Day: January 15, 2023

The probe into the Ministry of Defence’s (Mindef) controversial land swap deal issue should be continued by the new Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to enable the public to get a clearer picture of the issue.

Sociopolitical analyst from Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMcedel) Prof Madya Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the continuation of the probe should be done in line with the Unity Government’s policy to see a cleaner, better and more transparent administration.

“If not probed, it will raise more questions among the people…so it should continue based on on the findings of PAC’s earlier investigation,” he told Bernama.

An English daily today reported that former PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh wanted the new administration to press ahead with the investigation into the controversial land swap deal issue.

He said the committee under his watch had completed 50 per cent of the draft on the probe, but it could not be finalised due to the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10 last year.

Awang Azman said the continuation of the investigation will also ensure that all governance in Mindef is carried out in more detail and transparent manners, thus building the people’s confidence in the management of the ministry.

In fact, he said it was also to prevent corruption in public management, which can tarnish the image and reputation of the country.

Nusantara Academy of Strategic Research (NASR) senior fellow Dr Azmi Hassan, who is also a defence analyst, is of the same opinion that the probe into the land swap deal issue should continue to be investigated to stop the rumours and speculations of misconduct among the ministry’s officials.

“Maybe the officials involved have retired or been transferred elsewhere, but for me, if the probe is stopped, there will be allegations that the current government is trying to hide something.

“Although the issue is quite complicated and sensitive, the probe must be done as soon as possible and should not take too long to be completed,” he said, adding that the investigation by the previous PAC had taken almost two years.

However, he said t is up to the soon-to-be-appointed PAC to use the findings of the previous investigation which was 50 per cent completed or to start anew.

The land swap deal began in 2012, involving a 38.04ha army camp in Kinrara, Selangor, the construction of an air force facility in Sendayan, and the construction of an army camp in Port Dickson, both in Negri Sembilan.

However, in 2016, the proposal to construct an army camp in Port Dickson was replaced with the proposal to set up the Paloh camp.

In 2020, Wong said the issue was brought to PAC’s attention following a briefing by the special investigation committee on Public Governance, Procurement and Finance (JKSTUPKK) after investigating 16 cases of land swap cases involving 2,923 acres (1,183ha) of government land valued at RM4.8 billion.

He said the PAC was informed that one of the issues that surfaced in the land swap is related to government losses due to the inconsistent methods used to determine the value of the land and political considerations that outweigh defence interests.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SHAH ALAM, Jan 15 (Bernama) — The Selangor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained five Indonesian men without valid permits working onboard a Class C fishing boat in the waters of Sungai Besar, near here, at 12.50 pm yesterday.

Its director, Capt V. Siva Kumar said all the foreign nationals were detained during Op Ehsan after the Selangor MMEA patrol boat conducted an inspection on the fishing boat at 5.2 nautical miles off the coast.

Siva Kumar said the inspection found that the boat was helmed by a skipper and four crewmen who were all foreign nationals, aged between 31 and 54.

He said the inspection also found that all of them did not possess valid identification documents and that the boat owner had employed the Indonesian nationals without the permission of the director-general (DG) of the Malaysian Fisheries Department, adding that 200 kilogrammes of various fish, as well as fishing equipment, were also found on the boat.

“All the foreign nationals had been working for the boat owner for between four months and two years, and were paid in cash according to the days out at sea, that is RM100 for the skipper and RM50 for a crewman.

“All of them (foreign nationals) were acquaintances from the same area in Indonesia and did not have family ties,” he also said in a statement today.

Siva Kumar added that all the foreign nationals and the boat were taken to the Pulau Indah Marine Police jetty before being handed over to the MMEA investigation officer for further action.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Bernama) — Travelling to 24 European countries in 33 days is no simple feat but that seemingly impossible task was proven to be doable for friends Hirza Hasniza Mohd Jaluli and Fasya Rafiqa Saice from Sungai Besar, Selangor.

Both loved to travel since they were young.

Through meticulous planning and high discipline, both women, aged 27 years, successfully completed their mission to travel to 24 European countries on Nov 8 last year after embarking on their journey on Oct 7

They covered major towns and interesting tourist locations in Switzerland, France, England, Spain, Iceland, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

The duo also went to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Greece, Romania, Malta and the Vatican City.

Hirza Hasniza and Fasya Rafiqa each spent RM15,000 throughout their journey. The money was spent on transportation and lodgings.

Speaking to Bernama, Hirza Hasniza said their travel to Europe took five months to plan and the entire journey from one country to another used a lot of public transportation such as trains, buses, and aeroplanes.

“We will stay longer than two days in popular European countries with lots of tourist attractions like France, Italy, and Switzerland while we will spend less time like just one day in less popular countries like Malta.

“There were also side adventures such as to Estonia and Latvia that we roamed in just one day because the distance between the two countries is only about three hours apart and there are not many interesting places to visit,” she said, adding that their adventure also went viral and shared by netizens on social media.

A human resource manager, she said the reason she and her friend travelled to many countries in such a short time was that the trip was their first to Europe.

“I have heard stories that there are many interesting places to visit in Europe, so I decided to see for myself. If another opportunity to go to Europe comes again, surely I can now decide the countries I should visit,” she said, admitting that she loved the natural beauty of the countries.

Meanwhile, Fasya Rafiqa said what she remembered most about her adventure was when her iPhone was stolen while travelling from Italy to Switzerland.

“It happened in Milan, we had placed our things by the roadside before boarding the train and unknowingly the phone which was placed on our other items was taken. It happened quickly.

“We managed to track down the location of the stolen iPhone to try to get it back. But I decided not to pursue the matter and I gave up,” she said and decided to buy a new phone.

Meanwhile, another traveller, Maslinda Supandi or better known as Violet Biru, said the two friends were wise to make thorough travelling plans and to take up the challenge together

“I am truly impressed to see more female travellers coming out of their comfort zone and learning to survive in a foreign country.

“It is obvious that work commitments will not prevent them from travelling and seeing the world. May their experiences pave the way for other youngsters to follow their example and travel the world and at the same time open up their minds,” said Violet Biru who has travelled to 42 countries.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and 27 Cabinet Ministers are today attending a Unity Government Cabinet Minister Retreat at Seri Perdana Complex, Putrajaya.

According to a Prime Minister’s Department statement, the programme which is also attended by 10 senior government officials, was carried out to bolster consensus and solidarity among Cabinet Ministers.

“In line with the desire of the Prime Minister in translating the resolution and reform agenda in the administration of the Unity Government, this retreat programme would have special briefing sessions covering important aspects towards strengthening delivery and governance of the government machinery,” according to the statement.

These aspects include government structures and public administration affairs; financial management and government procurement; international conferences and national interests; government protocol and professionalism; sustainable development, economic scenarios and challenges as well as briefings related to media communication.

Apart from that, the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali would also deliver a briefing on the implementation of key performance indicators (KPI) for members of the Cabinet at the retreat session.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

IPOH, Jan 15 (Bernama) — The Ipoh City Council will focus on the preservation of heritage arts in developing Ipoh Old Town into a tourism product in Perak.

Ipoh Mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin said the development of the town was being carried out in stages and would be completed in 2025.

“The Ipoh Old Town has been gazetted as a heritage area and as such any development carried out must focus on preserving the heritage,” he told a press conference after the opening of the Chinese New Year (CNY) Bazaar at Lorong Seni@Lorong Panglima by State Tourism, Industry, Investment and Corridor Development Committee chairman Loh Sze Yee here today.

Rumaizi said most of the allocation for developing the location was obtained through the Private Financing Initiative (PFI), apart from the RM20 million from the North Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA).

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Bernama) — Efforts to address the issue of lack of a balanced diet or malnutrition in children continue to be the focus of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Nestle Malaysia, who jointly organised the PUTRA Community Nutrition Ambassador Programme (PUTRACNAP) in Kampung Datuk Keramat.

The programme, attended by 63 mother-and-child couples from 11 Public Housing (PPR) and Public Housing (PA) projects, aims to increase the community’s awareness on the importance of a balanced diet following the rise in cases of malnutrition in Southeast Asia.

Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Aiman Athira Sabu, when inaugurating the programme, said 70 per cent of children in four Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia were malnourished, notably in calcium and vitamin D.

“This increase involves children in urban areas, most of whom show excessive weight gain,” she said when speaking at the ‘Farm-to-Table’ Health Carnival for community nutrition.

Aiman Athira said the five-month programme, which includes creating a community farm to address malnutrition, has positively impacted the community by driving home the importance of eating a balanced diet.

UPM’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences deputy dean Prof Dr Cheah Yoke Kqueen said the collaboration programme which involved the community and industry players was a direct initiative to promote the implementation of the ‘Farm-to-Table’ concept.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency