Malaysia: Malaysia Placed Under A State Of Emergency
Malaysia’s King has consented to a state of emergency being declared under the Federal Constitution after having consulted Malay Rulers and top government officials. The nationwide state of emergency will last until Aug 1, and was declared to curb the Covid-19 pandemic that has reached alarming levels. If the daily number of Covid-19 cases is brought down and controlled effectively, the state of emergency can be ended earlier. An independent committee comprising of government and opposition1 MPs, health and related experts will also be formed to advise the King if the state of emergency can be ended earlier. The Prime Minister has also assured Malaysians that the emergency proclamation2 is not a military coup3 and that the civilian government will continue its functions. The state of emergency allows the King to request that private hospital resources be used for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. The Malaysian Armed Forces will also be provided with the power to assist in performing public health functions.
1opposition – the elected politicians who belong to parties that do not form the government
2proclamation – the official announcement of an important matter
3coup – a sudden and illegal seizure of power from a government
Think about it: Was this a necessary move by Malaysia, or do you think simply having stricter restrictions during the pandemic would have sufficed?
Thailand: No Lockdown Makes Thais Uneasy
The country is battling4 its second wave of coronavirus infections and is trying to avoid the economic impact felt following the first nationwide lockdown that took place in March 2020. Instead of blanket5 measures all across the country, it is tightening restrictions gradually, province by province. However, some in the medical community feel that this approach will expose the country to the risk of repeated waves of infection later in the year, delaying economic recovery even further. There are currently 10,547 Covid-19 cases spread out across three- quarters of Thailand’s 77 provinces. An epidemiologist from Chulalongkorn University has warned those countries which adopted the flexible and economic-centric strategy have later encountered more serious transmission of the coronavirus. This then results in the need for longer national lockdowns, bringing with it more severe economic impacts. A government spokesman has countered that a national lockdown is not necessary as the public is now more aware and know how to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
4battling – the struggle to resist something
5blanket – covering all cases
Think about it: Do you feel
that tightening restrictions depending on the severity of the situation in each
province is preferable? Or would you rather have a total national lockdown to
stamp out the virus?
China: WHO Team Arrives In Wuhan
An international expert team from the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived in Wuhan to work with their Chinese counterparts6 to trace the origin of the novel coronavirus. After landing, they received throat swabs and serum antibody tests before starting on their 14-day quarantine. The WHO team also had tests for Covid-19 in their home countries before traveling. Before this visit, WHO experts on origin tracing had visited China twice at China’s invitation. Since then, the two sides have been exchanging information and worked together to formulate7 a plan for
global cooperation on tracing the origins of the virus. The WHO Director-General stressed that the joint scientific research done by the WHO team and their Chinese counterparts will be important for the future of global health security and to manage future disease threats. Some experts believe that it will be very difficult to find the origin of the virus.
6counterparts – a person that has the same function as another person
7formulate – create or prepare methodically
Think about it: What do you think are the chances that the origins of the virus can be found, given that it is now over a year and over 90 million infections later?
United States: Trump Impeached For A Second Time
Donald Trump has become the first president in US history to be impeached8 twice. A House majority has voted to charge him with inciting9 insurrection10 by his supporters. This defining moment will overshadow11 any policy accomplishments of his presidency and illustrates how far he has fallen since his last impeachment. A record 10 Republicans joined all 222 Democrats in approving one article of impeachment. However, the trial will not be held until after Trump officially leaves office on Jan 20. While this would be too late to cut short his term in office, it could be followed with a vote to prevent Trump from running for a second term as President. Since last week’s riot at Capitol building, the building is now secured by more military troops than are currently stationed in Afghanistan. Even some who were against impeaching Trump blame him for the insurrection. President-elect Joe Biden has voiced concerns that a fulltime impeachment trial might distract from his new administration’s goals.
8impeached – charge the holder of public office with misconduct
9inciting – encourage unlawful behavior
10insurrection – a violent uprising against a government
11overshadow – appear more important than
Think about it: Would you be in favor of impeaching Trump, even though the result of the trial would only be finalized after his term in office?
Technology: Signal and Telegram See Demand Spike
Rival messaging apps Signal and Telegram have witnessed a sudden increase in demand after their much larger competitor WhatsApp updated its terms of service. WhatsApp, which uses Signal’s encryption technology, in their updated terms of service, asked users to agree to let Facebook and its subsidiaries12 collect user data. This includes their phone number and location, but not the contents of the messages which will remain encrypted. Advertising and ecommerce services will also be rolled out to WhatsApp users. Facebook is the owner of WhatsApp. Privacy activists13 have questioned the move and suggested that users switch to other apps such as Signal and Telegram. Signal has also been endorsed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Signal added over 100,000 users while Telegram had 2.2 million new users. New installations of WhatsApp fell 11% in the first seven days of the new year.
12subsidiaries – a company controlled by a holding company
13activists – a person who campaigns to bring about change
Think about it: Are you currently using WhatsApp? Will you be switching to a new platform after the announcement of their new terms of service?
At the end of our news for the day, we like to take some time to provide our own inputs regarding one of the talking points raised. Today, we’re going to talk about changing to alternatives of WhatsApp.
I have been using WhatsApp for many years now, but I admit that I am uneasy about their new terms of service. They may have clarified that this will just be for business accounts, but who knows when they will change their terms again? Further, it seems that a lot of my contacts have moved to the other platforms, so there is no point for me to stay on WhatsApp if others are uncomfortable using it. After all, the only reason to use one platform over another is if your contacts are on it. However, there are some older relatives in my family who have used WhatsApp for a long time and are reluctant to switch and they don’t really care about sharing their information with Facebook. So, for me, I guess I will need to use all three apps in the near future.