PUTRAJAYA: Malaysian Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has lodged a police report over rumours saying that he did not welcome Singaporeans into the country.
Ismail Sabri, who is also defence minister, described the fake news as an action with ill-intent, which could cloud relations between both countries.
“I have lodged reports with the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to investigate (the issue) further,” he said in a news conference on Saturday (Jun 13).
He added that Malaysia’s borders were still closed to all foreigners, including those from Singapore.
“The fake news apparently said I issued a statement that there is no need for Singaporeans to come to Malaysia if they merely wanted to fill petrol, wash cars, have dinners, and so on.”
The rumour was disseminated in audio and visual format with a voice dub, Ismail Sabri said.
“We are ready to ensure that they take COVID-19 tests ... If that is the condition required by the Singaporean government, that they take swab tests, we agree,” he said.
The senior minister said that with industries in Singapore operating again, they have requested for their Malaysian employees, who are in Johor Bahru, to commute to Singapore for work.
PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob has become the latest victim of fake news, which claimed that he does not welcome Singaporeans into the country.
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri said on Saturday (June 13) the false news, which has gone viral on social media, can cause a strain in the relationship between Malaysia and its southern neighbour Singapore.
"The truth is, our borders are still closed to everyone, including Singaporeans, so such news is malicious," he said at his daily briefing for the coronavirus. "This act can sour the relationship between Malaysia and our neighbour Singapore."
The minister also noted that his voice had been doctored in the offending tweet.
"I have lodged a report with the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)," he said.
Malaysia has closed its borders to foreigners since March 18, when it implemented a partial shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. While it has since eased movement restrictions within the country, Malaysians are still not permitted to travel abroad.
Mr Ismail Sabri,who is also Defence Minister, said that as of Saturday, some 266 investigation papers have been opened by the police and MCMC on fake news relating to Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
From that total, 179 are still under investigation. Meanwhile, 30 people have been charged in court, 11 given warning notices and 18 have pleaded guilty.
The minister said there have not been any new investigation papers in the past two weeks, which showed that people were more aware about the dangers of sharing fake news.
"However, the police and MCMC will continue to monitor the spread of fake news.
"People are reminded to be careful before sharing unverified news," he said, adding that the public could verify such news at the government fact-checking website.
NEW DELHI: India reported its biggest single-day jump in coronavirus cases on Saturday (Jun 13), adding 11,458 confirmed infections and taking its total count to more than 300,000, according to data from the federal health ministry.
India is the fourth-worst affected country in the world, having surpassed the United Kingdom on Friday, with cases steadily increasingly despite a nationwide lockdown that began in late March and has since been loosened.
Confirmed cases in the worst-hit western state of Maharashtra moved past the 100,000 mark, data showed on Saturday. The national capital New Delhi, where the health system has also been reeling, saw more than 2,000 new cases.
Despite the rising case load, the recovery rate of patients was improving, with more than 147,000 people having been cured, the federal government said on Friday.
India has 145,779 active cases, and has recorded 8,884 deaths.
BEIJING (REUTERS) - A district of Beijing was on a “wartime” footing and the capital banned tourism on Saturday (June 13) after a cluster of coronavirus infections centred on a major wholesale market sparked fears of a new wave of Covid-19.
Chu Junwei, an official of Beijing’s south-western Fengtai district, told a briefing on Saturday that the district was in “wartime emergency mode”.
Throat swabs from 45 people, out of 517 tested at the district’s Xinfadi wholesale market, had tested positive for coronavirus, though none of them showed symptoms of Covid-19, Chu said.
A city spokesman told the briefing that all six Covid-19 patients confirmed in Beijing on Friday had visited the Xinfadi market.
The capital will suspend sports events and inter-provincial tourism effective immediately, he said.
One person at an agricultural market in the city’s north-western Haidian district also tested positive for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 without showing symptoms, Chu said.
As part of measures to curb the spread of the virus, Fengtai district said it had locked down 11 neighbourhoods in the vicinity of the market.
The authorities closed the Xinfadi market at 3am on Saturday, after two men working at a meat research centre who had recently visited the market were reported on Friday to have been infected.
It was not immediately clear how the men had been infected.
“Preliminary judgment suggests these cases may have come into contact with a contaminated environment in the market, or were infected after being in contact with infected people. We cannot rule out subsequent cases in the future,” said Pang Xinghuo, an official at the Beijing Center for Disease Control.
Beijing authorities had earlier halted beef and mutton trading at the Xinfadi market, alongside closures at other wholesale markets around the city.
Reflecting concerns over the risk of further spread of the virus, major supermarkets in Beijing removed salmon from their shelves overnight after the virus causing Covid-19 was discovered on chopping boards used for imported salmon at the market, the state-owned Beijing Youth Daily reported.
Beijing authorities said more than 10,000 people at the market will take nucleic acid tests to determine coronavirus infections.
The city government also said it had dropped plans to reopen schools on Monday (June 15) for students in grades one through three because of the new cases.
Health authorities visited the home of a Reuters reporter in Beijing’s Dongcheng district on Saturday to ask whether she had visited the Xinfadi market, which is 15km away. They said the visit was part of patrols Dongcheng was conducting.
China reported 11 new Covid-19 cases and seven asymptomatic infections of the virus for Friday, the national health authority said on Saturday. All six locally transmitted cases were confirmed in Beijing.
The coronavirus was first detected at a seafood market in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province, in December.
SHANGHAI: Eleven residential estates in south Beijing were locked down and a wholesale market shuttered due to a fresh cluster of COVID-19 cases, officials said on Saturday Jun 13).
Seven cases have so far been linked to Xinfadi wholesale market, six of them confirmed on Saturday, officials said. Nine nearby schools and kindergartens have been closed.
The closure of the market came after two men working at a meat research centre who had recently visited the market were reported on Friday as having been infected by COVID-19.
Concern is growing of a second wave of the new virus, even in many countries that seemed to have curbed its spread. It was first reported at a seafood market in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei province, in December.
People are wearing face masks inside the Jingshen seafood market which has been closed for business after new coronavirus infections were detected, in Beijing, China, June 12, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Beijing authorities had earlier halted beef and mutton trading at the Xinfadi market, alongside closures at other wholesale markets around the city.
The chairman of the Xinfadi market told state-run Beijing News that the virus was detected on chopping boards used to handle imported salmon.
Reflecting concerns over the risk of further spread of the virus, major supermarkets in Beijing removed all stocks of salmon from their shelves overnight.
People are wearing face masks inside the Jingshen seafood market which has been closed for business after new coronavirus infections were detected, in Beijing, China, June 12, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Beijing authorities said more than 10,000 people at the market will take nucleic acid tests to detect coronavirus infections. The city government also said it had dropped plans to reopen schools on Monday for students in grades one through three because of the new cases.
It also said restaurants would be inspected and checks made on seafood products and fresh and frozen meats.
A security guard wearing a face mask tries to block the camera outside the Jingshen seafood market which has been closed for business after new coronavirus infections were detected, in Beijing, China June 12, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
The first new case in Beijing after two months - who had no recent travel history outside the city - was reported on Thursday.
China reported 11 new COVID-19 cases and seven asymptomatic cases for Friday, the national health authority said on Saturday.
Five of the new confirmed patients were imported cases involving travellers from overseas, with the remaining six locally transmitted cases all in Beijing.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in China now stands at 83,075, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.
China does not count asymptomatic patients, who are infected with the virus but do not display symptoms, as confirmed cases.
RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil on Friday (Jun 12) claimed the unenviable position of having the second-highest coronavirus death toll in the world behind the United States, where several states have posted record daily case totals, signalling the crisis is far from over.
Brazil's health ministry recorded 909 deaths in the past 24 hours, putting the total at 41,828 - meaning the country of 212 million people has surpassed Britain in terms of virus-linked fatalities.
Experts warn the actual number of cases in Latin America's biggest economy could be many times higher than the confirmed figure of 828,810.
Brazil has emerged as a new epicentre in the world's battle with the novel coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year.
The country's President Jair Bolsonaro has dismissed the deadly virus as a "little flu", and berated state officials for their virus lockdowns.
In Central and South America, more than 1.5 million people have been infected - and more than 70,000 of them have died - with no signs of the disease slowing.
But in the US, which has confirmed the most virus deaths at more than 114,000, more than a dozen states including two of the most populous, Texas and Florida, reported their highest-ever daily case totals this week.
"It's important that we remember that this situation is unprecedented. And that the pandemic has not ended," Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a media briefing on Friday.
Nevertheless, US President Donald Trump and many local officials are unbowed in their determination to get the world's biggest economy back on track.
The virus and resulting lockdowns have caused a spike in US unemployment - 44.2 million people have filed claims for jobless benefits since mid-March.
On Wall Street, stocks finished a topsy-turvy session solidly higher, following the European markets. But investors were still worried about increasing US case numbers.
Worldwide, the pandemic has killed more than 422,000 people and infected more than 7.5 million.
In the country's northern Lombardy region, an investigation has been launched into why a quarantined "red zone" was not enforced around two towns sooner.
And in Bergamo province, 50 family members of coronavirus victims filed complaints this week, the first such legal group action in Italy, over how the crisis was handled.
"All investigations are welcome. The citizens have the right to know and we have the right to reply," Conte said this week.
Elsewhere, British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair launched legal action against the British government over a "flawed" 14-day coronavirus quarantine system introduced this week.
EUROPE'S REOPENING
Europe is also pushing ahead with its exit from lockdown, with a number of countries preparing to reopen borders on a limited basis on Monday after the EU Commission urged a relaxation of restrictions.
French soldiers were deployed to help out during the virus lockdown. (Photo: AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
Greece said it would welcome tourists again, although Britons remain barred - and passengers from Italy, Spain and the Netherlands must undergo tests on arrival.
Germany said it would end land border checks on Monday.
And Italy said it would allow amateur contact sports - including team sports - from June 25.
'FIGHT IS NOT OVER'
Yet world health officials have warned that the virus is far from contained.
"The fight is not over," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday.
"Most people remain susceptible to this virus and the threat of resurgence remains very real."
In China, Beijing said on Friday it would delay primary school students returning to class after three new cases emerged in the capital - the first after two months of no reported infections there.
China has largely brought domestic infections under control since the virus emerged in the central city of Wuhan, and the majority of cases in recent months have been among overseas nationals returning home.
In India, experts are warning the country is still a long way from reaching its virus peak.
Deaths from coronavirus in New Delhi are almost twice as high as official figures show, a city leader said.
SINGAPORE: Two months ago, when the most senior mainland official in Hong Kong openly urged that national security legislation be imposed “as soon as possible”, the writing was already on the wall.
On May 28, China’s highest lawmaking authority, the National People’s Congress (NPC), followed through. It voted for plans to draft legislation that would punish secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and acts that endanger “national security”.
Hong Kong society had been deeply unhappy with the economic downturn and poor handling of the SARS epidemic earlier that year — perhaps an eerie parallel to recent events.
With about half-a-million people marching on the streets, a record-setting turnout at the time, the bill simply had to be withdrawn. It led to the exits of several top government officials, while sending then Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa’s public standing into an irreversible decline.
The bill became so toxic, subsequent governments equivocated on the idea of pursuing it. That is until Beijing finally decided to take matters into its own hands.
The current security proposal appears to have expanded the scope set prior in the 2003 bill. Notably, it will outlaw not only “acts” but also “activities” deemed a security threat, applying to both organisations and individuals.
Further, critics argue the legislation will cast aside existing restrictions over the presence of mainland security agents in Hong Kong. Chinese security agencies may set up permanent branches to operate in the name of national security.
But much will ride on the details of the legislation, and the NPC Standing Committee has been charged with formulating them.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak attends the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 22, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
The timing of the national security bill unfortunately coincided with an important date for Hong Kong’s civil society, rousing many sensitivities. Many had been gearing up for the annual candlelight vigil to commemorate the Jun 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.
Despite police banning vigils this year out of COVID-19 fears, thousands gathered in Victoria Park to pay their respects.
In any normal year, approving such a controversial bill so close to the Tiananmen anniversary would be tempting fate. So why is Beijing pursuing this now, of all times?
With the virus situation slowly improving and summer holidays on the horizon in Hong Kong, protesters are bound to head back to the streets. Frustration over the extradition bill and police action to protesters in 2019 has not subsided.
In the previous Legislative Council poll in 2016, buoyed by a historic turnout, voters elected several young, radical Beijing sceptics to power. Similarly, pro-Beijing parties suffered landslide losses in last November’s district council election. There are worries of a repeat of events.
Another round of summer protests that risk stoking lasting public anger could reshape the pivotal Legislative Council election set to take place in September.
Indeed, thousands have already turned up in the last few weeks to protest the proposed security bill, as well as another that seeks to criminalise those who insult the Chinese national anthem.
Police have responded with tear gas, pepper spray, water cannons, and arrests — a scene Hong Kongers are familiar with by now.
In Beijing’s eyes, Hong Kong has been a base for foreign subversion and subterfuge. Last year’s chaos was proof of hostile activities by foreign elements that have it out for China, or so the story goes.
Chinese state media and government spokespersons have consistently maintained that “Western ideologues” and “black hands” are seeking to engineer a “colour revolution” in the special administrative region.
About a million people took to the streets of Hong Kong on June 9, 2019 to protest a proposed bill that would allow extradition to mainland China AFP/Philip FONG
More importantly, the anti-extradition bill demonstrations last year have reaffirmed Beijing’s diagnosis that Hong Kong can be an easy entry point for foreign forces to hurt China’s standing by instigating unrest.
To Chinese top leaders, US responses to the protests, such as criticisms of police brutality, meetings with Hong Kong activists and the passing of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, as well as its recent decision to strip the city of its US economic privileges confirm that narrative.
Exacerbating China’s siege mentality is the worsening geopolitical outlook. US President Donald Trump has taken aim at China for the coronavirus outbreak.
The China-US trade war is increasingly bruising, while tensions are rising in the South China Sea, not to mention the Taiwan angle coming into play with strong statements made by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
With the world economy failing, domestic unemployment on an uptick, and fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections lingering, it looks likely that Beijing will be extra-vigilant about perceived sources of instability.
Hence, a quick tried-and-tested fix has been prescribed for the “Hong Kong problem,” the city that threatens “the dam of national security”.
Earlier this year, Beijing had set the stage to enhance greater controls over the city and strengthen its pulse over the situation there.
Personnel reshuffles and the reorganisation of Beijing’s liaison office to Hong Kong, including appointing an ally of President Xi Jinping as head and elevating the rank of the party group overseeing the city’s affairs, show that Beijing is paying greater attention to affairs there.
HONG KONGERS’ CONCERNS
Hong Kong’s traditional long-drawn legislative process tends to offer opportunities for public protests. Activists have often turned the legislative building and its surrounding districts into the locus of fierce protests for the reversal of controversial proposals, occasionally successfully.
This happened with the 2003 security law, the 2014 to 2015 electoral reform, and last year’s amendments to the extradition law.
Pro-democracy demonstrators march holding their phones with flashlights on during a protest to mark the first anniversary of a mass rally against the now-withdrawn extradition bill, in Hong Kong, China June 9, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
While going through the NPC to pass such a law is within Beijing’s remit, Hong Kongers are concerned Beijing had chosen to bypass the city’s legislature, removing the possibility of sustained large-scale public opposition.
Hong Kongers are worried about what this bodes for the territory’s relationship with China looking to 2047 when it is fully returned to China.
Many have previously taken Beijing at its word that nothing changes till 2047. More are viewing recent developments as Beijing playing the long game as it prepares the political ground for a smooth and complete takeover.
Plans are also already afoot on the economic and cultural front. The recently unveiled Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area initiative, for instance, would not only pave the way for Hong Kong’s economic and cultural integration with the mainland, it would remind Hong Kongers of their “historic responsibility” to their “motherland”.
To continue pressing their cause in a post-pandemic terrain, protesters are likely to hold fast to the “be water” organising philosophy.
Being diverse and tactically flexible seems to have contributed to the unexpected enduring momentum behind the anti-extradition bill movement.
It will be tremendously difficult for ongoing demonstrations to reach the heights of those in 2019. The possible spread of COVID-19 will dampen the enthusiasm of prospective demonstrators.
Social distancing measures and curbs on large-scale gatherings will remain in some form, limiting the scale of any planned assemblies.
A woman waves a black Hong Kong flag during a candlelight vigil ahead of the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, after police rejects a mass annual vigil on public health grounds, in Hong Kong, China June 3, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Moreover, many Hong Kongers have been disappointed with and demoralised by the government’s response to the protests. Some are even considering voting with their feet and migrating, as the future of Hong Kong becomes ever more uncertain.
With stakes so high on both sides, protests and their consequences in 2020 will probably be bloodier, messier, and more violent.
Yet, there remains a sizable number of moderates committed to peaceful protest. They believe this yields favourable results, but their success remains to be seen.
It is unlikely that public opposition will fizzle out easily.
Upcoming traditional protest events, such as the Jul 1 annual rally, will provide clues on how things are shaping up. They should reveal any shifts in protesters’ persistence and the city authorities’ threshold of tolerance.
But if both Beijing and Hong Kong leaders choose to close off more channels for public expression of demands, some protesters may feel more cornered and more willing to contemplate drastic action.
In that event, overt calls for Hong Kong independence, a hitherto marginal position, may appear at growing frequency and with greater appeal.
Even if claims for independence are unrealistic and lack legal basis (Article 1 of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, states clearly that the city constitutes an “inalienable part” of China), the underlying symbolic vision for a defence of status quo may well catch fire.
Looking beyond, an indirect casualty of this drama is “one country, two systems” as a model for talks of Taiwan’s reunification with mainland China. As it becomes less appealing and less viable for both sides, Beijing’s attempts at reclaiming Taiwan will likely be more forceful.
If so, threats to Chinese national sovereignty could then be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Yew Wei Lit is a postdoctoral fellow at Yale-NUS College.
