PETALING JAYA: A report has found that strict laws and their implementation during the first year of Perikatan Nasional’s rule have continued to muffle the voices of civil society. Prepared by rights groups Article 19 and Civicus, it said the Muyhiddin Yassin-led government had failed to repeal or reform laws…
KUALA LUMPUR: Casino-to-hospitality giant Genting Malaysia Bhd is planning another round of salary cuts as it seeks to slash costs amid the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic. It is asking some employees to agree to a temporary reduction of 15% or 20% in basic salary based on their ranks, according to an…
PETALING JAYA: The head of a local think tank has stressed that any plans to allow private hospitals to purchase their own supplies of Covid-19 vaccines and administer them must not come at the cost of the government’s National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. Azrul Mohd Khalib, chief executive of the Galen…
PETALING JAYA: A former federal minister has called on politicians from both sides of the divide to stop politicking and focus on the Covid-19 pandemic, saying he is confident an election will be held when the time is right. In a blogpost, Salleh Said Keruak said politics needed to be…
PETALING JAYA: The minister in charge of the Covid-19 vaccination programme says private hospitals are already being used as vaccination centres and that more will be roped in to help. Yesterday, Pakatan Harapan’s Covid-19 vaccination committee urged the health ministry to work with private hospitals to speed up the vaccination…
PETALING JAYA: Stakeholders have warned that Malaysia’s tourism industry would fall further behind if the government does not come up with a proper plan for vaccinated travellers to enter the country. Their comments come after Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran suggested for the government to open Malaysia’s borders to tourists…
PETALING JAYA: Experts are calling for renewed emphasis on wildlife damage management in light of increasing incidents of human-wildlife conflict. Aimed at balancing the needs of humans with that of wildlife, wildlife damage management plans have been formulated for decades to ensure harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife. But that…
PETALING JAYA: A former colleague of the Malaysian Zoological Society’s first chairman has called for increased efforts to preserve his legacy by ensuring the survival of Zoo Negara. Dr S Vellayan, a former veterinarian at the zoo, described Victor Massy Hutson (popularly known as VM Hutson) as a man who…
PETALING JAYA: A health expert has sought to reassure filmgoers that the reopening of cinemas poses a low risk of virus transmission if standard operating procedures (SOPs) can be established and followed. Dr Sanjay Rampal, a public health medicine professor at Universiti Malaya, told FMT the time might be right…
PETALING JAYA: A DAP leader has urged his Pakatan Harapan ally Amanah to move on from Dr Mahathir Mohamad and stick together, amid defections within the coalition. Speaking to FMT, Johor DAP committee member Dr Boo Cheng Hau said although defections were not ideal, what was important was that everyone…
KUALA LUMPUR: Sungai Besar Umno leader Jamal Yunos today tendered his apology to Bakri MP Yeo Bee Yin over claims she misused Selangor state funds when she was the Damansara Utama assemblyman. Jamal told the High Court that he had defamed Yeo. “I admit that she is an honest person…
KUCHING: Following the resignation of state chairman Larry Sng, Sarawak PKR is expected to leave the position vacant until after the 12th state election to avoid any attempts by political rivals to woo its top leadership. Socio-political analyst Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya said the party will be…
PETALING JAYA: The re-opening of Malaysia’s borders to foreign travellers who have received the Covid-19 vaccine “should be theoretically quite safe”, an epidemiologist said in response to a suggestion by a state assemblyman. Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Universiti Malaya, said effective vaccines…
PETALING JAYA: A doctor says he will compile a list of Covid-19 vaccine “queue jumpers” to be sent to Khairy Jamaluddin, the minister coordinating the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. This follows reports that some people who were not supposed to receive the vaccine had successfully made it to the list…
PETALING JAYA: The association representing private hospitals in Malaysia has urged the government to allow its members to buy their own supply of Covid-19 vaccines and administer them. This comes after science, technology, and innovation minister Khairy Jamaluddin was reported by CodeBlue as saying there is no immediate provision for…
PETALING JAYA: Primary school teachers say they have mixed feelings about the reopening of schools, but feel that the return to physical classes will benefit both the teachers and pupils. It was back to physical classes for children in Year 1 and 2 on Monday, after months of online lessons…
PUTRAJAYA: Health minister Dr Adham Baba has refuted the notion that there was any “hanky-panky” in the government’s purchase of Covid-19 vaccines, saying the procurement process was transparent. Adham told FMT the RM3 billion allocation for the vaccine was contained in this year’s federal budget and that the purchase was…
PETALING JAYA: It is not up to the law minister to deter challenges to unconstitutional shariah laws, a lawyer said, amid an apex court ruling which declared last week that the Selangor legislature is incompetent to pass a law which criminalises unnatural sex. Syed Iskandar Syed-Jaafar-al-Mahdzar said every citizen has…
PETALING JAYA: Muhyiddin Yassin will gain only temporary respite from the defection of two MPs from PKR as he continues to fend off challenges to his parliamentary support, say analysts. Political scientists Azmi Hassan and Chandra Muzaffar said the support of Julau MP Larry Sng and Tebrau MP Steven Choong…
PETALING JAYA: More than a million children started their school year today, with several parents telling FMT they were cautious about the high number of daily Covid-19 cases but confident SOPs would be followed in schools. An education ministry spokesperson told FMT that 204,155 pre-school students, 454,827 Primary 1 students…