GEORGE TOWN: A 55-year-old man had to endure pain for almost 30mins after both his legs were stuck in an elevator between the first floor and the ground floor. It was learnt that the incident happened at Desa Pinang II flat, Sungai Pinang, Penang in the wee hours of Saturday (June 18). The victim is now reported to be in a safe condition after members from the Jalan Perak Fire and Rescue station took 10mins to remove him using special equipment. When contacted, state Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Moktar said the victim was sent to the hospital and the police would take over the case.

We should be concerned about our own food production. “This initiative will be supported through efforts to consolidate farmland, idle land and waqf land (Islamic endowment land),” he said. While he welcomed the move to increase the land for food production, he said it might not be able to overcome the current food supply issue. “With this incentive mechanism, the state will obtain a certain amount of revenue from the federal level for allocating land for food production. Food security, whether we like it or not is vital for peace and security.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's tourism recovery efforts are showing signs of success with a growing number of direct international and domestic flights into the state. "To date, Sabah has welcomed five direct international flights and we will receive two more direct flights from Incheon, South Korea to Kota Kinabalu next week,” said Joniston. For domestic travels, Kota Kinabalu has direct flights from Kota Bharu, Kuala Terengganu, Penang, Johor Bahru, and Kuala Lumpur. Compiled by the Sabah Tourism Board, the overall estimated figure includes 392,968 domestic tourists and 15,562 international tourists. “On that note, Sabah Tourism Board encourages potential visitors to always use licensed travel agents when booking and arranging a vacation to ensure safety," he said.

And no restaurant has done this quite as successfully as French fine-dining haunt Odette, located at the National Gallery Singapore. Odette has consistently been named one of the world's best restaurants and is now definitively considered the top restaurant in Singapore. Meet Odette’s executive chef Levin Lau and head chef Adam Wan, both Malaysians from humble backgrounds who have worked their way to the top of one of the world’s best restaurants. Odette’s head chef Wan meanwhile grew up in a very down-to-earth home; his father was a carpenter and his mother a tailor. “For me and even for our team in Odette, working together in one of the best restaurants in the world is a dream come true.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 18): Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade cautiously with a downside bias in the upcoming week as global market uncertainty remains on investors' radar, a dealer said. Weekly turnover was higher at 13.95 billion units valued at RM11.06 billion against 11.03 billion units valued at RM7.49 billion last week. Main Market volume widened to 8.34 billion shares worth RM9.84 billion from 6.42 billion shares worth RM6.28 billion in the previous week. Warrants volume went up to 2.64 billion units valued at RM468.76 million versus 1.65 billion units valued at RM291.43 million previously. ACE Market volume strengthened to 2.95 billion shares worth RM745.4 million from 2.94 billion shares worth RM916.51 million the week before.

NEW DELHI (June 18): Malaysia and India have agreed on the mutual recognition of Covid-19 vaccination certificates. Follow our Covid-19 vaccination tracker to see where we are in the race to herd immunity. The ministers agreed to hold the India-Malaysia Joint Commission's next meeting in Malaysia, according to an MEA statement. The bilateral meeting between Saifuddin and Jaishankar was held on the sidelines of the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Jaishankar in a tweet said he discussed with Saifuddin expanding political, economic, defence, energy, consular, cultural and people-to-people relations.

While a lot has changed in the 2½ years of Covid-19, the underlying factors that fuel an increasingly zero-sum strategic competition remain the same. Before the pandemic, the multi-spectrum competition between the US and China drove the global strategic environment, diminishing inclusive multilateral mechanisms. Instead of setting aside differences to deal with a pandemic, the major powers continued their rivalry. We in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific should not make the mistake of thinking we are immune to the ebbs and flows of strategic competition. It provides Malaysia with options and leverage as it continues to hedge between the major powers and gives us the first-mover advantage.

Little did they know how overwhelmed they’d be once travel came roaring back. “All airports and airlines are short staffed at the moment,” said Geoff Culbert, the chief executive officer of Sydney Airport, where almost half the 33,000-strong workforce lost their jobs during Covid. The aerodrome is furiously trying to rebuild, but “we’re not as attractive a place to work as before,” he said. Singapore’s Changi Airport is looking for 6,600 workers, from security to catering staff. “Many people have left the aviation sector during the pandemic and found work elsewhere.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 17): Bursa Malaysia ended the week broadly lower with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declining 1.09% amid market volatility in tandem with the weak regional peers’ performance, a dealer said. Total turnover improved to 3.06 billion units worth RM3.02 billion from 2.48 billion units worth RM1.84 billion on Thursday. Main Market volume widened to 2.21 billion shares worth RM2.83 billion from 1.34 billion shares worth RM1.57 billion on Thursday. Warrants turnover shrank to 482.55 million units valued at RM95.77 million against 605.09 million units valued at RM116.87 million on Thursday. ACE Market volume dwindled to 362.23 million shares worth RM93.03 million from 530.35 million shares worth RM155.84 million previously.

KUALA LUMPUR: TH Plantations Bhd ’s special purpose vehicle, THP Suria Mekar Sdn Bhd (TSM) has completed the lodgement of a sukuk Wakalah programme of up to RM1.08bil in nominal value with the Securities Commission. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, it said The sukuk Wakalah programme allows for the issuance of senior Islamic medium term notes and subordinated perpetual Islamic notes based on the Shariah principle of Wakalah Bi Al-Istithmar to be guaranteed by TH Plantations. It said the programme will have a perpetual tenure and the proceeds raised would be used to finance or refinance TSM’s existing or future Islamic financing, including the outstanding sukuk issued under TSM’s existing Sukuk Murabahah programme of up to RM1.2bil. The proceeds will also be used to finance TH Plantations’s shariah-compliant business operation and for working capital purposes.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 17): UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said his meeting with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on June 7, 2018 concerned UMNO and not purportedly his criminal case. The UMNO president in his reply to Dr Mahathir's defence said he met the former statesman at Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana during the month of Ramadan. "[Dr] Mahathir wanted me, as UMNO president, to disband UMNO and for all UMNO members of parliament (MPs) and assemblymen to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. At the meeting, Dr Mahathir once again wanted me to disband UMNO and for UMNO MPs and assemblymen to join Bersatu. The hearing of the injunction application sought by Ahmad Zahid against Dr Mahathir has been fixed for July 6.

BANGKOK (June 17): Thailand announced on Friday it would abandon its much-criticised pre-registration process for foreign visitors and no longer require face masks to be worn in public, responding to a slower Covid-19 spread. The "Thailand Pass" system, where foreign tourists must seek prior approval from Thai authorities, will be halted from July 1, Tourism Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan told reporters, removing one of the country's last remaining travel curbs. Thailand was visited by nearly 40 million people in 2019, but received less than 1% of that number last year, despite easing its quarantine requirements. The coronavirus task force on Friday also said use of face masks would from next month be voluntary, but advised people to wear them if in crowded settings or if suffering from health conditions. Thailand has suffered more than 30,000 Covid-19 deaths overall, but has largely contained its outbreaks, helped by a vaccination rate of more than 80%.

To commemorate the golden jubilee as a city, the Culture, Arts, Tourism and Sports Department of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has composed a song for Kuala Lumpur. The composition by the department’s Music Unit is titled Kuala Lumpur Untuk Semua (Kuala Lumpur for All) and features three verses and two choruses. It refers to the 2040 vision themed “Kuala Lumpur Bandar Untuk Semua” (Kuala Lumpur – a city for all) and also to DBKL’s efforts to develop Kuala Lumpur into a sustainable, resilient and prosperous city for its 8.2 million population. Music Unit head Dr Isabella Pek said the song marked a milestone for Kuala Lumpur as a city. “In a way, we shouldn’t have only one song to represent 50 years of Kuala Lumpur as a city.

IT has taken more than three decades for former DAP stalwart Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye to break his silence on the reason he took the drastic step of quitting from the party that was his entire political life. In his newly-released memoir, Call Lee Lam Thye – Recalling a Lifetime of Service, the legendary former Member of Parliament for Bukit Bintang wrote of how he endured unbearable internal politics, including relentless allegations. In the end, these unhappy episodes remain in the past, providing students of history and politics with better insight of what transpired in our nation’s political history. Former New Straits Times group editor, the late Datuk Ahmad A. Talib, once wrote that a popular quote among Malay voters in the 1970s was “kalau Lee Lam Thye lawan di Kampung Baru pun dia boleh menang” (if Lee Lam Thye contests in Kampung Baru, a predominantly Malay area, he could still win). But Lee has certainly left a mark in Malaysia’s parliamentary and political history.

Total turnover improved marginally to 2.48 billion units worth RM1.84 billion from 2.43 billion units worth RM1.82 billion on Wednesday. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index put on 191.2 points to 16,359.27, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.47 points higher at 188.82, while the Plantation Index lost 64.43 points to 7,318.07. Main Market volume shrank to 1.34 billion shares worth RM1.57 billion from 1.39 billion shares worth RM1.6 billion on Wednesday. Warrants turnover expanded to 605.09 million units valued at RM116.87 million against 437.06 million units valued at RM77.75 million on Wednesday. ACE Market volume dwindled to 530.35 million shares worth RM155.84 million from 594.64 million shares worth RM141.12 million previously.