Day: March 9, 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) — The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives plans to launch the MADANI Sales Bazaar of Cooperatives and Entrepreneurs in line with the ministry’s efforts to help the government deal with the issue of the rising cost of living.

Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick said the bazaar is expected to be launched this April in Perak.

Regarding the proposed concept of local grocery shops through cooperation with cooperatives, he said the involvement of cooperatives in wholesaling and retailing activities continues to be encouraged with the establishment of 2,581 cooperative grocery shops known as Coopmart nationwide.

“From 2021 to 2022, the Coopmart network was involved in organising the ‘Jualan Koperasi Prihatin Rakyat’, ‘Jualan Harga Patut Koperasi’, ‘Jualan Murah Keluarga Malaysia’ and ‘Jualan Murah Keluarga Malaysia Siswa’ with price savings between 15 and 20 per cent of the market price totalling RM9.28 million.

“Starting March 2023, SKM (Cooperative Societies Commission) through the Coopmart network in the districts will implement the cooperative cheap sale initiative that offers basic daily necessities up to 20 per cent cheaper than the market price,” he said when winding up debate on the Supply Bill 2023 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) — A special ‘Selawat and Munajat’ programme with the Prime Minister which will be organised this Saturday, is expected to gather up to 20,000 Muslims.

The programme’s director, Azizi Ab Hamid, said it would be held at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, Cheras, beginning with congregational Maghrib prayers led by the imam of the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque, followed by a ‘selawat’ (salutations to the Prophet Muhammad) and ‘qasidah’ (Arabic poem) recital by Syabab EI-Mustofawiyah who emerged champions of the qasidah festival last year.

“Among the figures who will be present to deliver a talk and ‘tausiyah’ (religious advice) that night is Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin Abu Bakar, a well-known scholar in our country,” he told Bernama today.

The programme, he said, would also feature international al-Quran recitation champion Amirahman Abbas and Sheikh Razak al-Masri.

Azizi said the programme was a continuation of the ceremony held previously at the Prime Minister’s official residence.

“From there, I got the idea to bring this knowledge conference outside, so that the Prime Minister can be with the people of Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s political secretary Azman Abidin said the main sponsors of the programme are the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council and several other agencies such as Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia.

“So far, apart from the Prime Minister, the two deputy prime ministers and several other ministers, among those who will be present at the programme are Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali and KL Mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah,” he said.

He said invitations would also be extended to the embassies of Saudi Arabia and Palestine.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KOTA KINABALU, March 9 (Bernama) — The Malaysia MADANI concept should be well explained so that it is understood and is able to provide the best impact to the people in Sabah, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

In this regard, he said a holistic and scientific analysis should be done by experts in various fields, taking into account the multicultural and multireligious community in the country, especially in Sabah.

He said the Malaysia MADANI concept was also in line with the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development blueprint introduced by the Sabah Government.

“The effort to appreciate this concept is significant as a foundation for all of us to move forward in a harmonious, prosperous, and fair manner. Thus, this concept is very suitable to the atmosphere and needs of this state, which has more than 30 ethnic groups.

“Malaysia MADANI, introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, has been raised as a new paradigm for the country to work on policy direction and strategy implementation, which covers all sectors for the sake of progress, excellence and the well-being of our beloved country,” he said.

He said this when officiating the Malaysia MADANI Forum organised by the United Sabah Islamic Association (USIA) and the Office of the State Deputy Secretary (Special Functions).

“I believe there will be more associations, non-governmental organisations and higher education institutions as well as government agencies, that will organise seminars, forums and workshops that further explore the Malaysia MADANI concept for the benefit of their members, students, graduates and civil servants,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, March 9 (Bernama) — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has confirmed that former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was arrested today and will be charged in a Kuala Lumpur court tomorrow.

MACC said it arrested Muhyiddin at 1 pm after recording his statement at the MACC headquarters here to complete the final investigation process regarding the Jana Wibawa programme and related issues.

MACC, in a statement today, said it had obtained consent from the Attorney-General’s Chambers to charge the Pagoh Member of Parliament and Bersatu president.

According to the statement, Muhyiddin will be slapped with several charges under the MACC Act 2009 and Section 4(1)b of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA).

MACC had earlier frozen the accounts of Bersatu and charged several individuals, including former Bersatu information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Segambut Bersatu division deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad, in court in connection with Jana Wibawa projects to help Bumiputera contractors.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) — The thousand-year-old city of Fuzhou is still bustling with huge crowds of people even when dusk falls, glowing with new vitality, new colours and new fashions.

According to the Publicity Department of the CPC Fuzhou Municipal Committee in a statement, the promotional video of Fuzhou of Fujian Province, titled “Discover Fuzhou — Nighttime Economy”, was released recently.

It was released through overseas social media accounts including “Paris Oriental Center”, “Discover Fujian” and “Discover Fuzhou”.

In the dynamic and cheerful melody, the sleepless city of Fuzhou is swathed in brilliant and colourful lights and once again attracts world attention.

In the video, the new landmark projects of Fuzhou, the key sections of the “Two Rivers and Four Riverbanks” landscape belt — The Heart of Min River, Three Lanes and Seven Alleys Historical and Cultural District, and other scenic spots look radiant and gorgeous during the night.

In addition, cultural offerings abound in these areas such as night markets, concerts, theatrical performances and street performances.

A range of supportive policies and measures was rolled out to encourage innovative growth of Fuzhou City’s nighttime economy and created post-dusk economic blocks by integrating cultural tourism experience and building commercial facilities.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SHAH ALAM, March 9 (Bernama) — The Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia (SKM) is drawing up an anti-corruption plan to eradicate abuse of power among cooperative members in the country.

SKM executive vice president (Operations and Regulatory) Siti Azlin Ahmad Dauta said the commission would be selecting a cluster of 100 top co-operatives in the country as pioneers and as the benchmark for the plan.

She said the initiative was a follow-up to existing cases that involved offences under Section 45 of the Co-operative Societies Act 1993.

“Co-operatives are exposed to many risks (of corruption) especially when it involves development activities or large-scale projects, so we do not want governance to be affected because it would also hamper their activities.

“Therefore, the anti-corruption plan is a preventive move towards co-operatives being corruption-free and this is why we want to encourage each co-operative to develop its own anti-corruption plan,” she said.

Siti Azlin told reporters this after witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia Sahabat Co-operative (Koop Sahabat) and Marriot International and Az Zaharah Islamic Hospital here today.

She further said SKM will be working together with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Malaysian Institute of Integrity to develop the initiative.

Meanwhile, commenting on today’s programme, Siti Azlin said the MoU involved a proposal to develop a 300-room resort hotel in Pantai Chenang, Langkawi and an Ambulatory Care Centre in Kuantan.

“It involves two projects with an overall gross development value totalling RM250 million which is expected to commence in 2024 (hotel) and 2026 (health centre). The project is also expected to boost property development and construction activities in line with the strategic plans of the co-operative.

“Koop Sahabat is confident that its property development plans will not only focus on housing only but also on ‘Built to Suit’ development which (we are confident) will be able to help the government provide basic necessities like hospitals, education centres and so forth,” she added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) — The Film In Malaysia Incentive (FIMI) initiative has provided a direct economic impact of RM2.53 billion through film-related activities since its implementation in 2013.

Minister of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil said the impact included salary increments for crew members and actors involved in production, studio rental and production equipment.

He said the FIMI also helped generate RM8.68 billion in local economy throughout the period because when filming took place, it also stimulated activities involving tourism, hospitality and transport as well as catering services and legal services.

“This is a good thing and the ministry will strive to get additional funds for the FIMI programme for the coming years,” he said at the media conference in Parliament after winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2023 at the policy level for the Ministry of Communication and Digital (KKD) today.

Fahmi said the FIMI initiative was implemented as an effort by the KKD to support the filming hubs by offering a 30 per cent cash rebate based on the Qualifying Malaysian Production Expenditure (QMPE) to local and foreign production companies to shoot their films in Malaysia.

He said an additional cash rebate of up to five per cent would also be given if their films featured elements of nationhood, arts and culture.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency