KUALA LUMPUR: Rais Yatim, the president of the Dewan Negara, has officially advised the government that members of the Senate should be included on the list of Covid-19 vaccine frontline recipients. He said the letter was sent to Khairy Jamaluddin, the National Covid-19 Immunization Program’s coordinating minister, and Dr. Adham Baba, the health minister, this morning. “The letter (aims to) …

It’s saddening how 4.5 million Filipinos were jobless a year ago for a normal joblessness pace of 10.3 percent which is the most elevated in 15 years as the Philippine Statistics Authority shared it to the nation. In 2020, the Philippines forced the longest and most tough lockdown in Southeast Asia to contain the spread of COVID-19, which, nonetheless, dove …

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez is calling for rice to be added to a list of vital products excluded from restrictive trade measures in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). To avoid supply disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ten member states signed a memorandum of understanding in November promising to refrain …

PETALING JAYA: In step two and three of the national immunisation program, the government has decided to enlist the help of general practitioners (GPs) to administer Covid-19 vaccines.  “We have agreed to involve private GPs to maximise the administration of the vaccine to the people. At a joint press conference with science, technology, and innovation minister Khairy Jamaluddin, he said, …

Southeast Asian countries rated the pandemic as their top concern in 2020, and China ranks first among its dialogue partners in terms of assisting the region. This is according to the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore’s 2021 State of Southeast Asia survey study. The majority of respondents (60.7 percent) from the ten members of the …

SINGAPORE – As part of their efforts to revive the region’s ailing tourism industry, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are considering a digital coronavirus vaccine certificate. Allowing people who have been inoculated against COVID-19 to travel may help resurrect an intraregional industry that had surpassed 50 million annual tourist arrivals prior to the pandemic. According to Azmin …

PETALING JAYA: According to de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan, the fine for violating Covid-19 laws is not set at RM10,000. Takiyuddin said the fines range from RM100 to RM10,000, depending on the severity of the crime, during a live-streamed press conference. “The authorities will use their discretion; there are guidelines,” he said, despite the fact that the Emergency Ordinance …

Previously, the DPR minister has encouraged the public authority to mass-produce COVID-19 gear, rather than depending on imports. It was geared that it should be created for a gigantic scope incorporate PCR test packs, RT Lamp, Turbidimetry and Colorimetric-based test units, and non-PCR Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits (RDT), ventilators, versatile BSL-2 Laboratory, controlled air-sanitizing respirators, and PPEs, among others, as …

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian private hospital association has urged the government to allow its members to purchase and administer Covid-19 vaccines on their own. This comes after Khairy Jamaluddin, the minister of science, technology, and innovation, was quoted by CodeBlue as saying that private hospitals will not be able to buy and operate their own vaccination programs in the near …

MELAKA: The Melaka state government has refuted claims that in the first phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, more than 100 state politicians were given preference over frontliners for vaccination. In response to accusations made on social media, executive councillor Rahmad Mariman claimed that the state Health Department decides the list of qualified people without the participation of any …