5 CURRENT ISSUES IN MALAYSIA

1.

Social
Suicide rate on the rise in Malaysia

PUTRAJAYA: The suicide rate is on the rise in Malaysia, with more than 1,000 people
taking their own lives over a three-year period.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the ratio of suicides from 2007 to
2010 was 1.3 for every 100,000 people, but added that it could be higher.
These are just figures we collected from post-mortems. We think suicides are
under-reported, he told a press conference after chairing the Mental Health
Promotion advisory council meeting here.
Of the 1,156 people who committed suicide over the three-year period, the majority
were aged between 24 and 44.
Liow said this was alarming as the victims belonged to the productive age group.
National statistics also show that men outnumber women three to one, while the
Chinese had the highest number of suicides at 48%, followed by Indians (21%),
Malays (18%) and other races (13%), he said.
However, he said the country's suicide rate was far lower than the global average of
16 for every 100,000 people.
Given the increase in suicides in Malaysia, the Government had decided to launch a
five-year National Suicide Prevention Strategic Action Plan starting this year, said
Liow.
Part of the plan is to shift mental health treatment from being purely
institutionalized in hospitals to more community-centric and to be made available at
community mental health centres.
By bringing mental healthcare to the clinics, the Government is adhering to the
World Health Organisation's recommendations of getting the public to play a greater
role in providing support for mental health patients, said Liow.
The initial target is to set up one community mental health centre in every state this
year.
Currently, we have 224 psychiatrists in the ministry. The ratio of psychiatrists to
the population is 1:150,000, but ideally we need to get a ratio of 1:50,000, which
means we need a three-fold increase, he said.

SUMMARY
Statistics shown that suicide rate in Malaysia is getting higher over three-year
period. Those who take their own life mostly is young adult and adult. Chinese got

the highest percentage in suicide follow by Indians, Malays and other races. The
government has taken the initiative to prevent society from killing themselves such
as launch an organization named National Suicide Prevention Strategic Action Plan.

Link: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2012/06/05/suicide-rate-onthe-rise-in-malaysia/

2.

Economic

Ringgit heads for biggest 3-day rally in 2 years

KUALA LUMPUR (BLOOMBERG) - Malaysia's ringgit headed for its biggest three-day
rally in two years as trade data beat estimates and Brent crude extended its
advance above US$50 a barrel, helping shore up revenue for Asia's only major oil
exporter.
Brent crude rose 5.4 per cent overnight and was adding to those gains on
Wednesday (Oct 7), with the ringgit finding support from losses in the US dollar as
bets for a 2015 US interest-rate increase fade. Malaysia's trade surplus widened to
the highest in almost a year in August, the government reported Wednesday.
"The ringgit is benefiting from a rebound in oil prices," said Khoon Goh, a senior
strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore. "The betterthan expected export and trade surplus resulted in further gains."
The ringgit appreciated 1.8 per cent to two-week high of 4.2958 per US dollar as of
12:38 pm in Kuala Lumpur, taking its advance this week to 2.7 per cent, according
to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg.
A gauge of the dollar tracking the US currency against 10 major counterparts fell
the most in six weeks in New York.

Against the Singapore dollar, the ringgit has strengthened from record lows around
the 3.13 level seen last month. It was trading at 3.0117 per Singapore dollar as of
2:05 pm.
Brent crude has still more than halved from last year's high, helping make the
ringgit the third-worst performer among 24 emerging-market currencies tracked by
Bloomberg this year with a 19 per cent loss.
Earlier Wednesday, trade date showed Malaysian exports rose 4.1 per cent from a
year earlier and imports unexpectedly contracted 6.1 per cent, compared with
forecast gains in a Bloomberg survey of 1.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively.
The trade surplus widened to RM10.2 billion, the biggest gap since November 2014
and beating the RM4.1 billion predicted.
Bets for an October US rate increase are now only 8 per cent and 36 per cent for
December, the last two meetings of 2015, futures show. March is starting to look the
most likely for the first move, with odds of 57 per cent compared with January's 43
per cent.
"Crude oil prices were higher overnight and that spilled over into commodity
currencies," said Sim Moh Siong, a foreign- exchange strategist at Bank of
Singapore Ltd. "The market continues to expect the Federal Reserve to delay the
lift-off, and that's benefiting emerging-market currencies."
SUMMARY
Majority of our society knows that ringgit Malaysia have fallen down but because of
a rebound in oil prices, ringgit Malaysia is benefiting. Somehow, ringgit Malaysia is
third worst performer among 24 emerging-market currencies that was tracked by
Bloomberg this year.

Link: http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/ringgit-heads-forbiggest-3-day-rally-in-2-years

3.

Health

Lower your diabetes risk by 20%, go cycling

A new large-scale study published this week has found that regular cycling can
lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Carried out by the University of Southern Denmark, the study looked at 24,623 men
and 27,890 women from Denmark age 50 to 65.
Participants were asked to self-report their cycling habits, including how much they
cycled to and from work and how much they cycled just for fun.
The data was then compared with the incidence of type 2 diabetes measured in the
Danish National Diabetes Registry. The study can be found published online in PLOS
Medicine.
The results showed that those who cycled regularly were less likely to develop type
2 diabetes, and the more they cycled each week, the lower the risk was.
The team also found that after re-assessing participants cycling habits during the
five-year follow-up, those who took up habitual cycling during this period, and
therefore at a later age, still benefited from a 20% lower risk of developing type 2
diabetes than non-cyclists, with lead author of the study Dr Martin Rasmussen
commenting that, We find it especially interesting that those who started cycling
had a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, given that the study population were men and
women of middle and old age. This emphasizes that even when entering elderly
age, it is not too late to take up cycling to lower ones risk of chronic disease.
SUMMARY
With regular cycling we can reduce diabetes risk by 20%. University of Southern
Denmark have carried out a research about this topic. The results showed that
those who cycled regularly can reduce diabetes and the more they cycled, the lower
the risk was.

