Day: May 3, 2024

GEORGE TOWN: Penang expects to achieve zero hardcore poverty status by the end of this month as a result of the Federal government’s efforts and initiatives in organising various programmes, including establishing strategic collaboration between agencies.

Penang Bumiputera Participation Coordination Division (BPPBPP), Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) director Dr Syaharudin Shah Mohd Noor said that based on its data, 4,949 people were recorded in the hardcore poor category as of Jan 31.

“But, as a result of all the mitigation programmes being carried out, the total was reduced to 117 people as of April 24. We continued to see positive development and the number is now down to 45 people.

“We expect Penang and two other northern states, Perak and Perlis, to achieve zero hardcore poor status by the end of May,’ he told Bernama after moderating the panel session on “Wacana Sifar Miskin Tegar: Kitaran dan Dimensi’ (Zero Hardcore Poverty Discourse: Cycles and Dimensions) organised by the ICU of the Prime Mi
nister’s Department today.

The panel session is one of the programmes held in conjunction with the 2024 Northern Zone MADANI Rakyat Programme at the Tapak Pesta Sungai Nibong near here.

Earlier, while summarising the panel session, Syaharudin Shah said the government’s effort to eradicate hardcore poor was not something rhetorical but rather something that could be implemented with systematic collaboration and coordination.

He said various mitigation measures, including strategic collaboration between agencies, were aimed at minimising data leakage or extreme duplication when distributing aid to the needy.

Commenting on the strategic collaboration between agencies, Social Security Organisation (Perkeso) Synergy Division head Rahmat Ismail, a panellist at the same session, said the Social Synergy programme managed by the agency was an initiative based on strategic collaboration between related agencies to create a more comprehensive social security ecosystem.

He said that, for example, Perkeso will use da
ily road accident data channelled by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to identify if any contributor was involved in any accidents, especially fatal ones.

He added that this was to facilitate the process of providing aid to the next of kin of contributors involved in fatal accidents, such as funeral arrangements that need to be made immediately.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR: May 3 — The newly appointed board of directors of Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) will convene a meeting next Tuesday to look into the due diligence report regarding the 5G share sale agreement (SSA), before making any recommendations on the directions of the second 5G network soon to be established, said Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

“There is this whole process of due diligence that has been done, it is (now) for them to study the report that is put forward, and for them to decide the direction things will take after this.

“The time frame that is set, I believe, is 20 days for them to come back after looking at the due diligence report. We will take it one step at a time,” Gobind said after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between DNB and Ericsson with enterprise partners to advance 5G for enterprises at DNB’s headquarters here today.

The minister highlighted that the directors will have a look and examine the due diligence report on the SSA before coming up with rec
ommendations on the way forward after the period of 20 days.

The new board members of DNB include CelcomDigi’s (Infranation Sdn Bhd) Datuk Kamal Khalid; Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd’s Uthaya Kumar K Vivekananda; U Mobile Sdn Bhd’s Chang Yit Fei and Tan Kok Leong; Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s Nik Azli Abu Zahar and Mohamed Tajul Mohamed Sultan; and YTL Power International Bhd’s Datuk Seri Yeoh Seok Hong and Datuk Dr Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek.

The new members will be joining the other two incumbent members Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican and Ma Sivanesan Marimuthu.

According to Gobind, the government’s position is clear that the second 5G network would be introduced after certain pre-conditions of the SSA between mobile network operators and DNB have been met.

“The latest pre-condition that has been met was the appointment of the directors, which was done last week, and of course the next step is for them to have the meeting,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SEREMBAN, The Negeri Sembilan branch of the Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia (SKMNS) is targeting more cooperatives in the state to be included in the country’s Top 100 list this year to enjoy the various advantages and incentives.

Its director, Shahrizan Rosli said currently only one cooperative is in the list and this is Koperasi Peserta-Peserta Rancangan Felcra Gugusan Kerangai Penagoh Bhd which was ranked 50th last year, with an annual income of RM27.5 million.

‘We want at least two cooperatives to be listed, and if three, then it will be a bonus. We want to ensure that there will be many advantages for cooperatives when they enter the Top 100 list, for example financing has a special rate, and other matters will be easy to manage as well as will receive good support and so on,’ he told reporters after officiating ‘Program Peningkatan Imej SKM bersama Pegawai Perhubungan Awam Jabatan Kerajaan’ here today.

‘The assessment also looks at the financial and non-financial aspects as well as obtaining com
pliance with existing statues including the auditing of financial statements and implementation of the annual general meeting.’

He said the programme is aimed at promoting SKM’s role and services as a regulatory body for cooperatives, in addition to providing exposure to education especially cooperative governance.

Meanwhile, Shahrizan also said the state has a total of 780 registered cooperatives, with nearly 200,000 members whereas the total number of accumulated shares is worth RM123 million with assets worth RM400 million and a total turnover of RM190 million.

‘Over 70 per cent of cooperatives in the state carry out consumer, service and agricultural activities, including school cooperatives. This sector is seen to have huge potential to be developed and is the best platform to increase the income and socioeconomic levels of the community,’ he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KAJANG, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim performed Friday prayers with the people at the Kampung Sungai Merab Mosque here today.

Anwar, who arrived at the mosque at 1.30 pm, was greeted by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar and the mosque management as well as the congregation.

Anwar and about 1,000 other congregants then listened to a sermon titled ‘Takwa dan Pekerjaan’ delivered by the mosque’s Imam 1, Wan Mohd Firdaus Wan Hassan.

The sermon, among others, urged Muslims to always strengthen their faith in Allah in carrying out worldly matters and to always be far-sighted in work, including maintaining trust and integrity.

The sermon also reminded the congregation to stay away from acts of immorality and evil that can cause damage and destruction to oneself, family and society.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The Kingdom of Cambodia through her Permanent Mission to the United Nations has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after more than six months into the war, leaving unimaginable innocent death toll and suffering.

At the 75th Plenary meeting under Use of the veto – Item 63: Special report of the Security Council in New York on May 1, H.E. Mao Tithiarun, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative, Chargé d’affaires, a.i, of Cambodia to the United Nations, said the Kingdom acknowledges the five Resolutions, two adopted by the emergency special session of the General Assembly and three adopted by the Security Council; the most recent one is Resolution 2728 (2024). Getting these resolutions was hard work, but the most important thing is to expedite the implementation.

In this sense, he continued, Cambodia calls upon all relevant parties to the conflict to strictly implement these resolutions in order to save people’s lives and achieve a ceasefire, especially to prevent spillover in the region.

H.E.
Mao Tithiarun added that it is high time to seek and address the root causes of the Palestine-Israel conflict so that the two nations can live in harmony. Cambodia fully supports all parties involved in exercising utmost restraint, engaging in constructive dialogue, and resolving their conflicts through diplomacy and peaceful means to end the humanitarian crisis and achieve permanent peace.

‘Cambodia emphasises the significance of upholding the principles of the two-state solution. Despite the current non-adoption of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution, Cambodia acknowledges its responsibility in granting full membership to the State of Palestine. This development not only benefits both nations and their peoples but also contributes to peaceful coexistence and progress in the entire region,’ he underlined.

The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the United Nations once again urged all sides to reach a ceasefire without further delay in order to allow humanitarian access for the
delivery of essential aid to those in need, and joined others in calling for the unconditional release of all hostages.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse