Day: October 5, 2022

KUCHING, Oct 5 (Bernama) — Enforcement of the anti-hopping law from today is aimed at preventing the people from being deceived by the elected representatives they have had trust and voted in, says Datuk Seri Stephen Rundi Utom.

 

The Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) senior vice-president said the Constitution (Amendment) (No.3) Act 2022 that prohibited elected representatives from jumping from one party to another could help them be more disciplined and have integrity.

 

“Hopping here and there has to do with (lack of) integrity. When one has extreme wants, party-hopping can occur. It’s placing one’s self-interest above that of others without thinking of those who have given them their trust and opportunity to be where they are now as elected representatives.”

 

 

 

 

Rundi who is also Sarawak Food Industries, Commodities and Regional Development Minister, said this to reporters after officiating at the ministry’s Integrity Day programme, here, today.

 

He said a high level of discipline and integrity needed to be stressed upon at every level including among government officers and staff in carrying out their responsibilities towards making Sarawak a developed state by 2030.

 

“We need to have integrity and discipline to also ensure that whatever funds allocated could be optimised in the best way for the benefit of the people,” he added.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

 

SIBU, Oct 5 (Bernama) — Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state needs to explore the new economy in order to match the current skills and education of its people.

 

He said apart from ensuring that Sarawak’s young people who possess expertise do not migrate to other places in search of employment, this step is expected to generate income in tandem with efforts to make Sarawak a high-income state by 2030.

 

“Due to this, we are giving training through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, based on science that is related to our resources. God willing, Sarawak will become a high-income state for our children.

 

 

 

“I feel this is our dream, together. When we have achieved this, we will be global players. We are not jaguh kampung (village heroes) but jaguh dunia (world champions),” he said.

 

Abang Johari said this when speaking during the official launch of the 57th Sarawak Secondary Schools Education Management Conference here today.

 

He said Sarawak’s policy in education is not just so that it will become strong but to adapt its education to the needs of the world economic development.

 

 

 

According to him, the granting of funds to DLP (dual language programme) by the Sarawak government through the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development is because it wants the people to be fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, which is the national language, as well as to recognise the mastery of English as a world language that can help in the development of technology in the state.

 

He also said Yayasan Sarawak’s takeover of five private universities was to give opportunities to Sarawakian children who failed to secure places in Malaysian public universities through the central University Admission Unit (UPU).

 

“That’s why we have our own university and we are not connected to UPU. We can send our children to major in whatever they want. This can give opportunities to our children,” he added.

 

The five universities under the takeover are Swinburne University in Kuching, Curtin University Malaysia in Miri, University of Technology Sarawak (UTS) in Sibu as well as Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak (CENTEXS) and i-CATS University College.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

SEPANG, Oct 5 (Bernama) — With over 40 per cent of displaced people worldwide originating from Islamic countries, it is high time for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to establish a special division or department on refugees, said Malaysian former foreign minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar.

 

The Chairman of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) said the division is needed to better address the multi dimensional problems of refugees especially crucial issues such as their access to education as quite a large proportion of them are children.

 

 

 

“It should be better coordinated, should combine our resources or political commitment. There must be a political will to implement it and have a body that can coordinate and synchronise all these activities so that there is a standard operation procedure that can be followed.

 

“All these things will help us in getting better in managing refugees,” he told Bernama on the sidelines of the 8th OIC-Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) International Seminar, here Wednesday.

 

Syed Hamid, who is also the Chairman of the Malaysian Advisory Group on Myanmar, said OIC has done a lot to help the refugees but there was still room for improvement, especially in terms of execution which requires coordinated efforts through regional and international bodies.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Malaysia, Thomas Albrecht said there are over 10 million school aged refugee children globally and 40 per cent of them have no access to education.

 

“We are in real danger of discarding the futures of millions of children,” he said adding that education is a durable solutions that gives them the tools to contribute to the host community and prevents them falling prey to exploitation and negative influence.

 

Without qualifications, Albrecht said refugees are less able to contribute to their home countries when they choose to return and were frequently ineligible for education or employment opportunities in third countries.

 

Another panelist, Dr Abdul Razak Ahmad, called for an international collaborative project on a global scale that brings together international organisations, states and business enterprises to educate refugees with the most relevant skills and competencies.

 

“A project that will deliver the knowledge and skills suitable enough to make them relevant in the job markets to reskill and upskill them so that no matter where they are, they have the necessary competency and expertise to make a living and be useful members of society,” said the Founding Director of Bait Al Amanah, an independent research institute.

 

He added, the global project to provide a multi faceted solution to refugee education and skill building should be the defining public works of this generation.

 

The 8th OIC-IPHRC International Seminar themed “Islamic Perspectives on the Protection of Refugees – Rights and Access to Education” was attended by approximately 200 participants including delegates and observers from over 40 countries.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 (Bernama) —  The Economic Planning Unit has approved an allocation of RM21.8 million under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) for the procurement of equipment for the Defence Special Forces Operations Division (BOPKP).

 

Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said it included procurement of special equipment worth RM10 million, communication equipment (RM7 million), special operation vehicles (RM2.8 million) and weaponry (RM1.9 million), among others.

 

“After almost two years of its full operations that started in Oct 2020, today’s visit is important for me to know the division’s latest development, particularly in terms of preparedness,” he told reporters after witnessing the demonstration of the BOPKP preparedness capability at the Practical Shooting Range, Sungai Besi Camp, here, today.

 

 

 

According to Hishammuddin, BOPKP is a special task force comprising the three branches of the Malaysian Armed Forces that can be quickly deployed to fight terrorism and tackle crises in any form that may threaten national security.

 

He said it consisted of staff members, combat teams and combat support teams acting as the first responder groups during incidences of terrorism and crises.

 

Meanwhile, Hishammuddin said the ministry is looking at increasing BOPKP’s capabilities in line with the current threats, stressing that he would not compromise on the country’s preparedness and security.

 

 

 

“So, I have instructed the Defence Ministry’s secretary-general (Datuk Seri Muez Abd Aziz) and the Defence Force chief (General Tan Sri Affendi Buang) to carry out close monitoring to ensure that the planned procurement is implemented following the MAF requirements, especially BOPKP’s,” he added.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 (Bernama) — The first phase of installing lockers in primary schools with two sessions is expected to be completed at the end of this month, said Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin.

 

He said the installation of these lockers, which will be done in stages involving 626 schools nationwide for students in Year One and Year Two, was one of seven initiatives by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to deal with the issue of heavy school bags.

 

“In Gombak alone we have 38 two-session schools involved in receiving the lockers, Up till now lockers have been installed in five schools, and all schools selected will be fitted with lockers before the end of this month.

 

 

 

“We have asked the supplier to install it as soon as possible and if there is an increase, we will complete it in the second phase,” he said after officiating the handing over of the lockers for the first phase to Sekolah Kebangsaan Gombak Setia here today.

 

Previously, the MOE announced seven initiatives to address the issue of heavy school bags, including implementing timetable reorganisation, limiting the number of practical books; and using the teaching and learning platform (PdP) approach.

 

To ensure the heavy bag issue does not crop up again, Radzi said his team will ask the School Inspectorate to monitor the situation to ensure the seven initiatives are adhered to as best as possible.

 

 

 

He also urged parents and teachers to cooperate to ensure students receive the benefits of this initiative to lessen their burden.

 

Radzi also expressed his gratitude to the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) who agreed that national school uniforms be used for Quran and Fardu Ain (KAFA) classes.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 5 (Bernama) — Interview sessions for the recruitment of foreign workers by the Human Resource Ministry (KSM) can be held at the Department of Labour (JTK) in each state and not just in Putrajaya, said Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

 

Speaking to reporters after chairing KSM’s Special Briefing to Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng and Beruas MP Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham regarding the hiring of foreign workers here today, he said it was among the recommendations made in the meeting for the interview to be held at each state to avoid congestion at the KSM office in Putrajaya.

 

“I just saw that there is a request, for example they want to keep the interview decentralised. I can do that, no problem, we will keep it,” said Saravanan.

 

 

 

 

Ngeh had expressed the difficulties that employers have to physically go Putrajaya for the interview process, including updating minor details such as home address and phone number.

 

The media had earlier reported that KSM was flooded with employers from all over the country for interview in addition to claiming that the disorganised system resulted in some employers having to come repeatedly to get interview queue numbers.

 

In the briefing that lasted almost two and a half hours, suggestions were also made regarding interviews that could be held virtually for the purpose of saving time and reducing costs.

 

 

 

 

Saravanan, however, said the interview had to be held physically because not all employers could be trusted as there had been incidents of employers presenting fake local authority licenses and Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) statements.

 

Meanwhile, he said the hiring of foreign workers should be done carefully so that there is no dumping of foreign workers in the country as happened in 2009 to the extent that there were Bangladeshis sleeping on the roadside in the capital.

 

“We are also in the economic recovery phase and (to) overcome the unemployment problem. Let’s not be too fooled by the industry’s request to approve foreign workers at will while locals are out of work,” he said.

 

Saravanan also said that the number of foreign workers in Malaysia so far is almost 1.24 million and that figure will increase to 2.2 million people in the near future by taking into account the eVDR (Visa With Reference) process and the biometric process and health tests that are being carried out in the source country.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 (Bernama) — The Dewan Rakyat today passed the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Bill 2022 to increase the penalty to not more than RM10 million for offences such as water pollution and illegal disposal of scheduled waste.

 

Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said a higher penalty was needed because the total cost incurred from the crime was much higher than the previous penalty amount.

 

“For example, more than RM6 million was needed (to clean up) pollution at Sungai Kim Kim in Johor. In Selangor, with the shutting down of (water treatment) plant, the cost of river treatment and repairs alone, not including the cost of delivering water via tankers to consumers, was much higher.

 

 

 

 

He said this when winding up the debate on the bill, which was later passed unanimously.

 

The bill also includes amendments to 28 sections of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, among others, imposing heavier punishment with minimum fines of not less than RM5,000 and mandatory imprisonment of not more than five years.

 

The compound rate has also been increased from not exceeding RM2,000 to not exceeding 50 per cent of the maximum fine for related offences.

 

 

 

 

Earlier, Dewan Rakyat also passed the Trade Unions (Amendment) Bill 2022, which seeks to amend the Trade Unions Act 1959.

 

Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said the amendments provided workers with the freedom to join or establish a union according to their choice.

 

“In addition, it will create healthy competition between trade unions in the hope that they will strive to be the best in terms of administration, organising social activities, education or welfare,” he said when winding up the debate on the bill. The Dewan Rakyat sitting continues tomorrow.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency