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Bung Moktar said Finance Minister recommended RM150m investment: Witness

KUALA LUMPUR: A member of the Felcra Berhad Board of Directors told the sessions court here today that Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin informed the then Finance Minister to recommend Felcra to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual Berhad Unit Trust in 2015.

Dr Habibah Suleiman, 72, said she did not know that the amount of investment sought was RM150 million as the sum approved at the board meeting was only RM50 million.

Bung Moktar was then the non-executive chairman of Felcra.

“The board did ask YB Datuk Bung Moktar about the difference in amount that was invested in the Public Mutual Trust Fund. YB Bung had stated that he took along a Felcra application letter to meet the Finance Minister for his approval. YB Bung told the board that the Finance Minister recommended to him to invest RM150 million.

“I assumed that he (Bung) had changed the amount of RM50 million to RM150 million after that recommendation,” she said during a key examination by deputy public prosecutor Roslan Mat Nor at a corruption case trial involving by Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar and his wife Datin Seri Zizie Ezette A. Samad.

The fifth prosecution witness said that based on the reply from the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MKD), it (MKD) had no objection to Felcra’s application to invest RM150 million.

“Other details (in the letter) also stated that the board of directors (Felcra) had to ensure that Felcra Berhad continuously monitored the investment’s performance so that early risk mitigation can be carried out in the event of any clear decline in the equity market,” she said.

She said a letter was submitted to the board after the investment had been made and the board also knew nothing about the amount (RM150 million).

Asked by Roslan as to when she first knew that the investment had been increased from RM50 million to RM150 milion, Habibah said “During the board of directors’ meeting in April 2005.”

Roslan: Why didn’t you object against the decision?

Habibah: The decision to raise the investment sum to RM150 million was made by the (then) Finance Minister, so who am I to object to it?

Lawyers M. Athimulan and Datuk K. Kumaraendran are representing Bung Moktar and Zizie Ezette, respectively.

According to the first charge, Bung Moktar, 60, who was at that time the non-executive chairman of Felcra, was accused of taking a bribe of RM2.2 million in cash from Public Mutual’s investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid, 38, through his wife Zizie Ezette.

He was accused of committing the act as a reward for obtaining approval from the Minister of Finance II for Felcra to make a RM150 million investment in Public Mutual unit trust products.

The offence was allegedly committed at Public Bank Berhad, Taman Melawati Branch, No. 262-265, Jalan Bandar 12, Taman Melawati here, between 12.30pm and 5pm, on June 12, 2015.

For the second charge, Bung Moktar was accused of taking for himself a bribe of RM262,500 in cash from the same individual (Madhi) through an account of the bank’s investment product Public Islamic Treasures Growth Fund (PITGF) numbered 044797816 and registered under the name of Zizie Izette for the same purpose.

Bung Moktar was also accused of taking for himself a bribe of RM337,500 from Public Mutual’s investment agent, Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar, 42, through a Public Ittikal Sequel Fund (PITSEQ) account numbered 044797824 registered under the name of Zizie Izette for the same purpose. Both offences were allegedly committed at the same location at 12.16pm and 12.28pm, on June 19, 2015.

The charges are framed under Subsection 17(a) of the MACC Act and punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act which provides for imprisonment of not more than 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000 whichever is higher, if convicted.

Zizie Izette, 41, a former actress, pleaded not guilty to three counts of abetting her husband on the same offences, at the same places, dates and times under Section 28(1)(c) of the MACC Act and punishable under subsection 24(1) which provides for imprisonment of not more than 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000 whichever is higher, if convicted.

The hearing continues before judge Rozina Ayob tomorrow. – Bernama

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/bung-moktar-said-finance-minister-recommended-rm150m-investment-witness-EC2136556

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March 16, 2020
830 more nurses for government hospitals, says Health Minister

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will place 830 nurses in government hospitals to tackle the spread of Covid-19 in this country, according to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

He said their appointments on a contract basis was to beef up the manpower capacity at 135 government hospitals across the country in view of the spike in Covid-19 cases since last week.

“They, comprising nurses who have completed their studies at the ministry’s nursing colleges, will serve for two years,“ he said at the daily media conference on Covid-19, here today.

Dr Adham said Malaysia had sufficient medical manpower including more than 60,000 doctors in the public and private sectors.

“We have enough (professional medical practitioners) in every state at this moment but what we need now is (more) infectious disease physicians,“ he added.

Besides that, he said the MOH had 926 medical ventilators including 152 non-invasive ventilators and 142 transport ventilators.

“The ministry is ordering 800 more ventilators to meet the current need,“ he added.

On a related development, Dr Adham said of the attendees at the recent four-day Tabligh Assembly held at Sri Petaling Jamek Mosque, more than 7,000 had come forward for Covid-19 screening.

However, he said, the MOH did not know yet the number of positive cases. – Bernama

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/830-more-nurses-for-government-hospitals-says-health-minister-DC2136476

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March 16, 2020
Our ancestors may have run a million years earlier than we thought

We thought hominins evolved to run around 2 million years ago – but a study of the famous Lucy’s species, Australopithecus afarensis, suggests she could run too

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https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237361-our-ancestors-may-have-run-a-million-years-earlier-than-we-thought/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home

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March 16, 2020
Rates of death after stroke have fallen by a quarter in south London

Rates of death and disability after a stroke have fallen by a quarter in south London in the past 16 years, perhaps due to specialist stroke centres

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https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237240-rates-of-death-after-stroke-have-fallen-by-a-quarter-in-south-london/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home

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March 16, 2020
Premier League ‘may not finish’, says FA chief

LONDON: Football Association chairman Greg Clarke has reportedly told the Premier League he does not believe the domestic football season will be completed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League suspended all fixtures at an emergency meeting on Friday. Matches in the English Football League, FA Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship are also on hold.

“It was unanimously decided to suspend the Premier League with the intention of returning on April 4, subject to medical advice and conditions at the time,“ the Premier League said in a statement.

Clarke said at the meeting that he did not think it was feasible for the season to be completed, according to a report in the Times.

The virus is not expected to peak in Britain for many weeks, raising doubts over an early April re-start for the Premier League.

The Times said it is understood that Brighton and Hove Albion chief executive Paul Barber also questioned the brevity of the suspension.

Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, is reported to have said it would at least allow time to consider the potential consequences and debate the possible solutions.

The decision was taken after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for Covid-19.

Arteta welcomed the move to put the season on hold.

“Feeling better already,“ he tweeted. “We’re all facing a huge & unprecedented challenge. Everyone’s health is all that matters right now.”

Liverpool are 25 points clear at the top of the Premier League with nine games remaining, chasing their first English top-flight title for 30 years.

If results had gone their way this weekend they could have wrapped up the title at Everton on Monday but manager Jurgen Klopp said he supported the move to suspend football.

He said in a club statement: “If it’s a choice between football and the good of the wider society, it’s no contest. Really, it isn’t.”

Financial hit

Football clubs at all levels face enormous losses if the season is not completed.

One senior figure in broadcasting told the Times: “The commercial reality for the Premier League and (European governing body) UEFA is that if they don’t complete their seasons then they are in breach of their broadcasting contracts.

“You would have broadcasters from all around the world saying, ‘In that case we are not paying for the season.’ For the Premier League you are talking around £3 billion (RM15.75 billion) income a year from overseas and domestic TV rights. There would also be financial implications if the competitions were squeezed so fewer matches were played.”

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told the BBC that clubs, especially in the lower divisions, would be hit hard by the disruption.

“I think many clubs are going to struggle significantly,“ he said. “Many clubs are surviving on a match-to-match basis and are reliant on the loyal few thousand turning up.

“We have to consider the staff at clubs, they are reliant on the income they get from football clubs to pay their own bills as well.”

The Premier League clubs are reportedly due to meet again next Thursday.

There are matches taking place on Saturday in the National League – the fifth tier of English football – but a number of games have been postponed, including the Yeovil v Barnet fixture.

“We currently have four staff that are showing symptoms of Covid-19 who are following government advice and self-isolating,“ Barnet said in a statement.

“As a consequence, we have taken measures to put all first-team staff into self-isolation.” — AFP

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https://www.thesundaily.my/sport/premier-league-may-not-finish-says-fa-chief-DC2127566

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March 14, 2020
Lab collaborates to prepare photovoltaic materials research for exascale

Photovoltaic solar cells are a promising alternative to fossil fuels, but they need to be a lot more efficient before they can go into widespread use. Scientists have pushed current supercomputing power to the limit looking for that improved efficiency, but the arrival of exascale computing within the next few years will allow them to take this quest to the next level.

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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-lab-collaborates-photovoltaic-materials-exascale.html

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March 13, 2020
Mid-term review of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition

It is almost five years now since the Nutrition Decade was declared. It is time to reflect back on its achievements so far. FAO and WHO are convening an open and inclusive dialogue with stakeholders for the mid-term review of the Nutrition Decade.

This review follows the ECOSOC Resolution 1989/84 regarding international decades, which provides that an appropriate inter-governmental body should appraise the implementation of a decade’s programme of work at the mid-point and at the end of the decade.

The objectives of the Mid-term Review of the Nutrition Decade are to assess and evaluate the achievements in individual policy areas of the ICN2 Framework for Action, as reflected in the actions areas of the Work Programme of the Decade, over the time period from 2016 to 2020. The Mid-term Review aims to identify focus areas for priority action and promising opportunities in each of the six action areas for future progress from 2021 to 2025. This assessment will guide the revision of the ‘living part’ of the Work Programme of the Nutrition Decade as appropriate.

The process will include a series of consultations and dialogues with member states, civil society organizations, private sector, UN partner agencies and others, as well as an open online consultation. Finally, a global event is envisioned to be organized to underscore the achievements of the first half of the Nutrition Decade and set the stage for the priorities during the second half. More information is provided in the concept note.

The joint FAO/WHO Nutrition Decade Secretariat has developed the Mid-term Review Foresight paper, which will serve as the background paper for the consultation process. Reflecting on the broader development in nutrition globally, this paper develops a vision on actions to be taken in the different areas of the Work Programme of the Nutrition Decade, considering specific advances and opportunities in individual policy areas.

Background documents for the consultation process of the Mid-term Review of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025 can be downloaded here. We will add the other 5 languages when they are available, and meanwhile, publish some in English only.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/12-03-2020-mid-term-review-of-the-un-decade-of-action-on-nutrition

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March 13, 2020
Decades of work at Argonne National Laboratory led to pivotal moment for U.S. nuclear plants

A few years ago, several nuclear reactors in the United States were facing the possibility of unforeseen shutdowns in the wake of disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The 2011 accident prompted worldwide scrutiny of nuclear power safety—especially regarding boiling water reactors, or BWRs.

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March 12, 2020
The unmet need for social context in family planning

New evidence on the relationship between sexual health and social context finds a strong association between gender equality, education and family planning

Twenty-five years ago, two global events – the International Conference on Population and Development and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing – formally recognized that women’s health and reproductive choices cannot be separated from the social context of their lives.

Now, researchers have created a dataset which brings together national surveys from 74 countries, representing 3 million women. For the first time, it allows them to describe trends in demand/use of modern contraceptives alongside social and economic indicators.

The data is published in The Lancet Global Health and is authored by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organization.

It shows that, over time, women are more likely to have their demand for modern contraception met in countries where gender equality and their educational opportunities improve.

Gender equality and education increases access to modern contraception

Trends in sexual activity and demand for use and use of modern contraceptive methods in 74 countries: a retrospective analysis of nationally representative surveys finds that met need for modern contraception is strongly correlated with positive shifts in social structures.
For every 0.1-point increase in a country’s gender development index, it found a 6.7% rise in women who were sexually active and did not want to conceive. Of those women, an additional 13.5% used modern methods to prevent a pregnancy.

Expectations of every girl’s right to education also made a difference. Each extra year in schooling is linked to an increase of 2.3% in demand, and a 4.7% increase in use of modern contraceptive methods.

“This study shows how every woman must negotiate her reproductive autonomy within the social framework in which she lives, responding to barriers and opportunities as they emerge,” says Dr Lale Say, one of the authors of the study and Unit Head at WHO and HRP.

“Gender equality is both a precondition and a driving force for securing women’s reproductive health and rights – as well as the sustainable development targets, which are our best chance for delivering health and well-being for all.”

Global trends reveal new challenges in family planning

Overall, the data reinforce global trends: more time spent sexually-active and single, postponement of parenthood, and the near-universal desire for smaller families.

The study also highlights where action is needed at country-level to avoid family planning services falling behind demand.

Out of the 74 countries analyzed, 42 showed an increase in demand for contraception. Only 37 countries show an increase in use of a modern method to prevent pregnancy.

Although unmet need for contraception declined in 34 countries, it increased in 14 countries. Significantly more progress is needed, and faster, to ensure each girl and woman is able to access the sexual and reproductive health services she needs.

Barriers and solutions to reproductive health and rights

Gender equality can affect contraceptive use in many ways. From the personal and political degree to which women are free to choose their sexual activity, to accessing family planning services it can also shape any power imbalances within personal relationships. This study supports recent efforts by WHO to adopt a broader, integrated concept of sexual and reproductive health – and to translate it into a framework for policy and practice.

The authors argue that family planning targets in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will not be met without a profound shift: from focus on ‘access to contraception’, to broader aspects of sexual health and social context.

Since reproductive health and women’s empowerment are intertwined, trends in contraceptive use can also reveal progress towards another global target: progress towards gender equality.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/10-03-2020-the-unmet-need-for-social-context-in-family-planning

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March 11, 2020
Cervical cancer elimination initiative updates

February: Garnering international support on the path to eliminate cervical cancer

On
5 February, the WHO Executive Board recommended to the 73rd World
Health Assembly the adoption of the draft Global Strategy to accelerate
the elimination of
cervical cancer as a public health problem, and urged its
implementation. The proposed resolution urges Member States to implement
the strategy, calling for the support of international organizations
and other relevant stakeholders, and includes a request
for the Director General to support Member states in this endeavor.
The WHA will consider the resolution when it convenes in May 2020. The
session included 23 interventions from EB Member States, most of them
in full support of the Strategy and resolution;
18 from other Member States, 6 observers and 6 non-state actors. Dr
Nono Simelela, ADG and Special Adviser to WHO Director-General Dr
Tedros, responded at the end of the session, thanking delegates for the
broad support, and addressing some of the comments
by sharing some of the ongoing work such as the efforts with the
immunization partners to address HPV vaccine supply challenges and
transparency in pricing.

Read the full story

Read the full draft resolution

Download the
Draft Strategy

Dr Nono Simelela presented the draft Global Strategy towards Eliminating Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem during a webinar with partners. This presentation was given as part of
the Us vs. HPV Prevention Week webinar series hosted by the Global
Initiative Against HPV and Cervical
Cancer. While highlighting WHO’s life-course approach to cervical
cancer control, Dr Simelela also explained the proposed elimination
threshold and targets as laid out in the strategy. She also discussed
addressing salient challenges such as redressing inequities
and taking special considerations for women living with HIV.

Read the full story

Listen to the full webinar “Gathering momentum for the global elimination of cervical cancer”

Watch the video: Cervical Cancer Elimination – developed by Basic Health International (BHI), Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the Global Initiative Against HPV and Cervical Cancer (GIAHC)

Read the story:To eliminate cervical cancer in the next 100 years, implementing an effective strategy is critical

Dr
Simelela was invited to Rwanda to support the kick off for a national
cervical screening program set to put Rwanda on the path towards the
Global Strategy goals
for elimination of cervical cancer.

Amongst
others, Rwanda’s First Lady Jeannette Kagame received her for a
discussion on how WHO can support efforts against cervical cancer in her
own country and
throughout Africa. Dr Simelela held discussions on cervical cancer
screening and treatment services, including building radiotherapy
capacity, with the dedicated staff of Ruhengeri Hospital, Butaro
Hospital, the Muhoza health center and hospital and the Rwanda
Military Hospital. While cervical cancer and breast cancer are the most
prevalent cancers among the women in the country, Rwanda has
impressively reached a 97% HPV vaccination rate since introducing a
vaccination programme in 2011, with a target to reach 70%
screening coverage in five years. We look forward to a continuing and
fruitful partnership with Rwanda and all the countries who have pledged
their commitment to eliminate this preventable cancer. Together we can
answer WHO’s call and improve the lives of
girls and women around the world.

Follow us for more updates!

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For
news and real-time updates from around the world,
follow Dr Princess Nono Simelela on Twitter
@DrNonoSimelela
ADG, Special Adviser to the Director-General on Strategic Programmatic Priorities

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/04-03-2020-cervical-cancer-elimination-initiative-updates-december-2019

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March 11, 2020