Category: General

KUCHING, The Sarawak Government has welcomed the appointment of Lawrence Wong as Singapore’s next Prime Minister, while also expressing interest in studying further the republic’s approach to assisting its low-income sector (B40).

Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said Wong, currently Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, brings valuable experience and understanding of Singapore-Malaysia ties, particularly with Sarawak.

‘As you know, he is the Finance Minister and he has informed me in our previous discussions about how he helped the B40.

‘The assistance provided by the Singapore government, particularly their approach of using vouchers and establishing stores for essential items operated through trade unions, is quite commendable.

‘When you talk about targeted assistance, I believe Singapore has a good approach,’ he told reporters after attending a Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house hosted by advisor to the State International Trade, Industry and Entrepreneurs Development Min
istry, Datuk Naroden Majais here today.

Singapore Prime Minister’s Office announced yesterday that Wong would be sworn in as the republic’s fourth Prime Minister on May 15, succeeding Lee Hsien Loong, who took office in 2004.

According to Abang Johari, Sarawak has enjoyed a good relationship with Singapore, particularly in trade and energy collaborations, which eventually led to the establishment of the Sarawak Trade and Tourism Office Singapore (STATOS) in 2019.

With Wong being part of the government led by Lee, Abang Johari sees this positive relationship continuing through further collaborations in the future.

‘I’m sure it’s going to be a smooth leadership transition because it is still the same government, except the commander will change,’ he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, The Malaysian Parliament and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) agreed to expand cooperation following the success of collaborations from 2019 to 2023.

The Office of Dewan Rakyat Speaker in a statement today said the cooperation includes the Special Select Committee system in the Dewan Rakyat, the strengthening of legislative institutions, capacity building and youth development until 2025.

“The renewal of the cooperation was discussed by UNDP Associate Administrator, Haoliang Xu who paid a courtesy call on Dewan Rakyat Speaker, Tan Sri Johari Abdul in Parliament, during his visit to Malaysia today.

“In their talks, Johari and Xu engaged in discussions that yielded positive results in various fields, particularly on the strengthening of the governance system and the empowerment of Parliament as well as issues of the environment, climate change, and poverty,” according to the statement.

UNDP is an organisation that collaborates with various international, regional and national sta
keholders in its efforts to support the development of Malaysia.

According to the statement, Xu is scheduled to meet Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong, starting today until April 18.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MANILA: Iran has promised to release ‘soon’ the four Filipino crewmembers of MSC Aries, a cargo vessel seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) near the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.

DFA Undersecretary for Migration Eduardo Jose de Vega said the four are safe and have contacted their families on Monday night.

The crew are being fed and attended to while in Iran’s custody, he added.

‘Nakausap na nila ang pamilya nila at pinapangakuan sila na mapapalaya sila sa lalong madaling panahon. Titingnan natin at kinakausap na natin ang mga taga-Iran tungkol dito (They already communicated with their families and they were promised to be released soon. We are looking into this and we are in contact with the Iranian side),’ he said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview.

The DFA is set to hold a meeting with the Iranian Embassy in Manila to discuss the situation.

Once the seafarers return to the Philippines, De Vega said the government would also p
rovide them assistance, including psychological counseling.

The IRGC carried out a heliborne operation on the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, directing it towards Iran’s territory.

MSC Aries is owned by Gortal Shipping Inc., which is affiliated with Zodiac Maritime Shipping Company. Iran’s state-run IRNA earlier identified Zodiac as partly-owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.

The seizure comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel over the latter’s ‘attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1’.

No raising of alert level yet

De Vega said the government is still looking into the possibility of raising the alert level in Israel and Iran, where thousands of Filipinos work and live.

Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel on April 13, escalating the tensions in the volatile region where the months-long war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is also still taking place.

‘Hinihintay natin ang recommendation ng ambassadors natin doon sa Tel Aviv at Tehran. Nakausap ko si Ambassado
r (Pedro) Laylo Jr., wala namang recommendation na i-akyat (We’re still waiting for the recommendations of our ambassadors in Tel Aviv and Tehran. So far, Ambassador Laylo has no recommendation to raise the alert level in Israel),’ he said.

De Vega advised Filipinos in the affected areas to remain vigilant and heed to the embassy’s security advisories.

Source: Philippines News Agency

IPOH, The Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPk) is prepared to assist its student, Muhammad Nur Hadi Salehuddin, of Al-Azhar University in Egypt, bring home more than 200 old indigenous Nusantara books (kitab turath) which he had collected during his studies there.

Its chief executive officer, Syamsul Hazeman Md Salleh said the books, written by Malay scholars in the 1920s to the 1960s, are priceless treasures.

The books, mostly written in Javanese and Acehnese and included the works of Sheikh Mohd Idris al-Marbawi and Sheikh Jaafar Hussein, were mostly printed by Mustafa al-Halabi, one of the oldest printing and bookselling companies in the Middle East, he said.

He said some of the books were also obtained from the libraries around the al-Azhar Mosque.

‘The collection of books will be placed in the MAIPk Research Library,” he said in a statement today.

He said MAIPk is also prepared to work with any party to help preserve the books.

According to an earlier Bernama report, Muhammad
Nur Hadi, a final year Usuluddin student specialising in Hadis studies at Al-Azhar University, has spent almost RM20,000 of his savings to get the books.

The third child of eight siblings from Padang Rengas said he started collecting works written by Nusantara scholars in 2020.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

ISKANDAR PUTERI, The combat diving pool at Iskandar Camp, Mersing is expected to be completed in June, said Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

He said the matter had been reported to the Public Works Department (JKR) and that he would monitor the project more closely to ensure that there would be no more delays like before.

“In the case of the camp in Mersing, I understand that the developer has applied for EOT (extension of time) six times since 2020. I have been in contact with JKR to get the latest information. If it is not ready JKR will have to answer.

“I have also seen many projects that had to be extended (in Johor), therefore the project management needs to have better monitoring to ensure that the cost does not increase and that the project is completed within the set period,” he said.

He told reporters after launching the first cross-border electric bus service in Malaysia here today.

Also present was Johor Public Works, Transport, Infrastructure and Communications Committee chairman M
ohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh.

Meanwhile, Mohamad Fazli said the project is now at 98 per cent progress with only the installation of tiles, road finishing, furniture preparation, office space dividers and doors still to be completed.

Yesterday, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim ordered the party responsible for building the combat diving pool at Iskandar Camp to explain the reason for the delay in its construction.

Sultan Ibrahim who is also the Colonel Commandant of the Special Forces Group (GGK) was reported as saying that the pool, which should be fully completed in December 2022, is still under construction.

The ground-breaking ceremony of the pool, which is a facility much needed by members of 21 GGK to improve the competence of individuals and teams, especially in dealing with threats from the maritime domain, was officiated by Sultan Ibrahim in May 2018.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SHAH ALAM, Heavy rain that hit the state this afternoon caused several areas in Subang and Sungai Buloh to be flooded.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department Assistant Director of Operations Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar said firefighters and several assets were deployed to the affected locations, namely Jalan Jati, Kampung Melayu Subang, and Kampung Kubu Gajah, to monitor the situation.

He said checks found that flood waters rose from 0.3 to 0.6 metres, adding that the situation was under control.

“The floods were due to overflow from nearby rivers, and at the moment, water levels are showing a downward trend. No evacuations have been carried out for both locations,” he said in a statement here today.

Ahmad Mukhlis said they received reports regarding the flood incidents at 4.47 pm and 5.44 pm, respectively.

Earlier, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) forecasted heavy rain to hit Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, and Melaka until 6 pm.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, The housing project for the ‘One Military Personnel One House’ (SASaR) programme in Sungai Besi has reached 65.51 per cent completion and is expected to be fully completed by the end of 2025.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the housing project was currently 21 days ahead of schedule.

“This project involves 3,500 housing units,” he said during a press conference after conducting a site visit here, today.

Mohamed Khaled said apart from Sungai Besi, other SASaR pilot projects planned by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) include those at Kem Wardieburn and Setapak to ensure that every military personnel and veteran of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) as well as civilian staff of the ministry could own their own homes, in line with the objectives set under the MINDEF Strategic Plan 2021-2025.

He said the SASaR projects at Kem Wardieburn and Setapak were expected to begin in three months.

“These pilot projects are to assess the implementation and success (of SASaR housing c
onstruction) for it to be expanded across the country.

“In addition, we can evaluate the effectiveness of policy implementation and the achievement of the private sector, developers who are given the responsibility to implement it,” he said.

The Wardieburn SASaR project involves 974 apartment units and the Setapak project has 6,400 apartment units.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency