KUALA LUMPUR: Members of parliament (MPs) who were among the crowd at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex on Tuesday (Jul 28) will not be barred from attending parliament sittings if they do not show COVID-19 symptoms.
"We also do not know whether there were COVID-19 positive people (present at the court compound) who have infected MPs who were together with them yesterday.
"I think as long as it is not proven they (MPs) are COVID-19 positive, we cannot stop them from entering the House,” speaker of parliament Azhar Azizan Harun said on Wednesday.
Scores of supporters had gathered at the court compound on Tuesday morning in solidarity with former prime minister Najib Razak, who was later sentenced to 12 years’ jail in his first 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption trial.
Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak speaks to members of the media on Jul 28, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
Mr Azhar added that it remained important for MPs to abide by the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of COVID-19, both inside and outside parliament.
When asked if the MPs involved should undergo COVID-19 swab tests, Mr Azhar said it was up to the health ministry to decide.
Footage of the large crowd thronging the court complex on Tuesday was widely shared on social media. Several MPs were seen at the compound, several of whom allegedly did not wear face masks.
Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak leaves the Duta Court complex after he was found guilty in his corruption trial in Kuala Lumpur on Jul 28, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Fazry Ismail)
The police also had to use loudspeakers to remind the crowd to practise social distancing.
Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said he was disappointed at the breach of social distancing guidelines at the court compound.
He added that the health ministry would monitor the emergence of positive cases among the supporters within the next two weeks.
A supporter of Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak cries after he was found guilty in his corruption trial in Kuala Lumpur on Jul 28, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
Dr Noor Hisham said the Malaysian government would have no choice but to enforce the movement control order again if local transmission cases escalate.
“We have been working hard for seven months to prevent the spread, if it happens (third wave) we will have to work hard for another four months and 25,000 health personnel will be recalled to work for 20 hours a day if cases escalate,” he said.
HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Once a coronavirus success story, Hong Kong is facing its worst outbreak yet, and policy makers are realising how little they can do without making a bad situation worse.
New infections have broken records in nine of the last 20 days. But unlike other global cities, Hong Kong has been reluctant to impose stay-at-home restrictions or close non-essential businesses.
Instead, the rules have got incrementally tighter, changing by the week.
Public gatherings were limited to four people, then two. Dining in eateries was banned for dinner, then lunch. Masks were required on public transport, then all indoor public spaces, now everywhere outdoors as well.
The steady drip of half-measures goes against what the short history of the pandemic has shown to work: broad and stringent lockdowns levied early on the infection curve.
In Australia and other places currently fighting flare-ups, officials have quickly reinstated tight restrictions.
While still modest compared with outbreaks in many global cities, the uptick in Hong Kong is particularly troubling, arriving after months with near-zero community transmission and from as yet untraceable origins - exactly the circumstances in which the tightest restrictions are thought to be the most effective.
On Wednesday (July 29), the city reported 113 new local cases, taking the total outbreak to over 3,000.
But going further in Hong Kong could lead to a humanitarian crisis.
"It is extremely difficult to enforce a lockdown in Hong Kong," said Mr Fernando Cheung, a lawmaker with a record of social advocacy.
"There are more than 200,000 people living in subdivided units, some without private toilets and others combining their kitchens, toilets and sleeping places all in one room. To ask people not to step out of that environment for a long period of time is inhumane and impractical," he said.
With the average apartment running around 500 sq ft (46 sq m) - about the size of a New York City studio - it is not just the city's 1.4 million poorest residents living in tiny spaces.
Refrigerators are too small, shelf space too limited to stock up on a week's worth of food at a time. And while ordering groceries online has become standard in other modern cities, it is not common or easy in Hong Kong.
"A full lockdown? Nobody will say that this isn't in the arsenal, but logistically it's a nightmare," Mr Bernard Chan, a top adviser to Chief Executive Carrie Lam, said in an interview. "People still need to go out and buy groceries. And people live in such a tight environment, even going down the lift, you're exposed."
The challenge facing Hong Kong offers more evidence of the disparate impact of the pandemic along existing social and economic fault lines.
From the United States to parts of Europe and South America, the most vulnerable populations are bearing the brunt of the health crisis, made worse by dysfunctional institutions and structures.
Hong Kong's lockdown dilemma has already played out in some developing countries such as India, where the measure caused economic devastation and starvation without slowing down the virus. The country abandoned its lockdown last month and cases have accelerated to nearly 50,000 a day.
Whether or not Hong Kong officials tighten restrictions further, time is running out on the current strategy.
Some 80 per cent of isolation beds and wards in public hospitals are full, and the city's testing capacity is limited. The government is trying to add capacity with private testing labs in Hong Kong and mainland China, and preparing community isolation centres for patients in stable condition.
Meanwhile, the city is already in deep recession, rocked first by months of anti-Beijing protests, then by the pandemic. The economy shrank an unprecedented 9 per cent in the second quarter, the fourth straight quarter of contraction, while the unemployment rate has more than doubled to 6.2 per cent in the past 12 months, reaching a 15-year high.
In its current state of political and economic fragility, Hong Kong cannot impose heavy lockdowns to eliminate all cases the way mainland China does, said Dr Lam Ching Choi, a medical doctor and adviser to Mrs Lam. Instead, the measures have to balance personal and economic needs with public health outcomes, and allow the city to remain an open, international financial centre.
"Our trust level is maybe the lowest compared with Western countries because of the social events that happened this year," Dr Lam said in an interview. "So we must listen to our people and not affect their work, their daily lives - like shopping or visiting their family members."
The poorest in one of the world's most unequal societies are already suffering under the new restrictions, even if they are not officially locked down.
"This is a humanitarian disaster for the poor," said social worker Ng Wai Tung from the Society for Communication Organisation.
Some of the city's poorest families have to share masks because they cannot afford more. Many have lost jobs, said Mr Ng, and homeless people have lost access to public showers.
At 62, Madam Yu Kwan Yee works two cleaning jobs to afford the rent on a subdivided unit in a poor neighbourhood.
"I feel depressed as I have to sit on the bed and face the walls," she said. "When others can have room to hoard food, I need to go to wet markets every day. It's risky - who wouldn't worry?"
HONG KONG (REUTERS, AFP) - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has warned the city is on the brink of a large-scale outbreak of the coronavirus and urged people to stay indoors as much as possible as strict new measures to curb the disease's spread take effect on Wednesday (July 29).
The new regulations ban gatherings of more than two people, close dining in restaurants and make the wearing of face masks mandatory in public places, including outdoors. Those who breach the rules face fines of up to HK$5,000 (S$890).
These are the toughest measures introduced in the city since the outbreak.
The government has also tightened testing and quarantine arrangements for sea and air crew members, effective on Wednesday.
"We are on the verge of a large-scale community outbreak, which may lead to a collapse of our hospital system and cost lives, especially of the elderly," Mrs Lam said in a statement late on Tuesday (July 28).
"In order to protect our loved ones, our healthcare staff and Hong Kong, I appeal to you to follow strictly the social distancing measures and stay at home as far as possible."
The new measures, which will be in place for at least seven days, were announced on Monday after the global financial hub saw a spike in locally transmitted cases over the past three weeks.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong reported 106 new coronavirus cases, including 98 that were locally transmitted. Since late January, more than 2,880 people have been infected in the former British colony, 23 of whom have died.
During their lunch break on Wednesday, many residents were eating takeaway meals outside in the intense summer heat and humidity.
“It’s so hot outside now,” a construction worker, who gave his surname as Chow, told AFP as he tucked into a pork chop in an alcove outside a department store.
“Ten minutes after I start work, my shirt is all sweaty,” he said, adding he missed the air conditioning of restaurants.
Hong Kong has some of the world’s smallest and most expensive apartments. Some residents barely have a kitchen to cook in, making them hugely reliant on cheap eateries.
The finance hub was one of the first places hit by the coronavirus when it emerged from China at the start of the year. It initially had remarkable success in controlling the outbreak – helped in part by a health-conscious public embracing face masks and an efficient track and trace programme, forged in the fires of the deadly Sars virus in 2003.
By June, local transmission had all but ended. But the virus later sneaked back into the city and began spreading.
Health officials have been scrambling to uncover the source of the latest outbreak. Some have blamed exemptions from the usual 14-day quarantine that the government granted to “essential personnel”, including cross-boundary truckers, air and sea crew and some manufacturing executives.
The government has since tightened restrictions for some of those groups.
Gladys Chan, who was taking her lunch break, said she felt the government had not done enough to monitor those with exemptions.
“I think the government has failed us, especially with this third wave of the pandemic,” she told AFP, adding the latest measures were “too little, too late”.
As isolation wards fill up, authorities have announced plans to build a temporary 2,000-bed field hospital near the city’s airport, something Chinese authorities have offered to help with.
The latest lockdown measures are a new body blow for a city that was already mired in recession thanks to the US-China trade war and months of political unrest last year.
KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Former prime minister Najib Razak, who has been convicted of seven charges relating to the misappropriation of RM42 million (S$13.6 million) in SRC International funds, on Wednesday (July 29) paid his RM1 million bail.
This is in relation to an order by the High Court that increased Najib's existing bail from RM1 million (S$320,000) by another RM1 million, as a condition for him to be released on bail pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
With the latest bail paid, Najib's total amount of bail paid across all his court cases has climbed up to a mammoth RM7 million.
The 67-year-old Pahang MP arrived at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex around 1pm with his son Norashman, who is one of his two bailors.
Najib was seen leaving the High Court registry and subsequently the court complex around 1.30pm with scores of journalists surrounding him.
As he passed by the media, Najib jokingly said that the photographers had already shot many photos of him on Tuesday (July 28).
Najib was on Tuesday found guilty by the High Court on grounds that his defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt on all the charges levelled against him.
He was sentenced to 12 years in jail and a RM210 million fine in default of five years in jail.
Najib is appealing against the decision.
The increase in bail is one of the two conditions imposed.
The other condition is that Najib must report to the nearest police station twice a month.
HONG KONG: A prominent Hong Kong democracy activist on Wednesday (Jul 29) vowed to appeal his sacking by a top university as city leaders and education chiefs were accused of failing to defend academic freedoms under Beijing's tightening grip.
Law professor Benny Tai, 56, said he was sacked on Tuesday by a disciplinary committee at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) after he was jailed last year for taking part in protests.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Tai said he would appeal the university's decision and consider launching a judicial review.
He also made a personal appeal to city leader Carrie Lam.
"Though I know this is a futile process, Carrie Lam cannot evade ... her responsibility of infringing Hong Kong's academic freedom," Tai wrote.
"There is clear evidence that a power beyond the university has overturned the decision of the university," he said.
Tai, a non-violence advocate, is a leading figure within Hong Kong's movement.
He was jailed last year over his involvement in huge protests in 2014 that brought parts of the city to a standstill for weeks.
State media has previously described him as a "hardcore troublemaker" colluding with foreign forces.
The Liaison Office, which represents Beijing's government in the city, released a statement late on Tuesday calling Tai "evil" and welcoming his removal.
Earlier in the month the same office accused Tai of trying to foment a "revolution".
The sacking has sent a new chill through the city's campuses already rattled by Beijing imposition of a sweeping national security law last month that has begun to criminalise certain political views.
"Benny Tai has become a martyr to civil disobedience," a political science professor at HKU wrote on his Facebook page.
"The University of Hong Kong has sacrificed its reputation and it will not be able to hold its head high in the international academic community," he added.
"This day will become a major stain in the history of the University of Hong Kong that cannot be washed away."
Sophie Richardson, a China expert with Human Rights Watch, said international universities should now reassess their relationship with HKU.
"Calling all unis with ties to HKU and claim to uphold #academicfreedom: Time to speak up about this outrage," she tweeted.
Joshua Wong, a prominent student activist who has also served jail time for leading protests wrote: "#Beijing now extends its reach to academic freedoms in #HK."
HKU has yet to issue a statement outlining why Tai was sacked and how it came to the decision.
Late on Tuesday it released a statement saying it had "resolved a personnel issue concerning a teaching staff member" but it did not name Tai or give any details on what the outcome was citing privacy.
HKU did not respond to media enquiries seeking further information.
KUALA LUMPUR: The guilty verdict against former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak in his first 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial has enhanced the legitimacy of current leader Muhyiddin Yassin, analysts said.
Najib was found guilty on Tuesday (Jul 28) of all seven charges including abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust for misappropriating RM42 million (US$9.8 million) from a former 1MDB subsidiary, and was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million.
“Politically, (the verdict) strengthens PM Muhyiddin's hand. He can claim that the anti-graft drive that started under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition is continuing under him,” said Dr Wong Chin Huat, a political analyst from Sunway University.
When the PH coalition won in the 2018 general election, it vowed to end corruption and commenced investigations on Najib and 1MDB.
Earlier this year, when the PH government fell and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition took over, its leader Mr Muhyiddin pledged in his maiden speech as prime minister that he wanted to lead a government that is clean, has integrity and free of corruption.
For his Cabinet line-up, Mr Muhyiddin also steered clear of several senior figures from United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), who are embroiled in graft trials, including Najib.
Dr Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow from Singapore Institute of International Affairs, added that Mr Muhyiddin has not waned in his fight against corruption.
He noted how it was around five years ago that Mr Muhyiddin was dismissed from his Cabinet posts under the Barisan Nasional government after he publicly criticised Najib’s handling of the 1MDB scandal.
“With this verdict, Muhyiddin can now say that, ‘All along I was right’,” said Dr Oh.
File photo of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s 2018 budget speech. (Photo: AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Dr Jeniri Amir noted that the verdict will improve Mr Muhyiddin’s perception as a “just leader” and shows that the courts are independent from executive interference under his leadership.
“It is good for the government to show that the judiciary is independent … leave (these matters) to the court (with) no political intervention,” the academician said.
“Perikatan has set a precedence. It’s the way forward for Malaysia. That’s how a democratic country should operate,” he added.
Moreover, Dr Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid from Universiti Sains Malaysia said that the verdict is positive for Mr Muhyiddin’s and Malaysia's global reputation.
“Muhyiddin, if his government survives, will want to use the judgment as evidence of the rule of law reigning in Malaysia and as such, long-term investors shouldn't be worried that kleptocracy is making its way back into the corridors of power,” the political analyst said.
After the guilty verdict was announced, there were signs of discontent from UMNO members and supporters. Party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also on trial for corruption, has called for all levels of the party to keep calm.
He added that Najib “still has room to obtain justice through the country’s legal process”.
Malaysia's opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (L) was a close ally of Najib Razak (R), who suffered a shock election defeat in May over allegations he oversaw the plundering of billions of dollars from a state fund AFP/MOHD RASFAN
However, other UMNO MPs might be keen for the party to move forward without Najib, said Dr Wong.
“(The verdict) may divide UMNO warlords as those are not implicated and those who hold senior positions in the government may be happy for the party to move on and leave Najib and gang behind,” he added.
Dr Oh echoed similar sentiments. He said that there are factions within PN and UMNO who are “not unhappy” to see Najib convicted.
“There are his rival factions and if Najib is politically incapacitated by these convictions of course they will be very happy. Then, they can outshine him and rise further to fulfil their political ambitions,” he said.
Malaysia's Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. (Photo: Bernama)
Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin released a statement after the verdict, saying that even though Najib has room to appeal, the court’s decision has had a big impact on UMNO.
“In my opinion, even though (Najib) has room to submit an appeal, this is the moment for UMNO, as a political party to move forward and undergo a rejuvenation process,” he said.
“Even though some party members are entitled to give moral support to Datuk Seri Najib, I hope UMNO would not be dragged into the case. I believe all UMNO members will continue to remain loyal to the party, more than be loyal to any individual within the party,” Mr Khairy said.
“It is time for us to rebuild this sacred UMNO party and oversee a handover to a new generation of leaders that can potentially lead the party into the new era,” he added.
Speaking after the verdict on Tuesday, Najib has reiterated his innocence, while pledging to launch an appeal.
Mr New Sin Yew, a lawyer with Bon Advocates, told CNA that under Article 48 of the Federal Constitution, the verdict means that Najib will not be able to stand in any upcoming polls. Despite that, he will continue as MP for Pekan for the time being.
“The conviction disqualifies him from the upcoming general election . However, he continues to remain as an MP until his appeal process is exhausted,” said Mr New.
SNAP POLLS NOT NECESSARILY IN MUHYIDDIN’S BEST INTEREST
Over the last few months, there have been growing calls from both sides of the political divide for Mr Muhyiddin to hold snap polls, as questions linger over whether he commands an effective majority in parliament.
In parliament earlier this month, Mr Muhyiddin tabled a motion to remove the parliament speaker, and this was passed by a whisker, with 111 MPs backing it while 109 lawmakers voted against the bid.
Mr Muhyiddin needs the support of the BN coalition, which has 43 seats in the Lower House, to consolidate his power.
In what may be a response to the unease among his partners in the PN coalition, Mr Muhyiddin said in a statement on Tuesday night that he understood the feelings and sentiments of his comrades about the verdict. Despite this, he stressed that the PN government would always uphold the rule of law.
Dr Ahmad Fauzi noted that Mr Muhyiddin’s PN coalition might suffer because Najib has strong support within UMNO.
“The verdict itself, while very much welcomed in the name of justice, puts Muhyiddin's government, already surviving on a razor-thin parliamentary majority, in a quandary,” he said.
“It now risks the support of UMNO backbenchers, at least some of whom might harbour sympathy if not outright support for Najib,” he added.
Some might argue that now might be a good time for Mr Muhyiddin to hold a general election and consolidate power, with his reputation boosted by this verdict against Najib.
However, analysts said that Mr Muhyiddin’s position is still precarious given that his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) is still relatively weak in the PN coalition amid ongoing talks for seats allocation.
Dr Wong said: “A snap poll does not serve Muhyiddin's best interests as UMNO and PAS will cut down the number of seats Bersatu can contest in GE15 and shorten Muhyiddin's tenure.” PAS refers to Parti Islam Se-Malaysia.
He added that if Mr Muhyiddin can bide his time and survive with majority parliament support, he might call for polls at the right moment before the July 2023 deadline.
“Why should he rush to cut short his time?” said Mr Wong.
FILE PHOTO: Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin speaks during a news conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng/File Photo
Concurring, Dr Oh outlined that Najib not being able to run in the next polls does not impact Bersatu’s balance of power in the PN coalition.
“Muhyiddin is not keen to call for polls because his party may be gobbled up by UMNO. Based on the results of the previous election, there are some seats that Bersatu won because the votes were diluted in three-cornered fights with BN and PAS.
“But with all three parties now in the same coalition, UMNO and PAS would claim they have the rights over these seats,” he added.
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (Jul 28) said he fears US-China tensions could continue beyond the US presidential election this year, highlighting the "bipartisan consensus on treating China as a threat".
Mr Lee was speaking at a virtual dialogue organised by the Atlantic Council - an American think-tank - where he touched on Asia's response to US-China tensions and Singapore's handling of COVID-19.
Moderator David Rubenstein asked Mr Lee if he expects US-China relations to improve after the Nov 3 US presidential election, which will see US President Donald Trump go up against Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
"We hope so," Mr Lee replied.
"Historically in presidential election years, the US-China relationship always gets entangled in the presidential campaign. And after that, after some time when the new administration settles in, you begin to understand what, really, the world is like and things settle down.
"I'm not sure whether it will happen this time, because the field is quite different, and the degree of animus, and sad to say, bipartisan consensus on treating China as a threat is quite extraordinary.
"And I fear that it may carry on over past the election and if it does, I think that bodes ill for the world."
The Trump administration has frequently clashed with China in areas such as territorial claims, telecommunications gear and most recently, Beijing's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An administration led by Mr Biden is also expected to side with allies in confronting China on a range of issues, including Beijing's national security law in Hong Kong.
Mr Lee called the current state of US-China relations an "unfortunate situation", where the countries have taken actions and counter-actions and the issues have "metastasised and spread into all fields of the relationship".
"It's normal between two powers that you will have areas where you have contradictions and areas where you can work together," he said.
"But I think the way things have developed over the last several years, you have very many areas where there's not only contradiction, but also deep distrust, and this is corrosive and it's making a very difficult relationship very dangerous.
"Because if it goes wrong, it's not just any bilateral relationship, it's the most important bilateral relationship in the world – between a very powerful United States of America, and between a country with one-quarter of humanity. And I don't think that is a collision which should be lightly ventured."
Mr Rubenstein then asked if Mr Lee if he was worried that the US might pull out of being an Asian power, "and not be as present there as it has been historically".
Mr Lee said he is worried that the US might "collide" with China, including in Asia, and that the US might decide it has no stake in the region and "leave us to our own defences".
"We all have good relations with China, we all want good relations with China in Asia, but we also all have very deep relations to the United States, and want to keep them at the same time, and maintaining that balance.
"And for the US to be able to play that role and tend your many interests, and your many friends and your many investments in the region, I think that requires a significant amount of attention from the United States policy establishment, from the State Department and from the White House too.
"Because otherwise, a part of the world which has been crucial to you since the Second World War, I think may become a problem rather than an asset to you."
Mr Rubenstein also asked what advice Mr Lee would have for the new US president, be it Mr Trump or Mr Biden, if they had asked for it.
Mr Lee pointed to three things: Stabilise relations with China, develop a bipartisan consensus on US-Asia relations, and find a way to return to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral trade pact that the Trump administration withdrew from.
The Prime Minister said developing a bipartisan consensus would allow for "stability and predictability" in US-Asia relations.
"Not just do the right thing for your administration, but make a consensus so that the policy will last beyond your administration, and people can plan on it, and can depend on it," he said.
"We had the Obama administration and they talked about the rebalancing towards Asia and many Asian countries supported that. And we asked Obama, we said, 'What will happen after your administration?' He said, 'Well, this is irreversible.'
"But the Trump administration has a different take. They have raised issues of compensation and payments with the Japanese and the South Koreans. They've also talked about putting more emphasis on Asia, which is welcome, but it's a quite different mood from what Obama used to do.
"And we don't know what Trump's successor is going to do, or the successor's successor."
Mr Lee said a "stable, predictable" US policy with bipartisan consensus will help its "friends and partners".
"I think it will be a great help to all your friends and partners who want to be able to depend on you and to rely on you, without the risk that one day, the big power may suddenly decide its interests lie elsewhere," he stated.
