KUCHING (May 14): Malaysia's tourism sector is currently facing a shortage of about 15,000 to 20,000 workers, said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri. However, she noted that the problem of labour shortage is not only faced by the tourism sector but also involves all other industries in the country. According to her, the government is now trying to address the issue, including by bringing in workers from abroad. "My ministry has relayed this matter (the problem of the shortage of workers) to the Cabinet and the government has given approval to bring in workers from abroad. Commenting further, Nancy said to address the shortage of workers, she also suggested that employers hire local workers.

After a boom that has lasted for nearly 15 years, the tech industry is in retrenchment mode. Tech employees who were once encouraged to bring their whole selves to work are publicly mocked as woke crybabies by venture capitalists who see Musk as the leader of a righteous cleanse. Sacks also suggested that Twitter’s failings were not caused by its former CEO Jack Dorsey, but by Dorsey’s overly coddled employees. Moreover, while tech valuations are way down, it’s not at all clear that employees have lost their leverage. It’s become commonplace to attribute the provocations of tech venture capitalists, especially those egging on Musk, to a sense of misplaced self-pity.

ANKARA: World leaders on Friday (May 13) extended condolences on the demise of United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa Zayed Al Nahyan, reports Anadolu Agency. Sheikh Khalifa was buried at the Al-Batin Cemetery in Abu Dhabi after the funeral prayer on Friday. "Sheikh Khalifa Zayed Al Nahyan has shown impressive leadership and provided safety and security to the whole region. Leaders of Bahrain, Oman, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Algeria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen in separate statements also extended their condolences to the family of the late UAE president. "Sheikh Khalifa led the UAE since 2004, succeeding his father, His Highness Sheikh Zayed Sultan Al Nahyan, the country’s founder.

To recap, business risk encompasses risk associated with compliance risk, operational risk and strategic risk. This includes human resources/labour risk, information technology and cybersecurity risk, safety risk, environmental risk and risk related to product/services offered by a company, and quality risk. Under the strategic risk, this may include political risk, regulatory risk, culture risk, currency risk and even country risk. When one is referring to financial risk, the risk here relates to market risk, credit risk and liquidity risk as well as cost controls, while hazard risk encompasses risk related to corruption, fraud, misconduct, litigation risk, property or fire risk as well as morale and reputation risk. This among others include all the financial risk factors, and some of the risk factors defined in the ERM framework under the business risk and hazard risk, which include political, country, catastrophic, property and fire risk, litigation risk as well as moral and reputation risk.

MEDALS will be hard to come by for our swimmers as Vietnam and Singapore are expected to lock horns to see who will rule the pool. Hoe Yean has a shot at winning the 200m backstroke as he had clocked the fastest time this year. The Kuala Lumpur lad is ranked third and second fastest for the 200m (1:48.77) and 400m (3:50.52). But currently the Sarawakian is only ranked fifth and sixth fastest for the 200m (1:49.24) and 400m (3:57.88). In the 50m breaststroke, Jinq En has the fastest time (31.40) ahead of Thailand’s Jenjira Srisa-Ard (31.41).

Hafiz had an additional RM1 million compound imposed on him for falsifying the accounting records of a Serba Dinamik subsidiary. He disposed of 9.9 million shares, or a 0.267% stake, at 10 sen each in the open market. Goh and Chin bought 160 million shares each from Pacific Carriers Ltd, an entity controlled by tycoon Robert Kuok, last month. The 320 million shares in total is equivalent to a 32% stake. Despite his exit from the board of the lingerie maker, Ng still owns a 16.96% stake (43.79 million shares), and a 7.04% indirect stake (18.19 million shares).

I didn’t recognize the person,” said a friend who saw the complainant in person the next day. The roommate testified that the complainant showed her significant bruising on her pelvic region and legs. Hoggard’s defence lawyer, Kally Ho, said the friend also told police the complainant was a bit embarrassed and had mixed emotions. She said she didn’t know the specific words used but that the complainant told Hoggard he forced her to do sexual acts. She said she never intended to have sex with Hoggard that day and thought they’d be having lunch in downtown Toronto.

GEORGE TOWN: A job scam victim now trapped in Myanmar got in touch with Jelutong MCA and alleged a sordid tale of misery. The victim claimed he was now in a tightly guarded area where reluctant trafficked people were forced to call prospective victims from around the world. "We believe the victims are in the Mamwadi area where the Myanmar government is not in control. "We understand that the victims are placed at Mamwadi, which is a 'paradise' for scam syndicates. Jelutong MCA chairman Chuah Chin Chuon said Penang MCA received four reports on job scam victims and are helping the families bring their loved ones back.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 13): Sime Darby Plantation Bhd saw its foreign shareholding jump to 10.31% in April 2022, the highest since March 2020. According to an update on the company's website, its foreign shareholding rose 83 basis points from 9.48% in March to reach the current level. The company’s foreign shareholding previously hit a record low of 8.94% in January 2022 — which was also hit in July 2021 — according to the foreign shareholding chart which dates back to December 2017. The company’s foreign shareholding has been on an upward trend since January’s low as it rose to 9.24% in February, 9.48% in March and subsequently to the two-year high of 10.31% in April. In March 2020, the company’s foreign shareholding stood at 10.34%.

WASHINGTON, DC (May 13): Malaysia has secured nearly RM2 billion investment via semiconductor company TF AMD Microelectronics (Penang) Sdn Bhd following the handover of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority’s (MIDA) approval letter to the company on Thursday (May 12). According to Azmin, TF AMD has invested about RM900 million in Malaysia to date. “TF AMD has played an integral role in developing the capacity and capability we witness in Malaysia's semiconductor ecosystem today. “I am optimistic that this partnership will see another 50 years and I look forward to be on this growth journey with TF AMD. “To TF AMD, I say, 'We value your partnership, and we look forward to another 50 years in Malaysia,'” he tweeted.

KUALA KANGSAR: The trailer driver who was arrested in connection with a fiery accident, killing five students on the North-South Expressway northbound late Wednesday (May 11) has nine offences in Road Transport Department (JPJ) records with eight 'settled' and another still active. JPJ in a statement Friday (May 13) said the results of a check in its mySikap system found that the offences and 12 demerit points under the Demerit Points System For Traffic Offences (Kejara) could lead to suspension or revocation of a driving licence. The statement also said JPJ viewed the incident seriously and would not compromise on any non-compliance by commercial vehicle operators. At the same time, the students in a car were behind the trailer, while another trailer carrying iron railings in the same direction behind the car could not brake in time and crashed into the back of the car. The trailer then propelled the car forward until it crashed into the back of the mosaic-loaded trailer (before the car burst into flames).

Kuala Lumpur: Are cash giveaways the way to solve the problems of the masses and would the goods and services tax (GST) have helped? If GST had been maintained, I’m confident Malaysians would have had an easier life now,” said Najib during the debate televised live on Astro Awani. Fishermen used to get RM300 a month.”Answering a question later, Najib clarified his “cash is king” motto, claiming that the term “king” in the phrase referred to the rakyat. On GST, Anwar said it wasn’t a fair taxation system, given that most Malaysians are still economically affected by Covid-19. It started off with a debate on the ailing Sapura Energy Bhd, with Najib saying Malaysians would lose out if it was not saved.

The 21-year-old is determined to make the podium again when he takes to the pool at the My Dinh Aquatic Centre in Hanoi this week. Then, he took bronze in the 4x200m freestyle with Welson Sim, Khiew Hoe Yean and Keith Lim. Singapore and hosts Vietnam are expected to dominate the swimming competition but Arvin is only focused on his own performance. Swimming is a sport where it is you versus your time. The others are Welson, Hoe Yean and woman breaststroker Phee Jinq En.

KUALA LUMPUR: Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd has announced that the company and its top executives have completed the full settlement of their compounds imposed by the Securities Commission. It said in a statement that the payment was made on May 9, 2022, for a total amount of RM16mil. As at 12.30pm, shares in Serba Dinamik were up three sen higher to nine sen on 291 million shares traded. The share has lost nearly 75% of its value since its trading suspension was lifted earlier this week. The company's warrants were up one sen or 50% to three sen per unit.

PETALING JAYA: Those aged 60 and above can receive a second Covid-19 vaccine booster dose voluntarily four to six months after their first booster, says Khairy Jamaluddin. The Health Minister added that those aged between 18 and 59 could also receive a second booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine if they met certain criteria. “The intake of this second booster dose vaccine is voluntary,” he added. Meanwhile, Khairy said the antiviral drug Paxlovid has been used since April 15 to treat Covid-19 patients. “To date, the priority of Paxlovid treatment has been the high-risk group of Covid-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms,” said Khairy.