465 attempted suicide cases recorded from January to June

Health Minister Dr Adham Baba says 465 cases of attempted suicide treated at the ministry were recorded from January to June this year, a decline of 210 from the 675 cases recorded in the same period last year.Speaking at an event in Kuala Lumpur today, he said the World Health Organization reported that more than 800,000 suicides take place each year with an average of one death every 40 seconds.Globally, he said, suicide is one of the 20 leading causes of death for all ages and one of three leading causes of death among those aged 15 to 44.He said the ministry had set up a psychological first aid hotline in collaboration with Mercy Malaysia, with other support hotlines created by government agencies such as the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia and the women, family and community development ministry.“Overall, a total of 11,791 calls was received via government helplines between March 25 and August,” he added.He said each caller has an average of three issues, 50% of which require emotional support and counselling for stress, anxiety and despair due to factors such as job loss, relationship problems, isolation and reduced access to assistance during the movement control order period.He said the ministry also supports calls to decriminalise attempted suicide, and that the matter is currently under study by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.“The government is also aware that attempted suicide cases are getting more worrying and should be addressed. The focus is on Sections 305, 306 and 309 of the Penal Code regarding suicide offences,” he said.He voiced hope that the effort would help those with depression and who have attempted suicide be more open to coming forward and receiving treatment.The ministry also offers mental health screening and treatment services at 1,001 primary healthcare clinics nationwide, four mental institutions, 66 government hospitals, and 28 community mental health centres.


PM defends Covid-19 checks on inbound travellers

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today said that Malaysia does not discriminate against any country in conducting Covid-19 checks on inbound travellers as its priority is the health and safety of the people.
Anwar said the immigration department had also tightened controls at the country’s entry points following reports of a surge in Covid-19 cases in certain countries.
"As we know, the infection rate in China is reported to be high and the Covid-19 fatality rate in the US and several other countries is also high.
"So we have taken action to save our people. Anyone entering (Malaysia) should be monitored and subjected to the same conditions," he told a press conference after chairing a Cabinet meeting at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya.
Anwar also said the Cabinet was of the view that tourism and economic matters could not take precedence over the country’s interests in preventing the spread of any epidemic, including Covid-19.
He said media reports on tourists from China differed from the actual situation which showed that these visitors did not have an effect on the infection rate in the country.
"The home minister (Saifuddin Nasution) put the number of visitors from China in 2022 at 336,000, with a big majority being tourists, and this did not give the impact as reported.
"In December, travellers from China totalled 53,000 people, and we did not see any jump in infections linked to any country," he said, adding that this figure did not mean that Malaysia had eased the conditions for incoming travellers from any country.
At the end of last year, China reported a spike in Covid-19 cases due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, prompting several countries to impose curbs on travellers from the republic to check the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, Anwar advised people to get a Covid-19 vaccine booster as only 49% of the population had received a first booster shot, leaving six million doses still in stock. Anwar said many of the earlier batches of vaccine had to be disposed of because the booster shot was not as popular as the first and second jabs.
"So I am proposing that journalists who have yet to take the first booster should go for it as, according to the health ministry’s projections and study, this spread is uncertain and has not ended.
"If you have taken the first and second doses, go for the booster as the vaccine is still available. So this January, all journalists are required to take the booster and set an example for other people to follow," he said.
Anwar also said that he himself had received a booster dose.
"I have taken it (booster). I can show you my MySejahtera," he said.


Children of India's burning coalfields dream of a fire-free future

It's an unusual dream for a resident of India's oldest coalfield, Jharia, where fires rage underground, bare trees stand guard morosely around mines spewing dust and fumes - and where coal has provided work for at least four generations.
Kurmi, 32, was the first in his family to get an education: a diploma in mining. Now he and many other young people in the region want to leave their soot-blighted lives behind, even as coal production soars.
But they face an uphill struggle in an area where there is no other thriving industry.
Kurmi travels to nearby towns and makes videos showcasing visitor attractions such as markets, temples and fairs, which he uploads to his YouTube channel in the hope of winning more views and subscriptions to draw in advertising and generate revenue.
"My father operated wagons that carry coal. But I don't like this work. You inhale fumes all day and live in fear of fatal accidents," said Kurmi, sipping tea from a clay cup at a roadside eatery.
"I tried getting a job in railways, the army, but couldn't qualify. I have got some fame among locals from my videos and I like it," said Kurmi, whose YouTube channel has 4,000 subscribers.
"If one video goes viral, life will take off," he added optimistically.
Jharia is synonymous with the coking coal used in steel-making, a valuable commodity in India which imports more than 57 million tonnes of it annually, spending upwards of US$5.53 million (about RM24.5 million), government data shows.
Daily coal production in Jharia - where technical issues mean only about a third of its more than 100 mines are functional - this year jumped to 100,000 tonnes, up from an average of 80,000 tonnes until 2021, local mining officials said.
India is boosting coal production nationwide to cut import costs and meet rising energy demand.
Despite the upward trend, the eastern state of Jharkhand, where Jharia is located, launched an effort in November to study the impacts of expected future coal-mine closures on the local economy and its people.
The announcement of a new "Sustainable Just Transition Taskforce" pointed to India's commitments, made on the global stage, to cut climate-heating emissions to net zero by 2070 and reach 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
With 13 of Jharkhand's 24 districts rich in coal reserves, preparation for a future without the polluting fossil fuel must start now, said Ajay Kumar Rastogi, chair of the taskforce, which he said was the first such body in any Indian state.
"Jharia is one of the oldest coalfields and the entire economy revolves around coal. Once there is withdrawal, there will be an impact. The production peaks will be followed by decline," Rastogi predicted.
The taskforce wants to plan for change across the entire "coal ecosystem" to ensure no one is left out and even those who illegally scavenge coal - not just formal and informal workers - have livelihood opportunities after mining ends.
"It is the duty of the state government to take care of its every citizen," Rastogi said.
Just social transition
India is one of three new countries rich nations are talking with about forming a "Just Energy Transition Partnership", something already agreed for South Africa and Indonesia.
Any deal ought to involve identifying and helping all those who now depend on the coal industry, not just its workers, experts said.
"The funding that comes should not just be for renewable (energy) projects but also in the form of grants for people who will be most impacted," said Deepthi Swamy, climate lead with think-tank WRI India.
Such partnerships are "not just about transitioning to clean energy but also about how we ensure these financing mechanisms address social safety nets", she added.
Yet a future beyond coal appears a distant prospect in Jharia, where children walk to school through smouldering rocks and mothers scavenge coal to pay for their tuition.
Posters in smoke-filled neighbourhoods offer courses in commerce and science, as dreams of a greener life begin to take root in the burning coalfield.
Aarti Paswan, 21, a postgraduate student at a university 25km (15.53 miles) from home, hopes to pass the exams to enter India's Border Security Force, inspired by a Bollywood film she saw as a child that showed soldiers braving bullets to save their country.
But, for now, she must figure out where to bathe after the canal she used before was cut off by hillocks of debris deposited from recent mine excavations.
"I pick coal as it funds my travel to the university," she said, standing near stoves belching out smoke in Jharia's Golakdhi settlement. "I don't want to do this. I want a job to serve my country."
Getting ahead
At both the national and local levels, moving away from coal will mean tackling how to replace jobs in coal-reliant regions like Jharia, where the first literate generation has emerged and is seeking alternative work, analysts said.
Parents who inhale toxic fumes, gather coal in baskets and are forced to buy drinking water on a daily basis do not want their children to inherit this kind of life.
They see coal not only as a polluting resource but one that stopped yielding decent jobs and money years ago.
Sanjay Kumar Pandit, 35, who picks coal illegally, said local people had tried to find jobs in mines but outsourcing companies were bringing in labour from other states.
Pandit, whose father was an informal mine worker but earned fixed weekly wages, said the future was even more bleak for the next generation, as Jharia's coal reserves will not last forever.
"All we will be left with is the debris of mines," he said. "Our lives are over, but the future of our children must be protected."
India this year announced its first plan for a socially fair shift away from coal production in areas where mines have been shut, and the federal coal ministry refers to "just transition" in its action plan for 2022-23.
Although the government has announced an expansion of coal mines and new coal-fired power plants to ensure energy security in the next few years, it plans to reduce the share of coal in its overall energy mix by the end of this decade.
Coal accounts for nearly half of installed power capacity in India, while renewable energy sources including solar and wind provide about 30%. The country aims to meet 50% of its energy requirements from renewables by 2030.
Santosh Patnaik, who manages fair transition programmes at campaign group Climate Action Network South Asia, said young people in coal communities want to break out of the grinding cycle of poverty their families were trapped in for decades.
"This is a generation ready to move away from coal, which is encouraging. A just transition plan needn't wait for mines to close - it is needed now. Jharkhand could set an example for other states," said Patnaik.
Earth on fire
For now, a layer of dust, smoke and soot hangs over Jharia, its coalfield dotted by multiple fires - 595 of them, according to the official count. In some places, huge flames leap out of coal pits, while smaller fires burn in other areas, like decorative torches in a seaside resort.
The fires, some of which have burned for a century, were caused by opencast mining, a method that has largely replaced underground mining in the past two decades, exposing large volumes of coal to the air.
The type of coal found here is quicker to ignite, said researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology - India School of Mining (IIT-ISM) in Dhanbad district, where Jharia is located.
The fires have hollowed out parts of the earth, causing concrete roads and homes to cave in over the past 20 years and resulting in deaths.
The numbers vary, with one local activist putting the death toll at 45 in Jharia while officials estimate it at fewer than 20.
Official surveys show that the fire area, which once spread over 8 sq km or nearly 2,000 acres - the size of about 1,000 Olympic-size soccer fields - has shrunk to 1.8 sq km.
Several fire areas have been excavated and the debris piled up into hillocks, known as overburdens, where researchers say fires continue to burn.
Some 55,000 families - or at least 200,000 people - have been impacted by the fires, according to a 2004 estimate that is still considered to be the official count of the number of people who need to be relocated.
Of these, only 4,000 families have so far moved to a colony built two decades ago, about 8 kilometres from the mining area.
Even though their neighbourhoods resemble a war zone, people resist moving to the colony, citing a lack of facilities such as drinking water and proper drains.
But their main concern is that relocating will disconnect them from the mining area that provides their only income.
Nothing but coal
The district administration, responsible for the upkeep of the existing colony, plans to create a municipal body to manage its maintenance, officials said.
It has also engaged global consultancy firm Ernst & Young to design a skills development plan to help Jharia locals find new jobs.
As part of this, their employment interests are being mapped, and the administration is working on skills training for young people, as well as moving families out of high-risk fire areas, said Sandeep Singh, Dhanbad district's administrative head.
But quick and easy solutions are elusive because of a lack of any significant industry other than coal.
In addition, Jharia falls inside the Dhanbad municipal limits and so is not designated as a rural area, meaning residents are excluded from the state-run rural jobs scheme that offers 100 days of paid labour every year.
D.D. Ramanandan, general secretary of the All India Coal Workers Federation, said Jharia faced a complex problem in creating new sources of income.
"Other coal towns have thermal power plants, small industries and also open space. Here, there is no space between habitations and coalfields and there is nothing else... but coal," he explained.
Fires and mines can be seen from Jharia's roadsides, some less than a mile from busy markets, and narrow lanes lined with smoke-belching coal stoves snake through homes leading to the burning pits.
Shiv Balak Paswan, vice president of nonprofit group Jharia Coalfield Bachao (Save Jharia Coalfield), said opencast mining had helped locals, despite exacerbating fires, as it opened up more reserves, making coal more accessible to those who gather it illegally because they have no other option to earn a living.
Past efforts to douse the flames have included sealing fire sites with soil and pouring liquid nitrogen and water on them - but those methods have proved either ineffective, costly or dangerous.
IIT-ISM professor Ram Madhab Bhattacharjee said the fires not only put nearby residents at risk but are causing India to lose precious coking coal.
Researchers at IIT-ISM have proposed producing liquid nitrogen locally to save on the cost of ferrying it in by tanker.
But effectively eliminating the fires would also require evacuating residents from the affected area, many of whom are reluctant to move.
"Attempts to do so can cause unrest. This is a big social challenge," said Bhattacharjee.
Scavenging to survive
Mining in Jharia began about a century ago and the area was flush with coal jobs until the early 1990s, drawing workers from neighbouring states to help operate and manage its mines.
The workers' neighbourhoods that sit next to the mines sprang up four to five decades ago, around the same time private mines were taken over by the government.
Families have stayed there even as jobs have dried up with the mechanisation of mines and outsourcing to private labour agencies who source workers from other states to keep costs low.
Local activists estimate that nearly 100,000 people scavenge coal due to a lack of other jobs, and even those who do tough work like loading coal onto rail wagons miss the earlier days and lament the dearth of alternative options as education levels have improved.
"I wanted to join the police but there are no vacancies," said Govind Bavri, 30, the son of a coal loader who studied up to 12th grade and now works as an attendance clerk with a construction company for a monthly salary of 8,000 rupees (US$97).
Jharkhand, one of India's most impoverished states, has launched several plans to improve living conditions and job opportunities, but they have not succeeded, locals said.
Activist Balak has sought cash compensation from the state and federal governments of up to 2 million rupees for each family relocated from the fire area, to make up for their lost livelihoods, but is still awaiting a response.
Meanwhile, the expanding mines are swallowing more homes, and their inhabitants are also being asked to move, swelling the number of families that need to be relocated, Balak said.
Parental sacrifice
In the next two years, the region's newly-launched just transition taskforce aims to study work opportunities in sectors like agriculture, forestry and renewable energy, as well as financing models to help small and medium-sized businesses set up shop.
Taskforce head Rastogi said mine closures would escalate hunger and fuel social unrest - but once coal production is phased down, the land could be put to better use to generate jobs for young people.
The taskforce will look at introducing biofuel plants, solar energy projects and mining tourism that could help restore the scarred environment, while creating work for locals.
"This generation is more aware of what is happening across the world. They have access to the internet and realise the potential outside coal. The biggest challenge would be to find alternatives for them," said Rastogi.
Some young men have migrated to cities to work on construction sites, but the high cost of rental accommodation and food deters many from leaving.
A few miles from the burning coalfields, at a busy junction in the town of Dhanbad, a state-run institute runs free courses on fashion design and beauty care. A few of those enrolled are from Jharia.
Anu Kumari, 17, is learning to thread eyebrows and do facials, and hopes to find a job at a beauty parlour one day.
"I want to go beyond coal, develop a personality," she said.
Suman Kumari, 21, one of an earlier batch of students, was placed at a beauty parlour in Patna in neighbouring Bihar state, but did not take up the post as it was too far from home and she would have had to spend all her wages on rent and food.
She now picks coal but has formed a girls' dance group, and films and uploads their performances to YouTube.
She is also waiting to be noticed - like video blogger Kurmi - and hopes a television dance reality show will discover her talent.
Their parents, meanwhile, are seeking more concrete action from the government to improve their coal-dependent lives, to train their offspring and to build cleaner industries that can create more job opportunities.
Anita Devi, a 32-year-old mother of four, illegally gathers coal for nearly 12 hours a day near the Gesadi mine, selling it in sacks for 100 rupees each.
As she works amid burning seams of coal, her nails, face and feet are black with ash - but she sees the relentless work as the only way to secure a better future for her children.
"I don't want them to have my life. I will turn black like coal, but I suffer every day so my children don't," she said. "I will do anything to ensure they study."


PH allocates seats for Johor election

Pakatan Harapan (PH) has finalised its allocation of seats for the upcoming Johor state election, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu says.He said during the PH Presidential Council meeting on Monday, the coalition decided that Amanah and PKR would each contest 20 seats and DAP, 16.However, he said the list of candidates was still being discussed and had yet to be finalised.“At the same time, we are still open to negotiations with any other parties who want to cooperate with PH in the state election.“If their participation can further increase the chances for PH to win, all three party leaders will discuss the matter,” he told reporters in Permas Jaya today.Also present were Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim and Johor Amanah chairman Aminolhuda Hassan.Mohamad said talks on cooperation with other parties such as Muda and Pejuang were ongoing, with an outcome expected in a day or two.Meanwhile, Aminolhuda said the party’s list of candidates was ready and awaiting confirmation from the central leadership.He said 14 out of the 20 seats allocated for Amanah would be contested by new faces, some of them young candidates.On Presidential Council’s decision to allow PKR to contest using its own logo in the Johor state election, Mohamad said the move would not confuse voters as they were already familiar with the logos of both PKR and PH.“For me, there is no problem for PKR to use its own logo in representing PH,” he said.


Govt has finalised abolishment of mandatory death penalty, says law minister

The government has decided to replace the mandatory death penalty with alternative punishments, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar says.
In a statement, he said the decision was made after two series of meetings held on Sept 6 and 13 by the Substitute Sentences for the Mandatory Death Penalty Task Force Technical Committee which he had chaired.
The government had agreed in principle to the proposal to substitute the sentences for 11 offences carrying the mandatory death penalty, including one under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and 22 other offences that also carry the death penalty, but at the discretion of the courts, and to provide a moratorium for the 1,337 who have been convicted and sentenced to death.
The decision of the task force will be submitted to the Cabinet to be tabled at the Cabinet meeting for approval and for amendments to be passed at the Third Meeting of the Fifth Term of the 14th Parliament in the Dewan Rakyat.
The first reading of the bill is expected on Oct 4 and the second on Nov 22.


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Work together to defeat Covid, DAP man pleads with MPs from both sides

DAP’s Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming today urged all representatives to work together to resolve the Covid-19 situation in the country.He said this was not the time to criticise one another but to focus on the main issue to eradicate the pandemic.“I appeal to all MPs, at this critical moment in our country, what we need now is to implement a spirit of bipartisanship, a spirit of cooperation between both sides,” he said at the Dewan Rakyat today.Ong, who was deputy international trade and industry minister under the previous Pakatan Harapan government, said while the majority held by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin could be disputed, no one in the Dewan Rakyat presently had enough support.“I think it would be easy to criticise the government and ministers if we wanted to. There are many issues we could criticise.“But I plead with everyone, we need to have a plan and a direction,” he said.“No one here has the majority. Why don’t we, as frontliners, work hand in hand to defeat Covid-19 and restore the economy so that we can show that we have a direction, by working together?”


Russian defence products missing from Lima 2023

This year's Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (Lima) Exhibition was marked by an absence of Russian products, despite the country being Malaysia's main exporter of defence assets.
However, the country's aerobatic team, the Russian Knights, remained a feature at the maritime and aerospace exhibition.
At the last Lima exhibition in 2019, Russia through the Rostec State Corporation had organised the promotion of several types of helicopters.
Russia, along with Ukraine and Belarus, withdrew from last year's edition of the Defence Service Asia exhibition, Asia's largest defence and homeland security show, due to its ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
The reason for its lack of participation in the latest Lima exhibition could not be ascertained.
It is not known if Russia's absence has to do with its war with Ukraine, where the US and Western countries have launched a global campaign to boycott Moscow.
When contacted, the defence ministry as the organiser of the event declined to comment.
MalaysiaNow is attempting to reach the Russian embassy for a response.
Russia is among the strategic defence partners of Malaysia, which is actively lobbying for its MIG-35 and Sukhoi SU-35 aircraft.
Malaysia operates 18 SU-30 aircraft that are still active, while the MIG-29N belonging to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has been discontinued.
The 2003 purchase of SU-30 from Russia involved a value of RM2.2 billion.
In a meeting with then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to take back the Sukhoi and MIG jets and replace them with new Russian-made aircraft.
The RMAF recently purchased 18 Korean FA-50 planes to replace the British-made Hawk aircraft.


Shafee loses bid to stay proceedings of LHDN suit

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today dismissed an application by lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to stay the proceeding of a suit against him by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) for failing to pay income tax arrears amounting to RM9.41 million.
Shafee had applied to stay the proceeding pending the disposal of his appeal to the Special Commissioners of Income Tax of Malaysia.
His lawyer, Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, said judicial commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain dismissed the application with costs of RM5,000 to be paid to LHDN.
"The court rejected Shafee's argument that there were special circumstances to stay the proceedings. The court fixed Oct 6 for case management to set the hearing date," he said when contacted by reporters after the online proceedings today.
Senior revenue counsel Al-Hummidallah Idrus, representing LHDN, confirmed the matter. At today's proceedings, Shafee was also represented by lawyers Rajan Navaratnam and Wee Yeong Kang, while LHDN was also represented by senior revenue counsel Norhisham Ahmad and Muhammad Faqrol Syazreen Mohd Ghause.
Shafee, 70, filed the application on Nov 3 last year, seeking among others an order for the proceedings to be temporarily suspended pending the outcome of an application filed by former prime minister Najib Razak and his son, Mohd Nazifuddin, regarding the payment of income tax amounting to RM1.69 billion and RM37.6 million respectively, to LHDN, before the Federal Court.
Among the grounds cited by Shafee was that he had filed a notice of appeal against the notices on additional assessment for the assessment years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016, to LHDN on June 27, 2019. He also said that special circumstances existed warranting the stay.
On Sept 27 last year, LHDN applied for its suit against Shafee, which was filed on May 6, to be decided through summary judgment, on grounds that the defendant had failed to pay the income tax arrears amounting to RM9,414,708.32 within the stipulated time.
Shafee also faces two charges of receiving RM9.5 million in proceeds from unlawful activities from Najib, and two charges of making false declarations to LHDN.


Unemployment rate for April 2021 drops to 4.6%

The country’s unemployment rate for April 2021 dropped to 4.6%, the lowest since October 2020, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reported today.Chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the number of unemployed people was reduced by 0.1 percentage point or 10,500 persons month-on-month to 742,700 individuals compared to 753,200 recorded in March.“Malaysia’s labour force continued to be on a recovery path in April 2021 as the recovery movement control order (RMCO) in most states and conditional MCO gave more opportunities for businesses to continue their activities in full capacity while adhering to strict SOPs.“Better business outlook was also reflected by the performance of the leading index (LI) for March 2021 which posted an increase of 1.8% month-on-month (February 2021: 1.1%).“Hence, the labour force in April 2021 recorded a month-on-month increase of 0.1% or an addition of 12,200 persons to record 16.09 million persons (March 2021: 16.08 million persons). The labour force participation rate (LFPR) for the month stood at 68.6%,” he said in a statement today.Uzir said the actively unemployed, which is defined as those who are available for work and actively seeking a job, encompassing more than 80% of total unemployed persons, decreased by 8,200 persons (-1.3%) to 618,700 (March 2021: 626,900 persons).“Of the total actively unemployed, 52.1% were unemployed for less than three months.“Observing the inactivity group, the number of the outside labour force during the month posted an increase of 13,100 persons to 7.38 million persons (March 2021: 7.36 million persons) and was dominated by schooling/training categories with 43.5% (3.21 million persons), followed by housework/family responsibilities with 42.1% (3.10 million persons),” he said.The number of employed people remained on an increasing trend with a month-on-month gain of 22,700 persons to post 15.35 million persons, while the employment-to-population ratio which indicates the ability of an economy to create employment remained unchanged at 65.4% in April 2021.Services registered an upward trend in the number of employed persons during the month, largely in the wholesale and retail trade; food and beverages services; education; and human health and social work activities.“Similar trends were also observed in the manufacturing and construction sectors while both agriculture and mining and quarrying sectors continued to record a negative month-on-month momentum,” he said.Uzir said own-account workers registered an addition of 12,300 persons to record 2.49 million persons in April following the continuous operations of small businesses during the month.The number of employed persons who were temporarily not working remained on a declining trend with a reduction of 5,000 persons to record 116,000 persons.He said May 2021 had witnessed the public health crisis situation in Malaysia getting more challenging with a rise in the number of daily Covid-19 infections, resulting in the implementation of a total lockdown nationwide from June 1 to 14 with the closure of all economic and social sectors except for essential economic and service sectors.“The labour market condition is foreseen to face another challenging situation in the upcoming months but the provision of various forms of assistance by the government may cushion the impact and subsequently restore the labour market condition,” he added.


With plan up in the air, embattled Zahid in bid to reject No 2 post for Umno

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is expected to come down hard on Ismail Sabri Yaakob when party leaders meet in a virtual Supreme Council meeting tonight, in an apparent last ditch effort to get the party to reject the two Cabinet appointments as well as to revoke support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, MalaysiaNow has learnt.The appointment of Ismail as deputy prime minister and Hishammuddin Hussein as a senior minister has not gone down well with Zahid and former prime minister Najib Razak who have been working hard to get party leaders to quit their Cabinet and other government posts.“The president is gathering his men to oppose the appointment,” an Umno source who has been privy to the developments of the past two days told MalaysiaNow.“But with Umno now given the number two post that has always been the battle cry of Zahid, it will be even more difficult for him to convince his party men to quit the government.”At successive meetings in Kuala Lumpur this week, Zahid had come under pressure to step down as the party chief in the wake of growing anger over evidence pointing to his support for PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim.The two politicians, alongside Najib, have since last year rekindled their past alliance in Umno in efforts to bring down Muhyiddin.Zahid and Najib not only wrote to the palace to express support for Anwar’s bid to become prime minister, they also worked hard to get Umno delegates to agree to a motion to quit the government during the party’s general assembly in March.While Ismail’s appointment as the deputy prime minister has come as a shock to many, the move is seen as Muhyiddin’s grand design to further isolate Zahid.“It was something unexpected, and the prime minister decided to use his power to appoint a deputy from Umno, at the same time pre-empting any move by Zahid tonight,” a Cabinet source told MalaysiaNow, adding that most ministers were kept in the dark about the surprise move.Even before today’s announcement, Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki who is aligned with Najib declared that the party’s Supreme Council had decided not to accept any deputy prime minister’s position, dismissing rumours on the move.“Furthermore, instead of lobbying for the DPM’s post, it would be better to lobby the PM to improve the assistance to the people including for a moratorium without accrued interest, i-Citra as well as to speed up and increase the cash assistance under BPR, BPN and BKC,” Ashraf had said before the announcement by the Prime Minister’s Office today.His statement was similar to Najib’s reaction minutes after news broke of Ismail’s appointment to the powerful post.“I thought there would be a good announcement on the Covid situation, the moratorium which further burdens borrowers or on increasing i-Citra, but it was about the new DPM and senior minister,” said Najib, before offering a one-line congratulatory message to Ismail and Hishammuddin.A PKR MP said the Cabinet promotion of the two Umno leaders had thrown a spanner in Zahid’s plan to cooperate with Anwar and Pakatan Harapan, ahead of the Dewan Rakyat reconvening at the end of the month.“Zahid has in recent days been approaching Umno MPs in a bid to gather support for Anwar for the top post. Now, the whole plan is up in the air,” the MP said.Zahid’s recent moves have irked many Umno leaders, including Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz who made a counter-move by getting the consent of some 25 MPs to appoint Hishammuddin as their spokesman.It is believed that the majority of Umno MPs have urged Zahid to resign gracefully before any decision is made to refer him to the party’s disciplinary board for breaching the policy of not working with PKR and DAP.Anger is also growing over a claim Zahid made during his audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, that Cabinet members from Umno as well as heads of GLCs had pledged to quit their posts by August.A police report was also made against the Umno chief over the possibility that he had misled the Agong.


Indonesia pushes tourism to boost mangrove restoration

Tourists in Indonesia are discovering the benefits of mangroves as the archipelago pushes to replant or conserve carbon-rich coastal areas that have been decimated by human activity.
Connie Sihombing, a 50-year-old resident of Jakarta, does not mind that she can hear traffic or planes flying above as she paddles her kayak through murky waters and the arching roots of mangrove trees.
"I've travelled far, yet I had no idea that close to home lies this fascinating and beautiful park," she said, referring to a protected mangrove forest along the northern coast of the capital.
Mangroves in Indonesia, a country of more than 17,000 islands and miles of shoreline, have dwindled to about 4.1 million hectares (10.1 million acres) as urban development or seafood farming replaces what is a natural defence against rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion.
Last year alone, the country lost 700,000 hectares of mangroves, according to Indonesia's Mangrove and Peatlands Restoration Agency (BRGM).
Indonesia hopes that alongside state efforts, 'ecotourism' that involves people exploring, planting, and caring for the forests will help them understand their importance as carbon stores and biodiversity hotspots.
"A lot of people and businesses have these mangrove forests levelled down and then build a tourist spot above it by piling sand to make artificial beaches. That contradicts nature preservation," said Muhammad Saleh Alatas, owner of The Mangrove Paddling Centre, which organises tours in the mangroves of Jakarta.
The 98-hectare Angke Kapuk Nature Reserve Park where the tours operate is but a tiny part of what environmental experts say the world needs to reverse the damage that has been wrought on mangroves and other wetlands.
While government funding has risen in the past five years, support from private institutions and non-governmental organisations is still needed, said Nusantara Nature Conservation Agency director Muhammad Ilman.


Australia to withdraw or refund tens of thousands of Covid fines

Australia's largest state will withdraw or refund tens of thousands of fines issued during the Covid pandemic after government lawyers conceded on Tuesday that some fines were invalid in a test case brought by a legal advocacy group.
Australian states and territories instituted strict restrictions during the pandemic, including limits on travel and movement outside the home. Police in New South Wales, the largest state, could issue fines of A$1,000 (about RM3,000) to individuals who breached public health orders.
Redfern Legal Centre, a free legal service, launched a test case in July on behalf of three plaintiffs arguing their fines of between A$1,000 to A$3,000, were invalid because the penalty notices did not sufficiently describe the offence.
Government lawyers conceded the plaintiff's fines did not meet legal requirements in a hearing at the New South Wales Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Shortly after, the Commissioner of Fines Administration withdrew 33,121 fines, just under half the 62,138 Covid-related fines issued. The remaining fines are unaffected by the decision.
All sanctions, including driver license restrictions will be stopped. Those who have already paid will be refunded.
"Today justice has been granted to three people who took on the NSW government regarding the validity of their Covid fines and won!” said Samantha Lee, acting solicitor for the plaintiffs in a statement.
Revenue NSW said the challenge was on a "technical basis" and the court's decision did not mean the offences had not been committed.
"The Commissioner of Fines Administration is able to independently review or withdraw penalty notices," said Revenue NSW in a statement.
"In this case, he has decided to exercise his statutory power to withdraw two types of Public Health Order fines."
A full judgement from presiding judge Dina Yehia is expected at a later date.


970 new cases, recoveries hit high of 2,348

Another 970 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed cases in the country to 59,817.Negeri Sembilan recorded the most new cases at 318. Of these, 301 were from the Bakti prison cluster.This was followed by Sabah (293) and Selangor (115).Perak recorded 80 new cases, Kuala Lumpur 44, Labuan 37, Johor 30, Kedah 24 and Penang 14.Kelantan recorded eight cases, Sarawak and Pahang two each, and Terengganu, Melaka and Putrajaya one each.Active cases stand at 12,971 with 110 in the ICU and 47 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 2,348 patients were discharged, the most yet, bringing total recoveries to 46,501.However, four more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 345.


Japan unveils record US$490 billion stimulus to boost pandemic recovery

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a record US$490 billion stimulus for the world’s third-largest economy Friday as he looks to shore up the country’s patchy pandemic recovery.The 56 trillion yen injection, the third since the Covid crisis struck last year, “is enough to deliver a sense of safety and hope to the Japanese people”, Kishida said.The vast spending plans are expected to be approved by the cabinet later in the day and reportedly include cash and coupon handouts to families with children under 18 who meet an income cap, as well as pay rises for nurses and careworkers.It comes after Japan’s economy shrank far more than expected in the second quarter as leaders struggled to overcome virus surges by imposing containment measures in Tokyo and other cities.Former prime ministers Yoshihide Suga and Shinzo Abe poured 40 trillion yen and 38 trillion yen respectively into the economy in 2020, although some analysts have raised doubts over how effective that stimulus has been.“We have been able to build economic measures that will lead to a new society after the pandemic,” Kishida said at policy talks between the cabinet and ruling coalition.He said the 56 trillion in spending – roughly 10% of Japan’s total GDP – was expected to rise as high as 79 trillion yen including other elements such as loans from private funds.Kishida triumphed in a general election last month, having pledged to deliver a huge spending programme after Suga stepped down, partly over his government’s virus response.Businesses, especially restaurants and bars, have endured months of on-off restrictions on opening hours and alcohol sales since the pandemic began. Japan’s borders also remain shut to tourists.Government data showed this week that Japan’s economy shrank 0.8% in the three months to September – far worse than market expectations – as a record surge in virus cases hit spending and supply-chain issues hampered business.However, daily cases have nosedived in recent months, and more than three-quarters of the population are now fully vaccinated, with most restrictions now lifted nationwide.‘We need accountability’Analysts said the stimulus would support Japan’s growth to some extent, but some questioned the effectiveness of handouts, with UBS warning it was unlikely to be a “game-changer” for the country’s economic outlook.Japan already has an enormous public debt load, amounting to over 250% of GDP according to the International Monetary Fund.Stimulus measures could “undermine Japan’s fiscal health” by increasing the debt burden, warned Yoko Takeda, chief economist at the Mitsubishi Research Institute.“Kishida tried to display his leadership by unveiling the record package swiftly,” she told AFP.“But its size overshadows the contents. The package may not help stimulate spending and only end up swelling people’s savings,” she added, alluding to fears that handouts would be deposited rather than ploughed back into the economy.Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Daiichi Life Research Institute, was also sceptical.“This is a huge package but its impact on GDP appears limited,” he said.“This hand-out and across-the-board policy may not necessarily lead to spending,” he told AFP.The country’s Board of Audit says nearly half of the stimulus already implemented by previous governments has yet to be used, Kengo Sakurada, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives noted this week.“We need accountability from the government on why this one will be successful,” he told reporters.Junichi Makino, chief economist at SMBC Nikko said in a note that the package should lift the GDP by 3.3%.He said a domestic travel discount programme would likely have the most meaningful impact, along with subsidies for purchases and incentives for business.“Details of the package will be the key. The market will be focusing on the exact sizes of those high-impact programmes,” he wrote.


Facebook to restore Aussie news pages as deal reached on media law

Facebook said Tuesday it will lift a contentious ban on Australian news pages, after the government agreed to amend a world-first law requiring tech giants to pay media companies.Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook said a compromise had been reached on key aspects of the law, which was fiercely opposed by the tech companies.“As a result of these changes, we can now work to further our investment in public interest journalism, and restore news on Facebook for Australians in the coming days,” said Will Easton, managing director of Facebook Australia.The social media firm sparked global outrage last week by blacking out news for its Australian users and inadvertently blocking a series of non-news Facebook pages linked to everything from cancer charities to emergency response services.Prime Minister Scott Morrison had angrily accused Facebook of making a decision to “unfriend” Australia.But the last minute compromise – as Parliament looks set to pass the law this week – means that Facebook and Google, which was also targeted, will not be penalised so long as they reach some deals with local media firms to pay for news.They will also get an additional two months to broker those agreements.“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to reach an agreement with the Australian government and appreciate the constructive discussions we’ve had” said Easton.Precedent-settingThe tech firms had fiercely opposed the legislation from the get-go, fearing it would create international precedent that would threaten their business models.“There is no doubt that Australia has been a proxy battle for the world,” said Frydenberg.In particular, the companies objected to rules that made negotiations with media companies mandatory and gave an independent Australian arbiter the right to impose a settlement.Google was keen to avoid creating a precedent that platforms should pay anyone for links, something they could make their flagship search engine unworkable.Facebook – which is much less reliant on news content – had said being forced to pay for news was simply not worth it.“We have come to an agreement that will allow us to support the publishers we choose to, including small and local publishers,” said Facebook vice-president for global news partnerships Campbell Brown.Despite earlier threats to pull its services from Australia over the legislation, Google had already softened its stance and brokered deals worth millions of dollars with a host of local media companies, including the two largest: Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Nine Entertainment.Facebook and Google still face the prospect of having to agree deals with media around the world, as the European Union, Canada and other jurisdictions move to regulate the sector.Since their emergence around the turn of the century, Google and Facebook have been largely unregulated and have grown into two of the world’s largest and most profitable companies.But a string of scandals about misinformation, privacy violations, data harvesting and their virtual monopoly on online advertising has triggered the attention of watchdogs.For every US$100 spent by Australian advertisers today, US$49 goes to Google and US$24 to Facebook, according to the country’s competition watchdog.Critics of the law have said it is punishing successful companies and amounts to a money grab by struggling but politically connected traditional media.They also lament that there is no requirement in the law that money gained by the media companies from Facebook and Google be spent on expanding public interest journalism rather than just boost profits.Thousands of journalism jobs and scores of news outlets have been lost in Australia alone over the past decade as the sector watched advertising revenue flow to the digital players.


How Covid-wracked Hong Kong is reeling 2 years into pandemic

Hong Kong is in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, as residents are suddenly confronted with a severely overstretched healthcare system and a tightening of restrictions even as much of the world opens up.The city’s strict but successful “zero-Covid” policy had largely kept the virus out for months.But when the highly transmissible Omicron variant broke through Hong Kong’s defences, authorities were caught flat-footed with a dangerously under-vaccinated population and few plans in place to deal with a mass outbreak.How prepared were they?The extremely contagious Omicron variant was first discovered within Hong Kong’s local community in late December – far later than much of the rest of the world.Authorities reacted quickly – banning flights, forbidding gatherings of more than two, and launching a mass hamster cull after coronavirus-positive pet store rodents were discovered.But these measures did little to curb Omicron’s spread.As of Friday, Hong Kong had recorded more than 20,200 infections in less than two months – outstripping its cumulative two-year total of about 12,000.City leader Carrie Lam admitted this week the fifth wave had “dealt a heavy blow”, and by Friday announced a postponement to the planned March selection of Hong Kong’s next chief executive.The government is now scrambling to find a place to build a makeshift mega-hospital while seeking the mainland’s help with testing capacity and the speedy construction of quarantine facilities.“I don’t think (the government) was ever really prepared for an outbreak of this scale,” Karen Grepin from the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health said.“Our strategy to fight Covid really never evolved despite the fact that the virus… has become much more transmissible.”What’s happening now?Hong Kong’s policy under previous outbreaks was to hospitalise all Covid-19 patients – even those with mild symptoms.Bleak scenes this week showed an overrun hospital staff placing elderly patients on gurneys outdoors under dropping temperatures, as it ran out of isolation space.Worried patients also waited in long queues outside hospitals – potentially exposing them to the public.But “only a small minority would actually need to be in hospital”, epidemiologist Ben Cowling told AFP.The government’s recent pivot to telling people with mild symptoms to remain home, however, has not stemmed the flow, with 12,000 waiting for beds Wednesday.As numbers continue to climb, authorities need a new approach, said Cowling.“We would need to have a plan for… home quarantine that could be safe and sustainable.”What’s making it worse?In a word, politics.Hong Kong has long adhered to the mainland’s “zero-Covid” policy.Authoritarian China managed to eliminate outbreaks with citywide lockdowns, mass testing and stepped-up government oversight.Hong Kong officials clung to the same zero-tolerance approach even as health experts warned the walls would not hold forever.But “the cost of elimination (of the virus) exceeded the benefits to Hong Kong by mid to late 2021,” David Owens, founder of healthcare provider OT&P, wrote in an article.“Once effective vaccinations became available, the negative framing and policy around zero Covid adversely impacted vaccination rates.”Today, Hong Kong has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the developed world, and critics say those in charge have done little to boost those numbers.Especially vulnerable are the elderly – only 43% of those aged 70-79 and 27% of the city’s above-80s have received two jabs.“Our speed to get booster shots failed the race with Omicron,” Kwok Kin-on of Chinese University’s public health school told AFP.“So our community immunity had dropped to a low level, while our kids and elderly were unvaccinated when the new wave hit.”All the government can do now is “buy time for children and the elderly to get vaccinated”, he said.So what’s next?On Friday, city leader Lam said the government was “making plans” to test all 7.5 million residents.She also insisted a wholesale China-style lockdown is not currently in the cards – though it remains to be seen if citywide test results would change the government’s tune.Lam’s announcement came just two days after Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged Hong Kong to deploy “all necessary measures” – effectively ruling out the prospect of discarding China’s “zero-Covid” strategy.“In Hong Kong’s political reality, we need to follow ‘One Country’ policy. I have no further comment,” Pierre Chan, Hong Kong’s former medical sector legislator, told AFP.Authorities have begun exploring using hotels – long emptied of visitors to the now-isolated “Asia’s World City” – as quarantine facilities.A new plan was also launched for taxis to ferry Covid-positive patients to hospitals – raising eyebrows over the health risks for elderly drivers.“Predominantly, it’s not a public health decision anymore,” Grepin of the University of Hong Kong said. “It’s also a political decision.”


Selangor assembly won't be dissolved before Raya, says MB

The Selangor state legislative assembly will not be dissolved before the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations, says Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.
"I cannot imagine (the dissolution of the state assembly) in the near future... I can say that there will be no dissolution before Raya (Aidilfitri).
"This is what I can confirm for Selangor," he told reporters after attending a bilateral meeting of the Pahang and Selangor state governments at Wisma Sri Pahang in Kuantan today.
Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu are set to hold their state polls this year.
Meanwhile, Pahang Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) have formed a Pahang unity government consultation council to strengthen the position of the government in the state.
The establishment of the council, which is jointly chaired by Pahang BN chairman Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, who is also the Pahang menteri besar, and Amirudin, as the Pahang PH chairman, was reached last night during talks between the two parties. Wan Rosdy and Amirudin issued a joint statement today saying the council would serve as a platform for discussions and policy negotiations to solve the people’s issues, to ensure the stability of the Pahang government throughout its entire term.
"Both parties also agreed to engage in regular meetings to discuss joint efforts, so that these will be in line with the government at the federal level," the statement added.  BN and PH agreed to form the Pahang government after the 15th general election which resulted in a hung assembly.
BN and Perikatan Nasional obtained 17 seats each while PH won eight.


Criticism snowballs for Amanah over MP’s ski holiday pic while floods rise back home

An Amanah MP has come under fire on social media after uploading a picture of himself apparently on holiday in Iran as his constituency struggles to deal with unprecedented floods back home.Hundreds of internet users slammed Hulu Langat MP Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus for posting the picture of himself at a height of 5,000 feet above sea level at the Tochal ski resort on Dec 18.User Muammar Qaddafi said Hasanuddin need not bother coming back to the country.“Amanah doesn’t need to field him as a candidate anymore either,” he said in the comment section of Hasanuddin’s post.Facebook user Eddie Jaafar meanwhile wrote: “Don’t worry YB, the people will look after the people, you take care of Kashmir.”Villagers at Kampung Masjid in Hulu Langat, Selangor, begin cleaning and salvaging work as the flood waters begin to subside.Still others urged the Amanah vice-president to return home immediately to fulfil his responsibilities as an elected representative.They also expressed disappointment, saying Hasanuddin appeared to be prioritising matters overseas over the voters in his constituency.Checks by MalaysiaNow showed that Hasanuddin later took the photo down and posted an explanation in its stead.He said he had made plans to go overseas before the floods hit.“I am unable to help as I am currently on a mission to Turkey, Pakistan and Tehran for which I was appointed by the Parliament speaker,” he said.“The invitation from the Parliaments of Pakistan and Iran were made in my capacity as a member of Malaysia’s Parliamentary Friendship Group.”Hasanuddin said he had met the president and speakers of Azad, Jammu and Kashmir as well as several Pakistan MPs in Islamabad to discuss charity and housing projects for Kashmir refugees.He said he was also following the flood developments in Hulu Langat and was trying to book the earliest flight home.“I have instructed the staff at the Hulu Langat parliamentary public service centre to extend aid to those in need,” he said.“I am also in constant communication with the Civil Defence Department and am trying to book a flight home as quickly as possible.”


Singapore sees rise of million-dollar public housing

Hundreds of public housing apartments in Singapore, one of the world's most expensive cities, are being sold for over one million Singapore dollars (US$716,000) as Covid-related construction delays create a shortage of new units.
At least two units have surpassed the million-dollar mark in US dollars, and the high prices are fuelling talk of new government measures to try to cool thriving property markets.
The Southeast Asian city-state's public housing system – which sells government-built apartment units directly to citizens on a 99-year lease - has led to over 80% of Singaporeans owning their homes, one of the world's highest rates.
Many units - known as housing & development board (HDB) flats - are conveniently located near train stations and malls and cater to various socioeconomic groups.
As ownership is transferable to both citizens and permanent residents after five years, a resale market has emerged. Some apartments originally purchased for around S$500,000 are now fetching double that, depending on size and location.
The most expensive resale public flat - a spacious 122-square metre unit close to train stations and schools and with 92 years' lease left - sold this year for S$1.418 million.
For decades, Singaporeans have used their HDB flats for extra cash by renting them out or reselling at a profit.
"Million-dollar HDB flats are here to stay, as there will always be people who like to live in central locations or larger spaces," said Clarence Long, who brokered a 113-sqm public flat sale for S$1.4 million in May.
"If you're looking at private condo of similar size in the same location, the price could easily be S$2.5 million," Long said.
Unlike HDB flats, private condos in Singapore typically have security guards and facilities including swimming pools and gyms.
Most first-time public flat buyers can apply for government housing grants and loans, making them less affected by rising bank interest rates, and keen to exit the rental market that has also soared amid the pandemic.
"The monthly mortgage for my HDB flat is about S$3,400, this is much cheaper as the rental for a similar flat now will be about S$5,000," said Rajiv Malhotra, 45, who bought a 94-sqm public flat for S$1.08 million last year.
The proportion of monthly income used for mortgage payments has for three years remained at about 23% on average for public flat buyers with government loans, the government said late last year.
Rising prices
Singapore's construction sector, heavily reliant on foreign labour, has experienced major disruptions amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with tight supplies of materials also leading to delays.
Analysts expect tight supply to ease in early 2023.
While million-dollar flats are still less than 2% of total transactions, a record 259 public flats have been sold for S$1 million or more last year, official data shows, and there have already been about 230 by August this year.
Those finding the resale market unaffordable can seek to buy off-plan public flats directly from the government, known as HDB built-to-order (BTO) public flats, typically selling for about S$300,000 to S$700,000.
However, most popular BTO projects are overly subscribed and take around five years to complete construction, pushing many to the resale market.
When contacted by Reuters about any new cooling measures in the pipeline, HDB did not comment but referred to earlier government statements.
The Ministry of National Development said last month the government planned to ramp up supply of new BTO flats to meet demand.
Singapore announced cooling measures on property markets last December, including raising stamp duties and tightening loan limits and transaction volumes have seen some softening.
"There is a possibility that the government may consider another round of cooling measures given the rising prices in both public and private residential markets," said Christine Sun, the senior vice-president of research & analytics at OrangeTee & Tie.
"But it won't be easy...because it's willing seller, willing buyer," Sun added.


What matters right now

It was truly heart-warming to see pictures of our prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, visiting the MAEPS Integrated Hospital recently.I know many refer to Muhyiddin as the backdoor prime minister etc, but to my family and, I am sure, many others, he is seen as someone trying his best to help the people during these trying times.I lost everything when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and honestly, my small family of four would not have food to eat if not for assistance rolled out by the government.Initiatives such as Penjana, I-Sinar and, recently, Permai have played a crucial role in helping my family put food on our table.I do not understand why some are continuously hurling criticism and insults at him – probably these are the privileged ones who have not endured any hardships during these times.For most Malaysians, I strongly believe we would have gone underwater if not for all the assistance from the government.I admit there are rotten apples, as there would be anywhere else also, but we must give credit and admire the efforts by Muhyiddin himself.Earlier, when Muhyiddin wanted to declare a state of emergency, many opposed it and the request was turned down.However, today, many realise that the emergency is truly necessary with Covid-19 numbers ranging from 3,000-4,000 almost daily.Drastic measures are needed to curb this, otherwise, only God knows what will happen to the nation.We must learn from what happened the last time an election was held and it is high time politicians shut their mouths and worked to end this pandemic.From those days, all I can recall is the opposition relentlessly making plenty of noise, but never walking the talk.Which person in his right mind would want to go to court and contest the emergency at a time when people are dying?Seriously, what is Anwar Ibrahim thinking? He and Tun M truly deserve each other. Both are power-crazed and think of nothing but themselves.For people like me and, I am sure, millions more, staying alive and feeding our families is all that matters – the last thing on our minds is politics.It is time these people get their priorities right – help the people. We need it most at this time.Nobody cares about political statements and elections at this time. All we want is help and this is what Muhyiddin is doing for us.I am sure the only thing people want to know these days is when the vaccines will arrive and if the Covid-19 figures are dropping.Help us, help our frontliners… that’s it. Our frontliners are more valuable than any politician at this time.They are sacrificing their lives for the sake of others and deserve all the praise possible.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Keep economy going, people need to live, economist tells govt

Malaysia needs to learn and to rethink basic assumptions about the economy in order for it to move forward and help people in distress, prominent economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram said today.“You need to have countercyclical policies. That is why I welcomed the Prihatin stimulus package when it first came out last year, but it was not sustained.“People need to live, they need to keep the economy going,” he said at the virtual Malaysian Economic Summit 2021.“Given the nature of the economy today, you cannot depend on (the government) becoming the employer of last resort, but you can become the buyer of last resort to keep the economy going, to help the people (who are living) in precarious conditions,” he added.Jomo was a panellist at a session titled “Will Productivity and Growth Return After the Covid-19 Pandemic? How to Strengthen the Competitiveness of the Malaysian Economy in the New Normal?”He argued that the country need not be held hostage by credit rating agencies by taking countercyclical fiscal policies.“We have to rethink our attitude about a whole range of issues, both internationally as well as domestically, but (we need to be open) in terms of public policy and to think about these issues.“What the chambers of commerce have raised (about their problems) has been known for over a year and a half. We could have addressed these issues much earlier but we have a situation where some people presume that they know best, and this is a major problem,” said Jomo who is senior adviser at the Khazanah Research Institute.Recently, German, Dutch and Japanese trade groups in Malaysia expressed concern over the government’s Covid response, warning that businesses are rethinking their investment decisions in the country.Meanwhile, answering questions at the meeting, MUI Group chairman and CEO Andrew Khoo said the government needs to diversify foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country, which is mainly contributed by the oil and gas sector.“This can be done by promoting the adoption of innovative and advanced technologies. Foreign investors also need to be encouraged to establish or relocate subsidies in or to Malaysia,” he said.Khoo said the government needs to improve national competitiveness in terms of FDI by introducing more investor-friendly policies and incentives.The implementation of the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan also needs to be sped up to improve the country’s digital connectivity by rolling out 5G, he added.Khoo said the next six months would be critical to ensuring the right level of confidence is cultivated among trade groups and the wider foreign investment community.


Wuhan virus cases may be 10 times higher than reported, says China health study

The number of coronavirus cases in the city where the outbreak was first detected may have been 10 times higher than official figures suggest, according to a study by Chinese health authorities in Wuhan.About 4.4% of the city’s 11 million residents had developed antibodies against the pathogen causing Covid-19 by April, the report by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said.That correlates to around 480,000 infections in Wuhan by April, nearly 10 times the official tally to date of 50,000 cases in the central China city.China has faced a barrage of criticism at home and abroad over its initial handling of the virus, including attempts to silence whistleblowers and not reporting any cases for days in early January amid high-level political consultations.On Monday, citizen journalist Zhang Zhan was jailed for four years for reporting on conditions inside Wuhan during the height of the outbreak.The discrepancy revealed by the CDC’s data may “point to potential underreporting due to the chaos in late January and early February, when a large number of people were not tested or were not tested accurately for Covid-19”, Huang Yanzhong, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), told AFP.The CDC added that only 0.44% of the population in central Hubei province outside of Wuhan exhibited antibodies for the virus, suggesting that the 77-day lockdown on the city may have helped prevent the spread of the disease.The findings of the survey of more than 34,000 people across the country conducted in April was only released late Monday.China does not include asymptomatic cases in its official tally, which could also explain the discrepancy between the total confirmed cases and the actual number infected.The country’s total number of cases stands at 87,027 with 4,634 deaths, according to data from the National Health Commission on Wednesday.China has largely curbed the virus at home, and was the only major economy to report positive economic growth this year as restrictions on businesses and internal travel were lifted.Even in Wuhan the “rate is not as high as that in New York city (23% by September), which may suggest the (Chinese) government containment efforts were speedy and effective”, Huang said.Officials have also rushed to test tens of millions of people to squash local mini-outbreaks.


Anwar asked for pardon twice, lawyer claims

A lawyer has challenged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's recent statement on the royal pardon given by Sultan Muhammad V during his time as Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 2018.
Rafique Rashid also shared a copy of what appeared to be Anwar's order for immediate pardon and release, showing that the PKR president had applied for a pardon twice, in 2015 and 2017.
Both times, the applications were rejected by the Pardons Board.
The Federal Court, in February 2015, upheld a Court of Appeal decision sentencing Anwar to five years in prison after finding him guilty of sodomy.
According to the document, the Pardons Board meeting for the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya on March 16, 2015 and Feb 27, 2017 had considered the prisoner's appeal and the facts of the case.
The Pardons Board nevertheless advised that Anwar's five-year prison term be continued.
"And it is reasonable in His Majesty's opinion that mercy should be shown to Anwar Ibrahim," the document signed by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.
It continued with the king's order that Anwar be given a full pardon and considered as never having committed a wrongdoing, and immediately released.
Rafique said the document showed that Anwar had applied for a pardon before, and that his request had been rejected.
"Mr Prime Minister, please get the facts right," he added.
"The Pardons Board is under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution. In any event, it is crystal clear that you had twice, in 2015 then in 2017, tried to obtain your pardon unsuccessfully. Let the record speak for itself."
He also said that the pardon appeal was only for Anwar's second sodomy case and did not include the abuse of power case against him during his time as deputy prime minister in 1998.
"That remains an offence of which a sentence was served and, in legal parlance, is known as spent."
In the Dewan Rakyat today, Anwar said he had never applied for a pardon, and that he had received one on the initiative of Sultan Muhammad V.
He said Sultan Muhammad, who had actively followed the developments of his case, called him to tell him personally that he would grant him a full pardon.
"I did not ask for a pardon because I was punished, let this be clear on the record," he said.
"It was the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the time who took the initiative."


Court allows prosecution’s attempt to impeach Rosmah’s credibility

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur today allowed the prosecution’s attempt to impeach Rosmah Mansor’s credibility following contradictions in her testimony in the ongoing solar project trial and the statement she gave to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in her money laundering case.Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan allowed the admission of Rosmah’s recorded statement, under Section 32 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFAPUAA), to be used to question the inconsistency in her evidence in the ongoing corruption trial.“I am of the view that the statement is admissible pursuant to Section 40 of AMLATFAPUAA and that the prosecution can proceed with its attempt to impeach the accused.“I am however of the belief that the provision for impeachment is to be carried out under Sections 145 and 155 of the Evidence Act 1950, and not Section 72 of Amla, as the latter pertains to a trial of an offence under the act, which is not the case here,” said the judge.Zaini also allowed the prosecution’s application to cross-examine Rosmah’s character on the charges she currently faces under Amla relating to bank statements allegedly made by Roslan Sohari into her account.“I am satisfied that the prosecution has satisfied the requirement under Section 54(2)(b) of the Evidence Act 1950. However, I will not allow any questions to be asked pertaining to the facts of the Amla charges that the accused is facing, save for the fact that she has been charged under the act.“I take the view that the probative value of the prosecution’s intent to bring up (the money laundering case) does not outweigh the prejudicial effect that the accused may suffer,” said Zaini.Rosmah is facing 12 money laundering charges amounting to about RM7 million and five counts of failing to declare her income to the Inland Revenue Board.The case, also before Zaini, is scheduled to begin after the corruption trial ends.Earlier, lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram applied to the court to be allowed to impeach Rosmah and cross-examine her over her character.“It is respectfully submitted that the accused’s statement under Section 32 of Amla may be used in the present proceedings to contradict and to impeach the accused’s credit in the present case,” he said.However, Rosmah’s counsels, Akberdin Abdul Kader and Jagjit Singh, objected to the prosecution’s application to impeach Rosmah.On Feb 18, the High Court ordered Rosmah to enter her defence on three charges after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against her.Rosmah is facing one charge of soliciting RM187.5 million in bribes and two charges of receiving RM6.5 million grafts from managing director of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, Saidi Abang Samsudin, through her former aide Rizal Mansor as gratification to assist Jepak Holdings in securing the integrated hybrid solar photovoltaic system project as well as the genset/diesel maintenance and operation for 369 rural schools in Sarawak worth RM1.25 billion through direct negotiations from the education ministry.The trial before Zaini will resume on Dec 8.


PH urges police to investigate PAS leader over prayer to defend Kedah govt

Pakatan Harapan (PH) has lodged a police report against former Kedah PAS Dewan Ulamak deputy chief Syeikh Zainul Asri Mohd Romli following his speech during the Kedah Berselawat assembly on Saturday.
The report was lodged by PH media mobilisation bureau chief Muhammad Yahaya at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters (IPD) in Kuala Lumpur this morning.
According to Muhammad, the report was made after Sheikh Zainul Asri said "May God protect Kedah from falling into the hands of God's enemies" in his speech.
He said the phrase contained words of propaganda, as if to say that only PAS and Perikatan Nasional are with Allah while the other parties are the enemies.
According to him, the phrase was uttered at a time when the state is preparing for the state elections, and this was seen to be unhealthy and could instill hatred and encourage extremism among the people.
"We hope that the police will conduct an investigation immediately against the individual and prohibit the use of religion in the upcoming state election campaign," he said when met at the Dang Wangi IPD.
Muhammad said the use of religious references and rhetoric in politics must be stopped because it is feared that they could be misinterpreted and lead to violence and religious extremism adding that it was religious terms like "jihad" that led to the establishment of the Al Maunah group and the Memali tragedy.


Artists plead for show to go on during lockdown

The local arts community is urging the government to allow arts activities to be held during the lockdown, saying these should be considered an essential especially during hard times to help people cope.Faridah Merican, co-founder and executive producer of the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, said her centre currently has RM5,000 left in its bank account to last the rest of the month.In an open letter to National Security Council director-general Mohd Rabin Basir, communications minister Saifuddin Abdullah and tourism minister Nancy Shukri, she said half of the centre’s monthly losses came from venue rental which plunged 80% since last year.Staff members have also had their pay slashed by up to 60% since the third instalment of movement control order, or MCO 3.0.“What we earned in terms of ticket sales via a month of online shows, four in total, was less than half of what we would have earned from one live performance.“It is highly likely they will be switched to contract staff soon,” she said in the letter. “We’ve tried our best to hold fast to our promise that we will not retrench them.”She also said that it was time to allow arts activities to resume, adding that “Covid-19 may be around for a long time more”.“Does that mean the arts will be shut down indefinitely through to 2022 and beyond? It will be too late for any sort of recovery.“Instead of putting the arts under a negative list, shutting down indefinitely and being the last to reopen, we have to accept the facts and change the narrative.“It is time for Malaysia to decide whether it still wants the arts to be part of the local landscape when we emerge from this catastrophe,” she said.Meanwhile, Kenny Teng, founder of Gallery G13, said he had learnt to adapt to the pandemic.Since 2017, the Gallery G13 website has offered visitors a unique way to explore its virtual art gallery, a feature specially designed for those who cannot visit the physical gallery.As art galleries were closed down during the MCO, Teng realised that the pandemic had given Gallery G13 a chance to truly utilise the feature.“The whole idea was to showcase our work to a global audience because throughout our 10 years in the arts scene, we have engaged with people outside of Malaysia and we have collectors from abroad.“It is time for Malaysia to decide whether it still wants the arts to be part of the local landscape when we emerge from this catastrophe.”“So when this pandemic happened, we already knew the system and the infrastructure,” he said. “All we did was to utilise it and fully convert our physical show to an online show.”While the online gallery has attracted many local artists, others concede that the experience is just not the same as a physical exhibition.But Teng said it was impossible to postpone shows until physical galleries are reopened, adding that going fully online was one way for galleries to sustain themselves.“Some artists find it difficult to accept because they expect people to come and interact with their artwork,” he said.“But the truth is we can no longer wait for physical exhibitions.”He too agreed that art should be classified as an essential, not necessarily in economic terms but rather for its cultural impact.“If art shows are cancelled, artists, print shops, the people who maintain our website and the whole ecosystem will be affected. It’s a cultural asset for our country and we cannot stop.”Louise Low’s CAGE project, a series of reflective pieces originally meant for a group visual arts show in Taiwan.Local visual artist Louise Low recently showcased a series encapsulating the experience of feeling trapped, especially during the lockdown period.Originally meant for a group visual arts show in Taiwan, the project titled CAGE or TRAPPED was constructed with silicone on mirror to give a reflective effect to the audience.“I found that this series of work fit perfectly for the time being so I decided to showcase it again,” Low said.“This work is a personal one for me because I feel that during this pandemic, there is a lot of negative news around and everyone has to find a way to uphold the positivity in life in order to achieve a balance.“I was trying to say that even if you are trapped during a lockdown, your state of mind is more important,” she added.With art shows postponed and galleries closed, Louise said the current circumstances have forced many artists including herself to put their work on hold and find other ways to make a living.She advised other artists to take side jobs to support themselves instead of waiting for arts activities to be given the green light again.“I think artists have to be more rational to weigh the importance of living as well. If you are struggling, it is better to get a sustainable job,” she said.“After all, we will always be artists for our entire lives. Our art can wait for us but our physical and mental health can’t.”


Cabinet agrees in principle to disclose combat ship audit report

The Cabinet today agreed in principle that the littoral combat ship (LCS) project forensic audit report should be made public.
However, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said a decision would be made after discussions with Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and other stakeholders on the mechanism of disclosure as there were sensitive issues which cannot be made public.
In a press conference after the Merdeka Month Celebration of the Legal Affairs Division in Putrajaya today, Wan Junaidi said he was of the view that sensitive matters involving security should not be revealed.
"In principle, Cabinet members still emphasised that the disclosure will be made. I am of the opinion that sensitive things, security issues, should not be disclosed," he said, adding that this was the practice in the US and England.
Earlier, the Cabinet had proposed that the forensic audit report for the LCS project conducted in 2019 be declassified, although the process would need to get the advice and views of the attorney-general and the auditor-general. Wan Junaidi also said it was possible that the government would establish a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to investigate the LCS issue.
"Prime Minister (Ismail Sabri Yaakob) earlier (at the Cabinet meeting) mentioned one more thing (about an LCS RCI). So it means that the question (LCS RCI) has not been written off, even though it is considered that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has done its best," he said.
Hishammuddin, when winding up the debate on the motion related to the LCS issue at the Dewan Negara yesterday, assured that he would personally bring the proposal for an RCI for the approval of the Cabinet today.
Hishammuddin said this in response to the suggestions of several senators who urged the government to establish an RCI to investigate the LCS issue from all aspects so that no guilty party escapes prosecution.
Wan Junaidi said MACC still needed to update the investigation papers relating to the LCS case before returning them to the Attorney-General's Chambers for a decision so that other individuals may be prosecuted.
"However, there was a discussion in the Cabinet earlier and the Cabinet's decision was open-ended. The MACC investigation will continue and the Cabinet reiterates that we will not protect anyone in the LCS issue," he said.
The Public Accounts Committee previously revealed that nine proceedings related to the LCS issue starting on Nov 18, 2020 had found that not a single LCS was completed even though the contract for the project awarded through direct negotiation worth RM6.083 billion stated that five ships should be completed and delivered as of August 2022.


German Covid cases soar as WHO warns over Europe deaths

Daily Covid infections hit an all-time high in Germany Thursday as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that another 500,000 people could die across Europe, with cases once again on the rise.The dire projection came as the UK became the first country to approve an anti-Covid pill and the US announced strict new rules for businesses to strongarm employees into getting vaccines, as countries scramble to avoid another deadly winter wave of the virus.But with rising infections in Europe, WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan cautioned: “I think it’s a warning shot for the world to see what’s happening in Europe despite the availability of vaccination.”The EU’s most populous country Germany set a new record for daily infections, with nearly 34,000 news cases over the past 24 hours, according to the Robert Koch Institute.Croatia also hit a new daily record, with 6,310 people testing positive, following in the footsteps of Russia which has repeatedly shattered its own records in recent weeks.WHO’s Europe chief expressed “grave concern” over the rising pace of coronavirus infections in Europe, warning that according to “one reliable projection” the current trajectory would mean “another half a million Covid-19 deaths” by February.“We are, once again, at the epicentre,” Hans Kluge told a news conference.The WHO blamed a combination of insufficient vaccination rates and a relaxation of preventative measures like mask-wearing and physical distancing.Hospital admission rates are higher in countries where fewer people have been vaccinated, Kluge added.The number of new daily cases has been rising steadily for weeks in Europe, with a total of about 250,000 cases, according to official national data compiled by AFP. Deaths are on the rise too, with some 3,600 registered daily across the continent.Over the past seven days, Russia – a country with strong vaccine hesitancy – has led the rise with more than 8,100 deaths, followed by Ukraine with over 3,800 deaths and Romania with 3,100 deaths, according to AFP data.Globally, the virus has killed more than five million people since it first emerged in China in December 2019.‘Game-changer’There was better news in Britain, which became the first country in the world to approve the use of Merck’s anti-Covid pill molnupiravir to treat patients suffering from mild to moderate coronavirus.Health Minister Sajid Javid called the antiviral drug “a game-changer for the most vulnerable and the immunosuppressed”.“Today is a historic day for our country, as the UK is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral that can be taken at home for Covid-19,” he said.The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said Thursday it would try to speed up its review on whether to authorise the drug for the EU.The drug has raised hopes of being able to offer easy, at-home treatment for vulnerable Covid carriers, including those with diabetes or who are overweight.Governments are eager to avoid the overcrowded hospital wards and soaring death rates seen in the first phases of the pandemic, with hopes pinned on vaccines to avoid a repeat of the worst.In the US, the world’s worst affected country with over 750,000 deaths to date, tens of millions of workers face a Jan 4 deadline to get vaccinated.Under new rules announced by President Joe Biden’s administration, employees of larger companies as well as healthcare workers and federal contractors must either be fully vaccinated by then or submit to weekly testing.The move marks the most aggressive step Washington has taken yet against the virus and its highly contagious Delta variant, which has hobbled the country’s economic recovery.“The bottom line is vaccination requirements work,” a senior White House official said.Austria, meanwhile, tightened restrictions, amid record 2021 infections, to only allow those vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 to enter restaurants, go to hairdressers and attend bigger gatherings.WHO expert Maria Van Kerhove told reporters in Geneva there had been a more than “55% increase in cases over the last four weeks in Europe”.


Daily cases top 5,000 for second day

Another 5,291 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,486,630.Another 4,947 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,390,379.Meanwhile 545 are in the ICU, including 534 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 286 are in need of respiratory assistance including 214 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 5,291 cases reported today, 75 (1.4%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 5,216 (98.6%) are in Category One and Two.


Conservatives tipped to lose in Australian nail-biter election

Australians punch drunk after three crisis-ridden years of fire, flood and plague will go to the polls on Saturday, in a tight race narrowly tipped to end a decade of conservative rule.Opinion polls have consistently shown centre-left Labor ahead, suggesting a government led by veteran party lawmaker Anthony Albanese that would be more climate-friendly and less antagonistic toward China.But pugilistic Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who leads a conservative coalition, appears to be rapidly closing the gap as election day approaches.The often-acrimonious campaign has been marked by fears about soaring prices, divisions over Morrison’s leadership and anxiousness about tougher days to come.The last three years have seen Australia’s once-envied way of life upended by back-to-back bushfires, droughts, the Covid-19 pandemic and several “once-in-a-century” floods.Australians – usually some of the world’s most optimistic voters – have grown markedly more dissatisfied with their lives, more pessimistic about their future and more turned off by traditional political parties, according to polling by Ipsos.For many Aussies, their unofficial mantra of gung-ho optimism – “she’ll be right” – suddenly seems a bit wrong.“It has been a very difficult period for the country,” said Mark Kenny, a professor at the Australian National University.“There’s a fair bit of dissatisfaction with this government, and the prime minister’s standing has been called into question quite a lot.”Surveys show the malaise is pronounced among women and younger voters, who face the prospect of being poorer than their parents while inheriting a country at the pointy end of climate change and located in an increasingly tough neighbourhood.Lurching from crisis to crisisJust over 17 million Australians are registered to go to the polls on Saturday, electing 151 representatives to the lower house and just over half the members of the Senate.Voting is compulsory and voters rank the candidates in order of preference, adding extra layers of unpredictability to the outcome.Fifty-four-year-old Morrison is hoping for a repeat of his 2019 “miracle” come-from-behind election victory. But he will have to overcome the collective trauma of the last three years.Within months of his shock victory, the “Black Summer” bushfires would cut through the east of the country, burning an area the size of Finland and choking Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in a miasma of acrid smoke for weeks on end.Morrison’s decision to take a family holiday to Hawaii in the middle of the crisis was widely pilloried, as was his downplaying of the affair by saying “I don’t hold a hose, mate.”No sooner had the fires ended than the Covid-19 pandemic began.Morrison’s popularity initially surged as Australians watched the horrors unfolding in China, Italy and elsewhere from a state of Covid-free normalcy on Bondi and other beaches.The turning point was the lengthy delay in rolling out vaccines, despite Morrison’s promises that Australia was at the “front of the queue”, said Ben Raue of The Tally Room, a popular political blog.The delay prolonged lockdowns in major cities and a two-year-long border closure – splitting families and gaining Australia a reputation for being a “hermit state” isolated from the rest of the world.“That was the point when Morrison went from being a little bit behind, to being quite a long way behind” in the polls, said Raue.“They’ve never really recovered since then. They’ve had some better polls and some worse polls, but they’ve pretty much never been ahead.”Playground tauntsAlbanese, a 59-year-old veteran Labor lawmaker, has tried to make the election a referendum on Morrison’s performance.His own “small target” campaign has given Morrison and Australia’s partisan media few policies to shoot at, but also left voters guessing at what an Albanese-led government might bring.The contest has been rough and tumble, highly personal and at times bordering on juvenile.The Liberal party has splashed adverts claiming “it won’t be easy with Albanese”, and has repeatedly suggested he is dangerous and a “loose unit” on the economy.Labor has hit back, imploring Australians to “fire the liar”.Around a third of voters are expected to look beyond traditional left and right parties as their first preference.They can choose from an array of populists, the far-right and centrist independent candidates angered by the Liberals’ pro-coal stance on climate.“There’s an absolute sense that Liberal voters who sit near the centre, who are perhaps economic conservatives and social progressives, that they’ve been left in the wilderness,” Zoe Daniel, an independent candidate challenging one Melbourne constituency, told AFP.From flip-flops to bootstrapsIn the latter stages of the campaign, the focus has turned to the soaring cost of living in what was already one of the world’s most expensive places to live.Despite presiding over a record deficit, the first recession in a generation and sclerotic wage growth, Morrison’s ability to reinvent his image and reframe the debate has kept his party well within touching distance.One poll commissioned by The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday predicted a Labor win, but put his re-election within the margin of error.There is a perception Morrison’s attacks on Albanese’s “dangerous” economic plan may be starting to stick.“I think there’s a sense of change in this country. The question is, has the opposition done enough to convince people that change is a safe option?” said Kenny.


Umno lost because the Malays switched sides, not because of sabotage, says Noh Omar

Former Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar, who was recently sacked from the party, has defended himself from accusations of sabotage, saying Barisan Nasional's (BN) poor performance at the Nov 19 general election last year was due to a shift in support towards other Malay parties.
He said the shift was obvious in the seven states – Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Perlis and Melaka – where BN failed to win even a single seat.
Speaking in an interview with Sinar Harian, he said this was proof that the claims against him before his sacking last week made no sense.
"Why talk about sabotage when this is now on the record as part of Umno's struggle: that not a single seat was won in seven states," he said.
Noh also asked why he had been blamed for BN's loss in Tanjong Karang given that the same situation had played out in the seat of Sabak Bernam, where the candidate had likewise been an Umno division chief.
"Did Abd Rahman Bakri lose because of sabotage? Where is the logic?" he added.
"In Bagan Datuk, the president won by a majority of just 340 votes. Did sabotage happen in Bagan Datuk as well?"
The general election last year saw BN marking its worst performance ever, winning just 30 seats, of which 26 were won by Umno.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi nevertheless refused to give way to calls for his resignation, unlike his predecessor Najib Razak who stepped down after BN's historic loss at the 2018 polls.
Noh was sacked from the party on Jan 27, alongside former Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin, while others including Sembrong MP Hishammuddin Hussein had their memberships suspended for six years.
Speaking in the interview, he said Umno's loss at the last general election was due to the unexpected surge of support for Perikatan Nasional (PN).
"Who would have guessed?" he added. "Even I did not expect such an extraordinary performance from PN.
"So Umno should look ahead now instead of blaming people, sacking them left, right and centre and accusing them of sabotage and treachery.
"This is why I'm at peace now that I'm no longer in Umno."


Sarawak CM hails new proposed amendments to constitution in line with MA63

Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg today hailed the new proposed amendments to Articles 1(2) and 160(2) of the Federal Constitution to reinstate the rights of Sabah and Sarawak in line with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).Speaking at a press conference in Kuching, he said amending the defintion of the federation under Article 160(2) was crucial to reflecting the true spirit and intention of Sarawak during the formation of Malaysia.“These new proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution, particularly Articles 1(2) and 160(2), are more comprehensive and reflect the true spirit and intention of the parties when they entered into MA63.“These amendments to the definition of ‘the federation’ under Article 160(2) are crucial and must be done so that MA63 and its annexes are recognised in the Federal Constitution,” he said, adding that the amendments would also introduce the definition of “Malaysia Day” in the provision.Noting that these would be the second attempt at amendments, he voiced hope that MPs would lend their support as the bills will require a two-thirds majority to be passed in Parliament.“The first attempt in 2018 failed because as it did not receive the required two-thirds majority support of MPs,” he said.With these new amendments, he said he was optimistic about the commitment of the current government led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to accelerate development and help improve the quality of life for Sarawakians.However, he also said the allocation for Sarawak in the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) was low compared to the amount needed to close the development gap with the peninsula.He said the allocation should reflect the federal government’s commitment to recognising Sarawak in an equal partnership.In an equal partnership, he said, revenue should be shared based on the state’s contributions to the federal coffers including in terms of oil and gas.“The allocation of RM4.47 billion is a mere 6.8% of the total national development expenditure under the first rolling plan of the 12MP, and clearly does not reflect the needs of Sarawak considering its size and level of development, or its status as an equal partner in the formation of Malaysia,” he said.He also voiced hope that the definition of natives under Article 161A of the constitution could be amended to recognise Sarawak’s indigenous communities according to the state constitution.“With this amendment, the power to decide which races in Sarawak shall be recognised as being indigenous to the state would be determined by the state through state laws,” he said.