UMNO expels former Malaysian health minister Khairy, suspends ex-defence minister Hishammuddin - CNA

The Friday supreme council meeting was keenly watched after UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said a day earlier that the party will undergo “mass cleansing" to get rid of "saboteurs" and those who have "shot themselves in the foot".

He said this included members who allegedly sabotaged the party and its candidates during GE15, 10 of whom Ahmad Zahid identified by name during the party’s recent general assembly from Jan 11 to Jan 14.

The 10 politicians, who included Mr Hishammuddin, had sided with Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin in forming the new government, Ahmad Zahid said.

Mr Shahril had resigned as information chief in the immediate aftermath of GE15, urging Ahmad Zahid to take responsibility for the party’s defeat by stepping down.

Mr Noh resigned as the chief of UMNO’s Selangor chapter in November after saying that he no longer had confidence in Ahmad Zahid.

Mr Khairy had been a vocal opponent of a motion tabled during the recent party general assembly. The motion was to block UMNO’s top two posts - party president and deputy president - from being challenged at the party’s internal elections, which must be held by May.

Rumours of such a motion had swirled as some prominent party members came out to say they preferred for the posts to remain uncontested, citing the need to maintain party unity as it rebuilds following its dismal performance at GE15.

Ahmad Zahid said during his party policy speech on Jan 13 that he was confident in the democratic process and would leave it to the delegates to decide on the issue. He had consistently maintained that he was ready to defend his position.

When a no-contest motion was first tabled by an UMNO delegate from Negeri Sembilan later that day, it was met with boos in the convention hall.

But the motion was passed by the general assembly the next day in a majority vote, paving the way for Ahmad Zahid and his deputy Mohamad Hasan to serve at least another term. 

Mr Khairy alleged in a TikTok video on the same day that some delegates’ seat tags at the convention hall were removed, to be replaced with those of "imported" delegates who would push through the motion.

This prompted a rebuke by UMNO Sungai Besar division chief Jamal Yunos, who told reporters on Saturday that Mr Khairy was tarnishing the party by spreading baseless claims.

UMNO’s most recent leadership contest, in 2018, saw Ahmad Zahid fend off challenges for the presidency from Mr Khairy and former veteran MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Mr Khairy was a three-term MP for Rembau, Negeri Sembilan before he was moved to contest in the urban constituency of Sungai Buloh in Selangor during the GE15 on Nov 19. Urban seats are considered Pakatan Harapan (PH) strongholds. Mr Khairy eventually lost in a seven-cornered contest.

In a tweet after the party’s announcement on Friday night, Mr Khairy wrote: “Tonight I was sacked by the party I loved, that I was loyal to.

“Unbowed, unbent, unbroken.”

The BN coalition - led by UMNO - emerged a distant third in the election by winning only 30 seats, behind PH’s 81 seats and PN’s 74 seats.

But PH, BN and other parties have formed a unity government while PN - comprising Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and other parties - is in the opposition.

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2023-01-27 16:50:00Z
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Singapore maid agencies welcome proposed Indonesian law protecting its domestic workers - CNA

According to Indonesia’s Cabinet Secretariat site, there are about 4 million Indonesians who are domestic workers. There were reportedly about 120,000 Indonesians working in Singapore as helpers as of 2020. 

MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION 

Two maid agencies in Singapore said this is a move in the right direction. 

“The ratification of the law is a good step. It’s a step in the right direction and the impact on the industry or employment of migrant workers should be a positive one,” said Mr David Bensadon, managing director of We Are Caring Agency. 

“Every scene that is set up and implemented to enforce the safety of workers goes in the right direction.” 

Similarly, Mr Ryan Ng, managing director of Master Employment Agency, said that “proper recognition and protection” will be good for the long-term sustainability of hiring migrant domestic workers. 

“That said, the measures should be fair, and not penalise or inconvenience any good employers of Singapore, and also not to jeopardise good helpers who are in need of a job to support their family,” he said. 

DEALING WITH CHANGES 

If there were to be changes for maid agencies in Singapore, Mr Ng said he hopes that firms like his will receive support from the Government. 

“If there is a lot of additional paperwork or manpower that is required, I hope that the Government will also (give) support in this role,” he said.  

“Because as small organisations, SMEs, we often face a shortage of manpower, and we do not have the financial resources to employ people just to be able to comply if there are too many specific measures in place,” he said. 

Mr Bensadon noted that for the bill to result in real changes on the ground, coordination between the governments of both Singapore and Indonesia is needed. 

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2023-01-27 12:45:32Z
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Five US officers charged with murder over beating of black man - The Straits Times

WASHINGTON - US authorities on Thursday charged five officers, who are black, with second-degree murder over the fatal beating of a black man in the eastern state of Tennessee following a traffic stop.

Mr Tyre Nichols, 29, was stopped on Jan 7 for what the Memphis Police Department (MPD) said was reckless driving.

After a chase ensued, “police brutalised him to the point of being unrecognisable”, said family attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci.

The five officers were fired after an internal police investigation found them to have “violated multiple department policies, including excessive use of force, duty to intervene and duty to render aid”, the MPD said last Friday.

Mr Nichols was taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to police, where he died on Jan 10.

“These officers were found to be directly responsible for the physical abuse of Mr Nichols,” Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said on Wednesday.

“This is not just a professional failing, this is a failing of basic humanity towards another individual. This incident was heinous, reckless and inhumane.”

The five officers – Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr – were additionally charged with aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping. All are now in police custody.

“The news today from Memphis officials that these five officers are being held criminally accountable for their deadly and brutal actions gives us hope as we continue to push for justice for Tyre,” the family’s lawyers said.

Officials have said a video of the episode exists and will be released sometime after 6pm Central time on Friday (8am Saturday in Singapore).

“I expect you to feel outrage in the disregard of basic human rights,” Ms Davis said.

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2023-01-26 22:32:19Z
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'No mercy' for firms responsible for forest fires in Indonesia: Minister - CNA

JAKARTA: Indonesia will take stern action against firms that are found to have caused forest fires in the country, Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar warned on Wednesday (Jan 25).

She was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara that there will be “no mercy” for those who are caught.

“If forest fires happen because of (the activities of) the private sector, there will be no mercy (for the firms),” Ms Siti said at a press conference.

She added that firms will be “immediately given a warning” once a fire hotspot has been identified on their land.

“As soon as a hotspot is detected (in the area owned by them), we will immediately give a warning (to them),” she was quoted as saying by Antara.

The country’s Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mohammad Mahfud Mahmodin also called on firms that deal with forest management to help in handling the forest fires.

"If (a disaster) happens, the consequences or losses that arise will also befall the companies," Mr Mahfud reportedly said. 

Antara on Wednesday also reported that the Indonesian government has been taking firm action against the perpetrators of forest and land destruction in the country.

It cited a recent lawsuit the government won against PT Agri Bumi Sentosa in which 1,500 hectares of land was damaged in South Kalimantan in 2019.

The company was required to pay material compensation of 160.69 billion rupiah (US$10.7 million) and environmental restoration costs of 591.55 billion rupiah. 

During the 2019 Southeast Asian haze, thousands of fires were started in Indonesia in order to clear land for crops. Media reports then stated that some 900,000 Indonesians reported suffering from acute respiratory infections as a result of the haze in the first nine months of that year alone. 

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2023-01-26 09:51:04Z
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8 dead, including 6 Chinese nationals, after ship sinks near Japan - CNA

China's Consul General in the city of Fukuoka, Lu Guijun, told state broadcaster CGTN on Thursday that of the 13 people found, "eight have been confirmed dead, of whom six are Chinese".

"Five of them - including four Chinese crew members - are not in life-threatening conditions," he added.

"We express our deepest condolences to the unfortunate victims."

The Japanese coast guard later confirmed the toll given by Lu, adding that the other two dead crew members were from Myanmar. Nine more people remained missing, it said - four from China and five from Myanmar.

Officials from local Chinese missions visited the Nagasaki coast guard, the Fukuoka consulate said, where they laid flowers for the dead crew members and expressed their condolences.

They also visited survivors, conveying a message from China's ambassador to Japan, Kong Xuanyou, while providing clothing, food and drinks, the consulate said.

The accident came as a cold snap hit much of Asia, with daytime temperatures in some Japanese islands nearest the rescue site reaching just 3 degrees Celsius.

The 6,651-tonne Jin Tian is registered in Hong Kong, Japan's coast guard said.

In 2020, a cargo ship with 43 crew and 6,000 cattle on board sank off southwestern Japan after being caught in a typhoon. Two crew survived.

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2023-01-26 08:31:34Z
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Russia slams German tank decision as escalation of conflict, betrayal of history - CNA

Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched on Feb 24 last year, amounts to an unprovoked war of aggression aimed at seizing territory. Moscow says the West is using Ukraine to weaken Russia's own security.

"HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY"

Germany's decision on tanks followed weeks of agonising by the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, prompted by concerns about escalating the war and provoking Russia.

More than 80 years after their country invaded Soviet Russia and Ukraine in World War II, some Germans recoil at the idea of sending tanks into a new conflagration there, out of a sense of historic guilt that the Russian embassy statement directly tapped into.

"Berlin's choice means the final refusal of the Federal Republic of Germany to recognise its historical responsibility to our people for the terrible, timeless crimes of Nazism during the Great Patriotic War, and the consigning to oblivion of the difficult path of post-war reconciliation between Russians and Germans," Nechayev said.

"With the approval of the leadership of Germany, battle tanks with German crosses will again be sent to the 'eastern front', which will inevitably lead to the deaths of not only Russian soldiers, but also the civilian population."

Kyiv has for months asked for Western tanks that it says it desperately needs to give its forces the firepower and mobility to break through Russian defensive lines and recapture occupied territory in the east and south.

Russia has repeatedly said foreign tanks will "burn" in Ukraine. It says they will only extend the war and prolong Ukrainian suffering, and that the West is "deluded" to think otherwise.

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2023-01-25 15:37:00Z
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Germany approves sending heavy Leopard tanks to Ukraine - CNA

BERLIN: Germany will supply its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, it announced on Wednesday (Jan 25), overcoming misgivings about sending heavy weaponry that Kyiv sees as crucial to defeat the Russian invasion but Moscow cast as a needless provocation.

Pressure has been building for weeks on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government to send the tanks and allow other NATO allies to do the same ahead of expected spring offensives by both sides that could help turn the tide of the war.

Scholz's government had stalled on the decision, wary of moves that could prompt Russia to escalate or suck the NATO alliance into becoming party to the conflict.

Germany's decision paves the way for other countries such as Poland, Spain and Norway to supply their stocks of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

"This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability. We are acting in a closely coordinated manner internationally," Scholz said in a statement.

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2023-01-25 10:54:00Z
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