Geo Politics

KUALA LUMPUR: As Putrajaya launches its immunisation program at the end of February, foreigners residing in Malaysia can receive the COVID-19 vaccine for free. Malaysia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Committee emphasized in a media statement released on Thursday (Feb 11) that Malaysians would be prioritized to receive the vaccination doses, but maintained that the decision to include foreigners is …

It is unexpected that the Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi paid a visit to Jordan to discuss efforts to improve bilateral cooperation between the two nations, especially in the economic sphere. During the visit, the foreign minister was joined by the managers of the Indonesian state-owned fertilizer industry firms. Phosphate is one of the main elements of Indonesia and Jordan’s …

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to foster greater cooperation, especially in boosting economic opportunities, as both countries are focused on a strong and resilient economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic situation. In a statement today, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said its Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and United Arab Emirates (UAE) …

KUALA LUMPUR – Despite a United Nations study showing that it experienced the worst decline in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country last year, Malaysia has said it remains attractive to investors. On Monday (Feb 8), the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) insisted that trust in foreign investors remained strong despite the study in The Straits Times on Feb …

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that a gazetted order allowing ministers to forgo the compulsory 10-day Covid-19 quarantine upon returning from official trips abroad could result in them importing new variants of the coronavirus into Malaysia. The Pekan MP noted on Facebook that the average incubation time before infection with Covid-19 …

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — If these lead to the neglect of minority groups, racial considerations in national policies would hamper the growth of the country, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said. The former two-time prime minister said in an interview with Free Malaysia Today (FMT) that the government must recognize the multiracial fabric of Malaysia and factor …

PETALING JAYA: Unemployment rates among low-income urban households in Malaysia doubled in the Klang Valley during the conditional lockdown implemented last year, says a report by Unicef, the United Nations children’s fund. A survey of 500 households in Kuala Lumpur’s low-cost flats showed that unemployment had risen from 7% in September to 15% in December, with one in three unemployed …

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — After fleeing a refugee camp in neighboring Indonesia, dozens of Rohingya, mostly women, and children, were captured as they arrived by boat in Malaysia last month, police said Friday. Last year, after risky journeys, nearly 400 members of the persecuted Muslim community from Myanmar arrived in Indonesia by sea, and just over 100 now remain in a camp …

It’s a good move for the Ministry of Finance as it plans to reconsider the eligibility conditions for obtaining financial assistance under the Rao Chana (We Win) system which stipulates that a taxable income of no more than 300,000 baht per year should be available to recipients. The We Win program that was approved in January, aims to provide 31 …

PETALING JAYA: An MP says the “highest ever” trade surplus recorded last year by the country is nothing to be proud of as it is a product of a very poor domestic economy. MP Ong Kian Ming from Bangi also said that this year the domestic economy is likely to remain lacklustre. Earlier, Senior Economy Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali reported …