Category: General

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) — The fatality rate due to COVID-19 among the elderly especially those who have yet to complete their vaccination or receive booster shot, is way higher than other age groups, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Based on the data for Epidemiology Week (ME) 1/2022 to ME 10/2022, the fatality rate of those aged 80 and above stood at 2,000 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 300 to 600 cases among individuals aged 60 to 79.

“This is due to a weakened immune system, chronic diseases as well as a slower and complicated recovery process,” he said in a statement today.

Dr Noor Hisham said the unvaccinated group of elderly people would have the highest risk of being infected with COVID-19 and could result in death while senior citizens who have received their booster shots are the most protected.

He said a total of 86,804 COVID-19 cases involving the elderly were reported from ME 1/2022 to ME 10/2022 with 83,709 cases or 96.44 per cent were in categories one and two, while 3,095 cases or 3.56 per cent were in categories three to five.

“This shows that the relatively high percentage of vaccination coverage among the elderly has helped reduce cases of serious COVID-19 infections for this group.

“However, the booster shot coverage for the elderly should be further increased from 74.2 per cent to better protect the group against the effects of severe infection,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said there was an increase in hospital admissions among the elderly, namely from one case per 100,000 people to nine cases from ME 3/2022 to ME 10/2022, adding that most of the cases were in categories three to five.

As at March 16, he said a total of 3,356,253 or 92 per cent of senior citizens in the country had completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination while 2,489,718 or 74.2 per cent of the group had received the booster dose.

He urged unvaccinated senior citizens or those who have yet to receive their booster shot to immediately walk in to the nearest vaccination centre as the country will enter the Transition to Endemic Phase next month.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA NERUS, March 18 (Bernama) — The government has allocated RM200 million to implement the Price Standardisation Programme in six states this year.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Deputy Minister, Datuk Rosol Wahid said the six states were Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Pahang.

He said the allocation would benefit about 1.2 million people in the interior areas and islands who had to pay higher prices for essential items than those in the town areas due to distance and logistical factors.

“A total of 798 distribution areas in 189 zones has been identified for the programme implementation.

“In Sabah, we have 224 distribution areas, Sarawak (540), Kedah (one), Kelantan (15), Terengganu (two) and Pahang (16),” he said at the Price Standardisation Programme held in Pulau Redang today, with the ministry’s Terangganu director, Saharuddin Mohd Kia also present.

Rosol said the ministry would ensure that the supply of foodstuff including chicken and eggs for the upcoming fasting month would be sufficient.

“The ministry will also ensure no hoarding of chicken and egg-based foodstuff by traders in that month.

“We have also been assured by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries that there would be no shortage or supply disruption of essential items.

“We expect a slight increase in prices during the fasting month but we want to remind traders to refrain from hoarding these items,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SHAH ALAM, March 18 (Bernama) — Migration, high population density and the challenging environment in the Klang Valley are among the factors identified as the causes behind the high divorce rate in Selangor.

State Islamic Religious Affairs, Consumer Affairs and Halal Industry Committee chairman Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni said apart from that, other causes included the husband’s unstable economic status resulted in the failure to provide maintenance.

He said another factor was the failure to make religion a way of life in managing a household.

According to him, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department recorded a total of 6,299 divorce cases last year, with Petaling district reporting the highest number of cases at 1,668, followed by Hulu Langat (1,303), Gombak (960) and Klang (878).

Mohd Zawawi said this in his reply to a question from Mohd Fakhrulrazi Mohd Mokhtar (PH-Meru) on the causes of the very high divorce rate in Selangor at the Selangor State Assembly sitting here today.

He also replied to a supplementary question from Mohd Fakhrulrazi on the effects of divorce, especially on couples with children and what is the effort of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) to protect the group.

“The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS), through mosques, conducts mediation activities or counselling sessions to individuals involved in divorce so that the welfare of the children is always given attention, especially in terms of maintenance, education and psychological aspect,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MUKAH, March 18 (Bernama) — After being plagued by slow internet speed for a long time, residents around Mukah, especially in the rural areas, are now able to connect with family and relatives through video calls.

This positive development is the result of the implementation of the National Digital Network Plan (JENDELA) phase one 2020-2022 in the state, which involved the upgrading of the existing communication towers to 4G network, improving broadband services, and preparing for the transition to 5G technology.

Apart from bridging the communication gap between the urban and rural areas, the initiative was also in line with Sarawak’s efforts to spur the adoption of the digital economy among its people.

Tuai rumah (longhouse headman) Kumbong Nyagang, 65, at Jalan Balingian-Matadeng, said the improved services was able to cure his longing to connect with his children and grandchildren, who reside in Bintulu and Miri and could rarely return home due to expensive transportation costs.

“Before this, the telecommunication services in the area regularly tested the residents’ patience because we could only make phone calls and sometimes the calls were unsatisfactory due to weak network connections,” he told Bernama.

The 3G telecommunication tower in Simpang Ulu Bayan, located about 38 kilometres (km) from Mukah town, was to have been upgraded to 4G in 2020, but only 2G and 3G services were available at that time.

However, under JENDELA phase one, the tower was finally upgraded to 4G earlier this year, covering 11 longhouses, to benefit about 1,000 residents in the area who wanted to get the latest and authentic news, as well as entertainment through social media.

“I am thankful for the 4G network services. Previously, to make a phone call, sometimes I had to go out to the main road to get a signal,” he added.

Sharing a similar sentiment is another headman, Kalang Mada @Madal, 64, from Sungai Bedengan Ulu longhouse, who expressed his happiness with the improvements in terms of infrastructure and continuity in rural areas as it enables various types of online transactions and payments.

“Previously, the signal was so weak that network kept disappearing. To make important business calls, I needed to walk to the main road for about two km to find a strong signal.

“Now, with the speed offered by 4G, it is easier to do business online, to get local news as well as from abroad smoothly without internet restrictions. It is also easier for students to follow online learning,” he said.

A resident, Wilson Bantin, 17, who purchased a mobile phone this year, said the network continuity has made it easier for him to follow online learning without any problems, as well as to connect with friends from other districts.

“ I still remember when I was in Form Three, the internet connection was so bad that I had to walk out of the house just to look for signals. Now, I can surf the internet at home on my phone without any obstacles, especially during COVID-19, which had to change the way we communicate,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) — Only 0.73 per cent or 199 of the 27,004 new COVID-19 cases reported in the country yesterday were in categories three to five, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said the remaining 26,805 cases were in categories one and two, bringing the cumulative figure for positive COVID-19 cases to 3,927,437.

Meanwhile, he said 29,450 recoveries were reported yesterday, taking the cumulative number of recovered cases to 3,596,453.

“Of the 199 cases in categories three to five, 51 cases involved unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated individuals while 82 cases had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine but not the booster shot.

“A total of 66 cases have received the booster jab, 95 cases are aged 60 and above, and 105 cases have comorbidities,” he said in a statement today.

Dr Noor Hisham said 1,669 COVID-19 cases were admitted to hospital yesterday, with 674 cases or 40.4 per cent in categories three to five and 995 cases or 59.6 per cent in categories one and two.

He said 373 cases required treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 225 cases required ventilators, taking the utilisation rate to 25 per cent.

On bed usage for critical or ICU cases, Dr Noor Hisham said eight states have over 50 per cent occupancy namely Perlis (73 per cent), Kuala Lumpur (70 per cent), Putrajaya (67 per cent), Kelantan (63 per cent), Johor (60 per cent), Selangor (56 per cent), Sarawak (52 per cent) and Perak (51 per cent).

He said the infectivity rate (Rt) in the country is 0.95 , with Sarawak registering the highest value at 1.13.

Other states with Rt exceeding 1.0 are Kuala Lumpur (1.10), Terengganu and Negeri Sembilan (1.04), Putrajaya (1.03), Perak and Johor (1.02), while Penang, Selangor and Melaka (1.01 each).

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) — A total of 15,425,524 individuals or 65.6 per cent of the adult population in the country have received the COVID-19 booster dose, as of yesterday.

Based on the COVIDNOW website, a total of 22,940,801 or 97.5 per cent of the group have been fully vaccinated while 23,216,630 or 98.7 per cent received at least one dose of the vaccine.

For children aged five to 11, a total of 1,221,990 individuals or 34.4 per cent of the group have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids).

As for adolescents aged 12 to 17, a total of 2,841,412 individuals or 91.3 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated while 2,940,403 or 94.5 per cent received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Yesterday, a total of 46,039 doses were administered, with 13,256 as first doses, 2,166 as second doses and 30,617 as booster doses, bringing the cumulative total vaccine doses dispensed under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) to 68,376,641.

Meanwhile, according to the Health Ministry’s GitHub portal, 86 deaths due to COVID-19 were recorded yesterday with Perak reporting the highest number at 16 cases, followed by Selangor 14 cases, Kedah (10), Melaka (eight) and Johor (seven).

Kelantan, Penang, Sabah and Terengganu reported six cases each, Negeri Sembilan (four), Pahang (two) while one case was recorded in Kuala Lumpur.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) — The third week of the Dewan Rakyat session concluded with the house approving the motion of thanks on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal address when opening the First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 14th Parliament on Feb 28.

The motion was passed after there was more support for than against it, after 27 ministries finished winding up the debate on the motion, which began with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry on Monday and concluded with the Prime Minister’s Department, yesterday.

The various issues raised by the 110 members of Parliament (MPs) in the debate session on the motion of thank to royal address were answered by the relevant ministers within four days of the winding up session.

Among issues raised were the claims of the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate, the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, subsidised cooking oil, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia involving the entry of Indonesian domestic workers (PDI) and the Indian Community Action Plan (PTMI), which were answered by the ministers or deputy ministers, and most of the answers were well received.

However, a commotion broke out during the winding up session of National Unity Minister, Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique, on Wednesday, causing the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, to adjourn the sitting for five minutes.

The commotion broke out when several opposition MPs disputed Halimah’s answer on the issue of the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (MITRA) fund.

The commotion also caused Sivakumar Varatharaju Naidu (PH-Batu Gajah) to be ordered out of the Dewan Rakyat for 10 minutes.

Explaining the issue of the MITRA fund, Halimah said that questions raised by MPs would not be clarified in the PTMI briefing scheduled for March 22, instead, they would only be clarified by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) once the investigation is completed.

Previously, it was reported that the MACC was reviewing all applications, expenditure reports and programmes that were said to have been implemented by the recipients of MITRA allocation grants from 2019 to 2021.

This follows the arrest of several company directors suspected of being involved in the misappropriation of allocation issued by MITRA.

This week’s sitting also saw five bills tabled for first reading, namely the Poisons (Amendment) Bill 2022 and four bills under the Ministry of Finance, namely the Supplementary Supply Bill (2021/2022); the Labuan Companies (Amendment) Bill 2022; the Labuan Financial Services and Securities (Amendment) Bill 2022; and the Labuan Islamic Financial Services and Securities (Amendment) Bill 2022.

There were also rumours of the resignation of Finance Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, as reported by local media, following his absence during the Ministers’ Question Time (MQT) session, and the tabling of four bills under his ministry for the first reading in Parliament yesterday.

Following the media report, Tengku Zafrul, in a posting on his Facebook page, denied the rumour and described the report as false because he had a personal emergency that had to be dealt with yesterday morning.

The issue arose when Tengku Zafrul was replaced by Deputy Finance Minister I, Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah, to table four bills under the ministry yesterday.

On his absence in Parliament at the MQT session, Tengku Zafrul explained that according to MQT’s standard procedures, only ministers could give answers, and he said this was not the first time a minister had been asked to read out the answers of other ministers.

“I would like to thank the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Datuk Idris Ahmad, for reading my answer. For all supplementary questions, I will provide answers in writing, and I would like to apologise to the MPs of Padang Serai, Tumpat and Pokok Sena (who asked supplementary questions) for the inconvenience caused,” said Tengku Zafrul.

The sitting will continue on Monday (March 21) with the tabling of motions as well as nine bills for the second reading, including the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Bill 2021; Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill 2021; Supply Control (Amendment) Bill 2021 and Malaysian Border Security Agency (Dissolution) Bill 2021.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency