Rakyat should enjoy better life quality in line with economic growth
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The Madani Economy framework announced by Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently is set to gradually improve Malaysians’ standard of living as the government aspires to eradicate poverty.
While the first focus is emphasising the foundation for economic stability with strategies to position Malaysia for new growth, a significant aspect such as quality of life remains a priority.
Anwar in his speech said while industries have matured and grown rapidly, wealth distribution is still not equal with many still earning below minimum wage and living in poverty.
Universiti Kuala Lumpur Business School economic analyst Prof Dr Aimi Zulhazmi Abdul Rashid said industrial development should be more regional-centric rather than focusing only in big cities like Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru.
To eradicate hard-core poverty, two key efforts have been set in motion this year.
These are the Inisiatif Pendapatan Rakyat which provides opportunities for the severely poor households and the Payung Rahmah concept which is a voluntary participation from businesses.
Assistant Professor of Finance at UCSI University Malaysia and Research Fellow at Centre for Market Education (CME) Dr Liew Chee Yoong told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) that this helps to some extent but it must be accompanied by effective structural reforms in the economy to raise people’s income.
Apart from that, to facilitate home ownership, the Housing Credit Guarantee was announced under Madani Budget 2023 as a means to support individuals with no fixed income to own their first house.
Read more: Rakyat should enjoy better life quality in line with economic growth
Traders and consumers concerned about polybag cooking oil shortage
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KUALA TERENGGANU: The short supply of subsidised polybag cooking oil has become critical as traders and consumers claim that it is difficult to get in the surrounding areas here.
In fact, a survey of several convenience stores and supermarkets in this area also found a shortage of stock for polybag cooking oil; only bottled cooking oil is available.
Nurshahidatina Eliya Zahari, 25, a convenience store trader, said the shortage of polybag cooking oil began at the end of last July.
According to her, the most she could get were two boxes of polybag cooking oil, each box containing 17 kilograms, which were purchased from wholesalers.
"The polybag cooking oil shortage began at the end of last month and has been ongoing until today.
"We have to personally search for supply in various other places and shops that sell it. Usually, consumers only want polybag cooking oil and I have to limit the sale to one or two packets per person," she said when met at her store in Kampung Losong Haji Awang, here, today.
Read more: Traders and consumers concerned about polybag cooking oil shortage
Free myBAS bus service for people with special needs, students, senior citizens in Negri, Perak, Johor
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SEREMBAN: Individuals with special needs, students and senior citizens in three states can now travel for free on the myBAS stage bus service, says Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
The Transport Minister said special needs individuals registered with the Welfare Department, students aged between seven and 17 and senior citizens who are above 60 can, from Tuesday (Aug 15), apply for the myBASKonsesi card which will allow them to travel for free on 58 routes in Negri Sembilan, Perak and Johor.
The move is also to encourage more people to use the public transport service.
"This is another initiative by the ministry under the Stage Bus Service Transformation programme to help reduce the living cost of the people.
"Those eligible will only have to bring their MyKad, MyKid or MyTentera identification document or the OKU card issued by the Welfare Department when applying," he told reporters after launching the card at the Terminal One bus station here.
Loke said those who wished to apply for the pass in Negri Sembilan can do so at the Terminal One Station here, Nilai Sentral and the bus stations in Bahau, Tampin and Port Dickson.
Lack of punctuality main complaint among public transport users, survey shows
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PETALING JAYA: A new survey has found that the lack of punctuality in public transport services is the main complaint among commuters.
“Of the challenges the users of public transport faced, 54% stated lack of punctuality, 48% stated poor last-mile connectivity while 47% perceived the fares as too expensive,” UCSI University’s Poll Research Centre, which carried out the survey, said.
The survey, from July 10 to Aug 4, took into account feedback from 1,029 respondents on their perception toward public transport in Malaysia. Sixty-seven per cent of the respondents said they used various forms of public transport, including trains and buses.
The pollster said 21% of its respondents used public transport daily, 22% several times a week, and 24% several times a month. A third of the respondents said they did not use any form of public transport.
As for reasons to use public transportation, 39% of the respondents said it was because they do not have their own vehicle, 25% said it was due to traffic congestion, and 18% mentioned a lack of parking facilities and the costs they would have to incur using their own vehicle.
Among those who opted not to use public transport, the main reasons given were that they preferred using their own vehicle (33%) as well for convenience and safety concerns (19%).
Harga ayam naik di beberapa negeri
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PASIR GUDANG - Beberapa peniaga di sekitar bandar raya ini terpaksa menjual ayam pada harga RM8.70 sekilogram ketika ini kerana mereka mendapat harga yang tinggi daripada pembekal bahan mentah itu.
Peniaga kedai runcit di pekan Kota Masai, Rahmad Abdullah, 34, berkata, terpaksa menjual pada harga itu berbeza RM7.39 minggu lalu kerana tidak mahu rugi selain memperoleh sedikit keuntungan.
"Peniaga di pekan ini mendapat bekalan daripada pembekal yang berbeza-beza. Saya mendapat bekalan ayam, ikan dan sayur daripada pembekal yang berbeza jadi susah untuk mendapatkan harga murah.
"Saya bukan suka-suka jual tidak mengikut harga ditetapkan tetapi kita bergantung kepada pembekal.
Dalam sehari kita perlu dapatkan 30 sehingga 50 ekor bekalan ayam," katanya ketika ditemui pada Isnin.
Dia berkata, biasanya bekalan ayam tersebut habis walaupun harganya berbeza mengikut harga borong yang diberikan pembekal.
Seorang lagi peniaga yang hanya mahu dikenali sebagai Shafie, 40, berkata, walaupun harga tidak menentu, pelanggan tetap membelinya kerana bahan mentah itu sudah menjadi satu keperluan.
"Setakat ini tiada lagi pelanggan yang merungut kerana ayam memang sentiasa dicari pelanggan.
Sebelum ini ada peniaga di pekan ini yang menjual ayam sehingga RM9 sekilogram pada minggu lepas kerana mendapat harga mahal daripada pembekal," katanya.
DBKL forbids adding more bedrooms in commercial-titled apartments in KL
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KUALA LUMPUR; The Council of Buildings (COB) of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has issued a circular prohibiting room partitions (adding bedrooms) in commercial-titled apartments with strata status under its jurisdiction in Kuala Lumpur.
The circular, which became effective on August 1, 2023, was addressed to the chairman of all Joint Management Bodies (JMB), Management Corporations (MC), and Sub Management Corporations (Sub-MC) in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Kamarulzaman Mat Salleh noted in the circular that all service apartments and SOHOs with strata titles in the city are prohibited from building walls to create more bedrooms.
He provided numerous reasons for the ban, the first being that converting living rooms and dining rooms into new bedrooms increases the number of rooms in an apartment or SOHO unit.
Read more: DBKL forbids adding more bedrooms in commercial-titled apartments in KL
MMA calls for stricter enforcement of beauty industry
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PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has called for stricter regulation and enforcement of the beauty and aesthetics industry following a recent death linked to a plastic surgery procedure.
MMA president Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai said the increasing number of incidents involving unlicensed or unregistered beauty centres in recent years suggested a lack of enforcement by the authorities.
“The MMA takes a serious view of these incidents and urges the health ministry to immediately take action to address these concerns,” he said in a statement.
His statement comes after China Press reported on Saturday that a 29-year-old woman had died after allegedly undergoing breast augmentation surgery at a beautician’s home in Skudai, Johor Bahru.
The victim was admitted to the hospital after complaining of pain and swelling in her chest before dying three days later.
Read more: MMA calls for stricter enforcement of beauty industry
Skim Perubatan Madani diperluas ke 11 daerah
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Putrajaya: Skim Perubatan MADANI akan diperluaskan ke 11 daerah lain bermula minggu kedua bulan ini bagi memastikan lebih ramai rakyat mendapat kemudahan kesihatan, kata Menteri Kesihatan Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
Ia terdiri daripada Kota Setar dan Kuala Muda, Kedah serta Kuala Terengganu dan Kuala Nerus, Terengganu akan bermula pada minggu kedua, manakala Seremban, Negeri Sembilan; Kota Bharu, Pasir Mas (Kelantan); Kuantan (Pahang); Melaka Tengah (Melaka), Seberang Perai Tengah (Pulau Pinang) dan Perlis bermula pada minggu keempat Ogos.
Dalam kenyataan hari ini beliau berkata klinik perubatan swasta umum (GP) di daerah terlibat dialu-alukan untuk mendaftar sebagai klinik panel Skim Perubatan MADANI dengan melayari laman sesawang ProtectHealth di www.protecthealth.com.my/skimperubatanmadani atau menghubungi talian 03-8687 2525.
Skim Perubatan MADANI bermula pada 15 Jun lepas di 10 daerah iaitu Gombak, Hulu Langat, Klang dan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Kinta (Perak), Timur Laut (Pulau Pinang), Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) dan Kuching (Sarawak).
Terjerat tawaran kerja, wanita rugi lebih RM100,000
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Kuantan: Wanita mendakwa kerugian RM118,767.49 selepas terpedaya dengan sindiket tawaran kerja sambilan yang menawarkan gaji tinggi secara dalam talian.
Ketua Polis Pahang Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman berkata, mangsa yang berusia 22 tahun itu mendakwa ditawarkan pekerjaan oleh seorang wanita yang dikenalinya menerusi Instagram, pada 23 Julai lepas.
"Suspek dikatakan menawarkan mangsa untuk menyelesaikan satu tugasan dengan bayaran, selain turut memberikan nombor telefon untuk dihubungi, jika mangsa berjaya melakukan kerja itu.
"Mangsa yang menghubungi suspek kemudiannya ditawarkan pula tugasan melakukan tangkap layar barangan di pautan diberikan dengan dijanjikan keuntungan bagi setiap tangkap layar dibuat," katanya menerusi kenyataan di sini, hari ini.
Yahaya berkata, mangsa yang bekerja di sebuah institusi pendidikan di sini, tertarik dengan "kerja" itu kerana menerima upah RM47 selepas menyelesaikan dua tugasan, menyebabkan dia terus menghubungi suspek untuk mendapatkan tugasan selanjutnya.
Suspek didakwa mengarahkan mangsa untuk membuat bayaran terlebih dahulu, dengan dia akhirnya membuat 20 transaksi pemindahan wang ke 11 akaun diberikan.
"Mangsa yang menggunakan wang simpanan bagi membuat bayaran itu turut meminjam daripada bank dan rakan sebelum menyedari dirinya ditipu apabila menyedari jumlah wang yang dikeluarkannya," katanya.
Read more: Terjerat tawaran kerja, wanita rugi lebih RM100,000
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