General

KUALA LUMPUR, A total of RM100 million was fully utilised for the Indian Community Socio-Economic Development Programmes last year for the community’s B40 group. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in a written reply published on the Parliament website, said the allocation was spent on 216 programmes which targeted 134,247 participants from three scopes. “The Indian Community Human Capital Development Programme scope involved 43 programmes, costing RM35,278,580.46 and targeted 21,321 participants while the Indian Community Career and Entrepreneurship Development Programme encompassed 113 programmes, costing RM35,034,811.90 and benefited 83,883 participants. “The Well-being, Spiritual, Welfare and Social Development Programmes for the Indian

KUALA LUMPUR, The installation of new Electric Vehicle Charging Bays (EVCB) needs to follow the guidelines set by the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) to ensure optimal fire safety. Kuala Lumpur JBPM acting director Rozihan Anwar Mamat said that this is crucial to enhance safety levels and reduce the risk of fires involving electric vehicles (EVs). “Any new EVCB installation will go through Kuala Lumpur City Hall. Then, at the JBPM level, the Fire Department will provide guidance and recommendations according to the suitability of the EVCB installation, whether at commercial and office premises or private residences,” he told

KUALA NERUS, The inability to meet the safety standards set by the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department is among the reasons many tahfiz centres in the country remain unregistered. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said this issue is particularly concerning, especially if an incident occurs that endangers the lives of the students. “There are 1,199 registered tahfiz centres nationwide, producing 125,000 huffaz (Muslims who have learnt the Quran completely by heart). However, there are many more unregistered tahfiz centres because they cannot comply with the conditions set by the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department. “This raises

KOTA BELUD, The Large-Scale Smart Padi Field (SMART SBB) Programme in Sabah has raised padi production by 50 per cent, increasing yields from 2.8 tonnes to 4.22 tonnes in the participating areas, said Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu. He said that the programme involved 16 participants from Taun Gusi Peninting, who carried out planting this season on a 17-hectare padi field. Mohamad said that SMART SBB has garnered interest from a local factory, Kilang Padi Sri Sino Sdn Bhd, which aims to develop a total of 100 hectares of padi fields for this programme. ‘This programme

KUALA LUMPUR, The Ministry of Communications is scheduled to table the proposal to enact a new act or amend existing laws to address cyberbullying at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow. Minister Fahmi Fadzil said it is part of the ministry’s effort to make social media platforms safer for users. ‘We will inform the Cabinet meeting tomorrow about the actions that can be taken now, either by enacting a new act or amending the existing laws. ‘The current Parliament session will run for about another week, so we have time if the Cabinet feels there is a need (to present a bill)