Month: July 2021

The plight of a disabled student who finds it difficult to undergo industrial training due to limited movements has caught the attention of University Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA).

Normelisa Mohd Yadi, 23, a final-year student of the Bachelor of Arabic Studies (Hons), received an electric wheelchair to ease her movement without the help of others to undergo her training.

UniSZA deputy vice-chancellor (Students and Alumni Affairs) said the RM2,800 electric wheelchair was donated by the university’s Wakaf and Infaq office, and Normelisa was the first student to receive it.

“We understand Normelisa’s difficulties due to her limited movements to undergo industrial training at a company in Kota Bharu, Kelantan since July 3.’

“This is a new situation for her because, during her stay at UniSZA, she and other students with disabilities were assisted by fellow students to attend lectures and live on campus,” he told reporters here.

UniSZA was among the OKU friendly universities in the country, providing various facilities to the group, among others, wheelchairs, refrigerators to keep medicines, electric scooters, eye control technology for the visually impaired to use computers, student assistants and a buggy as well.

Meanwhile, Normelisa, who is paralysed on both legs since childhood, said the contribution of the electric wheelchair further boosted her motivation to do her best during her industrial training at the company.

“Thank you very much to UniSZA for always looking after the welfare of OKU students and being sensitive to our needs,” she said, adding about 40 OKU students are studying at the university.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The Perak government will continue to mobilise all of its resources to revive the economy and assist the people, besides also ensuring its vaccination programme is a success.

Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad, who is Perak UMNO liaison chief, said UMNO must show political determination in making decisions, especially in the face of ongoing difficult situations faced by the people.

“Facing increasingly challenging political realities and threats to the practice of parliamentary democracy demand that the COVID-19 pandemic is dealt with accordingly,” he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, Perak UMNO also congratulated Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob dan Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein over their appointments as Deputy Prime Minister and Senior Minister respectively.

“Armed with vast experience, it is hoped that these two UMNO leaders will make the best of their positions to help resolve the COVID-19 crisis and help those who have been impacted to rebuild their lives,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

— Donor blood has a short shelf life hence donating blood regularly can make a difference, said Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II (HRPZ II) director, Datuk Dr Selasawati Ghazali.

“We’ve carried out various initiatives to replenish the blood stock. It’s not at a critical level. We have sufficient supply to last five to seven days.

“However, we have to ensure there is enough available because it is always needed, not just by HRPZ II, but district and private hospitals, too,” she said during a blood drive organised by Kelab Kebajikan Asnaf Kelantan (KKAK) in Tanjung Mas today.

Kelantan state executive councillor, Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi, Kelantan Contingent Police Headquarters (IPK) commercial crime investigation department chief, Supt Ahmad Azizul Mohamed and KKAK chairman, Meor Shamshir Meor Zulkifli Auni, were also present.

Dr Selasawati said donor blood has a shelf life of one and a half months and that 60 – 80 bags are needed on a typical day for transfusions.

“It is mostly needed following childbirth, for accident cases and during emergency surgery.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

— The Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) has made available the Disaster Management Zone (DMZ) at Hospital Angkatan Tentera Tuanku Mizan in Wangsa Maju here for treating COVID-19 patients in categories four and five, whose number has been increasing in the Klang Valley.

Chief of Defence Force Jen Tan Sri Affendi Buang said the DMZ is located in the basement car park of the hospital.

The parking area has been gazetted as a DMZ and was specially designed in the early stages of the construction of the hospital to allow it to handle cases in a chemical and biological disaster.

“It is also supported by existing facilities built in the area, covering the aspects of electricity supply, oxygen supply, vacuum ports and other medical support equipment with the capability to handle patients at an appropriate capacity,” he said in a statement today.

Affendi said the DMZ with a capacity of 50 beds is placed under the control of the commanding officer of the hospital, Brig Jen Datuk D Rosman Ab Rahman, and Lt Kol Dr Mohamad Azlan Arrifin as the operations commander.

He said the DMZ has been made available with the help of the Health Ministry and National Disaster Management Agency.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

— The Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) will be enforced in two more localities – one in Kuala Lumpur and the other in Sabah – from July 11 to 24, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the affected locality in Kuala Lumpur is Sri Rakyat Apartment in Bandar Bukit Jalil while the one in Sabah is Blocks 11 and 12, Lorong 4, Taman Nuri, Sandakan.

“The EMCO is to control the movement of residents and curb the spread of COVID-19 to other communities,” he said in a statement on developments regarding the National Recovery Plan (PPN) and EMCO today.

Ismail Sabri, who is also Defence Minister, said the EMCO at Jalan Kubur in Kuala Lumpur, which was scheduled to end today, has been extended to July 15 as COVID-19 was still spreading among the residents and new cases were recorded in the locality.

He also said the EMCO would be lifted in several places in Sabah as scheduled on July 9 and 10 involving Taman Murni People’s Housing Project (PPR) in Sandakan; Tawau Prison and Taman Ehsan Prison Quarters; Kampung Pukat Tanjung Batu Laut and Kampung Baru Pasir Putih in Tawau, and Lorong 12, 15 and 16, Taman Fajar in Sandakan.

The EMCO at Kampung Segambut Dalam in Kuala Lumpur will also end at 11.59 pm tonight.

Meanwhile, he said 56 premises involving factories, business outlets, construction sites and workers’ hostels were ordered to close yesterday for violation of the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the government.

“Yesterday, 20,311 personnel of the Compliance Operations Task Force conducted 83,031 inspections and ‘snap checks’ against COVID-19 throughout the country.

“They included checks on 2,568 factories, 16,960 business premises, 900 building sites and 379 workers’ hostels,” he added.

He said 531 individuals were also arrested for violating the SOP, with 499 compounded and 32 remanded.

Based on statistics from the Human Resource Ministry, a total of 700,504 foreign workers hired by 36,417 employers had been tested for COVID-19, and 10,399 were found positive, he said.

Ismail Sabri said 1,544 clinics are involved in the COVID-19 screening programme which was made compulsory for foreign workers on Feb 1.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) has succeeded in raising the daily vaccination rate to more than 300,000 doses a day, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said according to the COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV), the overall total of first and second doses dispensed in the whole country to date is 10, 413,270 doses.

“On July 8, the total vaccination recorded throughout the country was 376,909 doses,” he said in a statement on the development of the National Recovery Plan (PPN) and Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) today.

Ismail Sabri who is also Defence Minister said the government is urging individuals who have yet to register for the vaccine to come forward and register through MySejahtera application, or via the website, vaksincovid.gov.my or call hotline 1-800-88-8828.

He said apart from that, manual registration has also been introduced at health clinics and government hospitals.

The government will continue to be committed in ensuring the vaccination programme proceeded smoothly as well as to do it best to expedite administering vaccine to all Malaysians, he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Students of higher learning institutions (IPTs) are allowed to return home in conjunction with the 2020/2021 semester break beginning July 12 (Monday).

The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) in a statement today said the movement control mechanism would be implemented in phases, and for the initial phase, only the movement of students who were not subject to the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) would be allowed.

“The movement of students in EMCO areas will only be allowed after the EMCO period ends,” read the statement.

For students returning to the Federal Territories of Labuan, Sabah and Sarawak, the cost of the COVID-19 RT-PCR test would be fully borne by the government, while quarantine costs would be borne by the respective state governments.

MOHE said the respective institutes would coordinate the buses used to transport the students home, with strict adherence to standard operating procedures (SOP).

Students would also be allowed to use their own vehicles to travel, while parents or guardians are not allowed to cross state borders to fetch the students.

MOHE said the decision to allow IPT students to return home in conjunction with the semester break was made during the National Security Council (MKN) special meeting on July 8.

The semester break will be until October 2021.

For further information, members of the public may contact the MOHE COVID-19 Operations Room hotline which operates 24 hours a day at 03-88706777/6949/6623/6628, or alternatively, visit the websites of the respective IPTs or by contacting the coordinating officer of the institution concerned.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency