by admin | Mar 25, 2025 | agriculture, farmers, farming, government, military
PETALONG JAYA: Today, the Ministry of Defence introduced the JanaVeteran programme aimed at assisting veterans who have entered the agricultural sector.
The initiative, a joint effort by Boustead Plantations Bhd (BPlant) and the veterans’ affairs department, centers on agri-entrepreneurship via a ginger and chili fertigation project.
According to a Bernama report, Defence Minister Khaled Nordin emphasized the initiative’s ability to assist veterans in earning an income and bolstering Malaysia’s food security.
As part of the ginger and chili fertigation program, BPlant will allocate a 105-hectare area for farming purposes; this includes cultivating ginger across 80 hectares and chilies over 25 hectares.
In the first stage of the program, 100 veterans will be involved in overseeing the farming activities, where each individual could earn up to RM3,000 per month.
He mentioned that the trial initiative would commence in Kota Tinggi, Johor, where 15 ex-servicemen will work on a 12-hectare area aiming to produce 3,500 tons of ginger and 350 tons of chili peppers per year over a span of three years.
Moreover, a program for experienced agrarian entrepreneurs seeks to convert retired military individuals into farming business owners by growing crop varieties included in the National Food Security initiative.
BPlant has recognized 300 hectares of terrain for this project.
Khaled revealed this information at the breaking-fast event hosted by the defense ministry in Kuala Lumpur. The gathering saw the presence of prominent ministry officials along with military leaders.
by admin | Mar 25, 2025 | employment, government, healthcare and medicine, medicine and healthcare, news
PETALONG JAYA: The Ministry of Health’s ePlacement system is anticipated to reopen sometime between May and June, according to Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.
According to a Berita Harian report, Dzulkefly mentioned that the ministry anticipates restarting the ePlacement system following its completion and testing phase. This system enables contract doctors to apply for permanent roles.
“This new ePlacement system is more equitable and does not rely on the ‘first-come, first-served’ approach, which previously caused technical issues,” he stated.
We will revamp and reimagine the system to ensure every aspect is considered… we aim to avoid everyone opting for positions in the Klang Valley; it’s crucial to have opportunities available in Sabah and Sarawak as well.
On March 17, the ministry announced that the planned placement session for 2,245 candidates scheduled for that day needed to be rescheduled because of significant technical issues triggered by “abnormal access” to the ePlacement system.
The report indicated that during the placement session held on February 27, the ePlacement website was visited more than 19 million times. This massive traffic overload caused the system to crash, making the database inaccessible.
The placement session held on February 27th witnessed more approvals than originally allotted, with fewer than 1% of positions occupied in both Sabah and Sarawak.
The ministry additionally mentioned that the placement session planned from March 25-27 has been postponed because of some technical issues. They also stated they were striving to develop a “clear, equitable, and merit-driven” process.
by admin | Mar 25, 2025 | churches, courts, government, politics, politics and law
A court in Tokyo has directed the Unification Church in Japan to dissolve, as requested by the nation’s government.
The church, officially named the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, faced greater examination following the 2022 assassination of ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The suspected killer alleges that the church caused his mother’s financial ruin, and he holds Abe responsible for his party’s connection to it.
In 2023, Japan’s education ministry requested the disbandment of the church, alleging that it had caused harm to its members and their families via deceptive funding and enrollment practices.
In support of their submission, the governmental body presented 5,000 files and evidentiary items to the court, derived from over 170 witness interviews.
In its decision regarding the case, the Tokyo District Court declared on Tuesday that it would be rescinding the official recognition of the religious group based in South Korea, commonly referred to as Moonies by its adherents. The term “Moonies” originates from the surname of the church’s founder and self-declared Messiah, Sun Myung Moon.
If the group fails to overturn this ruling effectively, they stand to lose their tax-free status and will be required to sell off all their holdings within Japan.
The church, which has expressed consideration for filing an appeal, described Tuesday’s ruling as “totally unacceptable,” asserting that the court provided “an incorrect legal interpretation.”
