March 9, 2023

MOT to hold tallks with airlines on special packages for students

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) — The Ministry of Transport (MOT) will hold discussions with airline companies to provide cheaper fares to students, especially to Sabah and Sarawak.

Its minister Anthony Loke said so far only Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had offered a 30 per cent discount on the price of flight tickets to students registered with the MHExplorer programme.

“Among other benefits offered through the programme are an additional 10 kg baggage allowance and special offers for family members and fellow students.

“We will try to discuss this (special packages) with other airlines,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time in Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Vivian Wong Shir Yee (PH-Sandakan), who wanted to know whether the government plans to offer flight packages at reasonable prices to students from Sabah and Sarawak during semester breaks.

At the same time, Loke said the ministry, through the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM), will continue to monitor the airfare for all domestic routes, including between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah.

He added that there are companies that implemented special initiatives to offer flight tickets at low prices, such as AirAsia Aviation Group Limited which had provided 52 additional flights at low fares from Jan 17 to 30 in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration.

Meanwhile, Loke said the MOT has no problems with any airline introducing new routes, adding that this would depend on market demand.

“…but I understand that sometimes there needs to be an incentive. Therefore, maybe the state government through the Tourism Action Committee can give some incentives to these airlines so that they can have direct flights from new destinations such as Penang to Terengganu or Penang to Kota Bharu,” he said.

Loke was responding to a supplementary question from Rushdan Rusmi (PN-Padang Besar) on whether the government has plans to add more flights from the West Coast to the East Coast.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

March 9, 2023

Selangor Sultan officiates Cyberjaya Hospital

CYBERJAYA, March 9 (Bernama) — Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah officiated the Cyberjaya Hospital in the Sepang district here today.

Also in attendance were Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin and Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni were also present.

After the ceremony, Sultan Sharafuddin then proceeded to visit the Radiology Department, Outpatient Pharmacy and Paediatric Ward of the hospital.

Built on a 5.18-hectare land, the RM508.8 million hospital was handed over by the contractor to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health on June 30, 2021 and began operations in November 2022.

It is the first platinum-rated government hospital under the Green Building Index certification, based on energy efficiency, water use and environmentally friendly materials through effective waste separation.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

March 9, 2023

R. Korea’s new COVID-19 cases above 10,000 for 3rd day amid eased virus curbs

(KPL/Yonhap) – Republic of Korea’s new COVID-19 cases stayed over 10,000 for the third straight day Thursday amid eased COVID-19 virus curbs.

The country reported 10,890 new COVID-19 infections, including seven cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,605,187, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Thursday’s tally is slightly down from 12,798 a day earlier and higher than 7,555 a week earlier, KDCA data showed.

The country added 20 COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 34,081. The number of critically ill patients came to 143, up from 139 the previous day.

Health authorities are mulling ways to further ease the antivirus measures in the coming months as new infections stay at low levels.

On Jan. 30, the government lifted the indoor mask mandate that had been enforced since October 2020.

People can visit most places, including schools, kindergartens and gyms, without masks, but the mask mandate remains in place at hospitals, pharmacies and on public transportation.

Source: Lao News Agency

March 9, 2023

Cyberjaya Hospital can become primary responding hospital

CYBERJAYA, March 9 (Bernama) — Cyberjaya Hospital has the potential to become a primary responding hospital in terms of preparedness to face any disaster at the country’s entry points, namely the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2).

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said this is due to the strategic location of Cyberjaya Hospital while the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) and the Cyberjaya Silicon Valley, which are situated in the Sepang district, could also benefit from the hospital’s health services.

“The Ministry of Health (MOH) is scrutinising the need to provide a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine at the Cyberjaya Hospital to meet current needs as well as its role as the reference hospital for any disaster incidents at KLIA,” she said in her speech at a ceremony to officiate the Cyberjaya Hospital, here, today.

Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah officiated the opening of the Cyberjaya Hospital, which was built at a cost of nearly RM508.8 million.

Dr Zaliha, whose speech was read out by her deputy Lukanisman Awang Sauni, said the construction of the Cyberjaya Hospital, among others, aimed to reduce the bed occupancy rate (BOR) of hospitals in the Klang Valley as well as ease congestions at nearby hospitals like the Serdang Hospital, Kajang Hospital and Putrajaya Hospital.

According to her, the current bed utilisation rate in public hospitals in the districts of Sepang and Hulu Langat, especially the Kajang Hospital, is over 90 per cent while the BOR for the Serdang Hospital and Ampang Hospital is over 80 per cent.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency