Greens, seafood go to waste - The Sun ipaper

TELLING IT AS IT IS

APRIL 15, 2020ON WEDNESDAYNo. 7518 PP 2644/12/2012 (031195) www.thesundaily.my

GEORGE TOWN: The many restrictions placed on human activity during the movement control order (MCO) have

made it difficult for traders to sell their vegetables and seafood.

Vegetable farmers nationwide are forced to dump their vegetables as they

cannot reach the consumers like b e f o r e . L i k e w i s e , the number of places

█ BY IAN MCINTYRE AND KEERTAN AYAMANY [email protected]

Greens, seafood go to wasteo Break in supply chain forces farmers to dump vegetables while fishermen struggle with low demand

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Outbreak impact not

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CELEBRITYCAUSES

that are allowed to sell seafood, such as markets and restaurants, has dropped significantly.

“Demand for vegetables has dropped. Consumers are shopping less due to the MCO, while many markets and restaurants are not allowed to open, and there are also no more tourists,” Federation of Malaysian Vegetable Farmers Association chairman Tan So

Tiok told theSun. He said the lower demand

has also caused a severe drop in prices of certain vegetables at the wholesale level.

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Finding her reason for being

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GRATEFUL ... Health Ministry staff on duty yesterday at Plaza City One in Kuala Lumpur showing appreciation to the public for their cooperation in observing the movement control order. – ZAHID IZZANI/ THESUN

2 theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | APRIL 15, 2020

NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS

‘We will abide by govt’s decision on e-bazaar’

PETALING JAYA: Hawkers and petty traders keen to do business through the proposed Ramadan e-bazaar will abide by any decision the government makes on the concept.

The Malaysian Federation of Hawkers and Petty Traders Associations said yesterday that it will not proceed if the government says “no”.

Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa is expected to make an announcement on the matter tomorrow, federation president Datuk Seri Rosli Sulaiman said yesterday.

Rosli said he met Kuala Lumpur City Hall officials yesterday for another round of discussions on the new concept of the proposed e-bazaar.

oHawkers and petty trader’s federation say members awaiting decision from authorities

█ BY ELLY FAZANIZA AND AMAR SHAH MOHSEN [email protected]

In a separate announcement in Putrajaya yesterday, Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the decision not to allow any Ramadan bazaars this year, whether online or otherwise, is to prevent large crowds from gathering at specific locations.

The proposed Ramadan e-bazaar is similar to food delivery services. It entails customers placing online orders for their choice of food and having them delivered. Otherwise, they could pick up their purchases themselves.

In a front page report in theSun yesterday, Rosli was quoted as saying that strict rules would apply to ensure there is social distancing to prevent any Covid-19 infection.

He said the federation would not appeal against any decision made by the government. “We only hope that traders will be compensated for their effort in registering and

preparing for the anticipated month-long online trading.”

A total of 2,700 traders have already registered for “slots” in the e-bazaar platform, originally proposed by Annuar.

Bernama reported three days ago that the Federal Territories minister was offering each trader a RM500 incentive to participate in the new concept.

Meanwhile, the Johor government has decided that there will be no Ramadan bazaars this year to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infections in the state.

Chairman of the state Health and Environment Committee R. Vidyananthan said the move was in line with the federal government’s call not to hold such bazaars this year.

Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Terengganu have also announced that there will not be any Ramadan bazaars.

Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said it will be impossible to observe social distancing in enclosed areas, whether in mosques or narrow streets at such places.

BUSINESS AS USUAL ... Fishermen have been allowed to go to sea during the movement control order period. – MASRY CHE ANI/THE SUN

‘SAYING SORRY NOT ENOUGH’ DELETING fake news posts about Covid-19 on social media and then apologising will not get you off the hook.

The public has been sternly warned as there were still irresponsible parties who spread fake news while frontliners are doing their best to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said those who upload fake news will be punished.

STATUS QUO FOR THIRD PHASE COMPANIES that have approval to operate during the first and second phases of the MCO will be allowed to operate in the third phase. The International Trade and Industry Ministry said that the approved companies are encouraged to submit new applications to get approval letters with a new format. The new format has a QR code to facilitate the inspection of a company’s information.

FLIGHTS TO EAST MALAYSIA ON MALAYSIA Airlines Berhad (MAB) has said that flights between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak will continue in the third phase of the movement control order. Federal Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong agreed to this after discussions with MAB.

Farmers give away vegetables for free during MCO

PETALING JAYA: Vegetable farmers in the country have shown selflessness by donating vegetables to the needy, even though they are incurring losses.

While there have been cases of vegetable dumping, farmers say that this was mostly due to a lack of resources to undertake donations, or vegetables going bad.

Federation of Malaysian Vegetable Farmers Association chairman Tan So Tiok said farmers in his area of Tangkak, Johor, have been giving away vegetables to welfare associations and to their neighbours.

█ BY KEERTAN AYAMANY [email protected]

“The work required to donate takes up time, incurring labour and transportation costs,” he said, adding the farmers were also facing a shortage of workers during the movement control order (MCO) period.

Tan said many vegetable farmers nationwide are forced to dump their vegetables as they have nowhere to sell them. “The dumping cases are not because vegetable farmers aren’t willing to sell at lower prices.”

Meanwhile, Chiong Yoke Kong, DAP Socialist Youth deputy chairman and Tanah Rata assemblyman, criticised the actions of individuals who spread fake news on Cameron Highlands farmers.

In a statement, Chiong said the Highland

farmers had donated more than 100 tonnes of fresh vegetables to the needy all over the country during the MCO.

“If fake news by some people is not curbed, it might negatively affect the future government policy direction involving the farmers in Cameron Highlands.”

He was commenting on Mohd Nor Izzat Mohd Johari, deputy chairman of rights group Pembela, who slammed farmers in Cameron Highlands and Lojing, Gua Musang for dumping vegetables.

On his Facebook page “Cikgu Izzat Johari”, Nor Izzat accused the farmers of throwing away vegetables to mislead the government into providing them with subsidies.

thesundaily.my

Prices of fish, greens drop

“Cucumbers that used to sell for RM1 each, are now only selling for 40 sen. Prices of leafy vegetables such as bayam and kangkung have also gone down.

“Prices have gone so low that we can’t even cover the cost of growing them.”

Tan said on March 30, his association had sent a letter outlining the farmers’ troubles to the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry, but has yet to receive a reply.

“We predict that by April 27, our farmers will lose up to RM22.75 million. Thus, we are seeking a government incentive of RM90 per metric tonne of vegetable output,” he said.

Fishermen too are finding it difficult to get their catch to the market as there are fewer distribution lines.

Balik Pulau Fishermen Association president Arshad Omar said since the MCO was imposed four weeks ago, fishermen have been struggling to make ends meet.

“Our monthly income has been halved. For instance, someone who used to earn RM1,000 a month is getting only RM500 a month now,” he said.

Even with the aid promised by the government, fishermen are still having difficulties, he added.

“There is still a lot of fish in the sea, but there are not enough places where we can sell them now.”

He said the tightening of movements for suppliers has made it difficult for fishermen to sell their catch to either wholesalers or retailers.

Arshad said the number of places that serve seafood has also been reduced sharply.

“Naturally, the demand will also drop,” he pointed out.

He said the night markets have yet to reopen, so fishermen can only sell their catch during the day.

“Even then, the supply is so much more than the demand.”

Arshad said the 5,000 fishermen in Penang now go out to sea only three or four times a week, compared with daily trips previously.

“During their spare time, they fix their nets and fishing vessels. They are also spending more time with their families,” he said.

Seberang Prai Fishermen Association president Mahadi Mat Rodzi said to improve the distribution process, the association now issues letters to lorry operators to certify that they are ferrying seafood.

From front page

3 NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS

theSUN ON WEDNESDAY | APRIL 15, 2020

Why it’s even more IMPORTANT to keep with the MCO now ... ... with more businesses allowed to operate, person-to-person contact increases, and so do chances of contracting Covid-19.

So, stay at home as much as possible. Every time someone in your household steps out, they might return with Covid-19. Symptoms do not always develop early. Look out for digestive and respiratory symptoms, dry cough and high fever.

‘Impact not as bad as 1998 crash’

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s economy is expected to bounce back from the current slump much faster than during the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

Macro finance analyst Prof Dr Hoo Ke Ping said this is because the country has not been hit as badly in the current Covid-19 crisis, owing to

oCountry financially stronger compared to 22 years ago: Expert

█ BY AMAR SHAH MOHSEN [email protected]

its stronger financial position as compared to 22 years ago.

He noted that in 1998, Malaysia faced a combination of major financial, banking and political crises, as well as major foreign debt and overlending issues.

“I would say the crisis back then was at least five times worse than today. Now, our banks are in a stronger position, we don’t have much foreign debt and our reserves are very strong.

“In addition, unlike countries such as China which rely a lot on export, most of our small and medium enterprises focus mainly on the domestic market and multinational companies.

“Generally, we are financially,

economically and politically stronger compared to 1998, and hence, our rebound should be much faster,” he told theSun.

Hoo was commenting on Retail Group Malaysia’s (RGM) preliminary report on the retail industry during the current pandemic.

According to the report, the retail industry’s growth is estimated to have dropped by 18.8% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, and plunged 60.7% in April. However, this figure is expected to improve in the remaining second quarter, with a cumulative growth of 9.3% compared to 2019.

RGM also estimated that the retail industry would see a growth of 2.3% and 3.3% for the third and fourth

quarters, respectively. Nevertheless, the industry is

expected to suffer a 5.5% decline in sales this year compared to last year, due to the pandemic and the movement control order (MCO).

Hoo said the rebound predicted by RGM in the third and fourth quarters of this year is not too optimistic, and that a similar trend could be expected for the country’s overall economy.

He said this is largely due to the actions taken by the government to contain the spread of the virus, which he said would lead to businesses resuming operations quicker.

Fashion retailer Nose International CEO Edward Yee, however, said it could take up to two

years for his company to recoup losses incurred during this period.

“I think our reserves can only support us for another month or two, if the MCO continues. This will depend on whether there is any new funding coming in,” he told theSun.

Hawker Roslan Abd Ghani also said he has been similarly affected as night markets, where he sells char kuey teow, are prohibited from operating during the MCO.

He now relies solely on food delivery but said he only earns a meagre sum compared to when he was operating at the night market.

“Hopefully, the prediction that retailers will begin to recover in the coming months or so is accurate,” he added.

Time for new budgeting habit

PETALING JAYA: A valuable lesson can be learnt about budgeting with the movement control order (MCO) in force, according to a financial planner.

People will be more prepared for a recession once the MCO is lifted, Malaysian Financial Planning Council deputy president Desmond Chong Kok Fei told theSun yesterday.

Chong said monthly expenses for most people would have probably dropped by 20% to 30% during this period.

“This shows we can save much more from our monthly income. We should try to maintain the same level of spending post MCO,” he said.

Once the Covid-19 crisis is over, the country could go into a recession and many people may lose their jobs, he added.

“Most of us will be worried about job stability. “It is important for everyone to take stock of

their financial obligations to ensure they have enough money to sustain if they were to lose their job,” Chong said.

Giving an example, he said that if a person has only RM6,000 left and if he spends RM2,000 a month, he will only be able to sustain for three months.

“As back-up, he should have a second income stream. He should also forget about frivolous spending, such as on holidays, because the MCO has shown that we can do without such luxuries.”

Chong said people should cut unnecessary spending and consider a second income stream to prepare for any kind of shock.

“There are many opportunities today, such as online businesses or e-hailing and e-delivery services,” he added.

“It is also important for a person to look at investments such as unit trust or shares, and they should consider liquidating if necessary.

He said people can also look at government aid to help them cope during this difficult times.

Chong also said now is the time for those who have nothing much to upgrade their skills.

Licensed financial planner Felix Neoh said people need to look at their cash flow to determine their financial position.

“If a person’s cash flow is negative, then he should look at what he can cut back on to improve his position,” Neoh said.

█ BY RAJVINDER SINGH [email protected]

MCO proves helpful in keeping Covid-19 cases below 5,000PETALING JAYA: The number of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia has remained below 5,000 as of yesterday, proof that the movement control order (MCO) is a success.

Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said earlier projections had placed the number at above 6,000 cases by this time, “but thanks to the MCO, we have kept it below 5,000”.

In his daily briefing yesterday, Noor Hisham said there were five fatalities yesterday, bringing the number of deaths to 83. Another 170 new cases were also reported, bringing the total to 4,987.

He said 202 patients were discharged yesterday, bringing the number of those who

have recovered to 2,478 or 49.7% of all reported cases.

Sixty patients are being treated in intensive care with 33 needing ventilators.

Noor Hisham said the implementation of the enhanced MCO (EMCO) in selected areas has also successfully prevented the virus from spreading.

“We are seeing positive results in places such as Simpang Renggam and Sungai Lui.”

Noor Hisham said that among the fatalities, 75% were men. He attributed this to the fact that more men than women attended the Seri Petaling gathering that sparked off a burst of new cases.

He said half the number of those who died

were aged above 60, and nearly 85% had underlying health problems.

On the welfare of personnel on the frontline, Noor Hisham said the government has been procuring personal protection equipment suits to meet demand.

He said they have in stock boot covers to last 78 days, protective headgear for 52 days as well as face masks, face shields, disposable fluid resistant aprons and protective coveralls to last up to 47 days.

Noor Hisham said efforts have been made to look for an alternative supplier of N-95 masks after the United States, the world’s biggest producer, banned its export. – by Rajvinder Singh

Masjid India area under EMCOPUTRAJAYA: The iconic Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding areas have become the fifth and latest in the country to be

put under an enhanced movement control order (EMCO).

Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the order was enforced beginning yesterday and would be in place until April 28, in line with the advice from Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham

Baba. “The EMCO covers premises along Jalan

Munshi Abdullah, Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Tun Perak, Jalan Melaka and Jalan Ampang, surrounding Masjid India,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

Previously, only specific buildings in these areas were placed under EMCO, namely City One Plaza (Jalan Munshi Abdullah) and the Selangor Mansion and Malayan Mansion buildings (Jalan Masjid India).

Apart from these, the other two areas subjected to the strict lockdown are Simpang Renggam in Johor and Hulu Langat in Selangor.

Meanwhile, Ismail said after getting the nod from the Health Ministry, the government has decided not to extend the EMCO in Hulu Langat, which ended yesterday, barring two premises, Maahad Tahfiz An-Nabawiyyah and a house in Kampung Paya Lebar in Sungai Lui, which has been extended to April 28. – by Amar Shah Mohsen

EXTENDED RESTRICTION... The extension of the movement control order from April 15 to April 28 causes a traffic jam along the Grand Saga Highway heading to Kajang from Cheras . – FAUZI ANUAR/THESUN

theSunGraphics© - Kogulan



Less activity during MCO good for environment█ BY KEERTAN AYAMANY [email protected]

PETALING JAYA: The movement control order (MCO) has proven it is possible to reduce traffic congestion and bring pollution levels down as a result, according to environmentalists.

This, in the end will prove beneficial for the environment and, by extension, people.

Environmentalist Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma of Green Growth Asia Foundation, pointed out the MCO has shown that work can be done at home.

“We can get a lot of work done from home by using digital tools and technology. This, in turn, reduces the need to commute,” he told theSun yesterday.

Dionysius, who is also former

oBetter API readings show reducing pollution is responsibilty of all, says NGO

No more soft approach for offenders█ BY AMAR SHAH MOHSEN [email protected]

PUTRAJAYA: Disregard the movement control order (MCO) and be faced with more than just a fine.

From today, those who flout the MCO will be remanded and brought straight to court. The “reinforcement” comes as the country enters its third phase of the restriction order.

Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said authorities will recommend court action where possible, with the RM1,000 compound used as the

lesser option. The decision was made following

the high number of individuals slapped with compounds and taken to court for disregarding the MCO, with many still undeterred by the penalty.

“Beginning tomorrow (today), we will not be focusing on compounds. Those arrested will be remanded and dragged to court. Let the court decide the amount of the fine and whether they should be imprisoned.

“I believe many among the rakyat are treating this compound like any other police summonses. Some of

them won’t even pay. Which is why we will not compromise.

“Hopefully, the situation will be under control, and the rakyat will adhere to our instructions,” Ismail said at a press conference here, yesterday.

Ismail Sabri said flouters will be charged under Section 24 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, which provides imprisonment of not more than two years, or a fine for first-time offenders.

However, he said police would use their discretion for certain cases and choose to only impose compounds.

According to Ismail Sabri, a total of 1,374 individuals were arrested on Monday alone for flouting the MCO, bringing the total to 9,090.

On a separate matter, Ismail Sabri said 217 investigation papers have been initiated by the police and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission over the spread of fake news regarding the pandemic.

He also said the MCO maximum price scheme which covers 12 essential items, including chicken meat, eggs, cooking oil, tomatoes and cabbages, would be enforced from today.

Extension ‘unsettling’ court casesKUALA LUMPUR: Extension of the movement control order (MCO) has had unsettling effects, even on court cases, including high-profile trials, according to the legal fraternity.

Criminal lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan said many of his cases were nearing conclusion when the MCO came into effect.

However, with the order extended to April 28, he said at least 20 trials involving his clients who are under remand could not proceed and that new dates had to be fixed.

“This will of course overlap with cases that have already been fixed and it is going to be a logistical nightmare trying to fit all of them in.

“For example, the trial involving the late deputy public prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais was about to be concluded when the MCO came into effect and it is anyone’s guess when this trial is going to conclude,” said Sivananthan, who is representing army doctor Colonel R. Kunaseegaran, the fifth accused in the Kevin Morais murder trial.

Sharing the same sentiment, lawyer Datuk K. Kumaraendran said due to the MCO, the flow of cases has been interrupted.

“When there is a long break we need to refresh our clients and it’s time consuming. For me, I think the court should give priority to all cases, such as kidnapping and drug cases, not only high-profile cases,” he said.

Kumaraendran is representing Datuk Seri Bung Mokhtar in a corruption case and former treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar, who is jointly charged with former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak for criminal breach of trust involving government funds.

Meanwhile, lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, representing Najib in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case, said even though the postponement of cases did cause delays, it was a “necessary evil”.

“We are dealing with a very serious pandemic and action such as the MCO has been proven to be the best solution. So everyone needs to be patient and eventually we will get back to court,” he added. – Bernama

QUALITY CONTROL ... A lecturer from UiTM doing a thorough check of the face visors to be distributed to frontliners combatting the Covid-19 outbreak. – MASRY CHE ANI/THESUN

BRIE

FS FOREIGNERS HELD

OVER WATER FESTIVAL KUALA LUMPUR: Police arrested 62 Myanmar men for allegedly celebrating a water festival in the compound of a factory workers hostel in Sepang on Monday. Sepang District Police chief ACP Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof said they were arrested during a raid following a tip-off and cooperation from the factory management. Two of the suspects also admitted to recording the event using their mobile phones and posting it on Facebook. The case is being investigated under Section 269 of the Penal Code, Section 505(c) of the Penal Code, Section 22 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Their actions were also in violation of the movement control order, aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19. – Bernama PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT NEEDED PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is asking for donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontliners treating Covid-19 patients. Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there is a need to restock PPEs for frontline personnel as they are among disposable items used daily. “The use of PPEs has risen two to 10 times more than usual,” he said. Noor Hisham explained that PPEs are used on daily basis unlike ventilators, which are so far sufficient. “We have enough ventilators, there are 956 units, and there is no need for more ventilators. But we are in need of PPEs. If any party or non-governmental organisations want to donate, please donate them to us (ministry),” he said. “It is important that we continue to procure PPEs. So far, we have enough to last for at least another two weeks,” he said. – Bernama CHECK BEFORE BUYING HAND SANITISERS MALACCA: Consumers are advised to check with the Health Ministry’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) before purchasing hand sanitisers online to ensure legitimacy of the product. Malacca Health Department Pharmaceutical Services Division enforcement branch assistant director Mohd Hafiz Abdul Seddek said checks can be done via the NPRA website www.npra.gov.my or by downloading the NPRA application on a smartphone. Mohd Hafiz urged consumers to ensure traders are registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia. – Bernama

executive director of WWF Malaysia, said once the MCO is lifted companies could conduct town hall sessions with their employees to discuss the possibility of at least doing some work remotely.

“The MCO is an opportunity for us to rethink how our actions affect the environment,” he said.

Like other environmentalists, he believes less human activity could help reduce pollution and changes in human behaviour can be made to keep pollution levels down, even after the MCO is lifted.

The Department of Environment’s data on the air

pollutant index for Kuala Lumpur, George Town and Johor Baru showed “moderate” levels yesterday.

Dionysius also pointed out other benefits that can be derived from working remotely.

“With fewer people in the office it reduces the amount of space used by businesses and that cuts costs,” he said.

He added companies could also share facilities such as desks and meeting rooms.

“The MCO should not become a futile episode in our history. We should learn from it and translate what we’ve learnt into new

behaviours,” he added. Founder of EcoKnights Yasmin

Rasyid said the MCO was proof the collective actions of all citizens could lead to a negative impact on the environment.

“Many believed that it was up to the government or non-governmental organisations to reduce pollution, but the reduced API during the MCO has shown that we are all responsible,” she said.

Yasmin added the people could rethink events such as the Ramadan Bazaar.

“Events like bazaars generate lots of plastic and organic waste. Now people will have to resort to deliveries, which could be a possible solution in the future too.

“Plastic and organic waste leads to most of the pollution in Kuala Lumpur rivers,” she said.

5* NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS


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Delivery rider finds drugs hidden in roti canai order

KUALA LUMPUR: A delivery service rider was shocked when he found drugs sandwiched between roti canai he was hired to deliver to Setapak.

The 32-year-old man, who is a rider with delivery service Bungkusit, had picked up a package from a client at Tropicana in Petaling Jaya at about 5pm on Monday and was assigned to deliver it to a recipient in Setapak.

The rider was suspicious of the package and halfway through his journey to deliver it, he decided to open the package.

