New visa policy overlooks non-citizen women, children in Malaysian families, says group

 

Family Frontiers says the long-term social visit passes issued to non-citizen spouses include a statement of prohibition from employment, presenting substantial challenges in finding work.

PETALING JAYA: An NGO that advocates equal citizenship for Malaysians with foreign spouses says Putrajaya’s recently announced visa liberalisation programmes fail to address the needs of women and children from binational families.

In a statement, Family Frontiers said this “vulnerable” group remained absent from the new policy despite forming an unrecognised yet substantial workforce of skilled professionals.

“But their potential contribution to Malaysia’s productivity is hindered by stringent employment restrictions.”

The home ministry several days ago introduced five new initiatives under its visa liberalisation plan, including a multiple-entry visa for tourists and long-term social visit passes (LTSVPs) for international students from selected countries.

The measures, to take effect on Dec 1, are intended to revitalise the country’s tourism sector, identified by Bank Negara Malaysia as a crucial contributor to economic growth, the ministry said.

But Family Frontiers said the LTSVPs issued to non-citizen spouses include a statement of prohibition from employment, presenting substantial challenges in finding work.

“Although it is possible to obtain a work endorsement, it requires an initial job offer, but the prohibition on their LTSVPs hinders them from receiving such job offers in the first place.”

Family Frontiers also said that the process for non-citizen spouses to receive work endorsements is limited to the state where the pass is issued.

It added that if non-citizen spouses find employment in a different state, they face a lengthy and cumbersome process to transfer their LTSVP file to the state of their employment.

“This process can take anywhere from three to six months, a duration that most employers are unwilling to wait.”

Family Frontiers said removing the statement of prohibition on employment on the LTSVPs and allowing non-citizen spouses to work in all sectors, including those requiring professional licences, could substantially reverse the brain drain.

It also called for a streamlined process for permanent residency (PR), including a reasonable timeframe and justification for rejection.

“Accord PR after five years on LTSVP, irrespective of nationality, qualifications, income, or children, and utilise existing documentation submitted during the application and extension of the LTSVP,” it said. - FMT

Ringgit retreats after three days of gains

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed lower today, snapping three consecutive days of gains on profit-taking after the local note touched the immediate support level of RM4.6611 against the US dollar.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the local note is struggling to maintain its appreciation bias after piercing the immediate support level.

“Profit-taking activities appear to seep in whenever it hit the immediate support level,” he told Bernama.

At 6pm, the ringgit fell to 4.6590/4.6635 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6495/4.6550.

At the close, the ringgit was traded mostly higher versus a basket of major currencies.

It appreciated further vis-a-vis the euro at 5.0918/5.0967 from 5.1014/5.1075 at yesterday’s close, was a tad higher against the British pound at 5.8941/5.8998 from yesterday’s 5.8951/5.9021.

But the local note eased against the Japanese yen to 3.1601/3.1634 from 3.1513/3.1553 previously.

The local note was traded higher against other Asean currencies, except against the Philippine peso.

It was marginally higher versus the Singapore dollar at 3.4883/3.4920 from yesterday’s 3.4909/3.4953, rose against the Thai baht to 13.2335/13.2546 from 13.3484/13.3722 and edged up against the Indonesian rupiah to 300.3/300.8 from 301.9/302.5 at yesterday’s close.

The ringgit was unchanged versus the Philippine peso at 8.39/8.41 since yesterday. - FMT

Former 1MDB land in Penang now under different company, says CM

 

Chow Kon Yeow said a caveat on all transactions on the 95ha was only placed three months after the land had been transferred to Ayer Itam Properties Sdn Bhd on April 17, 2018.

GEORGE TOWN: Three parcels of land in Air Itam here, once belonging to a 1MDB subsidiary, were transferred to another company in 2018, the Penang assembly was told today.

Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the land was transferred to Ayer Itam Properties Sdn Bhd on April 17, 2018.

He said a block on all transactions on the 95ha was only placed three months later on July 11 the same year.

“A forfeiture notice was filed on the said lands at the request of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for an investigation into money laundering,” he said when winding up the debate on the 2024 state budget.

Chow’s revelation comes a week after he said no plot of land in Penang was found to be registered in the name of the insolvent state fund. His statement was based on current land administration records.

In 2018, 1MDB had wanted to change the ownership of the said land as the company had been renamed from 1MDB RE (Ayer Itam) Sdn Bhd to Ayer Itam Properties Sdn Bhd.

In 2018, then finance minister Lim Guan Eng said the Air Itam land was “secretly” sold to Silk Road Southeast Asia Real Estate Ltd, a company based in the Cayman Islands.

He said the land was sold for RM2.7 billion on Aug 24, 2017, netting a profit of RM1.32 billion based on the original RM1.38 billion purchase price.

The sale was carried out through the disposal of the land’s owner, 1MDB unit My City Ventures Sdn Bhd, to Silk Road via a share sale agreement, Lim said.

However, past reports indicated that the land was never transferred due to a caveat placed on the land.

Chow said while a block on all transactions is placed through a registrar’s caveat, the landowners were free to develop the land as long as it was allowed by the local authorities.

He said the size of the land was large, and it was up to the federal government to develop it, reminding them of encumbrances in the form of “hundreds of squatters”.

Checks by FMT with the Companies Commission of Malaysia showed that Ayer Itam Properties Sdn Bhd remains under the ownership of Sentuhan Budiman Sdn Bhd, a company previously reported to be under the control of the finance ministry. - FMT

Former 1MDB land in Penang now under different company, says CM

 

Chow Kon Yeow said a caveat on all transactions on the 95ha was only placed three months after the land had been transferred to Ayer Itam Properties Sdn Bhd on April 17, 2018.

GEORGE TOWN: Three parcels of land in Air Itam here, once belonging to a 1MDB subsidiary, were transferred to another company in 2018, the Penang assembly was told today.

Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the land was transferred to Ayer Itam Properties Sdn Bhd on April 17, 2018.

He said a block on all transactions on the 95ha was only placed three months later on July 11 the same year.

“A forfeiture notice was filed on the said lands at the request of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for an investigation into money laundering,” he said when winding up the debate on the 2024 state budget.

Chow’s revelation comes a week after he said no plot of land in Penang was found to be registered in the name of the insolvent state fund. His statement was based on current land administration records.

In 2018, 1MDB had wanted to change the ownership of the said land as the company had been renamed from 1MDB RE (Ayer Itam) Sdn Bhd to Ayer Itam Properties Sdn Bhd.

In 2018, then finance minister Lim Guan Eng said the Air Itam land was “secretly” sold to Silk Road Southeast Asia Real Estate Ltd, a company based in the Cayman Islands.

He said the land was sold for RM2.7 billion on Aug 24, 2017, netting a profit of RM1.32 billion based on the original RM1.38 billion purchase price.

The sale was carried out through the disposal of the land’s owner, 1MDB unit My City Ventures Sdn Bhd, to Silk Road via a share sale agreement, Lim said.

However, past reports indicated that the land was never transferred due to a caveat placed on the land.

Chow said while a block on all transactions is placed through a registrar’s caveat, the landowners were free to develop the land as long as it was allowed by the local authorities.

He said the size of the land was large, and it was up to the federal government to develop it, reminding them of encumbrances in the form of “hundreds of squatters”.

Checks by FMT with the Companies Commission of Malaysia showed that Ayer Itam Properties Sdn Bhd remains under the ownership of Sentuhan Budiman Sdn Bhd, a company previously reported to be under the control of the finance ministry. - FMT

Harimau Malaya climb 7 spots, now ranked 130th in the world

 

Malaysia’s recent successes against Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan have helped them climb the world rankings. (Facebook pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Harimau Malaya climbed seven rungs up the international ladder to secure 130th position in the world, according to the latest update from the Fifa rankings today.

The national team, led by Kim Pan Gon, accumulated 1,122.87 points, improving from the 137th position held since Oct 26.

This positive development follows Malaysia’s success in Group D in the second round of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, where they defeated Kyrgyzstan 4-3 on Nov 16 and Taiwan 1-0 on Nov 21, giving them an extra 26.15 points.

According to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), the goal is to reach 120th spot by the end of this year.

However, Malaysia still lag far behind other Southeast Asian countries, with Vietnam in 94th position and Thailand in 113th spot.

In the Asian zone, the top five teams are Japan, ranked 17th, followed by Iran (21st), South Korea (23rd), Australia (25th) and Saudi Arabia (56th).

Meanwhile, 2022 World Cup champions Argentina retained their position as the number one team globally, followed by France in second place, England (third), Belgium (fourth), and Brazil completing the top five. - FMT

No misfeasance in public office in HSR’s termination, court told

 

On Jan 1, 2021, Malaysia and Singapore announced the termination of the 350km high-speed rail project. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: The government and four others did not commit any misfeasance in public office in suspending and then terminating the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project, the High Court here was told today.

Senior federal counsel Donald Joseph Franklin said the defendants, who include former prime ministers Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin, exercised their authority and responsibility honestly, professionally and in good faith without having any personal interests.

“At all material times, the defendants acted reasonably and properly based on the facts and in accordance with the law in carrying out their duties, responsibilities and obligations.

“The defendants’ decision is a policy decision of the government after taking into account expert views, negotiations between the parties, national interests and cost implications,” he told the court.

The government, Mahathir, Muhyiddin, former economy minister Mustapa Mohamed and former transport minister Wee Ka Siong are seeking to quash a suit filed by a member of the public, Hatta Sanuri, over the cancellation of the HSR.

On Dec 30 last year, Hatta filed the suit for himself and on behalf of the more than 32 million Malaysians allegedly affected by the defendants’ decision.

Franklin contended that the defendants’ decision-making process was based on wider considerations of experts’ opinion, national interests, the bilateral relationship between Malaysia and Singapore, and cost implications.

“Therefore, it is submitted that the court has no constitutional role or institutional competence to decide on the decision-making process of the executive body,” he said, adding that the plaintiff also had no locus standi to bring the legal action before the court.

According to the counsel, the plaintiff failed to show that he had a real interest in the subject matter or suffered any material loss from the defendants’ suspension and termination of the HSR project.

Hatta’s lawyer, Mohaji Selamat, argued that the defendants had been negligent and abused their public positions when deciding to suspend the project.

Judicial commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain questioned Hatta’s claim, saying it lacked details to support the allegation of abuse of public office by the defendants. She also asked the plaintiff to provide specific details regarding the claim.

Mohaji said economists had indicated that the project would benefit the country, while Putrajaya would incur losses because it would have to compensate the Singaporean government after cancelling the project.

“The defendants’ failure to explain to the public why the HSR project was cancelled has caused confusion and resulted in losses for the plaintiff and other taxpayers. There is an element of abuse of public office,” said the lawyer.

The court then fixed Dec 15 for a decision.

Hatta is seeking a court order to declare the cancellation of the project null and void, as well as for the defendants to pay RM1 million in compensation to him and all Malaysians for wrongfully and negligently cancelling the HSR project.

On Jan 1, 2021, Malaysia and Singapore announced the termination of the 350km HSR project as the two countries had failed to reach an agreement on changes proposed by Malaysia before the project’s agreement expired on Dec 31, 2020.

Accordingly, Malaysia paid S$102.8 million (RM320.27 million then) in compensation to Singapore for costs incurred for the development of the HSR and the extension of the project’s suspension. - FMT

Tobacco bill will close nicotine vape gap, says expert

 

Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy CEO Azrul Khalib said removing liquid and gel nicotine from the Poisons List had been akin to opening Pandora’s box. (File pic)

PETALING JAYA: A public health expert says that the Dewan Rakyat’s passage of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill today marks a significant step in addressing the nicotine gap, particularly for vaping products.

“The nicotine vape gap will finally be on its way to being plugged,” Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy CEO Azrul Khalib said.

However, Azrul said there is a significant challenge in addressing the prevalent harm among children and minors due to vaping, despite the passing of the bill.

“Like Pandora’s box, it will take time to close,” he said in a statement.

The bill seeks to ban the sale and purchase of tobacco products, smoking materials, tobacco substitute products, or the provision of any service for smoking to minors.

Azrul said despite the bill’s shortcomings, it signals the end of a long effort to establish standalone legislation in Malaysia for tobacco and nicotine, including vaping products and e-cigarettes.

Previously, Azrul had slammed the government for its failure to prioritise the health threat of vape and electronic cigarette products.

He said the health ministry opened a “Pandora’s box” by removing liquid and gel nicotine from the Poisons List, allowing the product to be available over the counter for use in e-cigarettes.

The Dewan Rakyat passed the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill with a majority voice vote today.

It was passed following a tense debate involving 27 MPs from both sides, who expressed disappointment with the removal of the generational endgame (GEG) provisions from the bill.

The GEG component would have prohibited the sale of tobacco and vape products to those born after 2007. - FMT