The Sun-250123

PETALING JAYA: The government needs to reassess its policies to assist the people, considering the global economic slowdown is also affecting Malaysia, said Universiti Tun Abdul Razak economist Dr Barjoyai Bardai. He said Malaysia’s open economy, which is export-based, must be ready to face the consequences if the slowdown becomes a protracted global recession. “The government has to work hard on improving public perception of the economy. It can do so by using the monthly and quarterly data that it collects about how households and businesses view the economy. “This is a very important indicator because it will provide the government with information about what needs to be done to help improve public view of the economy.” He said he agreed with the view that the economy will face difficult times, but it will only be for the next two years as growth is projected to be around 4.5% this year and about 3.5% next year. Barjoyai added that the national economy will peak in 2025 or 2026, when there will be high growth after two years of pain. He also said the people’s sentiment will become upbeat once they start to see the economy improving. Only 35% of Malaysians polled said they and their families would be economically better off in five years, according to a yearly study conducted by global communications firm Edelman. The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer released during the World Economic Forum last week pointed out that Malaysians’ trust in the economy dropped by 20 percentage points since the 2022 edition, and is currently at an all-time low. In terms of trust in the economy, Malaysia was ranked 13th among 28 countries studied last year. It was placed between Ireland (31%) and Singapore (36%). Malaysia was also the most pessimistic among the developing countries polled. Edelman said the online survey has been conducted every year for the past 23 years. The survey for Malaysia was conducted in the Malay language. In his New Year speech, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reiterated his pledge that economic revival and improving the people’s living standards are top priorities. Last week, he launched the Malaysia Madani blueprint for his administration to realign the country’s direction. Universiti Utara Malaysia economist Dr K. Kuperan Viswanathan said public pessimism about economic growth is a global trend as countries are just coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. He said during the pandemic, economies around the world suffered and people were hoping for a recovery, but the world was hit by a double blow – the supply chain disruption and the Russia-Ukraine war. He said people had hoped the war in Ukraine would end quickly and there would be a peace dividend, but that did not happen and the war continues and is hurting the global economy. He said the two issues contribute to low economic growth globally and that would add to public pessimism about the national economy. “The country’s economy is expected to grow 4.5% to 5.5% but this will not help change public perception about the economy immediately. “Other contributing factors are the high inflation and increasing cost of living. But wages have not grown in tandem with these, making it harder for people to make ends oGovernment needs to address pessimism over economy, say economists █ BYRAJVINDER SINGH [email protected] Economic concerns 2 page INSIDE PM: Govt seeking ways to cut food costs 3 page Joy for squatter residents TELLING IT AS IT IS ON WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25, 2023 No. 8194 PP 2644/12/2012 (031195) www.thesundaily.my HOLIDAY CROWD ... Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur’s iconic street-shopping destination, remained bustling over the weekend as migrant workers took advantage of the Chinese New Year holidays to go bargain-hunting alongside tourists. – AMIRUL SYAFIQ/THESUN meet,” said Kuperan. However, he said the silver lining is that Malaysians are lucky as inflation has not gone out of control, unlike what happened in Europe and the UK, where the cost of living is far higher than in Malaysia.

2 theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS PM: Govt seeking ways to cut food costs o‘Ensuring sufficient production, supporting domestic producers of eggs, chickens and vegetables, among measures being looked at’ BUKIT MERTAJAM: The government is focusing on finding means to lower the price of food items and other raw materials, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He said among measures being looked at are ensuring sufficient production and supporting domestic producers of eggs, chickens and vegetables. Anwar was commenting on a statement by former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who called on the government to find ways to lower the price of raw materials. “It’s okay, let’s listen to his (Ismail Sabri) point of view. If I compare the month and a half of the minister in charge now (to the previous one), I can admit that what is being done now is more earnest,” he said, after attending a Majlis Kenduri Rakyat in his hometown at Cherok Tok Kun. Speaking at the ceremony, Anwar added that in the short time since he was appointed as prime minister, the presence of international investors from Europe, China and the United States in Malaysia was much more encouraging than in previous years. “With this confidence, the ringgit Call for additional immigration staff at KLIA Anwar arrives in Bandar Seri Begawan for official visit BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived here yesterday for a two-day official visit to Brunei. Anwar was accompanied by his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for his second official visit abroad since becoming prime minister. The special aircraft carrying the couple landed at Brunei International Airport at 3.13pm. He was greeted on arrival by Brunei Crown Prince Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. An official welcome ceremony was held at the airport in conjunction with his visit. Negaraku, Malaysia’s national anthem, was played followed by Brunei’s national anthem, Allah Peliharakan Sultan. The prime minister then inspected a guard-ofhonour mounted by the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. Present were Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin and the Malaysian High Commissioner to Brunei Datuk Raja Reza Raja Zaib Shah. Anwar is scheduled to have an audience with the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, at Istana Nurul Iman today followed by a four-eyed meeting between both leaders. At the meeting, the two leaders are expected to assess the progress of ongoing cooperation, further strengthen relations, as well as venture into fresh cooperation in common interest fields. The Brunei Sultan and Anwar will also witness the signing of an MoU between the Malaysian Investment Development Authority and the Brunei Investment Agency. Anwar is also scheduled to attend a dinner with the Malaysian diaspora in Brunei. – Bernama Anwar being welcomed by the Brunei Crown Prince at the airport yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC has strengthened. If our currency falls, this will lead to high import costs and an increase in the prices of goods. When the prices of goods increase, including the cost of food, this will burden the people.” He said Budget 2023, to be retabled on Feb 24, would touch on digitalisation and the modern agriculture sector to ensure that the economy remains sustainable. Anwar said he would also consider higher allocations for Penang, Sabah and Sarawak, which were deemed to have received less attention before. He said although Penang was the largest tax contributor to the nation, the state was often marginalised in terms of federal budget allocations. Anwar also stressed that the unity government under his leadership would continue to focus on carrying out its responsibilities despite the antics of certain parties in disputing the policies being implemented. He did not specify which parties he meant but said the government had a lot of work that it needed to focus on to help the people instead of dealing with such antics. “No need for us to entertain their antics. We don’t accept salary also they are angry. If I take (they) say it’s very high, this is the problem with politicians who do not know why we fight and lead. “We show a good example to the leaders. Who does not want convenience? I also want, but we must think of our responsibility, that it is the people who will suffer.” He was speaking at a high-tea session with the community at Lembah Makanan Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam on Monday. He said leaders need to set a good example and stop actions that destroy the country, Bernama reported. “I do not deny that there are many cases but I’ve said since I became prime minister, I will not tolerate (them) and I express my appreciation to my deputy prime ministers, ministers and deputy ministers. “I seem to work fast. I said reduce salary, we reduced it. I said be thrifty, we are thrifty. Politicians have their responsibilities, civil servants have their responsibilities, only then can the country rise again.” Malaysia to host annual leaders consultation with Brunei this year BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: The annual leaders consultation (ALC) between Malaysia and Brunei, aimed at further improving bilateral ties, will be held in Malaysia this year. Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the meeting involving the two nation’s top leaders and senior ministers will take an in-depth look into matters that need coordination. Zambry, who had a meeting with Brunei’s Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Datuk Seri Erywan Mohd Yusof on Monday, said the ALC was last held in Bandar Seri Begawan in 2021. “We discussed efforts to strengthen ties between our two countries.” He said other matters discussed during the meeting with Erywan were efforts to boost ties within Asean as well as joint action to deal with issues in Asean countries, including Myanmar’s position. He added that they also discussed the situation in the Islamic world, and how Brunei could be used as a reference. – Bernama KUALA LUMPUR: The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry has called for an increase in the number of immigration counter staff as well as the ramping up of facial recognition usage to improve immigration screening procedures at the KL International Airport (KLIA). Its minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said this is important to overcome the problem of long waiting periods at immigration counters following the increase in tourist arrivals. “The facial recognition system used by the Immigration Department should be extended to all international visitors and not limited to those holding long-term permits, to facilitate the clearance process. “If Malaysia wants to welcome tourists and make the country among the most preferred destinations, we need to solve this problem immediately,” he said in a statement on Monday. Tiong, who inspected the tourist-arrival process at KLIA, found that visitors had to queue, in some cases, for almost two hours for the immigration check-in process to be completed. He proposed that KLIA authorities consider stationing multilingual staff to make it easier for tourists going through inspection procedures. – Bernama Report agents charging over RM15,000 for maids JOHOR BARU: Malaysians who are charged more than RM15,000 by agents to obtain an Indonesian domestic helper are urged to lodge a report with Indonesia’s consulate-general. Sigit S. Widiyanto, the consul-general in Johor Baru, said there were complaints that there are agents who charge beyond the maximum limit of RM15,000 per worker set through the MoU on the recruitment and protection of Indonesian domestic helpers signed by both countries last year, Bernama reported. “We still receive complaints that some agents have charged them RM20,000, RM28,000 or RM30,000. So please make a report to the consulategeneral’s office so that we can prevent this from happening.” He was speaking after a meet-and-greet session with the Johor Media Club yesterday, attended by about 30 media practitioners and officials of the consul-general’s office.

3 NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 Joy for squatter residents BATU CAVES: In 2018, Shaharom Bee Babjan (pic), who was a resident at the Seri Temenggung squatter village with 29 others since 1984, was allocated a three-bedroom apartment of 84sqm in Batu Caves, for which she only paid RM65,000. Each unit at Projek Pangsapuri Selangorku @ Seri Temenggung originally cost RM165,000, but the Selangor government subsidised the balance. The subsidy was a huge relief for oFoundation provides loans for low-income earners unable to meet bank requirements █ BY MUHAMMAD YUSRY [email protected] the 61-year-old and her family of six. Unfortunately, their joy turned to despair when they could not get a bank loan. The developer had given her until December last year to arrange a loan to keep the unit. She is currently living with her son, daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren in a rented shophouse. Her son was involved in a road accident about six months ago and suffered serious injuries. He requires regular hospital visits and is unable to work and earn an income. Shaharom Bee had applied for a housing loan under her daughter Nur Azila Rokli’s name due to her age. The 33-year-old is a home-based baker, selling cookies and cakes with a monthly income of RM700. Her husband works at a telecommunications company, earning a monthly salary of RM3,950. Nur Azila had applied for loans with banks but her applications were rejected due to her low income. She also tried applying jointly with her husband, but was rejected as he was blacklisted for an outstanding debt. “After doing calculations, I know I can service the loan. But some banks said they cannot approve our application because the amount is below RM100,000. I have tried so hard to secure a loan since 2018. At one point, my mother thought I didn’t do enough, especially when she saw the building was almost completed.” Late last year, Nur Azila was introduced to Yayasan My First Home (YMFH), which assisted the family by providing the loan they needed. YMFH is a charitable foundation established in 2021. It serves as a touch point and facilitator to bring together all the various stakeholders, including developers, financiers, donors, NGOs, the relevant federal and state agencies and other interested parties in a combined effort to meet the primary goal of promoting and facilitating the development of affordable home ownership by the B40 group. “I am so thankful to YMFH. It has removed the burden and anxiety we have been carrying for the past five years. We are glad that now, we are just waiting to move into our new house this August,” said Nur Azila. YMFH general manager Nambee Ashvin Nambiar said the former squatters are mostly low-income earners and that is the main reason for not getting bank loans. “This is a group of people that risk being homeless or having to rent due to eviction, so our assistance has a greater impact on this demographic. If we don’t help them, they have no other avenue since banks would not grant them loans. We don’t want them to get any illegal loans and risk getting into other problems as well,” he said. Open houses approach to attract tourists ALOR GAJAH: State level open houses held in rural areas could have an impact and serve as a platform for the state government to attract tourists in preparation for the 2024 Visit Malacca Year. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali said such events should be used by agencies involved, especially the Tourism Promotion Division, to improve existing tourism spots. He was referring to the Chinese New Year open house in Kampung Permai Machap Umboo. “This is the first time a state level celebration is held outside the city and the preparation made is extraordinary. “With contemporary ideas from the younger generation, this village has become another ‘OTD’ (of the day) site to take pictures, making the place a tourist attraction in Malacca,” he said at the open house on Monday. He added that the arrival of foreign tourists in Machap Umboo has not only increased the number of tourists, but also helped to raise the socio-economic status of the residents. The open house, which started at 7pm, was attended by more than 5,000 guests, including State Secretary Datuk Zaidi Johari, Deputy Defence Minister Adly, who is also Alor Gajah MP and State Unity, Information, Human Resources and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Ngwe Hee Sem. Guests were entertained by several modern and traditional performances, including dragon and lion dances, along with a wide variety of dishes such as nasi lemak, traditional nyonya cakes, roti canai and pancakes. The highlight was a 30-minute fireworks display. – Bernama Increase in flood evacuees in Johor JOHOR BARU: The number of flood evacuees in Johor has increased to 1,093 as of 4pm yesterday compared with 422 at 2pm, following continuous heavy rain since early yesterday morning. The state Disaster Management Committee said five additional relief centres have been opened, making it a total of 13 in the districts of Kluang, Segamat and Kota Tinggi. “Segamat is the worst hit district, with 975 evacuees from 273 families that have been evacuated to eight centres. In the Kluang district, a total of 75 people from 10 families were moved to four centres while 43 residents from six families in the Kota Tinggi district were evacuated,” said the committee in a statement yesterday. According to the committee, there are currently no roads in the state closed to traffic. – Bernama Violent crime syndicate involving cops busted KUALA TERENGGANU: Police believe the illegal organisation known as Ayahanda Harimau Kumbang, which was busted in a special operation dubbed “Op Selendang” in Dungun and Kuala Terengganu, was involved in violent crimes and gangsterism. State police chief Datuk Rohaimi Md Isa said investigations revealed that some of the 21 individuals, which included 15 policemen, detained over their suspected involvement in the organisation had acted as debt collection agents and unauthorised vehicle repossessors. He said the organisation, which have between 200 to 300 members around Dungun, was collecting “protection” money from its members to avoid any action by authorities in case they are caught for any wrongdoing. “However, not all of the detained policemen had a direct role in criminal activities. But being part of an illegal organisation is an offence,” he said at the police headquarters yesterday. – Bernama 27 unprofitable Perak subsidiaries closed down IPOH: The Perak government has shut down 27 of its subsidiaries to save costs. “We found that they had no business and was not able to give back to the government and burdened the parent company, which had to take the responsibility of paying salaries and so on,“ Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said after an inauguration and opening ceremony of the Piccadilly@Greentown project by Raja DiHilir Perak Raja Iskandar Dzurkarnain Sultan Idris Shah yesterday. He said the government targeted to achieve a total contribution of RM100 million from all government-linked companies (GLC) by 2030, adding that all relevant GLC should clearly plan on every development and project given to make a profit. When asked about several abandoned housing projects in Perak, he said he had asked state Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Sandrea Ng Shy Ching to work with the Local Government Development Ministry to address the matter. “At the Perak Housing and Property Board meeting, it was mentioned that several projects were halted due to the movement control order and they faced excessive price hikes for construction materials when they resumed work on-site, as well as worker issues,” he said. Saarani added that the project was a systematic sustainable housing initiative with complete infrastructure and quality facilities in the state. He said the project could support the objectives of the Prosperous Perak 2030 Plan, contributing to the formation of a prosperous and livable community that is in line with the government’s commitment to take a holistic approach to support the property sector. – Bernama ICONIC SIGHT... In conjunction with the Chinese New Year holidays, interesting locations such as KLCC, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and Bukit Bintang became the focus of many to spend time in the city. – AMIRUL SYAFIQ /THESUN

4 theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS KUALA LUMPUR: An NGO that serves the hardcore poor and homeless is facing a bleak future after its office in Chow Kit here was flooded due to water leak recently. The office also operates a community clinic on the first floor of a building in Jalan Raja Laut. Its situation is worsened by lack of financial reserves from donations and an increase in rentals in the area. Malaysian Public Health and Welfare Association president Elisha Kor Krishnan, 44, said she could not believe it when she saw water flowing down the stairs at the office. “I was walking up the stairs at 8pm last week to look up a file in my room when I heard a loud sound. Out of curiosity, I went to see what was happening. “To my surprise, I found water coming down the stairs. I quickly entered my room to collect some of my personal belongings and saw water leaking out of the sink drain hole in my room. I was worried the entire 3,000sq ft floor, including our clinic, would be flooded,” Elisha told theSun. She said the clinic’s medical equipment such as the sphygmomanometer used to check blood pressure, blood glucose meters, and test kits used to check for HIV, syphilis, Hepatitis C and gonorrhea were submerged. She estimated the total loss, including the medical items, to be between RM20,000 and RM25,000. Currently, the association only has RM7,000 left in its account, said Elisha, a former architect who has more than 20 years’ experience in social work. “We will need to raise RM60,000 as we run five programmes involving single mothers, sex workers and people living with HIV. “We have an entrepreneur programme that will need to be put on hold until we find a new office and a cleaner space to hold our activities. Our project that involves children, such as Quran reading and painting activities, will also have to be put on hold. “But we will continue to serve cooked meals daily to those who rely on us. The meals are partially sponsored by NGO Beyond Borders,” she said. During the interview, Elisha was tending to a patient who is an Indonesian migrant worker. Tini, 63, who was with her two-yearold grandson Arkan Al Falah, often comes to the centre to attend the Quran reading classes held in the evenings. She also joins the queue to receive the cooked meals at noon. “My grandson likes coming here, especially since he is away from his mother. It is a place where he can be with friends his age,” Tini said. The NGO has a total of 10 staff on its payroll. Elisha is eyeing a potential office at Menara Cendana, which is about 10 minutes from its current office. “Rental for the new place is RM4,500. In total, we’ll need to put a downpayment of RM20,000, which includes security and management fees. It is steep. Our current rent is RM3,400 while monthly expenditure comes to about RM300,000. Elisha said about 12,000 people visit her clinic each month and most of them have yet to gain employment or are under-employed. “Without additional funds, we will not be able to help them as much as we wish,” she said, adding that the NGO started in 2013 with a handful of like-minded people who wanted to make a difference. Those interested to know more about the association can contact Elisha at 016-684 3822 or visit www.facebook.com/PBPKKUM. Trans fats continue to threaten health of billions GENEVA: More than five billion of the world’s eight billion people are exposed to industrially generated and harmful trans fats in their food, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported on Monday. The Geneva-based UN body said it had in fact aimed for these unhealthy ingredients in certain foods to disappear by this year. Egypt, Pakistan and South Korea are among the countries worst affected by health conditions linked to trans fats, reported German news agency dpa. “Trans fat has no known benefit, and huge health risks that incur huge costs for health systems,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “By contrast, eliminating trans fat is cost-effective and has enormous benefits for health. Put simply, trans fat is a toxic chemical that kills and should have no place in food. It’s time to get rid of it once and for all.” According to WHO figures, trans fats lead to half a million premature deaths through heart ailments every year. It pointed to Denmark, where the action taken 20 years ago has seen a decline in cardiovascular disease. Trans fats are unsaturated fatty acids that can occur in natural or processed foods. They are produced in the processed food sector by the hydrolysis of oils to produce solid fats like margarine. Heat treatment of vegetable oils can also lead to trans fats being produced. Foods containing high levels of trans fats include baked produce and confectionery, fried potato products and ready meals. Health, welfare association – Bernama suffers double blow oNGO Chow Kit office hit by water leak while facing shortage of funds to carry out programmes for hardcore poor, homeless ‘Special’ turf grass for Paroi stadium pitch SEREMBAN: The Negeri Sembilan government has agreed in principle to replace the pitch at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi with the Zeon Zoysia type of grass, with the cooperation of the Sports Ministry. State Youth and Sports Committee chairman Datuk Mohamad Taufek Abd Ghani said Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh had made an offer to the state government with regard to replacing the current turf at one of the stadiums chosen by the state. Mohamad Taufek said the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium was chosen as it uses the same type of grass used at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri Johor, National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Singapore National Stadium and Gelora Bung “The date to carry out work on the replacement has yet to be finalised because we have to look at the Super League schedule first since the league will be starting soon,” he said. Mohamad Taufek said if the date of the replacement work clashes with the Super League schedule, the Negeri Sembilan FC will have to use alternative stadiums, such as Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia Stadium in Nilai or the Universiti Teknologi Mara Stadium in Seremban 3. – Bernama Clouded leopard sighted in Tanjung Malim IPOH: The Wildlife and National Parks Department confirmed receiving a report on the sighting of what is believed to be a clouded leopard at Taman Bernam Baru in Tanjung Malim recently. Its director Yusoff Shariff said his team is investigating the complaint from a resident of the area who claimed he spotted the clouded leopard near his house on Monday. “The public is advised to exercise caution if confronted by the animal and not to provoke it. Avoid going into the forest area as based on our records, there are leopards in the nearby Tapah Forest Reserve. “We are monitoring the surrounding areas and if we find it, we will relocate it to its original habitat,” he said. A 49-second video went viral since Monday showing glimpses of an animal believed to be a clouded leopard in front of a house in Taman Bernam Baru. – Bernama █ BY ELLY FAZANIZA [email protected] 1,300 road crashes on sixth day of Op Selamat 19 KUALA LUMPUR: Police recorded 1,312 road crashes across the country on the sixth day of Op Selamat 19 on Monday. Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Datuk Seri Mat Kasim Karim said it involved 1,603 vehicles, with cars recording the highest number of cases at 1,160. This was followed by four-wheel drive vehicles with 210 cases, motorcycles (184), lorries and vans with 19 cases each, buses (five), taxis (four) and one bicycle and a police vehicle. Op Selamat 19, which started on Jan 18, is being carried out until Friday across the country in conjunction with the Chinese New Year festive period. – Bernama A child being examined at the clinic. – ADIB RAWI YAHAYA/THESUN

5 NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 Orang Asli girl airlifted to hospital GUA MUSANG: The air unit of the Fire and Rescue Department conducted a medical evacuation flight (medevac) to transport an Orang Asli girl from Pos Balar to the Gua Musang Hospital on Monday. Fire and Rescue Department Subang air base public relations officer Deputy Superintendent II Mohd Hasrizal Kamaruzzaman said 15-month-old Herissya Hefly, who was down with shortness of breath, cough and flu over the past three days, was accompanied by her mother Tijah Enda, 22, and two nurses from the Gua Musang Hospital on the flight. “The Fire and Rescue Department crew received a request to pick up the patient while out on an operation to deliver food to Orang Asli at a civic centre here at 10.30am. “Following the medevac operation, the air unit continued with its mission to deliver 25 tonnes of food and supplies to six Orang Asli settlements.” Subang Central Region Base operations commander Senior Fire Superintendent II Wahyudi Mohd Sayuhti said the operation was resumed after delays due to continuous heavy rain in the Orang Asli settlement areas since Friday. “Monday’s operation began at 10am and involved two helicopters. A total of 5.9 tonnes of food was successfully delivered to Kampung Gawin and Kampung Gob in Pos Gob, Kampung Jader and Kampung Ladoi in Pos Simpor and Kampung Sempadik in Pos Belatim.” – Bernama Burglar falls asleep at crime scene SEREMBAN: A man has been detained after he fell asleep in a house that he allegedly broke into in an incident at Taman Tanjung in Bahau on Monday. Jempol district police chief Supt Hoo Chang Hook said the house owner lodged a police report on the incident after he woke up at about 6.30am and found the suspect asleep in the house. Hoo said the 65-year-old complainant, his wife and their four children were at home at the time of the incident. “The 41-year-old suspect is believed to have fallen asleep after consuming alcoholic beverages belonging to the complainant. “The complainant also found a paper bag containing two knives, a screwdriver, two bottles of liquor and a tablet next to the suspect.” Hoo said the suspect is believed to have entered the house through an unlocked backdoor, adding that the suspect, who has criminal records for multiple offences related to drugs, has been remanded for four days to assist in investigations under Section 457 of the Penal Code. – Bernama Company owner charged over false Socso claims ALOR STAR: A company owner was charged in the Sessions Court here yesterday with five counts of submitting false documents to claim Penjana Kerjaya 2.0 incentives amounting to RM17,500 from the Social Security Organisation (Socso) in 2021. The accused, Muhammad Syakireen Othman, 36, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read before Judge Rohatul Akmar Abdullah. He is alleged to have committed the offence at Wisma Perkeso on Jalan Teluk Wanjah between June and July 2021, by submitting a document to a Socso agent in the name of Round Globe Enterprise containing false details, being a list of names of individuals who were not employees of the company. MACC prosecuting officer Mohd Zulfadli Azharudin requested the court to impose bail of RM50,000 in one surety. Muhammad Syakireen appealed for a lower bail on grounds that he had to support a wife and two children, in addition to looking after his mother and two brothers, who are disabled. He was allowed bail of RM7,000 in one surety, and the court set Feb 27 for remention. Earlier in the same court, police sergeant Muhamad Fitry Ismail, 32, pleaded not guilty to a charge of accepting a bribe of RM1,500 in 2020. He is accused of having accepted the bribe from a man for not taking action against the individual under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, outside the Kubang Pasu district police headquarters at 11.30pm on Nov 18, 2020. The accused was allowed bail of RM8,000 in one surety, and the court set March 6 for case mention. – Bernama Plan to quash illegal 4D rings PETALING JAYA: Offering bigger gains and convenience to punters, illegal 4D syndicates might put local number forecast operators (NFO) out of business if the government does not provide the latter with a level playing field. While e-betting websites operated by illegal 4D syndicates are unregulated and beyond the control of the authorities, NFO that are bound by strict gaming laws are losing a huge chunk of their revenue to illegal 4D syndicates. Except for one NFO, namely Da Ma Cai, which has a mobile betting platform, five other legal 4D operators – Magnum 4D, Sports Toto and three other Sabah and Sarawak based NFO – continue to run their businesses the traditional way from physical outlets. The affected companies have long sought the government’s goahead to start e-betting facilities but the proposal has not been successful so far. The latest blow for NFO came recently when the Kedah government banned NFO in the state. In the meantime, the 4D black market is cashing in on the ruling and continues to grow in cyberspace while providing more prize money and convenience to punters at the touch of a button, and depriving the government of gaming taxes. It is estimated that with more than 50 websites and mobile apps run by illegal operators nationwide, over RM5 billion in gaming taxes are lost through the 4D black market, which is said to generate twice the oLegal operators should increase prize money, be allowed to run e-betting platforms: Criminologist █ BYCHARLES RAMENDRAN [email protected] profits of NFO. Apart from 4D draws by the six NFO, the black market also rakes in higher profits as it offers betting on Singapore 4D games, which are held thrice a week and four Cambodiabased 4D games, which are drawn daily. Industry players said the Covid19 movement control order two years ago was a boon for illegal 4D syndicates as they took advantage of the shutdown of NFO and offered punters Cambodia-based 4D games via smartphone apps. Although police, with the assistance of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, have blocked or shut down over 6,000 websites linked to illegal gaming activities since 2019, the syndicates are well-prepared with alternative websites. These replacement websites often pop up promptly upon the closure of an earlier one, ensuring that gaming activities continue undisrupted. Universiti Sains Malaysia criminologist Datuk Dr P. Sundramoorthy said with the substantial amount of tax being lost following the 4D black market expansion, it is time NFO receive approval for online betting as well. He said by allowing NFO to run e-betting facilities, there will be greater control in vetting legitimate punters when they register. “To a certain extent, this could filter out underage punters and those who are prohibited from gambling, such as Muslims, as it will require them to submit their particulars. “Punters should also be ethical by turning to legal gambling. Why resort to the black market and label yourselves as illegal punters? Punting on the black market is punishable by law. “Moreover, if they win large sums, they will have no issues declaring it to the Inland Revenue Board as it was obtained legally.” Sundramoorthy also said NFO need to revise and raise their prize payouts to compete with black market operators. He added that the ease of claiming prize money within hours of winning should also be considered by NFO. “They need to keep up and be competitive with the 4D black market. These additional features and services, which are currently offered by the black market, will enable NFO to minimise the setbacks they face. “I was invited to speak at a conference for gaming companies held about a decade ago in Penang, and I raised all these matters for the NFO to consider. I believe they will benefit NFO and adversely impact the 4D black market,” he told theSun. Former Transparency International president and veteran economist Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said Kedah’s ban on NFO is bad for business and can turn out to be “the thin edge of the wedge” that sends out the wrong signals to investors, possibly driving them away. He urged the state government to be more inclusive. “Policies at a federal or state level should take multiracialism into account. By all means, ban gambling for Muslims but exempt it for those of other religions. “What is the logic in rewarding the black market? The higher revenue made by illegal syndicates would just proliferate other illegal activities. Is this what we want? I am not a gambler, but I believe there must always be a level playing field,” Ramon said. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said following the Kedah government’s ban, certain quarters are concerned that black market operators will mushroom in the state due to the high demand by punters. He said based on intelligence reports, it was found that illegal 4D activities were not widespread in the state but operated surreptitiously. “We had expected this situation to arise and have increased our surveillance and raids in the state to counter growth and eradicate illegal or unlicensed 4D activities. “The Kedah CID, with the help of Bukit Aman’s anti-gambling division, has conducted 63 successful raids on illegal 4D operators since Jan 1. We are committed to eradicating this illegal activity,” he said. TRIAD RAID... Armed policemen stand guard over some of the items seized following the arrest of 14 members of a secret society in an operation recently. – BERNAMAPIC

6 theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS Another mass shooting in California oElderly suspect held after killing seven Chinese farm workers WASHINGTON: A suspected gunman was in custody on Monday over the killing of seven people in a rural community in northern California, just two days after a mass shooting at a Lunar New Year celebration near Los Angeles. The latest bloodshed occurred at two farms around Half Moon Bay, a coastal community south of San Francisco. San Mateo County sheriff Christina Corpus said seven people were killed and one wounded in the twin shootings, and that a 67-year-old Half Moon Bay resident named Chunli Zhao had been taken into custody. Reports said the dead were Chinese farm workers, and that Zhao had worked at one of the farms. Corpus said deputies had been dispatched to two nurseries around Half Moon Bay, a rural spot known for surfing contests and a pumpkin festival, around mid-afternoon on Monday. Senior Ukrainian officials step down in purge Climate change increases human trafficking risks: UN B R I E F SIRAN VOWS RESPONSE TO NEW SANCTIONS TEHRAN: Iran vowed yesterday it will respond to new sanctions imposed by the European Union and Britain on Monday over its handling of months-long protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. “The move by the European Union and the British regime is a sign of their mental inability to properly understand the realities of Iran,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani. He said Iran “reserves the right to reciprocate against such failed policies and will soon announce the list of new sanctions against human rights violators and promoters of terrorism in England and European Union.” – AFP SABOTAGE SHUTS DOWN TRAIN STATION PARIS: The Gare de l’Est train station in the French capital suffered a total traffic shutdown yesterday after a signalling malfunction that officials said was caused by vandalism. A fire broke out at a signals point during the morning rush in what was first thought to be an accident, but then turned out to be arson, they said. “We can say this was a fire set deliberately on the electrical cables,” said a spokesman for rail operator SNCF. The Gare de l’Est is a busy commuter station and the starting point for long-distance trains to eastern France, Germany and Luxembourg. – AFP Zhou being arrested by law enforcement personnel in Half Moon Bay. – ABC AFFILIATE KGO/REUTERSPIC Four people were dead at one of them and one was critically wounded, while three more fatally wounded victims were found at a second location. Corpus said children were present at one of the sites. “It was in the afternoon when kids were out of school and for children to witness it is unspeakable.” Corpus said Zhou then drove to a sheriff’s substation in Half Moon Bay, where an ABC7 television crew captured dramatic footage of him being pulled to the ground by armed officers. “Zhao was taken into custody without incident and a semi-automatic handgun was located in his vehicle.” At the second shooting location, a short distance from the mushroom farm where four people were killed, sheriff’s deputies’ cars packed a roadside business plaza, home to shops offering party rentals, landscaping supplies and other services. As the new tragedy unfolded, detectives in southern California were still probing what drove an elderly Asian man to shoot dead 11 people gathered for Lunar New Year at a suburban dance hall on Saturday night – before taking his own life as police closed in. Los Angeles County sheriff Robert Luna said Huu Can Tran, who had been arrested in 1994 for unlawful possession of a firearm, fired 42 rounds in the attack in Monterey Park. “What drove a madman to do this?” he said. Luna confirmed officers had been told Tran may have been known to some of his victims. Saturday night’s mass shooting was the worst in the United States since a teenage gunman in Uvalde, Texas killed 21 people at an elementary school last May. – AFP Ardern bows out as New Zealand prime minister WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday she was grateful for her time in office, insisting that a sustained barrage of online abuse was not the reason for her shock resignation. The 42-year-old said last week she no longer had “enough in the tank” after a turbulent six years, during which she steered the country through natural disasters, its worst-ever terror attack and the Covid-19 pandemic. Her resignation, less than three years after an emphatic election victory, has ignited a national debate about the vitriol faced by women leaders, especially on social media. Chris Hipkins, who will take over as prime minister, has said Ardern experienced “utterly abhorrent” abuse while leading the country. However, Ardern said she would not describe it that way. While on her last public engagement as prime minister, visiting the Maori settlement of Ratana in the North Island, Ardern said she would “hate” for her departure to be seen as “a negative commentary on New Zealand”. “I leave feeling gratitude for having this wonderful role for so many years,” she told reporters. The popularity of Ardern’s Labour government has soured in recent months, hampered by a looming recession and a resurgent opposition. Hipkins will be sworn in as prime minister today. – AFP KYIV: Several senior Ukrainian officials resigned yesterday in the biggest leadership shakeup of the war with Russia so far, in what an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky called an answer to public calls for “justice”. Some, though not all, of the resignations were linked with corruption allegations. Ukraine has a history of graft and shaky governance, and is under international pressure to show it can be a reliable steward of billions of dollars in Western aid. Zelensky aide Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted: “The president sees and hears society. He directly responds to a key public demand – justice for all.” Among those stepping down or fired yesterday were a deputy prosecutor-general, a deputy defence minister and the deputy chief of staff in Zelenskiy’s own office. The changes came two days after a deputy infrastructure minister was arrested and accused of siphoning US$400,000 from contracts to buy generators, one of the first big corruption scandals to become public since the war began 11 months ago. Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, responsible for supplying troops, resigned after media accusations of corruption. It followed a newspaper report that his ministry overpaid for food for troops. The prosecutor’s office announced that deputy prosecutor-general Oleksiy Symonenko had been removed from office, giving no reason. – Reuters VIENNA: Evidence is emerging that climate-related disasters are becoming a cause of human trafficking as criminal gangs exploit a growing number of uprooted people, the United Nations said yesterday. The continuing war in Ukraine is also another risk factor for increased human trafficking, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said in a report. “Climate change is increasing vulnerability to trafficking. “While a systematic global analysis of the impact of climate change in trafficking in persons is missing, community level studies in different parts of the world point at weather induced disasters as root causes for trafficking in persons.” The report is based on data from 141 countries collected from 2017 to 2020, and the analysis of 800 court cases. The impact of climate change “disproportionally” affected poor farming, fishing and other communities mainly relying on the extraction of natural resources for their livelihoods, the report said. Once “deprived of their means of subsistence and forced to flee their community”, people were becoming easy prey for traffickers, said report author Fabrizio Sarrica. In 2021 alone, climate-related disasters internally displaced more than 23.7 million people, while many others fled their countries altogether. As entire regions of the world are at risk of becoming “increasingly uninhabitable”, millions will face “high risk of exploitation along migration routes”, the report said. The UN agency noted that an increase in cases of human trafficking had been observed in Bangladesh and the Philippines after devastating cyclones and typhoons displaced millions. Droughts and floods in Ghana, and the Caribbean region – subject to hurricanes and rising sea levels – were also forcing many to migrate. While most victims of trafficking resulting from conflicts originated from Africa and the Middle East, a potentially “dangerous” situation is simultaneously building up in Ukraine as millions flee the war-torn country. “The challenge is how to deal with human trafficking arising from war and instability,” said Ilias Chatzis, head of the human trafficking and migrant smuggling section at the UN drugs agency. The Covid-19 pandemic limited the ability to detect cases, especially in low-income countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa, the report said. Faced with the closure of public venues such as bars and clubs due to health restrictions, certain forms of trafficking, in particular sexual exploitation, have been pushed into “less visible and less safe locations”. For the first time since data collection began in 2003, the number of victims detected worldwide fell in 2020, dropping by 11% compared with 2019. – AFP

7 NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 India uses emergency powers to block BBC Modi documentary NEW DELHI: The Indian government has used emergency powers to block the broadcast of a BBC documentary that claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “directly responsible” for the Gujarat riots in 2002 as the state’s then-chief minister. The government had issued orders to both YouTube and Twitter to block content related to the BBC two-part series India: The Modi Question, using emergency powers under the country’s information and technology law, government adviser Kanchan Gupta tweeted. “Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has issued directions for blocking multiple @YouTube videos of first episode of @BBCWorld’s hateful propaganda ‘India: The Modi Question’. Orders were also issued to @Twitter for blocking over 50 tweets with links to these YT videos.” BBC aired the first episode of the documentary in the UK last week. The 59-minute documentary was not aired in India, although it was widely shared on Twitter and YouTube, sparking fresh questions over Modi’s role in some of the country’s most deadly religious riots. A spokesman for India’s Foreign Ministry lashed out at BBC, calling the documentary a “propaganda piece” that shows a “colonial mindset”. Gupta said both Twitter and YouTube complied with the government directions which were given under the controversial IT Rules 2021. He said orders were given to block over 50 tweets linked to the documentary and YouTube was ordered to block its uploads. The adviser said multiple ministries “examined @BBCWorld ’s malicious ‘documentary’ and found it casting aspersions on the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court of India, sowing divisions among various Indian communities and making unsubstantiated allegations”. The BBC documentary included a previously unpublished report from the UK Foreign Office that held Modi “directly responsible” for the “climate of impunity” that enabled the Gujarat violence to take place. The riots in February 2002 killed over 1,000 people. Modi has denied accusations of wrongdoing. – The Independent Myanmar army victims files suit in Germany BERLIN: A group of people from Myanmar have filed a criminal complaint in Germany accusing their country’s military of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, a rights organisation said yesterday. The case was lodged with Germany’s federal public prosecutor-general on Jan 20 under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows the prosecution of certain grave crimes regardless of where they took place, and has been used to try Syrians over atrocities committed during the civil war. The 16 complainants live in several countries, including Myanmar, and are drawn from a cross-section of the country’s numerous ethnic groups, including Rohingya, the dominant Burman and minority Chin communities. Their accounts date from 2017, when the country was run by a civilian government, to 2021, after the coup that brought the current junta to power. “They (the army) don’t think of us as people and treat us like animals,” said Thi Da, a 35-year-old ethnic Chin. Her husband disappeared in September, following the 2021 army coup. The 215-page complaint alleges the military “systematically killed, raped, tortured, imprisoned, disappeared, persecuted and committed other acts that amount to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes,” the campaign group Fortify Rights, which is leading the legal case, said in a statement. The complaint draws on more than 1,000 interviews conducted by Fortify Rights since 2013, as well as leaked documents and information from the Myanmar army and deserters. It alleges that senior military officials “knew about their subordinates’ crimes, and failed to take any action to prevent the crimes from happening and to punish the perpetrators”. The complaint asks the German prosecutor to open an investigation into specific officials and others liable for mass atrocity crimes. – AFP B R I E F STHAI POLICE SEIZE 1,100KG OF METH IN UNDER A WEEK BANGKOK: Thai police seized 1,100kg of crystal methamphetamine in less than a week, officers said yesterday, as the kingdom cracks down on smuggling that has surged since its borders reopened. The haul comes after a spike in clashes between police and smugglers in the kingdom’s remote northern hinterlands, long a hub for the trade in illegal narcotics. Following a tip-off, police arrested 10 Thai nationals in a series of raids. “Some of these drugs were kept for a period of time before being transported to the southernmost provinces, and they were supposed to be shipped to other countries later,” said deputy national police chief Chinnapat Sarasin. – AFP BIDEN NAMES ENVOY TO PRESS PYONGYANG ON RIGHTS WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden on Monday named an envoy to press North Korea on human rights, ending a six-year gap that included the entire presidency of Donald Trump. Biden nominated for the position Julie Turner, a Korean-speaking career diplomat who now heads the Asia section of the State Department’s human rights bureau. The ambassador-level position has been mandated by Congress under a 2004 law that sought to draw attention to rights concerns in North Korea. The position has been vacant since January 2017 when Robert King, who was appointed by Barack Obama, stepped down. – AFP Power returns to Pakistani cities after massive outage ISLAMABAD: Power returned to most cities across Pakistan yesterday, a day after a nationwide breakdown left the country of 220 million people without electricity. The outage started at around 7.30am (10.30am in Malaysia) on Monday, a failure linked to a cost-cutting measure as Pakistan grapples with an economic crisis. Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said on Monday evening that power was being gradually restored. Electricity largely returned to mega cities Karachi and Lahore overnight, but with localised and brief falls in connection continuing. The capital Islamabad and other cities, including Rawalpindi, Quetta, Peshawar and Gujranwala, also reported that the lights were back on. oSome rural areas still waiting to be reconnected However, some rural areas were still waiting to be reconnected. The country’s power system is a complex and delicate web, where problems can quickly cascade. Khurram said a variation in frequency on the national grid caused the cut, as power generation units were activated on Monday morning. The units are temporarily switched off on winter nights to save fuel, he said earlier. Localised power cuts are common in Pakistan, and hospitals, factories and government institutions are often kept running by private generators. But the machines are beyond the means of most citizens and small businesses. In parts of northern Pakistan, temperatures were due to drop below freezing overnight, with supplies of natural gas – the most common heating method – also unreliable due to load-shedding. The economy is already hobbled by rampant inflation, a falling rupee and severely low foreign exchange reserves, with the power cut piling extra pressure on small businesses. In the garrison city of Rawalpindi, homeware trader Muhammad Iftikhar Sheikh, 71, said he was unable to demonstrate electronic products. “The customers never buy without testing first. All of us are sitting idle.” Schools mostly continued either in the dark or using battery-powered lighting. A shop owner in the southern port city Karachi, where temperatures were higher, said he feared his entire dairy stock would spoil without refrigeration. Printer Khurrum Khan, 39, said orders were piling up because of the blackout. Unreliable power is “a permanent curse which our governments have failed to overcome”, he said. Mobile phone services were also disrupted as a result of the outage, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority tweeted. A similar breakdown in January 2021 affected the entire country, after a fault occurred in southern Pakistan, tripping the national transmission system. – AFP Harsh weather disrupts flights in South Korea SEOUL: Nearly 500 flights to and from the South Korean tourist island of Jeju have been cancelled because of harsh winter weather, officials said yesterday, disrupting the final day of the Lunar New Year holiday for travellers. All 466 domestic flights and 10 international flights scheduled to fly to and from Jeju International Airport were cancelled, an airport spokesman told Reuters. Korean Air Lines confirmed it had cancelled 88 of its daily flights in and out of the island. Yesterday saw some of the coldest temperatures of the season, and heavy snow and strong winds were expected to hit southern parts of the country, including Jeju. Weather authorities issued cold wave alerts for most of the country, with morning lows dropping to –16.4 °C in Seoul and to –25.5°C in the northern county of Cheorwon, according to Yonhap news agency. Yonhap also reported that hundreds of ferry voyages across the country were also cancelled. Yesterday was the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, which is one of South Korea’s two biggest holidays. – Reuters GRAND CELEBRATION ... Artistes performing beside the tableaux of India’s Haryana state during a full dress rehearsal for the upcoming Republic Day parade in New Delhi. – AFPPIC

8 theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 SPEAK UP Or download app on the AppStore or Google Play ENJOY A SEAMLESS READING EXPERIENCE. Read our iPaper at https://www.thesundaily.my/ /thesundaily FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK SCAN ME I TRULY believe that problems are a gift to us as without them we will stop evolving, and when complacency sets in, we will start to rot in a rut. Problems are in abundance in all walks of life. There is not a single person who is devoid of problems. But when a problem arises, the solution has already been framed – it lies in our approach. We have to adopt a novel strategy that has not been chosen by others. This will give a new perspective and angle to the problem. “The way we see the problem is the problem,” says author Stephen R. Covey. The problem is not the problem. The problem is our attitude towards the problem. To come out of the problem, we have to stand away from the problem and analyse its root cause, follow the steps in solving it, and then taking the necessary actions. This will provide a clear and straightforward solution. If it is not possible to solve it, laugh it off. It will at least give us the courage to face more such problems in the future. The recent furor over the celebration of “Ponggal” went a full cycle and is still trending, some five days after the festivity was described by some as a religious festival. There were some groups that decided to cause mischief, but they were not the masses and, hence, could not have any negative influence on the people with the right mind. Nevertheless, it was a problem that needed some ingenuity to manage. The debate if Ponggal is a religious or cultural observance is, in my opinion, over-rated as there is always the flip side to the coin. Humans have evolved over time, so have cultures, customs and rituals over the centuries. To celebrate or otherwise is up to the individual. The person should be allowed to choose without compulsion, especially in this day and age. We may not be able to make clear distinctions because perceptions come into play. Those who tarnish or criticise the religious or cultural observances of others lack maturity and wisdom. It becomes more dangerous, especially in a country like Malaysia, where our peace is reliant on the mutual respect and understanding among races and religions. Any action to undermine this foundation can be perilous for the nation. Meanwhile, we must also be aware of implicit racial biases, which is just as caustic, if not worse. It is a tad different from racial discrimination and should not arise as a matter of confusion. Implicit racial biases are associations made by individuals in the unconscious state of mind. This means that the individual is likely not aware of the biased association, and this is where the danger lies. Implicit racial bias can cause individuals to unknowingly act in discriminatory ways. This does not mean that the individual is overtly racist, but rather their perceptions have been shaped by experiences and these perceptions potentially result in biased thoughts or actions. How do we stop such experiences and perceptions before it festers in the society? It is not easy but conscious efforts must be undertaken to see results, but more importantly, there must be a will that is big enough for this to happen. In this context, the newly minted prime minister revealed a new concept called “Malaysia Madani”, which gives us a flicker of hope, particularly the first core value which reads, “minorities will not be marginalised under any government policy. All policies will involve ethics and morals propagated by all religions”. It is the rakyat’s hope and wish to see that this ideology is espoused at all levels of the administration. In the meantime, let us Gong Xi Fa Cai in peace. Comments: [email protected] “Those who tarnish or criticise the religious or cultural observances of others lack maturity and wisdom. It becomes more dangerous, especially in a country like Malaysia, where our peace is reliant on the mutual respect and understanding among races and religions. Any action to undermine this foundation can be perilous for the nation. Focus on non-academically inclined students IT was reported that more 100,000 students drop out of school every year. According to the Malaysia Millennium Development Goals 2010 report, 90% of lower secondary school students and 75% of upper secondary school students who dropped out were from the Bottom 40 (B40) group. The socio-economic status of a student can affect their learning abilities. Though we boast of free education, going to school does come with a price tag. School uniform, shoes, school paraphernalia, stationery, workbooks, revision books and bus fares all incur costs, and increases as the child progresses to secondary school. The B40 group usually have a number of school-going children and this places a significant financial burden on the parents. Apart from the money factor, many of these children also help out their parents doing odd jobs or taking care of siblings after school. The whole environment at home and the neighbourhood may not be conducive for learning. This unfavourable learning atmosphere eventually leads to poor attendance, low examination grades, sleeping in class and behavioural issues. Many have difficulty coping with their studies due to the social ills plaguing them. The Education Ministry needs to identify and address these problems before they spiral out of control, as the saying goes “prevention is better than cure”. Secondary school teachers always lament on the poor literacy of students in the lower Forms who progress from primary school. They are baffled that many of them are unable to read and write, much less count after spending six years in primary school. These students who progress to secondary school should be monitored and supervised, and given more attention in order for them to advance. Their academic inclination should be looked into seriously. Those who are less inclined should be sent to vocational and technical schools, where they can learn certain skills. This will provide a gateway for them to obtain jobs when they finish school. Remaining in a normal school and having no other avenue for advancement will only result in them failing their examinations and becoming misfits. They will have a tendency to join gangs, and this will cause more problems not only at school but for the community. Over time, these students become hard core individuals who will resort to violence and gangsterism. The number of indiscipline cases in schools are on the rise. Suspension and expulsion, the two most extreme measures a school can take against these students for gross indiscipline, can affect these students mentally and psychologically, which can lead them to be more rebellious. Indiscipline is highest among students who are not academically inclined. The Education Ministry needs to allocate vocational and technical schools that offer skills training subjects and programmes, particularly for these students. By implementing such efforts, students who are less inclined will have an opportunity to progress in live. Teachers in primary schools need to ensure that children are able to read and write before they progress to secondary schools. The education system needs to be revamped to accommodate students who are academically non-inclined so that their focus can be directed to worthwhile endeavours, and their talent identified and realised to its full potential. They too deserve a chance to progress. Comments: [email protected] Why teens prefer to be self-employed? NOWADAYS, teenagers are considering their future careers differently, and many are deciding against working for someone else. A recent survey by Junior Achievement US found that over 60% of teenagers prefer to establish their own businesses than work in a regular job. One thousand teenagers aged 13 to 17 participated in the online survey from Dec 16 to 22, 2021, conducted by Wakefield Research. Two out of five participants said they got their business inspiration from celebrities and social media influencers. Another result of the survey showed that 37% of teenagers are interested in school programmes that teach entrepreneurship, and 45% are inspired to emulate successful business owners. Many millennials are not in favour of stereotype occupations as they are monotonous. They would rather attempt to find their own niche. According to Nielsen, 75% of millennials are regarded as ecoconscious. They favour businesses that aim to improve the world and have an impact on society. Thus, it makes sense that they want to launch their own enterprises for sustainability. Chan Pui Pui University Malaysia Perlis LETTERS Do not cloud unity agenda [email protected] with implicit bias COMMENT by Samuel Yesuiah

9 SPEAK UP theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 Use sensible approach over sale of booze POLITICAL parties are fond of expressing noble desires to forge a grand unity of the people, and yet their actions may run contrary to such demureness. PAS secretary–general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan was reported by newspapers in mid-January as saying that in addition to efforts at uniting the ummah, it had also initiated efforts to unite people across various ethnicities and religions to create a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere. But just days before he spoke, a shopping mall incident centered on a PAS lawmaker had stirred up some unease. The party’s MP for Permatang Pauh, Muhammad Fawwaz Muhammad Jan, went to the mall in Seberang Jaya to protest against the open sale and promotion of beer at the central atrium. He explained that the action was taken to protect Muslim sensitivities. The reaction from non-Muslim political leaders and a cluster of retail organisations was, however, disingenious. Voicing the mantra “rights of non-Muslims”, they vigorously defended the status quo on sale of alcoholic drinks. No one bothered to question the Permatang Pauh MP why he was only concerned with Muslim sensitivities if the party had the goal of uniting people across various ethnicities and religions. Many other religions also prohibit their adherents from consuming intoxicating drinks. Five hundred years before the advent of Islam, on the Indian subcontinent, the Buddha had ruled that “you shall drink no maddening drink” because it “dulls the thought” and “the very trifling result of drinking strong drink is madness for a person”. The Buddha listed “six dangers through being addicted to intoxicating liquors: Actual loss of wealth, increase in quarrels, susceptibility to disease, loss of good character, indecent exposure, impaired intelligence”. In the biblical Old Testament’s Book of Proverbs is a verse that says “beer makes you quarrelsome”. The Book of Isaiah pronounces: “Doom to those who get up early and start drinking booze before breakfast, who stay up all hours of the night drinking themselves into a stupor.” As quoted by one online media house, Muhammad Fawwaz said: “The influence of alcohol that intoxicates people will remove the sense of sanity and self-judgment.” As this prohibition on “alcohol that intoxicates people” is not exclusive to Islam, he should have consulted leaders of other religions and industry researchers so as to build a common platform to discuss the issue. The alcohol topic must never be made a point of difference between Muslims and non-Muslims. Hence, the jingle “Muslims are non-drinkers, and non-Muslims are drinkers” is wrong. The distinction is always between regular drinkers on one hand and non-drinkers, or those who rarely drink on the other hand. Before embarking on moral policing, an MP should find out what is new on the liquor scene. Governments around the world have enacted laws to combat intoxication. Many countries or provinces forbid supermarkets, grocery outlets or sundry shops to sell liquor as there are designated liquor shops licensed solely for this purpose. This limits the public availability of strong drinks. There are also restricted hours for buying alcoholic drinks or consuming it in any place outside one’s home. It is up to policy-makers in Parliament to decide the approach, no MP should take action on his own. It is not liquor itself but the alcohol volume that causes the greatest danger. To wean the local industry off high alcohol, throw the hard statistics at recalcitrant players. In July last year, a female college student in South Korea was raped and killed. She fell into the predator’s trap by allowing herself to get heavily intoxicated. Three months ago, a woman in Australia told a court that she was raped on a couch by a political aide inside a minister’s office in the parliament building after consuming 11 alcoholic drinks, nine of which were paid by the aide. Getting a woman intoxicated before raping her is the long-established technique used by sexual predators all over the world. The generalisation “liquor is sinful” must be avoided. The Buddha was cautious and used the descriptive terms “maddening drink”, “strong drink”, and “intoxicating liquors” instead of the general term “liquor”. We are far advanced from scriptural times, and modern technology has made it possible to tame liquor by greatly reducing the alcohol volume, while keeping the flavour and cheer. There are today some 30 brands of beer, wine, whiskey and other types of liquor that have 0.5% down to zero alcohol. Across 10 major markets, including the US, Australia, Japan, France and Britain, sales of little-to-no-alcohol liquors are soaring, and these safe liquors may eventually nudge highalcohol liquors off the front shelves. An alcohol-free beer was first brewed in 1988 and it was a hit in the market until it became a victim of jealousy. Now there are top brands offering “0.0” variants. Okinawa distillers have slashed the alcohol volume of their famous Awamori liquor by almost 30%. In Europe, lunchtime drinking is out; mindful drinking is in. An Irish pub in Dublin, TVM, has refused to sell any beer that contains alcohol since its opening in 2019. Distillers overseas are highly innovative and mindful of the trend away from alcohol that intoxicates. A liquor interfaith committee needs to be established, and it can seek international support to apply pressure on the local industry. The interfaith approach should be: Hold your beer promotion or beer festival and feel free to publicise it, but we want you to push the safe varieties with low-to-no alcohol. A telling indicator of the local industry’s decrepit habits is its failure to promote safe liquors to grocery retailers packaging hampers for Chinese New Year sales. The industry could have made 0.0 liquor in hampers its outstanding achievement to promote safe and healthy drinking. It would be one giant hop upwards for the nation as it starts the Rabbit Year – but it did not happen. The rising popularity of safe liquors overseas is the result of a strong movement towards healthier living, as researchers have discovered that drinking intoxicating liquor (alcohol by volume above 4%), even in moderation, is linked to more than 200 medical conditions and many cancers, especially cancers of the oesophagus, liver, and breast. The only exception is red wine because of its antioxidants and ability to raise the good HDL cholesterol level, but red wine is unsafe too beyond three or four glasses per week. The writer champions interfaith harmony. Comments: [email protected] “The rising popularity of safe liquors overseas is the result of a strong movement towards healthier living, as researchers have discovered that drinking intoxicating liquor (alcohol by volume above 4%), even in moderation, is linked to more than 200 medical conditions and many cancers. Local councils must address poor maintenance culture WHILE the new prime minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, is raising the bar in terms of dealing with pressing national issues, it is also important to look into matters that are peculiar to urban and semi-urban dwellers. The best way to do this is to constantly monitor the operations of local councils and have them quickly address all shortcomings. Currently, there are a total of 155 local authorities, consisting of 19 city councils, 39 municipal councils and 92 district councils. These local authorities are jointly responsible for providing and maintaining a host of services, including health, social, waste disposal, recycling and collection, trading standards, roads and transportation, housing, safety and health. There have been a number of issues that have been cropping up on a regular basis. There is the problem of poor drainage and maintenance systems leading to frequent flash floods, the cumulative effect of which caused huge losses to the people and the nation. Aren’t local authorities responsible for patching up potholes that frequently appear on roads resulting in road accidents involving motorcyclists. But the poor response of the local authorities to this issue has led to some people taking the initiative to repair the roads themselves. Similarly, there are frequent reports of broken road curbs and drains, including missing drain covers. These pose real threats to the safety of the public. We frequently read in the media about badly maintained public facilities, frequent accidents involving construction workers and of traffic hazards on the roads, including traffic obstruction due to illegal parking. But unfortunately, not all these issues are currently receiving the attention and resources they deserve. There also seems to be a poor maintenance culture among most local councils, resulting in great inconvenience to the public. Are the councils hampered by a lack of budget allocation, manpower or resources or resolve? Do they lack visionary leadership or strategic plans? In the end, it all boils down to the question of service delivery, work commitment and integrity. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that all local authorities are free from all forms of corruption, and practise integrity at all levels. The councils should have a close relationship with NGOs, business communities and the public to deal with continuous issues and challenges. Whatever the cause, the effect is often borne by the tax-paying public, who deserve better. Malaysian taxpayers also want to see more work being done because they wish to live in a safe and healthy environment, which are essential requisites for maintaining a good quality of life. Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye Kuala Lumpur Celebrating Chinese New Year in tandem with unity AS we celebrate Chinese New Year together as Malaysians, let us take a minute to embrace and reinforce the sense of unity as a family. Togetherness is everything when it comes to embracing and respecting the different cultures in Malaysia. It is displayed in our everyday speech and actions. I am particularly moved by how my colleagues and friends of different faiths and religions come together to greet me Gong Xi Fa Cai in true Malaysian fashion. Their pronunciation may have been a little off-key, but the principle values of respect, sincerity and unity were not only on tune but on point. The thought and care shown is all that matters. These actions, respect and kindness is not only displayed during major festivities, but it has become part of everyday Malaysian life. I do not deny that there are times when our faith and believe in unity is tested. However, we must not be swayed by selfish individuals with evil agendas. Stick to your guns and believe in the good of each other. The sense of unity is alive and strong within our society. It is this camaraderie that has steered us through thick and thin, the good times and the bad, and served as a guiding light and strength for us to face our challenges together. I would like to call on everyone to be reminded of our civic duty towards each other and to our beloved nation. We are all children of Malaysia and share a common objective for harmony, peace and unity. We all have a shared responsibility of promoting these values, which are the pillars of progressiveness in nation-building. In the same breath, let us remember and uphold the national principles. I wish all celebrating, a happy and safe Chinese New Year, and happy holidays to all Malaysians. Yeap Ming Liong Subang Jaya LETTERS [email protected] Togetherness is everything when it comes to embracing and respecting the different cultures. – REUTERSPIC

10 theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 MEDIA & MARKETING Ultra cool time S EIKO 5 Sports is pleased to introduce a collaboration model with Ultraseven, which marks the 55th anniversary of its broadcast. Based on a design that pays homage to the first Seiko 5 Sports watch, the colouring and design evoke the Ultra Guard that appears in the film. This anniversary model has “the official instruments of the Ultra Guard” as its theme and captures this unique worldview in every detail. Ultraseven An alien of justice that visited Earth from Nebula M78, Land of Light Ultraseven was deeply touched by oSeiko pleases fanboys with the launch of its limited edition Ultraman watch Innovation Awards. With this recognition and support from our new and existing customers nationwide and globally, we look forward to driving stronger innovations in our product line-up this coming year.” True Wireless Earbuds with Hybrid ANC This latest product in Jabra’s Elite range – the Jabra Elite 5 (below) – features new Hybrid ANC technology, powered by the Qualcomm QCC3050 Bluetooth chipset. The Hybrid ANC uses feedback microphones on the inside of the ear, and feedforward microphones on the outside. This makes the ANC less sensitive to the positioning in the ear, ensuring a more reliable noise cancellation across a wider range of frequencies. This all-round hero is made for those needing to take calls from anywhere and is great for enjoying media at your leisure. This is thanks to 6- microphone call technology with external mics that are constantly active, as well as internal mics that give your voice a helping hand when it’s windy outside. Pocketable Earbuds for Hybrid Working Designed to boost concentration and improve collaboration, the Evolve2 Buds (above) are perfect for professionals working on the go. The true wireless earbuds are certified for leading virtual meeting platforms, including Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and use the latest technology to reduce disruptive background noise and enable clearer calls. The Evolve2 Buds enable users to have high-quality conversations with Jabra MultiSensor Voice, which uses a unique combination of four microphones, bone conduction sensors, and advanced algorithms to block out as much of the surrounding noise as possible. In addition, all Jabra headsets, both Consumer and Enterprise solutions, feature a technology that protects a user’s hearing against sudden, loud volume spikes. Visit the Jabra website and social media pages for more information. Hopping into the Lunar New Year with melodious tunes FIND lion dances a bit too loud? Looking for something different to usher in the Year of the Water Rabbit? Consider The Voices of Dignity choir that renders traditional and contemporary festive songs this Lunar New Year! A change from cymbals and drum, treat your guests and employees to a medley of Mandarin songs including Tian Mi Mi, Flower Drum, Gong Xi Ni, Ta Fei Nian and Kan Ding. This 16-person choir is made up of youngsters from various ethnicities – Orang Asal, Indians and Chinese – who have been practising diligently for the Lunar New Year celebration. Led by Petrina Satvinder, CoFounder and Chief Executive Officer of Dignity for Children Foundation, the Voices for Dignity choir has previously performed at IKEA, KLCC, Tiffin By The Yard, The LINC to name a few and for other private events. “These children are amazing given the fact that many started without being able to speak a word of English. Now they can sing in English and Mandarin! A great achievement indeed,” said Petrina. So, if you are looking for a quiet hop over to the new year, give Dignity a call at 013-556 7262 or email [email protected]. The booking fee of RM3,000 is tax deductible and will go towards the education of marginalized children attending school at Dignity. JABRA recently showcased its extensive true wireless range at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s most influential tech show in the United States, with the latest additions to its Elite and Evolve series. Jabra Elite 5 is the newest product to Jabra’s flagship Elite line-up, featuring Hybrid ANC and 6-mic call technology for powerful calls and music from anywhere. Jabra Evolve2 Buds, the newest product in Jabra’s Evolve series, are earbuds designed for flexible, hybrid and remote working. Agnes Koh, APAC Product Marketing Manager, Jabra said: “We are ecstatic that Jabra Elite 5 and Evolve2 Buds were named Honorees in the personal audio and headphones category at the 2023 CES the act of self-sacrifice of a young earthling who was so considerate of others and gave his life to save his friend, thus Ultraseven decided to stay and fight to defend this wonderful planet and life that lives on from alien invaders. Design The metallic texture of the dial and the design of the bezel are special specifications that follow the design of the original Seiko 5 Sports watch. By incorporating the colouring and capturing the worldview of the Ultra Guard into the watch, the timepiece is presented as if it were an official tool used by the Ultra Guard. The strap is made of nylon material. It is specially designed with the Ultra Guard’s uniform colours and is marked with the words “Terrestrial Defense Force”. Case Back As a special feature of the collaboration model, the case back is marked with “Limited Edition” and a serial number, and the glass is marked with a silhouette of Ultraseven. Special Box To commemorate the collaboration, the watch is enclosed in a special stainless steel material box with the Ultra Guard logo. The Seiko 5 Sports Ultraseven Limited Edition will be available as a limited edition of 3,400 at the Seiko Boutiques and selected retail partners worldwide in January 2023. For product details, contact SEIKO’s sole distributor, Thong Sia Sdn Bhd at 03-2141 5163 or visit www.seikoboutique.com.my or www.thongsia.com.my. Jabra announces Jabra Elite 5 and Evolve2 Buds

KLCI STI HANG SENG SCI NIKKEI 27,299.19 TSEC 393.15 KOSPI CLOSED S&P/ASX200 7,490.40 33.10 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25, 2023 Editorial Tel: 03-7784 6688 Fax: 03-7785 2624/5 Email: [email protected] Advertising Tel: 03-7784 8888 Fax: 03-7784 4424 Email: [email protected] 5 MOST ACTIVES January 20, 2023 STOCK VOL CLSG (sen) +/– (sen) VELESTO 114,400,900 20.0 -0.5 HSI-CJ5 60,512,900 36.0 +7.5 TAWIN 46,679,200 6.0 UNCH HSI-HKH 42,500,900 23.5 -7.0 REACH 37,664,000 5.5 -0.5 EXCHANGERATES JANUARY 20, 2023 Foreign currency Bank sell Bank buy Bank buy TT/OD TT OD 1 US DOLLAR 4.3630 4.2290 4.2190 1 AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR 3.0330 2.9120 2.8960 1 BRUNEI DOLLAR 3.3000 3.2030 3.1950 1 CANADIAN DOLLAR 3.2360 3.1490 3.1370 1 EURO 4.7330 4.5790 4.5590 1 NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR 2.8020 2.6990 2.6830 1 SINGAPORE DOLLAR 3.3000 3.2030 3.1950 1 STERLING POUND 5.4110 5.2400 5.2200 1 SWISS FRANC 4.7490 4.6390 4.6240 100 UAE DIRHAM 120.1200 113.8900 113.6900 100 BANGLADESH TAKA 4.2180 3.9190 3.7190 100 CHINESE RENMINBI 64.3000 61.8000 N/A 100 HONGKONG DOLLAR 56.2900 53.4900 53.2900 100 INDIAN RUPEE 5.4600 5.1200 4.9200 100 INDONESIAN RUPIAH 0.0299 0.0270 0.0220 100 JAPANESE YEN 3.3960 3.2880 3.2780 100 NEW TAIWAN DOLLAR N/A N/A N/A 100 PAKISTAN RUPEE 1.9300 1.8100 1.6100 100 PHILIPPINE PESO 8.1000 7.6300 7.4300 100 QATAR RIYAL 120.9300 114.8000 114.6000 100 SAUDI RIYAL 117.3800 111.4300 111.2300 100 THAI BAHT 13.8700 12.3000 11.9000 Source: Malayan Banking Berhad/Bernama KL MARKET SUMMARY January 20, 2023 INDICES CHANGE FBMEMAS 10,842.40 +29.78 FBMKLCI 1,500.33 +4.11 CONSUMER PRODUCTS 600.69 +1.37 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS 188.36 +0.52 CONSTRUCTION 157.69 +0.93 FINANCIAL SERVICES 16,535.10 +53.12 ENERGY 845.81 +5.84 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 594.32 +4.97 HEALTH CARE 1,689.35 -11.90 TRANSPORTATION 923.96 +1.15 PROPERTY 665.30 -0.07 PLANTATION 6,881.42 +55.84 FBMSHA 11,093.60 +26.70 FBMACE 5,556.08 +107.00 TECHNOLOGY 67.40 +0.38 TURNOVER VALUE 2.336 BIL RM1.714 BIL 5 TOP GAINERS January 20, 2023 STOCK VOL CLSG (RM) +/– RM HEIM 394,700 26.92 +0.58 F&N 179,600 24.28 +0.34 MPI 86,700 33.44 +0.34 KESM 4,600 7.05 +0.25 PETDAG 265,100 23.08 +0.20 5 TOP LOSERS January 20, 2023 STOCK VOL CLSG (RM) +/– RM HSI-HNA 40,000 0.645 -0.175 HSI-HKA 490,900 0.325 -0.125 DJIA-C6 2,000 0.51 -0.115 YTL-C55 150,000 0.04 -0.11 PANAMY 11,000 22.90 -0.10 Participation 46.1 28.9 25.0 100.0 Institutions Retail Foreign Bought RM m 833.8 456.7 424.1 1714.6 Sold RM m 747.4 535.8 431.4 1714.6 Net RM m 86.4 -79.1 -7.3 0 % Preliminary stats (excluding trade amendments). For final data, please refer to www.bursamalaysia.com Source: Bursa Malaysia A Participating Organisation of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad A Trading Participant of Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad S E C U R I T I E S S D N. B H D. 197201001092 (12738-U) 20/01/2023 Alliance Bank Celebrate and Win Cash offers prizes worth RM368,888 KUALA LUMPUR: Alliance Bank is giving out cash prizes worth RM368,888 to its customers as part of its ongoing “Alliance Bank Celebrate and Win” campaign which runs until Feb 28 2023. Customers can earn lucky draw entries to participate in the campaign when they perform various banking activities, such as account opening, applying for credit cards or loans, and investments. Meanwhile, the bank recently held Chinese New Year community engagement initiative at its various branches across the country as part of its activity to usher in the year of the water rabbit. On Jan 14, the bank held roadshows at nine selected branches in the Klang Valley, northern region, southern region, and East Malaysia. The one-day roadshows enabled customers to enjoy exclusive promotions when they bank with Alliance Bank. Delegation to Italy attracts RM3.25b potential FDI KUALA LUMPUR: A recent ministerial delegation to Italy, led by the International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz from Jan 20-23, has attracted potential foreign direct investments (FDI) worth RM3.25 billion. In a statement yesterday, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) said the FDI, which are expected to be realised from 2023 onwards, are due to Malaysia’s strategic location as a gateway to Asean and the Asia-Pacific region. The Italian companies expressed interest to invest in various fields, including chemicals, green and smart technologies, eeconomy and IR4.0 supply chains. “In line with the government’s commitment to being pro-business, proinvestment and pro-trade, Miti and its agencies are ready and prepared to enhance ties with investors that bring in hitech and quality investments that will help create better-paying jobs for Malaysians. “What is key now is to address all the pain points in the investors’ journey to improve the overall ease of doing business in Malaysia,” said Tengku Zafrul. During the visit, he engaged with several influential business leaders and potential investors in one-on-one meetings. Italy is Malaysia’s ninth largest foreign investor from the European Union. According to Mida, as of September 2022, a total of 77 manufacturing projects with Italian participation have been implemented, with total investments of US$382 million (RM1.4 billion). “Being one of the countries that have set up many world-class hi-tech companies globally, Italy is able to offer many latest technologies and digitalisation expertise. Hence, the presence of Italian companies in Malaysia is seen as vital to facilitate the transfer of technology to create more Malaysian knowledge workers,” it said. – Bernama Ringgit expected to hold steady this year PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s ringgit is expected to hold steady throughout the year with the US Federal Reserve (Fed) signalling a slowdown in interest rate increases, according to analysts. Social, law and human rights head cum researcher at independent think tank Emir Research Jason Loh Seong Wei said the ringgit will likely remain steady in financial year 2023 (FY23) and could even strengthen to RM4.15 against the greenback, but not fluctuate to the extent of breaching the psychological RM4.50 level with the Fed Malaysia’s growth is seen having a bearing on the strength of the ringgit this year. – BERNAMAPIC oUS Federal Reserve’s signal on slower interest rate increases augurs well, say experts █ BY HAYATUN RAZAK [email protected] CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED seen to slow rate increases. “This is in line with the data showing that US inflation has slowed on an annual basis for six straight months, dipping to 6.5% after peaking at about 9% in June last year,” he told SunBiz. The US Consumer Price Index in December 2022 declined 0.1% month-tomonth, the first drop in more than 2½ years, with core inflation making the smallest gain since December 2021. “In other words, we should be bracing for interest rate hike stability by the Fed which is aiming or hoping for a soft landing,” he added. Last week, International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said Malaysia’s economic expansion will have the biggest influence over how the country’s currency fares this year. “Malaysia’s growth will have a bearing on the strength of the ringgit this year, I think. That will be the key determinant,” he told Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan 18. At 6pm on Jan 20, the ringgit was higher at 4.2830/4.2875 against the US dollar from the previous day’s close of 4.3050/4.3100. The local unit also appreciated against a basket of major currencies – the Singapore dollar to 3.2386/3.2425 from 3.2483/3.2523 at Jan 19’s close, the euro to 4.6393/4.6442 from 4.6602/4.6656, the British pound to 5.2861/5.2916 from 5.3111/5.3172, and Japanese yen (per 100) to 3.3073/3.3111 from 3.3544/3.3588. Earlier this month, Maybank Investment Bank foreign exchange (forex) research and strategy head Saktiandi Supaat said the outlook for the ringgit should lean positive for FY23 although it stays cautious of external risks – higher than the expected peak in Fed rates or a global economic recession. “The ringgit is expected to float around RM4.40 in Q1’23 before moving to 4.25 and 4.15 levels in Q2 and Q3 and to end the year at RM4.05,” he told a press conference during Maybank IB’s 2023 market outlook. UOB economists Julia Goh and Loke Siew Ting said the current market expectations for the Fed ending its interest rate hike cycle by Q1’23 augur well for emerging market currencies. “This is also supported by the continuation of China’s economic stimulus and consensus of the positive growth outlook for most Asian countries,” they wrote in a research note. The bank said the ringgit is likely to strengthen to RM4.35 against the US dollar by the end of 2023. Standard Chartered Asia forex strategist Divya Devesh said it holds a neutral outlook on the ringgit which it expects to continue to be supported by high commodity prices. “We forecast the ringgit to be at the 4.25 level by June 2023 and to end the year at RM4.40. Overall, our forecast is between 4.20 and 4.40 through this year,” Divya said during its first half 2023 market outlook media briefing recently. *January 24, 2023

12 theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 SUNBIZ /theSunMedia FOLLOW ON YOUTUBE SCAN ME PETALING JAYA: Revenue Monster Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of local financial technology group Super App Sdn Bhd, aims to increase the number of its merchants to 15,000 from about 11,000 this year and the proportion of SME merchants to 60% compared with 40% within three years, said its group CEO Lim Kar Aik (pic). “Our growth rate last year was around 3,000. Hence this year, to grow another 4,000 should be feasible,” he told SunBiz. Lim said the company aims to change its ratio for top-tier merchants to 20- 30% from 40%, SME to 60% from 40% and micro businesses to 10% from 20% within the next three years. Each merchant may have multiple outlets but the company regards it as only one merchant. He added that the company started off targeting top-tier or first-tier companies such as chain restaurants to ensure that their e-wallet is widely accepted nationwide before it focused on the middle-tier (SME) and smaller companies (such as cafes or individual outlets). The company provides businesses with a fully digital ecosystem that encompasses a suite of services. Moving forward, Lim said the company will focus on growing its SME merchant tier, driven by their growth potential, which it hopes to capture before each company progresses into a large enterprise. “We started with the top tier, along the way we saw the middle tier, the SME are the ones that are growing rapidly before they turn themselves into big (companies). The middle tier is always the biggest tier. If you look at Malaysia, the middle SME is the biggest tier,” he added. Asked if there is any particular industry of interest, Lim said their payment services encompass all types of businesses and industries, as long as payment is the “last mile”. “Businesses which need a payment gateway to collect payment from their user or client, those are our target, (such as) F&B, retail, online, app,” Lim said. “We are increasing our operating expenditure. Opex was RM7-8 million last year. We are looking at RM13-14 million this year,” he said, adding that it will largely go towards its technology-based talent. Currently, it has more than 100 employees worldwide. “The price to hire talent is overwhelming. The talent is very scarce in Malaysia. We would like to hire more locals but it not possible because it is hard to get,” he said. Lim opined that this year will be better compared with 2022, when the economy was “still uncertain”. “Everyone is out spending … although everyone is saying it’s going to be a bad hit, somehow when I look at the numbers, I think we are doing just fine,” he said. In addition, Lim said the company will focus on building more tools to go with its payment services, which will be the company’s core product development. On environmental, social and governance (ESG ) efforts, he said Revenue Monster has worked closely with EP Manufacturing Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary, EP BlueShark, to develop the phone app for the latter’s electronic bike. “Looking into ESG, for payment’s side, one of the ways is for us to reduce and stop printing the receipt. Instead of printing, we will email it, which is our way to curb the carbon emissions by not using paper,” he added. iMotorbike targets tenfold sales growth by year-end KUALA LUMPUR: iMotorbike, Southeast Asia’s pioneer ecommerce platform for buying and selling preloved motorcycles, aims to attain a tenfold sales growth and an annualised revenue of moe than US$20 million (RM86 million) by the end of the year. Founder and CEO of iMotorbike, Gil Carmo (pic), said the company has set a target of generating about US$2 million sales each month this year. “We are confident in our ability to aim for these figures because it is a conservative target to reach. “The monthly growth in 2022 was impressive for the size of this business, approximately in the range of almost US$2.66 million, so we are expecting to achieve more in 2023,” he told Bernama recently. Carmo said people nowadays want to save cost and time in the event of traffic jams so they prefer to ride motorcycles instead of cars. He believes that these factors would make 2023 the “year of the bike”. “In the Malaysian segment, almost one million used motorcycles change hands every year so iMotorbike intends to enter this market by adding value to the product. “With technological capabilities, our platform provides nimble, agile, and more accessible services to customers such as showroom infrastructure and inspection centres to customers,” he said. Moving forward, Carmo said the company is looking for as many players as possible to work together and improve service quality. “We have worked with several players, such as finance and insurance providers, in the region to improve the speed and quality of what we do. “Every day, we do our best to provide the best experience to the end customer, and what we do is a game changer in terms of the problems we are solving for the customer,” he said. Carmo explained that most used motorcycles have been traded in an unstructured, unprofessional and non-digital manner in the region where it is mainly a customer-tocustomer type of business interaction. “Many people are looking for a platform that allows them to understand the quality of the products on both sides and the people they are interacting with to avoid scammers. “We will provide all the necessary functions, including doing a full 170-point inspection on the motorcycle, and providing a six-day return policy with a 100% money-back guarantee,” he noted. Carmo also said that the business operation is expanding quickly, being cash-efficient, and ensuring it correctly serves its shareholders and investors. “This year, the platform will carry out the same approach, which is guaranteeing that every dollar spent brings a return to all, including employees, companies and shareholders,” he added. – Bernama oFinancial technology company to increase ratio of SME in its fold to 60% in three years Is climate change the sole cause of floods? WHENEVER there is a flood, we always hear that it is due to climate change. However, rain is part of the equation for Malaysia, a country that thrives within a tropical rainforest climate. Monsoons, El Nino, La Nina and other regional weather patterns are part and parcel of our climate. We need to take note that pristine virgin forest gives the “sponge effect” using natural peat soil and delays the flow of surface runoff. Similarly, we have natural flood mitigation features such as lakes, ponds, wetlands and fresh water swamps that play a vital role. Human civilisation that develops closer to water sources such as rivers do get exposed to flooding risk. We can also see that the natural flood mitigation areas have been removed and replaced with smaller retention ponds in the past few decades. Degazetting forest reserves, opening up new mining projects and quarries, logging as well as large monocrop plantation do worsen the flooding. It is estimated that the government needs to spend RM392 billion on measures to mitigate flooding due to climate change by 2100. Before a flood mitigation plan is implemented, the solution will be modelled and design safety factor will be incorporated to ensure the project is functional. Unfortunately, when the surrounding land-use changes after the project is completed, it may not be able to function according to the design capacity. This is because the project was not designed to cope with surface runoff above the design capacity due to land-use change. Similarly, a flood mitigation project is designed to handle local area flooding. What happens when the entire river basin area is receiving rainfall? Many mitigation projects will not be able to cater to the high surface runoff capacity flowing downstream. It is important that prediction of floods and droughts to develop suitable mitigation actions are done with more dynamic approaches. It is vital to simulate past erratic weather patterns and current flood situations. This simulation is to predict changes in weather pattern and to identify if there is any impact from climate change and the degree of interference. This is vital as we must not confuse with other seasonal weather pattern that is not an annual affair with climate change. Why it is important to determine if there is a predictable pattern of change? If there is a clear pattern it will assist to estimate mitigation project design with a recommended safety factor so that the cost can be optimised. In case there is no direct pattern, it will lead to high cost mitigation measures as we need to place higher safety factor in mitigation project design. While we are trying to mitigate the flooding risk, it is also important for the government to look into drought risk which can impact Malaysia as severe as the floods. However, public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, electricity supply systems, treated water supply system, telecommunication systems, sewerage operation and other business and public premises that are located in areas which are predicted to face very high flooding risk need relocation and resettlement. This move will reduce infrastructure damage risk. Finally, we still have people who cite “Act of God” as a reason for many human-induced damage. Since deforestation and loss of natural buffers for flood mitigation is another major factor that causes floods to get more severe every year, we need transparent data on the state of our forests. While annual lip service is uttered on protection of natural capital, it is unfortunate that it does not materialise. Thus, the auditor general must investigate the rate of deforestation in the past 30 years and actual virgin forest reserve that is left. The report must also categorise forest according to its gazetting status and processes of degazetting. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein This article is contributed by Piarapakaran S, president of Awer, an NGO involved in research and development in the fields of water, energy and environment. THE GREEN EQUILIBRIUM █ BYGLORIA HARRY BEATTY [email protected] Revenue Monster to expand merchant network It is estimated that the government needs to spend RM392 billion on measures to mitigate flooding due to climate change by 2100. – BERNAMAPIC

13 * SUNBIZ @thesundaily theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM SCAN ME Malaysia, Brunei to enhance trade ties as imports and exports grow BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said yesterday that there are various potentials for Malaysia and Brunei to enhance trade relations as import and export activities are improving and showing better growth. He added that during a meeting between the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and the prime minister on Nov 28, 2022, the parties had discussed several issues, including ways to enhance trade relations. He noted that there had been significant changes in the supply chain in the postpandemic era, and this was adversely aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine war. “The idea of globalisation was also challenged, with demand being unfulfilled. However, regional cooperations pose new potentials, and in this case, Asean can play a major role to ensure that supply is unaffected. “The movement of goods and services can be done within the Asean region more easily, so there is no need to rely on sources that are too far away. “Cooperation at the Asean level will give us advantages, so I believe that Malaysia and Brunei will see that the regional cooperation will give added value and help to address economic gaps,” said Zambry He added that following the reopening of the economic sectors post-pandemic, the MalaysiaBrunei trade relations recorded a positive performance with a trade volume of more than RM10 billion, thus boosting confidence for the exploration of cooperation in many new areas. Last year, Brunei was Malaysia’s 26th biggest trade partner and its sixth in Asean, with total trade at RM13.22 billion. From January-December 2022, Malaysia’s exports to Brunei increased by 33.3% year-onyear to RM7.4 billion, while imports from Brunei stood at RM5.82 billion, an increase of 154.8% compared to the previous year. – Bernama █ BYNAZMIE M. [email protected] What is your projection on the Malaysian economy this year (2023)? In my analysis, Malaysia would face great challenges ahead given the slowdown due to elevated inflation, higher interest rates, reduced investments, supply disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the recent World Bank’s downward global economic growth forecast from 3% to 1.7%. However given the circumstances, my projection is that Malaysia could be attaining a 4% growth, consistent with the views of multiple economic pundits worldwide. What effect has this economic crunch had on our ability to plan our finances efficiently? As this round of crisis is rather unprecedented, the actual output is rather hard to predict. As a result of the escalation of goods and services’ prices, along with the shortage of supplies in commodities ranging from agricultural to manufacturing products, people will allocate more than 50% of their hard-earned money to foods, which will then inevitably disrupt their ability to save. On the business side of the spectrum, especially the small and medium enterprises (SME), they are facing the surge in the cost of doing businesses such as raw materials, wages and rental rates. These price instabilities will undoubtedly leave little rooms for both the companies and the consumers to plan ahead for their savings and investments. What is your analysis about the inflation trend going forward? Hopefully we will face a slowdown in prices soon. As we see in Malaysia, the inflation started to surge at a sturdy rate of 4% for the past two months. In hindsight, the prices which we are experiencing now are still high compared to the previous years during which we enjoyed an inflation hike of just around 2- 2.5%. With the increase in interest rates and the shortages of food supplies and raw materials, we expect the prices will not decrease any time sooner. The cost of living crisis is affecting us all, how would you say this has impacted the consumers more specifically? Reduction in purchasing power. In other words, it will be the case as if a consumer having the same amount of money as last year, but obtaining lesser amount of goods and services this time around. A lot of people have begged the question on why can’t employers significantly increase the salary to reduce the burden of the costs of living. The answer is as straightforward as increasing the wage rate without at the same time increasing the productivity, the economy will then certainly be led to an inflationary acceleration trend. In fact, this is exactly what happened last year due to the implementation of the minimum wage rate from RM900 to RM1,500. What advice would you give to those worried about the growing cost of living crisis? How can the government help those in need during these times? Be patient. The aim or objective to reduce the cost of living crisis involves medium to longterm policy solutions. It is not just as simply providing cash assistance and subsidising the cost to the people; in fact, doing so without any form of reviews and a set of limitations may harm the economy due to multiplier effects by increasing the aggregate demand. Pursuing further such policies may create fewer revenues for the government for the purpose of future sustainable economic revitalisation and development. Therefore, we need to carefully consider of reducing the cost of productions as this crisis was triggered by factors of productions as a result of multiple disruptions in the supply chains such as Covid-19, the Russian-Ukraine war, and climate change. Additionally, we may need to strategise the country’s policy by empowering our SME as they are the backbone of our economy – covering 97.4% of our total business establishments composition, with 78.6% on micro, 19.8% on small, and 1.6% on medium enterprises. In terms of our gross domestic product (GDP) share, SME contributed 37.4%, 47.8% in employment rate, 11.7% in exports, but only 0.1% in productivity. This is why a more holistic approach is needed to bring our SME to the next developmental stage. The digitalisation of SME infrastructure, working hand in hand with the government’s JaminKerja scheme, combined with universities and TVET centres, will help transform SME and micro businesses into a bigger scale for international trade operations and the optimum way for the industry to be tapped into the realm of digital economy. In order for this goal to become a realisation, the government could set up a special task force for the sole purpose of creating a standardized platform for the SME to venture into an international e-commerce business structural coordination. Furthermore, it is now an ideal time for the country to take into measures in integrating key industrial businesses from the production of raw materials to the international trade system in order for us to become betterprepared and less vulnerable to worldwide supply chain shock. This will also allow us to slowly restructure our economy to become a more competitive environment so as to reduce the power of the cartels, which is a critical issue we are facing presently. As we are trying to rectify the state of our economy, we however must not ignore our environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainable development goals (SDG) commitments. These will involve all sectors to be in compliance with the ESG and SDG standards, and we can start on prioritizing on agricultural and transportation sectors as these two are critically vital to overcome the existing cost of living upheaval. Along the way, we can then focus on other economic segments as well during the period when our country is gaining a better economic momentum. As a final note, do you have any key points to add/emphasise? Restructuring is a necessity. We have to focus on high value-added products for exports and becoming self-reliant by looking for cheaper costs of productions. These can be in the form of substitutes, digitalisation, and also core industrial integrations. kAssociate Professor Dr Chan Sok Gee of Institute of China Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, in an exclusive Q&A session with SunBiz, discloses her views on Malaysia’s current economic situation and strategies to move forward Malaysia can attain 4% growth

14 theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 SUNBIZ Bitcoin investors take control BENGALURU: The domino downfall of FTX and other crypto custodians is enough to make the most trusting investor grab their bitcoin (BTC) and shove it under the mattress. Indeed, holders big and small are taking “self-custody” of their funds, moving them from crypto exchanges and trading platforms to personal digital wallets. In a sign of this shift among retail investors, the number of bitcoin held in smaller wallets – those with under 10 bitcoin – rose to 3.35 million as of Jan 11, up 23% from the 2.72 million held a year ago, according to data from CoinMetrics. As a percentage of total bitcoin supply, wallet addresses holding under 10 bitcoin now own 17.4%, up from 14.4% a year ago. “A lot of this really depends on how frequently you’re trading,” said Joshua Peck, founder of hedge fund TrueCode Capital. “If you’re just going buy and hold for the next 10 years, then it’s probably worth making the investment and learning how to custody your assets really, really well.” The stampede has been turbocharged by the FTX scandal and other crypto collapses, with large investors leading the way. The 7-day average of daily movement of funds from centralized exchanges to personal wallets jumped to a six-month high of US$1.3 billion (RM5.6 billion) in mid-November, at the time of FTX collapse, according to data from Chainalysis. Big investors with transfers of above US$100,000 were responsible for those flows, the data showed. oWith the downfall of FTX and other cypto collapses, holders are moving their funds from crypto exchanges to personal digital wallets B R I E F SLOGITECH QUARTERLY SALES FALL 22% AS SLOWDOWN FEARS BITE LAUSANNE: Computer peripherals maker Logitech International said yesterday its third-quarter sales fell 22%, confirming its preliminary results which showed that business customers had put the brakes on buying new equipment amid slowdown concerns. The company saw strong demand for its home office products and computer gaming devices during Covid-19 lockdowns, but the momentum has been fading as countries lift the curbs and as high inflation drives up costs and refrains consumers from spending. Logitech’s sales in the three months to December-end fell to US$1.27 billion (RM5.4 billion). The company’s preliminary figures published on Jan 11 showed its sales had fallen to between US$1.26 and US$1.27 billion. – Reuters INVESTING IN S. KOREAN STOCKS TO GET EASIER FOR FOREIGNERS IN 2023 SEOUL: South Korea plans to scrap a number of regulations in the local stock market within this year to make investment easier for foreign investors, its financial regulator said yesterday, in an effort to bring in more money into the market. The Financial Services Commission said in a statement there was a huge discrepancy between the regulations currently in place and the global standards and that “(it) will boldly improve regulations that have hindered global investors from investing in our market.” The regulator said it would scrap a three-decade-old rule that requires foreigners to register with authorities prior to trading South Korean stocks. Instead, they will be allowed to open accounts with an internationally used identification, such as passport for individuals or legal entity identifier for organisations. It will also lift a rule that requires omnibus account holders, such as asset management firms and brokerages, to report on transaction details of each final investor within two days of settlement, as well as open up most of off-board trading to foreigners. – Reuters HONDA TO CREATE DIVISION TO SPEED UP EV EXPANSION TOKYO: Honda Motor Co said yesterday it would create a new division in a bid to strengthen and speed up its electrification business as part of an overhaul of its organisational structure. The shake-up is part of the automaker’s bid to catch up in the fast-growing market for full electric vehicles, led by Tesla Inc and China’s BYD Co. Japanese automakers have been at risk of falling behind their European and US rivals in the EV market. In changes effective April 1, the new division would consolidate the Japanese automaker’s electrification strategy and development of automobiles, motorcycles and power products such as generators, it said in a statement. Honda last year laid out a target to roll out 30 EV models globally and produce about two million EV a year by 2030. – Reuters THAILAND BEATS 2022 TOURISM TARGET WITH 11M FOREIGN ARRIVALS BANGKOK: Thailand received 11.15 million foreign visitors in 2022, a surge from just about 428,000 the previous year when broad travel curbs were in place, tourism ministry data showed yesterday. The figures, which beat the government’s target, reflect a solid turnaround as Thailand’s tries to revive its important tourism industry, which bore the brunt of its strict entry and quarantine policies during the pandemic. In December, there were 2.24 million foreign tourists, compared with 230,497 in the same period a year earlier. Pre-pandemic 2019 saw a record of nearly 40 million foreign tourists for the full year. Malaysia, India and Singapore were Thailand’s top three source markets last year, the ministry said. – Reuters Luxury giants bank on return of Chinese big spenders PARIS: The focus of the luxury industry is shifting back to China, with hopes that its highend spenders will once again splurge on designer goods during Lunar New Year festivities as Beijing relaxes Covid curbs after three long years. Quarterly results from LVMH and Europe’s other luxury goods companies will offer glimpses of the toll of last year’s Covid-related disruptions in China, even as the companies roll out pricey new collections tied to the Year of the Rabbit. They are expected to see a deceleration in sales growth over the quarter as the postpandemic splurge on designer fashions begins to ease in the US and Europe. Consensus estimates cited by UBS are for fourth quarter sales growth of 7% at LVMH, which releases full-year results tomorrow, and for a sales decline of 2% at Kering, which reports results on Feb 15. Hermes, which reports fourthquarter results on Feb 17, is expected to show sales growth of 17%, a decline from 24% in the third quarter. The industry’s showing in China will highlight the hit from lockdowns and its subsequent exit from a zero-Covid policy, which has spurred a surge of infections in the world’s second-largest economy. Luxury spending by Chinese nationals had dipped from 33% of the global personal luxury goods market in 2019 to as little as 17% last year, according to estimates from consultancy Bain. “We do believe they will come back to the luxury sector in a heavy way, to catch up on what they couldn’t do in 2022,” said Caroline Reyl, head of Premium Brands at Pictet Asset Management, referring to Chinese consumers. End-of-year trading updates last week from Britain’s Burberry and Cartier-owner Richemont gave investors a peek at the knock. Richemont missed market estimates after sales in China plunged by a quarter. Customer traffic at its stores dwindled and staff at times were not available. Many stores reduced hours or closed temporarily. Burberry’s like-for-like sales growth slowed sharply to 1% in the quarter to end-December after a 23% fall in mainland China. But Burberry said it was optimistic consumers in China would start spending again and Richemont saw a rebound there before the holiday, adding to rising expectations for the months ahead. China is forecast to become the luxury industry’s biggest market by 2025. The luxury sector is among the largest expected winners from China’s loosening of restrictions that kept shoppers out of stores for months, with shares at LVMH, Europe’s most valuable listed company worth about €400 billion (RM1.9 trillion) and Hermes recently hitting all-time highs. Although the Chinese are expected to initially resume travelling within Asia, Europe is a region that particularly stands to benefit from a return of Chinese tourists. Reyl told Reuters she believes Chinese shoppers may begin to return to Europe in a noticeable way at the end of the second quarter or during the second half of this year. – Reuters “Not your keys, not your coins.” This mantra among early crypto enthusiasts, cautioning that access to your funds is paramount, regularly trended online last year as finance platforms dropped like flies. Self-custody’s no walk in the park, though. Wallets can range from “hot” ones connected to the internet or “cold” ones in offline hardware devices, although the latter typically don’t appeal to first-time investors, who often buy crypto on big exchanges. The multi-level security can often be cumbersome and expensive process for a small-time investor, and there’s always the challenge of guarding keeping your encryption key – a string of data similar to a password – without losing or forgetting it. Meanwhile, hardware wallets can fail, or be stolen. “It’s very challenging, because you have to keep track of your keys, you have to back those keys up,” said Peck at TrueCode Capital, adding: “I’ll tell you it’s a very challenging prospect of doing self custody for a multimillion-dollar portfolio of crypto.” – Reuters US Justice Dept set to sue Google over digital ad market dominance LOS ANGELES: The US Justice Department is poised to sue Alphabet Inc’s Google as soon as yesterday regarding its dominance over the digital advertising market, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The lawsuit would be the second federal antitrust complaint filed against Google, alleging violations of antitrust law in how the tech giant acquires or maintains its dominance. The Justice Department lawsuit filed against Google in 2020 focuses on its monopoly in search and is scheduled to go to trial in September. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Google declined to comment on the report. The lawsuit is expected to take an aim at Google’s advertising business, which is responsible for some 80% of its revenue. In addition to its well-known search, which is free, Google makes revenue through its interlocking ad tech businesses, which connect advertisers with newspapers, websites and other firms looking to host them. Advertisers and website publishers have complained that Google has not been transparent about where ad dollars go, specifically how much goes to publishers and how much to Google. The tech giant made a series of purchases, including DoubleClick in 2008 and AdMob in 2009, to help make it a dominant player in online advertising. Google had previously argued that the ad tech ecosystem was competitive with Facebook Inc, AT&T, Comcast and others. While Google remains the market leader by a long shot, its share of the US digital ad revenue has been eroding, falling from 36.7% in 2016 to 28.8% last year, according to Insider Intelligence. – Reuters Advertisers and website publishers have complained that Google has not been transparent about where ad dollars go, specifically how much goes to publishers and how much to Google. - UNSPLASH PIX

2 5 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 W E D N E S D A Y Eric Choong with his colourful and dramatic creations. – ADIB RAWI/THESUN From fashion to art ERIC CHOONG, a familiar name in the local fashion industry, recently unveiled his new artworks and readyto-wear collection titled Sense of Geisha. The haute couture designer, who established his eponymous fashion label Eric Choong in 1988, is known for integrating and applying traditional Malaysian ethnic elements into design concepts, raising awareness of Southeast Asia’s textile art. During the CollabStore event at Shoppes at Four Seasons Place which was held in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 6, Choong showcased his unique art-towear collection inspired by traditional Japanese kimono silhouettes, using batik fabric which he created. This collection comprises striking dresses, outerwear, pants, and blouses for women and men. The eye-catching pieces can easily be mixed-and-matched with other pieces. One of the collection’s most appealing pieces is an A-line dress that could easily be a show-stopper in Choong’s fashion show. The eyecatching dress has five colours and was created using the tie-dye technique, which took him almost a week to complete. What distinguishes the collection is that, in addition to batik designs, he included some of his own creative artwork prints. Previously, the couture designer crafted premium batik under his fashion label. He has even made exclusive batik print designs for the late Datin Seri Endon Mahmood. About 15 years ago, Datin Seri Endon launched a campaign to bring back batik, and urged local designers to use the prints in their designer wear. Among the designers were Choong, who fell in love with batik. He describes Datin Seri Endon as a ‘mentor’ who often encouraged him. His batik designs are bold, creative, and one-of-a-kind pieces, as he created them by applying different kinds of techniques which he has mastered over the years, including tie-dye, hand dye, block prints, and free flow hand drawing, as well as techniques he developed on his own. “I combine my personal techniques with [traditional] batik techniques,” revealed Choong, who comes up with his own patterns, motifs, prints, and designs. Just seven years ago, Choong, who was sought after for made-tomeasure wedding and evening gowns, semi-retired from the fashion world which he had been a part of for 30 years. oHaute couture designer Eric Choong incorporates batik fashions into his artwork █ BYS. TAMARAI CHELVI The Dream Garden by Eric Choong. – ERIC CHOONG Currently, Choong is a fashion college lecturer, which gave him time to delve deeply into the art of painting. He explained that he also considered batik to be an art form. In fact, the designer has loved to draw since he was a child, but his passion for art had taken a backseat for most of his life, until 2020. That year, it was revived after an art curator friend who had opened an art gallery in Shanghai, China, encouraged him to rekindle his love for art. Choong began painting again, and the exhibition titled The Art of Eric Choong was born. “I used my knowledge of fashion and batik techniques to create art on canvas. In painting, I use elements, graphics, and some of the ingredients from batik techniques like tie dye, hand dye,” he revealed. “I combine fashion with art.” Eric showed some of his art pieces that used tie-dye techniques, and acrylic paint on top. “I use mixed media in my works of art. Techniques and knowledge that I learned from batik-making were transported onto Choong, whose favourite colours are indigo, black, and white. The h a n d -p a i n t e d artworks are then transformed into digital prints on the fabric, which is turned into garments. However, not all of the paintings are transformed into fabric. Some are selected to be turned into digital art. At the same time, Choong also creates entirely different designs for fabric. Speaking about his new collections, he said: “I hope my batik collection can inspire more young people to wear it every day.” He believes that people have the incorrect perception that batik clothing is only worn by the older generation to formal functions, and that batik is not “in trend” or fashionable for the younger generation. “I wish that my batik collections would bring back the trend,” he said. “I hope more people wear batik, and batik should be a must-have piece in everybody’s wardrobe or closet.” Choong’s artwork and ready-to-wear designs can be found at Collabstore, Level 2, Shoppes at Four Seasons Place, which also houses his latest batik collections. canvas,” Choong said. His foundation was in fashion design, and colour was one of his skills. “I use colour when I do art. I use my knowledge of colours and plant dyes from batik painting and its techniques in my art pieces.” The plant dyes used in his paintings and fabrics are handmade. During the lockdown, he began to experiment with natural and ecofriendly dyes on fabric. “I would go to the market and buy vegetables, roses, and fruit, then boil them to bring out their n a t u r a l colours,” he explained. “Then, I turned them into colour pigments and applied the colour to art pieces.” “I also use coffee and tea,” added His ready-to-wear collection is sure to turn heads. – ERIC CHOONG

16 ENTERTAINMENT theSun LYFE ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 /thesuntelegram FOLLOW ON TELEGRAM SCAN ME he eventually said yes. The film went on to earn RM30.5 million during its initial theatrical run. Theebaan said that the most challenging scene for him to film was one part of the montage sequence which demonstrated the real life PASKAL training process, which took place underwater. “My hands and legs were tied up and we had to jump into the water and swim. In the scene, there was an underwater camera capturing the cast holding their breath, sinking to the bottom of the pool at the same time.” After PASKAL, he went on to star in other Malay films, including Ada Hantu and Ada Hantu 2, and the romantic comedy Pasal Kau. He will next be seen in the 22- episode Tamil series Veera, where he plays the titular lead character, and also acts as a stunt coordinator. This series is about a talented martial artist trained by a former boxing champion, who has to face his own brother as a rival in a MMA Championship match, which is perfect character for him. When asked if he was interested in playing a villain rather than the hero, he replied: “I am ready to take part in movies and dramas as a villain, and I would be grateful for the opportunity. “I have previously acted as the bad guy but not as the lead, but yes, I am willing to explore new genres or various characters in the future.” We also asked him about his upcoming action film Malbatt: Misi Bakara, which focuses on a real-life 1993 incident where 19 members of the Malbatt 1 unit join in a mission to rescue a group of US Rangers during a skirmish in Somalia. He said: “A huge crew was involved, so we flew to Turkey in batches; some of us never even met throughout the entirely of the shoot. It was a crazy experience, flying halfway across the globe to shoot a movie. “Most of all though, telling what actually happened in Bakara was always the heart of the project.” What is his advice to those interested in martial arts or acting? “Love what you’re into,” he said. “Never give up after a single setback. Use it to drive your motivation rather than hold you back. Also, always be willing to learn from your experience.” Watch Veera on Astro Vinmeen (CH 202) and Astro Go with new episodes available every Monday to Thursday at 9pm. THE straight scar line running down the left side of Theebaan G’s face gives him a ‘tough guy’ impression. Plus, with his tall, and muscular figure, one could be forgiven for feeling a bit intimidated by him. However, as you get to know him more, you will find out that he got the scar as a two-yearold folowing a bicycle accident, and that he is actually a super chill and down-to-earth person with a great sense of humour. And he likes the colour pink, too! Theebaan Govindasamy, 32, is no stranger shattering misconceptions, thanks to his experiences in the world of martial arts and acting. His martial arts experience began at the age of five, and he represented Malaysia in karate for seven years and was crowned National Karate Champion eight times, before becoming Malaysia’s Welterweight Champion in 2016 in the local mixed martial arts (MMA) scene. During his interview with theSun, Theebaan explained he began karate lessons at an early age, and his parents encouraged him and his three siblings to participate in fighting and training classes as well. He said: “I became national champion for the first time in 2006, at age 16, and got inducted into the national team the following year. In 2014 I left national team and [decided to try] a different kind of fighting experience. “Shangkaraa, my brother, was heavily involved in the MMA world, and I picked this up along the road. I started training in Klinch MMA in Publika from there, and the rest, as they say, is history.” Theebaan later tried his hand at acting again, starring in the 2018 action film PASKAL: The Movie. He was called for casting after filmmakers saw his performance in Victory, a local Tamil-language action film which was released in 2014. “Many didn’t know before acting in PASKAL, I first entered the Tamil entertainment industry by acting in that movie. I played the lead role of a karate athlete, but the film was not successful, and many people do not even know it exists,” he explained. “[In PASKAL] I was asked to audition for the role of Misi (a P A S K A L member), and initially, I didn’t want to do it,” he said. Fortunately, He has won multiple championships in Karate. Hard work pays off ... Theebaan after being crowned Malaysian MMA Welterweight Champion in 2016. Theebaan first came to our attention after his appearance in PASKAL: The Movie. █ BYSHOBANA MANOKARAN Kicking into action oTheebaan G shares his love for martial arts and talks about his rising acting career Theebaan is also the stunt coordinator for the TV series Veera. Theebaan Govindasamy is looking to expand his horizons in 2023. – ALL PIX BY THEEBAAN

17 ENTERTAINMENT theSun LYFE ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 @thesundaily FOLLOW ON TWITTER SCAN ME Special Force: Anarchy is a heist series with a difference LOCAL police drama series Special Force: Anarchy is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. The seven-episode series follows a courageous policewoman Iman (Puteri Aishah), as she investigates a planned bank heist in the fictional country of Tenggara and unexpectedly comes face to face with a dangerous underground group, uncovering a secret along the way that could change everything if exposed. Directed by Syafiq Yusof and produced by Skop Productions, the series also stars legendary singer, composer, and actor Dato’ M. Nasir as Umar, the mastermind behind the planned Bank Tenggara heist and the leader of the group Anarchy. Rounding off the star-studded cast is Hasnul Rahmat, Alvin Wong, and Johan As’ari as well as Fify Azmi (winner of the 31st Malaysian Film Festival’s Most Promising Actress award), Chacha Maembong, Yusuf Bahrain, Anas Ridzuan, Elizabeth Tan, Dynas Mokhtar, and Steve Yap. In a recent press conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Syafiq stated that he got the inspiration for the series from his own 2018 action film, KL Special Force, which stars Fattah Amin and Datuk Rosyam Nor. “The performance pattern in this drama can also be said to be more or less the same as the film,” Syafiq said. Syafiq also has dismissed the notion that his new series is the Malaysian version of Netflix’s hit Spanish series Money Heist. “Undoubtedly, if you make a drama or series with a robbery theme, people will definitely compare it with the renowned Money Heist. It has no similarity at all. But, what I can say is that it was inspired by the movie KL Special Force which was released in 2018,” he said. Speaking further, the son of producer Datuk Yusof Haslam and younger brother of award-winning director Syamsul Yusof, added that he faced challenges when he wanted to produce a show that was set in a fictional country. “It was quite difficult to [replicate] another country. Because the filming was carried out in the capital, so many Malaysian logos and iconic buildings can be seen.” He added: “A lot of footage looks like it’s in Kuala Lumpur. So, what we do is use visual special effects (VFX) to change the atmosphere.” The director, whose movies include Abang Long Fadil, Desolasi, Misteri Dilaila, and Penunggang Agama, said: “I hope it will be received well. “This is a reboot of sorts of KL Special Force on the small screen, and if the reception is great, we will continue and expand on this with Disney+ Hotstar.” Special Force: Anarchy is now available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar, with new episodes every Saturday. – by Hazique Zairill (left) The cast and director at the launch of the series. – ADIB RAWI/THESUN Director Syafiq Yusof. – ADIB RAWI/THESUN DURING a recent press conference held in Kuala Lumpur, popular singer-songwriter, Shila Amzah announced she will be holding a live concert tour across six cities. Dubbed the Journey to The Future, and organised by IMC Live Global, the anticipated tour will kick off at Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on March 4 before making stops in Penang, Sabah, Singapore, and Indonesia. According to the singer – whose full name is Nurshahila Amir Amzah – her participation in the upcoming concert tour will have a big effect on her as an artiste who has been active in the music industry since the age of four. “I want a theme that has an impact on my career this year. The special thing this time is that I have the opportunity to hold concerts in six different locations including Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Penang, Singapore, and two concerts in Indonesia. “I feel very lucky because not all singers get this kind of opportunity,” she said. As one of the most prominent female singers in the country, Shila has consistently broken down barriers throughout her career, achieving success on many fronts, including internationally. She began her musical career at an early age and has only continued to improve, accumulating new achievements with each passing year. The daughter of singer Datuk ND Lala also shared that the theme of the concert tour was inspired by her life experience during her three decade-long struggle in the industry. “I think about what made me who I am today. Certainly the past experience, the dark phase that has been experienced before. The songs that I will present are closely related to the transition until today. The current phase is the best and I hope it lasts,” Shila explained. At the 19th Malaysian Music Awards, her single Patah Seribu won awards for Pop Song of the Year and Song of the Year and at the 20th Malaysian Music Awards, Shila was also honoured with the Anugerah Kembara (international Breakthrough Award) for her overseas performances and for exposing Malaysian music to the world. Shila has had multiple successful runs in reality s i n g i n g competitions with a notable win in the 2012 season of Asian Wave, a Chinese reality s i n g i n g c o m p e t i t i o n held in Shanghai, and her most recent success in bagging the champion’s trophy Shila sets off to glory oShila Amzah’s Journey to the Future live concert tour will visit six major cities █ BY HAZIQUE ZAIRILL during Season 2 of The Masked Singer Malaysia last year. With her ability to perform in 10 l a n g u a g e s , including English, Malay, and Mandarin, Shila has captivated audiences with her vocal prowess and versatility. She is also renowned as the first and only Malay artiste to have broken into the c o m p e t i t i v e Mandopop market in China. Journey to The Future marks a new milestone in the career of Asia’s Sweetheart, as it will also be her first tour since becoming a mother in 2019. The multi-talented singer is looking forward to exploring new territory, singing in more languages, and incorporating dance into her performances. The Live Tour will feature award-winning producer Lee Nai Kong as its music director, who will oversee the arrangements and the overall direction for the tour. Fans can expect to revel in a world-class visual and audio experience as Shila performs her chart-topping hits and internationally beloved songs with the support of a full band and string performers. Tickets are available now at RM238, RM338, RM438, and RM638 for VIPs via All Access Asia and TicketCharge. VIP ticket holders will receive a photocard and group photo opportunity with Shila Amzah. For more information, visit Facebook or Instagram @IMCLiveGlobal. Shila Amzah claims the upcoming concert tour will have a big effect on her as an artiste. – ALL PIX BY IMC

18 EDUCATION theSun LYFE ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 Setting up a bright future COMMUNICATIONS and networking technologies have transformed the way we live and work. The world has become more digitised and “connected”. The proliferation of digital transformation has further accelerated the size and complexity of the network. As a result, the network has become more challenging to manage and vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. Talents in communications and networking are crucial for maintaining the organisation’s network and keeping the networks secure. In line with that, UTAR’s Bachelor of Information Technology (Honours) Communications and Networking is designed to produce graduates who are competent in the design, development and implementation of communications and networking systems. Parked under the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT), the programme also offers students the opportunity to develop relevant skills necessary to be at the forefront of the ever-expanding and highly sought-after communications and networking sector emerging with fresh technologies. The programme emphasises The exterior view of the UTAR FICT building at Kampar Campus. oUTAR is putting in the work to nurture Communications and Networking talents hands-on learning that exposes students to the current industrial and commercial networking standards and practices. It also introduces the students to the latest communication and network technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Cybersecurity, 4G/5G Wireless Technology and Cloud Computing. When asked about the unique strengths of the programme, FICT Dean Assoc Prof Ts Dr Liew Soung Yue explained: “UTAR’s Bachelor of Information Technology (Honours) Communications and Networking degree programme blends practice with theories; this will help students equip the skills and knowledge required to design, develop and deploy the next generation communications and networking systems.” He added: “Upon completing the programme, students will gain an in-depth understanding of the ICT and engineering principles and gain the ability to use mathematical and statistical tools to evaluate networks and assess their performances. “Apart from that, the students will be equipped with knowledge about data networks and digital transmission systems, in particular, design, construction, testing, management, programming and usability. “The programme will also pave way for students to develop commercially viable network applications, understand threats to security, and implement protective measures. Through the programme, the students will be able to deepen their theoretical knowledge and develop extensive analytical and problem-solving skills, with the opportunity to give presentations, and take part in group work and discussions; aiding in preparing the students to be part of a developing team and bringing the best out of the student’s capabilities.” The Bachelor of Information Technology (Honours) Communications and Networking degree programme is fully recognised and accredited by the Malaysian Board of Technologists (MBOT), and it would take three years for a full-time student to complete the programme. In addition, the students would have the chance to obtain their professional certifications such as the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Huawei Certified ICT Associate (HCIA), and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) during their study. Communications and Networking is one of the most rapidly developing and dynamic fields of ICT that can open up a number of career paths. The graduates would be able to branch into any area of communications and apply the knowledge they have acquired in network technology and telecommunications. Job options related to Communications and Networking include communications system developer, IT consultant, IT security specialist, network administrator/designer, network engineer and network security architect. UTAR offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in areas including Accountancy, Actuarial Science, Applied Mathematics, Arts, Chinese Studies, Malaysia Studies, Business and Economics, Biotechnology, Engineering and Build Environment, Information and Communication Technology, Life and Physical Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Media and Journalism, Education and General Studies, and Agriculture and Food Science. The university also engages in the provision and conduct of research, consultation, management and leadership training, and other related educational services at its Sungai Long and Kampar campuses in Malaysia. For more information, visit www.utar.edu.my or call 05-468 8888 (Kampar Campus), 03-9086 0288 (Sungai Long Campus). UTAR is organising the SPM acceleration programmes from 30 January to 11 February 2023, as a revision programme for the students who are taking SPM examinations. For registration, visit study.utar.edu.my/SPMacceleration-programme.php or call 016-2233 557 (WhatsApp) for more information.

19 EDUCATION theSun LYFE ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 Making dreams come true THE events industry is booming and expected to see even further growth in the coming years. Gone are the days when events were limited to private gatherings and small conferences. Today events have since grown into largerscale events such as festivals, ceremonies, concerts, conventions, book launches, promotions and product launches, trade fairs and theatre performances. Event management professionals are responsible for planning and managing the overall event, ensuring a smooth and successful event. The process includes planning for the event, developing a master plan, handling logistics, identifying stakeholders, delegating responsibilities, time management, financial management, risk management, marketing and executing publicity campaigns whilst ensuring that the goals and objectives of all the stakeholders are met. Hence, BERJAYA University College (BUC) is offering the Diploma in Events Management (DEV) and Bachelor of Events Management (Hons) programme to equip students with the specific knowledge and skills needed in managing various types of events to become professional event planners who can execute complex events. Students will undergo practical training, partake in educational field trips, gain work exposure experience and learn to design and plan events under the guidance of experienced lecturers. Students will develop skills such as: 0 Excellent organisation and multi-tasking skills 0 Good communication and people skills 0 A creative approach to problem-solving 0 The ability to focus with a high level of attention to details 0 The ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines 0 Good negotiation, sales and marketing skills 0 Pro in budget awareness 0 An excellent high degree of energy to organise any events 0 Superb public relations skills 0 Great personal grooming skills Upon graduating, students will have a wide range of exciting career opportunities to choose from: Diploma in Events Management Career Opportunities: 0 Event Senior Executive 0 Entertainment Senior Executive 0 Convention Sales Senior Executive 0 Conference Organiser 0 Meeting Planner 0 Wedding Planner 0 Event Entrepreneur 0 Public Relations Specialist 0 Event Technology Expert 0 Volunteer Coordinator A group of event organisers and volunteers from among the students together with their lecturers. oBERJAYA University College’s (BUC) event management programmes prepare graduates to become specialists in planning and executing events Students learn how to manage and organise various forms of events. One of the many vendors at an event organised by the programme. 0 Any Related Professional Services 0 Fundraising / Sponsorship Coordinator 0 Catering Coordinator 0 Social Media Coordinator Bachelor of Events Management (Hons) Career Opportunities: 0 Event Manager 0 Entertainment Manager 0 Convention Sales Manager 0 Conference Organiser 0 Talent Management 0 Festival Planner 0 Venue Manager / Director 0 Event Entrepreneur / Managing Director 0 Fundraising / Sponsorship Manager / Director 0 Catering Services Manager / Director 0 Social Media Manager / Director 0 Marketing / Communication Manager / Director 0 Any Related Professional Services BERJAYA University College’s event management programmes would best fit your expectations if you are passionate about having a fast-paced and vibrant career that gives you a twist of adventure in an exciting environment. For more information on BERJAYA UC, please visit www.berjaya.edu.my.

20 EDUCATION theSun LYFE ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 Research for community development MANAGEMENT and Science University (MSU) is a Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and multiglobal-ranked institution focused on building holistic human capital. Envisioning a better, more sustainable future for all, we champion equality by providing a level playing field across extensive efforts in transforming lives and enrich futures through compelling learning experiences. The university’s award-winning academic programmes meet the stringent standards of local and international bodies. MSU accreditors include the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), the United Kingdom’s Accreditation Services for International Schools, Colleges & Universities (ASIC), Japan’s Alliance on Business Education and Scholarship for Tomorrow (ABEST21), the Netherland’s Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial & Engaged Universities (ACEEU), the United Kingdom’s Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) as well as Sri Lanka’s University Grant Commission (UGC). MSU currently ranks in the QS Top 100 among the world’s top young universities; QS Top 200 among Asia’s best universities; QS Top 30 among oMSU provides many options for those looking to further their education experience in specialised fields Southeast Asia’s best universities; QS Top 301+ for Graduate Employability Ranking; QS Top 601+ of the world’s best universities in the QS World University Rankings (WUR) 2023 and Times Higher Education Top 401+ for University Impact Rankings 2022. Championing innovation, entrepreneurship, excellence, and scholarship, the MSU vision of an enriching future for all is supported by its mission of transforming lives through education. Providing lifelong and flexible learning opportunities, its holistic curriculum aims to develop and deliver balanced, wellrounded graduates. The postgraduate studies at MSU are carefully crafted to cultivate leadership and a real research contribution that addresses industrial hands-on challenges at the highest management level. Due to the tremendous and exciting state of flux within business and management communities, top management must adapt rapidly to stay competitive, relevant and strategically positioned to tackle global trends by possessing the relevant post-graduate qualifications. Research at MSU is applied, collaborative, and multidisciplinary and strives to engage with communities and industries to reflect the recognition of MSU as one of the top universities with a quality education that is both transformative and enriching. Making an impact in Malaysia and Asia as well as globally. In order to pursue transforming lives and enriching the future through research culture, several internal grants are introduced including MSU Seed Grant (MSG), MSU Translational Grant (MTG), and MSU Publication & Conference Grant (MPCG). Apart from MSU’s selfinitiative, there are also other external research grants both international and national that are available from a variety of sources. The university research ecosystems were further strengthened with the establishment of the MSU Centre of Excellence, which includes the Leadership and Entrepreneurship Advancement Institute (LEAD), International Centre for Halal Studies (ICHLAS), Centre of Cyber Security and Big Data (CCSBD) MSU Clinical Centre of Excellence (MyCell), MSU Centre for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (MyCAM) and MSU Eye Centre. MSU is proud to recommend the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), and Master programmes that emphasise and recognise innovative research, scientific knowledge and industrial application at both domestic and international platforms. A PhD is the highest degree awarded by MSU. It signifies the highest pinnacle of academic and professional standing. Doctoral training involves close working relationships with leading faculty members on projects of key interest; industrial and scientific focus. With advanced facilities and technical support, MSU provides an excellent academic climate for postgraduate engagements with faculty members. MSU faculty members are highly active in toplevel research, leading projects in a wide range of areas and interests, requiring innovative approaches that push the boundaries of interdisciplinary research. The postgraduate studies at MSU through the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) offer advanced degrees at MSc and PhD levels covering wide areas including Computer Science, Information and Communication Technology, Food Service Technology, Biomedicine, Engineering, Applied Science, Health Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Information Technology, Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacy, Design, Medical Physiology, Public Health and Anatomy. Through these programmes, MSU integrates the global best in educational innovation with the adoption of real-world scenarios into the learning experience. Strategic thinking and thought-provoking case study expose students to a higher level of practical problem-solving abilities. All modules are rigorously designed with strategic industrial and corporate input, an opening vignette to major events and real-world issues around the globe. Our faculty, from diverse multicultural backgrounds and the finest industry players, are engaged in cutting-edge research, the pursuit of unparalleled academic excellence and scientific innovation. They have conducted high-impact research and published thought-provoking academic papers across a broad range of business, industry and professional areas. They have worked in and taught at all levels of professional and industry platforms. Their contributions have made a meaningful and concrete impact on the global community at large, at home and abroad. Professors at MSU are rigorously selected worldwide from among the best consultants and professionals in their respective fields and disciplines. In all, as an applied, enterprise, holistic and international university, MSU offers foundation, undergraduate, postgraduate and flexible programs through an entry system that facilitates admission of students from all walks of life, where it aims to TRANSFORM LIVES and ENRICH FUTURES. For more information on postgraduate programmes offered at MSU, please call 603-5521 6868, email [email protected] or visit www.msu.edu.my.

21 * SPORTS theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 548 573 + DOG 451 809 +DRAGON 294 037 + RABBIT Draw Date: 22/01/23 (Sun) Draw No: 5532/23 Venue: PERAK TURF CLUB 8573 1809 4037 8894 + 9402 6778 + 3549 4285 + 5589 0334 + 4439 7104 + 9926 0559 + 3046 7154 + 4931 1212 + 2955 3356 + 8147 0329 + 6482 RM12,571,449.50 8573 + 1809 1809 + 8573 8573 + 4037 4037 + 8573 1809 + 4037 4037 + 1809 RM384,009.10 RM2,086,002.90 RM961,666.60 RM2,145,972.10 978 894 719 402 236 778 503 549 734 285 415 589 910 334 904 439 997 104 309 926 020 559 823 046 217 154 454 931 281 212 252 955 593 356 878 147 440 329 366 482 573 809 037 RM783,633.40 573 + 809 + 037 809 + 037 + 573 573 + 037 + 809 037 + 573 + 809 809 + 573 + 037 037 + 809 + 573 HSSB 1+3D Jackpot 1 RM140,299.90 won on 21/01/2023! 322 Notices 322 Notices IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT, 2016 AND IN THE MATTER OF ANG BOON KEE & SONS HOLDING SDN. BHD. (644732-T) (In Members’ Voluntary Winding Up) At a General Meeting of the Members of ANG BOON KEE & SONS HOLDING SDN. BHD. (644732-T) duly convened and held on 20th January 2023, the following Special resolution was duly passed :- “THAT the Company be liquidated by way of members’ voluntary winding up pursuant to Section 439(1)(b) of the Companies Act, 2016 and that Ang Boon Kee of Lot 837, Kg. Pulau Banting, 42700 Banting, Selangor D.E. be and is hereby appointed as Liquidator of the Company for the purpose of winding up the affairs and distributing the assets of the Company in accordance with their respective rights and interest therein. Ang Kian Loong Director Dated this 25th January 2023 IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT, 2016 AND IN THE MATTER OF ANG BOON KEE & SONS SDN. BHD. (644732-T) (In Members’ Voluntary Winding Up) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the creditors of ANG BOON KEE & SONS HOLDING SDN. BHD. (644732-T), which is being voluntarily wound up, are required on or before 26th February 2023 to send their names and addresses with particulars of their debts or claims, and of any security held by them, and the names and addresses of their solicitors (if any) to the undersigned Liquidator at Lot 4.1, Level 4, Pertama Complex Office Tower. Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, 50100 Kuala Lumpur., and if so required by notice in writing from the aforesaid Liquidator, or personally or by their solicitors required to write in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice, or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts and claims are proved. Ang Boon Kee Liquidator Dated this 25th January 2023 IN THE MAGISTRATES COURT OF JOHOR BAHRU (CIVIL DIVISION) EXECUTION NO. JA-76J-298-07/2022 In the matter of YEE SEE CHAU (NRIC No.: 860808-43-5497) And In the matter of Order 62 Rule 5 of the Rules of Court 2012 BETWEEN MS ELEVATORS ENGINEERING SDN. BHD. (COMPANY NO.: 84871-M) …JUDGMENT CREDITOR AND 1. YEE SEE CHAU (NRIC No: 860808-43-5497) 2. LIANG SIEW CHING (NRIC No: 630208-01-5380) 3. ZAHOREEN BINTI HASSAN (NRIC No: 760625-01-6398) (As the Director) ...JUDGMENT DEBTOR ADVERTISEMENT OF SUMMON NOTICE is hereby given that a Judgment Debtor Summons for the above named Judgment Debtor, Yee See Chau (NRIC No.: 860808- 43-5497) by the Magistrates Court on the 4th day of December 2022 by MS Elevators Engineering Sdn. Bhd., the abovenamed Judgment Creditor and that the said Judgment Debtor Summons is directed to be heard before the Court sitting at the Magistrates Court of Johor Bahru at 9.00 a.m., on the 7th day of February 2023; and any creditor or contributory of the said Judgment Debtor desiring to support or oppose the making of an order on the said Judgment Debtor Summons may appear at the time of Hearing by himself or his counsel for that purpose; and a copy of the Judgment Debtor Summons will be furnished to any creditor or contributory of the said Judgment Debtor requiring the same by the undersigned on payment of the regulated charge for the same. The Judgment Creditor’s address is Wisma TMEL, No. 15, Jalan 2/116D, Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan. The Judgment Creditor’s solicitors are Messrs Chambers of Firdaus of Unit J-5-1, Tingkat 5, Parklane Commercial Hub, Jalan SS7/26, Kelana Jaya, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Dated 18 January 2023 .............................................. Messrs Chambers of Firdaus NOTE:- Any person who intends to appear at the Hearing of the said Judgment Debtor Summons must serve on or send by post to the abovenamed Messrs Chambers of Firdaus a notice in writing of his intention so to do. The notice must state the name and address of the person, or, if a firm, the name and address of the firm, and must be signed by the person or firm, or his or their solicitor (if any) and must be served, or, if posted, must be sent by post in sufficient time to reach the abovenamed not later than 12.00 p.m. on the 6th day of February 2023. 322 Notices IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAYA AT SHAH ALAM IN THE STATE OF SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN (COMMERCIAL DIVISION) COMPANIES WINDING-UP NO.: BA-28NCC-701-12/2022 In the matter of Section 465(1) (e) (h) and Section 466(1)(a) of the Companies Act 2016; AND In the matter of Konsortium Ipmines Merz Sdn. Bhd. (Company No.: 1116110- U); AND In the matter of the Companies (Winding -Up) Rules 1972 BETWEEN KK WOO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SDN. BHD. (Company No.: 797773-T) … PETITIONER AND KONSORTIUM IPMINES MERZ SDN. BHD. (Company No.: 1116110-U) … RESPONDENT ADVERTISEMENT OF PETITION NOTICE is hereby given that a petition for the winding-up of the above-named company by the High Court was, on the 23rd day of December, 2022 presented by KK WOO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SDN. BHD. (Company No.: 797773-T). And that the said petition is directed to be heard before the Court sitting at Shah Alam at 9.00 o’clock in the forenoon, on the 3rd day of May, 2023; and any creditor or contributory of the said Company desiring to support or oppose the making of an order on the said Petition may appear at the time of hearing by himself or his counsel for that purpose; and a copy of the petition will be furnished to any creditor or contributory of the said Company requiring the same by the undersigned on payment of the regulated charge of the same. The Petitioner’s registered address is at No. 18, Jalan Damai Perdana 2/3A, Bandar Damai Perdana, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur and business address at No. 37-G & 37-M, Block H, Jalan Maju 3/3, Taman Lembah Maju, 68000 Ampang, Selangor. The Petitioner’s solicitors is Messrs Kee Sern, Siu & Huey of No. 468-11E(2), 2nd Floor, Block C, Rivercity, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah (formerly Jalan Ipoh), 51200 Kuala Lumpur. sgd ……………………………….. Messrs Kee Sern, Siu & Huey Solicitors for the Petitioner Note : Any person who intends to appear on the hearing of the said Petition must serve on or send by post to the abovenamed solicitors, notice in writing of his intention so to do. The notice must state the name and address of the person, or, if a firm, the name and address of the firm, and must be signed by the person or firm, or his or their solicitors (if any) and must be served, or, if posted, must be sent by post in sufficient time to reach the abovenamed not later than twelve o’clock noon on the 2nd day of May, 2023 (the day before the day appointed for the hearing of the Petition). (Tel: 03-92122688) (Fax No: 03-40440448) (Email: [email protected]) (Ref: LPT/LKS/GL06)/KKW-IPM/180163 Advertise with us & connect to our urban readers. KLANG VALLEY PENANG | KEDAH PERAK | PERLIS PAHANG | KELANTAN TERENGGANU MS. Shoba TEL: 03-7784 8888 FAX: 03-7784 4424 MALACCA | SEREMBAN MR. Rajah TEL: 012-628 2844 FAX: 06-764 2051 JOHOR BAHRU MS. Anne Lim TEL: 013-770 6699 FAX: 07-355 5549 322 Notices 322 Notices IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT, 2016 AND IN THE MATTER OF ANG BOON KEE & SONS HOLDING SDN. BHD. (644732-T) (In Members’ Voluntary Winding Up) At a General Meeting of the Members of ANG BOON KEE & SONS HOLDING SDN. BHD. (644732-T) duly convened and held on 20th January 2023, the following Special resolution was duly passed :- “THAT the Company be liquidated by way of members’ voluntary winding up pursuant to Section 439(1)(b) of the Companies Act, 2016 and that Ang Boon Kee of Lot 837, Kg. Pulau Banting, 42700 Banting, Selangor D.E. be and is hereby appointed as Liquidator of the Company for the purpose of winding up the affairs and distributing the assets of the Company in accordance with their respective rights and interest therein. Ang Kian Loong Director Dated this 25th January 2023 IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT, 2016 AND IN THE MATTER OF ANG BOON KEE & SONS SDN. BHD. (644732-T) (In Members’ Voluntary Winding Up) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the creditors of ANG BOON KEE & SONS HOLDING SDN. BHD. (644732-T), which is being voluntarily wound up, are required on or before 26th February 2023 to send their names and addresses with particulars of their debts or claims, and of any security held by them, and the names and addresses of their solicitors (if any) to the undersigned Liquidator at Lot 4.1, Level 4, Pertama Complex Office Tower. Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, 50100 Kuala Lumpur., and if so required by notice in writing from the aforesaid Liquidator, or personally or by their solicitors required to write in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice, or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts and claims are proved. Ang Boon Kee Liquidator Dated this 25th January 2023 IN THE MAGISTRATES COURT OF JOHOR BAHRU (CIVIL DIVISION) EXECUTION NO. JA-76J-298-07/2022 In the matter of YEE SEE CHAU (NRIC No.: 860808-43-5497) And In the matter of Order 62 Rule 5 of the Rules of Court 2012 BETWEEN MS ELEVATORS ENGINEERING SDN. BHD. (COMPANY NO.: 84871-M) …JUDGMENT CREDITOR AND 1. YEE SEE CHAU (NRIC No: 860808-43-5497) 2. LIANG SIEW CHING (NRIC No: 630208-01-5380) 3. ZAHOREEN BINTI HASSAN (NRIC No: 760625-01-6398) (As the Director) ...JUDGMENT DEBTOR ADVERTISEMENT OF SUMMON NOTICE is hereby given that a Judgment Debtor Summons for the above named Judgment Debtor, Yee See Chau (NRIC No.: 860808- 43-5497) by the Magistrates Court on the 4th day of December 2022 by MS Elevators Engineering Sdn. Bhd., the abovenamed Judgment Creditor and that the said Judgment Debtor Summons is directed to be heard before the Court sitting at the Magistrates Court of Johor Bahru at 9.00 a.m., on the 7th day of February 2023; and any creditor or contributory of the said Judgment Debtor desiring to support or oppose the making of an order on the said Judgment Debtor Summons may appear at the time of Hearing by himself or his counsel for that purpose; and a copy of the Judgment Debtor Summons will be furnished to any creditor or contributory of the said Judgment Debtor requiring the same by the undersigned on payment of the regulated charge for the same. The Judgment Creditor’s address is Wisma TMEL, No. 15, Jalan 2/116D, Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan. The Judgment Creditor’s solicitors are Messrs Chambers of Firdaus of Unit J-5-1, Tingkat 5, Parklane Commercial Hub, Jalan SS7/26, Kelana Jaya, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Dated 18 January 2023 .............................................. Messrs Chambers of Firdaus NOTE:- Any person who intends to appear at the Hearing of the said Judgment Debtor Summons must serve on or send by post to the abovenamed Messrs Chambers of Firdaus a notice in writing of his intention so to do. The notice must state the name and address of the person, or, if a firm, the name and address of the firm, and must be signed by the person or firm, or his or their solicitor (if any) and must be served, or, if posted, must be sent by post in sufficient time to reach the abovenamed not later than 12.00 p.m. on the 6th day of February 2023. 322 Notices IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAYA AT SHAH ALAM IN THE STATE OF SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN (COMMERCIAL DIVISION) COMPANIES WINDING-UP NO.: BA-28NCC-701-12/2022 In the matter of Section 465(1) (e) (h) and Section 466(1)(a) of the Companies Act 2016; AND In the matter of Konsortium Ipmines Merz Sdn. Bhd. (Company No.: 1116110- U); AND In the matter of the Companies (Winding -Up) Rules 1972 BETWEEN KK WOO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SDN. BHD. (Company No.: 797773-T) … PETITIONER AND KONSORTIUM IPMINES MERZ SDN. BHD. (Company No.: 1116110-U) … RESPONDENT ADVERTISEMENT OF PETITION NOTICE is hereby given that a petition for the winding-up of the above-named company by the High Court was, on the 23rd day of December, 2022 presented by KK WOO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SDN. BHD. (Company No.: 797773-T). And that the said petition is directed to be heard before the Court sitting at Shah Alam at 9.00 o’clock in the forenoon, on the 3rd day of May, 2023; and any creditor or contributory of the said Company desiring to support or oppose the making of an order on the said Petition may appear at the time of hearing by himself or his counsel for that purpose; and a copy of the petition will be furnished to any creditor or contributory of the said Company requiring the same by the undersigned on payment of the regulated charge of the same. The Petitioner’s registered address is at No. 18, Jalan Damai Perdana 2/3A, Bandar Damai Perdana, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur and business address at No. 37-G & 37-M, Block H, Jalan Maju 3/3, Taman Lembah Maju, 68000 Ampang, Selangor. The Petitioner’s solicitors is Messrs Kee Sern, Siu & Huey of No. 468-11E(2), 2nd Floor, Block C, Rivercity, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah (formerly Jalan Ipoh), 51200 Kuala Lumpur. sgd ……………………………….. Messrs Kee Sern, Siu & Huey Solicitors for the Petitioner Note : Any person who intends to appear on the hearing of the said Petition must serve on or send by post to the abovenamed solicitors, notice in writing of his intention so to do. The notice must state the name and address of the person, or, if a firm, the name and address of the firm, and must be signed by the person or firm, or his or their solicitors (if any) and must be served, or, if posted, must be sent by post in sufficient time to reach the abovenamed not later than twelve o’clock noon on the 2nd day of May, 2023 (the day before the day appointed for the hearing of the Petition). (Tel: 03-92122688) (Fax No: 03-40440448) (Email: [email protected]) (Ref: LPT/LKS/GL06)/KKW-IPM/180163 Advertise with us & connect to our urban readers. KLANG VALLEY PENANG | KEDAH PERAK | PERLIS PAHANG | KELANTAN TERENGGANU MS. Shoba TEL: 03-7784 8888 FAX: 03-7784 4424 MALACCA | SEREMBAN MR. Rajah TEL: 012-628 2844 FAX: 06-764 2051 JOHOR BAHRU MS. Anne Lim TEL: 013-770 6699 FAX: 07-355 5549 Top duo recuse themselves from LIV call PGA TOUR commissioner Jay Monahan and DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley have recused themselves from the Official World Golf Ranking board’s upcoming decision on whether to reward rankings points to LIV Golf events. Pelley told The Telegraph of London that he, his COO Keith Waters and Monahan all told the OWGR board at its last meeting that they would sit out the LIV debate “because our respective legal counsel suggested we did.” ESPN confirmed yesterday that Monahan recused himself. Instead, the decision will come down to representatives of the four major championship organisers – Augusta National Golf Club, the PGA of America, the USGA and the R&A. OWGR points are important to LIV defectors because they’re one of several ways the major fields are decided. Facing indefinite PGA Tour suspensions, some LIV members have taken to playing events they’re allowed to in Asia and Australia to keep their rankings afloat. LIV CEO Greg Norman previously called for Monahan and Pelley to recuse themselves from the OWGR board’s decision because of a conflict of interest. Receiving rankings points would lend further legitimacy to the upstart series financed by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund, and Monahan in particular has spoken out against LIV. “I have not looked at the LIV application, and I’ve not given my opinions on an application I’ve not seen,” Pelley told The Telegraph. “So, as far as LIV goes, we are not involved in it and have no influence or say in what transpires.” – Field Level Media THE full 2023 LIV Golf League schedule has been announced amid news that CEO Greg Norman will have more power and autonomy in the upstart circuit’s second season. The big takeaway from the schedule is that LIV’s season-ending team championship is moving to Saudi Arabia – away from Miami – this year. But the bigger spotlight is on Norman, who increases his role on LIV’s executive team with managing director Majed Al-Sorour stepping down. LIV will not replace Al-Sorour. “Majed Al-Sorour has been and will continue to be an invaluable part of LIV Golf, as he continues in his Board of Directors capacity,” LIV said in a statement to Sports Illustrated. “As the business transitions into its first full season with a new broadcast partnership in place, the time is right for the managing director role to transition and for Majed to focus efforts and attention on other interests.” Norman’s increased role is notable given the shots fired by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. Both came out late last year advocating for Norman to step down – or be fired – if a path to working with the PGA Tour were to emerge. The 14-event LIV 2023 begins Feb. 24-26 at Playa Del Carmen Mexico. The circuit’s first US tournament will be held in Tucson, Arizona, on March 17- 19. Three tournaments will be held at Trump golf clubs – Washington, DC (May 26-28), Bedminster, New Jersey (Aug. 11-13) and Doral in Miami (Oct. 20-22). However, the season’s final event – the team championship – will be played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Nov. 3-5. LIV golfers will compete for US$405 million (RM1.75b) this season, US$150 million (RM645m) more than the eight events in 2022. The Boston event that debuted in 2022 is scrapped from the 2023 schedule. LIV is also not returning to Portland, Oregon, this year. LIV will also play an event in Orlando – new from 2022 – the week before the Masters. That will be held at Orange County National from March 31-April 2. – Field Level Media Norman gets more power ANTHONY JOSHUA will return to the ring in April for the first time since losing his second consecutive bout with Oleksandr Usyk. The Brit was demoralised after failing to win back his WBA, WBO and IBF world heavyweight titles last August, and took a break from the sport as a result. But a refreshed and recharged AJ will contest a bout with Jermaine Franklin at London’s O2 Arena on April 1 after agreeing terms, according to the Daily Mail. Joshua and Franklin have reportedly agreed financial terms for the fight and will sign the final paperwork today. This is a must win fight for the 33-yearold as he looks to reassert himself in a competitive heavyweight division. Joshua seems to have settled on Derrick James as his next trainer and Roy Jones Jr believes that is a ‘great decision’. “Great decision, great decision,” the current trainer of Chris Eubank Jr told Pro Boxing Fans. “I told him before he did it that I thought it was a great decision, a great move. AJ agrees to April fight

22 theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 SPORTS READ OUR HERE /thesundaily SCAN ME 5586/2023 24/01/2023 (TUE) 8662 1948 6212 7588 2757 8158 2425 4694 3846 6314 2195 4176 4052 5239 9344 5398 2979 5606 5310 2230 7826 0933 4169 7,768,026.48 8662 8662 8662 6212 6212 1948 6212 6212 1948 1948 8662 1948 282,635.66 8662 1948 6212 TIGER 18450 72759 2759 759 43274 5 9 9 1 746291 46291 6291 291 74629 7462 746 7 4 7,672,747.48 1,673,347.58 5 13 15 30 35 58 222,354.59 16 22 35 40 49 51 10 11 17 29 45 48 46 9,176,247.93 RM27,130,904 Supreme 6/58 won on 22/01/2023 ! 998 529 + DOG 314 924 + RAT 114 370 + OX Draw Date: 24/01/23 (Tue) Draw No: 5533/23 Venue: PERAK TURF CLUB 8529 4924 4370 7784 + 6428 1529 + 5422 2411 + 0774 3239 + 3178 9578 + 7485 3355 + 7932 3370 + 8122 4835 + 8829 1785 + 2146 1640 + 9158 RM13,457,023.40 8529 + 4924 4924 + 8529 8529 + 4370 4370 + 8529 4924 + 4370 4370 + 4924 RM171,644.60 RM2,086,002.90 RM961,666.60 RM2,145,972.10 907 784 116 428 621 529 495 422 682 411 830 774 583 239 903 178 579 578 407 485 233 355 697 932 583 370 498 122 404 835 158 829 631 785 712 146 961 640 509 158 529 924 370 RM794,087.80 529 + 924 + 370 924 + 370 + 529 529 + 370 + 924 370 + 529 + 924 924 + 529 + 370 370 + 924 + 529 1+3D Jackpot 2 RM384,009.10 won on 22/01/2023! Self-assured Khachanov Russian draws on US Open feat to make Australian Open last four KAREN KHACHANOV harnessed the confidence he took from making the US Open semifinals to match the feat at the Australian Open yesterday, helped by Sebastian Korda retiring hurt. Korda needed treatment on a wrist injury in the second set of their quarter-final before calling it quits when trailing 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 3-0 to the Russian 18th seed on Rod Laver Arena. Victory equals the 26-year-old Khachanov’s best performance at a major after his semifinal run at last September’s US Open, where he lost to Norway’s Casper Ruud. He said his deep run at Flushing Meadows helped immensely. “I would say I always believed in myself, but there are always ups and downs and sometimes when you have this great result (at US Open), it just shows you what you’re capable of,” he said. “And then you start to believe more and more. So this belief and self-confidence, I think, appeared much stronger after the US Open. “I just hope to continue that way and to grow as a person and as a sportsman.” The Olympic silver medallist, who has won four Tour-level titles, came into the match with far greater experience at this stage of a Grand Slam than the American Korda, having reached the last eight at all four majors. In contrast, the 22-year-old Korda – attempting to emulate father Petr’s 1998 title run – was in his first quarterfinal. Khachanov also had an easier ride in the fourth round, routing Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets while Korda slogged through a five-set thriller against Hubert Hurkacz. The Russian, who reached a career-high ranking of eight in 2019, opened with a serve to love, then reeled off an easy break to go 2-0 clear with Korda’s early nerves apparent. The American finally got off the mark to hold for 3-1 but with Khachanov blasting down aces and winning more than 90 percent on his first serve, the chances to break back were few and far between. However, a wayward backhand as he was serving for the set handed Korda his first break-point opportunity and he grabbed it with both hands. It went to a tiebreak, where Khachanov held his nerve, sealing it on his third set point with a blistering backhand down the line. Korda needed treatment on his right, serving, wrist at 3-2 in the second set. He returned with it strapped but was immediately broken. The Russian consolidated and with Korda struggling, flexing his wrist between points, he broke again to take a two-set lead. Korda left the court at the changeover, clearly in trouble. He continued but lost the opening 10 points of the third set before retiring. “Some forehands I couldn’t even hold the racquet. Volleying was almost impossible for me, so it was a little tough,” said the American. He first felt the injury at the Adelaide International this month, but it had not bothered him in the opening four rounds at Melbourne Park until he hit a return in the second set. “Now it just came back out of nowhere,” he said. Khachanov said it was always disappointing to win when someone retired and acknowledged Korda’s good form. “He beat my friend Daniil (Medvedev) in three sets and won in five sets against Hurkacz so you know he is playing great. So applause to him,” he said. – AFP Azarenka sets up Rybakina clash in Melbourne VICTORIA AZARENKA rolled back the years at the Australian Open yesterday as the two-times champion crushed third seed Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semifinals and remain on course for her third Grand Slam crown. Azarenka, the last woman to defend the title after her 2013 triumph, raced into a 3-0 led over American Pegula in the first set before the highest seed left in the women’s draw finally held serve. Pegula found her rhythm playing closer to the baseline and controlling the rallies to break back but Belarusian Azarenka found another gear to move ahead before both players failed to hold serve. Former world No. 1 Azarenka took the decisive lead, however, and closed out the match to set up a clash with Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina after the Kazakh 22nd seed beat former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko. “Well, it hurts to beat her because I always want her to do well,” the 24th seed said of Pegula, a close friend and practice partner. “I am very proud that I executed my game plan really well,” added Azarenka, who had put on a Paris Saint-Germain football shirt. “So amazing to be in another semifinal of a Grand Slam,” said Azarenka, admitting that playing at the 15,000-seat Rod Laver Arena had been “nerve-wracking”. Asked how her young son Leo would receive his mum’s latest achievement, Azarenka said: “He’s more worried about his football and when we’re going to play again. He definitely wants his mum to be home.” Leo will have to wait at least a few more days because Azarenka faces Moscow-born Rybakina tomorrow for a place in the final. The 23-year-old Rybakina sent down 11 aces to blow former French Open champion Ostapenko off court in 79 minutes. The 22nd seed has blasted 35 aces so far, more than any other woman at the tournament. Ominously, she said her serve is better now than when she won Wimbledon last year. “I gained even more power. It’s my weapon on the court and of course we are trying to work on it,“ she said, before adding: “Always a lot to improve.” Rybakina had declared “she could beat anyone” after knocking out top seed Iga Swiatek in straight sets. “In the beginning it feels like it’s such a long tournament,” said Rybakina, asked if she thought the finish line was in sight. “Of course if you keep on winning it seems already close. I’m trying to focus just on one match.” – AFP/Reuters Victoria Azarenka hits a return against Jessica Pegula (not in picture) during their women’s singles quarterfinal match at the Australian Open. – AFPPIX

23 * SPORTS theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2023 Toffees eye Bielsa Everton secret talks with former Leeds boss emerge hours after Lampard sacking EVERTON have reportedly held talks with former Leeds coach Marcelo Bielsa over the vacant head coach job just hours after Frank Lampard was brutally axed by Farhad Moshiri. The Argentinian has emerged as the frontrunner to take the job after the club announced Lampard had left his job yesterday, with the club down in the relegation zone following a dismal run of form. Bielsa has been without a job since he was sacked by Leeds in February 2022, with Jesse Marsch replacing the popular 67-year-old after the Yorkshire club had fallen into the relegation zone. Marsch eventually kept Leeds up on the final day of the season, but many fans have called for Bielsa’s return. However, it appears that the veteran boss could now be in the opposition dugout next time he turns up at Elland Road after holding talks with Everton owner Farhad Moshiri, according to the Daily Mail. Bielsa is the Toffees’ top choice to replace Lampard, who was sacked after a run of nine defeats in 12 games following their 2-0 defeat to West Ham. The report claims Moshiri approached Bielsa for talks just hours after it was announced Lampard would be leaving. The report claims Bielsa demanded to know what the club’s transfer strategy is before making a decision on whether to take the job, with only a week left of the winter transfer window before the deadline on Jan. 31. Everton have blown over £500 million (RM2.7b) on signings since Moshiri took control in 2016 but have gradually regressed on the pitch after poor recruitment choices. The departure of sporting director Marcel Brands in the summer underlined failures in the transfer market which have led Everton fans to call for the board to step down. And the pressure is on the likes of Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright to get their next appointment right amid rising tensions amongst the fanbase. Only weeks ago, the pair were reportedly warned to stay away from a home match due to safety concerns. Lampard struck a respectable relationship with the fans in his 11-month stint in charge but results forced the club to act after Everton slumped to 19th in the table. The Merseyside outfit have made their worstever start to a season with only 15 points from 20 games. The club statement thanked Lampard, 44, for his efforts in a statement released late yesterday: “Frank and his team’s commitment and dedication have been exemplary throughout their time at the club, but recent results and the current league position meant this difficult decision had to be taken,” added a club statement. It remains to be seen whether Bielsa will be placed in charge in time for their next match, with a tricky fixture against Premier League leaders Arsenal to come on Feb 4. Sean Dyche and Ralph Hasenhuttl have both been linked with the job by bookmakers. – Express Newspapers Leeds are improving despite winless run: Marsch JESSE MARSCH maintained his mantra that Leeds United are building momentum after being held 0-0 by Brentford on Monday. A much-needed three points eluded Leeds at Elland Road as a frustrating afternoon saw their winless Premier League run extended to six matches. Leeds’ two-point buffer between themselves and the bottom three before the weekend’s fixtures has been cut to one. But after his side largely dominated against Thomas Frank’s high-flying Bees, Marsch insisted all the signs are pointing to an improved run of results. The Leeds head coach said: “The group is coming together. There’s momentum and I know it doesn’t feel necessarily so strong because we’re not having a bunch of wins lined up in a row. “But this is a little bit what the league is and you know where we’re at, we have to earn everything right now. We’re not afraid of it. “And the best part is, again, when I look all of our men in the eye right now in the dressing room, they know it’s coming together and they know we’re getting better and they know we’re going to be a good team.” Defensive vulnerability has been Leeds’ Achilles heel this season, but January signing Max Wober added authority and solidity to Marsch’s back four as he made his first League start alongside Robin Koch at centrehalf. Marsch said: “His greatest strengths are his intelligence, his communication and his ability on the ball. He’s probably the best passing centre-back I’ve ever had. “But it’s also about his communication and intelligence and I think that that’s helped the whole group. “Until he came off we were up 3-0 against Cardiff (in last week’s FA Cup replay). He came into the match and played as a six against Cardiff away (in the initial tie). “He came on the pitch and played as a left-back at Villa. We haven’t given up a goal when he’s been on the pitch. “So I think that says a lot about his performances and his clarity as to what we expect from him.” – The Independent Ten-man Inter slip to defeat against Empoli INTER MILAN missed the chance to go second in Serie A when they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Empoli yesterday. Inter, who had won their last nine league games against Empoli, began the day in third but their hopes of climbing above city rivals AC Milan into second were hampered five minutes before half-time when Milan Skriniar was dismissed for a second yellow card. The Slovak defender, who has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, was booked for obstruction in the 25th minute before being shown the red card for a nasty tackle. The only goal came after 66 minutes when Nedim Bajrami provided the assist for 19-yearold Tommaso Baldanzi to fire home off his left foot for his third goal of the season. Inter battled hard to retrieve the game with Simone Inzaghi throwing both Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku into the fray. They came close on several occasions and had a header rebound off the bar but less than a week after lifting the Italian Super Cup in style with a 3-0 win over AC Milan, Inter may have kissed goodbye to the Scudetto. Inter remain third, a point behind AC Milan who play at Lazio overnight, and level on points with Roma. Napoli are the runaway leaders, 12 points clear at the top. In yesterday’s other game Bologna were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom side Cremonese. – AFP ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Fulham 0 Tottenham 1 (Kane 45+1). P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 19 16 2 1 45 16 50 Man City 20 14 3 3 53 20 45 Newcastle 20 10 9 1 33 11 39 Man Utd 20 12 3 5 32 25 39 Tottenham 21 11 3 7 40 31 36 Brighton 19 9 4 6 37 27 31 Fulham 21 9 4 8 32 30 31 Brentford 20 7 9 4 32 28 30 Liverpool 19 8 5 6 34 25 29 Chelsea 20 8 5 7 22 21 29 Aston Villa 20 8 4 8 23 27 28 Crystal Palace 20 6 6 8 18 27 24 Nottm Forest 20 5 6 9 16 35 21 Leicester 20 5 3 12 28 35 18 Leeds 19 4 6 9 26 33 18 West Ham 20 5 3 12 17 25 18 Wolves 20 4 6 10 12 30 17 Bournemouth 20 4 5 11 19 42 17 Everton 20 3 6 11 15 28 15 Southampton 20 4 3 13 17 35 15 LA LIGA: Valencia 2 (Kluivert 48, Gaya 65) Almeria 2 (Chumi 54, Portillo 74). Top 5 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 17 14 2 1 36 6 44 Real Madrid 17 13 2 2 38 16 41 Real Sociedad 18 12 2 4 28 18 38 Atletico Madrid 18 9 4 5 27 16 31 Villarreal 18 9 4 5 21 13 31 SERIE A: Bologna 1 (Chiriches 55-og) Cremonese 1 (Okereke 50-pen), Inter Milan 0 Empoli 1 (Baldanzi 66). Top 5 P W D L F A Pts Napoli 19 16 2 1 46 14 50 AC Milan 18 11 5 2 35 20 38 Inter Milan 19 12 1 6 38 25 37 Roma 19 11 4 4 25 16 37 Atalanta 19 10 5 4 37 23 35 FRENCH CUP LAST 32: Pays de Cassel 0 Paris Saint-Germain 7. CHELSEA have not given up hope of signing Benfica and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, 22, in the January transfer window after having bids rejected at the start of the month. GRAHAM POTTER’S side may also return with an improved bid for Brighton and Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo, 21, with the Seagulls looking for potential replacements. BARCELONA and Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie, 26, has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge but is set to finish the season in Spain. CHELSEA could also target 19-yearold Lyon and France U-21 right-back Malo Gusto as their spending under Todd Boehly nears £500 million (RM2.7b). NEWCASTLE UNITEDcould target Everton and England U-21 winger Anthony Gordon, 21, as a replacement for Chris Wood, who joined Nottingham Forest last week. RESULTS & STANDINGS TOUCHLINES Empoli’s Nicolo Cambiaghi (left) tackles Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni (right) during their Serie A match . – AFPPIX

theSun is published and printed by Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd (221220-K) of Lot 6, Jalan 51/217, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: 03-7784 6688 Fax: 03-7783 7435 • Tel (Editorial): 03-7784 6688 Fax: 03-7785 2624/5 Email: [email protected] • Tel (Advertising): 03-7784 8888 Fax: 03-7784 4424 Email: [email protected] ANTONIO CONTE expressed his desire to help Harry Kane win trophies at Tottenham after his record-equalling strike earned a vital 1-0 win at Fulham. Kane grabbed the only goal of a dull affair in west London with a trademark finish on the stroke of half-time when he turned away from Tim Ream and curled into the bottom corner. It was Kane’s 266th goal for the club and moved him level with Jimmy Greaves, whose tally has stood since 1970, as Spurs’ all-time record scorer. Trophies, however, continue to evade the 29-year-old, whom Conte revealed played yesterday despite being unwell. “Today he was amazing. I think he scored a fantastic goal, the execution, to control the ball, then to kick it in that way, only a world-class striker can score this goal,” Conte said. “About the spirit that I spoke before, I want to underline Harry played with a fever and he was not so good, but he wanted to play because he understood the moment. “He understood he is a point of reference for us, for me, for the other players and, with (goalkeeper) Hugo (Lloris), they are the two players who are a point of reference for the dressing room. Today I am really happy because I think he was rewarded with a goal. “For sure, I would like to help him and me, also his teammates, to try to do something important, to win something with Tottenham because he loves Tottenham. “Tottenham is in his heart and it should be good if together we were able to win something, because then it is important to have this record, but I think it could be more important if you win a trophy.” Kane said in a video clip on Tottenham’s Twitter account he was “really proud” to equal Greaves’ record. Victory at Craven Cottage ended a difficult period for Spurs, who lost 4-2 at Manchester City on Friday and 24 hours later discovered sporting director Fabio Paratici had been hit with a 30-month ban relating to financial irregularities during his time at Juventus. Paratici’s suspension currently only applies to Italy and he is awaiting the written reasons before any decision is made over an appeal. A day later and a small band of supporters protested outside the club’s Enfield-based training ground calling for owners ENIC and chairman Daniel Levy to leave. Further calls for Levy to depart Tottenham were heard throughout the 1-0 win at Fulham, which moved Spurs to within three points of third place. Conte added: “It was a good answer. After defeats to Arsenal and Manchester City, first and second in the table, I asked my players to show characteristics from last season. “The will, the desire and to suffer in the moments you have to suffer. Today we didn’t suffer a lot, but I have seen they are ready so it could be a starting point for us. “Don’t forgot we played against a team who are a real surprise this season, with a win they could overcome us in the table, to win away here is not easy. “For this reason I am really happy because I repeat I saw again the characteristics that brought us last season a place in the Champions League.” Fulham boss Marco Silva was left frustrated after his side’s first-half dominance failed to translate into a positive result. He also felt Son Heung-min could have been shown a red card for a tackle on Kenny Tete in the 28th minute when he caught the home defender high on the ankle. “Yes, I saw it and I thought it could be more than a yellow card in that moment,” Silva said. “Of course Kane is a decider, he is a great footballer as well, but we were controlling it and we were punished by a great finish by him.” – The Independent WEDNESDAY • JANUARY 25, 2023 The group is coming together. There’s momentum and I know it doesn’t feel necessarily so strong because we’re not having a bunch of wins lined up in a row. But this is a little bit what the league is and you know where we’re at… We’re not afraid of it.” Leeds United manager Jessie Marsch QUOTE OF THE DAY Trophy quest Conte eager to help Kane ‘win something with Tottenham’ MARTIN ODEGAARD insists Arsenal “don’t care” about Manchester City as they remain focused on their own impressive form in the Premier League title race. The Gunners opened up a five-point lead at the top of the table following their last-gasp 3- 2 win over Manchester United on Monday. City are their closest challengers but the reigning champions have played a game more than Arsenal, who they meet in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday (4am Malaysian time). The two have also yet to face one another in the League this season and, despite their advantage, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said after the United win that City remain the best team in the division. Odegaard, though, has no interest in what City are doing – Pep Guardiola’s side having closed the gap from eight points to just two before the United victory. “No, honestly, we don’t care about City or any other team,” the Arsenal captain replied when asked if there was more pressure on the game because of City’s two wins. “We expected them to win so that was not a big surprise and we just focused on our game, to come here and win and that’s what we did. The way we won this game gives us a special feeling that will help as well. “It’s a long season. We’re just halfway through, there are many games to be played so we have to stay calm and humble. Our only focus is the next game and that’s all that matters. We have to stay focused like this.” Arsenal now sit on 50 points, their best-ever total at the midway stage of a Premier League season, eclipsing even that of Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles”. Such form has now made them many people’s favourites to win the title for the first time since that 2003-04 campaign, but Odegaard will not be letting minds shift away from the task at hand. “It’s way too far ahead to think about that now,” he added. “We have to stay in the moment, everyone should enjoy the moment. “We’re doing really well but we have to stay calm, it’s a long way to go and we have to keep working and improving. Then we’ll see.” Marcus Rashford had put United ahead with a fine strike before an Eddie Nketiah header took the sides in level at the break. Bukayo Saka’s curling effort had Arsenal in front and after Lisandro Martinez equalised with his first United goal, Nketiah settled the contest with a last-minute winner. United had been talked about as outsiders for the title after their derby win over City the previous weekend, but since then a late goal saw them pegged back to draw at Palace before the same fate saw them leave Arsenal with nothing. “It is about details. If you are not focused on every detail, you can’t win,” Martinez told MUTV. “We have to be strong and we have to learn also from every experience. It cannot happen again, for sure it cannot happen again. “We have to be really focused on the game and we have to kill the game. We have to win. “For sure, it is a dream to score my first goal here in Manchester United. I am really happy with that, but in the end it was not the result that I want. We have to keep going. “We don’t have a day to be sad. We have to go tomorrow and change. We have to go for the next one.” United boss Erik ten Hag blamed defensive mistakes for the defeat, telling the BBC: All the goals we conceded were mistakes – it can’t happen. “We made mistakes which we cannot make. The game was decided by small details but also the decision-making. That is hard to accept.” – The Independent/Agencies Gunners ‘don’t care’ about City or any other team: Odegaard █ MARK MANN-BRYANS Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane (left) heads at goal against Fulham during their Premier League match. – REUTERSPIX