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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia logged another 21,072 Covid-19 infections as of noon today.  Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said of the fresh cases recorded today, 86 (or 0.41 per cent) were in Categories 3, 4 and 5.  In Category 5, there were eight cases (0.04 per cent); Category 4 with 20 cases (0.09 per cent), and Category 3 with 58 (0.28per cent).  Category 1 recorded 5,995 cases (28.45 per cent), while Category 2 recorded 14,991 (71.14 per cent), as both categories registered 99.59 per cent of today's total case load.  The country to date has reported a total of 3,040,235 Covid-19 cases since the pandemic struck in 2020.  Dr Noor Hisham 21,007 cases today were local transmissions while the remaining 65 cases were imported.  He added that currently 187 individuals were receiving treatment at intensive care units (ICU) and 109 cases were on ventilator support.  Dr Noor Hisham said the Health Ministry had also detected the emergence of 10 new Covid-19 clusters over the past 24 hours, making it 421 active Covid-19 clusters nationwide.  Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said 5,724 more individuals had recovered from their Covid-19 infection today.  At the same time, the nationwide infectivity rate stood at 1.49 as of Saturday.  Labuan recorded the highest with 2.14, followed by Sarawak (1.67), Sabah (1.66), Perlis (1.47), Penang (1.46), Johor (1.40), Pahang (1.38), Kelantan and Selangor (1.37), Terengganu and Kedah (1.35), Putrajaya (1.34), Negri Sembilan (1.31), Melaka (1.28), Perak (1.27) and Kuala Lumpur (1.22)."}

article_json/article_10.json

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: The number of Covid-19 deaths continued to climb today with 43 fatalities recorded. This was an increase from the 19 deaths recorded yesterday and 29 deaths recorded on Sunday. The Health Ministry's CovidNow portal said with the latest figures, the country's Covid-19 death toll currently stood at 31,135. Out of the total deaths reported today, eight are brought-in dead (BID) cases, bringing the overall tally to 6,294. Penang reported the highest number of Covid-19 fatalities at 10 followed by Johor (six), Kedah (five), four in Kelantan, Sabah and Terengganu each, Selangor (three), Pahang (two) and one in Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Perlis, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya respectively. No new Covid-19 deaths were recorded in Labuan, Sarawak and Perak. There are currently 52,218 active Covid-19 cases in the country. Of the total, 44,201 people are placed under home quarantine, 3,872 individuals at Low-Risk Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centres (PKRC); and 3,766 patients are hospitalised. A total of 169 patients are currently being treated at intensive care units (ICU) with 210 of them requiring ventilator support. Yesterday, Malaysia reported 3,810 recoveries over a span of 24 hours, compared to the 2,589 infections logged on Sunday. Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the recoveries and new cases bring the respective tallies to 2,638,191 and 2,721,544 respectively. On vaccinations, the CovidNow portal reported that 97.5 per cent of the adult population or 22,817,909 individuals have completed their Covid-19 vaccination as of Monday. A total of 23,123,189 individuals or 98.8 per cent of adults have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Under the adolescent category aged between 12 and 17, 86.9 per cent or 2,736,688 individuals have completed the vaccination while 2,834,774 individuals or 90 per cent have received at least one dose of the vaccine."}

article_json/article_100.json

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+{"text": "TERENGGANU coach Nafuzi Zain hopes this year's AFC Cup will not be cancelled. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will decide later this week whether to cancel or hold the tournament as they have yet to secure venues for Group G, H and I. 'We are now preparing for the challenge. Hopefully, it will not be cancelled as the players are excited to play against the top teams in this region.  'My players are mentally and physically prepared for the challenge. 'We want to use this tournament to expose our youngsters.' Terengganu qualified for the AFC Cup by finishing third in last season's Super League. 'We have registered several up-and-coming players from our reserve team for the tournament.'  Terengganu are second in the Super League with 27 points from 13 matches, with Johor Darul Ta'zim at the top on 30."}

article_json/article_101.json

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+{"text": "SPAOH, Dec 5 \u2014 Bukit Saban incumbent Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah will be defending the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) seat for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the 12th state election. The PBB deputy president also said he was happy to see the party's veteran elected representatives giving way to the green horns in the upcoming polls. He extended his appreciation to these veterans who had decided to voluntarily step down as a means to groom the younger candidates to be the future leaders of Sarawak. 'We are really appreciative of your (veterans') services to the state and nation. The current senior members who are still contesting, I believe they too will step down when they feel their time is due. 'This is part of the growing process for the party. We need to groom new leaders to face an even more challenging world,' he said at a function here yesterday. Uggah said the younger candidates must be given the opportunity to gain experiences such as learning to make vital decisions in dealing with crises along the way. He also said the younger the candidates were, the more exposed to technology they would be. 'The new crop of leaders, they are technology-savvy too.' GPS chairman Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg had announced on Friday that the coalition would be fielding 24 new face in the coming polls. The Satok incumbent, who would be moving to Gedong, said the new faces of GPS comprised young people in their 30s and 40s."}

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+{"text": "SEGAMAT, Jan 4 \u2014 The government has approved an allocation of RM5 million to upgrade the bund\u00a0in Kampung Spang Loi near here to overcome the flood woes in the village and its surrounding areas. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the upgrading of the bund\u00a0was urgently\u00a0needed to prevent the areas from being flooded again in the future. 'Today, I was briefed by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) that if we want to prevent future flooding in Segamat, we have to have higher bund walls. 'There is\u00a0an urgent need. So today, I have approved\u00a0RM5 million for the purpose,' he told reporters after visiting flood evacuees at the temporary relief centre at Kampung Tandong, Buloh Kasap, here today. Last Sunday, the bund which was\u00a0built in 2019\u00a0burst and caused Kampung\u00a0Spang Loi and other surrounding villages to be inundated by overflowing waters from the Muar river. During the visit, Ismail Sabri also presented compassionate aid of RM1,500\u00a0each comprising RM1,000 from the federal government and RM500 from the state government\u00a0to 26 heads of households taking shelter at the relief centres."}

article_json/article_103.json

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+{"text": "PONTIAN: Johor Barisan Nasional chairman, Datuk Hasni Mohammad is entering a four-cornered fight at the Benut state seat in the March 12 state polls. The caretaker Johor Menteri Besar, who is the state Umno liaison committee chairman and the seat's incumbent for the past three terms, will contest against Perikatan Nasional candidate Senator Datuk Isa Abd Hamid, Parti Pejuang Tanah Air candidate Iskandar Noor Ibrahim and PKR candidate Haniff@Ghazali Hosman. Isa is a senator appointed to represent the Orang Asli community in Dewan Negara. All four candidates arrived at the nomination centre at Dewan Serbaguna Benut prior to the start of the nomination process which ran from 9am to 10am today. The Benut state seat returning officer is  Mohd Rafi Abdullah. During the 14th General Election, Hasni had won the seat after he garnered 9,480 votes as compared to PKR candidate Zulkifly Tasrep, who obtained 5,033 votes and Pas candidate Mohd Firdaus Jaafar who obtained 2,590 votes. Hasni won the seat with a 4,447-vote majority. The Election Commission has fixed the Johor election for March 12, with early voting set for March 8. On Jan 22, the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar had consented to and signed the letter for the dissolution of the state assembly, which had paved the way for the state election. The Johor government had a thin majority of 28 seats against 27 seats held by the opposition block in the 56-seat legislature following the death of Kempas assemblyman Datuk Osman Sapian on Dec 21."}

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+{"text": "KUCHING, Dec 3 \u2014 The four-party Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition today announced the names of its 82 candidates for the 82 seats in the coming 12th state election with a few surprises. Nearly 30 per cent of the candidates, or 24 people, are first timers for the state election. Among them is Azizul Annuar, the son of the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem who was the former chief minister, for Tanjung Datu. Other state election newbies include Kuching City South Council Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng in Padungan, Miri City Council Mayor Adam Yii in Pujut, and Progessive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing in Dudong. Tiong is already Bintulu MP but this is his first time running for a state seat. Newcomer Nicholas Kudi will run for Baleh, which was the stronghold of former deputy chief minister Tan Sri James Masing who died on October 31 after contracting Covid-19. GPS chairman Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg will not be defending his urban seat in Satok this time. Instead, he has chosen to run in rural Gedong, replacing incumbent Datuk Naroden Majais who declined to seek re-election. Abang Johari's place in Satok is taken over by businessman and Satok PBB branch deputy chairman Datuk Ibrahim Baki. Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) president Datuk Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian will defend his Batu Kawah seat and secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting will remain in Piasau. PBB deputy president and Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah will defend his Bukit Saban seat. Likewise, another Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Awang Tengah Ali Hasan will defend his Bukit Sari seat. GPS will also be fielding four women candidates, including newcomer Dayang Noorazah Awang Sohor in Lingga. Abang Johari said the main criterion for the candidates were their loyalty. 'It is very important,' he added. 'A number of our new faces are in their 30s and 40s because we believe that we can train and then expose them to Sarawak-style politics which fights for all the communities, religions and cultures,' he said. 'The youth candidates consist of different backgrounds and professions, and they will guarantee continuity for Sarawak.' Abang Johari said GPS is using the theme 'Sarawak First' for this election as he believes that only Sarawakians know the state's political landscape. He said GPS will also be stressing on the digital economy, sustainability and environment in the election. He said GPS will disclose its election manifesto on December 8, two days after nomination day on December 6. Polling day is on December 18."}