Link:http://www.star2.com/health/fitness/2016/07/19/lower-your-diabetesrisk-by-20-go-cycling/

4.

Environment
Just RM2 for a protected wildlife license

PETALING JAYA: From as low as RM2 for a one-year license from the Department of
Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), Malaysians can legally own animals whose
numbers are declining in the wild.
Depending on the species, the license fee varies from RM2 to own a scorpion, RM5
(Burmese python), RM10 (short-tailed parrot) to RM20 for animals protected under
Malaysian laws.
The law stipulates that only exotic animals bred in captivity can be sold in shops.
However, there appears to be little checks on this.
Traffic South-East Asia senior communications Officer Elizabeth John said animals
categorized under Appendix II of CITES could only be traded internationally with
proper permits and license.
(Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora states that the species will face extinction unless poaching from the
wild is controlled.)
We dont know where the traders are getting it from, she said, adding that pet
shops should seek verification on the origin of the animals.
Under the law, when a pet owner buys an animal, he must take it to a veterinarian
who would then insert a microchip in it. In cases of birds, a ring would be attached.
After that, the new owner only has to bring the animal, his identity card, the receipt
for the purchase of the animal, a utility bill (if the owner is living on a landed
property) or a letter from the maintenance office to Perhilitan to apply for a license.
Despite these easy steps to get a license, there seems to be no awareness or
urgency from pet owners to obtain it.
When you buy an animal from us, we will issue you a receipt. Just bring it (the
receipt) to Perhilitan and you can apply for the license, said a trader during a visit
by The Star to an exotic pet shop in Petaling Jaya.
A visit to another exotic animal shop in Kuala Lumpur showed a similar scenario.
When the seller was asked where his supply came from, he remained silent. He said
the onus was on the buyer to apply for the license to own the exotic animals.

You dont need to have a license to buy the animal, you can buy it first and then
apply for license.
They (the authorities) wont check your house lah, he added.
They however, stated that they had the CITES permits, as required by Perhilitan, to
sell them.
Perhilitan enforcement division director Hasnan Yusop said owners of these animals
must have a license to keep the pets.
We will only issue licenses for owners to keep wild animals bought from traders
authorised by Perhilitan.
These traders have operating licenses from Perhilitan and each transaction made
by them must be recorded, said Hasnan.
SUMMARY
If we want to buy an animals, we must have a protected wildlife licensed. However,
the law stipulates that only exotic animals bred in captivity can be sold in shops. We
dont have to buy licenses first, we can buy the animal first then apply for licenses.

Link: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/07/29/just-rm2-for-aprotected-wildlife-licence/

5.

Political

Malaysians who discredit or ridicule government

can be barred from travelling overseas for 3 years
KUALA LUMPUR (The Star/Asia News Network) - Malaysians who discredit or ridicule
the government in any way can be barred from travelling overseas for three years.
Those who disparage the government while abroad will also be barred from
travelling abroad again for three years upon their return, a source said.

The most recent example came on Sunday when the chairman of the anti-corruption
movement Bersih 2.0, Ms Maria Chin Abdullah, was barred from leaving for South
Korea to receive a human rights award.
On Dec 5 last year, social activist Hishamuddin Rais claimed he was barred from
leaving, also to South Korea.
The source said that the Immigration Department had introduced this restriction
several months ago in a move to safeguard the country's image.
"Anyone who runs down the government or 'memburukkan kerajaan' in any manner
will be barred from going abroad.
"Only the Immigration Department director-general will be authorised to look into
their appeals," he said, adding that the department would act once there was a
request from enforcement agencies such as the police.
Immigration director-general Sakib Kusmi, in an e-mail reply to The Star, confirmed
the existence of such a provision, adding that the ownership of a Malaysian
international passport was a privilege and not a right.
"The Malaysian international passport is a travel document issued by the
government under the aegis of the Yang DiPertuan Agong.
"So, the government has the discretion to either issue, defer or revoke the travel
document," he said.
Datuk Sakib could not provide statistics on the number of Malaysians who have
been barred from leaving the country for discrediting or ridiculing the government.
Several people including politicians and social activitists who criticised the
government are known to have been barred from leaving the country along.
They include opposition MPs Tony Pua and Rafizi Ramli, SRC International Sdn Bhd
managing director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, and The Edge Media Group owner Datuk
Tong Kooi Ong .
Associate Professor Dr Shamrahayu A. Aziz, an expert on the constitution, said the
freedom to leave or travel outside the country is linked to whether a citizen has the
right to a passport.
"A person has no automatic right to a passport as it is a privilege given by the
government. It is the government's discretion whether to allow or bar someone from
leaving the country," she said.
"If a citizen is unhappy with the government's decision, they can always go to
court," she said.
SUMMARY
Those who disrespect government whether they are in Malaysia or abroad, they can
be barred from travelling for 3 years. Even you are politicians and ridicule the

government you have to accept the punishment. This restriction have been
introduced by Immigration Department.

Link: http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysians-who-discredit-orridicule-govt-can-be-barred-from-travelling-overseas-for-3