Day: April 11, 2023

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday reported that the unemployment rate in February this year stood at 4.8 percent, the same rate as in January. In a press conference, PSA National Statistician, Undersecretary Dennis Mapa, said the number of jobless Filipinos in February reached 2.47 million, higher by 102,000 from January’s 2.37 million. Mapa attributed the increase in the number of unemployed individuals to the higher number of Filipinos who joined the labor force in February. Labor force participation rate went up to 66.6 percent in February from 64.6 percent in January, with 1.55 million Filipinos joining the workforce in the second month of the year. Individuals in the labor force are those aged 15 years and above. Of this group, Mapa said 48.8 million were employed in February, higher by 1.45 million from January. Month on month, the sectors with the highest increase in the number of workers were led by agriculture and forestry, up by 997,000; followed by construction, up by 277,000; fishing and aquaculture, up by 246,000; wholesale and retail trade ; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, up by 219,000; and public administration and defense compulsory social security, up by 213,000. Meanwhile, Mapa said the underemployment rate in February declined to 12.9 percent from 14.1 percent in January. In a separate statement, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the country’s labor market has continued to record solid performance. ‘The most recent data on the country’s workforce suggests that the Philippine labor market is steadily recovering,’ he said. Balisacan said the government vows to further improve the country’s labor market by generating higher-quality jobs for Filipinos. He added that the recent developments, such as the country’s ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and amendments to the Public Service Act, would pave the way for more high-paying jobs.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Six men, including three foreigners, believed to be part of a subsidised cooking oil embezzlement syndicate, were arrested during an Op Tiris raid at two premises located at the Sg Lalang industrial area in Sg Petani, Kedah on Sunday.

Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) director-general Datuk Azman Adam said 31,000 litres of subsidised diesel worth RM579,050said was seized from the two locations that were used for storage and transferring of fuel.

He said today that at the first location, 3,000 litres of diesel worth RM34,450 was found in a tank but the premises was deserted.

The six individuals, aged between 24 and 49, were arrested at the second location while they were busy transferring diesel from a lorry into a tank, amounting to 28,000 litres and worth RM544,600, he said.

“The syndicate’s modus operandi is to use tankers carrying chemicals to obscure the authorities and the public,” said Azman.

Besides diesel, equipment such as motorised pumps, connecting hoses, flow meters, as well as business documents of receipts and record books were also seized for further investigation, he said.

The case is being investigated under the Supply Control Act (AKB) 1961 to identify the individuals or companies involved as well as the diesel re-distribution chain, including the source of the diesel.

Azman said based on the enforcement statistics of Ops Tiris from March 1 to April 9 this year, a total of 4,054 inspections were carried out and 1.60 million litres of subsidised diesel worth RM3.56 million was seized.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

Kratie province has completed another phase of mine clearance – a solid move to secure its mine-free status in June this year.

The good news was shared at the closing ceremony of the milestone Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen’s Project for Mine Action (STP-MA)-Phase 2 held in Snuol district, Kratie province on April 10 under the presidency of H.E. Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA).

According to H.E. Senior Minister, since the STP-MA’s launch in July 2022, a total of 1,700 demining specialists have been deployed to carry out the mine clearance operations of over 91 square kilometres or 995 mine fields in ten provinces, including Kratie.

With the achievement, Kratie will surely achieve the mine-free status in June as planned.

Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen has appealed for a national movement to contribute to achieving the Cambodia’s goal of becoming a mine-free nation by 2025.

The STP-MA was oriented toward an impactful motto – “Providing Safe Ground, Creating smile”.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

The appointment of a Permanent Secretary to Sarawak Transport Ministry Datuk Alice Jawan Empaling as member of the Malaysia Aviation Commission (Mavcom) will help solve aviation issues in the state.

Its minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin said by having a representative in Mavcom, all issues would be able to be raised and discussed in the commission’s meetings.

“Hopefully with this appointment Mavcom will understand our needs. All these years we did not have any representative in the commission and sometimes there were communication gaps between Mavcom and Sarawak,” he said.

Lee lauded the appointment and thanked Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook for accepting his suggestion for the appointment during their meeting early this year.

The Senadin state assemblyman was met by pressmen after visiting Sibu Express Boat Passengers Terminal here today where he distributed life jackets to three speedboat operators who ply the Sibu-Daro and Sibu-Dalat routes.

He was also briefed by Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) on projects to be implemented in the Central Zone for Sibu, Sarikei, Bintangor and Kapit areas.

Lee said rivers in Sarawak still play a major role in transportation of bulk cargo as it offers relatively cheaper and economical option apart from offering alternative means of connectivity for those living along upper Rajang, coastal areas as well as those residing areas that are not accessible by road.

Under the 12th Malaysia Plan the SRB would be implementing eight projects with a total ceiling cost of RM45,280,000 in the Central Region.

Four of the projects were under infrastructure project and another four projects were under the River Transport Safety.

“The project included the repair of damaged facilities and construction of additional facilities at passenger terminals in the Central Region,” he said.

On the number of flights for the coming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration, Lee said his ministry had discussed and asked the airline companies to increase the number of flights during festivities and school holidays.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The effective capacity of two main dams in Penang, the Teluk Bahang Dam and the Air Itam Dam here are currently at 50 per cent due to low rainfall in the area.

Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) chief executive officer (CEO) K. Pathmanathan said that the effective capacity of Air Itam Dam was 51.8 per cent while Teluk Bahang Dam was at 51.3 per cent.

“The amount of rainfall in the dams’ catchment areas for January, February and March this year was at 129 mm for Air Itam Dam and 251 mm for Teluk Bahang Dam.

“As such, consumers in the state are advised to use water prudently till heavy rains occur to refill the dams,” he said in a statement today, adding that the average daily water usage for Penang in January was 875 million litres and for February it was 944 million litres.

Pathmanathan said the numbers showed that the reduced capacity of both dams was due to low rainfall in water catchment areas and high demand, and they were implementing several measures, including optimising drawing raw water from Sungai Muda and treated water supply from the Sungai Dua water treatment plant, as a response.

“PBAPP also pumped more treated water from the Sungai Dua water treatment plant to Penang from three sets of undersea dual pipes to ensure the water supply to the island.

“We also have minimised the release of raw water from Air Itam Dam and Teluk Bahang Dam as best as possible without affecting water supply service,” he said.

He added that they would boost dry weather controls to maintain the effective capacity of both dams strategically for as long as possible.

‘We will also reschedule pipe work to minimise water wastage and to respond to public complaints about burst pipes as soon as possible. We also have contingency plans to tackle water demand in areas of high elevation and at the ends of distribution pipes if the dry weather persists,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency