PUTRAJAYA: Civil servants who have no strong reasons to reject the Covid-19 vaccination will soon know the action they may face. This includes a directive to make it compulsory for public servants to be vaccinated except for those who have strong reasons to be exempted. PSD said several measures can be taken by ministries and departments based on the existing Public Service (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations to ensure civil servants are inoculated. PSD noted that almost 98% of civil servants have been immunised. “However, this matter needs to be given priority to give confidence and guarantee to the people when dealing with civil servants at government premises,” it said.

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 21): MY EG Services Bhd (MYEG) has entered into a partnership with China's Bubi Technologies Co Ltd to build supernodes around the world based on a blockchain system. Through a Malaysian-incorporated joint venture that will be 51% held by MYEG, the partners will set up supernodes outside China based on a high-performance and highly compatible blockchain system that is developed by Bubi, the group said. MYEG said Bubi, one of China's leading blockchain technology providers, is actively involved in the ongoing development of China's national blockchain infrastructure, deploying its widely used protocol for the network, which has industrial sector applications as one of its main use scenarios. MYEG also said that the joint venture's private blockchain will be well positioned to bring positive transformation to regional supply chain financing. Shares in MYEG finished 1.5 sen or 1.64% higher at 93 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM6.75 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya has spent more than RM1mil on the offices of ministers and deputy ministers at the Prime Minister's Department. Another RM380,000 was spent on renovations and RM90,000 to replace old furniture at the de facto law minister's office, with contracts going to Puncak Interaktif Sdn Bhd. At the deputy minister under the Prime Minister's Department (law) offices, RM192,870 was spent on renovations and RM10,000 was spent on furniture, with contracts going to Kerayong Indah Enterprise. Ismail was replying in response to Hannah Yeoh (PH-Segambut), who asked about how much was spent on renovations and new furniture at the officers of ministers and deputy ministers under the Prime Minister's Department. The EPU is an agency under the Prime Minister's Department.

KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya is finalising payment to developers of the MySejahtera app after its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) model expired on March 31 this year, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. He said this in a written reply dated Sept 21 to Alice Lau (PH-Lanang), who asked how much the MySejahtera app cost. "However, in line with the importance of MySejahtera as a national app in the Covid-19 pandemic management that can still be improved, the government decided to make payments beginning April 1,"he said. "Taking into account the benefits of this app, it is inaccurate to state that the MySejahtera app has many issues and was unsatisfactory. The MySejahtera app was developed by KPISoft, a local company founded by Malaysians Anuar Rozhan and Raveenderan Ramamoothie.

MELAKA: Two men decided to set fire to their own three cars, including a luxury car, in a bid to collect insurance payments to settle their debts to loan sharks. He added that the two, a contractor and a salesman, claimed that they were in dire financial constraints and had no choice but to set their three cars, including a luxury Bentley Continental GT, on fire in order to claim insurance payments. All three cars, including the Bentley owned by the contractor, were destroyed in the incident at Taman Datuk Tamby Chik Karim at 1.40pm on Sept 13. "They hoped to receive insurance compensation totalling RM250,000 to settle their debts of RM500,000 owed to the illegal moneylenders," he said on Tuesday (Sept 21). He said the other two cars were owned by the salesman.

KUALA LUMPUR: Pay-TV operator Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd reported steady revenue in the second quarter, but the elevated content cost related to the Tokyo Olympics and UEFA EURO 2020 hurt its bottomline. Advertising expenditure (Adex) during the quarter the were also dampened by the lockdown. For the three-month ended July 31, Astro's net profit declined by more than a third to RM87.1mil from RM133.6mil previously. Astro said that while its Adex grew 22% y-o-y to RM209mil in the first half of FY21, outperforming the advertising industry growth of 11%, Adex in the second quarter declined by 9% q-o-q. "Significant near term challenges remain as the Covid-19 pandemic continues," group CEO Henry Tan said in a statement today.

They and a police officer who went to his house were left critically ill in hospital from exposure to the military-grade nerve agent. [L8N2QN2MN]Haydon also said Petrov and Boshirov were really named Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga, and Fedotov's true name was Denis Sergeev. Britain has no extradition treaty with Russia, and Moscow has so far refused to hand over Petrov and Boshirov. The Russian foreign ministry said Britain was using the poisoning to stoke anti-Russian sentiment. After they were accused by Britain, Boshirov and Petrov appeared on Russian TV to say they were tourists who had travelled to Salisbury to do some sightseeing.

The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill passed its second reading in parliament with the ruling Labour Party and the main opposition National Party voting in favour, while smaller parties like the Greens opposed it. The bill, an amendment to the 2002 Terrorism Suppression Act and other related laws, will be enacted once it clears a third reading. The government said the legislation addresses a major gap in the law by criminalising planning or preparation for a terrorist act. Justice Minister Kris Faafoi said the legislation brings New Zealand in line with laws in countries like Australia, Britain and Canada. It was the second terrorist attack in the country in as many years after the massacre by a white supremacist at two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019 that killed 51 people and injured dozens more.

PETALING JAYA: There is no data to show that Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) scheme participants were "security threats" as claimed by the Home Minister, says Hannah Yeoh. The Segambut MP said that the Home Ministry had not justified its review of the MM2H scheme and that it should not penalise all MM2H participants over claims that some were involved in crime. Muhammad Bakhtiar, who was a former deputy tourism minister, was reported as saying that Malaysia could not afford to lose foreign investors due to the new MM2H conditions imposed. He also said that there had been improvements to the current procedures for new participants of the MM2H programme, including stricter measures for security purposes as some were found to be disguised as MM2H participants, but were actually using Malaysia as a transit to carry out illegal activities. Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar had previously questioned the Home Ministry's reluctance to review the new criteria.

KUALA LUMPUR: Football fans could be making a return to stadiums to watch matches again, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu. The Youth and Sports Minister said a plan had been sent to the National Security Council to allow football fans to fill stadium terraces once again. "This is in line with our motto of 'Reopening Safely'," said Ahmad Faizal at a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday (Sept 21). Ahmad Faizal had earlier attended the Quartet Ministers' meeting in Parliament, where he presented the ministry's progress since the reopening of gymnasiums and certain indoor sports. The quartet ministers are Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 21): Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun today explained that he rescinded the invitation for the Teluk Intan Member of Parliament (MP) to temporarily preside over the sitting yesterday afternoon on his own accord, without any pressure from any party. The issue was raised by Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka), who asked for an explanation of the allegation that there was a senior minister interfering in the affairs of the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat and wanted the senior minister to be named. “There is a report that a senior minister has blocked the Speaker’s authority to invite Teluk Intan as Speaker yesterday. I want to know if the senior minister is in the Dewan Rakyat now,” he said. Azhar, however, said based on Article 7(3) of the Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat, it is in his power to request a member from among the members of the Dewan Rakyat to preside the session.

The Senyum Malaysia Campaign photo collagePETALING JAYA (Sept 21): Vanke Malaysia has donated RM10,000 to Mercy Malaysia on behalf of the 1,000 participants who have contributed their smiling photos in the Senyum Malaysia campaign during the Merdeka month. In a statement, the developer said the campaign aims to represent the togetherness of Malaysians. It is also dedicated to bringing back joy and happiness to all Malaysians during this challenging time. With every photo collected, Vanke Malaysia donates RM10 to Mercy Malaysia Covid-19 Pandemic Fund. A photo collage of “SENYUM MALAYSIA” photomosaic and a “SENYUM MALAYSIA” video were also presented at Vanke MY Facebook and Instagram page on Malaysia Day.

The enterprising single mother started her home-based food paste business with a capital of RM50. Photo: Bibiaminani Abdul Ghani“I decided to make asam pedas paste, following my mother’s recipe which has received positive feedback from my customers. Bibiaminani says that as a single mother, she had to learn how to rely on herself and be independent. “This is done through commercial sterilisation of the food paste by application of high heat,” she explains. “That’s why I need to invest in the (retorting) technology to make the food paste long-lasting without preservatives.

MR DIY Group (M) Bhd vice president of marketing Andy Chin said the group wanted to help the people stay safe as they return to work and school, or if they need to travel. MR DIY’s annual “Poket Selamat” campaign showcases mega offers on popular, best-selling, and high-demand products. In this, its seventh edition, discounts of up to 40% on 45 selected products are being offered at 738 MR DIY stores nationwide, as well as on the retailer’s e-commerce website, www.mrdiy.com.my. As part of the campaign, MR DIY has introduced discounts on hardware, electrical items, handphone and car accessories, household products, stationery, and toys. At midday break today, MR DIY was traded at RM3.88 with 1.84 million shares done.

PUTRAJAYA: A general manager of a car manufacturing company has been remanded for six days as graft investigators probe allegations that he accepted bribes amounting to several hundred thousand ringgit. The suspect’s remand order took effect from Tuesday (Sept 21) after Magistrate Shah Wira Abdul Halim allowed an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) that was submitted in court. According to sources, the man is being investigated for allegedly receiving money from a used car dealer. It is learnt that the “reward” was because he had used his position to help the used car dealer to obtain cars from the suspect’s company. The cars were believed to have been sold at below market price and without following the proper procedure.