Internet still not available to many
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Government should make it a priority to provide affordable digital accessibility to remote and rural areas, say experts.
05 NOV 2020
PETALING JAYA: Just like water and electricity, internet access is now regarded as a basic necessity.
The point was made clear as far back as 2011 by the United Nations, but until today, access to the digital world is still confined only to those lucky enough to be living largely in urban areas, and have the money for costly devices.
In Malaysia, remote areas such as the interiors of Sabah and Sarawak, are still very far behind on the road to adequate internet accessibility.
This is a deficiency that has to be addressed quickly, considering that everyday life is now almost totally dependent on the internet, according to Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Paul Selvaraj.
“Without the internet, people’s access to many needs such as education is hampered,” he said.
Selvaraj said access to the internet has never been more crucial than now given the restrictions on normal life brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Schools are closed, and classrooms are now in the digital realm. Serious efforts must be expended on ensuring that the internet is accessible to everyone and not just those in the middle to upper class,” he told theSun.
15 to 24-year-olds among those affected by depression
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November 5, 2020
PETALING JAYA: Of the 500,000 Malaysians reported to suffer from depression in the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey, 108,919 were young Malaysians, according to Befrienders KL.
They were between 15 and 24 years old, Befrienders publicity director Ardy Ayadali told FMT.
He also said those aged 28 and below made up 33% of the distress calls Befrienders received last year.
Referring to the current situation, Ardy said older people were experiencing emotional distress because they were working from home or had suffered loss of income.
However, he added, youths were more likely to get depression from the stress of academic and social struggles.
“But the causes of depression are complex,” he said. “In youths, these can include low self-esteem and poor interpersonal skills, which cause them to struggle with relationships with friends and family.”
He said family support played a key role in improving the younger generation’s well-being and he recommended that schools incorporate the topics of self-care, mental health issues and stress-coping skills into the syllabus.
Read more: 15 to 24-year-olds among those affected by depression
Larangan Jualan Produk Makanan Yang Dikesan Mengandungi Racun Berjadual Dan Memaparkan Maklumat Palsu Pada Label
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5 November 2020
Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (㽶Ƶ) melalui Bahagian Keselamatan dan Kualiti Makanan (B㽶Ƶ) sentiasa memantau produk-produk makanan di pasaran termasuk produk makanan yang disyaki diaduk dengan racun berjadual seperti sildenafil, tadalafil, dexamethasone dan prednisolone.
Hasil pemantauan yang dijalankan oleh B㽶Ƶ sepanjang tahun 2019 hingga Ogos 2020, didapati sebanyak 21 produk makanan membabitkan 16 jenama daripada sejumlah 849 produk makanan yang dianalisis didapati mengandungi racun berjadual yang dilarang penambahannya dalam makanan.
Di bawah Seksyen 13, Akta Makanan 1983, menyatakan mana-mana orang yang menyediakan atau menjual apa-apa makanan yang ada dalam atau padanya apa-apa bahan yang beracun, merosakkan atau selainnya memudaratkan kesihatan adalah melakukan suatu kesalahan dan apabila disabitkan kesalahan boleh dikenakan denda yang tidak melebihi RM 100,000 atau penjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi 10 tahun atau kedua-duanya.
Tindakan undang-undang telah diambil ke atas pengeluar atau pengedar 4 daripada 16 jenama produk makanan yang tidak mematuhi undang-undang tersebut. Walau bagaimanapun, hasil siasatan yang dijalankan ke atas 12 jenama produk makanan yang lain mendapati nama dan alamat syarikat adalah palsu atau tidak lengkap. Maklumat semua produk makanan tersebut adalah seperti di lampiran.
Bijak urus pendapatan, elak kejutan kewangan
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November 4, 2020 2:25 pm
*Artikel ini dibawa oleh Fomca dengan kerjasama Jawatankuasa Tetap Hal Ehwal Pengguna Selangor
Bermula dari tahun 2011, Gabungan Persatuan-persatuan Pengguna Malaysia (Fomca) merasakan bahawa literasi kewangan harus diberikan keutamaan di dalam agenda nasional.
Maka bulan Oktober adalah sebagai Bulan Literasi Kewangan, di mana kami menggalakkan setiap pengguna harus menilai tahap kewangan mereka dan perlu mengetahui langkah-langkah untuk menguruskan perancangan kewangan dan meningkatkan kemampuan pengurusan kewangan mereka.
Data mengenai tingkah laku kewangan pengguna di Malaysia begitu membimbangkan. Sebanyak enam juta pekerja di kawasan bandar memperoleh gaji di bawah tangga gaji yang dicadangkan oleh Bank Negara Malaysia yang ditakrifkan sebagai gaji minimum oleh pengguna untuk menjalani taraf hidup yang bersesuaian.
Malah, simpanan mereka juga rendah. Dilaporkan bahawa 88 peratus isi rumah di Malaysia tidak mempunyai simpanan, sementara 62 peratus pengguna dilaporkan tidak mempunyai simpanan cukup.
Emas tak dapat, lesap RM1 juta
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Rabu, 4 November 2020 @ 9:38 AM
Taiping: Seorang pesara swasta kerugian lebih RM1 juta (RM1,177,950) selepas lelaki warga emas itu ditipu dalam pelaburan emas yang tidak wujud.
Ketua Polis Daerah Taiping Asisten Komisioner Osman Mamat berkata, lelaki berusia 60 tahun itu mendakwa berurusan dengan seorang wanita warga Singapura yang dikenali menerusi aplikasi janji temu dalam talian, OKCUPID, dan menawarkan pelaburan emas yang dikenali sebagai Alpha Tradex.
Beliau berkata, mangsa memasukkan wang secara berperingkat ke dalam lapan akaun yang diberikan oleh suspek bagi tujuan pelaburan emas berkenaan.
"Hasil pelaburan yang ditawarkan oleh suspek kononnya boleh mendapat keuntungan mencecah US$2,712,477.41 (RM11,278,353.54).
"Pengadu ingin menunaikan wang keuntungan itu dan diberikan satu resit transaksi kemasukan wang ke dalam akaun pengadu," katanya dalam kenyataan di sini, hari ini.
Moratorium: Tunggu Jumaat ini - Abd Rahim
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November 4, 2020 11:20 MYT
KUALA LUMPUR: Keputusan sama ada kerajaan akan melanjutkan pelaksanaan moratorium atau tidak akan diketahui Jumaat ini.
Demikian kata Timbalan Menteri Kewangan I, Datuk Abd Rahim Bakri.
"Pada Jumaat ini kita ada pembentangan Belanjawan 2021, jadi untuk mengetahui sama ada inisiatif itu dilaksanakan kena tunggu Jumaat ini," katanya ketika menjawab soalan tambahan Datuk Salim Sharif (BN-Jempol) di Dewan Rakyat pada Rabu.
Dalam pada itu, Abd Rahim (Bersatu - Kudat) ketika menjawab soalan tambahan Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub (PH - Pulai) berhubung pemberian projek runding terus melalui Pakej Rangsangan Ekonomi yang diumumkan ketika pandemik COVID-19 memberitahu, beliau tidak mempunyai sebagai maklumat mengenai perkara itu.
"Dalam pakej yang dilaksanakan itu, saya tidak ada maklumat adakah ia diberi secara runding terus," ujarnya.
Dalam perkembangan lain, beliau berkata kerajaan menjangkakan unjuran Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) akan berkembang sebanyak 5.5 peratus sehingga 5.8 peratus pada tahun 2021.
Putrajaya urged to target aid to single mothers, disabled
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November 4, 2020 9:45 AM
PETALING JAYA: Putrajaya has been urged to provide additional forms of social protection to single mothers and disabled persons in low-income areas following a study showing they are the slowest to recover from the movement control order (MCO) because many of them cannot get government aid.
According to a recent Unicef report, income in general was inching towards 2019 levels in the areas the agency surveyed but women and the disabled were still making far less money than they used to.
The two groups were also the most likely to be without any kind of savings, the report said.
A spokesman for the All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) told FMT single mothers in low-income areas faced unique challenges that the government needed to address.
“We encounter many women who have been left by their husbands,” she said. “However, they are still legally married.”
She noted that the government recognised only divorced and widowed women as single mothers and called for less rigidity in determining eligibility for aid.
Read more: Putrajaya urged to target aid to single mothers, disabled
5 small steps to saving big on your light bill
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November 3, 2020 8:00 AM
With the various Movement Control Orders that have been in place since March, Malaysians are spending a lot of time at home, which means electricity consumption has gone up as well.
Here are some tips to control electricity usage and keep those TNB bills down.
1. Natural lighting
Why pay for electric light when you can use natural light for free during the daytime?
Open up the curtains and switch off the lights, especially if it is sunny outside.
If you are blinded by the bright sunlight hang a sheer curtain to reduce the glare and heat.
2. Take shorter showers
A long, relaxing hot shower is nice, but it also increases the electricity bill. Your water bill will be up there too.
Using a water heater can be high in energy consumption, so the longer the shower, the higher the power bill.
LETTER | Cashless society: Is it possible for everyone?
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3 Oktober 2020 l 12.05pm
LETTER | There is no escaping our evolution into a cashless society. The notion that all transactions can be executed digitally is becoming more realistic day by day.
Covid-19 has accelerated the move away from physical cash, with growing concerns over transmittal of viruses and diseases.
A cashless society breeds a new era for financial transactions. Key benefits should include: lower crime rates, less money laundering, easier foreign transacting and reduced risks and costs.
The term, cashless society, itself appears ubiquitous and denotes a concept so pervasive and entrenched in our society. However, this is far from reality.
Economic inequality and inclusivity are fundamental issues still present worldwide. A cashless society might actually exacerbate these problems. The unbanked and poor could face significant challenges with digital modes of payment.
According to the World Bank, there are over 1.7 billion unbanked adults globally. China, Indonesia and India account for over 30 percent of this number, with the majority of these being females.
In fact, a huge proportion of the unbanked view the cashless movement as a discriminatory act against those without bank accounts. Perhaps, ideologically, we are running before walking to facilitate this cashless utopia.
Read more: LETTER | Cashless society: Is it possible for everyone?
LETTER | Empowering consumers through financial literacy
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3 Nov 2020, 5:25 pm
Since 2011, when Fomca strongly felt that financial literacy should be given priority on the national agenda, it declared October as the Financial Literacy Month, whereby at least during this month, every consumer should evaluate his financial health as well as take measures to enhance his financial planning and management capabilities.
The data on the financial behaviour of Malaysian consumers are worrying. Incomes are low. Six million workers in urban areas earn below the living wage as proposed by Bank Negara Malaysia which it defines as the minimum wage that consumers need to live a minimum acceptable standard of living.
Savings are low. It was reported that 88 percent of Malaysian households reported zero savings while 62 percent of consumers reported that they have not saved enough.
Household debts are high. In 2019, household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) was 82.7 percent. A high household debt often means that households are vulnerable to financial shocks. At the micro-level, 47 percent of Malaysian consumers are classified as excessively over-indebted, that is their debt payments are more than 30 percent of their income.
Further, a study on young workers reported that 37 percent were spending more than they earn. Thus Malaysian consumers were having low incomes, low savings and high debts.
Read more: LETTER | Empowering consumers through financial literacy
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