KUALA LUMPUR (June 20): Titijaya Land Bhd’s indirect wholly-owned unit, Aman Duta Sdn Bhd is expected to invest about RM200 million to construct and let a logistics commercial complex on part of land measuring 26,688 square metres in Penang for DHL Properties (M) Sdn Bhd. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Monday (June 20), Titijaya said this followed a build-and-let agreement signed between Aman Duta and DHL on June 15, 2022. The property developer said the construction of the facility is expected to commence upon obtaining all necessary approvals, and the project is slated for completion in July 2023. On March 26, 2022, Titijaya announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, City Meridian Development Sdn Bhd (CMD), and DHL would develop an 8.09-hectare ultra-modern logistics commercial complex in Bayan Lepas, Penang, primarily to provide semiconductor logistics solution for the electrical and electronics sector. In its filing on Monday, Titijaya said CMD would retain its role as the property developer, while the build and lease exercises would be carried out by Aman Duta.

GEORGE TOWN: A syndicate offering non-existing loans amounting in the millions but collecting processing fees have been busted following the arrest of 13 people. State police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the loans were offered via social media including Facebook and WhatsApp. He said the syndicate, operating from a luxury condominium in Bukit Mertajam, would contact potential victims before deceiving them by collecting payment as a processing fee. "There had been 132 investigation papers involving this syndicate with losses totalling RM1.9mil. Comm Mohd Shuhaily said three laptops, 27 handphones and 10 notebooks with phone numbers and victims’ bank account details were also seized from them.

KUALA LUMPUR: For the first time since Dec 18, 2020, Malaysia reported zero deaths due to Covid-19, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pic). "Our ongoing transition to endemicity has been calibrated and data-driven. Let us pray it continues paying off," he tweeted on Sunday (June 19). Meanwhile, a total of 1,294,225 or 36.5% of children aged five to 11 in the country have completed their vaccination under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) as of Sunday. According to the CovidNow portal, a total of 1,737,624 or 49% of the group have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 20): For the first time since Dec 18, 2020, Malaysia reported zero deaths due to Covid-19, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. Let us pray it continues paying off,” he said via his official Twitter account on Sunday (June 19). Meanwhile, a total of 1,294,225 or 36.5% of children aged five to 11 in the country had completed their vaccination under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) as of Sunday. Follow our Covid-19 vaccination tracker to see where we are in the race to herd immunity. According to the COVIDNOW portal, a total of 1,737,624 children or 49% of the age group had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The Rhinos are top of the league with 18 points after eight games following their 2-1 win over Pahang at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday. Kim Swee said the team must now strive to be more consistent and wants to see his charges replicate their brilliant first-half performance against Pahang in every game. “We were brilliant in the first half but in the second, we lost our rhythm and took things too easy. Pahang reduced the deficit in the 60th minute through Manuel Hidalgo, but Sabah should have scored two more goals in the second half. “We were outplayed in the first half but we bounced back strongly in the second after changing our game plan.

KYIV (June 19): The war in Ukraine could last for years, the head of NATO said on Sunday, calling for steadfast support from Ukraine's allies as Russian forces battle for territory in the country's east. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said supplying state-of-the-art weaponry to Ukrainian troops would boost the chance of freeing its eastern region of Donbas from Russian control, Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported. In Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv, northwest of Luhansk, Russia's defence ministry said its Iskander missiles had destroyed weaponry recently supplied by Western countries. Russian forces were trying to approach Kharkiv, which experienced intense shelling earlier in the war, and turn it into a "frontline city", a Ukrainian interior ministry official said. Though actual membership could take years, the speaker of Ukraine's parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said the move put a common Ukrainian dream at hand.

While reviewing the photo archives left by Nobel Prize-winning Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one of his granddaughters came across a mysterious plastic box with the word “grandchildren” written on its label. Another event, which includes the exhibition Gabriel Garcia Marquez: The Making Of A Global Writer, opened recently in Mexico’s Museum of Modern Art. Forty of the letters are being exhibited now for two months in the colonial house in the southern part of Mexico’s capital where Garcia Marquez lived from the 1980s until his death in 2014. Garcia Marquez is know affectionately in Latin America as Gabo. Garcia Marquez has four grandchildren.

JAKARTA (June 19): Several Malaysian conglomerates are currently in talks to secure mega development projects in Indonesia, estimated to be worth a total of between RM5 billion and RM7 billion. Har Man also urged the Malaysian business community to continue exploring opportunities in Indonesia for their future growth, and to take advantage of the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery. Meanwhile, 15 Malaysian construction services and building materials companies, including engineering consulting services company, SD Associates Sdn Bhd are taking part in the Megabuild Indonesia 2022. The launch of the Malaysia Pavilion also saw the signing of an agreement between SD Associates and the Kikim Area Community Communication Forum. SD Associate has been appointed as the manager of an urban planning project spanning 1,400 square kilometres that will become a new autonomous area, namely Kikim District, South Sumatra Province, Sumatra.

GEORGE TOWN: A 55-year-old man had to endure pain for almost 30mins after both his legs were stuck in an elevator between the first floor and the ground floor. It was learnt that the incident happened at Desa Pinang II flat, Sungai Pinang, Penang in the wee hours of Saturday (June 18). The victim is now reported to be in a safe condition after members from the Jalan Perak Fire and Rescue station took 10mins to remove him using special equipment. When contacted, state Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Moktar said the victim was sent to the hospital and the police would take over the case.

We should be concerned about our own food production. “This initiative will be supported through efforts to consolidate farmland, idle land and waqf land (Islamic endowment land),” he said. While he welcomed the move to increase the land for food production, he said it might not be able to overcome the current food supply issue. “With this incentive mechanism, the state will obtain a certain amount of revenue from the federal level for allocating land for food production. Food security, whether we like it or not is vital for peace and security.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's tourism recovery efforts are showing signs of success with a growing number of direct international and domestic flights into the state. "To date, Sabah has welcomed five direct international flights and we will receive two more direct flights from Incheon, South Korea to Kota Kinabalu next week,” said Joniston. For domestic travels, Kota Kinabalu has direct flights from Kota Bharu, Kuala Terengganu, Penang, Johor Bahru, and Kuala Lumpur. Compiled by the Sabah Tourism Board, the overall estimated figure includes 392,968 domestic tourists and 15,562 international tourists. “On that note, Sabah Tourism Board encourages potential visitors to always use licensed travel agents when booking and arranging a vacation to ensure safety," he said.

And no restaurant has done this quite as successfully as French fine-dining haunt Odette, located at the National Gallery Singapore. Odette has consistently been named one of the world's best restaurants and is now definitively considered the top restaurant in Singapore. Meet Odette’s executive chef Levin Lau and head chef Adam Wan, both Malaysians from humble backgrounds who have worked their way to the top of one of the world’s best restaurants. Odette’s head chef Wan meanwhile grew up in a very down-to-earth home; his father was a carpenter and his mother a tailor. “For me and even for our team in Odette, working together in one of the best restaurants in the world is a dream come true.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 18): Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade cautiously with a downside bias in the upcoming week as global market uncertainty remains on investors' radar, a dealer said. Weekly turnover was higher at 13.95 billion units valued at RM11.06 billion against 11.03 billion units valued at RM7.49 billion last week. Main Market volume widened to 8.34 billion shares worth RM9.84 billion from 6.42 billion shares worth RM6.28 billion in the previous week. Warrants volume went up to 2.64 billion units valued at RM468.76 million versus 1.65 billion units valued at RM291.43 million previously. ACE Market volume strengthened to 2.95 billion shares worth RM745.4 million from 2.94 billion shares worth RM916.51 million the week before.

NEW DELHI (June 18): Malaysia and India have agreed on the mutual recognition of Covid-19 vaccination certificates. Follow our Covid-19 vaccination tracker to see where we are in the race to herd immunity. The ministers agreed to hold the India-Malaysia Joint Commission's next meeting in Malaysia, according to an MEA statement. The bilateral meeting between Saifuddin and Jaishankar was held on the sidelines of the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Jaishankar in a tweet said he discussed with Saifuddin expanding political, economic, defence, energy, consular, cultural and people-to-people relations.

While a lot has changed in the 2½ years of Covid-19, the underlying factors that fuel an increasingly zero-sum strategic competition remain the same. Before the pandemic, the multi-spectrum competition between the US and China drove the global strategic environment, diminishing inclusive multilateral mechanisms. Instead of setting aside differences to deal with a pandemic, the major powers continued their rivalry. We in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific should not make the mistake of thinking we are immune to the ebbs and flows of strategic competition. It provides Malaysia with options and leverage as it continues to hedge between the major powers and gives us the first-mover advantage.