Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: The majority of the 22,000 contract medical officers who received letters upgrading them from UD41 to UD43 over the last week will not receive a pay raise because their current pay exceeds the new scale’s starting pay. Several doctors claimed that their basic pay is currently RM3,622, while the starting salary for the UD43 grade is RM3,611. “Only …

PETALING JAYA: Attorney-General Idrus Harun and his predecessor Tommy Thomas have been questioned about why PPBM cases against ex-Umno MPs over 1MDB-related funds were dropped. Following a meeting with Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki and other senior officials, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim made the announcement. Anwar said he asked Azam why the cases against the MPs were dropped, …

PETALING JAYA: To kickstart the medical tourism industry, the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia has urged the government to make preparations for the creation of vaccine passports for those who have been immunised against Covid-19. Dr. Kuljit Singh, the organization’s president, stated that this should not only apply to those who have been vaccinated, but also to those who have …

PETALING JAYA: An Umno leader has dismissed a pundit’s claim that cooperating with Pakatan Harapan (PH) will benefit his party, claiming that if the relationship materializes, Malay voters will abandon Umno. Mohd Razlan Rafii, a member of the Umno Supreme Council, said his party needed to think about the interests of his race and country, not just political gains. He …

KUALA LUMPUR: As of March 5, the government had approved 7,072 applications totaling RM1.334 billion in loans under the national economic recovery plan’s (Penjana) small and medium enterprise (SME) finance scheme, up from RM1.315 billion a week earlier. The total allocation of RM2 billion under the scheme, according to Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, prioritized SMEs that had not …

ALOR SETAR: As part of 12 resolutions passed by the state chapter at its convention here today, the Kedah DAP asked the state government and local councils to halt the clearing of non-Muslim places of worship. The resolution was passed, according to state DAP chief Tan Kok Yew, because a third Hindu temple is set to be destroyed, this time …

PETALING JAYA: The political party MUDA has introduced a website where members of the public can report ministers and VIPs who break MCO regulations. According to its pro tem secretary-general, Amir Hariri Abdul Hadi, there seemed to be a double standard in the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs), as news reports regularly showed penalties being given to the general …

PETALING JAYA: The government has been asked by Klang MP Charles Santiago to clarify its relations with Goldman Sachs on issues arising from the 1MDB scandal. In response to allegations that the US government was working with Goldman Sachs to prevent evidence related to the scandal from being provided to former Prime Minister Najib Razak, he said Putrajaya had a …

KUALA LUMPUR: Effective tomorrow, mosques and suraus in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan will hold full-capacity prayers on their premises, with a 1.5m physical separation. The new ruling was made after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah gave his permission, according to Mohd Ajib Ismail, director of the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (JAWI). Friday prayers at …

PETALING JAYA: DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng said today that the government’s new RM20 billion economic recovery plan was insufficient to lift the country out of recession. He said that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s new Pemerkasa stimulus package, which included just RM11 billion in fiscal injections compared to previous stimulus packages, was insufficient. This 50% discount or pay RM5,000 within …