Singaporeans exempt from Malaysia digital arrival card that applies to foreigners from Jan 1 - The Straits Times

SEPANG, Malaysia – Singaporeans travelling to Malaysia will not be required to fill up the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC), which will be compulsory from Jan 1 for foreign travellers.

“All Singaporean citizens will be exempted (from filling up the digital card),” Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told a news conference at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Dec 5.

Explaining the move, he said some Singaporeans enter Malaysia on an almost daily basis, and therefore “it is more realistic for us to exempt them”.

Other travellers exempted include diplomatic passport holders, Malaysian permanent residents, Brunei General Certificate of Identity holders, and Thailand Border Pass holders. 

Filling up the card is voluntary for now, but incoming travellers are encouraged to do so.

The formal implementation of the MDAC was initially scheduled to start on Dec 8, but foreign travellers have now been given a grace period of almost one month.

Malaysia’s two border crossings with Singapore are among the busiest in the world, with some 135 million transits via the crossing each year, a figure that is expected to increase to 150 million in 2026, said Datuk Seri Saifuddin.

The exemption for Singaporeans applies at all entry points, and not just at the southern entry points in Johor, he added.

On social media and chat groups, many travellers reported mixed messages from Malaysian immigration officers about the MDAC.

There was confusion over whether those driving into Malaysia from Singapore via the two land checkpoints across the Straits of Johor will be required to fill up the MDAC.

“I was advised by JB customs to fill up the MDAC. He (an immigration officer) said Dec 7 is compulsory to do so even if you are driving in,” said a driver on a Telegram chat group.

“And he advised not to do it last minute, just in case their system could not capture the data immediately.”

Another person said his friend was “forced” by an immigration officer at the Causeway to fill up the form, causing a queue for 10 minutes as a result.

“I understand not every officer is imposing it yet, but to be safe and to avoid any possible risks of causing delays, please do so before going into Johor,” said the unnamed person.

Some drivers said they had been able to enter Malaysia without filling up the MDAC.

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2023-12-05 09:40:00Z
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China-made C919 passenger jet to make first flight outside mainland - CNA

HONG KONG: China's first domestically produced large passenger jet will conduct a flyby over Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour next week as part of the aircraft's first showcase outside the mainland.

The C919 made its maiden commercial flight in May and is key to Beijing's decades-long ambitions to compete with Western rivals in the air and cut down China's reliance on foreign technology.

The jet, manufactured by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), also will be displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport from Dec 12 to Dec 17, city leader John Lee announced on Tuesday (Dec 5).

"On Dec 16, the C919 will conduct a flyby above the Victoria Harbour. The public can together witness the first time the C919 soars above Hong Kong," Lee said in his weekly meeting with reporters.

Beijing "chose Hong Kong to be the first city for the C919 to visit outside the mainland", he added.

COMAC's smaller, older ARJ21 jet will also be exhibited in Hong Kong during the six-day period.

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2023-12-05 07:09:54Z
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Singapore DPM Lawrence Wong to visit China from Dec 5 to 8, co-chair top-level bilateral meeting - CNA

BEIJING: Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Dec 5) began a four-day official visit to China where he is set to co-chair an annual apex bilateral meeting for the first time.

During his trip, Mr Wong will also call on Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and visit the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, which marks its 15th anniversary this year, said the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement on Tuesday.

Bilateral ties between Singapore and China were upgraded after a meeting in March between Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Mr Wong last visited China in May. He met Premier Li then and took over as co-chair of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) – the highest-level annual forum between the two nations – from Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.

The JCBC reviews the substantive collaboration between Singapore and China and charts the direction of cooperation.

Mr Wong will co-chair the 19th JCBC meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang in Tianjin on Dec 7.

At the last JCBC meeting in November 2022, Singapore and China signed 19 agreements – the most in recent years – that covered areas like e-commerce, tourism exchanges, green development and green finance.

Mr Wong and Vice Premier Ding will also co-chair the 24th China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Joint Steering Council (JSC), the 15th Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City JSC, and the 7th China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Cooperation JSC.

These JSCs review the progress of and discuss further cooperation on the three flagship government-to-government projects.

On top of that, Mr Wong will have a bilateral meeting with Vice Premier Ding.

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2023-12-05 04:00:23Z
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Israel intensifies southern Gaza offensive; US, UN urge civilian protection - The Straits Times

GAZA – Israeli forces pressed ahead with their air and ground bombardment of the southern Gaza Strip, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians.

The United States and the United Nations have repeatedly urged the Israeli military to protect civilians.

Israel’s closest ally, the US, has said the Israeli offensive in the south should not repeat the “massive” civilian toll it has had in the north.

But residents and journalists on the ground said the intense air strikes in the south included areas where Israel had told people to seek shelter.

At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to Israel to avoid further action that would make the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza worse, and to spare civilians from more suffering.

“The secretary-general is extremely alarmed by the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hamas... For people ordered to evacuate, there is nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Israel largely captured the northern half of Gaza in November.

Since a week-long truce collapsed on Dec 1, the Israelis have swiftly pushed deep into the southern half.

About 900 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes since the truce ended, Gaza health authorities said.

Hamas ally Islamic Jihad’s armed wing said its fighters engaged in fierce clashes with Israeli soldiers north and east of Khan Younis, Gaza’s main southern city.

Israeli tanks have driven into Gaza across the border and cut off the main north-south route, residents said.

The Israeli military said the central road out of Khan Younis to the north “constitutes a battlefield” and was now shut.

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2023-12-04 21:28:26Z
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Tourist dies hours after completing 233m bungee jump from Macau Tower: Report - CNA

A 56-year-old Japanese tourist died hours after completing a bungee jump from Macau Tower on Sunday (Dec 3), according to local media reports. 

Hong Kong news site HK01 reported that the man felt breathless after completing the 233m jump at about 4.30pm.

The man, who had no visible injuries, was then taken to Conde S Januario Hospital after he stopped breathing. He was later pronounced dead. 

The popular attraction at Macau Tower is run by Skypark by AJ Hackett. The Skypark website bills the facility as the world's highest commercial bungee jump. 

Each jump costs 2,888 Macanese Pataca (US$359) per participant. 

Besides bungee jumping, other activities operated by AJ Hackett include a Skywalk experience on a platform around the tower, as well as a climb to the summit of the tower's mast at 338m. 

On its website, Skypark by AJ Hackett states that prospective participants should disclose their relevant medical conditions, including high blood pressure, epilepsy, neurological conditions, asthma, and physical disabilities. 

According to the activity's listing on Klook, a travel and services booking platform, participants are required to sign a liability waiver form that notifies them of the risks of the activity. If the participant is a minor, a parent or a legal guardian must sign the waiver form on their behalf. 

The activity is also not recommended for people with certain medical conditions such as high blood pressure or epilepsy. 

CNA has contacted AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand, which runs the facility, for more information. 

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2023-12-04 14:36:46Z
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France urges Beijing to help avert 'crisis' in South China Sea - CNA

"Calm and stability must prevail in the Taiwan Strait, and certainly the world doesn't need a new crisis," she added.

Colonna stressed China should be free to pursue its "economic rise", but that in exchange it needed to meet international expectations on issues such as human rights.

"For all these reasons we will keep engaging China constructively, and there are actually encouraging signs," she said.

"Our efforts are paying off somehow and creating positive trends of cooperation."

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, including waters and islands close to the shores of its neighbours.

The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have also staked claims to various islands and reefs in the sea, which is believed to contain rich petroleum reserves.

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2023-12-04 06:51:14Z
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11 hikers dead after Indonesia volcano erupts, dozen still missing - CNA

A clip shared with AFP showed a rescue worker with a flashlight strapped to his head piggybacking a hiker, who moans in pain and says "God is greatest" as she is led to safety in the darkness of night.

Zhafirah Zahrim Febrina, one of the rescued hikers, is shown in a video message from the volcano desperately appealing to her mother for help.

The 19-year-old student appeared shocked, her face burnt and her hair matted with thick grey ash.

"Mom, help Ife. This is Ife's situation right now," she said, referring to her nickname.

She is now in a nearby hospital with her father and uncle after being trapped on the mountain on a hiking trip with 18 school friends.

"She is going through a tremendous trauma," said her mother Rani Radelani, 39.

"She is affected psychologically because she saw her burns, and she also had to endure the pain all night."

"TREMENDOUS TRAUMA"

Local rescue agency spokesperson Jodi Haryawan said the rescue efforts had been broken up by sporadic eruptions but the search was still going despite the risks.

"Once it was safer they continued the search. So the search was not halted," he told AFP.

Rudy Rinaldi, head of the West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency, told AFP some of the rescued hikers had suffered burns.

"Those who are injured were the ones who got closer to the crater," he said.

At least eight people suffered burns, one had burns and a fracture and another had a head wound, according to a list of those found from Basarnas, a national search and rescue agency, seen by AFP.

Ahmad Rifandi, an official at the Mount Marapi monitoring station, told AFP that ash rain was observed after the eruption and had reached Bukittinggi, the third-largest city in West Sumatra that has a population of more than 100,000.

The plume of smoke and ash blocked out the sun after the eruption and coated nearby cars, scooters and ambulances.

Marapi is on the second alert level of Indonesia's four-step system and authorities have imposed a three-kilometre exclusion zone around its crater.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

The Southeast Asian country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

As the search goes on for the missing 12 hikers, Febrina's family was relieved she was one of the lucky ones.

Good news arrived in the form of a livestream on video app TikTok by a member of the rescue services, in which Radelani saw her visibly shaken daughter.

"It felt incredible, praise God she has been found," Radelani said.

"If she asks me to allow her to climb a mountain, I'll say no."

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2023-12-04 06:32:24Z
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