SIBU: One of the longest-serving Catholic priests here, Reverend Father Thomas Taam Chak Wing, has passed away at age 97. Rector of St Teresa's Church, Father Michael Lee, said Father Taam passed away at 10.56am on Monday (April 18). He described Father Taam as "a man of God and very faithful to the ministry". Father Lee, who succeeded Father Taam a year before the Covid-19 pandemic, told reporters that the late priest was also a very approachable person. Father Taam will be buried at Nirvana Memorial Park here.

AS AN “ecological civilisation” school, SJK (C) Union in George Town, Penang has been running various green projects to inculcate environmental awareness in its 800 pupils. The sustainability efforts continued even when the school was closed during the Covid-19 pandemic. “We sell the crops to parents and give the rest away to the school canteen,” she said at the launch of the ecological civilisation primary school programme. “When the school was closed, we relied on an automated watering system and help from the security guards. The school defines ecological civilisation as one that promotes green development as well as a sustainable and healthy society.

PETALING JAYA: Affected local planters, whose palm oil products are banned by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on forced labour allegations, must speed up the submission of their independent evaluation reports to the relevant US authorities. Last Friday, Reuters reported that Ferrero said it will stop buying palm oil from SDP over forced labour allegations. Ferrero had requested that starting April 6, all its direct suppliers stop supplying palm oil and palm kernel oil sourced indirectly from SDP until further notice. “Thus, the Italian confectionery group would have had many avenues to explore before taking this extreme action to boycott SDP products,” he noted. Chandran added that Ferrero seemed to have overlooked the fact that SDP is the world’s largest producer of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO).

PETALING JAYA: After receiving aid in the form of mechanised bulldozers and allocation for fertilisers, Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong hopes that the agricultural industry in Yong Peng will continue to grow. The Transport Minister handed over several farming mechanised bulldozers worth RM120,000 under the Penjana package to the Yong Peng Vegetable Growers Association on Sunday (April 17). "Yong Peng is a well-known vegetable and fruit growing place for the local and export markets in Malaysia. "Yong Peng is also a hub for the collection and packaging of fruits and vegetables before being shipped to Singapore for export," said Dr Wee in a statement on Facebook. Dr Wee added the aid was a joint effort by Semarang assemblyman and former Johor agriculture and agro-based committee chairman Samsol Bari Jamali, as well as Yong Peng assemblyman and Johor exco member Ling Tian Soon.

The decision to compound the four executives in the Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd case has raised a myriad of questions, thoughts, and opinions. We must be mindful of the message that we are sending to the capital market and potential wrongdoers. The AGC will need to sufficiently distinguish the Serba Dinamik case from other cases in future and explain its reasons clearly. In the case of Serba Dinamik, many investors have suffered losses — they will not be able to recoup much of their losses, at least in the foreseeable future. The exercise of the discretion whether to compound or not to compound a capital market offence has far-reaching implications for the capital market.

The decision to compound the four executives in the Serba Dinamik Holdings Berhad case has raised a myriad of questions, thoughts, and opinions. We must be mindful of the message that we are sending to the capital market and potential wrongdoers. The AGC will need to sufficiently distinguish the Serba Dinamik case from other cases in future and explains its reasons clearly. The exercise of the discretion whether to compound or not to compound a capital market offence has far-reaching implications for the capital market. It may hinder the development of a fair and orderly capital market that prides itself on investor protection.

Hours after Chatterjee’s announcement, the central bank-backed entity that runs the system — called United Payments Interface — said it was “not aware” of any crypto exchange using the network. Daily trading volumes on Indian crypto exchanges, which collectively cater to about 15 million people, have tumbled by between 88% and 96% since peaking last year, data from CoinGecko show. Coinbase already offered trading in crypto pairs in India, which doesn’t require customers to deposit rupees into their accounts. MobiKwik, a local payment service provider, stopped working with Indian crypto exchanges on April 1, according to a report by news outlet Moneycontrol. WazirX and CoinDCX, another Indian crypto exchange, have both announced that rupee deposits via MobiKwik have been temporarily suspended.

(April 16): Space X's Starlink internet constellation has angered Russia as it was reported that the Starlink satellite constellation was used to guide and modify fire on the Black Sea Fleet's flagship, the cruiser Moskva and it sank because of that. This was revealed by new data from the Russian Federation's General Staff, Republic World reported. This was revealed by new data from the Russian Federation's General Staff. Dmitry Medvedev, who has ordered to destroy the Starlink satellite constellation located over Russian Federation territory, the special military operation zone and the Black Sea basin in order to ensure the security of all units participating in the special military operation, Republic World reported.

GEORGE TOWN: The pain of losing his wife and unborn child to Covid-19 last year has cast a pall over the fasting month and Hari Raya Aidilfitri for Mohamad Nazri Mohamad Zakaria. Recounting what happened before his wife’s demise, Mohamad Nazri said he was unsure how she had caught the virus. Mohamad Nazri said he, his wife and his mother were admitted to Hospital Penang because of the severe symptoms they had. Reminiscing about the good times, Mohamad Nazri said he got to know his wife through Facebook. Mohamad Nazri has resolved to make sure his daughter gets a good education.

We need to learn from this sad episode and put a stop to dangerous activities like ‘basikal lajak’ racing on our roads. Let’s hope this appeal secures Sam her stay of execution because she’s neither a hardcore criminal nor flight risk. Even those convicted of gross corruption are still walking freely while they await their appeals to be heard. Sam would need a quick hearing, or else she would be locked up. To put it bluntly, this is common sense, particularly for those who have experienced near-mishaps with these reckless cyclists who think they own our highways.

As Malaysia reopens its borders this month, the country is still not utilising a major tool to fight Covid-19 in the third year of the pandemic — data. Mobile positioning data to track touristsMalaysia should leverage the use of mobile positioning data (MPD) to track tourists in the country. There have been two national policies implemented successfully in the region that support data sharing while protecting individuals. Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) launched a trusted data-sharing framework to facilitate data sharing between organisations and consumers by providing strong safeguards and clarity on regulatory compliance related to sharing data. But more must be done to utilise this data while updating various regulatory frameworks, such as personal data protection, cybersecurity and intellectual property rights.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here was shown several video recordings of the treatment given to the residents of Rumah Bonda, allegedly like slaves, by its founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali (pic). In earlier proceedings, Yasmin, the fifth prosecution witness, said she had been treated like a slave by Siti Bainun while staying at the shelter. When cross-examined by lawyer representing Siti Bainun, Nur A'minahtul Mardiah Md Nor who asked if she was treated like a slave by Siti Bainun despite the footage showing otherwise, Yasmin replied: Yes. Nur A'minahtul Mardiah: Bella gave her abuser a long tight hug? Siti Bainun, 30, is charged with two counts of neglecting and abusing the teen, between February and June 2021, resulting in the victim sustaining physical and emotional injuries.

EVERY now and then, capital markets everywhere face challenges posed by participants who attempt to sidestep the law. Regulations related to capital markets have been crafted over the years and they keep getting refined to suit current times. Capital markets that fall short of high standards of regulation and transparency will struggle to achieve those goals. The issue with the FY20 revenue was first raised by KPMG to the Serba Dinamik board in May 2021. In another matter that relates to Bursa Malaysia, Serba Dinamik was classified as a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company by the exchange in January.

The woman has been jailed but the driver of the other car managed to escape from a potential scam. Salesman Foong Wen Sian said that in recent years, 60% to 70% of customers have chosen to install dashcams when buying their cars. “Customers ask if our vehicles are equipped with a dashcam and also request for it to be installed,” he said. A dashcam video has gone viral showing a man throwing himself onto an oncoming vehicle, leaving the windscreen smashed. When driver told them to wait for police as he had dashcam footage, the group, including the “accident victim” quickly dispersed.

KUALA LUMPUR: Loan scam syndicates are duping victims into parting with their money by imposing "an initial fee" before the so-called loan can be approved, says the police. Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said the syndicates would come up with various excuses for the initial fee, including covering the cost of lawyers and insurance. "Any processing fee is included as part of the total loan taken," he said in a statement on Friday (April 15). Any loan that required clients to pay an initial fee is a scam, he said. Comm Kamarudin said a total of 5,039 loan scam cases were reported in 2019 resulting in RM48mil in losses.