SEREMBAN, The state government is expediting the implementation of every item allocated under the Negeri Sembilan 2019 Budget, among them the RM50 school bus fare aid or the ‘N9 Schoolchildren Aid’ for poor students, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.

He said although every plan and initiative that had been announced was being carried out, they should be expedited for the benefit of the people.

For example, the school bus fare aid for poor students was implemented on Jan 31, but it is taking us some time to collate the data of the 1,500 students eligible for it. Anyway, we are almost done and will speed it up. We will make sure the aid is backdated when it is disbursed.

Source: BERNAMA (News Agency)

SEMENYIH, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has picked its Youth wing committee member Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul, 25, as the candidate for the by-election for the Semenyih state constituency.

PSM Central Committee (CC) member S. Arutchelvan , who made the announcement here today, said Nik Aziz was a very good choice because he would best represent the voters as 45 per cent of them were below 40 years.

Present during the announcement were PSM president Dr Nasir Hashim, CC member Dr Michael Jeyakumar and Youth wing chief Khalid Ismath.

Source: BERNAMA (News Agency)

PETALING JAYA: Stakeholders and experts have suggested a number of measures for the government’s new Economic Action Council to help combat the rising cost of living.

The 16-member council, chaired by the prime minister, will examine and make decisions on economic and financial matters as well as look into problems faced by the public.

Yeah Kim Leng, a lecturer at Sunway University Business School, suggested reducing the cost of doing business by cutting down on red tape.

The government can also help players in key sectors like telecommunications, education, medical care and housing with initiatives which reduce their costs and increase their productivity, he added.

The ultimate goal of such measures, he said, would be cost savings which would translate into lower prices for the people.

The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) meanwhile urged the government to avoid price controls and blanket subsidies.

IDEAS chief executive Ali Salman proposed that the government instead lower the cost of public transport, communications and housing by encouraging more competition in these sectors.

He also called on the government to simplify the recruitment process for foreign workers, saying the existing mechanism is too costly and complex which contributes to the hiring of illegal immigrants.

This, in turn, would lead to lower wages for legal workers in industries like construction and agriculture, he said.

Bringing in formalised labour will put pressure on employers to increase wages, he said, adding that this would help ease the cost of living.

Consumers’ Association of Penang president SM Mohamed Idris proposed increasing tax for those earning higher incomes and using these funds to boost public services through the construction of more hospitals, among others.

The government should also consider providing more incentives for farming to boost the supply of local produce to help bring down their prices, he told FMT.

He also urged consumers to change their spending habits by cutting down on unnecessary purchases.

Speaking on concerns related to health costs, the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy said the government should support public-private partnership initiatives to make use of under-utilised private healthcare resources.

Some 70% of healthcare in the country is delivered by the public sector but is served by just 45% of all registered doctors. The private sector caters to only about 30% of the population but is made up of around 55% of all registered doctors, said Galen CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib.

Noting the problem of overcrowding at public hospitals, which often see long waiting times and delays in treatment, he said the private sector is presently under-utilised.

Many private hospitals only utilise 20% of their beds most of the time. This is a severe imbalance, he added.

Felda activist Mazlan Aliman said an increase in settlers’ income would help reduce the impact of cost of living and the fall in commodity prices.

Planting crops on unused land, meanwhile, could help prevent total dependence on commodities, he said.

He also suggested that the space between felled palm trees be used to plant other crops such as watermelons and pineapples.

Bumiputera Retailers Organisation vice-president Ameer Ali Mydin however cautioned that more expenditure is needed to combat the rising costs.

Don’t spend money wastefully, but spend some money, he said.

Ameer, who is managing director of the Mydin chain of hypermarkets, also suggested that the government reduce intervention in the market.

He gave the example of sugar, where the retail price is controlled by the government at RM2.85 per kg. If left to market forces, he said, the price could drop.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress secretary-general J Solomon said the government should abolish the National Higher Education Fund Corporation and provide free education for the Bottom 40 (B40) and Middle 40 (M40) groups.

He said the time was right for the government to move from a minimum wage to a living wage, to allow workers to meet their basic economic needs.

Source: Malaysian Trades Union Congress

YANGON, Myanmar, Feb 13 (NNN-MNA) � A Malaysian company is planning to invest in building an acacia mangium furniture factory, in Myanmar’s Bago region, the official Global New Light of Myanmar, reported today (Wednesday).

The unidentified Malaysian company projects will buy 3,000 tonnes of raw material of acacia mangium per year, from the Myanmar Acacia Mangium Production Association, and a feasibility study is being made, to find out if enough raw materials can be supplied from across the country’s plantations, according to the report.

To make finished products with acacia mangium, Myanmar needs to have a supply of 15,000 acres (6,075 hectares) of acacia mangium per year, said U Myo Ko Ko Thein, chairman of the association.

According to him, there are over 30,000 acres of acacia mangium plantations in Myanmar.

Acacia mangium can be used to make flooring, A4-sized paper and other personal goods.

According to official figures, over 1.8 billion U.S. dollars’ investment from 85 foreign enterprises had entered Myanmar’s Bago region, as of Dec, 2018.

Manufacturing sector topped the list with 1.4 billion dollars foreign investments, followed by onshore petroleum enterprise and agriculture sector in the region.

Meanwhile, the region also attracted 946 billion kyats (610.3 million U.S. dollars) domestic investment, so far.

The new Myanmar Investment Law, introduced on Aug 1, 2018, allows foreign investors to take up 35 percent of local companies.

Under the new investment law, investment with capital not exceeding five million U.S. dollars can be permitted by regional and states authorities of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.� NNN-MNA

Source: NAM News Network

YANGON, Myanmar, Feb 13 (NNN-MNA) � A Malaysian company is planning to invest in building an acacia mangium furniture factory, in Myanmar’s Bago region, the official Global New Light of Myanmar, reported today (Wednesday).

The unidentified Malaysian company projects will buy 3,000 tonnes of raw material of acacia mangium per year, from the Myanmar Acacia Mangium Production Association, and a feasibility study is being made, to find out if enough raw materials can be supplied from across the country’s plantations, according to the report.

To make finished products with acacia mangium, Myanmar needs to have a supply of 15,000 acres (6,075 hectares) of acacia mangium per year, said U Myo Ko Ko Thein, chairman of the association.

According to him, there are over 30,000 acres of acacia mangium plantations in Myanmar.

Acacia mangium can be used to make flooring, A4-sized paper and other personal goods.

According to official figures, over 1.8 billion U.S. dollars’ investment from 85 foreign enterprises had entered Myanmar’s Bago region, as of Dec, 2018.

Manufacturing sector topped the list with 1.4 billion dollars foreign investments, followed by onshore petroleum enterprise and agriculture sector in the region.

Meanwhile, the region also attracted 946 billion kyats (610.3 million U.S. dollars) domestic investment, so far.

The new Myanmar Investment Law, introduced on Aug 1, 2018, allows foreign investors to take up 35 percent of local companies.

Under the new investment law, investment with capital not exceeding five million U.S. dollars can be permitted by regional and states authorities of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.� NNN-MNA

Source: NAM News Network