For the first time, a religious group in Japan is facing the consequences of a revocation order as per the nation’s civil code.
The Unification Church, established in Seoul in 1954, gained official recognition in Japan during the 1960s. This development is believed to have received backing from Abe’s grandfather, ex-Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.
After Abe’s murder during a political event, attention was drawn to the connections between the church and Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party.
In 2022, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida conducted a cabinet reshuffle that led to the removal of seven officials associated with the church. Prior to this, Economy Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa stepped down due to his connections to the same group.
by admin | Mar 25, 2025 | economics, government, government regulations, laws and regulations, politics and government
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Budget plan tackles ‘unequal’ credit card fees
-
FURTHER READING: Federal Budget 2025 live coverage: One group of Australians not benefiting from Albo’s spending spree
The Albanese government has indicated the cessation of debit card surcharges, though they have not gone as far as prohibiting the practice entirely.
The 2025 Federal Budget presented on Tuesday evening targeted the unjust fees imposed on Australians as a result of their preferred payment methods.
‘The Government is tackling unjustified high credit card fees to secure a better bargain for customers during transactions,’ as stated in the Budget summary.
‘The administration is ready to
ban debit card surcharges,
Subject to additional efforts by the Reserve Bank of Australia and measures to guarantee that both small enterprises and consumers can enjoy the advantages of reduced-cost transactions.
There was no indication provided about when these additional charges would be prohibited.
Good news continued for bank patrons as per the latest Budget, where the administration has implemented measures to curb the tendency of banks shutting down in rural regions, albeit on a temporary basis.
The announcement stated that they have obtained pledges from leading financial institutions to keep more than 800 of their outlets operational in rural and distant areas of Australia up till at least July 31, 2027.
The banking industry has also committed to increasing its investments in Australia Post’s Bank@Post service, thereby ‘offering more assurance and options for bank customers across approximately 1,800 rural and distant areas’.
Last month, an Australian fed up with paying bank card fees and weekend surcharges wrote a 55-page letter to the Albanese government, asserting that these charges are often unlawful.
This followed the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)
solicited inputs from the public last year as part of its examination into merchant card payment fees and surcharging
.
Over 100 entries were submitted — with 79 being disclosed publicly and 22 kept private — however, a missive penned by an individual named McLean Roche caught attention due to its extensive length, meticulous research, and intense indignation towards additional charges.
The Australian not only alleged that illegal and unfair practices were occurring repeatedly with tap-and-go fees; they also asserted that they possessed evidence of this through images of receipts and charge descriptions.
An instance that Roche provided within the filing was about ‘hosting a substantial family gathering during Sunday brunch, only to face an unexpected $101 additional charge – turning a $675 ‘fee’ into $776 because of such extra costs.’
This reflects the situation in Australia where there is rampant unchecked sur charging, a significant portion of which is unlawful.
inflationary
— this is what consumers encounter daily,” they asserted.
An additional element included in the submission was a
Qantas
receipt for airfare charges made with an eftpos card showed a supposed additional fee of $4.53, but Qantas actually levied a charge of $14.60 – representing a 69% hike.
Roche asserted that the airline insisted the booking was properly subjected to a 1.03 percent credit card surcharge, which covered their expenses related to handling the transaction. The company clarified that ‘least cost routing’ was not employed because this method does not apply when using credit cards.
Roche also highlighted numerous other occasions where they were enraged, such as ‘a sandwich with an additional 16.2 percent fee – which includes a 1.2 percent card processing charge for using a debit card, along with a 15 percent weekend surcharge.’
A different receipt included a caption stating that the ‘3.55 percent eCommerce payment surcharge is incorrect and unlawful.’
Other unspecified allegations of illegality involved a ’10 percent levy on takeaway orders,’ a ‘fixed charge of 1.5 percent,’ an additional payment surcharge coupled with a ‘daily fee,’ and a ‘2 percent retail surcharge.’
As stated by the RBA, ‘merchants possess the authority to impose a surcharge on card transactions; however, this charge must not exceed the cost incurred by the merchant for accepting that particular card during the transaction.’
Various payment options and distinct card issuers come with differing fees.
In 2023, the RBA stated that the average expense for a debit-card transaction stood at approximately 0.4 percent, whereas a credit card transaction came out to be roughly 0.8 percent, and a charge card transaction amounted to about 1.3 percent.
Roche’s assertion that the additional charges are unlawful seems to originate from the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, which prohibits stores from imposing overly high fees for credit card transactions.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) possesses the authority to probe into and implement enforcement measures in instances where excessive surcharging may be occurring.
Roche stated in the filing that ‘It’s a significant concern that both the RBA and ACCC have not measured the extent and financial impact of all surcharges, along with various forms of exorbitant fees.’
As per their claims, illegal extra fees have cost Australians over $2 billion in total.
This assertion is supported by a report from last November that discovered that
Australians have spent billions of dollars on unlawful charges for governmental services.
for at least twenty years.
The problem was revealed following the discovery by the NSW government that since 2016, approximately 92 million transactions incurred unlawful merchant fees totaling $144 million.
triggering a review by the Albanese Government of federal payments
.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher stated that starting from January 1, 2025, the government will introduce legislation to prevent merchants from imposing debit card surcharges passed on by the Australian Taxation Office and Services Australia.
‘This new law will grant the finance minister authority to swiftly and effectively modify Commonwealth surcharging regulations, including preventing Commonwealth entities from imposing debit card surcharges,’ she stated.
Nevertheless, the controversial additional fees imposed during weekends and public holidays at numerous eateries fall under the purview of the ACCC to examine individually.
According to legal firm
Freedman and Gopalan
‘, adding an extra fee during weekends or public holidays is entirely permissible, provided the customer is informed’.”
There is no restriction on how high this additional charge can go. It needs to be clearly shown on the menu and should not be any smaller than the tiniest font used elsewhere on the menu.
The ACCC also tackled this concern, stating that ‘restaurants, cafes, and bistros which impose an additional fee on specific days are not required to present you with a distinct menu or pricing sheet, nor must they include the extra charge within a separate price column.’
Nevertheless, the menu should incorporate the phrase ‘a surcharge of [percentage] applies on [the specific day or days],’ with this statement being highlighted equally visibly as the highest-priced item on the menu.
Read more
by admin | Mar 25, 2025 | budgets, fiscal policy, government, news, politics and government
Rachel Reeves
Is anticipated to unveil several billion pounds in expenditure reductions during her Spring Statement on Wednesday as she rushes to find ways to save money.
The Chancellor plans to tighten the budget for certain government departments as she aims to address a significant deficit in public funds.
At her
Budget
In October, Ms Reeves set aside nearly £10 billion as ‘buffer room’ in accordance with her fiscal guidelines.
However, fresh data from the Office for Budget Responsibility indicate that these gains have now vanished due to slow economic expansion and increasing lending expenses.
The Chancellor has already managed the implementation of cuts amounting to £5 billion from the increasing UK welfare budget, which involves restricting eligibility for disability benefits.
She has also been required to approve plans for slashing Britain’s foreign aid budget.
aid budget
, in order to finance an escalation in defense expenditure to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027.
However, additional reductions are anticipated later this week, as Ms Reeves has ruled out any further ‘tax and spend’ policies following her £40 billion series of tax increases last October.
Data from public spending for the previous fiscal year indicates that a significant portion of tax money went towards social benefits, government retirement funds, and financing the National Health Service.
For instance, an individual earning approximately £37,000 per year in the United Kingdom would anticipate that about £1,920 of their taxes go towards welfare, £1,592 goes to the NHS, and roughly £1,013 funds state pensions.
Use our interactive tool below to check where your own taxes go…
Mrs. Reeves is already aiming at welfare as part of her effort to achieve savings, following Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall’s announcement of proposals to tighten benefit conditions the previous week.
In the period of 2023-24, the government continued to allocate more funds towards debt interest payments compared to spending on education.
In the previous fiscal year, police and transportation were also significant spending categories. Moreover, billions of pounds were allocated to environmental initiatives, housing projects, as well as libraries, museums, and sports facilities.
The UK continues to make contributions to the EU under the terms of the Brexit agreement, and even though these payments have been reduced multiple times recently, £7.2 billion was still allocated for international assistance.
Given that Labour MPs are already displeased with the reductions in welfare and foreign aid, Ms. Reeves must proceed cautiously as she contemplates additional financial restrictions.
The Chancellor has confirmed that she will make reductions in the budget for Whitehall before presenting her Spring Statement, particularly focusing on cutting costs associated with running government departments.
She has detailed strategies to reduce civil service operational expenses by 15 percent by the end of the decade. Additionally, the Treasury is anticipated to introduce a fresh initiative against tax evasion.
Ms Reeves stated that Whitehall officials will be requested to identify savings of over £2 billion from administrative expenses, which would probably result in approximately 10,000 job losses.
However, trade unions have cautioned that the number might actually be closer to 50,000. Additionally, the Treasury is believed to require much larger cuts to achieve their financial goals due to declining growth projections.
The gap in the public funds might reach up to £15 billion, even after revealing plans to reduce benefit spending by £5 billion.
Even though budgets are anticipated to increase in actual value over the next few years, unprotected sectors will face reductions.
It has been asserted that the reduction in expenditures will amount to an average of 4.7 percent across most sectors, although the specific figures won’t be disclosed until the spending review scheduled for June.
Read more
by admin | Mar 25, 2025 | government, government regulations, news, news media, social media
PETALLING JAYA: According to Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching, MCMC’s study aimed at verifying whether the count of X users in Malaysia falls under eight million is expected to conclude by the third quarter of this year.
According to Bernama, she stated that the operators of X had earlier mentioned they were ineligible for classification under the application services provider category to function within Malaysia due to their local user count falling short of the eight million-user benchmark.
“MCMC is carrying out a survey to ascertain, through our data and analysis, if X has over eight million users,” she stated in the Senate.
Teo mentioned that MCMC was interacting with the platform’s supplier as well as two additional firms, specifically Meta and Google, neither of which have acquired licenses yet.
She addressed an additional query posed by Senator Robert Lau regarding whether the communications ministry had established a timeline for qualified firms to submit their license applications and what measures would be implemented should these entities fail to adhere to this requirement.
Teo mentioned that there isn’t a strict timeline for social media platforms to obtain their licenses, however, MCMC could implement various actions should these companies fail to submit their applications.
According to Section 126 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which was amended on February 11, service providers could be subject to a maximum fine of RM1 million or imprisonment for up to 10 years. Additionally, they will incur an extra fine of RM100,000 per day for every day the violation persists post-conviction.
“Furthermore, according to Section 243, we have the authority to impose a penalty not greater than 50% of the highest possible fine,” she stated.
In response to an additional query from Senator Tiew Way Keng regarding the ministry’s actions against fraud and related problems on Meta and Google’s platforms, Teo mentioned that up until March 15, a cumulative figure of 46,929 postings was taken down from Facebook. This includes content associated with scams and illegal online betting activities.
The ministry and government will persist in supporting the liberty of expression.
Nevertheless, the difficulty we encounter lies in the enormous volume of explicit material, fraudulent schemes, and illegal betting operations present on platforms like Facebook.
“Therefore, we must implement stronger measures if Meta continues to be uncooperative,” she stated.
Teo mentioned that both the government and MCMC would ask Meta to strengthen advertisement protocols in Malaysia, akin to what has been done in Singapore.
“In Singapore, advertisers must verify their identity before posting ads or boosting content. The question is: why is this stringent screening applied only in Singapore and not globally?
“If they can strengthen their advertisement screening processes in Singapore, why not in Malaysia, Thailand, and other nations as well? It’s an idea worth contemplating,” she stated.
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