Day: March 6, 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Bernama) — Former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin suggested that the government allocate at least RM300,000 to all members of parliament, including those from the opposition, to enable them to channel immediate aid to flood victims in their respective areas.

Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who channelled RM50 million in flood aid to Johor, the Pagoh MP also suggested that the amount of aid be increased.

“I also want to thank the prime minister who approved the immediate allocation of RM50 million to Johor but I suggest it be increased to RM100 million because the flood situation this time is very bad,” he said, when debating the 2023 Supply Bill in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Meanwhile, Aminolhuda Hassan (PH-Sri Gading) also hopes that the government will provide an allocation of more than RM100 million to help flood victims in Johor.

“When Kelantan and Terengganu were affected by the floods last January, the government gave RM50 million to each state. Let’s say (there are) 50,000 flood victims in Johor this time, with RM50 million, we can only give RM1,000 in ‘wang ihsan’ (to flood victims),” he said.

Aminolhuda also asked the government to address the problem of delays in basic needs and food delivery to flood victims being housed at relief centres.

Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) suggested that the government review the quality of food given to flood victims in relief centres.

“Don’t send stale food, uncooked rice and so on and speed up the food delivery,” he said.

Datuk Adnan Abu Hassan (BN-Kuala Pilah) said a large allocation was needed to overcome the floods that often hit the country.

In addition, he said river and canal maintenance work should be done on a scheduled and periodic basis to avoid greater losses due to floods.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Samdech Krolahom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior of Cambodia, yesterday concluded his three-day working visit to Vietnam at the invitation of H.E. Gen. To Lam, Minister of Public Security of Vietnam.

The visit was aimed to review the outcome of the security deal reached last year, and signed this year’s cooperation plan to further boost the ties between the Cambodian Ministry of Interior and the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security.

On Mar. 4, Samdech Sar Kheng paid a courtesy call on H.E. Vo Van Thuong, new President of Vietnam in Hanoi, Vietnam who highly valued the outcomes of the cooperation between the two ministries in 2022.

The new Vietnamese president was convinced that both ministries will further strengthen the existing cooperation to achieve better results.

During his stay in Vietnam, Samdech Sar Kheng also met with Vietnamese Prime Minister H.E. Pham Minh Chinh and held at the Faculty of Firefighting and Prevention a get-together with Cambodian trainees from different training institutes in the northern region of Vietnam.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

The Cambodian Ministry of Interior and the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security reviewed the results of their 2022 cooperation plan and signed a new one for this year at a conference in Hanoi, Vietnam last Saturday, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

Samdech Krolahom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior of Cambodia and Vietnamese Minister of Public Security H.E. Gen. To Lam co-chaired the event.

Looking back on cooperation results last year, the two senior officials said the two sides maintained sharing information about the international and regional situations related to their countries’ national security and social order and safety, supported each other at international and regional forums, and coordinated to guarantee security and safety for important political events in each country, including the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits in Cambodia.

In 2022, despite certain difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the two ministries’ police forces boosted cooperation in crime prevention and control such as exchanging information and verifying requests related to criminals on international wanted lists via INTERPOL, ASEANAPOL, the diplomatic channel, specialised departments, and the police forces in border provinces, thereby obtaining some significant results in crime fight.

Wrapping up the conference, Samdech Sar Kheng and H.E. Gen. To Lam signed the cooperation plan for 2023 between their ministries.

The Cambodian DPM paid a three-day working visit to Vietnam from Mar. 3 to 5 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart H.E. Gen. To Lam.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

SEOUL, Turnout in the ruing People Power Party’s ongoing vote to elect a new leader has exceeded 50 percent Monday, officials said.

Some 50.5 percent of 837,237 paying party members have cast their ballots for four final candidates through mobile and phone voting as of Monday 1 p.m., according to party officials.

The PPP plans to announce the winner in a national convention Wednesday. But in the event of a runoff vote, the party will announce the new leader on March 12.

The vote has grabbed attention as the winner will be tasked with heading the party through next year’s general elections to secure a majority in the parliament now controlled by the main opposition Democratic Party.

Among the four candidates, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, widely considered President Yoon Suk Yeol’s favorite, is leading the race, trailed by Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and lawyer Chun Ha-ram, according to recent opinion polls.

A poll of 378 PPP supporters conducted by Embrain Public on Friday and Saturday last week showed that Kim was ahead of others at 35.8 percent followed by Ahn with 25.5 percent, Hwang with 9.6 percent and Chun with 8.1 percent.

In a hypothetical two-way race between the top two contenders, 52.6 percent of the respondents picked Kim over 37.4 percent who chose Ahn.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.04 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

SEOUL, The environment ministry has approved a proposal to construct a new international airport on Jeju Island, officials said Monday, after a yearslong conflict over the potential impact on the island’s pristine natural environment.

In 2015, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the selection of a 5.45 million-square-meter lot in Seongsan on the southern resort island’s eastern side as the site for the second airport.

After rejecting four previous environmental assessment reports, the Ministry of Environment has granted a conditional approval to the transport ministry’s plan, saying the site has met the relevant requirement.

The proposal, however, still needs further evaluation by the provincial government of Jeju.

The ministry said the transport ministry’s proposal has presented ways to protect local birds and their natural habitats. However, the ministry ordered a further explanation on how to secure the safety of airplanes from bird strikes.

The environment ministry also urged the land ministry to reflect the opinion of Jeju residents for potential cases of noise pollution coming from the planes in flight.

The environment ministry also presented a plan to migrate the island’s two indigenous animals — narrow-mouthed frogs and small cuckoos — that are listed as endangered species.

The land ministry is scheduled to make the proposal to the public, which will have 14 or more days to submit their opinions.

The plan for the second international airport has been delayed for years in the face of strong resistance from residents and environmental activists.

Calls for the new airport that could handle 25 million passengers annually have been made as the existing Jeju International Airport, the gateway to the nation’s top holiday destination, has reached saturation.

Bad weather conditions, such as strong wind, are also cited as one of the reasons for frequent delays and cancellations.

The annual number of aircraft takeoffs and landings at Jeju International Airport came to 169,624 last year, compared with its capacity of 172,000. Its passenger terminal came to 29.7 million last year, outnumbering the 25.91 million annual passengers it was built for.

A total of 3,337 flights at Jeju International Airport were either delayed or canceled in January, far above 2,553 flights at Gimpo International Airport, just west of Seoul.

Source: Yonhap News Agency