Day: January 10, 2022

HULU LANGAT, Jan 10 — The Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) collected 82,850 tonnes of solid waste from six states affected by the floods recently, said Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Abd Muttalib.

He said a total of 48.589 tonnes were collected in Selangor, followed by Pahang (32,000 tonnes), Negeri Sembilan (1,400 tonnes), Kuala Lumpur (630 tonnes), Melaka (131 tonnes) and Johor (almost 100 tonnes).

“Most of the waste consists of bulky items destroyed in the floods. They include electrical appliances that cannot be repaired such as television sets,” he told reporters after participating in the SWCorp Bersamamu programme at Taman Sri Nanding here today.

The programme, which was aimed at repairing post-flood electrical equipment, was also attended by Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Awang Hashim and SWCorp chief executive officer Ismail Mokhtar.

Elaborating on the programme which is running from today until Jan 16, Ismail said some 600 electrical appliances comprising washing machines and refrigerators would be repaired rather than disposal, thus reducing the estimated losses by almost RM1 million.

He added the programme also received cooperation from various parties, including the Human Resource and Youth and Sports Ministries.

“Some 150 volunteers are involved in the programme today and they are divided into 30 groups consisting of four to five volunteers each to enable wider access,” he said, adding 300 houses in Taman Sri Nanding are expected to benefit from the programme.

Meanwhile, Awang said among the volunteers involved in the programme are from skills agencies under the Manpower Department such as the Centre for Instructor Training and Advanced Skills (CIAST) and the Industrial Training Institute (ILP).

He hoped the initiative would reduce the burden on residents following the floods, as well as providing exposure to trainees of skills training institutes involved in the field and cultivate the practice of volunteerism.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

BENTONG, Jan 10 — Pahang’s popular tourist spot, Janda Baik is expected to suffer losses amounting to about RM12 million as some of its locations are unable to operate for four months following the recent devastating floods that hit these areas.

State Tourism, Environment, Culture, Plantations and Commodities Committee chairman, Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin said among the areas most badly affected by the floods last Dec 18 was Pulau Santap, a major recreation spot in Janda Baik.

He said that 33 of the 54 resorts and chalets in Janda Baik were destroyed with the costs to be incurred estimated at between RM157,500 and RM6 million for each affected resort or chalet.

“We will ask the federal government to assist in their recovery process through a special allocation with priority given to repairing the damaged infrastructure such as roads, bridges and public areas.

“We are also asking for consideration be given to the tourism operators here who wish to obtain a flexible loan facility to repair or rebuild their resorts or chalets soonest possible and which will cost a lot.”

Mohd Sharkar said this at a news conference here today after viewing the destruction around Pulau Santap caused by the recent floods. Also present was Tourism Pahang general manager, Kamaruddin Ibrahim.

According to him, Tourism Pahang would also be listing the locations in Janda Baik that were forced to temporarily close as well as the resorts and chalets which could still receive tourists, for their reference.

“We hope that Janda Baik can operate again as soon as possible as tourism is a source of income for many of the local residents. About 300 workers are affected by the temporary closure of the resorts and chalets here.

“Also affected are the other economic activities that depend on tourism such as the food business, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) rental and horse riding because before the floods, Janda Baik had been seeing a lot of visitors each weekend,” he said.

Asked if the floods could affect the Visit Pahang Year relaunching plan this year, after being shelved for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mohd Sharkar said they would be focusing on other areas that were not affected by the floods such as Cameron Highlands, Fraser’s Hill, Cherating in Kuantan and Pulau Tioman, Rompin.

For the other flood-hit tourism locations like Taman Negara di Jerantut, Sungai Lembing in Kuantan and Lanchang in Temerloh as the ‘centre of Peninsular Malaysia’, he said the recovery works were scheduled for completion soon.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 (Bernama) — Mary Kay Inc, a global entrepreneurship development company and advocate for corporate social responsibility and sustainability, has released its year-end highlights.

Last year, Mary Kay Inc continued its decades-long commitment to enriching the lives of women around the globe and building healthier, more sustainable communities, according to a statement.

The 2021 year-end highlights include Business Excellence; Mary Kay Global Design Studio & Digital Innovation to Enhance the Customer Experience; Science Behind the Beauty; Social Impact/CSR; Women’s Empowerment; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI); and, Sustainability.

Mary Kay received 58 awards and recognition honours in 2021, including: COVID Response (22 awards), recognition from partners in social impact/annual reports (four), Mary Kay management recognised for leadership (seven), business excellence (10) and an award-winning documentary (four awards; five screening selections).

Furthermore, Mary Kay Global Design Studio and Glamhive announced the first-ever global TikTok reality show based on style, Step & Repeat. The contest showcased talent in wardrobe, makeup & hair from TikTok users worldwide.

In addition, Clinical Solutions™ skincare launched, which consists of Mary Kay Clinical Solutions™ Retinol 0.5 and Mary Kay Clinical Solutions™ Calm + Restore Facial Milk and received the Dermatologists’ Council Seal.

In 2021, Mary Kay’s global Pink Changing Lives? cause empowerment programme supported over 15 NGOs worldwide. Since 2008, the programme has impacted more than six million women and their families by partnering with over 3,000 organisations, donating over US$16 million. (US$1 = RM4.20)

The company also announced commitment to advancing gender parity by releasing a position paper welcoming the European Commission’s Gender Equality Strategy for 2020 – 2025 and by joining the Generation Equality Forum in Paris and five Global Action Coalitions to accelerate gender equality by 2026.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Companies and associations that want to provide booster shots to their employees and members are encouraged to participate in the Vaccination Centre (PPV) Outreach Programme through private medical practitioners and healthcare non-governmental organisations (NGOs) registered with ProtectHealth.

ProtectHealth said in a statement today that the programme provides a more controlled and easier way for the employees, especially those working in factories, as well as the immobile as this programme also provides for home vaccination too.

“The programme, which began in November 2021, aims to increase accessibility and the take up rate for the booster dose nationwide.

“Companies and associations may request private medical practitioners or healthcare NGOs that have registered with ProtectHealth to conduct the programme for their employees or members,” the statement read.

The programme replaces previous industry vaccination centre programmes including the Public-Private Partnership COVID-19 Industry Immunisation Programme (PIKAS), Agrofood Industry Vaccination Programme (AiVAC) and Retail Industry Vaccination Programme (RiVAC).

Also, it replaces previous outreach programmes with healthcare NGOs reaching for the rural and interior areas.

According to ProtectHealth, companies and associations are not permitted to impose any charge on vaccine recipients under this programme as the cost of the vaccine is borne by the government and given freely.

“This includes the vaccinations, where ProtectHealth will pay the private medical practitioner or healthcare NGO for each vaccination conducted,” the statement read.

A total of 111 programmes have been conducted and from the total, 69 were for workers at their workplaces and 42 were for communities.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 10 — An allocation of RM50 million each has been provided to the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) and the Rural Development Ministry (KPLB) to rebuild and repair houses damaged by the floods under the Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative.

This was announced by Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican and Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid at a joint press conference in Putrajaya today.

Reezal Merican said through the initiative, between RM5,000 and RM15,000 had been set aside for the repair of each affected house while RM56,000 would be used to build a new home.

“KPKT is responsible for the affected houses in urban areas and under local authorities’ purview while KPLB will be in charge of houses in rural areas,” he said.

According to Reezal Merican, KPKT has so far identified a total of 8,257 houses that have been affected by the floods and of the total, 118 are in need of complete reconstruction while 8,139 require repairs.

“The numbers are expected to increase as there are states that are still affected by the floods. The data is being finalised by the state government and will be submitted to the ministry,” he said.

Reezal Merican said the implementation of the Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative at the KPKT level would be done by Syarikat Perumahan Nasional Bhd (SPNB) and Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia (PR1MA).

He said KPKT had also proposed for a rental voucher of RM200 be given to flood victims whose homes were destroyed in the floods to ease their burden.

Meanwhile, Mahdzir said the process of repairing the affected houses through the Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative would take two weeks while the construction of new homes was expected to be completed within four to six months.

So far, he said, KPLB had received 1,879 applications for house repairs and 165 applications for the construction of new homes in flood-affected areas.

“Information on the matter will be obtained from the District Disaster Operations Control Centre (PKOB).

“We will also appoint local contractors to carry out repair works or the construction of new homes,” he said.

Mahdzir also informed that KPLB had allocated RM50 million to repair damaged public infrastructure in rural areas such as community halls, surau and bridges.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 10 — The number of unemployed persons in Malaysia in November 2021 indicated a declining pattern after registering 694,400 persons as compared to 705,000 persons in October 2021, according to the Statistics of Labour Force, Malaysia.

The November figure hit below 700,000 persons for the first time since April 2020, according to the report released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) today.

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a statement said the unemployment rate in November 2021 was 4.3 per cent, unchanged from the previous month.

Mohd Uzir said employed persons in November 2021 increased 0.4 per cent month-on-month, recording 15.61 million persons, compared with 15.55 million persons in October 2021.

The labour force participation rate in November 2021 inched up to 68.9 per cent compared to 68.8 per cent in October 2021, with the number in the labour force up by 0.3 per cent to post 16.30 million persons compared to 16.26 million in the previous month, he said.

“The labour force situation in November 2021 held steady with continuing employment growth and reducing number of unemployed persons as the revival of more economic and social activities has stimulated a positive vibe to the labour market,” he said.

Mohd Uzir said the employment-to-population ratio, which indicates the ability of an economy to create employment, went up by 0.2 percentage points to record 66.0 per cent in November 2021 compared with 65.8 per cent in October 2021.

“By economic sector, the upward trend of employment in the services sector persisted mainly in wholesale and retail trade; food & beverages services; and transport & storage activities.

“A similar trend was observed in the manufacturing and construction sectors while employment in agriculture and mining & quarrying sectors continued to decrease,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA NERUS, Jan 10 — The Terengganu government is monitoring if civil servants in the state are involved in obtaining fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates following the arrest of a private clinic doctor over fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates in the state.

State Local Government, Housing, Health and Environment Committee chairman, Dr. Alias Razak said the state government takes a serious view of the issue of false vaccination certificates as it concerns the safety and health of the people.

“We will be ordering government departments to monitor those who are anti-vaccine and whether they acquire fake vaccination certificates. This is a serious offence and the matter would be monitored by the departments concerned to ensure the matter (purchase of fake vaccination certificate) does not recur,” he told reporters here today.

He was commenting on the arrest of a private clinic doctor by police in Marang on Saturday after being suspected of issuing fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates.

Dr. Alias said the state government is leaving it to police and the Health Ministry (MOH) to flush out any other private medical practitioners involved in such despicable activities.

Earlier, Terengganu police chief Datuk Rohaimi Md Isa in a media conference today said a 51-year-old doctor was nabbed at his clinic in a raid by the Terengganu Health Department after receiving public complaints on the activity.

Rohaimi said initial investigations found 1,900 individuals had vaccinations with the clinic and police are still probing the actual individuals who did not receive their vaccine shots as police only found fake vaccination certificates.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency