Author: malaysiang

SEREMBAN, Sept 14 — The public is reminded not to get too excited when holiday in Negeri Sembilan and to strictly comply with the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the government in curbing the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

Negeri Sembilan police chief, Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusop said now that the people were allowed to holiday in the state with it moving to Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan (PPN), they should avoid forming crowds at the focal spots and ensure physical distancing.

“Currently, the number of COVID-19 cases in this state has gone down, so we don’t want to see the relaxation given to economic and social activities to cause an increase of infection cases again.

“So far, the reports that I have received from the Port Dickson police and district enforcement authorities that the situation is still under control but monitoring is required at the popular spots to ensure the public adhere to the SOP,” he told reporters at his office, here, today.

Mohamad said police and the local authorities were indeed monitoring to ensure SOP compliance.

He urged the people to act responsibly by obeying the regulations set by the government in curbing the spread of COVID-19.

His statement came after a number of photos and videos appeared on social media showing families back to enjoying themselves at various popular spots like the Port Dickson beach.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — The government is working to streamline the existing standard operating procedures (SOPs) related to COVID-19 so that it is better understood by the people, industry players and enforcement agencies.

Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said currently, there were 181 SOPs covering all four phases of the National Recovery Plan (PPN) and the government plans to reduce them to only 10.

“The move to streamline the SOPs which we have been using for more than a year will definitely take some time, however, the government is committed to resolving the matter before we transition to the endemic phase,” he said in a news conference on the outcome of the COVID-19 Ministerial Quartet Meeting in Parliament today.

Also present were Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

In order to determine how the existing SOPs could be streamlined, Hishammuddin said the government would not only take into account scientific data, especially from the Health Ministry (MOH), but also the feedback and views from experts and industries.

“The development on this matter will be informed from time to time. We will probably take between two and three weeks to complete it,” he added.

In the meantime, Hishammuddin said the Special Committee on Pandemic Management meeting has agreed to provide more relaxation of SOPs especially those in the low-risk category.

He said the government took into account the pressure and fatigue experienced by the people after more than a year living in a pandemic situation that restricted activities and movement.

“We cannot allow this situation to continue because it could lead to a more serious impact, especially on mental health.

“The Prime Minister will announce the additional relaxation for the social and economic sectors in the near future,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — The opening of more tourism sectors in the country will very much depend on the success of the Langkawi travel bubble initiative, Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said.

He said as such, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri and the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) would need to prove that the pilot project can be successful to convince the government to allow many other tourism activities to operate.

Hishammuddin said through the pilot project, the Ministerial Quartet on COVID-19 meeting wants MOTAC to outline standard operating procedures (SOP) that can be adhered to by the people and industry players, including the need to take COVID-19 screening tests before travelling to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Most importantly, those who go to Pulau Langkawi must be disciplined (on SOP) and are vaccinated. If this project (Langkawi) fails, we will not open other places.

“It is incumbent of Nancy (Shukri) and MOTAC to prove to us what they can do in Langkawi before we open other places,” he said at a Ministerial Quartet on COVID-19 special media conference in Parliament today.

Also present at the media conference were Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The government last week announced that domestic tourists who fulfill the SOP criteria nationwide, including states in Phase One of the National Recovery Plan, (PPN) were allowed to visit Langkawi beginning Sept 16.

Asked about the evaluation criteria that will enable Langkawi to serve as a benchmark for the opening of other tourism destinations, he said the same conditions required for phase transition under the National Recovery Plan (PPN), such as vaccination rates, hospital bed usage and the number of COVID-19 cases, apply.

“Where they are coming from, how they are coming to Langkawi, all that will be carefully looked into,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — The government will continue with policies and strategies to increase income and purchasing power of the people, especially the poor households in the B40 group, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.

He said the government would also strive to improve their access to basic necessities including education, health and housing.

“…and (the government) will also boost entrepreneurship and access to financial assistance as well as improving social protection,” he said in reply to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PH-Port Dickson) during question time at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

Ismail Sabri said the government had previously provided short-term assistance under eight economic stimulus packages including the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN), Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) and Phase One of the Special COVID-19 Assistance (BKC) totalling RM24.9 billion which had helped 10.9 million individuals and households.

Also provided were the loan moratorium for over seven million borrowers, RM3.14 billion in electricity bill discount which benefitted 8.8 million individuals and households, RM300,000 to each Member of Parliament to implement the Food Basket programme and the wage subsidy programme to help 300,000 employers and maintain more than 2.7 million jobs.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri said poverty percentage and gaps could also be reduced when the economic sectors were opened which could provide employment or business opportunities to the people.

He said the short-term assistance provided previously was temporary and could only last for some time.

“For example, when we give one-off cash assistance to micro-entrepreneurs, it could only last for some time…that’s why we have short-, medium- and long-term plans to provide reskilling and upskilling training for them to be able to take available opportunities to increase their income or looking for new sources of income,” he said.

Anwar had wanted to know whether the assistance provided by the government were sufficient in helping the people affected by the pandemic.

To a question from Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian) on whether the government planned to grant an accrued interest-free moratorium to help tackle household debt problems, Ismail Sabri said the matter would be discussed with the Finance Minister as the government understood the situation faced by the people.

Earlier, he said the Household Income Estimates and Incidence of Poverty Report published by the Department of Statistics last month revealed that the mean of monthly household gross income had decreased by 10.3 per cent to record RM7,089 in 2020 as compared to RM7,901 in 2019.

“According to the report, the incidence of poverty had also increased to 8.4 per cent which involved 639,800 households from 5.6 per cent which involved 405,400 households in 2019.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused Malaysian economy to shrink by 5.6 per cent in 2020,” he said.

The Prime Minister added that approximately 600,000 households from the M40 group earning between RM4,850 and RM10,959 had dropped into the B40 group due to COVID-19.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

GEORGE TOWN, Sept 14 — The Penang government has proposed that the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) enact a specific law for urban regeneration in Malaysia.

State Housing, Local Government and Town and Country Planning Committee chairman, Jagdeep Singh Deo today said the proposed Urban Regeneration Act was necessary to help drive more planned redevelopment for the country and create a holistic and conductive ecosystem.

He said the Act for urban regeneration has already been adopted by developed countries such as Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong.

“I am happy to hear that KPKT minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican has agreed to review the proposal to enact a specific law for urban regeneration,” he said told a press conference, here.

Jagdeep said the proposal was brought up during a discussion with Reezal Merican in Putrajaya yesterday.

According to him, among the topics discussed were the legislative guidelines and regulation amendments for the Urban Regeneration City projects, a Penang government’s initiative, as well as the concerns and solutions to curb COVID-19 under KPKT’s scope.

“I would like to convey our appreciation to the federal government for the initiative to look into the amendments for the urban regeneration law as well as its support for Penang during the pandemic,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — A security warning issued by the government of Japan through its embassies in Southeast Asian countries was based on a media platform and did not have solid grounds, said Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

Hishammuddin said from Malaysian Armed Forces intelligence, he confirmed the warning is not something to be worried about.

“In fact, the Inspector-General of Police (Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani) had issued a statement that the warning was unfounded.

“I will see Wisma Putra and asked about the grounds the Japanese government issued the warning,” he said in special media conference of COVID-19 Quartet Ministers at Parliament building here today.

Yesterday, the Royal Malaysia Police did not detect or receive any information on security threats at houses of worship or crowded places in the country.

Earlier, the Japanese Embassy here confirmed issuing a warning to its citizens in Malaysia on the possibility of a terrorist attack on places of worship or popular public areas in several Southeast Asian countries.

According to the report, the Foreign Ministry of Japan had advised all its citizens in Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar to avoid going near to religious facilities or crowded spots.

The warning which quoted intelligence reports, alerted on the possibility of attacks at places of worship and crowded centres in the region.

There are about 31,000 Japanese nationals residing in Malaysia.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — The election of Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker to fill the post vacated by Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said has been postponed to the next sitting, the Second Meeting of the Fourth Session of the 14th Parliament scheduled for October.

The motion on election of Deputy Speaker was originally listed in the Order Paper of the ongoing First Meeting of the Fourth Session of the 14th Parliament.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the postponement was to enable Article 57 (1)(b) of the Federal Constitution to be amended to increase the number of Deputy Speakers from the current two to three.

“We may make a regulation for one of the Deputy Speakers elected later to be a representative from the opposition,” he said when tabling a motion on the postponement of the election today.

The motion was passed by majority voice vote.

Article 57 (1)(b) states that the House of Representatives shall from time to time elect two Deputy Speakers from among members of the House.

Wan Junaidi said he had discussed with the Attorney-General’s Chambers for the proposed amendment to be tabled for first reading at the end of the current meeting.

Earlier, Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru) questioned the need to defer the election and asked Wan Junaidi to justify tabling the motion on postponement when there are many parliamentary matters to be implemented, including on Transformation of Parliament and Budget 2022.

Azalina resigned as Deputy Speaker on Aug 23, leaving Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon as the only deputy now.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency