As the world is struggling with the rising cost of living, global activism against questionable distribution of income and wealth is gaining momentum. Poverty remains a problem of many nations, hence it is a priority of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty in all its forms everywhere. The number of poor households increased to 639,800 households in 2020, compared with 405,400 in 2019. Can we not call the privileged minority with excessive income and extreme wealth to help more in eradicating poverty? Apart from the emoluments, we noted a significant increase in development expenditure for health social services from RM4 billion (2020) to RM8.7 billion (2021).

Fahmi, in a Facebook post, said it was believed that among those not present were Lahad Datu MP Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi, Tambun MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, Marang MP Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, Bukit Gantang MP Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal, Kuala Pilah MP Datuk Eddin Syazlee Shith and Mas Gading MP Mordi Bimol. The anti-hopping Bill was passed in Parliament after it was voted in support by 209 MPs while 11 MPs were absent. The Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2022 was tabled for the first reading during a special one-day Dewan Rakyat sitting on April 11. On Wednesday (July 27), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob tabled the Bill for the second reading. MPs who are sacked from political parties will not lose their seats.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 20.49 points, or 1.39%, to 1,491.2 from Wednesday’s close of 1,470.71. Total turnover increased to 2.83 billion units worth RM1.81 billion from 2.19 billion units worth RM1.36 billion on Wednesday. Sector-wise, the Plantation Index strengthened 93.96 points to 6,940.26, the Financial Services Index rose 107.38 points to 16,663.4, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 5.12 points higher at 183.66, and the Energy Index edged up 21.41 points to 666.61. Main Market volume expanded to 2.06 billion shares worth RM1.59 billion against 1.56 billion shares worth RM1.19 billion on Wednesday. ACE Market volume swelled to 489.09 million shares worth RM169.77 million from 390.66 million shares worth RM125.68 million previously.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing on Thursday (July 28), Unisem said revenue for the quarter rose 15.4% to RM464.06 million from RM402.23 million a year prior. Earnings per share jumped to 12.76 sen from 3.4 sen.Unisem declared an interim dividend of two sen per share to be paid on Aug 25. For the six months ended June 30, Unisem’s net profit jumped 156.4% to RM256.55 million versus RM100.05 million on the back of a 14.5% increase in revenue to RM888.51 million against RM776.17 million previously. “The directors expect the performance of the group to be satisfactory for the next financial quarter,” it said. At the midday break on Thursday, Unisem rose 3.56% or nine sen to RM2.62 with 672,000 shares traded.

Compiled by BENJAMIN LEE, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHANA MARRIED man was caught in a hotel room with a woman he had just met through a social media platform, Berita Harian reported. Enforcement officer Anwar Shariffudin Mat Saad said the pair was caught for committing khalwat (close proximity). > Utusan Malaysia reported that a 55-year-old man died and five others were injured in a car accident involving two vehicles near Kampung Tajin in Kuala Berang, Terengganu, on Tuesday. The victim, Mohd Ruzaini Daraman, died at the scene while his wife and grandchild suffered injuries to the face and right leg respectively. “The driver and two passengers in the other car suffered injuries on their heads and arms, but a six-year-old passenger escaped unhurt,” he added.

Economic forecasting is a highly uncertain activity that aims to identify the future direction of key variables in the economic and financial system to help make decisions on policy setting, investments and business planning. Good economic forecasting becomes particularly necessary when there is an economic shock and a degree of uncertainty such as we have seen — and are seeing — in the current scenario. Where we move closer to the target, we see that the different forecasts tend to converge progressively towards the final value. These forecasts can come from financial institutions, policy institutions, academic forecasters or government and semi-government agencies. It also may overlook the changing context in which economic and financial decisions are being made if the economic structure has changed.

However, total turnover declined to 2.19 billion units worth RM1.36 billion from 2.41 billion units worth RM1.22 billion on Tuesday. Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.14 points firmer at 178.54, the Financial Services Index improved 70 points to 16,556.02, the Energy Index increased by 4.12 points to 645.2, but the Plantation Index declined 3.46 points to 6,846.3. Main Market volume fell to 1.56 billion shares worth RM1.19 billion against 1.63 billion shares worth RM1.02 billion on Tuesday. Warrants turnover shrank to 233.12 million units valued at RM49.73 million versus 369.48 million units valued at RM66.36 million on Tuesday. ACE Market volume decreased to 390.66 million shares worth RM125.68 million from 409.45 million shares worth RM135.7 million previously.

It is not so much a question of “yes” or “no” to state interventionism in national economy building but how well a state manages national economy building, societal building and citizen empowerment within powerful global dynamics, all at the same time. A national education system in the old format is out of sync with the accelerated learning processes that are now available in global education. Looking back, Malaysian nation-building was a process of blind centralisation, stimulated by the notion that building Malaysia meant making its population as uniform as possible in their experience of governmental power. A reset for Malaysia, to be serious and substantive, must thus see at least three things coming to pass. First is a shift in national narrative from nation-building (meaning centralisation) to federation-building (meaning strong state governments more easily answerable to the voting public).

(pic)He said in 2021, Johor’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.4% to RM131.1bil compared with RM128bil in 2020. “Johor’s main export goods are refined petroleum products (21.9%), integrated electronic circuits (13.6%) and other electrical and electronic products (7.2%),” he said. Meanwhile, he said based on the 2020 Malaysian Census, Johor recorded a population of 4.01 million people with a population growth rate of 2.2% from 2010 to 2020. The total composition of the young generation or youth aged 15 to 40 years is almost half of the total population of Johor which is 45.1%. “The majority of the young people are in Johor Baru district which is 41% followed by Batu Pahat district with 12.7%,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): Local drone tech company Meraque Services Sdn Bhd has partnered Malaysia Debt Ventures Bhd (MDV) to facilitate its growth operations and expansion in Malaysia and the ASEAN region. In a statement, it said the collaboration will focus on the agriculture, plantation, infrastructure and telecommunication sectors via MDV’s specialised financing facility. "As such, MDV is consistently working to increase its financing support for high potential technology start-ups such as Meraque to ensure their growth and to enable them to reach their maximum potential," he said. Meanwhile, Meraque Chief Executive Officer Md Razalee Ismail said the potential financing from MDV will be instrumental in Meraque’s effort to increase its drone production to at least 100 drones a year, scaling its operations globally and tripling its revenue in the next three years. “Meraque developed the first Malaysian hybrid spraying drone in 2020 for the purpose of spraying pesticides and fertilisers in local plantation fields," he said.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Tuesday (July 26) on persistent profit-taking and lack of market catalysts, a dealer said. At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 5.53 points or 0.38% to 1,463.69 from Monday’s close of 1,469.22. Total turnover widened to 2.41 billion units worth RM1.22 billion from 2.01 billion units worth RM1.12 billion on Monday. Main Market volume improved to 1.63 billion shares worth RM1.02 billion against 1.46 billion shares worth RM1.00 billion on Monday. ACE Market volume increased to 409.45 million shares worth RM135.7 million from 279.55 million shares worth RM75.54 million previously.

PETALING JAYA: A 24-year-old food delivery rider decided to put his work aside to help a senior citizen go home. Muhammad Khuzaimie Lemat met an elderly woman who was lost on his way to work. In a TikTok video that went viral on the Internet, he said the woman stopped him and asked for his help to send her back home. "I wanted to go to work this morning, but this aunty stopped me and asked for my help to send her back home. Speaking further about her experience, Mohammad Khuzaimie said the senior citizen seemed happy to be able to ride a motorcycle.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): Law firm Shafee & Co has been discharged from representing former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his final appeal in the SRC International Sdn Bhd graft case. In a letter to the court sighted by The Edge, the firm said that it will be replaced by law firm Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew and Partners. On a related note, the High Court on July 21 rejected the former premier's application to have Queen's Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw represent him in his appeal. The Court of Appeal on Dec 8, 2021 upheld the High Court's decision. Read also:Hisyam Teh appointed as Najib’s lead counsel in final SRC appealNajib says new legal team will bring fresh perspectives

Actress Angelina Jolie has won a legal battle against ex-husband Brad Pitt over the French winery where they got married in 2014. In October 2021, Jolie, 47, sold her stake in the winery to a subsidiary of liquor giant Stoli Group, known for its vodka. This triggered lawsuits in the United States, France and Luxembourg between Pitt, Jolie and their various business partners. In the latest battle, her legal team subpoenaed documents from Pitt, his business manager and his company, Mondo Bongo, which they fought to deny. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie split up in 2016 and their divorce was finalised in 2019.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), which reported intermittent slowness on its MAE and M2U MY apps earlier on Monday (July 25), said all of the group's services are now back to normal and that customers may perform their banking transactions across all Maybank platforms. "Kindly be informed that all our services are back to normal and you may perform your banking transactions across our platforms. We thank you for your continued patience and support," Maybank said in an updated Facebook post on Monday. Earlier on Monday, Maybank told customers to perform their banking transactions on the Maybank2u website due to the intermittent slowness on the group's MAE and M2U MY apps. Maybank's latest-reported number of issued shares stood at 11.97 billion, according to Maybank's Bursa Malaysia filing on April 15, 2022.