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Myanmar's military government blocks access to Facebook CNAView Full coverage on Google News
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is taking a tougher approach to ensure compliance with its coronavirus lockdown, even as it imposes stricter measures for Chinese New Year that will restrict reunion dinners to only family members living in the same house.
Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the more stringent protocols for the festive period at his daily Covid-19 briefing on Thursday (Feb 4). Prayers at temples are also not allowed, except for five of the temple's committee members, he said.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin promised to step up enforcement, warning that businesses which fail to comply with strict health guidelines could be shut down.
The army, which has been helping police man roadblocks in the ongoing Movement Control Order (MCO), will be given powers to make arrests, he said in a pre-recorded message aired over television and on social media.
“To strengthen the government’s enforcement capabilities in fighting Covid-19, I have issued an order under the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 to grant police powers to the Malaysian Armed Forces to make arrests, inspections and confiscations while helping other agencies carry out operations against illegal immigrants and Covid-19,” he said.
The government plans to amend laws in order to raise fines for repeat offenders of the MCO and jail them for certain offences, he said.
Under the state of emergency which was declared last month (January), the government can amend existing laws with the approval of the King, when Parliament is suspended.
“The Emergency Management Technical Committee has studied the provisions in the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, or Act 342, which need to be amended for stricter and quicker action,” said the premier.
Dozens of people typically get hauled up and fined daily, mostly at roadblocks and when the authorities do spot checks on business premises.
“Compliance with SOPs in workplaces, workers’ accommodations and business premises is crucial for us to break the chain of Covid-19 infections. Enforcement measures must be intensified to ensure compliance of SOPs."
Tan Sri Muhyiddin in his speech sought to allay concerns over the country's rising infections, saying that 500,000 front-liners will start getting vaccinations by the end of February.
This exercise is expected to end in April, when the second vaccination phase will begin. This is estimated to involve 9.4 million people from high-risk groups including those aged 60 above, and with health issues such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Adults aged 18 above are expected to receive their inoculations from May 2021 to February 2022.
Malaysia has signed deals with Covax, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, CanSino and Gamaleya to secure Covid-19 vaccinations for 83 per cent of its 32 million population, in the country's largest vaccination programme.
The premier also shared a glimmer of good news as much of the country entered its fourth week of a six-week MCO, saying that the curve was flattening in a number of states.
"The enforcement of the MCO has resulted in a positive effect in some states such as Kelantan, Kedah, Terengganu and Pahang, which have begun to show a trend of daily cases which is increasingly flat," he said.
But he noted that the number of infections continued to rise in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor.
Mr Muhyiddin spoke in detail about responses to the pandemic following increasing public pressure over rising Covid-19 cases even as the government has kept most businesses opened, including recently allowing pasar malam (night markets) to operate again.
Confirming a Straits Times report, businesses such as car wash operators along with barbers and hair salons will also be allowed to resume now, said Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri.
The government has defended its actions to allow most economic activities to remain open by saying the country cannot afford to damage further the economy and people's livelihoods, and will instead crack the whip against those who flouted health protocols.
Daily cases in Malaysia mostly stayed above 3,000 a day in the last three weeks, and hit a record 5,728 on Saturday.
The country logged 4,571 cases on Thursday to bring the cumulative total to 231,483, with 17 more deaths to bring total Covid-19 fatalities to 826.
KUALA LUMPUR: Chinese New Year celebrations are only allowed among family members from the same household this year, said Malaysian Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
"Family reunion dinners are allowed at their residences only among family members from the same household," he said in a press briefing on Thursday (Feb 4).
"House visits are not allowed, as are cross-district and interstate activities to celebrate the Chinese New Year," he added.
Mr Ismail Sabri, who is also defence minister, said the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the festival were drawn up after reviewing various aspects and the advice of the health ministry.
All states in Malaysia except Sarawak are currently placed under the movement control order (MCO) until Feb 18 to rein in the spread of COVID-19, as total cases surpassed 230,000.
The minister added that cultural activities and performances such as lion and dragon dances, lantern and chingay parades as well as Chinese opera performances are also prohibited.
Temple prayers are only limited to five members from the temple's management committee.
"The Chinese community is encouraged to perform prayers at home," Mr Ismail Sabri said.
He added that the federal government would let the Sarawak state government decide on its Chinese New Year celebration policy.
At the same briefing, Mr Ismail Sabri also said that three business activities - night markets (pasar malam), hair salons and car wash services - would be allowed to operate from Friday onwards, with strict SOPs.
These would include 1m distancing between each stall, as well as separate entries and exits.
Salons could operate for hair-cutting only, he added. Other beauty procedures are still barred.
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YANGON: Internet providers in Myanmar including state-owned telecom MPT were blocking access to Facebook-owned services in the country on Thursday (Feb 4), days after military leaders seized power in a coup.
A letter posted online by the Ministry of Communications and Information overnight said Facebook would be blocked until Feb 7 for the sake of "stability".
Some users in Myanmar reported they were not able to access several Facebook services.
Network monitoring group NetBlocks confirmed state-owned telecom MPT, which says it has 23 million users, had blocked Facebook as well as its Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp services. Norway's Telenor Asa said it had just blocked Facebook to comply with the directive.
Facebook spokesman Andy Stone acknowledged the disruption.
"We urge authorities to restore connectivity so that people in Myanmar can communicate with their families and friends and access important information," he said.
Half of Myanmar's 53 million people use Facebook, which for many is synonymous with the Internet.
"Currently the people who are troubling the country's stability ... are spreading fake news and misinformation and causing misunderstanding among people by using Facebook," the ministry letter said.
Telenor expressed "grave concern" about the directive, which it said had been received by all mobile operators and Internet service providers on Wednesday.
It said in a statement it was directing users to a message saying Facebook websites cannot be reached due to government order.
"While the directive has legal basis in Myanmar law, Telenor does not believe that the request is based on necessity and proportionality, in accordance with international human rights law," it said.
On Tuesday, the military warned against the posting of what it said were rumours on social media that could incite rioting and cause instability.
UN human rights investigators have previously said hate speech on Facebook had played a key role in fomenting violence in Myanmar. The company has said it was too slow to act in preventing misinformation and hate in the country.
This week, Facebook said it was treating the situation in Myanmar as an emergency and taking temporary measures to protect against harm such as removing content that praises or supports the coup, according to a spokeswoman.
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Myanmar state-run Internet provider blocks Facebook services CNAView Full coverage on Google NewsYANGON: The US on Wednesday (Feb 3) called on Myanmar's military to free Aung San Suu Kyi, as the ousted leader was charged after being detained in a coup, while calls for civil disobedience opposing the putsch gathered pace.
The Southeast Asian nation was plunged back into direct military rule when soldiers arrested key civilian leaders in a series of dawn raids Monday, ending the army's brief flirtation with democracy.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who has not been seen in public since, won a huge landslide with her National League for Democracy (NLD) last November, but the military - whose favoured parties received a drubbing - declared the polls fraudulent.
On Wednesday, the NLD's press officer said the 75-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi was formally charged with an offence under Myanmar's import and export law, with a court signing off on two weeks' remand.
The unusual charge stemmed from a search of her house following her arrest in which walkie-talkies were discovered, according to a leaked police charging document seen by reporters.
A similarly unorthodox charge under the country's disaster management law against President Win Myint revolved around him allegedly breaching anti-coronavirus measures last year by meeting voters on the campaign trail.
The United States said it was "disturbed" by the charges.
"We call on the military to immediately release them all," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters of Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders.
With soldiers and armoured cars back on the streets of major cities, the takeover has not been met by any large street protests.
But signs of public anger and plans to resist have begun to flicker.
Doctors and medical staff at multiple hospitals across the country announced on Wednesday they were donning red ribbons and walking away from all non-emergency work to protest against the coup.
"Our main goal is to accept only the government we elected," Aung San Min, head of a 100-bed hospital in Gangaw district, told AFP.
Some medical teams posted pictures on social media wearing red ribbons - NLD colours - and raising a three-finger salute, a protest gesture used by democracy activists in neighbouring Thailand, while some have chosen to bypass work altogether.
"My protest starts today by not going to the hospital... I have no desire to work under the military dictatorship," said Nor Nor Wint Wah, a doctor in Mandalay.
Activists were announcing their campaigns on a Facebook group called "Civil Disobedience Movement" which by Wednesday afternoon had more than 150,000 followers within 24 hours of its launch.
The clatter of pots and pans, the honking of car horns and the singing of democracy protest songs also rang out across the commercial capital Yangon on Wednesday evening for a second night in a row after calls went out on social media.
Late on Wednesday, the military issued a statement rejecting rumours that 5000 kyat (US$3.70) and 10,000 kyat notes (US$7.40) would be demonetised.
Demonetising of bank notes was a key factor in an 1988 uprising.
MILITARY'S DEADLY LEGACY
Army chief Min Aung Hlaing appointed himself head of a new cabinet stacked with generals, and on Tuesday justified his coup as the "inevitable" result of failure to heed the army's fraud warnings.
The military declared a one-year state of emergency and said it would hold new elections once its allegations of voter irregularities were addressed.
The move stunned Myanmar, a country left impoverished by decades of military misrule before it began moving towards a more democratic government 10 years ago.
But protesting is fraught with risk.
During junta rule, dissent was quashed with thousands of activists - including Aung San Suu Kyi - detained for years on end.
Censorship was pervasive and the military frequently deployed lethal force, most notably during huge protests in 1988 and 2007.
The new government has already issued a warning telling people not to say or post anything that might "encourage riots or an unstable situation".
On Wednesday, the NLD announced the military had committed "unlawful acts" in the coup's aftermath, raiding its party offices across the country and seizing documents and computers.
INTERNATIONAL CENSURE
The army's actions have been met with a growing chorus of international condemnation - although the options are limited for those nations hoping Myanmar's generals might reverse course.
On Tuesday the United States formally designated the takeover as a coup, meaning it cannot assist the Myanmar government.
Any impact will be mainly symbolic, as almost all assistance goes to non-government entities and Myanmar's military was already under US sanctions over its brutal campaign against the Rohingya minority.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Tuesday but failed to agree on a statement condemning the coup.
To be adopted, it requires the support of China, which wields veto power as a permanent Security Council member and is Myanmar's main supporter at the UN.
"China and Russia have asked for more time," said a diplomat requesting anonymity.
Both countries repeatedly shielded Myanmar from censure at the UN over the military's crackdown on the Rohingya, a campaign that UN investigators said amounted to genocide.
On Wednesday a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman called for the international community to "create a sound external environment for Myanmar to properly resolve the differences," according to state-run Xinhua news agency.
With the UN meeting failing to issue a statement, G7 nations produced their own - calling on Myanmar's military to reverse course.
SINGAPORE - A 35-year-old long-term visit pass holder from India is the sole locally transmitted coronavirus case announced on Wednesday (Feb 3), said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
The ministry added that her case may be reclassified as an imported case, as her serology test result is pending.
"Should her serology test come back positive, and epidemiological investigations assess that this is a past infection, we will reclassify this as an imported case," it said.
The patient had travelled to India on Nov 30, said the MOH.
She took a pre-departure test in India on Jan 4 before her flight back to Singapore, and tested negative for Covid-19.
Upon her return, she served a stay-home notice (SHN) at a dedicated facility between Jan 6 and Jan 20.
Her swab done on Jan 17 was negative for the virus.
The MOH said the woman, who is asymptomatic, was detected when she took a Covid-19 pre-departure test on Tuesday ahead of her flight back to India. Her test result came back positive on Wednesday and she was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
It added that all her identified close contacts, including family members, have been isolated and placed on quarantine. They will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine to detect asymptomatic cases.
The ministry also reported 17 imported cases on Wednesday, taking Singapore's total to 59,602.
The cases included one permanent resident and one work pass holder who arrived from India.
There were also 14 work permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia, of whom nine were foreign domestic workers.
The remaining imported case was a sea crew member holding a Special Pass who arrived from Indonesia to board a vessel docked here.
They tested positive while serving SHN or in isolation after their arrival in Singapore, said the MOH.
The ministry added that the New Ocean 6 cluster has also been closed, as there have been no more cases linked to it for the past 28 days.
Overall, the number of new cases in the community decreased from five cases in the week before to four cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community increased from one case in the week before to three cases in the past week.
With 19 cases discharged on Wednesday, 59,305 patients have fully recovered from the disease.
A total of 39 patients remain in hospital, with none in intensive care, while 214 are recovering in community facilities.
Singapore has had 29 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.
