Renew licence, road tax by Aug 31
Malaysians have less than two weeks to renew their expired road tax and driving licence before the Aug 31 deadline after an abeyance for renewals was granted during the MCO period. Road Transport Department (JPJ) director-general Datuk Seri Shaharuddin Khalid assured the public that future changes would not be made abruptly. There are 855 JPJ counters nationwide, open seven days a week to allow people to renew their driving licence and road tax. The public would also be able to renew their road tax online via mySikap and get it delivered to their homes by Pos Malaysia beginning July 1. (The Star Online)
Sports, co-curricular activities allowed in schools from Sept 1
The government has decided to allow sports and co-curricular activities in schools from Sept 1 onwards, said Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob. He said parents would have to provide a written letter of permission allowing their children to participate in these activities. SOPs include a capacity limit for shower and changing rooms and physical distancing of one to three metres for static activities and three to five metres for dynamic activities. “By Sept 1, the full detailed SOP will be made available on the National Security Council (NSC) and education ministry’s websites,” he said. He added that these activities must comply with the guidelines prepared by the NSC as well as the health, education and youth and sports ministries. (Free Malaysia Today)
IBS reduces reliance on foreign labour – Fadillah
Reliance on foreign labour, especially in the construction sector, can be reduced if the use of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) is optimised, said Senior Minister (Infrastructure) Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. He said this was especially so in these challenging times due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, where a study by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) also found that some contractors could not resume their projects due to lack of foreign labour. Fadillah said the use of IBS could also increase productivity rates by more than double or 70% compared to conventional methods in construction projects and therefore was vital in the productivity of the construction industry. (Bernama)
Ministry to pay compensation for 24 PR1MA projects cancelled
The Housing and Local Government Ministry will pay compensation for the 24 development projects under PR1MA Corporation Malaysia (PR1MA) that have been cancelled, said Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin. She said the compensation payment depends on the value of the land for the area involved. “Most of the land was purchased by the ministry. “These projects were cancelled after it was discovered that the lands were not suitable, not strategic as they were far and there is no market value. We will see what can be done with the land,” she said. Earlier, Zuraida had informed that 24 PR1MA projects had been cancelled out of the total 94 projects, however, the remaining 70 would continue as planned. (Bernama)
Melaka monorail plans back on track
Attempts are being made to revive the Melaka Tourist Monorail service that recently came to a halt – one of countless times since debuting in 2010. Melaka Historic City Council mayor Datuk Zainal Abu said a new management company was being sourced to operate the service as part of the initiative to get it back on track. The previous company was unable to cope with the maintenance cost and low number of tourists using the monorail before discontinuing the service since the MCO began in March. The state government had spent millions of ringgit to introduce the service, which circles the scenic Sungai Melaka on a 1.6km rail line. The RM16.5mil monorail service was launched in October 2010 and reportedly came to a halt just hours after opening with 20 passengers on board. The service resumed on and off between 2011 and 2013. It then went on hiatus for four years until it was revived in December 2017, with tickets priced between RM10 and RM15. (The Star Online)
