Category: General

KULAI, April 1 (Bernama) — Being unable to meet his wife and child after Malaysia’s borders were closed since March 2020 has not been easy for Lee Kong Wah, 54, but he soldiered on in his work as a supervisor in a factory in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, determined to do his best for his family.

He said it was his first time being so far away from his family, who are staying at Taman Pulai Indah in Johor Bahru for such a long time, as previously he had returned home to Malaysia every three months to meet his relatives.

“I could only remain patient and endure it. Of course it wasn’t easy, twice my wife had to celebrate Chinese New Year on her own, and also manage the household and I always prayed for things to be easy for her.

“I was very worried, but during our video calls, she would be so supportive so that I remained strong to get through this, and now I’m so grateful to be back home,” he told reporters upon his arrival at Senai International Airport here today.

Lee was on Flight AK1491 from Ho Chi Minh (SGN), the first international flight from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Vietnam to Johor.

Meanwhile, Lee’s fellow passenger, a Vietnamese woman who wanted to be identified only as Krung, who is in her 30s, said that it was easy for her to get a job in Malaysia compared to her home country and the relative safety she felt here compelled her to come over as soon as the border reopened.

Krung, who speaks fluent Malay, said her compatriots often spoke of interesting experiences during their time working here, and they managed to save enough to buy property and vehicles back home.

“Thank you, Malaysia. Most importantly, my friends always told me to follow all orders set by the government, including the COVID-19 standard operating procedure (SOP),” she said, adding that she would be working at a factory in Johor Bahru.

Malaysia closed its international borders on March 18, 2020 to stop the spread of COVID-19, and finally have been able to reopen the country’s borders today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUANTAN, April 1 (Bernama) — Weaknesses in the management of accounts receivable by the Pahang Veterinary Services Department (JPVNP) have resulted in RM4.22 million or 51.2 per cent of the Livestock Loan Scheme (SPT) loans still unrecovered even though the loan repayment period has expired.

According to the Auditor-General’s Report on the financial statements of the state government and state agencies as well as the state departments’ compliance audit tabled at the Pahang State Assembly today, the state government is at risk of losing revenue, as RM1.18 million of the total loan arrears had exceeded the enforceable period under the Limitation Act.

SPT was introduced in 2000 to replace the Pawah Scheme which was started in 1959, and offers loans for livestock such as cattle, buffaloes and sheep.

“Based on the SPT agreement, the borrower will repay all loans together with service fees from the second to the fourth year for goats or sheep, and the third to the fifth year for cattle and buffaloes.

“The total loan to be paid is the livestock price including a service fee of four per cent of the livestock value. The last SPT grant by JPVNP was in 2014, and repayment should end in 2018 and 2019 (according to livestock type),” according to the report.

However, an audit review of 236 samples with total arrears of RM4.22 million as of October 2020 found that 113 or 47.6 per cent of borrowers had not repaid their loans since the loans were approved, amounting to RM1.71 million, with 100 of them being individual borrowers.

Of the 113 borrowers, 69 borrowers with loans of RM1.18 million have loan arrears of more than six years, while nine individual borrowers and cooperative representatives have died and two company category borrowers have been dissolved.

Apart from that, the audit also found that 123 or 52.1 per cent of the borrowers still had outstanding loan balances amounting to RM2.51 million, where 10 individual borrowers and five representatives of cooperative and association borrowers have died, while three companies have been dissolved.

“The audit found that the warning notice to the borrowers was not issued according to the period stipulated in the SPT agreement. The notice was only issued starting in 2007. Legal action was taken late because the Notice of Reminder (NOR) was only issued by the Legal Adviser in 2019, while the Notice of Demand (NOD) against 29 borrowers will only be issued in 2020,” according to the report.

In addition, the JPVNP monitoring mechanism was also found to be less effective because monitoring through meetings was not carried out according to the set period while physical visits were not carried out according to standard operating procedures (SOP) making it difficult to monitor borrowers who still had arrears at the district level and action taken against them delayed.

Meanwhile, JPVNP in a reply on April 30, 2021, informed that as of April 12, 2021, a total of RM95,023.32 SPT payments were successfully collected including payments made by the heirs of deceased borrowers and six borrowers who had never made payments since the loan was approved.

It said a meeting on March 31, 2021, had decided that the problem of borrowers would be looked into for further action such as deciding on those who need to be taken to court, those who could have their payments reduced as well as those whose livestock died soon after receiving them.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

BAGAN SERAI, April 1 (Bernama) – The Tasik Bukit Merah Golden Arowana industry is now eyeing opportunities for export to the United States market if it meets the set conditions, said Perak Plantation, Agriculture and Food Industry Committee chairman Razman Zakaria.

He said among the conditions set was the existence of a Golden Arowana breeding sanctuary in its actual habitat before allowing the ornamental fish to be exported to the country.

“America does not set the number to be exported and most importantly we have activities in the sanctuary. If these conditions are met and the United States government is satisfied, it is likely that demand for exports will increase.

“Because of that, the sanctuary in Tasik Bukit Merah which was established by the Fisheries Department is the only sanctuary in the country to increase the stock of Golden Arowana in its natural habitat because previously it was not controlled causing the population to decrease,” he said.

He said this after officiating the land jetty and release of Golden Arowana into the Kelisa Fish Sanctuary in Tasik Bukit Merah here today, involving 75 fish that were chipped for tracking and breeding purposes.

Commenting further, Razman said the population of Golden Arowana from Tasik Bukit Merah is now declining because fishing activity was not controlled such that it could not be exported since 2019 and it led to a fall in its market value.

“For example, a four-inch Golden Arowana can fetch between RM150 to RM140 each while five to six-inch sizes are sold at RM150 to RM450 each.

“For the domestic market, it is priced from RM150 to RM200 each. The Golden Arowana can be expensive and cheap according to its pattern and it can even reach between RM2,000 to RM3,000 each,” he said.

He explained that Malaysian Golden Arowana farmed here is exported to China which is in high demand apart from Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan involving Gold Kelisa, High Back Gold Kelisa, Red Kelisa, Silver Kelisa and Green Kelisa.

He said there were 97 companies rearing Arowana ornamental fish in an area of 404.68 hectares in Bukit Merah involving 288,268 fish with a wholesale value of about RM42.9 million last year.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) — Around two million youths will each receive a RM150 e-wallet credit through the e-Pemula initiative which will kick-off in mid-April.

Finance Ministry, in a statement today said that eligible youths would get to enjoy the benefit through selected e-wallet providers, namely BigPay, GrabPay, ShopeePay and Touch ‘n Go.

“Currently, the four e-Wallet service providers have a network of 1.2 million retailers,” said the statement.

Small and medium enterprise traders who have not registered with the e-wallet service providers involved to accept electronic or cashless payments are advised to do so to enable them to enjoy the benefit from the implementation of the initiative.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) — Matters pertaining to the security of MySejahtera users’ personal data and the owner of the application were among the issues raised by senators when debating the motion on the MySejahtera application at the Dewan Negara today.

Senator Datuk Koh Nai Kwong questioned whether all personal data of the people in the country was secured without being compromised by any party who could use it for commercial and political purposes.

He said previously, permission to store personal data in the application was made for free as a corporate social responsibility but why was it suddenly charged.

“Is it because it involves a sale and purchase issue,” said Koh, who also asked the Ministry of Health (MOH) to state the actual owner of the application and whether the ministry still had the rights to the application or if it was now wholly owned by private company MySJ Sdn Bhd.

Senator Dr Wan Martina Wan Yusoff asked whether MySejahtera users had the right to cancel their registration and stop the application operator from accessing their personal information.

“Where is this data stored and how is it disposed of if users cancel their registration. What is the government’s guarantee that the people’s personal data will not be misused or manipulated for certain purposes,” she asked.

Senator Aknan Ehtook wanted to know why MySejahtera should be sold to MySJ Sdn Bhd and who made the decision on the matter.

“Is it the MOH or the Finance Ministry or the Cabinet that made the decision to sell MySejahtera to MySJ Sdn Bhd?” he said.

Earlier, Senator Muhammad Zahid Md Arip tabled the motion asking the Dewan Negara to debate the controversy over the security of personal data of Malaysians in the MySejahtera application, following the move to choose private company MySJ Sdn Bhd to continue managing the application.

He said important individuals in the company also had a direct relationship and connection with KPISoft Sdn Bhd, which developed the application.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

BUKIT KAYU HITAM, March 31 (Bernama) — The Kedah police have set up a special task force to strengthen control at the country’s borders when they reopen tomorrow.

State police chief Datuk Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad said the task force, to be deployed under Ops Khas Sempadan, would be manned by about 100 personnel to assist the General Operations Force at the border gate in Bukit Kayu Hitam.

“We will focus on Bukit Kayu Hitam because there will be an influx of vehicles and individuals in the area. However, we will also conduct patrols up to the Durian Burung border gate in Padang Terap,” he told reporters after launching the border control strengthening programme at the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex here today.

Elaborating, Wan Hassan said the special task force was ready to curb cross-border crimes such as smuggling, human trafficking and terrorism.

He said the special task force also involved personnel from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Narcotics CID, Mobile Patrol Vehicle unit for the Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department, and K9 Unit.

Earlier in his speech, Wan Hassan urged the public who want to cross the Malaysia-Thailand border especially at the Bukit Kayu Hitam ICQS to adhere to all rules and standard operating procedures and cooperate with the enforcement personnel.

Meanwhile, Perlis police chief Datuk Surina Saad said they were ready to face any situation when the country’s borders reopen tomorrow.

She said the police, together with the Immigration Department, Customs Department and Health Ministry were also ready for the arrival of Thai nationals.

“From the aerial survey using drones, we found that many vehicles from the neighbouring country are already at the border area and we expect to see an influx,” she told reporters after inspecting the final preparations at the Wang Kelian Immigration Post here today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency