KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 9.6 million people or 30 per cent of Malaysia’s population are expected to be vaccinated against COVID-19 next year, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Saturday (Nov 28).
He noted that the government has signed two agreements for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
In addition to the agreement with Pfizer that was announced on Friday, the prime minister said Malaysia has inked an agreement with the COVAX facility to get enough vaccines for 10 per cent of the country's population.
Malaysia will receive the vaccine supply in stages from the first quarter of 2021, he said during his speech at the annual general assembly of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) which was held virtually this year in light of COVID-19.
Muhyiddin, who is Bersatu president, said he is confident that with access to these vaccines and the continued efforts to break the chain of infection, Malaysia can bring the outbreak of the disease under control.
He also stressed the importance of collaboration with countries in the region to fight COVID-19 and revive the economy, as well as ensuring equitable access to the vaccine.
In his speech, the prime minister added that he hopes budget 2021, which was passed at the policy stage on Thursday, would be passed by Dewan Rakyat (lower house) and subsequently Dewan Negara to ensure that the target of extending aid to the affected groups can be achieved.
He added that Malaysia will hold a general election when the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
"God willing, when COVID-19 is over, we will hold a general election," he added. "We will return the mandate to the people and leave it to them to choose which government they want."
Malaysia on Friday announced that it 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.
Muhyiddin said Malaysia would prioritise high-risk groups, including frontliners, senior citizens, as well as those with non-communicable diseases such as heart diseases and diabetes.
Malaysia, which will distribute the vaccine to its people for free, is facing a new wave of COVID-19 infections with cumulative cases rising more than four-fold since September to more than 63,000 as of Saturday.
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 9.6 million people or 30 per cent of Malaysia’s population are expected to be vaccinated against COVID-19 next year, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Saturday (Nov 28).
He noted that the government has signed two agreements for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
In addition to the agreement with Pfizer that was announced on Friday, the prime minister said Malaysia has inked an agreement with the COVAX facility to get enough vaccines for 10 per cent of the country's population.
Malaysia will receive the vaccine supply in stages from the first quarter of 2021, he said during his speech at the annual general assembly of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) which was held virtually this year in light of COVID-19.
Muhyiddin, who is Bersatu president, said he is confident that with access to these vaccines and the continued efforts to break the chain of infection, Malaysia can bring the outbreak of the disease under control.
He also stressed the importance of collaboration with countries in the region to fight COVID-19 and revive the economy, as well as ensuring equitable access to the vaccine.
In his speech, the prime minister added that he hopes budget 2021, which was passed at the policy stage on Thursday, would be passed by Dewan Rakyat (lower house) and subsequently Dewan Negara to ensure that the target of extending aid to the affected groups can be achieved.
He added that Malaysia will hold a general election when the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
"God willing, when COVID-19 is over, we will hold a general election," he added. "We will return the mandate to the people and leave it to them to choose which government they want."
Malaysia on Friday announced that it 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.
Muhyiddin said Malaysia would prioritise high-risk groups, including frontliners, senior citizens, as well as those with non-communicable diseases such as heart diseases and diabetes.
Malaysia, which will distribute the vaccine to its people for free, is facing a new wave of COVID-19 infections with cumulative cases rising more than four-fold since September to more than 63,000 as of Saturday.
HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she has "piles of cash" at home, as she has no bank account after the United States slapped sanctions on her in response to a draconian security law China imposed on the city.
The move by Washington freezes the American assets of the 15 officials and criminalises any financial transactions in the US.
In an interview with local English TV channel HKIBC aired on Friday (Nov 27) night, Mrs Lam said she was "using cash every day for all the things" after being sanctioned.
"Sitting in front of you is a chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region) who has no banking service made available to her," Mrs Lam told HKIBC.
"I have piles of cash at home, the government is paying me cash for my salary," she added.
Mrs Lam added that it was "very honourable" to be "unjustifiably sanctioned" by the US government and does not want to deter anyone from serving in public office.
Earning HK$5.21 million (S$900,000) a year, Mrs Lam is one of the highest paid leaders in the world.
Her remarks sparked a public backlash, with social media users posting photos of coins in their piggy banks at home to contrast with Mrs Lam's wealth.
Others questioned how her large salary would be transported to her residence in cash.
Mrs Lam had told media in August that she faced "a little bit of inconvenience" from the sanctions which hampered her use of credit cards.
DUBAI (REUTERS) - An Iranian scientist long suspected by the West of masterminding a secret nuclear bomb programme was killed in an ambush near Teheran on Friday (Nov 27) that could provoke confrontation between Iran and its foes in the last weeks of Mr Donald Trump’s presidency.
The death of Dr Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who Iranian media said died in hospital after armed assassins gunned him down in his car, will also complicate any effort by United States President-elect Joe Biden to revive the detente of Mr Barack Obama’s presidency.
Iran pointed the finger at Israel, while implying the killing had the blessing of the departing Mr Trump. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter of “serious indications of (an) Israeli role”.
The military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to “strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr”.
“In the last days of the political life of their... ally (Trump), the Zionists seek to intensify pressure on Iran and create a full-blown war,” Mr Hossein Dehghan tweeted.
Channels of the Telegram encrypted messaging app believed to be close to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards reported that the top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, convened an emergency meeting with senior military commanders present.
Israel declined to comment. The White House, Pentagon, US State Department and CIA also declined to comment, as did Mr Biden’s transition team.
Dr Fakhrizadeh has been described by Western and Israeli intelligence services for years as the mysterious leader of a covert atomic bomb programme halted in 2003, which Israel and the US accuse Teheran of trying to restore.
Iran has long denied seeking to weaponise nuclear energy.
“Unfortunately, the medical team did not succeed in reviving (Fakhrizadeh), and a few minutes ago, this manager and scientist achieved the high status of martyrdom after years of effort and struggle,” Iran’s armed forces said in a statement.
The semi-official news agency Tasnim said terrorists blew up another car before firing on a vehicle carrying Dr Fakhrizadeh and his bodyguards in an ambush outside the capital.
In the aftermath, there was a heavy presence of security forces stopping cars in Teheran in an apparent search for the killers, witnesses said.
Mr Trump, who lost his re-election bid to Mr Biden on Nov 3 and leaves office on Jan 20, pulled the US from a deal reached under Mr Obama, his predecessor, that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.
Mr Biden has said he will aim to restore that agreement, although many analysts say this will be a challenging goal.
Mr Robert Malley, who served as Iran adviser to Mr Obama and has informally advised Mr Biden’s team, said Dr Fakhrizadeh’s killing was among a series of moves that have occurred during Mr Trump’s final weeks that appear aimed at making it harder for Mr Biden to re-engage with Iran.
“One purpose is simply to inflict as much damage to Iran economically and to its nuclear programme while they can, and the other could be to complicate President Biden’s ability to resume diplomacy and resume the nuclear deal,” said Mr Malley, adding that he would not speculate on who was behind Friday’s killing.
A US official confirmed this month that Mr Trump asked military aides for a plan for a possible strike on Iran. Mr Trump decided against it to avoid a wider Middle East conflict.
In January, Mr Trump ordered a US drone strike in Baghdad that killed Major-General Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s most powerful military commander. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a US base in Iraq.
US Senator Chris Murphy, the top Democrat on the US Senate’s Middle East subcommittee, said on Twitter that “this assassination does not make America, Israel or the world safer”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged restraint to avoid an escalation of tensions, his spokesman said.
Iran’s UN envoy, Mr Majid Takht Ravanchi, said in a letter to Mr Guterres that Teheran “reserves its rights to take all necessary measures” to defend itself. He also called on the UN Security Council to condemn the killing and take steps “against its perpetrators".
‘Remember that name’
Dr Fakhrizadeh had no public profile, but was thought to have headed what the UN nuclear watchdog and US intelligence services believe was a coordinated nuclear weapons programme in Iran, shelved in 2003.
He was the only Iranian scientist named in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 2015 “final assessment” of open questions about Iran’s nuclear programme. The report said he oversaw activities “in support of a possible military dimension to (Iran’s) nuclear programme”.
He was a central figure in a presentation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018 accusing Iran of continuing to seek nuclear weapons.
“Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh,” Mr Netanyahu said at the time.
Mr Michael Mulroy, a senior Pentagon official earlier during Mr Trump’s administration, said Dr Fakhrizadeh’s killing would set back Iran’s nuclear programme and alert levels should be raised in countries where Iran could retaliate.
Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hizbollah movement, blamed the “heinous attack” on “those sponsored by America and Israel” in an interview with Al Manar television and said the response was in Iran’s hands.
During the final months of Mr Trump’s presidency, Israel has been making peace with Gulf Arab states that share hostility towards Iran.
This week, Mr Netanyahu travelled to Saudi Arabia and met its crown prince, an Israeli official said, in what would be the first publicly confirmed visit by an Israeli leader. Israeli media said they were joined by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
JAKARTA: With the majority of their occupants studying remotely from home, the neighbourhoods near one of Indonesia’s most prestigious universities appeared quiet and desolate.
Outside the gates of University of Indonesia – a vast, 320ha campus located just south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta – dormitories and houses for rent have been mostly vacant since the university decided to cancel all in-person classes in March following the COVID-19 outbreak.
“This place has been vacant for months,” Ahmad Fathony, a keeper at an all-male dormitory in Kukusan area, told CNA. “I only come here twice a day, in the morning to turn off the lights and in the afternoon to turn the lights back on.”
Before the pandemic, the sub-district of Kukusan in the Jakarta suburb of Depok was buzzing with students who frequented its many restaurants, shops, mini marts and cafes.
Thousands, mainly students from the university’s engineering and economics faculties nearby, lived in hundreds of dormitories, rented rooms and houses which occupy almost every corner of Kukusan down to its labyrinthine alleyways.
Shops and dormitories in Kukusan have been left vacant since University of Indonesia moved classes online due to the pandemic. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)
That number had dwindled to just a few hundred, locals and students estimated.
“In my dormitory, out of the 29 rooms available, only three are occupied,” Faundra Ikhsan, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student told CNA.
Ikhsan’s dormitory, known locally as “kost”, sits right at the edge of the University of Indonesia campus. The further the dormitories are from the university gates, the lower the occupancy rate.
Many dormitories have shuttered doors and padlocked fences with tall unkempt grasses and shrubs on their front lawns, an indication that not a soul was inside. Cafes and laundromats have also closed with little signs of reopening.
Shuttered shops and restaurants in Kukusan area in the suburbs of Jakarta. The area's economy is largely dependent on students from University of Indonesia. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)
While shops and restaurants still opened during the day to cater to university staffers, security guards and students, all economic activities ceased after dark. This is despite the fact that a new semester has begun, after a break in July and August.
“It can get really quiet at night. After 8pm no one is outside and Kukusan resembles a ghost town,” 22-year-old Ikhsan said.
UNCERTAIN TIMES
“Do you know when the campus will reopen?”
Mulyadi, who runs a tiny restaurant and a stall at the engineering faculty’s cafeteria, asked the same question every time a student or campus security guard dropped by for a meal.
It is a question which has been lingering in his mind for months, but no one has an answer.
Food vendor Mulyadi said his income has dropped by 80 per cent ever since students from University of Indonesia began studying remotely due to the pandemic. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)
The 47-year-old, who like many Indonesians goes with one name, had closed down his business earlier when the university decided to cease all in-person classes indefinitely. He laid off two of his workers and went back to his village in West Sumatra province.
“There was nothing to do back in my village. After a few months, I decided to return even though I knew the students were gone,” he said.
He returned to Kukusan in July and to his surprise there were still students from outside Jakarta who decided to stay put because of better Internet access. There were also staffers who work every other day on campus. The campus cafeteria is still closed.
The cafeteria at University of Indonesia's engineering faculty has been closed since the university decided to cease all in-person classes to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)
“My daily income has dwindled. I used to make 2 million rupiah ($142) a day. Now I make 400,000 rupiah a day. After rent and other expenses, I barely break even,” Mulyadi said.
Other businesses in Kukusan are also suffering.
Nina Rahman, 55, said her 15-room dormitory has been a money pit since the pandemic began and she is considering selling the property.
“I have tried slashing down the rental but no one is interested. My dormitory is a bit secluded and it is an old building. I cannot compete with newer and fancier dormitories who sit right in front of the (campus) gates,” she told CNA.
“The cost to maintain the place, the bills, the property tax, it’s just too much for a widow like me. I hope the campus reopens or someone would just take the property off my hands. Whichever happens sooner.”
The Ministry of Education has said that only schools and universities located in the green and yellow zones are allowed to reopen. A green zone is an area with zero new cases in a 14-day period while a yellow zone is an area with only a handful of imported cases and no local transmission.
The city of Depok, where the university is located, is considered a red zone with a high number of local transmissions.
SOME FIND REMOTE LEARNING CHALLENGING
The University of Indonesia campus grounds felt even more deserted than Kukusan. Aside from a few security guards and janitors roaming around as well as a handful of students who needed to use the laboratories, there was hardly anyone else there.
“Before (the pandemic), it's only ever gotten this quiet during school breaks,” Ova Candra Dewi, an architecture lecturer told CNA.
The main lobby of University of Indonesia's engineering faculty has been largely quiet ever since students began studying remotely due to the pandemic. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)
Her department used to be filled with students staying until late – sometimes overnight – building architecture models, making technical drawings and getting ready for their presentations.
That all changed in mid-March when the university announced that it was ceasing all in-person classes to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The announcement, Dewi said, was made on a Friday on Mar 13 and was effective next Monday.
“We only had one weekend to devise ways to conduct classes, how students should submit assignments and do consultation for their thesis and final presentation. We scrambled to get the system ready,” she said.
“No matter how much preparation we did, there were always glitches and unforeseen issues. It was a struggle for both students and lecturers. It took time to get used to the system in place today.”
A view of the mechanical engineering department building at University of Indonesia. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)
But studying remotely is not for everyone.
“Online learning is for those privileged enough to have a steady Internet access,” 19-year-old geophysics student Syauqi Muhammad told CNA.
When the university decided to put in-person classes on hold, Muhammad returned to his parent’s home, a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride away from the University of Indonesia. But the Internet connection in his small town is patchy at best.
“That’s why this semester I decided to live near campus again. I can get a steady Internet connection here. I can also go to the campus to get free Wi-Fi,” he said.
Geophysics student Syauqi Muhammad said he chose to stay at a dormitory because the Internet connection in his hometown is patchy. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)
But even with good Internet connection, remote learning is not completely effective.
“On one hand we are happy that learning becomes more flexible. But on the other hand, some subjects require us to do lab work. If lab work is performed by others on a live stream, how are we able to understand?” industrial engineering student Ananda Pasha told CNA.
Although Pasha’s house is just a short train ride away from University of Indonesia, the 22-year-old said that he has only been to campus twice to do some lab work during the pandemic.
“I miss going to campus, but none of my friends are there so I see no reason why I should go there more often.”
A QUIET PLACE
Mechanical engineering student Ikhsan said he chose to stay in Kukusan because he needs to spend a lot of time in the lab for his thesis.
Ikhsan said he was initially quite scared about going to campus as Depok, where the first three COVID-19 cases in Indonesia were reported, is still considered a hotbed for COVID-19 infection.
The condition is a far cry from his native city of Serang, three hours away from the campus. On Nov 18, Serang reported just 11 new infections, while Depok had 120 new cases.
“In August, I started to come to campus and stayed at a friend’s place. In September, I started coming more frequently. In October, I decided to again rent my own place in Kukusan,” he said.
Mechanical engineering student Faundra Ikhsan chose to live near University of Indonesia because his thesis require him to spend a lot of time at the laboratories. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)
Ikhsan said the majority of those who chose to stay in Kukusan are final year students and those who are from outside of Jakarta. He is both.
“Internet connection in my hometown is fine. But it is just more practical for me to stay in Kukusan. Because of my thesis, I need to use the labs, I need to visit the library and most importantly, there is less distraction here,” he said.
But staying in Kukusan made him feel quite isolated.
“Before the pandemic, there can be dozens of people using this one lab. We can ask each other questions, discuss ideas and consult lab technicians and lecturers about our findings. Now, there is only four of us here, two undergrads and two graduate students,” he said.
“At night, the whole campus and the surrounding neighbourhoods are very quiet. All the restaurants and shops are closed. The students who live in Jakarta have all gone home.”
Individually-run dormitories in Kukusan area have been largely deserted ever since students from University of Indonesia began studying remotely due to the pandemic. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)
Muhammad, the geophysics student, also shared the feeling of loneliness.
“Before this, I could hang out with my friends, go to campus together, dine out together. The neighbourhood was pretty much alive even at midnight,” he said.
“Now, I do everything on my own. It’s quite sad actually. I hope everything returns to normal soon.”
WASHINGTON: A federal appeals court on Friday (Nov 27) rejected an attempt by US President Donald Trump's campaign to block President-elect Joe Biden from being declared the winner of Pennsylvania, dealing another significant setback to Trump's bid to overturn the Nov 3 election.
"Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so," wrote Stephanos Bibas on behalf of a three-judge panel.
"Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here," wrote Bibas, who was nominated by Trump.
"On to SCOTUS!" wrote Jenna Ellis, a Trump campaign attorney, on Twitter after the ruling, referring to a planned appeal to the US Supreme Court. "The activist judicial machinery in Pennsylvania continues to cover up the allegations of massive fraud."
Pennsylvania certified Biden, who won the state by 80,000 votes, as its winner this week. Under Pennsylvania law, the candidate who wins the popular vote in the state gets all of the state's 20 electoral votes.
Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede to his Democratic rival and continues to claim, without evidence, widespread voter fraud.
Biden won the election 306-232 in electoral votes, including Pennsylvania's 20. Even if Trump overturned the outcome in Pennsylvania, he would still need to reverse the result in at least two other states to remain as president.
TIME RUNNING OUT
While Trump and his supporters continue to wage legal battles, time is running out as states as states have until Dec 8 to resolve election disputes.
Legal experts have said the cases have no chance of success and may be aimed at undermining confidence in the election. Polls have showed a majority of Republicans believe Trump won the election and many believe the election was tainted, despite a lack of evidence.
Soon after Friday's ruling, Trump posted a video from Newsmax on Twitter about alleged voter fraud in Nevada.
The Trump campaign filed the Pennsylvania case earlier this month, saying that county election officials had treated mail-in ballots inconsistently and asking US District Judge Matthew Brann to halt certification of the results.
Some counties had allowed voters to fix minor deficiencies with their ballots, such as a missing "secrecy envelope", while others did not.
Brann dismissed the case on Nov 21, saying the case was based on "strained legal arguments" and "speculative accusations."
The Trump campaign said it appealed on the “narrow” question of whether Brann improperly refused to let it amend the lawsuit a second time.
The campaign wants to add back allegations it dropped from the case, including a claim that its due process rights were violated.
The appeals court said many of the claims by Trump campaign are matters of Pennsylvania law but noted the campaign already lost on those issues in state court.
"It never alleges that anyone treated the Trump campaign or Trump votes worse than it treated the Biden campaign or Biden votes," said the opinion. "The campaign's claims have no merit."
The other judges on the panel, Brooks Smith and Michael Chagares, were nominated by George W Bush, a Republican.
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.
