Day: November 26, 2021

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 26 — The lack of awareness among the country’s population about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is worrying, where only 22.6 per cent have sufficient knowledge about the virus.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) indicated that three out of four adults have shown stigma towards HIV patients.

“This can also affect the success of HIV prevention and treatment programmes among PLHIV (people living with HIV),” he said after launching NHMS 2020 report on communicable diseases here today.

Data collection began in August until October 2020 involving 5,957 residents aged one and above from 1,876 living quarters randomly selected across the country.

Khairy said the survey had been conducted before the third COVID-19 wave hit the country.

Meanwhile, till Oct 2020, the survey found that 0.6 per cent of the population or 200,000 residents had contracted the COVID-19 virus, he said, adding that four out of five infected individuals or 15,000 people were unaware that they had been infected.

Khairy said public awareness regarding antibiotic resistance among adults was still low with 75 per cent of them having never heard of the matter.

He said 25 per cent of those surveyed were reported to have taken antibiotics in 2019 of which 34.4 per cent of them did not complete the course after recovering from their sickness.

Khairy said the report discovered that 600,000 adults had experienced symptoms similar to tuberculosis (TB) in 2019, adding that only 57 per cent of them had sought treatment from licensed medical practitioners while the rest chose to undergo self-treatment.

He said the majority of those who did not seek treatment, namely 78 per cent, believed that the symptoms they experienced were not related to TB.

Khairy said the country is in the midst of eradicating hepatitis by 2030, adding that according to the survey nearly 400,000 adults in the country were still infected by the hepatitis B virus while 350,000 adults were living with chronic hepatitis B infection.

He said based on the survey report, Healthy Ministry is looking at carrying out universal screenings for hepatitis B among pregnant women receiving treatment in public facilities.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 26 — Malaysia is currently focusing on neighbouring countries before expanding the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) to other countries, said Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

Therefore, for now, the government is working to launch the VTL with neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia, with the launch of VTL with Singapore to be held on Nov 29, he said.

Saifuddin said this when met by reporters after attending the closing ceremony of the 13th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM) held virtually, today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Thursday said Malaysia is currently working with several ASEM partners such as Singapore and Indonesia to implement the VTL.

Commenting on Ismail Sabri’s intervention session at the ASEM today, Saifuddin said the prime minister reiterated Malaysia’s commitment to ‘peaceful coexistence’ and upholding multilateralism.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — The Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) will be enforced at the Sungai Ruan Narcotic Addiction Rehabilitation Centre (Puspen) in Raub, Pahang from Nov 28 to Dec 11.

National security secretary-general Datuk Rodzi Md Saad said the decision was made based on the risk assessment by the Health Ministry and the COVID-19 infection trend in the locality.

“The standard operating procedure for the EMCO is the same as that announced earlier,” he said in a statement on the National Security Council Facebook page tonight.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 26 — Entrepreneurs among members of the Association of Wives of Civil Servants and Women Civil Servants (Puspanita) have been urged to master the aspect of business digitalisation to boost their competitiveness.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, who is also Puspanita advisor, said digitalisation could, not only help entrepreneurs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to revive their business but also those who are keen to start a business.

“Apart from the public and corporate sectors, entrepreneurs as well as micro and small and medium enterprises must have a mindset change to accept digitalisation in business,” he said at the closing ceremony of the Malaysia Family Entrepreneurship Seminar and the Local Products Sales Carnival organised by Puspanita, here, today.

Also present was Puspanita president Puan Sri Norizam Che Mohd Nor.

Mohd Zuki said the organising of such programmes not only provided entrepreneurial knowledge to the participants but also helped the Puspanita members and traders to expand their markets as well as promote their products and services.

He said 82 traders took part in the two-day carnival managed to generate about RM75,000 in total sales.

The programme also received the cooperation of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin regards the period of his being prime minister during the COVID-19 pandemic as the most difficult episode in his political career of almost 50 years.

Muhyiddin said he was entrusted with the huge responsibility of steering the nation during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented global health crisis.

“…and as we know, this is a crisis that threatens the lives and livelihood of the people on a huge scale and which has prolonged until today,” the former prime minister said when officiating the launch of his pictorial biography titled “Abah Teguh Kita Bersama” here today.

Also present were Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon and Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin.

Muhyiddin, who is National Recovery Council (MPN) chairman, said along with his colleagues in the Cabinet, the government then had done the very best it could to tackle the crisis, with priority given to saving lives and livelihood.

“I chaired National Security Council meetings almost every day and at the same time managed COVID-19 related matters day and night to get latest reports from the Health director-general, Health Minister, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and so on.

“I am really saddened that deaths continue to occur and that many are still impacted by the pandemic which has not seen an end, what more with thousands without jobs and struggling,” he said while describing the experience of managing the pandemic when appointed Prime Minister on Feb 29, 2020 as unforgettable.

Meanwhile, the 248-page pictorial biography features, among others, a collection of 370 photos narrating Muhyiddin’s journey in government and political administration, starting as Johor assistant state secretary in 1970, member of parliament, state assemblyman and Johor Menteri Besar.

It also features the period when he helmed six federal ministries, his stint as Deputy Prime Minister and eventually as the nation’s eighth Prime Minister, besides also serving under seven prime ministers before that.

The biography was published in cooperation with Pertubuhan Gagasan Minda Merdeka, Ummah Aid Foundation and Zumail Global Sdn Bhd with the first 15,000 copies ready to hit the bookshelves at RM250 a copy.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has picked up three ‘Regulatory Champions’ awards from the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) in conjunction with the 2021 National Conference on Good Regulatory Practices.

MOH in a post on its Facebook page said that the awards were the Ministry Active in Implementing Good Regulatory Practices (GRP), the Active Regulator Award/Unified Public Consultation (UPC) and the Ministry-level award for Best Figure in Regulatory Practices.

“Various projects, high-impact regulatory improvements have been implemented by the MOH, to the point of making it a benchmark for other ministries.

“MOH is also the ministry that has contributed the most to the registration of Regulatory Notifications (RN) and Regulatory Impact Statements (RIS),” said MOH.

According to the MOH, the Best Figure in Regulatory Practices award was received by its secretary-general Datuk Mohd Shafiq Abdullah, for his commitment and active involvement in implementing GRP initiatives in the health sector as a whole.

The Active Regulator Award/UPC category was won by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

The Regulatory Champions Award organised by MPC is to provide recognition and appreciation to ministries, agencies, state governments, local authorities and selected individuals who are actively involved and contribute to the success of GRP initiatives.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency