Day: July 19, 2022

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia)— Malaysia has introduced the Comprehensive Security (COMSEC) Doctrine to enable the responsibility of maintaining national security to be shouldered proactively by all the government machinery and the people from all walks of life.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the COMSEC doctrine, introduced by the National Security Council (NSC), was to enable Malaysia to face the challenges of national security management now and in the future.

“The pillar to the implementation of a comprehensive security strategy is the trust that must be upheld by all members of the Malaysian Family,” he said when opening the 2022 National Security Conference and National Security here Tuesday.

Ismail Sabri said all the government machinery should ensure the COMSEC strategy is implemented in all aspects of the country’s governance and for the NSC to implement the Comprehensive Security Practice initiative as soon as possible.

“This Comprehensive Security Practice will enable the level of preparedness to be enhanced for Malaysia to face any potential crisis situation,” he said, adding that it should involve the ministries and the federal government agencies with the cooperation of the state government as well as the involvement of the private sector.

The prime minister said all government agencies should be prepared, through the existing mechanism, to start planning the implementation of the Comprehensive Security Practice immediately.

“In fact, there is a need to integrate the aspects of volunteerism and participation of non-governmental organisations, especially involving various segments of the community,” he said.

Ismail Sabri said for the next three years, the NSC should start a framework for the implementation of the Comprehensive Security Practice to be tested at an early stage and improved continuously.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

JAKARTA— The ASEAN Committee on Consumer Protection has launched a consumer online learning tools or Learning Management System (LMS) to increase consumer awareness and vigilance across the region.

The development of the LMS is supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation under the Consumer Protection in ASEAN (PROTECT) project, according to ASEAN Secretariat in a statement.

The e-learning modules cover topics such as understanding consumer issues, becoming a consumer champion, building a consumer movement, and mediating disputes.

Registered users can access freely the LMS at https://lms.aseanconsumer.org/

Launched at the 3rd ASEAN Consumer Protection Conference recently, LMS is consistent with Deliverable 4.1.5 of the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for Consumer Protection 2025.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

SYDNEY– Malaysian airline company, AirAsia, announced that, it would recommence flights to several Australian capital cities and New Zealand later this year, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

AirAsia X, which is the long-haul arm of the budget airline, will fly from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne and Perth from Nov 1.

The airline, which has already restarted flights from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney, will also offer flights from New Zealand’s capital city, to Auckland from Nov.

There will initially be three flights a week to each capital city, before gradually adding more flights to the schedule in early 2023.

The resumption of flights to Melbourne Airport will be the first time in almost four years, with AirAsia X having used a regional Victorian airport from 2018 to 2020.

AirAsia X chief executive, Benyamin Ismail, said, the airline was looking forward to “making long-haul air travel affordable once again” for those living in Australia and New Zealand.

“In 2019, we flew over a million guests to both countries, which shows that Australia and New Zealand are important markets for us, and we connected the same number of Australians and New Zealanders to Malaysia and across ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations),” Ismail said in a report, in Simply Flying.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

KUALA LUMPUR— Malaysia agrees in principle to integrate the system with Indonesia on the recruitment of foreign workers into the country, said Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan.

He said the move was to enable both countries to have information on the entry of Indonesian workers into Malaysia.

“During our discussions with Indonesia, they suggested using the existing One Channel System in Indonesia … for now, we, through the Home Ministry (KDN) use the Maid Online System which Indonesia claims does not provide the information on workers from Indonesia entering Malaysia.

“With the One Channel System, they will be able to monitor and following discussion with KDN, we agreed in principle to integrate the existing system with KDN and the system by Indonesia so that both countries will have the information,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat (lower house of Malaysia’s parliament) Tuesday.

According to Saravanan, the ministry was aware of the need for foreign workers in Malaysia and the matter would be resolved soon.

On whether there was a condition in the Memorandum of Understanding between Malaysia and Indonesia on the abolition of the Maid Online System, Saravanan said there was no such condition.

He said the Memorandum of Understanding between Malaysia and Indonesia on the Recruitment and Placement of Indonesian Domestic Workers was signed on April 1.

The memorandum of understanding paved the way for the entry of Indonesian workers for employment in other sectors in the country, including domestic maids.

However, last July 12, the Indonesian government announced a temporary suspension of the entry of Indonesian workers into Malaysia due to confusion that arose in the mechanism of hiring Indonesian domestic workers into the country.

Earlier, Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin said discussion between the Malaysian and Indonesian government on the matter started Monday.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

KABUL– An earthquake jolted parts of Afghanistan yesterday afternoon, injuring at least 14 people and destroying scores of houses, officials said today.

According to U.S. geological survey, the quake, measuring 5.1 on Richter scale, occurred at 4:30 p.m. local time and largely shocked the previously quake-hit Gayan and Barmal districts of the eastern Paktika province, leaving 12 people injured, provincial head of information and culture, Bilal Hazifa, said.

Similarly, the tremor injured two people and destroyed 18 houses in Spera district, of the neighbouring Khost province, local official, Kalim Gul, said.

According to locals, about 30 tremors were felt in Gayan district since yesterday. The state-run Bakhtar news agency also reported frequent earthquakes in Gayan area, with bang sounds.

In the previous tremor, that struck the districts on Jun 22, at least 1,000 people were killed and more 1,500 others injured, officials said.

Similarly, another quake was felt in Kabul and its vicinity late last night, according to Kabul residents.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia)— In regard to Sulu Group claims, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob gave assurance that the government will protect the country’s assets using every all channels available.

“They (Sulu Group) brought the case to court, so we will also protect our assets through legal channels.

“I give assurance not to compromise or even budge an inch in defending the country’s rights and sovereignty,” he told reporters here Tuesday.

He said this in response to the issue concerning the Sulu Group who were reported to have threatened Malaysia’s interests and assets overseas, especially the assets belonging to government-linked companies.

On July 12, assets of two Petronas subsidiaries in Azerbaijan were reported to have been seized by the Sulu Group, who were claiming AS$14.92 billion from Malaysia.

The move was said to be part of legal efforts launched in 2017 by the heirs to receive compensation over land in Sabah which they claimed their ancestor had leased to a British trading company in 1878.

Ismail Sabri said he was made to understand that Petronas and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar would give an explanation to Parliament soon on the seizure of Petronas assets in Azerbaijan.

He said the Cabinet had, on July 14, agreed to set up a special task force to study, monitor and formulate an appropriate action plan based on the provision of the law to address the issue of Sulu Group claims on Malaysia.

“A special task force has been set up to look into the issue in a comprehensive manner, not only concerning Petronas assets but also Malaysia’s other assets abroad. There are many government-linked companies which have assets overseas and this will be looked into thoroughly,” he said.

When asked about the need to mobilise security forces to defend the country’s assets overseas, Ismail Sabri said: “It’s not easy to bring security forces to other countries, unless under the United Nations (UN) flag.”

Last March, a French arbitration court ruled that Malaysia, which inherited the lease obligations after it gained independence from Britain, must pay at least US$14.92 billion to the descendants of the last Sulu Sultan.

However, Wan Junaidi said the Malaysian government did not recognise the claims and proceedings by the arbitration court in Pari as the decision made by the arbitrator, Dr Gonzalo Stampa, was null and void after his appointment was revoked in 2021.

Last Tuesday, the Paris Court of Appeal allowed the Malaysian government’s application to stay the enforcement of the Final Award issued by the arbitration court on the ground that it would affect the immunity of Malaysia’s sovereignty.

In his statement on Wednesday, Wan Junaidi said as a result of the suspension order given by the Paris Court of Appeal, the Final Award cannot be enforced in any country until a final decision is made by the Paris Court regarding the Malaysia government’s application for cancellation of the Final Award.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK