COVID-19, postponement of general election among Parliament highlights
The first day sitting of the Third Meeting of the Third Term of the 14th Parliament today will provide answers to the many questions on COVID-19 and efforts by the government to address the pandemic, as well as matters on the general election. Most of the early questions to be raised during the session are on COVID-19. On the election issue, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is scheduled answer on whether the government intends to amend the Constitution or formulate a special bill to allow the general election to be postponed during the pandemic. The session will also focus on the economic impact of COVID-19 on individuals, households and business companies, as well as government policies and measures in driving the country’s economy. The Parliament sitting today will also see the tabling of the Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Bill 2020 and the Factory and Machinery Bill (Repeal) 2020 for the first reading. The Third Session of the Third Term of the 14th Parliament will be for 27 days with Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz scheduled to present the 2021 Budget this Friday. (Bernama)
CMCO: Maximum 4 per table in Selangor, KL, Putrajaya; takeaway only for Sabah
The National Security Council (NSC) has released its latest version of the standard operating procedures for the conditional movement control order (CMCO) that has been imposed on the Klang Valley and Sabah until November 9, including whether dining-in is allowed. Food purchase via drive-through, delivery or takeaway is encouraged, while dining-in is allowed in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya with a maximum of four people to one table with physical distancing and SOPs. For Sabah, food purchase is limited to only drive-through, delivery and takeaway, while dining-in is not allowed. Click here for the NSC’s separate set of SOPs for the Klang Valley and Sabah for the extended CMCO period from October 27 until November 9. (Malay Mail)
Police urge landlords in Malaysia to check tenants’ backgrounds
Police have reminded the public not to only think of financial gains when renting out their houses. Iskandar Puteri District Police chief ACP Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said this was because there have been cases where landlords knew nothing about the background or activities conducted by their tenants to the point where they were oblivious that their residence had been used to conduct criminal activities. He said this was proven yet again through the exposure of a syndicate conducting online gambling when police raided a rented house in Taman Bukit Indah. The syndicate used the rented house as a gambling call centre to rake in daily transactions of around RM6,000 from 20 to 30 gamblers. Dzulkhairi said further investigations would be carried out under Section 4(1)(g) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, while the landlord would be interviewed soon. “So, house owners please check the background and activities of your tenants. Do not allow your tenants to misuse your houses for illegal activities,” he said. (Malay Mail)
Johor to build digital centre in Iskandar Puteri
comprehensive digital centre or ‘Digital Enclave’ will be developed in Iskandar Puteri to realise digital development in the state. Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad said the effort was seen as being able to spur economic growth and making Johor competitive in technology infrastructure. “While this is not an initiative at the moment, I will discuss with Iskandar Investment Berhad so that in the development of Iskandar Malaysia, we hasten the creation of a ‘Digital Enclave’ or a more comprehensive digital development centre,” he said, citing KL’s Plaza Low Yat as an example. Hasni also said that at the same time, the state government has given an assurance that it will simplify matters and reduce bureaucracy to facilitate investors and those who want to develop technology infrastructure in the state. (Bernama)
All Malaysian cinemas to close from November until further notice
Cinema operators in Malaysia, or the Malaysian Association Of Film Exhibitors (MAFE), have come to the decision to temporarily suspend operations at all their cinemas nationwide. This action will happen progressively in the month of November. GSC Cinemas and TGV Cinemas will cease operation on Nov 2 onwards, whereas other cinemas will suspend their movie screenings and concession operations sometime in the month as well. According to a press statement from MAFE,” the closure is a cohesive decision undertaken by the industry in light of the recent conditional MCO implementation, which requires cinemas to remain closed, coupled with a lack of new movies releases in the short term which are essential to attract moviegoers back to the cinemas.” The cinema industry has taken a hit due to the pandemic suffering revenue losses of up to 90% year-on-year. All film exhibitors agree government assistance and rental support for the struggling industry are much needed. (The Star Online)
