(03/03/2021) Daily Malaysia Politics

 

 Written by Siponredwine@gmail.com                                                                          03/03/2021

1. Cops to crack down anti-vaccine instigators

INDIVIDUALS who spread fake news and instigating people not to take the Covid-19 vaccine will face stern action under the Sedition Act 1948. The Inspector-General of Police said that there are no reports of such cases had been lodged.

Any individuals specifically gave negative comments on the vaccine and deter people from getting a jab can be charged under the Sedition Act 1948.

Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948

Sedition here defines as conduct or language inciting rebellion against the authority of a state.

(1)

Justification: Applies to any person who does or attempts to, or makes any preparation to do, conspires with any person to undertake seditious action. It also applies to those who utter any seditious words, print, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes, or reproduces any seditious publications as well as reproduces or imports any seditious publications.

Punishment:

For a first offense, a maximum fine of RM5,000, or not more than 3 years imprisonment, or both. While for a subsequent offense, the prison term is no more than 5 years.

(2)

Justification: Applies to those without lawful excuse but found in his possession any seditious publications.

Punishment:

For a first offense, a maximum fine of RM2,000 or not more than 18 months imprisonment or both. For a subsequent offense, the maximum prison term is 3 years and the publication shall be forfeited or destroyed.

2. Sebatik  rep hands over SD to Assembly Speaker

SEBATIK MP Hassan Amir Gani has submitted a statutory declaration “revoking and withdrawing” all pre-signed resignation letters he committed to Parti Warisan Sabah before becoming its candidate for the Sept 26 snap Sabah election.

State Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Kadzam Yahysa has confirmed that the Sebatik had met him at 11.45 am yesterday to send in the statutory declarations. He also mentioned that Hassan’s pre-resigned letter delivered by Warisan secretary-general Datuk Loretto Padua has been received as well.

On the position of the Sebatik assemblymen, Kadzim will discuss with State Attorney-General Datuk Nor Asiah Mohd Yusof before making the decision. The secretary-general of Warisan clarified that Hassan’s statutory declaration was made in his own will, excluding the narrative that he was forced to sign by the Warisan members.

Padua said that the party will wait for further instructions from the Speaker, and they want to prove that Warisan is against party hoppers. Before this, party president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal mentioned that they were thinking of legal action against Hassan for defecting.

 

3. Jamal apologizes to ex-minister Yeo

IN a defamation lawsuit concerning Yayasan Anak Selangor (YAWAS) funds by Jamal v. Yeo, the defendant Sungai Besar Umno dividen head Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos has apologized to the plaintiff former minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment, and Climate Change Yeo Bee Yin.

The case was scheduled to be heard before High Court judge Rozana Ali Yusoff, but both parties agreed to settle it through a consent judgment. Rozana acknowledged and recorded the consent judgment, she also thanked both parties who agreed to settle it out of court.

Jamal, the defendant has apologized to Yeo as the plaintiff in front of all journalists and photographers in the compound of the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex.

“I now acknowledge that YB Yeo Bee Yin is an honest and transparent person in managing Skim Mesra Usia Emas money. I would like to apologize to YB Yeo Bee Yin for my mistake. I’m sorry, YB Yeo Bee Yin”, he said.

Based on the draft judgment,

-     The defendant, Jamal, and his agents or workers are barred from furthering uttering, writing, publishing, and disseminating the said defamatory speech.

-     The defendant is also prohibited from uttering, writing, publishing, or disseminating words that are said to be defamatory as in the amended statement of claims on June 16, 2017, or words that have the same effect on the plaintiff or statements that can be considered defamatory.

-    The consent judgment cannot be binding and applied to the defendant by any other party having a similar suit against Jamal. It is also without order as to costs.

Yeo filed the suit on June 14, 2017, demanding damages of RM5mil from Jamal for his allegedly defamatory statement regarding the issue of misappropriation of Yawas funds. The statement of claim Yeo claimed that Jamal had issued the statement on March 21, 2017, and that it was published by multiple publications, news portals, and on the defendant’s Facebook.

She claimed that the statement gave the impression that she had misused public funds and was unethical and untrustworthy.

 

4. Govt still in talks with Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines

THE Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister said the government is interested in Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines but multiple concerns need to be resolved.

The first concern being addressed by the government with the manufacture is the number of doses offered. Khairy said that the manufacturer is prioritizing rich countries and willing to offer slightly above two million doses.

The second concern being addressed is the schedule of delivery, as it is towards the end of the year. The minister has raised both issues with the manufacturer as a concern, the government aims to speed up the delivery date from either the third or fourth quarter of the year to the second quarter.

Malaysia is interested in the Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine because it was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which also proves to be effective against various Covid-19 strains.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only vaccine approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

On the other hand, the Health Ministry has granted conditional approval for UK’s AstraZeneca’s “Solution for Injection” vaccine and China’s Sinovac’s “Coronavac Suspension for Injection”. Health director-general Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the conditional registration requires the holding companies to submit an analysis of the latest data by rolling submissions, which will be reviewed by NPRA.

The Cabinet of Malaysia had also held a discussion and agreed to an emergency ordinance related to fake or false news against vaccines. The Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah will be announcing it soon.