Day: January 7, 2022

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 7 — The Sustainability Achieved via Energy Efficiency (SAVE) 3.0 programme offers e-rebate of up to RM400 for the purchase of energy-efficient electrical appliances this year.

Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSA) Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan when launching the programme today said SAVE 3.0 was expected to benefit 140,000 households in the country.

He said the e-rebate is applicable for the purchase of electrical appliances which have a four or five star rating by the Energy Commission.

Previously, the SAVE 2.0 programme offered an e-rebate of RM200 and was only limited to the purchases of air-conditioners or refrigerators.

Takiyuddin said the SAVE 3.0 programme also offers more choices of electrical appliances, namely air conditioners or refrigerators for category one and televisions, washing machines, microwaves or rice cookers for category two.

“SAVE 2.0 e-rebate recipients are not eligible to apply for category one of SAVE 3.0,” he said.

Takiyuddin said the SAVE 3.0 programme which was funded by the Electricity Supply Industries Trust Account (AAIBE) was a continuation of SAVE 1.0 and SAVE 2.0.

According to him, the SAVE 2.0 programme recorded the redemption of 134,000 e-rebates and energy savings worth RM26.8 million.

He said the implementation of SAVE 3.0 is expected to provide energy savings of 153 gigawattjoules (GWj) a year which is equivalent to RM60.45 million and reduce 103,890 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

The application for Malaysian citizens is limited to one electricity bill account for electrical appliances purchased this year and on a first-come, first-served basis starting today.

The appliances can be purchased via two methods, namely by presenting the electricity bill personally (to buy electrical items) at registered shops or supermarkets or applying for an e-rebate through recognised e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada and PG Mall.

For electrical appliances that fall under category one, the value of the e-rebate that can be redeemed for the purchase of refrigerators and air conditioners is RM200 while under category two, the value of the e-rebate provided is RM200 for televisions, washing machines (RM200), microwave ovens (RM100) or rice cookers (RM50).

On the Malaysian Family Flood Relief assistance that offered RM500 rebates to households to buy electrical appliances damaged by the floods, Takiyuddin said 1,100 electrical shops had registered for the programme and the list of aid recipients was coordinated by the state-level Disaster Operations Control Centres and the National Disaster Management Agency.

He said the application process for the flood relief programme would be simplified not only for consumers who received rebates but also for shop owners by speeding up their claims after reaching an understanding with the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

“If a shop receives 10 applications worth RM500 each a day, it would involve RM5,000. For small-and-medium-sized traders, this would affect their cash flow. So, I can guarantee that within seven days the claim will be validated by the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry secretary-general (Datuk Zurinah Pawanteh) and MoF. That is the government’s assurance,” he said.

Takiyuddin also said that those who had redeemed the flood relief rebate could still apply for SAVE 3.0 as the two were different programmes despite using the same platform.

“The SAVE programme’s e-rebate application is only for the purchase of energy-efficient electrical appliances, and redemption cannot be made using rebates from the flood relief. These two rebates must go through separate transactions,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

TELUPID, Jan 7 — Several village infrastructures that were damaged due to floods in Beluran need to be repaired immediately as they posed a danger besides making life difficult for the residents, said Beluran Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries said that among the key basic infrastructures that were damaged were several roads that connected the villages and suspension bridges.

“So, my (Parliament) office will look into this and find the best solution as fast as possible,” he told reporters after surveying the damaged suspension bridge at Kampung Berayun here today.

Regarding the bridge in Kampung Berayun, he said it had been damaged since Dec 30 due to floods and swift water flow, causing the route connecting two villages housing about 3,000 residents, namely Kampung Baba and Kampung Ansuan on the other side of Sungai Labuk, to be cut off.

He also said the ferry services also could not transport passengers to Telupid Town as the river water was flowing very fast.

“My (Parliament) office and the state legislative assembly office (under Beluran Parliamentary), as well as several other agencies, are still striving to help the people who have been cut off due to the damaged bridge by sending food baskets,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

DUNGUN, Jan 7 — The ‘Prihatin Squad’ of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) has donated food and school aid to 200 flood victims by going door-to-door in the state.

The aid, in the form of food items and school supplies amounting to RM34,000, was distributed through a humanitarian mission led by the Deputy Minister of Unity, Senator Wan Ahmad Fayshal Wan Ahmad Kamal along with 100 volunteers from the capital and the East Coast.

Wan Ahmad said the donation was distributed to residents in four villages, namely Kampung Pasir Raja, Kampung Minda, Kampung Shukor in the Dungun district and Kampung Air Putih in Kemaman.

“Today, we are working with the government agency, Central Terengganu Development Authority (Ketengah) to distribute donations from house to house to ease the burden of flood victims.

“Although the disaster has passed, they still lack essential items such as food and the children are in dire need of school equipment as schools will open on Sunday,” he said at the Bersatu Prihatin Squad flood relief programme in Kampung Pasir Raja here today.

Also present was Dungun District police chief Supt Baharuddin Abdullah.

In another development, Wan Ahmad Fahysal who is also the Bersatu Youth (Armada) chie, said he was targeting 50,000 new members this year.

To achieve the target, they have drawn up various volunteer programmes to attract young people, especially in the village area.

“We at Bersatu do not prioritise quantity, but the involvement of quality young people as the driving force or machinery of the party. The number of Armada members as of last December is 190,000,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

GEORGE TOWN, Jan 7 — Only the ‘paal kudam’ (milk pot kavadi) ceremony will be allowed at this year’s Thaipusam celebration in Penang, said state Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy.

Ramasamy, who is also the Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairman, said the decision was reached after a meeting was held with National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique yesterday.

“Based on the meeting, only the ‘paal kudam’ ceremony will be permitted at the Thaipusam festival this time without other kavadi events, head-shaving vows in temple grounds and coconut-breaking ceremonies.

Refreshment stalls (thaneer panthal) will not be permitted too, he added.

“The chariot procession will be held but limited to 500 devotees who have been fully vaccinated (including booster dose vaccine). They will also be given a special card showing that they have registered (under the temple committee) besides scanning the QR code before starting the ceremony,” he told reporters at a press conference, here, today.

Ramasamy said from the meeting, only five location stops (where the chariot will stop) have been selected for now compared to the proposed 10 locations. However, this will depend on the decision of the ministry and the National Security Council (MKN) in considering the proposal.

The decision will be announced soon.

Meanwhile, Thanneermalai Shree Balathandayuthapani Devasthanam (Hilltop Temple) chairman, Datuk R. Subramaniam said anyone wishing to perform their vows for the “paal kudam” ceremony should try to do so earlier to avoid any congestion on the day of the festival.

This will help towards maintaining standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of COVID-19, he added.

“As Thaipusam falls on Jan 18, we request the ‘paal kudam’ ceremony to be performed earlier, beginning Jan 12.

“Besides that, the temple will also do half-hourly sanitisation work based on the SOP. Devotees are also urged to do a COVID-19 self-test to avoid an occurrence of a Thaipusam cluster,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency