Category: Key Issues

President Thongloun Sisoulith received in Vientiane on Feb 23 letters of credence from foreign ambassadors to the Lao PDR.

The ambassadors included Jonathan Kings of New Zealand whose office is based in Bangkok, Thailand; Pedro Zwahlen of Swiss whose office is located in Bangkok, Thailand; Pavel Pitel of Czech whose office is located in Bangkok, Thailand; Nicolai Prytz of Denmark whose office is located in Hanoi, Vietnam; and Uladzimir Baravikou of Belarus whose office is located in Hanoi, Vietnam.

President Thongloun appreciated the foreign ambassadors for their appointment to serve as ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Lao PDR and expressed his hope that during their tenures in Laos they will serve as a bridge to enhance the relations and cooperation between Laos and their respective countries.

The President stated that the government and relevant authorities in Laos are ready to cooperate with and help them achieve their diplomatic tasks.

He called on the foreign diplomats to continue to increase mutual exchange of visits of high ranking officials and people to people exchange between Laos and their motherlands and reaffirmed Laos’ unwavering foreign policy of Peace, Independence, Friendship and Cooperation noting that the Lao PDR is a peace loving country and willing to be friends with all countries, and ready to work with every countries based on principles of mutual respect and mutual benefit for the prosperity of the people, peace and sustainable development in the world.

The President also expressed gratitude to the cooperation, support and assistance the ambassadors’ countries have provided to the Lao PDR over the past years which has contributed significantly to its socio-economic development.

He asked the ambassadors to continue to promote the cooperation on trade and investment between Laos and their respective countries.

He also expected that they will provide assistance and support and cooperation to Laos to help make its chairmanship of ASEAN a success in 2024.

In reply, the foreign diplomats expressed thanks to the President for his warm welcome and expressed their willingness to continue to make sure the sound relations and cooperation between their respective countries and the Lao PDR are better promoted and more successful in the future to bring prosperity to the countries and optimal benefits to their peoples.

Source: Lao News Agency

A leader of the House of Representatives on Thursday urged Malacañang to look into the development of uniform guidelines for the implementation of the no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) at the national level.

Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto made the statement in reaction to the possible return of the NCAP in April after it was issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) last year.

The policy uses closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV), digital cameras, and/or other gadgets or technology to capture videos and images to apprehend vehicles violating traffic laws, rules, and regulations.

“Mainam siguro kung iutos ng Malacañang ang isang pag-aaral na ang layunin ay bumalangkas ng isang national policy guidelines sa programang ito (It would be good for Malacañang to order a study that aims to formulate national policy guidelines for this program). Crowdsource the ideas, canvass the best practices, and cure it of its weaknesses,” Recto said.

He said the objective is to have a uniform rule that binds the entire country.

‘As NCAP is getting viral, spreading to other LGUs (local government units), the rules must be made clear, so there will be benchmarks as to fines imposed, as well as the limits of ROI (return on investment) of private contractors,” Recto said.

He also emphasized that even if judicial roadblocks are lifted, the NCAP should not be resumed until broad consultations are held.

“The national government must look under NCAP’s hood and tweak and treat the program of its defects. Para kung ibabalik man, walang malawakang reklamo na ang hulicam ay parang hulidap (So that if they implement it again, there will be no major complaints that the surveillance cameras were used to extort money),” he said.

Recto noted that the national guidelines, if drafted, could be further institutionalized by way of legislation, or through an executive order by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

“In principle, I agree that CCTVs could be a tool to enhance traffic enforcement, to impose rules – that should be the only motivation, and never to raise revenues,” he said.

In August 2022, the Supreme Court issued a TRO against the implementation of NCAP-related programs and ordinances and any apprehensions ‘until further orders.”

The order also stopped the LTO “and all parties acting on its behalf from giving out motorist information to all government units, cities, and municipalities enforcing NCAP programs and ordinances.”

Transport groups Kilusan sa Pagbabago ng Industriya ng Transportasyon Inc., Pasang Masda, Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines, and Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations filed the petition against Manila, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Parañaque City, Muntinlupa City, and the LTO.

The groups said the system, which uses CCTVs, places motorists ‘under constant threat of being arbitrarily apprehended remotely and issued notices of violation for alleged traffic offenses committed without any contact whatsoever.’

The cities that have fully implemented NCAP cited a decrease in obstructions, choking of traffic from apprehended vehicles, reckless driving, and hazardous motorists’ habits.

Source: Philippines News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) — The government does not conduct censorship or classification of content in allowing or disallowing any form of application or platform to be utilised by Internet users, according to Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

In fact, he said, at present, the government does not issue any licence to any social media platform provider, including instant messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, WeChat, MiChat and the like.

“However, for applications that clearly violate the provisions of the law such as fraud and impersonation, appropriate action can be taken against them, including blocking the applications from being used by users in Malaysia.

‘”…enforcement actions taken by the government are based on public complaints or reports from affected parties according to the existing laws,” he said during question time at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

Fahmi said this in reply to P. Prabakaran (PH-Batu) who wanted to know whether the government intends to review the permission to use Telegram, WeChat, MiChat and several other chat applications that are seen to have a lot of negative impact on the young generation.

Fahmi said if any party or individual commits any action or uploads content that violates existing laws, legal action can be taken against the party and individual concerned, not the platform used as the medium of content or information sharing.

In reply to a supplementary question from Prabakaran on the government’s effort to provide a platform for rural youth to use social media for creative work, Fahmi said the government, through the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), had created 911 digital economy centres (PEDi) nationwide.

He said the number of the PEDi is also expected to be increased to catalyse the digital economy in collaboration with social media platform providers to encourage the participation of young people in the digital economy.

“The government views social media as having a very important role not only as a medium of expression but also for digital economy.

“Many young people now are involved in online business, such as the young entrepreneur Khairulaming who recorded sales of RM21.5 million for his product, Sambal Nyet, in the past two years,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fahmi said the government will assess the importance of creating a cross-ministerial committee to examine the effects of cyber and digital use on young people and aspects of digital security from time to time.

He said the ministry had also carried out various programmes such as awareness campaigns through agencies including MCMC and CyberSecurity Malaysia and established partnerships with telecommunications companies Celcom and Digi.

For example, he said the collaboration through the National Anti-Scam Tour launched last Saturday aimed at increasing awareness among the general public about the importance of being vigilant when using social media.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) — Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah attended the second day of the 261st edition of the Conference of Rulers’ Meeting at Istana Negara here today.

The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah presided over the meeting.

The meeting was last held on Nov 29-30 last year, chaired by the Yang Dipertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir.

The two-day meeting is being attended by Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu, Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar of Johor, Tuanku Muhriz of Negeri Sembilan and Al Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah of Kedah.

Pahang is being represented by the Regent of Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah, while Perlis is represented by Raja Muda Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail and Kelantan, by Crown Prince Tengku Dr Muhammad Faiz Petra.

Also in attendance were the Governor of Penang Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, the Governor of Melaka Tun Mohd Ali Rustam and the Governor of Sabah Tun Juhar Mahiruddin. Sarawak is being represented by State Assembly Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nasar.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was also present.

All the rulers are being accompanied by their respective Menteri Besar, and Governors by their Chief Ministers, except for the Sarawak State Assembly Speaker who was accompanied by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today conveyed his condolences to the family of Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) chairman Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Mohd Kamal Hassan, who died today.

Anwar described Mohd Kamal, who was also a former rector of the International Islamic University of Malaysia (UIAM), as a prominent Islamic thinker who had contributed a lot to the world of academia, research, education and human capital development.

“Certainly, this loss left a deep mark on the hearts of the people. My condolences to the family and pray that his soul is placed among pious,” he said in a post on Facebook today.

Mohd Kamal died at 2.27 am today at the age of 80 due to complications related to a recent surgical procedure.

His remains will be buried at the Bandar Baru Bangi Muslim Cemetery.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) — Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) chairman Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dr Mohd Kamal Hassan died at 2.27 am today at the age of 80 due to complications related to a recent surgical procedure.

Mohd Kamal’s death was confirmed by a family member in a statement shared over WhatsApp, here today.

The funeral prayers will be held at the Surau Al-Mawaddah, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor and the burial at the Bandar Baru Bangi Muslim cemetery.

Meanwhile, IKIM, in a statement on Facebook, conveyed its condolences to Mohd Kamal’s family of his passing.

According to IKIM, Mohd Kamal, who was appointed IKIM chairman on Feb 24, 2022, is a prominent Islamic thinker who had made great contributions to the world of academia, research, education and human capital development.

Born on Oct 26, 1942, in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, Mohd Kamal, obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Islamic Studies from the University of Malaya in 1965 before continuing his studies at the master’s and doctorate level at Columbia University, New York in 1975.

He was recognised internationally, being a Rector of the International Islamic University of Malaysia in 1999 until 2006, according to the statement.

He was also chairman of the Advisory Board for the Coordination of Islamic Religious Education and Education (LEPAI), which was established with the approval of the Conference of Rulers.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency