PARLIAMENT NEWS-IN-BRIEF: SEPT 20

MOHE STUDY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE LEARNING IN FINAL STAGE

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) is in the final stages of conducting a study on the effectiveness of the online Learning and Teaching (PdP) method in institutions of higher learning (IPT) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said the initial findings of the study, conducted since Nov 15 last year, showed that 78.4 per cent of the students did not feel pressured by online learning.

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“The findings will be used by the ministry to produce a Whitepaper on The Future of Online Learning in Higher Education. It will help the IPT to improve the implementation and quality of online PdP. It is expected to be published in November.

“It will be also one of the inputs that will be used in formulating the direction of post-pandemic education,” she said in reply to a question from Datuk Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli (PH-Lumut) during the question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

-- BERNAMA

KPWKM READY TO ASSIST CHILDREN WHO LOST PARENTS DUE TO COVID-19

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) will provide financial assistance, counselling and placement to children who lost their parents or guardians due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun said RM200 financial aid would be given to each child aged seven and below while those aged seven and above would receive RM150 each.

In addition, counselling services are also provided for children facing emotional stress due to the loss of their parents or guardians, as well as provision of placement at seven Social Welfare Department institutions nationwide, she said during the question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat.

She was replying to a question from Hannah Yeoh (PH-Segambut), who wanted to know the number of children who had been orphaned due to the pandemic and measures taken by the ministry in the care and welfare of these children.

-- BERNAMA

PH PROPOSES SETTING UP OF AGROFOOD LOAN TO SOLVE CHICKEN PRICE HIKE

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Pakatan Harapan (PH) Agriculture and Food Security Committee has proposed that the government allocate RM5 billion in Agrofood loan fund in an effort to increase poultry production in the country.

Committee chairman Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub said the suggestion was a long-term plan towards resolving the issue of rising chicken prices, which now exceeds RM10 per kilogramme.

He said that through the loan fund, poultry farmers could apply for loans to transform conventional farming methods to modern farming with the Internet of Things (IoT) system.

“About 70 per cent of the breeders nationwide are still adopting the old method, and most of the non-competitive farmers have gone bankrupt due to the failure to bear the increase in costs production.

“By using high and advanced technology, greater capacity and production costs will decrease. This will eventually solve the problem of rising chicken prices effectively,” he told a press conference at the Parliament Building today.

-- BERNAMA

OVER 111,000 DIGITAL DEVICES DISTRIBUTED TO B40 STUDENTS THROUGH TABUNG CERDIK 

KUALA LUMPUR -- A total of 111,040 units of digital devices equipped with data plans have been distributed to the lower-income group (B40) students in 895 schools nationwide until Sept 18 through the Tabung CERDIK initiative, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE).

In a written answer posted on the Parliament website today, the MOE informed that 15,419 units were received from Yayasan Hasanah and would be distributed to the students soon while the remaining 23,541 units would be given out to the students once received from Yayasan Hasanah.

The Tabung CERDIK was announced in Budget 2021 as a pilot initiative to provide digital devices to 150,000 B40 students and implemented by Yayasan Hasanah, a foundation under Khazanah Nasional.

 -- BERNAMA 

MCMC RECEIVES OVER 6,000 COMPLAINTS CONCERNING ONLINE HARASSMENT

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) received 6,598 public complaints concerning online harassment between 2020 and July 31 this year.

Through a written reply posted on the Parliament website, the Communication and Multimedia Ministry said that of the total, 213 cases were investigated by the MCMC for social media abuse in general, and seven of them were brought to court.

“The complaints included cases of cyberbullying, sexual harassment, threats, acts of intimidation and the misuse of personal details to defame an individual.

“In addition, based on the Cyber999 statistic report handled by CyberSecurity Malaysia, the MCMC received 219 complaints related to online sexual crimes for 2020, and a total of 131 complaints until July 2021,” according to the reply.

-- BERNAMA

MOTAC REVIEWING PROPOSAL TO MAKE TRAVEL INSURANCE PURCHASE COMPULSORY

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) is reviewing the proposal to make it compulsory for domestic and foreign tourists to purchase travel insurance.

Through a written reply, the ministry said that, at present, tourists are not required to do so but are encouraged to buy insurance as personal protection to ease the burden in the event of an accident while travelling.

“The review involves various parties, including ministries such as Finance Ministry, other government agencies and industry players to assess each advantage and any implications before a policy on the matter is decided later,” according to the reply.

-- BERNAMA