Tampin police chief Amiruddien Sariman says the 26-year-old man has been remanded for three days.
Tampin police chief Amiruddien Sariman said the case is being investigated under Sections 507A and 509 of the Penal Code for stalking and insult to modesty. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: Police have arrested a man on suspicion of taking upskirt photos of a woman at a shopping mall in Tampin, Negeri Sembilan.
Tampin police chief Amiruddien Sariman said they received a report at 3.46pm yesterday from the victim, a 34-year-old woman, who claimed that she was followed by a man who later took the offending pictures while she was shopping.
“A police team arrested the suspect, a 26-year-old man, in Kampung Baru Tampin to facilitate investigations,” Bernama reported him as saying.
Amiruddien said the suspect, a civil servant, has been remanded for three days from today, and the case is being investigated under Sections 507A and 509 of the Penal Code for stalking and insult to modesty. - FMT
The health minister says the ministry is proactively monitoring reports of Nipah virus infection in India.
Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the nation’s ‘gatekeepers’ at all international airports, seaports, and land crossings were on high alert. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: The health ministry has assured the public that Malaysia’s health security system is well-prepared, following reports of confirmed Nipah virus cases in India that prompted tightened measures at major international airports.
In a post on X, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the ministry was proactively monitoring reports of Nipah virus infections in India.
“Our health security system is robust, tested, and ready. We are scaling our response proportionately to keep you safe,” he said.
Dzulkefly was commenting on a report that Thailand had begun tightening health screening at its major international airports after India confirmed five cases of Nipah virus, a disease with a mortality rate of up to 75%.
He said the nation’s “gatekeepers” at all international airports, seaports, and land crossings were on high alert.
Dzulkefly said his ministry is fully prepared, with strict health surveillance and traveller screening, ready-to-act protocols for symptomatic individuals, and emergency medical teams on standby.
He also said the ministry has been in direct contact with the World Health Organization (WHO) and relevant authorities to verify the latest epidemiological data.
“We act on science (evidence-based), not rumours. Any additional measures will be based on careful risk assessment and confirmed information,” he said.
Dzulkefly highlighted the importance of the government’s “One Health” approach, which monitors the links between humans, animals, and the environment.
“We build a defence system that is both preventive and precise,” he said.
BBC reported that Thailand had started screening passengers at three airports that receive travellers from West Bengal while Nepal also began screening arrivals at Kathmandu airport and other land border points with India.
The five cases of Nipah virus recorded earlier this month involve five healthcare workers in West Bengal, one of whom is in critical condition. Over 100 individuals who were in contact with them have been quarantined.
The WHO has listed Nipah among its top 10 priority diseases – alongside pathogens such as Covid-19 and Zika – due to its high potential to cause an epidemic. - FMT
The Malaysian Medical Association says doctors are only asking for recognition, fairness, and the means to serve effectively.
MMA president Dr R Thirunavukarasu urged Putrajaya to explore restoring a ‘fair and meaningful’ regional incentive payment structure for doctors serving in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan. (Freepik pic)
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) says Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Mustapha Sakmud’s description of the regional incentive payment (BIW) as a “privilege” undermines doctors’ morale and fails to reflect the reality on the ground.
MMA president Dr R Thirunavukarasu said Mustapha’s written parliamentary response on the matter was disheartening to the thousands of doctors who served the country, often in remote or underserved areas.
Noting that an estimated 30% of Malaysian medical graduates from universities such as UM and UKM had chosen to work in Singapore due to better pay and clearer career pathways, Thirunavukarasu said Malaysia must create conditions that would encourage doctors to serve in the country.
“Doctors posted to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan face real challenges – relocation costs, separation from families, limited access to specialist support, under-resourced environments, and complex patient needs,” he said in a statement.
“The BIW allowance has always functioned not as a handout but as a practical and fair incentive for public service in these regions. Doctors are not asking for special treatment – they are asking for recognition, fairness, and the means to serve effectively.
“If we continue to neglect their needs, it is not just the doctors who suffer; it is the people they serve.”
Noting that policy decisions related to remuneration are largely determined by central agencies such as the public service department (JPA), Thirunavukarasu urged Putrajaya to reconsider its current stance on BIW and to explore restoring a “fair and meaningful” incentive structure for doctors serving in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
In a written parliamentary reply last week, Sepanggar MP Mustapha said the BIW is subject to the same principles, criteria, and conditions as other allowances for federal civil servants.
“The granting of BIW is not an entitlement of civil servants; rather, it is a privilege conferred by the government as an addition to the salary received, to help defray the cost of living for civil servants from Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, as well as officers transferred between regions,” he said.
Health news portal CodeBlue last month reported that newly appointed medical officers, or those eligible from Dec 1, 2024, would receive a smaller BIW allowance than their seniors for transfers to Sabah, Sarawak or Labuan.
Under the Public Service Remuneration System, which replaced the old SSM for the federal civil service on that date, the new BIW rate was reduced to a fixed monthly rate of RM360 for Grades 9 to 15 of the management and professional group.
Doctors’ groups in Sabah and Sarawak have since warned that cutting the BIW allowance risks discouraging doctors from taking up postings in East Malaysia. - FMT
The duo were charged as child offenders in the death of a 27-year-old man in Serian, Sarawak.
The Court of Appeal deemed the circumstances ‘not safe’ or insufficient to call for the defence of the two men, now aged 23 and 24.
PETALING JAYA: The Court of Appeal today affirmed the acquittal and discharge of two men who had been accused, as child offenders, in the 2019 murder of a 27-year-old man in Serian, Sarawak.
Borneo Post reported that the panel comprising Justices Zaini Mazlan, Ismail Brahim and K Muniandy unanimously made the ruling after finding that the totality of evidence in the prosecution’s case contained material gaps, contradictions and flaws.
It deemed the circumstances “not safe” or insufficient to call for the defence of the duo, now aged 23 and 24.
Deputy public prosecutor Atiqah Abdul Karim appeared for the prosecution, while the respondents were represented by lawyers Osman Ibrahim and Jong Yee Ling.
They were 16 and 17 years old when they were charged and therefore classified as child offenders.
They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code with the alleged murder of Raju Jinny between 2.45am and 3.50am in the middle of the road between Kampung Resak and Kampung Diang on Sept 22, 2019.
Section 302 provides for the death penalty, or 30 to 40 years’ imprisonment and no fewer than 12 strokes of the cane if convicted.
Kuching High Court judge Alwi Abdul Wahab had, on Feb 20, 2024, acquitted and discharged both the accused, saying the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against them.
The prosecution filed a notice of appeal on Sept 26, 2024, against the decision. - FMT
Malaysian Advancement Party president P Waytha Moorthy says he is a 'trained lawyer’ and a fit and proper person to address the court.
P Waytha Moorthy is suing for a court declaration that Anwar Ibrahim is disqualified from serving as an MP under Article 48(1)(e) of the Federal Constitution, and that his appointment as prime minister is null and void.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Advancement Party president P Waytha Moorthy has applied to act as co-counsel in his lawsuit challenging Anwar Ibrahim’s election as Tambun MP and subsequent appointment as prime minister.
Waytha’s lawyer, S Karthigesan, told Justice Alice Loke during case management today that the former minister’s application for leave to appear as co-counsel in the case was filed on Jan 22.
Asked if there was any objection, senior federal counsel Sallehuddin Ali said he would seek further instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
The High Court also adjourned the hearing of Anwar’s application to strike out the suit, scheduled for today, after his counsel Ranjit Singh was hospitalised.
Loke set the hearing for Feb 25.
Lawyers Daniel Albert and Nicholas Yap appeared for Anwar.
When asked by reporters why he is seeking to appear as co-counsel, Waytha replied that he was a “trained lawyer”.
Karthigesan elaborated that his client had previously practised as a lawyer and served as a senator, adding that he was capable of addressing the court.
Waytha filed the lawsuit on Aug 14 last year.
He is seeking a judicial declaration that the full royal pardon granted to Anwar in 2018 did not remove the five-year constitutional disqualification imposed on persons convicted of criminal offences, and wants Anwar disqualified from sitting in the Dewan Rakyat under Article 48(1)(e) of the Federal Constitution.
He is also asking the High Court to declare Anwar’s election on Nov 19, 2022, and his appointment as prime minister five days later, null and void.
Anwar argues that the suit, in substance and effect, constitutes a direct challenge to his 2022 election to the Dewan Rakyat.
The PKR president says the suit contravenes Article 118 of the Federal Constitution, which prohibits an election from being questioned except by way of an election petition.
He also claims that the suit ought to be struck out as it is obviously unsustainable, does not disclose a reasonable cause of action against him, and is frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of court process.
On May 16, 2018, the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, granted Anwar a full pardon for three cases involving abuse of power and sodomy charges, citing a “miscarriage of justice”.
Anwar told a press conference at the time that the pardon was also granted on the basis that there was a conspiracy to condemn him and assassinate his political character. - FMT
