Long time no hear: Can KK Super Mart pull itself out of the mire?

 

ALL is now quiet on the KK Super Mart front which at the height of the holy month of Ramadan had hogged the limelight – all for the wrong reasons.

The Allah inscription on socks controversy may already been a distant past but its continued weighing on KK Super Mart founder Datuk Seri Chai Kee Kan exhibits the destructive vitriol that can develop from the 3Rs sentiments of race, religion, royalty.

Hailing from Sarawak, Chai is no stranger to the resistance of running a business in Peninsular Malaysia, especially with the stereotype that Sarawakians may not have the necessary business acumen to compete against West Malaysians.

But he has done it. Looking back to his humble beginnings with a ground-floor shop at the Kuchai Entrepreneur Park, it is interesting to note that his brand name has since expanded to include over 800 retail outlets across Malaysia, Nepal, and India.

In Sarawak, the spirit of multi-culturalism has allowed the many races there to live harmoniously for generations. But away from his birthplace, Chai now holds a very sensitive line in Peninsular Malaysia.

Note that Chai has ambitious plans which include a potential listing on Bursa Malaysia, forging a strategic partnership with South Korea’s GS Retail and expanding its body care and hair care product lines.

The success of his undertakings will be very much determined by his and his wife’s ability to overcome their court case.

To re-cap, KK Mart & Superstore Sdn Bhd has recently filed a lawsuit at the Shah Alam High Court against Xin Jian Chang Sdn Bhd for allegedly sabotaging its business by supplying socks bearing the “Allah” inscription.

This is a wise move towards diverting the negative spotlight that KK Super Mart has been holding recently although the damage has already been done.

Regardless, the sock issue is a firm reminder to business owners that unprecedented events often lurk around the corner. Chai’s 24-hour convenience store chain may have no knowledge about the 14 pairs of socks that have surfaced at three out of its 881 stores nationwide but when such a crisis occurs, damage control must be executed.

The public could also play their part by keeping calm while they receive more updates to get a fuller picture of the situation. Throwing Molotov cocktails into convenience stores is certainly not the right move.

Or perhaps the act of sabotage was never rooted in the issue of the socks but the desire of certain humans who derive pleasure from destruction. – Focus Malaysia

Kemasukan pelancong China, India naik 78.2% susulan pelan liberalisasi visa

 

Mengikut rekod pelancong di luar negara Asean yang paling ramai masuk ke Malaysia adalah China dan India.

BANGKOK: Pelan liberalisasi visa merancakkan kemasukan pelancong ke dalam negara khususnya dari China dan India dengan peningkatan sebanyak 78.2% dalam tempoh tiga bulan pertama tahun ini, kata Menteri Dalam Negeri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

Beliau berkata, kementeriannya memantau pelan itu sejak dilaksanakan Disember tahun lalu dan mendapati rekod ini amat menggalakkan dengan peningkatan sebanyak 861,000 orang untuk Januari, Februari dan Mac.

“Mengikut rekod pelancong di luar negara Asean yang paling ramai masuk ke Malaysia adalah China dan India. Peningkatan pelancongan dari kedua-dua negara itu dijangka akan menjana kepada unjuran nilai sebanyak RM6 bilion bagi semua rangkaian termasuk perhotelan, pengangkutan, restoran dan semua,” katanya dalam ucapan di majlis sambutan Hari Raya Aidilfitri bersama menteri dalam negeri, di sini, malam tadi.

Beliau berkata, pelancongan merupakan sektor yang rancak dan perlu disokong dengan kemudahan-kemudahan yang baik untuk menyambut kehadiran yang ramai.

“Disebabkan itu kita tidak boleh ada kesesakan di pintu sempadan masuk Malaysia dan kita tidak boleh lagi guna kaedah pakai ‘stamp’ pasport. Kita perlu ada kaedah yang memudahkan pelancong yang ingin memasuki negara dengan cara yang betul dan selamat,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, KDN sememangnya kini ke arah “face recognition” atau “barcode” bagi memudah dan mengelakkan kesesakan di pintu sempadan.

“Sekiranya kita boleh selesaikan keadaan di pintu sempadan masuk ke negara khususnya di Tambak Johor dengan Singapura dengan kemasukkan 350,000 “pelancong harian” maka kita boleh menjadi sempadan pintu masuk negara yang kedua paling sibuk di dunia selepas Amerika dengan Mexico,” katanya.

Saifuddin berkata, menjadi sasaran KDN untuk menyelesaikan keadaan di semua pintu masuk sempadan negara, dan sedang bergerak ke arah memudahkan – bukan lagi kekal dengan cara lama dan mengharapkan hasil lebih baik.

“Di Tambak Johor, kita ada 25 agensi untuk mengawal pintu masuk ke negara berbanding Singapura yang hanya mempunyai satu iaitu ICA (Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority). Jadi kita sedang memikirkan rang undang-undang untuk melahirkan satu agensi yang kita akan panggil sebagai “Malaysia Control Border Protection Agency” untuk menguruskan kawalan pintu masuk negara,” katanya.

Terdahulu, Saifuddin yang dalam lawatan kerja tiga hari di Bangkok, Thailand mengadakan mesyuarat dua hala dengan Timbalan Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Dalam Negeri Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul dan Menteri Pembangunan Sosial dan Keselamatan Manusia Varawut Silpa-archa. - FMT

Carry extra fuel, have alternative communication methods, airlines told

 

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia says airlines and pilots must be ready to respond to the volatile security situation and heightened military activity in active conflict zones.

PETALING JAYA: Airlines have been told to consider carrying additional fuel in the event of a flight diversion to avoid conflict areas, in a safety advisory issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).

The regulator also advised carriers to have alternative communication methods in the event that the aircraft’s radio systems are affected by conflict-associated jamming or electric interference that disrupts normal aircraft communications and navigation.

CAAM CEO Norazman Mahmud urged airlines and pilots to be ready with responses to the volatile security situation and heightened military activity in active conflict zones.

“Amid escalating political conflict, military activities and multiple closures throughout the airspace in the Middle East, there is a possible existence of serious risks to the safety of international civil flights, particularly ones operating over Tehran Flight Information Region and the airspace adjoining it.

“This underscores the importance of conducting thorough risk assessments for flights over or near conflict zones to safeguard the safety of aircraft and passengers,” he said.

Norazman said operators should consider additional fuel for take-off and departure from conflict zones without refuelling.

“The availability and serviceability of aircraft equipment needed to facilitate the identification of the aircraft by military units is also vital,” he said.

He said the conflict zones present unique challenges because of their unpredictability and rapidly evolving nature.

The primary risks to civil aircraft operating near or over active conflict zones include long-range surface-to-air missiles, coordination irregularities and the risk of miscalculation or misidentification by air defence systems.

“Given the lack of available mitigation measures against such threats, a systematic approach to risk assessment is crucial,” Norazman said.

On Saturday, Malaysia Airlines said it was rerouting flights between Kuala Lumpur and London to avoid Iranian airspace amid growing tension in the Middle East.

Budget carrier AirAsia does not use Iranian airspace for its flights at the moment.

Iran launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday, in retaliation to an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven officers, including two senior commanders. Tel Aviv has since vowed to retaliate. - FMT

Agreement for husband to have mistress during marriage valid, court rules

 

The High Court says a wife who tolerates her husband’s infidelity cannot cite adultery as the cause of marital breakdown.

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has ruled that a postnuptial agreement between a business tycoon and his Singapore-born wife, allowing the husband to keep a mistress during the subsistence of their marriage, is valid.

Justice Evrol Mariette Peters said the wife, identified as HLC, voluntarily entered into the accord with her husband, anonymised as PTL, in August 1997, a month after their union.

She said such agreements between non-Muslim spouses hold statutory recognition under Section 56 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976.

“As long as there is no violation of any law, parties to a marriage have the right to make decisions about their relationships and lifestyle preferences according to their unique needs, desires, and circumstances,” Peters said in an 87-page judgment posted on the judiciary’s website earlier this week.

The wife, a graduate of the National University of Singapore, who petitioned for divorce, argued that the agreement was not enforceable as she had executed it in ignorance, and under pressure and duress.

However, Peters rejected the wife’s plea of ignorance, noting that she had signed the agreement in the presence of witnesses and initialled every page.

The facts of the case revealed that at the time of their marriage, the wife was already mother to a two-year-old child from her previous marriage. She subsequently had five children with her husband, the respondent.

One of the terms of their agreement allowed the husband, who owned property and vast business interests in Terengganu, to maintain a mistress at any given time.

In October 2020, the wife left the matrimonial home with the children, citing the husband’s adultery and his unreasonable behaviour.

She went on to petition for divorce and sought maintenance for herself and two of their children, the equal division of matrimonial assets, and damages from a co-respondent identified as GEN, whom she accused of committing adultery with her husband which in turn resulted in the breakdown of their marriage.

Meanwhile, the husband cross-petitioned specifically for monetary claims under a marital agreement and the return of money and jewellery.

Peters ruled that the husband’s act of maintaining another woman was not illegal.

The judge also said the wife was not entitled to rely on Section 54(1)(a) of the 1976 Act to cite adultery as the cause of the breakdown of their marriage as she had tolerated the husband’s infidelity.

Section 54(1)(a) provides that the court, in its inquiry into the breakdown of a marriage, can take adultery into account if “the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the respondent” as a result.

Despite this, the judge granted the couple a divorce, making the decree nisi absolute with immediate effect.

“In my view, the marriage had run its natural course. It seems clear that the petitioner initially viewed the union as a means of ensuring financial stability for herself and (her son).

“Despite subsequently having five children with the respondent, she remained in the marriage primarily for convenience and financial security.

“Conversely, the respondent admitted to marrying the petitioner more out of a sense of duty rather than genuine affection, as she had become pregnant out of wedlock,” said Peters.

Describing the respondent as an “absentee father”, the judge said: “It was my conclusion, therefore, that while neither adultery nor abuse was proved, both parties bore equal responsibility for the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage.”

Peters also ruled that the terms of the couple’s agreement regarding custody and maintenance were not binding.

She ordered the husband to pay the wife RM10,000 for spousal maintenance and another RM6,000 for the maintenance of two of their children.

The judge also made orders distributing the couple’s matrimonial assets including immovable properties, vehicles, money, and shares in companies.

Peters, however, rejected the wife’s claim for damages from GEN, having ruled that there was no proof of adultery.

Lawyers M Kamalam and Eugene Teo represented the wife while Lee Sok Wah and Nur Amira Hidayah Razali appeared for the respondent and co-respondent. - FMT

Backbenchers back Kiandee’s call for law on equal allocations for MPs

 

Beluran MP Ronald Kiandee said the government must recognise the check-and-balance role played by opposition MPs by assuring them of equal funds.

PETALING JAYA: Three government backbenchers have backed a Bersatu leader’s proposal for legislation to be put in place making it mandatory that all MPs receive an equal sum in allocations.

PKR’s Hassan Karim, Larry Sng of Parti Bangsa Malaysia, and DAP’s Syahredzan Johan all agreed with Beluran MP Ronald Kiandee’s call for Putrajaya to craft a law governing the matter rather than leave it to the discretion of the sitting prime minister.

Hassan Abdul Karim.

Hassan, the Pasir Gudang MP, described the initiative as a “low-hanging fruit” that would not involve much money and can be easily implemented.

“There is no need even to engage with stakeholders on the matter. The bill would be very simple and straightforward,” he said.

He said the Madani government would secure the support and goodwill of opposition MPs if Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim endorses this reform.

“This is one aspect of parliamentary reform and would make it independent of executive control or influence, especially when it comes to finances and funds,” he told FMT, adding that it would also offer the unity government a good narrative when facing future elections, including by-elections.

Julau MP Larry Sng.

Meanwhile, Sng warned that the unity government may regret passing up the opportunity of turning the proposal into law.

“Good MPs must not be forced to compromise on their principles to support the government just because they want to help their constituents.

“In the end, those who are affected most by the lack of funding are the poor and destitute,” he said.

Syahredzan also supported Kiandee’s call but said “this should have been done earlier” by previous governments, even when the Bersatu vice-president was with Umno.

“But better late than never. I am happy that Kiandee has finally seen the light (on) reforms,” said the Bangi MP.

Syahredzan Johan.

Syahredzan said the allocations cannot be left to the discretion of any sitting prime minister to avoid it being “something that can weaponised”.

However, he denied that Anwar was slow in implementing this reform.

Syahredzan said the matter has been an issue for “decades” and it would be unfair to expect Anwar to resolve the matter with the mere “wave of a magic wand”.

“The prime minister is a reformist. I believe that sooner or later significant reforms, including this, will be implemented. However, he and the government must be given time and space to do it right,” he said.

Last week, Kiandee, a former Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker, said the government must recognise the check-and-balance role played by opposition MPs by assuring them of equal funds. - FMT