Govt proposes to lower age limit to 18 for vocational license for p-hailing drivers

 

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the decision will allow more people to join the gig economy and generate income through p-hailing services. - NSTP/L.MANIMARAN

PUTRAJAYA: The government is proposing to lower to 18 the age limit for p-hailing riders to obtain vocational licenses, despite facing various criticism.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the decision will allow more people to join the gig economy and generate income through p-hailing services.

"Keluarga Malaysia are allowed to work as p-hailing riders when they acquire a competency license in the motorcycle class.

"They will then be able to obtain a vocational license for the sole purpose of working.

"These are proposed amendments to Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board Act 1987 and Land Public Transport Act 2010 which will be debated in the next parliamentary session," he told reporters after a meeting with p-hailing riders.

Wee said that he is aware of the questions raised by the public on this decision.

"We need to look at the demographics in Malaysia. Food delivery services can be an important source of income, even in rural areas.

"Those who have finished school don't need to wait until the age of 21 to work as a rider as long as they have the competency license (B2), and then apply for Goods Driving License (GDL)," he said.

He also said that p-hailing riders have requested for the GDL license requirement to be removed.

"GDL is important to ensure that riders will attend the driving course. We want them to work in a safe environment and obey all traffic rules.

"This is why we need to regulate the responsibility of the delivery riders to avoid unwanted problems and finger pointing if it happens," he said. - NST

Lelaki ‘suap’ vape dalam mulut bayi 7 bulan ditahan

 

Tangkap layar menunjukkan tindakan lelaki itu memasukkan vape ke mulut bayi. (Gambar Facebook)

PETALING JAYA: Seorang lelaki yang tular meletakkan vape pada mulut bayi perempuan ditahan, dalam kejadian di sebuah kedai makan dekat Bandar Baru Uda, Johor Bahru, dua hari lalu.

Ketua Polis Johor Bahru Utara Rupiah Abd Wahid, berkata pihaknya menerima satu laporan polis berhubung video yang tular itu, pada 2.56 petang kelmarin, dibuat oleh ibu kepada bayi perempuan berusia tujuh bulan itu.

Beliau berkata, susulan laporan itu, polis menahan lelaki berusia 23 tahun yang dipercayai kenalan kepada ibu saudara bayi itu, pada 12.45 tengah hari tadi.

“Suspek yang juga seorang peniaga ditahan Bahagian Siasatan Jenayah, Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD), Johor Bahru Utara (JBU). Polis akan memohon reman di mahkamah, esok,” lapor Berita Harian.

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Terdahulu, tular satu video yang menunjukkan seorang lelaki “menyuapkan” rokok elektronik vape ke mulut seorang bayi, yang berada atas pangkuannya. Tindakan itu dirakam seorang wanita, yang kedengaran ketawa terhibur dengan perbuatan itu.

Perbuatan itu mendapat kecaman komuniti perubatan dan warganet, yang menyifatkannya sebagai perbuatan tidak bertanggungjawab dan mahu tindakan tegas diambil terhadap pelaku serta pihak lain yang terbabit.

Rupiah berkata, kertas siasatan sudah dibuka dan kes disiasat mengikut Seksyen 31(1)(a) Akta Kanak-kanak 2001.

Mengulas lanjut, beliau berkata, ibu bayi berkenaan memaklumkan pada hari kejadian, dia dan anaknya itu berada di kedai makan terbabit bersama adik perempuannya dan suspek lelaki yang juga kenalan adiknya.

“Pengadu memaklumkan, suspek memangku bayi itu dan secara tiba-tiba dengan niat bergurau meletakkan vape yang tidak berfungsi di mulut bayi berkenaan.

“Kejadian itu dirakam adik perempuan pengadu sebelum rakaman itu dimuat naik oleh adiknya di laman media sosial, sekali gus menjadi tular. Video itu kemudian mendapat kecaman masyarakat di media sosial,” katanya. - FMT

35 illegals rescued, 1 found dead after boat capsizes in Selangor waters

 

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency rescuing those from the boat that capsized in Selangor waters early today. (APMM pic)

SHAH ALAM: An illegal immigrant died while 35 others were rescued after the boat smuggling them into Malaysia capsized in Selangor waters early today.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Selangor (Selangor MMEA) director Captain V Siva Kumar said the 35 were rescued by the crude oil tanker Najem.

The Selangor MMEA, Royal Malaysian Navy and marine police sent their ships to the location for a rescue operation.

They recovered the body of a man and rescued 28 men and seven women, aged between 22 and 51.

All the 35 illegal immigrants were sent to the Pulau Indah marine police jetty before being taken to the Selangor MMEA office for further action. - FMT

Indian group in klia2 incident were ‘job-seekers on tourist passes’

 

A TikTok video had alleged that Indian visitors were badly treated at klia2.

SEPANG: Allegations of discrimination by the immigration department towards Indian nationals arriving at klia2 have been shown to be incorrect, says immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

Khairul said investigations had shown that a group from India allegedly treated poorly at the terminal had not gone to the immigration counter directly and had been loitering in the arrival area for almost three hours.

After being questioned, it was found that the Indian nationals had come to Malaysia not as tourists but were looking for employment illegally as they had no place of accommodation and did not have sufficient pocket money.

These were clearly in violation of their social visit pass, he said.

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Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

A one-minute video clip on TikTok had claimed that the Indian citizens were forced to sit on the floor and had to undergo a long entry process despite having complete documents.

Khairul said some members of the group had been found to be hiding in the toilets, which raised the suspicions of the enforcement officers, he said.

He said the immigration officers went looking for them after officers noted that some passengers listed on the airline manifest had not turned up at the immigration counter even after two to three hours.

“They were taken to the operation room for investigation,” he told reporters after an engagement session between the department and tourism agencies at KLIA here today.

