Day: August 4, 2022

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) — The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (K-KOMM) has expanded the scope of eligibility for the PerantiSiswa tablet programme to four more categories of B40 students.

Its minister, Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the four new categories are students in foundation programmes at public institutions of higher learning, students under the Educations Ministry’s matriculation programme, Form 6 students in schools under Education Ministry and students in Vocational Colleges that offer diploma studies.

“Students in all these categories can apply from today until Sept 30,” he said during a question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a question by Lukanisman Awang Sauni (GPS-Sibuti) who wanted to know the status of the distribution of tablets through the PerantiSiswa programme and the number of tablets distributed to B40 students so far.

Prior to this B40 students who are eligible for the programme are those attending full-time diploma programmes and advanced bachelor’s degree at IPTA and private higher education Institutions under the management of the Ministry of Education, polytechnic and community college students under the Education Ministry, students of the Institute of Teacher Education ( IPG) under the Education Ministry and students of the National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (ASWARA).

Meanwhile, Annuar said the procurement committee had selected the Samsung tablet to be given to the PerantiSiswa recipients in five zones, namely Sabah and Sarawak Zone, North Zone, Central Zone, East Zone and South Zone.

The procurement process was completed last July and the distribution process to the eligible students will begin this month, he added.

Annuar also told the House that 40 percent of the applicants were found not eligible during the initial screening stage, but said that they could appeal.

“To ensure that the appeal process is done in an orderly manner, we will involve the leadership of the student association at IPT for the verification process, while for school students, it will involve local leaders, including the Members of Parliament will be involved,” he said, adding that the successful applicants would be notified by end of the month.

If the tablets received by the students were damaged, Annuar said the affected students could apply for a a replacement as the device came with a two-year warranty.

“It is the latest Samsung A8 LTE tablet in the market, with a two-year warranty so that if it is damaged, students can get a replacement to ensure their studies are not interrupted,” he added.

Meanwhile, at a media conference later, Annuar said application for phase two, including for new categories will be open from noon today.

He said for phase 2, it is expected to benefit 60,000 students, with the first ‘roll out’ at Universiti Teknologi MARA, in Shah Alam, and expected to be carried out by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob at the end of this month.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 4 (Bernama) — The Sabah government is ready to cooperate to open flight routes to Indonesia through Batik Air in an effort to develop the state as a health tourism destination.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said among the flight routes to Indonesia include to Pontianak, Balikpapan in Kalimantan.

He hoped that the flight routes will be realised in the near future because they were also one of the important factors to attract visitors from neighboring countries to Sabah.

“This is the right time for Sabah to target health tourism by promoting the latest facilities offered by (Sabah) hospitals, especially to the Indonesian market,” he said in a statement here today.

Yesterday, he had held a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of Batik Air Captain Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri, general manager Muhammad Ariff Abdul Aziz and some Batik Air Kuala Lumpur staff.

Jafry said that through the value chain and the health tourism industry, it will definitely open up opportunities for tourists to explore tourist locations with the ‘nature healing’ concept in Sabah.

He added that Sabah should take full advantage of the current health tourism trend since every medical tourist has the potential to spend more than ordinary tourists..

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) — The expanding e-commerce sector which saw more consumers using online transaction following the COVID-19 pandemic has indirectly invited many scammers, using various tactics and tricks by exploiting the technology, to commit fraud.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said most of the fraud cases involved online transaction, as well as misleading services, imitation goods and misleading prices.

“Therefore, scams in the context of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) involves cheating in the purchase of goods or service online in terms of price or the goods themselves, like goods are not delivered, misleading advertisements and so on,” he said in an exclusive interview with Bernama.

Nanta said the ministry received a total of 15,957 complaints from consumers for the period from Jan 1 to July 31 this year, and of that number, online scam recorded the highest number with 4,760 cases, misleading prices (4,187) and misleading services (3,289).

Selangor recorded the highest, with 4,611 complaints, followed by Kuala Lumpur (3,601) and Johor (1,272), he said.

According to a report by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) from 2020 to May 2022, he said, a total of 71,833 scam cases were reported, involving losses amounting to RM5.2 billion, with 68 percent of them involving online scammers.

“MDTCA received 4,018 complaints regarding online scams from 2020 to Feb 17, 2022 involving losses to RM21.7 million,” he said.

With the increasing trend involving such a fraud, he said, MDTCA took proactive measures to enhance public awareness on tactics used by the scam syndicate.

He said the ministry implemented various consumer advocacy programmes, as well as exposed to the public on the fraudulent techniques, such non-existent businesses, high deposits and having to pay in advance for gifts offered or to enter contest.

Nanta said that under the Consumer Protection (Electronic Trade Transactions) Regulations 2012 , the ministry’s enforcement division is empowered to investigate and take action against those who violate the regulations.

“The regulations require traders to disclose eight key information, namely the trader’s name, business registration number, email and telephone number, details of the main characteristics of goods/services offered, the price of goods, including delivery cost, payment methods, terms/conditions and estimated delivery time,” he said.

He said the information had to be disclosed by traders to make it easier for consumers to make their choices, get additional information and communicate with traders so that consumers don’t feel cheated, as well as to facilitate action by the ministry if there is complaints from consumers .

Nanta said the ministry will step up cooperation with PDRM, CyberSecurity Malaysia, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Consumer Association to expose the evil tactics of scammers to avoid consumers from falling prey to them.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, August 4 (Bernama) — The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources will no longer consider any new applications or extension of the Mining Operations Scheme (OMS) Approval Letter for mining sites within the Tasik Chini Biosphere Reserve area.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the government has stopped all mining operations in the area including three mining leases issued in 2020 and 2021.

“The State Government (Pahang) had also issued a ‘Stop Work Order’ on all mining activities (in the area) on May 17, 2021.

“The state government also implemented a moratorium by stopping all mining activities around Tasik Chini on June 17, 2021 and then implemented water quality monitoring in the area, enforcement of instructions for the preparation of EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) reports and the gazetting of the Chini Forest Reserve,” he said during the Ministers’ Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said this in replying to a question from Fuziah Salleh (PH-Kuantan) regarding the government’s actions to treat and restore the Tasik Chini (Chini Lake) area so that it is not stripped of its status as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserve Site.

Takiyuddin said the government had received a letter from UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB) Secretariat dated May 28, 2021, asking Malaysia to make improvements to Tasik Chini as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Site.

“I would like to confirm in this House that the Federal Government and the State Government of Pahang have prepared a periodic review report on Tasik Chini that we are instructed to submit before Sept 30, 2022, the draft is ready and will be sent within the specified time,” he said.

He said the Pahang Government has also established the Pahang State Parks Corporation and the Pahang Biodiversity Council under a State Government Enactment to manage and coordinate the implementation of the Tasik Chini management plan.

In addition, he said the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia (JPSM) has intensified its tree planting programme since 2015 to restore degraded areas that also involve stakeholders such as the Orang Asli community.

“This year, the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia and the Pahang State Forestry Department implemented a rehabilitation and reforestation programme around Tasik Chini.

“This is included in the Chini Permanent Forest Reserve area with an allocation of RM800,000 under the budget initiative of the COVID-19 Fund (KWC), Ministry of Finance Year 2022-Community Empowerment and Conservation of Tasik Chini Biosphere Reserve,” he said.

He added that his ministry has provided an allocation of over RM1.5 million since 2016 to carry out various studies in Tasik Chini including water quality studies while the Pahang Government has spent over RM4 million using an allocation for the Ecological Fiscal Transfer (EFT) for Biodiversity Conservation allocated by the Federal Government to improve management of Tasik Chini for the period 2019-2021.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) — The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah expressed their condolences to the family of national badminton legend Datuk Ng Boon Bee who died yesterday.

Through a post on the Istana Negara’s Facebook page today, Their Majesties expressed their sadness over his death and hoped that his family would be patient and persevere in facing this sad and bitter situation.

“Their Majesties greatly appreciate the service, deeds and contribution by the deceased to the country and regarded his death as a great loss to the country’s badminton sport,” according to the posting.

The former national badminton doubles player died at the Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB) in Ipoh, at 4 pm yesterday. He was 84 years old.

Ng and his partner Datuk Tan Yee Khan became champions the first time they represented the country at the All England Championship in 1965.

Among his other stellar gold medal achievements were the 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games men’s doubles, 1962 Asian Games Jakarta men’s doubles, 1966 Asian Games Bangkok men’s doubles, 1970 Asian Games Bangkok men’s and mix doubles and 1967 Jakarta Thomas Cup men’s team.

He also managed to give the Malaysian contingent a silver medal at the 1972 Munich Olympic when paired with Datuk Punch Gunalan.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) — Data users will be required to appoint a data protection officer under the proposed amendment to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (Act 709), said Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

He said said the proposed amendment would also include the introduction of data breach notification which required all data users to report data leaks to the Commissioner of the Personal Data Protection Department (JPDP) within 72 hours.

‘Data user’ means a person, either alone or together with others, processes any personal data or has control over or authorises the processing of any personal data, but does not include a data processor.

“Apart from that, the amendment will also requires the data processor to comply with security principles and allow the transfer of personal data between data users at the request of the data subject if the technical system allows it.

“These proposed amendments will establish a stronger and more dynamic data protection policy through the use of new instruments,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a question by Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir (PAS-Setiu) on the ministry’s plan to amend several clauses in the Personal Data Protection Act in fighting against cybercrimes that had caused nearly 100 million cases of personal data breach.

Annuar said the proposed amendment had been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Chamber (AGC) last June 28 for further action.

“As soon as we receive feedback or the final draft from the AGC, a cabinet paper or memorandum will be prepared,” he added.

He said the ministry hoped to be able to table the proposed amendment at the Parliament session this October.

Apart from the proposed amendment, he said, the ministry was also working on other measures to deal with the issue of leakage and scam, including through advocacy and creating a platform to enable the public to check the validity of the calls they receive.

“We are planning to have a platform where members of the public, when they receive suspicious calls, they can straight away refer to check the validity of the name whether it comes from a legitimate line holder or not,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, August 4 (Bernama) — The ban on the export of commercial broilers that is still in effect is temporary, that is until the price and production of chickens fully stabilise, said Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee.

He said the government was also aware of the increase in the cost of chicken production following the increase in the cost of animal feed and the cessation of exports affecting the returns of breeders.

“In this regard, for the first time, the government agreed to give subsidies to broiler chicken and egg-laying chicken breeders amounting to RM1.1 billion in total to ease their burden. This subsidy started on Feb 5, 2022 and will end on Aug 31, 2022.

“As of July 29, 2022, a total of 8,907 subsidy applications have been approved amounting to RM748 million,” he said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

According to him, his ministry through the Department of Veterinary Services constantly monitors and holds engagement sessions with all stakeholders in the chicken supply chain including at the farm level to ensure supply and continuity of the country’s chicken production is at an optimal and stable level.

Ronald said this in response to a question from Wong Shu Qi (PH-Kluang) who wanted to know the losses faced by the chicken farming sector throughout Malaysia since the chicken export ban came into force on June 1, 2022.

Meanwhile, replying to a question from Dr Azman Ismail (PH-Kuala Kedah) regarding the national buffer stock for rice, Ronald said that its current position is at the level of 221,313 tonnes which is 88.5 per cent of the 250,000 tonnes target set by the government by the end of 2022 .

He said the government is doubling the rice buffer stock in stages from 150,000 tonnes to 290,000 tonnes by 2023 to ensure the country’s food supply and to face any contingencies.

“In order to meet the country’s rice needs, the ministry always ensures that the rice stock position is always above the average level of needs, which is 200,000 tonnes per month.

“The rice stock position in the country at the factory, wholesale and retail levels is always at a consistent rate at all times, which is an average of 400,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency