Day: September 18, 2021

– A group of fishermen caught a 500 kilogrammes (kg) crocodile using just a net at the Bagan Ajam fisherman’s jetty here today.

Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) district police chief Noorzainy Mohd Noor who confirmed the catch said a group anglers who were fishing at the spot caught a glimpse of the crocodile on the water surface at 6.45 pm today.

“They immediately informed a group of fishermen who also said they briefly saw the crocodile and went to the location using a bot and managed to catch the crocodile using a net.

“After battling for about an hour they finally managed to subdue the crocodile which was then brought to the beach near a row of eateries in Kampung Contoh. The police who were also informed of the matter immediately went to the location and found that the crocodile trapped in the netting,” he said when contacted by Bernama tonight.

He said the crocodile measuring almost four metres and weighing about 500 kg was transferred to SPU Civil Defence Force office while waiting for the Wildlife Department for further action.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

A document regarding the interpretation of the Malaysian Family philosophy will be issued by the Prime Minister’s Department and Information Department soon, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said.

In making his first appearance on the ‘Bersama Annuar’ programme on Twitter Spaces carried out by Bernama tonight, he said the documentation was aimed at providing a greater understanding about the Malaysian Family philosophy for Malaysians.

“In general, the Malaysian Family is an approach taken by the Prime Minister to evoke the feelings of togetherness, patriotic spirit and concern among us.

“Not only (between) the government and citizens but also (between) ordinary citizens so that we can inculcate a more harmonious and better culture for our country,” he said.

He added that the Communications and Multimedia Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Department have drafted clear guidelines about the Malaysian Family philosophy last week.

While discussing the topic ‘Malaysian Family… Finding Commonalities?’, Annuar said the philosophy’s values were not that far from the five principles contained in Rukun Negara, including upholding the supremacy of the Constitution as well as courtesy and morality.

He said the philosophy was the government’s approach to form a strong united nation and Malaysians also had the shared responsibility to ensure the harmony of its multicultural society.

“Malaysians need to adopt (the philosophy of Malaysian Family) at every level and this will lead to (the formation) of national values.

“…this requires the commitment of everyone to accept (this philosophy) in a positive manner and translate it into their daily lives,” he added.

Asked about his aspirations in empowering persons with disabilities (PwD), Annuar said he is committed to focusing and prioritising the group within the context of the Malaysian Family that champions the principle of not leaving anyone behind.

Throughout the one-hour programme which began at 9 pm, Annuar interacted with Twitter followers @bernamadotcom numbering more than 950,000 followers now.

The 12-episode programme hosted by Bernama TV’s Wan Syahrina and Bernama Radio’s Hanie Hamid will be aired on Twitter Spaces weekly till December.

Next week’s topic will be ‘Survival of Artists’.

Spaces is a new feature introduced by Twitter for account users to hold audio discussions and conversations live with their followers on the platform.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

— The Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) has ordered that Robina EcoPark in Telok Air Tawar be closed for five days beginning tomorrow, after visitors at the recreational park failed to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamud said the move to close the park until Wednesday was following police advice and to curb the spread of COVID-19 infection.

“We decided to prohibit the public from visiting the park because many did not adhere to the SOPs and the crowd capacity last weekend was between 700 to 1,000 people,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) district police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor said police monitoring the park yesterday found that the number of visitors was between 1,000 and 2,000 at any one time, and they were found to have violated the National Recovery Plan (PPN) Phase Two SOPs, as face masks were not worn and there was no physical distancing.

“Some of the visitors were partially vaccinated and were not adhering to the SOPs, so I informed the mayor, district office and district health officer of the matter and urged that the park be shut down temporarily.

“The move is also to avoid any negative perception among local residents and to prevent the issue from going viral on social media. Besides, the park is located in the red zone area,” he said.

In another development, Noorzainy said police detained three men and confiscated 634 packages of ketum juice, 15 kg of ketum leaves and paraphernalia to process ketum juice worth RM10,000, in a raid on a house in Kampung Manggis, here yesterday.

He said, in the 8 pm raid, the three men aged between 28 and 47 years were believed to be waiting for buyers to collect the items.

The trio, with past drug and criminal records and tested positive for drugs, have been remanded for three days to facilitate investigations under Section 30(3) of the Poisons Act 1952.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Langkawi-bound tourists who tested positive for COVID-19 prior to their departure to the resort Island are allowed to reschedule their flight tickets and accommodation reservations to another date.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said airline companies and registered accommodation operators have agreed to give their commitment on the matter.

“We have discussed the matter with airline companies and hotels so that if tourists tested positive (for COVID-19), their flight tickets and accommodation packages can be rescheduled to another date. As such, tourists will not suffer any losses,” she said when contacted via Skype in Buletin Bernama tonight.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, via a Twitter post, said four individuals tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing screenings prior to their departure to Langkawi Island today.

He said one case each was detected at the airport entryways in Penang and Subang while two others were at the Kuala Perlis ferry terminal.

Yesterday, five Langkawi-bound travellers tested positive after undergoing screenings at air and sea entryways to Langkawi Island.

Meanwhile, Nancy said the ministry would monitor tourism activities in Langkawi for two weeks before deciding to open more tourist destinations.

“We have visited other resort islands such as Tioman Island, Pangkor Island and Labuan which have achieved 80 to 100 per cent vaccination rates.

“We will seek MKN’s (National Security Council) approval to reopen these destinations after we evaluate the situation in Langkawi,” she said.

The ministry is targeting about 200,000 domestic tourists to Langkawi between this month and December following the reopening of the industry via the tourism bubble pilot project beginning yesterday.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The government’s move to introduce the practice of inclusive politics with the opposition in order to find common grounds will bring more benefits to the people.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the current political landscape demanded all quarters to accept the reality of co-existence, in line with the Malaysian Family concept.

“Before this, there is a huge gap between the governing party and the opposition. We cannot sit and discuss our agendas together…everyone wants to show that they are better than the other.

“Now, we try to change (the situation) in the Malaysian Family atmosphere, we have to implement (inclusive politics) and not just rhetoric,” he said during his first appearance on the ‘Bersama Annuar’ programme on Twitter Spaces carried out by Bernama tonight.

Annuar said in celebrating the difference of opinions of all quarters, the government and the opposition must work together to avoid political situations that did not bring any good and prosperity to the country.

In contrast to the previous situation, Annuar said the country’s current political situation should move towards mature politics while prioritising results, and not merely playing sectarian, extreme and racial politics.

As such, he urged all political leaders to open their eyes and accept the reality to practice politics with family characteristics, despite having different views on certain matters.

Asked about the implementation of Undi 18, Annuar expressed confidence that it could be implemented in the next general election, thus giving the youth the opportunity to get involved in national affairs as voters and elected representatives.

“If previously, we consider those below the age of 21 as teenagers, now we find that the maturity of the people is much different. The people are very knowledgeable, have exposure to national matters and in fact, the age of 18 is suitable to get involved in leadership,” he said.

Throughout the one-hour programme which began at 9 pm, Annuar interacted with the followers of Bernama’s Twitter account @bernamadotcom, numbering more than 950,000 followers now.

The 12-episode programme hosted by Bernama TV’s Wan Syahrina and Bernama Radio’s Hanie Hamid will be aired on Twitter Spaces weekly till December.

Next week’s topic will be ‘Survival of Artists’.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — People have the tendency to accept certain facts without checking the authenticity of the information when they are feeling very happy, really depressed or have so much anger, said MyCheck Malaysia lead Ali Imran Mohd Noordin.

According to Ali Imran a person needs to control his or her emotions when receiving an information to avoid being manipulated by any party or from spreading misinformation inadvertently.

“Usually people with malicious intent to spread ‘fake news’ will play with your emotions, so be careful when you are exhilarated, very down or feeling bitter over the message you have received.

Check the information through the proper channels first,” he said when he was guest on Special Net organised by the Malaysian Amateur Radio Transmission Society (MARTS) here, recently.

The event held in conjunction with International Democracy Day and Malaysia Day celebration, was participated by amateur radio users from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and India.

Ali Imran said to verify certain facts, identify the actual source of the information or refer the matter to those with expertise in that particular field.

In reply to listeners who asked how fact checking may promote democracy, Ali Imran said members of the public would be able to avoid being consumed by the game of perception and sentiment played by some quarters.

“They often play with religious, racial and economic strata sentiments. As such, we need to first tackle anything that causes fear and anxiety in the community (give an accurate explanation to them),” he said.

On ‘social media journalists’, Ali Imran said the public should be educated on ethics of using the internet and sharing of information.

“In Malaysia, to educate children and raise public awareness on internet ethics rules we have Klik Dengan Bijak (Click Wisely) website, an initiative by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC),” he said.

MyCheck Malaysia, a fact-checking initiative started by the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), focuses on issues that have an impact on people’s livelihood, especially those living in Malaysia.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency