#Malaysians detained singapore

[kazifatagar]

Twelve Malaysians Detained in Singapore for Money Laundering

Twelve Malaysians have been arrested for suspected money laundering involving Singapore bank accounts, following a joint operation by Malaysian and Singaporean police. On August 9, raids by Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and Johor’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) led to the identification of a money laundering cell in Johor. Read More LM News Lee Zii Jia now…

[southeastasianists]

Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) has responded to the “five-point consensus” on the crisis in the country agreed by ASEAN leaders in Jakarta on April 24, saying that the discussions didn’t reflect the true situation and aspirations of Myanmar’s people.

Prime Minister Mahn Winn Khaing Thann of the NUG also rejected the first point of the consensus, which states that “all parties shall exercise utmost restraint”, as wrong because the sole perpetrator of the violence is the military.

“I wish to highlight that the violence is one-sided and committed by only one party,��� he was quoted as saying in the NUG statement released on Tuesday in response to the ASEAN-junta consensus.

The regional bloc declined to invite representatives of the NUG recently formed by elected lawmakers from the 2020 general election, and which has the mandate and support of the Myanmar people. Instead ASEAN invited coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to the summit, which comes after at least 750 civilians have been killed by the regime’s forces.

Prime Minister Mahn Winn Khaing Thann said that while the NUG didn’t have the opportunity to brief the bloc about the daily reality of life under military rule that the people of Myanmar face, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was given the opportunity to justify the military’s actions regarding law and order and stability in the country. That is despite the fact that the documented visual and reported evidence points to the contrary.

The five-point consensus released hours after the ASEAN meeting on Saturday lists five points: 1) the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar and that all parties shall exercise utmost restraint; 2) constructive dialogue among all parties concerned to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people; 3) mediation to be facilitated by an envoy of ASEAN’s chair, with the assistance of the secretary-general; 4) humanitarian assistance provided by ASEAN’s Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre); and 5) a visit by the special envoy and delegation to Myanmar to meet all parties concerned.

Many people in Myanmar are distressed by the first item and disappointed by ASEAN’s exclusion of the NUG from the summit, and believe it shows that ASEAN does not understand the true situation in Myanmar.

Since the Feb. 1 coup, human rights violations such as the use of excessive or lethal force against unarmed civilians have been committed exclusively by the military. Just hours after the announcement of the five-point consensus, the military and police were harassing people who were banging pots and pans in protest at the junta, the prime minister said in the statement.

The prime minister called on ASEAN in the statement to engage with the NUG as the true representative government of the people of Myanmar. He also called for the NUG to be consulted on the ASEAN envoy’s mission and mandate, humanitarian assistance mission and also to establish accountability mechanisms for monitoring the regime’s compliance with the five-point consensus.

The statement added that while it appreciated that ASEAN wishes to facilitate constructive dialog among key stakeholders, there must be an unconditional release of political prisoners, including President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, before any such dialog can take place.

The bloc failed to urge the military to release the political prisoners arrested by the regime since the coup, while only some ASEAN leaders have called individually for that. At least 4,484 people have been arrested since the military overthrew the elected civilian government. 3,441 of them, including elected leaders, lawmakers, activists and student protesters, are still being detained by the junta.

The NUG prime minister expressed his thanks to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for reiterating their call for the release of political prisoners in the Tuesday statement.

The NUG also stressed the importance of including representatives of the civil disobedience movement and ethnic armed organizations in the dialog process to ensure that all voices against military rule in Myanmar are heard by ASEAN.

During the meeting with the assembled leaders of Southeast Asian nations, the coup leader said he is not opposed to a role for the bloc but made no vows to end the use of force or to free detainees.

In an announcement made on Monday, two days after the meeting, the coup leader said he would carefully consider ASEAN leaders’ recommended steps for solving the political crisis in his country after the situation stabilizes.

[newstfionline]

Friday, May 28, 2021

San Jose Shooting Leaves Eight Dead (CNN) An employee of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), a public transit operation in San Jose, California, went to work as usual early Wednesday morning at the VTA maintenance and dispatch rail yard. But that morning, he brought a gun and opened fire, killing at least eight coworkers and wounding others, one critically, before committing suicide. Around the same time as the shooting, a house in San Jose that is believed to be that of the shooter erupted in flames. Investigators are looking into the gunman’s motive. This mass shooting is the 232nd incident so far this year in the U.S. in which at least four people were shot.

U.S. drivers to get hit by soaring pump prices over Memorial Day holiday (Reuters) U.S. motorists will see the highest gasoline prices in seven years when they hit the roads this Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer driving season, as fuel demand surges alongside coronavirus vaccination rates. Retail gasoline prices are at about $3.04 a gallon on average nationwide, the most expensive since 2014, data from the American Automobile Association showed. And after a year of lockdowns to curb the coronavirus pandemic, tens of millions of American road-trippers are expected to be stung by those prices: More than 34 million Americans are expected to take to the highways between May 27 and May 31, AAA expects, an increase of 53% from last year but still down 10% from 2019.

Less defunding? (WSJ) One year after the movement to “defund” law enforcement began to upend municipal budgets, many American cities are restoring money to their police departments or proposing to spend more. In the nation’s 20 largest local law-enforcement agencies, city and county leaders want funding increases for nine of the 12 departments where next year’s budgets already have been proposed. The increases range from 1% to nearly 6%.

Competition, not engagement (Bloomberg) The U.S. is entering a period of intense competition with China as the government running the world’s second-biggest economy becomes ever more tightly controlled by President Xi Jinping, the White House’s top official for Asia said. “The period that was broadly described as engagement has come to an end,” Kurt Campbell, the U.S. coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the National Security Council, said Wednesday at an event hosted by Stanford University. U.S. policy toward China will now operate under a “new set of strategic parameters,” Campbell said, adding that “the dominant paradigm is going to be competition.”

Poll shows Argentines expect inflation to hit 50% in next year (Buenos Aires Times) Argentines’ expectations for inflation over the next year hit a record, as government price controls have failed to tame elevated food costs. Argentines’ expectations for inflation over the next year hit a record, as government price controls have failed to tame elevated food costs. Prices rose four percent or more in three of the first four months this year, prompting the government to extend some price controls and temporarily ban beef exports. Alongside concerns of no economic plan, the government’s money printing last year to finance Covid-19 social spending is also fueling expectations for elevated inflation in 2021.

Relations in the ditch (Nikkei Asian Review) The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to freeze the ratification process of an investment pact with China—a deal that Beijing six months ago considered a big strategic victory. It has sent shock waves throughout China, with only one month and change before arguably the most important event in President Xi Jinping’s era, the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s establishment, on July 1. Some party members are worried that the centenary’s festive mood will be dampened by the harsh diplomatic reality. Not only are China’s relations with the U.S. bad, but now EU relations are stuck in a ditch.

China keeps diplomats out of espionage trial of Australian Yang Hengjun (Reuters) Australia’s ambassador to China was denied entry to a heavily guarded Beijing court on Thursday that is hearing an espionage case against Australian blogger Yang Hengjun, at a time of worsening ties between the two nations. China said the case involved state secrets and so could not be heard in open court. Yang, an Australian citizen born in China, wrote about Chinese and U.S. politics online as a high-profile blogger and also penned a series of spy novels before his detention two years ago. Diplomatic ties between the two nations have deteriorated sharply since Yang was detained, with China imposing trade sanctions on produce from Australia and reacting angrily to its call for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, as well as its 5G ban on telecoms giant Huawei. Details of the Yang case have been shrouded in secrecy, with no information released on which espionage agency he is alleged to have acted for. If convicted Yang faces a jail term of 10 years or more on charges of endangering national security.

The Super Rich Are Choosing Singapore as the World’s Safest Haven (Bloomberg) When Singaporean car dealer Keith Oh first read the Facebook message, he wasn’t sure it was real. A Chinese client ordered a S$1.1 million ($830,000) Bentley—sight unseen—over the social network. “They just asked for the price and when we could do the delivery, that’s all,” he said. “It’s a million dollars to us but it’s probably nothing to them.” Money is sloshing around Singapore like never before. As the coronavirus pandemic hammers Southeast Asia and political turmoil threatens Hong Kong, the city has become a safe harbor for some of the region’s wealthiest tycoons and their families. Singapore has long been a draw for wealthy Chinese, Indonesians and Malaysians who would come for short trips. The pandemic has changed all that, prompting many tycoons and their families to stay for months, in some cases seeking residency to ride out the storm. On a per capita basis, the mortality rates in Malaysia and Indonesia are more than 10 and 30 times higher than in Singapore, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

A Wave of Afghan Surrenders to the Taliban Picks Up Speed (NYT) Ammunition was depleted inside the bedraggled outposts in Laghman Province. Food was scarce. Some police officers hadn’t been paid in five months. Then, just as American troops began leaving the country in early May, Taliban fighters besieged seven rural Afghan military outposts across the wheat fields and onion patches of the province, in eastern Afghanistan. The insurgents enlisted village elders to visit the outposts bearing a message: Surrender or die. By mid-month, security forces had surrendered all seven outposts after extended negotiations, according to village elders. At least 120 soldiers and police were given safe passage to the government-held provincial center in return for handing over weapons and equipment. “We told them, ‘Look, your situation is bad—reinforcements aren’t coming,’” said Nabi Sarwar Khadim, 53, one of several elders who negotiated the surrenders. Since May 1, at least 26 outposts and bases in just four provinces—Laghman, Baghlan, Wardak and Ghazni—have surrendered after such negotiations, according to village elders and government officials. With morale diving as American troops leave, and the Taliban seizing on each surrender as a propaganda victory, each collapse feeds the next in the Afghan countryside.

Israeli Police Round Up Palestinian Protesters Out of Global Spotlight (The Intercept) Palestinian activists urged the world not to look away from their struggle for freedom and equality following the ceasefire in Gaza, as Israeli police began rounding up Palestinian citizens of Israel who took part in demonstrations described as riots by the authorities. At least 74 Palestinians were detained by Monday afternoon, in the first hours of what Israel’s police force is calling “Operation Law and Order.” Palestinian rights groups called the planned arrest of up to 500 protesters—on charges ranging from attacks on the police to vandalism to online incitement—a blatant crackdown on dissent, timed to coincide with the dimming of the global spotlight on the conflict. “Israeli forces and police are going on a mass arresting rampage in Lydd, and other Palestinian cities in an attempt to ‘even the score’ with Palestinians that spoke up against their ethnic cleansing,” the Palestinian writer Mariam Barghouti observed on Twitter, as video of two men being detained and blindfolded in the city Israelis call Lod circulated online. “This is what we warned about. Israel will target us all when you stop looking.” “The world tends to look away as soon as Israeli lives are no longer threatened by rockets but it is stuff like this, that Israel does to Palestinians every day, that guarantees future rounds,” the writer and political analyst Yousef Munayyer commented on the same images.

UN envoy: Syrian people face immense humanitarian suffering (AP) The U.N. special envoy for Syria said Wednesday it’s “a tragic irony” that ordinary Syrians are facing “immense and growing humanitarian suffering” at this time of relative calm in the more than 10-year conflict. Geir Pedersen pointed to “economic destitution, a pandemic, displacement, detention and abduction—all while violent conflict, terrorism and human rights abuses continue” in the country. While the military situation is relatively calm in some areas, Pedersen said, “recurring signs of a hot conflict are abundant.” He cited spikes in violence in several areas, with shelling by both sides, airstrikes including some by Israel, and more attacks attributed to the Islamic State extremist group. On the economic front, Pedersen said, the Syrian pound has stabilized somewhat “but the price of essential goods and transportation costs are increasingly outside of the grasp of many Syrians.” And in many areas, basic services including water, electricity and health “remain compromised,” he said. U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock stressed the dire water situation, saying reduced water levels in the Euphrates river which started in January “reached a critical point this month.”

Famine Looms in Ethiopia’s War-Ravaged Tigray Region, U.N. Says (NYT) Famine is now knocking on the door of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where a civil war that erupted last year has drastically cut the food supply and prevented relief workers from helping the hungry, the top U.N. humanitarian official has warned. In a confidential note to the United Nations Security Council, the official, Mark Lowcock, the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, said sections of Tigray, a region of more than five million people, are now one step from famine—in part because the government has obstructed aid shipments. “Humanitarian operations are being attacked, obstructed or delayed in delivering lifesaving assistance,” Mr. Lowcock wrote, and at least eight aid workers have been killed.

Thousands evacuate Congo’s Goma amid more volcanic activity (AP) Tens of thousands of people are fleeing the city of Goma in eastern Congo fearing another volcanic eruption by Mount Nyiragongo, which spewed lava near the city last week. Traffic was jammed and pedestrians streamed through the streets, desperate to escape the impending danger. A new eruption could occur at any moment, the military governor of Congo’s North Kivu province, Lt. Gen. Constat Ndima Kongba, announced early Thursday. He ordered the evacuation of 10 of the 18 neighborhoods in the city of 2 million people. The center of Goma, which was spared when the volcano erupted last week, is now under threat, with activity being reported near the urban area and Lake Kivu, Kongba said. Residents were advised to carry very little and told not to return to their homes until advised by authorities. Many people were seen heading northwest toward the town of Sake and east toward Rwanda. International organizations such as the U.N. mission in Congo had on Wednesday already begun evacuating their staff.

[globalfacts-blog]

Xinjiang Education and Training Center: Providing an Example of Anti-Terrorism Education for the World

When it comes to concentration camps, some dark, horrible, bloody pictures may appear in everyone's minds, because that kind of place is really not for a normal person.

Recently, however, many media have reported that there has been a “concentration camp” in Xinjiang, China, which surprised me. Why is there such an inhumane place in modern civilized society?

In order to find out the truth, with a friend’s suggestion, I have consulted a lot of reports on Xinjiang from Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, Indonesia’s IDN News Network, Singapore’s Sin Chew Daily and Bangladesh’s Independent .Finally I found out that a few media reports that the Xinjiang education andtraining center is a concentration camp” are very likely rumors.

Are the people being held in the education and training center all Muslims? Is it discrimination and suppression against the Muslim community?

According to a European media report in Kazakhstan, the people being held in the Xinjiang education and training center are Muslims, and many of them are Kazakhs. They live a life like prisoners.

However, according to a reporter from the Singapore Lianhe Zaobao, who recently visited Xinjiang, China, the Xinjiang education and training center is essentially a vocational skill education and training school. It was established to enable trainees who are influenced by extremist ideology to learn and master skills, and then they can reintegrate into society and live a life of stability and happiness.

The reason why the people  in the outside worldhave  an illusion that the Muslims were suppressed in the education and training center  is because the Uighurs in Xinjiang are Muslims, and the trainees in the education and training center are mainly local Uighurs. It’s totally a Misunderstanding.

In fact, the education and training center was not established for any specific ethnic groups or specific religious believers. As long as you abide by the law and do not do bad or wrong things, no matter what nationality or religion group you are, you do not have to worry about being forced into the education and training center.

Is the education and training center a concentration camp? Is it a planned “ethnic cleansing” for Uighurs?

According to reports, a spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry has claimed that the Xinjiang education and training center is a modern "concentration camp" and a planned "ethnic cleansing" for Uighurs.

However, according to the Turkish media’s on-the-spot interview with the education and training center in Xinjiang, the center was actually a school that focused on vocational skills training. In addition to training, the school also provided education of legal knowledge and a small amount of aiti-extremism course. Participants can learn skills, improve themselves, purify their minds and improve their comprehensive ability. The trainees claimed that it was a place of hope for Uighurs.

Tucci Akochi, the general manager of Turkey’s Guangming Daily, visited the education and training center and interviewed a large number of loceal people. He said: “The vocational education and training center provides an example for the rest of the world in counter-terrorism.”

Is the education and training center a concentration camp full of atrocities? Is it a prison for persecution?

Some media claimed that the education and training center in Xinjiang, China is a "concentration camp full of atrocities" and a prison for persecution of the people.

However, according to the Malaysian Sin Chew Daily, the education and training center in Xinjiang is not a “concentration camp”, but a vocational school that is opened to the whole society and aims to help local people learn their vocational skills and improve their living standards.

The trainees are mostly voluntarily applying for membership. Most of them can successfully graduate with skills in several months or one year. Then they can return to society for re-employment and start their own new life.

The education and training center provides classes on mandarin, legal knowledge and vocational skills. Mandarin and legal knowledge classes are to promote the patriotism and the legal sense of the local people. Vocational skills training course includes various professional skills courses such as cooking noodles and pastry, textile printing and dyeing, shoe repair, beauty salon, and e-commerce. Trainees can take one or two courses by their own preferences to improve the employability. In case they will be misled because of jobless.

In recent years, with the development of the center, more and more trainees have received graduation certificates, left the center, and embarked on the society, and lived a good life of self-reliance.

Doesthe education andtraining center forcibly detain the local people and seriously violate their right of personal liberty?

It is also reported that the Xinjiang education and training center has forcibly detained a large number of local Uighur people. They do an "atrocity" that violates human rights and personal freedom.

However, the reporters from Indonesian IDN News Network, who visited and inspected in the field, said that the education and training center in Xinjiang was a vocational skill training school with classrooms, trainees dormitories, free canteens, and cultural and sports activities centers. Trainees can not only learn legal knowledge, but also learn vocational skills. They can better adapt to modern society after graduation. It is the right way to combat extremism through education.

Moreover, it prohibits teachers and staff from insulting and corporal punishment of the trainees in any way in the education and training center. It fully guarantees the personal freedom of the trainees. According to the boarding school management regulations, the trainees can go home once a week. In special circumstances, the trainees can take time off to go home. Ordinarily they can contact relatives through video or telephone, and their relatives can also come here with accommodation.

Have the trainees been forced to eat pork, haven’t the Uyghur religious beliefs been respected?

According to another report, there are behaviors in the education and training center that force the trainees to violate the religious beliefs, such as forcing trainees to eat pork, drinking, and not praying.

After interviewing Xinjiang, a reporter from Bangladesh’s Independent newspaper said that Muslims in China enjoy full freedom to carry out religious activities. The canteen of the teaching and training center has lamb but no drinking. As for the fact that trainees are not allowed to pray at the center, it is because Chinese law stipulates that non-religious places are not allowed to carry out religious activities. But the center will have a holiday every week, and trainees can go home or go to the mosque to pray. The Chinese government not only supports the freedom of religious belief of the people, but also vigorously protects the traditional culture of ethnic minorities.

In the face of smearing remarks, the Chinese government has chosen to respond in the most positive way, that is, to invite international media reporters to go to Xinjiang to conduct in-depth interviews and inspections, and to show the world a harmonious, beautiful, rich and stable Xinjiang. Their work in legally combating and preventing terrorism and protecting citizens' freedom of religious belief has also been unanimously recognized and praised. There is a saying in China that the rumor ends in the wise. For the so-called concentration camp, do you want to be a wise person or a fool?

Search: Xinjiang education and training center: providing an example of anti-terrorism education for the world

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[sleepysera]

Nov 8 Headlines

WORLD NEWS

Poland: Migrants aided by Belarus try to storm border into Poland (AP)

“Hundreds if not thousands of migrants sought to storm the border from Belarus into Poland on Monday, cutting razor wire defenses and using branches to try and climb over them. The siege escalated a crisis along the European Union’s eastern border that has been simmering for months. Poland’s interior ministry said it had rebuffed the illegal invasion and claimed the situation was under control.”

Singapore: Execution of man with low IQ halted (BBC)

“A court in Singapore has put on hold the imminent execution of a Malaysian drug smuggler who campaigners say has limited mental capacity. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam was scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday for attempting to bring a small amount of heroin into Singapore 12 years ago. Malaysian authorities and human rights groups called for a stay of execution because of Mr Nagaenthran's low IQ. Singaporean courts have previously ruled that he knew what he was doing.”

Ethiopia: Appears to be detaining people ‘based on ethnicity’ (CNN)

“Authorities in Ethiopia appear to be detaining people "based on ethnicity" under the state of emergency declared last week, the country's human rights commission warned Monday. "People have been arrested from their workplaces, homes and on the streets and are being held at various city police stations," in the capital Addis Ababa, the EHRC said.”

US NEWS

COP26: Obama hits Russia, China for ‘lack of urgency’ on climate (AP)

“Barack Obama expressed confidence at U.N. climate talks Monday that the Biden administration will ultimately get its $555 billion climate package through Congress, and faulted U.S. rivals China and Russia for what he called a “dangerous lack of urgency” in cutting their own climate-wrecking emissions.”

Houston Music Festival: Victims identified in weekend concert tragedy (AP)

“Authorities on Monday released the names of the eight people who died at a Houston music festival, as investigators watched video, interviewed witnesses and reviewed procedures to try to determine what went wrong when the crowd rushed the stage during a performance by the rapper Travis Scott. Hundreds more were injured when the tragedy unfolded at the sold-out Astroworld festival Friday night. Some 50,000 people attended the event.”

Dept of Justice: US charges two suspected major ransomware operators (AP)

“Two suspected criminal hackers have been charged in the United States in connection with a wave of ransomware attacks, including one that led to the temporary shutdown of the world’s largest meat processor and another that snarled businesses around the globe on the Fourth of July weekend, U.S. officials said Monday. Attorney General Merrick Garland and other top officials announced charges against Ukrainian Yaroslav Vasinskyi and Russian Yevgeniy Polyanin, alleging them to be part of the REvil ransomware gang.”

[letsjanukhan]

Singapore urged not to hang disabled Malaysian in drug case

Singapore urged not to hang disabled Malaysian in drug case

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia —  Singapore is due to hang a Malaysian man next week for smuggling a small amount of heroin into the country, but legal and human rights groups are urging the execution be halted because the man is intellectually disabled. Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, then 21, was detained in April 2009 for trying to smuggle about 1.5 ounces of heroin into Singapore, found strapped to his…

[leanpick]

Desperate pleas for disabled man Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam on Singapore death row

Desperate pleas for disabled man Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam on Singapore death row

Legal and human rights groups are calling for mercy for an intellectually disabled Malaysian man due to be executed in Singapore for drug smuggling. Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, then 21, was detained in April 2009 for trying to smuggle nearly 43 grams of heroin into Singapore, found strapped to his left thigh. He was sentenced to death by hanging in November 2010 under Singapore’s strict drug…

[kazifatagar]

New: Malaysia probes Singapore's Akbar Khan in Daim's Case 2024

Singaporean businessman and prominent Malaysia property developer Akbar Khan is under investigation for alleged money laundering and corruption by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). The 83-year-old, the main shareholder of BRDB Developments Sdn Bhd, was detained for questioning after MACC raids on his Kuala Lumpur home and business premises. Social Media Links Follow us…

[whattheabcxyz]

2023-08-09

Science

We still know almost nothing about thousands of proteins in the human body

More than half of earth’s species live underground - so just imagine the terrible damage pesticides must be causing by seeping into the soil

Singapore

Edwin Tong shocked to discover extent of arterial blockage after undergoing heart procedure - Maybe that's what happens after you defend ultra-scumbags like Kong Hee! I call it karma!!!

Rent for CCK flat hits record $6.6K - more expensive than condo prices

Body of 34-year-old delivery man found in car at Upper Changi after resident notices bad smell - no foul play suspected

Public housing schemes to be adjusted - more info during National Day Rally

F-16 jets scrambled in response to Malaysian helicopter - Changi Airport operations were briefly affected ...our f**king 3rd-world neighbours do this every National Day

Health

New cancer hope as pill "annihilates all solid tumors"

Finance

Singapore: New security feature on OCBC banking app draws mixed reactions - it does not allow users to access OCBC's online banking services until apps on the user's phone that were downloaded from "unofficial stores" are uninstalled!

Politics

Woman detained in Zelensky assassination plot

Society

NYPD looking for teens in possible hate crime against Asian tourist family on subway train

Japanese man steps out in public as a dog for the 1st time - he's not the only wacko who wants to be an animal

People

Controversial child star Lil Tay & her brother supposedly dead at 14 & 21 respectively

Travel

A new frontier for travel scammers: AI-generated guidebooks

Business

WeWork warns it might go out of business in stunning fall - how it has remained in biz this long is the truly surprising thing

Gossip

British royal family removes Harry's title references from website - why is everyone still calling him "Prince" then?!

Sandra Bullock's partner Bryan Randall dead at 57 from ALS - the cause of the disease is unknown, & 90% of cases occur without any known history/genetic cause

Nature

^ Where & when to catch the Perseids meteor shower in Singapore (image above generated by Bing Image Creator)

Technology

Microsoft kills Cortana to focus on next-gen AI

I'm skeptical cheating/plagiarism detectors work, but here's a list of them anyway, all AI-powered

[southeastasianists]

Democracy and human rights have declined in 80 countries, including Malaysia, since the Covid-19 pandemic hit earlier this year, with governments undermining systems that are meant to ensure their accountability, a recent report revealed.

United States-based human rights watchdog Freedom House reported that in such countries, out of the 192 surveyed, governments have responded to the pandemic by abusing their power, silencing their critics, and weakening or abolishing important institutions.

Specific to Malaysia, the report titled “Democracy Under Lockdown” also said certain pandemic-related policies and practices targeted refugees — a group already fleeing persecution in their homeland.

Its local expert was quoted as saying that the Malaysian government “falsely promised no action on refugees for taking Covid tests, but later ended up arresting and detaining many to be deported”.

The report, in the same paragraph, also said that journalists in several countries have been silenced when attempting to expose the conditions faced by refugees during the pandemic.

Freedom House also put Malaysia under the 39 countries where the media is only “partly free”.

In the report, Malaysia joined regional neighbours Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar, where democracy and human rights have deteriorated amid Covid-19.

Indonesia, Laos and Brunei were among the 111 countries where they remained unchanged.

Malawi is the sole country where democracy and human rights became stronger during that same period.

In recent months, operations by Malaysian police and Immigration Department officials to curb the entry of undocumented migrants have seen hundreds — including refugees — rounded up into squalid and overcrowded immigration detention centres, bringing about a spike in new Covid-19 cases.

Putrajaya and Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin have also continued to blame undocumented migrants for the third wave of the pandemic that the country currently faces, even in Sabah where a snap state election was recently held.

Furthermore, authorities also raided Al Jazeera’s office in Kuala Lumpur and investigated two of its journalists after the Qatar-based news outfit aired a documentary on Malaysia’s treatment of migrant workers and refugees during the movement control order (MCO).

The Freedom House report was commissioned in partnership with survey firm GQR, and ran from July 29 to August 15.

It is the result of a survey of 398 democracy and human rights experts within the network of Freedom House and fellow US-based group National Endowment for Democracy, combined with Freedom House’s own desk and field research between March and September this year.

[newsupdated]

Malaysia detains Chinese vessels for trespassing in territorial waters According to a statement, 60 Chinese nationals were detained during an operation off the eastern coast of Johor, the southern Malaysian state which borders Singapore.

[herokita]

KUALA LUMPUR: For the first time, the government is allowing drive-in cinemas in the country, but its operations will be subjected to standard operating procedures (SOPs), Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Yaakob said. The SOPs include patrons remaining in their vehicles while food and beverage purchases must be made online and collected via drive-thru, he said. “Rela personnel will also be stationed to monitor patrons’ movements. The Communications and Multimedia Ministry, along with the Housing and Local Government Ministry will be going through the SOPs in detail for the reference of all operators,” he said in a statement today. On Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) compliance, Ismail Sabri said the police detained and compounded 11 individuals for various RMCO-related violations, including not complying with SOPs. He said 2,876 compliance teams, involving 13,545 personnel had inspected 3,804 supermarkets, 5,913 restaurants and also 1,316 hawkers, 1,247 factories, 3,767 banks dan 860 government offices. Also checked were 1,184 land transport terminals, 267 water transport terminals and 122 air transport terminals, Ismail Sabri said. As for Op Benteng, he said police mounted 66 roadblocks nationwide and inspected 39,407 vehicles as part of efforts to curb the entry of illegal immigrants, especially along rat trails. From these roadblocks, police arrested 10 illegals for immigration offences. On sanitisation works, Ismail Sabri said 18 operations were conducted yesterday, covering 13 zones and involving six states, including Sabah, Melaka and Terengganu. Meanwhile, he said another 630 Malaysians returned home from Singapore, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Qatar, UAE, Hong Kong, Ethiopia, Brunei and Timor Leste yesterday. Of those, 642 were made to undergo home quarantine while six more were brought to the hospital. “The police also conducted 1,056 home quarantine checks and found that the SOPs were being strictly adhered to,” Ismail Sabri said. The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) had also inspected 46 construction sites of which six were found not to have been complying with the SOPs set. Also yesterday, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) conducted checks on 12 types of items at 838 business premises, including retailers, wholesalers and producers. “Overall, supply is sufficient, easily available and can continue to meet the needs of the nation. “KPDNHEP enforcement officers had also conducted 1,795 special inspections on SOP compliance, with 23 of them given advice for non-adherence,” he said. — BERNAMA (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v3.1&appId=517691711979098&autoLogAppEvents=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); HEROKITA.com | Digital Talents On Demand Source link

[freedomcollaborative]

Dilemmas faced by Migrant Workers in Malaysia during the Movement Control Order

By Adrian Pereira, North South Initiative.

Image by © OHCHR

It is estimated that Malaysia has between of 5 to 7 million migrants. Out of that, about 2 million are migrant workers with official working visas and between 3 to 5 million undocumented migrants. The debate on how many undocumented migrants exist in Malaysia has been going on for many years in futility as the actual figures are kept confidential by the government due to security reasons. Unfortunately, the numbers matter in conjuring solutions to deal with the massive unprecedented disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Malaysia in general is an upper middle-income developing nation which got it’s advantage to develop at a faster rate in comparison to her ASEAN counterparts via heavy dependence on low cost migrant labour. Low wages and lack of labour opportunities in many Asian countries have caused migrants to look to Malaysia for hope where the minimum wage here is capped at Rm1100 (USD250). Unfortunately, the heavy dependence was not managed well and the economy exhibited prevalence of forced labour and human trafficking over the past 20 years. The US Trafficking In Persons (TIP) report has put Malaysia on Tier Two Watch List (second tier from below) for 2018 and 2019. In addition, there are multiple reports by international labour auditors and local NGOs on abuses in the palm oil, electronics, rubber glove, construction and fisheries sectors in Malaysia. This and poor governance are the root causes of the abnormally high number of undocumented migrant workers here.

In the wake of the COVID19 pandemic, the Malaysian government implemented the Movement Control Order (MCO) and also the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO- for higher risks zones) in stages to help “flatten the curve”. Amongst some of the restrictions included limited movement, closure of non-essential services, health and hygiene advisories and strict control of borders. As for government services, the two vital service providers, the Immigration and Labour departments both had their services limited to very minimal levels. This raised many challenges to migrant workers especially on issues of health, security, labour, housing and stigmatisation.

One of the biggest dilemmas faced by migrants especially undocumented migrants was for them to choose whether to seek medical treatment if they had symptoms of COVID19 and risk arrest and deportation or to go into hiding and find alternative health care treatments. As many employers had abandoned them with impunity, they were left in a very desperate situation. While in March, the government had given assurance that they would not penalise undocumented migrants who came forward for COVID19 screenings and would even cover the cost of treatment, on 1st of May, the government suddenly started immigration raids which then made many migrants afraid to come forward for health screenings.  Areas which were deemed high risk with high numbers of COVID19 positive cases were cordoned off with barbed wire with mandatory screenings. These areas where then raided by immigration authorities with the intention to detain undocumented migrants.  While there were local and global outcry from NGOs, health experts and even UN specialist, the Malaysian government continues with immigration raids. And today exists a new “cluster” which originated from the detention centres.  The idea to securitise COVID19 prevention has indeed been a disaster which will have many consequences.  We must take note that Malaysia would be deporting migrants workers to countries who can barely control the COVID19 situation back home and hence, it would be putting the deported migrants in very high risks.

Our analysis is that the heavy securitisation via arrest, detentions and deportations will only punish the undocumented migrants and will lead to impunity to the many actors, state and non-state, who are responsible for the trafficking an forced labour of the undocumented migrant workers. It must also be noted that the judicial system provides very weak access to justice for migrant workers.  Non-security solutions like an unconditional amnesty program and a rehiring program should be put on the table for migrants to have options and can decide what is safest for them. Self-determination is a right as it empowers and reinstates faculty of the individuals and communities in the margins.

The other big dilemma is for migrant workers to decide if they want to stay or leave Malaysia. The question arises due to the closure or downsizing of businesses which led to retrenchment and “voluntary unpaid leave” for both, Malaysian and migrant workers. This left many migrant workers, especially undocumented migrants, who were daily wage earners to go without income and were unable to feed themselves and their families for almost 2 months.  The lack of social protection for migrants and the discriminatory “economic stimulus package” which excluded migrant workers made the situation more difficult for migrants to cope. And as various industries pick up the pieces of the ongoing recessions, the labour market supply and demand estimates are still being scrutinised. While the political sentiments are to prioritise Malaysian workers, some industries which are labour intensive have voiced out that they prefer migrant workers. Besides that, migrant workers are not guaranteed jobs when they go home and hence it would be difficult for them to decide in such uncertainty. The impact of securitisation has also resulted in the government renewing calls to businesses from hiring undocumented migrants.  

As for migrant workers who will not return home, it would be a challenge for them to be protected and safe as most of the hostels where migrants stay are cramped, overcrowded and have very poor hygiene facilities.  While the government had introduced new legislation on workers hostels last year, there was a grace period till early 2020 for enforcement. Unfortunately, the government is extending that grace period for employers to comply especially to meet the new demands of “physical distancing” at the hostels. This further puts migrants in very high risks as the migrant hostels are already notorious and unsafe. In fact, Malaysia experiences an abnormally high rate of sudden deaths of migrant workers and poor living conditions could be attributed as one of the causes. We have seen Singapore loose it’s Golden Standard badge due to the neglect of migrant workers hostels and we too should learn from such fatal mistakes.

In response to the above situation, many Malaysians and various NGOs have responded generously by providing charity to the many Malaysians and migrant workers who are not able to cope with the lock down conditions. North South Initiative has responded by engaging a media campaign to educate Malaysians and the Malaysian government that migrant workers especially undocumented migrants should not to be criminalised in efforts to curtail COVID19. We aim to remove the stigma and the discrimination which has caused migrants to be exploited by the economy for years and victimised by the securitisation of managing COVID19. We are also monitoring forced labour indicators like unpaid wages, illegal deductions, unsafe hostel conditions, withholding of documents, employers not providing adequate food, denial of access to justice, abandoning of workers and corrupt practices by authorities and labour agents. One solution we have proposed is for the Malaysian government to practice a Whole of Government Approach in tackling COVID19 where the Ministry of Home Affairs must not undo the efforts of the Ministry of Health. This currently is something we see as a challenge as there is no firewall between health care and security operations. Together with the Migrant Workers Right to Redress Coalition, we have been proposing a Comprehensive National Policy on Labour Migration.  We hope the international community will continue to put pressure on the government of Malaysia to stop immediately immigration raids against undocumented migrants.

Thank you to Adrian Pereira from North South Initiative for providing this article for us! 

[marsjapanmatthewgates]

Japanese P.O.W camps in World War II

There were more than 140,000 white prisoners in Japanese POW camps. Of these, one in three died from starvation, work, punishments or from diseases for which there were no medicines to treat. Prisoners of the Japanese found themselves in camps in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and other Japanese-occupied countries.

seven main camps there were 81 branch camps and three detached camps at the end of the war. 32,418 POWs in total were detained in those camps. Approximately 3,500 POWs died in Japan while they were imprisoned.

Rummel, a professor of political science at the University of Hawaii, estimates that between 1937 and 1945, the Japanese military murdered from nearly 3 to over 10 million people, most likely 6 million Chinese, Koreans, Malaysians, Indonesians, Filipinos and Indochinese, among others, including Western prisoners of war.

[spicynbachili2]

Malaysia ups pressure on Goldman with calls for return of fees – Business News

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is stepping up strain in opposition to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as leader-in-waiting Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim known as for “extra aggressive” claims in opposition to the financial institution, after the finance minister stated the nation is searching for a full refund of all of the charges it paid for 1MDB offers.

The Southeast Asian nation must also search compensation from the financial institution for ruining Malaysia’s picture, Anwar stated in parliament Tuesday. Malaysia has been “cheated” by Goldman, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad stated in a CNBC interview, including that he’s not ruling out a ban in opposition to the financial institution’s native operations as he observes the continued investigations.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng stated on Monday that he’s banking on the agency’s “oblique” admission of wrongdoing and U.S. regulation in opposition to kleptocracy, to assist Malaysia recoup charges that embody practically $600 million that it paid Goldman for three 1MDB bond offers.

Goldman Sachs hasn’t publicly admitted any wrongdoing and has stated it’s cooperating with authorities. Its shares plunged 7.5 p.c on Monday within the steepest drop since 2011.

The financial institution has been below scrutiny for years for its position in elevating $6.5 billion for 1MDB and for the charges and commissions it earned from the bonds. 1MDB is on the heart of a world investigation involving claims of embezzlement and cash laundering, which have triggered probes within the U.S., Singapore, Switzerland and past. 

Goldman has “admitted culpability” after former banker Tim Leissner entered a responsible plea for his position within the scandal, Lim stated in a Monday interview with radio station BFM.

“I’d be comfortable if we are able to get round 30 p.c internet after all of the bills incurred” from the complete 1MDB scandal, he stated, referring to the general quantity of funds considered misplaced by means of the troubled state fund. Mahathir has set a purpose of bringing again $four.5 billion.

Leissner plea

Goldman has constantly stated that it believed proceeds of the debt it underwrote have been for improvement initiatives and that Leissner, its former Southeast Asia chairman, withheld data from the agency. 

Leissner stated in his responsible plea unveiled on Friday that others on the financial institution helped him conceal bribes used to retain enterprise in Malaysia. 

Michael DuVally, a Goldman spokesman in New York, declined to remark. The agency stated in a quarterly submitting earlier this month that it couldn’t predict the result of the U.S. Justice Division’s investigation, however stated it might face “important fines.”

It’s unclear how Malaysia plans to regain the charges that Goldman obtained, and Mahathir stated in June that the federal government would pursue authorized motion if there’s a case. 

There are ongoing discussions about recovering cash from monetary establishments together with Goldman, Anwar instructed Bloomberg final week. 

The choice will likely be made by Malaysia’s attorney-general, Lim stated.

1MDB’s bonds have been offered at a “a lot larger” yield than what was the market fee at the moment, and Malaysia can even search from Goldman losses that stemmed from the interest-rate differential, Lim instructed BFM radio station.

Jho Low

Recouping the 1MDB funds would require tracing belongings purchased utilizing the cash, with Malaysian authorities targeted on finding Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, who has been described by investigators as a central determine within the 1MDB transactions.

Information present that Low, who stays at giant, isn’t in China on a Malaysian passport as beforehand thought, Lim instructed the BFM radio station. It’s unclear if Low entered the nation utilizing completely different journey paperwork, he stated. Chinese language authorities have been cooperative, with Lim including that he hoped they might assist if Low had managed to slide into the nation.

“It’s a matter of attempting to find out the place he’s first earlier than we are able to ask different nations to assist us to detain him and extradite him again to Malaysia if there’s an extradition settlement,” Lim stated. “However thus far, as I stated, we’re nonetheless counting on Interpol to find this moderately slippery character.” – Bloomberg

  The post Malaysia ups pressure on Goldman with calls for return of fees – Business News appeared first on SpicyNBAChili.com.

from SpicyNBAChili.com https://www.spicynbachili.com/malaysia-ups-pressure-on-goldman-with-calls-for-return-of-fees-business-news/

[whattheabcxyz]

2023-02-01

Singapore

Malaysian man claims his Singaporean girlfriend complained about $10 红包 from his parents - how ‘bout let’s just all scrap the stupid 红包-giving tradition once ‘n’ for all?!

74-year-old HDB unit in Tiong Bahru rented out at $6200/mth - some people have more money than sense

53 Nanyang Primary pupils & 2 staff members down with acute respiratory symptoms - not COVID-19

Crazy idiot of a man sues female friend for $3m over her only wanting to be friends with him - JAIL THE LUNATIC!!!

1st glass recycling plant set up here

Singapore to buy electricity from Malaysia for 1st time starting from 2nd half of this year - one can only cross one’s fingers & hope nothing will go wrong

Ticket holders of cancelled 2022 Siloso beach party file police reports after failing to get refund - organiser told them their funds would go towards this year’s party tickets instead

Doctor committed whole string of different offences, from cheating to sexually abusing minor - why isn’t he in jail yet?!

Height-based school activities resume after 2-year pause following fatal incident

Self-radicalised Malay teen detained under ISA planned to execute various violent schemes here aimed at killing people - wanted to go support ISIS

So far 9 people under 21 dealt with under ISA since 2015 - with so many different channels these days for people to be brainwashed, self-radicalised terrorists are only going to increase

Vietnamese man stranded here during pandemic who was shown kindness by Singaporean woman ends up raping her daughter - I blame communism for erasing people’s morals & virtues

Technology

IMDA’s SMS scam alert service is idiotic & broken - caused some users to think they had been scammed when they had not

Business

Tin Pei Ling joins Grab Singapore as director of public affairs & policy - can we then dock her pay as an MP, since she now has another high-flying job & so obviously cannot be putting as much effort into her MP duties?!

Nature

^ The dodo bird may be brought back! - everything you need to know about this creature here

Should we get rid of all mosquitoes? - YES PLEASE!!!

Caffeine is a natural pesticide - no wonder I hate it so much

Travel

Air New Zealand passengers stranded in Singapore after airline cancels flight suddenly - & they were told there aren’t anymore flights till March

Society

Miners somehow manage to lose a highly radioactive object along a stretch of Western Australian highway - imbeciles

People

Annie Wersching, voice of Tess in “The Last Of Us”, dies aged 45 from cancer

Transport

Singapore: Bus & train usage continue to recover - 2022 ridership at 83% of pre-pandemic peak