Like everyone else, it took me a while to adjust to the new normal while all hoped for the virus to disappear as quickly as it came. Now, as the country is slowly opening up sectors of the economy to balance between life and livelihood, I wonder how a normal life would be as we prepare to treat Covid-19 as endemic. And, of course, the deficiency of checks from the authorities when it comes to verifying who has been fully vaccinated. At least, not until the youngest of our population have some form of protection from this life-changing virus. Yet, I somehow envy parents who are comfortable enough to bring their children out during this period.

TRADERS and shoppers at Pasir Pinji wet market in Ipoh were pleasantly surprised when they received goodies from Ipoh Timur MCA division in conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival. “The atmosphere has been so gloomy and we thought small contributions can brighten up the situation,” he said before distributing the goodies at the market. Trader Teoh Siew Chin, 67, who sold biscuits at the market, said it was nice to receive the goodies during the festive period. “Of course, the SOP must be adhered to by traders to ensure their safety and that of the market- goers,” he added. Khoo also said repairs to the market roof was expected to be completed in a few days’ time.

PUTRAJAYA: Vulnerable groups and youth will be given assistance to own affordable and quality homes, says the Prime Minister. “Housing agenda will remain the main focus of this government, particularly in preparing affordable housing for the Malaysian Family. The Prime Minister relayed other good news to Rumah Ikram programme participants in conjunction with the launch. “After discussing with minister Datuk Seri Reezal and local state authorities, this initiative will now have 2,000 units up for offer, and this will benefit at least 10,000 households. “This is part of our efforts to help our Malaysian Family who are in need.

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will deliver Malaysia’s national statement at the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (Unga) in New York today. His inaugural speech at Unga will be delivered via a pre-recorded video, highlighting the theme “The World is a Family”, and how the Malaysian Family will work together with the “world family” to manage, overcome and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Shahrul Ikram said Ismail Sabri will also reaffirm, among others, the reform of the UN, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Ceasefire. The Prime Minister will also speak on the peaceful coexistence to address the deep-rooted challenges of inequality, political instability and global governance. He said Ismail Sabri had also addressed the UN Food Systems Summit early yesterday (Thursday local time) via a pre-recorded video which highlighted the importance of the food systems to achieve the 2030 SDGs.

Wealth management is a very competitive business and you remain a relatively small player in the region. It is estimated that the market size for wealth management is close to RM40bil and it is forecast to grow by double-digits up to 2025. Coupled with the impact of low interest rates, the demand for wealth management will become continually stronger and that is the fundamental reason why we and a lot of other financial institutions are focusing on wealth management. We also see growth in Islamic wealth management whereby this is more for Malaysia and Indonesia. How important is consumer banking?The consumer banking sector is intertwined with wealth management so on our side, consumer is extremely important.

PETALING JAYA: The new men’s doubles partnership of the Tans – Kian Meng and Wee Kiong are here to stay. One is with my regular partner Lai Pei Jing in the mixed doubles and the other is with Wee Kiong in the men’s doubles,” said Kian Meng. In the mixed doubles, world No. “The longest has been with Pei Jing in mixed doubles and we’ve done well. “It’s not hard to click with Wee Kiong.

The 35-year-old Esther aggravated a knee injury during training on Thursday. The multiple-time world champion will be the third prominent senior to miss the world meet from Nov 6-15 in Dubai. I had to take a five-month break due to my left knee injury just before the Covid-19 situation in 2020,” said Esther. “It all depends on myself really,” added Esther, who has been with the national team for about 18 years since 2004. In her absence, the two seniors left in the team are Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman and Natasha Roslan.

PUTRAJAYA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) must intervene in the vaccine passport issue where certain countries are “discriminatory” against vaccine types, says Khairy Jamaluddin. “By discriminating against the vaccine type, this will defeat the purpose of having the vaccine and administering it to the population. “And I believe that we would like to get WHO to come up with a position on the discrimination of vaccines by certain countries. It has been reported that several countries have started receiving foreign travellers but with conditions, including the type of vaccine they were given. This does not include Sinovac or CanSino vaccines, two types that have been administered to some of the Malaysian population.

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) -- Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd has entered into a share sale agreement with Robust Potential Sdn Bhd for the disposal of 100 per cent equity interest in Hong Seng Priority Management Sdn Bhd (HSPM) for RM34.5 million.Hong Seng said the sale of two million ordinary shares of its hire purchase business will result in an estimated gain of about RM31.20 million.Group managing director Datuk Seri Teoh Hai Hin said the proceeds will mainly be used for working capital purposes for the group’s healthcare and glove businesses which are more sustainable. "We are proud to have built HSPM into a revenue-generating business, however, despite HSPM’s future earnings potential and prospects, the business would require significant working capital requirements in order to crystallise the potential earnings benefits,” he said in a statement. "Therefore, this timely opportunity to dispose at a gain is viewed positively by the group as it allows the group to immediately unlock and realise the value of the investment and assets in HSPM.”HSPM is principally engaged in the business of providing hire purchase financing.On August 16, 2021, it had entered into a collaboration agreement with Sino EV Assembly Sdn Bhd to work together in the business of electric vehicles in Malaysia for a period of five years.

GEORGE TOWN: As part of its ongoing effort to help government hospitals here battle Covid-19, the Penang Crisis Relief Squad of MCA (CRSM) has stepped up to provide them with basic supplies. The six government hospitals in the state that have become designated Covid-19 hospitals received RM4,000 worth of medical and sanitising supplies each. Penang CRSM and MCA Youth handed over the supplies, collected by a collaborative campaign between them, to each hospital recently. "Our CRSM headquarters has been in touch with hospitals treating Covid-19 patients all over Malaysia since the beginning of the pandemic. GoCare Donation Crowd Funding is an initiative by CRSM to help underprivileged individuals and groups through charity fundraising from the public.

The Kota Kinabalu Heritage Walk provides some interesting insights into the city. The area was closed for several months for renovations in 2015, and subsequently gazetted by the Sabah State Heritage Council under the State Heritage Enactment 2017 on Feb 23, 2018, according to wander.am. It was also gazetted by the Sabah State Heritage Council under the State Heritage Enactment 2017. Today, the monument stands in front of Kota Kinabalu City Hall, according to dbpedia.org. 7 Kota Kinabalu City HallKota Kinabalu City Hall is the local authority that administers the city and district of Kota Kinabalu.

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24): The move by Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Taiyo Yuden Co Ltd’s subsidiary Taiyo Yuden (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd to expand its multilayer ceramic capacitor manufacturing facility in Kuching is a testament to Malaysia being a preferred hub for global manufacturers. In a statement, he said the major investment bodes well for the National Investment Aspirations (NIA), which aim to ensure that Malaysia stays at the forefront as a global hub for quality investments. Mohamed Azmin said Taiyo Yuden’s expansion is the culmination of a series of active and substantive engagements which began during the trade and investment mission (TIM) to Japan in April 2021. Since 1980, Japan has been the largest foreign investor in terms of implemented projects in Malaysia, with total investments of RM91.4 billion. Going forward, Mohamed Azmin said Malaysia is confident that foreign direct investment (FDI) will continue to flow into the country in spite of the challenging global economic landscape as the government continues to implement initiatives to enhance the business environment and investors’ confidence.

The open concept, where companies emphasise a communal work environment with shared workspaces, have become popular, especially among tech start-ups. Many companies have implemented work rotation teams, with half of their employees working at the office and the remaining, from home. Post-pandemic, companies need to decide whether everyone needs to be back in the office or to introduce hybrid working arrangements. In general, the panellists agreed that leaders need to evolve and move away from traditional approaches. Leaders need to find ways to keep team members motivated and productive, while delivering quality services and products that continue to enlighten customers.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24): Bursa Malaysia opened marginally higher today amidst better Wall Street performance overnight. At 9.05 am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched up 0.54 of-a-point to 1,539.88, from Thursday’s close of 1,539.34. It opened 3.06 points higher at 1,542.40. “The construction sector is poised for some limelight as construction activities gather pace, while the technology sector may trade higher, tracking the gains on Nasdaq overnight,” the brokerage said. Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.51 of-a-point to 200.36, the Plantation Index slipped 11.35 points to 6,335.58 and the Financial Services Index eased 6.32 points to 15,265.04.