Day: July 1, 2024

This piece is written by Ouyang Yujing, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia, following the recent official visit by His Excellency Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, from 18th to 20th June 2024, in honour of the 50th-anniversary celebrations of China-Malaysia diplomatic relations.

KUALA LUMPUR, Recently, Premier Li Qiang successfully concluded his official visit to Malaysia, marking the China-Malaysia 50th anniversary celebrations and promoting the development of China-Malaysia relations to a higher level.

China and Malaysia will continue to develop bilateral relations as a priority in their respective foreign policy. Both sides will take the 50th anniversary as a good opportunity to accelerate the building of the China-Malaysia Community with a Shared Future.

As an important achievement, a strategic, forward-looking and detailed ‘Joint Statement on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership towards China-
Malaysia Community with a Shared Future’ was issued by the two governments on June 20, which is a good reflection of the comprehensive consensus achieved by both sides in many fields of cooperation.

Malaysia highly commends the concepts put forward by China’s President Xi Jinping which include building the Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Principle of Amity, Sincerity, Mutual Benefit and Inclusiveness in Neighbourhood Diplomacy, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilisation Initiative.

In the same way, China gives full support to the fundamental principles of “Malaysia MADANI”. Malaysia reiterates its firm commitment to the One China Policy and recognises that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China.

China and Malaysia have agreed to further synergise development strategies of both countries to inject new impetus into building the China-Malaysia Community with a Shared Futur
e.

We will continue to further synergise the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ and the ‘Madani Economy Framework’, keep strengthening cooperation in trade, investment and infrastructure connectivity between the two countries and continue to work closely to promote key projects such as the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project and the ‘Two Countries, Twin Parks’, so as to bring more benefits to the peoples of both countries.

This visit has seen 14 cooperation documents signed and exchanged between the two governments covering the areas of digital economy, green development, science and technology, etc.

Both sides will take full advantage of these great opportunities to further develop new quality productive forces and unleash the great potential in emerging industries.

Malaysia welcomes China’s application to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and China appreciates Malaysia providing open and fair opportunities for Chinese enterprises to participate in Malaysia’s 5G ne
twork construction.

China welcomes Malaysia to export more high-quality agricultural products to China. When the news ‘fresh durian can be exported to China’ was released, it soon became a glaring headline in both countries’ major media, bringing great joy to both business and ordinary people of the two countries.

China and Malaysia have agreed to further promote humanity exchanges to consolidate the people-to-people bond underpinning the building of a China-Malaysia Community with a Shared Future. China will extend visa exemption to Malaysian citizens till the end of 2025 and Malaysia will do the same to Chinese citizens till the end of 2026.

China and Malaysia will continue consultation and discussion on mutual visa exemption to further facilitate people exchange. Giant pandas are China-Malaysia friendship ambassadors who are deeply adored and loved by both peoples.

Now, the two countries have confirmed to conduct a new round of panda protection joint research. China and Malaysia have agreed to jointly
nominate the lion dance to be included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity to better preserve and highlight this common heritage.

China and Malaysia have also agreed to reinforce coordination in a multilateral arena to enrich the China-Malaysia Community with a Shared Future with more international significance. Malaysia will become the Country Coordinator for China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations this July and assume the ASEAN chairmanship next year.

China will work together with Malaysia to jointly build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. With the South China Sea being our common home, China and Malaysia will launch a bilateral dialogue on the management of maritime issues to reinforce maritime cooperation, at the same time, continue to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.

The two sides have also expressed full support for the resumption of the political settlement process of the Palestinian question on the basis of the two-s
tate solution, and will jointly promote a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of this issue.

At this new historical starting point, China and Malaysia will work closely together to progress steadily and fast on the way to modernisation under the guidance of leaders of both countries and jointly turn the next 50 years into another golden era in China-Malaysia relations’ history!

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will ensure that 2023 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) holders who scored 10As and above but failed to enter into matriculation and foundation programmes at public universities are given a place to further their studies.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and Ministry of Education (MOE) will work together to identify the students.

‘They might not secure a place in matriculation, but they can still enter foundation programmes at public universities. I think now is the adjustment period…whether they get both offers or scholarships. They must choose one.

‘We believe we have no issues in facilitating students who scored 10As and above as there are sufficient places in university foundation programmes and matriculation to accommodate them,’ he told reporters after the Concorde Club meeting, here today.

Concorde Club is an informal gathering of senior editors and journalists with politicians and key policymakers. The
Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chairman and Star Media Group adviser Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai was also present.

Results for MOE’s matriculation and public university foundation programmes under MOHE for 2023 SPM candidates were announced on June 20 and June 28, respectively.

Those who obtained 10As and above or scored all As but did not receive any offer from both programmes can submit an appeal.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that all 2023 SPM holders who scored 10As and above would be guaranteed a spot in any matriculation programme, regardless of race or region, starting this year. The Cabinet made the decision on Friday.

Zambry said it was part of the government’s efforts to ensure equal opportunities and recognise excellent students, reminding all parties not to politicise the decision.

‘The Bumiputera quota is not affected, but at the same time, those who scored 10As and above will get a spot. We can allocate to all, so there is no issue of the Bumiputra quot
a being reduced,’ he said.

Today, Anwar assured that the government will maintain the Bumiputera quota for SPM holders to continue their studies at the matriculation level as enshrined in Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, which involves the special position of Malays and Bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR: The process of exporting fresh durians to China, achieving zero hardcore poverty, and the construction of ‘Waste to Energy’ plants are among the issues that will be focused on during the Dewan Rakyat session today.

According to the Order Paper on the Parliament portal, these questions will be raised during the oral question-and-answer session.

Chow Yu Hui (PH-Raub) will ask the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security to state the government’s efforts to expedite the process of exporting fresh durians to China and provide a timeline for when the export can begin.

He will also inquire about the constraints or problems faced by the ministry in the process and the solutions to overcome these challenges.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN-Pasir Mas) will question the Minister of Economy about the next state targeted by the government to achieve zero hardcore poverty and its action plan.

Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru) will ask the Minister of Housing and Local Government about the list of 18 loca
tions where ‘Waste to Energy’ plants will be built nationwide, including in Penang.

Datuk Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang) will ask the Minister of Human Resources to state the number of occupational safety and health (OSH) accidents recorded and the latest approaches taken to raise awareness about OSH among employers, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Apart from that, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein (BN-Sembrong) will ask the Minister of Economy to what extent Malaysia’s inflation rate for Q1 of 2024 at 1.8 per cent reflected the economic reality and the increasing cost of living faced by the majority of people and consumers.

After the session, the Dewan Rakyat will continue with the debate on the Annual Reports and Financial Statements of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) for the Years 2021 and 2022.

Also listed on the Order Paper today is the second reading of the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the Audit (Amendment) Bill 2024, as well as the continuati
on of the debate on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024.

The Second Meeting of the Third Session of the 15th Parliament will run for 15 days until July 18.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR: Sapura Energy Bhd said it has been ‘advancing its plan’ to regularise its financial position since being classified as a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company and given time extension to come up with the plan.

The financially troubled company has been given a six-month extension, up to Nov 30, 2024, from Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd to submit its regularisation plan. It said today’s status update is part of the listing requirements of the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

‘The company, together with its advisors, will continue to actively develop the plan to ensure that the plan is sufficiently robust to address its business and financial conditions. The company will make the necessary announcements should there be any further material developments on the above matter,’ it said in a stock exchange filing.

At 3.02 pm, the company’s shares were flat at four sen with 2.31 million shares traded.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

NEW YORK and LONDON and SINGAPORE, Today, Global SWF published the 5th edition of its GSR (Governance, Sustainability, and Resilience) Scoreboard, which has become the measuring stick of best practices among State-Owned Investors. The report is publicly available on www.globalswf.com/reports/2024gsr

The annual exercise analyzes the world’s 200 largest Sovereign Wealth Funds and Public Pension Funds, which manage US$ 27.5 trillion on behalf of 80 countries. The assessment is based on 25 different elements that are answered binarily based on public information only. This year saw the following results:

Source: BERNAMA News Agency