Day: March 18, 2023

KOTA BHARU, MARA Junior Science Colleges (MRSM) are still viewed as premier educational institutions, receiving around 90,000 admission applications from students this year.

Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the number over 10 times the number of places available, at 7,169 students from the entire country, adding that it showed that MRSM was still the main choice for students.

“We have 55 colleges throughout the country that will receive new students. For those who fail to get in, they can appeal, and their applications will be considered based on the number of students who do not register or rejected their admission offers.

“We also know that other schools are offering admissions. What’s important is that education is MARA’s main agenda and we believe that’s one of the reasons MRSM remains the top choice,” he told reporters after paying a visit and meeting Kelantan MARA and Pengkalan Chepa MRSM staff here today.

Asyraf also conducted an engagement session with them as well.

He said RM300,000 was approved for Pengkalan Chepa MRSM to upgrade its facilities, including improving equipment in the teachers’ room.

He said the MRSM was the first institution outside the headquarters that he visited without prior notification and there were a lot of facilities in need of upgrades.

“I have contacted the MARA director-general and allocation has been approved immediately,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

LENGGONG, Any programme involving invitations for Muslims to visit non-Muslim houses of worship in Perak should be referred to the Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPk) Committee.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said this is because MAIPk is directly involved in determining the guidelines for the matter.

“Under this committee, there will be discussions between MAIPk chairman, menteri besar, state secretary, mufti, syariah and civil law advisers, former high court judges and several other parties.

“Whatever decision and circular issued by this committee should be complied with because they were made by Islamic scholars and experts,” he told reporters after attending the Lenggong UMNO Division delegates meeting at Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi MARA here today.

He was asked to comment on whether Perak will follow Selangor’s move to ban any programme involving Muslims at non-Muslim houses of worship in the state.

In another development, Saarani, who is also Perak UMNO chairman, said the party wings’ elections in all divisions in the state were running smoothly.

“Everything is going well although it took some time in some divisions because the number of members attending the meeting and candidates contesting was quite large,” he said.

He also stressed that even though there were changes in some divisions, it did not affect the harmony among members and instead showed that the practice of democracy continued to thrive in the party leadership.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SHAH ALAM, A total of 150 volunteers from PKR’s youth wing, Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) is being mobilised to help ease the burden of flood victims in Johor under its post-flood initiative.

The mission was flagged off by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the 2023 PKR Special National Congress at Malawati Stadium, here today.

The Prime Minister handed over the Johor flag and the mission flag to AMK deputy Information chief Nabil Halimi, who is also the programme’s chief coordinator to mark the flagging-off ceremony.

Also present were PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and AMK chief Adam Adli Abd Halim.

Anwar yesterday directed all ministry machinery to carry out post-flood missions in Johor, saying that the Finance Ministry had approved an RM150 million additional allocation to facilitate the operations.

Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister said the matter was decided during a Cabinet meeting that focused on the efforts to help flood victims in the state.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

RAWANG, In conjunction with the month of Ramadan which will start next week, the Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) will host a series of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities through the Ramadan Kasih PKNS programme.

Its Corporate Communications manager Muhammad Sobree Zainal Abidin said for a start, PKNS organised a gotong-royong to clean and paint the Pertubuhan Kebajikan Ehsan Ash-Shakur (PEKEAS) building in Bandar Tasik Puteri here today.

He said the activity aimed at bringing cheers to 40 children living in PEKEAS before the start of the fasting month this year.

“On April 2, the children in PEKEAS will be treated with shopping for baju raya trip at the PKNS Complex in Shah Alam and then followed by an iftar on April 7,” he said before the gotong-royong event which was also attended by 30 PKNS employees.

PKNS also contributed RM5,000 in cash to PEKEAS, he said.

On the Ramadan Kasih programme, Muhammad Sobree said all the activities which have been lined up will give PKNS an opportunity to give back to the community.

The programme also involved distributing Ramadan Kasih baskets to 100 homeless individuals as well as dry food baskets to 30 asnaf (those eligible to receive zakat or tithe).

Meanwhile, PEKEAS administrative manager Mohd Adlan Senin expressed his appreciation to PKNS for the programme.

He said PEKEAS currently accommodates 40 children, aged four to 17, consisting of 25 boys and 15 girls.

He also added that PEKEAS, which needs RM30,000 a month for operations, depends on contributions from the public and corporate companies.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUDAT, A Petronas-funded solar-powered energy system and more in the offing is bringing smiles, comfort and pride to the people of three remote villages in Banggi Island, which is more than an hour’s boat ride from the Kudat mainland.

The system was installed at the suraus of the three villages namely Kampung Dogoton, Kampung Semayan and Kampung Rahmat, which have a total of population of about 1,400 who are mostly Muslims from the Bajau Ubian community.

The installation of the solar-powered energy system at the suraus of Kampung Dogoton, Kampung Semayan and Kampung Rahmat was completed last month. The villagers have been living without energy facilities for generations before the project was executed.

Awang Madhari, 51, who is the imam of Kampung Dogoton, said before the villagers received the free solar energy system, the surau had to rely on a petrol-powered generator set but could not sustain the system due to the maintenance cost which he has to bear with.

“This solar-energy facility really means a lot to us. It’s more comfortable performing prayers at the surau now that we can switch on the light, use a microphone and fans,” said the Bajau Ubian to reporters after the launch of the programme by State Rural Development Assistant Minister Datuk Seri Ruddy Awah here today.

Kudat is located 190 kilometres North-East of Kota Kinabalu, It is the northernmost district in Sabah with an area of 1,287 square kilometres.

The programme, carried out in collaboration with the State Ministry of Rural Development, will be followed up by the installation of the system at 140 homes in the three villages, expected to be completed by September this year, benefitting some 700 residents.

The system was funded by Petronas, through its subsidiary Petronas Floating LNG (PFLNG) as part of its social impact programme to uplift the lives of communities around its areas of operation.

PFLNG Chief Executive Officer Azrul Roshazli said, with the system’s installation, the beneficiary communities will be able to save on energy expenses and use the savings for other purposes.

“While we play an active role in powering businesses with lower-carbon energy, we are aware that this effort should also be adopted at the community level.

“As a responsible corporate citizen and a progressive cleaner energy solution partner, PETRONAS remains committed to enriching the lives of the communities where we operate.

“In this case, by bringing access to the communities what was previously inaccessible to them, which is renewable energy,” he said.

Ruddy welcomed the initiative by Petronas, saying that it brings great benefits in uplifting the lives of the residents in the three villages.

“Through this programme, they will have access to clean and free energy to power their daily lives and help them minimise their energy expenses,” said Ruddy, who is also the State Assemblyman for Pitas.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

JOHOR BAHRU, The Johor government is intensifying its efforts to reduce stagnant floodwaters in Batu Pahat district using water pumps, ahead of Ramadan month, next week.

Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said that although the flood situation in the state is gradually recovering, there are some areas in Batu Pahat district that are still submerged in stagnant floodwaters including Sri Medan, Parit Jelutong and Parit Raja.

He said the state government did not want the issue to continue for a long period of time like before and hoped it could be resolved before Ramadan.

“Alhamdulillah, I had the opportunity to inspect the flood water pumping operations in Parit Jelutong, Sungai Senggarang water intake and Air Asam Kumbang water intake (in Batu Pahat).

“(Thus), in order to speed up the process, the state government through the Department of Irrigation and Drainage has taken the approach of using water pumps in those areas.

“A total of 61 water pumps with a capacity of 2, 5, 10 and 20 cusec (cubic foot per second) are operating 24 hours a day and 12 more pumps will be added,” he said in a Facebook post today.

The Machap assemblyman also said that taking lessons from the incident, the state government is also working on other alternatives to resolve the issue, including deepening the main river in the district.

“The Southern Volunteers post-flood mission will also carry out post-flood works in the Batu Pahat district for four days starting tomorrow involving the local authority, youth organisations, NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and corporate bodies involving 531 volunteers,” he said.

A total of 21,079 evacuees are still housed in 83 temporary relief centres in Batu Pahat and Segamat, as of 12 noon today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency