Perlis ruler calls to maintain zero hardcore poverty status
KANGAR: Perlis has achieved zero hardcore poverty status based on the national poverty database e-Kasih as of Dec 31 last year, joining four other states that have successfully eradicated hardcore poverty, said the Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin said a range of initiatives and business grants had been provided to communities as a bridge to help them take the first step out of the cycle of poverty.
His Royal Highness urged the Menteri Besar, state assemblymen and the Perlis government to keep meeting the people on the ground to make sure hardcore poverty stays at zero and to help the people break free from poverty.
'I also call on all government agencies and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) that have grants or assistance programmes to intensify their efforts, proactively seek out suitable participants interested in starting businesses, and guide them so that together we can further develop our state,' Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin said.
His Royal Highness said this when opening the Perlis State Legislative Assembly sitting at the State Assembly Complex here today. Also in attendance was the Raja Perempuan of Perlis Tuanku Tengku Fauziah Almarhum Tengku Abdul Rashid.
The Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail and Raja Puan Muda Tuanku Dr Hajah Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil were also in attendance.
Highlighting the state's progress, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin noted that Perlis has witnessed significant development recently, buoyed by its growing appeal to tourists under the Visit Perlis Year 2024–2025 campaign.
Last year alone, Perlis welcomed 2.99 million visitors from within and outside Malaysia, reflecting the remarkable progress of the state's tourism products and industry.
'This growth has had a positive impact on the food and hospitality sectors. I am proud of my subjects who have seized the opportunity to build beautiful and uniquely designed hotels and homestays,' His Royal Highness said.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin also congratulated the Kangar Municipal Council (MPK) for becoming one of 18 local authorities awarded the Smart City Malaysia Level 1 status, 'Smart City Early Adopter', on Oct 28 last year.
'This recognition is only the beginning. Perlis will next aim for full smart city status across four levels: Early Adopter, Developing Smart City, Leading Smart City and Visionary Smart City,' the Perlis Ruler said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malaysian Reserve
7 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
Wildfire Prevention Today and Tomorrow: PG&E Shares 2025 Wildfire Season Readiness Update, Showcases Local XPRIZE Wildfire Competitors
PG&E's Layers of Protection Are Working, Prevented a Major Wildfire in 2023 and 2024 SAN RAMON, Calif., June 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to monitor wildfire conditions and deploying proven layers of wildfire protection to prevent wildfires, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) shared its readiness ahead of peak wildfire season. These layers of protection helped prevent a major wildfire in 2023 and 2024. Today, at PG&E's Applied Technology Services lab, the company's research and development facility, PG&E shared details about how the layers of protection are applied throughout PG&E's service area to prevent wildfires. PG&E was joined by representatives of XPRIZE Wildfire and two local teams – Ember Guard and Rain – who bring AI power and autonomous firefighting to the competition. PG&E is a proud sponsor of XPRIZE Wildfire and its work to build a pipeline of new technologies that support advanced wildfire mitigation, detection and response. Today's Wildfire Resilience from Layers of Protection Undergrounding Powerlines in high fire-risk areas to permanently eliminate ignition risk. PG&E has undergrounded approximately 915 miles of powerlines since 2021 and plans to have nearly 1,600 total miles of powerlines underground by the end of 2026. Overhead System Upgrades include the installation of strengthened power poles and covered powerlines. This work reduces wildfire ignition risk by nearly 67% once completed. PG&E has completed more than 1,430 miles of overhead system upgrades since 2018 and plans to complete nearly 1,900 total miles of system upgrades by the end of 2026. Situational Awareness Improvements including the deployment of a state-wide network of nearly 1,600 weather stations, of which 1,400 are artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning enabled, and more than 650 high-definition wildfire cameras. The AI enabled cameras process data and provide automated wildfire notifications. Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) automatically turn off power within one-tenth of a second, or faster, if a wildfire hazard is detected. These settings protect 1.8 million PG&E customers in areas with elevated or extreme wildfire risk. In 2024, these settings contributed to more than a 65% reduction in reportable ignitions, compared to the 2018-2020 average. More than half of customers protected by EPSS did not experience a power outage while EPSS was enabled in 2024, and the average duration of outages on an EPSS-enabled circuit decreased 17% from the prior two-year average. Vegetation Management programs continue to evolve using a data-driven, risk-informed approach to help reduce both outages and potential ignitions caused by vegetation contacting PG&E's equipment. Over the past five years, PG&E has inspected, trimmed or removed over 960,000 trees and other types of vegetation in our service area. Drone inspections that more efficiently provide a bird's eye view of assets from the ground and air. Public Safety Power Shutoffs are a last resort during extreme weather conditions to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire. PG&E's experienced meteorologists use cutting-edge weather models to forecast wildfire risk at a granular level to determine the transmission and distribution circuits that will get de-energized. 'Rather than being reactive to conditions, our wildfire work proactively protects and prevents wildfire. We're keeping our system safe while we build resilience for the future. This work is essential in light of extreme weather and extended wildfire seasons,' said PG&E Wildfire Mitigation Vice President Andy Abranches. Tomorrow's XPRIZE Goal: Detect Earlier, Extinguish Faster As wildfire conditions are dynamic from year to year, PG&E is committed to supporting a pipeline of new research, development and innovation to address climate-driven wildfire challenges. PG&E today joined XPRIZE Wildfire and two local teams participating in the four-year, $11 million competition to accelerate the speed of detection and suppression of destructive wildfires. XPRIZE Wildfire encourages teams from around the world to innovate around a wide range of firefighting technologies across two complementary tracks designed to transform how potentially catastrophic fires are detected, managed and suppressed. PG&E is the co-title sponsor of XPRIZE Wildfire along with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. 'For 30 years, XPRIZE has spurred innovation to address the world's most pressing challenges. In 2023, we launched XPRIZE Wildfire with a goal to end destructive wildfires,' said XPRIZE Wildfire Program Director Andrea Santy. 'Today, we have an incredible global cohort of dozens of teams making monumental strides towards developing solutions to reach this audacious goal.' One of the Bay Area teams showcased at the event was Palo Alto-based Ember Guard, a cross-disciplinary team led by Ahvish Roy, founder of ARX, and supported by Sangram Ganguly, Chief Technology Officer of Rhombus Power. It uses deep learning along with AI to produce a scalable cloud-based high-resolution wildfire model that forecasts the likely propagation and intensity of a wildfire so that firefighters can prioritize their limited resources Also participating was Alameda-based Rain, which recently showcased autonomous wildfire suppression technology in California. A Black Hawk helicopter equipped with wildfire mission autonomy from Rain and MATRIX™ autonomy technology from Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, conducted a demonstration of a wide range of wildfire response missions and tasks, including finding and suppressing early-state wildfires, all commanded via tablet. Rain is a participant in the Electric Program Investment Charge program, a research and development project. Learn more about PG&E's wildfire safety efforts at About PG&EPacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit and
The Star
17 hours ago
- The Star
Repeated delays in e-invoicing rollout reveal lack of preparedness, says MCA Youth
THE Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) has announced yet another delay to the implementation of the e-Invoice system on June 5, originally scheduled to be enforced this year for companies with an annual turnover of RM1mil. The rollout has now been postponed to July 2026, with exemptions granted to businesses earning less than RM500,000 annually. The government is strongly urged to cease the repeated deferments, openly acknowledge the current lack of readiness for implementation and embark on a comprehensive review of the nation's long-term tax structure. Billed as RM9.73 for the 1st month then RM13.90 thereafters. RM12.33/month RM8.63/month Billed as RM103.60 for the 1st year then RM148 thereafters. Free Trial For new subscribers only
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
LHDN: Digitalisation makes everything easier for taxpayers
KUALA LUMPUR: The Inland Revenue Board's (LHDN) drive for comprehensive digital transformation aims to simplify matters for taxpayers and increase compliance levels. LHDN chief operations officer Marsidi Zelika, who disclosed this, said the digital transformation not only focuses on migrating services to online platforms but also on changing the work structure, mindset and operational strategy to ensure more efficient and user-friendly tax services. 'It includes systems such as MyTax, ByrHASiL, e-Filing and now e-Invoicing, all created for taxpayers to manage their tax affairs promptly, easily and securely without having to go to the counter,' he said during Bernama TV's Ruang Bicara programme, which aired on Wednesday night. Marsidi said the e-Filing system, for example, was equipped with automatic calculation and final review functions to help users avoid common mistakes such as incorrect tax calculations and incomplete data. 'The data integration function, automatic verification and use of a single identity-based system through MyTax ensures that taxpayers' information is consistent and easy to track,' he said, adding that the system was also linked to the monthly tax deduction (PCB) information from employers. He also said the implementation of e-Invoice, which started last August in phases, has received an encouraging response mainly from small and medium-sized businesses. As of June 4 this year, he said more than 313.4 million e-Invoices have been recorded involving 33,391 taxpayers. 'This clearly shows a very positive reception for this digital initiative,' he added. Marsidi said the e-Invoice did not just replace printed invoices but also opened up opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to restructure their business accounting systems more systematically and effectively. The MyInvois portal and application, which are offered for free, allow users to access, send and store transaction documents digitally, thus reducing the risk of losing documents and speeding up administrative matters. He said LHDN also provides a one-stop reference centre through the e-Invoice microsite as well as guidelines, video tutorials and an e-Invoice help desk, besides the e-Invoice counters at its tax offices.
