Month: July 2022

PUTRAJAYA, July 30 (Bernama) — The excitement shows on the faces of the people with disabilities (PwDs) as they joined thousands of the Malaysian Family (Keluarga Malaysia) at the launch of the 2022 National Month and the Fly the Jalur Gemilang at Dataran Putrajaya today.

OKU Sentral president Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi said about 200 PwDs from various categories joined Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the cabinet members in the 2.7 kilometre “Berjalan Teguh Bersama” programme.

The brisk-walking programme, which started at Dataran Putra took participants to various locations, along the 2.7 km route, including the Alaf Baru Monument, before ending at Dataran Putrajaya. Several performances, including by the Orang Asli, were held at the various pit-stops.

Ras Adiba said she arrived at the venue at 7.30 am and joined in the walk on her wheelchair.

“It is an exciting day today. I am very happy because many of my friends from various categories also came.

“We actually came to watch the launch, but I am happy to be able to push (my) wheelchair from the Putra Mosque at Dataran Putra to here (Palace of Justice),” she told Bernama when met at the launch of the 2022 National Month and Fly Jalur Gemilang here today.

She said her PwD friends were all very excited to be at the event, more so, being able to participate in the “walk”.

“The people came out in droves to celebrate. It’s amazing. Everyone looks happy to be able to celebrate this occasion with the Prime Minister, get to meet friends who they have not seen for a long time. It’s a nice feeling to be able to celebrate our Merdeka month,” she said, adding that the PwDs, despite their handicap, also took part in the walk.

Firdaus Shukor, 30, who is physically disabled, said his participation in today’s programme was driven by his desire to “walk” with thousands of other Malaysian Family.

“Other people walk, so can I, but in my own way, using my wheelchair. No problem. I’m having fun,” said the national athlete in fencing.

Another participant in the walk, D. Kamala Devi, who was accompanied by her husband and two sons, aged six and eight, said they left their house in Taman Puchong Perdana as early as 7 am to participate in the programme.

She said she got to know about the programme from a teacher at her son’s school and brought along her two sons so that they would get to know the Malaysian Family and see the country leaders in person.

“My eldest son also took a picture with the convoy (Kembara Merdeka Keluarga Malaysia 2022) team,” she said.

Meanwhile Anuar Rashadi, from Petaling Jaya, said he usually came to Putrajaya every Saturday.

“But today, I am here to join in the walk,” he said, adding that such a programme should be held periodically to celebrate the country’s diverse society.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUCHING, July 29 (Bernama) — The Malaysia Smart Cities Alliance Association (MSCA) is keen to cooperate with Sarawak on the development of smart cities, according to the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA).

SMA, in a statement today, said this was conveyed by MSCA following a courtesy visit by MSCA chairman Dr Raslan Ahmad to SMA recently.

According to Raslan, Sarawak has vast experience in digitalisation policy and MSCA is keen to establish a cooperation with Sarawak through SMA to achieve a common goal for a sustainable smart nation.

He said in the same statement that the success stories and best practices of Sarawak under the leadership of SMA should be emulated by other states and perhaps even at the global level.

Raslan said MSCA is a platform established for the council members to deliberate on smart city issues and challenges and create opportunities for networking among the stakeholders.

During the courtesy visit, SMA general manager Dr Zaidi Razak shared with the delegation on Sarawak’s plan to capitalise on digital technologies to maximise digital value, and deliver simple, secure and trusted service for the benefit of the rakyat.

“We are honoured that we are able to attract interests from various parties. This shows that Sarawak is regarded as a digital powerhouse since the commencement of the digital economy agenda in 2018.

“We believe that a public-private and community partnership involving all stakeholders is important because this will provide a platform to bring about successful economic transformation and growth for the betterment of all Sarawakians,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) — The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today performed the Friday prayer at the Khalid Al-Walid Mosque here.

Present to greet Al-Sultan Abdullah who arrived at the mosque at 1.15 pm were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad and Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim.

Also present were Malaysian Armed Forces Chief General Tan Sri Affendi Buang and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

For today’s Friday sermon, with the title “Segagah Khalid Al-Walid” (As Strong as Khalid Al-Walid),  in conjunction with National Warriors Day and Maal Hijrah 1444, it was delivered by the Malaysian Armed Forces Director-General of the Religious Corps  Major-General Mohd Rashidi Bujai.

After the prayer, His Majesty shook hands with some members of the congregation before leaving.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) — Tax experts and industry players have proposed that the government should consider combining the best of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act and the existing Sales and Services Tax (SST) Act, and be called the Harmonised Sales and Services Tax (HSST) Act to improve the current consumption tax system in the country.

Former director-general of the Customs Department who is also the former chairman of the Customs Oversight Committee until April 2020 at the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Datuk Seri Subromaniam Tholasy said although the GST is the most ideal consumption tax, the government has said it would only be reintroduced after careful consideration.

“So the current SST needs to be improved by merging both sales tax and services tax into possibly one harmonised rate in order for the government to collect more revenue,” he said in the ‘Harmonising Sales and Services Taxes: The Better Alternative to Reintroducting GST’ economic chat session organised virtually by the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) today.

He said that under the current SST, there are about 800 items (goods) which attract five per cent sales tax and 5,600 more items attract 10 per cent, while under GST it used to tax over 11,000 items.

“The government can increase or broaden the base of items (goods) under the SST to about 8,000 items and still keep it at a single-stage tax, that is the sales tax. While for services tax, which currently accounts for 37 per cent, there is also a potential to be broadened to mirror the image of GST, which is 65 per cent.

“This will have less impact on consumer price index (CPI) prices because when we look at the CPI basket, one of the main issues under GST was that typically the goods have shown a dramatic increase,” said Subromaniam.

Under SST, the single most important weakness is the cascading of taxes.

Another panelist, Dr Veerinderjeet Singh, a member of the Global Tax Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) pointed out that it is an inaccurate perception to say that the implementation of GST will increase government revenue because it covers about 70 per cent of goods and services, while the SST only covers about 37 per cent.

“I have been a proponent for GST and still am, but I want to clarify that if we widen the scope of coverage in SST, we can also collect more revenue. But how much more, I suggest that the authorities and relevant parties do a simulation (to study the matter),” said Veerinderjeet, who is also the vice-chairman of the ICC’s Global Tax Commission.

He supported the idea of extending SST to cover more goods and services. However, there would be concern on inflation as prices of other goods would go up due to the imposition of a six or 10 per cent tax, he added.

“But I think this can be done skillfully over a period of time. Another issue is that enforcement needs to be effective where the investment into manpower needs to be looked at.

“Besides, the usage of technology is fundamental for enforcement to give a greater control mechanism and probably should be introduced in the intermediary model.

“Adding to this, I think it is also time to go back to invoicing and stating companies’ SST (registration) number on the invoices like how we used to do in GST, as this should create transparency as well,” said Veerinderjeet.

Board member of MIER and former Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon who agreed on the matter said by having a number (registration), it would help to solve problems faced by manufacturers and service providers as you will not be charging each other taxes.

“Although there will be a loss of revenue because the tax on tax is gone and the government will lose its first bite (on revenue), it is not a complete loss. This is because the cost of services is built into the manufacturers’ products in the end.

“Instead of losing six per cent, it would only lose one per cent or so. I think we can work this out in simulation. I believe improving the current model can make SST better, more effective and simpler to businesses and the government,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

ALOR GAJAH, July 29 (Bernama) — A smoke-free community can be established with support from all parties, said Ayer Limau State Assemblyman Hameed Myhtheen Kunju Basheer.

He was referring to Kampung Sungai Jerneh, Taman Berembang and Paya Lebar Homestays in the  Ayer Limau state constituency in Melaka which are actively implementing the Smoke-Free Community (KBAR) programme since its  introduction in 2012.

They are all in the rural areas, thus showing that the village community has a high level of awareness in creating a generational end game (GEG) to smoking, he said.

He said the KBAR programme involved the participation of 30 houses in Kampung Sungai Jerneh, 55 houses in Taman Berembang and 12 homestays in Paya Lebar.

 “This (KBAR) programme is a joint venture between the Ministry of Health, the Melaka government and the community to promote a smoke-free home atmosphere, initially known as a Smoke-Free House and now known as Malaysia Home without Smoking Environment or MyHOUSE,” he told Bernama here.

Hameed Myhtheen said KBAR is an extension of the Smoke-Free Melaka (MBAR) programme implemented under the Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention 1 Malaysia (NCDP-1M) Community Setting to protect the rights of the majority of non-smokers from the threat of cigarette smoke, encourage non-smoking and develop cigarette sales-related activities.

Apart from that, he said KBAR also aims to establish prohibited smoking areas and to promote non-smoking practices during celebrations, official events in a community as well as encourage smokers to stop smoking by holding health and smoking addiction screenings.

He said in a community, there are common places for the people to gather to carry out social activities, such as the surau, mosque, community hall, schools, stalls and eateries, grocery stores and members of the community play a role in ensuring that their community is smoke-free.

“For example, when there is a gathering such as a wedding, the committee member in charge of KBAR will ask the host to put up a sign stating that the event is smoke-free, and visitors who attend must comply with the regulation by ensuring that those who smoke, only smoke outside the area,” he said.

During the early stages of the implementation of the MBAR,  which was gazetted by the state government in 2011, he said, some thought that the programme would adversely affect the state’s tourism, but the opposite happened with the arrival of more visitors, especially those with families.

“There are visitors who prefer to come to Melaka when the smoking-free zones are established, like at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) in Ayer Keroh, the Jasin and Alor Gajah City Council areas, the heritage towns in Banda Hilir and Melaka Raya.

“There are also two exclusive no-smoking zones, at  Jalan Kota and Jonker Walk, where visitors are not allowed to smoke even on the street,” he added.

Meanwhile,  Melaka Health Department Principal Assistant Director Dr Norma Sabtu said the criteria for  KBAR included establishing a Smoke-Free Work Committee consisting of volunteers known as the Smoke Free Cadre, to not accept donations, sponsorship or influence from  tobacco industry and to have a written policy on the matter, and to display it visibly.

Norma, who is also the Head of the Non-Communicable Disease Control Unit (NCD), said other criteria included putting up smoking ban signs and not providing facilities for smoking such as ashtrays, trash cans with ashtrays,  smoking rooms and corners in premises that are designated as Prohibited Smoking Zones.

 “Among the benefits of KBAR is creating a clean and healthy environment, with children brought up in a healthier environment, improving the health of the population by adopting a healthy lifestyle and giving exposure to smokers that their practice is not accepted by the majority, thus encouraging them to quit smoking,” he said.

Sungai Jerneh Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) chairman Jaafar Atan, 59, said one of the things that he took pride in after joining KBAR was when there were no more  retail shops selling cigarettes in the village.

According to him, his late father was the only retail shop owner in the village when he opened the business in the 1990s.

“When my father fell ill, I continued the retail business making a profit of up to RM1,500 a month, including from the sale of cigarettes.

“However, after joining KBAR, I gradually reduced the supply of cigarettes in the shop until at one point I stopped selling them,” said Jaafar, who is a non-smoker.

Yesterday, the Tobacco Products and Smoking Control Bill 2022 which, among others, prohibits  individuals born in 2007 onwards, from smoking, buying or possessing tobacco products or smoking devices was tabled for the first reading in the Dewan Rakyat.

According to the bill, individuals concerned who smoke tobacco products or tobacco substitute products, use smoking devices or possess tobacco products, smoking materials, tobacco substitute products or smoking devices can be fined not more than RM5,000, if convicted.

Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Semin Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) president Hashim Hamad said the community and parents play an important role in the effort to create GEG.

“Therefore, the community needs to take action by reprimanding children who smoke, and parents also need to be open-minded if their children are reprimanded for doing so,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MELAKA, July 29 (Bernama) — Following the passing of the bill on anti-party hopping in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, several states are likely to amend their state constitutions to also prevent state assemblymen from switching parties.

Melaka and Penang have already announced that they are ready to amend their state constitutions to bring the provisions in line with changes at the federal level.

Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali said the implementation of the anti-party hopping law was part of the Barisan Nasional (BN) manifesto in the Melaka state election in November last year.

“I support the bill (on anti-party hopping). It has been settled in Parliament; we wait for it to be presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“There is a time frame given to states to make similar amendments,” he told reporters after opening the Melaka state-level National Youth Consultative Council meeting here today.

In GEORGE TOWN, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Penang would also amend its state constitution to bar state assemblymen from switching parties.

Chow said he had directed the state legal adviser to look into this matter.

Penang would hold a special State Assembly sitting in September to table amendments to the state constitution to provide for this, he told reporters today.

The Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 2022 on provisions prohibiting Members of Parliament from switching parties was approved by a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun said 209 MPs supported the bill while 11 MPs were absent during bloc voting.

In KUCHING, Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Office (Sarawak Corporate Affairs and Public Communication Unit) Datuk Abdullah Saidol said the top leaderships of political parties in the state would discuss the possible adoption of similar laws.

Abdullah said in principle he supported the implementation of anti-party hopping laws for state assemblymen in Sarawak but a study had to be conducted first.

“If our leaders have made a final decision on all aspects of the amendments required, we can bring the matter to the State Legislative Assembly.

“Maybe (it can be tabled) at the State Assembly sitting to be held this November,” he told reporters today.

In SEREMBAN, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun said Negeri Sembilan was prepared to amend the state constitution to prevent state assemblymen from switching parties.

However, he said the proposed amendments could not be tabled in the State Assembly sitting this August because state assemblymen needed to be given a 14-day notice on this.

“InsyaAllah (God willing), we will bring it to the next sitting, maybe in November. The state government has no problems; we see all supporting it. We welcome the result (approval of bill) as it will give confidence to voters in the 15th general election.

“It has given hope to the people, who are fed up with the act of party hopping,” he told reporters after opening the Malaysian Association of Veterinary Pathology’s 13th annual scientific conference today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SHAH ALAM, July 29 (Bernama) — Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) will raise new water tariffs at a rate of 20 sen per cubic metre for the categories of non-domestic users, houses of worship and ships effective Aug 1.

Selangor Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Modernisation of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Committee chairman Izham Hashim said the average increase was still considered low and did not involve domestic users.

“For non-domestic use, including commercial and industrial, the increase is from RM2.07 to RM2.62 for 0 to 35 cubic metres, and from RM2.86 to RM2.28 for over 35 cubic metres.

“For houses of worship, the calculation using the pro-rate (per cubic metre) of 46 sen rises to 58 sen for each cubic metre. For the ships category, every cubic metre will rise from RM4.23 to RM7,” he said in a media conference at Annex Building, Dewan Negeri Selangor today.

Izham said the new water tariff adjustment will help Air Selangor in terms of high capital expenditure to ensure the continued operation of the company.

“There are many expenses that we bear. The high capex between RM30 million for 30 years. We also bear the pipe replacement costs of around RM150 million annually, which doesn’t include other operational costs.

“The annual electricity bill alone involves RM300 million. Chemicals to treat water cost around RM80 to RM100 million yearly. So we have high (operational) costs but our tariffs are among the lowest in the region.

“The adjustment will also help Air Selangor with the state government’s plans to build new water treatment plants and pipe replacements and outdated equipment,” he added.

Izham was commenting on the government’s recent decision to maintain the water supply tariff for domestic users in Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan following the rising costs of living faced by Malaysians.

The Cabinet had also agreed on June 22 that tariff for non-domestic users and special categories in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan would be increased by 25 sen per cubic metre effective Aug 1.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency