Day: September 8, 2022

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today extended Onam greetings to the Malayalee community in the country.

Through a post on Facebook, he hoped that the Onam festival will bring prosperity and happiness to everyone in the Malayalee community in the country.

“May the harmony and well-being of the Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) continue to remain strong with the diversity of festivals celebrated in this country,” he said.

Onam, a harvest festival of the Malayalee community, is celebrated during the first month of the Malayalam calendar called Chingam, which corresponds to August-September.

This traditional festival is celebrated by the people of Kerala, in the southern part of India, to welcome a legendary emperor (Bali Chakravarthi or Mahabali) who is believed to bring about a bountiful harvest.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

IPOH, Sept 8 (Bernama) — The public is advised to avoid picnic spots during bad weather following the death of a teenage boy at Bukit Berangkai Waterfall, Kampar two days ago.

State Housing, Local Government and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed said it was the public’s responsibility not to visit such locations during bad weather and to stay alert of warnings from the authorities, for their own safety.

“Lifeguards or rescuers are not deployed at the location (Bukit Berangkai Waterfall) as the area is under utilised so those going there are at their own risk,“ she told reporters after launching the Ipoh Music Symposium programme at People Of Remarkable Talents (PORT) here today.

It was reported on Sept 6, a 16-year-old boy drowned while out swimming at the Bukit Berangkai waterfall in Kampar at about 11.15am and checks conducted by Kampar district police found the waterfall to be a dangerous area where several deaths had occurred.

Earlier, Nolee Ashilin said the three-day music symposium to run from Oct 21 to 23 around Ipoh, will help intensify economic activities in Ipoh as well as encourage young people to venture into the music industry.

“Apart from the symposium, the programme will include forums, workshops, exhibitions and a special concert that will feature popular local and foreign artistes, she added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA BESUT, Sept 8 (Bernama) — The government received a total of 65,898 applications for the second phase of the PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia tablets within a month since it was opened on Aug 1.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said of the total, 45,341 applications had been approved while 20,557 applications were being processed.

“We have a total of 1.6 million students including more than 300,000 students who are from the B40 group. So we urge eligible students who have yet to apply to do so because we have until Sept 30 for the application process,” she said.

She spoke to reporters after opening the academic and administrative building of the Al-Wathiqu Billah Library, Taman Rimba Ilmu Tanah Bris (TRIBE) and Agropreneur Incubator Park (AIP) at Besut Campus of the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) here today.

In Terengganu, she said a total of 3,156 applications had been approved and 150 UniSZA students were the first group to receive the tablets in the state today.

Meanwhile, Noraini said the ministry is constantly monitoring the cafeterias in every public universities to ensure the quality and quantity of meal for the Keluarga Malaysia Menu programme.

“The government has also given a moratorium on rent payments for six months to operators and food service providers from last July, so they should be able to provide right quantity of food to students,” she added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) — The government is encouraging more parties to venture into the franchise industry as it foresees the industry’s great potential, said the Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.

He said the franchise industry plays an important role in the country’s economic recovery, especially in creating employment opportunities for Malaysians.

Nanta said this at a press conference after the 29th Franchise International Malaysia 2022 (FIM2022) launch today.

He also said that the ministry will continue to help interested parties from the B40 and M40 groups to venture into affordable and micro-franchise businesses.

Elaborating, he said the national franchise industry should not only focus on the popular food and beverage sector but must be expanded to other sectors, such as services.

FIM2022 which will run from today until Saturday (Sept 10) is organised by the Malaysian Franchise Association (MFA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) and supported by international franchise bodies such as the World Franchise Council (WFC), the Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation (APFC) and the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade).

It features nearly 100 exhibitors of various local and international brands from nine countries namely the United States, Australia, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, including Malaysia.

Themed ‘Rebuilding Growth, Spurring Excellence’, FIM provides 150 exhibition spaces at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) and about 14,000 visitors are expected to turn up bringing a potential investment value of RM450 million.

Meanwhile, MFA chairman Datuk Radzali Hassan in his speech said FIM2022 is an important platform and a place for franchise industry players as well as potential franchise entrepreneurs from home and abroad to gather as it created a space for intellectual and active and proactive discussion sessions in building a franchise business network.

“It is also the best platform for the community to explore job opportunities and further improve their standard of living,” he said.

He said MFA will continue to increase efforts in encouraging more entrepreneurs to venture into the business and consistently host activities to spread information about the franchise business to the public.

He said FIM2022 shows the initiative of MFA and KPDNHEP to help entrepreneurs to start, develop and maintain the competitiveness of their franchise business.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

TAWAU, Sept 8 (Bernama) — The government will continue to improve security levels in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone) in line with the government’s efforts to protect the country’s sovereignty, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has instructed the government to provide more focus on this to ensure the people of Sabah are safe at all times.

“We understand (sometimes) there is news that causes anxiety among those who have to earn a living, also traders and those who have daily activities, so security is something that is very important.

“Communications teams will be required to provide comprehensive coverage on security matters,” he told reporters after handing out the letters of appointment of the Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) Digital Economy Centre (PEDi) chairman here today.

At the event, he presented appointment letters to 23 PEDi chairmen for Zone 6 which involves the parliamentary constituencies of Lahad Datu, Semporna, Tawau and Kalabakan.

Annuar, who is on a three-day working visit to Sabah from today, said he will also have the opportunity to witness closely security operations along the coastal areas.

He will also meet locals to get feedback on security aspects and also on the cost of goods in his capacity as the Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation chairman.

“This Saturday, I will have breakfast with the villagers on Pulau Bum Bum so that we can communicate with the people.

“I would like to obtain feedback on what they are going through in terms of security, in terms of the price of goods, cost of living and communications,” he said.

]Annuar said he will also inspect several communication towers on the island as part of the ‘Program Kembara Connecitivity’ to further improve the quality of broadband access throughout Sabah.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency