Day: February 7, 2023

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700 ATM veterans awarded JPM – Mindef

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) — A total of 700 Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) veterans were today awarded the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) in recognition of their sacrifice and loyalty in freeing the country from the communist threat.

In a statement tonight, Defence Ministry (Mindef) said its secretary-general Datuk Seri Muez Abd Aziz officiated the award ceremony held at Dewan Perwira, Wisma Pertahanan.

“PJM is only awarded to military personnel or former military personnel who meet the eligibility requirements such as having served or been involved in operations for three months and above or have served directly for not less than six months in any ATM team or formation from Jan 1, 1969 to Dec 2, 1989 for operations against the Malayan Communist Party (PKM).

“Other requirements include having served or involved in operations for three months and above or has served indirectly for no less than six months in any ATM team or formation between Jan 1, 1969 and Oct 17, 1990 for operations against the North Kalimantan Communist Party (PKKU),” the statement said.

In addition, military personnel who were killed, injured or disabled due to duty against PKM between Jan 1, 1969 and Dec 2, 1989 or PKKU between Jan 1, 1969 and Oct 17, 1990 are also eligible to receive the medal.

Also present at today’s ceremony were ATM Headquarters Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Datuk Arman Rumaizi Ahmad; Deputy Chief of Army Lieutenant General Datuk Seri Mohammad Ab Rahman; Deputy Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Datuk Sabri Zali; Deputy Chief of Air Force Lieutenant General Datuk Muhamad Norazlan Aris and ATM Veteran Affairs Department director-general Major General Zambery Jefry Darus.

As of today, a total of 33,632 ATM veterans have received the PJM medals, while eligible veterans who have not yet been awarded will be scheduled to receive them in future ceremonies.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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Pahang record highest number of evacuees this evening

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) — The number of flood evacuees in Pahang continued to rise even as those in Johor dropped, while numbers remain the same in Kedah and Terengganu this evening.

In PAHANG, evacuees rose to 5,021 people from 1,489 families being housed in 28 relief centres compared to 4,230 people from 1,240 families at 21 centres this morning. Kuantan recorded the highest number of evacuees at 4,908 people in 24 centres, while the remaining 113 people are being housed in four centres in Pekan.

According to the publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my website, the water levels of Sungai Belat in Sri Damai, Kuantan and Sungai Keratong in Rompin were still above the danger level.

In JOHOR, the number of evacuees dropped to 59 people in three districts compared to 163 people at 8 am. Three relief centres remained open, one each in Segamat, Mersing and Batu Pahat, and good weather was forecasted for nine districts, with the exception of Kluang, which will receive rain.

Meanwhile, only Sungai Bekok in Batu Pahat was still above danger level with a reading of 18.95 metres, while three rivers were at warning levels.

In KEDAH, 26 evacuees at Sekolah Menengah Agama (SMA) Madrasah Insaniah Jangkang, in Kulim have yet to be allowed to return home even though floods have completely receded as the bank of Sungai Kob that collapsed was not yet repaired.

Finally, in TERENGGANU, the number of evacuees remained the same at 28 people being housed in Sekolah Kebangsaan Lembah Jabor and Dewan Orang Ramai Kampung Air Putih.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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PM Anwar chairing first meeting of Unity Gov’t Secretariat

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has arrived at Menara Dato’ Onn, Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre (WTC) to chair the inaugural meeting of the Unity Government Secretariat tonight.

Anwar, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, arrived at the building at about 7.50 pm.

The two Deputy Prime Ministers, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), are also attending the meeting.

Also present are leaders of PH component parties, namely DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke and Parti Amanah Negara president Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.

At the last UMNO general assembly, Ahmad Zahid announced the establishment of the secretariat, which comprises parties in the Unity Government.

Anwar is expected to hold a press conference after the meeting.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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Sarawak not affected by flight ticket wholesaling issue

KUCHING, Feb 7 (Bernama) — The issue of travel agencies wholesaling flight tickets in bulk does not happen in Sarawak, according to the Sarawak chapter of Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA).

Its chairman Oscar Choo said the association had not received any complaints about the matter so far.

“It does not happen in Sarawak. According to media reports, it is an issue at the national level,” he told a news conference on the 17th Sarawak MATTA Travel Exhibition 2023 here today.

Sarawak’s biggest travel exhibition will involve 55 stalls and be held simultaneously at the Boulevard Shopping Mall in Kuching and Permaisuri Imperial City Mall in Miri on March 4 and 5.

Oscar said Sarawak MATTA, which has 157 members, was prepared to cooperate with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) to tackle the issue of wholesaling of tickets.

“That is why we always encourage the people to conduct their travel activities through licensed agents to help combat this problem,” he added.

On Feb 1, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said the ministry would take firm action by revoking the licences of travel agencies found to have breached regulations.

He said the ministry was investigating allegations that several local travel agencies were involved in the wholesale of flight tickets in bulk.

Local media reports claimed that there were several local umrah companies that ‘wholesale’ flight tickets to the Holy Land and allegedly also sell them to umrah agencies in Indonesia at prices of up to RM6,000 to reap huge profits.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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Malaysia looking to explore next gen technology with the US

BORACAY (Philippines), Jan 7 (Bernama) — Malaysia is interested in exploring emerging technology such as the next generation technology in 5G and broadcasting technology from the United States (US), said the Ministry of Communications and Digital (KKD) secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohammad Mentek.

During a courtesy call by the US delegation on the sidelines of the 3rd ASEAN Digital Senior Officials’ Meeting (ADGSOM) here today, Mohammad spoke about Malaysia’s plans on digital economy and encouraged more collaboration between the two countries.

He also spoke about cybersecurity, data protection and anti scamming programmes, emphasising that Malaysia was keen to explore these areas.

During the meeting, the US deputy assistant secretary for International Information and Communications Policy, Steve Lang, who led the US delegation, invited Malaysia to participate in a series of workshop – starting with Facilitating Cross-Border Data Flows in Southeast Asia.

Also present were KKD Undersecretary of International Division Mano Verabathran as well as US Foreign Affairs Officer, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy Eng Gin Moe; Economic Officer, U.S Mission to ASEAN Henry Fung; and Economic Specialist, US Embassy Manila Mich Clutton.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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DPM Fadillah on three-day working visit to Indonesia tomorrow

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof will depart for Indonesia tomorrow for an official three-day working visit.

The minister will be accompanied by ministry officials.

He will meet with Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs to discuss issues on palm oil.

“A major topic will be the strategies needed to overcome the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) rules which have put the palm oil industry in a risky position.

“Apart from that, cooperation among the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) will be enhanced,” the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (MPIC) said in a statement.

It highlighted the importance of cooperation between the two countries in the area of palm oil.

“This cooperation is important as matters such as certification and traceability are important elements in the implementation of the EUDR and access to global markets,” it added.

For the rubber sector, Fadillah will meet with Zulkifli Hasan, Indonesia’s Trade Minister.

“The discussion will be on strengthening cooperation between Malaysia and Indonesia through the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC) and the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT).

“The talks will also focus on the proposal to set up the Asean Rubber Council (ArCo),” MPIC said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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Floods: Number of evacuees in four states dip to 3,662 Tuesday night

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) — The total number of flood evacuees in Pahang, Johor, Kedah and Terengganu has dropped to 3,662 people tonight compared to 5,134 people this evening.

In PAHANG, evacuees dropped to 3,585 people from 1,046 families at 23 relief centres compared to 5,021 people from 1,489 families at 28 centres this evening. Kuantan remains the district with the most evacuees at 3,466 people in 19 centres, while the remaining 119 people are being housed in four centres in Pekan.

According to the publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my website, the water levels at Sungai Belat in Sri Damai, Kuantan and Sungai Keratong in Rompin remain above the danger level.

In JOHOR, only 33 evacuees remain as of 8 pm tonight compared to 59 people at 4 pm, while a relief centre in Batu Pahat was closed. Only two relief centres are still open, one in Segamat district, with 26 evacuees from nine families, and Mersing with seven people from one family.

Clear weather has been forecasted for all districts in the state tonight, while the water level of Sungai Bekok in Batu Pahat is still above the danger level, with a reading of 18.94 metres.

In KEDAH, the number of evacuees remained the same at 26 people at Sekolah Menengah Agama Madrasah Insaniah Jangkang, near Kulim as of 8 pm and they will continue to remain there until the collapsed bank of Sungai Kob is repaired by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage.

In TERENGGANU, only 18 evacuees from six families remain at Sekolah Kebangsaan Lembah Jabor in Kemaman district tonight.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency