KUALA LUMPUR: Kerajaan ingin membawa ‘game changer’ bukan sahaja kepada pembangunan infrastruktur luar bandar tetapi bagi menggalakkan Latihan dan Pendidikan Teknikal dan Vokasional (TVET).

Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata, pihaknya bukan sahaja memfokuskan infrastruktur bekalan elektrik dan air tetapi mementingkan TVET untuk legasi baharu penduduk luar bandar.

“Ia akan dapat menyediakan peluang kedua kepada mereka untuk melanjutkan pengajian serta menceburi dalam bidang keusahawanan.

“Dari segi kebolehpasaran TVET, melalui Belanjawan kita peruntukkan untuk realisasikan TVET khusus untuk wanita yang dikenali sebagai Job Empowerment by Learning and Inclusive Technical Advancement (JELITA) serta akan melibatkan pelbagai kaum dan wilayah termasuk Sabah dan Sarawak.

“Kami juga akan memfokuskan untuk membangunkan masyarakat Orang Asli melalui Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli (JAKOA),” katanya.

Beliau yang juga Menteri Kemajuan Desa dan Wilayah berkata demikian semasa sidang akhbar selepas Walkabout Program Jualan Desa Madani di Busana Menara Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) di sini hari ini.

PETALING JAYA: The education ministry is aiming to set up schools that cater especially for children from the poorest communities by next year, says its minister Fadhlina Sidek.

She said these schools will ensure that poor students enjoy a higher standard of education.

“We will provide updates as we want to ensure these (special) schools are ready to operate,” she told reporters after launching a school-in-hospital (SDH) programme at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar, Kedah.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government will introduce a new type of school for children from poor families to ensure they are not left behind in their studies.

The school would be similar to a secondary boarding school and cater to poor students, including those who are behind in their studies.

Previously, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) highlighted that the lack of funds was among the reasons why many children from urban and rural low-income families dropped out of school.

Meanwhile, on the SDH programme, Fadhlina said there were a total of 17 SDH in 11 states.

“This (SDH programme) is very important, especially in ensuring access to education for our children, and this includes those in hospitals.”

PETALING JAYA: Free breakfast will be served to children in primary schools throughout the country from January next year, Education Minister Maszlee Malik said today.

This will ensure they have the right nutrition to stay healthy and focus on their daily lessons, he said on his Facebook page.

Maszlee said this is part of the ministry’s initiatives to ensure that school children have access to nutritious food.

“In this connection, starting from January 2020, the ministry will launch a special free breakfast programme for children in primary schools across the country.

ONLINE accessibility to booking accommodations and flights has made travelling a breeze for holiday-seekers everywhere.Today, information is right at one’s finger tips and it is second nature for travellers to scour the Internet when making travel plans.Gone are the days of making room reservations via the telephone as the digital age gives travellers the ease of looking for information on room rates, promotional prices and reviews on the Internet.Travellers also habitually turn to global online hospitality services such as Airbnb and online travel agencies (OTA) such as Booking.com, Agoda and Traveloka for promotional deals – a trend that has been growing since 2013.However, instead of complementing small industry players, such online services have impacted the presence of budget hotels in the hospitality industry.

Tough competition

Malaysia Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA) said budget hotels have faced stiff competition from the online platforms over the last two years.MyBHA Kuala Lumpur chapter president Kenneth Oh said budget hotels (with three-star ratings and below), recorded a drop of 15% to 20% in revenue due to competition.“There are about 500 budget hotels in Kuala Lumpur, and some have been suffering losses in the past two years.“This has resulted in some operators selling off their properties due to lack of business,” he said.Leong and Oh say budget hotels in Kuala Lumpur are suffering due to hefty taxes levied upon them and lack of supervision of players in the hospitality industry. -filepicBudget hotels are struggling for several reasons.Aside from an oversupply of hotels in the city and lower tourism arrivals last year, Airbnb and OTA contributed to the competition while tourism tax and Sales and Service Tax (SST) further added to the burden of budget hotel operators.

KUALA LUMPUR: The nation’s education sector has seen the introduction of various reforms aimed at promoting excellence in human capital development in the past one year since Pakatan Harapan helmed the Federal Government.Driven by its slogan “Schools for the Community, Universities for Society”, the Education Ministry is endeavouring to enhance the status and image of the teaching profession via the implementation of various initiatives, aimed at reducing the workload of teachers and ensuring their well-being.To relieve teachers of the clerical work they have been burdened with all these years, the ministry has simplified file management and documentation through three interventions, namely textbook loan scheme, committee files and classroom-based assessment reports.

Data and online system management have also been simplified via two interventions, namely collecting data from the ministry’s existing sources and recording student attendance online.National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Harry Tan said the new measures would give teachers more time to interact with their students.He said NUTP has been working with the ministry since last July and held discussions with minister Dr Maszlee Malik and his deputy Teo Nie Ching on the implementation of the new work processes.“What’s important is that the minister has begun to give focus on ensuring that teachers perform their rightful task, which is teaching and not be bogged down with filling up forms,” said Tan.He also said the challenges faced by teachers today were related to the issue of professionalism.

GENEVA: The global unemployment rate inched down last year, the UN said Wednesday, warning though that jobs often failed to guarantee decent living, with some 700 million workers wallowing in poverty.Unemployment around the world fell last year to 5.0 percent – from 5.1 percent in 2017 – for the first time dropping to the level seen before the global financial crisis hit in 2008, the International Labour Organization said.But in its flagship “World Employment and Social Outlook” trends report, the ILO also raised serious red flags about the health of the planet’s job market.Deborah Greenfield, ILO’s deputy director-general, told journalists in Geneva that the decline in global unemployment “is projected to stall“, amid “uncertainty on many fronts,” and a “deteriorating economic outlook.”

The UN agency said it expected the jobless rate to remain at roughly the same level this year and in 2020, although the number of unemployed people should swell by two million to a total of 174 million next year as a result of the expanding labour force.In particular, the report highlighted the hundreds of millions of people who remain poor despite holding one or more jobs.In fact, it found that a majority of the 3.3 billion people employed around the globe last year suffered a “lack of material well-being, economic security, equal opportunities or scope for human development.”“Being in employment does not always guarantee a decent living,” ILO research director Damian Grimshaw said in a statement, pointing out that “a full 700 million people are living in extreme or moderate poverty despite having employment.”

ADUAN yang diterima oleh Pusat Khidmat Aduan Pengguna Nasional (NCCC) antara 2010 hingga 2013, yang membabitkan sektor automotif, adalah mengenai kerosakan kenderaan dan perkhidmatan bengkel, yang menerima jumlah aduan dianggarkan nilai kerugiannya sebanyak RM135 juta.

Kes kemalangan jalan raya di negara kita juga semakin menjadi-jadi. Apa yang lebih membimbangkan apabila ia membabitkan nyawa orang yang tidak bersalah akibat kecuaian manusia dan juga kesilapan teknikal kenderaan itu sendiri. Tahun 2014 mencatat 476,196 kes kemalangan jalan raya, manakala pada 2015 sebanyak 489,606 kes, iaitu meningkat 13,410 kes.

Begitu juga, kita dikejutkan dengan penemuan tayar celup palsu yang tidak mempunyai label keselamatan SIRIM. Ia amat berbahaya kepada pemandu terbabit dengan kemalangan, dan juga nyawa orang tidak bersalah yang menggunakan jalan raya sama.

 

Tayar celup palsu yang tidak mematuhi standard ditetapkan berisiko untuk meletup dan berisiko untuk terbabas, malah boleh mengancam nyawa pengguna jalan raya yang lain. Apatah lagi penggunaan tayar celup palsu sering menjadi sasaran pemandu kenderaan berat dengan alasan untuk mengurangkan kos perbelanjaan.

 

It is clear from the AKPK event as well as studies by the Consumer Research and Resource centre, Asian Institute of Finance and Bank Negara Malaysia as well as other institutions that Malaysian consumers are facing severe financial stress. It was reported at the AKPK event that financial wellbeing of Malaysian consumers was at a dismal level, three out of ten consumers had to borrow to pay for essential goods and many consumers did not set aside money for emergencies.

Malaysian consumers were facing three challenges- low and stagnant incomes, increasing costs of living and poor financial planning and financial management practices. One critical way forward to face these three challenges is through empowering consumers through financial education. In the twenty first century, the ability to deal effectively with money and financial matters is increasingly important for every person responsible for managing his financial affairs in everyday life.

The increasing importance of financial literacy is attributable to several demographic, societal and economic trends such as decreasing incomes while costs of living increases, increase in life expectancy, pressure on consumers especially children to consume through aggressive marketing techniques, greater responsibility on consumers on retirement as well as the complexity and increase in the number of financial products and services. Overall more responsibility for financial decisions is being shifted to the individual. How successfully people adapt to these changes will be affected not only by their skills and knowledge but also by their access and skills to use effectively financial products, services and information. People need help to make the choices that are right for them, and to understand the consequences of the choices they are making.

PETALING JAYA, 17 MAC 2015 - Gabungan Persatuan-Persatuan Pengguna Malaysia (FOMCA) dengan kerjasama Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan melancarkan Pertandingan Kepenggunaan sempena Hari Pengguna Malaysia (HPM) 2015.

Pertandingan Kepenggunaan HPM 2015 ini merupakan acara tahunan kali yang ke-14, dianjurkan oleh FOMCA dengan kerjasama Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan, Persatuan Pengguna-Pengguna Standard Malaysia dan Pusat Khidmat Aduan Pengguna Nasional (NCCC), serta disokong oleh pelbagai pihak, seperti Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, Standards Malaysia, Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN) dan sebagainya. 

Sebanyak 13 jenis pertandingan dijalankan pada tahun 2015, iaitu:

1.    Pertandingan Mengarang Esei Kepenggunaan
2.    Pertandingan Melukis Poster dan Mereka Bentuk Poster Grafik Kepenggunaan
3.    Pertandingan Melukis Kartun Kepenggunaan
4.    Pertandingan Blog Kepenggunaan
5.    Pertandingan Fotografi Kepenggunaan
6.    Pertandingan Buku Skrap Kepenggunaan
7.    Pertandingan Montaj Video
8.    Pertandingan ‘Speak Up’
9.    Pertandingan Mewarna Kepenggunaan
10.    Pertandingan Anugerah Penyertaan Terbanyak Peringkat Sekolah
11.    Kempen Penjimatan Air `MyWater’
12.    Anugerah Guru HPM2015
13.    Pertandingan MySwitch

  1. JEMPUTAN MEDIA - AKTIVITI SEMPENA HARI HAK-HAK PENGGUNA SEDUNIA 2015. (WCRD 2015)
  2. PELANCARAN BULAN KEWANGAN BERHEMAT 2014
  3. EMPOWERING CONSUMERS THROUGH CONSUMER EDUCATION
  4. PENJIMATAN DENGAN PRODUK CEKAP AIR
  5. KENAL PASTI KEBOCORAN PAIP AIR DI KEDIAMAN
  6. PRICE HIKES AND REMOVAL OF SUBSIDES. WILL THERE BE A BREATHER?
  7. KOS KITARAN HAYAT (LCC – LIFE CYCLE COSTING)
  8. RAHSIA MENDIDIK BELIA CELIK KEWANGAN
  9. URUS WANG BONUS SECARA BIJAK
  10. 6 TIP MUDAH MENABUNG DENGAN DUIT SYILING DAN WANG KERTAS RM 1