Govt is also working on additional assistance under National Recovery Plan
PETALING JAYA: The government has close to RM30bil left to be distributed to the rakyat and businesses in the form of cash aid and indirect assistance.
The amount represents about 63.5% of the government’s initial allocation of RM46.3bil for the entire year of 2021.
These are not inclusive of the additional assistance measures that will be announced in due course to mitigate the impact of the upcoming Phases 2, 3 and 4 of the lockdown.
Speaking at a virtual briefing yesterday, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz (pic) said out of the RM16.7bil cash aid allocated for 2021, about RM8.1bil would be channelled to affected households and individuals between June and December.
This will be in the form of Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (RM4.5bil), Bantuan Kebajikan Masyarakat (RM1.25bil), Jaringan Prihatin (RM1.75bil), eBelia e-wallet credit programme (RM80mil) and assistance for taxi and e-hailing drivers as well as tour guides (RM70.7mil).
Meanwhile, about RM9.8bil in financial aid will be distributed to businesses between June and December.
Earlier, the government had allocated RM14.1bil in cash assistance for this group.
The remaining cash aid for businesses are wage subsidy and hiring incentive programme (RM6.29bil), Prihatin Special Grant (RM1.5bil), microcredit financing facility (RM1bil), electricity bill discount for six sectors (RM344.7mil) and SME Digitalisation Grant (RM14.3mil).
In addition to such assistance, the government will also provide indirect help to four sectors, namely, consumers, education, transportation and agriculture. These include subsidies for petrol, flour, cooking oil and toll, among others.
Out of the RM15.5bil allocated for 2021, about RM4bil has been spent in the first five months of the year, leaving RM11.5bil for the next seven months.
In comparison, the government has only spent RM9bil for such assistance last year.
Despite the government’s limited fiscal space amid astronomical spending incurred since last year to prop up the flailing economy, Tengku Zafrul said the government remain committed to helping households and businesses that were affected by the lockdown.
“In terms of assistance, the government has already announced the Pemerkasa+ package to complement the earlier stimulus packages of Permai and Pemerkasa, as well as Budget 2021.
“In this context, Pemerkasa+ is an additional assistance for the Phase 1 of the lockdown, which is now in place.
“Currently, the government is working on additional assistance according to the needs of each phase under the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
“This will be announced in the near future,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul pointed out that the transition to each subsequent phase of the lockdown would only be done once the criteria mentioned in the NRP were met.
He added that the government does not intend to reopen the economy “too much, too soon”.
Nevertheless, Tengku Zafrul acknowledged that the government could not afford a full movement control order for too long.
“Neither can our rakyat, particularly in terms of loss of income, loss of jobs and ultimately their ability to put food on the table.
“It is estimated that the economy loses RM1bil a day in Phase 1 of the lockdown,” he said.
BALIK PULAU: If you fall in love with someone on social media and that someone needs financial help and gives you bank account numbers to send money to, there is one way to check if you might be ensnared in a love scam.
“The public is advised to check the account numbers through the Royal Malaysia Police’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department website (https://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule) or download the Check Scammers CCID app through Google Play before making transactions,” said Balik Pulau OCPD Supt Kamarul Rizal Jenal.
You can also key in your online lover’s telephone number to check if the number was used to dupe anyone.
The checking system is available in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil.
Supt Kamarul urged the public to always be careful and not fall victim to love or parcel scam syndicates through social media.
He gave this advice after a 47-year-old businesswoman here became RM74,000 poorer after sending money to her “American boyfriend” whom she had met on social media.
The woman came to her senses and lodged a police report on Thursday night.
“The victim met the suspect on Facebook in April.
“The suspect claimed to be from the United States and experiencing a financial crisis related to an excavation project in Italy.
“He told the victim he needed money to repair the site of the excavation project.
“The victim, who had known the suspect for just a month, believed him and transferred RM74,000 through seven transactions to two local bank accounts provided by the suspect.
“The victim finally realised that she was scammed after telling a friend about the incident.
“She found out that the suspect’s profile pictures were used on several fake Facebook accounts and lodged a police report,” Supt Kamarul said in a statement yesterday.
The case will be investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
From
left, Tang Hongbo, Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming before they boarded the
Shenzhou-12 spacecraft that will take them to China’s space station
module in orbit.Credit...Greg Baker/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Riding atop the Long March-2F Y12 carrier rocket, the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft was successfully launched into preset orbit on Thursday morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in Southwest China's Gansu Province, signifying that China's Tianhe space station core cabin module is now only hours away from receiving its first batch of astronauts for their three-month stay.
With the aim of ferrying a three-strong crew consisting of veteran astronaut Nie Haisheng, who visited space twice in October 2005 and June 2013, Liu Boming, who had flew to space and participated the country’s first spacewalk together with Zhai Zhigang during the Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008 and one new face Tang Hongbo to the orbiting space module of Tianhe, Shenzhou-12 or the “Divine Vessel” entered its designated orbit after separating with the rocket 573 seconds after its launch, declaring full success for the launch mission, Global Times learned from China’s Manned Space Agency.
The three astronauts of the Shenzhou-12 mission, who were selected from China's first and second batch of astronauts, will stay in space for three months, during which they will carry out tasks including repair and maintenance, appliance switch and scientific operation of payloads.
It was the first time in nearly five years that China has sent astronauts into space, and is the first crewed flight mission and third leg of the country's total 11 space launch missions of the intensive space station construction phase.
China previously sent the space station's Tianhe core cabin module via Long March-5B carrier rocket on April 29, and the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft via Long March-7 on May 29.
Shenzhou-12 successfully launched for manned mission to space on June 17, 2021 Graphic: GT
Vessel of life
According to Gao Xu, the deputy director designer of the Shenzhou-12 with the project prime contractor China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), the development of the manned spacecraft followed the highest standards in the country's space industry.
The Shenzhou-12 is made up of three sections—an orbiter module, a return module and a propelling module, and has 14 sub-systems onboard. Gao referred to the spacecraft with a term of affection: "Vessel of life", as it will not only ferry three astronauts to the orbiting Tianhe core module, but is also expected to carry them home to Earth in approximately 90 days.
Making the safety of astronauts a priority, the research team of the Shenzhou-12 mission has also developed a new emergency response system to ensure that the astronauts can be rescued both in space and at the launch site.
According to CAST, two Shenzhou vessels have been transported to the launch site, which means that Shenzhou-12 has a back-up that will stand by in the event of an emergency. The latter has the capability of being launched in eight and a half days to carry out space rescue work after the launch of the former.
Compared to its crewed mission predecessor from five years ago, whose exterior was dull grey color, the Shenzhou-12 has a new shining silver look, due to the application of a new type of heat-resistant coating.
The Shenzhou-12 will spend longer in orbit than previous Shenzhou spacecraft, meaning it will face with a harsher space environment. For example, it Sun-exposed side will reach 90 degree Celsius on the surface and minus 30 degree Celsius on the far side from the Sun, according to CAST.
The new coating that uses new materials will help protect the inside of the craft from this harsh environment, and prevent it from affecting the living conditions of astronauts and working conditions for multiple precision appliances on board, said the coating designers.
The new coating will also provide protection against a range of radiation in space around the clock, they said.
As the only manned space launch vehicle, Long March-2F is 58.3 meters in height with four 2.25-diameter-boosters and a 3.35-meter-diameter core stage.
The rocket is the go-to type for China's manned space program, and with Thursday's successful launch, it has scored a perfect launch rate in all 14 deployments including seven manned flight missions, five uncrewed spacecraft flight missions and the launch of two space labs (Tiangong-1 and -2.)
The development of the rocket type was approved by state authorities in 1992, the same year the country's manned space project was approved. Long March-2F made its successful maiden flight in 1999.
According to developers of the rocket from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the escape tower - the lightning rod-like device atop the rocket body - will enable astronauts to get out of the rocket from 15 minutes before launch to 120 seconds after take-off in emergency situations.
To make the flight safer, the Long March-12 developers have further enhanced the rocket's escape mechanism, adding a new ignition function to the launch safety system.
CALT designers said that once an emergency occurs, the escape system will be activated, pulling off the return module of the spacecraft from the malfunctioning rocket. The module will then open its parachute before landing on the ground.
However, the parachute system can be easily affected by the wind near the ground.
To address that issue, the new ignition system will enable the escaping craft to fly in a direction perpendicular to the wind direction, so as to make the process safer and more flexible.
This improvement has enhanced the rocket security assessment value to a world-leading 0.99996. "That's to say, there would be four failed escapes in 100,000 launches," disclosed Chang Wuquan, one of the system's designers.
Shenzhou-12 astronauts’ lives in space Infographic: Wu Tiantong/GT
Breakthroughs to accomplish
According to CAST, Shenzhou-12 will attempt a fast and automated rendezvous and docking with the Tianhe core cabin for crewed spacecraft, a first in the country's history which can take place only 6.5 hours after the launch.
During the mission of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, China managed to pull off a fast but smooth automatic docking of the cargo ship with the Tianhe module within only eight hours after launch.
Pang Zhihao, a Beijing-based senior space expert, hailed the breakthrough technology, saying it would tremendously benefit crewed missions, as it would save astronauts from longer stays in the narrow space onboard the spacecraft, making their space travel more comfortable.
Also, the spacecraft will conduct an experiment of fly-around and radial approach of rendezvous and docking with the orbiting space station core module.
Following that, the Shenzhou-12 will stay in-orbit and fly with the Tianhe core module for three months, marking another first in China's space history.
Unlike China's previous Shenzhou craft, which returned to Earth from an orbit of fixed altitude, Shenzhou-12 will be able to return from a range of orbital locations, a design that is aimed to enhance the craft's adaptability and reliability for its journey back to Earth.
The Shenzhou-12 crewed flight is believed by insiders to set a solid foundation for following space station construction missions which started in late April with the Tianhe core cabin launch and will last through 2022.
Next, the Tianzhou-3 cargo craft will be launched in September, and the Shenzhou-13 crewed spaceship will follow in October, according to CMSA director Hao Chun.
As the first manned space station mission, the Shenzhou-12 flight is of utmost significance due to its crucial role in connecting the previous 2 missions and the following legs in the 11 intensive construction
schedule.
The success of China's
first manned spacecraft fast docking reflects a steady and robust
development of China's automation technology application in space
through the decades, Shenzhou-12 mission insiders and space analysts
said on Thursday.
1. Which countries invaded and occupied Indonesia? *Netherlands for 350 years and Japan for 3.5 years*.
2. Which country was once the colony master of Malaya & India? *Britain*.
3. Which countries invaded and occupied Vietnam? *France 1857-1940 & 1946-1954, Japan 1940-1945 and USA (in Southern Vietnam) 1955-1975*.
4. Which countries were responsible for colonisation of the African continent? *Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy*.
5. Which 8 countries were responsible for the occupation of China in early 20th century?*Britain, US, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, Italy & Austria-Hungary*.
6. Which countries are responsible for colonising and almost annihilating the Red Indians in northern America? *France & Britain*.
7. Which country colonised and almost annihilated Aborigines in Australia and New Zealand? *Britain* .
8. Which are the member countries of G7? *United Kingdom/Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan & USA*.
And now the million dollar question...
9. Why are the G7 members see China as a threat even though China is the only major nation on earth that has never invaded or occupied another country?
Self-made millionaire Ng will teach you how to generate safe returns
PETALING JAYA: Money games, GameStop frenzy, the constant rise and fall of crypto, to the untrained eye, these seem like the way to “invest”.
Adrenaline-pumping with a false promise of insane returns by the very next day as well as the constant monitoring of charts and graphs, it’s not for the faint-hearted and certainly not for everyone.
Amid all these fleeting trends, investment scams and market noise, millennial investor, Alex Ng, goes about his daily life calmly, collecting passive income and watching his investment double or triple in value.
But he wasn’t always like this.
He started dabbling in the stock market at 19. He got sucked into trends, chased short-term profits and bought whatever stocks his broker recommended.
And by 21, he had lost two-thirds of his parents’ retirement fund from investing haphazardly.
“It was a huge wake up call for me. It made me realise that what I was doing wasn’t investing. I was gambling in the stock market. Higher stakes and worse damages than if I would have gambled in the casino,” he said.
However, his saving grace was his fortitude.
He knew the importance of investing, if done properly. Growing up in a middle-class household, that was his ticket to afford himself and his family a good life.
“With just RM3,000 of my own savings, I found some mentors and learned the proper way to invest,” said Ng, who was a self-made millionaire by the age of 29.
Having been through that harrowing experience and turning his life around, he wants to make sure that no one makes the same mistakes he did.
He’s now a master trainer and speaker at VI College, the region’s leading financial education provider, helping aspiring and uninformed investors to develop the proper skills, knowledge and strategy.
The safe and consistent way of investing gets easily drowned out and might seem boring in contrast to the stock bros’ mantra of “high risk, high return” or the excitement and overinflated egos in the likes of The Wolf of Wall Street.
“Investing safely and consistently doesn’t mean you can’t get handsome returns. It just means that even if you start small, with consistent effort, your returns will multiply and compound,” he said.
In VI College, Ng and his peers have designed the programmes with beginners in mind. After VI College’s five-day bootcamp, even those who come in with zero knowledge can venture into their investment journey with confidence.
“In fact, many of my students with prior investing experience also saw the programme as a total eye-opening experience,” said Ng.
Students are added into the VI Community after the programme with support and guidance from trainers, coaches and peers.
VI College has also developed its own stock analysis tool, VI App, to make investing smarter, faster and easier.
“With VI App, you can easily check the risk rating, the overall health and performance of the company in just a few seconds,” he explained.
8BIT, the FinTech entity behind VI App, is licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Singapore’s central bank.
Check out VI App at www.vi.app.
“At the end of the day, we want to empower as many people as possible with financial literacy.
“That’s why our programme and tools like VI App are all designed to make it simple for everyone to start investing,” he said.
Join Ng to discover the right and safe way to invest in the “Discover Secret Stock Investing Techniques Webinar” on June 19.
Organised by Star Media Group together with VI College as the Education Partner, this free two-hour masterclass is designed to teach individuals across all age groups to generate safe and consistent returns from local and the US stock market.
Many investors suffered huge losses when they sold off their stock holdings at low prices at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. Alex Ng, master trainer and speaker at VI College, shares how he weathered the market turmoil.
The key to surviving and even thriving during an unprecedented crisis is simple, he says:
"Stay invested, but do not be fully invested at all times."
Working more than 55 hours a week is killing us through ischaemic heart disease and stroke.
THE Japanese call it karoshi or “death by overwork”.
The signs: a sudden stress-induced heart attack, stroke or extreme mental pressure leading to suicide.
After World War II, the Japanese struggled to cope with defeat and an insecure future, so they threw themselves into work, determined to advance economically and fuelled by an ingrained culture where collectivism is valued above individualism.
Annually, thousands of Japanese workers die from karoshi, but in recent years, China has overtaken Japan with an estimated 600,000 deaths from overworking in 2016.
A large number of deaths in China are coming from industries such as media, advertising, medical care and information technology.
With the Covid-19 pandemic, more people are working from home (WFH) and feeling the strain of being forced to take on additional work.
As businesses cut costs and struggle to stay afloat, it translates to more work and longer working hours for employees still on the payroll.
For some, it is either do the job or get the boot.
This certainly doesn’t bode well for our health.
In fact, even before the pandemic, a 2019 AIA Vitality survey revealed that workers in Malaysia are often overworked and sleep deprived, with 51% suffering from at least one dimension of work-related stress and 53% getting less than seven hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.
It was also reported that Malaysia had experienced a three-fold increase in mental health problems over the past two decades.
According to the latest estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) published in the journal Environment International last month, long working hours led to 398,000 deaths from stroke and 347,000 deaths from ischaemic heart disease in 2016 – a 29% increase since 2000.
Most of the deaths recorded were among people living in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, who had worked for 55 hours or more per week, when they were between the ages of 45 and 74 years.
Young and otherwise healthy people can be struck by a stroke due to long-term unbalanced lifestyles and stress. — 123rf.com Just because bosses send messages throughout the night doesn’t mean they expect you to respond or react immediately, says Dr Yong. — AFP
The heart has its limits
James (not his real name), a marketing director of a multinational company, had been WFH and logging in at least 60 hours of work weekly, including on weekends, ever since the pandemic began.
At 51, the father of two teenagers eats healthy, rarely gets sick, enjoys the occasional drink and lets off steam by waking up at 4.30am to cycle or run for an hour every day.
Two months ago, he was in a virtual meeting when he started sweating profusely and felt pain radiating down his left arm.
As it was an important meeting, he ignored the symptoms, which eventually disappeared.
He continued cycling the next morning without any problem.
“But the pain returned a week later, and this time, it was accompanied by chest discomfort and dizziness.
“My wife drove me to the hospital, and after doing some scans, I was told I had a heart attack, with three blocked arteries,” he recalls, still in disbelief.
James’ wife broke down. She had been telling him to slow down, but he wouldn’t listen, continuing to work and exercise hard.
He had to have two stents inserted to open up his arteries.
“Prior to that, I hadn’t taken leave in a year. These days, I’ve learnt to switch off and no longer answer calls after 6pm.
“The cycling has been replaced with meditation and long walks,” he shares.
It’s quite an adjustment to make, but work is no longer his number one priority.
Says consultant cardiologist Dr Kannan Pasamanickam: “All of us are guilty of overworking – yours truly included!
“We have to remind ourselves that we cannot take health for granted; if you become ill, you may never be able to work again.”
Many patients shun hospitals during this pandemic as they fear running an increased risk of contracting Covid-19.
However, this might result in them delaying getting much-needed treatment – James was lucky that his first episode was not fatal.
Signs of a unhealthy heart include increased breathlessness; getting tired more quickly during physical exertion; chest/jaw/upper abdominal/arm pains brought on by exertion and relieved by rest; leg swelling (although this can be due to several other causes as well); breathlessness when lying flat in bed; and unusual palpitations, among others.
“Do annual medical exams, especially when you cross the golden age of 40, or start younger if you have a family history of vascular disease,”advises Dr Kannan.
If you’re living alone and experience a heart attack, he suggests that after calling for help immediately, take one tablet of aspirin straight away (barring an aspirin allergy), keep calm, remain seated (preferably on a sofa) and wait for help.
“If you feel like fainting, start coughing.
“If the heart stops because of sudden, irregular beating of the heart called ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia, which can occur soon after a heart attack, or the blood pressure becomes very low, coughing can maintain an adequate blood pressure until help arrives,” he says.
A stroke in time
We often think that stroke only strikes old people and those with uncontrolled high blood pressure,but these are myths.
Stress has been identified as the most important causative factor for a stroke or so-called “brain attack”.
The warning sign of an imminent stroke is a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), also known as a mini stroke.
This can happen up to seven days before the actual stroke and last up to five minutes or so. Consultant neurosurgeon Datuk Dr Kantha Rasalingam explains: “There could be sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
“Individuals may also experience sudden double vision, confusion, inability to talk or understand things, instability when walking, and problems with balance or coordination.
“The key term here is ‘sudden onset of any neurological deficit’. “If you recover within a few minutes, it is a warning sign of TIA. If it persists, then it is a stroke.”
Some healthy individuals in the 18-49 age group – males, in particular – are being struck by strokes as a result of unbalanced lifestyles and stress.
