Day: March 7, 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) — A Dewan Rakyat MP has urged the Home Ministry (KDN) to investigate PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang that there were efforts to overthrow the Unity Government by Perikatan Nasional (PN).

The matter was brought up by RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) during the Supply Bill 2023 debate session at the Dewan Rakyat here today, which resulted in an uproar lasting several minutes.

“This is an offence under the Penal Code, under Section 124B, whoever, by any means, directly or indirectly, commits an activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy shall be punished with imprisonment of up to 20 years.

“This is His Majesty’s governemnt, the Unity Government inspired by the King,” he said, which led to Mohd Misbahul Munir Masduki (PN-Parit Buntar) interjecting, stating that under Standing Orders 36(6), an MP cannot impute improper motives to another member.

“YB (Yang Berhormat) Jelutong said YB Marang (Abdul Hadi) was planning. That’s imputing, YB Marang only issued a political statement, he wasn’t planning,” he said, and asked Rayer to retract his statement towards Abdul Hadi.

Rayer then said the statement was reported by the media after Abdul Hadi was interviewed at Parliament yesterday.

“Deputy Speaker, imagine if this was stated by a DAP MP, if we (DAP) were in the Opposition and stated such a thing, surely a police report would be lodged against us. It goes against the Agong’s decree,” he said.

Rayer’s retort incurred the ire of several Opposition MPs, forcing Deputy Speaker Alice Lau Kiong to instruct them to sit down and ask Rayer to wind up his debate session.

Rayer then requested that Abdul Hadi’s statement be given attention as the people should not suffer if something happened due to the opposition’s plan to topple the Unity Government.

“I urge Marang to not commit treason,” he said as he wound up.

Following Rayer’s wind up, several Opposition MPs, including Datuk Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh (PN-Besut), were still dissatisfied and decided to prolong the situation.

Che Mohamad Zulkifly submitted that under Standing Orders 23(1)(i), a question shall not be asked as to whether statements in the press or of private individuals or financial bodies are accurate.

Lau, however, stressed that she had made a ruling that Rayer should continue with his wind up.

“If you are not satisfied with my decision, please file a motion,” she said as she asked for the debate to continue.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) — The number of flood victims in three states fell slightly with 42,459 people placed at 235 temporary relief centres (PPS) as of this evening compared with 42,909 this morning.

In JOHOR, the total flood victims continued to decrease to 39,315 people in nine districts at 2 pm compared with 39,620 at 8 am as more victims returned home.

The State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) said even though the weather is improving in all districts, there was a rise in the number of victims and the opening of new PPS in Batu Pahat as 11,143 families were housed in 212 PPS throughout the state.

“From nine districts, Batu Pahat is the most affected with 23,370 victims sheltered at 78 PPS; followed by Muar with 4,106 people (23 PPS) and Segamat 3,620 people (45 PPS),” said the committee in a statement today.

The flood death toll now stands at six including a senior citizen who died of old age at a PPS in Yong Peng yesterday.

In PAHANG, the JPBN secretariat reported that the number of flood victims this afternoon was 2,538 people, less than the 2,684 people recorded this morning.

The decrease in victims involves the Rompin district with 2,525 people in 17 (PPS) compared to 2,671 people in 18 PPS this morning, while the victims in Maran remain at 13 in one PPS.

In MELAKA, the number of flood victims in Jasin increased by one, with a total of 606 victims from 162 families as of 2 pm compared to 605 victims from 161 families at 8 am this morning.

The Melaka JPBN secretariat said in a statement that all the victims were placed in five PPS, namely at Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu Gajah, with 211 victims from 56 families; SK Parit Penghulu with 146 people from 35 families; SK Seri Mendapat with 88 people from 22 families and SK Sungai Rambai with 99 people from 25 families.

“While at SK Parit Gantong, there were 62 victims from 24 families,” according to the statement here, today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) — The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has decreed that key administrators of Islamic religious institutions must comprise of scholars and professionals who are free of influence from political parties.

His Majesty said that the National Council for Islamic Affairs’ role was to ensure those appointed could carry out their duties in accordance with the Al-Quran and the Sunnah.

“Islam should be placed highest, higher that any competition that could cause conflict and disunity among the ummah,” His Majesty in his capacity as council chairman said in conjunction with the council’s 69th meeting at Istana Melawati, Putrajaya on Monday.

Sultan Sharafuddin also thanked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on behalf of the Council of Malay Rulers for appointing a non-politician as Religious Affairs Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

The Sultan said it would ensure the principle of separation of powers enshrined in the Federal Constitution in respect to the administration of Islam between the Executive and the Malay Rulers, in accordance with the constitutional monarchy system practised by the country.

“With the appointment of the new Religious Affairs Minister, it is hoped that cooperation between federal and states in matters of administering Islam will grow closer in line with the teachings of the Al-Quran and Sunnah,” the Sultan said.

His Majesty reiterated that the Council of Malay Rulers were above party politics, as they served as trustees who commanded the fealty of their people.

The Sultan also expressed hope that the council meeting today would be a watershed moment to return the role of administering Islam to those who were worthy.

“I have great hopes that all parties will respect the provision of the Federal Constitution that ensures the rights and powers of the Malay Rulers.

“I am confident that with this new beginning, the Council of Malay Rulers as the voice of the Rulers in Malaysia can play their necessary roles to develop Islam’s administration at the federal level and to foster closer ties with the states,” the Sultan said.

The Sultan of Selangor also wished that all Malaysians and ministers would focus efforts to resolve various public issues and restore prosperity to the country.

“I urge all parties to support efforts to strengthen Islam and the council and to place the administration of Islamic institutions at the federal level on the right track.

“Representatives in every state should present suggestions that have been implemented at state level that should be shared for the betterment of our country and fellow Muslims,” His Majesty said.

The Sultan also advised all council members to respect the views of states and to preserve good relations to ensure that the administration of Islam in the country would progress smoothly.

His Majesty also said that the guarantee provided by the prime minister that LGBT groups and concepts of a secular state would have no place in his administration was enough to assure the people that the government was serious in preserving Islamic principles.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

ALOR SETAR, March 7 (Bernama) — A total of 38 individual suffered losses of around RM120,000 over fraudulent umrah packages after they made payments to an institution through a headmistress in 2018.

The headmistress acted as a middleman and offered the victims, all of whom have now retired, Umrah packages at a cost of RM2,990 each with other costs borne through sponsorship.

One of the victims, Azlina Abdullah, 53, claimed she learnt of the package through her sister, who was a teacher at the same school as the headmistress and they were supposed to go for Umrah in 2019 but could not do so.

“I myself, along with eight family members, paid over RM20,000 in total for the umrah packages in 2019 but we were informed it was postponed as the foundation’s manager was having health issues at that time.

Initially we did not suspect anything as the first group taken by the foundation did perform their Umrah, so we waited for our turn. But so far, we have heard nothing from the former headmistress,” she said during a media conference here today.

Azlina claimed the foundation gave all victims a resolution agreement in 2019 but those who signed the agreement had not received anything.

“The foundation claims to have suffered losses and we were promised a refund after the foundation’s assets were sold in February 2022, but it is all empty promises. We also contacted the former headmistress but she did not give any response to our inquiries made through Whatsapp,” she added.

Meanwhile, Azlina’s younger brother, Azham, 41, said he was disappointed with the headmistress who seemed to deny any responsibility in the matter, adding that there were some victims who had already died.

He urged the foundation to return all their money and demanded that the former headmistress be responsible for the financial difficulties faced by the victims.

“My father and father-in-law have both passed away, but till now the money has not been returned to us. We just want what’s ours back, return the money we paid immediately,” he added.

A police report over the matter was lodged in January last year but the victims claimed there was no action taken against the former headmistress or the foundation.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

GEORGE TOWN, March 7 (Bernama) — Penang police are waiting for the complete report on the incident of a police sergeant who was found dead with three gunshot wounds behind the Bayan Lepas police station, near here on February 19 to complete the investigation into the incident.

Penang police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the complete report will be sent to request an inquest to identify the real cause of the incident.

“We will apply for an inquest regarding the incident after receiving the complete report which is the chemical, ballistic and post-mortem reports including pathology.

“Based on the preliminary autopsy report, it was found that the first and second shots did not hit vital organs which could cause the victim (sergeant) to die immediately and the investigation also did not show the presence of anyone else there (during the incident), in fact, I would like to emphasise once again that there was no criminal element in the incident said,” he told reporters here today.

Earlier, Mohd Shuhaily attended the presentation ceremony for a RM100,000 donation for special children and orphan kindergartens of Penang Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) by the Implementation and Coordination of National Agencies on the Economic Stimulus Package (Laksana) chief executive officer Datuk Shahrul Nazri Abdul Rahim.

Earlier, Mohd Shuhaily was reported to have said that the investigation into the incident had been completed and that there were no criminal elements found and in line with their first finding which was suicide, the death of the personnel was classified as sudden death (SDR).

On Feb 19, Sergeant Jana Milie, 51, was found dead behind the Bayan Lepas Police Station with gunshot wounds to the chest, neck and head.

Earlier in his speech Mohd Shuhaily said a total of 90 special children and 116 orphans as well as two kindergartens under the management of PDRM namely the Seberang Perai Tengah Police Headquarters Kindergarten and the Southwest IPD Unity Kindergarten received aid from Laksana today.

“The total amount of funds from Laksana is worth RM100,000 and this donation is very meaningful to all the recipients today and as Penang police chief, I express my gratitude to Laksana for the efforts and commitment shown,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shahrul Nazri said the donation was Laksana’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) to those in need and last year it contributed RM1 million under its CSR programme.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) — The issue of non-revenue water (NRW) requires a continuous and holistic solution as well as a huge capital expenditure (CAPEX), Natural Resource, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said.

He said the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) reported last year that the national average NRW was 37.2 per cent, resulting in a waste of 7.084 million litres of treated water daily with a total oss of around RM2 billion a year.

“We realise that the national water supply sector faces various challenges, including a high NRW rate. NRW is treated water that does not reach consumers and cannot be billed due to leaking pipes or non-functioning meters.

“To help overcome the financial losses faced by water operators, the federal government has implemented the National NRW Reduction programme, beginning from the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) till the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), involving an overall allocation of over RM2 billion,” he said as he presented a reimbursement payment to Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) under the National NRW Reduction programme Approach 2 for 2021 here today.

Under Approach 2, the federal government has prepared an allocation of RM1.371 billion in matching grants to help water operators overcome the NRW issue more effectively and sustainably, and involves states with an NRW rate of under 40 per cent, namely Melaka, Penang, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Terengganu and Selangor.

In his speech, Nik Nazmi thanked Air Selangor for reducing NRW rates by 0.5 per cent to 28 per cent in 2021 and successfully earning 50 per cent from the NRW programme expenditure for meeting their target.

The achievement was not easy, he said, as it was not the first time Air Selangor had done so, having met the programme’s target for three consecutive years since 2019.

“In terms of cost, the expenditure by Air Selangor for the three years is over RM558 million. This also means Air Selangor qualifies for a reimbursement totaling RM362.4 million from the federal government under the programme for the period,” he said, adding that the impact of Selangor’s NRW rate on the national NRW rate was significant, as with each one per cent reduction by the state contributes to around a drop of 0.3 percent to the national rate.

He also congratulated Ranhill SAJ for achieving the reduced NRW rate target for 2021, with a reduction of 1.6 per cent, to 25.1 per cent, and receiving a reimbursement of RM142.3 million, or 75 per cent of the NRW programme expenditure.

“I also hope the successes of Air Selangor dan Ranhill SAJ will motivate other water operators to carry out efforts to achieve reductions in NRW rates,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, March 7 (Bernama) — The Home Ministry (KDN) seized over 1,000 banned sex toys at a residence in Kota Warisan, Sepang on Dec 19.

KDN enforcement and controls division secretary Nik Yusaimi Yussof said the seizure was made under Ops Maya 1/2023 after the house, which was used to store the toys before being sold online, was monitored.

He said the toys were banned items and were an offence under Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 for eroding moral values.

The operation led to the arrest of a local man, 57, on Dec 19, who was charged at the Sepang Magistrate’s Court on Feb 2 under the Act and Section 292(a) of the Penal Code for distributing and selling obscene items.

“KDN will not hesitate to take stern action against any party involved in elements that can erode morals, public order and national safety,” he said.

Nik Yusaimi the banned toys worth RM115,000 were believed to be made in China and Thailand and brought into Malaysia through online transactions, with items being priced between RM70 to RM1,000.

“The ministry is worried that the use of sex toys would affect the moraility of Malaysians and if uncontrolled, would lead to a decline in moral values and other social problems,” he said.

He also urged e-commerce platform providers to cooperate with the government to stop the sale of illicit items and those with information about such sale and distribution can contact the ministry at 03-80008000.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency