Ismail Sabri clocks in at Perdana Putra for first day of work as Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has clocked in at Perdana Putra in Putrajaya on Monday (Aug 23) for his first day of work as the Prime Minister. He is scheduled to make his first official visit as the Prime Minister on Monday to the Merbok and Kuala Muda districts of Kedah, which have both been declared Level One disaster areas due to flash floods. Ismail Sabri is expected to visit several flood-hit areas and meet with families affected by the disaster. This comes after his maiden speech as the Prime Minister on Sunday in which he asked for everyone to work as one “Malaysian Family” to join in the recovery of the nation and fight the Covid-19 pandemic together. Ismail Sabri was sworn in as Malaysia’s ninth Prime Minister last Saturday (Aug 21) before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara. (The Star)
Ismail Sabri calls on Malaysian Family to jointly revive country
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob introduced the concept of the Malaysian Family by urging the people of various religions, races and ethnicities to help the nation recover from the current economic and health situation. Ismail Sabri in his maiden speech after taking his oath as the ninth Prime Minister, said he is using the concept of the Malaysian Family, as it it is more inclusive and cuts across religious, racial and ethnic boundaries. “As such the concept of the Malaysian Family is akin to the strength of a nation bound together by such values,” he said. In this regard, Ismail Sabri who is also Bera MP called on all Members of Dewan Rakyat whether within or outside of the Government to work together to help the nation recover. (The Edge)
PM: Govt focuses on restoring consumer purchasing power, reviving private sector
The government will focus on achieving two main objectives in an effort to revive the country’s economy, including restoring the well-being of the people in line with efforts to increase consumer purchasing power. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in an effort to reduce the long-term economic impact of Covid-19, the government would also focus on reviving the private sector as a driver of economic growth. “Some are still struggling while others have gone bankrupt. This has a huge impact on the people’s economy and the country,” he said. In this regard, he said the focus of the new government’s efforts will be on Malaysians who have lost their jobs and their only source of income, middle-income Malaysians, small and medium industries as well as industrial sectors which include domestic tourism. “The whole aim is to strengthen the country’s economic fundamentals and restore Malaysia’s competitiveness as a major investment destination in the Southeast Asian region,” he added. (Malay Mail)
MIEA debunk report on property value moving towards half-price
The Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) has debunked the notion of property value moving towards half-price as reported. President Chan Ai Cheng said the two properties mentioned in the publication were isolated cases and should not be used as a yardstick for the property market in the country. “The majority of developers do offer discounts but not as dramatic as reported. In a recent poll conducted by MIEA with real estate practitioners who are on the ground and know exactly the happenings revealed no such evidence,” she said. She said developers have no intention of reviewing their selling prices as demand is strong, especially in established localities and in new well-planned townships. “Though admittedly the growth rate over the past three years has been less than 5% due to the challenges in the property market, the key takeaway is that the Malaysian property market is resilient,” she added. (The Edge)
Appeal for valuation businesses to be allowed to operate, RM15 bil in real estate funds in limbo
Six professional bodies from the real estate and construction sectors are calling for their valuation and surveyor businesses to be allowed to operate again. They are the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM), Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector Malaysia (PEPS), Malaysian Institute of Property and Facility Managers (MIPFM), Malaysian Institute of Professional Estate Agents and Consultants (MIPEAC), Business Valuers Association Malaysia (BVAM) and Persatuan Perunding Hartanah Muslim Malaysia (PEHAM). “We are one of the [key] services in the loan and financing industry. For loans to be dispersed, valuations need to be done. Thus, a lot of loans have been halted now because we are not allowed to operate our businesses [due to MCO]. We estimated [conservatively] that there have been over 30,000 cases since June this year. Assuming that each case is around RM500,000, that is equivalent to RM15 billion of funds currently in limbo and unable to be dispersed, and this is only looking at residential and commercial projects,” said PEPS president Michael Kong said. The professional bodies represent property surveyors, quantity surveyors, geomatics and land surveyors, building surveyors, valuers, appraisers, estate agents, real estate negotiators, property managers and property consultants across the nation. Among the solutions proposed by the professional bodies are for virtual inspections to be accepted and for skeleton staff to be allowed to work from their respective offices on a staggered basis. (The Edge)
Walk-in vaccinations still allowed for M’sians
Malaysians can still walk in for their jabs at 13 vaccination centres (PPV) in the Klang Valley from today, says the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF). However, foreigners will now have to make an appointment. It also announced that walk-in for foreigners at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium PPV would cease today, adding that those who wanted to get vaccination would first need to make an appointment. “This is so that the vaccination process of foreigners, which has seen good response, is carried out in a safer and more comfortable manner,” said CITF amid reports and complaints of overcrowding at the Bukit Jalil PPV. On walk-in for Malaysians, those who missed their appointment for second dose can go to any of the PPV listed to complete their vaccination. As of yesterday, 12 PPV had closed in the Klang Valley while another 21 will be closed between today and Aug 29. Seven of these are public PPV. The government has yet to decide on the need for a third booster shot as well as vaccination for those between 12 and 17. (The Star)
JKJAV: Over 55% of Malaysia’s adult population fully vaccinated as of yesterday
Some 55.6% of the country’s adult population, or 13,022,246 individuals, have completed both doses of the Covid-19 vaccination as of yesterday, according to the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV). The committee’s official Twitter also showed that 18,258,947 individuals had received the first dose of the vaccine, making the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) to 31,281,193 doses. On the daily vaccination, 441,100 doses of the vaccine were dispensed yesterday, with 303,545 being the first dose. (Malay Mail)
New norm could remain in Malaysia for years despite vaccination, say experts
While Malaysia and the world racing to vaccinate their way towards herd immunity and restoring normalcy, infectious disease and epidemiology experts said that society should brace for life with Covid-19 at least for the medium term. Malaysia has accelerated the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to vaccinate the entire adult population by October, but experts cautioned that this alone would not herald the end of the world-stopping pandemic given current circumstances. They see existing safeguards like regular sanitisation, face masks, and physical distancing to remain for the foreseeable future, along with possible additions such as frequent testing and vaccine boosters even after so-called “herd immunity” is achieved. The experts predicted that 2022 would not yet resemble pre-pandemic times as Covid-19 and its variants would still not have been eradicated. This view has been supported by recent Health Ministry data, which showed that over one in five new Covid-19 cases involved those with a history of vaccination. “In time, Covid-19 may also become like the other two endemic coronaviruses and be part of the yearly mix of viral colds,” said immunopathology specialist Prof Sibrandes Poppema. (Malay Mail)
