The Russian-registered oil tanker Linda is believed to be heading for Malaysia. (Vesselfinder pic)
KUALA LUMPUR: A Russian-flagged crude oil tanker targeted by US sanctions is heading to Malaysia, shipping data showed on Monday, amid growing international scrutiny on businesses linked to Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
The tanker Linda, named in a US Treasury document detailing sanctions against Russia, was in the Indian Ocean and was expected to arrive at Sungai Linggi port on Malaysia’s west coast on March 5, according to data from ship tracking website MarineTraffic.com.
It was not immediately clear whether or not authorities in Malaysia plan to allow the ship to dock. Its marine department and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the US, the Linda is owned by PSB Leasing, a unit of Russian lender Promsvyazbank, which has also been hit by international sanctions.
French authorities on Saturday seized another ship, Baltic Leader, that they said was owned by PSB Leasing.
Promsvyazbank has denied that its subsidiary owned the vessel, saying it was bought by a different entity before the sanctions were imposed. - FMT
A sundry shop is open for business despite the floods in Kampung Ayer Puteh in Kemaman, Terengganu. (Bernama pic)
KUALA LUMPUR: The monsoon rains that have hit the country are expected to taper off and weather conditions are expected to improve from tomorrow, according to the meteorological department (MetMalaysia).
In a statement today, the department said rain was expected in only one or two areas in the east coast of the peninsula and the east coast of Sabah.
“However, rain and thunderstorms are expected in the afternoons to early evenings in the west coast states of the peninsula, northern Sarawak as well as in Sabah’s east and west coasts,” it said.
First- and second-category warnings for strong winds and rough seas have been issued for shipping in the South China Sea until tomorrow.
More than 20,000 people have been evacuated to relief centres following continuous rain in Kelantan and Terengganu since Friday. - FMT
CIMB reported net income of RM4.3 billion in 2021, its strongest annual figure since 2019.
PETALING JAYA: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd said it incurred a credit loss of RM280.9 million in 2021 due to a processing error that saw excess funds deposited into thousands of customer accounts.
CIMB, which counts sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd as its largest shareholder, discovered the problem this year that related to a third-party remittance service, group CEO Abdul Rahman Ahmad said in a statement, confirming a report by Bloomberg News.
The group was taking steps to recover the duplicate payments from the affected customers and an “additional and lower final provision amount may be taken in the first quarter of 2022” depending on the recovery, Rahman said while releasing the bank’s fourth quarter and full-year earnings.
CIMB reported net income of RM4.3 billion in 2021, its strongest annual figure since 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Bank Negara Malaysia had asked the lender to provide “reasonable options” for customers to return the excess money, central bank governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus had told reporters earlier this month.
She said the central bank would take appropriate supervisory and enforcement actions on CIMB if its findings revealed any breach of legal or regulatory requirements.
CIMB’s technical glitch comes as Southeast Asian banks come under scrutiny over issues with their digital infrastructure.
In December, about 790 customers of Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp lost a total of S$13.7 million (RM42.37 million) in scams. A month earlier, thousands of DBS Group Holdings Ltd’s customers were unable to log onto its online and mobile platforms. - FMT
The inspector who was found dead with a gunshot wound in a house in Jalan Selingsing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday had a good service record, said Sentul district police chief Beh Eng Lai.
He said the 35-year-old officer had received commendation letters before, including from the inspector-general of police for rejecting bribes.
“He turned down an RM10,000 bribe offered as an inducement to release a detainee being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 in August last year.
"The motive of the (shooting) incident is still under investigation. He had no work problems and was a narcotics investigation officer at the Sentul district police headquarters prior to his transfer to the Dang Wangi police headquarters three months ago,” he added.
Beh was speaking to reporters after signing documents to take back possession of a police beat base which had been renovated by MRT Corp at Pondok Polis Batu 3 today.
"At the time of the incident, several of his friends were in the house,” he added.
Sudahlah, Anwar! As Karpal Singh said, Anwar banyak buat rosak negara. Anwar perlu taubat!
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Anwar Ibrahim wants the Malaysian Parliament to discuss Tim Leissner’s testimony in a US court alleging that former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng had bribed former Bank Negara Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, plus many others, a total amount of US4.5 billion or RM19 billion.
MACC is still investigating this matter. Roger Ng’s trial is still ongoing. And Najib Tun Razak’s trial has still not ended. So what is there for Parliament to debate?
Should they not wait until the trial is over? How do they know Tim Leissner is telling the truth? What if the US court finds Roger Ng not guilty and acquit him? Does not every accused have the right to a fair trial, as Pakatan Harapan is always reminding us?
Anwar just wants to ambil kesempatan. And he is always doing that.
In 2011, he hijacked Bersih, which had nothing to do with him, and which was launched in 2007 — and he renamed it Bersih 2.0. In 1998, he hijacked Reformasi from Indonesia and pretended it was his idea.
Today, he is trying to hijack the Tim Leissner/Roger Ng/Zeti Aziz issue.
Let MACC’s investigation, Najib’s trial, and the US court case end first, and then bring this matter to Parliament to discuss.
Anyway, Anwar made so much noise about the RM31.5 billion that Bank Negara lost gambling on the FOREX market (which happened when Anwar was the finance minister). And then, when Pakatan Harapan came to power in 2018, they just swept the whole issue under the carpet and pretended it never happened.
Sudahlah, Anwar! As Karpal Singh said, Anwar banyak buat rosak negara. Anwar perlu taubat!
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the relaxation included the self-test for VTL and OSC travellers on Day 2, Day 4 and Day 6 and the professional RTK-Ag tests on Day 3 and Day 5. - Bernama pic
KUALA LUMPUR: Travellers under the Malaysia-Singapore Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL), One Stop Centre (OSC) and those from the United Kingdom (UK) no longer need to undergo the one-week Covid-19 tests after arrival starting Thursday.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the relaxation included the self-test for VTL and OSC travellers on Day 2, Day 4 and Day 6 and the professional RTK-Ag tests on Day 3 and Day 5.
"For travellers under the Langkawi International Travel Bubble (LITB), they no longer need to do the RT-PCR or the professional RTK-Ag before leaving the island.
"As for travellers from UK, the daily self-tests throughout the quarantine period will also be lifted," he said in a statement today.
Khairy added that also lifted was the need for a liaison officer for short-term business travellers under the Malaysian Investment Development Authority via OSC.
"However, they need to follow the controlled itinerary that is issued and approved by the OSC committee."
However, Khairy said the requirement for a PCR test two days prior to departure for Malaysia and the arrival PCR test would remain.
He also stressed that the relaxation on the standard operating procedures (SOP) relaxation only applied to travellers entering Malaysia under the VTL, LITB and OSC.
"For travellers not under these three programmes, the existing SOP or protocols are still in effect.
"The Health Ministry urges all travellers involved to be responsible and always follow the set instructions and SOP." - NST
PUTRAJAYA: Subsidy applications for broiler and egg-producing hen breeders are open from Monday (Feb 28) to June 6 for the production of chicken and eggs from Feb 5 to June 5 (subsidy period).
The Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry said subsidy rate is RM0.60 sen per kilogramme (kg) for poultry farmers and RM0.05 sen per egg for grades A, B and C, involving private breeders, integrator or semi-integrator breeders and also contract breeders.
A total of RM528.52mil has been allocated for the provision of subsidies which will benefit 2,255 breeders and the payment of the subsidies will be channelled directly to the farmers' accounts through Agrobank, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
"The ministry will assess the subsidy provision to ensure that the payment process runs smoothly and all farmers involved can use this subsidy to increase farm operating capacity, as well as ensure a continuous supply of chickens and eggs," it said.
The Agriculture Ministry said the government hoped that the subsidy would ease the burden of farmers following the increase in costs, especially for feed, which covers 70 per cent of production costs apart from logistics, labour, utilities and medicines.
"The ministry believes the government's intervention through the provision of subsidies to farmers will be able to stabilise supply and to ensure that the people can buy chicken and eggs at an affordable price," the statement read.
The subsidy application can be made at any nearest Department of Veterinary Services (JPV) office, while the form and application guidelines can be found at the JPV's official portal at https://www.dvs.gov.my/index.php/announcements/view/105. - Bernama
Dua sungai utama di Kelantan berada pada paras bahaya iaitu Sungai Golok di Kampung Jenob, Tanah Merah merekodkan bacaan 24.68m dan Sungai Kelantan di Temangan, Machang (21.18m). (Gambar Bernama)
KUALA LUMPUR: Jumlah mangsa banjir di Terengganu dan Kelantan terus meningkat kepada 22,450 orang yang ditempatkan di 234 pusat pemindahan sementara (PPS) setakat petang ini berbanding 19,626 orang di 225 PPS, pagi tadi.
Di Terengganu, jumlah penduduk terjejas akibat banjir meningkat kepada 13,530 orang daripada 3,735 keluarga pada tengah hari ini berbanding 11,137 orang daripada 3,177 keluarga pada 8 pagi tadi.
Peningkatan jumlah mangsa itu berikutan penambahan 16 lagi PPS menjadikan jumlah keseluruhan yang beroperasi ketika ini ialah 173 PPS iaitu 45 di Besut, Hulu Terengganu (31), Setiu (30), Dungun (26), Kemaman (23), Kuala Terengganu (sembilan), Kuala Nerus (lapan) dan Marang (satu).
Sekretariat Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Negeri memaklumkan jumlah mangsa tertinggi ialah di Kemaman seramai 3,857 orang, Hulu Terengganu (3,537), Besut (2,251), Dungun (1,572), Setiu (1,298), Kuala Terengganu (592), Kuala Nerus (418) dan Marang (lima).
Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran (JPS) melalui laman web publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my pula melaporkan lima sungai di lima daerah masih berada di paras bahaya iaitu Sungai Kemaman di Kemaman, Sungai Nerus (Setiu), Sungai Telemong (Hulu Terengganu), Sungai Dungun (Dungun) dan Sungai Terengganu (Kuala Terengganu).
Di Kelantan, jumlah mangsa banjir meningkat kepada 8,920 orang daripada 2,862 keluarga setakat 2 petang ini, berbanding 8,489 orang daripada 2,750 keluarga, pagi tadi.
Aplikasi Info Bencana Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat memaklumkan sebanyak 61 PPS dibuka melibatkan 20 di Pasir Mas, Kuala Krai (15), Tanah Merah (13), Pasir Puteh (enam), Machang (lima), manakala masing-masing satu di Jeli dan Kota Bharu.
Sementara itu, portal rasmi info banjir JPS menerusi laman web publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my melaporkan dua sungai utama di negeri itu berada pada paras bahaya iaitu Sungai Golok di Kampung Jenob, Tanah Merah merekodkan bacaan 24.68m dan Sungai Kelantan di Temangan, Machang (21.18m). - FMT
Pilihan raya Filipina dijadualkan berlangsung 9 Mei ini, oleh itu pemantauan rapi diperlukan di Sabah, kata Ketua Menteri, Hajiji Noor.
KOTA KINABALU: Ketua Menteri Sabah, Hajiji Noor mengarahkan polis meningkatkan pengawasan keselamatan negeri menjelang pilihan raya Presiden di negara jiran, Filipina.
Katanya, beliau mahu polis memantau keadaan dengan lebih rapi, memandangkan isu mengenai tuntutan ke atas Sabah sering menjadi topik hangat calon-calon Presiden negara itu menjelang pilihan raya bagi meraih sokongan pengundi.
“Bahang pilihan raya Filipina yang dijadualkan berlangsung 9 Mei ini perlu dipantau rapi oleh polis, terutama dari Cawangan Khas,” katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.
Terdahulu, beliau melawat Ibu Pejabat Kontinjen Polis Sabah di Kepayan, di sini. Beliau turut diiringi Setiausaha Persekutuan Sabah, Sarul Bahiyah Abu serta Pesuruhjaya Polis Sabah, Idris Abdullah.
Hajiji berkata, secara keseluruhannya, beliau berpuas hati dengan tahap keselamatan negeri itu.
“Berdasarkan taklimat Idris Abdullah dan pegawai-pegawainya, saya gembira mendengar keselamatan kita berada di tahap terbaik dengan kecekapan pasukan polis,” katanya. - FMT
Anggota bomba membantu memindahkan 68 peserta, termasuk seorang warga emas berkerusi roda, yang terperangkap selama 24 jam di Kem Rekreasi Budi, Kampung Belukar Bukit, hari ini. (Gambar Bernama)
KUALA BERANG: Seramai 68 orang, termasuk 20 kanak-kanak, diselamatkan selepas terperangkap selama 24 jam akibat banjir sejak awal pagi semalam di Kem Rekreasi Budi, Kampung Belukar Bukit, di sini hari ini.
Penyelia kem, Farhan Zakaria berkata, hujan lebat berterusan sejak Jumaat lepas menyebabkan kawasan itu dinaiki air dan selut secara mendadak sehingga menghanyutkan 10 khemah peserta bengkel solat yang sedang dianjurkan di situ.
“Air naik secara tiba-tiba pada 5.30 pagi di kawasan penginapan peserta pada paras dada orang dewasa. Jadi, saya bersama beberapa penyelia kem lain bergegas membawa peserta mendaki bukit di bahagian belakang kem untuk berlindung di dalam surau di situ.
“Kami juga terpaksa mengangkat seorang ahli keluarga peserta yang merupakan warga emas berkerusi roda,” katanya selepas operasi menyelamat selesai dijalankan pasukan dari Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat (BBP) Kuala Berang.
Katanya, ketika kejadian pada awal pagi itu, mereka sukar mendapatkan bantuan ekoran terputus liputan telefon dan internet, manakala kenderaan yang ada rosak akibat ditenggelami air.
Sementara itu, Ketua BBP Kuala Berang, Hanafi Mohd berkata, pihaknya menerima maklumat mengenai kejadian itu semalam, namun tidak dapat masuk ke kawasan terjejas kerana laluan darat terputus dan air deras, selain ia terletak di kawasan hutan.
“Pagi tadi apabila air mula surut, barulah pasukan bomba dapat ke sana,” katanya sambil memaklumkan operasi itu, yang bermula 8.30 pagi hingga 1 tengah hari itu, disertai sembilan anggota, tiga lori dan sebuah pacuan empat roda. - FMT
Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan says fresh elections are being sought to ensure political stability.
SIMPANG RENGGAM: Umno will continue to push for an early general election whether or not Barisan Nasional scores a major victory at the Johor state elections this month, says party deputy president Mohamad Hasan.
He said assumptions that Umno would demand a general election if it won big in Johor were untrue. “Umno deciding to push the prime minister (to dissolve Parliament and trigger a general election) does not come down to its performance (in Johor),” he said.
Umno will urge Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to dissolve Parliament regardless of whether BN wins big or loses in Johor. “We want to push (for Parliament to be dissolved) but in the end, it is up to the prime minister to decide,” he said at a press conference in Machap.
He said that if the prime minister were to ask the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for Parliament to be dissolved but the King disagreed, it meant that he no longer had trust in the prime minister and by convention, the prime minister should resign.
Mohamad denied allegations that Umno had pushed for the Johor elections and a national general election out of greed for power. It was done to ensure the country’s political stability, he said.
He said there was no guarantee of a big BN victory at a general election. Whichever party or coalition, including Pakatan Harapan, obtains a majority of parliamentary seats would form the government.
“We push for state elections and general elections because we want to restore political stability, not because of greed for power,” he said. “When there is political stability, the people have confidence and leaders can focus on developing the country.” - FMT
Civil defence members rescuing residents of Kampung Lubok Jong in Pasir Mas today. (Bernama pic)
PASIR MAS: A 15-year-old boy became the third flood victim in Kelantan after he was found drowned in Kampung Kubang Kedepan, near Banggol Kulim, here at 3.05pm today.
Pasir Mas district police chief Nasaruddin M Nasir said the teenager, Hawari Khodir, was believed to have fallen into floodwaters in the area at 7.15pm yesterday.
“Police received a report on the incident at 11am today. The victim was found not far from where he had fallen into the floodwaters by search and rescue personnel,” he said in a statement today.
Nasaruddin said the victim’s body was sent to Pasir Mas Hospital for autopsy.
Yesterday, Kelantan reported two flood fatalities – a 70-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy.
Meanwhile, the state government said it would see if there was a need to place Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates who are flood victims at specific centres so as to allow them to sit for the examination.
Menteri besar Ahmad Yakob said the state government and the health and education departments were holding discussions on the matter.
“We will look at all aspects, including incidents of stagnant floodwater. All matters must be taken into account, such as Covid-19, including SOPs,” he said after presenting aid to flood victims at SK Lati here today.
The SPM written examination will be from March 2-29 and involves 407,097 candidates. - FMT
MACC sources said the agency also received several documents from Rohana Rozhan, a former CEO of Astro Malaysia.
PUTRAJAYA: Former Astro CEO Rohana Rozhan went through a second round of questioning by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission today following the disclosure that she had been given a US$10 million London house by a banker involved with 1MDB.
Today’s interview lasted three hours from 9am, according to a Bernama report quoting unnamed MACC sources. The report did not name Rohana but described her as the former group chief executive officer of a satellite television company.
“MACC took her statement again today to get further explanation on several matters. There are also several documents that MACC received from her to facilitate the investigations,” the sources said, according to Bernama.
Rohana was reported to have spent about nine hours at the MACC headquarters last Thursday (Feb 24), two days after the incriminating testimony by former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner.
Leissner told a US court that he had a 10-year affair with Rohana and that she had demanded the gift of a London house for her silence over his involvement with 1MDB.
Leissner had pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating US anti-corruption laws and being involved in money laundering conspiracy. He is the US government’s star witness in the bribery trial of Leissner’s former colleague Roger Ng. - FMT
Khairy Jamaluddin (left) seeks the removal of statements and videos on his vaccination status which were posted by Lokman Noor Adam.
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has ordered Lokman Noor Adam to file his statement of defence to a defamation suit brought by Khairy Jamaluddin over statement’s made by the former about Khairy’s Covid-19 vaccination status.
The document must be filed by Thursday (March 3), Lokman’s lawyer, Norfazilah Jaafar, told reporters. She said the court had also ordered Khairy to file an affidavit in reply on March 17.
Khairy, who is health minister, had filed a defamation suit in his personal capacity against Lokman, a former Umno Supreme Council member on Jan 25. Khairy said Lokman had made statements implying that Khairy had lied and deceived the public about his vaccination status.
He also sought an order for the statements and videos to be deleted, and an injunction restraining Lokman from republishing the posts. He also requested that Lokman remove defamatory statements republished on all news portals and social media accounts within 24 hours.
In his statement of claim, Khairy, 46, said Lokman had defamed him through two videos and a picture on the latter’s Facebook page and in two live broadcasts on Facebook and his YouTube page. - FMT
The highest-paid specialisation in Malaysia was computer/information technology, with a median salary of RM6,000, says JobStreet Malaysia’s Salary Report 2022. (Bernama pic)
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s employment market charted an average salary growth of 3.2% year-on-year, with the education/training and accounting/finance specialisations seeing the highest salary increase rates, according to JobStreet Malaysia’s Salary Report 2022.
On the other hand, several industries and specialisations, including food and beverage (F&B), hotels/restaurants, building/construction, and sales and marketing, saw a decrease in salaries due to Covid-19-led lockdowns, layoffs and digitisation.
JobStreet said the report was based on data collected between the first quarter (Q1) and Q3 of 2021, against the same three-quarters of 2020.
Overall, 43.3% of new job listings in Malaysia saw increases in salary offered, while 18.9% remained unchanged.
The public sector saw the highest pay rise, with 63% of new jobs posted seeing salary increases, followed by the education, consumer goods and transportation industries at 46%.
In terms of specialisation, 48% of jobs involving education/training saw pay rises, followed by jobs in computer/information technology (IT) and administration/human resources (46%).
Meanwhile, the manufacturing, arts/media/communications and engineering were the top three specialisations with pay cuts during the period.
Job applicants in the science and technology industry saw one of the top pay hikes, with manager positions seeing a median year-on-year salary growth of 17.2%.
Entry-level posts in the communications services and electrical/electronics industries also experienced a significant growth in median salaries at 33.3% and 15.4% respectively.
However, in sales and marketing, managers and senior managers experienced median salaries shrink by 11.4% and 52.5%, respectively.
Despite this, sales and marketing remained the specialisations with the most number of job advertisements posted for two consecutive years.
The highest-paid specialisation in Malaysia was computer/IT, with a median salary of RM6,000.
“Workers in computer/IT can take comfort in the fact that they earn the most across all other specialisations and regardless of position level, except for senior managers who earn a median salary of RM17,000 as opposed to those in admin/HR who earn RM22,250.
“With a median salary of RM6,000, the telecommunications industry is the highest-paying industry,” JobStreet said.
Meanwhile, the insurance industry experienced the highest median salary growth at 14.6% (RM700) in 2021.
“Workers in the F&B industry should be aware that their industry is the most at risk, with a 40% decrease in median salary,” it noted. - FMT
