Latest news with #Prosperity
New Straits Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Fund to empower Indian women entrepreneurs doubled to RM100mil
SUNGAI BULOH: The government has doubled the allocation for the Prosperity, Empowerment and A New Normal for Indian Women (PENN) programme to RM100 million, which aims to assist Indian women in building their businesses. Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan said the additional RM50 million would empower more Indian women through entrepreneurship. "This initiative has proven that the PENN programme is not only successful but is truly needed by the community," he said during the launch of PENN 2.0 at Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) headquarters in Bandar Sri Damansara. Launched in April last year, PENN has benefited 6,247 Indian women, with a total of RM42.7 million in funding disbursed, including support for 1,062 new entrepreneurs. Ramanan also praised the resilience of Indian women entrepreneurs, describing them as hardworking, disciplined and determined. The fresh allocation is expected to reach over 10,000 Indian women entrepreneurs through AIM. "This injection will boost support for recipients to expand their small businesses in sectors such as food, tailoring, beauty and community services." Ramanan said AIM beneficiaries under PENN have reported income growth of 20 to 30 per cent. Its 2024 non-performing loan rate was just 0.02 per cent, the lowest in the institution's 38-year history. "This is not merely a loan, it is a tool to elevate families and transform lives." Ramanan added that PENN offers micro-financing without financial statements, guarantors or collateral, alongside continuous mentorship by AIM. He said under PENN, interested applicants can apply for a loan starting from RM3,000 up to RM30,000. "The loan cost can go up to RM30,000 even if there are issues like bankruptcy, CTOS or CCRIS, so it is open to all. "It is meant to assist the underprivileged, especially those who have nowhere else to turn to," he said. Indian women entrepreneurs who are interested in the programme are encouraged to visit the AIM website or any AIM branch to apply and benefit from the support available. Last year, Ramanan announced an RM50 million AIM fund to support Indian women entrepreneurs through PENN.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Helldivers 2 Players Are Pulling Off Incredible Feats In A Last-Ditch Effort To Save Super Earth
Helldivers 2's Galactic War has come to Super Earth and it's going very, very badly. Players have lost every major city on the planet save for two, but are making a triumphant last stand against the Illuminate as fans from across the real world band together to hold the line. Players have spent the last week tackling Major Orders that have tasked them with defending Super Earth's Mega Cities from squids (the nickname for the blue alien invaders). Things haven't been going well, though, as one city after another has fallen, from York Supreme to Remembrance. The rain forest was turned into giant airfields and Super Earth's remaining natural wonders were liquidated in a break-glass effort to reverse the tide. Throughout the chaos, heroes were made and new bonds were forged among fans, much of it around finding unique and clever ways to take out massive Leviathan spacecraft flying over the urban battlefields. reddit-thread-Helldivers-1kyh5sl reddit-thread-Helldivers-1kvlpm9 reddit-thread-Helldivers-1krsdl4 The last remaining cities are Prosperity (Stockholm) and Equality on Sea (Shanghai). With reported swells of players from China helping to hold back the advancing Illuminate, fans have been swapping memes about geopolitical harmony. Think Woody Guthrie's 'This Land Is Your Land' but about U.S.-China relations and conceived of by meme-pilled Redditors. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for division within the ranks to start poisoning the new ties of friendship. Players managed to push the Equality on Sea defense percentage up to 99.9783 percent but not beyond. No matter how many players flooded the battlefield, the odds seemed stacked against them. Negative reviews seemingly written by Chinese players started flooding the Helldivers 2 Steam page. The phrase '99.9783" was spammed over and over again. The confusion, amplified by the language barrier, has sowed dissension within the Helldivers 2 community. reddit-thread-Helldivers-1ky6fp6 This internal conflict may involve a translation issue with the Mandarin-language version of a current Major Order. According to some fans on Reddit, instead of saying 'percentage held' it reads something like 'defense success,' potentially implying that Chinese players are supposed to hit 100 percent in order to achieve the objective rather than just hold the city until the onslaught subsides. It's become an oddly unexpected mess. The tides also appear to have once again started turning against Super Earth's remaining defenders. Why? One likely reason is that tons of players in China have now gone to sleep. Helldivers 2's concurrent peak on PC tends to occur at around 10:00 a.m. ET. That means there's currently a long night ahead for players in later time zones. The only question now is whether there's still a chance to halt the Illuminate advance or if the total destruction is all part of Arrowhead Game Studio's endgame for the current phase of the Galactic War. What then? Maybe Super Earth will be detonated into another black hole. Maybe other weird cosmic anomalies will come into play. Or maybe players will discover some technology that lets them go back in time and fight over the fabric of reality itself. I wouldn't put it past Arrowhead to do something completely unexpected, though how players respond to whatever transpires will likely remain the most entertaining part of the ongoing drama. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New law requires seatbelts for children riding in golf carts on SC roads
Golfers drive carts through the streets of Timberlake golf community near Chapin on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Photo by Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette) A new state law lets South Carolina cities set their own rules for where and when golf carts can be driven but requires a new rule for passengers: Children under 12 must buckle up. As initially proposed, the bill authorized any county to pass an ordinance allowing golf carts with headlights and rear lights to be driven at night. The purpose was to expand on permission that a 2016 law gave only to certain barrier islands. But the Senate took it further — letting municipalities 'stipulate the hours, methods, and locations' for daylight golf cart driving too and adding statewide the safety rule for children. 'I unfortunately have had the misfortune of seeing too many kids maimed and killed on golf carts,' said Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto. 'It's awful.' The Orangeburg Democrat works as an attorney and has handled such cases as part of his law practice. 'When you see golf carts go by and there are kids sitting on the back of these golf carts that are not in a seat belt, you know good and well if they slam on the brakes those kids going right off the back and maybe right in front of the car that's following them,' Hutto said during floor debate in the Senate earlier this month. Sen. Ronnie Cromer agreed, telling his fellow senators he had seatbelts installed in his wife's custom-built golf cart. 'I have seen kids at the beach that are riding on the back of those carts. How the parents were holding them in, I don't know,' the Prosperity Republican said. 'So I think that's a pretty good idea to force people to put seat belts on.' The seat belt rule came up as part of a larger debate about how South Carolina handles the recreational carts, which can be driven during daylight hours with a permit on any public road where the speed limit is 35 mph or less. Drivers must be at least 16 years old and have a driver's license. State law previously limited their usage to within 4 miles from the address where they're registered or within 4 miles of a gated community. However, local governments could reduce the allowed routes to 2 miles. The new law leaves that distance entirely up to local governments. The 4-mile rule stays intact for anywhere without its own ordinance. 'In the past, we've created exceptions … and it became sort of this patchwork quilt of golf cart regulations,' said Sen. Greg Hembree. Rather than continuing down that path, the Little River Republican instead urged legislators to overhaul the law, setting minimum standards but also giving all local governments the ability to enact tougher restrictions that go beyond what's in state law. 'Every community is a little different,' he said. 'Every community has its own unique dangers or areas that are safer. And it's more appropriate for that local government to make those decisions.' For example, towns might have certain areas where they don't want to allow golf carts to be used at all, Hembree said. 'And quite frankly, under this bill, a local government could regulate them out of existence in a community,' he said. The legislation passed both the House and Senate with almost no opposition. Gov. Henry McMaster signed it into law last Thursday. It took effect immediately.
Barnama
25-05-2025
- Business
- Barnama
DPM Fadillah Calls For ASEAN Member States To Strengthen Energy Cooperation
By Aisha Hani Nor Azmir & Harizah Hanim Mohamed KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 (Bernama) -- ASEAN member states must strengthen regional energy cooperation as part of a shared prosperity strategy, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. Fadillah, who is also Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, said cross-border partnerships in the energy sector are already seen through collaborations between Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. 'For instance, Laos supplies energy to Singapore, but it must pass through Thailand and Malaysia, so Laos pays a wheeling fee for transmitting through our power grid. 'However, sometimes during winter, water sources freeze and the supply is disrupted. At that point, Laos may draw power from Thailand and Malaysia to continue supplying Singapore. This shows how ASEAN member states support and help one another.' He told reporters this after the Luncheon Power Talk session - Shared Prosperity: The New Imperative for ASEAN's Economic Growth held in conjunction with the ASEAN Women Economic Summit (AWES) 2025 here today. Singapore currently imports up to 100 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from Laos through a cross-border initiative called the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP). This will double to a maximum of 200MW of renewable hydropower, with supply from Malaysia as well. Fadillah said Malaysia remains committed to implementing the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and is actively working towards realising the ASEAN Power Grid to establish a connected and sustainable energy ecosystem. Citing the recent gas pipeline explosion in Putra Heights, Fadillah said Malaysia had entered into discussions with Thailand to supply gas to the country's northern region, following the shutdown of the affected pipeline.
Barnama
25-05-2025
- Business
- Barnama
Fadillah:: Intra-ASEAN Trade Key To Boosting Palm Oil Demand Amid Global Challenges
From Harizah Hanim Mohamed & Aisha Hani Nor Azmir KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 (Bernama) — Robust intra-ASEAN economic activity vital to stimulate demand for palm oil products amid stricter private regulations, tariff uncertainties and other global economic challenges, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. He said that by focusing on intra-ASEAN cooperation and trade, more economic activities across member states both downstream and upstream sector can be stimulated, particularly in ensuring a resilient and self-sustaining growth engine. 'Malaysia and Indonesia are the biggest states in the palm oil production… with all the restrictions from the world, including introduction of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), there is a restriction for us to export our products to the overseas markets. 'If we can focus on ASEAN, then we create more activities between the ASEAN member states, so that it will be enough to sustain our economic activities and benefit entire ASEAN population,' he said at the Luncheon Power Talk Shared Prosperity: The New Imperative for ASEAN's Economic Growth at the ASEAN Women Economic Summit 2025 (AWES 2025) held at a hotel (Shangri-La) here today. Fadillah also called for a more harmonising standards among ASEAN member countries through minimising the non-tariff barriers, strengthen the supply chains and open up to all the member states the benefit of the quality growth. 'Strengthening ASEAN is not just strategic, it is necessary to safeguard our shared prosperity and deliver tangible benefits to the entire ASEAN population,' he said, adding that regional trade, investment, and connectivity must be enhanced to build a more resilient and competitive single market. Citing an example of active cross-border trade, Fadillah said active cross-trade activities can be seen among Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. 'Such efforts should be facilitated to ensure greater cross-border trade is created for the benefit of ASEAN citizens,' he added.
