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May 20th 2019 - Official meeting with Malaysian Embassy (Mr Amarjit Singh and Ms Tan) in Zimbabwe. A sharing session between two countries.

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PETALING JAYA: A consumer group has called for the suspension of the PayDirect system of cashless toll payments at highways, while another group called for a guarantee of safety of customers’ accounts, and a payback policy.

The warnings came from the Malaysia Consumer Movement and the Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam, Selangor. They said there were bugs in the service and it was premature to introduce it.

Touch ‘N Go has introduced an electronic wallet service which subscribers can use to make payments, transfer funds, reload their TNG cards, and pay highway tolls directly through the PayDirect system on open-toll highways like the Duke-Ulu Kelang, Damansara-Puchong and Shah Alam expressways.

(It cannot be used on the PLUS Highway, Elite Highway, New Klang Valley Expressway and Lekas Highway, according to the app.)
MCM president Darshan Singh Dhillon said it was pointless to launch the PayDirect service when there were still highways yet to be included, adding that the move appeared to be a gimmick to get people on board.

“Touch ‘n Go must do proper research before introducing such a service,” he told FMT. “Who has the time to check which highways are participating? Most of the time, I don’t even know which highway I’m on.”

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For many of us who don’t have savings, we have to depend on EPF for our retirement. Things get scarier if we do not own the property we live in when we retire. By then, without a regular income and still needing to pay a monthly rental is going to be a nightmare. One major reason for this is the lack of financial management understanding.

In fact, most Malaysians are still stuck at the awareness level instead of understanding it better. Perhaps it should be mandatory for university students to take a module in Personal Finance Management. Our Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said one of the main reasons why many Malaysians end up as bankrupts is because of low financial literacy.

A 2014 report by S&P Global Literacy Financial says the financial literacy rate in Malaysia is only 36% while most developed countries are at 59%. Guan Eng said 100,610 Malaysians have been declared bankrupt between 2013 to 2017.

Based on EPF estimates, a person needs RM240,000 by age 55 to retire comfortably. However, active contributors aged 54 only have an average of RM214,000 based on the EPF’s 2017 report. Guan Eng says two thirds of contributors aged 54 only have a maximum of RM50,000 in their EPF accounts as of 2015. Needless to say RM50,000 is insufficient and could run out within the first five years of retirement.How does one end up becoming a bankrupt? It’s extremely scary if your money runs out within 5 years because Malaysians are now living much longer lives. As we are living longer, we had better prepare more for our retirement. Imagine if we rent a room for RM500 per month, that’s RM6,000 per year.

Your RM50,000 in EPF is merely enough to last 8 years even if we only use it to pay for rental. Perhaps living in a small town will stretch this farther but this really depends on whether that’s the quality of life we aspire to. However, if we have a fully paid for home by then, even if it’s just an apartment, that RM50,000 can then be used for other monthly living expenses. How much would your apartment be worth 30 years later? Actually, quite a lot because the value of money gets smaller over time.

This article first appeared in kopiandproperty.com

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LETTER | Many Ipoh folk like me take our hills and forests for granted. We seldom stop to ‘stand and stare’, to take in the beauty of these majestic green sentinels that form the natural backdrop to our homes and city. We paid for this nonchalance when during the Chinese New Year break this year, a huge 10ha patch of forest was mysteriously shaved off Kledang Hill. Heavy machinery had been used to clear the hill slope, and oil palm seedlings planted. The swiftness with which all this happened was startling, but what was more shocking was that it had apparently escaped the notice of all the relevant enforcement bodies.When civil society demanded answers, the Perak state government and MB Inc, which owned part of the land, declared the clearing of the forest illegal and outside their knowledge. To date however, the culprit has not been brought to book despite police reports by the public.

Many other disturbing truths then began to emerge. Among others, we learnt with dismay that the state government itself had plans for a housing project on the Bukit Kledang hill slope even before this ‘illegal’ clearing was done.Is Perak so desperately short of flat land that we need to fell a forest on a hill slope to build houses? And housing for whom? It definitely can’t be for the B40 who face an acute shortage of affordable housing.Under pressure from an indignant public, the state government gave the assurance that they were abandoning the housing project, and that the slope will be reforested and restored to its former status.

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KUANTAN - Seorang pensyarah di sebuah unversiti awam dekat sini kerugian RM132,000 selepas diperdaya sindiket Macau Scam dalam satu kejadian semalam.Ketua Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersial Pahang, Superintendan Mohd. Wazir Mohd. Yusof berkata, pensyarah wanita berusia 41 tahun tersebut dihubungi individu memperkenalkan diri sebagai pegawai perundangan dari Mahkamah Majistret Melaka."Suspek mendakwa pensyarah wanita itu mempunyai tunggakan kad kredit sebanyak RM13,580. Sejurus mangsa menafikan dakwaan itu, talian terus disambungkan kepada seorang lagi suspek yang memperkenalkan diri sebagai Inspektor Yusuf," kata beliau.Mohd. Wazir menambah, suspek menyamar polis berkenaan pula mendakwa akaun bank milik pensyarah tersebut disyaki terlibat kegiatan jenayah pengubahan wang haram serta urusan jual beli dadah.Ujar beliau lagi, mangsa seterusnya diarahkan oleh suspek untuk melakukan transaksi pemindahan wang bagi memudahkan proses 'siasatan' yang akan dijalankan.

"Mangsa telah mematuhi semua arahan daripada suspek untuk membantu menyelesaikan kes tersebut dengan melakukan pemindahan semua wang simpanannya ke dalam empat akaun milik individu tidak dikenali," tambahnya.Tambah beliau lagi, mangsa hanya menyedari tertipu selepas gagal menghubungi suspek sejurus selesai melakukan transaksi pemindahan wang.Kes dilaporkan di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Kuantan dan disiasat mengikut Seksyen 420 Kanun Keseksaan. - K! ONLINE

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KUALA LUMPUR 16 Mei - Penubuhan Agensi Kelayakan Malaysia (MQA) dan pelaksanaan Kerangka Kelayakan Malaysia (MQF) adalah sebahagian daripada strategi penting bagi meningkatkan kualiti dan reputasi sistem pendidikan tinggi negara.Agenda itu direalisasikan dengan memastikan ketelusan, objektiviti dan keadilan serta mengintegrasikan amalan bijak antarabangsa dengan nilai-nilai unik pengajian tinggi Malaysia.Ia juga bagi menjayakan hasrat kerajaan untuk menyediakan peluang pembelajaran sepanjang hayat kepada seluruh rakyat.Secara umumnya, banyak kelebihan yang diperoleh bagi program yang memperoleh akreditasi MQA.Ini penting kerana program pengajian yang diperakukan oleh MQA dan badan-badan autoriti memiliki kelebihan tersendiri seperti peluang penajaan dari badan-badan penaja serta peluang melanjutkan pengajian ke institusi pengajian tinggi dengan pindahan kredit.

Selain itu, ia memudahkan graduan mencari pekerjaan dan pertimbangan untuk berkhidmat di sektor awam serta institusi berpeluang membuat francais program ke institusi lain.Hebahan maklumat berkaitan akreditasi dan kualiti pengajian oleh pihak MQA, kementerian dan pelbagai pihak dilaksanakan secara berterusan bukan sahaja di Malaysia malah di peringkat serantau dan antarabangsa.MQA sering mengadakan perbincangan dengan pihak berkepentingan atau pihak awam dalam menyebarluaskan maklumat berkenaan jaminan kualiti pendidikan tinggi.Ia juga secara berterusan mengadakan sesi dialog bersama-sama pihak berkepentingan selain mengadakan Hari Mesra Pelanggan yang diadakan pada setiap Khamis minggu pertama dan setiap Khamis minggu ketiga.

Di samping itu, MQA secara konsisten menyertai karnival pendidikan atau program pameran dalam menyampaikan maklumat kepada orang awam dengan turut menerima jemputan untuk menyampaikan taklimat kepada pelajar sekolah atau lepasan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) dan Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM).Selain promosi di media sosial rasmi, MQA juga tampil di radio dan televisyen dalam menyampaikan maklumat kepada orang awam berkenaan kepentingan akreditasi, panduan pemilihan program yang diakredit dan sebagainya.Pada masa ini, kesedaran orang awam terhadap kepentingan akreditasi didapati meningkat dari semasa ke semasa.

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PETALING JAYA: Stern action will be taken against doctors and those who promote alternatives to the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, says Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye (pic).While he respects those who are against vaccination as they have the right to voice their concerns, he hopes they will not “convey a mes­sage that is wrong or confusing to the public”.“We know there are those who advocate alternatives, which clearly do not work. There are also those who advocate homeopathy – the natural way.“If there are doctors who are involved in such practices, we will take action against them.

“Those who promote alternative methods, we too will take action against them because they are conducting a practice that will harm the health of a child,” he said during a press conference at the launch of the Halcyon radiotherapy machine at Beacon Hospital yesterday. The Halcyon radiotherapy machine is said to be the first of its kind in South-East Asia to treat cancer.As part of Beacon Hospital’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, the hospital also launched a RM3mil Halcyon Radiotherapy Welfare to lessen the financial burden of cancer patients.Dr Lee said he was not worried about other vaccines such as the human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, and polio as coverage was above 95%. But the MMR coverage in the country was still short; where coverage was only at 89% in 2017 and rose to 90% in 2018.

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CYBERJAYA: Those intending to sell their electronic devices, like smartphone and computer, are advised to send them to CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) for data sanitisation to avoid the theft of their personal data.CSM chief executive officer Datuk Dr Amiruddin Abdul Wahab said the move would help curb cyber harassment, as well as prevent them from becoming victims of exploitation by irresponsible quarters.

“Usually, consumers simply delete the data themselves, like their pictures and documents, before selling their smartphones or computers. It is dangerous because although the data has been deleted, it can still be recovered,” he said in an interview.Amiruddin said CSM, through its MyCyberSecurity Clinic, provided data sanitisation service to the public, including companies, to help maintain their safety and privacy.He said CSM has also set up a one-stop cyber centre known as Cyber999 for the public to lodge complaints on cybercrime and to date, it had received nearly 100,000 reports.

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THE hallmark of a profession is its ability to self-regulate. This right is grudgingly granted by the government and public to members of the profession. This is because professionals are considered so specialised and highly skilled in their knowledge that it would be difficult for an external agency to regulate without stifling.Members of the profession in turn understand this concern that the public has and prove their ability to self-regulate by having robust internal mechanisms to keep their profession scientifically updated and professionally ethical. This includes ensuring that specialist qualifications are of the highest standard.However, a recent editorial co-authored by Yale histopathology professors Dr David Rimm and Dr Robert Homer titled “False-positive pathology: improving reproducibility with the next generation of pathologists” in Laboratory Investigation 2019, points to a situation where this self-regulatory mechanism seems to have failed.

Before I get into that, let me explain who histopathologists are. Briefly, histopathologists (aka surgical pathologists, anatomical pathologists) are medical doctors who work primarily outside of wards/clinics and in laboratories.One of the most important aspects of the work is in cancer diagnostics. Cancers are rarely diagnosed or treated without a written report from a histopathologist. It goes without saying that an accurate diagnosis is essential.What is the difference between histopathologists and clinic doctors? Clinic doctors see a patient from start to finish, that is, they see the full disease cycle (diagnosis, treatment, outcome). Hence they have a two-pronged feedback mechanism to ensure that they are providing accurate treatment. The first is informal-direct observation of how previous individual patients responded to their treatment, and the second is formal-clinical research whereby data of previous groups of patients are collected and analysed. Together, they provide a check-and-balance mechanism that ensures that future patients are treated based on the best possible medical evidence.

Histopathologists, on the other hand, are only present in one part of the disease cycle (ie, the diagnostic stage). We usually have no access to the informal mechanism – ie, no direct knowledge of how our diagnosis worked out in any individual patient since we do not participate in the complete disease cycle. We are almost fully dependent on the formal mechanism – ie, clinical research – to ensure that we are making the correct diagnosis.

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SABAN tahun, isu pembaziran makanan pada bulan Ramadan adalah antara perkara yang menjadi topik hangat yang dibincangkan.Mana tidaknya, difahamkan kira-kira 23,000 tan makanan dibazirkan setiap hari pada bulan puasa. Barangkali, jumlahnya lebih tinggi daripada apa yang dianggarkan itu.Malah, Perbadanan Pengurusan Sisa Pepejal dan Pembersihan Awam (SWCorp) mendedahkan sebanyak 270,000 tan metrik dibazirkan pada bulan Ramadan setiap tahun.Sukar untuk memastikan mengapa setiap kali Ramadan tiba, pembaziran makanan berlaku secara mendadak sedangkan pada bulan ini, majoriti umat Islam berpuasa.Jika difikirkan secara logik, perbelanjaan untuk membeli makanan sepatutnya berkurangan atau lebih terkawal kerana orang Islam berpuasa.Namun, hakikatnya fenomena ini berlaku disebabkan beberapa faktor. Antaranya kecenderungan orang ramai membeli juadah berbuka di bazar Ramadan yang berlebihan, menyimpan makanan secara tidak sempurna selain kebiasaan berbuka puasa di restoran menawarkan bufet Ramadan.

Kawal pembaziran makanan

Pembaziran makanan sepanjang Ramadan ini sewajarnya dikawal memandangkan kos pengurusan sisa pepejal meningkat pada setiap tahun.Melalui Belanjawan 2019, sebanyak RM115 juta diperuntukkan kerajaan bagi pengurusan sisa pepejal yang merangkumi pengurusan sisa makanan berbanding hanya RM95 juta pada 2018.Dari sudut alam sekitar, pembuangan yang kemudiannya diikuti dengan pereputan sisa makanan menyumbang kepada penghasilan kesan gas rumah hijau (GHG) yang menyumbang kepada pemanasan global.Ini bermakna, pembaziran makanan terutama pada Ramadan bakal meningkatkan kos kerajaan menguruskan sisa pepejal, di samping menjejaskan kualiti alam sekitar.Dari sudut agama pula, nilai ibadah berpuasa yang tinggi itu semestinya dicemari dengan amalan membazir makanan, sehingga ada pihak beranggapan bulan puasa adalah bulan pembaziran.Namun, masih belum terlambat untuk umat Islam mengubah fenomena pembaziran makanan ini, memandangkan hari ini baru masuk hari kesembilan berpuasa.Banyak tip yang boleh dilakukan untuk mereka yang berpuasa mengurangkan pembaziran makanan, terutama ketika membeli juadah berbuka puasa atau berbuka di restoran atau hotel.

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