He was taken aback when he found two small packets of drugs, believed to be ganja, between two pieces of roti canai.

Shaken up by the find, he rode straight to the Gombak police station before handing the package to the police.

The rider lodged a report and also notified the delivery company.

Gombak police chief ACP Arifai Tarawe said yesterday police have started investigations and are tracking the sender and recipient of the package.

“There were two packs of dried leaves we suspect are marijuana in the package,” he said.

In a Facebook post, the rider said he was involved in delivery work on a part-time basis to save money for his wedding .

Since the movement control order (MCO) started on March 18, delivery riders have been kept busy shuttling between places picking up and sending mainly food items.

Drug pushers, gambling syndicates and contraband dealers, whose illegal activities have been affected by the MCO, are turning to the internet and delivery services to run their illicit trade.

While many were taken advantage of by unscrupulous parties and had unknowingly carried prohibited substances, a fraction of them had capitalised on the MCO exemption they enjoy.

Since early last week, police have been conducting regular checks on the items carried by such riders after catching a number of them delivering drugs, ketum extract, contraband cigarettes and liquor.

In a video shared on social media, a delivery man was arrested after drugs were found concealed in a cellphone box he was asked to deliver.

█ BY CHARLES RAMENDRAN [email protected]

DOING THEIR PART ... Chemical engineering lecturer from UiTM Penang Mohamed Syazwan Osman (left) and his students working on production of a liquid sanitiser that not only kills germs but also softens the skin. A total of 4,000 of the product have been distributed to hospitals and health clinics. – MASRY CHE ANI/THE SUN

Lending a hand to urban poork Petty traders struggling to survive after losing source of income due to MCO, says Pandan Indah assemblyman

PETALING JAYA: In the two years since he was elected state assemblyman for Pandan Indah, this must be the most challenging time for Izham Hashim (pix).

His main concern now is the urban poor, who make up the majority of his constituents. Many of them, such as petty traders and hawkers, earn daily wages and are living from hand-to-mouth.

But with the movement control order (MCO) in place to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, they are forced to stay idle.

“They are already struggling and

now, with no income, their situation is desperate,” he said in an interview with theSun this week.

In the weeks since the MCO was enforced on March 18, Izham said there has been a surge in the demand for food, thanks largely to the fact that most coffee shops and food stalls were close.

To address the problem, he started distributing food to those who have

lost their source of

income. “We now feed up to

1,070 people regularly,” he said.

He estimated that he has already spent RM100,000 on the food aid programme.

Malays account for 52% of the 24,914 voters in the Pandan Indah constituency and most of the remaining 48% are

Chinese. Indians and others account for the rest.

Izham, who is Parti Amanah Negara chief in Selangor, said most of his constituents live in low-cost apartments, and many of them are just five-storey walk-up flats, which poses a problem for the elderly.

“When I’m out distributing food to them, I have seen how difficult it is

for them to go up the stairs. Now, we even deliver the food to their doorstep,” he said, adding that he will address the issue once the MCO is lifted.

Many of them also do not have a fixed income, depending on small businesses operating from roadside stalls to survive.

“Many of them are elderly and most do not have a licence to operate a business. Therefore, they are not eligible for the one-off RM500 special incentive under the Selangor Prihatin Covid-19 fund package. We will ask all the petty traders and hawkers to register with the local authorities and get a business licence once the MCO is lifted.”

Izham said since the Selangor Agro Market programme was launched, some farmers and hawkers have been able to

regain their source of income while the people are now able to get their daily necessities at lower prices.

He plans to conduct regular campaigns to create awareness about the various aid programmes because many still do not know that they are eligible to claim such monetary assistance.

Izham said many are unaware of such government programmes or they do not understand the process of filing a claim.

Steps would also be taken to stop people who are already well-off from getting such assistance, he added.

Such awareness programmes were usually conducted house-to-house, but with the MCO, it would now be done through social media.

“We are in the process of updating the database on our constituents. Once that is done, perhaps we can do some research to see if we can

change things for the better, even through social re-engineering.”

█ BY ALISHA NUR MOHD NOOR [email protected]

‘Together We Can’ campaign nets RM2,605 on first day

PETALING JAYA: With Day 1 of the “Together We Can # To g e t h e r F o r H u m a n i t y ” campaign getting good response, day two is sure to keep the momentum of the charity drive going.

As of 7pm yesterday, the fund had collected RM2,605.

Today, four more artistes will go live on theSundaily Facebook page at 4pm.

The acts will include singer-songwriting duo Wanted Symphony, local indie-pop band Resort, singer-songwriter Reshma Martin and actress, singer-songwriter Yee Yee.

Donations made to the fund will be channelled to “The Giving Bank Organisation” which will disperse the money collected towards six causes.

The main aim is to purchase and distribute groceries and essential items to old folk homes and orphanages.

This will be a part of The

Giving Bank’s existing #feedthetummies campaign.

The fund will also provide groceries and essential items to families and individuals affected by the movement control order (MCO).

Persatuan Pemuzik Tempatan Selangor will also benefit from this joint initiative after theSun published several articles about musicians in dire straits due to loss of income because the MCO effectively put a stop to live music.

The funds will also be used to provide food, water and face masks for migrants and refugees.

The campaign will cover the Zoo Negara Animal adoption programme and provide food supply to animals in shelters.

The public can donate to the fund online by visiting twc.thegivingbank.com or alternatively, via direct deposit to “The Giving Bank Organisation”, CIMB Bank account at 800 8375 268.

█ BY KEVIN DAVASAGAYAM [email protected]

MY CONSTITUENCY



Hunger for ‘good news’ grows NEW YORK: Battered by grim headlines, horrifying statistics and deep uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic, many people worldwide are trying to lift their spirits by seeking out “good news”.

Sites specialising in upbeat news have seen a surge in growth in recent weeks.

And Google searches for “good news” have jumped fivefold since the start of the year.

The Good News Network, created in the late 1990s, has seen traffic triple in the past month with more than 10 million visitors, according to founder and editor Geri Weis-Corbley.

“People are sending us links of positive, inspiring things happening in their neighbourhoods, in their cities, in their states, so we have so much good news to pass along,” said Weis-Corbley, who also observed spikes in interest after the Sept 11 attacks and the global financial crisis of a decade ago.

“We think that people now are experiencing a yearning for good news that will continue.”

Other websites including The Guardian, Fox News, HuffPost, MSN and Yahoo have their own pages dedicated to uplifting stories.

A CNN newsletter, The Good Stuff, created last year, has seen a 50% jump in subscriptions

over the past month, a CNN spokesman said. “Our editorial team saw growing interest in

the stories that made our audience smile, with fascinating discoveries, everyday heroes, inspiring movements and great things happening all over the world.”

Actor John Krasinski joined the effort with his own weekly YouTube video show Some Good News, which mimics a traditional news broadcast but focusing on uplifting stories.

Stuart Soroka, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, said humans are conditioned to pay closer attention to negative news because it could force them to change their behavior.

But in a crisis, Soroka said people also look for news which is “most outlying, at odds with our expectations”, which may account for the public turning to positive stories.

Ashley Muddiman, a professor at the Centre for Media Engagement at the University of Kansas, said the positive news is a way of helping people cope.

“I do think that people want to see solutions and want to see people working towards solutions rather than bickering with each other.” – AFP

‘Covid-19 10 times more deadly than swine flu’GENEVA: The novel coronavirus is 10 times more deadly than swine flu, which caused a global pandemic in 2009, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday, stressing a vaccine would be necessary to fully halt transmission.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from Geneva that the organisation was constantly learning about the new virus sweeping the globe.

“We know that Covid-19 spreads fast, and we know that it is deadly, 10 times deadlier than the 2009 flu pandemic.“

WHO says 18,500 people died of “swine flu”, or H1N1, which was first uncovered in Mexico and the United States in March 2009, but the Lancet medical estimated the toll to be between 151,700 and 575,400.

The Lancet review included estimated deaths in Africa and Southeast Asia that were not accounted for by the WHO.

The outbreak, which was declared a pandemic in June 2009 and considered over by August 2010, turned out to be not as deadly as first feared.

Vaccines were rushed out, but in hindsight, the West, particularly Europe, and the WHO were

criticised for overreacting at a time when annual influenza epidemics every year killed between 250,000 and 500,000 people, according to WHO.

Tedros lamented on Monday that some countries are seeing a doubling of cases every three to four days, but stressed that if countries were committed to “early case-finding, testing, isolating (and) caring for every case and tracing every contact” they could rein in the virus.

But Tedros warned that “our global connectedness means the risk of re-introduction and resurgence of the disease will continue”.

He pointed out that while Covid-19 had accelerated quickly, “it decelerates much more slowly”.

“In other words, the way down is much slower than the way up,“ he said, stressing that “control measures must be lifted slowly, and with control. It cannot happen all at once”.

“Control measures can only be lifted if right public health measures are in place, including significant capacity for contact tracing.“

Regardless of the efforts put in place, the WHO chief acknowledged that “ultimately, the development and delivery of a safe and effective vaccine will be needed to fully interrupt transmission”. – AFP

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FS TAIWAN REPORTS NO NEW

CORONAVIRUS CASES TAIPEI: Taiwan yesterday reported no new cases of the coronavirus for the first time in more than a month, in the latest sign that the island’s early and effective prevention methods have paid off. Taiwan has won plaudits from health experts for how it has fought the virus, including starting as early as Dec 31 checks on passengers arriving from China’s Wuhan city, where the first cases were reported late last year. Taiwan has reported 393 cases to date, and six deaths. A total of 338 were so-called imported cases, where people were suspected of getting infected overseas before entering Taiwan, with the rest cases of local transmissions. “Of course, we hope it has passed,“ health minister Chen Shih-chung told a news conference, referring to the virus on the island. “But we still need to be on our guard. Of course we feel happy at no new cases today.” – Reuters TRUMP SAYS HE’S NOT FIRING FAUCI WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump defended his response to the coronavirus outbreak on Monday and said he did not intend to fire Anthony Fauci. On Sunday, Trump retweeted a call to fire Fauci after the top US expert on infectious diseases said lives could have been saved if the country had shut down sooner during the novel coronavirus outbreak. At a briefing on Monday, Fauci said he was answering a hypothetical question in the television interview and made clear that Trump had listened to him when he recommended mitigation efforts. Trump said he and Fauci had been on the same page “from the beginning” and declared he liked the respected doctor. “I think he’s a wonderful guy,“ Trump said, while adding that not everyone was happy with the health expert. – Reuters TURKEY MPS BACK LAW FREEING PRISONERS ANKARA: The Turkish parliament yesterday approved a law that allows for the release tens of thousands of prisoners as a safety measure against the coronavirus outbreak. “The draft has become law after being accepted,“ the official Twitter account for the parliament’s general assembly said. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have criticised the law because detainees charged under controversial anti-terrorism laws are not included. The rights groups also have condemned the exclusion of people including journalists, politicians and lawyers in pre-trial detention. This includes people jailed while awaiting a date for their trial to begin, those waiting for a formal indictment or suspects currently being tried. – AFP

World weighs easing curbs

WASHINGTON: Coronavirus deaths in the US were flat for a second consecutive day, with New York’s governor saying the “worst is over” as many countries weigh a gradual reopening of their shattered economies.

Since emerging late last year, the coronavirus pandemic has killed around 120,000 and infected nearly two million, tipping the world towards a fierce economic recession as more than half of the globe hunkers down at home.

As countries reach different stages of the coronavirus curve, debate is raging over whether to return to normal life and possibly risk a second wave of infections.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told his 1.3 billion citizens their lockdown would remain in effect until May 3 at least and France’s President Emmanuel Macron extended his tight measures by another month.

But Italy and Austria are reopening some shops and Spain is restarting construction and

factory work while powerhouse Germany weighs restarting Europe’s top economy.

In Washington, Trump stunned reporters by playing a campaign-style self-congratulatory video and bashing the media during a briefing in which he claimed to have saved “tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of lives”.

The US death toll has hit 23,200, by far the worst-affected country, but the president said: “It looks like we’re plateauing, and maybe even in many cases coming down.”

Trump has repeatedly stressed he wants to open the economy as swiftly as possible and is expected to announce a plan this week on how to jump-start stalled business.

He appeared to be supported by the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University showing 1,509 deaths in the country over the past 24 hours, almost identical to the previous day.

In New York, where the virus has killed more than 10,000 people and seen unclaimed victims buried in unmarked mass graves, governor Andrew Cuomo said the nightmare might be coming to an end.

“The worst is over if we continue to be smart going forward. I believe we can now start on the path to normalcy,” Cuomo told reporters, as Trump said only the president had “the ultimate authority” to reopen businesses.

In France, one of Europe’s worst-hit countries, Macron said in a televised address the epidemic there was “beginning to steady... (and) hope is returning”.

However, he said a strict lockdown in force since March 17 would continue until May 11, after which schools and businesses could gradually reopen at a “progressive” rate.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari told his citizens they must “endure a little longer” as he also extended a lockdown in key cities, saying: “We must not lose the gains achieved thus far.”

And in Britain, whose Prime Minister Boris Johnson is recovering from the virus, officials warned the peak was still to come and the lockdown there was likely to endure.

In countries seen as further along in the epidemic, life was very gradually beginning the long process of returning to normal, with officials handing out masks to commuters returning to work in Spain.

“It’s wonderful because it helps those of us who have to use public transport,” office worker Jose Antonio Cruces said.

Italy reopened some bookshops and laundries on a trial basis yesterday, as the number of critically ill patients dropped for the 10th straight day despite the death toll topping 20,000. – AFP

oUS eyes virus ‘plateau’, Italy and Austria reopen some shops

AFTER THE STORM ... People clean up storm debris on Monday near Nixville, South Carolina. A string of storms across the southern United States that began on Easter and continued into Monday produced multiple tornados resulting in more than 30 deaths and dozens more injuries. – AFPPIX

7 NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS


Asean leaders meet online

HANOI: Southeast Asian leaders agreed at a summit held online yesterday to fight together against the “gravest public health crisis” in 100 years to make the region safe again.

Coronavirus cases in countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) over the past month have soared to more than 20,000 from fewer than 840.

The death toll has grown to 866 from 14. Vietnam – which chaired the meeting – urged

leaders to set up an emergency fund to tackle the pandemic, as the virus ravages the region’s tourism and export-reliant economies.

In opening remarks via video conference, Vietnam premier Nguyen Xuan Phuc hailed the work of Asean in fighting the virus so far.

But he warned the virus “has badly impacted people’s lives, their socio-economic situation ... challenging stability and social security”.

Vietnam has so far had some success in

containing the virus through extensive quarantines and social distancing.

It has recorded 265 infections and no deaths, while Thailand has officially also kept its numbers relatively low with just over 2,500 cases and 40 deaths.

The situation is mixed elsewhere across the region, with fears that limited testing in Indonesia has played out into the low caseload – and under 400 deaths – for the country of 260 million.

Similarly, threadbare health systems from Myanmar to Laos are widely believed to be missing the true scale of infections, while a recent surge in cases in Singapore has raised fears the pandemic could rebound in places which had batted back the initial outbreak.

Singapore reported 386 new infections on Monday.

Vietnam used the 10-member summit to propose funding to deal with the pandemic, building emergency medical stockpiles and sharing resources.

Both Malaysia and the Philippines said they would welcome a response fund, with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte warning

he was “particularly concerned with food security”.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong echoed the group’s fears, urging the region’s leaders to collaborate “to keep trading routes and supply lines open”.

“Covid-19 is the gravest public health crisis ... in a century.

“It’s critical for us and Asean to mount a united response because of how connected and interdependent our countries are.

“None of us in Asean can be truly safe unless the entire region is safe,” he said.

The whole region has been hit hard. In Vietnam many factories are still running,

but, in a sign of the ongoing risks, dozens of workers at a Samsung unit in the north were ordered into quarantine after one tested positive for the virus.

The Thai economy, the second-largest in Asean, is expected to shrink by 5.3% this year – a 22-year low – with millions left jobless.

Nearly 22 million people have registered for cash handouts.

Leaders from China, Japan and South Korea also joined the summit. – Agencies

oAgreement made to fight coronavirus together

‘Thousands of unknown infections in Philippines’MANILA: The Philippines introduced a more aggressive testing programme for the coronavirus yesterday to locate what it said could be as many as 15,000 unknown infections, despite having implemented some of Asia’s strictest and earliest lockdown measures.

Authorities have targeted several phases of ramped-up testing, starting yesterday with 8,000 people working at or admitted to Manila hospitals that were treating patients of Covid-19, a disease that so far infected 5,223 people locally and killed 335.

Although the Philippines has Southeast Asia’s highest number of infections and nearly 40% of its known fatalities, the government believes its swift move to close borders and put half its population under home quarantine may have averted a far greater toll.

The former military chief in charge of the national coronavirus task force said yesterday modelling suggested 75% of infections or 15,000 people – had yet to be detected.

“Our strategy is Metro Manila first because this is the epicentre,” Carlito Galvez said.

“When we test Manila, we can win this battle against Covid-19.”

The government has been criticised for being too slow with testing but it has accelerated since the start of of the month due to increases in test kits and laboratory capacity.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday approved the procurement of an additional 900,000 kits, on top of 100,000 now in use.

The number of people tested stood at 33,814 as of Sunday, a tenfold increase from March 29, although still far short of the 110,000 in Vietnam,

which has 265 coronavirus cases and no reported deaths.

Among its other neighbours, Indonesia is in a more precarious situation, according to health experts, who warn of more than 1.6 million infections in a best-case scenario, and intensive care units being overwhelmed, even if stronger containment measures are introduced.

Citing expert projections, Philippine cabinet secretary Karlo Nograles said yesterday the local lockdown, which started five days after confirmation of the first domestic transmission on March 7, may have prevented between 1.9 and 8.3 million coronavirus infections.

The government has stressed that it is not mass testing, but using a targeted, risk-based approach, starting with the most vulnerable and aiming for 8,000 tests daily. – Reuters

China tightens Russian border checks, approves vaccine trialsBEIJING: China has approved early-stage human tests of two experimental vaccines to combat the novel coronavirus as the country where the virus was first detected battles to contain imported cases, especially from Russia.

Russia has become China’s largest source of imported cases, with a total of 409 infections originating in its northern neighbour.

Chinese there should stay put and not return home, the Global Times said yesterday.

“Chinese people have watched Russia become a severely affected country.

“This should sound the alarm: China must

strictly prevent the inflow of cases and avoid a second outbreak,“ the paper, which is run by the Communist Party’s People’s Daily, said in an editorial.

China’s northeastern border province of Heilongjiang saw 79 new cases of imported coronavirus cases on Monday, all Chinese citizens travelling home from Russia.

Mainland China reported 89 new cases. Heilongjiang’s provincial authority said

yesterday it had established a hotline to reward citizens as much as 5,000 yuan (RM3,074) for handing over or reporting illegal immigrants.

China has reported 82,249 coronavirus cases and 3,341 deaths.

It reported no new deaths yesterday. As China fights to prevent a second wave of

coronavirus infections, two experimental vaccines will be tested on humans, the Xinhua state news agency reported.

They are being developed by a Beijing-based unit of Nasdaq-listed Sinovac Biotech and by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, an affiliate of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group.

In March, China gave the green light for

another clinical trial for a vaccine candidate developed by China’s military-backed Academy of Military Medical Sciences and Hong Kong-listed biotech firm CanSino Bio.

US drug developer Moderna earlier said it had begun human tests of its possible vaccine with the US National Institutes of Health.

But despite hopes for a vaccine, the epidemic could stretch on for up to two years and precautions such as masks and preventing big gatherings may need to continue, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine president Zhang Boli said. – Reuters

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FS SANDERS BACKS BIDEN

TO CHALLENGE TRUMP WASHINGTON: Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday endorsed his longtime rival Joe Biden, a move aimed at unifying a Democratic Party long fractured along moderate and liberal lines ahead of the Nov 3 presidential election match-up against Republican President Donald Trump. During an online event, Sanders called on Democrats, independents and Republicans “to come together in this campaign to support (Biden’s) candidacy, which I endorse, to make certain that we defeat somebody who I believe ... is the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country”. – Reuters FIRE NEAR CHERNOBYL NUKE PLANT PUT OUT KIEV: A huge blaze that tore through forests around the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant has been put out, Ukrainian officials said yesterday, saying hundreds of emergency workers had used planes and helicopters to douse the flames. Environmental activists had warned on Monday that the fire, near the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, posed a radiation risk. But Ukrainian authorities said yesterday though they had registered short-term spikes in Caesium-137 particles in the Kiev area to the south of the plant, radiation levels remained within normal limits overall and did not require additional protection measures. – Reuters NORTH KOREA FIRES MISSILES INTO SEA SEOUL: North Korea launched what were believed to be multiple short-range cruise missiles into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan yesterday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. South Korea’s military is monitoring for more developments, and South Korean and US intelligence officials were conducting more analysis of the launch. The missiles flew about 150km. Several military aircraft also appeared to have been involved in the drill. North Korea has been conducting weeks of military drills, including several launches of ballistic missiles in recent weeks. – Reuters FUGITIVE DRUG KINGPIN NABBED BRASILIA: One of Brazil’s most wanted criminals, an alleged drug lord accused of running the international cocaine operation of the country’s biggest gang, was arrested on Monday in Mozambique, authorities said. Gilberto “Fuminho” Aparecido dos Santos, an alleged leader of the First Capital Command (PCC), was arrested in an international sting that included agents from Brazil, Mozambique and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. He is accused of shipping tons of cocaine around the world, the Brazilian federal police said in a statement. “The accused was considered the largest cocaine supplier” for the PCC, and had been on the run for more than 20 years, it said. – AFP

People wearing protective face masks dance in a park in Beijing yesterday. – EPAPIX


SPEAK UP

LETTERS [email protected]

Will religion lead Covid reform?IN the war against Covid-19, is there

anyone drawing up a strategy to restore peace with nature? This coronavirus is the seventh to attack

humans. Four common ones usually trigger just a cold and the seasonal flu.

However, the fifth, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) in 2003, set a trend in severity. The sixth, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), hit in 2012 after a gap of nine years from SARS and it frequently led to deadly pneumonia. Now we have Covid 2019 after a gap of seven years from MERS.

What could ambush us five years later? All coronaviruses originate from animals. In destroying forest habitats of wildlife species while deploying assembly-line mass production methods to breed livestock herds and poultry flocks, we are forcing more coronaviruses to invade humans.

Unknown numbers of coronaviruses are circulating in different animal populations that have not yet infected humans. About 75% of disease agents originate in animals and the risk of coronaviruses jumping the species barrier to humans will continue increasing. Transmission of viruses from

livestock to humans is possible, as shown in a 2009 epidemiological report.

Yet despite evidence that viral invasions are caused by human destructiveness towards nature, many influential religious preachers live in denial by insisting that Covid-19 is just a test from God to strengthen your faith in Him. Worse are those preachers who exploit fear by sending viral messages aimed at converting non-believers to their religion.

After we get past Covid-19, shall we scrap the movement control order and return to normalcy? The MCO resembles a lawn mower in a lallang patch. While the grass-cutter is busy at work, you stay at home as ordered. But after he’s gone and taken Covid with him, the lallang will grow again. Unless we impose a diet control order as well as put a stop to forest devastation, Covid will return in another strain.

It is the function of religion to lead social transformation. This was its nascent role, as all world religions sprouted in the soil of civilisation less than 7,000 years ago. Humanity itself is 320,000 years old. When hunter-gatherer tribes began amalgamating for survival, mass urban societies were eventually

created and civilisation arose. With it came our civilisational religions functioning as superglue to bind all citizens of a civilisation together.

There was one problem though. The political and psychological distancing that separated one civilisation from another created a fatal consequence: spiritual distancing of your religion from my religion. A viral affliction, spiritual distancing has led to warfare between religions and between different branches of the same religion.

Not only did spiritual distancing bar connections between people with opposing religious affiliations, it also distanced civilised people from the original faith common to all hunter-gatherer tribes including the orang asli. The original faith is based on faith in nature as the manifestation of God.

This original belief that God and nature are dual modes of one whole reality did not get lost but was preserved in many scriptures. An integral part of this belief is compassion for animals. Folks in Wuhan may be surprised to learn that China’s major indigenous religion, Confucianism, has strong reservations about meat-eating.

The Works of Mencius contain these

verses: “Beasts devour one another, and people hate them for doing so” (Book 1, Pt1, Ch4, v.5). “So is the superior person affected towards animals, that, having seen them alive, he cannot bear to see them die; having heard their dying cries, he cannot bear to eat their flesh” (Ch7, v.8).

If religions continue their spiritual distancing from one another and from the original faith in nature, they will lose their relevance to society. This is the moment of truth: Will religion lead Covid reform?

We need all 12 world religions to form a union and present a resolution to the UN General Assembly calling for global prohibition of forest destruction, ban on wildlife slaughter, and promotion of stem cell labgrown meat to replace the inhumane factory breeding of livestock for dinner.

The coronavirus thrives because it sees only one seamless world. Can our religions see with the eyes of nature? Can they see that God is a seamless reality pervading trees, animals and humanity?

The writer champions interfaith

harmony. Comments: [email protected]

“The coronavirus thrives because it sees only one seamless world.

WITH Ramadan fast approaching, the movement control order (MCO) presents several difficulties and obstacles for Malaysians. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted a number of observances, which includes but are not limited to Friday prayers. Countries have taken extreme measures from closing mosques to cancelling umrah.

The MCO has been in place since March 18, and while Covid-19 continues to spread, it is likely that these restrictions will remain in place for longer to contain the disease. With the fasting month beginning next week, there are a few areas of concern that ought to be addressed. The main concerns are over bazaar, and the evening prayers. To maintain a harmonious coordination and cooperation among all sectors, the Ministry of Health is working closely with Jakim and other religious community leaders to provide clear guidelines.

Vibrant and bustling, Ramadan markets are a yearly treat for many and are seen as an opportunity for more business. In the lead-up to Hari Raya Aidilfitri, more businesses, usually comprising independent bakers and housewives, would appear to sell raya biscuits. While the health and safety of the public is paramount during the crisis, there are still a number of ways to offset the loss of business and disappointment if the MCO remains in place.

While Ramadan markets will be closed in line with the MCO, online bazaars are still possible, and if the situation improves, then perhaps weekly evening markets (as opposed to farmer markets) would possibly be allowed. Nonetheless, controls must be strictly regulated and enforced by law. These would include, but are not limited to (i) cordoning off the markets with separate areas for entry and exit; (ii) crowd control to limit the number of people per square feet, allowed at any one time; (iii) monitoring of vendors’ and customers’ symptoms (temperature check) at entry and exit points; (iv) records of vendors

and visitors if the need for contact tracing arises; (v) possible use of disinfectant devices at entry and exit points; (vi) food vendors compliance towards Malaysia’s Food Hygiene Regulations (FHR) 2009; and (vii) traffic officers to redirect traffic to avoid congestion.

Every stall and worker needs to be well protected. Each stall should have approved alcohol-based hand rubs or hand washing facilities. For social distancing, not only should tapes be placed on the ground to designate appropriate areas, but enforcement officers should be present to ensure compliance. While contactless payments are still in its infancy, this must be strongly encouraged. However, if it is not feasible, then payments could be done at a central booth.

While the MCO may be lifted, there should not be any haste to attend any congregation, this includes the evening prayers. The re-introduction of prayers at any centre must be done with caution.

First, prayers can be encouraged to be done at home. It is common practice anyway, and will be especially beneficial for the elderly

and the immuno-compromised. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have

banned congregational prayers, and may extend this to the tarawih prayers. Looking to these countries for additional guidance may help and encourage devotees to pray at home. Engaging with community leaders and Jakim and getting them to also encourage this will give added weight.

Second, mosques may have to impose a maximum congregation number to avoid overcrowding. The first weeks of Ramadan are the busiest so smaller mosques may have to take the overflow.

Third, is to possibly introduce staggered sessions, and to keep each session to a minimum. Between the congregations, the prayer hall needs to be sanitised and disinfected.

Rowena Abdul Razak

Nazihah Noor Dr Lee Yew Fong

(Rowena is a DPhil candidate at

the University of Oxford, Nazihah is a research associate at Khazanah Research Institute and Lee is a PhD candidate, Global Health.)

Six ways officers can help domestic violence survivorsON Sunday, Senior Minister (security cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob encouraged domestic violence survivors to contact Talian Kasih and announced that the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and the police are working together to respond to domestic violence during the MCO.

Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) welcomes the minister’s statement and urges the government to take six critical actions to ensure that this response is implemented effectively.

First, the government should issue an SOP for responding to domestic violence during the MCO. This would improve coordination among all relevant agencies and, in turn, ensure that survivors do not fall through the cracks.

Second, the government must ensure that survivors can obtain court-issued interim protection orders (IPOs) during the MCO.

Interim protection orders are critical to protecting survivors, as these orders send a warning to perpetrators that they must stop their abuse, or else risk being arrested.

With reduced court operations, however, it is unclear how survivors are to obtain IPOs. Hence, the courts should include the application for IPOs, as well as action against their breach, in the court’s list of essential services.

Third, the government must carry out more public service announcements about domestic violence.

Such announcements should not only inform survivors about how to get help but also send the message that there is no excuse for abuse.

Fourth, the government must deploy sufficient personnel and resources to ensure the response to domestic violence is effective.

For example, Talian Kasih must be resourced with adequate personnel to manage the notable increase in calls. Some survivors have reported that they had not been able to reach Talian Kasih possibly due to the high volume of calls.

Additionally, the government should designate certain social welfare officers with the task of responding to domestic violence cases and relieve

them from food distribution duties. Fifth, the government should

improve the availability of temporary shelters and make them an essential service.

Shelters are a lifeline to survivors, yet they are sorely lacking in Malaysia. International best practices recommend a minimum of one family place in a women’s shelter per 10,000 people, but Malaysia only has an estimated one family place per 72,538 people.

WAO runs the largest domestic violence shelter in Malaysia, but our shelter is at maximum capacity. Survivors have contacted WAO, asking for shelter, and we have been unable to place them anywhere. Some survivors have resorted to sleeping in their cars, only to be caught by the police.

In these urgent times, we urge the government to set up temporary shelters in places such as hotels and hostels to accommodate the rising need for shelter. The government can also collaborate with the private sector in providing shelter.

Sixth, the government should ensure that financial aid reaches domestic violence survivors.

The recently announced Bantuan Prihatin National, the bulk of which goes to households, does not reach domestic violence survivors who have no access to household finances or are in the process of getting a divorce.

Hence, we recommend that the government allows survivors who would otherwise be ineligible to apply for these benefits with a supporting letter from a gazetted shelter or other designated organisation.

Additionally, the government must also make it clear in the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional application process that either adult qualifies as the household representative.

These six critical actions will help ensure that survivors receive adequate support when they take the brave step of reaching out for help.

To survivors out there, you can contact Talian Kasih at 15999 or through WhatsApp at 0192615999. You can also contact the 24-hour WAO Hotline at 0379563488 or through WhatsApp at 0189888058.

Women’s Aid Organisation

Let’s be safe during Ramadan

While Ramadan markets will be closed, online bazaars are an option. If the situation improves, weekly markets under strict rules are possible. – SUNPIX

9 SPEAK UP


STREAMING PERFORMANCES & INTERVIEWSLIVE

TogetherWE CAN

#TogetherForHumanity

TogetherWE CAN

Hosted by aforadioPop Up Stage DJ’sMAG & Darren Teh

APRIL 14 – 19, 2020From 4pm to 6pm

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Where early measures have workedMANY governments of

developing, especially poor countries are unsure what to do,

fearing the likely economic consequences of the “lockdowns” increasingly adopted by Western economies. Indeed, lockdowns may shut down businesses relying on daily turnover and eliminate incomes for daily rated workers.

Meanwhile, most East Asian and some other governments have acted early to trace, test, isolate and treat the infected without lockdowns. Yet, most measures recommended have been criticised as beyond the means of the most vulnerable societies and populations.

Early measures Early measures have required “physical distancing” and other precautionary measures – at work, at home and in the community, at relatively low cost. People also need to be prepared to live differently for a long time to come as part of a “new normal”, at least until everyone can be effectively vaccinated.

“All of government” approaches are urgently needed everywhere to provide effective leadership to “whole of society” efforts to contain the spread of viral infections. While this is no conventional war, only whole of society mobilisation efforts can help mitigate major economic disruption and damage.

This should not only involve public health and police authorities, typically those empowered by draconian lockdowns. But repressive measures are unlikely to secure needed public support for effective enforcement and implementation, and adoption of needed behavioural and cultural changes.

Health authorities must provide people with much better understanding of the threats faced and the rationale for policy responses to secure compliance. Public appreciation of the challenges involved is crucial for policy compliance and effective implementation.

Physical distancing, social solidarity Kerala state in southwestern India, with a population of 35 million, has become “a model state in the fight against Covid-19”. Its government was among the first to introduce precautionary state-wide measures against the novel coronavirus threat.

Through appropriate and effective early actions, it has successfully slowed the spread of infection in the state, largely by promoting physical distancing and mainly sanitary precautionary, measures, and providing better protection for health staff well before the hugely disruptive and draconian lockdown imposed in

India in late March. The Kerala state government

invited religious leaders, local bodies and civil society organisations to participate in policy design and implementation, considering its specific socio-economic conditions, including urban slum environments.

It has communicated effectively in different languages to educate all, including migrants, and to prevent stigmatisation of those infected, even opposing the term “social distancing”, which has caste connotations, with “physical distancing and social solidarity”.

Returning migrants Despite Kerala’s long-standing achievements in education, health and science, highly educated Keralans tend to migrate to work out of state, if not abroad, seeking more lucrative employment. The state was still recovering from the devastating floods and nipah virus epidemic of 2018 when tens of thousands began returning after losing jobs in the Middle East.

Kerala is also the destination for a large number of Indian internal migrants. With the nationwide lockdown, non-residents, equivalent to almost 5% of Kerala’s population, have returned, causing a surge of new infections.

Such unusually high movements of people have made the state more vulnerable. Despite some

controversy, the state appears to have handled the migrant issue very well, especially compared to other Indian state governments and the central government.

There has also been a close connection between Kerala and Wuhan, a popular educational hub offering affordable quality medical and other courses; the first three positive Covid-19 cases detected in India involved university students returning from Wuhan.

The state health department promptly went into action, setting up a coordination centre on Jan 26. Recognising there was no time to be lost, the state government set up mechanisms to identify, test, isolate and treat those infected, quickly earning an excellent reputation.

Less disruptive, less costly, more effective Some key features of Kerala’s response, undertaken by a government with very limited fiscal resources, are hence instructive. 1. All-of-government approach: involving a range of relevant state government ministries and agencies to design measures to improve consistency, coordination and communication, and to avoid confusion. 2. Whole-of-society approach: wide community consultations, including experts, to find the most locally appropriate modes of limiting infections, along with

means to monitor and enforce them. 3. Social mobilisation: communities were provided essential epidemiological information to understand the threat and related issues, ensure compliance with prescribed precautionary measures, and avoid panic. 4. No one left behind: adequate supply of essential commodities, particularly food and medicines, has been ensured, especially to protect the most vulnerable sections of society.

Credible leadership The state government has set up 18 committees and holds daily evening meetings to evaluate the situation, issuing media updates about those quarantined, tested and hospitalised .

At these meetings, the state health minister and chief minister calmly explain what is going on, including what the government is doing. They thus provide credible leadership on the difficult issues involved, securing strong public participation for its mass campaign of containment.

Kerala’s approach has proven less disruptive, less costly and more effective than most others. After recording its first Covid-19 case on Jan 30, its infection and death rates have been kept relatively low despite much more tracing and testing. – IPS

COMMENT by Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram


MEDIA & MARKETING

A special service

WATSONS has launched a special Click & Deliver service

for its customers to provide same day or next day delivery during the movement control order (MCO), allowing customers to shop online with the convenience and safety of being at home while having the products delivered to their doorstep.

This service will immediately replace the Click & Collect Express service during this period and is available in Klang Valley only.

When you shop online and select your nearest store within a 7km radius, the store will pick your order and deliver to you using Grab Delivery on the same day if you order before 4pm, and the next day if you order after 4pm.

Watsons Malaysia managing director Caryn Loh said: “During this movement control period, Watsons will continue to serve its customers and community by providing innovative delivery to them. We are offering the Click & Deliver service to ensure our customers continue to be able to shop for products from our stores while staying home.”

Click and Deliver by Watsons can be made at Watsons.com.my, or through the Watsons mobile app. To receive orders on the same day, purchases must be made before 4pm with complete details for delivery. Any orders after 4pm or with incomplete delivery details will be delivered the next day.

Customers must remember to choose Click & Collect Express when they check out,

and they will then receive an SMS requesting them to key in their home address.

Customers can enjoy this service with no minimum purchase order, however, the order has to be below 10kg in weight. A delivery surcharge of RM9 will be imposed.

For more information, visit Watsons.com.my or download the Watsons mobile app from the Apple store or Google Play store.

oWatsons delivers to you from stores to home on the same day

Free psychological aidWAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY (WOU) is collaborating with the International College of Clinical Hypnotherapy Practitioners (ICCHP) Asia to provide free psychological aid to those needing help during the onslaught of the novel coronavirus (Covid – 19) pandemic.

With this initiative, WOU and ICCHP plan to support the community, especially the frontliners, for their tireless work and sacrifices.

The ICCHP Asia has a team of 16 professionals, including six psychiatrists, to offer support over the phone.

The aim of this collaboration is to convey the message that ‘You Are Not Alone’, and to encourage people to reach out for emotional support.

All conversations will remain private and confidential.

Feel free to call ICCHP Asia at 012-4447032/016-9271240/012-4856404 from 9am to 9pm daily from now until April 30, or email [email protected] to arrange a convenient time to chat.

Students can also contact the WOU toll-free careline at 1-300-888-968 and be re-directed to ICCHP on request. – by Ian McIntyre

HUAWEI CONTRIBUTES ITS TECHNOLOGIES ... Malaysia’s Ministry of Health recently received four technology solutions from Huawei Malaysia to assist in the nation’s attempts to combat the spread of Covid-19. The four components include Huawei Telemedicine Video Conference (above), Hospital Wireless Network Communication Solution, AI Cloud Auto Detection Solution and Huawei Nova 7i (200 units).

Contact theSun's Sales & Marketing team to book your advertising space.

03-7784 6688 [email protected]

15

ENTERTAINMENTtheSUN ON MONDAY | MARCH 30, 2020

mine to one day direct.

I did direct my music

video Police Entry. “It was just that one

time, I saw the final product

and said: ‘No, we need

more practice’. But

people seemed to like it and so that is okay.”

he is my number one.”

She also plans to do some acting in

English language productions, which

her manager is working on.

“I need more experience, I know

the level of my talent,” said Tan on

trying her luck in Hollywood.

Tan is planning to go behind the

camera eventually. “It has

always been a dream of

SOUTH KOREAN superstars BTS will

host 30 language lessons in an effort

to “make it easy and fun for global

fans who have difficulty enjoying

their music and content due to the

language barrier”. The launch of the series comes at

a perfect time for BTS fans cooped up

at home, as an ever-growing number

of countries and territories have

reported a spike in Covid-19

infections and deaths in recent

weeks. The episodes will focus on specific

Korean grammar and expressions,

with each lesson plan developed by

researchers at the Korean Language

Content Institute and Professor Heo

Yong of the Department of Korean

Education at Hankuk University of

Foreign Studies. They will teach BTS fans,

commonly referred to as ‘Army’, some

Korean expressions frequently used

by band members RM, Jin, J-Hope,

Suga, Jimin, V and Jungkook.

Learn Korean with BTS will reuse

material from the South Korean

septet’s reality show, Run BTS!, and

from the YouTube series Bangtan

Bombs and BTS Episodes.

BTS management company, Big

Hit Entertainment, recently

discussed the inspiration behind the

new web series, which was reportedly

inspired by fans’ repeated calls to add

English subtitles to the band’s videos.

“There are only limited ways our

fans could learn Korean with ease.

Big Hit has created Korean learning

media using artist content for a more

rewarding and immersive experience

for our fans,” Big Hit Entertainment

founder, Bang Si-Hyuk, said in a

statement. The three-minute episodes was

made accessible on March 24

through BTS fan-community app

Weverse, and will be released every

Monday at 9pm KST. Analysts have long noticed the

beneficial impact of BTS in

promoting South Korean culture

worldwide, as the boy band keeps on

smashing records with their recently-

released Map of the Soul: 7 album.

The Modern Language

Association has notably noticed a

45% increase in university-level

enrolment in Korean language

classes between 2009 and 2013, with

the number of enrolled students

going from 8,449 to 12,229. – AFP-

Relaxnews

PICTURE this: a Malaysian

girl studying at a bible college

in Texas posts videos of

herself singing cover versions

of popular Malay songs, and becomes

an instant YouTube sensation.

Sounds odd, but that is exactly

what happened to Elizabeth Tan, who

not only signed with a major record

label (Warner Music) after that, but

who is also enjoying a fruitful career

as both singer and actress.

Tan said she did not set out to

become a social media sensation or

had thought about a career in

showbiz when she posted her videos.

“Even now I still have no plans to

become a professional singer. I don’t

enjoy performing. I was just doing it

for fun. I just randomly covered some

Malay songs and it got noticed. One

thing led to another, and here I am.”

She explained that while she was

in college, most of her friends

happened to be seniors and had

graduated when she was in her final

year. “I had nothing to do, and so I did

videos of cover songs.”

She started posting videos in 2013,

and it was her cover of Joe Flizzow’s

Havoc that got her noticed.

The timing for Tan’s cover version

could not have been more perfect, as

it coincided with the rise of

Instagram. “I was lucky, I guess. People like

Faizal Tahir were tweeting me. “

Faizal was especially impressed

with her rendition of the evergreen

single Selamat Hari Raya.

Faizal would later write Tan’s first

single (Knock, Knock in 2014) and

was her duet partner on her track

Setia. Tan explained that she really had

“no plans” back then as to what she

wanted to do with her life. (However,

she knew that she did not want to

become a pastor.) She did, however, sing in her

church, and during the two years she

was in Texas she did get some vocal

training lessons. “I am not the greatest singer, I will

be the first to admit that,” laughs Tan.

However while still in the US, she

was already contacted by people who

wanted to manage her career.

“I asked my mum what to do. So I

decided to check it out and see where

it went. Worse comes to worst, I could

always go back to school and study.”

Singing professionally worked out

well for her, and acting offers and

modelling jobs followed suit.

“I really like acting. I have been

given such a great opportunity that

my singing career has led to an acting

career. Skop Production offered me

my first drama series My Darling,

BTS launches web series to help fans learn Korean

oSinger Elizabeth Tan talks about the unconventional

start to her career, and her struggles with fame

Inspektor Daniel in 2017. I was so

lucky because they just offered it to

me. I did not have to go for casting, or

anything. I think I did quite badly, but

they still had faith in me. They then

offered me a role in Mimpi Delilah,

which went okay.” She will next be seen in Abang

Long Fadil 3 with Zizan Razak,

and will also be featured

on the film’s original

soundtrack singing a duet

with him. “I am banking on this

movie to get me more

roles. Skop has given me

so many opportunities

with my acting career and I

am so grateful for that.”

Starring alongside in films

with the likes of Rosyam Nor, Aaron

Aziz or Zizan was intimidating, but

Tan said that she practised her scenes

as much as possible so that she would

be prepared in front of the camera.

Despite all her fame. Tan admits

that performing live scares her.

“I am trying to cut down on

performing. I don’t like performing. It

gives me a lot of anxiety. I am trying to

write songs to give to other people

and hopefully that works.”

Tan’s stage fright is not a joke. She

said she would cry, and sometimes

get anxious even if the concert was

weeks away. “I knew this wasn’t good for me

mentally. So I tried not to do it so

much.” Incidentally her brother

Andrew also has musical talent.

He made it to the top four of the

first Malaysian Idol back in 2004. He,

too, found himself hating being on

stage. “He is now a lecturer in a local

university, teaching computer game

programming,” she said.

Admitting that she is more

comfortable acting, Tan adds: “As a

Chinese, my roles in Malay

productions are limited. But so far

it has been okay.” As for the singers she looks

up to, she said: “Definitely

Yuna, she is a g e n i u s songwriter. She inspired me to take up songwriting in the

first place. Faizal Tahir

is still my mentor and

South Korean boy band BTS. – AFP

The reluctant starCELEBSPEAK

█ BY S. INDRA SATHIABALAN Tan went from posting cover versions to becoming a bonafide star. – ZAHID IZZANI/ THESUN

I AM TRYING TO WRITE SONGS TO

GIVE TO OTHER PEOPLE.

– Elizabeth TanCeleb SpeakA weekly column, published every Monday, featuring popular and on-trend local celebrities talking about their career, personal life, and what drives them, as well as current and future projects. The celebrities featured come from a wide range of disciplines and include actors and directors,

musicians, chefs, models and comedians. Celebrities previously featured include Tiara Jacquelina, Carmen Soo, Maya Karin, Shalini Balasundram and Haneesya

Hanee.

Celebrity Causes

This column comes out every Wednesday, and features a local personality speaking about a social cause, either as an ambassador for a social/charity

organisation, or as an activist. The column serves to create awareness of the cause, and to inspire readers to make a change themselves. Causes/organisations that have been highlighted include a school for refugee children, teaching people how to live a zero-waste lifestyle, and helping underprivileged students stay in school.

15 LIFESTYLE


through its annual 30-Hour Famine campaign, hence, I suggested that I make it my beneficiary. “[Last August], I held an event named Coffee for a Good Cause, where I raised funds by selling coffee, with 100% of the proceeds given to World Vision Malaysia. “[And in] December, I held a flea market over the weekend. It was basically a charity sale whereby I gathered pre-loved items from my celebrity friends to raise funds for World Vision Malaysia [again]. “To my surprise, I managed to collect RM2,500 from the coffee charity and a staggering RM9,500 from the charity sale which was beyond my expectations; it was only possible because we banded together to play our roles. “Through the events that I’ve held, friends around me have started talking about joining the bandwagon, they genuinely wanted to join in the movement to help contribute and do their part.”

Was that how the idea of The Other Love Foundation came into being? “It’s just a humble label that I came up with and it’s not as big a deal as it sounds, but I do take immense pride in it. It’s not strictly for charity, it could also be used for other campaigns but I hope one day when people see the name, they’d know it’s safe to contribute and take part in if they wish to.” Was it challenging to start a charity and to get the

word around? “Definitely, everyone has their schedule of activities every day and it was hard to gather everyone. A lot of time went into sorting out the logistics and also sorting out the items that would go on sale.

“I didn’t have a huge team with me when I started the project, It was just me and a few baristas and waiters in the cafe. Strictly speaking, I guess there were three of us setting up the charity sale from scratch.” A little birdie told me you wanted to donate your hair. Is it true? “Yes, I’ve been thinking about this for the longest time. The idea came to me when I started to grow out my hair three years ago. “I’m still holding on to the idea, because I wanted to make it into a proper campaign with the intention of making wigs for people in need due to medical conditions that have caused them to lose their hair. “In fact, my followers on social media for some reason already knew [about] my plan. Hopefully, I can get this done in due time, maybe by June this year because as you can see, my hair is pretty long at this point.”

IN 2012, Chrystina Ng joined 8TV as a TV host and was a supporting celebrity for World Vision’s project visit to Sabah for a special TV programme. There, she was introduced to a whole new sector of humanitarian relief work, focusing on improving human welfare in rural communities. Today, Ng continues to render humanitarian assistance and is more passionate than ever to bring attention to suffering communities. Sitting down with theSun in a secluded but cosy room in Media Prima, Ng shared her moving stories and experiences, as well as her efforts to help alleviate the suffering faced by children and communities in the country and worldwide. What does being a humanitarian essentially mean? “It shouldn’t just be about initiating passion projects and campaigns or doing charity, but we need to help improve the welfare of others who are less fortunate, through uplifting human values and championing basic rights.

“The topic of ‘humanitarian work’ stretches beyond [alleviating] poverty, it’s everything and anything that connects us as human beings that matters.” As a supporter of philanthropic organisations yourself, how did you become a humanitarian? “It all began eight years ago, by then I had just joined the industry. There was a project by 8TV in collaboration with World Vision Malaysia. I was given the opportunity to join their Area Development Programme at a very rural area in Sabah. “Back then, they were building a hostel next to a school to accommodate the less fortunate students from surrounding rural areas. “I remember we had to walk alongside the students from the school back to their homes, which took us about eight hours to go over the hill slopes with no designated pathway. As you can imagine with our Malaysian weather, it was unbearably hot, but the kids were so used to it. “At the end of the journey, I stayed over with them at a very simple house. I got to experience what these kids have to go through every day with minimal amenities and a shortage in resources, as they depend heavily on natural sources such as the river or rainwater to shower, yet they were so content with what they had.

“I could also see the joy in their eyes as they were [feasting on] the French fries, ice cream and Milo we had provided which they [rarely got], I was so touched and moved; at that moment I felt something which no words could describe. “It was then I realised the tiniest effort and deed can really change someone’s life. I don’t have to be loaded with money in order to be charitable, but what I can do is play the role of a Santa Claus; he pops by once a year bearing gifts and I figured, I can totally do that as well.” Tell us about your F&B outlet, the Otherwise Cafe. “It was a dream come true to set up a cafe, it really was about owning something I can truly call my very own, and I really enjoy [seeing the] human touches, which is perfect. The cafe also provided me with a space to carry out my self-initiated projects without the need to have someone else to back me up. “I found out that World Vision Malaysia did not quite meet its goal last year when raising funds

█ BY JASON LIM

ROBOTS are expected to demonstrate their value for “dirty and dangerous” medical tasks in the fight to quell the coronavirus pandemic. An editorial in Science Robotics noted that robots can help with telemedicine, decontamination, handling of hazardous waste and monitoring compliance with voluntary quarantines. “Historically, robots have been developed to take on dull, dirty and dangerous jobs,” the researchers wrote.

“As epidemics escalate, the potential roles of robotics are becoming increasingly clear.” Some robots are already in use during the pandemic. Thai hospitals have deployed ‘ninja robots’ to measure fevers and protect the health of overburdened medical

workers, and robots in Denmark are using ultraviolet light to disinfect frequently touched surfaces. While robots have been used for years in disaster situations and some medical applications, the pandemic has highlighted the need to expand their role, according to the scientists. “Why are we still letting the frontline (health care) practitioners be exposed to the pathogen?” journal editor Guang-Zhong Yang, dean of the Institute of Medical Robotics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told reporters on a conference call. “Robots are here for taking some of those risks away from our people.” Robots should also be used for infection control, dealing with patients in intensive care and delivering medication and food, according to the editorial

co-authored by researchers including Howie Choset of Carnegie Mellon University and Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Science. “Covid-19 may become the tipping point of how future organisations operate,” the authors wrote. “New generations of large, small, micro-, and swarm robots that are able to continuously work and clean (i.e., not only removing dust but also truly sanitising/sterilising all surfaces) could be developed.” In terms of telepresence, the researcher wrote it was “a challenging area of development because social interactions require building and maintaining complex models of people, including their knowledge, beliefs, and emotions.” – AFP-Relaxnews

Thai hospitals are deploying ‘ninja’ robots to measure fevers and protect the health of overburdened medical workers on the frontlines. – AFP

CELEBRITY CAUSES

Crisis brings robots to medical frontline

oTV presenter and radio host Chrystina Ng advocates for human injustice and poverty

To love one another

IT WAS THEN I REALISED THE

TINIEST EFFORT AND DEED CAN

REALLY CHANGE SOMEONE’S LIFE. – Chrystina Ng

Ng encourages the public to join humanitarian relief work to help others who are in need. – ASYRAF RASID/ THESUN

Stars who don't settle for less

SunBIZKLCI

1,371.66

15.63

STI 2,634.57

67.32

HANG SENG 24,435.40

135.07

SCI 2,827.28

44.24

NIKKEI 19,638.81

TSEC 10,332.94

233.72

KOSPI 1,857.08

S&P/ASX200 5,488.11

100.79

WEDNESDAY APRIL 15, 2020

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 ACTIVESApril 14, 2020

STOCK VOL CLSG (sen) +/– (sen) LAMBO 379,956,600 2 +1 ANZO 151,263,200 2.5 +1 MCT 141,381,800 18.5 +4.5 GAMUDA-WE 130,817,00 15.5 +1.5 VC 118,235,600 9 +0.5

EXCHANGE RATES APRIL 14, 2020

Foreign currency Bank sell Bank buy Bank buy TT/OD TT OD US DOLLAR 4.3800 4.2520 4.2420 1 AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR 2.8180 2.7040 2.6880 1 BRUNEI DOLLAR 3.0950 3.0030 2.9950 1 CANADIAN DOLLAR 3.1500 3.0640 3.0520 1 EURO 4.7970 4.6290 4.6090 1 NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR 2.6820 2.5810 2.5650 1 SINGAPORE DOLLAR 3.0950 3.0030 2.9950 1 STERLING POUND 5.4910 5.3140 5.2940 1 SWISS FRANC 4.5230 4.4130 4.3980 100 UAE DIRHAM 120.7000 114.3900 114.1900 100 BANGLADESH TAKA 5.2420 4.9240 4.7240 100 CHINESE RENMINBI 62.2000 59.8000 N/A 100 HONGKONG DOLLAR 57.1300 54.2600 54.0600 100 INDIAN RUPEE 5.8400 5.4800 5.2800 100 INDONESIAN RUPIAH 0.0290 0.0262 0.0212 100 JAPANESE YEN 4.0780 3.9480 3.9380 100 NEW TAIWAN DOLLAR 15.7000 N/A N/A 100 PAKISTAN RUPEE 2.6800 2.5000 2.3000 100 PHILIPPINE PESO 8.7900 8.2800 8.0800 100 QATAR RIYAL 121.6600 115.5000 115.3000 100 SAUDI RIYAL 117.8100 111.8400 111.6400 100 THAI BAHT 13.9800 12.4000 12.0000

Source: Malayan Banking Berhad/Bernama

KL MARKET SUMMARYApril 14, 2020

INDICES CHANGE FBMEMAS 9,488.96 +130.92 FBMKLCI 1,371.66 +15.63 CONSUMER PRODUCTS 526.22 +7.18 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS 112.90 +4.03 CONSTRUCTION 155.81 +4.26 FINANCIAL SERVICES 12,365.70 +137.60 ENERGY 707.67 +18.79 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 560.64 +8.15 HEALTH CARE 1,364.23 +15.22 TRANSPORTATION 578.24 +13.41 PROPERTY 574.81 +7.51 PLANTATION 6,246.71 +41.91 FBMSHA 10,470.10 +138.58 FBMACE 4,272.13 +261.12 TECHNOLOGY 32.57 +1.19 TURNOVER VALUE 4.788 BIL RM2.075 BIL

5 TOP GAINERSApril 14, 2020

STOCK VOL CLSG (RM) RM NESTLE 52,700 137.60 2.20 CARLSBG 278,900 26.60 1.82 HEIM 137,800 23.20 1.34 ALLIANZ 50,000 13.98 0.64 DLADY 4,300 44.52 0.52

5 TOP LOSERSApril 14, 2020

STOCK VOL CLSG (RM) RM HSI0H8N 1,400 0.555 0.26 FANG-1XI 7,000 3.15 0.19 MALPAC 900 0.42 0.13 SP500-HJ 87,500 1.74 0.13 HSI-H8Z 11,224,600 0.375 0.125

31.32595.41

Worse to come for unemployment numbers

█ BY AMIR IMRAN HUSAIN SAFRI [email protected]

PETALING JAYA: While Malaysia’s February unemployment figure of 3.3% is only marginally higher than the 3.2% seen in January, experts believe the number will increase going forward.

Sunway University Business School Professor of Economic Dr Yeah Kim Leng thinks the February unemployment figures are likely to be the last of the good months.

He expects that businesses will refrain from recruiting and will be looking to optimise their operations by shedding excess staff.

“The worst is likely to come in the coming months from the start of the movement control order (MCO) to the gradual return to normalcy not only on domestic demand but also for our export market in the hardest hit economy,” Yeah told SunBiz.

This time around, he expects that unemployment will affect the unskilled foreign workers in the plantation and construction sectors the most, along with those that are employed by SMEs.

“The wage subsidy programme implemented by the government is expected to help stall the unemployment issue, although it is never meant to staunch the issue,” he explained.

BIMB Securities Research believes the unemployment rate could inch up to 3.8% this year, as a slowdown in both domestic and global economies weaken exports and consumption, in turn affecting employment opportunities particularly in services and manufacturing sectors.

In a note, it said employment plays a significant role in boosting private consumption and investment which

oMalaysia’s February jobless figures likely to be the last of the ‘good’ months: Economists

subsequently facilitate economic growth. “However, growth in both consumption

and investment is expected to be modest this year and these could affect employment decisions. However, the stimulus package introduced by the government may partially offset the impact,” it said.

While the economic stimulus package announced by the government contained measures to support workers and jobs market, the risk ahead is more about income and job losses.

“This includes increases in half pay/unpaid leaves, as the government now officially allows for employers to negotiate with employees on options like salary/wage cuts and unpaid leave during the MCO period, and potentially after the MCO period due to the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the research house.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) previously said that Malaysia’s unemployment rate is expected to shoot up to 4% this year, from 3.3% in 2019.

For February, unemployment increased to 3.3% as compared to 3.2% in January 2020, according to figures by the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in February the number of unemployed increased 2.6% to 525,200 persons, compared with the previous month.

“The unemployment rate in February 2020 was still unaffected by the internal shock caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and is expected to have an impact on the unemployment rate beginning in March 2020,” he said.

Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate in February 2020 decreased by 0.2 percentage point to 68.7% compared with the previous month. However, on a year-on-year basis, the labour force participation rate increased 0.2 percentage point from 68.5% previously.

The labour force in February rose 2.1% to 15.87 million persons against February 2019. The number of employed also increased 2.1% to 15.34 million persons.

Meanwhile, according to the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research, Malaysia’s gross domestic product may shrink by about 2.9% year on year in 2020, resulting in an estimated 2.4 million people losing their jobs. Of the 2.4 million expected job losses, 67% will be among unskilled workers.

The unemployment rate in February 2020 was still unaffected by the internal shock caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. – REUTERSPIX

IMF warns of deepest global recession in a centuryWASHINGTON: The coronavirus pandemic is pushing the global economy into its deepest recession in a century, cutting world output by 3% this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday.

If the virus is contained and economies can begin operating again, 2021 should see a rebound of 5.8%, according to the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook.

But the authors acknowledged the difficulty in making an accurate forecast amid the rapidly changing situation.

With much of the global economy shutdown amid efforts to contain the virus and keep health systems from collapsing, the IMF warned that there are “severe risks of a worse outcome”, due to the “extreme uncertainty around the strength of the recovery”.

The US economy is expected to contract by 5.9% but see growth recover by 4.7% next

year. However, the forecasts assume the pandemic will fade in the second half of the year.

“Much worse growth outcomes are possible and maybe even likely,” the report cautioned.

The coronavirus has infected nearly two million people worldwide and killed close to 120,000, bringing travel to a standstill and forcing businesses, shops and restaurants to close.

“The Great Lockdown” – as the IMF called the global downturn – is the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

It also is the first contraction since 2009 during the global financial crisis, but that episode hardly bears comparison. Though the effects lingered, the decline amounted to just 0.1%, and large emerging market economies were still growing at a solid pace.

This year, the only economies expected

to be spared from recession are China and India, but even those countries will see only relatively paltry growth of 1.2% and 1.9%, respectively.

The severe slowdown is “unavoidable”, but “substantial targeted fiscal, monetary and financial” measures can soften the blow and ensure the economy is in a position to resume once the lockdowns end, the IMF said.

The IMF also said “strong multilateral cooperation is essential to overcome the effects of the pandemic”.

The report called for “reducing tariff and nontariff barriers that impede cross-border trade and global supply chains”.

If the Great Lockdown lasts longer or if there is a second outbreak next year – or both – the projected 2021 recovery could be as much as 8% worse than the current forecast, the report warns. – AFP

Participation

45.4

33.0

21.6

100.0

Institutions

Retail

Foreign

Bought

RM m

932.2

684.6

459.1

2075.9

Sold

RM m

952.7

684.4

438.8

2075.9

Net

RM m

-20.5

0.2

20.3

0.0

%

Preliminary stats (excluding trade amendments). For final data, please refer to www.bursamalaysia.com Source: Burs Malaysia

A Participating Organisation of Bursa Malaysia Securities BerhadA Trading Participant of Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad

(12738-U)S E C U R I T I E S S D N. B H D.


SUNBIZ

Significant impact on services sector growth seenPETALING JAYA: Growth in the services sector in the first quarter is expected to be impacted significantly by declines in the transport & storage and wholesale & retail trade sub-sectors given the lower business/economic activity and declining trade volume.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said as a result, it expects the country’s real GDP growth to decline sharply from 3.6% yoy in 4Q’19 to -4% for 1Q’20, reflecting the sharp contraction in domestic demand and weak exports.

“The manufacturing sector will likely be weighed down by weaker overseas demand for Malaysia’s manufactured goods especially in export-oriented industries.

“A sharp slowdown has already been reflected in Malaysia’s manufacturing PMI, which fell to 48.4 in March (48.5 in February). With quarantines and containment measures in other countries as well, the closure of factories will weigh on Malaysia’s manufacturing sector,” it said.

As such, the research house expects real GDP growth to contract by 3.5% for 2020, as the outbreak will likely continue to weigh on tourism-related sectors as well as services and manufacturing sectors in the second half.

“Exports are also likely to be dampened by weakness in nominal exports from key export commodities,” it said.

On Monday, it was reported that Malaysia’s industrial production index (IPI) rose by 5.8% year-on-year (yoy) in February from 0.6% in January, due to a rebound in mining output, which rose by 6.1% yoy in February from a decline of 3.9% in January.

Growth in the manufacturing output also rose strongly to 5.6% yoy (2.2% in January), supported by steady growth of both domestic-oriented and export-oriented industries during the month.

For export-oriented industries, output of petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products rose by 6.3% yoy in February, due to higher production in all its subcomponents.

Manufacturing sector will likely be weighed down by weaker overseas demand for Malaysia’s manufactured goods especially in export-oriented industries. – BERNAMAPIX

oHit by declines in transport & storage, wholesale & retail segments, says Affin Hwang Capital

In a separate note, PublicInvest Research said industrial activities are projected to slow in the next few months due to Covid19, compounded by economic standstills in our major trading partners following the surging of Covid-19 cases in their countries.

“Demand for our manufacturing products, our biggest component in IPI, may take a hit. Recovery period post-Covid-19, could be long and uncertain given the absence of a vaccine for the virus,” it said.

It also noted that while the government was quick to roll-out very accommodative fiscal and monetary plans to soften the impact, the

outlook is still uncertain and this will affect both the consumer and also business confidence.

“Negative output gap may continue and could widen as long as the vaccine for coronavirus is not available. This may take quite some time given the best estimates to produce one in October or in 18 months’ time in a worst-case scenario,” it said.

Other key risks are the escalating number of Covid-19 cases globally, the extended period of the movement control order and the uncertainty when it will be lifted and the new deeper Opec+ supply cut agreement, which will take a toll on mining output.

Insurance industry resilient against economic shocks PETALING JAYA: The insurance sector is expected to stay resilient despite the considerable economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to the strong capitalisation of insurance players, according to RAM Ratings’ “Insurance Insight” commentary.

It pointed out that as at end-December 2019, the life insurance and family takaful sectors’ preliminary capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at a strong 207% – equivalent to 1.6 times the minimum requirement.

Similarly, the general insurance and takaful sectors boasted robust CAR of 283%.

“The strong capitalisation of insurance players is anticipated to sufficiently cushion the impact of heightened financial markets volatility as well as higher capital charges amid low interest rates and mounting credit stress,” it said.

Even the impact from life insurance policyholders and family takaful participants having the option of deferring regular premium payments for three months should be manageable for industry players.

However, the ratings agency said downside risks still remain as there is a high degree of uncertainty over the momentum of the coronavirus’ spread and its ultimate global peak.

RAM’s co-head of Financial Institution Ratings Sophia Lee said the mounting risks arising from more volatile financial markets and heightened credit stress amid the economic downturn will affect the insurance industry.

“However, most insurers have been conservative in their investment strategies, with the bulk of these asset constituting highly rated bonds. The equity portfolios of the top

10 life and general insurers, which account for over 90% and 70% of their respective industries by assets, stood at just 15% and 3% of their respective overall invested asset portfolios as at end-June 2019,” she said.

A protracted low interest rate environment will also put pressure on life insurers’ capital adequacy.

Despite near-term growth challenges, RAM expects the life business to be supported by Malaysia’s favourable demographics and healthy demand for medical coverage in the long run, further lifted by significant medical cost inflation.

Meanwhile, the contraction of general insurance premiums is expected to be more pronounced in 2020, taking into account the challenging economic conditions and the gradual effects of tariff liberalisation for the motor and fire segments.

Malaysia proposes post-Covid-19 Asean economic recovery plan KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has proposed that Asean formulate an economic recovery plan post-Covid-19 that focuses not only on the financial aspects but also on social safety nets, food security and education.

The proposal was put forth during the Special Asean Summit on Covid-19 yesterday via video conference chaired by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and participated by heads of government of the bloc’s 10 member nations.

In a statement yesterday, the prime minister’s office said the Asean economic recovery plan should contain measures to ensure a robust supply chain for the region’s 600 million people.

“This includes ensuring a smooth flow of

medical supplies, food and essential goods as well as critical infrastructure to ensure the smooth flow of trade whether by air, land or sea,” it said, noting all countries face similar complications and Asean member states should work together to ensure no one is left behind.

Asean nations should also not impose unnecessary restrictions that can hamper the smooth flow of medical supplies, food and essential items, it added.

Malaysia also urged Asean member countries to raise their level of preparedness in order to face the new regional landscape.

“Asean cannot be allowed to revert to its comfort zone, but should instead develop the Southeast Asian region into a new growth

centre and powerhouse, not just for its 600 million inhabitants but also for the world,” it said.

Malaysia also supports the establishment of the Covid-19 Asean Response Fund aimed at boosting existing emergency stockpiles for any future outbreaks, the statement said, adding Asean should continue to develop the region’s reserves of medical supplies, besides using relevant reserve warehouse space to support the needs of member nations in public heath emergencies.

It said the various Asean mechanisms led or hosted by Malaysia, such as the Asean Emergency Operations Centre Network for Public Heath Emergencies and Asean Risk Assessment and Risk Communication Centre, have proved their effectiveness in resolving crises. – Bernama

Konsortium Transnasional slips into PN17 statusPETALING JAYAL Konsortium Transnasional Bhd (KTB) has triggered the PN17 status criteria after its auditors highlighted a material uncertainty related to going concern on the company’s ability to continue.

The auditors stated its concern in the company’s audited financial statements for the year ended Dec 31, 2018.

In an independent auditors report, Messrs Al Jafree Salihin Kuzaimi PLT said the group and company’s current liabilities, as indicated in the financial statements for the year ended Dec 31, 2018, exceeded current assets by RM63.07 million and RM14.1 million, respectively

“Based on the company’s quarterly report for the financial period ended Dec 31, 2019 (Q4’2019), the shareholders’ equity of the company on a consolidated basis is approximately 34.8% of the share capital of the company as at Dec 31, 2019,” KTB added in a Bursa filing.

As such, KTB said it is looking into formulating a plan to regularise its financial condition and an announcement will be made in due course.

‘New rules soften economic shock but raise banks’ risks’KUALA LUMPUR: The relaxation of regulations will soften the ensuing economic shock from Covid-19, but would also increase risks for banks, said Moody’s Investors Service.

In a research note yesterday, Moody’s said on March 25, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced a six-month debt moratorium for borrowers in the retail and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segments to help them manage the liquidity crunch from disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

“The debt moratorium will soften the near-term credit-negative impact on the banks’ asset quality. But, it also prevents banks from taking early restructuring or recovery action on specific borrowers.

“This could lead to higher credit losses after the moratorium is lifted. We expect an increase in the banks’ impaired loans after the moratorium ends, especially if the coronavirus outbreak is prolonged and continues to disrupt domestic economic activity,” it said.

Moody’s also noted that before the automatic moratorium, banks were already offering debt moratoriums to borrowers on a case-by-case basis, and over 70% of banking loans as of Dec 31, 2019 falls under the moratorium.

Among the banks it rated, Public Bank Bhd (A3 stable, a3) and Hong Leong Bank Bhd (A3 stable, a3) have the highest proportion of loans which qualifies for the moratorium because these banks focus on the retail and SME segments, it said.

Moody’s said BNM is also encouraging banks to lend by temporarily lowering the regulatory requirements on liquidity and capital, in line with similar measures undertaken by the European Central Bank in March 2020.

It said that banks can now utilise the 2.5% capital conservation buffer and regulatory reserve, and operate below the minimum 100% liquidity coverage ratio until Dec 31, 2020.

“The minimum net stable funding ratio will also be lowered to 80% from 100% when it is implemented in July 2020,” it said.

However, these regulatory relaxations could also increase risks for bank creditors, added Moody’s. – Bernama

13 SUNBIZ


PETALING JAYA: Malaysian government securities’ (MGS) yields rose sharply from early to mid-March as the erosion in risk sentiment due to the Covid-19 pandemic dominated trade, according to Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC).

As of end-March, it highlighted that the MGS yield curve had bear steepened with the 20-year MGS yield rising the most by 68bps to 3.92% (Feb: 3.24%).

Yields at the front end rose at a significantly slower pace than those further up the curve amid the surprise Overnight Policy Rate cut of 25 bps to 2.5%.

However, MARC said pressure on MGS yields started to ease in the final week of March as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) introduced liquidity enhancement measures.

“BNM slashed the statutory reserve ratio (SRR) by 100 basis points (bps) to 2% and allowed principal dealers to recognise up to RM1 billion worth of MGS/government investment issues (GII) as part of the SRR compliance,” it said.

MARC explained that as the outbreak shows little sign of slowing, governments around the world including Malaysia began to

restrict the movement of its citizens, hampering economic activities.

“Due to the risk-off sentiment in Malaysia and other emerging markets, investors have flocked toward US treasuries,” said the rating agency in a statement.

Furthemore, it noted that MGS were weakened by the sharp drop in crude oil prices as a result of the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The risk-off sentiment had also led to massive outflows of foreign funds from the local bond market in March. Net foreign outflows from the local bond market amounted to RM12.3 billion in March, the highest monthly net outflows since May 2018.

“This brought the total foreign holdings to RM187.8 billion, equivalent to 12.3% of total outstanding local bonds,” it calculated, with MGS accounting for most of the outflows.

MARC noted that foreign holdings of MGS amounted to RM147.6 billion (February: RM160.1 billion), equivalent to 36.8% (February: 39.6%) of total outstanding MGS.

Meanwhile, in the primary market for local government bonds, the rating agency noted that the gross issuance of MGS/GII

accelerated to RM16.8 billion in March from RM12 billion the previous month.

The gross issuance of GII amounted to RM8.8 billion and the remaining RM8 billion was from MGS.

“We expect gross issuance of MGS/GII for 2020 to be significantly higher than last year at between RM140 billion to RM150 billion. This is in view of widening fiscal deficit amid the shortfall in government revenue due to low crude oil prices and the RM35 billion fiscal injection,” MARC said.

In the corporate bonds space, MARC observed that gross issuance of long-term corporate bonds moderated to RM7.2 billion in March, from RM10.7 billion in February.

Issuance in March was led by Prasarana Malaysia Bhd’s RM1.4 billion sukuk under its RM10.0 billion Sukuk Murabahah (2017) and RM2 billion Sukuk Murabahah (2015) programmes respectively.

For 2020, MARC expects the total gross issuance of corporate bonds to be about RM95 billion to RM105 billion, lower than 2019’s level of RM132 billion, premised on the expected contractions in real gross domestic product and private investment.

PETALING JAYA: MTouche Technology Bhd has inked an agreement with Network Global Solutions Pty Ltd (NGS) to market and distribute medical equipment for the Malaysian and Southeast Asian markets.

Under the agreement, mTouche via its wholly-owned subsidiary, mTouche International Sdn Bhd, will collaborate with NGS to promote, market and distribute Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) RT-PCR detection and diagnostic kits and Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) IgM/IgG rapid test kits, and other equivalent products in the region.

In a statement, mTouche executive director Tang Boon Koon (pix) said the company is expediting samples of the Covid-19 test kits to the Medical Device Authority (MDA) for approval and licensing.

MDA is under the purview of Ministry of Health Malaysia.

“The whole world is now experiencing a scarcity of medical equipment such as test kits, ventilators and protective gears – irrespective of whether you are in Europe, the United States or Southeast Asia. This is a very meaningful journey for mTouche as we care for humanities and we are very moved and want to participate in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic with our 18 years network in Southeast Asia market,” he said.

Tang said mTouche will continue to work

oAgreement with Network Global Solutions to supply and distrib ute the products, which are awaiting approval and licensing

various health authorities in this Southeast Asia region to obtain the relevant approval for the use of the medical test kits.

NGS managing director Darren Whittaker said the collaboration is in line with NGS’ strategic direction.

“During our discussion with mTouche, we realised that our

collaboration with mTouche and its huge regional presence would

enable us to step forward to fight this Covid-19 pandemic at

this critical point in time. We are

focusing all our resources in bringing the much needed test kits, masks and other critical sup-plies to the frontlines as soon as possible,” he said.

PETALING JAYA: IOI Properties Group Bhd’s CEO Lee Yeow Seng (pix) has been redesignated as executive vice-chairman and Datuk Voon Tin Yow will be taking over as CEO, with both appointments coming into effect today.

IOI Properties non-executive chairman Datuk Tan Kim Leong welcomed the redesignation and the appointment which he said will enhance the executive leadership of the group and strengthen its position as one of the leading property developers in Malaysia.

In his new position, Lee will be responsible for IOI Properties’ strategic direction, in sustaining the overall growth for the group. Prior to his stint as the CEO for the group from January 2014 to April 2020, he was first appointed to the board on Feb 25, 2013 as an executive director.

In addition, he served as an executive director of IOI Corp Bhd in 2008 and was subsequently redesignated as a non-

independent non-executive director in 2013.

Meanwhile, Voon, as the new CEO, will be responsible for the overall management of the group in its various business segments including, property development, property investment as well as hospitality and leisure.

He will also take the helm in executing strategies that would

deliver sustainable growth fror the group. Prior to the appointment, Voon served as an

executive director at SP Setia Bhd and held the post of COO from 1996 to 2014, during which he also took up the role as acting president and CEO of the company from May 2014 to December 2014.

Since 2015, he was with EcoWorld Development Group Bhd as executive director, and non-independent non-executive director of EcoWorld International Bhd since 2017. In February this year, he resigned from the boards of both companies.

G20 discussing debt moratorium of up to US$14b for poor nationsBERLIN: Financial leaders of the 20 largest economies (G20) are discussing an immediate debt moratorium worth up to US$14 billion (RM60.6 billion) to help poor countries free up funds in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a senior German official said yesterday.

The debt moratorium, suggested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, will likely be the key part of an action plan that the Group of 20 finance ministers are expected to fine-tune and present on today, the official said.

“Germany is assuming responsibility not only at home and in Europe, but also in the world – and that’s why we support the debt moratorium proposed by the IMF and World Bank to help the poorest countries in the world,” said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The plan to immediately suspend debt payments is supported by all G20 creditor countries as well as the members of the Paris Club of public-sector creditors, the official said.

“We’re talking here about a total sum of up to US$14 billion which the poorest countries will be allowed to pay back later and therefore can be spend on measures related to Covid-19,” the official said.

The question of debt reduction should be discussed later this year when there is more clarity about the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the official said.

In Paris, France’s finance minister said major international creditors have agreed to suspend debt payments owed by the poorest countries this year, throwing a financial lifeline to help them through the coronavirus crisis.

Some 76 countries, of which 40 are in sub-Sahara Africa, were eligible to have debt payments worth a combined US$20 billion suspended, out of a total of US$32 billion the countries were to spend on debt servicing this year.

“We have obtained a debt moratorium at the level of bilateral creditors and private creditors for a total of US$20 billion,” Bruno Le Maire said.

The government creditors, including not only the Paris Club but also China, are to suspend US$12 billion under the agreement.

Private creditors have agreed on a voluntary basis to roll over or refinance US$8 billion in debt, a French finance ministry source said.

The IMF said on Monday it would provide immediate debt relief to 25 member countries under its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to allow them to focus more financial resources on fighting the pandemic. – Reuters

EPF further extends March employer contribution deadline to April 30PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is further extending the date for employers to remit their mandatory contribution for the salary month of March 2020 (April contributions) to April 30, from the previously announced date of 24 April.

CEO Alizakri Alias said this decision followed a high number of enquiries and requests from employers.

““Normally, employers must remit their contributions by the 15th of every month, and we had announced yesterday that for April, we would extend this to the 24th instead. However, having received so many enquiries and requests from employers following yesterday’s news release, the EPF Board has unanimously agreed to a further extension until the end of the month,” he said in a statement.

Solarvest bags two contracts in PhilippinesPETALING JAYA: Solarvest Holdings Bhd has secured two contracts from Vivant Energy Corporation in the Philippines, for the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for two of Vivant Energy’s projects.

In a statement, the group said it will undertake the engineering, pro-curement, construction and com-missioning works for both projects.

The first project is for the development of solar PV systems at 10 designated buildings, with cumulative capacity of 816.2-kilowatt peak (kWp), located at the University San Agustin, Iloilo City.

For the second project Solarvest will undertake the development of the 377.52 kWp solar PV systems for Bulihan Industrial Park located at Bulacan.

Solarvest group CEO Davis Chong Chun Shiong said this marks the group’s first expansion beyond Malaysia.

The new projects will be completed within the year and are expected to contribute positively to Solarvest’s financial performance for the financial year ending March 31, 2021.

MGS yields surge in first half of March

mTouche in deal on Covid-19 test kits for Southeast Asia

IOI Properties names new exec vice-chairman, new CEO


SUNBIZ

China’s trade slump eases as plants resume operations

BEIJING: The plunge in China’s exports and imports eased in March as factories resumed production, but shipments are set to shrink sharply over coming months as the coronavirus crisis shuts down many economies and puts the brakes on a near-term recovery.

Financial markets breathed a sigh of relief after customs data yesterday showed overseas shipments fell 6.6% in March year-on-year, improving from a 17.2% slide in January-February, as exporters rushed to clear a backlog of orders after forced production shutdowns.

Economists had forecast shipments to drop 14% from a year earlier.

Yet, while the trade figures were not bad as feared, analysts say the export and overall growth outlook for the world’s second-biggest economy remains grim as the pandemic has brought business activity across the globe to a standstill.

“The above-expectation March trade figures do not mean that the future is carefree,” said Zhang Yi, Beijing-based chief economist at Zhonghai Shengrong Capital Management.

Zhang said he expects first-quarter gross domestic product data

on Friday will likely show a contraction of 8% – the first quarterly slump since at least 1992. Analysts’ forecasts for China’s first quarter GDP ranged widely between a contraction of 2% and 16%.

“A decline in exports throughout the second quarter has been the market consensus now and a drop of 20% or more is a high-probability event. For policymakers, more policies should be rolled out to address the possible societal issues stemming from mass-scale unemployment,” Zhang said.

The data showed imports slid 0.9% from a year earlier, also above market expectations of a 9.5% drop, which the customs attributed to improving domestic demand. They had fallen 4% in the first two months of the year.

The better imports picture partly reflected shipments that were stuck in ports being cleared and catch-up demand as authorities eased restrictions. Yet, domestic con-sumption was far from robust with key imports such as iron ore dipping in March, underlining the broad economic strains. “Imports should hold up better given that domestic demand looks set to stage a further recovery in the coming months,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior

China economist at Capital Economics.

“But the quarter of China’s imports that feed into China’s export sector will continue to fall and hold back the recovery in imports.”

The overall trade surplus last month stood at US$19.9 billion (RM86 billion), compared with an expected US$18.55 billion surplus in the poll and a deficit of US$7.1 billion in January-February.

Stock markets in Asia extended their gains after China’s trade report, while risk sensitive currencies including the Australian and New Zealand dollars as well as the pound pulled ahead, mainly on relief on the less gloomy data.

The pandemic’s sweeping impact on businesses and consumers has triggered an unprecedented burst of stimulus from policymakers in the past two months, with the World Trade Organisation forecasting that goods trade would shrink more steeply this year than during the global financial crisis.

Beijing is trying to restart its economic engines after weeks of near paralysis to contain the pandemic that had severely restricted business activity, flow of goods and the daily life of people.

But as the virus rapidly spread to almost all of China’s trading partners, severely restraining overseas demand particularly in European and US markets, Chinese factories’ export orders have been scrapped. Many privately-owned exporters have been forced to fire workers and warned about factory

closures in not too distant future. UBS Economist Tao Wang

predicted that exports would decline by 20% on-year in the second quarter and 12% for the whole of 2020.

Wenzhou Juna Shoe Industry Co, which used to export 90% of its leather shoes to Russia, South Korea and Australia, had 30% of its orders cancelled last month, with clients delaying the shipments of another 20%, according to a report from China Central Television on Sunday.

Customs spokesman Li Kuiwen also warned about the difficulties facing foreign trade.

“Shrinking global demand is set to cause a shock to our country’s exports, and issues such as declining export orders have gradually emerged. The difficulties facing our foreign trade development cannot be underestimated,” said Li.

Indeed, both official and private factory surveys for March showed new export orders declined even further from February when production in the country was paused, with few signs of a strong near-term recovery.

Analysts say consumer appetite would also remain depressed as many people are worried about the possibility of new infections, job security and potential cuts to wages as the economy struggles, analyst warned.

“The sharp decline in exports and trade could put another over 10 million jobs related to exports at risk in the next couple of quarters,” UBS’ Wang said. – Reuters

oBut March shipments likely to shrink as Covid-19 crisis shuts down global economies and puts brakes on near-term recovery

Bank of Japan weighing steps to ease corporate funding strains TOKYO: The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will discuss further steps to ease corporate funding strains at this month’s rate review to pump more money to small firms grappling with slumping sales due to the coronavirus outbreak, sources familiar with its thinking said.

While discussions are still in the initial stages, possible options on the table include further increases in purchases of corporate bonds and commercial paper (CP), and an expansion in the range of assets the central bank accepts as collateral in

offering financial institutions loans, they said.

“Corporate funding conditions continue to worsen. The focus for the BOJ is still crisis response, not what measures it can take to reflate the economy,“ one of the sources said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

“The BOJ took steps to ease corporate funding strains in March. If further measures are necessary, they will likely be discussed at April’s rate review,“ another source said.

A third source echoed the view,

adding that pledging to buy more corporate bonds and CP purchases, or expanding the range of assets the BOJ accepts as collateral “could be among options.”

The BOJ next meets for a rate review on April 27-28.

The central bank eased monetary policy last month by pledging to increase buying of risky assets, including corporate bonds and CP, and create a new loan programme to assist funding of small firms hit by the health crisis.

The measures came on top of

government loan programmes offering small and mid-size companies zero-interest rates, which was part of a nearly US$1 trillion (RM4.3 trillion) stimulus package unveiled last week to combat the pandemic’s fallout.

Despite such measures, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned last week that corporate funding strains were worsening as the pandemic keeps the economic outlook “extremely uncertain.”

Travel bans and social distancing policies to combat the health crisis

have added to woes for Japan’s economy already on the cusp of recession.

Sources have told Reuters the BOJ is likely to make a rare projection this month that the world’s third-largest economy will shrink in the current fiscal year that began in April, as the pandemic wreck havoc to a fragile recovery.

Japan had 7,693 cases of infections as of yesterday morning, excluding those from a cruise ship quarantined in February, with 146 deaths, according to public broadcaster NHK.

BRIE

FS FRANCE’S 2020 BUDGET

DEFICIT TO HIT 9% OF GDP PARIS: The French government’s budget deficit is set to hit a post-war record of 9% of economic output this year, the budget minister said on Monday in the second revision in less than a week. Budget minister Gerald Darmanin said that financial shortfall would top the 7.6% flagged only last week after President Emmanuel Macron ex-tended a nationwide lockdown until May 11. “We are going from a deficit -7.6% (of GDP) to a deficit of -9%. – Reuters HEATHROW: PASSENGER DEMAND TO DIVE 90% LONDON: Heathrow Airport, tradi-tionally the busiest in Europe, forecast that passenger demand would plunge by over 90% in April, as coronavirus restrictions stop most people from travelling. Heathrow said yesterday that its passenger numbers were down 52% in March compared with the same period last year, with many of those journeys being made by Britons returning home from abroad. The airport, which is owned by a group of investors including Spain’s Ferrovial, the Qatar Investment Authority and China Investment Corp, said it was now only using one of its two runways, as flights continue for cargo. – Reuters AUSSIE JOBLESS RATE TO SPIKE TO 25-YEAR HIGH MELBOURNE: Australia’s jobless rate is forecast to spike to the highest level in a quarter of a century because of the coronavirus pan-demic, but officials said yesterday it was still too soon to let up on social restrictions that are curbing economic growth. Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed the government expects unemploy-ment to double from the current 5.1% to 10% by the end of June – Reuters

15 LIFESTYLE


CELEBRITYCAUSES

SHE has evolved from being an actress, model and emcee to an entrepreneur and wellness guru. Jojo Struys is a very busy woman who runs her own TV

production company (Kyanite TV) and wellness centre (OhanaJo Studio), and conducts programmes that centre around wellness.

She even did a series on Discovery Channel called Jojo’s Diary of Asia in which she showcased some of the most unique places to de-stress.

The idea to open OhanaJo in mid-2017 came after she underwent intensive yoga training in Rishikesh, India, located at the foothills of the Himalayas. She describes her little oasis as a holistic healing place, where she teaches people self-healing using yoga, sound therapy and other exercises.

She feels blessed to be working in her passion, her ‘ikigai’ (a Japanese concept known as ‘reason for being’).

During an interview done via social distancing, Struys happily shared with us about her wellness journey.

You wear so many hats. How do you find time for yourself? “It’s a challenge but we all have the same 24 hours in a day and it’s up to us how we spend it. It’s important to

compartmentalise and prioritise the key turning points in the day, with the morning being probably the most important.

“I feel the way we start the day can influence the mood and tone of how the rest of the day might pan out. It’s vital to have a morning regimen ... there’s something very special and empowering about doing exercise so early in the morning. It really helps to keep me grounded. It’s like kickstarting the day in positive gear, and meditation really helps to calm and clear the mind of whatever stresses I might have.”

What helped you realise that your heart lies in teaching people about wellness? “I studied Reiki, a Japanese energy healing system when I was 19 years old, never knowing that years later I would be conducting Reiki workshops [to teach people to] heal themselves and others.

“I also studied additional units in psychology, even clinical hypnosis, after I graduated from my business degree in Australia so the interest in the field of spirituality, healing and wellness was always there. But a turning point was going to India to attend my yoga training. It felt like a calling to actually share knowledge and to help people along their spiritual path.”

How do you define wellness? “It’s not one particular thing. It’s about how you live your life and all the lifestyle choices you make. It’s how you breathe, what you’re eating, how you’re thinking, whether you’re moving your body, or getting enough sleep at night. It’s a state of being.”

How do you balance the pressure of teaching as well as running a business? “I’m following my heart and knowing deep down that I need to continue to do this work, whether it’s on ground, online or all over the world.

We serve some of the most unique classes in Asia and were blessed to be recently voted Yoga & Sound Healing Studio of the Year (endorsed by the Ministry of Tourism). As an entrepreneur, I feel what keeps me grounded is remembering the original intention I had to

open this space. It was to help people find a safe space

to heal, shift, or transform in

any shape

or form.”

What is the best way to relieve yourself of everyday stress? “Stress is linked to our thoughts and how we perceive or respond to whatever is coming our way. So be aware of your internal dialogue, especially if it’s negative, complaining or blaming in nature. It’s always up to us whether you want to view the glass as half empty or half full. What someone might view as a challenge or disaster in life, another might view as an opportunity.”

“I find breathing techniques and yoga extremely beneficial, as it’s all about mindfulness and bringing you into the present moment. Stress happens when the mind is living in the past or future, but if you can use the breath to anchor you into the present, this can really shift perspectives and help calm you down.

“The amazing thing about breathwork in particular is that it requires no equipment and it can be done almost anywhere.

“Try this right now. Let us do some deep breathing together. Breathe in to the count of three and slowly with control, exhale to the count of six. Repeat this a few times and notice how in a matter of moments, you can bring in the benefits of relaxation into your being.

“When we lengthen the ratio of our exhale, we help to slow down the pace of our gushing thoughts and engage the parasympathetic nervous system and the body’s natural relaxation response. We can empower ourselves at any point in the day when you feel you need to slow down and take a breather or when you feel things are getting too much.”

Do you observe any special dietary habits? “I am currently vegetarian. I also enjoy home made power smoothies with various superfoods in the morning because I find them so energising.”

Is there such a thing as achieving inner peace? “When we shift our inner perspective, everything around us changes with it. Anything is possible so yes, I feel we can achieve inner peace!

“Life is never a straight road. There will always be ups and downs but if you can experience more moments of inner

peace, these golden moments are so

precious and healing.”

█ BY S. INDRA SATHIABALAN

oJojo Struys felt it was her calling to help people with her knowledge in wellness and healing

Struys was inspired to open OhanaJo after undergoing intensive yoga training in Rishikesh, India.

– COURTESY OF JOJO STRUYS

Could gardening help boost your body image?NEW research conducted in the United Kingdom has found that individuals who enjoy gardening as a hobby may benefit from improved body image.

Led by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), the new study looked at 84 gardeners from 12 urban allotment sites in north London, and 81 non-gardeners from the same area.

The participants were asked to complete a series of questionnaires to assess their body image, which is measured by a person’s appreciation of their own body and its functions, and their acceptance of any imperfections, before and after spending time in their allotment.

The findings, published in the journal Ecopsychology, showed that the gardeners had significantly higher levels of body pride, body appreciation and appreciation for their body’s functionality, compared to the non-gardeners.

In addition, the more time the gardeners spent gardening in their allotment, the bigger the improvement in positive body image when they left.

The researchers point out that allotment gardening, which is where gardeners rent a small plot of land in a public space, has already been shown to boost both physical and mental health.

Although the effect of allotment gardening on body image has not been investigated before, lead author Professor Viren Swami noted that the findings are in line with his previous research, which has found that spending time in natural environments can improve positive body image.

“My previous research has shown the benefits of being in nature more generally, but increasing urbanisation has meant that many people now have less access to nature,“ said Professor Swami. “The findings from this new study are important because they specifically show the significant benefits of spending time on allotments, which are typically quite small patches of green space in otherwise mainly urban environments.

“Positive body image is beneficial because it helps to foster psychological and physical resilience, which contributes to overall well-being.

“Ensuring that opportunities for gardening are available to all people is, therefore, vital and may help to reduce the long-term cost burden on health services. One way to achieve this, beyond policies that ensure access to nature for all citizens, would be through the provision of dedicated and sustained community allotment plots.” – AFP-Relaxnews

Researchers say this activity helps boost mental and physical health. – AFP

The call of The call of inner peaceinner peace

She teaches people self healing using yoga, sound

therapy and other exercises.


ENTERTAINMENT

South Korea’s cinema boom

THE South Korean film Parasite created history at the recent Oscars, becoming the first non-English movie

to be named Best Picture. It beat films by prominent Hollywood directors like Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) and Martin Scorsese (The Irishman).

Parasite also won awards for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Film. The plot of the film, directed by powerhouse director Bong Joon Ho, highlights the class struggles facing modern day South Korea, and focuses on a family of four grifters who decide to trick their way into the home of the wealthy Park household, only to discover hidden secrets that eventually consume them all.

This film has been a tremendous hit at international festivals. However, Parasite is only the latest success from the South Korean film industry, which has produced several gems over the past two decades.

theSun takes a look at 10 other South Korean movies that have stunned critics and audiences all over the world.

1) Oldboy (2003) Dae-su is drugged, abducted, and kept in an apartment as a prisoner. After 15 years he is given his freedom. He learns that his wife was killed and his only daughter was given away for adoption in America. He becomes obsessed with finding the man who had imprisoned him, and his motive for doing so. But the truth only rocks his world even further and intensifies his pain.

2) Memories of Murder (2003) Parasite director Bong has created several memorable movies in the

From South Korea to the world ... (clockwise from left) The Oscar-worthy Parasite; Memories of Murder; and A Tale of Two Sisters.

oIn the last two decades, the country’s film industry has produced movies that have moved audiences and critics alike

█ BY BISSME S.

Lean On Me streams increase after Withers’ deathTHE track Lean On Me earned the late soul icon Bill Withers his first and only No.1 hit on both the R&B and pop charts at the time of its release in 1972.

The anthem of friendship, which appeared on his sophomore album Still Bill, is now experiencing a boom in on-demand streams since Withers’ passing at the age of 81 on March 30.

Billboard reports that Lean On Me amassed 4.1 million clicks in the United States between April 3 and 5, up 729% from 496,000 at the end of March.

The often-covered song is not the only cut from Withers’ catalogue to gain new popularity following the official announcement of his death from heart complications on April 3.

According to initial reports to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, Lovely Day and Ain’t No Sunshine have respectively generated 3.1 million and 2.7 million streams between April 3 and 5.

Overall, the late soul legend’s catalogue sold 83,000 downloads in the United States over the same period, marking an increase of 7,159% compared to the 1,000 his

songs sold between March 31 and April 2.

Several musicians have recently paid tribute to the legacy of Withers, who was once described by drummer Questlove as “the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen.”

“You taught me so much about how to keep it simple and real. I felt such a kinship with you even before we met. Your words and melodies ... the chords that accompanied them ... they reached into my soul and spoke to me so deeply. That’s what your music did. It brought so many of us closer to you and to each other,” pop singer Justin Timberlake wrote on Instagram.

The American singer-songwriter has professed his admiration for Withers on several occasions, admitting a few years ago that his 2016 hit Can’t Stop the Feeling was inspired by Withers’ classic Lovely Day.

My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James also honoured the late soul singer with a cover of Lean On Me, which he performed from his home for A Late Show with Stephen Colbert. – AFP-Relaxnews

Music mogul Clarence Avant looks on as Withers addresses the audience at Avant’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony in 2016 in Hollywood, California. – AFP

past and this film is one of them. The story of two detectives who

are at loggerheads with each other while searching for a serial killer who is responsible for a rash of brutal murders has been tackled in many other films. But Bong puts his own unique touch to the trope.

This movie has one of those powerful endings that you will find hard to forget. Korean filmmakers are good at churning out endings that you will remember.

3) A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) Su-mi returns home after being treated at a psychiatric facility. Her father and younger sister Su-yeon are glad to have her back. But Su-mi dislikes her new stepmother. The intense hatred between her and her stepmother soon manifests into something absolutely ugly and terrifying, more than your mind can imagine.

4) Mother (2009) The story centres on an old woman who provides acupuncture services to the people in her village. She is extremely protective of her son who suffers from mental disabilities and is prone to violent outbursts. One day, a

young girl is murdered. To wrap the case, the police decide to take the easy way out and arrest her son for the murder.

The distraught mother goes all out to find the real murderer and to save her son. Her journey to find the killer will send shockwaves not only through her community, but through the audience as well.

5) The Handmaiden (2016) Inspired by Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith, director Park Chan Wook’s masterpiece brilliantly adapts the story from its Victorian England setting to the time when South Korea was under Japanese control.

A conman named Fujiwara wants to marry rich heiress Lady Hideko for

her money. He hires pickpocket Soo Hee to infiltrate her home as a personal maid. Soo Hee’s job is to win Lady Hideko’s trust and convince her to marry Fujiwara.

Imagine Soo Hee’s surprise when she realises that she is

in fact, the real target of the con game, and not Lady Hideko.

6) Burning ( 2018) Based on the short

story titled Barn Burning by

popular writer Haruki Murakami, the story centres on young aspiring novelist Lee Jong-su who does odd jobs to make ends meet. He bumps into a former classmate named Shin Hae-mi one day, and the two eventually form a relationship.

Hae-mi tells him that she is going on a holiday, and he waits for her return anxiously – but she does not return alone. She introduces Jong-su to Ben, who happens to be rich. Jealousy and frustration arise.

The plot may sound like a typical love triangle, but trust me, it is not. This slow burn thriller will scorch your heart, your soul and your mind.

7) The Wailing ( 2016) Village police officer Jong-Goo investigates several bizarre murders which are caused by a mysterious disease. Everyone in the village believes that a Japanese stranger who lives in a secluded house in the mountain is responsible for the strange events. They are convinced that he is dabbling in black magic.

Jong-Goo breaks into the stranger’s house and is shocked to

see a shoe belonging to his daughter in the house. Is she going to be the next victim? This beautiful horror movie will keep you guessing to the end.

8) Thirst (2009) This film offers a look into the life of a Catholic priest who turns into a vampire. Director Park gives audiences none of the usual Hollywood vampire tropes. He puts his own signature upon the horror film, playing with the themes of guilt and pleasure.

9) I Saw The Devil ( 2010) A secret agent hunts for a serial killer who murdered his fiancée. When he finds his target, he decides that killing the murderer is too easy. He devises a plan to make the killer’s life a living hell.

10) No Regret ( 2006) Not entirely unlike the Hollywood film Brokeback Mountain, this movie follows the unlikely romance between the wealthy Jae-min and a young bar host named Su-min.

17 FASHION


BRANDS are redoubling their efforts to divert and entertain people living in quarantine all across the planet with activities designed to stimulate their creativity. Competitions, challenges, performances and line art to colour are just some of the pastimes that have been dreamed up to keep internet users busy while preserving a connection with the worlds of couture and ready-to-wear.

#BalmainEnsemble Under the leadership of its artistic director Olivier Rousteing, Balmain aims to give something back to its loyal public with the #BalmainEnsemble initiative. The luxury house is not only offering a look back at some of the most striking collections in its archives, there are also colouring sketches, weekly challenges and creative activities with members of the Balmain Army.

Together With Team Karl The Karl Lagerfeld label has announced the launch of ‘Together With Team Karl’, an initiative involving the posting of content, and in particular Instagram Stories content, on the ready-to-wear label’s @karllagerfeld account. All of the posts are proposed by long-standing associates of the brand, such as Karl Lagerfeld’s former personal assistant and men’s fashion ambassador Sébastien Jondeau, who is offering a home workout course, or design director Hun Kim’s drawing course. Yoga sessions and live performances are also planned.

#DrawaCherry French luxury kids’ clothing label Bonpoint has unsurprisingly aimed its lockdown entertainment initiative at infants and young children, inviting them to create their version

of the brand’s cherry logo. Once a week entries will be judged by a panel and winning designs will be printed on limited edition T-shirts. All profits will be donated to the AP-HP Paris university hospital trust. To participate, simply post a drawing on the brand’s Instagram with the child’s first name, age and the hashtag #DrawaCherry.

#stayhomewithKENZO Kenzo and its creative director Felipe Oliveira Baptista have embarked on a drive to counter loneliness caused by the lockdown. The label’s Instagram will be used to relay additional content and host live events with friends of the Kenzo community. Mondays will be devoted to music with specially created playlists, tutorial sessions are on Wednesdays, and there will be live concerts on Fridays. – AFP-Relaxnews

Balmain and Olivier Rousteing have launched the initiative #BalmainEnsemble to brighten time spent living under lockdown.

█ BY LEENA ZUKI

LOOKING and feeling like your best self can make your day. The clothes you choose to put on are a

form of self-expression. On the other hand, not all of us have the

means to regularly keep up with the latest fashion trends.

Fret not, you can certainly learn

oWith a little sacrifice, you too can look stylish without burning a hole in your wallet

more affordable compared to regular retail outlets.

“The clothes in bundle stores usually won’t cost more than RM10, but there are times when the item might be a little pricier, for instance RM20, because of the quality,” Tuty shares.

Well, if you are willing to invest a little more and you want to give thrift shopping a try, there are some exceptional thrift stores that can cater to your needs.

“There is a bundle store in Damansara that sells higher quality items and there is even air conditioning there! It is like a big warehouse and their suppliers are usually from overseas,” Tuty adds.

As a fan of thrift shopping, Tuty acknowledges that shopping at thrift stores is not very common in Malaysia, unlike some other countries.

“Shopping in bundle stores is not such a huge thing yet in Malaysia. This trend started to grow one or two years back because social media users tried to make shopping at bundle stores go viral. However, there is still a lack of exposure.

“Some people grew up without knowing that

bundle stores even exist. N o w a d a y s ,

parents bring their children to malls to shop because they can

afford [to]. “ O v e r

the years, s o c i a l

m e d i a platforms have e n c o u r a g e d people to pay more attention to the way they dress. So, a lot of people want to be stylish, but might not be able to afford doing so.

“ W h e n you shop at a mall, you might have to spend

Bringing creative activities to a public forced to stay at home

to shop smart, and not cause a dent in your wallet.

Local fashionista Noraishah Ismail, better known as Tuty, purchases her clothing items mainly from local thrift stores, without sacrificing her style or her budget. She jazzes up her outfits according to her style and posts her colourful outfit of the day (OOTD) on her Instagram (@tutyyyyyyyyy).

The 26-year old has also been shopping at thrift stores, also known as bundle stores, from a very young age.

“I started visiting bundle stores with my family in 2006. My brother is my main influence because it was quite a normal thing for guys to buy their clothing at bundle stores back in

those days. “At that time,

w o m e n ’ s c l o t h i n g items were q u i t e

limited, unlike n o w ,

w h e r e there are more selections

for women, so I kept going back to bundle [stores] to buy my clothes.”

However, Tuty also wants people to know that thrift shopping might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

“I would definitely advise first timers to go with someone who has prior experience of shopping in bundle or vintage stores. It takes at least four to five hours per visit to actually find the right pieces, because you have look through piles and piles of items.

“Another concern is the environment as it can be quite hot, because sometimes there is no air conditioning. Sometimes the stores may or may not have fitting rooms, it depends on the place.

“But [usually I] just try the clothing over what I am wearing that day to get a rough idea of how it would fit on me.”

In case you did not know, c l o t h i n g articles in thrift stores are much

around RM100 for one clothing item, while at bundle stores you can get more than that, but of course you have to sacrifice your time to find what suits your style or fits you well.

“When I go to bundle stores, I usually like to buy dresses or blazers, which I can wear to work or for casual outings.

“But when I do go to shopping malls, I just do window shopping and get inspired by the outfits that the mannequins are wearing.”

Tuty enjoys thrift shopping because she can kill two birds with one stone, saying: “If you shop at bundles, you can definitely save a lot of money! Also, you can save the environment because you are not contributing to the statistics of fast fashion consumerism.” Tuty usually window shops at malls. – COURTESY OF TUTY

She also enjoys jazzing up her outfits with colourful pieces.

Tuty enjoys posting ‘her oufit of the day’ on her Instagram.

Thrifty fashionista


THE RIGHT READ

0Author: Ani Katz 0 Publisher: Penguin 0 ISBN: 9780143134985

AUTHOR Katz delivers a compelling story that is told entirely from the viewpoint of protagonist Thomas Martin.

The story begins with Martin telling the reader that something bad has taken place and that he is responsible for it.

Just how bad the situation is will be something you discover as you read this book. Flipping through the pages you find out more and more about Martin, who tells us about how he met his wife and what attracted him to her.

We learn about his eccentric mother and twin sisters who never left the family home because of a tragedy that occurred in the past.

As the story progresses we only see things from Martin’s point of view, seeing him as the voice of reason, the keeper of secrets, the responsible husband and father, and as the successful ad agency executive.

Essentially Martin is the ‘good man’ of the title – or is he just too good to be true?

By all accounts he fits into the traditional role of what a man is supposed to be.

The big twist is what happens towards the end of the book when we start seeing the cracks in his story.

Initially we are drawn into the story from only one person’s point of view but things get dark somewhere in

the middle when we learn more about his childhood, and the secrets that Martin has carried with him for years.

What makes this book stand out is the way the story is unveiled. There is no real explanation given for some of the events that take place.

Martin is just telling you his story and like many of us, Martin sees himself as the pragmatic one and not the cause of his problems.

Overall, a very different sort of mystery novel. – by S. Indra Sathiabalan

IN A CAPSULE

0 Author: Steve Berry 0 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton 0 ISBN: 9781529390926

STEVE BERRY’S latest Cotton Malone adventure tells of a political intrigue involving the president of Poland, Janusz Czajkowski. Added to the plot is the mysterious disappearance of the seven precious relics of the Arma Christi, the weapons of Christ, stolen from sanctuaries across the world.

Former lawyer and American intelligence officer Malone who is now a bookseller, goes to Bruges, Belgium, for an antiquarian book fair. He’s then hired by a former boss, Stephanie Nelle to steal the Holy Lance from a castle in Poland. It is one of the seven Arma Christi relics that is the ticket of admission to a secret auction where various countries, including the US and Russia, will bid on incriminating information about Czajkowski, but for vastly different reasons.

Czajkowki had earlier refused to allow the US to build a missile system on Polish soil and US

President Fox is one of several people who want the Polish leader out of the way.

Unfortunately, nothing goes as planned, and Malone is thrust into a bloody battle between three nations over information that, if exposed, could change the balance of power in Europe.

From the tranquil canals of Bruges, to the elegant rooms of Wawel Castle, to deep beneath the earth into an ancient Polish salt mine, Malone is caught in the middle of a deadly war, the outcome of which turns on a secret known as the Warsaw Protocol.

The story is fun, especially the interaction between characters like the smart and resourceful Malone and his friend, the Polish foreign intelligence officer Sonia Draga. Berry builds suspense superbly, allowing readers to anticipate the violence that eventually comes.

To a great extent, the novel pays homage to Poland, its culture, and its ability to survive so many invasions over the centuries. An exciting read. – by M.L.M.

The Warsaw ProtocolA Good Man

A DYSTOPIAN novel about a deadly pandemic wreaking havoc across the world that was rejected 15 years ago

has finally been published after reality once more proved itself stranger than fiction.

Scottish author Peter May, 68, a former journalist and BBC screenwriter, wrote Lockdown in 2005, imagining London as the epicentre of a global outbreak, only to see his manuscript turned away by publishers, who deemed its subject matter “extremely unrealistic and unreasonable”.

“At the time I wrote the book, scientists were predicting that bird flu was going to be the next major world pandemic,” May told CNN.

“It was a very, very scary thing and it was a real possibility, so I put a lot of research into it and came up with the idea, what if this pandemic began in London? What could happen if a city like that was completely locked down?”

His novel centres around a police detective investigating the murder of a child after the bones are discovered at the site of a makeshift hospital, an idea anticipating the opening of the NHS Nightingale at the capital’s ExCeL Centre this week.

“British editors at the time thought my portrayal of London under siege by the invisible enemy of H5N1 [bird flu] was unrealistic and could never happen – in spite of the fact that all my research showed that, really, it could,” the author told iNews.

Following the thriller’s dismissal, May abandoned the project and eventually came to forget he had ever written it, until a fan contacted him on Twitter suggesting he write something for the age of the coronavirus, refreshing his memory and prompting him to retrieve the file from a Dropbox folder.

“I thought about it for a minute before I realised that I’ve kind of already done it,” he recalls. “I told my

publisher about it and my editor just about fell out of his chair. He read the entire book overnight and the next

morning he said, ‘This is brilliant. We need to publish this now.’”

The writer describes himself as “extremely creeped out” by how similar the current crisis is to his treatment.

“When I read it again for the first time since I wrote the book, I was shocked at just how spookily accurate it was,” he s a i d . “ T h e

everyday details of how you get through life, the way the lockdown works, people being forbidden to leave their homes. It’s all s c a r i l y accurate.”

L o c k d o w n , finally published by Quercus Books, is only available through Amazon UK on Kindle for now, but will be available as a paperback and audiobook from April 30.

However, May’s claim to be the first person to

write about the current crisis is being challenged by another author, A.M. Smith, whose self-published e-book Muller in which “the human race is under attack from a deadly virus killing millions each day” dropped on Amazon last week.

Another novel about an apocalyptic epidemic, Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel, currently tops the site’s “Dystopian” chart, although the most famous work of fiction imagining such a scenario probably remains Stephen King’s The Stand, published in 1978. – The

Independent

SIX international writers have been shortlisted for this year’s prestigious literary prize, which is awarded to the best book translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland.

The contenders of the International Booker Prize, who are mostly women for the second year in a row, were announced earlier in April in London.

Ted Hodgkinson, chair of the judges, said of this year’s shortlist: “Each of our shortlisted books restlessly reinvents received narratives, from foundational myths to family folklore, plunging us into discomforting and elating encounters with selves in a state of transition.

“Whether capturing a deftly imagined dystopia or incandescent flows of language, these are tremendous feats of translation, which in these isolating times, represent the pinnacle of an art-form rooted in dialogue.”

Daniel Kehlmann’s Tyll is among the books running for the top prize, each of which are described by Hodgkinson as “examining humanity’s need to understand the world through narrative.”

Kehlmann’s novel, translated by Ross Benjamin from German, follows the trickster Tyll Ulenspiegel as he travels across Europe during the Thirty Years’ War.

This historical novel, which sold over 600,000 books in Germany alone, is currently being adapted into a series by Netflix.

Also inspired by her nation’s history is The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar, which was translated from

Farsi by a writer who is remaining anonymous for security reasons.

The novel is narrated by the ghost of Bahar, a 13-year-old girl whose family is compelled to flee their home in Tehran for a new life in a small village after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Also in the running for this year’s International Booker Prize are Gabriela Cabezón Cámara for The Adventures of China Iron; Fernanda Melchor for Hurricane Season; and Yoko Ogawa for The Memory Police, which was a finalist for last year’s National Book Award for Translated Literature.

Meanwhile, Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld has become one of the youngest authors to be shortlisted for a Booker prize for her debut The Discomfort of Evening.

The novel, translated by Michele Hutchison from Dutch, tells the story of Jas as her family breaks apart after her brother dies in a skating accident.

In addition to Hodgkinson, this year’s panel of judges includes Lucie Campos, director of the Villa Gillet, France’s center for international writing; International Booker-winning translator and writer Jennifer Croft; Booker Prize longlisted author Valeria Luiselli; and poet and musician Jeet Thayil, whose novel Narcopolis was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2012.

The winners of the 2020 International Booker Prize will be announced on May 19.

They will follow in the footsteps of Omani author Jokha Alharthi and American translator Marilyn Booth, who won last year’s prize for Celestial Bodies. – AFP-Relaxnews

Female authors lead Booker Prize shortlist

A look at London under lockdown

oPeter May’s dystopian thriller is rescued after being forgotten in Dropbox folder

The winners will be announced on May 19. – COURTESY OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE

Peter May. – PETER MAY FACEBOOK PAGE

19 FEATURE


Bonding time THE Covid-19 pandemic has upended family life around the world. School closures, working

remotely, social distancing – it’s a lot to navigate for everyone, especially for parents.

In such situations, it can be tough to m o n i t o r what your children do or eat, and w h e t h e r they are h a v i n g p r o p e r nu t r i t i o n and practising good eating habits.

oHere is one way to entertain your kid while making nutrition a priority during MCO

█ BY JAY MEE

The prep ingredients for the pizza.

What you can do to motivate kids to learn at homeCOUNTRIES around the world are closing schools to help combat the spread of coronavirus. But parents might find themselves wondering how to help their children keep learning. Here are five tips to help with your home schooling.

1. Identify the curriculum If possible, confer with your child’s teachers or school about what material the child should review or learn, says Ilka Hoffman of Germany’s educators’ union. It’s always a good idea to test vocabulary or practise multiplication tables. “You can always repeat the basics,” she says.

2. Find the materials Some teachers have prepared assignments for home learning, but many educational publishers offer additional materials online. You can find them on the publishers’ websites or at websites listed in the school

books.

3. Set a schedule Parents can’t be expected to maintain as tight a schedule as a school does. It’s better to spread out the learning over the course of the day, with plenty of breaks, Hoffmann says.

Maresi Lassek of Germany’s Primary School Association agrees. It’s more important to create a structure for each day with fixed routines, such as times for getting up, for learning and for meals.

But parents don’t have to adhere strictly to the timetable. “Let the child choose the order,” Hoffmann says. You might say: “Yesterday we did a lot of maths, so today we’ll do more language arts.”

4. Play educational games Making learning playful helps children have fun and be motivated rather than watch the clock until the next break.

Lassek recommends board games for primary school children. “Children can learn a lot – endurance, control and concentration,” she says. While building and constructing, children strengthen their fine motor skills, patience, perception and technical understanding.

For older children, determine what subjects they’re particularly interested in – astrophysics, Art Nouveau, archaeology – and let them loose with some independent study.

5. Keep a learning journal

Children can be motivated by recording what they’ve learned each day in a diary. You can also add in the day’s worksheets and exercises.

“Then the child can page through it and be proud of what they’ve accomplished,” Hoffmann says.

And reviewing the diary also revisits the materials – a double win. – dpa It’s more important to create a structure for each day with fixed routines.

Young children and toddlers are in the rapid stage of growth and development and hence

need to receive sufficient nutrition for optimal

growth. G o o d

nutrition is crucial for

h e a l t h ,

particularly in times when the immune system needs to fight back.

Here’s an easy homemade pizza recipe to keep little bellies full and

hands busy w h i l e

nurturing healthy eating habits in the family. It is also a great

bonding session for mummies and your children.

Make way for pizza! It’s a meal

that almost everyone of

every age loves to eat. And with a few simple

ingredients, you can make this ultimate kid-friendly dish and be proud to serve it!

When your kids regard cooking, baking, or food experimentation as a great way to spend time, they’re well on their way to appreciate good food. Enjoy!

Jay Mee is the

marketing director of EverQuest PR & Events and director of Baby

Koala, a Malaysian home-grown baby brand.

Jay Mee and her son Preston in the kitchen. – COURTESY OF JAY MEE

Why is ‘Rainbow’ pizza healthy?

8 benefits of cooking with kids0 Increases language development 0 Enhances fine motor skills and hand eye coordination 0 Increases math ability 0 Improves reading skills 0 Introduces kids to a variety of ingredients 0 Increases focus and attention 0 Teaches life skills 0 Promotes healthy eating

0 Made with wholemeal bread – it contains lots of fibre. 0 Spread with lycopene-rich tomato sauce (Did you know that tomato sauce has more of this powerful antioxidant than fresh tomatoes?). 0 Topped with cheese – it is rich in calcium and protein. 0 Sprinkled with fresh veggies – highly nutritious, packed with essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

RECIPE Rainbow Pizza & The Sun Pizza Total time 30 minutes Prep time 20 minutes Bake time 10 minutes Makes 2 Mini Pizzas Ingredients 2 pieces of wholemeal bread Tomato Paste – 5 tablespoons Toppings Kraft Cheese Mozzarella Cheese Corn Green peas Red pepper – cut into small cubes Carrot – cut into small cubes Onions – cut into small slices Method 1. Firstly, wash your hands with

soap. 2. Boil the corn, green peas and

carrot with a pinch of salt for

5 minutes. 3. Smooth the

tomato paste onto the bread as

the base. 4. Design your

own pizza according to your own creativity. (Preston made a ‘Rainbow’ pizza and a ‘Sun’ design pizza.)

5. For the ‘Rainbow’ pizza, arrange the vegetables in the order of the colours of a rainbow. Spread the red pepper, carrots, corn, green peas and onions on the bread.

6. For ‘Sun’ design pizza, cut the Kraft cheese into a circle and a few strips and place it onto the bread in the form of the ‘Sun’.

7. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top of the toppings.

8. Bake for 10-15 minutes.


SPORTS

Race against timeTour de France working on new start date

TOUR DE FRANCE organisers are working feverishly in the shadows to find a new start date for cycling’s biggest stage race after public

gatherings were banned until mid-July in the latest extension of the French cornavirus lockdown.

Originally slated to start from Nice with a caravan of around 4,500 people on June 27 and arrive in Paris July 19, there is no chance the event can go ahead as planned and organisers face a mammoth logistical task of rescheduling.

So far organisers Amoury Sports Organisation (AS0) have remained silent publicly, but several mayors of the French towns along the planned route say they have been consulted on the matter of the new date.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address on Monday that a strict lockdown in France would continue until at least May 11 and public gatherings were banned until mid July.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme has said previously that riders would need two clear months after the lockdown ended to get ready for the race, which is no longer possible given the May 11 extension.

France’s Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner spelled out yesterday that ASO had to reschedule or cancel.

“It is up to the organiser to analyse their ability to organise it and reschedule it,“ Castaner said on French radio.

Speculations surrounds a possible late July start, or mid-August, or even a September race.

ASO’s reorganisation task is massive for an event with 21 start towns, 21 finish lines and over 3000km of route and 500,000 roadside fans per day.

“Social distancing on the roadside wouldn’t be a problem, but in the start towns, at the finish line and in the VIP tents it certainly would,“ Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst told Flemish tv station Sporza on Saturday.

Suggestions the tour could be held behind closed doors have been ruled out. Fans are a key element of the Tour which is synonymous with the holidays in France, with the party atmosphere popping as the caravan winds its way through the prettiest parts of the country.

“The Tour de France is 3000km of smiles,“ ASO chief Christian Prudhomme has said in reference to the holiday roadside gatherings. “We won’t run a Tour de France without the fans.”

Macron’s announcement may have caught the organisers short and many people in France were surprised when the mid-July ban was announced.

A late July start for the Tour could be considered too close to that ban on public gatherings while also running up against another problem. To be able to race 21 tough stages, the athletes need to be in peak condition, and would ideally need a one-

week preparation race before it. There are only 176 riders on a Tour, but the whole event

involves around 4,500 people with team staff, logistics, police and media all

moving every day in a minor miracle of organisation.

Cancellation is the worst case scenario. –

AFP

Bolt goes viral with ‘social distancing’ photoRETIRED track star Usain Bolt showed he’s still a few steps ahead when he posted an AFP picture of him outstripping his rivals at the Beijing Olympics with the cheeky caption: “social distancing”.

Bolt’s post, featuring a picture by AFP photographer Nicolas Asfouri of the 2008 Olympics 100m final, blew up on social media, drawing more than half a million likes and 90,000 retweets.

It showed the Jamaican crossing the finish line at the Bird’s Nest stadium in a then-world

record time of 9.69sec, glancing round from lane four as his despairing competitors trail two paces behind.

“Savage”, commented one Twitter user, while New York Times journalist Christopher Clarey posted another picture of Bolt out in front on his own, captioned “self isolation”.

Bolt’s chest-thumping celebration in Beijing added to a legend that grew further when he won the 200m in another world-record time. He retired in 2017 with eight Olympic gold medals and the current 100m

mark of 9.58sec, set in 2009. Bolt, 33, has been encouraging Jamaicans

to self-isolate during the coronavirus pandemic, posting videos of himself exercising at home and juggling footballs with a friend. He also helped promote a major fundraiser, Telethon Jamaica.

After retiring from athletics, Bolt, a Manchester United fan, attempted to launch a career in football, and had a trial with Australia’s Central Coast Mariners before contract talks failed. – AFP

IF you are Laura Wilkinson, a 42-year-old mother making your return to competitive diving after under-going spinal fusion surgery, a year delay in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is not a bad thing – it’s a gift.

For those wondering why a mother of four is throwing herself off a 10m tower, you have to look back two decades when Wilkinson’s name might have been familiar.

It was a new millennium and Wilkinson, despite being hobbled by a broken foot, had just spectacularly won gold on the 10m platform at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Her triumph ended Chinese domination of the event stretching back to the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

No American woman diver has won Olympic gold in any diving discipline since.

Comebacks have long been a staple of the sporting genre but Wilkinson’s return has all the elements of a unique feel-good story.

Her journey not only evokes memories of Tiger Woods’ comeback following career-saving back surgery, but also exhibits the same kind of determination Serena Williams has shown in returning to competition after giving birth.

To top it off, Wilkinson will also be facing an element of danger that neither Woods or Williams have to contend with when they are swinging a club or a racket respectively.

Living with the risk that one small miss-step while crashing into

the water at 60kph might leave you a paraplegic adds another layer of drama to what is already a compelling return.

Throw in a coronavirus pandemic that has turned the sporting world upside down and delayed the 2020 Tokyo Games for a year, Wilkinson, should she earn one of two spots on the US squad, will be 43 when she steps onto the Olympic tower again.

Her goal is not just to climb back to the top of an Olympic 10m platform but to stand on top of the podium by becoming the oldest woman diver to win gold.

“This is something I never thought I would be able to do again,” Wilkinson told Reuters in a phone interview from her Texas home.

“People just tend to retire in my sport in their early 20s and that’s it, you just never think you are going to do it again.

“I kind of feel like I was made for it so to have another opportunity is such a gift.” – Reuters

Florida deems WWE ‘essential business’ WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT (WWE) has been deemed an “essential business” in Florida, the mayor of Orange County said yesterday, allowing the company to resume live tapings of its shows in the state during the coronavirus outbreak.

A statewide stay-at-home order went into effect earlier this month in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19, and while WWE was not initially viewed as essential, like grocery stores and pharmacies, it has since been given the green light.

“I think initially there was a review that was done and they were not initially deemed an essential business,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings told reporters.

“With some conversation with the governor’s office regarding the governor’s order, they were deemed an essential business and so therefore they were allowed to remain open.”

The decision, which was outlined in an April 9 memo from Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, allows WWE to tape live shows if the location is closed to the general public.

WWE, which had been airing pre-taped shows in recent weeks, said in a statement to ESPN the health and safety of talent and staff is their top priority.

“We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times,” said WWE. Bryant’s farewell remembered THE anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s 60-point NBA finale was recalled by his widow, Vanessa, yesterday in an Instagram post remembering the late Los Angeles Lakers legend.

“My husband worked his ass off for 20 years,” Vanessa Bryant wrote of her superstar husband, who died in a Jan 26 helicopter crash with daughter Gianna and seven others.

“Gave it his all. All he wanted was to spend time with our girls and me to make up for lost time. He wanted to be there for every single milestone and special moment in our girls lives.”

The post included a video featuring highlights from the Lakers’ 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz on April 13, 2016.

Bryant scored 60 points in that, his final game in a 20-year NBA career that included five championships.

The video includes a moment showing Bryant with his family at courtside, hugging Vanessa and kissing daughters Natalia and Gianna.

The couple’s third daughter, Bianka was born in December of 2016 and their fourth, Capri, was born last June.

“He only got to enjoy 3 years and 9 months of retirement,” Vanessa Bryant wrote.

“We had 2 more daughters, he won an Oscar, he opened Granity studios, he became a 5x best selling author and coached Gianna’s basketball team in that time. She worked hard and gave her all 7 days a week just like her daddy…This is just senseless.” PGA donates to relief fund THE PGA of America donated US$5m (RM22m) to launch the Golf Emergency Relief fund yesterday, aiming to provide support for the golf industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

The body, whose flagship event the US PGA Championship has been postponed from May amid the shelter-in-place policies designed to slow spread of the virus, pledged to match up to an additional US$2.5m (RM11m) given by other groups.

A statement said the PGA of America contribution included all members of its executive team voluntarily reducing their compensation. The board of directors pledged personal donations.

“There’s pain everywhere,” PGA chief executive Seth Waugh said. “It’s how to get to the other side. The bad news is it may not be enough depending on how long this lasts.

“We have to ensure that the heart and soul of our game – our people – are able to get back on their feet and continue to serve others down the road,“ Whaley said. “Eventually, golf will return, but we first need to reach out and help people in our industry during this national emergency.”

Mother-of-four diving into Olympic comeback

People just tend to retire

in my sport in their early 20s and that’s it, you just never think you are going to do it again.”

– Laura Wilkinson

SHORTS

21 SPORTS


THE French Grand Prix appears highly likely to become the 10th race of the Formula One season to be postponed due to the global

coronavirus crisis. The season-opening

Australian Grand Prix was cancelled on the Friday morning of the race weekend after a team member of McLaren had tested positive for the virus.

Races in Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Holland, Spain, Monaco, Azerbaijan and Canada have all since been cancelled too.

And after French president Emmanuel Macron held a 30-minute televised national address on Monday

evening, public events in the country will be restricted until mid-July.

That means the French Grand Prix, which only returned to the racing calendar in 2018 after a 10-

year absence, will seemingly be scrapped given it was due to go ahead at the Circuit Paul Ricard on June 28.

BBC Sport say that after making contact, F1 will not yet officially confirm that

the race will not be held. Macron declared

the nation can begin returning to normal life in May provided citizens have been “civic, responsible and respected the rules”.

It gives F1 a fresh headache as they look to restructure the 2020 season.

Speaking last week, the managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn told Sky Sports F1: “Travel for the teams and travel for everyone involved is going to be one of the big issues.

“You could argue once we get there we could become fairly self-contained.

“Our view is probably a European start will be favourable and that could even be a closed event. We could have a very enclosed environment, where teams come in on charters, we channel them into the circuit, we make sure everyone is tested, cleared and

that there is no risk to anyone. “We have a race with no spectators. That’s

not great, but it’s better than no racing at all. We have to remember there are millions of people who follow the sport sat at home.

“A lot of them are isolating and to be able to keep the sport alive and put on a sport and entertain people would be a huge bonus in this crisis we have. But we can’t put anyone at risk.

“We’re looking at the organisational structure which would give us the earliest start. But also the ability to maintain that start.

“There’s no point having a start and then stopping again for a while. It’s most likely to be in Europe. It’s conceivable that it could be a closed event.

“Eight races is the minimum we can have a world championship, (according to) the FIA Statutes. We could achieve eight races by starting in October. So if you wanted a drop dead point it would be October.

“But then there is always the possibility we could run into next year. That’s being explored.” – Express Newspapers

WORLD No. 1 Rory McIlroy expects this year’s Masters to feel a bit different and says the tournament being pushed back to November due to the Covid-19 pandemic could help him win the coveted green jacket.

The Masters is usually the year’s first major but the event had been delayed from its April slot and will now take place after the US Open and PGA Championship, which were rescheduled for August and September.

This year’s British Open has been cancelled due to the outbreak.

McIlroy, who needs the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, said the new date would

give it a “different feel”. “Two of the majors will have already been

played, hopefully the Ryder Cup’s already been played. People will be in their routine and in the flow a little bit more,“ he said in an Instagram Live chat with the US LPGA’s Michelle Wie.

“I always feel there’s this bit of anticipation going into Augusta, the first big event of the year. There’s all this hype.

“It’s going to be a different Masters this year but personally, maybe selfishly, that’s what I need to get the jacket.”

McIlroy is a four-time major winner but still is looking for his first victory at the Masters. His

best finish was fourth place in 2015. “November is going to be different,” the

Northern Ireland native said. “It’s going to be cold. The course can play

very long. I mean, it plays long already, but it could play very long.

“The greens might not be as fast as they usually are in April, depending on the moisture.”

McIlroy’s record in the fall is also fairly impressive. Nine of his 18 PGA Tour wins have come in August, September and November, and twice McIlroy has won the European Tour’s season finale in Dubai in November. – Reuters/Agencies

Border can’t imagine T20 World Cup without fans FORMER Australia captain Allan Border said yesterday he cannot even imagine the prospect of hosting this year’s Twenty20 World Cup at empty stadiums due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The health crisis, which has prompted travel restrictions and quarantine periods in countries around the world, has clouded the outlook for the format’s flagship tournament, which is scheduled to begin in Geelong on Oct 18.

The idea of playing in empty stadiums to give cricket-starved fans live action on television has found some backing but the 64-year-old Border is not a fan of the concept, especially for a World Cup.

“I just can’t imagine playing at empty stadiums… it defies belief,” he told Fox Sports News.

“Having teams, support staff and everyone else associated with the game wandering around the country, playing games of cricket, but you can’t let people into the grounds. I just can’t see it

happening. “It’s either you play it and everyone just

gets on with the job and we’re past this pandemic.

“Or it just has to be cancelled and you try to fit it in somewhere else,” said Border, who led Australia to their first 50-overs World Cup victory in 1987.

Lyon backs Paine to keep captaincy AUSTRALIA spinner Nathan Lyon says Tim Paine has been “absolutely incredible” since taking over as Test captain during turbulent times and expects the wicketkeeper to continue in the role for the foreseeable future.

Paine was handed the job in 2018 after then-captain Steve Smith was banned for 12 months for his part in a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

Australia lost a first home series to India but retained the Ashes last year under Paine, who has said he would back Smith’s return to the job after he served a further one-year ban from leadership roles.

However, Lyon says Paine is growing into the role.

“Tim Paine has been absolutely incredible for the Australian cricket team,“ he told reporters in a video conference yesterday.

“The way he’s gone out and led this team, it’s been unbelievable to be honest… I truly believe that he’s growing each and every day, he seems to be getting better as captain.”

The spinner said Paine took on the mantle in the most challenging of circumstances.

“If you looked around that change-room at that time, I think Tim Paine really got up in my eyes, really stood up and could take that challenge on,” he added.

“He took the captaincy on in the hardest time in Australian cricket and he’s done an amazing job.”

IPL awaits lockdown verdict THE fate of this year’s Indian Premier League rests in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country’s cricket board said yesterday.

The world’s richest Twenty20 tournament has been postponed until today, which

coincides with the end of India’s 21-day nationwide shutdown to halt the spread of the pandemic.

“Right now, the picture is very hazy. We don’t even know when the lockdown will end and if we don’t know, how can we even have a meaningful discussion,” Board of Control for Cricket in India treasurer Arun Dhumal was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India news agency.

“Once we get a clarity from the government, we can then sit and take fresh stock of the situation. Any speculation about its future will be premature.”

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly also gave a downbeat assessment at the weekend, without giving a definitive prediction for the IPL.

“Practically speaking, when life has come to a standstill everywhere in the world, where does sport have a future in this,“ he said.

Former cricketers including England’s Kevin Pietersen have suggested the eight-team tournament be shortened from its normal eight-week duration and played behind closed doors.

FORMER FIA boss Max Mosley believes Formula One is employing the wrong approach in dealing with the coronavirus crisis.

Mosley thinks that playing the waiting game will only make matters worse for the sport. The Briton also dismissed F1’s idea to hold races under closed doors as a disaster.

F1 has canceled or postponed nine races in 2020 due to Covid-19. The current season is yet to get underway and still lacks a concrete start date.

Another delayed race pushes the season opener to July with the Austrian Grand Prix. Experts are divided on when the season will officially begin and how many rounds the sport can hold.

F1 remains confident of holding races after July but with no spectators. However, others say the sport will only resume by August or September if the conditions improve.

Formula One’s solution is to hold the first few rounds in Europe under closed doors as a safety measure.

The sport plans to conduct multiple race weekends in a single month to squeeze in a few Grands Prix.

Many believe the sport’s ambitious target of holding 19 races and a complete Championship this season may be a bit rich.

“If you wait and see, you risk worsening the situation without having the certainty that you will win something,” Mosley told dpa.

“There is no guarantee that the races will start again in July and it is actually becoming increasingly less likely.

“Act now and to use the opportunity to reorganise and restructure Formula 1 in order to put it on a much more solid financial basis for the future.”

Mosley also said that F1’s proposal to races without fans “would be a financial disaster”.

“While holding races without spectators is the wise option at the moment, it also entails a major blow to circuit organisers and their revenue stream.” – dpaSHORTS

Max slams F1, wants 2020 season called off

10 and countingFrench GP set to become next casualty of Covid-19

We have a race with no spectators.

That’s not great, but it’s better than no racing at all. We have to remember there are millions of people who follow the sport sat at home.”

– Ross Brawn

Rory hopes delayed Masters can help end green jacket wait


SPORTS

WHEN Real Madrid were most interested in Harry Kane around 2017, their executives

were impressed with almost everything they saw, but couldn’t help wonder about one aspect of his career: an apparent contradiction.

This was evidently a player who was willing to go down the Cristiano Ronaldo route, and execute every marginal gain in order to maximise his body and make himself the ultimate athlete. His highly-tuned physique best attested to that. Kane was doing everything to give himself the best possible chance of winning trophies.

Everything, that is, except perhaps the most important. He wasn’t moving to a club where trophies are an expectation, and thereby a guarantee, rather than a hope.

This, to be fair, is something that has been increasingly playing on Kane’s mind over the past year. It has led to some of those pointed public comments about his future, that have irritated Tottenham Hotspur.

It has also, according to some sources, led to pointed private discussions. One figure who knows Kane well told The Independent that there has been talk with Daniel Levy that they might eventually let the striker go to a club like Madrid if Spurs don’t evolve as he’d hope in the peak of his career.

We might well be at that situation. Spurs look further away from a trophy than at any stage since 2014. Kane is 27 this summer, and suddenly at that point where a player is wondering how long he has left at the top.

The time might finally be right for the player and the club to separate. It might not be right, however, for either the market or many of Kane’s previous suitors. It is possible he’s missed his own window.

The nature of modern football business means that no halfway intelligent club is paying so much for a player in his late 20s. It’s all the truer when you have a recent injury record like Kane’s.

This is precisely why most of the

buzz around Kane himself was in 2016, and why both Madrid and United were so willing to spend so much on him then.

Madrid now barely have any interest. They are instead intent on the electric Kylian Mbappe, who is five-and-a-half years younger than Kane. They’d certainly pay well over £100 million (RM544m) for

the Paris Saint-Germain star.

U n i t e d meanwhile don’t have Kane on their list of targets. Their primary target

this summer is Jadon Sancho. Again, as with Madrid and Mbappe, they’d

similarly pay in excess of £100

million for him. His age and talent

ensure it just

makes sense. And that in turn poses questions

about the sense of some of Kane’s career.

While it was in its own way laudable to decide to stay at Spurs so long, especially when they looked so vibrant under Mauricio Pochettino, was there really any need to sign a six-year contract in 2018?

Many in the Tottenham squad had already got wise to that as a key Levy tactic. Incremental wage increases were constantly offered, but at the cost of locking them in longer, greatly strengthening the chairman’s hand if anyone else ever wanted to buy them.

Kane is already locked into a long deal, which means Levy could make him almost unsellable.

The issue may well come down to whether Levy has a bit of a

realisation himself. If he does end up wanting to sell Kane for financial purposes, he may well have to greatly lower that asking price.

The question is how much lower?

With that considered, Kane might not be the ultimate example of

Levy’s contract approach. He might well be the ultimate example of the Wilfred

Zaha dilemma. He’s a player too

good for his current team, but who has

stayed at the club too long, and

now might cost too

much for a player of his age.

M a n y s o u r c e s believe Kane could well end up staying at Spurs his entire career. It is a prospect that suddenly doesn’t seem as completely positive as it would have at any point since his breakthrough.

It could well lead to one other aspect greatly missing in his career and another apparent contradiction. One of the great strikers won’t have had the great medal collection to match. – The Independent

Has Kane missed the boat?█ MIGUEL DELANEY

Italian experts cast doubts on possibility restartTWO ITALIAN virus experts have voiced concerns about a possible resumption of the football league which was halted in early March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“If I were to give a technical opinion, it would not be favourable at this time, but in the end it will be the politicians who decide,” Giovanni Rezza, a leading virologist at Italy’s National institute of health, said yesterday.

“(Football) is a sport that implies contact and this can lead to a certain risk of contagion,” he said.

“Someone has proposed tight monitoring with frequent tests for footballers. Frankly, I think this hypothesis is somewhat excessive. After all it is almost May.”

With Italy in lockdown until May 3, some Serie A clubs hope to restart training and complete the 12 remaining games of the season in June and July.

But Ranieri Guerra, a World health organisation

official, also expressed scepticism about a restart, which would have to happen behind closed doors.

“I think that big matches with lots of spectators should not even be dreamed of in this situation,” Guerra said yesterday during a show on the network La 7.

“We have not reached a point in the epidemic that allows us to restart mass events. This must absolutely be clear.”

He added that safety for footballers and staff is being studied but it must consider that distancing is virtually impossible while playing.

The experts’ opinions cut no ice with Lazio, who confirmed their favour for a restart with safety conditions in place, and seemed to miss Rezza’s ironical joke when he said that “being a Roma fan I should say let’s drop everything.”

Rezza was hinting at the Giallorossi sitting fifth, far from the Scudetto race with 12 games left.

“Scientists should think about finding a cure for the virus and not act like fans,” Lazio’s spokesperson Arturo Diaconale was quoted as saying.

Lazio, who are second one point behind Juventus, last week announced that their camp outside Rome was fully sanitized and ready for training sessions.

Torino president and media entrepreneur Urbano Cairo told the ANSA news agency he agreed with Rezza, saying it was “unfortunately” unthinkable to play in a month and a half.

“And I underline unfortunately, since beside Torino I have (daily newspaper) La Gazzetta dello Sport, therefore I would have obvious interests in a restart,” Cairo said.

Massimo Cellino, who owns league tailenders Brescia had earlier said he is against resuming, while the footballers union have also expressed concerns. – dpa

SIDENETTING

No fans for many more months GERMAN football fans may have wait more than a year before being able to attend matches again, the president of the influential Leopoldina science academy, Gerald Haug, has said. “It will certainly be many months, but it could also be up to a year and a half,” Haug told public broadcasters ARD yesterday. German football has been suspended since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic, and clubs and officials hope to complete the season with games behind closed doors from May onwards. They will also have a desire to bring the fans back into the arenas at some stage but Haug said it would “certainly be wise” not to open the stadiums as long as there is no vaccine. Scientists have said that it could take until the end of the year, or even longer, to have a vaccine against the Sars-CoV-2 virus in place. Fellaini out of hospital FORMER Manchester United star Marouane Fellaini was discharged yesterday after three weeks in a Chinese hospital being treated for coronavirus, his club said. The 32-year-old Shandong Luneng midfielder, the only player known to have contracted the disease in the Chinese Super League (CSL), will now spend 14 days in quarantine for further observation. The Belgium international said on March 22 that he had tested positive for the virus, having just returned to China, but assured fans that he was feeling fine. While in hospital in the city of Jinan, Fellaini posted videos of himself on Instagram exercising in his room. “Fellaini was assessed and was deemed to have recovered, and was discharged today,” Shandong said in a brief statement. France considering June kickoff FRANCE is considering restarting Ligue 1 on June 3 or June 17, with the latter date more likely, sports daily L’Equipe reported, citing a document from league organisers (LFP). The L’Equipe report yesterday said that if the season resumed on June 17 teams would have to play every three days so the regular campaign could end by July 25, leaving time for relegation and promotion playoffs to be completed by Aug. 2. L’Equipe also said LFP members had voted on Friday to push back the start of next season by two weeks to Aug 23, but that the decision would have to be confirmed by France’s Football Federation (FFF). Hakimi confident of loan extension BORUSSIA DORTMUND defender Achraf Hakimi has told Spanish radio he believes he will be able to finish the Bundesliga season even if it runs beyond the end of his loan period at the club. Hakimi is on loan from Real Madrid until June 30 and could be recalled by the Spanish club on July 1 while the delayed 2019-20 season is still being played. But asked by Spanish radio station Cadena Ser yesterday if he thought that was likely he said: “I think if that happens [season overruns] players will be given permission to finish the season with their loans clubs. That would be the normal thing.” Hakimi said he would be happy if the Bundesliga could resume on May 9 but isn't taking anything for granted. “It’s an approximate date that I think could change. I would be pleased if it were that date – the sooner the better, however we have to be cautious,” he said.

Striker may not have chance to truly fulfil potential with Spurs fading fast

23 SPORTS


All out warSouness hits back at Pogba after United ace takes scathing dig at pundit

GRAEME SOUNESS has hit back at Paul Pogba after the Manchester United midfielder claimed he

“didn’t even know” who Souness was. Pogba made the comments about Souness on the official United podcast over the weekend. Former Liverpool midfielder and manager Souness has often criticised Pogba since his return to United from Juventus in 2016.

This season the pundit has questioned Pogba’s commitment, with the Frenchman only making seven Premier League appearances due to an ongoing ankle injury.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Football Show yesterday, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher hit out at Pogba’s comments about Souness.

Carragher said: “There’s been a story about Pogba this morning and the interesting thing about it, we’re quite critical of Pogba, but I think when you’re a player you’ve got to be respectful of certain players with certain opinions at different times and at times you’ve got to take that criticism on the chin.

“So to come out and say he’d never heard of Souness I thought really was below the belt.”

Souness appeared alongside Carragher and responded by boasting about his trophy haul as a player at Liverpool.

“I’m happy with that,” Souness replied. “The oldest thing in football comes to mind

– put your medals on the table.” Souness won five League titles and three

European Cups as a player at Liverpool, as well as three League Cups.

Pogba won four Serie A titles at Juventus and the World Cup with France but has only won two trophies during his second spell at

United so far. Souness’ response came after Pogba claimed he recognised him

but could not put a name to the face.

“I didn’t even know who he was, really,” Pogba said. “I didn’t even know who he was. I heard he was a great player and stuff

like that. I know the face but (not) the name.

“Like I said I’m not someone that watches a lot of

(punditry), I watch a lot of football but I don’t stay after the game to listen to

what they say about ‘Why they did this’ or ‘Why they did that’. I like to focus on football.”

Souness’ most recent criticism of Pogba was in a Q and A for the Sunday Times.

“Pogba has a b s o l u t e l y everything to be a top player – g r e a t athleticism, s u p e r technique – but his attitude to the game is the polar opposite of m i n e , ” S o u n e s s wrote.

“ H e goes out with one thought in his mind: ‘ I ’ m

going to show everyone how clever I am

today and be the star of the show.’

“ M y attitude, the way I was taught, was: ‘Go out and work harder than the guy you’re in against and

see where that takes you.’

“He’d be an absolute doddle to

play against.” – E x p r e s s

Newspapers

SVEN GORAN ERIKSSON has admitted it would be “very, very hard” to void the 2019/20 Premier League campaign.

The former England manager believes professional football must not resume until it is completely safe to do so, however.

While appearing on Good Morning Britain, Eriksson admitted public health is more important than football but appeared to suggest that scrapping the whole term would be difficult to execute due to the money involved.

When asked whether the season should be voided to avoid eating into the 2020/21 campaign, Eriksson replied: “I’m a Liverpool fan so you want me to say forget the season? Should be very, very hard.

“I guess that people dealing with these

things, trying to do the best they can, it’s football, it’s the fans, but it’s a lot of money if you take the bigger clubs in the Premier League, Champions League and so on and the leagues in all the other countries.

“What’s going to happen? I don’t know but one thing must be sure, we can’t risk life trying to finish the leagues and Champions League. We can’t do that.”

He added: “I think some days ago it was the FIFA president at a press conference and he said as long as it’s a risk that one person could die playing football then we shouldn’t do it and I totally agree with that.

“If we want to start the leagues it must be secure, we can’t risk people getting sick, dying just to play football.

“Football is important, football is my life, I

love it but life is more important than football.”

A hot topic surrounding the debate of coronavirus’ affect on football has been the issue of players taking pay cuts.

Eriksson believes they should and said: “I am helping my local club in Sweden – a third division team, it’s not a professional team.

“They don’t get any sponsor money, they don’t have any ticket money so the club talked to the players and said, ‘what shall we do?’ and the players said they will take less money because the most important is the club in this moment.

“They did it and I think all football players should do it. If the club doesn’t get money how they can pay money? It’s common sense.” – Express Newspapers

It would be ‘very, very hard’ to void season: SvenKlopp misses his boys

LIVERPOOL FC’S online team training sessions are not only highly popular with fans – manager Jurgen Klopp is also enthusiastic, but misses working directly with “the boys.” In an interview with the club’s website, Klopp said the virtual sessions were great. “When we have these training sessions, I could have never imagined I would enjoy it that much but it’s just the moment when I see the boys again and that changes everything – for a minute, for an hour, for two hours, however long the sessions are.” But the social distance due to measures aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus are taking their toll: “It’s getting worse, the longer it takes”, Klopp said. “I accept the situation 100% like it is but the longer you don’t see somebody you like, the more it hurts.”

but Zoom’s in on lateness JURGEN KLOPP admits he fines players if they show up late to virtual team meetings. The Liverpool boss has been hosting conference calls on Zoom to keep in touch with his players during the coronavirus pandemic. In a Q&A on the Liverpool website, Klopp said: “When we start at 10am, the chat is open from 9.30 on and pretty much everybody is already in. Especially in the first few they were all pretty early in the chat, so it was really chaotic. Meanwhile, they join it later now everybody knows how it works technically and stuff like that. So they come later, but in time, which is important – because we fine that as well! Too late in a Zoom session means you have to pay!”

… and shocked when Dalglish test positive for Covid-19 NEWS that Liverpool great Kenny Dalglish had tested positive for COVID-19 came as a huge shock to the club’s players and staff, manager Jurgen Klopp has said. Dalglish, 69, tested positive for the coronavirus last week after being admitted to hospital for an infection. He required intravenous antibiotics but was asymptomatic and returned home over the weekend. “It was a real shock three days ago when I heard about it first. The boys were sent a message in our WhatsApp group and everybody was like, ‘wow’,” Klopp told Liverpool’s website. “What you feel in that moment is a massive difference if you know somebody who got the virus, or if you don’t know. We all know this terrible disease is causing heartache all over the world, but this was the first time for many of us someone we have such a personal connection to was affected to this extent.”

Saints wage deferral move was to help community SOUTHAMPTON’S players and senior staff wanted to protect the club and repay their community when they accepted wage deferrals and were not influenced by external pressure, vice-captain James Ward-Prowse has said. The club were the first in the Premier League to announce that players and coaching staff would defer part of their salaries for April, May and June to help weather the shutdown brought on by the pandemic. “It was never about doing it quickly or facing any pressure,” midfielder Ward-Prowse told the BBC. “It was about making sure we made the right decision for the people and the community and we definitely have done that. We wanted to make a good, mature, calculated decision on what was needed. It wasn’t done for a ‘well done, you’re the first club to do it’. It was done out of thinking ahead and thinking what is best for the club and the community.”

Reds plot Mbappe move as Real close in on Mane LIVERPOOL are plotting an audacious move to sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain, provided Real Madrid fork out £150 million (RM803m) for Sadio Mane, according to reports.

According to The Sun, Zinedine Zidane is a huge fan of the Senegalese striker, and will try to sign him this summer.

He is prepared to splash £150 million on Liverpool’s prized asset, in a move which would shatter the club’s current transfer record.

Mane is under contract at Anfield until 2023, meaning the Reds have no need to sell him any time soon.

But the Spanish giants have already started informal talks with his representation ahead of a

potential move. If they do end up selling, they

will apparently target Mbappe as his replacement.

The Reds were tentatively linked with the Paris Saint-Germain megastar last year after it was announced that they had sealed a contract with Nike to produce their kits from now on.

However, Jurgen Klopp had insisted the club would not be able to afford the Frenchman.

Mbappe earns a reported £350,000-per-week (RM1.9m) at the Parc des Princes, and Liverpool will have to improve his awges in order to bring him to Anfield.

PSG are already fearing the prospect of losing Mbappe and

teammate Neymar, with Barcelona interested in the latter.

The French champions are reportedly ready to sign Antoine Griezmann in an attempt to please Mbappe and tempt him into signing a new contract.

His current deal will expire in 2022, and PSG want to avoid a scenario where they have to sell him on the cheap.

Mbappe has publicly flirted with the idea of joining Liverpool before, and fans began to believe he would potentially make the move next year.

But with Mane potentially on the way out, now could be the time for the European champions to make their move. – Express Newspapers

SIDENETTING

Souness

Pogba

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]

THE 20 Premier League captains were at first stunned, and then apoplectic. The mood has

not changed much since, and could have significant repercussions.

When the Premier League issued a wide-

r a n g i n g

statement on April 3 that said they may ask the players for a 30% wage cut or deferral, the assumption from many was that this had at least been run past the captains, or the Professional Footballers’s Association (PFA).

That actually

hadn’t been the case, which makes it all the more remarkable that the clubs talked themselves down from an initial figure of 40% in that Friday videoconference.

The wonder is how the players would have reacted to that. It was bad enough with 30%. They went “ballistic”, in the words of one source.

The same individual describes it as a “spectacular failure” in communication on the part

of the Premier League clubs, which really “alienated” the players.

It could yet mean the various

parties keep failing to

s t r i k e a n

agreement on this issue for some time, and that it gets very ugly.

The picture isn’t all that good right now. A time of international crisis has seen the national sport descend into disagreement between millionaires and billionaires, over money.

It just looks like the worst of football, at the worst of times, summing up a supposed moral bankruptcy in the game.

The true picture is naturally more complicated than that, but thereby all the more difficult to sort out. The key difference is not financial status, and that between millionaire players and billionaire owners.

It is actually one of outlook and objective for this, that is not solely motivated by greed or self-interest or any of the other loaded words thrown around.

It really comes down to this. The players are perfectly willing to give up significant money, as they have made

clear, but want it all to go to the National Health Service or

other charitable funds. The clubs say they

badly need the money to stay within their businesses – in order

to survive. This is the principal problem, that has so far not seen even t h e suggestion of

a solution. Making the

situation even harder is that,

within those differences, there are the sort of d e c i s i o n s

that could yet make a huge

difference in so many other lives –

above all whether club employees can be

paid. It is this that has seen the

player pay issue sometimes unhelpfully rolled into that of staff going on furlough, that has thereby further irritated the captains.

To be fair, they should be under no

illusions. The issue of regular staff pay is inherently connected to that of player pay, especially at clubs outside the big six, but also some within that group.

It’s also true that a series of missteps have fostered a worsening distrust, which is where this threatens to really get ugly.

The understandable feeling was that players were typically being made the most convenient of targets. They were resentful they were being put under unfair pressure, and singled out.

They simply believe the clubs will “use any chance to scr*w them”, and that the billionaire owners have more than enough to just solve any issues by putting money back in.

It’s also been pointed out that the clubs haven’t actually lost the hundreds of millions in broadcasting yet. This is why the players want any cuts to be on their terms.

Many officials see this as hopelessly naive, however, but fear it may take the harsh reality of a Premier League club going into administration to snap them out of it.

While there is an acceptance that some of the wealthiest clubs – like Manchester United, like Manchester City, like Liverpool – should be able to weather whatever happens for some time, and thereby not expect cuts, that is very far from the case for most outside that core.

Games have stopped, which has cut off match-day income, and devastated commercial income, with so much uncertainty over the third pillar: TV.

Even if a deal is struck on broadcasting, the issue is that clubs are missing out on so much incremental revenue related to the other pillars that it’s creating a “massive financial black hole”.

“There are going to be huge shortfalls which simply can’t be made up,” one source says. “It is why they have to go back to the players, and why mere deferrals are meaningless.

“Player wages are the current biggest expense, but that was from the pre-coronavirus economics. It’s unsustainable now. The dominoes are falling.” – The Independent

Mexican standoffPremier League wage stand-off showing the very worst of football

█ MIGUEL DELANEY

Arsenal players reject 12.5% pay cutARSENAL’S senior players have rejected a proposed 12.5% pay cut over the next 12 months as the Gunners look to cut costs in order to lessen the damage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The financial repercussions of the pause in play have been felt at Arsenal, who have been without gate receipts since their last match on March 7 while commercial income has dropped.

Arsenal had been hoping to get their players to agree a drop in their salaries

between April 2020 and March 2021. But the club’s squad voted on the cut

yesterday and rejected the terms, despite a number of incentives having been included, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Arsenal had sought to tempt their players into agreeing to the cut by declaring that any player who went on to sign a new deal in the future would get the deducted balance back in addition to their new salary.

Another way in which the Premier League giants tried to tempt their players

into accepting the cut was that any player sold for a fee would receive their wage cut back in full.

Yet the squad were not receptive to such a clause with the upcoming transfer window expected to be far less active than previously.

They also believe the value of future contracts could be affected by the public health crisis, which is expected to delay the Premier League from returning until June at the earliest.

The Telegraph added that very few members of the squad were keen on the cut as they held a formal vote, with none of the top earners willing to agree to the measures.

Some members of the team are said to believe they think the club are using the situation to their advantage to trim a wage bill which director Josh Kroenke last summer said is “a Champions League wage bill on a Europa League budget”. – Express Newspapers

WEDNESDAY • APRIL 15, 2020

Eight races is the minimum we can have a world championship, (according to) the FIA Statutes. We could achieve eight races by starting in October. So if you wanted a drop dead point it would be October.” MD of motorsport Ross Brawn

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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