KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has agreed to buy 12.8 million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to announce a deal with the US drugmaker after some expressed reservations over the need for ultra-cold storage.
While final trial data showed that Pfizer's vaccine is 95 per cent effective, many Asian countries are not betting on it partly due to tropical heat, remote island communities and a lack of ultra-cold freezers.
Pfizer's vaccine, jointly developed with German partner BioNTech, must be stored and transported at -70 degrees Celsius, although it can be kept in a fridge for up to five days, or up to 15 days in a thermal shipping box.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday (Nov 27) that Malaysia would prioritise "high-risk groups ... including frontliners, senior citizens, and those with non-communicable diseases, such as heart diseases and diabetes".
Pfizer will deliver the first one million doses in the first quarter of 2021, with 1.7 million, 5.8 million and 4.3 million doses to follow in subsequent quarters.
The deal is expected to cover 6.4 million Malaysians, or 20 per cent of the population, with another 10 per cent to be covered under Malaysia's participation in the global COVAX facility, backed by the World Health Organization.
Malaysia, which will distribute the vaccine to its people for free, reported 1,109 new COVID-19 infections on Friday.
The new cases bring the country's tally to 61,861 cases.
Malaysia's health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that Sabah accounted for most of the new cases, with 441, followed by 175 from Selangor and 167 from Negeri Sembilan.
The Teratai cluster, which is linked to workers from the Top Glove factory, was cited as the main reason for Malaysia’s daily four-figure COVID-19 cases.
The cluster, announced on Nov 7, involves the districts of Klang, Petaling and Hulu Langat in Selangor.
Two more deaths were also announced, bringing the total fatalities to 350. There are currently 113 cases in the intensive care unit, with 41 requiring respiratory aid.
Malaysia also recorded another 1,148 recoveries on Friday.
The country is also planning to run a Phase 3 trial of an experimental vaccine developed by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The trial will involve 3,000 participants.
Pfizer's vaccine still requires approvals from regulators, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Malaysia's Health Ministry before it can be distributed, Muhyiddin said during a televised address.
The FDA has a meeting planned on Dec 10 to discuss whether to authorise the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use.
Pfizer and BioNTech have supply deals with several countries including the United States, Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia and Britain.
They expect to produce globally up to 50 million doses of vaccines in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.
More than 150 potential vaccines are being developed and tested globally to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, with 48 in human trials, the WHO says.
This week AstraZeneca said its vaccine developed by Oxford University could be around 90 per cent effective, following positive results from Pfizer, Moderna and Russia's Sputnik V.
KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) - Malaysia has agreed to buy 12.8 million doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, becoming the first country in South-east Asia to announce a deal with the US drugmaker after some expressed reservations over the need for ultra-cold storage.
While final trial data showed that Pfizer's vaccine is 95 per cent effective, many Asian countries are not betting on it partly due to tropical heat, remote island communities and a lack of ultra-cold freezers.
Pfizer's vaccine, jointly developed with German partner BioNTech, must be stored and transported at minus 70 deg C, although it can be kept in a fridge for up to five days, or up to 15 days in a thermal shipping box.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday (Nov 27) that Malaysia would prioritise "high-risk groups... including front-liners, senior citizens, and those with non-communicable diseases, such as heart diseases and diabetes".
Pfizer will deliver the first one million doses in the first quarter of 2021, with 1.7 million, 5.8 million and 4.3 million doses to follow in subsequent quarters.
The deal is expected to cover 6.4 million Malaysians, or 20 per cent of the population, with another 10 per cent to be covered under Malaysia's participation in the global Covax facility, backed by the World Health Organisation.
Malaysia, which will distribute the vaccine to its people for free, reported 1,109 new Covid-19 infections on Friday.
The country is also planning to run a Phase 3 trial of an experimental vaccine developed by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The trial will involve 3,000 participants.
Pfizer's vaccine still requires approvals from regulators including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Malaysia's Health Ministry before it can be distributed, Tan Sri Muhyiddin said during a televised address.
The FDA plans a meeting on Dec 10 to discuss whether to authorise the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use.
They expect to produce globally up to 50 million doses of vaccines in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.
More than 150 potential vaccines are being developed and tested globally to stop the Covid-19 pandemic, with 48 in human trials, the WHO says.
This week AstraZeneca said its vaccine developed with Oxford University could be around 90 per cent effective, following positive results from Pfizer, Moderna and Russia's Sputnik V.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s 2021 budget was passed at the policy stage in parliament on Thursday (Nov 26) following a voice vote.
Only 13 out of 220 Members of Parliament (MPs) stood up to protest the vote, short of the 15 required to enforce bloc voting.
The parliament has 222 seats but there are currently 220 MPs following the deaths of opposition MP Liew Vui Keong and Barisan Nasional (BN) MP Hasbullah Osman.
After the parliamentary session, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin released a statement, lauding the Ministry of Finance for finalising the budget by making “a few refinements” to the original proposal.
The RM322.5 billion (US$79 billion) budget, the largest ever tabled in Malaysia, was presented in the parliament on Nov 6 as the country was reeling from the economic impact of COVID-19.
Given Mr Muhyiddin's slim parliamentary majority, it was the first time the opposition bloc was consulted in the run-up to the budget presentation.
In his Thursday statement, the prime minister said: “These refinements have taken into account viewpoints from various parties, including MPs who participated in the Supply Bill 2021 debate.
“I wish to stress that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is a government that has an open attitude in receiving any viewpoints, reprimands and criticism.”
Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin arrives to attend a session of the lower house of parliament, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia November 26, 2020. Malaysia Information Department/Nazri Rapaai/Handout via Reuters
Speaking to journalists after the budget vote, Mr Anwar Ibrahim said while the opposition did not support the budget in principle, he acknowledged that Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz did announce additional grants to frontline workers and those whose livelihoods have been impacted by COVID-19, and that these measures were “acceptable” to the people.
“I don’t want to be seen to be ignoring the fact that the minister has introduced some measures although he has detracted from the fundamental issues,” said Mr Anwar.
He claimed that there would be no guarantee that the opposition would approve the budget ultimately and said that opposition MPs will continue to speak when the budget is debated at the committee stage.
Debate at the committee stage will take place from next week onwards until Dec 15. During the committee stage, the budget for each ministry would be scrutinised in detail.
“We will certainly choose to reject and call for a division (bloc vote) if it's deemed necessary,” added Mr Anwar.
Are all parties happy with things as they currently stand?
Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha Mohamed from Universiti Utara Malaysia said it was a win for Mr Muhyiddin’s government, which has now managed to pass the budget at the policy level while at the same time holding off challenges from the opposition to its razor-thin parliamentary majority.
“One reason the opposition MPs did not want to vote against the government is because they did not want to act against the Agong’s decree,” he said.
The Malaysian king has urged politicians from both sides of the political divide to support the budget for the sake of the people’s well-being and the country’s economic recovery.
Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha added that the refinements also showed the PN government's willingness to be “flexible” and “listen to the criticisms” made by MPs during the budget debate.
Here are five refinements that the government made following the budget debate, and their potential implications:
1. MORE MALAYSIANS CAN TAP ON RETIREMENT FUNDS
Speaking in Parliament before the voting was conducted on Thursday, the finance minister announced that more than 8 million members of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) can now make withdrawals from their account 1 if their source of income has been affected by COVID-19.
He has also raised the withdrawal limit to RM10,000 (US$2,457), from the previous limit of RM9,000 for those with an account balance below RM90,000.
He explained that the scope of those allowed to withdraw through the i-Sinar programme has been widened to all members who have lost their jobs, given no-pay leave or have no other source of income, expanding the pool from 2 million to 8 million members.
During the budget debate, both BN and Pakatan Harapan (PH) urged the Ministry of Finance to allow people to access their account 1, which used to be off limits to account holders until the retirement age of 60.
While Mr Anwar urged only for the people to have access to their savings, BN's Najib Razak suggested that the allowed withdrawal amount should be upwards of RM10,000.
FILE PHOTO: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak speaks during an interview with Reuters in Slim River, Malaysia August 23, 2020. Picture taken August 23, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
Commenting on this shift, Professor James Chin, who teaches Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, said that this could be construed as a “populist move” as it would cater to the requests of the millions of Malaysians whose income have been impacted by the pandemic.
He warned that individuals who are likely to make these withdrawals are from the B40 (bottom 40 per cent) group, and these withdrawals will deplete their retirement funds in the EPF.
“This means after the COVID-19 crisis is over, many of them might regret withdrawing the money as they no longer have the cushion needed,” said Prof Chin. “So this change has both strengths and weaknesses.”
On the contrary, Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha said the announcement showed that the government was adaptable so that it could ensure the people are able to draw on funds as they struggle to cope with COVID-19.
“Because the funds are used for retirement purposes, the government was initially reluctant to cave in the demands of the people. But it has now taken into account how the pandemic has impacted their livelihoods,” he said.
2. LOAN MORATORIUM EXTENDED, BUT ONLY FOR B40 AND SMALL BUSINESSES
Another hotly debated issue during the budget debate was whether to automatically extend the moratorium on loan repayments for all Malaysians.
Subsequently, the government said it will implement an auto-approval mechanism for those in the B40 group as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
In his speech on Thursday, Mr Tengku Zafrul clarified that this means individuals in the B40 income group and micro SME companies do not need to submit any supporting documents to be entitled to the three-month moratorium which will be implemented until end of December.
Prof Chin said that the refinements were positive as they made it easier for more Malaysians to spend and this will “restart the economy”.
“If people are denied money to extend their loans, they will spend less, and this could cause Malaysia to head further into recession,” said Prof Chin.
However, he cautioned that interest rates during the moratorium are not deferred, and this could snowball into more debt for the individuals.
People wearing protective face masks are seen in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct 2, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Lim Huey Teng)
3. GOVERNMENT PROPAGANDA UNIT TO BE REPURPOSED
On Wednesday, Minister of Communications and Multimedia Saifuddin Abdullah announced that the government’s Special Affairs Department (JASA) otherwise known as JASA, will be rebranded to become the Community Communications Department (J-KOM). He stressed that J-KOM will not operate as a political propaganda machine for the government.
JASA was one of the issues which sparked controversy after the budget was tabled on Nov 6. The proposed budget not only indicated that the department would be resurrected after being disbanded by the PH administration. It was also allocated a whopping RM85.5 million.
However, the proposal was criticised by many MPs during the budget debate.
The opposition has said that JASA is a propaganda tool by the PN government to promote partisan messages.
Even MPs from United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of PN, have voiced concerns on the government allocation for JASA in budget 2021. On Thursday, the finance minister said the allocation for JASA would be reduced.
Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha said the move to rebrand the department was positive, as it would rid the department’s reputation of a propaganda unit, as it was regarded when BN was in power before 2018.
“J-KOM has a different purpose, The government has explained that it is used to disseminate information, educate the people and at the same time allow people to provide responses and feedback to the government,” he said.
He also noted that the department would be part of the government’s pivot to become a digital society, and will use some of the budget allocation to strengthen IT infrastructure in rural areas.
“This fits the government’s goal of having a digital society in the future,” added Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha.
A couple have lunch next to a tribute to Malaysian workers on the COVID-19 frontlines in Damansara, Selangor on Nov 7, 2020. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)
4. ONE-OFF PAYMENT EXTENDED TO MORE FRONTLINERS
Following the budget debate, the government has also agreed to extend a one-off payment to more frontliners battling COVID-19. Earlier, it proposed a special one-off payment of RM500 to frontliners with the Ministry of Health.
The finance minister said on Thursday that after considering proposals from MPs, the government has decided to extend the payments to other frontliners on duty during the COVID-19 pandemic such as police officers, army as well as personnel representing the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA).
These frontliners will now receive a one-off payment of RM300.
Police officers stand guard at an entrance of a market, during the movement control order due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 27, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
Assoc Prof Ahmad Martadha said this shows the government’s commitment to reward frontliners from outside the health ministry, who have also been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic.
“The government may have realised that these frontliners are a forgotten group of people whose roles are as important as health workers in helping the country overcome COVID-19,” he said.
5. MORE FINANCIAL AID FOR SABAH TO COMBAT COVID-19
Mr Tengku Zafrul also announced on Thursday when wrapping up the budget debate that the government would allocate another RM50 million to Sabah to help the state overcome COVID-19.
He noted that Sabah still has 63 active clusters and expressed hope that the funds will be channeled to ensure the situation would be managed better.
Malaysia is currently battling the third wave of the pandemic, and Sabah is one of the most badly hit states.
Prof Chin said that more healthcare funds could provide medical access to the thousands of residents in the states, including migrants living in rural areas.
However, he noted that the additional funds alone might not be sufficient for Sabah to eradicate the coronavirus.
“It’s not going to make much of a difference because the amount of money cannot stop the spread of COVID-19. It is factors like human behaviour: Being consistent in social distancing and avoiding mass gatherings,” he said.
BEIJING: China will impose temporary anti-dumping measures on wine imported from Australia from Nov 28, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday (Nov 27), in a move likely to further escalate trade and diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Canberra.
Importers bringing in investigated products will need to pay deposits to China's customs authority, which will be calculated based on different rates the authority has assigned to various companies, according to the statement.
The rate required of Treasury Wine was 169.3 per cent, the highest among all the named wine firms in the statement. Shares of Australia's Treasury Wine Estates Ltd, the world's largest listed winemaker, fell more than 13 per cent before being put on a trading halt pending an announcement.
China's commerce ministry did not specify how long the measures would last for. It said that it looked into samples from a few Australian firms, including that of Treasury Wines, Casella Wines and Australia Swan Vintage.
AUSTRALIA 'EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED'
Later on Friday, Australia responded saying it was "extremely disappointed" in China's decision to impose preliminary tariffs on its wine.
"Today's decision is a seriously concerning development and one which Australia will be vigorously fighting against," Australian Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said in a statement.
"The Australian Government categorically rejects any allegation that our wine producers are dumping product into China, and we continue to believe there is no basis or any evidence for these claims."
China in August began an anti-dumping probe into imports of Australian wine at the request of the Chinese Alcoholic Drinks Association. Earlier this month, the association called for retrospective tariffs on Australian wine imports.
Beijing's latest move comes against a backdrop of increasing tension between the countries after Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus.
China is the top market for Australian wine exports and is also Australia’s largest trading partner, with two-way trade worth A$235 billion (US$170 billion) last year.
VIENNA: Residents of an Austrian village will ring in the new year under a new name - Fugging - after ridicule of their signposts, especially on social media, became too much to bear.
They finally grew weary of Fucking, its current name which some experts say dates back to the 11th century.
Minutes from a municipal council meeting published Thursday showed that the village of around 100 people 350km east of Vienna will be named Fugging from Jan 1, 2021.
Increasing numbers of English-speaking tourists have made a point of stopping in to snap pictures of themselves by the signpost at the entrance to the village, sometimes striking lascivious poses for posting on social media.
Some have reportedly even stolen the signposts, leading the local authorities to use theft-resistant concrete when putting up replacements.
Finally, a majority of the villagers decided they had had enough.
"I can confirm that the village is being renamed," said Andrea Holzner, the mayor of Tarsdorf, the municipality to which the village belongs.
"I really don't want to say anything more - we've had enough media frenzy about this in the past," she told regional daily Oberoesterreichische Nachrichten (OOeN).
According to the Austrian daily Die Presse, the villagers, known as Fuckingers, "have had enough of visitors and their bad jokes".
But not everybody seems happy about the impending change.
"Don't people have any sense of humour these days?" asked one OOeN reader.
Another noted: "They're getting free publicity - they ought to have been happy to have a funny name."
Locals had previously found their village in the news after it was the backdrop for a book by Austrian novelist Kurt Palm which later was turned into a film.
The village was first officially inhabited from around 1070, but local lore suggests that a sixth-century Bavarian nobleman called Focko actually founded the settlement. A map dating from 1825 used the spelling Fuking.
Just across the border in Bavaria in Germany, there is another village called Petting.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (Nov 26) he will leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden, the closest he has come to conceding the Nov 3 election, even as he repeated his unfounded claims of massive voter fraud.
Speaking to reporters on the Thanksgiving holiday, Republican Trump said if Democrat Biden - who is due to be sworn in on Jan 20 - is certified the election winner by the Electoral College, he will depart the White House.
But Trump said it would be hard for him to concede under the current circumstances and declined to say whether he would attend Biden's inauguration.
"This election was a fraud," Trump insisted in a sometimes rambling discourse at the White House, while continuing to offer no concrete evidence of widespread voting irregularities.
Biden won the election with 306 Electoral College votes - many more than the 270 required - to Trump's 232, and the electors are scheduled to meet on Dec 14 to formalise the outcome. Biden also leads Trump by more than 6 million in the popular vote tally.
Asked if he would leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for Biden, Trump said: "Certainly I will. Certainly I will. And you know that."
"But I think that there will be a lot of things happening between now and the 20th of January. A lot of things," he said. "Massive fraud has been found. We're like a third world country."
Desperate efforts by Trump and his aides to overturn results in key states, either by lawsuits or by pressuring state legislators, have failed, and he is running out of options.
In the United States, a candidate becomes president by securing the most “electoral” votes rather than by winning a majority of the national popular vote. Electors, allotted to the 50 states and the District of Columbia largely based on their population, are party loyalists who pledge to support the candidate who won the popular vote in their state.
BIDEN, AND TRUMP STAY CLOSE TO HOME AMID PANDEMIC
Biden and Trump both stayed close to home to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday as the coronavirus pandemic raged across the country.
Biden spent the holiday in the small seaside town of Rehoboth, Delaware, where he and his wife Jill have a vacation home. The Bidens are hosting daughter Ashley Biden and her husband Dr. Howard Krein for the holiday meal.
US President-elect Joe Biden delivers a pre-Thanksgiving speech at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Nov 25, 2020. (Photo: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)
The former vice president, appearing with his wife in a video message posted to his Twitter account on Thanksgiving, said his family typically holds a large gathering on the island of Nantucket off Massachusetts, but would remain in Delaware this year "with just a small group around our dinner table" because of the pandemic.
In the presidential-style address to a nation that has lost more than 260,000 lives to the coronavirus, the Democratic president-elect said Americans were making a "shared sacrifice for the whole country" and a "statement of common purpose" by staying at home with their immediate families.
"I know this isn't the way many of us hoped we'd spend our holiday. We know that a small act of staying home is a gift to our fellow Americans," said Biden. "I know better days are coming."
Trump often likes to celebrate holidays at his Mar-a-Largo resort in Florida. But on Thursday he remained in the Washington area, spending part of the morning at his Trump National Golf Club in Virginia where he played a round of golf.
It was a far cry from last year when he made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where he served turkey to U.S. troops before sitting down to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them.
This time, Trump spoke by video link from the White House to members of the military.
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (Nov 26) he will leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden, the closest he has come to conceding the Nov 3 election, even as he reiterated his unfounded claims of massive voter fraud.
Speaking to reporters on the Thanksgiving holiday, Republican Trump said if Democrat Biden – who is due to be sworn in on Jan 20 – is certified the election winner by the Electoral College, he will depart the White House.
But Trump said it would be hard for him to concede under the current circumstances and declined to say whether he would attend Biden’s inauguration.
The electors are scheduled to meet on Dec 14.
“This election was a fraud,” Trump insisted, while offering no concrete evidence of such voting irregularities.
Biden and Trump both stayed close to home to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday as the coronavirus pandemic raged across the country.
Biden spent the holiday in the small seaside town of Rehoboth, Delaware, where he and his wife Jill have a vacation home. The Bidens are hosting daughter Ashley Biden and her husband Dr Howard Krein for the holiday meal.
The former vice-president, appearing with his wife in a video message posted to his Twitter account on Thanksgiving, said his family typically holds a large gathering on the island of Nantucket off Massachusetts, but would remain in Delaware this year “with just a small group around our dinner table”because of the pandemic.
In the presidential-style address to a nation that has lost more than 260,000 lives to the coronavirus, the Democratic president-elect said Americans were making a “shared sacrifice for the whole country” and a “statement of common purpose” by staying at home with their immediate families.
“I know this isn’t the way many of us hoped we’d spend our holiday. We know that a small act of staying home is a gift to our fellow Americans,” said Biden. “I know better days are coming.”
Republican President Trump often likes to celebrate holidays at his Mar-a-Largo resort in Florida. But on Thursday he remained in the Washington area, spending part of the morning at his Trump National Golf Club in Virginia where he played a round of golf.
It was a far cry from last year when he made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where he served turkey to US troops before sitting down to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them.
This time, Trump spoke by video link from the White House to members of the military.