Khairul said all the travellers had returned to India and they were given Not-To-Land (NTL) notices and were blacklisted from entering Malaysia after this.

He said a total of 34,786 people had been issued NTL notices; most were from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Vietnam.

In another development, Khairul said the National Integrated Immigration System was expected to be operational in early 2024, to replace the Malaysian Immigration System which had been in operation for more than 20 years.

The new system, incorporating fingerprint and facial biometric recognition, would contribute to effective enforcement.

On another matter, Khairul said his department will give its full cooperation to the investigation committee probing the incident involving a senior government official and an immigration officer at KLIA on Aug 3. He declined to comment further as the team had already been set up.

Chief Secretary Zuki Ali yesterday announced the establishment of the committee of inquiry to investigate the alleged incident. - FMT

Delivery riders will need goods licence under new rule

 

The government proposes to amend road transport laws to require delivery riders to take a goods driving licence.

PETALING JAYA: Parcel delivery riders will need to obtain the Goods Driving Licence under new legislation being proposed by the government.

The age of eligibility for the licence would be lowered from 21 years to 18 when the new rules come into force, to allow more people to become delivery riders, transport minister Wee Ka Siong said today.

He said delivery riders with the goods licence would be given driving courses “because there are complaints that they do not abide by traffic laws”.

Wee said the requirement of a goods licence would allow the authorities to keep track of their number, and “know who are those working in the p-hailing service and their behaviour”, Bernama reported.

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He said the Cabinet had agreed on Friday to amend the legislation governing road transport, land transport and the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board. The amendments will be tabled at the next sitting of Parliament.

Wee said the requirement for a goods licence was not meant to burden delivery riders but to enable the transport ministry to keep track of their numbers.

He said the transport ministry and its agencies would monitor the p-hailing service to ensure this sector could remain competitive in the long-term.

“The supervision is also to protect the welfare of riders or drivers of the vehicles involved,” he said after a meeting with representatives of the e-hailing and delivery riders’ associations today.

He said e-hailing operators had been asked to hold more meetings with riders to avoid issues like riders going on strike because of dissatisfaction over payments.

On Friday, a group of about 200 delivery riders carried out a protest ride to the service company offices, Posters with the words “Off 1 Hari” and “Food Delivery Blackout” had been widely shared on social media, calling for a boycott of the delivery service. - FMT

Women’s doubles pair strike 7th gold at Commonwealth Games

 

Malaysia’s women’s badminton doubles pair of Pearly Tan-M Thinaah won their second gold medal and Malaysia’s seventh at the Commonwealth Games today. (Bernama pic)

BIRMINGHAM: What a perfect way it was to end Malaysia’s challenge at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair of Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah stole the show on the final day of the Games as they trounced England’s Chloe Birch-Lauren Smith 21-5, 21-8 to deliver Malaysia’s seventh gold for the national contingent here today.

The deafening cheers from the home crowd at the National Exhibition Centre hall did nothing to rattle Games debutants Pearly-Thinaah: they were simply in their element in the opening game, outplaying the English duo 21-5.

Inspired, Pearly-Thinaah continued their cracking performance, including a delicate back-hand return by Thinaah and a flurry of fiery smashes, to rake up the points and seal the gold medal with a 21-8 win in just 33 minutes.

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The pair, rankeed world number 11, punched the air in delight before going over to hug doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky to celebrate their first individual gold in the Games.

Thanks to the heroics of Pearly-Thinaah, Malaysia have now surpassed their six-gold target for Birmingham 2022, thus equalling the seven-gold achievement at the 2018 Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

Earlier, top national men’s singles ace Ng Tze Yong went down fighting 21-19, 9-21, 16-21 to India’s Lakshya Sen in the final.

Apart from Pearly-Thinaah’s gold and Tze Yong’s silver today, the national badminton squad had won their first gold with a 3-1 win over India in the mixed team final on Tuesday.

Malaysian shuttlers also chipped in with two bronze medals yesterday through Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the men’s doubles and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing in mixed doubles.

Aaron-Wooi Yik were taken to the limit by compatriots Kian Meng-Chan Peng Soon 21-19, 11-21, 21-11 in the men’s doubles third-placing match.

Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, meanwhile, downed Scotland’s Adam Hall-Julie Macpherson 21-15, 21-17 to take home the mixed doubles bronze.

The national contingent capped their Birmingham 2022 campaign with seven golds, eight silvers and eight bronzes.

The closing ceremony will be held at 8 pm local time (3am on Tuesday in Malaysia). - FMT

Orang Asli can’t harvest forest produce for commercial use, says govt

 

The Kelantan government has given each Orang Asli family 2.4ha to cultivate crops and build their homes.

KUALA LUMPUR: Orang Asli who live in forest reserves are not allowed to harvest forest produce for commercial purposes, says deputy energy and natural resources minister Ali Biju.

“Basically, harvesting forest products is only allowed for domestic use, not for commercial purposes,” said the deputy minister in the Senate in his response to a question from Senator Apandi Mohamad (PAS) while winding up the tabling of an amendment Bill for the National Forestry Act 1984.

Apandi also asked whether the move by the Kelantan state government to allocate 2.4ha of forest area to be developed by the Orang Asli for economic purposes was against the Act.

Ali said such activity is permitted and was not against the Act that is being amended as these plots of land are specially allocated for the community for commercial activities, which included planting oil palm trees.

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“These six acres (2.4ha) of forest were given to improve the living standard of the Orang Asli so that they don’t occupy other forest areas.

“The Kelantan state government has done the right thing,” he said.

Ali, who is also the Saratok MP, said that to date, there were 850 Orang Asli villages all over the country, with a majority of them located in forest reserves. - FMT