“This is quite sad. If you push the boundaries and the body becomes exhausted, there is a possibility of getting a stroke.
“It’s a wake-up call for everybody,” remarks Dr Kantha. He shares the case of a 41-yearold lady who came into his clinic last week as she had experienced sudden right-sided upper and lower limb weakness.
An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the brain showed a left-sided cerebrovascular accident (i.e. stroke).
Her husband was devastated, angry and blamed her employer.
Dr Kantha elaborates: “The husband said his wife was WFH more than normal the last month as her boss was asking her to do more work or else she would be retrenched like her other colleagues.
“Stressed, she tried her best to keep up, and a few days ago, while going out to buy food, she passed out in the car.”
Unfortunately, she sought treatment too late and there wasn’t much the doctor could do as the brain cells controlling her right side were already dead.
“I don’t think she will be able to go back to work unless she drastically improves,” he says.
“But work should be the least of her priorities as she has a six-yearold daughter.
“Often, people just dismiss the weakness and wait till it’s very late to seek treatment.
“Some go to smaller clinics, then smaller hospitals, and by the time they come to a bigger hospital, time has lapsed and we can’t do much.
“If a patient comes in early (within six hours of the onset of symptoms), we can do interventional therapy, e.g. embolism to break the clot.”
He adds that a useful acronym to remember is FAST: if you experience a Facial droop, Arm weakness and Speech difficulty, it’s Time to call for help.
Note these symptoms
If you’re working long hours, it usually also means a more sedentary lifestyle, and reduced physical activity is a risk factor to getting a stroke.
Look out for symptoms such as a lack of concentration at work, lack of energy, irritability, forgetfulness and poor sleep.
Says consultant neurologist Dr Kok Chin Yong: “These symptoms are easily overlooked and frequently attributed to other factors.
“In fact, these symptoms may be correlated with each other to form a vicious cycle and may lead to depression and anxiety.
“Individuals should get medical help when the above symptoms start to disrupt daily activities, such as personal relationships or work.
“If we can prevent these symptoms from getting worse, we can prevent heart attacks and strokes.”
To address being overworked, he recommends following “SEMMS”.
“Sleep is key; Exercise regularly at least 40 minutes three times a week; practise Meditation, which has been proven to reduce the relapse rate in both depression and addiction; adopt a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets for neurodegenerative delay, consisting of green, leafy vegetables, whole grains, berries, olive oil, poultry and fish; and be Socially active,” he says.
Dealing with bosses
The Malaysian Employment Act defines the work week as 48 hours, with a maximum of eight working hours per day and six working days per week.
But many employers blatantly disregard these guidelines.
How can we deal with unreasonable employers and maintain sanity while WFH?
Clinical psychologist Dr Lynne Yong says: “Discuss with the human resources (HR) people on what your job scope really encompasses and know your rights.
“There are laws to protect employees against exploitation
“However, the first step would be to ask yourself if you are overthinking your employer’s expectations.”
While some employers might be demanding, they can also be reasonable.
She says: “Just because bosses send messages throughout the night doesn’t mean they expect you to answer immediately.
“Because of these uncertain times, people tend to see things in black and white, but the reality is more nuanced than they think.”
The president of the Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology suggests these steps to help manage your workload:
> Are you looking at your job situation clearly and objectively? > Is it the bosses’ expectations or your own interpretation of your bosses’ expectations?
> If the boss is really unreasonable, can you discuss the issue with HR?
> Turn off notifications at a reasonable hour, perhaps two or three hours before bedtime.
Fellow clinical psychologist Prof Dr Alvin Ng Lai Oon adds that another helpful way is to affirm that you will be willing to do the expected task, but bring up problems at home that would need some mutual problem-solving between the boss and you.
“Say something like ‘Sure, boss, I can do that. But if I do, then there’s this other thing that becomes a problem, which I’m afraid would continue to persist if I do the task you just gave me.
“‘I’m concerned that this problem would affect my productivity in the long run. So, how?’” he suggests
