Two male teenagers have been detained in connection with a bicycle-loafing incident on a main street in Queenstown, according to the police on Tuesday ( Dec 24 ). One bicycle occupied each street of the three-lane street in the early hours of Friday, according to a photo shared by FacebookContinue Reading
Between Nov. 27 and Dec. 10, the Merdeka Center polled 1, 207 registered citizens across the nation. The participant combine was 52 per share Malay, 29 per cent Chinese, 7 per cent Indian, 6 per cent Muslim bumiputera and 6 per cent non-Muslim bumiputera.
More responders, according to the most recent research, think that Anwar has boosted Malaysia’s reputation, attracted foreign traders, and taught efficiency and dignity in the civil service.
When asked if Anwar was “working hard to strengthen the people’s business,” the responses were practically middle-class.
On the other hand, 39 per cent of them said they were dissatisfied with Anwar’s achievement as of end-November 2024, along from 43 per cent a year ago.
Co-founder and program director of the Merdeka Center Ibrahim Suffian described concerns over economic forces as a “persistent” problem, in part because many Malay continue to struggle with rising living costs.
” Although earnings have slowly improved since the COVID-19 time, costs have gone away and many also feel that need to expand their ringgit”, he told CNA.
” Also, these things take time to be realized and trickle down to the average person, while people are optimistic about the investment commitments generated during the PM’s outings abroad.”
On Dec 22, Anwar summed up his government’s financial efforts in a Facebook article titled” 2024 Features: Soaring Economy, Abundant Prosperity”.
The premier touted the RM254.7 billion ( US$ 56.7 billion ) in approved digital investments from January to September 2024, saying this was expected to create 159, 000 new jobs.
His administration’s New Industrial Master Plan 2030 has even led to a 4.7 per cent increase in the manufacturing industry’s added value to the country’s private total solution, amounting to RM4.2 billion.
He wrote,” The Madani government has implemented various plans to continue improving the economy throughout this year for the prosperity of the people and the country.”
Despite this, a large majority of respondents to the Merdeka Center survey said they were concerned about the economy and believed that Malaysia was heading in the wrong direction.
Most of them cited “unfavourable economic condition in general” as the reason, followed by high costs of living, minimum income and weakening of the ringgit.
Anwar may have managed the economy fairly well, but local residents still experience the pinch from rising costs, according to Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research.
” The problem is, people are thinking- right now- the prices of goods are very high, their income seems to be static, and business is not growing”.
Of those who said Malaysia was going in the wrong direction, other reasons given were weak administration, politics, leadership and racial issues, the study found.
” Issues driving voter motivations remain unchanged: The economy and inflation”, the study said.
While concerns over political instability have evaporated, there is a slight rise in concerns over identity politics, specifically the protection of Malay rights, the study noted.
Since he took office in November 2022, Anwar has generally maintained a favorable approval rating.
He started out with a 68 % approval rating, but this dropped to 50 % at the end of his first year, largely as a result of concerns about the economy and how it affected livelihoods, according to Merdeka Center at the time.
Anwar’s rating dropped to its lowest point of 43 % in June 2024, the only month it fell below 50 %, before regaining its 54 % as of the end of November.
Because the survey was conducted ahead of timed delivery as part of government efforts to reduce diesel subsidies, Ibrahim claimed, the rating dropped to a low in June.
” There was anxiety over the effect that might have had on consumer goods and services, alas that didn’t materialise or have a deep impact”, he said.
According to Azmi, the decline may be a result of spattering perceptions since early 2024 about Anwar’s alleged failure to carry out his promised institutional reforms.
SINGAPORE: Four ride-hailing operators in Singapore will be raising their platform fees by up to S$ 0.50 ( US$ 0.37 ) from Jan 1, 2025, in a move they partly attribute to costs , arising from the upcoming Platform Workers Act.
Grab, the leading ride-hailing platform in Singapore, will increase its fees , from S$ 0.70 to S$ 0.90 for commuters, it said in a statement on Tuesday ( Dec 24 ).
The new “platform &, partner fee” will support Central Provident Fund ( CPF ) contributions, work injury compensation ( WIC ) coverage and other welfare initiatives for its platform workers, as well as platform , maintenance and service improvements, it added.
For its foods, shopping and shipment delivery service, its costs will go up from S$ 0.40 to S$ 0.60.
Gojek will even increase its app cost by S$ 30 to S$ 50 per journey, with the technician stating on Tuesday that these changes are intended to “protect drivers and their earnings in support of the Bill” in addition to improving and maintaining its services.
Also, ComfortDelGro, Singapore’s largest car operator, said on Tuesday it will increase its system fees. The actual cost will depend on factors like the distance traveled and the length of the trip, and it will be charged to commuters for S$ 1.20, which is higher than the current smooth rate of S$ 0.70.
Trips made with the CDG Zig game, DBS PayLah!, may be covered by this. app and Kris software.
The increase will go toward “enhanced security and , welfare activities that are part of the new System Staff Bill, providing a more enjoyable and secure prospect for our drivers,” according to Mr. Tommy Tan, CEO of ComfortDelGro Taxi.
The company added that the adjustment will help pay operating costs for platform workers ‘ new initiatives under the Ministry of Manpower’s ( MOM), including enhanced insurance coverage and CPF contributions.
TADA also announced that it would increase its app cost by S$ 0.50 per journey, excluding GST.
An email sent to clients on Tuesday reads,” In addition to maintaining latest features and creating new ones to provide a better ride-hailing knowledge for you, this modification is also crucial to the application of the president’s Platform Workers Bill.”
Ryde has been contacted by CNA to inquire whether its app fees may be changed in the same way.
The Singapore, a business publication, apologized to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng on Tuesday ( Dec 24 ) for a Bloomberg article that The Edge reproduced on its website.
A POLFA adjustment purchase issued to a number of entities on Monday, titled Singapore Mansion Deals Are Extremely Shrouded in Secrecy, was the subject of the article.
The article addressed Good Class Bungalow ( GCB) transactions in Singapore and contained a number of statements that the government later determined to be false.
The article’s authors, Mr. Shanmugam and Dr. Tan, both mentioned in the article, said they would be issuing Letters of Need to Bloomberg and other outlets that may reproduce the article in its entirety or in part because they felt the piece was libellous and indicated on December 16 that they would do so.  ,
The Edge stated on Tuesday that it was aware that the article it reproduced and the accompanying Facebook post “meant and were understood to mean that ( Mr. Shanmugam/Dr Tan ) wanted to conceal ( their ) transaction( s ) and avoid scrutiny, including about the possibility of money laundering.”
The Facebook post read:” Bloomberg says more people buy homes with trusts, hiding owners ‘ identities” . ,
The Edge acknowledged and acknowledged that the claims are” entirely false and without any basis.”
The ministers were also apologised for the “distress and guilt” that the content and Facebook article caused them.
The Advantage stated,” We have removed the content and the post and commit to not make any claims or submit any content and/or posts containing any claims to the same or similar effects.”
CNA has contacted The Edge, as well as Mr Shanmugam and Dr Tan, for additional comment.
According to Birhan, the higher rate of child dumping in Indonesia is largely attributable to the country’s strict abortion laws and the lack of comprehensive sexual education.  ,
In Indonesia, even the world’s most populous Muslim country, abortion is improper except in cases of health crises and murder.  ,
According to a report from the National Population and Family Planning Agency, there are 2.4 million abortion situations in the nation each year, and up to 700, 000 of these cases involve youth, or about 30 % of them.  ,
Irrespective of their marital status, Burhan also provides a safe haven for abandoned children and assists people who are experiencing unwanted pregnancy and mental health issues. Together with his devoted group, he makes sure these women are kept informed and given until the day they are due.  ,
He claimed that many of these women’s families reject them because they are frequently willing to take care of the children.  ,
” We want to gain the baby to the mother but people usually express shame, saying things like’ while we accept the mother, we do not take the child'”, said Burhan, who was first featured in a series on common soldiers on CNA’s Bahasa Indonesia site.  ,
A person who has worked to address waste disposal issues in a town in West Java state as well as an dog lover who has been looking out for stray animals are other stories in the series.  ,Continue Reading
SINGAPORE: The Infocomm Media Development Authority ( IMDA ) has issued an advisory to Singapore Post to “uphold proper governance and processes” after the company  , sacked three top executives , over their handling of internal investigations into a whistleblowing report.
In response to CNA’s queries, IMDA said on Monday ( Dec 23 ) that it is monitoring the situation closely.
” SingPost’s committee has assured that postal service businesses in Singapore are no affected”, added the controller.
After the company’s final disciplinary hearings into their do, the group’s chief executive officer Vincent Phang, party chief financial officer Vincent Yik, and chief executive of the company’s global enterprise product Li Yu were fired on Saturday.  ,  ,
This comes after a whistleblowing report about the company’s non-regulated international e-commerce logistics parcel business was released earlier this year. Three other managers who were directly involved in this situation but were not identified by SingPost were fired.  ,
According to the report, SingPost’s international business unit allegedly manually entered a number of delivery status codes. The business had entered into a contract with one of its biggest customers to deliver these for international transhipment packages.
These manual entries allegedly were made without any justification or supporting documentation in an effort to avoid contractual repercussions under the agreement.  ,
The e-commerce shipment data falsification case was reported to the authority and SingPost on Monday, according to IMDA, which announced on Monday that it had been handled by the agency and SingPost in February of this year.
Regulated postal services are still unaffected by this issue, according to IMDA, as it relates to the shipment of international e-commerce packages abroad.
The ISD cautioned against those who intend to use military assault in Singapore or elsewhere.  ,
It was responding to CNA’s question last week regarding whether criminal organizations could use the present situation in Syria to spread their wings, including in Southeast Asia and Singapore.  ,
The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ( HTS ) rebels seized control of Damascus and other significant Syrian cities on December 7. After nightfall, reports emerged Assad had fled the country for Russia.
The ending of Syria’s 13-year issue, which claimed over 580, 000 lives and displaced 12 million people, came with the fall of Assad.  ,
Units claims to still have connections to any criminal system, but the UN Security Council and many other nations have continued to label it a terrorist organization.
In the midst of Assad’s impeachment, experts told CNA Southeast Asian regulators must be vigilant.
However, some experts believe that Southeast Asia’s current threat of a new wave of fanaticism is comparatively lower.
The ISD warned that it would take legal action against those who intend to use military force in Singapore or elsewhere.
” We will not hesitate to take strong activities against any person who supports, promotes, tries or makes arrangements to engage in military crime, be it in Singapore or overseas”, a spokesperson said.  ,
In the past, the ISD has detained radicalized Singapore who intended to travel to Syria and participate in armed conflict.  ,
In October, a 17-year-old Taiwanese student was arrested less than a quarter before his plan to carry out a terror attack in Singapore’s strongholds. Additionally, the youth intended to use military violence and journey to Syria to meet the Islamic State.  ,
Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam reported in July that two Singaporeans had received limitations requests for supporting violence and armed assault. After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, they radicalized.
The youngest person ever to receive a restriction order under the Internal Security Act ( ISA ) was a 14-year-old boy, and the other a 33-year-old woman who worked as a manager for a statutory board.
An 18-year-old Singaporean IS follower was detained in December 2022 after considering attacking priorities, including an army tent and a grave at a mosque in Singapore, in February of last year, according to the ISD, who was detained in that regard. The pupil had likewise intended to travel globally, including to Syria, to participate in military assault.  ,
Two additional youth who the student’s student’s student’s online contacts were also given ISA orders for terrorism-related activities.
The ISD urged the general public to stay alert for signs that their neighbors may have resented radicalization and report them to the government. Islamist views that are posted or shared on social media, support or admiration for terrorists or criminal organizations, and the use of violence are potential indicators of radicalization.
Anyone who knows or suspects that a person has been radicalised should contact ISD’s hotline at 1800 2626 473 ( 1800-2626-ISD ), the spokesperson added.
SINGAPORE: A , 71-year-old man was arrested after a 69-year-old died following an alleged fight in Lavender on Sunday ( Dec 22 ). According to preliminary findings from the authorities, both men were engaged in verbal altercation and had reportedly fought with one another. The officers had attended to the affairContinue Reading
Countries have since improved their earthquake and tsunami planning, including having early warning systems and rigid building codes, according to Earth science professional Don Melgar of the University of Oregon.
“The truth is that with increasing sea levels, tsunami impacts will become progressively deadlier, ” he told CNA’s Asia First on Monday ( Dec 23 ).
“That’s things that we’re starting to take into account when we make arrangements and estimates. ”
There is also greater local engagement, including data posting, he added.
“That’s not something that was happening in 2004,” said Melgar. So that makes it simpler to warn people when quakes occur.
Additionally, it makes it simpler to exchange knowledge and information in the form of computer models, training, and preparations, but that, nevertheless, the whole region can be strengthened and made more resilient than just this or that nation. ”
He cautioned against complacency when preparing for the next big hazard.
“We’re in a better place, but we’re not at our place, ” he said.
“We may think about our kids and our children’s children. That’s the kind of thinking that will enable us to prevent tragedies like the one from 2004 from occurring again. ”
The Singapore government issued a POLLA FEWA ( POFMA ) correction order on Monday ( Dec 23 ) for the news agency Bloomberg.
The correction order, also handed out to The Edge Singapore, The Independent Singapore and The Online Citizen, relates to articles and posts made by the publications about Good Class Bungalow ( GCBs ) transactions, said the Ministry of Law in a press release.  ,
Bloomberg published the Dec 12 content, titled Singapore Mansion Offers Are Extremely Shrouded in Secrecy, on its site. It was reposted on Bloomberg’s Twitter and X records. The Edge Singapore published the article in its entirety on its web the same day, and it was also reposted on its Facebook page.
On December 12, The Independent Singapore and The Online Member published papers commenting on the initial Bloomberg piecem on their sites and then reposted their content on their individual social media accounts.
The four papers will be required to take correction finds against the articles and posts, which state that the said articles or posts communicated false statements of fact and , give a link to the President’s explanation, said the government.
” This will enable readers to read both types and draw their own conclusions,” the author writes.
According to a CNA search on Monday at around 1.20 p.m., content from The Edge Singapore and The Independent Singapore are no longer available online.
According to the president’s fact-checking site, Factually, Bloomberg’s misleading statements “attack the clarity of property purchases in Singapore”.
Technically, the Bloomberg article falsely claimed that if caveats are not filed, there are no officially available government records of GCB sale transactions, and that the best valuable owner’s identity must not be made public to the government.
Additionally, it claimed that estate agents and other services providers have the sole responsibility to stop money trafficking in property transactions and that GCB property transactions can be conducted “without any checks by the government on the identities of the greatest valuable owners.”
The article added that if no disclaimer is filed and no need is made to reveal the identity of the ultimate beneficial operator in a shell corporation or trust structure, which allows parties to” transact such properties in a way facilitative of wealth laundering,” there is” no publicly available state record of the GCB transaction.”
These lies further give the impression that Singapore does not have a strong legal system that mandates the disclosure of information to the government in GCB transactions, which could lead to undetected wrongdoing. Factually argued that it is in the public’s interest to address these lies to prevent public trust in the government from being undermined.
On December 16, law and home affairs minister K Shanmugam and Tan See Leng jointly announced that they were bringing legal action against Bloomberg and other media outlets for making statements regarding their property transactions.
Both ministers added that they would issue demands in relation to the article, which they thought was “libellous.”
A letter of demand, usually sent by lawyers, contains a list of demands. If the recipients- in this case, Bloomberg and the other three media outlets- do not meet these demands, legal action, such as a lawsuit, may follow.
CNA has spoken with Bloomberg regarding the POFMA order and letter of demand that the two ministers have sent to them.