Day: October 29, 2021

No one will be left behind. That is the most apt phrase to describe the state government’s concern and efforts in ensuring the lifelong wellbeing of the people and improving the quality of their various aspects of life.

The state government led by Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has not only witnessed various developments and progress, but also improvement in the wellbeing of the people, especially women and the vulnerable groups in the Land of the Hornbills.

Even more unique, the welfare initiatives taken by the state government encompassed all segments of society, such as the Endowment Fund Sarawak (EFS) for the newborns, Bantuan Ibu Bersalin (BIB) or maternity assistance for mothers, Kenyalang Gold Card (KGC) for senior citizens and Special Aid for Kidney Patient.

Speaking to Bernama recently, Sarawak Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Early Childhood Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the state government was always concerned and had worked hard to ensure that all sections of Sarawak society can continue benefitting from the state’s revenue and wealth.

In line with the efforts, she said the aid distribution approach should be adjusted accordingly to ensure that the aid will continue to reach at least 90 per cent of the deserving groups.

“In the matter of aid distribution, the state government cannot just wait for the people to come and ask for help. Instead, the government’s machinery should be the one to reach out and deliver aid and assistance to the people.

“We must go extra miles, we must be the facilitators to bring aid and assistance to the people and ensure that they can enjoy all the assistance and facilities made available for them.

“Our intervention measures are through monthly monitoring and comparison. In the distribution of the EFS, for instance, we will compare the number of births and baby registrations and if the registrations were less than births…we will go to the ground to find them to be registered,” she said.

Fatimah said the ministry’s aggressive and continuous efforts with relevant agencies, including integration cooperation with other ministries, would enable the distribution of aid to be expanded to every corner of the state.

Elaborating, she said between 2019 and September this year, over RM180 million had been spent by the state government through various assistance that benefitted over 100,000 Sarawakians.

“For EFS alone, a total of RM96 million has been spent during the same period involving over 65,000 Sarawakian babies, and we want the percentage of the recipients to continue to increase by end of this year.

“Under the EFS, RM1,000 is given to every child regardless of their race, religion and socioeconomic background, and for this year alone, RM26 million was allocated for the purpose,” said Fatimah, who is also Dalat assemblyman.

For the record, the BIB provides RM450 for each baby delivered with 33,571 applications approved between 2020 and September 2021 and for the KGC initiative for the senior citizens, a total of 24,361 cards had been printed for the same period.

Meanwhile, in ensuring the quality of early childhood development and education in Sarawak, the state government is providing a special annual grant of RM5,000 to each Early Childhood Education Institute in the state, which has benefitted 8,581 of such institutions.

Fatimah said the grant is meant to help the institutions to provide healthy and balanced meals for the children and also for the purpose of digitalisation of childcare and guidance.

In line with the state government’s aspiration to provide more quality assistance to the people, she said the state government would always improve and explore new initiatives in the future.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The Dewan Rakyat today passed without amendment the Malaysian Space Board Bill 2020 to establish the Malaysian Space Board.

Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Datuk Ahmad Amzad Hashim, when winding up the debate on the bill, said the function of the Malaysian Space Board was different from the existing role of the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA).

He said MYSA was a government agency with a specific role in the research and development (R&D) of the space sector while the Malaysian Space Board acted as the regulatory body for the sector.

“This concept can be seen as the one adopted by MOSTI (through) the Malaysian Nuclear Agency, a government agency that specialises in atomic energy R&D while we have another, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board, this is the regulatory body for the atomic energy sector.”

Ahmad Amzad also said the bill was enacted to provide a legal framework to ensure the country’s space activities were carried out safely, responsibly and securely as well as in compliance with the guidelines agreed at the international level.

In addition, the Bill will be a guide for the development of local space technology and is expected to increase the interest and confidence of local and foreign industries to invest in the country’s space sector.

The Dewan Rakyat sitting continues at 4 pm tomorrow for the tabling of Budget 2022.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Polytechnic graduands are always being scouted by employers despite the country being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, says Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad.

She said based on the Graduands Detection Survey Report, the marketability rate of polytechnic graduands was over 90 per cent during a five-year period.

“In 2018, for example, their recorded marketability rate was 96.1 per cent and 96.7 per cent in 2019.

“Although there was a slight decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their marketability rate was 91.2 per cent, still exceeding the national rate,” she said when officiating at the Roundtable Meeting of the Department of Polytechnic and Community College Education (JPPKK)’s Advisory Council, here, today.

To ensure that the polytechnic education curriculum remained relevant, active involvement of the industries was much needed for the curriculum to be industry-driven, she added.

According to her, several industry-based learning approaches had been drawn up such as the WBL@PolyCC, Structured Internship Programme (SIP), CEO@PolyCC and Industry on Campus (IOC) programme.

Noraini said there were seven WBL@PolyCC programmes implemented that integrated academic learning with its actual application at the workplace.

She said 21 industries had offered the SIP to 2,188 final-year students for industrial training and then offering them jobs with Maybank and Talent Corp among the employers.

The CEO@PolyCC programme continued with the appointment of 31 industry captains sharing their knowledge and valuable experience with the polytechnic students, she added.

At today’s meeting, Tan Sri Sufri Md Zin was appointed as the new JPPKK Industry Advisory Council chairman, replacing Tan Sri Azman Haron Shah while 21 industry captains were appointed as members of the council.

This advisory council is a platform for the industry captains to provide feedback and suggestions on improving the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) ecosystem.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Employers are advised to attend Disability Equality Training (DET) workshops to encourage a wider understanding and knowledge of the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) as well as help create an environment and society that is sensitive to the needs of the group.

OKU Sentral president Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi said the training was also able to change the people’s views and perceptions of the PwDs as well as help plan the support that could be offered to them.

“OKU Sentral has a team that provides DET where PwD themselves will teach about their disabilities and needs and how employers can help provide PwD-friendly facilities.

“This effort is important to ensure that all PwDs will have the same rights just like any other Malaysians,” she told Bernama today.

Ras Adiba was commenting on a viral video showing a deaf woman expressing her disappointment over being denied her right to order a meal at the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant.

Commenting further, Ras Adiba said such incidents had been going on all over the world for a long time, including in developed countries where awareness of the rights and needs of PwD is still low.

Therefore, she hopes that awareness towards PWDs would be inculcated since kindergarten to ensure that future generations will better understand and respect them.

“Employers need to understand that PwDs also contribute to the economy, and as customers, they need to be treated equally,” she said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

— Kampung Kuchai here is set to get an art gallery soon.

Perak Housing, Local Government and State Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi said this was following discussions held previously with famous film director, the late Mamat Khalid and which also involved the Ipoh City Council (MBI) in a bid to add another tourism product, especially around the Old Town of Ipoh.

“Prior to this, we held discussions with the late Mamat Khalid, who had managed his cafe in Tanjung Malim, and we wanted to establish an art gallery akin to the ‘Sarang Hub’ that he owned.

“However, due to his untimely death (last Sunday), we will continue discussions with his next-of-kin and MBI. We will see how we can realise this according to the previous plan,” she said.

She said this after launching the publicity and public participation programme for the 2035 Batang Padang District Local Plan Draft (Replacement) at Dewan Merdeka here.

The late Mamat Khalid, or his real name Mohamad Mohamad Khalid, 58, died while on the way to the Slim River Hospital at about 12.30 am on Sunday (Oct 24) and was buried at the Masjid Kampung Paloh Muslim Cemetery here.

Earlier, Nolee Ashilin, representing the Menteri Besar of Perak at the ceremony, said the direction of the 2035 Batang Padang District Local Plan Draft (Replacement) was to focus on being a sustainable, viable and livable district.

She said that in order to achieve the mission, the development implementation would focus on tourism, education and resource industry activities.

“As such, the tourism sector will become the main economic activity in this district in addition to empowering the education and research sectors while mobilisation of the resource industry’s needs must be given specific attention to further enliven economic development.

“In addition, housing development, business activities, transportation network and support facilities are among the main items that must be emphasised by the implementing agency in developing the district in the future,” she added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The Public Services Commission (SPA) has annulled the results of the Public Service Entrance Examination (PSEE) and blacklisted candidates found to be involved in misconduct of integrity while sitting for the examination.

The SPA said in a statement today that as a result of its monitoring and investigation, it found that there were some candidates who were irresponsible when sitting for the PSEE.

“The SPA has identified candidates who breached integrity by creating groups in WhatsApp and Telegram, aimed at offering paid answer services or abetting to commit copying and answer sharing activities for the purpose of passing the PSSE,” SPA said.

The SPA, in taking a serious view on the matter, stressed that the applications of the candidates involved for any other posts would not be considered.

A search on Telegram found there were several groups including ‘PSEE Question Bank’ and ‘PSEE Problem-Solving Ability’ which uploaded a set of questions, answers and working methods for solving problems.

Also seen was a reminder to cohorts that they are prohibited from sending any questions in the group during the course of the examination.

The PSEE is an aptitude test conducted online as an initial screening for job applicants that includes an assessment of general knowledge, ability in problem-solving and an English comprehension test.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The collection of zakat (tithe) in Pahang for this year is expected to reach its target of RM170 million with the number of payers estimated at 97,000 people.

Pahang Tithe Collection Centre (PKZ) senior general manager Datuk Halidan Md Daud said there was an increase of 5.9 per cent or RM5.7 million in the tithe collection involving 3,721 payers this year compared to the same period last year.

“As of Oct 20, a total of 86,828 property tithe payers have fulfilled their obligations with a total of RM102.3 million collected compared to the same period last year where 83,107 individuals and corporate bodies paid their property tithe amounting to RM96.6 million.

“The largest collection of RM47.4 million was from salary deduction, followed by payments by corporate and business sector totalling RM22.3 million.”

Halidan said this at a press conference after attending the Pahang Business Tithe Presentation Ceremony graced by Tengku Panglima Raja Lt Col Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah here today.

At the event, five corporate bodies namely YP Plantation Holdings Sdn Bhd, Pharmaniaga Berhad, Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad and Agrobank presented their tithe totalling RM2.15 million.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency