Malaysia

PUTRAJAYA, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — While Malaysia has not detected any COVID-19 cluster among the foreign workers, there have been continuous efforts to screen them for the coronavirus.

Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a daily press conference that the ministry would focus on high-risk areas with a huge population of foreign workers.

“The screening is ongoing with our district health offices. So far we have not seen a cluster formation. It is a continuous process,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (NNN-BERNAMA) – China Global TV Network (CGTN) has listed Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah as one of the world’s top three doctors ‘born’ from public health officials in handling the COVID-19 outbreak, alongside America’s Dr Anthony Fauci and New Zealand’s Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

On its website Tuesday, CGTN said it has crowned Dr Noor Hisham as one of the top doctors in the world for his straightforward and calm approach in handling the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 (NNN-BERNAMA) — It is imperative for ASEAN to work closely with its Plus Three partners to ensure that Asia Pacific recovers from the economic impact of COVID-19 together, said Muhyiddin Yassin.

In a Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19 conducted via a video conference Tuesday, the Prime Minister said Malaysia has proposed that ASEAN formulates an economic recovery plan post-COVID-19 that focuses not only on the financial aspects but also on social safety nets, food security and education.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to contract by 0.1 per cent to 4.6 per cent this year amid negative impact brought by COVID-19, according to the World Bank.

Its senior economist, finance, competitiveness, and innovation global practice, Smita Kuriakose, said the impact on Malaysia’ economy was likely to be large looking due to COVID-19’s adverse impact on foreign direct investment (FDI), commodities and tourism as well as domestic shocks due to the Movement Control Order (MCO). 

KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 (NNN-BERNAMA) — A chartered flight with 280 Malaysian students in Egypt is expected to depart from Cairo International Airport at 2 pm local time (8pm Malaysian time) today.

Ambassador of Egypt to Malaysia, Gamal A. Metwally, said he received a call from Malaysia Airlines on Wednesday for permission to land at the main airport in Egypt for the mission, and added the flight is chartered by the students’ family members following the COVID-19 pandemic.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Some 25 million jobs are at risk of disappearing due to plummeting demand for air travel amid the COVID-19 crisis, with the bulk of job losses amounting to 11.2 million are in the Asia Pacific, warned the International Air Transport Association (IATA). 

Airlines are calling on governments to provide immediate financial aid to help airlines to remain viable businesses that are able to lead the recovery when the pandemic is contained.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian authorities said on Sunday they had intercepted a boat ferrying a group of 202 people believed to be ethnic Rohingya.

Malaysia, which does not recognize refugee status, is a favored destination for ethnic Rohingya fleeing a military-led crackdown in Myanmar and squalid conditions at refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The boat was found adrift around one nautical mile from a luxury beachside resort on the holiday island of Langkawi, off the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula, the Malaysian maritime enforcement agency said in a statement.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (NNN-BERNAMA) —  A special cabinet committee has been established to develop strategic measures to safeguard Malaysia’s economy and labour market impacted by COVID-19 with the aim of striking a balance between the nation’s economic priorities and the effective enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

KUALA LUMPUR,  April 1 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Beginning today, Malaysians from all walks of life will receive  the various assistance and initiatives under the Economic Stimulus Package announced by the government to ease the economic burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apart from the RM20 billion Economic Stimulus Package announced on Feb 27, the people also get to benefit from the various assistance under the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last Friday.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (NNN-BERNAMA) — ADT Biotech Sdn Bhd has received the Health Ministry’s (MoH) approval to supply the LyteStar 2019-nCoV RT-PCR test kit to MoH facilities which have been tasked to run tests for the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2.

Managing director Dr Finn Zedler said the test kit has been certified by the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) as its results were consistent with the IMR’s tests and is in line with the World Health Organisation’s guidelines.