Month: June 2022

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) — The Federal Territories Ministry through the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has banned heavy vehicles exceeding 7.5 tons from entering the city centre with immediate effect.

Its deputy minister, Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias said the enforcement measure was decided today by a special committee looking into solutions regarding the methods and actions to disperse traffic congestion in the capital city.

He said that any heavy vehicle found entering the capital at peak hours will be subject to action under Section 79 of The Road Transport Act 1987 by the police and the Road Transport Department (JPJ).

“Those who violate this ban will be subject to mandatory compounds and we will take a tough stance by not considering any appeals they might submit,” he said at a media conference that was also attended by KL Mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah after chairing the first meeting of the special committee here today.

Congestion in the city was also found to be due to a 45 per cent increase in the number of vehicles after the easing of the Movement Control Order since August last year, with 46.76 million recorded in December 2021 compared to 26.51 million in December 2019.

The committee has also decided to ban vehicles from parking on the curb during peak hours and will be phasing out parking spots at major roads in stages.

“We also are banning traders from conducting business on pavements during peak hours and will phase out trading spots in stages on pavements of major roads,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) — The Education Ministry (MOE) will find ways to resolve the issue of candidates opting out of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.

Senior Minister of Education Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the issue was not something new; in fact, the figure of around 10,000 absent candidates recorded last year was almost similar to that recorded in previous years.

“We are reviewing the results (of SPM 2021). As such, we are looking at new constraints and challenges faced in the context of candidates’ no-shows.

“We will look into this matter in a comprehensive manner because it has been going on for so long,” he told reporters at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka 66th Anniversary Celebration here today.

Radzi also said that the ministry’s efforts in implementing the concept of ‘Sekolahku Sejahtera’ to inculcate students’ interest in the school system could be seen as a step to address the problem.

“Among the aspects emphasised in the concept is to create a school atmosphere that is fun enough for (students) to attend…we don’t have to force them and they themselves will feel that school is their place.

“If we don’t address the problem thoroughly and analyse it one by one, we won’t be able to find a suitable approach or mechanism (to solve it),” he said.

Asked if there is a possibility that school students are now more interested in working instead of going to school, Radzi said he had met with parents whose children did not enter the school system because they were comfortable working.

Therefore, he said, all quarters, including parents, should realise that school was an important component in the development of young people.

“Students, parents, teachers and the community need to work together to ensure that our children continue to go to school,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) — The Home Ministry is still gathering evidence on allegations that non-refugees were given refugee status cards by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin also said the ministry has yet to hold discussions with UNHCR on the matter.

He said the ministry was gathering more evidence to ensure no mistakes and to confirm the issue was not merely confined to only one or two parties.

“If there is a lot (evidence), they would then not be able to say anything. There is something that (they) may be hiding from us and this is what we are doing (evidence gathering) now.

“I will make a decision when the time comes… it is better for those who want to stay in our country to comply with our laws,” he told reporters after officiating at the NIISe project contract handover ceremony here today.

He said Malaysia was an independent country and all parties should have confidence in its laws.

Meanwhile, Hamzah said the Home Ministry was still responsible for foreign workers’ safety even though the entry quota for the group was now under the management of the Human Resources Ministry.

“For example, foreigners who work as maids in which safety is their own responsibility. But who ensures their safety? Others would not know, except for the Home Ministry through the police and Immigration who will assist if issues arise. The same goes with the security sector involving foreign security guards,” he said.

He said the Home Ministry also vetted foreigners brought in to work in the country to ensure that they were not blacklisted.

“If an employer gets a quota by wanting to bring in 100 foreigners, he has to pay levy to the Immigration and then key in the (details) into our system.

“If the foreigners are blacklisted in our country, we will not approve the Temporary Employment Visit Pass (PLKS). If they pass, we will stamp the visa with the PLKS and issue them a card for them to work in the country,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) — Malaysia has recorded 106,477 cases of the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), up to the 24th epidemiology week (ME) from June 12 to 18.

Health director-general, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement today said this was an increase of 39 times compared to the total cases for the same period last year which was during the COVID-19 pandemic with 2,710 cases.

“If compared with 31,500 cases for the same period in 2019 (before COVID-19 pandemic), it showed a 3.4 times increase. The cases reported nationwide for ME 24 was 10.556 cases, a 19.3 per cent fall compared with ME23 with 13,077 cases,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said Selangor logged the highest cases with 29,880 infections followed by Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (11,687), Perak (10,938), Johor (7,052) and Kelantan (6,532).

According to age, he said 95,175 children aged six and below were infected with HFMD while 9,183 children aged seven to 12 were infected by the disease.

The outbreaks were mostly at nurseries, kindergartens and pre-schools with 1,131 outbreaks or 56 per cent followed by private homes 794 outbreaks (40 per cent) and child care centres 57 outbreaks,” he said.

An outbreak is defined as an incident of HFMD with two or more cases in a locality and the cases are epidemiologically related as well as during the incubation period of HFMD.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

ISKANDAR PUTERI, June 20 (Bernama) — The unemployment rate in Johor has dropped 0.7 per cent to 3.2 per cent for the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year (2021).

State Youth, Sports, Entrepreneur Development, Cooperatives and Human Resource Committee chairman Mohd Hairi Mad Shah said the number of unemployed in the state also recorded a decrease to 58,600 individuals in the first quarter of this year compared to 70,800 during the same period last year.

He said the Johor Human Capital Strategic Unit (SMI) was actively conducting the Johor Skills Training Programme, Johor Career programme, as well as announcing job vacancies on SMI’s social media throughout the year.

“This year, SMI is targeting for 1,169 people to benefit from participating in skill courses in various fields and job placement opportunities,” he said during the Second Meeting of the First Session of the 15th Johor State Assembly at the Sultan Ismail Building here today.

He was responding to a question from Aznan Tamin (BN-Tanjung Surat) on the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2022 and what were measures taken to create more job opportunities in the state.

Mohd Hairi (BN-Larkin) said through the training programmes which included four main programmes, namely Johor Upskilling & Reskilling, Johor Skills Oil & Gas, Postgraduate Training and Skilled Manpower Certification, a total of 44 courses were offered to the target group to give them an opportunity to increase their personal income.

In addition, he said through the Johor Career Programme held last month, SMI Johor had organised open interviews by offering 883 vacancies involving the participation of eight firms.

“The programme would also be held in Kluang this July (central zone), followed by Muar in August (northern zone) and Johor Bahru in September (southern zone).

“A total of 623 vacancies were advertised and announced by the SMI Unit via social media platforms from January to May this year,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 (Bernama) — Yasmine Sofea Hairulnizam is a third-generation Felda student who scored 10As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2021 examination.

She diligently took extra classes to gain an in-depth understanding of each subject that she took for the examination.

And that, according to Yasmine Sofea, 18, is the recipe for her success.

The granddaughter of a Felda Air Tawar 1 settler in Kota Tinggi, Johor said that being selected to stay at Asrama Semai Bakti Felda here for five years gave her the opportunity to excel in her studies.

“The hostel provided additional classes every week dan I used the opportunity to gain a better understanding of each subject and participated in group studies with my friends,” she told Bernama today.

In addition, her determination to continue the legacy of her parents was what drove the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Aminuddin Baki student to study hard and eventually scored excellent grades.

Meanwhile, Emerra Balqis Mohd Ruslan, granddaughter of a Felda Raja Alias 1 settler in Jempol, Negeri Sembilan also scored excellent results with 8As in her SPM examination, which proved that hard work and determination will lead to success.

“Nothing can stop us from achieving success when we have determination. I have proven that the granddaughter of a Felda settler who went to a Felda school can also excel in her studies and I hope to continue to be successful, insya Allah,” said the eldest of three siblings who are now staying with her grandparents.

Emerra, who went to SMK Bandar Baru Serting, Negeri Sembilan, also expressed her appreciation to the teachers at the school for their tireless efforts in helping her obtain excellent results.

Her best friend, Nur Assyura Sulaiman, 18, who also scored 8As said she hoped to become a teacher to contribute back to the nation and planned to further her tertiary education in the field of English Language Studies.

Assyura, the granddaughter of a Felda Raja Alias 2 settler, said she was grateful for being able to score a good result despite having to undergo challenging teaching and learning sessions during the pandemic.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency