Month: September 2022

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 1 (Bernama) — The sale of goods under 17 international and local online sale platforms, Keluarga Malaysia Cheap Sale @DE DAGANG (JMKM@DE DAGANG), will be held for four months from this Saturday (Sept 3) until December.

Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the programme with an allocation of RM300 million would enable the people to buy daily necessities online such as basic essential goods, foodstuff and home appliances at reasonable prices.

“Through this programme, the government is providing incentives such price reduction, discount vouchers, rebates, and delivery vouchers to the people to encourage more online purchases of local products from local enterprises,” he said in a media conference after chairing a special task force meeting here today.

JMKM@DE DAGANG can be accessed via various platforms such as Fave, Food Panda, Grab, Lazada, OYO Hospitality, Shopee, TikTok, Bizapp, Jocom, Kumoten, Maybank, InstantStore and Wonderfly.

Annuar who is also Communications and Multimedia Minister said the programme can only be enjoyed by Malaysians and they could obtain discounts up to 20 per cent for each transaction.

“Buyers participating in the programme need to enter their identity card details and it is limited to RM500 for a single transaction,” he said.

Annuar said JMKM@DE DAGANG is expected to benefit 100,000 local traders apart from generating five million transactions online.

The JMKM@DE DAGANG programme would also assist entrepreneurs of locally made products and Malaysian brands with potential for export as well as tourism and craft products.

“It is also offering services in the tourism sector such as hotel booking. We are also encouraging the development of the tourism industry to help the country’s economy recover,” he said.

Asked whether the RM300 million allocation would be further supplemented if the amount runs out before the end of the programme, Annuar said the matter would be studied with the Finance Ministry.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

BALING, Sept 1 (Bernama) — The Kedah state government has been told to take appropriate actions on the water catchment ponds of a musang king durian project in Gunung Inas here to avoid any untoward incidents from happening.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he understands that three large water ponds are the source of worry among residents in the district and should they collapse, it would result in a disaster.

“We understand the residents are anxious, for should the ponds break, it would trigger a tragedy.

“I am asking the state government to take the necessary actions and we will leave it to the state government and for the safety of the villagers, quick actions should be taken,” he told reporters after a thanksgiving prayer in conjunction with 65th Merdeka Celebration and for the safety of Baling residents at Dataran Keluarga Malaysia here today.

Also present at the event were Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and Baling MP Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim.

Earlier the Environment and Water Ministry (KASA) confirmed the source of the flood in several villages in Baling on July 4 was due to the collapse of a pond built at the peak of Gunung Inas.

Asked about the need to build a dam to overcome floods here, Ismail Sabri said KASA would be conducting detailed studies if necessary.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri said cash assistance of RM2,500 each was handed to 1,012 flood victims in Kampung Iboi and Kampung Masjid on July 4, which amounted to RM3.6 million.

The Prime Minister also announced an allocation of RM10 million for the construction of a concrete bridge to replace the 2.43 metre Bailey bridge in Kampung Iboi built by the Works Ministry with the cooperation of the Malaysian Armed Forces.

“The Bailey bridge was completed to replace the bridge which collapsed. The concrete bridge is not urgent as the Bailey bridge could still be used for three to five years but not for the long term,” he said and added that the government is allocating RM4.8 million to repair and restore 17 small bridges in the district.

Apart from that, he said the government allocated RM3 million to build 17 new houses to relocate residents living on the river bank in Baling and the state government had identified a suitable site.

Ismail Sabri also announced the construction of 20 new houses in Desa KEDA Sadek, Mukim Kupang for debris flood victims is being implemented.

He said eight of the 20 houses which were being built by the Rural Development Ministry would be completed on October 5 while 12 more units under the state government would be ready soon.

“I came to ensure all that has been promised and announced are implemented, more importantly…I do not want the affected residents to wait for years before fulfilling the promises.

“As such, I am going to ground zero to ensure the pledges of the government are carried out,” he said.

Earlier, Ismail Sabri presented laptops to excellent Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) students in Baling district as well as university students who were victims of the debris flood.

He also handed over contributions of Social Security (Socso), and presented cheques to Entrepreneur Group Economic Fund (TEKUN) entrepreneurs, as well as cheques of RM1,000 each for 36 petty traders and asnaf recipients and a cheque of RM50,000 for the Baling District Education Office(PPD).

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 1 (Bernama) — Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor today ordered the state’s 76 statutory bodies and government interest companies (GIC) to establish an Integrity and Governance Unit (IGU) within three months from today.

He said to date, only nine statutory bodies and GICs have established the unit in their respective agencies and therefore reminded the 76 involved to take the directive seriously.

The state Finance Minister said the IGU establishment was important to ensure a culture of integrity and transparency in the workplace and that all rules and regulations are adhered to strictly.

“This is the responsibility of the 20,920 state civil servants and 107,097 employees working for the federal government in Sabah.

“The 3.4 million Malaysians in Sabah demand this integrity. Leakages that affect the delivery of services should not be happening if the government’s initiatives in promoting integrity culture are followed in the workplace,” he said in a statement in conjunction with Sabah State 2022 Integrity Day today.

The nine statutory bodies and state GICs that have established the unit are the Sabah State Rubber Industry Board; Sabah State Forestry Development Board (SAFODA); Sabah Housing and Urban Development Board; Sabah Loan Corporation;

Sabah State Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO); Sabah Foundation Group; Sabah Urban Development Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (SUDC); Board of Trustees of Sabah Parks; and the Sabah Tourism Board.

Meanwhile, Hajiji also urged all 17 departments under the Sabah Chief Minister’s Department to develop their respective Organisational Anti-Corruption Plan (OACP) by this December.

He said the 11 state ministries had developed their respective OACPs, while departments, district offices, local authorities, and state statutory bodies that have not done so, were given until December next year to come up with their OACP.

“To curb state revenue leakage, a task force consisting of the Sabah Ministry of Finance; Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission; and Malaysian Palm Oil Berhad was formed to collect all unpaid sales tax.

In the meantime, he said, the state government had started to resolve the issues pointed out in the Auditor General’s Report and as a result of this initiative, 63 of the 116 audit issues were successfully resolved between Jan 2021 to Aug 2022.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

– Malaysia has introduced a Premium Visa Programme (PVIP) to attract wealthy foreigners to invest in Malaysia and reside in the country for a period of 20 years, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

He said the ‘Residency Through Investment’ programme, the first of its kind introduced by the government to drive the country’s economic growth, would be open for applications from Oct 1, 2022.

Hamzah said PVIP was offered to business tycoons from all countries except Israel and those that did not have diplomatic ties with Malaysia.

He said participants of the programme would be given benefits in the form of visa approval for up to 20 years, permission to study, permission to purchase real estate for residential, commercial or industrial purposes, and make active investments in permitted fields.

“Programme participants are also allowed to work and carry out legal business activities in accordance with the laws of the country,” he said in a press conference here today, which was also attended by Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

Hamzah said in order to ensure that the PVIP did not undermine national security and the country’s sovereignty, his ministry had set a control policy, including the introduction of a ceiling on the number of participants – comprising principals and dependents – to not exceed one per cent of the total number of Malaysian citizens.

“We have to set a ceiling so that it does not exceed one per cent of the total number of Malaysians.

“If there are 30 million citizens now, then it means that there should only be one per cent (300,000) and the ceiling number also includes (participants) of Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme,” he said.

On the conditions of participation, Hamzah said the programme was open to all participants of all age categories with proof of having an offshore income of at least RM40,000 per month, or RM480,000 annually.

Among other conditions is to have a fixed savings account with a deposit of at least RM1 million, with no withdrawals allowed on the principal value for the first year, while up to a 50 per cent withdrawal from the principal value will be allowed after that for the purchase of real estate, or health and education purposes.

Hamzah said his ministry was targeting at least 1,000 participants in the first year of the programme, which would provide an estimated RM200 million in revenue to the country, as well as RM1 billion in fixed savings.

“The Home Ministry is confident that this programme will be able to attract more foreign direct investment that will strengthen the economy and increase job opportunities for locals. In addition, demand for the Malaysian Ringgit will also increase, strengthening its value,” he said.

He also assured that the Immigration Department and the police would carry out monitoring and enforcement to ensure that programme complied with its implementation policies and goals

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KOTA TINGGI, Sept 1 (Bernama) — The Johor government has asked the Ministry of Environment and Water (KASA) to speed up the tapping of raw water from Sungai Sedili Besar to the Kampung Gembut Water Treatment Plant to overcome the issue of water supply disruption in Kota Tinggi.

Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the district often facing disruption in water supply due to low water pressure from the water treatment plant.

He said KASA had allocated RM40 million to upgrade the plant and the work would start as soon as the consultant’s study report is completed.

“The big issue in the Kota Tinggi area is the water issue. Alhamdulillah, after talking with the Johor Water Regulatory Body (BAKAJ) and Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd (Ranhill SAJ), there will be short and long term solutions,” he said.

Onn Hafiz said this at the meet-the-people programme at Ehsan Community Hall, Kampung Singapura, Tanjung Sedili, here today

Meanwhile, the Machap assemblyman also announced an allocation of RM2.8 million for the development of stalls in the Teluk Mahkota area or also known as Jason Bay.

In addition, he said RM2.9 million had also been allocated by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) to build stalls in the Tanjung Sedili area.

At the event, a total of 199 fishermen received an allocation of almost RM60,000 while RM150,000 was for the agricultural produce collection centre in the area.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency