Day: July 15, 2022

GEORGE TOWN, July 15 (Bernama) — Tourism Malaysia aims to sell 500 to 600 Durian Farm Tour Packages from July 1 to Aug 31, said its director-general Datuk Zainuddin Abdul Wahab.

He said the tour packages are available in the northern states and the ministry has targeted returns of over RM100,000 for tour operators participating in the programme.

“Among the packages on offer are the 2 Days 1 Night Package starting from RM290 per person and the 3 Days 2 Nights Package starting from RM388 per person with a minimum booking of four people each package.

“To boost sales, Tourism Malaysia is also offering a 10 per cent discount to buyers,” he told reporters after officiating at the 2022 Durian Tour Package campaign here today.

He said the programme was aimed at reviving marketing and promotion of domestic tourism apart from helping durian orchard operators and it was also seen to be able to contribute to the local economy.

Zainuddin said to make the campaign a success, Tourism Malaysia had collaborated with five tour operators in developing the tour packages that combined elements of ecotourism, agro-tourism, archeotourism and extreme adventure.

He said the five operators are Kurma Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd, Adventure360 Tours Sdn Bhd, Time Free Vacation Sdn Bhd, M.Maha-Izah Transport and Tours Sdn Bhd and Asia Gateway Tours.

More information on the tour packages can be obtained through the Tourism Malaysia website at www.malaysia.travel.

Zainuddin said the ministry hoped that more tour operators from other parts of the country would also offer such packages.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 (Bernama) — A total of 19 deaths in police custody have been reported since January this year.

Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) secretary, Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin said of the total, nine were deaths in lockups, eight cases involved death at the hospital and two died while being taken to hospital.

She said the death cases were being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Unit on Deaths in Custody (USJKT) under the Bukit Aman Integrity and Standard Compliance Department (JIPS) that was established earlier this year (Jan 1, 2022).

“Forteen of the those who died were Malays, Chinese and Indian (one death each), while three cases involved foreigners namely from Myanmar (two cases) and Indonesia (one case),” she said in a statement today.

She added that out of the 19 deaths reported, one case had been charged in court under Section 323 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same law involving four suspects.

“One case has been referred to the coroner and 17 cases are still under investigation,” she said.

Noorsiah said yesterday a meeting was held with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) to discuss the progress of the investigation into the death in custody cases.

According to her, Suhakam, EAIC and representatives of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (Centhra) had also visited the Shah Alam District Police Headquarters centralised lockup to give them a clear view on how it operates.

She said the collaboration with other agencies was part of PDRM’s efforts to address the issue of deaths in police custody.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 (Bernama) — The Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) is developing an Affordable Housing Price Index for each location nationwide as a guide for developers, prospective buyers and local authorities to determine the appropriate price of affordable housing in an area or locality.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the index should be set up as there are different standards or definitions of affordable housing in various localities and states.

“For example, affordable in Shah Alam might not be the same as affordable in Hulu Selangor. That’s why we need to have a different standard to be guidelines for housing developers or entities to develop or build affordable housing,” he said during his speech as the launch of the Home Ownership Programme (HOPE) and the Jom Beli Rumah Carnival at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre near here today.

Both programmes are among government initiatives aimed to make house ownership easy for B40, M40 groups and youth.

“Every Malaysian family needs and should be helped to own a home. This is our joint objective – One Family One House,” he said.

Reezal also informed that the Jom Beli Rumah Carnival held today will be expanded throughout the country and over 130,000 affordable houses as well as over 330,000 residences at open prices will be offered in the series of carnivals.

“It will not just be in Mid Valley only, but will be taken to Malaysian families in the north, east coast, south as well as Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.

He said special offers, including discounts of up to 10 per cent, reduction or exemption of legal fees along with facilities to make the 10 per cent deposit by instalments, will be given to visitors.

Meanwhile, he said 386,000 units out of 500,000 houses targeted for construction throughout the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) were in the implementation stage.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, July 15 (Bernama) — The Ministry of Higher Learning (MOHE) is developing a new Internationalisation Policy and Higher Education Internationalisation Action Plan in line with the mission to position Malaysia as a regional and global education hub.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said improvements are being done to replace the old policy by taking into account the current scenario and the shifts in the global education landscape.

She said the COVID-19 pandemic that struck the world in 2020 had posed a challenge to Malaysia in achieving its target of producing 250,000 international students by 2025.

“I hope that the internationalisation policy and action plan that is being refined will not only increase the number of international students and staff, inbound and outbound mobility but also enhance the positive experience of international students in Malaysia,” she said in a statement here today.

The statement was issued in conjunction with her visit to Makassar, Indonesia to deliver a keynote address titled “Dinamika Internasional dan Hubungannya dengan Upaya Mewujudkan Entitas Masyarakat Sulawesi Selatan Berskala Global” (International dynamics and its relationship to the efforts in creating South Sulawesi community on a global scale) during an event to celebrate the 68th anniversary of Universitas Muslim Indonesia (UMI).

Noraini said effective internationalisation strategies needed to be identified to address existing issues, challenges and implementation gaps and this could be done through engagement sessions with stakeholders.

She said the government is offering a scholarship (Malaysia International Scholarship-MIS) to encourage more international students, including those from Indonesia, to study in the country.

According to Noraini, to date, 10,278 Indonesian students are studying in Malaysia and of that number, 66 are placed at various public universities under MIS for 2020 and 2021.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KOTA SAMARAHAN July 15 (Bernama) — The Sarawak government will announce several more measures in the near future to assist the B40 and M40 groups in the state to own houses, especially with property prices now on the rise.

State Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Michael Tiang said these programmes were still at the final stage of evaluation by the ministry before they could be listed with other aid programmes that had been announced previously.

“They (the new programmes) will be announced soon. The Sarawak government understands what the people are facing following the rise in property prices and is taking steps to ease the burden of the needy,” he said at a media conference after launching the Health Ministry Medical Device Authority (MDA) Endemic Phase Control Tour Programme here today.

He said the Sarawak government had previously implemented the Housing Deposit Assistance Scheme of up to RM10,000 to help young couples in the B40 and M10 categories in the state to purchase their first homes.

“Secondly, we have a People’s Housing Programme where we will rent out houses (provided by the Sarawak government) at an affordable rate and priority will be given to the homeless or squatters,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 (Bernama) — The Health Ministry (MOH) will establish a National Autism Council in the near future as a stakeholder centre on autism.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said it was aimed at developing an integrated intervention strategy for individuals on the autism spectrum.

He said the ministry would prepare a cabinet paper on the matter and would present it to the Cabinet within a month or two.

“This council not only shows the support we give to parents or individuals with autism at the child level but also the supportive interventions we can give to them when they become adults and want to contribute to the development of the country,” he said.

Khairy told reporters this after officiating at the closing of the Strategy Transformation and Empowering Autism Care workshop today.

According to Khairy, the council’s establishment will involve various ministries and stakeholders and among the ministries proposed to join are the Education Ministry, the Human Resources Ministry and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.

Khairy said with the event, he also hoped to develop the National Clinical Autism Registry as a database of autism cases in the country.

“This clinical registry will help the MOH and other ministries to develop more accurate and effective interventions for individuals with the autism spectrum,” he said.

On the workshop, Khairy said issues raised, including insurance coverage for autistic individuals, would be looked into by the National Autism Council, while Bank Negara as the regulatory body for the insurance industry could be invited to give its views.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

JAKARTA, July 15 (Bernama) — Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Government Management and Leadership in conjunction with the 68th anniversary of Universitas Muslim Indonesia (UMI).

Noraini received the honorary doctorate from the Rector of UMI, Prof. Dr. H Basri Modding, at the UMI campus in Makassar, South Sulawesi, today.

The award was given for her role and contribution in advancing science and technology, as well as achievements in leadership and emphasis of development for the benefit of the Malaysian and global community, according to the ministry in a statement.

Noraini is the fourth recipient of UMI Honorary Doctorate – after former Vice President of Indonesia H. M. Jusuf Kalla (2018), Vice President of Indonesia Ma’ruf Amin (2020) and Vice Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Prof Datuk Ts Dr Mohd Ekhwan Toriman (2021).

Also present at the ceremony was the Counsellor (Education) of the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, Mohd Mubarak Shamsuddin.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency