Aviation minister

Wong: One in two Australians are either born overseas or have parents who were born overseas so this is a very Australian experience. - A + A SYDNEY (June 30): Visiting the Malaysian city where she was born, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her story showed that Australia was part of Asia, as new data showed more than half of Australians were born overseas or had an immigrant parent. Wong visited Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah state, where she lived for eight years as a child before migrating to Australia, as part of an official visit to Malaysia. "One in two Australians are either born overseas or have parents who were born overseas so this is a very Australian experience," she told media on her first visit to Malaysia since a Labor government won office last month. "It matters that Australia speaks to South East Asia in a way that recognises that we are part of this region and our futures are shared," she said. Results of a census conducted … [Read more...] about Australia part of Asia, minister says on visit to Malaysian birthplace

The Straits Times (ANN) Singapore   ● Thu, June 30, 2022 2022-06-30 14:25 0 e16ff64e7ecc29b4174149122334175f 2 Asia and Pacific Singapore,COVID-19,vaccination,Omicron-BA2,travel,tourism Free The next wave of COVID-19 infections in Singapore has arrived sooner than expected, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Tuesday. Speaking to Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao after the 30th annual general meeting of the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), Ong said many people had travelled overseas, including to Europe, during the June school holidays, and the recent increase in COVID-19 cases here could be related to that. However, Ong said he did not think this wave would be worse than the one in February this year that was caused by the BA.2 Omicron subvariant. Cases in Europe and the United States are on the rise, with the new Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, steadily gaining ground. Speaking in Mandarin, he said: “I had earlier said that the … [Read more...] about COVID-19 wave in Singapore arrives earlier than expected: minister

Representative image. Jet Airways is in the process of finalising a new deal for its fleet and is expected to sign the deal in the next couple of weeks, multiple sources aware of the matter told Moneycontrol . “The timeline for delivery of planes is being finalised as the airline is very keen to start increasing its operations once it takes flight. Once the timelines are finalised, the deal will be signed and announced,” a senior company official said. He added that at the moment Jet Airways has not made a final decision on the type of aircraft it wants to procure and the contract is mostly going to depend on the manufacturer’s ability to deliver planes in a timely manner. “Jet Airways wants to start taking delivery of new planes by the end of 2023 or even before that and will look to take delivery of around 20 planes every year for the next four years,” an industry insider aware of the discussions said. On June 27, Bloomberg reported that the once-defunct Indian … [Read more...] about Jet Airways likely to sign deal for new planes in next couple of weeks: Sources

- A + A (June 30): Taiwan’s stock benchmark index slumped on Thursday (June 30), taking its decline from a January high to over 19% and just points away from a so-called bear market. The Taiex gauge closed 2.7% lower in Taipei, the worst performer in Asia. It was dragged by chipmakers after Bank of America took a cautious view on the industry’s growth prospects. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which accounts for more than a quarter of the index’s weighting, dropped 3.1%. Facing headwinds of rate hikes by global central banks, tech-heavy stock markets in Taiwan and South Korea have been the worst performers in Asia this quarter, both down over 15%. Foreign investors have net sold about US$16 billion (about RM70.52 billion) of Taiwan stocks during the three-month period, the most among emerging Asia countries outside China. Taiwan’s deputy finance minister said the National Financial Stabilization Fund will continue to closely monitor the stock market … [Read more...] about Bear market looms for Taiwan stocks after chipmaker-led slump

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): Sersol Bhd is partnering Thailand’s private jet charter services provider MJets Ltd to venture into the private aviation industry. Both parties entered into a heads of agreement (HOA) to form a 50:50 joint venture (JV) company that offers aircraft charter services, ground handling services, aircraft management and bring in new fleet of private jets into Malaysia and Indonesia, Sersol said in a statement. Sersol, whose principal activities involve coatings, thinners and industrial chemicals, said the collaboration is expected to improve travel options at competitive prices. Its managing director Datuk Justin Lim believes the JV could tap into the increasing demand preference for private charters by high-net-worth individuals, especially after the pandemic, many passengers worldwide are seeking safer ways to travel without complications of being exposed to infections. “We believe the private jet charter aviation sector offers a blue … [Read more...] about Sersol venture into private jet charter services via JV with Thai MJets

Foreign workers in Malaysia. (File photo by Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge) - A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): The president of a Sabah-based party and another individual have been arrested for alleged involvement with a syndicate issuing data cards to people without citizenship, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin. He said the two suspects were arrested on June 22 in Subang Jaya near here. He said they were believed to have convinced the victims that the data cards would allow them to enjoy privileges and facilities granted to citizens. Speaking at a press conference in Bukit Aman here on Thursday (June 30), Hamzah said he tipped off Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani after being alerted to the scam by a foreigner. He said the police then formed a special unit to track down the syndicate, leading to the arrest of the suspects. "The two individuals also deceived their victims by promising them that blue identity cards … [Read more...] about Sabah party president among two nabbed over citizenship data card scam

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on June 20, 2022 - June 26, 2022. - A + A NOT many civil servants appeared to be concerned that debt-laden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) was already falling into the abyss in 2013, only a few years after it was established. Datuk Siti Zauyah Mohd Desa seemed to be one of the exceptions, as she had warned that Malaysia had never defaulted on a loan repayment and that even defaulting on a “low threshold” repayment of US$50 million would portray the country as bankrupt, never mind the colossal repayments needed for a US$3 billion loan that 1MDB was proposing to raise and be effectively backed by a government guarantee (GG). Now retired, the former deputy secretary-general at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) told the court last week that then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had ultimately agreed to the state-owned strategic investment company’s request for a government guarantee and that her … [Read more...] about 1MDB-Tanore Trial: Letter of comfort effectively became government guarantee despite MoF’s discomfort

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on June 20, 2022 - June 26, 2022. The Malaysian government is liable for the US$3 billion debt taken on by 1MDB GIL as Najib had signed the LOS - A + A BECAUSE 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) had direct access to former prime minister and finance minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his staff at the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Minister of Finance Inc (MoF Inc) were often bypassed as the state-owned strategic investment company did not think there was any need to report to the ministry even though it was owned by MoF Inc, the High Court heard last week. Testifying as the 26th prosecution witness in Najib’s trial over the misappropriation of more than RM2 billion of 1MDB funds, Datuk Siti Zauyah Mohd Desa, a former deputy secretary-general (policy) at MoF, detailed how the government — specifically her ministry — was forced into issuing a letter of support (LOS) for … [Read more...] about 1MDB-Tanore Trial: 1MDB had direct line to Najib

The wet market in Old Town, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. According to Annuar, despite inflation rates being on the rise across the world, Malaysia is still among the countries with the lowest rates, which is at 2.8%. (Photo by Low Yen Yeing/The Edge) - A + A PUTRAJAYA (June 30): The government, through the Special Task Force on Jihad against Inflation, will strive to keep the inflation rate in Malaysia low and manageable to ensure the well-being of Malaysian families, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa announced. Annuar, who is the chairman of the task force, said they would give attention to all prices of goods and services that could contribute to the increase in the inflation rate, apart from chicken, eggs and cooking oil. “We are also giving our assurance that we will continue taking a proactive approach to control and keep the country’s inflation at a low and manageable rate.” He said this at a press conference after chairing the task … [Read more...] about Annuar: Govt to ensure Malaysia’s inflation rate remains low, manageable

Photo by Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge - A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): Six local telcos have agreed to take up the stake in Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) ahead of Thursday (June 30)’s deadline for them to finalise the decision, according to Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa. Speaking in an event in Putrajaya on Thursday, Annuar said a total of 70% stake in DNB will be spread between these six mobile network operators. He also shared that everything is according to plan, and issues pertaining to transparency and the pricing involved have all been sorted out. “Bear with me, it just takes another seven or eight days before an official announcement will be made. “Conversations have taken place and they (telcos) have reached a certain understanding and everything will be concluded by next week,” he said. DNB is the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by the government to roll out and own the 5G network infrastructure nationwide. On … [Read more...] about Six telcos agreed on DNB stake deal, official announcement by next week, says Annuar Musa