Day: September 18, 2024

PUTRAJAYA, Immigration officers stationed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are now prohibited from using mobile phones while on duty to prevent a recurrence of ‘counter setting’ syndicates, which allow foreign nationals to enter the country through ‘special counter lanes’. Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner, Tan Sri Azam Baki, said this is among the key improvements the Immigration Department must implement, adding that there is also a need for alternative communication systems during working hours, ensuring that immigration officers, including supervisors, do not carry their mobile phones while on duty to avoid being contacted

KLUANG, Indian voters in the Mahkota state constituency hope that the new representative elected in the by-election will continue to ensure that their welfare is protected. Those interviewed by Bernama said that one of the priorities is to expand educational opportunities for Indian students and youth, besides empowering the local economic sector for the community. Private sector employee Alloycius Leroy, 29, said better education opportunities would undoubtedly open up job opportunities and help them acquire a better life for their families in the future. “Opportunities and other assistance to the Indian community should also be given attention, such as assistance

KUALA LUMPUR, The Kuala Lumpur rubber market closed mixed on Wednesday in tandem with regional rubber futures markets as strong United States (US) economic data weakened prospects of an aggressive US interest rate cut, said a dealer. She said market sentiment was dented by losses in crude oil prices and as the ringgit strengthened against the US dollar. ‘Nevertheless, further losses were capped by concerns for tight natural rubber (NR) supply due to unfavourable weather conditions in major NR-producing countries,’ she told Bernama. The dealer said Shanghai rubber futures rose more than four per cent on Wednesday as trading resumed

KOTA KINABALU, Employers involved in the plantation and agriculture sector in Sabah have been urged to give full cooperation and commitment to the Targeted Regularisation Programme. The programme allows employers in both sectors to legally register their foreign workers until December. Immigration Department (JIM) Sabah director Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yusof said employers need to get approval from state authorities on the total number of workers required in the two sectors before the department issues temporary work visit passes. Sh Sitti Saleha said this was because JIM Sabah would only provide the temporary work pass based on the approval

PUTRAJAYA, The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) today launched Start-Up and Scale-Up Grants to help young people in the agriculture and agro-food sector reduce start-up costs and expand agricultural projects. Its deputy minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup in a statement said the Start-Up Grant is an improvement on the Young Agropreneur Grant offered by the ministry earlier. He said through the new grant, the value of aid in kind was increased to RM30,000 compared to RM20,000 previously, Besides, the age limit which used to be from 18 to 40 years is now increased to 43 years. Meanwhile, the