test that determines system speeds when training algorithms used for chatbots like ChatGPT - and Nvidia came out on top.
The MLPerf benchmark is based on GPT-3, an AI model used to train ChatGPT, the viral chatbot developed by OpenAI and backed by Microsoft. However, because the model is huge, the benchmark only uses a representative portion.
"This was our most expensive benchmark so far," MLCommons Executive Director David Kanter told Reuters. "We spent over 600K hours of accelerator compute time to develop it, plus some fantastically talented engineers."
Kanter declined to disclose the cost of development, only saying it was in the millions of dollars.
Only two chip firms - Nvidia and Intel's Habana Labs - submitted results for the benchmark, with the fastest time coming from systems using the latest H100 chip from Nvidia, the uncontested leader in hardware for training AI.
Nvidia's largest system submitted in partnership with AI cloud startup CoreWeave used 3,584 H100 chips, resulting in a training time of 10.94 minutes. Habana Labs, an AI chip company acquired by Intel, ran the benchmark in 311.945 minutes with a much smaller system equipped with 384 Gaudi2 chips.
Generally, more chips and a bigger system mean faster training.
Intel's Jordan Plawner, senior director of AI Products, said the results demonstrated the potential of Gaudi2, which will have a software update in September to boost speed.
"You will get a 1.5X to 2X speed up on the Habana results. So that's when we see Habana Gaudi2 being really competitive and lower priced than H100," Plawner told Reuters.
Plawner declined to say how much a Gaudi2 chip costs, but said the industry needs a second supplier of chips for AI training, and the MLPerf results show Intel can fill that need.


Death toll from Indonesia quake rises to 321

The death toll from an earthquake that hit Indonesia's island of Java last week has risen to 321 as rescuers found more bodies on Sunday, the national disaster mitigation agency said.
The shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit the West Java town of Cianjur on Monday, where most of the victims were killed as buildings collapsed or  landslides were triggered.
Disaster mitigation agency chief Suharyanto, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, told a news briefing Sunday that rescuers found three more bodies. Eight were found on Saturday.
"With the discovery of these three (bodies), as of today, the death toll becomes 321 people," said Suharyanto. Eleven people remain missing.
Rescuers will resume their search on Monday, focusing on areas where the missing are believed to have been buried, said West Java search and rescue agency head Jumaril, who also uses one name.
The quake damaged more than 62,000 houses and forced more than 73,000 people to evacuate to at least 325 shelters, Suharyanto said.
Disaster agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said authorities were set to discuss next week whether to extend an emergency response period beyond its initial 14 days.
Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.
Monday's tremor was the deadliest in the archipelago nation since a 2018 quake and resulting tsunami killed more than 4,000 people on the island of Sulawesi.


Fresh bid to impeach Brazil president over Covid response

Opposition lawmakers in Brazil launched a fresh bid Wednesday to impeach President Jair Bolsonaro as more allegations broke of corruption in acquiring coronavirus vaccines to tackle a pandemic he is accused of having criminally mishandled.A document signed by dozens of leftwing political parties, trade unions and civic organisations, as well as a few former allies, was submitted to the chamber of deputies.It listed more than 20 accusations against Bolsonaro, including “negligence” in heading the response to Covid-19 that has killed over 500,000 in Brazil.The document gathered more than a hundred earlier impeachment filings into one “super request” for Bolsonaro to be relieved of his post, its authors said.For two months, a senate commission investigating the government’s handling of the pandemic has heard a parade of witnesses testifying how the far-right leader and his government blatantly flouted expert advice on containing the virus.Bolsonaro minimised the virus as a “little flu”, fought lockdowns, questioned face masks and rejected various offers of vaccines, meanwhile pushing unproven drugs such as chloroquine and urging Brazilians to get back to work.All previous impeachment filings against Bolsonaro have been blocked by the president of the chamber of deputies, Arthur Lira, a key ally.Observers say it is unlikely Lira will change course now, and even if he did, Bolsonaro’s conservative backers in Parliament would save him.Under fireEarlier Wednesday, a senior official in Brazil’s health ministry resigned after a newspaper published yet more allegations of vaccine fraud.The Folha de S Paulo daily reported that Roberto Dias, the ministry’s logistics director, had sought a bribe from a company said to be negotiating the sale of 400 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Brazil.A company representative claimed he had met Dias in a restaurant in a shopping centre in Brasilia in February, where the request was made for payment of a dollar per dose purchased.Dias stepped down after the allegations emerged, the health ministry said.AstraZeneca, for its part, said in a statement it does not use intermediaries to sell vaccines to governments.Last week, Brazil’s senate heard accusations that a deal to purchase another vaccine, Indian-made Covaxin, was a front to embezzle millions of dollars, that a Bolsonaro ally masterminded the plan, and that the president knew all about it.A health ministry official testified that his superiors had exerted “atypical, excessive” pressure on him to approve payment for the deal he suspected was over-billed.The official and his brother Luis Miranda, a congressman close to Bolsonaro, said they took the matter to the president, but he took no action.Following these allegations, three Brazilian senators on Monday formally accused Bolsonaro of malfeasance before the Supreme Court.However, Prosecutor-General Augusto Aras, an ally of the president, would have to bring charges for the matter to go ahead.Anti-Bolsonaro protests are planned in Brasilia this week.


Nasa to conduct first global water survey from space

A Nasa-led international satellite mission was set for blastoff from Southern California early on Thursday on a major Earth science project to conduct a comprehensive survey of the world's oceans, lakes and rivers for the first time.
Dubbed Swot, short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography, the advanced radar satellite is designed to give scientists an unprecedented view of the life-giving fluid covering 70% of the planet, shedding new light on the mechanics and consequences of climate change.
A Falcon 9 rocket, owned and operated by billionaire Elon Musk's commercial launch company SpaceX, was set to liftoff before dawn on Thursday from the Vandenberg US Space Force Base, about 170 miles (275km) northwest of Los Angeles, to carry Swot into orbit.
If all goes as planned, the SUV-sized satellite will produce research data within several months.
Nearly 20 years in development, Swot incorporates advanced microwave radar technology that scientists say will collect height-surface measurements of oceans, lakes, reservoirs and rivers in high-definition detail over 90% of the globe.
The data, compiled from radar sweeps of the planet at least twice every 21 days, will enhance ocean-circulation models, bolster weather and climate forecasts and aid in managing scarce freshwater supplies in drought-stricken regions, according to researchers.
The satellite was designed and built at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles. Developed by the US space agency in collaboration with its counterparts in France and Canada, Swot was one of 15 missions listed by the National Research Council as projects Nasa should undertake in the coming decade.
"It's really the first mission to observe nearly all water on the planet's surface," said JPL scientist Ben Hamlington, who also leads Nasa's sea-level change team.
One major thrust of the mission is to explore how oceans absorb atmospheric heat and carbon dioxide in a natural process that moderates global temperatures and climate change.
Scanning the seas from orbit, Swot is designed to precisely measure fine differences in surface elevations around smaller currents and eddies, where much the oceans' drawdown of heat and carbon is believed to occur. And Swot can do so with 10 times greater resolution than existing technologies, according to JPL.
Looking for oceans' tipping point
Oceans are estimated to have absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat trapped in Earth's atmosphere by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
Studying the mechanism by which that happens will help climate scientists answer a key question: "What is the turning point at which oceans start releasing, rather than absorbing, huge amounts of heat back into the atmosphere and accelerate global warming, rather than limiting it," said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, Swot's program scientist at Nasa in Washington.
Swot's ability to discern smaller surface features also be used to study the impact of rising ocean levels on coastlines.
More precise data along tidal zones would help predict how far storm-surge flooding may penetrate inland, as well as the extent of saltwater intrusion into estuaries, wetlands and underground aquifers.
Freshwater bodies are another key focus Swot, equipped to observe the entire length of nearly all rivers wider than 330 feet (100 meters), as well as more than 1 million lakes and reservoirs larger than 15 acres (62,500 square meters).
Taking inventory of Earth's water resources repeatedly over Swot's three-year mission will enable researchers to better trace fluctuations in the planet's rivers and lakes during seasonal changes and major weather events.
Nasa's Swot freshwater science lead, Tamlin Pavelsky, said collecting such data was akin to "taking the pulse of the world's water system, so we'll be able to see when it's racing and we'll be able to see when it's slow."
Swot's radar instrument operates at the so-called Ka-band frequency of the microwave spectrum, allowing scans to penetrate cloud cover and darkness over wide swaths of the Earth. This enables scientists to accurately map their observations in two dimensions regardless of weather or time of day and to cover large geographic areas far more quickly than before.
By comparison, previous studies of water bodies relied on data taken at specific points, such as river or ocean gauges, or from satellites that can only track measurements along a one-dimensional line, requiring scientists to fill in data gaps through extrapolation.
"Rather than giving us a line of elevations, it's giving us a map of elevations, and that's just a total game changer," Pavelsky said.


Economic survival won’t be due to vaccine roll-out

Although the announcement of the start of the Covid-19 vaccination programme is welcome news, there is a concern that the vaccine roll-out may have very little effect on economic growth or produce a speedy end to restrictions that are holding back business recovery.The main concern from an economic perspective is that the first phase, quite rightly, targets frontliners but this group of 500,000 people are not in the engine-room of the economy. The second phase beginning in April is again quite rightly targeted at the elderly and other vulnerable groups but these are also not economically active.The third phase affecting all adults, including foreign workers who are a key contributor to the economy, will only begin in May and run very slowly through to February 2022. So this will not reduce the problem among the economically active population quickly and we can expect extended restrictions for many months which are already taking their toll on 2021 growth prospects.Nonetheless a structured plan for vaccinations does provide an opportunity for the government to decouple health policy from economic policy and address the impending economic problems that will hit in the next weeks and months.Although the economy contracted by 5.6% overall last year there were some signs of good news in the second half of 2020. After the rebound of Q3, there was continued improvement in Q4 with private consumption rising 0.8% from the previous quarter, investment rising again up 5.2%, exports 2.2% higher and imports up 4.7%. All of these quarterly changes suggest that the government stimulus packages may have begun to boost economic activity.There was also good news in the inventory cycle with companies having low stock due to a fall by RM5.9 billion in Q4 following a similar cut of RM5.1 billion in Q3. At the start of the crisis companies had increased stocks involuntarily by RM6.6 billion in Q2 due to poor demand.These green-shoots of recovery have withered in the sunlight because less than two weeks into the New Year Malaysians faced a second movement control order (MCO 2.0) and lockdown from Jan 13 and the declaration of a state of emergency set to run until Aug 1. This has the effect of pushing the recovery phase, which had started in Q3, into the future by many months and taking a significant toll on GDP.MCO 2.0 has been much more liberal than previous lockdowns and according to government estimates the impact is less severe costing RM700 million per day compared to RM2.6 billion for the previous MCO 1.0. Nonetheless the cost so far from Jan 13 to Feb 18 and extended to March 4 in the main economically active states will be RM35 billion, which we estimate is equivalent to 2.5% of GDP.Not only would this cut the notional official growth forecast for Malaysia from 6.5-7.5% to 4.0-5.0% for 2021, it will seriously deplete private sector savings which pose a significant risk to recovery and signals structural changes in private sector balance-sheets.The RM15 billion Permai stimulus package will not cover the losses due to MCO 2.0. It is not new money but is reallocated from the RM322 billion 2021 Budget already announced. It will also take some time to feed into the economy because it is spread across 22 programme themes and not, as would have been more sensible, a direct cash transfer into the hands of consumers.To provide this direct cash to people in need, the EPF i-Sinar withdrawals will be crucial. Around RM24.5 billion is already confirmed and possibly RM12.9 billion more from applications still to be approved. This is RM37.4 billion overall, which is almost the same as the RM38 billion government “Covid-19 Fund” during 2020.To begin with, this will pump RM13 billion confirmed and possibly RM6.6 billion to be approved into the economy quite quickly. A further RM17.8 billion will be made available later in the year. So the big stimulus is not a government stimulus it is a “rakyat stimulus” more like “kita-jaga-kita” or “we take care of ourselves”.The big problem is that at the end of the process literally millions of Malaysians will find themselves with RM100 pension funds. Around 42% of EPF contributors, more than six million people, had less than RM5,000 in their accounts according the Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz with 32% of that group having less than RM1,000.So far the average withdrawal under i-Sinar is 80% of the maximum amount for those with less than RM100,000, which is 10.4 million people or 78% of EPF contributors. The i-Lestari withdrawals are likely to have emptied the accounts of many eligible EPF members before i-Sinar began.In addition to RM100 pension funds many will also face mounting debt, very slow economic recovery and ongoing labour market problems with lower wages, fewer jobs and greater competition from new workers entering the labour force.This is likely to happen by the middle of the year and so we are in a “survival trap” now where people are literally living on their last resources which are quickly being depleted.This is an issue that must be addressed now rather than waiting for the inevitable to happen. Since the public health plan is now in place with the vaccine roll-out already announced, it is time for the government to decouple health policy from economic policy and address the impending problem of private sector balances before the tipping point in the middle of the year when savings run out for millions of Malaysians.Paolo Casadio is an economist at HELP University and Geoffrey Williams is an economist at Malaysia University of Science and Technology.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


India overtakes Brazil as second worst-hit Covid-19 country

India on Monday overtook Brazil as the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus infections, as it reported a new daily record of more than 168,000 cases.The vast nation of 1.3 billion people has been reporting a rapid increase in new infections in recent weeks, with the surge taking the total toll to 13.5 million cases, above Brazil’s 13.48 million.Experts have warned that huge, mostly maskless and tightly packed crowds at political rallies in poll-bound states, mass religious festivals and at other public places were fuelling the new wave of infections.“The whole country has been complacent – we allowed social, religious and political congregations,” Rajib Dasgupta, a health professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told AFP.“No-one queued up (for social distancing) anymore.”The country has recorded more than 873,000 cases in the last seven days – an increase of 70% compared to the previous week, according to data compiled by AFP.In comparison, Brazil recorded just over 497,000 cases with an increasing trend of 10% from the previous week.The US – the worst-hit country – reported just under 490,000 cases with a rising trend of 9%.The spike in India, after daily rises in cases fell below 9,000 in early February, has seen many badly affected states and territories impose restrictions on movement and activities.India’s wealthiest state Maharashtra, which has been the main driver of the infection spike, last week imposed a weekend lockdown and night curfew.But Maharashtra has warned that a complete lockdown – a drastic measure that national and state governments have tried to avoid to protect the already devastated economy – could be imposed within the next few days as cases continue to rise.“The solution is for everyone to stay home for two months and end this (pandemic) once and for all. But the public doesn’t listen,” said Rohit, 28, a waiter at a popular Mumbai restaurant who moved to the financial hub for work from the northern state of Punjab.“Nobody follows the rules in the restaurant… If we tell customers to wear masks, they are rude and disrespectful to us.”The chief minister of India’s capital New Delhi, where a night curfew is in place, said Sunday that 65 percent of new Covid-19 patients were less than 45 years old.His government was not in favour of a lockdown, but said it would consider imposing one if hospital beds start running out.


Bosses must give employees time off or leave to vote

Employers must give employees time off or leave if the election day falls on a working day, Human Resources Minister M Saravanan says.
He said it was the right of every Malaysian citizen aged 18 and above to vote.
"Employers must comply with the government’s directive. They must allow employees to vote, whether the employees are given occasional public holidays (cuti peristiwa), replacement leave or time off," he told reporters in Tapah yesterday.
Saravanan said action would be taken against employers who do not comply with this directive.
The Election Commission is due to meet on Oct 20, to discuss and set important dates for the 15th general election, after Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10.


Malaysia should not be left behind, says Muhyiddin on reopening borders

The National Recovery Council (MPN) today said that the country’s borders should be reopened as quickly as possible to prevent negative effects on the economy.MPN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said Malaysia should look to Australia which this week reopened its borders to vaccinated travellers.He said the decision was made despite Australia’s vaccination rate being far behind that of Malaysia.“The question of Omicron, of Covid, the whole world is experiencing these problems,” he said at a press conference.“Although our case numbers have been going up, our hospitals are still able to handle the severe infections. If these can be managed, what is the issue?”He added that there was no reason for Malaysia to be left behind in reopening its borders to international travellers.The MPN previously suggested that Malaysia’s borders be reopened by March 1. Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin however said that at least two weeks would be needed to finalise the guidelines for border reopening.Muhyiddin today said that the guidelines should be comprehensive so that no issues regarding matters such as quarantine and testing arise.“In Langkawi, every day they must test for Covid. If I were a foreign tourist I wouldn’t want to go there,” he said.“So I hope that there will be an announcement that takes into consideration all aspects.”He said the tourism sector which depended on foreign arrivals contributed some RM80 billion every year.While Malaysia’s economy was doing better, he added, it was still below pre-pandemic levels.


Aussie special forces ‘unlawfully killed’ 39 in Afghanistan

Australia’s elite special forces “unlawfully killed” 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners, including summary executions as part of initiation rituals, according to evidence in a searing military inquiry now being referred to a special war crimes prosecutor.A years-long internal investigation into military misconduct was released Thursday, prompting the chief of the Australian Defence Force to admit a “destructive” culture of impunity among special forces leading to a string of alleged murders and cover-ups spanning years.“Some patrols took the law into their own hands, rules were broken, stories concocted, lies told and prisoners killed,” General Angus Campbell said, apologising “sincerely and unreservedly” to the people of Afghanistan.“This shameful record includes alleged instances in which new patrol members were coerced to shoot a prisoner in order to achieve that soldier’s first kill, in an appalling practice known as ‘blooding’.”The report also reported evidence that troops were engaged in “body count competitions”, and covered up unlawful killings by staging skirmishes, planting weapons and adding names to target lists retrospectively.The military’s own inspector general produced the harrowing 465-page official inquiry into events between 2005 and 2016 that detailed dozens of killings “outside the heat of battle”.It recommended 19 individuals be referred to Australian Federal Police, compensation be paid to the families of victims, and that the military makes a slew of reforms.Campbell went a step further, saying those involved had brought a “stain” on their regiment, on the armed forces and on Australia, and would be referred to the office of the special investigator for war crimes.He also moved to revoke distinguished service medals awarded to special operations forces who served in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013.After the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, more than 26,000 Australian uniformed personnel were sent to Afghanistan to fight alongside US and allied forces against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups.Australian combat troops officially left the country in 2013, but since then a series of often-brutal accounts have emerged about the conduct of elite special forces units.They range from reports of troops killing a six-year-old child in a house raid, to a prisoner being shot dead to save space in a helicopter.‘Brutal truths’Prime Minister Scott Morrison attempted to cushion the blow of the report, telling Australians last week to brace for the “honest and brutal truths” contained within the heavily redacted document, which censors many highly inflammatory details.Morrison also called his Afghan counterpart Wednesday to foreshadow “some disturbing allegations” that the government was taking “very seriously”.The office of President Ashraf Ghani said Morrison had “expressed his deepest sorrow over the misconduct”.Last week, Morrison announced the appointment of a special investigator to prosecute the alleged war crimes, a move aimed at forestalling any prosecution at the International Criminal Court.The revelations will “definitely” be used by the Taliban to restate calls “for foreign forces to withdraw from Afghanistan”, Srinjoy Bose, an international relations lecturer at the University of New South Wales, told AFP.“I would imagine that the Australian presence in Afghanistan, for the coming weeks and months, will be afforded greater protection.”The revelations are also a serious blow to the prestige of the country’s military, which is widely revered by Australians.Its historic campaigns – from Gallipoli in World War I to Kokoda in Papua during World War II – have played a crucial role in fostering the country’s identity, independent of colonial power Britain.“It speaks to a failure that is bigger and deeper than the soldiers involved in the atrocities,” said John Blaxland of the Australian National University, which has close ties to the security establishment.“It speaks to an inadequate sense of perspective on what we were committing our forces to do and the circumstances they would face.”Australia’s government had spent years trying to suppress whistleblower reports of the alleged wrongdoing, with police even investigating reporters involved in bringing those accounts to light.


14.5% of children given first Covid vaccine jab

A total of 513,393 or 14.5% of children aged five to 11 had received a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) as of yesterday.According to the CovidNow website, a total of 13,992,391 or 59.5% of adults have received a booster dose.A total of 22,944,158 or 97.5% have completed their vaccination while 23,221,715 or 98.7% have received at least one dose of vaccine.In terms of teenagers, a total of 2,798,806 individuals or 90% have completed their vaccination while 2,884,882 or 92.8% have received at least one dose of vaccine.A total of 128,153 vaccine doses were given yesterday: 61,230 first dose injections, 464 as second shots and 66,459 booster jabs.This brings the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to 66,148,498.


Taiwan fails in bid to join WHO assembly

Taiwan’s bid to take part in the World Health Organization’s annual assembly was rejected on Monday, the assembly said, in a decision that follows a campaign of diplomatic pressure from China to isolate the island.Assembly president Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh, also Djibouti’s health minister, said in a statement that a proposal sent by 13 WHO members seeking for Taiwan to join as an observer would not be included in its official agenda.Taiwan is excluded from most global groups due to Beijing’s objections. China insists that Taiwan should not be treated as an independent country as it considers the island to be one of its own provinces.Taiwan argues that its exclusion from WHO has hampered efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, although it is allowed to attend some technical WHO meetings.Assembly president Abdilleh said that the decision followed a recommendation from the General Committee which discussed the proposal on Sunday in a closed-door meeting.“The political and legal foundation for Taiwan’s participation in WHA ceases to exist,” Chen Xu, China ambassador to the UN in Geneva told the assembly shortly before the decision. “This political manipulation will only be met with opposition from all parties.”This year’s assembly, joined by thousands of delegates including nearly 100 from China, will discuss key reforms such as changes to WHO’s funding.China began blocking Taiwan’s WHA participation from 2017, marking the end of a warmer period of relations between Beijing and Taipei.Taiwan last week expressed “dissatisfaction and regret” over WHO’s failure to invite it to attend the assembly, amid diplomatic pressure from China to isolate the island.


Why some SPM grads don't want to go back to school

Ahmad Sakari from Kuching, Sarawak, sat for his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination early this year.
Results are expected by mid-year, but Sakari has no plans to further his studies once they are out.
For him, the main issue is cost.
"It would be better for me to focus on working after I finish school, instead of doing things halfway," he said.
"I know my economic situation and that of my family. They might not be able to help me if I run into financial trouble while I am studying."
Sakari is one of 10 SPM graduates from different economic and educational backgrounds with whom MalaysiaNow recently spoke. Of the 10, four said they did not intend to continue their studies at the tertiary level, due to a number of reasons.
These include the high cost of living, and the desire to work and earn an income of their own.
Some said they believed in the necessity of formal education in fields such as medicine, accounting and law.
But, like Sakari, they also said that many students were forced to drop out of university due to financial constraints.
A recent survey by the UCSI Poll Research Centre found that only half of the SPM graduates who participated in the study intended to pursue their studies at the tertiary level.
Just 51% said they planned to continue studying, while 39% said they would look for a job and 10% had no plans.
Afifah Fansuri, who attended a private secondary school, said she was not confident in university programmes which she described as too long and expensive to boot.
"If public universities in Malaysia can offer study modes that are lighter and shorter like those offered at universities in Australia, the UK and the US, I'm sure many more would want to further their studies," she said.
In Malaysia, the minimum length of diploma level studies is around two and a half to three years – five or six semesters – while a bachelor's degree programme is equivalent to four years.
Others with whom MalaysiaNow spoke said they wished to focus on building a career, starting from the bottom of the food chain or doing freelance work.
Tay Ai Hee and some of her classmates are making ends meet by doing part-time work and volunteering at a centre for abandoned animals in Melaka.
Their goal is to open a pet hotel and spa within the next five years.
"We need to start now," Tay said.
"If we go to university for four years, in 10 years we might only have five or six years of experience working.
"But if we start now, in 10 years, we will have 10 years worth of experience."
She said this would also mean 10 years of savings for the future.
Data from the statistics department showed that in 2019, some 390,000 or 72.1% of SPM graduates were not inclined to continue their studies.
These numbers were in line with the trend in other countries including the UK where, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, only two-thirds of school-leaving students said it was important to attend university.
Raqib Shafei, who was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, said he wanted to focus on his hobby of playing video games which he believes could also be a career path.
He is active in live streaming games, and has over 7,000 followers on social media.
"I can't focus properly if I further my studies and live stream for money at the same time," he said.
"I have to choose one. So I chose to do what I prefer doing."
The six others who spoke to MalaysiaNow said they needed a university education in order to achieve their ambitions to become teachers, engineers and dentists.
Some were also interested in economics and mass communication.
They, too, said they were concerned about the cost of living, and urged the government to help students like them through the 2023 budget which is still being debated in Parliament.
"Review the weaknesses in the education loan system," they said.
"And increase the loan amounts in line with inflation."


Govt agrees to restructure 4 highway concession companies to reduce toll

The government has agreed to a proposal to restructure four highway toll concession companies under Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) to reduce the toll rates of the highways involved, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.
He said the reduction of toll rates involved the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH), Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE), Lebuhraya Kemuning-Shah Alam (LKSA) and Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK), effective 12.01am on Oct 20.
Meanwhile, the toll reduction for Lebuhraya Kajang-Seremban (Lekas) and Sungai Besi Expressway (Beraya) under IJM Corporation will come into effect on Jan 1, 2023.
"All of the improvement works which I announced just now took into consideration the restructuring of toll rates, with the concession agreements being finalised.
"Through the latest restructuring, the government will save RM8.8 billion in estimated compensation which should be paid to the concession companies involved. Highway users will enjoy the lower rate and lighten their burden," he said at the opening of the Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Highway (DASH) in Shah Alam today.
Ismail also said the government would build an additional lane and a new tunnel at Genting Sempah, in an effort to accommodate the high traffic and deal with the problem of traffic congestion on the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway (KLK) from the Gombak toll plaza to the Bentong toll plaza.
He said flood mitigation works on the East Coast Highway Phase 1 (LPT1) will also be carried out as floods often occur in the area.
On the opening of the DASH highway, Ismail said the government fully supports the efforts and continued commitment of concessionaires to boost the development of the country's infrastructure, thus proving the effectiveness of the public private partnership project between Prolintas and the government.
He said the 20.1km highway from Puncak Perdana to Penchala, comprising a total length of 55.4km including interchanges, is expected to stimulate the development and growth of economic areas such as new housing and commercial areas along the highway including in Puncak Alam, Elmina and Kwasa Damansara.
Through the construction of the DASH highway, he said 12,000 job opportunities were created for management, engineering, technical, frontline assistants and contract workers.
He said the highway, construction of which began in August 2016, was completed on Sept 30 and would reduce traffic congestion in several strategic locations such as along Persiaran Mokthar Dahari, Jalan Sungai Buloh and Persiaran Surian by up to 40% during peak hours.
He said travel time is also expected to be reduced by 30 minutes during peak hours from the Puncak Perdana interchange to the Penchala interchange compared to the existing route which takes one hour and 30 minutes.
In conjunction with the launch of the highway, Ismail also said that usage of the highway would be toll-free for one month from 12.01am on Oct 14.


211 deaths as new cases top 20,000 again

Another 20,837 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 1,593,602.Selangor recorded 4,645 cases, Sabah 3,376, Penang 2,054, Kedah 1,772, Johor 1,743, Sarawak 1,543, Kelantan 1,422, Kuala Lumpur 1,284 and Perak 1,242.Pahang recorded 521 cases, Melaka 396, Terengganu 383 and Negeri Sembilan 351.Perlis recorded 74 cases, Putrajaya 27 and Labuan four.Active cases stand at 262,713 with 1,063 in the ICU and 511 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 18,613 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,316,33.However, 211 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 14,553.


Strong protection for babies born to Covid-vaccinated mums, says study

Babies born to mothers fully vaccinated against the coronavirus during pregnancy were around 60% less likely to be hospitalised with severe Covid, a new study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.Such an effect had been hypothesised – because of the transfer of antibodies through the placenta during pregnancy and through breast milk after birth – but wasn’t backed by real world evidence until now.The CDC carried out a study involving 379 babies aged up to six months, who were hospitalised in 20 pediatric centers from July 2021 to January 2022.The authors studied the odds of Covid-19 vaccination among mothers whose babies were hospitalised with the disease (176 infants) compared to the odds of vaccination among mothers whose babies were hospitalised for non-Covid reasons (203 infants), who were a control group.This is a statistical method used in real world studies to try to examine patients with similar characteristics, and is often used when it’s not possible or ethical to carry out a randomised clinical trial.“Babies less than six months old whose mothers were vaccinated were 61% less likely to be hospitalised with Covid-19,” CDC researcher Dana Meaney-Delman said in a press call.What’s more, 84% of babies who were hospitalised with Covid were born to people not vaccinated in pregnancy. The one baby who died in the study was born to a mother who was not vaccinated.Black and Hispanic babies were disproportionately hospitalised for Covid.“The bottom line is that maternal vaccination is a really important way to help protect these young infants,” said Meaney-Delman.The study further found that completion of a two-dose vaccine series later in pregnancy was more protective than earlier in pregnancy – 80% compared to 32%.Although that is consistent with what is known about the waning of antibody levels in the months that follow vaccination, Meaney-Delman said it was important for people to get vaccinated at any stage during pregnancy in order to protect both the mother and baby.“If we have a woman who comes in in the first trimester and is vaccinated she can actually be eligible for a booster vaccine later in pregnancy,” she said, but added it was premature for the agency to recommend boosters specifically for the pregnant.A limitation of the study was it began during the early phase of vaccine rollout and did not include mothers who were vaccinated prior to pregnancy.That could be a topic for future evaluation, the paper’s authors wrote.


Muhyiddin dismisses fake message urging PAS support for BN candidate

Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin has rubbished claims that the coalition is urging PAS members to support a Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in Johor, following the circulation of a WhatsApp screenshot showing a purported conversation on the issue.
"This screenshot is fake," he said in a Facebook post today.
The screenshot shows a conversation in a group titled "PN Johor 2022", in which a user named "TSMY" said that PN would need BN's support to form the government after the polls.
"TSMY" also instructed for the message to be circulated among the grassroots.
Speculation has been rife about post-election collaboration between coalitions as no single group is expected to win enough support to form the government on its own.
PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan was recently reported as saying that he was confident PN would be able to form the government in cooperation with other parties, in particular BN.
However, he later clarified that he had full confidence that PN would be able to form the government on its own, led by a prime minister from the coalition.
This is the first general election for PN since its formation. The coalition consists of Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan and two Sabah-based parties.


Anger boils in Greece over deadly rail disaster

Thousands of people demonstrated across Greece on Friday to demand justice for at least 57 people killed in the country's worst rail disaster, with some protesters condemning the tragedy as "a crime".
Police clashed with some of the demonstrators at a handful of protests, as public anger grew over the role that government mismanagement played in the tragedy.
A passenger train ran for several kilometres on the same track as an incoming freight train before the crash late Tuesday, reportedly after the station master in Larissa, central Greece, failed to reroute one of the trains.
It was carrying many students returning from a holiday weekend and at least nine young people studying at Thessaloniki's Aristotle University were among the dead, while another 26 others were injured.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is seeking re-election this spring, has blamed the disaster on "tragic human error".
But protests blaming government mismanagement continued on Friday, in the capital Athens and several major cities across Greece.
"What happened was not an accident, it was a crime," said Sofia, a 23-year-old student at Thessaloniki. "We can't watch all this happen and remain indifferent."
The disaster has sparked widespread criticism of government failures in its management of the rail network.
"Most of us knew people who were killed or wounded," said Sophia Hatzopoulou, 23, a philosophy student in Thessaloniki who was visibly angry.
"It's as if a part of us were lost."
Desperately awaiting news
Thousands gathered outside the Athens headquarters of operators Hellenic Train – which took over network operations in 2017 – to protest at decades of failure to improve rail network safety, despite close calls in past years.
"Murderers!" the crowd cried out as protesters daubed the word on the building's glass facade in red.
Hundreds of people observed a minute of silence outside the Greek parliament in tribute to the victims of the disaster.
Later Friday, riot police and a small group of protesters clashed in central Athens, on the sidelines of a candle-lit vigil for the victims of the crash.
At the rally in Syntagma Square, adjacent to parliament, officers fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters throwing stones and Molotov cocktails, an AFP reporter said. Around 3,000 people turned out for the demonstration.
A similar number demonstrated in Thessaloniki – Greece's second largest city – where police had reported clashes on Thursday with demonstrators throwing stones and petrol bombs.
Demonstrations also took place in other Greek cities Friday: about 700 turned out in Larissa, the town closest to the site of the disaster, while 500 demonstrated in the university town of Patros in the southwest Peloponnese, according to police.
A fresh demonstration is set to take place in Syntagma Square at 11am (0900 GMT) on Sunday.
Survivors of the crash described scenes of horror and chaos. Some relatives were still desperately awaiting news of missing loved ones.
Roubini Leontari, the chief coroner at Larissa's general hospital, told broadcaster ERT on Thursday that more than 10 people were still unaccounted for, including two Cypriots.
Greece's train services were paralysed on Thursday by striking workers arguing that successive administrations' mismanagement of the network had contributed to the fatal collision.
That strike continued into Friday and is set to continue for another 48 hours more.
'Complete evaluation'
Rail unions say safety problems on the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line had been known for years.
The 59-year-old station master at Larissa has been charged with negligent homicide, but his lawyer has argued that other factors were at play.
The station master's case is due to be heard in court in Larissa on Saturday. He faces life imprisonment if found guilty.
"My client has assumed his share of responsibility," lawyer Stefanos Pantzartzidis said Thursday. "But we must not focus on a tree when there is a forest behind it."
ERT reported that the station master had been appointed to the post only 40 days earlier – and after just three months' training.
But legal sources suggested that investigators were considering criminal charges against members of the management of Hellenic Train.
Police seized audio files and other items during a raid on the Larissa train station in central Greece, where the crash happened, a judicial source told AFP.
For decades, Greece's 2,552km rail network has been plagued by mismanagement, poor maintenance and obsolete equipment.
After the country's transport minister resigned on Wednesday in the wake of the crash, his replacement, Giorgos Gerapetritis, vowed a "complete evaluation of the political system and the state".
Safety systems on the line are still not fully automated, five years after the state-owned Greek rail operator Trainose was privatised and sold to Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and became Hellenic Train.


Kedah MB apologises to victims of Baling floods

Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor yesterday apologised to all residents affected by the flooding and water surge that occurred at Kupang in Baling on July 4.
He said the apology was made on humanitarian grounds and the sense of duty he bore as the head of government in relation to the tragedy that killed three, including a pregnant woman.
He said the apology was also on behalf of the current and previous state administrations, in the event that mistakes had been made that could have indirectly caused the tragedy.
"As a person, on compassionate reasons... for the present state government, I apologise to all affected residents.
"No one intended to bring such a tragedy onto anyone but the effects were beyond prediction... it’s no use being stubborn when people have already been hit by a disaster, although to us, we have made our best decision," he said at a press conference after attending a flood aid presentation at the Baling district office for 17 victims who lost their homes in the floods.
The 17 victims received RM3,000 each for rental and utilities for six months.
Sanusi said the apology did not mean he was admitting that all of the blame rests on the current state government, but was made out of a sense of responsibility towards the people.
"It doesn’t mean I admit to it entirely, no one asked for this to happen including the tragedy in Gunung Jerai, Yan last year... on behalf of the state government, we apologise because as the government, we should protect our citizens.
"We can’t predict such a thing would happen... I think whoever is wrong, just as a person, no matter how high your position and standing, we need to be humble and realise our weaknesses. We apologise for being unable to protect the people fully," he said.


I have done my best, says Muhyiddin in farewell speech to staff

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today said he had done his best to serve the country in accordance with the Federal Constitution and religious principles.In a farewell speech to his officers in the Prime Minister’s Office, he said as an ordinary human being, he had tried to uphold these principles and to help the people as much as he could.“I think I did what was necessary to save the lives of the people, to make sure they had food on their tables, and that their lives were safe,” he said.“These are important aspects in life, and perhaps God raised me to this level to demonstrate this purpose,” he added.His speech followed his resignation which he submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong during a brief audience at Istana Negara today.The Agong later said Muhyiddin had been made caretaker prime minister pending the appointment of a new leader.Muhyiddin also said he was proud that the government administration had continued despite the difficulties faced, especially during the Covid-19 crisis.“We looked hard at how to help the people,” he said, adding that the impact of the pandemic on the people had been profound.“This is why I was willing to speak, to say what was true even though it was hard.“We should do what Allah says is right,” he added. “Don’t do what Allah says is wrong. Stand against evil, that is the main thig.“If we hold to these principles, insya Allah our lives will be safe.”He added that he had undertaken the job with integrity, saying this was why he had tried to do everything that should be done for the people.


Teen skater tested positive for banned drug, Russians say protecting ‘honest’ gold

Teen figure skating sensation Kamila Valieva won a gold medal having earlier failed a drug test and Olympic officials will fight Russia’s decision to let her compete at the Winter Games, the International Testing Agency (ITA) said on Friday.The 15-year-old’s gold medal and Games future now hangs in the balance as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) attempts to draw a line in the sand over Russian doping.Russian athletes are competing at the Beijing Games without their flag and national anthem because of sanctions against Russia for previous violations. Russia has acknowledged some shortcomings in its implementation of anti-doping rules, but denies running a state-sponsored doping programme.Valieva delivered one of the highlights of the Beijing Games so far when she landed the first quadruple jumps by a woman in Olympic competition on Monday.Her Olympic dream, however, turned into a nightmare on Friday when the ITA revealed publicly that she had tested positive for banned angina drug Trimetazidine in a urine sample collected by Russian authorities at the national championships in St Petersburg on Dec 25.“It is a shame, and the responsible adults should be banned from the sport forever!!!” German figure-skating great Katarina Witt posted on Facebook. “What they knowingly did to her, if true, cannot be surpassed in inhumanity and makes my athlete’s heart cry infinitely.”The testing lab in Stockholm, Sweden reported on Tuesday that her sample was positive, the day after she wowed the world with her unique quadruple jumps and helped win the gold for her team, who are competing as the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).It was not immediately clear why there was such a delay between her test and the result, which allowed her to travel to Beijing and take part in the first of her two events.The IOC said the handling of this case was initially with the Russian testing authorities and then with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited lab.WADA declined to comment on Friday. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) did not immediately respond to Reuters inquiries.Comprehensive measuresThe Russian Olympic Committee said it was taking comprehensive measures to protect its athletes and to keep a gold medal won ‘honestly’.It said that Valieva’s tests were negative before and after Dec 25.Rusada imposed a provisional suspension on Valieva after Tuesday’s test result. She appealed a day later and her ban was lifted. The Russians did not disclose publicly the reason for removing the ban.Now, the IOC and the International Skating Union (ISU) have said they would ask the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the Russian decision to lift her ban. CAS on Friday said it had not yet received the appeal.“We have a 100% policy against doping,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in a press conference on Friday.He added the IOC had demanded that a decision be made before Valieva is due to compete again on Tuesday in the women’s singles. Under the rules of the draw, the ROC cannot replace Valieva in singles competition because she has already competed in the team event.Valieva, wearing a navy hoodie and black tights under padded shorts, skated in practice on Friday afternoon with her team mates Anna Scherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, as well as Russian-born Anastasia Gubanova, who represents Georgia.For days, a doping cloud has hung over Russian teenager Valieva and the Olympics. The medal ceremony for the team event has been delayed for days, with Team USA and Japan waiting in the wings for their prizes.Russian media first reported that Valieva had tested positive on Wednesday.“We need to expedite this as quickly as possible for all those concerned,” the IOC’s Adams said earlier.


Dubai’s captive princess urges UK cops to reopen disappeared sister’s kidnap case

The younger daughter of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has secretly sent a letter to police in the UK asking them to investigate the alleged kidnapping of her older sister, Princess Shamsa, from Britain in 2000, says a BBC report.Shamsa, who was just 18 then and is now 39, has not been seen in public since she was forcibly returned to Dubai, allegedly by teams working for her father.“In the summer of 2000 Shamsa escaped the family vacation house in England,” Latifa, who also claims she is being held prisoner, wrote in a letter forwarded to CNN by her friend David Haigh, a campaigner for her release and part of Detained International, a legal advocacy group.“She wanted to seek asylum in the UK where she has family permanently living. After a few months, she was kidnapped and dragged screaming from the street. She was tranquilised and flown back to Dubai,” Latifa wrote in the document dated February 2018.The princess said her sister was, “kept incommunicado with no release date, trial, or charge. She was tortured by getting her feet caned which is something I experienced myself with my own imprisonment”.She pleaded, “All I ask of you is to please give attention on her case because it could get her freedom.”Cambridgeshire police confirmed it has received a letter “which will be looked at as part of the ongoing review”.A recent statement by the Dubai royal family said coverage of Latifa’s situation “is not reflective of the actual position”.A British High Court judge ruled in 2019, that Sheikh Mohammed had abducted both daughters and held them against their will.Cambridgeshire police first launched a kidnap investigation in 2001 after Shamsa made contact via an immigration lawyer. But the investigation eventually hit a dead end when officers were blocked from going to Dubai.It later emerged that aides acting for the sheikh had made representations to the Foreign Office around the time of the investigation.Police reviewed the investigation in 2018, and BBC News has now revealed that one investigator acknowledged there were “significant sensitivities” with the case.In a statement to BBC News, Cambridgeshire police said it had received Latifa’s letter, which “will be looked at as part of the ongoing review”.The statement added: “This is a very complex and serious matter and as such there are details of the case that it would be inappropriate to discuss publicly.”The Dubai royal family has extensive high society connections in Britain. The sheikh is a personal friend of the Queen.The UK Foreign Office declined to comment on Thursday.


Anwar issues letter of demand for apology from Baling MP

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has filed a letter of demand against Baling MP Hassan Saad, seeking an unconditional apology over an audio recording alleging that he is an Israeli agent.
Anwar, 75, filed the letter of demand through Messrs SN Nair & Partners yesterday, saying he would take legal action against Hassan if he failed to receive satisfactory feedback from him within three days.
According to the letter of demand, an audio recording containing Hassan’s allegations were uploaded on Twitter under the name Mohd Ropi Mat Sin.
When contacted, Anwar’s lawyer SN Nair confirmed the matter, adding that the audio recording was mala fide and untrue, false and aimed at humiliating Anwar publicly.
He said the audio recording had been retweeted by a Twitter user with the name "Pemikir Malaysia" and was viewed over 431,500 times, elicited over 4,800 reactions. It had also been shared over 3,300 times as of the date that the letter was issued.
Nair said the words also implied that Anwar had abused his power as an MP, was a liar and unethical, and had betrayed the people’s mandate.
He said that Anwar’s appointment as the 10th prime minister had received the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah in accordance with the Federal Constitution following a special meeting of the Malay rulers on Nov 24.
The letter said Hassan did not deny the matter even after the audio recording went viral on Twitter and other social media channels.
"If Hassan denies saying those words and the audio recording, we have been instructed by our client to seek public and written confirmation that Hassan did not utter or publish such slander.
"Our client also seeks a retraction and an unconditional apology from Hassan to not repeat such slander," the letter said.
Anwar is also planning to seek damages based on Hassan’s actions.


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Sarawak DAP chief rules out more seats for PKR

Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) has ruled out any additional seats for PKR in the state election to come, after the coalition’s chairman Anwar Ibrahim indicated that discussions are still ongoing.Chong Chieng Jen, who also heads the state DAP, said talks on the allocation of seats were finalised in early January, with PKR agreeing to contest 47 of the 82 seats.He said this agreement is still valid although it was signed by then Sarawak PKR chairman Larry Sng, who later left the party.“Under that agreement, PKR would contest in 47 seats, but now the party wants more – 48, 49, even 50 seats.“But an agreement on the allocation of seats for component parties PKR and Amanah in Sarawak was reached on Jan 2. Even after Sng left the party, the agreement is still valid and it is binding,” Chong said.Anwar, the PKR president, recently said PH would continue negotiating the distribution of seats, including for Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), a splinter party of SUPP, one of the parties in the ruling coalition.But Chong said DAP had made a firm decision that component parties had reached a consensus to settle the allocation of seats for the Sarawak election.“That’s why Anwar said the other day that there are negotiations underway. But we have a fallback plan, that is the agreement that was signed early this year,” he said.“As far as I am concerned, within Sarawak PH, an agreement has been reached.”Asked if Sarawak PH is still open to talks on cooperation with PSB, Chong said an assessment must be made of whether the party is sincere about forming an alliance, adding that PSB has a track record of being a “frog party”.But Chong, the assemblyman for Kota Sentosa, did not rule out the possibility of working with PSB and other opposition parties in the state election.“DAP wants to cooperate with genuine opposition parties,” he said. “So we have to consider all factors. For example, we know that PSB candidates go ‘frogging’ from one party to another.“But sometimes in politics we need flexibility. So we need to assess if they will remain as the opposition after the election.”Adding that this would need people who are willing to engage in hard negotiations, he said it would have been better if the process had been done earlier.


TikTok seeks to calm Europe's fears over data privacy

TikTok launched a new effort to assuage European leaders' worries over data security on Wednesday, as Western governments consider further bans on the video-sharing app.
Their initiative came as the Czech cyber watchdog issued its own warning, describing the Chinese-owned video-sharing app as a security threat.
Western powers, including the European Union and the US, have taken a tough approach to the app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
They are worried that Beijing could access sensitive user data from around the world.
TikTok executives said the company was working with a third-party European security company to oversee and check how it handles European users' data, which will be stored at two centres in Dublin and one in Norway from 2023 onwards.
European users' data are currently stored in the US and Singapore.
TikTok insisted this project would also reduce its own employees' access to user data.
The company has refused to name the partner, but the three centres will cost €1.2 billion (US$1.3 billion, RM5.73 billion) annually and the project began six months ago, Theo Bertram, TikTok's vice-president of European public policy said in an online briefing.
TikTok already has a similar deal in the US with Silicon Valley giant Oracle to keep US users' data in the country.
"In the same way we have done... in the US, we'll build a secure environment around that data to prevent access from outside of the region," Bertram said.
Czech warning
As the company pushes a new charm offensive to convince lawmakers there is nothing to worry about, TikTok's general counsel Erich Andersen is in Europe this week.
He held talks with policymakers in Brussels and London. Bertram said Andersen would also speak to officials in Paris and The Hague.
Andersen will meet French Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Friday, Paris said.
The EU's governing institutions told staff in recent weeks to purge the app from smartphones and laptops used for work purposes.
US lawmakers are pushing a bill that would make it easier to ban the app, coming hot on the heels of a US Congress-ordered purge from all government-issued devices.
Some national governments in Europe have also restricted TikTok for government employees, and others are considering how to address cybersecurity concerns that arise from the app.
The Czech Republic became the latest to issue warnings on Wednesday.
Its National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB) said it was concerned because TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, "falls under the legal jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China".
The Czech government, while part of the EU, has not introduced a ban so far. But in a report last year its intelligence agency, the BIS, singled China out as a major threat targeting Czech cyberspace.
TikTok says it has over 150 million users in Europe, including the UK.
The EU has pointed to concerns over data protection, but TikTok has always strongly denied China has any control or access.
"The Chinese government never asked us for data, and if they would, we would refuse to do so," Bertram said.
While a 2017 law requires Chinese companies to assist the government in matters of national security, Bertram said that as TikTok is not itself a Chinese company it would not have to hand over data.
The Irish privacy regulator is investigating ByteDance over whether it violated the EU's data protection law, the GDPR, with its processing of children's personal data and transfers of data to China.


Dewan Rakyat sitting delayed once more over Covid fears

The resumption of the Dewan Rakyat special sitting initially postponed to Aug 2 has been pushed forward to a date yet to be determined due to concerns over Covid-19.Dewan Rakyat secretary Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin in a letter to MPs said the speaker’s office had been informed by the prime minister that Monday’s sitting would be postponed once more.He said this was in line with the suggestion by health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and risk assessments by the health ministry following the detection of Covid-19 cases in Parliament.“In this regard the health ministry is of the opinion that Parliament is an at-risk location for the spread of Covid-19,” he said.“Given this, I have been directed by deputy speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon to inform MPs that the Dewan Rakyat will not convene on Monday.”The session was postponed on Thursday after Noor Hisham issued a directive that the Parliament building be placed under quarantine following the detection of Covid-19 cases on the premises.Parliament staff as well as MPs were screened for the virus with 11 individuals testing positive for Covid-19.Noor Hisham said health teams would conduct investigations, risk assessments and contact tracing, and put in place preventive measures including the cleaning and disinfection of the Parliament building.


Good governance has attracted foreign investors, boosted revenue, says PM

The government's administration that stresses on good governance has had a positive impact on the country by attracting foreign investors and boosting national revenue, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says.
"How did we do it? When we were given power (to form the government), we stopped all misappropriations and the taking of public money, we do not break rules, we don’t allow contracts without tenders, taking contracts with commission, we don’t allow leaders to take the people’s money.
"This means governance, using power to help the public... the result, from January to April, the gross domestic product rose 5.6%, higher than China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
"The Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) meanwhile reported higher tax collections – where did it come from? Those who previously stole and didn't pay taxes, now everyone pays, because you can’t bribe… LHDN must be clean then our revenue will rise.
"This is our teamwork: we recorded investments of billions from Amazon, Geely (invested) billions in Tanjung Malim, China (invested) RM170 billion, they come and invest and create jobs in our country, because they believe we won’t embezzle, we won’t steal, we don’t take commissions and we know how to protect public interest (so) inflation drops, deficits drop, and revenue goes up," he said in his speech when attending the Malaysia Madani Aidifitri open house in Gombak yesterday, along with Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.
He added that in the six months since the coalition government came to power, it had provided the highest amount of aid in the history of the country to the poor, along with fishermen and smallholders.
Anwar also said that the government would continue to work hard to develop the country and turn Malaysia into a regional powerhouse.
"We will continue to work hard, to push for change… otherwise what’s the power for? Our duty is to Allah, what have we done for this power?
"We will continue to stop corruption as what we have done in the six months in power. I will not be afraid.
"We will clean up our country... the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission will investigate, who will be charged is (up to) the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and who will be punished, that’s the judges’ job," he said.
Anwar also reminded all leaders to remain strong in their principles in their struggle and not to sell themselves out chasing fleeting power and ill-gotten gains.


Germany virus death toll tops 50,000

Germany has recorded more than 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, the Robert Koch Institute disease control centre said Friday.It said 859 people died from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities to 50,642.Germany survived the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic relatively well, but a second wave has hit Europe’s biggest economy hard.The country this week extended its current lockdown until Feb 14, and Chancellor Angela Merkel has not ruled out border checks to slow the spread of new, more contagious variants of the virus.Europe’s top economy closed restaurants, leisure and sporting facilities in November, then expanded the shutdown in mid-December to include schools and most shops to halt runaway growth in new coronavirus infections.The RKI figures are based on people who died directly as a result of the illness caused by the virus and those who contracted Covid-19 but whose exact cause of death could not be confirmed.The institute said it had registered 17,862 new cases since the previous day, bringing the total number of infections to more than 2.1 million.New infections have soared far above the 50 per 100,000 people threshold set by the government for any relaxation of the restrictions, and currently stand at 115.3 over the past seven days.


More meetings to come between health ministry, contract doctors, says hartal movement

More meetings will be held between the Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) movement and the health ministry to discuss issues related to contract doctors, says HDK spokesman Dr Muhammad Yassin.
Speaking to reporters outside the health ministry building in Putrajaya yesterday, he said this was one of the things promised by Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa in a meeting that lasted about 40 minutes.
HDK also submitted a memorandum highlighting its demands during the meeting, he said.
"Zaliha promised to have constant engagement with HDK so that we can be the intermediary between contract doctors and the recently established high-level committee (HLC)," he said.
He added that HDK wants the ministry to include their representative as a member of the HLC and for the HDK to be the "middle point" between the ministry and government contract doctors in efforts to find a solution that will please all parties, as contained in the memorandum.
"However, Zaliha said HDK's involvement in the HLC might be slightly difficult given that the HLC was formed at the Cabinet level," he said.
Zaliha announced that on March 31, the Cabinet had agreed to set up the HLC to deal with the issue of contract doctors, saying it would involve several ministries and agencies as well as Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali. Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the HLC chairman, was reported as saying that the government would ensure the implementation of a win-win solution so that no party is at a loss or feels left out in resolving the contract doctor issue.
HDK also wanted the government to speed up the process of establishing the Health Services Commission and the Health Reform Commission as measures to improve the welfare and secure the positions of contract healthcare workers.


Najib expected to follow D-day proceedings from lawyer’s office as risk of jail remains

Najib Razak may be spared from the court drama reminiscent of the sodomy trial of PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim some seven years ago, as the former prime minister will be following proceedings online to hear the outcome of his appeal against his conviction for charges related to RM42 million in his bank accounts.MalaysiaNow understands that as Najib is facing criminal charges, he will be required to follow proceedings from his lawyer’s office.A source familiar with remote hearings of this nature said in the event that the court upholds his conviction and jail sentence, the next process will be to make preparations for Najib to be sent to jail.“But this can be averted if his lawyer immediately applies for his bail to be extended, pending his appeal to the Federal Court,” the source, a seasoned criminal lawyer, told MalaysiaNow.He added that going by procedure, police will have to be stationed where Najib is tomorrow.The Court of Appeal has decided to proceed with delivering its judgment tomorrow on Najib’s appeal to overturn his conviction by the High Court last year.The SRC verdict revisited as clock ticks in Najib’s second last countdownNajib and his team of lawyers earlier said they wanted a postponement because they had been found to be close contacts for Covid-19.Najib has been on RM1 million bail since the court granted him a stay of execution pending the outcome of his appeal tomorrow.Only one bailor had turned up in court today, informing the appeal judges that Najib and his defence team were in self-quarantine.This sparked a strongly worded warning from Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, one of the three appeals court judges who will decide on Najib’s fate tomorrow.The court refused to grant further postponements and ordered the defence and their client to be present online by noon.The source said due to what transpired in court today, it was possible that the prosecution might raise objections to any application for a stay of execution pending Najib’s final appeal at the Federal Court.“If the court agrees to this, then Najib has to go to prison until his appeal is heard in the Federal Court,” it added.Later this afternoon, Karim alongside fellow judges Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera rejected an application by lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to adduce new evidence for the appeal, ruling that there were no “exceptional circumstances” to merit it.Karim also reminded Najib to be present for the online trial tomorrow at 9am “whatever will be”.In July 2020, Najib was found guilty of seven counts of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering related to RM42 million from the 1MDB-linked SRC International.His actual sentence is 72 years’ imprisonment, 10 years for each of the six charges related to CBT and money laundering, and 12 years for abuse of power for which he was also fined RM210 million or five times the amount in question. But High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali used his discretion to order for the sentences to run concurrently.Najib is the most senior Malaysian politician to be convicted of criminal charges since Anwar in 2014. His conviction came two years after the PKR leader was acquitted by the High Court of a charge of sodomising a party worker.Despite the appeals court sentencing him to five years’ jail, Anwar was granted a stay of execution. The following year, in 2015, he was sent to jail after losing his final appeal at the Federal Court. However, he was released before completing his term following a royal pardon recommended by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018.


‘Kill kill kill’ order ‘was legal’, Philippines authorities claim after 9 shot by police

Philippine police backed by military forces killed nine people over the weekend in a series of raids against alleged communist insurgents.Authorities claimed the suspects opened fire first but others said those killed were unarmed activists, reports the Associated Press.Police said on Monday that all of those killed were associated with “communist terrorist groups” and had shot at officers while being served with search warrants. The suspects died while being taken to hospitals, police said.Catholic leaders joined condemnation of the weekend killings but President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman said orders to kill rebels are legal as long as they are armed.Reuters is reporting that Human Rights groups are outraged over the deaths of what they say were legitimate activists who were killed under the guise of counter-insurgency operations, which came two days after Duterte told security forces they could kill “rebels” if they were holding a gun and to “ignore human rights”.“The president’s ‘kill, kill, kill’ order is legal because it was directed at armed rebels,” his spokesman Harry Roque said in a briefing, adding the government would still investigate the incident.The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, an influential church group, in a statement, denounced the use of what it called unnecessary force and violence during “Bloody Sunday”.Speaking of the killings, Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade, head of an anti-rebel task force, told Reuters the raids were “legitimate law enforcement operations”, and authorities had search warrants for firearms and explosives.Activists said the raids were reminiscent of police operations which killed thousands of people as part of Duterte’s signature war on drugs, in which police always claimed the victims were armed and had resisted arrest.Among those killed at the weekend was a coordinator of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance. The left-wing group has called for an end to “red-tagging”, the practice of labelling opponents communists or terrorists to justify targeting them, which dates back to the rule of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.Human Rights Watch said the government’s counter-insurgency campaign no longer makes a distinction between armed rebels and non-combatant activists, labour leaders, and rights defenders.Since coming to power in 2016, Duterte has seen his efforts to forge peace with Maoist rebels derailed repeatedly, prompting frequent outbursts and threats to wipe them out.


Bank Negara, statistics department asked to explain OPR increase

The Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation has asked Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Department of Statistics Malaysia to explain to the people the reasons behind the increase in overnight policy rate (OPR), says the task force chairman Annuar Musa.
Annuar, who is also communications and multimedia minister, said the people needed to be given a proper understanding of the decision to increase the OPR by 25 basis points to 2.25% yesterday.
Yesterday, BNM's monetary policy committee decided to raise the OPR, which is the benchmark for loans and savings, by 25 basis points or 0.25%, to 2.25%. It was the second increase this year, after the OPR was raised 25 basis points to 2.00% in May.
"I hope we can all understand that the body that determines the interest rate is an independent body.
"They have their reasons, but they also need to provide an explanation so that the public can understand the justification for why certain actions are taken by BNM," Annuar said at a press conference after chairing a Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation meeting in Putrajaya today.


MACC probing sale of Seri Iskandar airport land

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has launched an investigation into the sale of land earmarked for the development of an international airport in Seri Iskandar.Perak MACC chief Mohd Fauzi Mohamad said this followed a report from Manjoi assemblyman Asmuni Awi yesterday.“We have started an investigation to identify whether any offences were committed under the MACC Act 2009. MACC will call up several individuals to assist in the probe soon,” he told Bernama when contacted today.However, he refused to reveal the names of the individuals concerned.Yesterday, four state executive council members in the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, including Asmuni, called on MACC to investigate the sale of the 188-hectare plot of land belonging to the Perak State Development Corporation (PKNP) to a private company.They claimed that the matter was never discussed at the state executive council or PNKP board of directors meetings during the PH administration.Last Thursday, Saarani said the land was sold when PH was in power because during the Barisan Nasional administration, the land was reserved for PKNP for the purpose of building the airport.The matter came to light after Aulong assemblyman Nga Kor Ming, during the Perak state assembly sitting last Tuesday, claimed that land had been sold without the permission of the state government.


State of emergency looms as top officials make emotional plea for stability

A state of emergency, which could see the suspension of all political processes and procedures, is being considered as it appears to be the only practical way to help health authorities avoid a catastrophe caused by Covid-19, which has seen infections spiralling to 12,000 new cases and claiming 68 lives in the last three weeks alone.MalaysiaNow has learnt that legal experts in Putrajaya are studying the option which is sanctioned by the Federal Constitution, following repeated appeals by senior health officials during high-level meetings this week.The matter will be at the top of the agenda when Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin convenes a special meeting with his Cabinet members today.This comes as senior health officials are said to be “expressing serious concerns about the likelihood of elections during the pandemic”, according to those who attended high-level meetings this week between various agencies tasked with battling Covid-19.“At the heart of their concern is the budget next month. Any move to stop it from being passed could see the democratic process left with no choice but the dissolution of Parliament.“The scenario can’t get any worse than that, as they warned that elections will lead to Covid-19 infections going out of control,” said the source who spoke to MalaysiaNow in exchange for assurance of anonymity.The budget, to be tabled on Nov 6, must be passed with a majority vote.But there are indications that it could be defeated if a small group of Umno MPs aligned with its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former leader Najib Razak joins forces with PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim to vote against the budget.Under the present convention, failure to pass the budget, whether due to MPs not voting for it or their absence from the voting process in the Dewan Rakyat, will mean the government losing its majority.“The scenario can’t get any worse than that, as they warned that elections will lead to Covid-19 infections going out of control.”“But with the opposition coalition clearly not enjoying a majority as seen in the recent episode involving Anwar, there cannot be a replacement prime minister, and a snap election would be inevitable,” a high-level source involved in the coordination between several agencies in the battle against Covid-19 told MalaysiaNow.The absence of a clear majority would mean Muhyiddin is duty-bound to advise the Agong to dissolve the Parliament in order to call for an election.“But that would be suicidal for public health. Thankfully, there are constitutional remedies to avoid this and save lives,” the source added.Pandemic electionsExperts have cautioned against holding a general election amid the newest wave of infections.They include former Election Commission chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, who warned of a “national health disaster” if elections were to be held now.Rashid said authorities were unable to contain a spike in Covid-19 infections in the aftermath of the Sabah state election last month.“The Sabah election proved this as the authorities did not have the capacity to check and control, given the volume of campaign activities all over the country. My plea is, please, don’t call for elections now,” Rashid told MalaysiaNow.Agong can declare emergency to contain Covid-19‘Court cluster’ MPs trying to force electionsEx-EC chief: Please don’t have elections nowIt is understood that several high-level meetings this week saw senior officers making “emotional appeals” to government leaders to stabilise the political climate.This was despite the recent about-turn by Zahid, the Umno president, who urged his comrades to strengthen the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.Zahid and a group of Umno MPs had earlier given signals that they could pull out from the PN coalition government, which would deal a blow to Muhyiddin’s fragile majority.Last week, MalaysiaNow revealed that Zahid had supported Anwar in his efforts to take control of Putrajaya, a plan that was derailed after the PKR president failed to prove his claim of having majority support during an audience with the Agong on Oct 13.But with the budget fast approaching, there have been fears that any change of mind by a handful of MPs could trigger the collapse of the government and lead to a much-feared pandemic election.‘Emergency but life goes on’Experts have already weighed in on various constitutional provisions for avoiding an election.“They include the Attorney-General’s Chambers who seem to be in agreement that short of declaring an emergency, no amount of appeals will ensure political stability,” a high-level source told MalaysiaNow.Daily activities will still be allowed to continue if a state of emergency is declared, says lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla.The power to declare an emergency is vested in the Agong based on Articles 40 and 150 of the Federal Constitution.MalaysiaNow previously quoted senior lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla as saying that an emergency to contain the pandemic would not be the same as the Mageran, the Malay acronym for the National Operations Council which usurped the powers of Parliament in the aftermath of the bloody race riots of 1969.He said a state of emergency at this time could allow businesses to continue operating and people to go about their daily routines without the sight of soldiers on the streets, as was the case 50 years ago.“The people will understand the narrative, that it is an emergency to restore politics and public health.”He also said that in a situation where there is both political conflict and an uncontrollable spread of Covid-19 infections, the Agong could declare both emergencies simultaneously.


Myanmar to import Russian oil, military says

Military-ruled Myanmar plans to import Russian gasoline and fuel oil to ease supply concerns and rising prices, a junta spokesperson said, the latest developing country to do so amid a global energy crisis.
The Southeast Asian country has maintained friendly ties with Russia, even as both remain under a raft of sanctions from Western countries - Myanmar for a military coup that overthrew an elected government last year, and Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a "special military operation".
Russia is seeking new customers for its energy in the region as its biggest export destination, Europe, will impose an embargo on Russian oil in phases later this year.
"We have received permission to import petrol from Russia," military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said during a news conference on Wednesday, adding that it was favoured for its "quality and low cost".
Fuel oil shipments are due to start arriving from September, according to media.
Zaw Min Tun said junta chief Min Aung Hlaing discussed oil and gas during a trip to Russia last month. Myanmar now imports its fuel through Singapore.
Myanmar would consider joint oil exploration in Myanmar with Russia and China, he said.
The military has set up a Russian Oil Purchasing Committee headed by a close ally of Min Aung Hlaing to oversee the buying, importing, and transport of fuel at reasonable prices based on Myanmar's needs, according to a statement published in a state newspaper on Wednesday.
In addition to political turmoil and civil unrest, Myanmar has been hit hard by high fuel prices and power cuts, prompting its military leadership to turn to imports of fuel oil that can be used in power plants.
Petrol prices have surged about 350% since the coup in February last year to 2,300-2,700 kyat (about US$1) per litre.
In the past week, petrol stations have shut down in various parts of the country because of shortages, according to media reports.
Russia is also a major supplier of weapons to the Myanmar military.


No-confidence vote against Muhyiddin unlikely, says Najib

Former prime minister Najib Razak is not convinced that a motion of no confidence will be tabled against Muhyiddin Yassin in Parliament.“I do not believe there will be such a motion,” he said when asked about the matter at a press conference in Parliament.However, he said he would decide on his stand in the event that a no-confidence vote does take place in the Dewan Rakyat.His comments came even as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim today submitted a motion of no confidence against the prime minister to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun.Najib earlier stated his support for Perikatan Nasional although he also called for Muhyiddin to resign honourably in the wake of Istana Negara’s statement today regarding the end of the emergency period.He said Muhyiddin should be responsible for the political turmoil that took place today.He also said Muhyiddin’s resignation was the business of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and that the prime minister’s position could only be determined through a parliamentary vote.Najib himself faced a motion of no confidence in 2015, brought by PKR MP Hee Loy Sian over the 1MDB scandal.Hee had submitted the motion citing Najib’s failure to explain the transfer of RM42 million from former 1MDB unit SRC International into his personal accounts.Last year, Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million after a court convicted him of seven counts of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering related to the RM42 million.He is currently appealing against the conviction and sentence.