article_json/article_105.json

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+{"text": "DENGKIL, Dec 26 \u2014 The company wholly owned by the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS), Worldwide Holdings Bhd as the operator of the Dengkil Inert Waste Landfill recorded a three-fold increase in post-flood waste. Speaking to Bernama recently, its Operations engineer Azimie Zakaria said the amount of waste rose from the usual 500 tonnes daily to 1,500 tonnes. 'We (Dengkil Inert Waste Landfill) receive inert waste such as bulk, garden and construction waste and now household items damaged by floods,' he said. To ensure the smooth process of post-flood waste management, he said the operating hours at the 145-acre landfill, which was opened in 2004, had been extended by five more hours from 8 am to 11 pm. 'We hope to speed up the process to clear the trash piled up on roadsides and in makeshift dumps in residential areas,' he said. Azimie said most of the waste trucks were three-tonne Roro vehicles operated daily by Sepang branch KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd (KDEB) cleaning workers. 'For residential areas, workers will collect all types of damaged items. It is quite difficult to use machines like backhoe because it will block the entry and exit of the residents,' he said. A Roro truck would make five trips daily from a residential area to the landfill, he added. 'Before the floods, 200 to 300 Roro lorries entered the landfill per day, but now the number can reach up to 400 a day. On average, one lorry can only carry flood waste from one house,' he said. Azimie said the operating costs were expected to increase by 40 per cent due to the extended operating hours. Azimie said the waste would be sorted to separate out materials which could be recycled to reduce the amount of rubbish that needed to be disposed of. 'This rubbish will then be compressed using machinery such as a backhoe. After that, it will be covered with red soil to avoid vector insects and odours,' he said. Meanwhile, Sepang branch KDEB chief of Operations Ahmad Fauzan Hushim said the company's routine cleaning task had been temporarily halted to ensure that the damaged items could be brought to the landfill immediately. He said the company made full use of its assets, namely 34 three-tonne Roro lorries and 136 cleaning workers. Therefore, he asked every resident to be patient and gave assurance that the company would speed up the cleaning work"}

article_json/article_106.json

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 \u2014 Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal today took a swipe at the federal government over its failure to revise the country's flood management template regularly. During the Special Meeting of the Fourth Term of the 14th Parliament Session for the Dewan Rakyat today, Shafie stressed that climate change is real and Malaysia needs to step up its game in response. The sitting was called to discuss post-flood efforts, coordination of aid to the public and long-term flood mitigation planning. 'Climate change is real. Flood issues in Malaysia are not new. They have been around for ages, but what we continue to see is the government's failure at managing it. 'The recent flood tragedy showed every politician fighting over who was responsible. To me, the prime minister should step up and take charge of the loss of 27 lives. 'You are the 'CEO' of the country. You have the power to call all ministers for discussions. Don't wait until 50 more lives are claimed. Shafie went on to chide the government over the fact it was the people, NGOs and volunteers who came forward to help without any financial assistance at all. 'We spent billions on all the ministries, but at the end of the day, it was the people who helped each other. Where did we go wrong?\u00a0 'This government has failed. Not only financially, but also when it comes to the loss of its people.\u00a0 'Let's not be in denial. The country is not going down the drain. We are already in it... unemployment, poverty and the death rate,' he said."}

article_json/article_107.json

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: More than 700,000 children between the age of five and 11 in Malaysia have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.  Data obtained from the CovidNow portal showed as of yesterday, a total of 751,928 or 21.2 per cent of children received the Covid-19 vaccine through the Covid-19 National Children's Immunisation Programme (PICKids).  Based on the website's data, 14,453,640 or 61.4 per cent of the adult population in the country have received the booster dose and 22,947,671 or 97.5 per cent have completed the two doses while 23,227,035 or 98.7 per cent received at least one dose to date. Whereas for the adolescent group aged 12 to 17 years old, 2,800,143 or 90 per cent of the group have completed their vaccinations, while 2,892,596 or 93 per cent have received their first dose. Yesterday, the Health Ministry provided 132,371 doses, comprising 44,992 first dose, 948-second dose and 86,431 booster doses, taking the cumulative inoculations to 66,865,787, under the ministry's Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme.  There were 57 deaths reported due to Covid-19 yesterday. Fourteen of it occurred in Johor, eight in Sabah, Perak (six), five cases each in Kedah, Melaka and Selangor, three cases in  Pahang and Terengganu, two cases each in Perlis and Kuala Lumpur while one case in Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Penang and Sarawak."}

article_json/article_108.json

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+{"text": "ALOR GAJAH, Dec 5 \u2014 The government's move to allow the import of frozen whole chicken is expected to be able to help reduce the prices of the item in the market, said Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) secretary-general Datuk Seri Hasnol Zam Zam Ahmad. He said the action was expected to result in excess of supply in the local market, but at the same time other factors also influenced the domestic prices including the prices of the frozen chicken fixed by the producing countries. 'Normally, the prices will drop slightly when there is more supply in the market but we have to see first the effect of the import of the frozen whole chicken on the market offering in this country. 'And if the prices (of frozen whole chicken) from the source countries are far lower from the prices offered in the country, maybe the prices which the traders can offer are also low. 'But we have yet to obtain information on the matter because it is handled by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI),' he said after a visit to the Malaysian Family Sales Programme (PJKM) here today. Hasnol Zam Zam was commenting on the announcement of MAFI on the government's permission to import frozen whole chicken for a three-month period from this month until February 2022. He said KPDNHEP was also reviewing the maximum price of standard chicken for retail sale (RM9.30 a kilogramme) and wholesale (RM8 a kilogramme), in the future if the prices of chicken in the country's market returned to normal. 'That we will review just like the other items too. For example, facemasks, which, despite setting a RM0.70 ceiling price, the prices have dropped lower than that, following many offers including from abroad,' he said. In another development, he said PJKM would be expanded more widely and its organisation would be extended after next February if there is a high need or demand from the people."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 \u2014 Malaysia will develop the National Robotics Roadmap (NRR) in an effort to lift robotics technology into mainstream usage to boost national productivity, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. He said the roadmap could help to reduce dependence on foreign manpower and minimise the outflow of foreign exchange. Under the plan, the government is targeting to increase the intensity of robot usage from 55 units per 10,000 workers in 2019 to 195 units per 10,000 workers by 2030, he said in a statement here today. Ismail Sabri said the proposed roadmap was among the decisions reached at a meeting of the National Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution Council, which was its first for this year. The meeting, attended virtually by the relevant ministers and heads of departments and agencies, also endorsed the Catalytic Projects concept to drive the MyDIGITAL Aspiration. Towards this end, the prime minister said, the meeting agreed to set up the MyDIGITAL Catalytic Projects Task Force to select suitable projects and monitor their implementation via the public-private partnership model. He said the Catalytic Projects would be financed by the private sector and the government would play the role of a facilitator. He said the projects to be implemented under this concept include smart medicine targeting the setting up of hospitals using 5G technology and Smart City. Ismail Sabri said the meeting was also briefed on the progress of the National Digital Network Plan (Jendela), where from September 2020 to December 2021 a total of 1.89 million new premises came under fibre optics coverage and 1,189 new 4G towers were built. During the same period, 95 per cent of populated areas were given 4G coverage, he said."}

article_json/article_11.json

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+{"text": "ALOR STAR: Amran Hassan, (not his real name) from Sik district, has made up his mind not to get the Covid-19 booster shot.   The 56-year-old diabetic feared for his life after reading a viral message about a man from Selangor who died of a heart attack after taking a booster shot last month.  In Sungai Petani, a housewife who only wished to be identified as Nur, is not keen to register her two children aged six and eight for the National Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids).  'I read somewhere on social media that the vaccines may alter the children's genetics. So, I decided that it is better to let other children get their jabs first and we will see from there,' she said.  Their sentiment reflects the people's tendency to believe unverified information circulating on social media, regardless of whether they stay in the rural or urban areas.   Associate Professor Dr Malina Osman, an epidemiologist and biostatistician at Universiti Putra Malaysia, said the public were exposed to contents circulating on social media platforms, including viral videos or unverified information.  'Our people should be wise enough to seek out verified information for their own sake.  'Most of social media users tend to share unverified information, simply believing everything that is said by popular individuals or public figures, being bias towards the Health Ministry after being influenced by fake information, besides failing to analyse statistic at community level,' she told the New Straits Times (NST).   Citing an example, Dr Malina said there was misunderstanding among parents that Moderna mRNA vaccine might alter children's genetics.  'They are assuming that the mRNA vaccine is similar to genes treatment, which is completely unfounded and against scientific facts,' she said.  Dr Malina added that based on her observation, many of those who had completed their primer vaccination jabs decided to let the others to get the booster shot.  She said those who developed adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) such as high fever and other side effects after taking the primer jabs were among those reluctant to get the booster shot.   'Many of them are wary of possible side effects of the booster shot and this is particularly evident among those who received Sinovac as primer vaccines,' she said.  Dr Malina added that the low take up rate of booster shot among senior citizens could also be due to their limited knowledge in managing MySejahtera mobile application, resulting in some of them missing their appointment date.  To counter misinformation being spread on social media, Dr Malina proposed for medical experts and paediatric specialists to be given a prominent space on the media.  'Those who are really fighting the battle against Covid-19 should be given the widest space, together with the Health Minister and Health director-general to explain issues from time to time.  'We should not be giving attention to those who have no experience in handling patients especially on the field and in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit),' she said.  She also said the people should return to the fundamentals of life by having faith on the experts based on their respective fields.   'If a Mufti has the authority in Islamic fatwa or a building engineer has the authority to declare a building is safe, then only the doctors who are attending to Covid-19 patients should be trusted,' she said.  Kedah Health Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mohd Hayati Othman concurred, adding that people should verify facts with medical experts instead of blindly believing unverified information being circulated on social media.  'I refer to the viral message about a man who suddenly had a heart attack and died after taking his booster shot.  'Some people believed it was something that was unquestionably true, although it was later confirmed by the authorities and even the deceased family that the man had a history of heart ailment,' he said when contacted.  Dr Hayati said the people should not risk their life by refusing booster shot or vaccination for their children, by failing to verify whatever information they receive from unknown sources.   He explained that it was crucial for eligible adults to get the booster shot as their immunity level against Covid-19 declined between three and six months after receiving the primer vaccines.   As of Wednesday, nearly 630,000 or 40 per cent of adult population in Kedah have received their booster shot, compared to 1.37 million who had completed their primer vaccination.   Meanwhile, Kedah Health director Dr Othman Warijo told NST that up to Tuesday, 51,152 children aged below 12 years had registered for PICKids in the state.  He said 270,000 children below 12 years old had been infected by Covid-19 between July and December 2021 nationwide.  'There were 63 fatalities involving children and 174 cases of Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) were reported in Malaysia.   'We are also worried over the risk of Long Covid Syndrome among children after contracting Covid-19, should they did not get the vaccines,' he said.  It was estimated there were 215,500 children aged five to 11 in the state.  'On daily basis 2,109 vaccine shots are administered to the children and to date, 11,187 kids have been vaccinated since the program started in the state last week,' he said, urging more parents to register their children for the PICKids programme."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: Members of the press are currently gathered at the National Heart Institute (IJN) to get the latest update on former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's condition.  It is claimed that Dr Mahathir is currently warded at the hospital's Coronary Care Unit (CCU).  The IJN said that it would issue a statement on Dr Mahathir's condition soon.  Earlier this month, the JN said in a statement that the former prime minister was admitted to the hospital for an elective medical procedure.  On Dec 16, 2021, Dr Mahathir was admitted to IJN for a full medical check-up and further observation. He was discharged on Dec 22.  The Langkawi member of parliament had previously undergone two heart bypass operations in 1989 and 2007."}

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+{"text": "KUCHING, Dec 27 \u2014 The Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department has identified 345 flood-prone areas in the state, its director Datuk Khirudin Drahman said. He said the department is prepared to face the disaster and has mobilised around 1,400 auxiliary personnel and 257 auxiliary officers in light of the monsoonal surge. 'Besides flood-prone areas, the department has also identified 77 locations where landslides might occur following continuous heavy rain, mostly in Sri Aman and Sibu,' he told Bernama today. The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) issued a continuous rain forecast last week for east Johor, east Sabah and west Sarawak from today till Thursday due to a monsoonal surge. Khirudin added that the department has frozen leave for personnel and officers as well as prepared logistics equipment for land, air and sea operations that can be mobilised immediately to ensure operations can be conducted smoothly. 'From a logistics standpoint, the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department has 16 lorries, 67 four-wheel drives, 37 rescue boats, one helicopter and 18 Emergency Medical Response Service (EMRS) vehicles and has prepared 38 helicopter landing areas in 22 districts for the implementation of flood evacuations, aid deliveries or emergencies,' he said. Checks by Bernama today in several areas around Kuching city as of 4.30 pm found that it was rather cloudy and rain was expected to fall during the night. Khirudin also advised the public to stay vigilant and to be aware of river water levels and rainfall in their residential areas and to immediately notify the fire department if they require assistanc"}

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+{"text": "KAJANG: As the bright sun came out in full force, residents and business proprietors in Pekan Batu 11, were spotted cleaning the trail of debris left behind by the devastating weekend floods. A check by the New Straits Times found that many were shovelling and cleaning the mud-coated floors of their premises. Many were also trying to salvage their goods which had been submerged in floodwaters, cleaning and putting them out to dry. Mounds of rubbish, discarded items coated with mud and debris were also piled up outside each business premises. The surrounding roads in Pekan Batu 11 were not spared from the floods, as receding waters not only left layers of mud and debris but also damaged roads. Heavy rain and floods since last Friday wreaked havoc in several states in peninsular Malaysia, causing thousands to be stranded on roads, and trapping others in their homes. In Selangor, a total of 2,044 displaced people are at 162 temporary shelters in nine districts statewide as of 10am."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Section 3 (a) and (b) of the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2019 regarding the lowering of the\u00a0voting age\u00a0to 18 years and automatic voter registration were gazetted on Dec 1. Election Commission (EC) secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak said the amendments would come into force on\u00a0Dec 15 after obtaining the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah. He said amendments to the\u00a0subsidiary laws related to the elections namely Elections (Registration of Voters) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 and the Elections (Conduct of Elections) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 were gazetted on Nov 30.\u00a0 'The amendments will come into force on Dec 15 after receiving the royal assent from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong based on Section 17 of the Elections Act 1958,' he said in a statement today. As such, the EC will table the two amendments to the regulations in the Second Meeting of the Fourth Term of the\u00a014th Parliament soon. Section 3 of the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2019 states the amendment to set the minimum voting age to 18 from the current 21,\u00a0and allow\u00a0for automatic voter registration to replace the current system which requires Malaysians to apply to register as voters.\u00a0 The proposed amendments were approved at the second meeting of the second term\u00a0of the 14th Parliament in July 2019, but were not implemented then. On Sept 7, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law), Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar\u00a0ordered the EC\u00a0to implement Undi18 by Dec 31, to comply with the decision of the Kuching High Court On Sept 6, the Kuching High Court in Sarawak ordered the EC and the government to implement Undi18 by Dec 31."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: 'Don't insult the intelligence of Malaysians.' That was the advice issued by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to those who likened the 5G network mega-project by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) with 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The former prime minister said he was surprised when certain quarters tried to defend the 1MDB scandal by associating it with DNB. 'Please, don't insult the intelligence of Malaysians. '1MDB is one of the largest fraud schemes in the history of the world with billions of ringgit being transferred to dubious accounts offshore and disappeared. 'Unfortunately, a total of RM2.6 billion went into the 'Malaysian Official 1' account. 'DNB on the other hand has a clear governance structure and is managed by professionals. 'The funds are used for the construction of infrastructure projects by reputable companies and the prime minister is not a powerful adviser in DNB,' he said in his speech at the Bersatu's fourth general assembly, here. Muhyiddin said in stimulating future economic growth, especially in the field of digital economy, the government should accelerate the country's digitalisation plan, including the implementation of a comprehensive 5G network in the country. 'Our rollout of 5G has been a bit late, as telcos have different priorities as they are interested in providing 5G services in densely populated areas. '(And) because of that, the government has decided to set up DNB, which is wholly owned by the government to accelerate the roll-out of 5G nationwide to offer the services at low prices to the people including in rural areas. 'As such, there should be no party who deliberately wants to delay the rolling out of 5G by politicising the DNB issue.' Muhyiddin said he hoped that the government would continue to roll out 5G on a single wholesale network model as planned. 'The government should not be bothered by the actions of certain parties who are trying to thwart the implementation of the strategic project, which aims to support the growth of the country's digital economy and will provide cheaper 5G services to the people.' He added that the implementation of the project would also benefit Bumiputera companies, where 60 per cent of the network infrastructure expenditure would be given to them.  'At the same time, in line with good governance, the aspects of transparency and accountability in the management of DNB also need to be given attention by board members, who were appointed to represent the interests of the government.'"}

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+{"text": "KUCHING: The failure of DAP to perform during the 22-month Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal rule was the main factor that saw a poor outing for the party in the 12th Sarawak election, which concluded last night. DAP only won two out of the 26 seats it contested. It also lost five seats to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS). Professor James Chin from the University of Tasmania's Asia Institute said the Sarawak election results showed that the people were very angry at DAP as the party didn't do much for the state when it was in power. He said when PH won the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018, the people had high expectations and were expecting Sarawak DAP Chairman Chong Chieng Jen, who is also the state PH chairman, to be appointed as a full minister. This was also a promise made by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng during the campaign period. 'But, Chong ended up as a deputy minister with very little power and failed to deliver for Sarawak, especially when it came to the interest of the Chinese community (who had supported DAP),' he told the New Straits Times. 'The people were fed up and wanted to punish DAP, which resulted in their poor performance,' he said. He also opined that people had begun to dislike Chong's personality, who was seen as a very oppressive character. He said there was also a group of Chinese voters who were disappointed that DAP was so hard-headed that they couldn't come up with a deal with PSB \u2013 and split the oppositions' votes \u2013 which they blamed the DAP for. 'Another factor that went against the Pakatan Harapan in Sarawak was the rise of local-based parties like Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK). 'There was a strong sense of Sarawak nationalism, which also plays an important role. DAP and PKR couldn't get rid of the fact that they are (Peninsula) Malaya-based parties. 'DAP needs to do a lot of soul-searching to regain the support of the Chinese voters in the next election,' he said. Chin said there is also a need to look at the DAP leadership structure in Sarawak. Chong won Padungan and defeated his heavyweight opponent GPS candidate Datuk Wee Hong Seng, who is also the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor. Violet Yong retained her Pending seat, with a slim majority of 540 votes when she polled 5,188 votes in a five-cornered fight. The DAP lost five seats that they previously won, namely, Kota Sentosa, Bukit Assek, Pelawan, Tanjung Batu and Pujut while their coalition partners; PKR and Amanah didn't win any seats. In 2016, DAP only retained seven seats out of the 12 it previously won in 2011. It subsequently lost another two seats after its Pujut assemblyman was disqualified and its Padungan assemblyman Wong King Wei quit the party last year to become an independent. Chong shifted from his Kota Sentosa seat to Padungan as he needed to 'answer the constituents' after Wong, who won the seat under a DAP ticket, decided to quit the party. Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya's Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said PH's failure to deliver to Sarawak was the reason DAP was almost totally wiped out in the state polls. He said many were expecting new changes when DAP was in power (at the federal level) but they were left disappointed after the party failed to fulfil their promises made in GE14. 'Apart from that, the people, including their Chinese supporters were angry and could not accept the former Finance Minister Lim's (Guan Eng) remark, saying Sarawak will go bankrupt in three years,' he said. 'So, Dap needs to be realistic and careful in playing on issues in Sarawak, and not to be seen as trying to bring the political culture from the peninsula here. They need to re-brand their politics to fit the mold with the local political culture,' he added. Awang Azman said DAP needed to conduct a detailed post-mortem before making any major political move or decision. He added that they also needed to review various aspects of the party, including leadership grooming."}

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+{"text": "PONTIAN: Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad has hinted that he will defend the Benut State Assembly seat in the Johor State Election.  The Johor Umno Liaison Committee Chairman said he wanted to retain the N53 seat.  'If I can and given the opportunity, I want to contest in Benut again,' he said at a press conference after presenting the Chinese New Year contribution at the Benut state assembly here today.  Benut is one of the two-state assembly seats which comes under the Pontian Parliament, apart from the Pulai Sebatang state seat.  Hasni has been the incumbent of the Benut state seat for three terms since the 12th General Election (GE12) in 2008.  In GE14, Hasni defeated Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) candidates Zulkifly Tasrep and Mohd Firdaus Jaafar (PAS) with a majority of 4,447 votes.  Asked of reports that the younger brother of the Selangor Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, was among the candidates mentioned that are likely to contest in the Benut state seat in the state election, Hasni just smiled.  'The more people, the more lively,' he said.  It was reported earlier today that Aziz Shari, 33, who is also the Pontian PKR Angkatan Muda Keadilan chief, will likely contest the Benut seat."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 \u2014 Despite having expanded to the peninsula, Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) will not be working with the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition for the coming Johor state election, its president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said today. The Semporna MP said that Warisan \u2014 which started in Sabah \u2014 is focused on strengthening its base providing Malaysians an alternative to the current political parties, news portal The Vibes\u00a0reported. Shafie also said he had worked with parties on both sides of the political divide to improve Malaysia's fortunes, but found it didn't work. 'I have already worked with all of them. But when I did, while in Umno, the country's situation turned bad. 'I had also worked with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and DAP's Lim Guan Eng and Lim Kit Siang. 'But now what is important is to strengthen my own house and, at the same time, provide Malaysians with a new political choice,' he was quoted saying. Shafie added that he would announce Warisan's decision on whether the party would contest at the Johor state election when he visits the southern peninsular state next month. 'I have instructed our machinery in Johor to assess the situation before a decision is made on the matter. There are already too many state elections. We already had Melaka and Johor, and we would not know which state will hold theirs next and at the same time the general election is also to be held soon. 'At the same time, Warisan members also feel that we should not stand and watch from the sidelines when these states hold their polls because if the federal election is called, Warisan needs assemblyman's help,' he was quoted saying. On January 24, PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the coalition plans to bring together all Opposition political parties to contest all 56 seats at the upcoming Johor state election. Anwar's plan to rope in all opposition parties \u2014 including Warisan, Muda and Pejuang \u2014 is to ensure that Barisan Nasional and Umno would be defeated at the state polls, which he said would hopefully lead to wins for the coalition at the next general election."}

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+{"text": "SIBU, Feb 22 \u2014 Sibu MP Oscar Ling, who tested positive for Covid-19, ended his last day of home quarantine yesterday. 'Yes, today is my last day of quarantine, (and I) actually can be released today. I have been under home quarantine since Feb 13. 'I contracted Covid-19 from my kids. They started having symptoms and later detected to be positive. My wife and I were later also infected,' he said yesterday. Ling said in view of the current spread of the Omicron variant, he advised the public to get their Covid-19 booster dose if they had not already done so. 'I can see that my kid with complete vaccination has less symptoms and severity than my youngest daughter, who has only started her first vaccine two days before being infected,' he said. Sibu yesterday recorded 75 new Covid-19 cases, according to the State Disaster Management Committee in its daily update on the pandemic."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 \u2014 Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Azam Baki could still be in breach of the government's code of conduct for public officers if he neglected to declare the ownership of shares now at the centre of public attention, lawyers explained. Regulator Securities Commission (SC) had on January 19 said it decided that a law \u2014 which only allows share trading accounts to be used by the person benefiting from it or which disallows proxy trading \u2014 had not been violated, as independent evidence from an inquiry showed that Azam had control of and operated his trading account by giving instructions to buy, sell and trade shares from the account. The SC had launched the investigation after Azam previously publicly declared in a press conference that his share trading account was used by his brother to buy shares \u2015 a move widely perceived as proxy trading by the public. After the SC's probe found there to be no proxy trading despite Azam saying he let his brother use his account, Malay Mail asked lawyers whether this put the MACC chief at risk of violating the government code. No rule breach if share purchase declared Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent, who is both a former Securities Commission (SC) prosecutor and a former deputy public prosecutor, stressed that whether Azam broke any rules was 'all fact-centric' or revolving around what actually happened when the company shares were purchased in 2015. 'The question is, did he declare and did he obtain the necessary permission,' the lawyer, who is now in private practice, said. Geethan referred to the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 \u2015 a set of regulations which was carried on the Public Services Department's website, and said the question is whether Azam declared the company shares bought from the time of purchase. 'As the purchase is a large amount disproportionate to his earning, [Regulation] 10(3) and (4) would be applicable,' he said, referring to Regulation 10 which would require Azam to disclose the purchase. Regulation 10(3) of the 1993 regulations states that when a public officer or his wife or child proposes to acquire a property that is inconsistent with Regulation 4, the officer must first obtain written permission from the disciplinary authority before making the purchase. Among other things, Regulation 4 provides that a public officer shall not be dishonest or untrustworthy; subordinate or make his public duty of lower importance than his private interests; conduct himself in a manner likely to bring his private interests into conflict with his public duty; or conduct himself in any manner likely to cause a reasonable suspicion that either he has used his public position for personal advantage or that he had allowed his private interests to come into conflict with his public duty to the extent that it impairs his usefulness as a public officer. 'To determine if Tan Sri Azam had complied with the Rules, one needs to go through his asset declaration and since [Regulation] 4 is applicable, this purchase and this asset should have been recorded in his Service Book which is also known as the 'Buku Perkhidmatan Kerajaan'. 'All in all, if he had duly declared this purchase and had satisfied the Pihak Berkuasa Tatatertib (Disciplinary Authority) and his Department Head, he would not have flouted any Rule in the Regulations,' Geethan said. Geethan confirmed that the disciplinary authority for civil servants \u2014 including MACC officers \u2014 would usually be the Public Services Commission, while explaining that the government service book records everything that may have occurred in relation to a civil servant such as 'your salary, bonus, increment, leave entitlement, if you received an award, a warning, your asset declaration, your transfer'. Under Regulation 10(4), a disciplinary authority when deciding whether to grant permission for the asset purchase is required to consider several factors, such as the property value in relation to the officer's salary and any legitimate private means; whether the acquisition or holding will or is likely to be in conflict of interest of the public service or be inconsistent with the officer's position as a public servant or be inconsistent with the code of conduct in Regulation 4; and any other factors necessary to uphold the public service's integrity and efficiency. That RM100,000 limit on shares buy Referring to items 23 and 24 of the government's 2002 circular also found on the Public Service's Department's website \u2014 'PP Bil.03/2002 Pemilikan Dan Perisytiharan Harta Oleh Pegawai Awam' \u2014 on asset ownership and declaration by public officers, Geethan said: 'Any civil servant is allowed to buy shares subjected to a few conditions. The purchases should not exceed five per cent of the paid-up capital AND/OR not more than RM100,000.00 (the lower amount should apply).' In a situation where Azam had allegedly purchased shares valued above RM100,000, Geethan said the question, then, would be whether he had obtained the relevant permission in writing to make the share purchase. 'Is he able to provide the written permission to the investigating authority? If he has the written permission, then he has not flouted this particular provision,' he said. What are examples of conflict of interest scenarios? Asked for examples on how buying company shares could be seen as conflict of interest for public servants, Geethan outlined situations such as when it is related to work done or positions held at the government agency that a civil servant is in. 'Tan Sri Azam is currently the head of the MACC and was previously one of the directors of the MACC. Being the number one agency combating corruption in the country, they investigate hundreds of thousands of individuals and companies. 'In the circumstances, when an officer at his level makes a significant share purchase, the question is, was he conflicted in any way when he made the purchase?' he said. 'The circumstances in which he would be conflicted are endless but amongst others are: (1) If it was a company that was being investigated by MACC; (2) Tan Sri Azam had insider information obtained as a result of the investigation by MACC; (3) He has been given insider information as a result of the position he held in MACC,' Geethan explained in giving hypothetical scenarios as examples. Lingering questions Lawyer Nizam Bashir noted that there is still Section 25(4) of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 'to contend with and which in simple terms, criminalizes proxy trading'. 'There have been numerous cases in the past where the SC has taken a dim view of those engaged in proxy trading and prosecuted for the commission of an offence in that regard. So it's hard to reconcile the SC's present stance when the SC made their statement on 19.01.2022,' he said when contacted. Asked about the 2002 government circular, Nizam noted that item 23 in the circular 'only permits a civil servant to buy shares if the value of the purchase does not exceed RM100,000.00' and further noted that 'one can see how this immediately applies to the present case to prevent Tan Sri Azam Baki from purchasing the shares he is/was alleged to have owned as those shares were above RM100,000.00'. On January 8, Minister in Prime MInister's Department Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Jaafar said the one million shares allegedly owned by Azam were only valued at RM330,000 when they were first purchased in 2016. As for the 1993 regulations that there were possible risks of breaching, Nizam said: 'Tan Sri Azam Baki could have risked breaching rule 10 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 which requires public officers to declare all assets: a. owned by them, their spouses, their children; or b. held by third parties on their behalf, their spouse's behalf or their children's behalf.' He said the context to this was allegations that Azam had as MACC's investigation director between 2015 and 2016 purportedly became the owner of shares in a company and warrants in another company. However, Nizam confirmed that civil servants like Azam could avoid being in breach of the 1993 regulations and comply with the rules, by declaring such assets. 'Simple, if the civil servant, his/her spouse and/or his/her child has assets caught by rule 10, the civil servant should declare the assets to the Service Commision/Disciplinary Authority via his/her Head of Department,' he said. What happens if a civil servant is being investigated? Nizam cited the 1993 regulations such as Regulations 43, 44 and 45 which spells out the consequences to a civil servant who has breached the 1993 regulations or is being investigated for such possible breaches, including being interdicted (put on garden leave). 'So it can be things like: a. having the offence recorded in the Government Service Book (regulation 43); b. interdicting an officer from the exercise of his duties generally (regulation 44); and c. interdicting the officer from the exercise of his duties for a period not exceeding 1 month. (regulation 45),' he said. Asked if a civil servant would be suspended from work for breaching or while under investigation for possible breach of the 1993 regulations, Geethan confirmed that possible options would include a suspension by the relevant department or a voluntary leave by the officer involved \u2015- and that both situations would see the officer still receiving pay while suspended from work duties. 'Tan Sri Azam would only be considered to be suspended from work, if the offence Tan Sri Azam is being investigated for is an offence which directly relates to his duty as a civil servant, his presence in duty will hinder the investigation, and his presence will cause or stir unwanted backlashes to the department. 'In the present circumstances, that's not the issue. Therefore, it is not mandatory for him to be suspended,' he said. 'However, that aside, Tan Sri Azam is the head of MACC. In the circumstances, it would be best for Tan Sri Azam to be on leave pending investigation and decision by the Attorney General,' he said. Based on his own experiences, Geethan confirmed that the SC's role is like that of investigating agencies (such as the police or MACC) which would refer the outcome of their investigations to the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) to decide whether an offence was committed and whether to prosecute. 'The recent views by the SC are merely their recommendations. The SC's decision is not final as they are bound by the decision that will eventually be made by the Public Prosecutor/Attorney General. 'The final decision lies with the attorney general who will then decide if an offence has indeed occurred. Yes, the SC has officers who have been gazetted as DPPs but all cases investigated by the SC are referred to the AGC's for a decision and this should be no exception,' he said, later adding: 'So we actually want to know what has the AGC decided.' A protest against the MACC chief, dubbed the #TangkapAzamBaki rally, has been scheduled for today and organisers have said it will proceed despite the police's move to close six major roads in the city and several train stations in the city centre."}

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+{"text": "KLANG, Dec 17 \u2014 An unemployed man was charged at the Magistrates' Court here today with the murder of a senior citizen in Port Klang last week. Muhammad Shahrul Shamsudin, 33, remained silent after the charge was read out before Magistrate P Sarulatha and no plea was recorded from the accused. Muhammad Shahrul is accused of killing Mohd Sani Abdullah, 69, in front of a house in Kampung Idaman, Port Klang at 12.38pm on December 10. The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death sentence. Earlier, lawyer K. Nathiya requested the court to refer Muhammad Shahrul to the hospital as the accused's family claimed that the man had a psychiatric problem but had never sought treatment at the hospital. P Sarulatha then fixed January 17 for mention and ordered the accused to be referred to a psychiatric hospital. On December 10, police arrested two men, both aged 33, in less than four hours after they were suspected of killing a contractor in Kampung Idaman."}

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+{"text": "NILAI, Feb 12 \u2014 The monthly minimum wage of RM1,500 a month was not a rash decision but was determined after discussion with various parties, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said. He said the setting of the minimum wage also involved discussions with the National Wage Consultative Council (MPGN) and requires the approval of the prime minister as well as the Cabinet. 'Currently, we can see that the private sector wage rate is lower than that of government departments so they are being raised accordingly. 'The economic slowdown should not be used as an excuse (not to increase minimum wage) because we need to increase cash flow to revive the economy and take care of the people's wellbeing,' he told reporters after officiating the Federation of Accredited JPK Centres Malaysia (FeMAC) convocation ceremony here today. Saravanan said in the past three years, the minimum wage rate had not been implemented and his ministry had not made a sudden decision, instead it was based on the aspirations of the people. 'In the current situation, we need to increase cash flow at lower levels so that the economy recovers. As a minister, I agree with this view and it is time for our country to implement the RM1,500 minimum wage...this decision will be determined by the Cabinet,' he added."}

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+{"text": "GEDONG, Dec 12 \u2014 The government is currently in the final phase of negotiations with four multinational companies (MNCs) to develop cloud-based services facilities and data centres in the country, Minister of Communications and Multimedia Tan Sri Annuar Musa said. He said the Ministry of Finance has informed that one negotiation had been completed and three were nearing completion to enable the international companies to make larger investments. 'One of these companies informed me that their investment is worth more than RM1 billion for cloud computing and cloud services,' he told reporters after officiating Malaysian Family Digital Economy Centre (PEDi) and launching high-speed broadband service unifi here today. Gedong is located about 90 minutes using land transport from Kuching City. Meanwhile, Annuar said there are at least three local and international companies planning to develop broadband services in Sarawak. 'They have met with the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia to disclose their plans to make another intercontinental cable, a submarine cable that will pass through northern Sarawak via the coast in the South China Sea,' he said. He said the plan has been notified to the Ministry of Transport and would be presented to the Cabinet for approval. 'If this project is realised, Sarawak will be an important landing point for the country,' he added."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: A total 3,583 flood victims from five districts have been placed in 46 temporary evacuation centres (PPS) following continuous rain which began about 10pm on Friday. Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said as of 5pm today the flood victims were from Klang, Petaling, Sepang, Kuala Langat and Kuala Selangor. He said all the victims will undergo Covid-19 screening periodically to ensure there is no coronavirus outbreak in any of the PPS. He said a special PPS will be provided for victims tested positive for Covid-19. 'The state Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) said the rain distribution has reached 380mm, and the tide in affected areas has reached up to 4.5 metres. 'This amount is double the highest rainfall recorded previously, which is about 180mm, where the water level would reach about 60mm,' he said after chairing the Selangor Disaster Management Unit meeting today. Amirudin said state government assets and agencies such as the Fire and Rescue Department, police and armed forces will be deployed to evacuate victims and to distribute basic necessities. He said Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) has been instructed to provide a mobile water tank for all operating PPS for temporary use. 'All these efforts will be coordinated by the Smart Selangor Operations Centre (SSOC) based in Shah Alam. 'A team from Team Volunteers Selangor and Selangor Volunteer (Serve) have been mobilised to assist in moving residents to PPS, distribute assistance and for the cleaning process after the waters begin to recede. 'A total 134 sluice gates have been closed due to the high tide incident. It is unsafe for them to remain open as the water might spill over and further flood nearby residential areas,' he said. He said a total 93 pumps are fully operational to accelerate the water flow into the river drainage system to control ongoing floods in five districts. He said the Malaysian Meteorological Department forecasted heavy rains to continue in Sabak Bernam, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Gombak, Petaling, Kuala Langat, Hulu Langat and other states including Perak, Kelantan, Pahang, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. The Menteri Besar advised affected residents to be prepared for any evacuation possibilities. 'This is for you and your family's safety at such critical times. 'Please avoid leaving the house if there are no urgent need and stay away from flooded places. 'The state government will do everything we can to ensure emergency aid reaches the victims as soon as possible,' he said. The public can keep a tab on the floods through the Menteri Besar's social media pages. They can also call the Selangor Disaster Management Unit at 03-50350920, or the numbers listed below :  1. Klang City Council - 03-3374 8845  2. Shah Alam City Council - 03-5522 2787  3. Kuala Langat City Council - 03-31822566    4. Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital - 03-3323 9478  5. Klang Health District office 03-3323 9554  6. PDRM Klang Selatan - 03-3372 2222  7. PDRM Klang Utara - 03-3291 3344  8. Welfare Department - 03-3341 3703  9. Works Department - 03-3371 4040  10. Selangor Drainage and Irrigation Department - 03-3371 2464  11. Civil Defence Force - 03-3371 0820"}

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+{"text": "SHAH ALAM, Jan 13 \u2014 The total amount of losses suffered by aquaculture entrepreneurs in the flood-affected states is estimated at RM28 million while for myKomuniti Perikanan, fisheries operators (myAP) and inland fishermen, the losses are estimated at RM800,000, according to a preliminary report from the Department of Fisheries (DOF). DOF in a statement today also mentioned that it has received a report on the value of the amount of assistance required through the Agrofood Reviving Programme (disaster fund) and it will be forwarded to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI). 'The assistance channelled is subject to the set rate and limit, which is assistance up to 50 per cent of the operating cost (seeds, equipment and feed) according to the operator's livestock system. 'The limit of assistance to be given also does not exceed 50 per cent of the value of losses reported and confirmed by the District/State Fisheries Office,' according to the DOF statement. The department said the assistance to be given would be in the form of agricultural inputs or equipment/machinery, business equipment assistance or other forms of assistance that would help revive the target group's projects as well as farm mechanisation and automation. For the fisheries sector, the target group is small-scale aquaculture farmers who carry out freshwater and brackish water farming activities as well as hatcheries in areas up to two hectares or using cages not exceeding 15 units, he said. DOF said the affected operators can submit an application to the District/State Fisheries Office by submitting the relevant complete documents."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 \u2014 Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor claimed that Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun had acted beyond his jurisdiction when he appointed Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram as senior deputy public prosecutor to lead the investigations into the\u00a01Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal and the prosecution of those involved. The wife of the former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made the claim in her supporting affidavit which was filed with a notice of motion to disqualify\u00a0Sri Ram as the senior deputy public prosecutor to lead the prosecution team in her\u00a0money laundering and tax evasion trial. The notice\u00a0was filed yesterday and the copies were distributed to the media by her lawyer\u00a0Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent today. In the supporting affidavit, Rosmah said after examining the former Federal Court judge's letter of appointment\u00a0as the senior deputy public prosecutor, dated May 21, 2021, under Section\u00a0376 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, she found that the appointment did not refer to her case. She said if the court was of the view that Idrus had acted in an orderly manner in line with his statutory powers, then Sri Ram was still not a 'fit dan proper' individual to prosecute the case. 'I would like to stress that my lawyers will make detailed submissions on this matter during the hearing and it is obvious that Sri Ram should be removed as the lead prosecutor in the case,' she said. In the notice of motion, Rosmah also claimed that Sri Ram's appointment was illegal and void. The notice will be heard before High Court judge\u00a0Zaini Mazlan on Feb 3. Rosmah, 70, is facing 12 charges\u00a0of money laundering involving\u00a0RM7,097,750, and five charges of failing to declare her income to the Inland Revenue Board. The offences were allegedly committed at Affin Bank in Jalan Ampang, here, between Dec 4, 2013, and June 8, 2017, and the Inland Revenue Board in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim here between May 1, 2014, and May 1, 2018."}

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+{"text": "JOHOR BARU, Jan 1 \u2014 Almost 18,000 disaster relief tents have been distributed to flood-prone areas in the state, says the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar. He said preparations for floods were made every year and updated accordingly by the State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) chaired by Johor State Secretary Datuk Azmi Rohani. 'Whether the floods occur or not, we are ready to face them every year. Not only tents, other early preparations have also been made so that action can be taken immediately if an area is hit by floods. 'Earlier, at 2am, the Tunku Mahkota of Johor (Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim) was already in Segamat to review the situation. Assistance is not only required during the floods, but also for people to continue with their lives after the disaster. 'Houses need to be cleaned, damaged equipment needs to be replaced, and so on,' said Sultan Ibrahim in a post uploaded on his official Facebook page here today. This evening, Sultan Ibrahim visited the SK Kampung Tenang flood relief centre in Labis, Segamat, which houses 272 flood victims from 93 families. While there, he ordered additional mattresses and pillows for the comfort of the victims. Accompanying him on the visit were the Tunku Temenggong of Johor, Tunku Idris Iskandar Al-Haj Sultan Ibrahim; Tunku Panglima of Johor, Tunku Abdul Rahman Al-Haj Sultan Ibrahim; and Tunku Putera of Johor, Tunku Abu Bakar Al-Haj Sultan Ibrahim. 'My foundation will try its best to help the flood victims in Johor, but I only have two hands. I can't do it alone. I hope more parties will also come forward to help out. 'I also call on the people of Johor to perform 'solat sunat hajat' (special prayer) and pray for relief from the disaster, as well as for protection,' he said."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: Severe infections comprised less than one per cent of new Covid-19 cases clocked on Sunday, with half of them involving fully vaccinated individuals without booster jabs.  Malaysia, on Sunday, reported 24,466 new cases. Category Two cases led the infection table with 15,657 cases, followed by Category One (8,704 cases), Category Three (51 cases), Category Four (34 cases) and Category Five (20 cases).  The country, up to Sunday, had 300,692 active Covid-19 cases.  Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said, the 105 critical cases logged yesterday comprised fully vaccinated individuals without boosters (56 cases), unvaccinated individuals or those without full vaccination status (25 cases) and individuals who have received booster jabs (24 cases).  Dr Noor Hisham said 53 critical cases clocked yesterday involved individuals aged above 60 and 36 cases had comorbidities.  As of yesterday, 353 cases were receiving treatment at Intensive Care Units (ICU), including 193 cases coping on ventilator support.  Another 40 individuals succumbed to the virus on Sunday, including 17 brought-in-dead (BID) cases. The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed 32,674 lives since it gripped the country in March 2020.  Dr Noor Hisham said, 22,380 individuals also recovered from their infections on Sunday, pushing the country's recovery tally to 3,085,940."}

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+{"text": "KLUANG: A non-governmental organisation recently donated 40 hampers to students at SMK Canossian Convent here.  Perkhidmatan Komuniti Sempurna (PKS) youth director Peter Soo said this was its final corporate social responsibility project for 2021, which was carried forward into the new year.    'This was supposed to be a Christmas project but it was delayed due to the postponement of the reopening of school from Jan 2 to Jan 9.   PKS has been actively involved in humanitarian efforts in the past two years of the pandemic.   'We are concerned about the welfare of the community and giving food items is a practical way of helping the students' families.   'We also had projects for the school last year during Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Deepavali,' said Soo, who is also a committee member of the school's parent-teacher association."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun today rejected the opposition's motion to discuss issues related to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki's share ownership in the house. This, Azhar said, after he did not receive any notice from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, for the matter to be included in today's agenda, which was to discuss the recent floods. He, however, acknowledged accepting the notices submitted by two MPs; Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub (PH-Pulai) and Nga Kor Ming (PH-Teluk Intan). 'I have replied that this special session was called by the prime minister, at his absolute discretion. 'As such, I have no authority to oppose or accept the motion. The agenda for today's special sitting was set by the prime minister. '(And) as of today, I did not receive any notice for the matter to be included, therefore I assumed that it was deemed not to be included in today's agenda,' he said. Earlier, Salahuddin asked for Azhar's permission for the motion to be included in today's special sitting.  He was joined by several opposition MPs, namely Nga Kor Ming (PH-Teluk Intan) and Gobind Singh Deo (PH-Puchong). The special sitting today is to discuss the recent flood disaster. Based on the order of the day, other than Ismail Sabri, to give briefings on the flood recent floods are Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Special Functions) Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad, Finance Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: New appointments will be given to members of the public who have missed their Covid-19 vaccine appointments due to the floods.  ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn Bhd, in a statement today, said the public could also register themselves to be on a waitlist or backup list at the vaccination centres (PPV) nearby once the flood situation eases.  'ProtectHealth is saddened by those who are badly affected by the current flood situation and there are PPVs under ProtectHealth which are also affected by this situation.  'We would like to inform that affected PPVs will be unable to operate due to the situation.  'For all vaccinees who are affected by the floods and have missed their vaccine appointments, a new appointment date will be given, or you can register as a waitlist/backup list at a nearby PPV once the situation permits.   'Our prayers are with those who were affected by the floods. The safety and wellbeing of all vaccinees, our private medical practitioners and all our stakeholders are our utmost priority,' the statement read.  ProtectHealth Corporation is a non-profit company under the Health Ministry established to coordinate, administer and manage initiatives related to the financing of health services as entrusted by the government."}

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+{"text": "MUKAH: A Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate who is defending her Dalat state seat has incorporated something different in her campaign trail for the coming state polls.  Though Dalat is among the 64 constituencies allowed to organise physical ceramahs, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah and her campaigning team have deployed 10 people on jet skis to help her win support among the 12,503 registered voters there.  Flying flags with the GPS logo, these jet ski riders were spotted along Sungai Batang Oya since a majority of voters in Dalat are residing near the river.  'This is the method we are using in the campaign for the state election since the SOPs implemented during the period are quite strict.  'Those on the jet skis began their journey from the jetty in Oya until the upstream of Batang Oya river,' she said.  Fatimah is a going against Salleh Mahali of Parti Bumi Kenyalang in a straight fight to defend her Dalat state seat during the 12th Sarawak election, which has been fixed for early voting and polling on Dec 14 and Dec 18 respectively.     In the previous state election, Fatimah retained the seat after she secured a 6,330 majority against Sim Eng Hua of PKR.  As Sarawak is still under Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan and the country is still battling the on-going Covid-19 pandemic, the SOPs for the state election are similar to those enforced during the Melaka polls and are strict to prevent the spread of the virus.  The Election Commission (EC), however, recently relaxed the restrictions and allowed physical ceramahs to be held in 64 constituencies, mostly in rural parts of the state with poor 4G coverage subject to conditions and strict compliance with the SOPs."}

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+{"text": "IPOH, Jan 1 \u2014 A restaurant in Jalan Sultan Yusof here that was recently raided by the police for violating the standard operating procedure (SOP) on Christmas eve, was once again compounded in a special New Year's Eve operation last night. Perak police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said in the 11pm raid on the restaurant that was turned into a pub, police found 311 patrons at the premises although it could only accommodate not more than 100 people. 'They were sitting closely and failed to observe physical distancing. As such, we have issued a RM1,000 compound on each patron and the restaurant owner,' he told reporters at the scene last night. He said compounds totalling RM300,000 were issued on 177 men and 99 women, including 35 underage individuals who were at the premises. The premises had previously been raided by the police for operating beyond the time set by the National Security Council, he added. Commenting on the special operation from 6pm yesterday until 6am today, Mior Faridalathrash said police conducted some 48 raids and mounted 74 roadblocks, involving 901 officers and personnel. 'Checks were made on 3,637 individual and of the total, 23 people aged between 17 and 46 were detained for drug and criminal offences. 'In addition, police also inspected 2,938 vehicles and issued 274 summonses for various traffic offences,' he said.\u00a0 Meanwhile, in George Town, the police detained 253 individuals throughout the state for various offences, including 23 people in a private New Year party at an entertainment outlet in Pulau Tikus. Penang Criminal Investigation Department chief SAC Rahimi Ra'ais said the individuals, including four women, were busy partying when they were arrested. 'The operation from 9pm till 4am today involved all police departments and five district police headquarters and was planned comprehensively to produce more systematic results. 'Overall, 8,164 individuals and 4,929 vehicles were checked in the operation, and 253 people were detained for various offences, including narcotics drunk driving, and SOP violations,' he said during a press conference here today."}

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+{"text": "KOTA KINABALU: The overall poverty statistics in Sabah shows there are 86,766 people comprising the hardcore poor, poor and economically marginalised in the state as of Dec 1.   State Rural Development minister Datuk Jahid Jahim said from this figure, there were 41,490 hardcore poor,  24,864 poor, while the total number of dropouts was 20,412 people.     He added the information was based on a new methodology to determine the poverty line income (PGK) to better reflect the consumption pattern, current needs and demographics of households.     He said the PGK calculation methodology was last updated in 2005 and the PGK in 2016 was RM980 per month for one household.     The study was conducted by the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister's Department in collaboration with the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Health Ministry and several related ministries and agencies from March 2019 to June 2020.     'As a result of the review, the methodology of setting the PGK has been improved in three aspects, namely the concept of setting food PGK, which has been improved from 'minimum' to 'optimum minimum' by taking into account the quality improvement of food basket items based on the 2020 Food Pyramid and 2020 Malaysian Diet Guide food group (PDM) in line with daily physical activities and healthy living.     'Secondly, for no-food PGK, the needs of the lowest 20 per cent income group (B20) identified increased from 106 to 146 items.      'This means, 40 items that were previously not considered basic requirements to the B20 group, have now been included in the list.     'Thirdly, the change in household spending patterns, current prices of goods and services in 2019 compared to 2005,' he said at the State Legislative Assembly here today.    He was answering a question from Datuk Ewon Benedick (Upko- Kadamaian) on the latest methodology to determine PGK and the latest poverty statistics in Sabah.      Meanwhile, during the debate session, Ben Chong (Warisan-Tanjong Kapor) urged the government to focus on downstream industries to elevate the standard of living among rural folks including at the eight poorest districts - Pitas, Kudat, Kota Belud, Beluran, Tongod, Nabawan, Telupid and Kota Marudu.   As a Kudat native, Chong said he felt ashamed that it was difficult for the district to come out from the dilemma of being labelled the poorest district in Malaysia since 10 years ago.      'Those of us in Kudat feel very sad because we only received the allocation to upgrade the Kudat Town Board Office Building while there are many infrastructure in the villages that need attention from the government.'      Chong also suggested for the state government to bring in investment for the construction of the Kudat port to boost the local economy."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 \u2014 Intel Corp will invest more than US$7 billion (RM29.6 billion) to build a new chip-packaging and testing factory in Malaysia, Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger said on Thursday, expanding production in the country following a global shortage of semiconductors. The new advanced packaging facility in Malaysia is expected to begin production in 2024, he said. The RM30 billion investment is expected to create over 4,000 Intel jobs and more than 5,000 construction jobs in the country, the Malaysian government said. Last month, the United States and Malaysia said they plan to sign an agreement by early next year towards improving transparency, resilience and security in the semiconductor and manufacturing sector supply chains. A global shortage of semiconductor chips, caused partly by a pandemic-fuelled demand for electronics and disruptions in supply chains has seen car makers cut production and delays in smartphone deliveries at companies including Apple Inc. Malaysia's chip assembly industry, accounting for more than a tenth of a global trade worth over US$20 billion, has warned that shortages will last at least two years. 'This undertaking is indeed timely given the bullish global demand driven by the chip shortages and the potential challenges arising from the recovery of the pandemic globally,' Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said in a statement. Intel opened its first production facility outside the United States at a five-acre assembly site in Penang in 1972. By 1975, it employed about 1,000 people and had become a crucial part of the company's manufacturing chain, its website said."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 \u2014 Malaysia is certainly open for business although its borders largely remain closed for now, said National Recovery Council (MPN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. During a lunch meeting with more than 30 international industry leaders in Dubai, he highlighted some challenges and opportunities the country is facing at this stage of the pandemic. 'It is clear that the opportunities to rebuild our economies and societies to something better than the pre-pandemic era are abundant,' he said. 'While our borders may largely remain closed for now, let me make this clear \u2014 Malaysia is certainly open for business.' Muhyiddin said Malaysia's value proposition for investors is solid, the investment ecosystem is robust, the ease of doing business is improving and the country's pandemic recovery is underway. 'Additionally, our physical and digital infrastructures are being constantly upgraded, our talent pool is wide and deep, the strength of our institutions is rock-solid, our economic fundamentals are stellar and acknowledged globally,' he continued. 'As MPN chairman, tasked with spearheading the recovery efforts post-pandemic, the council will be putting together a road map for recovery called the National Recovery Plan 2.0, which continues on from the earlier National Recovery Plan exit strategy in four phases which had been concluded in December 2021.' The National Recovery Plan 2.0 will seek to chart the path of recovery which is inclusive and systematic that will propel Malaysia to greater heights, bouncing back stronger than before the pandemic, he said. Therefore, he hopes that more businesses will invest in Malaysia, and for Malaysian companies to venture not just into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. 'Let us forge a shared destiny for a more meaningful future ahead of us, not just during the pandemic but eventually in the endemic and beyond,' he added."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia (PR1MA) will allocate an additional RM3 million to aid families affected by the flood disaster.   In a statement, PR1MA chairman Datuk Dr Fathul Bari Mat Jahya said the recent addition brings the total allocation of the flood relief mission by PR1MA corporation to RM5 million.  AdvertisementSkip 'The addition for the  #PR1MAKita 2021 flood relief mission is to alleviate the burden of those who are affected by this extraordinary flood disaster. This is in line with the initiatives announced by the government.   'We understand the victims have lost their homes, experienced damaged properties, and had their houses filled with mud post-flood, so PR1Ma will provide extra assistance through waterjets to clean the affected areas; personal hygiene kits; pillows; mattresses; blankets and food baskets.     'The aid will be donated and distributed to the flood victims of the respective states affected by this natural disaster,' he said.   Fathul Bari added that PR1MA had also mobilised more than 100 of its employees to Hulu Langat and Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam, to help in the cleaning up of the homes damaged by the flood.   In the same statement, PR1MA chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nazri Md Shariff said the corporation would continue to work with the Housing and Local Government Ministry to ensure smooth coordination for the distribution of donations to flood victims in the affected areas.   'Not forgetting our buyers who are also affected by the flood, PR1MA will be in touch with you and hope to extend help to you as much as possible,' he said.    For any further inquiries, PR1MA buyers can contact 03-76289898 or email [email protected] from Monday to Sunday, 9am to 6pm except during public holidays in Selangor."}

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+{"text": "PHNOM PENH, Feb 24 \u2014 \u00a0Malaysia has always regarded Myanmar as a neighbouring country and a valued member of Asean, and would like to see the country bounce back and return to a normal situation in accordance with the Asean Five-Point Consensus (5PC), said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Ismail Sabri said Malaysia also wished to see Myanmar progress for the good of its people so that the country would be in a state of peace, harmony and prosperity. 'The Asean 5PC is very important. This is our common direction in dealing with the situation in Myanmar. All parties should work together to implement the Asean 5PC effectively and comprehensively. 'Nevertheless, the main responsibility in this matter lies with the government in Myanmar. They are also part of this Consensus,' he told a joint press conference with his Cambodian counterpart Samdech Techno Hun Sen after their four-eyed meeting at the Peace Palace here today. 'I also underlined the importance of seeing positive developments in the Rohingya issue. I share with Prime Minister Hun Sen the challenges faced by the receiving states of refugees, including Malaysia, due to the influx of Rohingya and other refugees from Myanmar,' said the prime minister. According to Ismail Sabri, Malaysia will continue to support Cambodia's efforts as Asean Chair, as well as the Special Envoy of the Asean Chair on Myanmar, in dealing with the situation in Myanmar effectively. He said Hun Sen understood the challenges and constraints faced by Malaysia in temporarily housing the refugees. 'In this case, the repatriation of these refugees to Myanmar in a safe and dignified manner must be implemented,' he said. On his discussion with Hun Sen about the South China Sea issues, Ismail Sabri said Malaysia is of the opinion that the South China Sea should remain a peaceful and stable area, as well as safe for trade activities. 'Any issue that arises must be dealt with rationally, peacefully and constructively, in accordance with the principles of universally recognised international law, including the Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) 1982,' he said. Apart from that, Ismail Sabri said he and his Cambodian counterpart also agreed that the exchange of visits at the top and all other levels should be enhanced to further strengthen the existing close ties, mutual understanding and appreciation between the two countries. 'The exchange of visits will open up more opportunities in the growth of multi-dimensional cooperation such as in human resource development, infrastructure, trade and investment, tourism, education and others,' he said. The prime minister said Malaysia is also keen to continue working with Cambodia in supporting the youth development efforts in both countries, especially in entrepreneurship. In fact, he said there was already a memorandum of understanding inked between MRANTI (Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation) (formerly known as MaGIC) and Impact Hub Phnom Penh for that purpose. On Cambodia as Asean Chair for 2022, Ismail Sabri said Malaysia will continue giving full support and cooperation to Cambodia. 'I am confident that Cambodia will perform excellently as Asean Chair this year. We (Asean) expect to face various challenges in 2022, including problems due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other complex regional issues. Asean unity and centrality are of paramount importance. 'It is also important to maintain Asean credibility. Malaysia will continue collaborating with Cambodia in maintaining peace, stability and harmony in this region,' he added."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: The hospital bed utilisation rate in seven states are above 70 per cent as of yesterday.  Data from the Health Ministry's CovidNow portal showed that bed utilisation rate is highest in Melaka at 86.4 per cent followed by Terengganu at 81.5 per cent.  Bed occupancy in Kelantan hospitals is at 76.4 per cent, Kedah (75.9 per cent), Selangor (73.8 per cent), Perak (72.4 per cent), and Johor (70.8 per cent).  Covid-19 bed utilisation rate at hospitals in other states are between 37.9 per cent and 69.4 per cent.  Selangor has the highest daily admission rate of 262 cases followed by Johor at 201.  Total hospital admissions for Covid-19 cases in the country is at 68.3 per cent or 1,146 admissions yesterday.  In terms of intensive care unit (ICU) utilisation rate for Covid-19 cases, Terengganu is the highest at 93.2 per cent (28 cases).  The utilisation rate at hospitals in other states are between 25 per cent and 76.3 per cent.  Nationwide ICU utilisation rate is at 63.5 per cent with 499 active cases as of yesterday.  Overall, there are 62,486 active cases as of yesterday.  A total of 50,925 individuals are observing home quarantine, taking up 81.5 per cent of the total active cases in the country.  9.7 per cent (6,038) are being treated at Covid-19 quarantine and treatment centres (PKRC), 8.0 per cent (5,024) are hospitalised and the remaining 0.8 per cent are at intensive care units (ICU) with 230 unventilated and 269 ventilated."}

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+{"text": "KOTA KINABALU, Jan 7 \u2014 A Sabah DAP lawmaker has panned the government's decision to lift the ban on timber exports, which has been in place since 2018. Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin said the move could trigger a recurrence of illegal logging activities, with little enforcement to prevent it from happening. 'I find that the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-led Sabah government and the Sabah Forestry Department have taken contradictory stands on this issue. 'While Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan seems to have taken the forest conservation route \u2014 in order to deal in carbon trading \u2014 chief conservator of Sabah Forests Datuk Frederick Kugan instead confirmed that the log export ban would be lifted, with effect from January 3, and log exports would be allowed from natural forests,' he said during a press conference here. The ban on timber exports was imposed in May 2018 by then chief minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal with the intention of processing logs locally and creating a furniture industry. 'Furthermore, the ban put a temporary stop to illegal logging activities as there was nobody for these illegal loggers to sell their logs to,' said Chan. In April last year, current Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor said the ban was still in place. But last week, Kugan said that a Limited Log Export programme, which began on January 3, would allow 'eligible parties' to export logs from Sabah. This would be implemented on a case-by-case basis, subject to the applicants' eligibility, he added. Kugan confirmed that he had issued a circular, which also contained a list of criteria as to which parties are allowed to export logs from Sabah, including Sustainable Forest Management Licence Agreement licence holders. Chan said the Forestry Department has been reluctant to conduct any investigation or bring any criminal action against illegal loggers or those who breach their terms of agreement and ignored whistle-blowers despite being presented with clear proof. Earlier, during his press conference, he and a member of the public, Cheung Chau Seng, alleged that the department had failed to act against a company, which had been logging outside of its terms, despite supporting evidence. Cheung alleged that the company had continued logging activities despite its logging licence expiring on June 1, 2015. He claimed invoices dated August 30, 2015 and September 21, 2015 indicated logging activities had continued after this date. The company had also allegedly intruded into a Class II Forest Reserve/Virgin Jungle Reserve (VJR) and had conducted logging activities in Tomani, Tenom beyond the area allocated to the company under Section 5A of the Forest Enactment 1968. It purportedly managed to export these logs obtained illegally to Taiwan and had further avoided paying royalties as required under Section 24C and Section 30A of the Forest Enactment 1968. 'Cheung had lodged a complaint against the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) with the Sabah Integrity Unit as the SFD had fail to forfeit the RM1,000,000 bank guarantee which the company had paid in return for their logging licence despite clear evidence of illegal logging beyond the logging licence granted. The Sabah Integrity Unit decided to dismiss the complaint due to a technicality,' Chan said. 'In the end, he was informed that the status of his reports had ended up as NFA or No Further Action.' 'I wish to urge the Sabah government and the Sabah Forestry Department to not sweep illegal logging under the carpet, but to seriously look into all the evidence provided, charge the offenders in court, and collect the relevant royalties through forfeiture of properties of the company.'"}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR: The national infectivity rate, or Rt, has again returned to 1.00 on Thursday.  Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Kuala Lumpur recorded the highest Rt at 1.08, followed by Sabah that has an infectivity rate of 1.07 and Putrajaya (1.05). Another two states with a Rt higher than 1.00 were Melaka (1.02) and Negri Sembilan (1.01). The Rt in Selangor was at 1.00 yesterday(Thursday), 0.99 in Johor, 0.96 in Penang, 0.97 in Pahang, 0.94 in Kedah, 0.93 in Perak, 0.91 in Kelantan and Sarawak, 0.79 in Terengganu, 18 cases in Labuan and eight cases in Perlis. The nationwide Rt had slightly dropped to 0.99 on Wednesday after it hit 1.00 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the percentage of the adult population who received the Covid-19 booster vaccine steadily climbed to 37.6 per cent on Thursday.  To date, 8,806,581 people, or 27 per cent of the total population in the country, have received the booster jab since the programme rolled out in October last year.  Yesterday, a total of 260,356 boosters were administered nationwide, the highest daily booster dose vaccination even given.  Currently, 78.6 per cent of the total population are holding the fully vaccinated status \u2013 comprising of 22,897,021 adults and 2,772,142 adolescents.  Meanwhile, 12 people died of Covid-19 in Malaysia, taking the death toll to 31,750. The deaths comprised three that were reported in Sabah, two each in Johor and Pahang as well as each one in Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur.  The statitics of deaths per one million population reduced to six based on the data in the past 14 days with an average of 199 deaths recorded.  As of noon on Thursday, 3,684 new infections and 3,292 recoveries were registered.  This has pushed the total number of active cases to 40,276.  The Health Ministry has  identified eight new clusters on Thursday, comprising three education clusters, two each from workplaces and the community, and one import cluster.  The three education clusters comprised two in Johor, namely Jalan Sarjana Pagoh and Jalan Gangsa Pasir Gudang and one in Negri Sembilan, which was named Air Hitam Jempol.  The two workplace clusters were Lebuh Sungai Tiram Satu 2 in Penang and Lingkaran Syed Putra Dua in Kuala Lumpur. The two community clusters were Jalan Persiaran Sri Saujana Dua and Lakum Temerloh that were identified in Johor and Pahang, respectively.  The sole import cluster was Pasdec Perdana Saudi that was detected in Raub, Pahang.   These clusters have so far reported 91 cases.  As of Thursday, 65.8 per cent of the hospital beds are being used, with Melaka having the highest utilisation rate at 84.9 per cent, followed by Johor at 80.6 per cent and Kelantan (79.6 per cent).  The nationwide  intensive care unit beds utilisation rate is at 55.4 per cent, ventilators (33.2 per cent), while 30.4 per cent of the Covid-19 quarantine and treatment centres beds are occupied."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 \u2014 Malaysia's daily Covid-19 cases dropped slightly in the last 24 hours to 26,832 but the number of deaths remained high at 37, amid a new wave of infections fuelled by the more contagious Omicron variant. The Health Ministry (MoH) also said that of the deaths reported yesterday, 10 were brought in dead. As of today, a total 32,347 people have died of the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic. New daily cases were lower than the previous day's record high of 28,825. A total of 3,200,672 people have been infected since the novel coronavirus first hit Malaysia. The national average seven-day trend in positivity rate shot up by 44 per cent from the previous period, according to the CovidNow website. Most states recorded a marked increase. Labuan, although a federal territory and not a state, saw a 311 per cent rise in the average positivity rate in the last week. At state level, Sarawak led with a 75 per cent increase followed by Terengganu at 69 per cent and Kedah at 65 per cent. Klang Valley's positive rate in the last seven days rose by 41 per cent. Hospitalisation rate Hospitalisation rate has been stable despite the surge in cases, which public health authorities said underscores the effectiveness of vaccination. Only 133 or 0.5 per cent of the new cases from the last 24 hours were classified as severe while the remaining 26,699 cases (99.5 per cent) were asymptomatic to moderately symptomatic. Still, intensive care unit usage has reached over half the maximum capacity in Kuala Lumpur (65 per cent) and two other states \u2014 Johor at 65 per cent and Melaka at 50 per cent \u2014 the MoH said in a statement issued this morning. Regular hospital bed utilisation is also on the rise in several states, some over its maximum capacity. Beds used for non-severe cases in Selangor is now at 104 per cent, Perlis at 101 per cent, Kelantan at 96 per cent, Perak at 91 per cent, Putrajaya and Johor at 82 per cent, Sabah at 79 per cent, Kuala Lumpur at 77 per cent and Penang at 50 per cent. But the national bed utilisation rate as of midnight was 67 per cent while Covid-19 related use was at 65 per cent, according to the CovidNow website. Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement that public hospitals remain capable of taking in both Covid-19 admissions and for non-coronavirus related treatment. 'In general, the MoH found all of its facilities at public hospitals can still treat both Covid-19 and non Covid-19 patients,' it said."}

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+{"text": "KUCHING: The Election Commission (EC) has issued a total 17,885 postal ballot papers to those eligible to vote by post for the 12th Sarawak State Election. Its secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak in a statement said the total covered 16,728 Form 1A category which include EC personnel and officers as well as the police, armed forces and members of the media. There were 365 Form 1B for Malaysians living abroad and 679 Form 1C (nine agencies in the security and health sectors) as well as 113 out-of-country absentee voters. 'The issuance of postal ballot papers was carried out from Dec 8 to 10 by election personnel at all 82 state constituencies. 'The process was conducted in the presence of candidate representatives from all contesting parties or individuals,' he said. He added the postal vote papers were issued according to the provisions under Regulation 3 of the Elections (Postal Voting) Regulations 2003 for the state election. Ikmalrudin said all postal voters are reminded to mark on the ballot papers, complete and correctly fill in the Identity Declaration (Form 2) and return them to the constituency returning officer before 5 pm on polling day on Dec 18. 'The voters are also reminded to always maintain the secrecy of their votes by not taking pictures of postal ballot papers and sharing them on social media sites.' The state election will be held on Nov 18, with early voting on Dec 14. A total 349 candidates will be contesting in the 82 seats up for grabs in the state election, with 1,252,014 registered voters set to cast their votes."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 \u2014 DAP today announced its final two candidates who will contest under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) ticket in the coming Johor state polls. They are Liew Chin Tong for the Perling state seat and Marina Ibrahim for the Skudai state seat. The announcement was made by party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng. 'Marina has been active with DAP, and it is time for her to show her capabilities to champion the rights of youth and women. 'As for Chin Tong, he will be able to bring changes not only for the people in Perling, but also the country,' said Lim in his address at the candidate unveiling event held in Johor Baru. This will be Marina's first time contesting in an election. Previously, she was the party's state legislative coordinator. 'I appeal to the people to give me this opportunity to prove what I am capable of doing. 'Although I have been serving as a state legislative coordinator, this is not enough to prove to those out there what more I can do,' she said. No stranger to elections, Liew, who is Johor DAP chief, also appealed to Johor natives and Malaysians to give Pakatan Harapan (PH) one more try at creating a government that would prioritise them. 'Ordinary Malaysians have no cable; ordinary Malaysians who have no linkages to anyone; ordinary Malaysians who have no connection, want an equal footing to begin their lives. 'And we want to deliver a clean government so that everyone can start as equal as possible, so that everyone has an opportunity to thrive in Malaysia,' said Liew. 'This election is for us to tell all Malaysians who have lost hope, let's try one more time. 'Let us try one more time, let us try to create a government for ordinary Malaysians, for ordinary Johoreans, that there is a government that works for them, that cares for them. 'This is what we hope to achieve,' said Liew. He also pointed out that contesting in the state election reminded him there was still need for electoral reforms, noting that Perling has more voters than all three parliamentary seats of Bukit Bendera (Penang), Kluang (Johor) and Ayer Hitam (Johor) he previously contested. Liew and Marina will join 12 other candidates: Jementah \u2014 Ng Kor Sim, Bekok \u2014 Kanan Mariappan, Tangkak \u2014 Ee Chin Li, Bentayan \u2014 Ng Yak Howe, Yong Peng \u2014 Tee Boon Tsong, Penggaran \u2014 Gan Peck Cheng, Mengkibol \u2014 Chew Chong Sin, Paloh \u2014 Sheikh Umar, Johor Jaya \u2014 Liow Cai Tung, Stulang \u2014 Andrew Chen Kah Eng, Senai \u2014 Wong Bor Yang and Pekan Nenas \u2014 Yeo Tung Siong."}

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+{"text": "KUCHING, Jan 28 \u2015 The Sarawak government is extending the monthly electricity bill discount of between five and 25 per cent for domestic, commercial and industrial consumers until June this year under the eighth package of the Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS 8.0). Chief Minister Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said a total of RM285.47 million was allocated for BKSS 8.0 with electricity bill discount being one of seven measures to assist the Sarawak people during the current Phase Four of the National Recovery Plan (PPN). 'The discount will benefit 647,000 households as well as commercial and industrial consumers in Sarawak. The total cost of this electricity bill discount amounting to RM166.8 million will be funded by the state government,' he said when announcing the latest assistance package here today. A discount of between 10 and 25 per cent will also be given on monthly water bills for the period of January to June this year through a subsidy of RM24 million, while the 50 per cent rental discount for 3,200 tenants at the Sarawak Housing Development Corporation (HDC) schemes will also be extended for the same period. The BKSS 8.0 measures also involve rental payment exemption to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating at business premises owned by the state's statutory bodies and government-linked companies (GLCs) for six months. Abang Johari said the local authorities (PBT) would continue providing a rental discount of 50 per cent to 10,165 small traders renting market spaces and stalls under the PBT. Meanwhile, a total of 87,500 small traders registered with the PBT will receive a special one-off grant of RM1,000 each, to be channelled through the state government's online financial transaction platform, Sarawak Pay. Some 1,725 passenger boat and van operators, taxi drivers as well as school bus and van operators will also be given one-off cash assistance of RM500 to help them continue their operations. 'The assistance reflects the commitment of the Sarawak government in restoring the socio-economic wellbeing of the people like in the previous BKSS packages,' he added."}

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+{"text": "KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 \u2014 The Malaysian-Indonesian Journalists' Association (Iswami) today held a meeting with Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa to discuss media cooperation programmes involving the two countries. The meeting was attended by Iswami Malaysia president Datuk Mokhtar Hussain, deputy president Datuk Zulkefli Hamzah, vice-president Ashwad Ismail and advisor Datuk Zakaria Abdul Wahab. The one-hour long meeting from 4pm discussed Iswami's participation in the 'Hari PERS Nasional' or National Press Day (HPN) in Indonesia, which will take place in Kendari, Sulawesi on February 9. Traditionally, HPN is held every year in different cities in the republic, officiated by the Indonesian president and attended by the Cabinet ministers, ambassadors, corporate figures and more than 5,000 media practitioners. Also discussed at the meeting was the National Journalists Day (Hawana) celebration, which is expected to be held on May 26 to 29 in Melaka. On November 30, last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the government has agreed to recognise May 29 as National Journalists Day. 'The government will continue to support programmes that are suitable to be implemented,' he said. The first and last Hawana celebration was held on April 11, 2018."}