Category: General

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — The government has allowed prayer ceremonies at temples for the ‘Maasi Magam’ festival and the Chingay Parade in accordance with standard operating procedures (SOP) on the opening of non-Muslim houses of worship under Phase Four of the National Recovery Plan.

Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein in a statement today informed that the decision was made following a presentation by the Ministry of National Unity (KPN) during the 12th Quartet Ministers Meeting yesterday, and after obtaining the views and recommendations of the Ministry of Health.

“The government will continue to give priority to religious festivals to be celebrated by the devotees involved but this flexibility should be utilised with a full sense of responsibility.

“Every SOP outlined by KPN must be complied with, not only for the safety and health of oneself, but also the people around us,” he said.

He said the SOP for the Maasi Magam festival would be implemented from Feb 16 to 19 and only fully vaccinated individuals were allowed to participate in religious activities, with strict adherence to physical distancing of at least one metre as well as the wearing of face masks.

The SOP, among others, stipulates that the travel and movement of chariots were allowed on the condition that there should not be more than 50 individuals from the temple management involved in the procession; no stopping at any location; and the names of those involved as well as the travel route must receive prior approval from the police.

Meanwhile, he said prayer ceremonies in conjunction with the Chingay Parade at the Johor Ancient Temple and Xing Gong are allowed from Feb 19 to 22, and no more than 100 members of the temple management will be allowed to take part in the street cleansing ceremony on Feb 19.

Hishammuddin said on Feb 20, the ceremony to transport deities from the Johor Ancient Temple to Xing Gong would be allowed, involving no more than 200 members of the temple management.

He said the main Chingay Parade event on Feb 21 was also allowed, with the movement of 11 decorated trucks accompanied by no more than 20 members of the temple management for each truck, and no devotees were allowed to participate in the procession.

According to the SOP, the return of the deities from Xing Gong to Johor Ancient Temple on Feb 22 is allowed with the presence of no more than 200 members of the temple management, while the names of those involved as well as the travel route for the parade must receive prior approval from the police.

The Maasi Magam festival is celebrated by the Indian community on Feb 17, while the Chingay Parade is celebrated by the ‘5 Clans’, namely Hainan, Hakka, Hokkien, Teochew and Tiong Hua from Feb 19 to 22 in Johor.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

JAKARTA, Feb 9 — Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa has wished all Indonesian journalists a ‘Happy National Press Day’ (HPN), which is celebrated today.

He said the celebration reminded all Indonesians of the hard work of the media to uphold democracy and develop the country.

“February 9 is a day of pride for all journalists in the Republic of Indonesia who work hard to disseminate news and information to the community for the prosperity of the country.

“Congratulations to the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) and I am confident that it will continue to renew its determination and spirit in managing press freedom in a fair, professional and responsible manner,” he said in a statement.

Annuar joined the HPN celebration in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi virtually. The ceremony was also attended by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Annuar was the only foreign leader invited. He was accompanied by charge d’affaires of the Malaysian Embassy in Indonesia Adlan Mohd Shaffieq as well as Communications and Multimedia Ministry deputy secretary-general (Strategic Communications and Creative Industry) Mastura Ahmad Mustafa.

Others include Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chairman Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi, Malaysian-Indonesian Journalists’ Association (ISWAMI Malaysia) president Datuk Mokhtar Hussain, Bernama deputy editor-in-chief (Business and Finance Services) Roslan Ariffin and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Dr Fadhlullah Suhami Abdul Malek.

On behalf of the embassy, Adlan Mohd Shaffieq congratulated all journalists for their hard work in reporting current situations.

He said journalists would continue to be the ‘bridge’ between the people and the government.

Meanwhile, Ras Adiba hoped that Indonesian journalists would continue to be eager to deliver insightful information.

HPN is the second largest celebration in Indonesia after Aidilfitri and is traditionally held in different cities in Indonesia every year.

This year’s celebration was also participated by ambassadors, corporate figures, local journalists and several representatives of ISWAMI Malaysia led by its advisor Datuk Zakaria Abdul Wahab.

There were 40 activities organised this year including a mass media convention on Feb 7 and 8 as well as seminars on tourism, energy and mining, finance and fiscal and also journalism workshops.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is close to full recovery after being discharged from the National Heart Institute (IJN) on Saturday (Feb 5).

He said in a video clip uploaded to his Facebook page that he could now carry out various daily activities and hoped to fully recover.

“There were times when I was not hopeful of recovery, but Alhamdulillah, with the treatment I received at the IJN, I have recovered.

“Now I can walk, eat, sleep, sit. I am almost like normal, but not that strong to work and so on. But I hope I can (fully) recover,” he said today.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir thanked everyone who had prayed for his health until he managed to recover from an illness that he described as very bad.

In another Facebook post, Dr Mahathir also shared pictures of him taking a walk around Tasik Putrajaya with his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali.

Dr Mahathir was previously admitted to the IJN to undergo an elective medical procedure.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — The retail price of RON97 petrol has increased by nine sen a litre from Feb 10-16 while the price for RON95 and diesel remains unchanged.

The Finance Ministry, in a statement today, said the retail price of RON97 petrol increased from RM3.12 to RM3.21 per liter while RON95 and diesel remained at RM2.05 and RM2.15 per litre respectively.

“To protect consumers from the effects of rising oil prices in the global market, the government has retained the retail price of RON95 petrol at the ceiling price of RM2.05 per liter and diesel at RM2.15 per litre, even though the actual market price of both products has surpassed the ceiling price,” the statement read.

It said the government will continue to monitor the impact of changes in world crude oil prices and take appropriate measures to ensure that the people’s welfare and well-being continue to be protected.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9– Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah have expressed their condolences to the family of former national weightlifter, Darus Abdullah, who died yesterday aged 63.

Their Majesties, in a statement posted on Istana Negara’s Facebook, said that they were saddened by Darus’ passing and hoped that his family would be patient and resolute in facing this sorrowful situation.

The royal couple also prayed for his soul to be blessed by Allah and placed among the righteous.

Their Majesties also highly appreciated and praised his service, deeds and sacrifices for the country, the statement read.

The late Darus, from Selangor, represented the nation at the 1989 SEA Games held in Kuala Lumpur.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — Malaysian Foreign minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah had a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, discussing areas of potential cooperation and collaboration at the regional and bilateral levels.

Saifuddin in sharing this through his Twitter handle said during the call, both of them discussed Joint Russia-Malaysia Commission for Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation (JCESTC) besides exploring a possible ASEAN-Russia strategic partnership and potential bilateral cooperation at the United Nations.

“Malaysia and Russia will celebrate 55 years of diplomatic relations on April 3 this year. We welcome more positive engagements that can invigorate our existing collaborations,” he tweeted.

The 1st Session of JCESTC was held between Malaysia and Russia in Moscow from Oct 1 to Oct 2, 2019 with both countries discussing cooperation, particularly in the areas of aerospace, defence, information and communications technology, innovations and digital development.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency