Councillors urged to uphold integrity
Published on: Thursday, May 08, 2025
Published on: Thu, May 08, 2025 Text Size: Dr Joachim (seated centre) with the newly-appointed councillors. PUTATAN: Local authorities form the essential third tier of government after Federal and State administrations, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam. He said they (local authorities) play a key role in approving policies, developing commercial and housing sites and issuing business licenses. Dr Joachim, who is also Local Government and Housing Minister, said this at the swearing-in ceremony for Putatan District Council's 2025 – 2027 term held at the Pacific Sutera Harbour, here. He said the local authority's expanded responsibilities include policy decision-making authority, oversight of commercial and residential development, business licensing administration and public sanitation and waste management systems. On that note, he urged the incoming councillors to maintain absolute integrity in all decisions, adopt a hands-on approach to understand community needs and expedite service delivery through proactive measures. Special recognition was given to outgoing council members for their contributions to Putatan's development, with Dr. Joachim saying 'Their initiatives and cooperation have laid important groundwork we must now build upon.' Present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya (Putatan MP), Petagas Assemblyman Datuk Awang Ahmad Sah and Putatan District Officer Masawi Hajij Salleh, among others. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Express
2 hours ago
- Daily Express
Investors hesitant amid global economic concerns, says Tengku Zafrul
Published on: Thursday, June 12, 2025 Published on: Thu, Jun 12, 2025 By: Minderjeet Kaur, FMT Text Size: Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said it is becoming increasingly difficult to make projections on investments. (Bernama pic) Kuala Lumpur: Foreign investors are taking a cautious approach towards new investments in Malaysia due to global economic uncertainties, investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said today. He warned that attracting new investors would be challenging in the current climate, noting that while existing investors in Malaysia remained committed, newcomers were showing hesitation. Advertisement 'Those who have committed have not pulled out. But the ones that have not committed are now thinking (whether to invest or not),' he told reporters during the regional launch of the Asean Economic Community Strategic Plan 2026–2030. He also said it was becoming increasingly difficult to make projections on investments. 'When we have discussions with companies, we understand their concerns. Many (investors) are adopting a wait-and-see approach due to the dynamic geopolitical situation, especially between the US and China. 'New companies looking to invest want to assess the global situation first,' Tengku Zafrul added. When asked about Malaysia's RM89 billion in approved investments in the first quarter of the year – up 3.7% from the same period last year – Tengku Zafrul said it was 'pleasantly surprising' given typical first-quarter sluggishness. 'In terms of foreign investment, it is almost 70% of the investment. And at the same time, we see that the biggest sector is services, especially the digital economy,' he added. Tengku Zafrul is expected to travel to Washington on June 18 to continue negotiations over the US tariffs imposed on Malaysian goods. He said the Malaysian government hopes to persuade Washington to reduce import duties for certain sectors to below 10%. 'We also want to ensure that our local companies exporting to the US – especially in sectors such as furniture and downstream palm oil – are taken into account,' Tengku Zafrul said, adding that these sectors 'are not really in competition' with American industries. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
2 hours ago
- Daily Express
Wanita PKR urges action after FB group found sharing pics of children
Wanita PKR urges action after FB group found sharing pics of children PETALING JAYA: Wanita PKR has urged swift action against anything that perpetuates sexual crimes against minors after the discovery of a Facebook group sharing photos of underage schoolchildren. The party wing demanded that the police, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and women, family and community development ministry take immediate and serious action on the matter. Advertisement 'Wanita PKR also calls on parents and all of society to be constantly alert and responsible for the safety of children from sexual violence. '(This includes) monitoring social media for groups with elements of obscenity, grooming and sexual harassment, and for comments that insult the modesty of children,' it said in a statement today. SPONSORED CONTENT The 'Group Budak2 Sekolah Rendah' page, now inaccessible, had over 12,000 members and many explicitly sexual comments and captions on its photos. The images included underage students wearing primary and secondary school uniforms, traditional wear, sports attire, and casual clothing. Advertisement The issue came to light after rapper Ariz Ramli, better known as Caprice, was notified of the group's existence via an Instagram message. The group was then reported to MCMC as well as the police. Influencer Wee Yun Nee, also known as Mekyun, spoke out about the issue as well after realising that photos from her childhood were also circulating on the page. Advertisement The group's circulation of children's images without consent for the purpose of inciting sexual harassment violates both the Child Act 2001 and Section 211 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which pertains to 'offensive content'.
Daily Express
2 hours ago
- Daily Express
2% wealth tax would raise more than expanded SST, says ex-MP
Published on: Thursday, June 12, 2025 Published on: Thu, Jun 12, 2025 By: FMT Reporters Text Size: Former Klang MP Charles Santiago argued that it is wrong to keep taxing consumption and not wealth, saying median wages barely keep up with inflation. PETALING JAYA: A 2% wealth tax would raise around 60% more than the RM5 billion in revenue the government hopes to obtain from its expansion of the sales and service tax (SST), says former Klang MP Charles Santiago. In a series of posts on X today, he commented on the assertion by deputy domestic trade and cost of living minister Fuziah Salleh that the government would become 'very unpopular' if it raised taxes on the top 10% of the nation's richest people and redistributed the wealth to the rest of the population. Advertisement 'Malaysia's richest 50 hold US$90 billion (RM380.3 billion) in wealth, as per @Forbes. Why tax bananas and oil before mega mansions?' he said. Speaking at the BBC World Questions debate on Tuesday, Fuziah said that while the distribution of wealth should be more equitable and efficient, the government had to tread carefully in doing so. 'We already hear some noises when we talk about targeted petrol subsidies that may exclude the T20. 'Even the 2% dividend (tax) met some resistance,' Malay Mail reported her as saying, in reference to the introduction of a dividend tax on annual dividend incomes exceeding RM100,000 under the 2025 budget. Last year, finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan said the expansion of the SST was expected to generate RM51.7 billion in revenue in 2025, an additional revenue of RM5 billion over the previous SST collection forecast of RM46.7 billion. However, Santiago insisted that the matter ultimately boiled down to perspective and priorities. 'If you own RM100 million, a 2% wealth tax is RM2 million. That's one less Ferrari. Or less than your annual interest. But RM2 million could fund 500,000 school meals. This is about priorities,' he said. He also argued that it was wrong to keep taxing consumption and not wealth, saying median wages 'barely keep up with inflation'. '@UnicefMY shows low-income families spend 38% of their income on food. Inequality doesn't just grow, it erodes nations. Time to rebalance,' he said. He suggested that the increased revenue could be used, for example, to install solar panels for low-cost housing. 'This cuts electricity bills, creates income, and feeds clean energy into the grid,' he said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
