Senate news in brief : Aug 16

KABADI, SILAMBAM TO BE MADE DEMONSTRATION SPORTS AT SUKMA 

KUALA LUMPUR -- Kabadi dan Silambam will be made demonstration sports at the 20th edition of the Malaysia Games (Sukma) so as to enable Malaysia to send athletes in the two sports to compete at the next Asian Games.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said Sukma is a tournament that opens opportunities for young athletes to participate and polish their talents so that they can compete at the international level.

“Silambam and Kabadi are contested at the Asian Games, so we need to expose our athletes to compete at the next Asian Games,” he said during the question and answer session.

-- BERNAMA

GOVERNMENT HAS NO PLANS TO  CHANGE MA63 INTO NEW ACT

KUALA LUMPUR -- The government does not intend to change the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) into a new act and will use the existing platform, which is the Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963 to discuss any arising matters.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah And Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib said five demands from the governments of Sabah and Sarawak have been fulfilled so far including the constitutional amendment on MA63 in Parliament last year.

“The government has also completed the handover of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) regulatory powers and the granting of powers regarding sea fishing licensing to the Sarawak government last June,” Hanifah said in reply to Senator Datuk John Ambrose who wanted to know the latest efforts by the Federal government in restoring the rights of Sarawak and Sabah as contained in MA63.

-- BERNAMA

EASY ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHY AMONG JKPK SKOP FINDINGS 

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Special Select Committee On Socioculture, Communication And Education (JKPK SKOP) revealed that unrestricted access to pornographic material was one of the four main issues of telecommunication and broadband services in the country.

Its chairman, Senator Aknan Ehtook, said the matter was reported in the JKPK SKOP Statement on Issues Relating to Telecommunications Infrastructure and National Broadband Service Quality tabled at the Dewan Negara today.

He said the statement also outlined some key recommendations to help resolve issues related to telecommunications.

“This includes community empowerment initiative through extensive use of device control software,” he told a press conference at the Parliament building here today.

-- BERNAMA