Highlights:
- Malaysia has not put in request for Sirul’s extradition
- Malaysia’s agricultural products to enter China’s Guizhou province
- Japan views TPP-11, RCEP as important regional cooperation mechanisms
- Sabah Labour Department reminds employers of deadline on wages
- Klean plans to talk to ASEAN governments on boosting recycling rates
- Volunteers Remove Over 100KG Of Trash In Underwater Clean-up Exercise In Conjunction with World Oceans Day
- AXA Emedic, Malaysia’s first online medical insurance plan extended to children as young as 15 days
- Inaugural Chillax Asia 2018 Injects Vibrancy into Singapore F&B Sector
Malaysia has not put in request for Sirul’s extradition
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government had not put in any request to Australia for the extradition of convicted murderer Sirul Azhar Umar. He said Sirul, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu was not allowed to return home. “Sirul cannot return to Malaysia because Australia does not allow people who are facing the gallows to return to their own country. “We might commute his death sentence to life imprisonment so that he can return to Malaysia,” he told reporters in Putrajaya. Tun Mahathir was responding to questions on a report by UK daily, The Guardian, that the Australian authorities had approved Malaysia’s request to extradite Sirul, who is expected to return to Malaysia within a month. It quoted that Sirul was expected to leave Australia after Malaysia agreed to cover the costs. Australia had initially refused to extradite Sirul as it would violate the country’s law which forbids a person facing the death sentence to be returned to his country of origin. On May 16, Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga wrote to Tun Dr Mahathir requesting him to help bring justice in the case of Altantuya. Sirul had indicated that he was prepared to assist and tell the new government about the murder, on condition of a full pardon.
Malaysia’s agricultural products to enter China’s Guizhou province
Malaysia and China have extended co-operation under the One Belt One Road initiative to promote new agriculture products, food processing and eco-tourism industries in Guizhou province. Vice President of the Malaysia-China Chambers of Commerce, Datuk Joseph Lim is optimistic that Malaysia’s unique food products will capture the hearts of the people, once introduced by the Guizhou Provincial Department of Commerce. “Our country’s agricultural products such as durians, bird’s nests, and Bak Kut Teh are all well-known food products that Malaysia is proud of. It is worth introducing them in Guizhou Province, in China’s south-west,” he added. Datuk Lim also said that Malaysia and Guizhou Province would also jointly develop the tourism industry that uses natural ecology as a selling point. “The ecotourism that Malaysia advertises is rich with natural ecology, rare species of wild animals and unexplored primitive tropical rainforests that ensure mutual benefits,” he said.
Japan views TPP-11, RCEP as important regional cooperation mechanisms
Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Makio Miyagawa said Japan views the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)-11 deal and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as important regional cooperation mechanisms, adding that the TPP had already been signed by the 11 member nations, including Malaysia. “I’m not sure when Malaysia will ratify the TPP-11, but I still have high hopes that these regional trade and investment liberalisation mechanisms will have a good future,” he told reporters after meeting with the Council of Eminent Persons Chairman, Tun Daim Zainuddin in Kuala Lumpur. He however, was mum on whether any trade deals would be signed between the two countries during Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s visit to Japan next week.
Sabah Labour Department reminds employers of deadline on wages
The Sabah Labour Department has reminded employers in the state to pay their workers’ salaries on time, that is, the latest being the 7th of every month. Its director Kamal Pardi said employers must also abide by the RM920 minimum wage enforced in Sabah. “The department is conducting an ‘Ops Gaji Raya’ statewide simultaneously today to ensure that employers have paid their workers their salary for the month of May, which should have been done at the latest, yesterday, in accordance with the Sabah Labour Ordinance. He warned that errant employers could be prosecuted under Section 108 of the Sabah Labour Ordinance, which provides for a fine of up to RM10,000, on conviction.
Klean plans to talk to ASEAN governments on boosting recycling rates
Malaysian start-up Klean, which won the first ASEAN edition of Pitch@Palace in Singapore, plans to talk to ASEAN governments and government-linked companies on boosting the recycling rates. They are also trying to talk to the UK government as the UK is expected to introduce the container deposit scheme towards the end of this year to curb plastic waste. “ASEAN countries generally are amongst the largest polluters of plastic in the world and we aim to change that with Klean. Singapore is one of the countries in ASEAN that are working towards improving its recycling rate,” co-founder Datuk Mohamad Arif Abdullah told Bernama after winning the first spot at the recent Pitch@Palace ASEAN, an initiative started by The Duke of York. Klean will proceed to pitch in the finals at Pitch@Palace Global at St. James Palace in London this December. With their plans to turn waste into money, Klean received the most votes from an invited audience of Chief Executive Officers, Influencers, Angel Investors, Mentors and Business Partners during Pitch@Palace ASEAN.
Volunteers Remove Over 100KG Of Trash In Underwater Clean-up Exercise In Conjunction with World Oceans Day
In Singapore, abot 20 volunteer divers took part in an underwater clean-up exercise to mark World Oceans Day. The event was organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) to raise awareness on the importance of Singapore’s marine environment. The A divers successfully collected and sorted about 110kg of marine trash which was transported back to mainland for proper disposal. The data gathered on the types and sources of marine debris collected will be compiled under Project AWARE’s Dive Against Debris® programme, a global survey of marine debris which contributes to understanding and tackling the sources of pollution. The divers also self-organised a Marine Bioblitz based on a resource kit developed by the National Parks Board (NParks). During their second dive, they documented four categories of marine animals – molluscs, echinoderms, fishes and corals – through photographs. The photographs will be handed to the NParks and experts from Friends of Marine Park for species identification, contributing to NParks’ database on marine biodiversity.
AXA eMedic, Malaysia’s first online Medical Insurance plan now extended to children
AXA AFFIN Life Insurance has officially launched the second phase of AXA eMedic with extension to children. The first-in-the-market online Medical Card is now available for those aged as young as 15 days till 39 years. With this extension, Malaysian millennials especially young families can better prepare themselves and their children against rising cost of medical fees with affordable and easily accessible medical plan. Customers can sign up for a plan within 5 minutes with no medical check-up via www.AXAeMedic.com. The product offering for children is also made available on Ringgit Plus, iMoney and for Digi customers through MyDigi App. The product will be made available soon on PolicyStreet and iBanding.
Inaugural Chillax Asia 2018 Injects Vibrancy into Singapore F&B Sector
Newly minted Chillax Asia 2018, co-organised by the Singapore Bakery & Confectionary Trade Association (SBCTA) and event organiser The Planner Affairs, will become the republic’s first platform that injects vibrancy into the local F&B sector through linking MNCs, existing players and Singapore start-ups. SBCTA President Liow Kian Huat said: “The SBCTA alongside industry partners have been ploughing in efforts and energies to reinvigorate the local F&B sector. Singapore has modernised rapidly over the past few decades, resulting in high levels of affluence in society. This is our Association’s way of modernising the trade while offering opportunities for millennials to join the sector.” The Association, which was founded in 1947, collaborated with homegrown event organiser The Planner Affairs Pte Ltd to create a platform where aspiring Singapore entrepreneurs, homegrown food and beverage enterprises and MNCs can interact to form new collaborations and partnerships. Chillax Asia 2018 will drive entrepreneurship by offering three available schemes that cater to all participants — “Young Entrepreneur & Startup Scheme (YES)”, “SME Expansion Scheme” (SES) and “Global Partnership Scheme” (GPS). The YES caters for new entrepreneurs who are keen to gain direct access to the existing players for insights, networking and franchise opportunities. As for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the SES will foster collaboration with Singapore and overseas based international organisations.
