PM: Workers' contribution for EPF reduced by 3 percent

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The slide in oil prices has forced the governement to conduct what it calls a "budget recalibration exercise".

In other words, the government is now forced to make budget cuts to adjust for a fall in revenue.

The government will also need to introduce measures to boost revenue as well as support consumers, to avoid a severe contraction of consumer spending at times of austerity.

Below are the salient points, from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's speech in Putrajaya today:

• Compulsory Employee Provident Fund contribution by employees to be reduced by 3 percent from March 2014 to December 2017. Employers' contribution remains;
• Tax breaks of up to RM2,000 for those earning RM8,000 per month or less in the 2015 assessment year;
• Liberalisation of approved permits for selected agriculture products, including coffee and meat;
• New farmer's market called MyFarm Outlet to sell food products at 5-20 percent lower than retail prices;
• RM50 cash subsidy per one tonne of raw paddy, to incentivise farmers to produce rice;
• Registered hardcore poor families to receive 20kg of rice every month;
• All new houses costing RM300,000 and below can only be sold to first-time housebuyers;
• Continuation of housing loans at 4 percent interest for 10,000 housebuyers who are buying units costing RM35,000 and less;
• A total of 744 PSD bursaries will be given out, but only for studies at local private or public universities, and 8,000 PSD scholarships for undergraduate studies at local institutions.
  A total 200 PSD scholarships for engineering degrees in Japan, South Korea, Germany and France, top 20 SPM scorers will be sponsored to study anywhere in the world;
• No visa needed for tourists from China from March 1-Dec 31 for visits no longer than 15 days, subject to conditions;
• Revision of levy for foreign workers, not including domestic workers. Those without permit will be allowed to get themselves legalised;
• RM6 billion allocated to assist small-medium enterprises and start-ups;
• Government-linked companies to reduce salary gap between top management and workers;
• Goods and services tax to remain at prevailing rate of 6 percent;
• No paycut, sackings or contract termination for civil servants;
• Salary revision of civil servants, as announced in Budget 2016 speech, to continue in July 2016;
• No compromise on bumiputera agenda;
• More efforts to be taken to clamp down on tax evaders;
• Allocation for training for retrenched workers.

1,673 new teachers to be placed at Chinese schools

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Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon (left) interacting with some Year 1 pupils at SJKC Pu Nan on Sunday while Johor Education Department director Aminuddin Adam (fourth from right) looks on.

MUAR: A total of 1,673 new teachers will be placed at 1,296 Chinese vernacular schools nationwide over the next two weeks.

Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon said the teachers would report for duty by Jan 18 at the latest.

"The teachers are all fresh graduates and trained to teach various subjects at the schools," he said at SJKC Pu Nan in Bukit Bakri here on Sunday.

Chong said that in the past, SJKCs nationwide had been overwhelmed by teacher shortages but that this year, the ministry had planned ahead to solve the issue.

Two seriously hurt in bus-tanker crash

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Hard impact: The front portion of the bus is severely damaged after the collision with the cement tanker.

IPOH: Two passengers on board an express bus suffered serious injuries when the vehicle ram­med into a cement tanker at the 313.5km mark of the North-South Expressway near Tapah.

Three others, including the bus driver, were also slightly hurt during the 4.20am accident yesterday, said Tapah OCPD Supt Som Sak Din Keliaw.

He said there were 10 passengers in the bus that was travelling from Kedah to Kuala Lumpur.

“A 31-year-old man from Kg Lamdin Mukim Tekai Kiri Naka in Alor Setar suffered severe head injuries while a 46-year-old man from Taman Wira Mas, Kepala Batas in Alor Setar, broke his leg.

“Initial investigations revealed that the bus driver tried to overtake the tanker which was on the left side of the expressway. But he failed to do so and rammed into the back of the tanker.

“Both vehicles were going downhill. The bus was badly da­maged at the front,” said Supt Som Sak, adding that no arrest had been made.

He said the injured were sent to the Tapah hospital.

The remaining passengers, who were not hurt, continued their journey on another express bus.

The tanker driver was not hurt.

Technology unites 500 Morsidi clan members

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Clan gathering: Embah Morsidi’s descendants got together for the first time after almost 50 years at the Malaysian Productivity Council auditorium in Johor Baru.

JOHOR BARU: WhatsApp has be­­come a popular tool to bridge the gulf between long-lost family members, no matter where they are.

Thanks to the mobile application, the Embah Morsidi clan, which can trace its genealogy back almost a century to Cilacap in Java island, got together for the first time in more than 50 years.

About 500 descendants aged from 18 months to 90 years met at the Malaysian Productivity Council auditorium here on Saturday.

“We started contacting each other via WhatsApp about four months ago and managed to trace about 800 Morsidi family members living all over the country,’’ said Rashid Marsidi.

The 78-year old retired teacher is the grandson of Morsidi Kasan and Maryam Dolkanan, who migrated to Johor Baru in 1930s.

Rashid is the son of Morsidi’s daughter Marwiyah, whose husband Marsidi Muhd Edris came to Johor Baru from Jogjakarta when he was 12 years old.

Rashid said his grandfather and grandmother left their village in Cilacap on a cargo ship with their six children and landed in Singapore before moving to Johor Baru.

“My grandfather was a grave digger at the Jalan Mahmodiah Muslim cemetery while my grandmother sold snacks in front of Johor Zoo,’’ he said, adding Maryam gave birth to another four children here.

Rashid said he was fortunate to be able to meet his late grandfather and had fond memories of him for 25 years before Morsidi passed away in 1963.

Rashid’s brother Datuk Ibrahim Marsidi, 63, said it was not easy to gather 500 family members for the first time.

He said the first reunion gave them the chance to know each other better, adding that some of them had met before but didn’t know that they were related to each other.

Ibrahim, the former Petronas Da­­gangan Bhd chief executive officer who retired in 2007, said the clan was planning to hold the second reunion by the end of the year and, hopefully, the remaining 300 would also turn up.

M’sian athletes set sights on competing in 2017 SEA Games

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian ice skating athletes have begun dreaming big now that the sport will be contested in the SEA Games to be held here in 2017.

Short track speed skater Ariff Rasydan Fadzli, 17, was so inspired by the news that he pictured himself standing on the podium with a gold medal.

“It will require a lot of sacrifice and time away from my family and friends as I would have to be in training,” said Ariff, who bagged gold (1,000m category), silver (500m) and bronze (777m) medals in the Melbourne Open last September.

He believed he could do the nation proud if given the chance.

“I’m nervous but I can’t wait for the chance to lift the Malaysian flag at the Games,” he added.

On Friday, Malaysia Ice Skating Association president Fadzil Johan said ice skating would be contested at the 2017 SEA Games here and that the event was expected to be held at a rink being built at Empire City, Damansara.

Another promising candidate is figure skater Chew Kai Xiang (pic), 16, who relished the chance to perform in front of the home crowd.

“There will be pressure but I enjoy performing in front of family and friends.

“It also gives added motivation as I will be representing the country with fellow athletes from other sports,” he said.

Last year, Kai Xiang placed first in the International Skating Union World Figure Skating Development Trophy before finishing as the runner-up in the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy.

Olympic Commission of Malaysia assistant secretary Datuk Sieh Kok Chi said Malaysia had been sending athletes for ice skating and ice hockey for the Asian Winter Games and other major competitions for some time now.

The non-profit Ski Malaysia was working hard to qualify for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, he added.

“If a Malaysian qualifies for it, it will be newsworthy worldwide because a country with no snow has a representative in it,” said Sieh.

Meeting to decide fate of vape industry in two states

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KUALA TERENGGANU: The fate of the vape industry in Kelantan and Terengganu, which have both banned vaping, will be decided at a meeting with authorities.

A meeting with the state government here today will reveal whether vape traders in Terengganu can have one year to clear their stock and wrap up their businesses.

Terengganu Malay Vape Traders Association president Muhd Kama­ruzaman Mahmud, 30, said members were saddened by the decision to follow the Fatwa Council’s edict that the sale and use of vape was haram but they would abide by the ban.

“The only appeal we make to the state government, especially the Mentri Besar (Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman), is that they give us a period of one year to clear the stock we have and wrap up our businesses,” he said.

Ahmad Razif had said that the government would hold a dialogue with vape traders and help them switch to selling products that are not harmful to one’s health.

In Kota Baru, the Kelantan Vapers Association wants the state government to wait for a decision or regulation from the Federal Govern­ment on vaping before it enforces its ban on Feb 1.

Its spokesperson Mohd Khaleb Khan Nasir Khan said a meeting had to be convened so that they could convey their demands to the state government’s Housing and Environment committee chairman Datuk Abdul Fattah Mahmood.

“In a letter to Abdul Fattah, we asked the government to postpone the ban (from Jan 1) by at least six months while waiting for the Federal Government’s statement,” he said.

Bauxite mining still on in Pahang

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Just another normal day: Miners continuing to work at the bauxite stock-pile site in Kuantan Port.

KUANTAN: Bauxite mining is still allowed in Pahang for now, said state Public Amenities and Environ­ment Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Soffi Abdul Razak.

“We have not received any directive to stop the mining. It is still allowed,” he said yesterday.

He said decisions about mining activities were made jointly by the federal and state governments.

In another statement, Bernama quoted Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob as saying that the state and Natural Resources and Environment Ministry would issue a joint statement on the matter.

Bauxite mining here has been in the news following concerns about health effects of bauxite dust, besides concerns that the massive areas being cleared for mining could lead to mudslides and landslides.

Last week, the sea off Pantai Batu Hitam and Sungai Balok turned red, believed to have happened after a downpour carried bauxite from the mines to the rivers and into the sea.

Mohd Soffi said it was unfair to point fingers only to the bauxite miners for causing the water to turn red in Sungai Balok.

“The result of the water contamination in Sungai Balok is expected to be known in two weeks time,” he said, adding that no one should jump to conclusions.

“There are other developments including housing projects, indus­trial areas in Gebeng and bauxite mining activities along the river.

“The water which flows to the river could be from other type of activities.

“It does not necessarily mean the contaminated water was from bau­xite mining activities,” he said.

Mohd Soffi said the volume of water from the rain on Dec 28, which reached 147mm, might have led to bauxite particles flowing to the river but he noted that elements form other activities could have contribu­ted to the contamination of the river.

“However, there are also a few other miners operating in Balok area. They are believed to have not followed the regulations. This matter is still being investigated,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Terengganu go­­vernment wants bauxite transporting lorries be banned from using the East Coast Highway 2.

Its Infrastructure and Public Amenities Committee chairman Rosli Othman said such lorries were not complying with the limit on tonnage and speeding above the limit, thus endangering other motorists.

Apparently, the lorries are now using the Kijal toll plaza as a shortcut to the Kemaman port.

Rosli also said that enforcement should be stepped up at night as many of these lorries transport bauxite at night.

New chapter for another school year

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Looking cool: Mikhael Armand gets help from Tutishahida. Looking on is his father Mohd Hazaruddin Awang and sisters Malieka and Mikayla (standing). 

After the long year-end break, children are all refreshed and energised to start lessons and meet old and new friends.

IT’S time for school again!

School will start tomorrow, leaving some children feeling happy and excited while others may feel anxious or nervous, perhaps even scared, on the first day of school.

It is indeed a fresh beginning for some – new school, new friends and teachers.

Being in a different place and school is never easy at first, especially for those who are going from kindergarten to primary school and from primary to secondary school, as they are separated from their friends.

Many children have been thinking, even agonising, over their new school set-up and who their new classmates would be.

Seven-year-old Mikhael Armand bin Mohd Hazaruddin will be in Year One and was already nervous about how school was going to be for him.

Pinafore is best: Mum Cynthia (left) selects a uniform for Sonia to try on.

“My son is afraid of starting school in SK Sri Petaling in Petaling Jaya, because it is a totally new environment with new people for him,” said Mikhael’s mother, Tutishahida Ismail who was in the midst of getting him his school uniform at an outlet in Petaling Jaya.

However, Tuttishahida shared that despite his apprehensions, the boy was still looking forward to going to school. In fact, he had been pestering his parents for uniforms and shoes.

Mikhael, she said, was happy with his new school bag which had characters from an award winning animated movie on it, and “he cannot wait to take it to school”. Meanwhile, Sonia Kirby who turns 13 this year, will be going to secondary school.

“The upside of starting secondary school is that the turquoise pinafore is better and brighter than the primary school uniform,” she said adding that she also gets to grow her hair instead of keeping it above shoulder length.

However, Sonia who will be starting secondary school in SMK Bandar Utama Damansara 4, said the downside of starting secondary school was that she would no longer be with her close friends from primary school.

“I know that I am going to miss my old school and friends,” she said adding that the syllabus would be harder and more complicated.

Pens aplenty: Shaanat Kumaran selecting a pen at a store.

Yet, Sonia is optimistic that she’d be able to cope with secondary school and she has already started going through her text books.

It is the same for 10-year-old Ramdhuttapany Radhakrishnapany.

Knowledge is important and one of the reasons why the 10-year-old student from SK Bandar Utama Damansara 4 is eager to return to school.

“Good grades are a must if I want to be successful later in life,” he said adding that he was also keen to get back to school to meet his friends.

Ramdhuttapany has already bought new uniforms and some reference books with the RM100 cash aid for schoolchildren.

“Though it’s not much, it does help a little,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yasmin Alia Mat Nazri shared Ramdhuttapany’s sentiments.

Stress factor: Jolene can’t wait for her trial exam to be over for her to ‘fully enjoy’ school.

The eight-year-old is excited to start school giving an enthusiastic nod when asked if she liked homework.

“I have already started to revise what I learnt in Year One and Year Two, so that I will be able to understand and cope with the Year Three syllabus,” she said.

Yasmin said that she was selected as a school prefect before the year-end holidays but would officially be “on duty” from tomorrow.

The only downside is that she has to keep her hair neat and tidy at all times – a must for prefects in the school.

Taking on the prefect’s post would mean that she must also keep up her good grades.

She recently used the RM100 cash aid to buy reference and workbooks.

Her parents and generous siblings chipped in to purchase her uniform and other school supplies to get her ready for the new school term.

Yes, it fits: Yasmin Alia is happy with her skirt as her sister Noraini looks on with approval. 

Her older sister Noraini said about RM500 had been spent so far for the new school year.

Jolene Tiong Yin can’t wait for school to reopen as she wants “to be over and done” with studying for the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) trial exam.

“The exam is in about a week and I’ve been poring over my notes and books the past few days. Once that ends, I will not be stressed as I am now,” said the 17-year-old.

Friends play a big part in school, says the REAL International School student.

Apart from interacting with one another, friendships help build character, provide companionship and support.

So, it comes as no surprise that most students are looking forward to starting school because of friends.

“I’m really eager to see my friends again. All of us have been busy with our books and doing other things that we haven’t had the chance to meet up,” said Jolene.

Special bond: Zhi Yi says she connects better with some friends and is looking forward to seeing them at school.

Austin Tay from Catholic High School, Petaling Jaya, is also “keyed up” to see his friends again.

“I want to go back to school to see my buddies! I miss hanging out with them during recess and after-school activities,” said the 14-year-old .

Wong Zhi Yi who turns 10 this year, said she can’t wait to get back because she missed her friends.

“It’s been hard for me to make friends at school because of the language barrier.

“I’m used to speaking English at home and everybody speaks in Mandarin at my school. So, the friends I have are really special as I can ‘connect’ with them,” said Zhi Yi.

“Chilling” with friends is why 15-year-old Shaanat Kumaran Bhuvaneswaran wants to be at school.

“School is the place where I get to meet my friends and play some sports with them.

“We usually play badminton together,” said the Beaconhouse Sri Inai International School student.