Despite acquittal, no PN support for Ahmad Maslan as deputy speaker

The six parties in Perikatan Nasional (PN) have decided not to support a plan by Umno to nominate Ahmad Maslan for the post of deputy speaker despite the Pontian MP’s recent acquittal of a money laundering charge, MalaysiaNow has learnt.The coalition is also against a proposal to create a third deputy speaker’s post to accommodate an MP from the opposition.The decision was reached during a top leadership meeting chaired by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin last night.A source familiar with the discussions said the decision not to back Ahmad was in keeping with PN’s principle that it would not support any leader tainted by criminal cases for senior posts.“The fact remains that Ahmad Maslan was acquitted because he paid the compound,” the source said.Ahmad, among the staunchest supporters of former prime minister Najib Razak’s attempts to dislodge the PN-led government in August, paid a RM1.1 million compound slapped on him by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, which the anti-graft body said was a form of asset recovery.The prosecution subsequently withdrew two charges against him, that of money laundering for failing to declare money he had received, and another for giving false statements to MACC.MACC had named Ahmad as among 80 entities and individuals which it said had received money linked to 1MDB.Ahmad is also part of the group aligned with Najib who form the so-called “court cluster MPs”, due to the multiple corruption and criminal charges stacked against them.Following his resignation in August, Muhyiddin had voiced PN’s support for Umno’s Ismail Sabri Yaakob as his replacement but on condition that the Cabinet would not include individuals facing criminal charges in court.The source said that while PN’s stand against supporting Ahmad might not apply to the deputy speaker’s post, it was “in keeping with the spirit of the ‘no-court cluster’ principle”.One of the two positions of deputy speaker had been left vacant since the resignation of Umno’s Azalina Othman Said, another MP who sided with Najib in bringing down Muhyiddin’s government.By current convention, the vacancy is to be filled by a ruling MP, although opposition MPs are expected to back DAP’s Teluk Intan MP Nga Kor Ming, who is eyeing a return to the post he once held under the Pakatan Harapan government.Last month, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar indicated that a third deputy speaker’s post could be created in order to accommodate an opposition MP.The announcement fuelled speculation of Ahmad’s election to the post, which Umno had expected to gain the support of all ruling MPs.


Magnitude 6.1 quake rattles Indonesia's West Java

A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's West Java province on Thursday, the country's geophysics agency (BMKG) said, prompting residents in areas near the epicentre to flee their homes in panic.
The quake, with an epicentre 22km (13.67 miles) from the city of Sukabumi,had no potential to trigger a tsunami and struck at a depth of 104km, the agency said.
Residents fled their houses in Sukabumi, according to footage aired by the TVOne news channel.
Tremors were also felt in the capital Jakarta and surrounding areas, Reuters witnesses said.
Abdul Muhari, an official at Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB), told Reuters there were no reports of damage so far but the agency was still assessing the situation.
Last month, a shallow 5.6-magnitude struck the city of Cianjur, also in West Java, killing more than 300 people and causing damage to thousands of homes.
Straddling the so-called Ring of Fire, a highly seismically active zone where different plates on the earth's crust meet, Indonesia has a history of devastating earthquakes.
In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude quake off Sumatra island in northern Indonesia triggered a tsunami that struck 14 countries, killing 226,000 people.


Guinea launches Ebola vaccination campaign

Guinea launched an Ebola vaccination campaign on Tuesday after a fresh outbreak of the deadly disease struck the country this month, with officials hoping to eradicate the virus in six weeks.The country reported new Ebola cases on Feb 13 – the first in West Africa since a 2013-2016 epidemic that left more than 11,300 dead in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.The latest outbreak emerged near the town of Gouecke, in the forested Nzerekore region in Guinea’s southeast, and has already killed five people.No new cases have however been confirmed for a week.Ebola causes severe fever and, in the worst cases, unstoppable bleeding.It is transmitted through close contact with bodily fluids, and people who live with or care for patients are most at risk.Health workers began to administer Ebola vaccines in Gouecke on Tuesday, after over 11,000 doses arrived in Guinea the previous day.Guinea’s Health Minister Remy Lamah, as well as Georges Ki-Zerbo, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in the country, travelled to the town for the start of the rollout.WHO plans to send about another 8,000 doses to Guinea, the UN health agency said in a statement on Tuesday.Health Minister Lamah told AFP: “I think that in six weeks, we can be done with this disease.”During a ceremony outside a health centre in Gouecke, local government officials received jabs before a crowd of several dozen people. An imam and preacher also encouraged people to get immunised.Lamah, who hails from the region, said he had spent the day trying to persuade local leaders to overcome their resistance to the vaccine.Contact tracingKi-Zerbo said the jabs would be administered mainly to those who had been in contact with people known to be infected, followed potentially by a second circle of people to break the chain of transmission.The vaccination campaign also began in Dubreka on the outskirts of the capital Conakry, said Dr Halimatou Keita, who works in a hospital there.On Wednesday, the rollout will continue in Nzerekore, located around 40km from Gouecke.A total of 385 people have been identified as contacts linked to the initial case and that person’s relatives, said Bouna Yattassaye, deputy director of the National Agency for Health Security.The vast majority of them are being monitored and will be among the first to be vaccinated.Meanwhile in central Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo has also seen a new Ebola outbreak.Officials said Sunday that four people had died while warning that people were resisting measures to contain the highly contagious disease.


Where education is a luxury, not a right

Sitting in the shade of a canopy on a hot day on the outskirts of Sarawak, Ellysia Vina, Claudia Jessica Isabel and Alicia Ann swing their legs and chat as they wait for their turn to collect the free SIM cards being given as part of efforts to increase internet access in their area.Although outwardly different, they share one common trait: all three are among the first from their village to be accepted for study at a public university in the state.But while they are glad to have an opportunity to further their studies, they know that it comes with a catch.Coming from families in the lower-income bracket, for them, earning a degree will mean another economic burden on their parents who already work from dawn to dusk to make ends meet.Aware of the financial constraints, they do their best to help out.Ellysia Vina holds an umbrella over her head to shade herself from the sun as she carries a piece of equipment on the farm.Two years ago, Ellysia decided to look for a job while waiting for her STPM results. Like many of her friends who also graduated around the same time, she knew that she would need extra savings if she was to have any hope at all of going to university.She found a part-time position as an enumerator and spent months walking from house to house from early in the morning until late noon, dressed in her best formal wear, interviewing households to collect their family details.It was hot, tiring work, but she wanted to do everything she could to earn some money. Working as an enumerator brought her about RM1,000 a month.While she was eventually accepted into university, life only seemed to become more challenging, not less. After the Covid-19 pandemic hit, she had to juggle her expenses in order to ensure sufficient internet access to follow her classes online.Soon, she was spending most of her money just paying for internet access so that she could keep up with her studies.Claudia Jessica Isabel smiles as she picks a jambu from a tree in the village.Yet, she and Claudia are considered fortunate as they live in villages where internet connectivity is even available in the first place. For Alice, there is no such luxury at her village.Even so, the three of them are better off than many others. They are among the lucky ones as their fathers still make a steady living, working in padi fields and pepper farms. Unlike the parents of some of their friends, they can afford to buy new clothes and enough food for their family.Many young people in the area of Tebedu, a rural town in Serian located at the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, come from families too cash-strapped to even dream of luxuries like university.Claudia, who comes from Kampung Tema Saan, said many teenagers in her village do not continue studying once they are done with school.In villages such as this, it is difficult for young people to further their studies even if they obtain a spot at a local university.“Like my cousin. She didn’t continue her studies because she could not afford to. She didn’t want to burden her parents so she decided to work.“I feel sorry for her because she was a good student. She scored many A’s for her SPM,” Claudia told MalaysiaNow.Serian has come a long way from where it was 60 years ago, when Sarawak was still fresh from independence and had just overcome the threat of the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation.The influx of local migrants eventually shaped it into a land known for its offer of easy money for the underskilled. For the past five years, it has seen a gradual shift in development, moving from oil palm plantations to pepper farms and padi.Still, many youth are jobless and had been even before the pandemic. Lacking the necessary qualifications and skills, they end up like 19-year-old Christopher Ginola.Christopher Ginola sits with his guitar. Christopher loves music but was forced to become a labourer on an oil palm plantation after losing his job at a hair salon.Christopher had just started working at a hair salon in Serian when Covid-19 hit and the string of lockdowns was imposed.With the salon closed under preventive health measures, Christopher was forced to become a day labourer at an oil palm plantation. There, he works day in and day out, snatching up the loose kernels littered on the ground.Sometimes, he works for 12 hours carrying heavy loads on his back.“I cannot miss anything,” he told MalaysiaNow. “Not even one thing, otherwise my pay will be cut.”But this, too, is meagre and not enough to meet his expenses.He said many other children and teenagers do similar work, toiling away in mines or on plantations.“They have to do this to help their families,” he said. “Most of them went to school until Standard Six.“Here, children have to start working at a young age and ignore their education because of poverty.”


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Federal Court throws out bids to challenge PM's request to dissolve Parliament

The Federal Court today dismissed the applications by a former MP and a Pandan voter for leave to pursue their appeals to challenge former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's request to dissolve Parliament which paved the way for the 15th general election (GE15).
A three-member panel comprising Federal Court judges Nallini Pathmanathan, Vernon Ong Lam Kiat and Mary Lim Thiam Suan dismissed the applications of former Klang MP Charles Santiago and Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar with no order as to costs.
In delivering the court's decision, Nallini said GE15 had been completed, a new government installed and Parliament convened.
She said the court was constrained to exercise its discretion to uphold the preliminary objection by the government, Ismail and the Election Commission (EC).
Nallini said the current state of the new government could not exist without the initial request for the dissolution of Parliament, adding that it was not possible to divorce the results from the events that commenced from the request for the dissolution.
In their notices of motion seeking for leave to pursue their appeals at the Federal Court, Santiago and Syed Iskandar had raised several questions of law for the Federal Court to determine.
They had separately filed legal actions at the High Court to challenge the then prime minister's advice to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament, which paved the way for the EC to hold GE15.
However, they lost their cases in the High Court on Oct 28 last year. Their appeals were dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Nov 15, prompting them to file leave to appeal applications to the Federal Court.
In the proceedings which were conducted online, federal counsel Low Wen Zhen, representing Ismail, the government and the EC in Syed Iskandar’s case, and lawyer Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, representing these three in Santiago's case, argued that the court should not grant leave as the matter had become academic. Low said GE15 had been held, with its results announced and gazetted, and that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had appointed Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister on Nov 24 last year after conferring with the Conference of Rulers and in accordance with the Agong's powers under the Federal Constitution.
The court earlier heard submissions from lawyers Gopal Sri Ram and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, representing Syed Iskandar and Santiago respectively.
Sri Ram argued that the court should give leave as the question of law proposed related to whether the request by the prime minister for the dissolution of Parliament was justiciable.
He said the Federal Court's decision would provide guidance to legal advisers to the government if a similar challenge occurred in the future.


Federal Court throws out Najib's bid to cite new evidence in SRC case

Former prime minister Najib Razak today failed in his bid to adduce new evidence in his SRC International case, paving the way for the apex court to begin hearing his final appeal against his conviction and sentence for the misappropriation of RM42 million from the 1MDB-linked unit.
Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who led a five-man bench in hearing Najib's application, said the additional evidence that he sought to adduce was irrelevant to the case against him.
The evidence Najib had sought to include related to the fact that trial judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali was in 2006 the general counsel and company secretary for Maybank Group, and had the ultimate overall responsibility for the management and administration of all legal departments within the entire group.
In their unanimous decision rejecting his application, the judges said there was no nexus between Nazlan's previous job and the charges against Najib.
They dismissed the application after hearing submissions by Najib's lead counsel, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, and ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram.
The other judges on the bench were Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Nallini Pathmanathan, Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.
Tengku Maimun said that Najib as the applicant was neither ignorant nor unrepresented.
"It cannot be said that he could not have obtained the evidence without due diligence on his part. In the course of the investigation by the Malaysian-Anti Corruption Commission, statements were recorded from Maybank employees and also from Nazlan. With respect, we fail to see how their potential evidence is related to the charges against the applicant.
"We do not see how Nazlan’s previous role in Maybank may impact his findings in the SRC trial and the establishment of SRC by the acts of the applicant himself."
Najib's counsel Hisyam then asked that the main appeal be postponed for at least three to four months, saying his appointment was made only recently.
"I’m also unwell. I humbly requested for an adjournment," he said.
To this, Sithambaram said the prosecution would leave the matter to the court's discretion.
The court then stood down the proceedings to decide the matter.
Najib is appealing against his conviction and sentence for the misappropriation of RM42 million in the SRC International case.
It is his final appeal after a three-man Court of Appeal bench on Dec 8 last year upheld the Pekan MP’s conviction and 12-year jail term and the RM210 million fine handed down on him by Nazlan on July 28, 2020.


Return to negotiating table or expect Melaka-Johor repeat at GE15, anti-Umno forces told

Barisan Nasional (BN) would not have been able to pull off its victory at the recent Johor state election if it had faced a united opposition front, analysts say.Ilham Centre, which actively monitors elections, said split votes among the opposition had given BN 19 of its 40 seats in the state legislative assembly: Kemelah, Tenang, Bukit Pasir, Gambir, Serom, Bukit Naning, Sungai Balang, Semerah, Parit Yaani, Senggarang, Rengit, Mahkota, Tenggaroh, Tiram, Permas, Larkin, Kempas, Kota Iskandar and Bukit Permai.The centre’s executive director Hisommudin Bakar said BN had in fact received only 599,753 votes or 43.11%, meaning that 826,820 or 56.89% of voters had not supported the coalition while another 1.17 million were no-shows.Perikatan Nasional (PN) won three seats with 334,457 votes or 24.04% while Pakatan Harapan (PH) won 11 with 284,969 (20.48%) of the popular vote.If the two blocs had joined forces, they would have received 45.52% of the popular vote – far more than what was obtained by BN.This is without taking into account other parties which contested the March 12 election such as Muda, Pejuang and Warisan.The split in votes was similar to that experienced by the Malay community at the 14th general election where three-way fights took place between BN, PH and PAS.Hisommudin said the split in opposition at the Johor election was a serious matter given the percentage of popular vote that did not go to BN.“The voting pattern at the Melaka and Johor elections might have been very different if it had been a one-on-one contest,” he told MalaysiaNow. “That would have minimised the voters’ options, forcing them to choose either of two blocs.“Given such a situation, BN would appear to depend solely on the votes from hardcore Umno supporters while the opposition has rational voters, including those from more dynamic segments.”Going by the results of the election on Saturday, he said, the opposition vote had gone to a variety of groups including the Malay-Islam bloc represented by PAS and Bersatu, the youth voters and the non-Malays able to challenge BN’s dominance.FPTP system, still relevant?Hisomuddin suggested the use of the popular vote as a yardstick and another system to replace the first-past-the-post (FPTP) method used in Malaysian elections.Through this system, he said, candidates who receive the most votes win the seat even if he or she obtains less than 50% of the total votes.This happens when there are more than two candidates fighting for the same seat.“With redelineation, things become imbalanced because the representative in the Perling state constituency, for example, has to take care of 101,263 voters compared to Benut which has only 28,165,” he said.While the shortcomings of the FPTP system have been discussed in an academic sense, he added, it would require the will of policymakers for any change to take place.Hisommudin said the impact of systemic changes on the political dominance of certain parties, and the increase in seats according to race would be the problem standing in the way of change in the existing system.For Shamsul Amari Baharuddin of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the question of the popular vote has no relevance in a representative democracy which operates through the FPTP system.“Each seat won through a majority of votes is legitimate for the formation of a government,” he said.“This system has been accepted and applies not only to winners from the ruling bloc, but candidates from the opposition who win as well.”Shamsul said the popular vote is relevant for parties in planning the future mobilisation of people in order to attract voters.He said talk on the FPTP system that arose after BN’s victory had been hyped up, as if to hide the embarrassment of the losing side.“Why was the number of Pakatan Harapan voters in Penang and Selangor at the 14th general election in 2018 not raised?” he asked.Hisommudin meanwhile said the opposition had no choice but to return to the negotiating table.“Egos and the principle of pushing and jostling among one another need to be put aside so that a formula and strategy can be found to halt BN’s momentum in its march to Putrajaya,” he said.Adding that PH had lost the Malay vote and was now highly dependent on the Chinese vote, he said PN on the other hand had the support of the Malays but not of non-Malays.“The opposition leaders need to come up with a united agenda to defeat BN.“If they cannot, then at GE15 we will see the same voting pattern that took place in Melaka and Johor.”


Malaysia's oldest rubber tree now worth nearly RM200,000

The first rubber tree planted in Malaysia, estimated to be over 140 years old, is now said to be worth almost RM200,000.
Kuala Kangsar Municipal Council (MPKK) secretary Saiful Azli Mohamed Nor said the rubber tree, or its scientific name Hevea brasiliensis, requires maximum care with maintenance and treatment costs of between RM3,000 and RM5,000 a year.
"The current value of this rubber tree is RM194,183. This rubber tree is included in the list of heritage trees of the MPKK.
"It’s turning 146 years old, so this tree does not have enough energy reserves to repair its own structure if any damage occurs," he told Bernama recently.
According to Saiful Azli, tree pruning is done once a year at a cost of RM1,000 to RM3,000 depending on the difficulty of the work while fungicide and fertiliser would cost between RM500 and RM1,000.   "Health evaluation and advanced assessment are done every two years with an estimated cost of between RM500 and RM2,000 depending on the current condition of the tree," he said.
In 1877, a total of 22 rubber seedlings were brought into the country from Kew Gardens, England. Of the 22 seedlings, nine were sown in Kuala Kangsar.
Asked about its life span, Saiful Azli said it cannot be estimated.
"However, we are trying to maintain the life of this rubber tree by giving proper treatment and care," he added.


Tired of instability, economy the priority for some voters

Livestock and animal feed trader Zamri Haron lost RM400,000 in heavy rains and floods last December that damaged his equipment and spoiled his stocks.
He received no government aid, and was forced to borrow money from friends and family to pay his workers and run the business.
As he casts his ballot in the election on Saturday, Zamri said he will be choosing a candidate who can help deal with financial losses and a slowing economy.
"As traders ourselves, we don't see the government helping or providing (aid). What we expect from the candidate who will lead this area is to be honest and help people," said Zamri.
Economic prospects and rising inflationary pressures are the top issues for the people in the Nov 19 election that comes amid an expected slowdown in growth.
People are also frustrated with recent political instability that they think has taken politicians' focus away from economic development.
Since 2018, Malaysia has seen three prime ministers and the collapse of two coalitions due to power struggles between factions.
This election is set to be a highly competitive race between three major coalitions led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, long time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Ismail's Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which was defeated in the last election in 2018 due to widespread corruption allegations, is trying to restore its image as the safest pair of hands for managing the economy.
Former prime minister Najib Razak, who is with BN, is in jail serving a 12-year sentence for graft over the multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB. Several other coalition leaders also face corruption charges.
Anwar and Muhyiddin had worked together to bring down Najib in 2018, and were allied in the subsequent short-lived coalition government headed by the venerable Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister, who is again contesting at the age of 97.
BN has promised to provide monthly aid to lower-income households, free childcare and early education, and reduce taxes in an effort to address the voters' inflation concerns.
Opposition leader Anwar has also vowed to prioritise the economy and inflation. His coalition said it would offer production incentives and eliminate cartels to alleviate rising prices of food essentials.
About 74% of Malaysians surveyed by independent pollster Merdeka Center identified "economic concerns" as the country's biggest problem.
Inflation and enhancing economic growth were in the top five voter concerns, according to the Merdeka poll conducted in October.
"Cost of living will definitely be something that the new government will have to focus on," said Arinah Najwa Ahmad Said, senior analyst at political risk consultancy Bower Group Asia.
The new government will also have to address unemployment benefits as companies lay off employees in anticipation of difficult times ahead, she said.


Govt committed to ensuring press freedom, minister assures after slide in global ranking

The government today assured that it will continue providing the widest possible access for the media to report news in line with existing provisions in the Federal Constitution.Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said the government is always committed to supporting and upholding freedom of the press.“The government’s stance is clear and we recognise the important role of media practitioners in carrying out their functions and fulfilling their responsibilities,” he said in a statement.He added that his ministry took note of the 2021 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders on April 17, in which Malaysia was ranked 119th.He said efforts to prevent the spread of false information do not mean restricting press freedom.He said that in the IT era of the 21st century, the media is responsible not only for disseminating transparent information but also for protecting the people from the spread of false information that could threaten stability and harmony in the country.He said the media in the country had long collaborated with the government and had always been proactive in helping to refute false information.“As we fight to stop the Covid-19 pandemic, governments around the world also face the challenge of tackling the spread of false information and ensuring that authentic and accurate news and information are channelled to the people,” he said.He said the enforcement of the Emergency (Essential Powers) (No.2) Ordinance 2021 from March 12 was specifically to address false information related to Covid-19 and the emergency proclamation.


Putin signs law that could keep him in Kremlin until 2036

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that could keep him in office until 2036, the government said on Monday.Under the previous legislation, he would have had to leave the Kremlin at the next election.Putin, 68, is currently serving his second consecutive term as president and his fourth in total.One of last year’s approved constitutional amendments reset Putin’s number of terms served to zero, meaning that he could potentially lead the country until 2036. By then, he will be 84 years old.The legislation allows him to run for two more six-year terms once his current stint ends in 2024, Reuters is reporting.Those changes were backed in a public vote last summer with nearly 80% of voters supporting the changes, according to the official tally.The reform, which critics cast as a constitutional coup, was packaged with an array of other amendments that were expected to garner popular support, such as one bolstering pension protections.The legislation was passed in the lower and upper houses of parliament last month.With Putin’s signature, these amendments are now officially part of Russia’s federal law.As well as resetting Putin’s terms, the new document also establishes additional requirements for a president.The new rules state that candidates must not have ever held any other citizenship or residence permit from a foreign country and must have permanently resided in Russia for at least 25 years. All future presidents will be limited to two terms in office.Russia’s opposition parties slammed the changes.The vote was derided by Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, who accused the constitutional process of having “incomprehensible rules”.


Are bad Covid test practices churning out false positive cases?

The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the gold standard for Covid-19 testing, but there have been some concerns about using RT-PCR with high-cycle protocol which could be giving rise to false positive results.Even if this proves to be the case for RT-PCR machines, the overall impact of false positives is likely to be minimal given Malaysia’s epidemiological status and the overall practice of our health authorities in managing Covid-19.To understand what this is about, let’s have a look at some basic concepts regarding how RT-PCR works.Viruses carry in them genetic material in the form of sequences that are unique to it which we can use for identification. In general, PCR amplifies (or replicates) specific parts of a viral gene sequence (target genes). It replicates these target gene sequences in “cycles” whereby after each cycle, the number of gene replicates increase exponentially.This is done so that we have enough genetic material to be detected. To detect these replicates, “probes” are added that will attach to these replicated genetic sequences. Under a certain type of light, these probes emit light back to the sensor. A stronger re-emitted light from the sample indicates more replicates and vice versa.The minimum light intensity detectable is the “detection limit”. The number of cycles needed by the PCR machine to amplify the target genetic sequence to the detectable limit is known as the cycle threshold or Ct.As pointed by Jonathan Jarry from the Office of Science and Society of McGill University, a high Ct risks reducing the “specificity” of the test. No technology is 100% perfect and functions perfectly all the time, and running high Ct could cause similar genetic sequences in the mix to be replicated. It’s amplifying irrelevant background noise, so to speak. This gives a false positive result.So, there is worry that health authorities could be producing false positive cases if they are running high Ct – meaning, people get positive test results despite not actually being infected. But we cannot answer this by looking at the Ct value alone.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), positive predictive value (PPV) is the likelihood of a person with a positive test result to most likely be infected.Based on the CDC, PPV is greatly impacted by two major factors: pretest probability and test specificity. The higher the pretest probability and the specificity of a test, the lower the false-positive rate and the higher the PPV.So the question is, have the authorities tested people with high pretest probability using high specify tests?Let’s start with pretest probability. According to the CDC, pretest probability is based on epidemiological circumstances such disease prevalence in the population as well as clinical information such as symptoms and patient history of close contacts of the person being tested. The more prevalent a disease is in a population and the more clinical observations there are indicating illness, the higher the pretest probability.Malaysia is obviously not in a situation of low disease prevalence and the health ministry’s guidelines to assess if a person fulfils the criteria for a suspected case include robust clinical and epidemiological criteria. These guidelines have been outlined by experts in the field and we have no evidence to say that these guidelines are insufficient or that that they have not been properly followed. In this case, pretest probability should be high.According to Public Health Ontario (PHO) Laboratory, in general the PPV is “excellent” for Covid-19 PCR tests coming from people with high pretest probability, with PPV of almost 100%. Meaning, almost all of the people who test positive are really infected with the virus. The test by PHO Laboratory may use a different test kit under different circumstances and in a different place, but the impact on high pretest probability on reducing likelihood of false positives remains true.Therefore, we are left with the second part of question: are the RT-PCR tests conducted on these suspected cases reliable? Are we using Ct values that are too high, causing the specificity to be questionable?Going back to how the PCR works, Ct value is relative to the amount of genetic material the PCR test started with. If the test started with many samples of the virus gene (high viral load), its Ct will be low because it doesn’t need as many cycles to amplify it to amounts that can be detected. Conversely, if the Ct is high then it’s because the initial viral load is low and the RT-PCR takes many more cycles to produce enough replicated target sequences to be detected.As you can see, the “reported” Ct is relative, not a value to be arbitrarily set. There are guidelines that have been set by the manufacturers of RT-PCR machines and kits which have to be followed by laboratory technicians. The World Health Organization (WHO) Information Notice dated Dec 20 regarding the interpretation of PCR test results does not contradict these in that any manual adjustments must be according to manufacturer’s recommendations.The notice from WHO also recommends the reporting of Ct values, but emphasises that the result interpretation should be in consideration of various factors. This in line with the fact that the Ct value by itself doesn’t tell you much, and that PPV is affected by other factors as discussed before.Therefore, the relevancy of the question may not be so much on the reported Ct, but more on the “cut-off” Ct values by manufacturers.As reported by Kim Schive at MIT Medical, the healthcare arm of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT uses 40 cycles as the cut-off value. This means that a test result is deemed negative if the target virus sequence isn’t detected by the time it reaches 40 cycles, and positive if is detected within 40 cycles or less.According to Public Health England, an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in the UK, “a typical RT-PCR assay will have a maximum of 40 thermal cycles”.Looking at the above two sources, it’s possible that a relatively high Ct cut-off value is being practised. As pointed out earlier, running at high Ct could run the risk of “noise amplification”, generating false positives.Schive reported a similar view shared by associate medical director at MIT Shawn Ferullo who was quoted as saying: “I do believe the test (referring MIT 40-cycle test protocol) may be identifying some sub-clinical cases, but based on our current understanding of the virus, we’d rather err on the side of caution than put our community at risk.”But even if the Ct cut-off value has been higher than ideal, we have to remember that PPV is also contributed by pretest probability, which as discussed above can greatly reduce the chance of false positives if done correctly.Based on PHO Laboratory data as of Aug 15, 2020, there were 30 occurrences of possible false positive Covid-19 results from over 850,000 tests, of which about 17,500 tests were positive cases. This shows a total false positivity rate of about 0.003%.All in all, it is still a valid concern, especially if cases are high and the health infrastructure is overwhelmed, which is the case for Malaysia right now. We would be wasting precious resources if there were significant false positives. As discussed, this is unlikely to be the case – unless the authorities have not been following their own robust guidelines in combination with wildly erroneous test kits.Ultimately, only the authorities working together with independent parties and the scientific community can verify these probabilities, but so far we have no reason to assume the worst.Although the science behind PCR is not new, the novel coronavirus is, as the name implies, so the science relating to it, including test kits and equipment, are bound to see improvements and changes over time. There are existing procedures and regulatory bodies that ensure we only use equipment that is reliable – or as reliable as can be at any given point of time.In Malaysia, laboratories have to report the Ct value to the Special Committee on Covid-19 Laboratory (JPKMCOVID-19) as part of the procedure to offer RT-PCR tests. All test kits are validated by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) or National Public Health Laboratry (NPHL). Accredited laboratories also perform verification of the test method before offering the test.Ameen Kamal is head of science and technology at independent think tank Emir Research.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Why the rushed trip to Saudi Arabia, asks PN MP

Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal today questioned the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) over the reportedly eleventh-hour official visit to Saudi Arabia by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the visit had embarrassed both Malaysia and Saudi Arabia due to Anwar's failure to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and King Salman Abdulaziz.
"Why did the PMO carry out such a rushed visit, said to be an official trip but not so in reality?
"We ask for a thorough explanation from the prime minister and foreign minister. We shouldn't repeat diplomatic mistakes that harm the country," he said in a press conference at the Parliament building.
Anwar had expressed regret that he was unable to meet Mohammed, with a Bernama report saying the meeting could not take place because the crown prince had a change of plans ahead of the Ramadan month.
The government also said that Anwar had turned down a request by Saudi officials to extend his stay so that a meeting with the crown prince could take place, saying the prime minister was scheduled to visit Cambodia and China in the coming days.
Wan Fayshal compared Anwar's trip to that of Muhyiddin Yassin during his time as prime minister, saying the latter had resulted in an increase in Malaysia's haj quota as well as interest in doubling the purchase of Malaysian palm oil.
The Bersatu Youth chief said Wisma Putra had not revealed the details of Anwar's visit.
"This will have an impact on bilateral relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia," he said.
"Is it true that the Saudi government did not want to meet with the prime minister?"


Space tech to help with flood preparations

The science, technology and innovation ministry is using a technology developed by the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA) to identify localities prone to flooding in its early preparations for the rainy season.
Its minister Dr Adham Baba said among the space technologies developed and operated by MYSA were the integrated disaster management system and the satellite image-based monsoon flood information and logistics system (eBanjir).
"Space technology, especially the remote sensing satellite, is capable of observing and producing the latest images and information on the earth's surface which is very useful in helping to manage disasters quickly, efficiently and effectively," he told the media after the launch of the World Space Week 2022 in Kuala Lumpur today.
He said MYSA would carry out drone flights to monitor specific locations to obtain more detailed information about flood areas.
Apart from that, he said, Mimos Bhd had developed the national flood forecasting and warning system (SRAB) to assist in data collection at the control centre for initial data contribution for flood forecasting and warnings to the Irrigation and Drainage Department.
"Phase One of the SRAB system covers three areas such as Sungai Terengganu, Sungai Kelantan and Sungai Pahang and uses seven technologies developed by Mimos," he added.
Meanwhile, Adham said four local companies had shown interest in developing a rocket launch site in Malaysia.
"Malaysia is suitable to be used as a rocket launch site because of its location on the equator," he said, adding that the ministry would launch a third remote sensing satellite in 2025.
He voiced hope that the development of the rocket launch site would achieve the satellite launch target.


DAP’s PJ rep tests positive for Covid-19

DAP’s assemblyman for Kampung Tunku in Petaling Jaya is the latest politician to become infected with Covid-19.Lim Yi Wei, who was among those involved in the Sabah election campaign, said she had only experienced symptoms on Oct 1, despite a swab test result confirming she was free of the virus.She said she was informed today that she was Covid-19 positive, based on a second swab test done on Oct 2.“I apologise to all Ministry of Health staff, my colleagues and all who are inconvenienced, despite all precautions taken and self-quarantine since Day 1. I also urge all who have been in contact with me for the last 14 days to do screening at the nearest health clinic,” she said.Earlier, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri tested positive for Covid-19 as well.The former federal territories mufti urged anyone who had attended events involving him between Sept 24 and Oct 4 to undergo Covid-19 screening.


Singapore Airlines earthbound A380 dining sells out in minutes

Who would have thought airplane food had such appeal?Singapore Airlines is adding more dates for its “Restaurant A380” dining experience after reservations filled up within minutes on the first day.“We  are grateful for the extremely strong support from our customers, and we look forward to welcoming them to Restaurant A380 @Changi,” Lee Lik Hsin, Singapore Airlines’ executive vice-president said in a statement.The A380 restaurant is one of several experiments Singapore Airlines is trying in order to boost business as the coronavirus pandemic wrecks demand for air travel.An A380 can normally seat nearly 500 passengers, but SIA only uses about half the seats for dining to adhere to the pandemic guidelines in place for restaurants.Diners who need more elbow room than a tray table affords can have Singapore Airlines’ first-class and business-class meals delivered to their homes, where they can stretch out a bit and toss scraps to the dog.Tours of the SIA Training Centre offers visitors the chance to chat with pilots and cabin crew about their experiences and visit the airline’s flight simulators for a chance to take an A380 up.Grooming workshops conducted by the airline’s cabin crew trainers are also available.SIA launched the new experiences after posting a roughly S$816 million loss from April to June as it grappled with a drop in demand because of the coronavirus crisis.Since it first took to the skies in 2007, the A380 super-jumbo has proved to be a huge hit with passengers, but it never really took off with airlines.Now that Covid-19 has devastated international aviation, airlines have already started prematurely retiring the double decker.So, an earthbound meal on board one at Changi may be one of the few remaining opportunities for earthlings to experience the A380 before the last one flies off into retirement.


New infections fall below 4,000 as death toll up by 6

Another 3,927 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,701,140.
There were 4,949 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,618,625.
There are now 46,506 active cases, of which 44,843 or 96.4% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 24 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 1,587 (3.4%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 52 are in ICU with 38 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 63.8%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 13.8%.
Another six deaths were reported, including three who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 36,009.


US CDC stands by school masking guidance as states relax rules

With Covid-19 cases still high nationwide, “now is not the moment” to drop mask mandates in schools and other public places, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Dr Rochelle Walensky told Reuters on Tuesday.Her comments follow announcements by officials in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, California and Oregon that they plan to lift indoor mask mandates for K-12 public schools and other indoor spaces in coming weeks, seeking a return to normalcy as infections spurred by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus ebb.“I know people are interested in taking masks off. I too am interested. That would be one marker that we have much of the pandemic behind us,” Walenksy said in an interview.“Right now our CDC guidance has not changed… We continue to endorse universal masking in schools.”Walensky said the CDC has always acknowledged that state and local jurisdictions are responsible for masking policies, but the agency’s guidance remains unchanged.“We have and continue to recommend masking in areas of high and substantial transmission – that is essentially everywhere in the country in public indoor settings,” she said.She sees the health crisis becoming endemic when infections are at a steady state and the virus is no longer disruptive to society.And while Walensky said she is “cautiously optimistic” Covid-19 cases in the US will fall below crisis levels, “I don’t think we’re there right now.”Even with declines in infections from recent record highs, Walensky noted that the US is still seeing around 290,000 Covid-19 cases each day and higher rates of hospitalisation than it did during the peak of cases caused by the Delta variant in 2021.Hospital capacity is “one of the most important barometers” for whether Covid-19 should be considered a pandemic-level public health crisis, Walensky said. Right now, US hospitals remain “overwhelmed” by Covid-19 cases, she added.A sign the virus has become endemic, she said, is when “anybody walking in the door who’d come in for a heart attack or a stroke or a motor vehicle accident could quickly get care because hospitals weren’t overburdened or overwhelmed.”As the pandemic recedes, monitoring cases will remain important, as will testing for levels of virus in municipal wastewater, a program the CDC has recently expanded.“We can see rises in cases in wastewater signals four to six days before we ever see rising cases,” she said.Case counts and wastewater data will be used as early warning signals that a surge is coming and that people should resume Covid precautions, such as getting boosted or covering faces indoors, she said.Preparing for some semblance of normal life with Covid represents “a lot of the work that we have ahead as we work to come out of this crisis time.”


Johor flood victims soar past 25,000

The number of people evacuated from floods in Johor soared to over 25,000 in 10 districts as of this morning.
The state disaster management committee said 25,213 people had been moved to temporary relief centres as of 8am.
This is an increase of over 16,100 from the 9,162 flood victims reported last night.


Cabinet members discussed using 1MDB funds for their constituencies, ex-chief secretary tells court

Former chief secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today he was of the opinion that 1MDB was established as a political fund for Barisan Nasional (BN) as the matter was discussed among Cabinet members.Sidek, 71, during re-examination by senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram, said at one of the Cabinet meetings, ministers were even encouraged to propose how 1MDB funds could be used to finance projects in their constituencies.When asked how he could conclude that the 1MDB funds were meant as a political fund for BN, Sidek said: “Because all of the (Cabinet) ministers are BN members.”Sri Ram: Cabinet meetings shouldn’t be discussing politics, should they?Sidek: I was a civil servant through and through. The government’s policy is the policy of the ruling party, whether it’s BN or other parties… a bloc or a coalition. So, it is quite difficult to differentiate the two (policies).Yesterday, Sidek in his witness statement said that according to his understanding, the strategic investment company was set up as a political fund for BN, the then ruling party.The 19th prosecution witness said this was why he had never asked former prime minister Najib Razak or any party in 1MDB about problems in the company.Questioned by Sri Ram about whether Najib had ever disclosed his relationship with a man known as Jho Low during any of the Cabinet meetings, the witness said that he did not remember.Najib, 68, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.The trial before justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues tomorrow.


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Buzz in shares of company linked to Anwar’s sister

A company linked to the sister of Anwar Ibrahim appears to have gained interest among investors, in what could be interpreted as the close link between business and politics.This comes a day after the PKR leader announced he was having an audience with the Agong to inform the king of his “formidable” majority to topple the federal government.The Edge Markets reported that shares for Malayan United Industries Bhd (MUI), where Anwar’s sister Farizan Ibrahim is an independent non-executive director, were the second most active in early trade, with 228.66 million shares traded, increasing by 17.86% to 16.5 sen at 11.13am.MalaysiaNow earlier quoted an aide to a PKR politician as saying that Anwar had secured an appointment with the Agong in the hope of getting “groundswell support from many more Umno MPs” despite anger from DAP, which controls a crucial 42 seats in the Pakatan Harapan bloc.The report also quoted a source which said Anwar would be content with an appointment with the Agong “even without the numbers”, and suggested that the move could sway tycoons and businessmen “unfamiliar with the numbers game” to come to his side.“Between today and next Tuesday, there is every possibility that anxious businessmen and tycoons unfamiliar with the numbers game will be willing to put their stake with Anwar, all because of this royal audience,” the source said.Yesterday, Anwar said Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah had consented to a royal audience on Oct 13, at which he would furnish details of his claim to having “formidable and convincing” majority support from MPs to form the government.Three weeks ago, he declared that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government had fallen, and that he was on the verge of forming a “Malay-majority” government.


Melaka goes to polls on Nov 20

The state election in Melaka will be held on Nov 20, the first time that Malaysians head to the poll booth since the Sabah election in September last year.According to the Election Commission, nomination will be held on Nov 8 while early voting will begin on Nov 18.The campaign period will run for 12 days from Nov 8 to Nov 19.The election is expected to require an allocation of RM46 million.“The EC held a special meeting today where it was decided that an election should be conducted within 60 days of the date of dissolution of the state legislative assembly on Oct 5, to fill the 28 vacated seats,” EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said in a statement.He said 28 returning officers have been appointed, to be aided by 80 assistant managing officers.Twenty-eight teams comprising police personnel, representatives from the local authorities and representatives of the contesting candidates will also be formed to monitor all election campaign activities throughout the period.Meanwhile, 28 nomination centres and 28 tallying centres will be utilised for the election.A total of 12,290 officers will be appointed to facilitate the election which will see 217 regular polling centres with 1,109 polling booths/streams and 31 centres for early voting with 47 polling booths/streams.The regular polling centres will be opened from 8am to 5.30pm on the election day itself while for early voting, 21 centres will be opened from 8am to 2pm and the remaining 10 from 8am to 5.30pm.A total of 495,196 people are eligible to vote in the Melaka election, comprising 482,550 regular voters, 10,191 military voters and their spouses, 2,349 police personnel and 106 overseas voters.Ghani also listed several improvements to be made to the voting process including:1. The preparation of special voting streams for those aged 60 and above;2. A 30-minute extension of voting time from 8am to 5.30pm compared to 8am to 5pm previously; and3. A designated stream for special needs voters, who number 12,712.The Sabah election last year had been blamed for a surge in Covid-19 cases throughout the country due to large gatherings and cross-border travel.Elections were subsequently suspended under the state of emergency declared in January this year, which ended in August.Sarawak, which is under a separate state of emergency expiring in February next year, is also overdue for an election.


PM chairs National Security Council meeting

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today chaired a meeting of the National Security Council.Muhyiddin was recently admitted to hospital following a bout of diarrhoea.His office said yesterday that he was stable and making good progress, adding that there was no evidence of a recurrence of his previous tumour condition.It also said that he had been allowed to work from the hospital and would be discharged within a few days.Muhyiddin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018. He subsequently underwent surgery to remove the tumour as well as chemotherapy treatment.


13% of teenage girls in KL can’t afford to buy sanitary pads, ministry studies show

Studies carried out by the women, family and community development ministry on period poverty involving teenagers and women from the B40 group around the capital have found that 13.1% cannot afford to buy sanitary pads.“This pilot study involved teenagers and women aged 13 to 24 in 13 People’s Housing Project (PPR) communities and two Social Welfare Department (JKM) institutions,” its deputy minister Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara today.She was replying to a question from T Mohan, who wanted to know the actual situation of period poverty in the country as well as the government’s long-term plans to tackle the problem.Period poverty refers to a situation where the girls or their families can’t afford to buy sanitary pads due to financial constraints.To overcome the problem, Siti Zailah said her ministry had held awareness programmes, distributed hygiene kits to 130,000 teenagers as well as educated teenagers on health issues.“The distribution (of hygiene kits) was implemented for teenagers aged between 13 and 17 last year through schools, with 1,105 schools (nationwide) involved,” she said.She said her ministry also held programmes to help teenagers manager their hygiene routine as well as physical and mental health, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.


Azmin leads first batch of ministers in taking Cabinet oath

International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali today led the first batch of ministers in taking their oath of office before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur.The second group of ministers was led by Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, the third was led by Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa, the fourth by Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah and the fifth by Rural Development Minister Mahdzir Khalid.Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah was also in attendance at the swearing-in ceremony of ministers and deputy ministers which began at 2.30pm.Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, however, was unable to attend the ceremony as he was undergoing self-quarantine after coming into close contact with a Covid-19 patient.Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali witnessed the ceremony.The swearing-in ceremony followed Ismail’s announcement of his Cabinet line-up comprising 31 ministers and 38 deputy ministers last Friday.Ismail was sworn in as the ninth prime minister on Aug 20, replacing Muhyiddin Yassin who resigned on Aug 16 after losing the majority support in Parliament.


Deaths reported daily not all from past 24 hours, says Khairy

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today said the high number of Covid-19 deaths reported each day does not necessarily reflect the actual death rate due to backlogs in data collection.Speaking at a press conference, he said most of the backlog was due to the long clinical procedures which require investigation and verification of deaths before they are included in the Covid-19 statistics.“If we look at Selangor, reports show that deaths are still going up, but the actual number of deaths on that particular day might actually be going down,” he said, adding that improvements would be made to better streamline procedures.“Previously, the reporting process would require us to wait until after the autopsy and the process of data collection to confirm the cause of death.“This would take several days. Now, we will take the actual date of death for our statistics, and then we will do the post-mortems according to clinical procedure.”He said in the event of changes, clarification would be made and the data amended.“With this new procedure, we can announce the death cases according to the actual date of death.”


35 arrested as cops, protesters clash at site of Atlanta police centre

Fires broke out at the construction site of an Atlanta police training centre on Sunday after a demonstration at the property led to clashes between police and protesters and 35 people were arrested, police said.
The site of the planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, derisively called "Cop City" by opponents, has been the scene of escalating confrontation as demonstrators oppose both the increasing militarisation of police and the development of the forest that its defenders call the "lungs of Atlanta."
The police and fire training center is being built on 85 acres (34.4 hectares) of a 400-acre property in unincorporated DeKalb County that is owned by the city, according to the facility's website.
It is within the larger South River Forest, also known as the Weelaunee Forest.
Sunday's events began with a music festival that was part of a week of demonstrations against the construction. But police said events turned violent when "agitators" changed into black clothing, breached the site, and launched bricks, rocks, Molotov cocktails and fireworks at officers.
"The illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm. Officers exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to conduct arrests," police said.
Heavy smoke could be seen for miles, WSB television reported. Images on social media showed flames and smoke coming from multiple spots on the property. One image showed heavy equipment in flames.
Hundreds of people attended Sunday's events, and a group broke off from the concert to start a protest, WSB reported, citing witnesses.
The area was on lockdown, with a special weapons and tactics (Swat) team reporting to the scene. The fire was later extinguished, Waga television reported, citing reporters at the scene.
Opponents of the site say they want to save an important green space near the greater Atlanta metropolitan area of 6 million people.
"We call on all people of good conscience to stand in solidarity with the movement to stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest," reads a statement on a website called Defend The Atlanta Forest.
The website promoted a series of events from March 4 to March 11 including live music and forest tours, describing it as the fifth such week of activities.
With more events planned in coming days, Atlanta police said they and other law-enforcement agencies had "multi-layered strategy that includes reaction and arrest."
The site was subject to a protest in January that briefly turned violent as demonstrators set a police car on fire and smashed windows of buildings. Demonstrators at that time gathered to protest against the killing by law enforcement of an activist during a raid to clear the construction site.


Qantas will require international travellers to prove Covid-19 jab to board flight

International air travellers will need to prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to board Qantas flights in future, the airline says.The Australian flag carrier said the move would be “a necessity” when vaccines are available.“I think that’s going to be a common thing talking to my colleagues in other airlines around the globe,” CEO Alan Joyce said.In an interview with Australia’s Nine Network on Monday, Joyce said Qantas was looking at ways of changing its terms and conditions for international travellers as the industry looks at ways of moving forward.“We will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft. For international visitors coming in and people leaving the country we think that’s a necessity,” he told the broadcaster.“Domestic flights are more of a question mark along these lines, but we’ll see what happens in the market.”Joyce thinks proof could be stored in a kind of electronic “digital passport” that some governments and airlines already reportedly have in development.Older travellers will remember the yellow World Health Organization passport-size record of vaccinations for cholera, typhoid, yellow fever and other then endemic diseases that international travellers to the developing world had to carry and keep up to date.“There are always exemptions for any vaccine on medical grounds, but that should be the only basis,” he told radio station 3AW.Joyce said at the time that trading conditions were the worst in the airline’s 100-year history. He said, “The impact of Covid-19 on all airlines is clear – it’s devastating.”Australia shut down its international borders early in the pandemic and required those returning to quarantine. The country has more recently relied on lockdowns, widespread testing and aggressive contact tracing to push daily infections nationwide close to zero.


Senior citizen dies after collapsing at Muar voting centre

An elderly man collapsed and died at one of the polling centres in the Muar district for the Johor state election today, police said.Muar district police chief ACP Zaharudin Rasip said initial investigations showed that the 78-year-old man had suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness, with his death confirmed by a medical officer present at the scene.“The investigation carried out so far shows no criminal elements were involved and the deceased has been taken to hospital for further action,” he said in a statement.He said the case was classified as sudden death, and that the police are investigating to identify the cause of death.To avoid creating misconception and public anxiety, he advised the people not to share information on the case without police confirmation.


Revealed: Najib to get free house worth RM100 million in posh KL neighbourhood

Former leader Najib Razak has requested a “privilege” from the government in the form of a 2.8-acre residential property worth RM100 million in one of Kuala Lumpur’s most exclusive neighbourhoods, receiving the approval of the government but drawing protests from ministers and senior officials, MalaysiaNow can reveal.It is understood that the former prime minister made the request about a year after his fall from power in the 2018 election, and again last year, just months before he was found guilty of corruption charges related to the 1MDB scandal.When contacted, a highly placed source in Umno confirmed that Najib had made such a request to the Prime Minister’s Department by invoking a little known act which gives special privileges and allowances to former prime ministers, including the ownership of properties and land belonging to the government.“He made the request based on the practice that the government of the day is expected to reward its predecessors for their service and contributions to the nation,” the source told MalaysiaNow.MalaysiaNow has also learnt that the decision to approve Najib’s request did not sit well with several senior government officials and ministers who pointed to his corruption conviction.There are indications that several ministers including from the Perikatan Nasional coalition as well as Umno leaders from the anti-Najib camp had opposed the move.The Kuala Lumpur skyline overlooking Bukit Petaling, where some 2.8 acres of land are reserved to build a house for convicted former prime minister Najib Razak.A former minister and Bersatu politician expressed shock when told of the decision, saying it was a far cry from the treatment meted out to civil servants convicted of lesser crimes.“Remember the case of a retired policeman who lost his pension even though he served 30 years in the force? That was over a mere RM700 bribe,” he said.“And here we have someone who was found guilty over RM42 million,” he added, in a reference to Najib’s charges related to SRC International.The “privilege” to Najib would include the government surrendering the ownership of the premium land covering more than 120,000 square metres in Bukit Petaling, an exclusive hillock in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, as well as the construction of a bungalow on the site at a total cost of RM100 million.Under a law introduced in the early 80s, a former prime minister is entitled to choose one of three types of housing allowance as a form of reward from the government.The facility, as listed under the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act, can be in the form of a government house complete with all amenities, a RM10,000 monthly allowance if he chooses to stay in his own home, or the ownership of a house gifted by the government.Lush greenery covers part of the land in the exclusive residential neighbourhood of Bukit Petaling, where a house for former prime minister Najib Razak will be built at a total cost to the government of RM100 million.Checks found that Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who ruled twice as prime minister including for 23 years during his first term, has been receiving the RM10,000 monthly allowance, while his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi received a complementary house from the government near the historic Carcosa Seri Negara.Since his fall from power, Najib has been staying at his private residence in Taman Duta, receiving the RM10,000 allowance, but has now opted to request for a free house from the government.It is understood that Najib made a formal request to the government early this year following a site visit of the vacant land.“That property has a market value of about RM20 million more than the one awarded to Abdullah,” said a real estate agent who specialises in exclusive properties in the capital.Since being booted out of power and despite facing dozens of corruption charges, Najib has rebranded himself as the champion of the ordinary man using the “Bossku” tagline through the use of social media platforms.In the raids that followed his fall from power, authorities confiscated a long list of luxury items from properties linked to him, including jewellery, watches and handbags valued in the hundreds of millions of ringgit which investigators believe are linked to the 1MDB scandal.Last year, the High Court sentenced him to 12 years in jail and fined him RM210 million after finding him guilty of seven counts of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power involving RM42 million in funds from former 1MDB unit SRC International.Najib, whose appeal against the conviction is still pending, has been under a travel ban since 2018 but recently managed to get back his passport to travel to Singapore later this month.Last month, he won a bid against the Inland Revenue Board to defer payment of some RM1.7 billion in taxes owed to the government.In August, some RM114 million in cash confiscated in 2018 was returned to him, following the government’s failure to forfeit the money said to have been misappropriated from 1MDB.


Underground lakes on Mars confirmed – primitive life next?

A large underground saltwater lake has been found on Mars, astronomers announced yesterday. Radar images also identified three other nearby lakes, media sources report.The latest discovery was made using data from radar instruments on the European Space Agency’s (Esa) Mars Express spacecraft, which has been orbiting the Red Planet since December 2003.Ground-penetrating radar probed beneath the south pole’s two-mile-thick ice cap and found the lakes.Water has been observed before on Mars, but only in the form of ice and gas. The Martian atmosphere is too thin to support liquid water.Many scientists believe Mars was warmer and wetter billions of years ago, and photos taken by Nasa rovers have observed ancient river courses and lakebeds.The findings suggest the underground region is a prime area to look for signs of life.The lakes could be similar to subglacial lakes that exist on Earth, beneath the Antarctic and the Greenland ice sheets, where, despite the cold, bacterial life exists.The news of this discovery comes just weeks after astronomers pointed to potential signs of life on Venus.


Appeals court acquits, discharges Sam Ke Ting in 'basikal lajak' case

The Court of Appeal today acquitted and discharged clerk Sam Ke Ting of reckless driving resulting in the death of eight teen cyclists in 2017.
A three-man bench comprising justices Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Hashim Hamzah and Azman Abdulah, in a unanimous decision, allowed Sam's appeal to set aside the High Court decision convicting and sentencing her to six years’ jail for the offence.
Hadhariah said Sam's conviction for reckless driving could not stand as the charge preferred on her was defective.
She said there was a duplicity of the offence in the charge where Sam was accused of reckless driving as well as dangerous driving.
She said Section 163 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides that a charge must have one offence.
"So you are now a free person," Hadhariah told Sam.
Hadhariah also said the court sympathised with the families of the eight teenagers who were killed in the accident, but that the decision must be based on the law and evidence produced in court.
Sam was initially acquitted and discharged without being called to enter her defence by the Johor Bahru Magistrate's Court on Nov 18, 2019.
However, on Feb 18, 2021, High Court judge Shahnaz Sulaiman allowed the prosecution's appeal and remitted the case back to the Magistrate's Court for Sam to enter her defence on the reckless driving charge. On Oct 10, 2021, the Magistrate's Court discharged and acquitted Sam at the end of the defence case, after which the prosecution appealed to the High Court.
And on April 13 last year, High Court judge Abu Bakar Katar allowed the prosecution's appeal and convicted Sam of reckless driving, sentencing her to six years in jail and fining her RM6,000.
She was allowed a stay of execution for her jail term and fine, and released on bail pending her appeal at the Court of Appeal.
Outside the court, Sam apologised to the parents of the eight teenagers, saying she had not intended to cause the mishap.
She said she knew that her apology would not bring the teenagers back or help the parents find healing and peace.
"I will carry this feeling (of guilt) to the grave," she said.


China's northern cities brace for more torrid heat

Chinese weather forecasters on Thursday issued a string of heat advisories across northern parts of the country as temperatures were expected to breach 40 degrees Celsius in some areas, stressing taxed power grids.
The torrid heat has gripped China for several weeks, pushing local governments to ask residents and businesses to curb the usage of electricity. Weather experts have predicted the extreme temperatures could eclipse last year's scorching spell, which lasted for more than two months.
By 7am local time (2300 GMT) Beijing had already issued a red warning, the highest in a three-tier alert system. It is expected that the maximum temperature in most areas of the city will rise above 40 degrees Celsius, according to the state-backed Beijing Daily.
The meteorological observatory in northern Hebei province also issued a red alert, with temperatures in some areas expected to reach 40-43 Celsius on Thursday.
China's Meteorological bureau issued orange alerts, the second highest alert, in mostly northern China with temperatures expected to hit 40 degree Celsius and above.
Orange warnings were also splashed across central and eastern North China in areas located in the Inner Mongolia region, Shaanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces.
The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism on Thursday asked tour guides to minimise outdoor excursions. A tour guide at the Summer Palace in Beijing collapsed and died of heat stroke last Sunday, according to state media.
The Beijing weather observatory has recorded 18 days of high temperatures (above 35 degrees Celsius) for all of June to July 5, the most in the history of the same period since the station was built in 1951, according to state-backed Beijing Daily.
Meanwhile, raging rain continues to grip the southwestern municipality of Chongqing. According to statistics, as of 11pm local time (1500 GMT) on July 5, rainfall caused floods and geological disasters in 310 townships in 19 districts and counties, reported CCTV state media.
Severe floods have already killed 15 in Chongqing.


US state to allow unlicensed carrying of handguns

The US southwestern state of Texas is poised to remove one of its last legal gun restrictions after lawmakers approved allowing people to carry handguns without a licence, or the background check and training that go with the licence, the AP is reporting.Texas already has some of the most liberal gun laws in the country and has more than 1.6 million handgun licence holders.The legislature approved the measure on Monday, sending it to Governor Greg Abbott, who has said he will sign it despite the objections of law enforcement groups who say it will endanger the public and police.Gun control groups also oppose the measure, noting the state’s recent history of mass shootings, including those at a Walmart supermarket, a church, and a high school.Supporters of the bill say it will allow Texans to better defend themselves in public while abolishing unnecessary limits on the constitutional right to bear arms.Once signed into law, Texas will join over 20 states that allow some form of unregulated carrying of a handgun and be by far the most populous such state.The National Rifle Association is among those supporting the measure, and a spokesman called it the “most significant” gun-rights measure in the state’s history.“A right requiring you to pay a tax or obtain a government permission slip is not a right at all,” said Jason Ouimet, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.Texas already allows rifles to be carried in public without a license.The new measure sent to Abbott will allow anyone age 21 or older to carry a handgun as long as they don’t have violent crime convictions or some other legal prohibition in their background. But there would be no way to weed them out without a background check.Texas has allowed people to carry handguns since 1995 and has been reducing the cost and training requirements of getting a license for the last decade.On Aug 3, 2019, a mass shooting occurred at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. A gunman walked into the store carrying a WASR-10 rifle, a semi-automatic civilian version of the AK-47, and shot and killed 23 people and injured 23 others. The FBI described the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime. The shooting has been described as the deadliest attack on Latinos in modern American history.Democratic state representative Joe Moody, on Sunday night delivered an emotional address on the House floor that recounted being with the governor and family members searching for loved ones after the shooting.There were promises, Moody recalled, that the state would “take gun safety seriously” after the shooting, but the opposite has now happened.


World registers hottest day ever recorded on July 3

Monday, July 3, was the hottest day ever recorded globally, according to data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction.
The average global temperature reached 17.01 degrees Celsius, surpassing the August 2016 record of 16.92C as heatwaves sizzled around the world.
The southern US has been suffering under an intense heat dome in recent weeks. In China, an enduring heatwave continued, with temperatures above 35C. North Africa has seen temperatures near 50C.
And even Antarctica, currently in its winter, registered anomalously high temperatures. Ukraine's Vernadsky Research Base in the white continent's Argentine Islands recently broke its July temperature record with 8.7C.
"This is not a milestone we should be celebrating," said climate scientist Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Britain's Imperial College London.
"It's a death sentence for people and ecosystems."
Scientists said climate change, combined with an emerging El Nino pattern, were to blame.
"Unfortunately, it promises to only be the first in a series of new records set this year as increasing emissions of [carbon dioxide] and greenhouse gases coupled with a growing El Nino event push temperatures to new highs," said Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth, in a statement.


BioNTech produces 10 times more antibodies than China’s Sinovac, study shows

People who received BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine had 10 times the amount of antibodies than those given China’s Sinovac, a Hong Kong study has shown, adding to growing data on different jabs’ effectiveness.The University of Hong Kong (HKU) research, based on a study of 1,442 healthcare workers, was published in Lancet Microbe on Thursday.Researchers said antibodies are not the only measure of a vaccine’s success at fighting a particular disease.But they warned that “the difference in concentrations of neutralising antibodies identified in our study could translate into substantial differences in vaccine effectiveness”.Those who received Sinovac had “similar or lower” levels of antibodies to those seen in patients who caught and successfully fought off the disease.The study adds to the growing body of evidence that vaccines using pioneering mRNA technology – such as BioNTech and Moderna – offer better protection against the coronavirus and its variants that those developed by more traditional methods such as using inactivated virus parts.Traditional vaccines are cheaper to produce and less complicated to transport and store, making them a vital tool for fighting the pandemic in less wealthy countries.‘Many lives still saved’Epidemiologist Ben Cowling, one of the report’s authors, said people should still get vaccinated with Sinovac if there was no other option because some protection was always better than none.“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” he told AFP.“It is clearly better to go and get vaccinated with an inactivated vaccine than to wait and not get vaccinated,” he added.“Many, many lives have been saved by the inactivated vaccine.”The researchers said their data suggested “alternative strategies” such as earlier booster shots might be needed to increase protection for those who have received Sinovac.Cowling said when to give booster shots would be the next phase of their ongoing studies.“The priority would be boosters for people who received Sinovac while boosters for people who initially received BioNTech might not be so urgent,” he said.PoliticsHong Kong has been a world leader in studying coronaviruses ever since a SARS outbreak which began in southern China swept through the city in 2003.The city currently offers both German-made BioNTech shots and Sinovac.Despite ample supplies, take-up has been slow, with only 28% of the city’s 7.5 million residents fully vaccinated with two shots.So far some 2.6 million BioNTech doses have been administered compared to 1.8 million Sinovac shots.The rollout has been caught up in Hong Kong’s febrile politics, as China cracks down on dissent in the city in response to huge and often violent democracy protests two years ago.At the start of the vaccination campaign Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leaders very visibly and near unanimously opted for Sinovac.One doctor’s clinic that recommended BioNTech over Sinovac was kicked out of the city’s vaccination programme.Many of the city’s leading epidemiologists have gone with BioNTech, and said publicly that it is their preferred shot.


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Sarawak says green light given for state’s purchase of vaccines

The federal government has approved Sarawak’s request to purchase its own Covid-19 vaccines for the use of the people of the state, says Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah Embas.Uggah, who is also state disaster management committee chairman, said the approval was given during a recent meeting in Putrajaya with Khairy Jamaluddin, the minister in charge of the national vaccination programme.He said the state Covid-19 advisory group had then been given the responsibility of discussing the purchase with vaccine suppliers.“… we are now discussing the matter with the relevant authorities to sort out how we want to purchase it.“It will be used as reserve in case there is any problem with the supply from the federal government,” he said to reporters in Kuching today.On March 18, Uggah was reported as saying that the Sarawak government had sent a letter to the federal government regarding its intention to purchase Covid-19 vaccines for the state.


Dutch masters end American dream to reach World Cup quarter-finals

A clinical Netherlands ended the US' World Cup dream on Saturday, sweeping into the quarter-finals with a ruthless 3-1 victory.
First-half goals from Memphis Depay and Daley Blind and a late strike from Denzel Dumfries sealed a deserved victory as the Dutch handed out a painful lesson in finishing to their American opponents.
The Netherlands, bidding to win their first World Cup after losing in three previous finals, will face Argentina or Australia in the last eight.
"We always want to improve and, since the start of the tournament, it's been getting better and better with each game," Dutch manager Louis van Gaal said.
"I was very critical at half-time. We were in the lead 2-0... However we suffered in the first half, we were dispossessed so often and that's not acceptable at a World Cup.
"If you play like that against top countries you won't make it."
Van Gaal's men were worthy victors in Saturday's last-16 clash at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Although the US enjoyed long periods of possession in a bright first-half display, all too often a lack of composure in the final third let them down.
Instead it was the Dutch who calmly bided their time before carving open the Americans with forensic precision.
"When you look at the difference of the two teams, there was some offensive finishing quality that Holland had that we were lacking," US coach Gregg Berhalter said.
"We don't have a Memphis Depay right now who's scoring in the Champions League, playing for Barcelona, experienced at scoring at this level."
US forward Christian Pulisic squandered a golden chance to put his team 1-0 up after only three minutes, when he found himself in space only to see a scuffed shot saved by Dutch keeper Andries Noppert.
Buoyed by that early chance, the US remained on the front foot, attacking high up the field.
But on 10 minutes the Netherlands took the lead. Superb interplay in midfield saw the ball worked to Inter Milan's Dumfries down the right.
Dumfries picked out Depay, who swept home the finish to cap a majestic 20-pass move that was in the best traditions of the Netherlands' total footballing heritage.
Again the Americans advanced purposefully into Dutch territory through Pulisic, only for the Chelsea player to deliver a cross that fell behind his US teammates.
Tim Weah had the best American chance of the remainder of the half on 43 minutes, letting fly with a rasping shot that Noppert parried away.
But in first half stoppage time, the Netherlands delivered the hammer blow.
Dumfries again found space down the right and drilled a cross to Blind, who had ghosted clear of Sergino Dest, for an emphatic low finish.
The Netherlands nearly extended their lead early in the second half when Dumfries' low cross was prodded towards the US goal by defender Walker Zimmerman, forcing a smart save from Matt Turner.
Berhalter introduced Gio Reyna for the ineffective Jesus Ferreira in attack at half-time in an effort to provide a sharper cutting edge.
The Borussia Dortmund player made an instant impression after setting up a shot for Weston McKennie that sailed over the bar.
Berhalter brought on Haji Wright for McKennie midway through the second half and the move sparked a fleeting revival.
After seeing a goal-bound chance cleared at the near post by Dumfries on 75 minutes, Wright scored a minute later when his flick from Pulisic's cross looped over Noppert into the Dutch net for 2-1.
Yet the American fightback was short-lived. In the 81st minute another Dutch attack pulled the US defence out of position, and Blind calmly crossed to an unmarked Dumfries at the far post, who made it 3-1.
"Tonight we came up short," Berhalter said. "We talked about the game being about moments and the first half was a great indication of that.
"And two moments come and all of a sudden we're down 2-0... This is a tough one to swallow for us."


Zahid says enough SDs from Umno MPs to topple Muhyiddin

The Umno Supreme Council today said it has enough statutory declarations (SDs) from its MPs who have revoked their support for Muhyiddin Yassin, adding that the prime minister has lost the majority to remain in power.Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the SDs will be submitted to the Agong.“I have submitted an adequate number of SDs to confirm the revocation of support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, which shows that his leadership has lost the majority and his legitimacy as head of the government is void,” Zahid said at a press conference also attended by deputy president Mohamad Hasan, adviser Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and former president Najib Razak.Zahid said additional SDs from other Umno MPs would also be presented to the Agong in a future audience.He said Umno was also of the view that Muhyiddin’s decision to put the emergency ordinances to debate in September goes against the call by the Agong.“Muhyiddin must take responsibility for the failure and the refusal of his government in going against the order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, by resigning honourably as prime minister,” said Zahid.He did not give the full list of MPs who had revoked their support for Muhyiddin, but said that they were present at the press conference.Those present included Azalina Othman Said (Pengerang), Mohd Nizar Zakaria (Parit), Azeez Abdul Rahim (Baling), Noh Omar (Tanjung Karang), Ahmad Nazlan Idris (Jerantut), Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub (Machang), Ramli Mohd Nor (Cameron Highlands) and Ahmad Maslan (Pontian).


Return of MCO-style lockdown on the cards as daily cases set to spike

Authorities are seriously considering a lockdown reminiscent of the early phase of the movement control order (MCO), which could see a ban on social activities and non-essential travel in several states worst hit by Covid-19, including the Klang Valley, MalaysiaNow has learnt.It is understood that a stricter MCO could be imposed in Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Johor and Sabah, states which have been reporting high daily infection rates.It is not clear how long a new and stricter lockdown would last, but health experts consulted by Putrajaya are confident it will slash the current daily rate by 80%.It is understood that top government officials have been briefed, “but there are several legal issues still outstanding”, a source said.Further details are unclear, but the plan comes in the wake of a rising death toll as daily cases hover above an average of 2,000.A source familiar with top-level discussions on battling the pandemic said if the MCO is reinstated, it would see a ban on interstate travel, as well as non-essential trips other than to get daily essentials.“Reinstating the MCO could also mean a complete ban on all religious and social gatherings including prayer congregations, kenduris, sports events and annual festivals,” the source told MalaysiaNow.Putrajaya bracing for the worst as lack of beds, manpower threatens Covid battleVirus spike expected as Malaysians scatter to see off 2020Details have not been forthcoming on how the economic sector would be allowed to run under the new MCO either, but it is likely “the authorities would not want to see the collapse of businesses again”, the source added.The MCO was first announced on March 18 last year, when the country was still recording two-digit numbers each day.The lockdown ravaged most business sectors, forcing the government to release billions of ringgit in rescue packages to replace lost income.The MCO was eased in June with several more relaxed variants where health SOPs were imposed. However, cases began to shoot up in September in the aftermath of the Sabah election, in what the health ministry said was the third wave of the pandemic.A man reads the newspaper at his home, fenced in by barbed wire in the Selayang Baru area during the first movement control order period in April last year. Photo: APThe trend is likely to continue in the coming days, with daily numbers breaking previous records, the source said.“Worryingly, each day might see record daily numbers, which would make the current wave pale in comparison,” it said.Last month the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a research centre at the University of Washington, said there would be a continuous rise in Covid-19 cases in Malaysia until March, with daily infections to hit 5,000 by Feb 25.On Dec 24, MalaysiaNow reported that officials were bracing for the worst, expecting hospital facilities to be stretched beyond their limit if preparations are not immediately made.Despite the fears, Malaysians thronged beaches and other holiday destinations during the recent year-end break, with hotels reporting full occupancy, a far cry from the empty rooms throughout most of 2020.


US Supreme Court sides with religious groups on virus rules

The US Supreme Court has barred New York from imposing coronavirus restrictions on houses of worship in a ruling likely to be heralded by conservatives as a victory for religious freedoms.Services should not be treated differently from permitted secular gatherings, said the unsigned ruling, one of the first since the appointment of justice Amy Coney Barrett tipped the court’s balance to the conservatives.Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York state, had ordered that only up to 10 people could gather at sites of worship in high-risk areas designated “red zones”.The court was responding to two applications – from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, as well as two synagogues – claiming they were singled out under the restrictions designed to limit the contagion’s spread in hard-hit New York City.In a five-four split, the top US court said the measures violated the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion.The court had previously swung the opposite way, upholding similar restrictions on services in California and Nevada.The shift is indicative of the court’s new weighting, with the three remaining liberals now outnumbered after the death of justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September.The court noted that: “Even in a pandemic, the constitution cannot be put away and forgotten.”The ruling continued: “The restrictions at issue here, by effectively barring many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty.”However, the ruling will have no immediate effect as the state restrictions had already been relaxed as they considered their verdict, NBC News reported.Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan – backed by conservative Chief Justice John Roberts – dissented.Roberts said there was no need to uphold the groups’ complaints given the governor’s rollback.But conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch argued that Cuomo had favoured secular activities over religious ones.It is the latest in long-simmering tensions between officials and some religious communities over social-distancing measures, with protests erupting in Brooklyn last month.The ruling comes as the US continues to report record infection numbers, with more than 86,000 coronavirus hospitalisations on Tuesday alone.


Observers warn of prelude to more Nurul Izzah-like appointments

Concerns have been raised that the appointment of family members to government positions could be a slippery slope to more, as debate continues over the move to name Anwar Ibrahim's daughter as his senior economic and financial adviser.
James Chin of Australia's University of Tasmania said the appointment of family members to such posts was nothing new in Malaysia.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said it had in fact been a reality since the country achieved independence more than six decades ago.
"This has gone on for a very long time, on both the government and opposition sides," he said.
"In fact, as far back as the 1950s, in the form of the federation, we already had this problem.
"We all know the political dynasty of Tun Razak, and of course Anwar's link family. So there's plenty to go around."
Chin said the issue of concern was that the "children of nepotism" would be appointed as menteris besar or to key government positions.
Anwar's daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, was appointed as his senior economic and financial adviser effective Jan 3.
The move was criticised by those who cited the practice of nepotism, and who questioned Nurul's qualifications for the position.
Nurul graduated in 2003 in engineering from Universiti Tenaga Nasional before furthering her studies in public policy in the US.
Anwar however defended her appointment, saying even he was appointed as finance minister despite not having a related educational background.
"Even I don't have a finance-related degree or certificate, but I was the minister of finance for eight years (in the 1990s)," he said.  Anwar's family has long been accused of nepotism with both Nurul and her mother, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, holding top positions in their party PKR.
Chin said this was a common feature in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia and the India subcontinent.
"They have many political families, and they appoint their children or relatives to influential positions," he said.  In Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the fifth prime minister, appointed his son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin to an important position in his office when the latter was just 28, leading to the nickname "fourth-floor boy".
Lawyer Rafique Rashid meanwhile voiced concern that Nurul's appointment could open the door to more due to the seniority of her position.
He told MalaysiaNow that the post should have been given to an individual with both experience and qualifications, regardless of whether he or she would be paid or not.
He also questioned why Nurul's appointment was not revealed from the get-go.
"Why announce it only after three weeks?" he said.
"The important question is whether Anwar can act without bias or conflict of interest, and accept or reject advice from his own daughter."  Adding that Nurul's position would allow her to meet and form relationships with important people and corporate leaders close to the national administration, he said it would also give her access to the profiles of local giants such as Petronas.
He urged Anwar to reconsider her appointment, saying the prime minister already had people in place who could act as his adviser.
"Rosmah Mansor worked pro bono too, but she was also given a lot of perks like her own office and car," he said, referring to the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, who was said to have her own "First Lady of Malaysia" division.
"All this time, Anwar has spoken of good governance," Rafique added.
"He needs to be fair: if other people cannot do such things, neither should he."
Political analyst Awang Azman Awang Pawi meanwhile said that the prime minister's financial and economic adviser could be anyone from a wide range of fields.
Awang Azman, of Universiti Malaya, said that as long as the position was free of administrative misconduct such as corruption, the appointment would not have a negative impact on the country.
"Nurul has a lot of experience in tackling problems on the ground, as she has been involved in politics for a long time," he said.
"She is also known in the country as well as abroad, and has a positive image among the people.
"I believe that this appointment could boost confidence in the Malaysia Madani government."