128 contract nurses join Sabah’s Covid-19 battle

 

Some of the new nurses who will be serving in Sabah. (Facebook pic)

KOTA KINABALU: A total of 128 contract nurses have reported for duty to the Sabah health department to help in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, said local government and housing minister Masidi Manjun.

He said this was due to the efforts of the health ministry, adding the nurses are undergoing training before starting their duties.

“At the same time, nine medical officers from the health departments of Kelantan and Terengganu have also arrived in Sabah today,” he said, in a statement here today.

He said the surgical hall at Semporna hospital has also been reopened starting yesterday thanks to funds from the health ministry. Specialists from Tawau hospital had carried out a caesarean section and bilateral tubal ligation operations.

Two ambulances have also been placed at the Semporna hospital to beef up logistical support to help address the disease.

Meanwhile, Masidi said a big rise in the number of cases in the Rumah Merah cluster came about from screenings at two blocks of the detention centre for undocumented migrants.

He said there were 111 cases recorded today (compared to 57 yesterday).

“The number of cases is expected to rise in the coming days because the detention centre has 10 blocks, housing 1,706 detainees,” he said. - FMT

James Bond actor Sean Connery dies at 90

 

Sean Connery was the original actor who played James Bond, and appeared in seven of the spy thrillers. (Instagram pic)

LONDON: Legendary British actor Sean Connery, best known for playing fictional spy James Bond in seven films, has died aged 90, his family told the BBC on Saturday.

The Scottish actor, who was knighted in 2000, won numerous awards during his decades-spanning career, including an Oscar, three Golden Globes and two Bafta awards.

Connery as superspy James Bond.

Tributes immediately began pouring in for Connery who was considered one of the greatest movie stars of his generation.

“How infinitely sad to hear the news Sir Sean Connery has passed away,” stated a message on the Twitter account maintained for fellow Bond actor Roger Moore who died in 2017.

“He and Roger were friends for many decades and Roger always maintained Sean was the best ever James Bond. RIP.”

Connery claimed his Oscar in 1988 for best supporting actor for his role as an Irish cop in “The Untouchables”.

He also starred in “The Hunt for Red October”, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “The Rock”.

But it is his smooth, Scottish-accented portrayal of the suave spy 007 that he will be best remembered for.

The first actor to utter the unforgettable “Bond, James Bond”, Connery made seven official films as novelist Ian Fleming’s creation, giving what many still consider as the definitive portrayal. - FMT

This, too, will pass, Noor Hisham assures the Klang Valley

 

Restrictions and other measures in the Klang Valley will reduce the Covid-19 infection rate, says Noor Hisham Abdullah.

PETALING JAYA: Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has allayed fears about the high number of cases in the Klang Valley, saying that the public health interventions in place would bring down the infection rate.

“Right now, there are no vaccines or medicine (to kill the virus), but we do have public health methods,” he said.

He said Kedah had similarly gone through a spate of high case numbers, with many active clusters, such as the Sivagangga, Tawar, Salak, Telaga and Sungai clusters. But now few cases have been reported in Kedah.

Noor Hisham said the number of cases had come down after public health interventions such as targeted screenings at suspected zones and restrictions of the targeted enhanced movement control order.

“Selangor and Klang Valley, too, we can control and reduce the number of cases,” he said.

He added that based on the number of cases yesterday and today, the R0 (R-naught, or infection rate) in the country was between 0.3 and 1.0.

He said the figure showed that public health activities and partial lockdowns in areas under the conditional movement control order in certain states were showing results.

Stay home for only 2 more weeks, says DG

He urged the public to continue staying home “for only another two weeks”, unless it is absolutely necessary to leave the house.

Noor Hisham has previously stated that the CMCO over Sabah, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan could only be lifted if the infection rate was lower than 0.3.

When asked about a case of a Sarawakian woman who had tested positive 18 days after returning home from Labuan, Noor Hisham said the woman showed symptoms on the 11th day, but did not report them.

The woman was tested a second time on day 10 of her mandatory quarantine, and was released on day 14.

He added that, at times, people who requested to be released from quarantine earlier may be tested a second time before day 13. He said this was because results may take longer than one day.

“That’s why one of the reasons (for the earlier second test) might be that if they get tested on day 10 then maybe they can get the results on day 13 or day 14, because results can take a few days.”

He said there have been no cases in Malaysia of a patient showing symptoms and testing positive beyond the 14-day virus incubation period. -FMT

Keep vital transport projects going, urges works minister

 

The Pan Borneo Highway is among several projects that need Budget funds, says the works minister.

PETALING JAYA: Works Minister Fadillah Yusof hopes there will be enough funds in the 2021 Budget to keep major road and rail transport projects on track next year.

Fadillah said he hoped the construction industry would continue to be given attention and serve as the core of the government’s economic recovery and growth in 2021.

“We need to ensure that major construction projects such as Mass Rapid Transit Line 3, East Coast Rail Line, High Speed Rail, Pan Borneo Highway, and several other highway projects run smoothly and serve as a catalyst for positive growth for the construction industry,” he said.

He hoped attention would be given to certain high priority projects such as the balance of the project packages for the Central Spine Road and the Jalan Kota Bharu-Kuala Krai project that have not yet been approved.

Fadillah Yusof.

He said this includes the road from Kuala Krai to Gua Musang and also the line connecting Bentong to Karak.

In East Malaysia, among the high priority projects yet to get off the ground are the 5km “missing link” from Kuala Baram, Miri, to the Brunei border at the Sungai Tujuh immigration checkpoint.

Funds were also needed for road maintenance, government buildings and quarters.

“The economic multiplier effect obtained through such small projects will be felt more quickly and can be enjoyed by more industry players in the various layers of the construction sector,” he said.

There were also 20 new projects to upgrade existing roads or build new roads.

The 2021 Budget is scheduled to be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 6. - FMT

How Malaysia almost fell into the abyss

 

It started with rumours that a cabinet reshuffle was on the cards. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s support was shaky at best, after reports that Umno was considering to pull away support from his Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

Umno made certain demands, details of which were not made public, and if those demands were not met, Umno MPs would no longer support the prime minister.

As such, when it was reported that a special cabinet meeting was to take place on Friday, Oct 23, many assumed that this meeting was to discuss a cabinet reshuffle in order to acquiescence to Umno's demands.

Yet, while the meeting was taking place, several mainstream media outlets began to publish an opinion by academic professor Shamrahayu Ab Aziz on what a proclamation of emergency would entail. This caught many by surprise, as no one expected the cabinet meeting to be about advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to proclaim an emergency under Article 150 of the Federal Constitution.

Yet by the end of the special cabinet meeting, reports began to surface that the cabinet had agreed to take this course of action. The reports quoted sources from within Putrajaya, even though no official confirmation came from the government.

On the same day itself, it was reported that the prime minister, along with an entourage of ministers and senior civil servants, had met with the Agong to propose the imposition of the Article 150 proclamation. However, His Royal Highness saw fit to first confer with the nine Malay rulers on the issue, and did not immediately agree to the prime minister’s request.

Meanwhile, the mainstream media began to set the narrative in favour of the emergency. It was a ‘political emergency’, they said. Things will be as they are, only ‘political activities’ would be halted. They also claimed that this would be a ‘medical emergency’, because of the rising Covid-19 numbers which saw new cases in this third wave soar beyond the cumulative cases in the first and second waves of the pandemic in Malaysia.

The mainstream media also portrayed as if there were only two choices left to the government; proclaim an emergency or face a general election at the height of the coronavirus wave. Several outlets published polls with only these two choices, in a less-than-subtle attempt to sway public opinion in favour of the emergency.

Legal eagles argued that current laws were sufficient to deal with the pandemic, and opined that from a constitutional point of view, the circumstances that would allow the government to proclaim an emergency was simply not present.

Others spoke up against the emergency too. Civil society warned against the effect that an emergency would have on civil liberties. Academics argued that an emergency was not needed, while the Malaysian Medical Association came out with a statement that what Malaysia needed was more aid to Sabah, instead of an emergency. Economists also warned of the devastating effect an emergency would have on the fragile economy.

Political parties from across the divide also made it known that they did not support a proclamation of emergency. Top Pakatan Harapan leaders, Pejuang, Muda, and even several Umno leaders went on record to say they did not support an emergency.

It was clear that by the time the rulers met on Sunday, Oct 25, by and large the public did not buy into the need for an emergency.

Thankfully, the rulers were in consonance with the prevailing public opinion. After the meeting, the Agong, through the comptroller of the royal household, opined that an emergency was not needed at that point in time and therefore did not agree with the prime minister’s proposal to proclaim one.

The keeper of the royal seal also issued a statement, representing the Malay rulers.

"The rulers were of the view that it was important to respect the mechanism of check and balance between all branches of the government and also the Agong's role to balance various demands in ensuring justice and curtailing (membatasi) any elements of abuse of power," he said.

The word "membatasi" was the only one to be highlighted in red in the statement. The other words were printed in black.

This statement is significant as it suggests that the rulers were of the view that there could be elements of abuse of power in an emergency, and that the Agong's role is to ensure that executive powers are not abused.

The country breathed a collective sigh of relief. At a time when checks and balance of executive action is of the utmost importance, the country had dodged a nuclear missile in the form of an emergency.

If this was any other head of executive, it would be politically untenable for them to continue with their position. Such a major political gambit in order ensure that the prime minister continues to hold onto power by way of pushing the emergency button had failed. The responsible thing to do would be for the prime minister to resign.

However, Muhyiddin is still the prime minister, and business proceeded as usual in the days that followed. It was as if we did not come close to the point of no return and nearly fell into the abyss of emergency rule.

---

SYAHREDZAN JOHAN is a civil liberties lawyer and political secretary to Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang. - Mkini

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

Woman released from quarantine, only to be tested positive 4 days later

 

COVID-19 | A woman who failed to notify authorities that she had developed symptoms of Covid-19 while undergoing quarantine ended up being released only to be tested positive four days later.

According to the health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, investigations revealed the woman had completed a 14-day quarantine as required by authorities in Sarawak after she returned from Labuan earlier this month.

Both swab tests conducted on her to detect the coronavirus on the first day and 10th day of quarantine had returned negative results.

"As per the usual procedures, a test would be conducted on the first day (of the quarantine). And a second test was then done on the 10th day.

"Because both tests returned negative, she was released from quarantine on the 14th day. However, on the 18th day (after returning from Labuan), she got tested again after showing symptoms of the virus.

"Investigations revealed that the woman had actually started having symptoms since the 11th day, but she did not notify the authorities. She only came in when the symptoms worsened on the 18th day and got tested and she was confirmed positive," Noor Hisham told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

He was asked about the case after the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee yesterday classified it as an imported case, rather than a local infection in the state.

According to a statement by the committee on Friday, the housewife had arrived in Miri from Labuan on Oct 10 when she was given a swab test and ordered to undergo isolation which she had duly completed.

She was tested for the third time on Oct 27, for which the result came back positive on Oct 29.

Noor Hisham added that in most cases of travellers found positive, they were tested for the virus on the first day of quarantine.

However, 25 percent were only found positive when they got tested on the 13th day, which is the usual practice to ensure that every person under quarantine is free of Covid-19 before they can be released.

"If we look at the case of travellers, as of today, there are 1,181 positive cases involving this group in total.

"From this number, 75 percent were found positive on the first day, while 25 percent were found positive on the 13th day," he said.

When asked why the woman was tested on the 10th day instead of 13th, Noor Hisham said that there were cases where swab tests were done in advance due to time needed for the result to come back in time for the last day of quarantine. - Mkini

Covid-19 clusters prove need to upgrade prison conditions: Nurul Izzah

 

Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah said the rising number of Covid-19 cases from prison clusters in Malaysia has shown the importance of upgrading the conditions of detention centres.

She said she had been told previously that the upcoming 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) would include an upgrade of all immigration depots across the country.

“However, in light of recent events, such plans may have fallen by the wayside.

“It remains to be seen whether it will reappear in the next Parliament sitting but I think events have clearly shown the importance of upgrading detention centres,” said Nurul Izzah.

She was speaking in a Zoom webinar entitled "Speaking for the Unspoken: The Vulnerable Population and Covid-19" hosted by the Medico-Legal Society of Malaysia (MLSM) today.

She said human rights group have long bemoaned the substandard sanitation and related conditions in detention centres in Malaysia and also warned that if such places were not improved, they would become an easy place for diseases to spread.

“Prisons have been ticking health time bombs for years now. It is completely unsurprising how quickly we see the spread (of Covid-19) behind bars,” Nurul Izzah said.

She pointed out that there has now been a “frightening surge” in the infection that has spread like wildfire in prisons such as through the Tembok cluster, the Penang remand prison cluster and the Kepayan prison cluster.

On Oct 27, half of all those tested in the Kepayan prison in Sabah turned out to be positive, she said.

By Oct 28, there were 1,566 cases from the Kepayan prison cluster, she said.

In the last parliamentary sitting in July, she said several parliamentarians had asked Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin to ensure that prisons were adequately protected from the virus spread.

“We were assured multiple times that necessary standard operating procedures (SOPs) were in place, yet look where we are now,” she said.

By neglecting the healthcare of prisoners, she said the country has failed them as prison should not be a death sentence.

“Exposure to a deadly virus was never meant to be part of their sentence,” she said.

She also urged that those who violated MCO orders should not be imprisoned under the current situation.

Advocate and solicitor Abdul Rashid Ismail, meanwhile, said these issues have been long-standing problems plaguing the prison system but the government has taken a “very slow approach” in dealing with them.

He also pointed out that those in prison usually consist of unconvicted prisoners on remand awaiting trial on top of convicted prisoners and death-row prisoners.

Unconvicted prisoners who are being remanded are usually those who have committed serious crimes or those who cannot afford to pay their bail.

Abdul Rashid said this is partly how the issues facing Malaysian prisons affect the poor of society.

“Prisoners also have rights, under Article 5(1) of the Federal Constitution which states no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with the law.

“Prisoners are also human, they are not subhuman, so we still have to treat them with dignity,” he said. - Mkini