Author: web Desk

 

GEORGE TOWN, Jan 5 (Bernama) — Penang Island City Council (MBPP) Mayor, Datuk Yew Tung Seang said that all feedback and objections against the Penang Island draft local plan (PDLP) will be scrutinised by a committee before the plan is finalised.

 

“The draft local plan’s display period has been extended from October last year to January 10 this year.

 

“So far we have received more than 1,500 submissions including complaints, suggestions, and feedback. So the committee will sit down and study on them, ” he told the reporters after the Penang Centennial Heritage Excellence Award here today.

 

 

 

 

Earlier, Penang Forum, a non-government organisation highlighted the errors found in PDLP such as the Queen Victoria Jubilee Clock Tower named “Menara Jam Queen Elizabeth” and Dewan Mahatma Gandhi was misspelled as “Dewah Mahatma Ghani.

 

In addition, notable landmarks, such as the Penang Free School, Rex Cinema, College-General Catholic seminary, Masjid Maqbul, and the Wadda Gurdwara Sahib were also missing from the heritage list.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 5 (Bernama) — The management of foreign workers between the Home Ministry (KDN) and Human Resources Ministry (KSM) has been realigned in an effort to reduce the period of foreign worker recruitment to less than 30 days.

 

The proposed realignment of the foreign worker management function was among the matters agreed upon at the special meeting of the joint committee between the Home Minister and Human Resources Minister regarding the management of foreign workers that was held here today.

 

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the management of foreign workers would be spearheaded by KDN as the “main custodian” while KSM’s role in certain aspects would be maintained.

 

 

 

He said KSM’s role in labour policy, determining quota eligibility and finalising cooperation with source countries under the realignment would be strengthened.

 

In April 2022, he said the centralised management of foreign workers would be under KSM and, now, KSM remained in the process, such as identifying source countries and entering into agreements.

 

“Under this realignment process, 75 per cent of approvals will be under KDN’s jurisdiction, for example, the process of employers applying for workers and the initial permission to apply for quotas,” he said at a joint press conference with Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar after attending the special meeting.

 

 

He said the Cabinet had, on Dec 7 and Dec 21, agreed to realign the roles of managing foreign workers and consider appropriate relaxation for the purpose of recruiting foreign workers in Malaysia.

 

He said that stakeholders like employers, industries, associations as well as foreign workers need not worry about the realignment because it would not affect the existing procedures and flow of applying to hire migrant workers.

 

“The focus of realignment is on the governance of foreign worker management,” he said.

 

He said today’s meeting also agreed with the proposal to relax the conditions and procedure of applications for foreign worker quotas to an optimum level to balance the needs of economic development with the interests of national security.

 

Among others, he said, the relaxation included efforts to simplify the assessment of employers’ qualifications to hire foreign labour, the conditions of quota approval and the immigration process and security screening.

 

“We hope this (realignment) can make the process of recruiting foreign workers be carried out in less than 30 days. We have seen how we can shorten this period,” he said.

 

As of Dec 31 last year, there were 1,459,196 foreign workers on temporary work passes (PLKS) in Malaysia, with a majority of them in the manufacturing sector (538,148), followed by construction (315,932) and services (221,621).

 

The total included 316,446 new foreign workers employed last year, he said, adding that the highest number of foreign workers in Malaysia were from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal.

 

Last year, he said a total of 1,606,724 foreign worker quota applications were received, of which 676,070 were approved.

 

Saifuddin said the government always ensures that the management of foreign workers in Malaysia was based on the country’s laws and, at the same time, guarantees that all foreign workers in Malaysia are fairly protected.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

BACHOK, Jan 5 (Bernama) — The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) seized RM115 million worth of goods involving 10,894 cases of violating controlled and subsidised items throughout last year.

 

Deputy Minister Fuziah Salleh said this includes traders cheating customers and altering the price tag of eggs, among other things.

 

“There are also cases where traders sold eggs at a higher price, for example, Grade B eggs, are marked as higher grades. It is an offence and action can be taken against them.

 

 

 

“In such cases, we will confiscate the goods for error in pricing,” she told reporters after inspecting the supply of food items at a supermarket in Jelawat here today.

 

Other offences recorded are related to the supply of packet cooking oil, flour, petrol and diesel.

 

She said Ops Bersepadu would continue to be carried out to combat offences on controlled and subsidised goods, especially during festive seasons.

 

 

“In the implementation of Ops Terjah on Dec 17, 2022, the enforcement team has so far inspected 12,293 premises and found that 9,961 have sufficient supplies of controlled and subsidised goods.

 

“Of the total, 9,961 premises were found to have adequate supplies, 2,118 had reduced supplies and only 214 shops had no supplies,” she said.

 

Meanwhile, in PENANG, the supply of eggs in the state is still adequate, although some outlets are only receiving 50 to 60 per cent at the moment.

 

State KPDN director S. Jegan said that based on inspections and monitoring conducted, the enforcement team found that the problem of insufficient supply of eggs was due to the problem of different supply arrangements at the wholesale level.

 

“The egg supply is sufficient at the retail level. However, based on our inspection, we found that the wholesalers have sufficient supply, but they are not allowed to ship all of them. They are regulating the distribution,” he said when asked to comment on the matter.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 (Bernama) — The authority granted to Sabah and Sarawak to approve development projects under RM50 million should be translated into projects that benefit the people, says Sabah Bumiputera Chamber of Commerce president Datuk Hasnol Ayub.

 

“I think the granting of authority to Sabah and Sarawak signifies baby steps in the government’s efforts to realise MA63 (Malaysia Agreement 1963), in fact, it is very significant in showing the government’s sincerity and seriousness in this matter (MA63),” he said, adding that the move could also reduce bureaucracy issues.

 

Hasnol said this while appearing as a guest on Bernama TV’s Malaysia Petang Ini programme titled ‘MA63: Semakin Jelas dan Nyata’ today.

 

 

 

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Finance Ministry had agreed to give the authority to approve any development project worth RM50 million or less to the Sabah and Sarawak state governments but they need to comply with financial regulations.

 

Hasnol said to ensure that it could be implemented in the best way, the state government must have an implementation instrument that complies with the set guidelines.

 

He said he was also confident that more dialogues and discussions involving stakeholders would be held to ensure that the various matters contained in MA63 can be implemented.

 

 

“There are definitely other demands that can be considered, but it may take time, whether short-term, medium-term or even long-term, especially involving amendments to the enactment.

 

“However, it is important for us to take into account the impacts on both the state and nation following whatever decision is taken,” he added.

 

Hasnol also suggested the creation of an index to measure people’s perception and acceptance of all decisions made by the government related to MA63.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

KANGAR, Jan 5 (Bernama) — Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail has called on the National News Agency of Malaysia (Bernama) to undergo a digital transformation in order to stay on par with international news agencies, besides meeting the wants and tastes of the audience.

 

He said that in an era of rapid technological changes, the world was developing at a fast pace in many aspects.

 

“In this digital era, I am aware that we also face challenges where inaccurate information and fake news can spread easily

 

 

 

“Therefore, Bernama must also play a role in countering and repelling this false information,” said Tuanku Syed Faizuddin when speaking during an event at the Perlis Bernama Bureau office here today.

 

He said Bernama, as the sole news agency of Malaysia, played a major role as a source of authentic news that was trusted by the people.

 

“I am happy to see Bernama, 55 years since its establishment, excelling in carrying out its role of preparing and disseminating news and channelling accurate and fair information in the national interest,” he added.

 

 

Meanwhile, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin said Perlis needed the support of the media to promote the state and Bernama could help by increasing its coverage of the state.

 

He said Perlis had many interesting places and tourism products that could be explored, including the Perlis State Park, Tasik Melati Recreational Park, as well as the Kelam and Wang Burma caves.

 

“Besides the Harum Manis mangoes, Perlis also has food products that are just as delicious as those found in other states. Therefore, I really hope that Perlis can receive more tourists and they can spend more time on vacation in this state,” he added.

 

At the event, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin also toured the newly renovated Bernama Bureau Perlis office, besides meeting its staff.

 

Also present were Bernama chairman Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi, as well as the agency’s International News Service deputy editor-in-chief Jamaluddin Muhammad and other senior officials.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SEREMBAN, Jan 4 (Bernama) — The Negeri Sembilan government is considering making the wearing of face masks compulsory again, especially indoors, should there be a drastic increase in COVID-19 cases in the state.

 

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, who described it as an early preventive measure, said that COVID-19 cases in the state were currently under control.

 

“The wearing of face masks may be made mandatory in government offices and schools, but only if cases increase suddenly. We are among the states with the least number of cases,” he told reporters after officiating the Negeri Sembilan Command Centre (NeSCOM), here, today.

 

 

 

He, however, stressed that the state government will make it compulsory for face masks to be worn during the 75th birthday celebrations of the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir at Istana Seri Menanti in Kuala Pilah on Jan 14.

 

Aminuddin said that Tuanku Muhriz also proposed that the public be encouraged to wear face masks at programmes where there are big crowds.

 

Meanwhile, Aminuddin said NeSCOM is an information and logistics coordination centre where data such as river water levels, landslides, road conditions and weather forecasts will be displayed to assist in disaster preparedness.

 

 

According to him, NeSCOM, which comes under the State Civil Defence Force, involves various departments, including the Irrigation and Drainage Department, Public Works Department, Social Welfare Department, Department of Minerals and Geoscience Malaysia and Malaysian Meteorological Department.

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency