Day: November 16, 2021

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — The legal framework relating to climate change is expected to be completed early next year, Deputy Environment and Water Minister Datuk Mansor Othman said.

He said the framework, which is currently in an early phase, will become the foundation to develop the Climate Change Act for the country.

“It is expected to be presented at Parliament after every drafting process is conducted in accordance to the legal process,” he said when winding up the Supply Bill 2022 debate at the policy level at the Dewan Rakyat today.

Last September, Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man was reported to have said that the ministry was preparing guidelines and acts to control climate change and global warming that affected the country.

According to Tuan Ibrahim, the actions were taken as Malaysia did not have such an act and several mechanisms were being planned to implement it.

Meanwhile, Yeo Bee Yin (PH-Bakri) interjected, asking Mansor about government plans to ensure that Malaysia would be a carbon-neutral country by 2050.

Mansor replied that the ministry was working with other related agencies, especially research agencies and institutions of higher learning to draft a direction for the target.

“The target set shows the government is truly committed (in achieving the goal) although Malaysia is not a NDC (National Determined Contributions) country,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

IPOH, Nov 16 — Four northern states have joined forces to rejuvenate the tourism industry which was badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourism Malaysia (Planning) deputy director-general Iskandar Mirza said the inaugural initiative involved 150 participants comprising travel agencies, product operators, hotels and homestays from Perak, Penang, Kedah and Perlis.

“This is the first such merger which cannot be found in other states because the northern region has its own uniqueness. To attract tourists back under a new norm, hopefully, a programme like this can create new packages because now we are back to zero,” he said.

He told Bernama this at the end of the three-day Seminar and Workshop with Northern Region Tourism Industry Entrepreneurs at the Casuarina Convention Centre here.

Iskandar said the initiative, among others, helps share the latest products and promotions provided by travel agencies from each state to develop unique and competitive packages.

According to him, the seminar and workshop were to restore the tourism industry on an active footing in promoting domestic tourism packages in the northern region.

Among those present were Perak Housing, Local Government and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi, her counterparts from Penang and from Perlis Yeoh Soon Hin and Asmaiza Ahmad and Kedah Tourism corporate communications and marketing assistant manager Mohd Faizuri Fisal.

Meanwhile, Nolee Ashilin said as the host, a tour had been arranged by Perak Tourism for programme participants to visit destinations around the Kinta Valley Geopark location.

“Participants can take the Perak HOHO (hop on-hop off) Bus with a tour guide along the existing routes,” she added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 16 — The Public Service Department (PSD) is refining the data of civil servants who still refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before making a decision on the action that can be taken, said its director-general, Tan Sri Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman.

He said that the PSD had requested reports from department heads on two matters, namely, the number of those who have yet to be vaccinated and how they would deal with the unvaccinated staff.

“Both of these things take into account the need for civil servants to continue to provide services because they cannot sit at home,” he told the media after the PSD town hall session with public university residents and PSD-sponsored students at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), today.

Mohd Khairul Adib said that the PSD had requested a period of two weeks to look at the data of civil servants who have yet to be vaccinated.

The PSD had issued a circular mandating civil servants to get vaccinated before Nov 1, or they could face disciplinary action including dismissal.

On Nov 8, Mohd Khairul Adib was reported to have said that the Ministry of Education staff were believed to constitute the biggest group of civil servants who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

BANGI, Nov 16 — The digitalisation of the public service does not mean that the size of the public service will be reduced because work behind the scene of online services, still requires the physical presence of civil servants, said Public Service Department (PSD) director-general, Tan Sri Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman.

He said although a part of the public services is implemented online, in reality, it still required civil servants to do system management, policy and public feedback.

“Not all can we rely on artificial intelligence (AI) or robotics. Some services cannot be delivered online such as safety, health and education services that are held in a hybrid manner,” he told the media after a town hall session with public universities staff and JPA-sponsored students at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) here today.

According to Mohd Khairul Adib, under the civil service-to-population ratio of 1:20, the civil service can still be expanded to 1.71 million civil servants, compared to 1.6 million at present.

He said the public service was still running smoothly and continued to deliver during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the availability of information technology (IT) and technology.

He added PSD and Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) continued to move in efforts to digitise the civil service.

” PSD also trains its officers to be Information Technology (IT) literate through Digital Government Competency and Capability Readiness programme,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency