JaminKerja 2022 initiative to create 600,000 jobs based on 'jobs guarantee' concept, says Tengku Zafrul
JaminKerja consists of three main components, namely JaminKerja Employment Incentive, Malaysia Shortterm Employment Programme (MySTEP) and Training and Skills Upgrading Programme. According to Tengku Zafrul, the government managed to generate almost 560,000 jobs last year, exceeding the initial target of 500,000 jobs. Among initiatives to be implemented are the "place and train" programme (training + job security), he said. Tengku Zafrul said JaminKerja also provided various training and skills upgrading programmes, including in collaboration with industry. Read also:Govt to focus on two main thrusts to support economic growthRM40 bil Semarak Niaga initiative ensures sustainability of business sector, says Tengku Zafrul
Source:The Edge Markets
February 16, 2022 05:12 UTC
Moderna adds four new subsidiaries in Asia including Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Biotechnology company Moderna Inc is expanding its commercial network across Asia with the addition of four new subsidiaries in Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The company said the Asia-Pacific region represents an integral part of Moderna's business, with established subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Bancel said Asia bears the highest burden of infectious diseases, and the burden of non-communicable diseases is increasing as the population ages. He said regulators have approved Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine in more than 70 markets, including Canada, Japan, the European Union, the UK, and Israel. In 2021, 807 million doses of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine were shipped globally, with approximately 25% of those doses shipped to low- and middle-income markets, he said.
Source:The Edge Markets
February 16, 2022 04:37 UTC
Battling ransomware: The importance of cybersecurity for businesses
With DRP, businesses can understand their digital risks, and better identify and anticipate threats targeting their digital assets. Cybersecurity firm Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that there will be a new attack every two seconds as ransomware perpetrators progressively refine their malware payloads and related extortion activities. Celcom has partnered with Telefónica Tech — world-renowned as a cybersecurity expert — to provide the right solutions to protect businesses from cyber threats. It has integrated Telefónica Tech’s three core digital services for major corporations — cloud services, cybersecurity and Internet of Things, or big data. For more information on how to get serious about cybersecurity for your business, call Celcom at (019) 601 1111, or visit https://business.celcom.com.my/cyber-security/cyber-threat.
Source:The Edge Markets
February 14, 2022 04:07 UTC
Squash queen Nicol receives honorary doctorate
PETALING JAYA: National squash legend Datuk Nicol David (pic) has received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University Malaysia. The former World No. 1 received the award for her contribution to sports and support towards the impact of education in empowering lives. Nicol shared the news on her social media pages on Sunday (Feb 13) morning. She said it was an honour to receive the award from Pro-Chancellor of the Heriot-Watt University Malaysia Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood and Provost and chief executive officer (CEO) of the university Prof Mushtak Al-Atabi.
Source:The Star
February 13, 2022 23:18 UTC
MMA welcomes govt's move to resolve contract doctors issue
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has welcomed the government's initiative to resolve the issue of contract doctors. The Health Ministry (MOH) recently announced that 8,000 permanent positions for health practitioners from 2022 until 2025 would be created to resolve the issue of contract doctors. "Previously, contract doctors could continue studies, but on their own, take exams and pay for themselves. Grade UD43 contract medical officer, Dr. Mohamad Faisal Mohammed Nasim said the announcement by MOH was in line with what they (contract doctors) had voiced out during the contract doctor's hartal last year. - BernamaArticle type: metered User Type: anonymous web User Status: Campaign ID: 46 Cxense type: free User access status: 3Join our Telegram channel to get our Evening Alerts and breaking news highlights
Source:The Star
February 13, 2022 21:26 UTC
Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia appoints Ikram Khaliq as head of digital bank
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia (ARBM) has announced the appointment of Ikram Khaliq as its head of digital bank. Ikram has over 16 years of international experience mentoring and building tech firms in the financial technology (fintech) and insurance technology (insuretech) industries, ARBM said in a statement. It will house ARBM’s digital bank team and several other divisions. The move follows the announcement in December last year that the Islamic bank will be launching its digital bank this year. “We aspire to set a new standard of excellence for Islamic banking in Malaysia through best-in-class digital banking propositions and channels to benefit ARBM’s individual and business customers,” he said.
Source:The Edge Markets
February 13, 2022 18:16 UTC
Covid-19: Offsite PPVs to offer Sinovac for walk-in booster shots from Monday (Feb 14)
PETALING JAYA: Covid-19 vaccine booster doses with Sinovac's CoronaVac will now be offered for walk-ins at off-site vaccination centres (PPV) under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) from Monday (Feb 14). ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn Bhd said that those eligible for their booster doses and intending to receive this vaccine in particular may refer to the list of offsite PPVs at protecthealth.com.my. This comes following the announcement by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Feb 7 that those who had received two doses of the primary Sinovac vaccine were now allowed to receive the Sinovac vaccine as their booster dose. In a tweet in response to ProtectHealth's announcement, Khairy said that booster shots using Pfizer/BioNTech's Comirnaty and AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria Covid-19 vaccines were strongly recommended as it offered extra protection. “We are still strongly recommending either Pfizer or Astrazeneca booster shots but something is better than nothing,” he said.
Source:The Star
February 13, 2022 05:41 UTC
Litmus test beckons
The average young voters are expected to be a crucial factor. These young voters won’t be reading print, that’s for sure. That means the political parties will need plenty of help from campaigners who understand the effectiveness of social media influencers. The things that matter most to the young voters are jobs, cost of living, opportunities and hope for the future. Let the Johor voters set the tone and pave the way for a general election, by this year, hopefully.
