Year: 2022

– The provision of aid and assistance to the people affected by recent massive floods should not be turned into a political issue, Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff said.

“Volunteerism and providing assistance to those in need are righteous deeds and should not be turned into a political issue.

“As a big Malaysian Family with multi-racial, multi-religious people with different political ideologies, we have to be open and celebrate our differences.

“No matter what the colours and logos on their shirts represent, what’s important is the love and compassion they have for the victims, which is very commendable,” she said when interviewed in Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme tonight.

She said the commendable deeds were not only evident among the Muslims, but also the non-Muslims, “which proved that we are in it together as one big family”.

Siti Zailah said the Social Welfare Department had mobilised over 3,000 personnel to ensure temporary shelters and wellbeing of the victims were taken care of with an allocation of RM35 million being allocated for the purpose.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — The government has decided to temporarily suspend the permission for travelling to perform the umrah beginning Jan 8 to curb the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

In announcing this today, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the authorities were concerned that non-compliance with home quarantine procedures among returning pilgrims had caused the spread of the new variant among family members.

“Most pilgrims who returned from performing the umrah applied to undergo their seven-day quarantine at home. However, when there was non-compliance with the stipulated standard operating procedure (SOP), positive COVID-19 cases among umrah pilgrims caused the infection to spread among family members.

“Due to non-compliance with the home quarantine procedures, family members living in the same house or neighbours and relatives who come visiting are exposed to COVID-19 infection,” he told a press conference here.

He said a special meeting was held yesterday to discuss the situation with several agencies involved in umrah pilgrim management, including the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry; Wakaf, Zakat and Haj Department; Transport Ministry; National Security Council; National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA); Immigration Department and Association of Umrah and Haj Tour Agencies.

It was followed by a Special Quartet Meeting chaired by Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein to discuss proposals for suspending umrah travel over concerns on the spread of Omicron.

The meeting decided to temporarily suspend the permission for travelling to perform the umrah beginning Jan 8 until a date to be announced later, and bookings for new umrah flight tickets have been suspended effective today (Jan 1), he said.

Khairy said it was also decided that pilgrims returning to Malaysia beginning Jan 3 would have to undergo compulsory quarantine at quarantine stations or hotels designated by NADMA.

“Pilgrims leaving for the Holy Land (Mecca) between Jan 1 and 7, 2022 will be allowed to proceed with their journey. However, they need to undergo quarantine at quarantine stations or hotels identified by NADMA on their return to Malaysia.

“The decisions of the meeting have been approved by the prime minister (Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob),” he added.

Khairy said mass gatherings of pilgrims from various countries in Saudi Arabia exposed Malaysian pilgrims to high risks of contracting COVID-19 including the Omicron variant, and this situation also made it difficult for the pilgrims to observe the umrah SOP set by the Malaysian government.

“The arrival of Malaysian umrah pilgrims in big numbers of about 800 to 1,000 daily (on four special flights) further increases the risk of importing COVID-19 cases and the Omicron variant into the country,” he added.

He said risk assessment on the COVID-19 Omicron situation in and outside the country especially in Saudi Arabia would be carried out periodically before a decision was made to allow the resumption of umrah activities.

This suspension of umrah travel is expected to help reduce the risk of the Omicron spread and stem an increase in COVID-19 cases in the country.

“It is also hoped that this measure will give the government an opportunity and space to make thorough planning and preparations on umrah pilgrim management before umrah activities could be allowed to resume,” he added.

Meanwhile, Khairy said 2,763 positive COVID-19 cases were detected among travellers who arrived at the country’s international entry points (PMA) between Jan 1 and Dec 30 last year, and of this number, 1,446 positive cases were found among those who arrived from Saudi Arabia, followed by Singapore (322 cases), Indonesia (264), and the United Kingdom (217).

He said that as at Dec 30, a total of 11,108 umrah pilgrims had arrived in Malaysia and 1,306 or 11.76 per cent of them were found COVID-19 positive, with 592 detected positive in their first test conducted on arrival in Malaysia and 714 found positive during their second test conducted on the fifth day of quarantine.

He said two more Omicron cases were detected in the country yesterday, bringing the total for the new variant so far to 64, half of which or 32 cases involved umrah pilgrims.

He said 63 cases involved travellers and one was suspected to be a local infection.

Khairy said the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) had conducted PCR Genotyping Assay tests on 1,077 samples of positive COVID-19 cases involving travellers between Dec 21 and 29 last year.

“A total of 966 samples showed presumptive Omicron variant and are now awaiting whole genomic sequencing (WGS) results, and of these 966 samples, 750 or 77.6 per cent involved samples of travellers who arrived from Saudi Arabia.

“As at Dec 30, there were nine clusters involving umrah pilgrims, with five clusters involving index cases confirmed to be of the Omicron variant, one cluster involving index case of presumptive Omicron – awaiting WGS results – and three clusters involving index cases of positive COVID-19 cases not of the Omicron variant,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — The Health Ministry (MOH) is holding discussions and engagement sessions with stakeholders to help prospective pilgrims who are affected by the government’s temporary suspension of travel permission to perform the pilgrimage beginning Jan 8.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said it included discussions with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) and the Umrah and Haj Travel Agencies’ Association (PAPUH), whether the affected pilgrims were to be given a refund or their travel to be rescheduled.

“Indeed, we have discussed with them how those who are affected can be helped, either to reschedule their umrah pilgrimage and steps to get a refund, apart from that we will also continue to hold engagement sessions with travel agencies.

“I apologise to those who want to go on umrah, but the harm is public health … no Muslim minister wants to postpone the umrah, but this is a serious matter, this is not a tweet on social media, not a video on tiktok, this is about life,” he told a press conference at Parliament today.

The government today announced the temporarily suspension for travel permission to perform the umrah from Jan 8 to curb the spread of Omicron following concerns over the spread of the variant due to non-compliance by umrah pilgrims with quarantine procedures upon their return.

Khairy, when announcing it, said the authorities were concerned that non-compliance with home quarantine procedures among returning pilgrims had caused the spread of the new variant among family members.

Asked on the cost of the mandatory quarantine at quarantine centres that would be imposed on umrah pilgrims, Khairy said the umrah pilgrims had the option of either bearing the cost of undergoing the quarantine at hotels listed by the MOH or to undergo the quarantine at the government-provided quarantine centres.

He said the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) was making arrangements to provide suitable and comfortable quarantine stations for those returning from the umrah pilgrims.

Meanwhile, Khairy said the MOH was studying the effect of the two-dose Sinovac injection, followed by the Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot for the COVID-19 vaccination which was alleged to show a low immune response against Omicron compared to other variants.

“We have been informed about it and the technical team is currently reviewing the information and they will make the necessary recommendations to the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF).

“It is too early for us to come to a conclusion now,” he said

Based on media reports, a study conducted by researchers from Yale University, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Health and and several other institutions found two injections of Sinovac vaccine followed by a Pfizer-BioNTech booster dose showed a lower immune response against Omicron compared to other variants.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 1 — Members of the civil service should always be proactive and responsive to the current needs of the people and the country and always fulfil the trust and responsibilities given to them, said Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali.

In his 2022 New Year message posted on his Facebook, Mohd Zuki said strong cooperation, understanding and effective partnership working across agencies by putting aside individual interests and egos were the key ingredients of success in ensuring the best delivery service for the people and country.

“2022 promises another glorious year for us and to improve any weaknesses and shortcomings that we have.

“We pray to God that the country’s economy will be strong again. Alhamdulillah, we have agreed to work together in a strong synergy to balance the importance of life and survival of the people with the implementation of a comprehensive and inclusive Economic Recovery Plan,” he added.

According to him, it includes eight stimulus packages, including the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) and the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) and Kita PRIHATIN, estimated to amount to more than RM530 billion, specifically to help the business continuity and the people’s well -being.

He said the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme implemented by the government ensured that every citizen had access to the vaccination to ensure their safety against the spread COVID-19 in the country.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) is giving a 40 per cent discount in compound payment to licensed tourism operators and tour guides.

The ministry, in a statement today, said the compound payment period has also been extended until June 30 for all compounds issued them.

“The ministry hopes that this initiative can help ease the burden of industry players affected by the outbreak of COVID-19.

“Nevertheless, failure to settle the compounds issued could result in action being taken against the relevant companies or tour guides,” it said.

MOTAC said compound exemption would be given to tourism operators and tour guides who failed to renew their licenses within the stipulated period for those with licence expiring on Jan 1 to June 30 due to the National Recovery Plan.

This is on the condition that the tourism operators and tour guides concerned submit their application within 30 days after the expiry of the licence, it said.

During the recovery period, the ministry also issued license to tour companies without inspecting their premises, but the inspection will be carried out within 90 days after the licence is issued.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1– The number of flood victims in four states continued to record an increase, while in two states, the number remained unchanged and in another, it showed a decline.

In JOHOR, the number of evacuees in the flood-affected district of Segamat continued to record an increase, to 658 people from 192 families as of noon, from 456 people (133 families) this morning.

According to the State Health and Environment Committee chairman R. Vidyananthan in a statement, another relief centre (PPS) was opened, namely at Dewan Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu Anam, bringing the total to nine.

He said the PPS at Kampung Lembah Bakti Community Hall had been closed with all victims transferred to Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Ai Chun, while the PPS at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Tenang had the highest number of evacuees, totalling 223 people (73 families).

The floods affected 10 villages in the district, namely Kampung Sermin, Kampung Lembah Bakti, Kampung Pekan Air Panas, Kampung Lembah Bakti, Kampung Paya Lenga, Kampung Paya Lebar, Kampung Gelang Chinchin, Kampung Tenang, Kampung Sedeng and Kampung Paya Lang.

Meanwhile, he said the water in three rivers had exceed the danger level, namely Sungai Segamat in Bandar Segamat, which is now at 9.17 metre; Sungai Muar in Kampung Awat, Segamat (20.34m) and Sungai Tangkak in Kampung Seri Makmur, Tangkak, (4.31m).

In PAHANG, the State Disaster Management Committee Secretariat reported a slight increase in the number of flood victims at noon, totalling 2,161 people at 34 PPS in seven districts, from 2,030 people this morning.

Apart from Raub, Lipis is also hit by flood again and two PPS were opened this morning to accommodate 50 evacuees.

According to the website publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my, the water in three main rivers in the state is at the danger level, namely Sungai Serting in Bera, Sungai Luit in Maran and Sungai Kechau in Lipis.

In MELAKA, the number of evacuees in Alor Gajah continued to increase with 382 people (100 families) at noon, from 96 people (29 families) at 10 am today.

Melaka Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM) director Lt Col (PA) Cuthbert John Martin Quadra, in a statement, said the evacuees are at six PPS, namely, Balai Raya Gadek, Sekolah Rendah Agama (SRA) Jabatan Agama Islam Melaka (JAIM) Jelatang, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seri Pengkalan, Surau Kampung Jeram, SMK Lubok China and Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Belimbing Dalam.

In NEGERI SEMBILAN, the state APM said the the number flood victims increased to 239 individuals (66 families) at 11 PPS as at noon today.

Meanwhile, according to the Drainage and Irrigation Department’s InfoBanjir portal, the water in two rivers in the state is at the danger level, namely Sungai Muar at Pekan Rompin, Jempol and Sungai Serting at Kampung Datok Johan, Jempol.

In TERENGGANU, the number of flood victims remained at 451 people (128 families) with all of them at four PPS in two districts in the state.

In Dungun, there are 408 people (120 families) at three PPS, namely Dewan Orang Ramai Kampung Minda (18 people from five families), Dewan Orang Ramai Kampung Shukor (225 people from 60 families) and Dewan Orang Ramai Kampung Pasir Raja (165 people, 55 families), while the remaining evacuees at in Kemaman, at the PPS at surau Kampung Ban Ho (43 people from eight families).

In SABAH, the number of evacuees remained at 504 people, involving 167 families, in Kota Marudu as at noon today.

Sabah Disaster Management Secretariat, in a statement, said the PPS at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Tandek has 253 people from 97 families, while the PPS at Sekolah Kebangsaan Teritipan is providing shelter for 251 victims from 70 families.

Meanwhile, in KELANTAN the number of evacuees dropped to 482 people (154 families) at noon, from 1,129 people (363 families) in the morning.

According to the Social Welfare Department (JKM) Info Bencana application, 110 PPS are still in operation, comprising nine in Kuala Krai and one in Jeli.

In SELANGOR, the JKM Info Bencana application stated that there is no active PPS at the moment.

According to the Selangor police, three roads are still close to vehicles as at 10 am today and they are at Jambatan FT 31 Dengkil – Banting and Jalan Genting Peras – Kuala Klawang, as well as the bridge road to Lapang Sasar, Subang.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency