Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (NNN-Bernama) — ASEAN needs to collaborate with the private sector for greater and more sustainable progress of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) as part of the move for the region to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, said the grouping’s secretary-general Lim Jock Hoi.

He said digitalisation and sustainability were critical to the recovery efforts in the next phase of economic integration.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia has called on all parties to take the opportunity of the ceasefire in Gaza to deescalate tension and work towards finding a longlasting and peaceful solution to the conflict.

Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, in welcoming the ceasefire, said the international community must not lose sight of the prolonged suffering of the Palestinian people, and the urgent need to end the illegal Israeli occupation.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (NNN-Bernama) — Asia should lead the way in opening up patent protections to produce cheaper generic versions of life-saving medicines for critical diseases, from COVID-19 to HIV/AIDS, said Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Welcoming US President Joe Biden’s administration’s stated intention to support the temporary waiver of intellectual property (IP) protection for COVID-19 vaccine, he said this should give way to a total transformation of the pharmaceutical patent system.

19 May 2021; MEMO: Malaysian security services stepped up security measures to protect Palestinians in the country after Israeli threats to target Palestinians linked to resistance groups, Anadolu reported yesterday.

"The Home Ministry calls on the public to remain calm as the country's security situation is under control and at a good level," Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia Wednesday recorded 39 fatalities due to COVID-19, the highest daily death toll so far, while new cases continued to increase to 4,765 from 3,973 cases yesterday.

Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said of the number, 37 deaths involved citizens and the remaining two were non-citizens, bringing the cumulative death tally due to the virus to 1,761.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia is facing a more challenging third wave of COVID-19 following the emergence of several new variants that have increased the infectivity rate of the pandemic in the country, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said the country has been recording a surge in cases over the last few weeks, with COVID-19 positive cases exceeding 4,000 a day over the past few days.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (NNN-Bernama) — The decision to place Malaysia again under a Movement Control Order (MCO) starting Wednesday until June 7 has been deemed the right move to curb the growing spread of COVID-19 in the country.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative in Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore Dr Ying-Ru Jacqueline Lo said the measure was important as the capacity of hospital utilisation had reached a critical level with the increase in daily cases.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (NNN-Bernama) — The Pilgrims Fund Board or Tabung Haji (TH) has advised prospective Malaysian pilgrims to be prepared as the Saudi Arabian government may allow foreign pilgrims to perform the Haj this year.

Its executive director Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman said all prospective pilgrims should be physically, spiritually and financially prepared as well as equipped with the required knowledge.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia strongly condemns the airstrikes launched by the Israeli regime on the Gaza Strip Monday which have resulted in deaths and injuries to Palestinians, including children.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the attacks in the last days of the holy month of Ramadan were despicable and disrespectful not only to Muslims around the world, but mankind as a whole.

“This brutal, extreme, and outrageous attack by Israel blatantly violates international law.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 (NNN-Bernama) — Italy’s Ambassador to Malaysia Cristiano Maggipinto is positive that bilateral trade between Italy and Malaysia will flourish this year despite the setbacks caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

He pointed out that in 2020, trade between the two countries recorded a contraction of only 7.5 per cent, lower than the 11.6 per cent decline registered in the overall trade between Italy and the ASEAN region.

Malaysia’s exports to Italy also had a very slight contraction of 2.1 per cent last year.