Source:The Star
February 13, 2022 04:31 UTC
Govt monitoring 92 'sick' projects nationwide, says Mustapa
JELI (Feb 12): The government is monitoring 92 'sick' (problematic) projects nationwide, which are those that are delayed beyond two months or 20% of their completion dates. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said these projects were being monitored by the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU), Prime Minister’s Department (JPM). “The Ministry of Education compared to other ministries has the highest number of such projects, at 22. “Meanwhile, as for states, Sabah has the highest number of 'sick’ projects, at 16,” he told reporters after attending the launching ceremony of the Bukit Bunga Bypass Project in Bukit Bunga, here on Saturday (Feb 12). “This is important to ensure the targets in the implementation of national development projects can be achieved,” he said.
Source:The Edge Markets
February 13, 2022 04:05 UTC
Cahya Mata unit raises cement prices amid rising production cost
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 12): Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS) said its wholly-owned subsidiary, CMS Cement Industries Sdn Bhd, will raise its price of cement by an average of 10% subject to product types and location. The price revision effective Thursday (Feb 17) is due to significant and sustained rising cost of raw and packaging materials and freight charges, CMS said in a statement. Noting that cement production cost has increased by an average of 9% over the past year, CMS expects the upward trend to continue in view of the current macro-environment. “As a further comparison, the prices of other building materials such as steel have also surged across the board since January 2021. “The Building Materials Cost Index (BCI) has increased by 2.3% in Peninsular Malaysia, while the BCI saw increases of 2.1% and 1.5% in Sabah and Sarawak respectively during this period,” it said.
Source:The Edge Markets
February 13, 2022 04:05 UTC
Agriculture Ministry targets investments worth RM350mil in Dubai, says Ronald
KUALA LUMPUR: The Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry is targeting investments worth RM350mil during the Sustainable Agriculture Week at Expo 2020 Dubai, said its minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee (pic). Ronald added that the expo would be a great opportunity to improve bilateral ties and trade between Malaysia and UAE through sustainable agriculture development and to elevate efforts to the next level. The Agriculture Ministry was set to attract an estimated 2,000 visitors and delegates during the Sustainable Agriculture Week, with various programmes have been lined up, including exhibitions, product launches, document exchanges, cooking and product demonstrations, networking sessions, business matching, and pocket talks. Others included waste-to-wealth, culinary sustainability, cutting-edge agricultural technologies, and solutions, as well as investment opportunities for agricultural sustainability. The public can obtain more information on the Agriculture Ministry’s Sustainable Agriculture Week at www.mafi-events.com.
Source:The Star
February 11, 2022 21:36 UTC
Import ban: US CBP sees positive signs from Malaysian companies
"The companies (WRP Asia Pacific and Top Glove) improved their workers condition, got people paid, took care of debt bondage issues, and we modified the WRO. "Now they are absolutely free to import into the US, which, of course, is a very critical market for these companies. "Say that restriction of identity documents was an indicator found, meaning that the workers’ passports or personal documents are held to limit the freedom of movement, the company would have to demonstrate that they remediated through that. "Due to the travel restrictions in the couple of years, to verify that, there's an independent third party audit that comes in and able to verify that remediation step has been made. That's generally how we approached the remediation to the WROs,” he said.Choy said the independent auditors normally appointed from those prominent in the human rights field.-- BERNAMATAGS:
Source:The Star
February 11, 2022 18:57 UTC
Financing alone not enough to address B40, M40 homeownership, says Nor Shamsiah
Nor Shamsiah was addressing comments by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob that BNM would need to review its financing model to make homeownership much easier for the B40 and M40 in line with the "One Family One Home" target. The central bank governor noted that things had changed since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, including realities around housing demand, and as such financing models may also need to be adjusted. “The bank has always maintained that while this is key, this is not an issue that can be addressed by financing alone. We need to address this too, even as we embark on more innovative financing solutions. Read also:BNM: Malaysia's 4Q21 GDP grew 3.6% y-o-y, full-year expansion at 3.1%Bank Negara targets to name digital banks next monthMalaysia 'nowhere near' very-high inflation risk, says BNM governorBanks' non-performing loan risk manageable despite pandemic — BNM governor
Source:The Edge Markets
February 11, 2022 17:43 UTC
Bank Negara targets to name digital banks next month
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 11): Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) aims to announce the winners of its digital banking licences next month, said governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus. “We are in the ‘advanced stage’ of assessing the applications for digital banks and we target to announce the digital banks with the publication of our annual report at the end of March,” she said during the central bank's fourth quarter of 2021 gross domestic product (4Q21 GDP) briefing on Friday (Feb 11). She noted that the central bank wants the digital banks to offer relevant products and services to the unserved and underserved segments, so that more people and entrepreneurs can better own assets and save for the future or to grow their businesses. “We also expect the entry of these digital banks to accelerate the digitalisation of our incumbent banks. This will be good not just for the industry, but also for all of us here as customers of the incumbent banks,” she explained.
Source:The Edge Markets
February 11, 2022 10:37 UTC
Samsung making new smartphone using ocean plastic
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 11): South Korean smartphone and electronics manufacturer Samsung's new smartphone, the Galaxy S22 Ultra, has components made from repurposed fishing nets and other post-consumer materials. Argus said discarded fishing nets contribute to 12 million t/yr of plastic ending up in oceans, according to Samsung. Samsung expects its efforts to remove more than 50t of old fishing nets from the oceans. Last year, US technology firm Microsoft tied up with Saudi petrochemical producer SABIC to create a computer mouse made from recycled ocean plastic. Read also:Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra combines best of Note and S series, with built-in S-Pen to boot
Source:The Edge Markets
February 11, 2022 07:39 UTC