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| Latest National Recovery Plan SOPs ‘perplexing and contradictory’: MEF |
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Posted by: superadmin - 08-27-2021, 09:30 AM - Forum: Covid-19 Pandemic
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KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has criticised the latest standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the National Security Council (NSC) for regions in Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
Its president Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman said that employers are perplexed as the new SOPs for all three phases do not make sense as they contradict the government’s policy on easing movement for fully vaccinated individuals and addressing the priorities between saving lives and livelihoods.
“During the movement control order (MCO) 1.0 when vaccines were not fully rolled out, the quarantine period for staff to work off-site was only three days.
“However, based on the latest SOPs, the quarantine period is now extended to 14 days and this applies to fully vaccinated employees.
“Employers in the manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying sectors in the concerned regions are now required to test all employees once every fortnight including the fully vaccinated, and this is at the cost of the employers,” Syed Hussain said in a statement today.
He said a manufacturer with 1,000 employees will have to pay RM80,000 to test all employees every two weeks, given the cost of RTK-Antigen test kits are at RM40 each.
“In a month, the cost would amount to RM160,000, just for test kits.
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| Maybank’s Q2 profit more than doubles to RM1.96 bil |
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Posted by: superadmin - 08-26-2021, 06:30 PM - Forum: Business. Economy and Investment
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KUALA LUMPUR – Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) posted a net profit of RM1.96 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, more than double the RM941.73 million recorded in the same period last year.
In a statement today, Southeast Asia’s fourth-largest bank by assets said its earnings improved as loans continued to grow, net interest margin expanded from a more cost-effective funding mix, and impairments came in lower from a year earlier.
However, revenue declined to RM11.34 billion versus RM11.79 billion previously.
The group recorded a steady growth in net operating income to RM6.17 billion for the quarter, up 9.3% on-year, while its net impairment losses fell to RM567.2 million from RM1.74 billion in the same period last year.
For the cumulative six-month period ended June 30, 2021, the group saw its net profit surging to RM4.35 billion from RM2.99 billion previously, while revenue slipped to RM23.56 billion from RM25.03 billion.
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| Vaccination surge in Klang Valley bears visible fruit |
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Posted by: superadmin - 08-26-2021, 06:03 PM - Forum: Covid-19 Pandemic
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KUALA LUMPUR – The surge in vaccination rate in the Klang Valley is beginning to show great results, with the Covid-19 situation in hospitals and quarantine centres here set to improve drastically by next month.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said intensive care units (ICUs) in health facilities will also be much less crowded by the end of September, after Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Putrajaya achieved herd immunity among their adult population.
Klang Valley is currently only second to Labuan in terms of percentage of fully vaccinated adults, with 86.9% of the adult population immunised as of yesterday, while 109.9% have received at least a single dose of the vaccine.
“We know that with increasing vaccination, the severity of infection is less. There will also be less hospital admissions plus less utilisation of ICU beds,” Dr Noor Hisham told The Vibes today.
“But ICU bed utilisation, which is the mean hospital stay, will only be obvious after three to four weeks.”
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| Testing still Malaysia’s weakest link, says Dr Jemilah |
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Posted by: superadmin - 08-26-2021, 03:44 PM - Forum: Covid-19 Pandemic
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PETALING JAYA: The test, trace, isolate and support strategy is Malaysia’s weakest link in its pandemic management strategy, Dr Jemilah Mahmood has said.
The special adviser to former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin on public health said a national testing strategy would be needed to stave off small outbreaks as states begin to reopen their economies.
She told CodeBlue that testing was a key measure to contain the virus as the country begins to prioritise mitigation over containment, reversing tack only in specific localities when needed to prevent small outbreaks.
“I want to say, first of all, that Covid-19 is not over. What is happening very clearly is that we will have waves of outbreaks, but hopefully, the waves are small and very manageable, and patients don’t feel very ill as more people are vaccinated and our health system can cope.
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| Armada warns of political crisis if new consensus is perverted |
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Posted by: superadmin - 08-26-2021, 03:41 PM - Forum: Politics
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PETALING JAYA: A new political crisis could be sparked if the consensus reached by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Pakatan Harapan is not genuine, says Armada, the Bersatu youth wing.
The wing’s information chief, Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir said efforts to create a synergy between the government and the opposition should be viewed as an initiative to ensure the continuity of the national recovery plan drawn up by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
“It is only right that we put aside political differences for now, as long as it helps the government function and helps the people, especially when the prime minister’s Cabinet lineup is free of those facing trial.”
However, if the efforts to ensure bipartisan cooperation is perverted, Ashraf said it could lead to a repeat of the political crisis sparked by a “group of Umno leaders, Pakatan Harapan and some in the opposition”.
He accused those behind that move of being hell-bent on toppling the government, vengeful and only seeking to serve their personal agendas, especially where court cases are concerned.
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| After PM-PH consensus, Bersih calls for formal CSA |
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Posted by: superadmin - 08-26-2021, 03:19 PM - Forum: Politics
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PETALING JAYA: With opposition leaders and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob reaching a consensus to strengthen the function of Parliament, a formalised confidence and supply agreement (CSA) must be signed, says Bersih 2.0.
The electoral reform group said it commended the steps initiated by both the government and the opposition to focus their energy into fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, revive the country’s economy and push for institutional reforms for political stability.
“The understanding and agreement reached should be immediately discussed in-depth and formalised, with signed CSAs. It should be jointly announced to the public to ensure transparency and accountability of the terms agreed,” it said, adding that there should also be a timeline for the fulfillment of these reforms.
Bersih 2.0 added that Ismail should similarly invite other parties and independent opposition MPs to discuss common grounds, as well as to sign inter-party agreements among his own supporting parties and MPs.
This, it said, would ensure political stability and give meaning and substance to Ismail’s slogan of Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family).
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| Tony Fernandes: AirAsia ready to take to skies |
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Posted by: superadmin - 08-26-2021, 01:05 PM - Forum: Business. Economy and Investment
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Tony Fernandes: AirAsia ready to take to skies, operating crew, frontline staff fully vaccinated
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — AirAsia Group is ready to fly with its operating crew and frontline staff 100 per cent vaccinated, group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said.
This is happening alongside numerous contactless safety and hygiene measures in place to ensure the highest standards are maintained ahead of a resumption of air travel, which is expected in the near future, he added.
“We are ready to fly and as part of our strict safety policy, we are mandating that all of our operating crew and frontline staff serving guests, including pilots, cabin crew and airport staff, are fully vaccinated to return to work," Fernandes said in a statement.
He said with stringent health and hygiene protocols and robust standard operating procedures, guests can be assured of a peace of mind when travelling with AirAsia again.
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| Nothing changes if new PM continues culture of patronage, corruption – C4 Centre |
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Posted by: superadmin - 08-26-2021, 10:30 AM - Forum: Politics
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THIS new government, the third since 2018, must in its advent commit to addressing the injustices of the previous administration, and confront corruption as the greatest injustice in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, in calling for all leaders to prioritise governance, has aptly stated that governance needs to be based on the principles of justice, and should be entrusted to acknowledged experts. This is a serious responsibility that new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob must heed with utmost urgency.
The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre) lauds this critical call for good governance, especially in the face of the current political turmoil and raging pandemic, where the future of Malaysia remains uncertain as political parties grapple for power.
Any form of corruption that happens in the midst of this national emergency is a reprehensible crime against the rakyat, where thousands have become jobless, and countless more have died.
This call to better governance must be met with meaningful access to information, strict enforcement, regardless of rank and titles. In upholding the rule of law, there should be no discrimination between offenders. What should have been a backbone, a pillar of any enforcement system, has instead been perverted.
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| Covid-19, post-Muhyiddin – P. Gunasegaram |
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Posted by: superadmin - 08-26-2021, 10:22 AM - Forum: Politics
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A CURIOUS thing happened after Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin resigned on August 16 and became the caretaker prime minister, during which period, he should not make any major decisions, but wait for the next prime minister to do so.
But that was not to be. He made a major decision to roll back movement controls, relaxing the standard operating procedures for those who have been fully vaccinated allowing them to dine in, and other associated measures. These were announced on August 19, to take effect the following day, when the palace announced that it had picked Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the new prime minister.
What was the great hurry for Muhyiddin? Did he want to steal a little bit of thunder in his last days as prime minister? He should have let his successor make the decision, considering that his handling of Covid-19 was one of the reasons MPs lost confidence in his leadership.
Muhyiddin’s decision to lift restrictions at a time when the number of new infections stood at or around record levels, with deaths exceeding 200 a day and hospitals under stress and strain from too many serious cases, was roundly criticised.
Despite the lifting of restrictions, many food operators did not rejoice; some joined in the criticism against the move. It was rushed – not all workers have been fully vaccinated. No one rushed to reopen their businesses.
The other thing to have considered is that a large proportion of the population had not been vaccinated as of August 18. The total for Malaysia was 37.5% of the population. While the chances of vaccinated individuals getting Covid-19 are reduced, they can still catch the disease.
And since they don’t live in bubbles where everyone is vaccinated, they can potentially infect others who have not received the jab. Thus, it can be reasonably argued that opening up can be delayed a bit more until the rate of fully vaccinated individuals reaches 60% to 70% of the population, such as in the United Kingdom.
At that point, given the observation that those who are vaccinated are very much unlikely to experience severe symptoms and have much lower mortality rates, it would be right to lift restrictions – without endangering lives.
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