BUTTERWORTH (July 6): Certain sectors of business and services in Penang allowed to resume operations after the state transitioned to Phase Two of the movement control under the National Recovery Plan (PPN) tomorrow, were relieved and grateful to be able to do so. Their eagerness is unsurprising as they have not been able to operate since the movement control was implemented to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hasani Books & Stationery Malaysia manager Nor Mohd Faizal Abdul Wahid was ready to reopen his premises near Perai here, after being shut for over a month. Nor Mohd Faizal said he hoped that the government will list stationery shops and bookshops as essential services during the next phase of the PPN, as such products are greatly needed. Yesterday, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Penang would be allowed to move to Phase Two of the movement control under the PPN effective tomorrow.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): MyCreative Ventures Sdn Bhd will provide a six-month loan moratorium to eligible applicants under the National People’s Well-being and Economic Recovery Package (PEMULIH). The government investment arm, which had been set up to spur Malaysia’s creative industry, said the moratorium will further support creative entrepreneurs in remaining resilient and ease the strain on their cash flow during this challenging period. "MyCreative will continuously support the government's efforts to alleviate the financial burdens faced by the creative industry. He added that many other facilities are currently available under MyCreative, including grants, soft loans and training programmes through the PENJANA and PRISMA programmes. "We at MyCreative are optimistic that applications from members of the creative industry will continue to be well received.

BUTTERWORTH (Bernama): Certain sectors of business and services in Penang allowed to resume operations after the state transitioned to Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) on Wednesday (July 7) were relieved and grateful to be able to do so. Hasani Books & Stationery Malaysia manager Nor Mohd Faizal Abdul Wahid was ready to reopen his premises near Perai here after being shut for over a month. Nor Mohd Faizal said he hoped that the government will list stationery shops and bookshops as essential services during the next phase of the NRP as such products are greatly needed. Although it was hard, we hope the shift to Phase Two will bring some cheer to affected sectors,” he said. On Monday, Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Penang would be allowed to move to Phase Two effective Wednesday.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): A total of 188 of the 810 construction sites operating nationwide after the total lockdown was enforced on June 1, were ordered to close for breaching the standard operating procedure (SOP), according to the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). “As a result of 4,208 inspections conducted on these construction sites, it was found that 3,398 sites were not operating, while another 810 were operating. "Of the 810, a total of 188 or 23% of the construction sites were found not complying with the SOP and were ordered to close, while the remaining 77% complied with the SOP," it said in a statement today. However, 42 of the construction sites were allowed to reopen after they complied with the SOP, it added. CIDB also reminded construction industry players to comply with the latest SOP, which can be downloaded from www.cidb.gov.my, to avoid being subjected to strict action including suspension and/or revocation of the Contractor Registration Certificate.

Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee has once again spoken up against director Quentin Tarantino for making an “inaccurate” and “unnecessary” depiction of her father in the 2019 film Once Upon A Time... Tarantino, currently promoting the novelisation of his film, stated that he understood Shannon having problems with how Bruce was depicted in the film but dismissed others’ criticism of the character. Shannon also expressed frustration over being told Bruce was not American and that he only did martial arts “for the movies”. “My father lived and breathed martial arts, ” she said in the column, pointing out that Bruce had taught, wrote about and created his own martial art, among others. Citing attacks against Asian Americans in the United States, she told Tarantino to reconsider further comments about her father and that his “misrepresentation” of Bruce was “not welcome”.

LABUAN (July 6): The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) uploaded its Operational Guidelines No.3/2021, which explains the method of application for the Tax Completion Letter for Companies, Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) and Labuan Entities (Labuan Companies and LLPs) on its official website, as reference and guidelines for taxpayers. In a statement to Bernama today, the IRB said the guidelines can be accessed at www.hasil.gov.my, and go to Legislation > Operational Guidelines or by clicking the quick link http://phl.hasil.gov.my/pdf/pdfam/GPO_3_2021.pdf. The guidelines supercedes the Operational Guidelines No.2/2019 issued on Nov 12, 2019. Those who wish for further information or feedback can contact the IRB through the Hasil Care Line at 03-8911 1000 (domestic) 603-8911 1100 (abroad), HASiL Live Chat or by filling the feedback form at https://maklumbalaspelanggan.hasil.gov.my/MaklumBalas/en-us/.

JOHOR BARU: A Myanmar national paid a heavy price for not scanning his MySejahtera app after he was caught for overstaying during Ops Patuh. “This includes scanning the MySejahtera code, wearing face masks and using a hand sanitiser before entering their workplace, ” he said in a statement here on Tuesday. However, ACP Dzulkhairi added that further checks found there were still some workers that failed to follow the SOP. “This led the police to a Myanmar national working at one of the factories who is in his 30s; further checks on him for scanning the MySejahtera app found he had been overstaying, ” he said. Iszahwati added that the victim had been handed to the police for further checks and the operation ended at around 3.14am.

A Facebook group titled “My wife married Mirror and left my marriage in ruins” has gone viral this week. Now their faces are ubiquitous: on advertising hoardings, TV shows, YouTube and, to the dismay of many Hong Kong married men, on the screens of many married women’s mobile phones and laptops. “If I fall into the water with Keung To, who will you save first?” a group member asks. One group member noted his wife’s purchasing habits showed her support of her idol Keung To. “It’s time for us to get our revenge,” says one member of the Facebook group.

KUALA LUMPUR: Spider-Man brought joy to the residents of the Hang Tuah Flats here when he swung in to deliver some essentials to 24 families. Aided by the Bukit Bintang MCA division, the Jalan Alor Hawker Association and crowdfunding platform GoCare, Spider-Man didn't swing from buildings this time, as he took flights of stairs and personally delivered essentials to these families. Speaking after delivering groceries dressed as Spider-Man, GoCare program manager Xilas Ngang said the act is part of GoCare's Be My Hero awareness campaign, which is a tribute to frontliners battling Covid-19. Meanwhile, Bukit Bintang MCA division chairman Ng Chin said the 24 families were identified after they had approached its representatives under the Federal Territories Resident's Council (MPP). So, we collect this food and we will send it to orphanages and old folks homes around here," he added.

Over the years that I have been meditating, the one type of meditation I struggled to come to grips with for a long time was loving- kindness – or metta – meditation. I first encountered metta meditation not in a monastery or meditation group but in a karate class when I was 16. The last thing I expected to learn in a karate class was how to feel warmly toward myself and others. Then again, here was a stocky, rock-fisted Irishman with decades of experience teaching karate telling us that metta meditation would help us control our emotions. Eventually, I started to include metta meditation in my practice but I could feel resistance at a certain point.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the government is optimistic that all its efforts in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme are on track, after the country exceeded its target of administering 300,000 vaccine doses a day yesterday. He said the administering of 313,761 doses yesterday and the vaccination of more than 2.73 million people with two doses as of yesterday were in line with the third focus of the National People’s Well-being and Economic Recovery Package (PEMULIH) announced on June 15 this year. Muhyiddin said the third focus of PEMULIH is to speed up vaccination for as many people as possible to ensure Malaysia can achieve herd immunity and enable the people to return to the kind of lives they were enjoying before the Covid-19 pandemic struck early last year. “I would like to express my thanks and congratulations to YB Khairy Jamaluddin, YB Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, all frontliners, volunteers and the people of Malaysia who have come together to make a success of the country’s biggest ever vaccination programme,” he added. Muhyiddin said this in a video uploaded on his Facebook today.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said applications for the six-month loan moratorium can be made starting tomorrow (July 7), in line with the PEMULIH stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Moreover, SMEs including microenterprises can also request for assistance through AKPK's dedicated SME Help Desk at akpk.org.my/smehelpdesk, which provides free financial advice and facilitates applications for repayment assistance. "Where a borrower requests to maintain lower instalments (instead of original instalments) after the moratorium, this would result in the loan tenure being extended for a longer period. Borrowers' Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) records will not be affected by any form of repayment assistance received in 2021, said BNM. Borrowers may also get more information on the enhanced repayment assistance programme by visiting bnm.gov.my/RA and BNM's social media platforms.

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has successfully achieved a vaccination rate of more than 300,000 doses a day, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. The Prime Minister said that on Monday (July 5), a total of 313,761 doses were administered with 6,585,002 individuals having received their first dose, while another 2,735,474 individuals had completed their second dose. Muhyiddin said that when announcing the National Recovery Plan on June 15, he had set an increase in the vaccination rate to more than 300,000 doses a day beginning July. The Prime Minister also thanked and congratulated the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba. “My thanks also goes to the frontliners, volunteers and all Malaysians for taking part in the vaccination programme and making it a success,” said Muhyiddin.

KUALA LUMPUR: The six-month moratorium for all individuals, micro-enterprises and affected small and medium-enterprises (SMEs) begins today, according to Bank Negara. Opting in for the moratorium or any other repayment packages will be easy with no need for borrowers to provide supporting documentation. Bank Negara said on Tuesday that the moratorium was in line with the National People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package or Pemulih. “The repayment assistance is applicable for financing approved before July 1, 2021, ” it said. For clarity, borrowers that are already under a repayment assistance programme and are servicing their financing in accordance with the terms of the programme will be able to opt in for this moratorium.

We talk a lot about what to watch on streaming, but far less about the experience of streaming itself. The experience is contingent on how you’re accessing a streaming platform: Via smart TV or Roku or iPad, or whatever. I get HBO Max through my cable setup, and while it’s annoyingly clunky, it has yet to crash mid-viewing. I love HBO Max. “Take HBO Max: They used to be able to get people’s subscriptions based solely on being the home of Game Of Thrones.