DAP National Congress on March 20 - Loke

DAP will hold the party's National Congress on March 20 at the Ideal Convention Center (IDCC) Shah Alam, said DAP National Organizing Secretary Loke Siew Fook.

He said the matter was decided by the Central Executive Committee (CEC) which met on Jan 13, and the date set was in line with the advice from the Registrar of Societies (ROS), for the party's National Congress to be held before March 31, 2022.

"The postponement of the National Congress has previously been allowed by the ROS, due to various restrictions on cross-state movement due to the COVID-19 pandemic," he said in a statement, today.

All delegates eligible to attend the Congress must be physically present at the IDCC for the DAP CEC voting process, and other meeting agendas in accordance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the conference set by the Ministry of Health and the National Security Council.

According to Loke, DAP will ensure that the conference venue complies with the guidelines set by the authorities such as the permitted capacity, and all relevant SOPs.

Notices and congress agendas will be sent to each delegate in accordance with the provisions of the DAP Party Constitution.

Last year, DAP requested that the party's National Congress scheduled for June 20, 2021 and all the unavailable State Ordinary Conventions, be postponed to another date.

Floods cause food prices to rise, inflation - Department of Statistics

Inflation reached 2.5 per cent last year which was a significant increase compared to the previous year's deflation of 1.2 per cent.

According to the Department of Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Dec 2021 which measures the country's inflation rate increased by 3.2 percent compared to the same month in 2020.

The increase surpassed the average inflation for the period 2011 to 2021 of 1.9 percent.

Malaysia's Chief Statistician, Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase in the CPI was partly driven by the increase in food and non -alcoholic beverages due to the floods that hit the country.

“Heavy rains that occurred in several states such as Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor during Dec 2021 due to the transition of the northeast monsoon have caused an increase in food prices, especially vegetables, fish and seafood.

"This increase is due to the direct effect of lack of supply due to weather factors.

“Continuous heavy rains that resulted in floods and landslides that occurred in vegetable producing states such as Pahang also contributed to this price increase and directly contributed to the increase in inflation in the country.

"However, the implementation of the Malaysian Maximum Family Price Scheme (SHMKM) announced by the government on Dec 7 to 31 has eased the inflation of this group from continuing to soar," said Mohd Uzir in a statement today.

The CPI of some foods doubled

The CPI for two items increased double digits - chicken (13.6 per cent) and eggs (13.5 per cent) - when compared to the previous year.

"(Chicken) recorded an average price of RM9.54 per kilogram compared to RM8.40 in Dec 2020," he said.

In fact, all food groups saw an increase in the CPI namely meat (8.3 per cent); milk, cheese and eggs (5.5 percent); vegetables (5.0 percent); oils and fats (4.4 percent); and fish and seafood (4.2 percent).

The poor are most impressed

Mohd Uzir said the increase in the price of food and non -alcoholic beverages was more felt by households earning below RM3,000 a month.

Compared to the general population, this income group experienced a higher CPI for oil prices (6.7 per cent); milk, cheese and eggs (6.0 percent); and fish and seafood (4.4 percent).

They also experienced higher CPIs for transportation as well as for housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel compared to the general population.

 "The termination of the electricity discount under the Pemulih package, which ends in Sep 2021, has an impact on inflation for the (income) group below RM3,000," the chief statistician said.

All states saw an increase in the CPI

A number of states in particular experienced a tendency to surpass the national inflation rate (3.2 percent).

The groups of states involved are - Terengganu (3.9 percent); Kelantan (3.8 percent); Selangor and Kuala Lumpur (3.7 per cent); Silver (3.7 percent); Kedah and Perlis (3.7 percent); Pahang (3.6 percent); Johor (3.4 per cent); and Negeri Sembilan (3.3 percent).

Oil price factors

Among the contributing factors that caused the annual inflation rate to rise to 2.5 percent was the increase in the prices of chicken, cooking oil and vegetables.

The government’s move to stop electricity bill discounts also led to the situation.

However the main reason for rising inflation is the ceiling price for fuel.

"The setting of the RON95 ceiling price by the government from March 2021 at RM2.05 is the main contributor to the increase in inflation," said Mohd Uzir.

He said the inflation rate was not unusual for Malaysia as it was also experienced in countries such as the United States (7.0 per cent from Jan 2020 to Dec 2021) and the Euro Zone (5 per cent from Jan 2020 to Dec 2021).

Ice, snow was detected on Vietnam's highest mountain

Ice and snow were spotted on Vietnam’s highest mountain, Mount Fansipan, as a result of torrential rains and temperatures reaching freezing points on Friday.

Snow-mixed drizzle lasted for about 10 minutes at 6.30am, resulting in a thin layer of ice forming on Mount Fansipan and nearby areas, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported citing a statement from an employee at the Fansipan cable car station.

Rain accompanied by snow first occurred on this mountain located in Lao Cai province, since winter began in 2021.

It is a rare phenomenon in Vietnam and is only recorded in the high mountainous areas of the northern region in winter.

The tourism sector expects such weather to attract more visitors to the national tourist area of ​​Sa Pa during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.