Category: Legal

CYBERJAYA, Aug 9 (Bernama) — Records show that no expatriate workers in the country had failed to pay the taxes imposed on them, said Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

He said all expatriate workers had to show that they had fulfilled their tax obligations before they could renew their expatriate passes.

“So far none (failed to pay taxes). They have all complied because this is one of the main requirements for them to renew their expatriate pass to continue working in the country,” he said.

He told a press conference this after a ceremony for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Immigration Department and Inland Revenue Board (IRB) on information sharing on expatriates here today.

The MoU, effective for three years until 2025, was signed by Khairul Dzaimee and IRB chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nizom Sairi, witnessed by Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz.

This MoU is an extension of the first one signed between the two entities on June 19, 2014 for a five-year period, which expired on June 18, 2019.

Among the data available for sharing under the MoU are names, nationalities, passport numbers, records of exit from and entry into Malaysia, and period of validity for expatriate passes.

Khairul Dzaimee said with this cooperation, the Immigration Department could stop expatriates from leaving the country if they failed to settle their tax dues.

He said IRB statistics showed that taxes collected from expatriates increased yearly between 2014 and 2019, with RM1.06 billion in 2014, RM1.5 billion (2015), RM2.04 billion (2016), RM2.8 billion (2017), RM3.3 billion (2018) and RM3.6 billion (2019).

Taxes collected from expatriates in 2020 and 2021 dropped to RM3.1 billion and RM2.5 billion respectively due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

There are now 162,170 individuals holding active expatriate passes, with 99,200 being principal pass holders and 62,970 dependant pass holders.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (Bernama) — A total of 11,367 cases of cybercrime were reported from January to July this year compared to 18,510 cases of commercial crime in the same period, said Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) deputy director (cybercrimes and multimedia) Senior Assistant Commissioner Victor Sanjos.

He said the trend of cybercrimes from 2016 till July 2022 showed an increase from 39 per cent to 61 per cent.

There are six types of scams namely Macau Scam, e-commerce crimes, non-existent loans, non-existent investments, 419 scams or love scams and phishing.

Macau Scam or impersonation/fraud calls have so far chalked up 4,912 cases involving a loss of RM199.8 million; e-commerce crimes recorded 5,397 cases with a loss of RM71.6 million; and e-financial fraud or phishing as many as 543 cases with a loss of RM40.5 million,” he said.

He said this in a webinar titled ‘Duit dalam akaun bank anda lesap. Apakah puncanya dan langkah mencegahnya’.

Victor said money in bank accounts that goes missing happens through phishing and the internet apart from the banks offering online services.

So what scammers do is create a website that looks similar to the respective banks.

“In line with the development of technology, scammers come up with ‘app scams’. This is one of the phishing tactics used by scammers to get names, passwords, and information about the user,” he said.

He said after the user uploads this ‘app scam’, the application will ask to take over the role of the short message service (SMS) and if the user allows this then it makes it easier for scammers to carry out activities.

He said among the modus operandi scammers commonly use are advertisements on social media platforms – app scams recorded a total of 39 cases involving losses of RM721,728.69 by certain individuals from January to July 2022.

Meanwhile, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) manager (inquiries and complaints division), Vijayadurai Singgatore said BNM always urges the public to be aware of tricks or offers made by scammers, whether they are logical or not.

“We have to use technology wisely, do not trust the application given through WhatsApp, do not click the hyperlink given and make a transaction, it might be a trap,” he said.

BNM and the banking industry also constantly improve security standards so that users are confident in the security of the system offered.

“Now internet banking is further fortified with CAPTCHA with pictures to be matched by users.

“In the meantime, there are many banks that have increased the level of security by creating device binding, which means that if users want to do internet banking, they must use a registered device,” he also said.

AmBank Islamic Bhd chief executive officer Eqhwan Mokhzanee Muhammad said if users are involved in scam activities, they should contact the bank first so that their accounts can be frozen immediately before making a police report.

“When the customer suspects that he has been cheated, and sees that the money is missing, I suggest the customer contacts the bank on the customer service line and at the same time I urge the customer to change the ATM card pin number and also the internet banking access password,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 (Bernama) — The gradual ban method proposed through the Generational End Game (GEG) strategy is seen as the best way to address the smoking habit, according to former Deputy Director-General of Health (Public Health) Prof Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman.

He said this was because the smoking habit rate was still slowly declining, while the burden on treatment costs for smoking-related diseases borne by the government continues to increase.

“Insya Allah, if the smoking and vaping habits decline (following the implementation of the GEG strategy), the health burden caused by these bad habits will also decrease,” he told Bernama when contacted.

The Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022, which provides for, among others, the prohibition of smoking, buying or possessing tobacco products or smoking devices by the GEG or individuals born in 2007 onwards, was tabled for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on July 27.

Commenting on the effectiveness of the proposed law since tobacco products can still be sold to those born before 2007, Dr Lokman Hakim said it was not a problem because the country has the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations (PPKHT) 2004 and Food Act 1983 in place.

He said the rules still enforce the ban on smoking or possession of tobacco products for individuals aged 18 and below, as well as the sale of tobacco products to the group.

“Under the GEG strategy, this ban continues when they (individuals born in 2007 and above) turn 19, 20 and beyond. So, there is no reason why the implementation of this proposed law is not effective,” he said.

Meanwhile, Emergency and Trauma Physician at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (PPUM), Dr Mohd Afiq Md Noor, said the bill has a significant impact as the existing PPKHT 2004 does not cover new smoking devices such as vape.

Asked why vaping cannot be used as an alternative to tobacco products, he said that vaping had been proven to have adverse effects.

“There are many chemicals in them (cigarettes and vape) such as cyanogen. Taking cigarettes as an example, we can only find out there is lung cancer after 30 years (of smoking). It’s the same for vaping…not only does it has long-term (effect), we have seen short-term impact as well.

“We at the hospital receive cases of EVALI (Vaping Associated Lung Injury), which is a disease caused by vaping. For example, a young person with no other disease suddenly suffered from lung damage due to vaping history,” he said.

Although the bill received positive feedback from several parties, others urged the government to review some provisions as they could hurt the country’s economy.

However, according to Universiti Putra Malaysia School of Business and Economics deputy dean, Assoc Prof Norashidah Mohamed Nor, the tobacco industry’s contribution to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is not that high.

On the other hand, she said, the cost of treating smoking-related diseases is higher, with a decrease in national productivity if most people develop the diseases in their early 40s.

“In the end, productivity will decrease. A lot of research has been done…productivity contributes to our country’s economy, not only in terms of revenue but various aspects as well,” she said.

Last Saturday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said a total of two million lives could be saved, and smoking-related diseases could be prevented in the period up till 2040 if the proposed Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Act 2022 comes into force.

On social media, while many people agree with the proposed law, some have raised their concerns about the enforcement aspect, which they said had loopholes that needed to be improved, especially regarding human rights.

However, according to lawyer Hazeeq Fadzli Hasrul Sani, there is still room for changes and improvements since the bill has not yet been finalised.

“As Malaysian citizens, we cannot deny that we have fundamental rights that are protected in Articles 5 to 13 of the (Federal) Constitution. Therefore, any enforcement of the bill (if approved) by the authorities must be in tandem and do not go against these fundamental rights.

“If any enforcement method goes beyond the limits or violates those fundamental rights, we have the right under the Constitution to take appropriate legal action against the enforcement agencies,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 (Bernama) — Border control measures need to be tightened by rectifying all weaknesses, especially issues related to corruption, to prevent the country from being targeted by international human trafficking syndicates, according to human rights activist Datuk Dr Madeline Berma.

She said if firm action was not taken to improve the existing system and the community’s indifference towards human trafficking was allowed to continue, it was not impossible that the incident of a discovery of a mass grave in Wang Kelian, Perlis, a few years ago could recur.

Based on her observations, Madeline, who is also Academy of Sciences Malaysia fellow, said Malaysia had become a target country for human trafficking syndicates partly because there were weaknesses in the system that could be manipulated by those involved.

“If it was based on economic and peace factors, why didn’t they go to other neighbouring countries that are richer than us? Why did they choose to come here?

“This shows that there are other factors, and they (syndicates) see loopholes in the system due to corruption and they take advantage of it,” she told Bernama in a special interview with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) recently.

Madeline, who is also Universiti Malaysia Sarawak honorary professor, said it was surprising that mass human trafficking activities could take place at the country’s borders as they are closely guarded by enforcement agencies with adequate assets and training.

While stressing that the issue of human trafficking needs to be taken seriously as it involves human rights and national security, she believed that the problem occurred due to corruption and was seen as a profitable business.

She said the groups’ smooth journey to enter Malaysia also showed that the syndicates had an extensive network in other countries.

She claimed that Malaysians’ interest in getting goods at a lower price was one of the factors making this country a location for human trafficking activities as there is a demand for manpower, especially from industries that require a lot of unskilled labour.

“In fact, some big local companies involved in the oil palm industry and medical gloves have had their goods detained at foreign ports because there were elements of forced labour and human trafficking,” she added.

She said such a situation had given a bad image to the country, which was regarded as not serious in tackling the issue until it was placed at Tier 3 in the US State Department’s 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.

To improve the country’s image on the issue, Madeline said, all quarters, including individuals, communities and families, need to play their respective roles, work together, and not blame each other.

She said every individual in this country has a responsibility towards others and needs to come forward and show concern if they see or know something that is not right happening in their neighbourhood or at their workplace.

“At the community level, awareness programmes related to corruption and human trafficking need to be intensified so that the public is aware of the issue, while government agencies need to be more serious in addressing the problem by introducing stricter policies and laws,” she said.

According to Madeline, the local media also has a great responsibility to foster community awareness of related issues and report incidents or issues involving human trafficking.

She also said that close cooperation between government agencies was the only way to address the issue and improve the country’s position in future US State Department annual TIP Report.

“The cooperation of other law enforcement agencies and the people is essential to curb this issue. This should not be placed on MACC’s shoulders alone. The people should be the eyes and ears of the MACC and come forward to make complaints if they come across this issue around them,” she said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

IPOH, Aug 1 (Bernama) — A witness who lives near the plane crash site in Jalan Dr Nazrin Shah, Sungai Rokam, Medan Gopeng here tonight was shocked when he heard a strange noise before seeing a plane flying at low level.

The man, who only wanted to be known as Wan, 41, said he had just finished refueling at a nearby petrol station when he saw the plane hit a lamp post near the water lock.

“The plane was seen flying at a low level and crashed into the pole. Following that I made a U-turn and went to see the condition of the plane,” he said when met at the scene of the incident.

Meanwhile, a resident of a nearby house, Haizad, 22, said he heard a loud crash while he was at home when the incident happened at around 7 pm.

“I didn’t go straight out to the house because I thought it was a normal accident until my friend informed me via WhatsApp that a plane had crashed, after seeing the picture I realised the incident was very close to my house,” he said.

A flight instructor, Fajim Juffa Mustafa Kamal, 52, from Semenyih, Selangor died while another Muhammad Din Fikri Zainal Abidin, 62, from Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur was injured in the incident.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 (Bernama) — The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) have completed recording the statement of former Attorney General Tan Sri Apandi Ali on a police report by a member of Parliament over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investigation today.

PDRM secretary Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin in a statement said the Bukit Aman Classified Crime Investigation Unit (USJT) and CID had completed taking the statement of Apandi from 2.30 pm to 3.45 pm.

Last Friday, the media reported that police received a report by Klang MP Charles Santiago who was not satisfied with the 1MDB investigation by Apandi when he was the Attorney General and accused Apandi of abusing his power in the case.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

IPOH, Aug 1 (Bernama) — The state government has left it to the Perak Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) to overcome the wild elephant issue following an Orang Asli woman being seriously injured when attacked by a wild elephant in Gerik, last Saturday.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said the matter would be discussed with the state Perhilitan director as relocating the wild elephants was not the ultimate decision.

“Perhilitan is the expert on how to prevent wild elephants from roaming into villages. Chasing away the elephants is not easy as the location is their habitat.

“The Kemar Resettlement Scheme is in a forest area and the villagers share it with the elephants. This is not the first time elephants have strayed into the area. The villagers also have to be careful so as not to enter their habitat.”

He said this to reporters after attending a programme with ex-servicemen at the Taman Perpaduan Community Complex in Ulu Kinta, here, today.

Saarani hoped that Perhilitan would take the initiative of looking into ways to prevent elephants from disturbing the villagers.

It was reported that the 30-year-old Orang Asli woman suffered a broken arm and leg, as well as bruises on her abdomen, in the said attack by a wild elephant behind her house in the Kampung Katong Resettlement Scheme, Kemar in Gerik about 6.30 pm last Saturday.

The victim is now receiving further treatment at the Taiping Hospital’s intensive care unit.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency