Malaysia's all states except Sarawak go back into partial lockdown (MCO 2.0), state of emergency declared by the King

All states in Malaysia except Sarawak under MCO from Friday ...

Sarawak to be only state not under MCO | The Star

 

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Malaysia's King declares state of emergency till Aug 1 to curb spread of Covid-19.

 

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COVID-19 | Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today unveiled tougher measures to control the spread of Covid-19.

This includes the implementation of full movement control order (MCO) on eight states and territories.

They are Penang, Selangor, Malacca, Johor, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

Another six states will be under the ongoing conditional MCO but with stricter rules than the existing ones.

Perlis and Sarawak are the only two states that will see the most relaxed rules as they will be put under the recovery MCO.

However, the Sarawak government today moved to place Kuching, Sibu and Miri under a conditional MCO.

Muhyiddin, in a live address on national TV, said the MCO will take effect at midnight of Jan 13 until Jan 26. 

 Interstate travel ban

For states under MCO and conditional MCO, the prime minister said social activities involving gatherings will be banned, similar to measures during the MCO in March last year.

“To reduce the risk of infection and to break the Covid-19 chain, social activities involving large gatherings such as wedding reception, conference, religious parades including Thaipusam, meetings, seminars, courses and group sports will not be allowed in any way,” he said.

However, he said states under the recovery MCO can still carry out social activities, but subject to strict standard operating procedures (SOP).

Furthermore, Muhyiddin said an interstate travel ban will be imposed nationwide.

As for states under the full MCO, they will see stricter rules as interdistrict travel is also not allowed.

"With the interstate and interdistrict travel ban, roadblocks will be enforced from midnight of Jan 13.

"For states under MCO, the movement will only be limited to within a 10km radius," he said.

Muhyiddin added that only two persons per household are allowed to leave the house to purchase necessities from supermarkets and grocery stores.

He said the two persons per vehicle rule also applies.

Essential services

Similar to the MCO in March last year, Muhyiddin said only businesses on the essential economic sector list will be allowed to operate.

“The government has identified five sectors that will be allowed to operate and are categorised as essential economic sectors.

“They are manufacturing, production, construction, services, trade and distribution as well as plantations and commodity,” he added.

Muhyiddin said these sectors are allowed to operate as they are needed to ensure the supply chain of essential goods.

However, he said only 30 percent of their administrative staff will be allowed to operate from the office.

The prime minister also urged those who are allowed to continue working to abide by the SOPs.

He added that the International Trade and Industry Ministry will provide further details on the types of services that are considered essential economic sector.

 

Muhyiddin said restaurants in states under full MCO are not allowed to provide dine-in services.

They will only be allowed to provide takeaway services.

However, he said restaurants in states under the conditional MCO and recovery MCO may continue to operate as per normal, subject to the Health Ministry’s SOP.

Elaborating on the full MCO states, Muhyiddin said supermarkets, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and banks will continue to operate but with precautions.

He added that students who will be sitting for their 2020 and 2021 SPM papers will still be allowed to attend school.

As for religious activities, he said only a maximum of five people in places of worship is allowed.

However, religious activities in places of worship located in states under the conditional and recovery MCO can still proceed, in accordance with the SOP.

One distinction from the MCO in March last year is that outdoor exercising is allowed.

However, Muhyiddin said they may only do so with members of the same household.

He added that those going out for jogging or cycling should only do so with one other person at most.

Group exercise is not allowed.

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The reopening of schools, childcare centres and institutes of higher learning during MCO 2.0, CMCO, RMCO

 

The reopening of schools, childcare centres and institutes of higher learning during MCO 2.0, CMCO, RMCO

 

YOU HAVE THE QUESTIONS, WE HAVE THE ANSWERS

BELOW are some questions and answers relating to schools and institutions under the Education Ministry as well as the status of public examinations during the movement control order period.

School reopening 

 Q: Are all students in areas under the movement control order required to return to school when it reopens on Jan 20?

A: Only students sitting for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Vokasional Malaysia (SVM), Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM), Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) and Diploma Vokasional Malaysia (DVM) 2020 and 2021 students, as well as the equivalent international exams, will be allowed to return to school to undergo the Implementation of Teaching and Learning (PdP) via face-to-face.

Non-examination students will undergo Home-based learning (PdPR).

Q: Will students having to undergo public examinations but living outside MCO areas be allowed to return to schools that are under MCO areas or vice-versa?

A: Yes. Special authorisation letters will be issued by the school management to allow students to cross districts or states to attend school.

Q: Are parents/guardians allowed to send their children or children under their care to school?

A: Yes.

Q: Are students in remove class who have appealed to sit for the Bahasa Melayu Literacy Screening (Pengesahan Literasi Bahasa Melayu) allowed to be in school?

A: Yes. Students can attend school to sit for the Bahasa Melayu Literacy Screening on Jan 21,2021. For students unable to attend, they can take the test on Feb 3,2021.

Central Assessment Schedule (Pengurusan Pentaksiran Pusat) and public exams

Q: Will the central assessment schedule and SPM/ SVM/ SKM/ STPM/ STAM/ DVM as well as equivalent international examinations proceed?

A: Yes.

Q: Will the postponed SPM trial 2020 be conducted?

A: Yes. The examination will proceed once school re-opens for face-to-face lessons.

Boarding School Enrolment

Q: When will students sitting for the SPM/ SVM/ SKM/ STPM/ STAM/ DVM exams be allowed to return to boarding schools?

A: Beginning Jan 16.

Q: Are parents/guardians allowed to visit students living in boarding schools that are under the MCO?

A: No.

Q: Will students be allowed to go for outings and overnight events?

A: No.

Teaching and Learning (PdP)

Q: How will PdP be implemented for students aside from those sitting for examination classes?

A: Students must undergo home-based learning (PdPR) based on the suitability and the preparedness of teachers and students. Teachers can refer to the PdPR manual which can be downloaded from the Education Ministry portal www.moe.gov.my

Q: How can Year 1 pupils for the 2021 academic session access the Digital Educational Learning Initiative Malaysia (Delima) platform as part of the PdPR?

A: Pupils can access the Delima portal using their user ID and password given by the school.

Q: How can students access the TV Pendidikan educational programme schedule? A The schedule of TV Pendidikan can be accessed via the Education Ministry’s official portal and social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter @KemPendidikan.

Sports and co-curricular activities

Q: Will face-to-face sports and co-curricular activities be allowed?

A: No. However, virtual activities are allowed until the latest announcement from the Education Ministry.

Q: Will sports activities for PdP of the Physical Education subject and Health Education (Pendidikan Jasmani and Pendidikan Kesihatan) outside of the classroom be allowed?

A: No

Management of the textbook loan scheme (SPBT) 

Q: Are the Form 5 2020 students required to return their textbooks?

A: Only after they complete their SPM examinations.

Q: Will the Form 5 2020 students be using the same textbooks used by the Form 5 2021 students?

A: No. Students will be provided with the Form 5 Secondary School Standards-based Curriculum (KSSM) textbooks for use in 2021.

Q: When will other students aside from the Form 5 2020 need to return their textbooks and collect their new textbooks?

A: Return and distribution of textbooks will be implemented based on the return schedule in stages set by the school management once school re-opens.

Q: How can students obtain digital textbooks?

A: Students can download digital textbooks from the Delima platforms at moe-dl.edu.my or teachers can help download the digital textbooks, print and distribute them based on the required topics only.

School admission assessment (PKSK)

Q: Will PKSK be implemented during the MCO period?

A: Yes. The new PKSK dates for students entering Form One are Jan 20 to 29. For Form Four students, Feb 15 to 25.

Special authorisation letters will be issued by the Education Ministry to allow candidates to cross states or districts to attend the assessment centres.

Q: What are the necessary steps that need to be taken before a candidate sits for PKSK?

A: All candidates must bring a slip to sit for the PKSK and the special authorisation letter to attend PKSK that can be downloaded below:

i. spskt1.moe.gov.my (Form 1)

ii. spskt4.moe.gov.my (Form 4)

Q: Will candidates with any medical symptoms be allowed to undergo PKSK?

A: No. Parents/ guardians will need to get confirmation from certified medical officers and inform the head of the assessment centre (Ketua Pusat Pentaksiran).

A new date for students to sit for the PKSK will be set later.

Q: Are candidates under quarantine allowed to sit for PKSK?

A: No. Students are only allowed to sit for PKSK after the end of their quarantine period. A new date for the students will be set later.

Q: Are candidates who test positive for Covid-19 and treated in hospital allowed to sit for PKSK?

A: No. However, they will be allowed to do so once they are discharged from the hospital. A new date to sit for the PKSK will be announced later.

Q: Are candidates living in MCO areas allowed to change their PKSK centre?

A: Yes. Candidates need to submit an application to the head of assessment centre (Ketua Pusat Pentaksiran) that they are applying to.

Teachers and non-education services member (anggota perkhidmatan bukan guru)

Q: When are teachers required to be at the station of duty?

A: Teachers are required to be at the station of duty before Jan 20.

Q: Are teachers required to be present at schools placed under the MCO?

A: Teachers’ attendance at schools are required as below:

i. Teachers involved in the SPM/ SVM/ SKM/ STPM/ STAM/ DVM for the year 2020 and 2021 as well as equivalent international exams.

ii. Teachers involved in examination management.

iii. Other teachers that are ordered to be present by the head of departments.

Q: Are teachers living outside of MCO areas allowed to be present at schools that are currently under MCO or vice versa?

A: Yes. Teachers are required to obtain a special authorisation letter from the head of department.

Q: Aside from teachers, who else is allowed to be present at school during the MCO?

A: i. Non-education services members (Anggota Perkhidmatan Bukan Guru) with orders from the head of department.

ii. Essential services workers such as cleaners, security personnel, and canteen staff.

iii. Wardens and boarding school administrators.

Q: Will non-education services members be allowed to work from home?

A: Yes. The head of department can consider the request to work from home made by non-education service members according to their workload and the need to be physically at the office.

Management and operations of private education institutions (IPS)

Q: Are childcare centres allowed to operate face-to-face?

A: Yes. This includes international and expatriate preschool classes.

Q: Are all categories of IPS in MCO areas allowed to have face-to-face learning?

A: No. Only classes with students that are sitting for the SPM/ SVM/ SKM/ STPM/ STAM/ DVM for 2020 and 2021 as well as equivalent international exams will be allowed to operate face-to-face.

Q: Are all IPS categories centres such as tuition/ language centres allowed to operate face-to-face learning?

A: No.

Q: Does an IPS that has been allowed to operate face-to-face learning require a special authorisation letter in order to allow students/ teacher/ staff to be present?

A: Yes.

Management and operations of Pusat Anak Genius Negara (PAGN) and Pusat Genius Kurnia (PGK)

Q: Will PAGN and PGK under the MCO areas remain in operation?

A: Yes. However, this is subject to the quota allowed; priority will be given to parents/ guardians who are both working.

Q: Can parents/ guardians send their children or children under their care for half a day to a PAGN?

A: Yes. However, parents/ guardians must inform the teachers earlier so that activities and routines for children or children under their care can be planned smoothly.

Source: Education Ministry

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Warded at home with mild Covid-19 symptoms

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Warded at home with mild Covid-19 symptoms

 

PUTRAJAYA: Covid-19 patients who have mild or no symptoms will undergo treatment and quarantine at home, but they will be monitored strictly by health workers, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

A task force has been formed at the Crisis Preparedness and Emergency Response Centre level, state and district levels to monitor patients being treated at home, he added.

He said the home quarantine applies to Level One and Level Two Covid-19 patients, reported Bernama.

Under the Health Ministry’s system, Level One is for positive cases that do not show any symptoms, while Level Two are patients who show mild symptoms.

Level Three cases are patients with pneumonia, Level Four are those who have inflammation in the lungs and require oxygen while Level Five patients are those who come to the hospital in the late stages of the illness and require ventilator support.

“We are doing this as we need to act fast in treating and isolating positive cases and, to this end, the MOH will continue with contact tracing in efforts to flatten the Covid-19 curve, ” he said after attending the ministry’s New Year mandate ceremony here yesterday.

Dr Adham said the Level One and Two patients will be quarantined at home for 10 days and a screening test will be conducted on them on the last day. “The screening test will be done in their respective homes and if the result is negative, they are free from Covid-19, ” he said.

Dr Adham said ministry staff will assess the size of the house and number of occupants before allowing these patients to undergo treatment at their respective homes, adding that if the house is small or crowded, the patients will be taken to hospital.

“If the facilities at home are satisfactory, with sufficient space for isolation and the family understands the need for quarantine and the standard operating procedures set by the ministry... they will be treated at home, ” he added.

He said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah will give details on the home treatment and quarantine soon.

On Jan 4, Dr Noor Hisham said MOH was considering isolating and treating Covid-19 patients who are without symptoms and or with mild symptoms at home, as the existing health facilities are not able to cope with the surge in daily cases.

Other countries have also opted to have Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms undergo isolation or quarantine at home.

In the United States, those who tested positive for the virus but who are asymptomatic are required to stay at home until it is safe for them to be around others.

People who display symptoms of Covid-19 but are able to recover at home can also undergo isolation at home, said the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, if patients manifest emergency warning signs such as trouble breathing or persistent chest pains, they are required to seek emergency medical care immediately.

In Singapore, quarantine orders are issued to those who are confirmed or suspected Covid-19 cases and Singapore’s health ministry will determine if an individual should be quarantined at home or at quarantine facilities or hospitals, based on an assessment of a person’s contact history, state of health and suitability of the home.

Travellers from selected countries may be able to serve their 14-day quarantine period at their place of residence rather than at a dedicated facility.

At immigration checkpoints, eligible travellers are issued electronic monitoring devices, which are activated immediately when they reach their quarantine accommodation.

In Australia, those who screened for the virus or who display symptoms are required to stay at home until they have tested negative or they are no longer exhibiting symptoms.

Those who are considered a suspect Covid-19 case will be advised by the public health authorities on whether they are to be isolated at home or in the hospital.

When isolating at home, patients whose symptoms get worse are to seek emergency medical attention.

While guidelines for home quarantine across different countries vary, common principles would be for patients to stay in a room separate from other household members.

Patients are encouraged to use a separate bathroom if possible and to avoid sharing personal household items with others.

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Invasion of the web trackers

Here’s how you can thwart websites from tracking your every movement.

 

THERE are several reasons that your Windows 10 PC is overrun by web trackers, bits of software code that follow you online to help marketers learn more about you.

The money trail

Nearly all commercial websites use them to create an elaborate profile of your tastes and habits, a profile that the websites can use themselves or sell to others.

Your online movements are tracked by cookies (bits of code left in your web browser), Google and Facebook tracker software (that follows you even when you aren’t on their websites), session recorders (that record everything you do on a website), key-loggers (that record what you type into text boxes on a website, even if you don’t submit anything), beacons (invisible objects in a web page that record how many times you viewed that page) and “fingerprinting” (a record of the technical details of your computer that can be used to identify you.)

While privacy advocates are aware of web trackers, most people aren’t. As a result, web tracking keeps expanding.

A recent study showed that 87% of the most popular websites now track your movements, whether you sign in to the website or not (see tinyurl.com/yyy5qyas).

You can view the web trackers on any website at tinyurl.com/y2em59e6.

Also, Windows 10 may indeed attract more web tracker software, because it collects more personal information about you than earlier versions of Windows did.

Microsoft shares some of that information with advertisers.

Throw it off track

Until recently, web browsers didn’t offer much protection against web tracking.

The latest versions of the four most popular browsers – Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari – have improved (but not perfect) anti-tracking features.

A reviewer of the latest Safari browser reported that it blocked 90 web trackers in five minutes of online activity.

But be sure your browser’s anti-tracking features are turned on.

Also, adjust the privacy settings in Windows 10.

The Windows 10 settings you may want to change include the “advertising ID” (monitors your online travels for advertisers), “location tracking” (helps advertisers localise what they promote to you), “Timeline” (keeps track of what you’re doing so that you can switch from one PC to another without interruption) and Cortana, the Windows 10 digital assistant (monitors your location, email, contacts, and calendar, and keeps a record of every “chat” you’ve had with Cortana).

You can also add more anti-tracking add-ons to your web browser.

Top-rated add-ons include Duckduckgo Privacy Essentials, Privacy Badger and Ghostery. – Star Tribune/tribune News Service - By STEVEN ALEXANDER

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Have you ever wondered how websites and apps track you on the net? Why do other websites show you advertisements from Amazon about exactly the product you looked at before? How does online tracking work? We explain to you how Google, Facebook and Co track you on the Internet. What is your opinion about online tracking? Write it in the comments... 

 

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BLOCKCHAIN beyond Bitcoin

Generating sustainable retirement income

 

Many Malaysian are EPF contributors and have FDs as well. "You will never understand how bad the feeling is when you have to break your fixed deposit to cover your living expenses."

ONE of the top financial concerns of retirees is running out of money.

Whether you were an executive earning a reasonable income, or if you are making top dollars as a businessman, the fear is still valid.

For example, Tommy, who left the working world soon after selling his factory to a European multinational corporation. Tommy shared during one of our meetings that he was golfing every week and globe trotting almost every other month.

However, there was a problem that greatly bothered him. He found that he was dipping into his fixed deposit every now and then just to maintain his interesting lifestyle.

“Yap, you will never understand how bad the feeling is when you have to break your fixed deposit to cover your living expenses, ” he said.Combing through all of his finances, we discovered that Tommy’s lackadaisical attitude was to be blamed. He has not been paying enough attention to invest and generate income from the RM12mil nest egg that he had painstakingly accumulated. His investment portfolio was a mess.

Over the years, he invested in a few properties but never really bothered to oversee them. When tenants left, he didn’t make an effort to secure new tenants. In fact, some properties were even sitting vacant and idle. His excuse? He was too busy running the business.

Yap Ming HuiYap Ming Hui

Tommy has also invested in some shares and unit trusts but he seldom monitors and reviews their performances. Imagine his surprise when he went looking for some extra cash but discovered that most of the investments were not making money. Prior to meeting me, he couldn’t decide whether to sell or to keep those underperforming investments.

Consequently, the bulk of Tommy’s wealth is in fixed deposit. The trouble is the interest income from fixed deposit barely covers the impact of inflation. As such, if Tommy continues to spend on his interest income, he will risk having the principal depleted.

Asset rich, income poor

Tommy’s problem is a typical case of “Asset Rich, Income Poor.” His situation is definitely not unique. In fact, I find most self-made millionaires or business owners, typically strong at creating wealth from their business or professional career, but poor at generating income and gain from the created wealth.

For one, all the time spent ensuring their businesses succeed also takes them away from making sure that the wealth created is optimised.Let’s examine Tommy’s assets and see how it measures up (see chart).

The RM6mil in fixed deposit generate approximately 2% interest income. However, notice that the 2% of interest is not sufficient to offset the 4% inflation provision. As a result, there is negative net income coming from Tommy’s fixed deposit asset.

Tommy’s properties are worth RM3mil and only generates RM50,000 in rental income per annum. Nevertheless, this can be considered a net income because inflation will be hedged by capital appreciation (at least 4% per annum) of the properties.

The RM1mil in shares gives a total return of 5%. Factoring 4% inflation, the actual income received from share investment is RM10,000.

Unfortunately, the RM2mil unit trust investments didn’t offer any returns. After inflation provision, his unit trust investment has a net income of RM80,000.

The reality is if nothing is done now, Tommy’s wealth will continue to shrink by RM140,000 a year once inflation is factored to the equation. How does this play out for Tommy? The fact that he needs RM360,000 a year to maintain his current lifestyle will not augur well for him.

So, how can you prevent from ending up in Tommy’s situation?

The optimisation measures

> Remember to review the performance of each of your investment asset classes. In order to generate more income and gains, be proactive in getting rid of poor quality and poor performing investments. Look at each investment and ask yourself, should you keep it or should you sell?

> Consider moving fixed deposit into higher return investment.

Any gains from your fixed deposit would probably be eroded by inflation, especially given the current low interest, which will probably persist for quite some time. After calculating and providing for your emergency fund cash reserves, the balance of your fixed deposit should be invested into other investments that can generate higher return and income to hedge against inflation.

> Diversify the source of retirement income

Even if one investment asset can give you a good income and hedge against inflation, it does not mean that you must bet all or the majority of your wealth in it. For example, property investing. Some investors have found success in it. They were able to generate good capital appreciation and rental income.

As a result, they put a majority, if not all, of their wealth into properties. It may sound logical at first but rental income is not sustainable in the long run. It is subjected to changes, some of which cannot be controlled. Therefore, the best practice is still to diversify your retirement income across different asset classes, like share dividends and capital gains, unit trust gains, bond investment gains, retirement income products and others, so that it is not badly affected by any one impact.

The ability to grow your wealth during retirement years is important. Just because you have stopped working, it does not mean your money should stop working too. The idea behind wealth optimisation is to ensure that you can upkeep your retirement lifestyle and protect your wealth from inflation.

Ideally, one should get a plan done a few years prior to retirement to see how your retirement income would play out. After all, you wouldn’t want to have any unpleasant surprise, like in Tommy’s case. When you have time on your side, you can improve your investing skills and adjust your retirement plan accordingly while still in your active income earning years.

Yap Ming Hui is a licensed financial planner. The views expressed here are the author’s. Any reliance you place on the information https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/01/09/generating-sustainable-retirement-incomeshared is therefore strictly at your own risk.

 

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