Day: May 11, 2022

Posted on

Down syndrome man missing since Hari Raya eve

SEREMBAN, May 11 (Bernama) — A man with down syndrome was reported missing after leaving his house on Hari Raya eve on May 1.

The man’s father, Dorajak Kazamad, 63, said he and his wife were too busy cleaning the house to prepare for Aidilfitri, that they did not realise Mohd Fareez had sneaked out.

“After fajr prayers, we continued to clean the house and did not notice my son had gone out through the back door at 6.30 am. I thought he had gone to buy breakfast at a shop nearby.

“It is normal for him to quietly leave the house in the mornings to buy drinks and return home. But until now, he has not returned and we are worried for him,” he said when met by Bernama at his home in Taman Desa Dahlia, Senawang here today.

According to Dorajak this is not the first time his son has gone missing. Before this, Mohd Fareez went missing but he was found by the public and Welfare Department officers a few days later.

Dorajak said he and his wife Fadilah Mohamad Laji, 62, had lodged a police report at the Senawang police station on the first day of Aidilfitri on May 2.

They had also gone looking for Mohd Fareez around Senawang and Seremban, especially at the bus terminal, shops and clinics.

Dorajak said his son was last seen wearing a red t-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms, while urging anyone who might have seen his son to contact him at 017-2678673 or the nearest police station.

Meanwhile, Seremban district police chief ACP Nanda Maarof when contacted confirmed receiving the report about the man’s disappearance and called on those with information on Mohd Fareez to contact the nearest police station.

“The case has been classified as a Missing Person and police are now tracking the whereabouts of Mohd Fareez,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Posted on

Yayasan Undang Johol gives RM1 million to UKM to redevelop customary land

JOHOL, May 11 (Bernama) — Yayasan Undang Johol (YUJ) today presented an endowment fund of RM1 million to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) to redevelop idle customary land and empower the children in the district through education.

Undang (Ruling Chief of) Luak Johol Datuk Muhammed Abdullah said the cooperation from the university was vital to transform thousands of acres of idle customary land in Johol and other districts in Negeri Sembilan, especially through their expertise in agriculture, livestock breeding and fisheries sectors.

“The initiative can help boost the local economy and increase family income, especially to the B40 target group so that they can get out of poverty, as well as creating job opportunities for rural residents,” he said at the presentation ceremony of the fund here.

Earlier, Muhammed also witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between UKM, represented by its vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Ekhwan Toriman, and Yayasan Undang Luak Johol, represented by its chief executive officer Md Ghazali Md Yasin.

Meanwhile, Mohd Ekhwan said the fund was an initiative to support the research and development activities that would benefit the people, especially those in Johol, and at the same time, improve the socio-economic status of the target group in a sustainable manner based on knowledge.

“It is also hoped the lure more investors to develop such idle customary land,” he said.

At the same time, he said the fund would also help empower the children of Johol through scholarships for them to pursue tertiary education or carry out research on the institution of Luak Johol and the Perpatih Custom in Negeri Sembilan.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Posted on

Raja of Perlis wants mosques to be used as knowledge development centres

— The Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail wants the mosques in the state to continue to be used as centres for learning and knowledge development.

He said the mosques should provide a balanced education and give emphasis on the Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah to educate the community so that they will be able to practice the teachings.

“At the same time, mosques must be kept away from political parties and distance themselves from sensitive issues that can cause public concern.

“To ensure the quality of delivery of religious teachers in the state mosque can be improved, the parties involved should also get a teaching certificate issued by the Perlis Mufti Department,” he said in the opening ceremony of the Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail Mosque in conjunction with his 79th birthday last night.

Also present was Raja Perempuan of Perlis Tuanku Tengku Fauziah Tengku Abdul Rashid.

Also in attendance were Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail, Raja Puan Muda of Perlis Tuanku Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil and their daughter Sharifah Khatreena Nuraniah.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man with his wife Datin Seri Noraswana Omar, Perlis Mufti Prof Madya Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin and the state executive council members were also present.

Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin said the teaching staff who delivered lectures using weak arguments, abusive words and causing division were not welcome in this state.

“The same goes for those who do not respect the religious beliefs enshrined in the Constitution of the State of Perlis,” he said.

He also wanted the mosques to intensify their religious-related programmes and activities so that they can be an attraction not only among the locals but also to the outside community.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Posted on

NPC inter media bowling championship is back after two years

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (Bernama) – After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the inter media bowling championship organised by the National Press Club (NPC) and QI Group Malaysia is back in action and will resume this Saturday (May 14).

NPC president Datuk Ahiruddin Attan in a press conference here today said it was exciting to have this comeback event after two years of ‘hibernation’, with the purpose of gathering the journalists in the country.

“I am really hoping that we are able to organise more events in the future, such as the treasure hunt and football tournament. We appreciate the sponsors and the sponsorships are utilised for the welfare of the journalists,” he said, adding that the event was aimed at promoting good journalism and to have as much fun as possible.

A total of 10 teams will take part in the competition, comprising media staff from Petra News, Media Prima’s TV3, Bernama, TwentyTwo13, New Straits Times Press, NPC, Sabah Journalists Association (SJA), Asia News, and Penang Press Club, while eight teams from sponsors and special invitation will also join the bowling tournament at the Sunway Pyramid shopping centre.

The top three teams will stand a chance to win cash prizes of RM1,200, RM800 and RM400, including trophies and hampers.

The champions will also be awarded the QI Challenge Trophy and take-away replica trophy, while the top two teams will represent NPC at the media games against SJA in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in July.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Posted on

MAFI aims to cut livestock feed imports by 30 per cent

PADANG BESAR, May 11 (Bernama) — The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) has set a target to reduce livestock feed imports by 30 per cent by the year 2030 through its Grain Corn Industry Development Project.

MAFI deputy secretary-general (Development) Datuk Badrul Hisham Mohd said presently, Malaysia imports about four million matrix tonnes of grain corn valued at about RM6.2 billion a year.

For the ministry to achieve the target, he said a large area of land was needed to plant corn which was seen to be a new source of wealth for industry players in the country.

“Right now we are working to bring together major commodity industry players to be equally involved in this crop.

“We are also discussing with palm oil industry players so that they can allocate 10 per cent of their land to plant maize,” he said after conducting a walkabout in Lembah Chuping here today.

Badrul Hisham said that there was a need for the government to find a new formula to overcome the country’s high dependence on grain maize imports.

“To realise this, the government cannot be alone and that is why we need to bring industry players together to be involved in the cultivation of this grain maize,” he said.

He added that efforts to reduce dependence on the import of grain maize had been started since 2015 and would take at least 15 years through three phases of implementation.

According to him, a long period is needed to enable research and studies to be done with stakeholders to create a stable industry.

“We are now at the end of the pilot phase for five years starting 2015 until 2022 and after that will move on to the consolidation and expansion phase.

“During this period, we evaluate various aspects that need to be considered, including cultivation methods, appropriate use of seeds, the weather, quality control and others,” he said.

He said if the government could resolve the issue of supply for livestock feed, the people would definitely benefit and at the same time reduce spending on subsidies.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Posted on

Price hike due to blended cooking oil not regulated under AKHAP

PUTRAJAYA, May 11 (Bernama) — The cooking oil that is reported to have experienced a price hike of up to RM10 for a five-kilogramme (kg) bottle is not regulated under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act (AKHAP) 2011 as it is categorised as blended cooking oil.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the alleged price hike of cooking oil as reported involved the Knife and Red Eagle brands, which are not categorised under the AKHAP’s legal control.

“This is because it is under the blended cooking oil category and not pure cooking oil,” he tweeted today when commenting on allegations of the soaring prices of cooking oil.

According to reports, the price of five-kg blended cooking oil of the Red Eagle and Knife brands is said to be RM45 now compared to between RM30 and RM35 during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Nanta said that effective from Aug 1, 2021, the maximum retail price of pure palm cooking oil sold in bottles is RM29.70 for five kg; RM18.70 (three kg); RM12.70 (two kg); and RM6.70 (one kg).

Nanta, meanwhile, said that traders, however, should not arbitrarily raise the price of blended cooking oil in the market.

He said the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) had the jurisdiction to investigate according to AKHAP, on the basis of profiteering.

He said a notice would be sent to the premises in accordance with Section 21 of AKHAP and, if there was an element of profiteering, legal action could be taken under Section 14(1) of the same act.

Upon conviction, corporations or companies can be fined up to RM500,000 while non-corporations or individuals can be fined up to RM100,000 or jailed for a term not exceeding three years or both.

He said the KPDNHEP enforcement officers were aware of the case and are taking further action.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Posted on

Emirates to increase air connectivity to Malaysia

PUTRAJAYA, May 11 (Bernama) — Dubai-based Emirates, one of the world’s leading airlines, is set to increase air connectivity to Malaysia through a number of flights and flight capacity, from major destinations beyond Dubai and across the globe.

This follows the signing of a memorandum of collaboration (MOC) between Tourism Malaysia and Emirates at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2022 held at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Tuesday (May 10), as strategic partners to boost tourism recovery.

Tourism Malaysia, in a statement, said Emirates is expected to expand its wings to other cities in Malaysia as well as promote some of the country’s latest attractions and destinations for shopping, family fun, eco-adventure, honeymoon and luxury holidays, following the reopening of Malaysia’s borders on April 1.

“This collaboration will explore mutually beneficial initiatives that will drive inbound tourism to Malaysia, and also offers Emirates more opportunities to serve the market,” said Tourism Malaysia, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture with the focus on promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the collaboration would give a further boost to the tourism industry and strengthen economic ties between Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.

The collaboration is also aimed to attract potential tourists from other markets such as Europe, America, and Africa via Emirates’ network and services, she said.

“We hope Emirates will continue to work together with Tourism Malaysia to promote Malaysia as a unique travel destination focusing solely on Malaysia by highlighting different cities such as Kota Kinabalu and Penang,” she said in the statement.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency