Day: April 18, 2022

KOTA BHARU, April 18 (Bernama) — Kelantan will have its first Form Six College in Bukit Cina, Ketereh, near here.

The good news was shared by Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin in a posting on Facebook today.

“The college, which will have 20 classrooms and other facilities, will be built in Bukit Cina bordering Ketereh and Machang. It is quite a strategic location, close to the main road linking Kota Bharu and Gua Musang.

“The construction of the college will give the opportunity to Kelantan children to pursue post-secondary education at a proper Form Six College premises,” he said.

It is learnt that Radzi had also visited the college project site yesterday.

The senior minister also expressed confidence that the project would steer the country towards academic excellence through the provision of a better and proper educational infrastructure for the future generation of the country, especially in Kelantan.

He said, at present, there are 23 Form Six Colleges in the country except in Perlis, Pahang, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Putrajaya and Labuan.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA TERENGGANU, April 18 (Bernama) — The Terengganu Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIDAM) is targetting RM230 million in zakat (tithe) collection this year.

Its chief executive officer, Dr Azrin Ahmad Mohd Adnan, said it is an increase of 15 per cent from the RM205 million collected last year.

“We are optimistic to achieve the target as numerous promotions and campaigns were being carried out, especially to get among business entities operating in the states to pay their (business) tithe.

“An increase in tithe collection is important to meet the needs of 21,187 tithe recipients in Terengganu so that they too can enjoy a better life,” he told reporters after launching the MAIDAM drive-through tithe payment counter here today.

The drive-through counter in front of MAIDAM’s office is open daily from 8.30 am to 4 pm until the end of Ramadan.

Azrin Ahmad sid tithe payees can also use various methods of payment – either by cash, credit or debit card and even cheque – to pay their tithe.

Nevertheless, he said payments must only be made to 976 accredited amil (collectors).

As of today, he said MAIDAM had collected RM51 million in tithe and 96 per cent of it had been distributed to the deserving asnaf (tithe recipients).

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 (Bernama) — Malaysia recorded 11,233 recoveries from COVID-19 yesterday compared to 6,623 new cases, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said 6,610 of the new cases were local infections, with 96.1 per cent being Malaysians and 3.9 per cent foreigners, while 13 were imported cases, with 84.6 per cent being Malaysians and 15.4 per cent foreigners.

In a statement today, Dr Noor Hisham said the new cases bring the cumulative figure for COVID-19 infections to 4,389,025. Six new clusters were detected yesterday, bringing the number of active clusters to 120.

He said 241 cases were admitted to hospital yesterday, comprising 106 cases in categories three, four and five and 135 cases in categories one and two.

On the use of health facilities dedicated to COVID-19 cases, Dr Noor Hisham said no states exceeded a usage rate of 50 per cent for both Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and non-ICU beds.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA TERENGGANU, April 18 (Bernama) — Prof Datuk Dr Mazlan Abd Ghaffar has been re-appointed as Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) vice-chancellor for another year until April 17, 2023.

Previously, the university’s deputy vice-chancellor, he was appointed vice-chancellor by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad on Aug 2, 2021.

UMT, in a statement today, said apart from his vast experience in research and innovation, Mazlan’s educational background in fisheries science is in line with UMT’s research thrust area, which is on marine and aquatic resources.

His achievements included getting the UMT’s Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (AKUATROP) as a Higher Education Centre of Excellence (HICoE) for Research and Innovation (HICoE) and for UMT to lead in a special Long Term Research Grant Scheme (LRGS) project, Ocean Climate Change: Potential Risk, Impact and Adaptation Towards Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Services in Malaysia, in collaboration with several public universities, as well as generate fund for the university through the commercialisation of intellectual property.

At the international level, it said, Mazlan is a member of various organisations, such as the Ichthyological Society of Japan, Marine Biology Association of the United Kingdom, Asean Fisheries Society and Taiwan Oceanography Society.

Meanwhile, Mazlan, in the same statement, said he would continue the agenda to strengthen UMT’s main thrust area, namely marine science, and strive to position UMT as an excellent focused university.

Mazlan is the sixth vice-chancellor of UMT.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 (Bernama) — The transition to endemic phase has helped makeup artists to recover their business as a result of the full reopening of the economy.

Social events such as wedding receptions are now allowed to be held subject to a more relaxed standard operating procedure (SOP), giving a huge relief to them.

Professional makeup artist, Intan Nadia Syazwani Mohamed Nordin, 28, said she had started receiving bookings from customers soon after the announcement that the country would enter the transition to endemic phase on April 1 was made.

“Prior to the transition to endemic phase, I received bookings from three customers a day. But now I manage to get up to 12 customers per day as they no longer worry about the possibility of the Movement Control Order being reintroduced.

“When the MCO was first implemented, many customers opted to reschedule their events for fear of losing their deposit if they cancel their booking,” she said.

Amien Asyraq Razali, 25, said he was grateful that business has returned to normal for him and he is almost fully booked, especially ahead of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

“I have to limit the bookings to three customers per day to maintain quality even though many have asked me to open more booking slots,” he said.

Amien Asyraq said the COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on him and impacted many of his fellow makeup artists financially, forcing them to look at other sources of income to survive.

Johor-born profession makeup artist Noorhanizah Mohd Rashid, 38, said she has seen a 50 per cent increase in bookings compared with before the country entered the transition to endemic phase.

“Previously, I only received bookings from 15 to 20 brides a month, but now I manage to cater to up to 40 customers a month,” she said when contacted.

However, Noorhanizah said despite the increase in bookings, the hike in the price of cosmetic products and makeup tools had somewhat hampered the recovery of her business.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUCHING, April 18 (Bernama) — Former Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) deputy director( Intelligence/Operations) Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri has been appointed as the new Sarawak Police Commissioner, effective today.

A handing-over of duties ceremony by acting Sarawak police commissioner Datuk Mancha Anta to Mohd Azman was held at the Sarawak contingent police headquarters here today and witnessed by Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department director Datuk Hazani Ghazali.

In his speech, Mohd Azman said he regarded his appointment as an honour and a mandate given to him by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah.

“I am heavily involved in crime prevention. But, with the trust given by the IGP to carry out my duties as the Sarawak police commissioner. I will do the best I can.

“I also seek the support of the Sarawak contingent and Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) personnel to be able to continue to give the best to the community and the country,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUCHING, April 18 (Bernama) — Spartan, the world’s largest course race and endurance brand, will make its return to the Land of Hornbills in June with its Spartan Race Sarawak after two years of deferment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a statement from the Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, the Spartan Race Sarawak would be held on June 11 and 12 at the Sarawak Agriculture Institute and Sarawak Civil Service Leadership Institute, both in Semenggo here.

“The Spartan Race Sarawak was hailed as the toughest Spartan race in Southeast Asia by Spartan racers after the inaugural event held in Sarawak in 2019. This year’s race will be no different and will feature the two most popular categories, the 5km Sprint (20 obstacles) and 10km Super (25 obstacles),” it said.

The race is expected to attract 2,500 participants, including 1,000 from outside Malaysia, and as of today, 1,058 have registered for the event.

“The Spartan Race Sarawak 2022 will place Sarawak on the map as an international tourist destination as the event is expected to attract racers from around this region,” said the statement.

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SPARTAN-RACE 2 (LAST) KUCHING

Those who registered for the Spartan Race Sarawak 2020 can transfer their tickets to this year’s race by sending their information to info@my.spartan.com, while those who have yet to register can do so at https://my.spartan.com/en.

Spartan will also organise a Borneo Trail Classic in October in Sarawak, one of nine stops of the Spartan Trail World Championship Series around the world and the only one in Asia.

The Borneo Trail Classic, which offers a total prize money of US$18,000 (about RM76,456), will be held at Redeems Centre in Kampung Apar from Oct 14 to 16, where runners will race through jungles, hills and rivers to the finish line to earn the official Spartan Trail World Championship swag and medal.

More information on the Borneo Trail Classic is available at www.borneotrailclassic.com.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency