Paper Buruk

PUTRAJAYA -- The government cancelled the Automated Enforcement System (AES) summonses dating back to 2012 because the deal is biased and the collection of payments brings it no revenue, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke. He said that based on the agreement signed by the previous government in December 2011 and brought into effect in 2012, the two companies operating the system – ATES Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd –  were paid RM16 for every summons issued, limited to 10 million summonses per year. Furthermore, he said, they were also given 50 per cent of the payments collected (at the rate of RM300), limited to RM540 per year. In 2016, the government decided to halve the summons rate to RM150 and it was bound to hand over all the proceeds to the two companies, he added. “The agreement is very biased. The government does not lose anything because it is zero-profit due to the biased agreement,” he said, Bernama reported.

KUALA LUMPUR --  Kerajaan sedang menjalankan kajian menyeluruh ke atas masalah struktur yang disebabkan oleh kuasa monopol, yang menyumbang kepada masalah kenaikan harga barang keperluan, termasuk gula, di negara ini. Menteri Kewangan Lim Guan Eng berkata sebagai contoh, harga runcit gula di peringkat antarabangsa hanya RM1.40 (satu kilogram) namun harga di Malaysia sebanyak RM2.90 (se kilogram). “Ini adalah masalah struktur dan kuasa monopoli yang tidak memberi manfaat kepada rakyat. “Meraka hanya mahu keuntungan yang mereka tetapkan, dan menggunakan kuasa monopoli untuk kekalkan harga barangan,” katanya menjawab soalan tambahan Senator Datuk Seri Khairudin Samad pada sesi soal jawab di persidangan Dewan Negara, lapor Bernama. Lim berkata pengumuman mengenai kajian harga gula itu akan dibuat oleh Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri Dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna (KPDNHEP). Selain m...

PUTRAJAYA -- Skim insurans kesihatan sosial untuk golongan isi rumah berpendapatan rendah (B40) akan dilaksanakan bermula Januari tahun hadapan, kata Menteri Kesihatan  Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad. Beliau berkata perbincangan mengenai skim yang komprehensif itu memasuki peringkat akhir dan bakal diperluaskan kepada kategori lain termasuk untuk golongan isi rumah berpendapatan pertengahan (M40). Beliau berkata kementerian sedang membuat perincian, penelitian dan penjelasan berhubung beberapa perkara termasuk sumber kewangan untuk membiayai skim itu sebelum dimasukkan ke dalam Bajet 2019. Ia masih melibatkan proses perbincangan dan penyelarasan bersama pihak kementerian, Bank Negara Malaysia dan Kementerian Kewangan berhubung beberapa isu penting. “Saya mahu skim  ini diteliti sebaik mungkin sebelum ia dibentangkan kepada umum,” katanya pada  sidang media selepas menghadiri perhimpu...

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has called for more transparency in foreign worker medical screening by the Foreign Workers Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (Fomema). MMA president Dr Mohamed Namazie Ibrahim said a sole company providing X-ray transmission and software was appointed by Fomema to provide the service, but unfortunately there was lack of transparency in the allocation of laboratories and chest x-ray facilities. He said Fomema panel clinics had incurred more expenses to meet new requirements imposed by a third-party company appointed by Fomema in terms of purchase of software from the company costing RM5,000 and RM3 per transmission which have burdened general practitioners (GPs) who have been providing these services since the implementation of the new work processes. “MMA urges Fomema to open up X-ray transmission to other vendors to provide this service as competition can reduce the cost. “The MOH (Minist...

BEIJING – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Monday asked Beijing to be more sympathetic with regard to Malaysia's current fiscal issues. The Malaysian prime minister was hopeful that China would understand the situation and would be able to help resolve it. "We hope that China understands our problem and would be sympathetic in regard to our internal fiscal problems," he said at a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart, Premier Li Keqiang, following their bilateral meeting here. Dr Mahathir is on a five-day official visit to China. "Help us to resolve some of our fiscal problems,” said Dr Mahathir. The new Malaysian government under Pakatan Harapan, which Dr Mahathir leads, is currently facing a debt of about RM1 trillion due to the alleged mismanagement of the country’s finances by the previous government. Dr Mahathir said Malaysia-China bilateral ties needed to be further strengthened. He said China’s innovation and technological advanceme...

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) reached its 100th-day of establishment on Monday and the question of whether the council should be dissolved has been a red herring to why it was originally set-up. Formed on May 12 by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, the council acted as an advisor on economic, financial and other matters during the power transition period and its ‘lifespan was widely reported as only for 100 days’. However, the prime minister last week said the government would still maintain the CEP and that it would not be disbanded yet as its services, especially that of his soft-spoken long-time confidante, was still needed, stirring various reaction from the public, ruling and opposition politicians. Unfazed by the issues surrounding its operating tenure, a press conference is scheduled tomorrow by the council, obviously led by two-time Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, who believes in deter...

BEIJING -- Malaysians need to change their attitude towards locally produced goods and become producers, not merely consumers, in order to further develop the country, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The Prime Minister said Malaysians typically wanted to buy good quality products but these products must come from other countries. “If the product were locally made with a local (brand) name, they would be quite reluctant to buy,” he said during a luncheon with the Malaysian business community here today. This kind of attitude had resulted in Malaysia becoming merely a consumer nation, Dr Mahathir said. He pointed out that the people in China also wanted to buy good quality products but then they learned how to produce them. “The Chinese here want to learn and produce the best quality goods themselves, and because of that, they have become the factory for the whole world,” said Dr Mahathir, who is on the third day of his fiv...

PARIT BUNTAR -- The reported claim over plans to pass a vote of no confidence against Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu is mere speculation, says State Public Amenities, Infrastructure, Agriculture and Plantations Committee chairman Abdul Yunus Jamhari. In fact, Abdul Yunus said the menteri besar had been in good relationship with state executive councillors. “I am not sure how true the speculation on the vote of no confidence against the menteri besar is,” he told a press conference after launching the 2018 Kerian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Entrepreneurs Carnival on Sunday, Bernama report. It was reported in a Malay daily today that Perak was allegedly facing a political crisis following rumours that DAP and Amanah elected representatives would pass a vote of no confidence against Ahmad Faizal. The report also mentioned that the reason behind the crisis was, among others, due to Ahmad Faizal’s re...

  KUANTAN – Awareness campaigns on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) should not be seen as a move to antagonise any party. Pahang Mufti Datuk Seri Dr. Abdul Rahman Othman said various campaigns currently underway by non-governmental organisations (NGO) were just reminders that LGBT activities were forbidden in Islam and cursed by God. "All these campaigns are aimed at asking this group to stop all claims because these activities are wrong in Islam and are cursed by God. "We do not want to be hostile to anyone but we want these activities to be stopped because they are forbidden by God and we are fearful of the agony and calamity as had happened in the days of Prophet Luth, as narrated in the Quran," he said, Bernama reported.. Abdul Rahman was speaking to reporters after launching a campaign on the dangers of LGBT organised by the Persatuan Kebajikan Ukhuwah and Silaturrahim Pahan...

BEIJING -- Malaysia can still become a fully developed nation but it might take a little longer than the target originally set for the year 2020, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said. “Maybe we cannot achieve it by 2020, probably we can by 2025…but with your help, maybe we can achieve it earlier,” he said during a dinner with the Malaysian diaspora. Dr Mahathir, who is on the five-day official visit to China said he had put in place policies for Malaysia to achieve the target, but they were changed after he left office in 2003. “We are now living in a country (Malaysia) which has been destroyed by the previous government,” he said, Bernama reported. He said the new Malaysian government was trying to put the country back on the right track. Dr Mahathir said the new government would also do its level best to fulfill its promises to the people. “If we don’t succeed today, we will strive until we fulfill all of our promises,” he said. Earlier, Dr Ma...

TELUK INTAN -- Perak DAP has never pressured Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu on the issue of land ownership status, its chairman Nga Kor Ming said. “Perak DAP will stand strong with the Menteri Besar and give its support to his leadership so that Pakatan Harapan (PH) will ensure the well being of the people of Perak and bring rapid economic development to our beloved state,” he said in a statement, Sunday. The statement was issued in response to a local newspaper report which quoted him as saying that the Perak DAP wanted the state government to grant 999-year ownership status or permanent land ownership to new villages as promised in the PH Manifesto during the 14th General Election. Nga, who is also Aulong assemblyman, said he had not raised the land ownership issue at the press conference here yesterday, but was instead asked about the issue by reporters. “I was asked by reporters on the matter and I only said that PH was co...