Day: November 9, 2021

ALOR SETAR, Nov 9 – The Kedah Zakat Board (LZNK) intends to introduce a civil defence module in all schools under Zakat (tithe) Kedah in a bid to produce students with basic knowledge in civil defence and first aid.

Its chief executive officer, Datuk Syeikh Zakaria Othman said this would involve the Kedah Zakat Schools Management Board (CDERT LEPSAZ) and the module would be implemented at all levels of Kedah Zakat schools based on the guidelines of the Malaysian Civil Defence Cadet Management.

“My hope is that all schools under Zakat Kedah will become Sekolah Watak Zakat in every district as we want the school staff and students to be highly disciplined community leaders and have added value in the community when an emergency occurs.”

He said this to reporters after the launching of the Sekolah Watak Zakat Kedah at Kolej Agama Sultan Abdul Halim, here, today which was officiated by Chief Commissioner of the Civil Defence Force (APM), Datuk Roslan Wahab.

Syeikh Zakaria said currently, the schools under Zakat Kedah that had been made Sekolah Watak Zakat were Kolej Agama Sultan Abdul Halim (Sekolah Ulul Albab Zakat and Sekolah Keusahawanan Kedah), here, and Maahad Dini Sultan Abdul Halim in Sik.

He said through the Sekolah Watak Zakat, all school staff including the teachers, would be trained in civil defence by the APM officers at suitable training centres to acquire basic rescue skills.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — The Federal Territories Ministry has introduced the ‘KL Cegah, KL Sihat’ campaign as part of efforts to boost the confidence of domestic and international visitors to Bukit Bintang here, which is synonymous with food and shopping, said its Minister, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.

He said that through the campaign, several platforms were used to promote compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and to attract visitors and help revive the country’s economy.

“Through this campaign, SOP compliance promotion videos are shown at premises, apart from the use of ‘stickers’ affixed on the tables saying it is always sanitised as well as ‘I have been vaccinated’ badges to be worn by employees,” he said when speaking at the launching ceremony, in Jalan Alor here, today.

Also present were Bukit Bintang Member of Parliament, Fong Kui Lun and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) executive director (Socio-Economic Development), Anwar Mohd Zain.

Shahidan also hoped that the campaign would to some extent raise the economic level of those in Bukit Bintang, whose income and business have been adversely affected.

The campaign is one of the ‘bottom-up’ initiatives proposed by Local Agenda 21 Kuala Lumpur (LA21KL) partners, comprising the Bukit Bintang Cleanliness Blueprint Committee.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — Laws relating to whistleblowers under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 (Act 711) have to be thoroughly reviewed in an effort to increase national integrity.

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said existing whistleblower laws were inadequate and needed to be reviewed.

“On the matter of whistleblowers, I’m still reviewing it. Since 2017, I’ve said that whistleblower laws were still lacking and needed to be studied carefully. If we’re talking about ourselves, there’s no boss. Whistleblowers are not overseen by anyone.

“It’s placed under my ministry, in the Legal Affairs Division of this ministry, but there’s no one handling it. Consider other countries, in the United States, it’s under a director and an ombudsman in Australia. So we need to consider the matter and I have asked the division to look into it,” he said in a media conference after witnessing the presentation of the 2021 National Integrity Convention (KIN2021) resolutions at Menara Integriti today.

He added that a detailed study was needed to ensure that the confidentiality of the informant was safeguarded if the complaint involved an agency.

“We could place it under the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (SIAP) so that the commission could keep information about any agency confidential. Then only would many people (do it). So far, there aren’t many whistleblowers because people are not brave enough to lodge reports. If they reported to the police, the police would investigate and the complainant’s information would be known to the police. So people don’t use this whistleblower act.

“Unless there is an agency to oversee and maintain the confidentiality of the person who lodges a report. So currently it is under review. InsyaAllah we will find a way to improve it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM) chief executive officer Nor’afiza Saim said the institute would continue to focus on preventing corruption in organisations as well as increasing integrity in both the public and private sectors through the development of a new system.

“With the mandate given, we will focus on assisting organisations to prevent corruption and misuse of power, with an emphasis on the private sector as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) focuses more on the public sector.

“We currently use the international standard, the Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS), but we will develop our own standard, the Integrity Management System. So, InsyaAllah, with this system we can increase integrity within organisations in both the public and private sectors,” she said.

The resolutions presented during KIN2021 touched on improving cooperation, ensuring equitable and responsible distribution, empowering the educational ecosystem, bridging the communication gap and improving information delivery, as well as placing stronger emphasis on family values.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — The three branches of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) have been instructed to be prepared, including in terms of asset mobilisation, to face the monsoon season.

Chief of Defence Force Gen Tan Sri Affendi Buang said all personnel are now on stand by mode, in line with the directive issued by the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) for security forces to always be ready to deal with the flood situation and provide the necessary assistance.

“ATM is always ready (to provide assistance) in the event of a disaster at any location,” he told a press conference at the opening of the Second Career Opportunity Workshop organised by the ATM Veterans Affairs Department (JHEV) in collaboration with the Social Security Organisation (Socso) with JHEV director Maj Gen Datuk Dzulkarnain Ahmad also present.

Meanwhile, Affendi said the workshop was a joint venture in ensuring a second career opportunity for ATM veterans that raised their status as national heroes.

“The workshop is very significant for ATM veterans as the input and knowledge gained could help participants in facing new employers,” he said.

Elaborating, he said to date, a total of 204,020 ATM veterans have registered with JHEV, of which 73,863 people retired without pension.

Affendi said on average, about 5,000 ATM members will retire every year with 63 per cent of them being under the age of 50, an age group that is still productive and able to contribute to the country’s economy.

As such, he hoped ATM veterans who applied for jobs through the Myfuturejobs portal would be given an offer that suits their skills and experience and offered a more attractive salary compared to other applicants.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — A village in Sik district, Kedah has been proposed as the first location for a pioneer, holistic hardcore poverty eradication project, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy), Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

He said this effort was among the measures to be taken in implementing the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) which targeted hardcore poverty eradication by 2025 by transforming the approach.

He added that the new approach was discussed at the fifth Poverty Circle session, conducted virtually today, following his visit to Sik district on Nov 6.

“The discussion was to identify a holistic approach that will be more effective in eradicating hardcore poverty in the chosen locality.

“It involved the federal and state governments, statutory bodies, universities, civil societies, local community organisations and the private sector,” Mustapa said in a statement today.

He said the programme would also be carried out in several other localities across the country and which also required an accurate data base.

In this regard, the minister said cleaning up of the eKasih data was being done by the Implementation Coordination Unit to ensure transparency and accuracy of information on the target group.

“Based on the current eKasih data, there are about 178,000 hardcore poor household heads who are still productive and aged between 15 and 60, across the country.

“In line with the Prime Minister’s directive, a Poverty Unit has been specially established at the EPU (Economic Planning Unit) in tackling hardcore poverty.

“It is also proposed that the state governments set up a similar unit at the state and district levels so as to fully focus on poverty matters to ensure the implementation of a more focused hardcore poverty eradication agenda,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency