THIS week’s big discussion is whether people should or shouldn’t take the Covid-19 booster shot.
Social media is buzzing with the supposed repercussions and negative impacts of the third jab – the problem is, it’s all unfounded hearsay, and it is discouraging many people from getting their booster shots.
Last week, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said 40% of those eligible for booster shots did not turn up for their appointments.
This is a real concern for Malaysia.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah tweeted last week that Covid-19’s R-nought factor, a calculation of the average “spreadability” of an infectious disease, has also gone up again, past the 1.0 mark.
And once again, intensive care unit beds in the country’s local public hospitals are experiencing between 80% and 90% usage, which is critical.
All this means that getting the booster shot is urgent, just as it was previously vital that people get vaccinated.
Getting a booster shot is safe, as it has been given to millions of people worldwide with minimal side effects – more than 21 million Americans have received a booster, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Don’t be confused or alarmed by talk in WhatsApp chat groups and social media.
Importantly, do not simply forward unverified information. Check and authenticate what you read, find out where the information came from – and your aunty’s next door neighbour’s cousin is not a believable source (unless he or she is a scientist)!
The booster shots – Sinovac, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines – have all been authorised for use by Malaysia’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).
The NPRA also says it’s OK for recipients of the Sinovac vaccine to get a different vaccine.
No government body would give its approval without researching studies and precedents.
The NPRA, the country’s drug control authority that authenticates the quality, efficacy and safety of all pharmaceutical products in Malaysia, would not risk its reputation and professionalism to allow boosters if it found them unsuitable.
Sinovac vaccine recipients who worry about being scheduled to have the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as a booster should take a look at studies conducted by Chile, Brazil, and Thailand on the use of the mix and match formula.
All three countries have successfully applied the mix-and-match – aka heterologous – formula to lessen the severity of infection among those who had completed their two Sinovac jabs.
People’s fear do need to be properly addressed, though. This is the time for the government to step up efforts to create awareness about the booster shot and how it can help to reduce the infectivity rate among the population.
There should be official channels to counter the adverse social media rumours and talk about the issue.
A barrage of official information could help counter the fake news and encourage more people to keep their MySejahtera appointments to get their booster shots and bring down the R-nought value.
And don’t forget that the highly infectious Delta variant is lurking within the population – booster shots are vital to keep it at bay and stop a spike in the number of cases.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 cases stayed above the 6,000 mark for the third day straight with 6,355 new infections recorded.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said of yesterday’s cases, 6,240 or 98.2% were mild and asymptomatic.
“Another 1.8% or 115 cases were in Category Three, Four, and Five.
“There were 31 imported cases, involving 20 Malaysians and 11 foreigners,” he said in his daily Covid-19 statement.
Cumulatively, Malaysia recorded a total of 2,575,888 Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began.
Dr Noor Hisham said the infectivity rate had seen a slight decrease in the last few days, with Thursday’s RT level at 1.02.
The country’s RT went up as high as 1.05 on Nov 13. An RT level of 1.0 and above indicates that the Covid-19 outbreak is growing.
Melaka (RT 0.99), Sabah (RT 0.97), Penang (RT 0.96), Perlis (RT 0.89), Sarawak (RT 0.85) and Labuan (RT 0.00) are the only states with RT levels below 1.0.
Dr Noor Hisham added that another 5,031 patients were discharged in the same 24-hour span.
“This brings the total of Covid-19 recoveries to 2,477,314, which is a 96.2% recovery rate.
“Currently, there are 542 patients in intensive care units, of which 436 are confirmed Covid-19 cases and 106 are suspected.
“There are 268 people on ventilator support,” he said, adding that 10 new clusters had been identified nationwide.
According to the Health Ministry’s CovidNow website, 78.4% of active cases as of Thursday are mild or asymptomatic infections requiring home quarantine.
The death toll stands at 29,892 after 55 fatalities were registered on Thursday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday morning (Beijing time), the first face-to-face meeting virtually since Biden took office. (Photo: Xinhua)
Chinese President Xi Jinping had thorough and in-depth communication and exchanges with US President Joe Biden in a rare long virtual meeting on Tuesday morning (Beijing time) during which they discussed strategic, overarching and fundamental issues on bilateral relations.
The first face-to-face virtual meeting between the top two leaders lasted three hours and a half after they opened their talks on a friendly note. Chinese observers said that the meeting will inject certainty into the bilateral ties and is sending a signal that the two countries will cooperate in many areas despite they could not avoid fierce competition, and the fact that they are trying to manage competition is itself a positive sign for the world.
A video released by China Central Television showed that Xi hailed Biden as an old friend in the opening remarks, saying that he was very happy to see his old friend and it's crucial for China and the US to work together in addressing common challenges.
Both China and the US are at critical stages of development, and the "global village" of humanity faces multiple challenges, the Chinese president said.
As the world's two largest economies and permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and the US need to increase communication and cooperation, each run their domestic affairs well and, at the same time, shoulder their share of international responsibilities, and work together to advance the noble cause of world peace and development, Xi told Biden.
A sound and steady China-US relationship is needed for advancing the two countries' respective development and for safeguarding a peaceful and stable international environment, including finding effective responses to global challenges such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi stressed.
"China and the US should respect each other, coexist in peace, and pursue win-win cooperation," he said, expressing his readiness to work with Biden to build consensus and take active steps to move China-US relations forward in a positive direction.
The Chinese President laid out three principles and four priority areas for the China-US relations. In terms of principles, the two countries firstly need to respect each other's social systems and development paths, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and respect each other's right to development.
They also need to treat each other as equals, keep differences under control, and seek common ground while reserving differences. The other two principles include peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. No conflict and no confrontation is a line that both sides must hold, the Chinese President said.
The US side has suggested coexistence between China and the US. One more word can be added to make it peaceful coexistence, Xi said. With their interests deeply intertwined, China and the US stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.
The world is big enough for the two countries to develop individually and collectively. The right thing to do is to choose mutual benefit over zero-sum game or the I-win-you-lose approach, Xi said.
Photo:Xinhua
The most important event in international relations in the coming 50 years will be for China and the US to find the right way to get along. History is a fair judge. What a statesman does, be it right or wrong, be it an accomplishment or a failure, will all be recorded by history. It is hoped that President Biden will demonstrate political leadership and steer US' China policy back on the track of reason and pragmatism, Xi said.
Biden told Xi that he was looking forward to a "candid and forthright discussion" as in the past and he believed it is the responsibility of the two countries' top leaders to ensure "the competition between our countries does not veer into conflict."
We need to build the guardrail of commonsense, be clear and honest about our differences, and work together on areas of mutual interest, especially on major global issues like climate change. The relationship between our two countries has a huge impact not only on our two countries, but on the whole world, Biden said.
While Biden insisting that the US is not seeking a new cold war, Xi said he hopes that the US can meet its word of not seeking a "new Cold War" with concrete actions.
While Biden made three promises, including not seek to change China's system, the revitalization of its alliances is not anti-China and have no intention to have clash with China, Xi expressed hope for the US to fulfill its promises.
In terms of four priority areas, Xi stressed that the two countries should shoulder responsibilities of major countries and lead global response to outstanding challenges, and act in the spirit of equality and mutual benefit to move forward exchanges at all levels and in all areas and generate more positive energy for China-US relations.
Also, the two countries need to manage differences and sensitive issues in a constructive way to prevent China-US relations from getting derailed or out of control, and strengthen coordination and cooperation on major international and regional hotspot issues to provide more public goods to the world.
The atmosphere of the meeting, to some extent, reflected a pretty good personal relationship between the two leaders, which has already been underscored in the previous phone calls, Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"It's also rare for heads of state to have such a long conversation, and such a good relationship is seen as a positive condition for handling bilateral ties," Wu said.
The virtual summit could enhance political trust between the two countries, which plays an important role for current and future development of bilateral relations and it's conducive for improving the atmosphere of bilateral relations, he continued.
The China-US relationship is undoubtedly the most important relationship between major powers in today's international relations. The ongoing virtual summit is sending a signal to the world that China and the US will cooperate in many areas despite they could not avoid fierce competition, according to Chinese experts.
"The fact that China and the US are trying to manage competition is itself a positive sign for the world," Wu said.
On the Taiwan question, Xi said we have the patience and will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts. But if the separatist forces for "Taiwan independence" provoke us, force our hands or even cross the red line, we will be compelled to take resolute measures, Xi said.
The US President reaffirmed the US government's long-standing one-China policy, stated that the US does not support "Taiwan independence", and expressed the hope for peace and stability to be maintained in the Taiwan Straits.
The virtual meeting was held during the working hours in China but late night in the US, which clearly shows which side is more eager. From the interactions in Anchorage in Alaska in March, to Tianjin in China in July and Zurich in Switzerland in October, China gradually has the initiative of the bilateral relations. The era for the US to unilaterally define the bilateral ties has ended and the two countries have entered into a period of equal and fair dialogue, Wang Dong, an expert on China-US relations at Peking University, told the Global Times.
The first half of the virtual meeting finished at 10:45 am after two hours of exchanging views on issues of common concern.
Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi as well as Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng are among the attendees to the meeting.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, White House Asia adviser Kurt Campbell and Laura Rosenberger, a US foreign policy veteran are among the US officials to the meeting, according to media reports.
The top leaders had spoken twice over the phone, in February and September.
The meeting, which lasted for rarely long of three hours and a half, concluded at 12:24 Tuesday noon Beijing time, which is midnight in Washington.
The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee presides over the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing, capital of China. Photo: Xinhua
Vigorous Chinese democracy vs aging Western one: Global Times editorial
"Whole-process people's democracy" has been officially written into the Communiqué of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. At Friday's press conference on the sixth plenum, the concept has been further clarified, which has garnered extensive attention from home and abroad.
Democracy is one of the important results of human society's development. It is destined to form different gene combinations in different social environments and manifest itself in various forms, just like that of plants and flowers.
The US and the West have always regarded themselves as property owners and missionaries of democracy, as if they are issuing democratic licenses to the world, preaching to people of other countries about how to be democratic and judging who is democratic and who is not. But they are no longer able to carry on such moves.
China has risen. We hold high the banner of people-centered socialist democracy, and develop an efficient market economy based on China's political system. We have rapidly improved livelihood and eliminated poverty, gaining remarkable and globally eye-catching economic and social achievements.
In this process, elements of democracy with Chinese characteristics have continued to develop and grow. Governments at various levels have been exploring how to make democracy truly effective in all areas. This has formed the goal-oriented democratic construction in which the people are masters of the country. From election to consultations, from policymaking to management and supervision, all have been carried out, upgraded and institutionalized under the promotion of China's fundamental political system. As a result, people's wishes and opinions can always be reported to governments at different levels rapidly. The Party's leadership has ensured that national governance always responds to the demands of the broadest masses of people and can make the most reasonable plan based on the interests of all groups in the society. This will make people the country's masters.
China has developed democracy, but avoided populist radicalism. Everyone has the right to share the fruits of national development but vicious conflicts have been prevented among different interests groups. Although people often express opinions on the internet, sometimes in a fierce manner, China's social governance has generally maintained order. There are very few disruptions caused by partial or large-scale disorder.
The US and the West still regard their democracy as a hallmark. Their political systems have been seriously aging after hundreds of years. Powerful Western interest groups seek to obtain from and exploit their systems in radical ways regardless of the damage they would cause, which has made Western-style democracy full of drawbacks such as populism, political struggles, derailed people participation, and manipulated and misguided elections.
Western-style democracy is still able to have a say in the international public opinion arena. It's because of the economic and social strength accumulated in history. Those countries are still the most developed ones, which has helped them conceal their ugliness and fool the world with their sophistries and cover-ups.
However, some Western elites are now a little bit panicked. They know the West is plagued by problematic politics and a sluggish economy. Meanwhile, they have seen the fast development of China. After the outbreak of COVID-19, China's "people first" political ideology has quickly transformed to great achievements in fighting the epidemic. They worry that if this continues, the fundamental flaws in their narratives about democracy will be exposed, and the perception that their political systems are "bad" will spread throughout the world.
The US and some Western countries in recent years have frantically increased their attacks on China's political system. Doing so is of no help to solve the decline of their own systems. The political dividends of Western-style democracy have already been seriously overdrawn. Now the shortcomings of Western-style democracy have been exposed and further fermented, which is consuming the competitiveness of those countries.
Those Western political elites want to eliminate the challenge of democratic diversity and change the competition rules in the globalization era by stifling China's development. However, China is a super-scale market and a powerful country. It's a dead end if they attempt to solve their own difficulties by changing China.
The Chinese and Western democratic systems could learn from each other and carry out sound competition. Unfortunately, some political elites in the US and West stubbornly seek to turn the two systems into antagonistic relations. Then they will have to bear the long-term consequences of their actions. China will develop faster than them in the long run. After passing a critical point -it's doomed to appear in future - the US and West's political confidence will be greatly shaken. Their unrealistic flattery of Western-style democracy will collapse.
The world is seeing active reflections and hot debates over democracy. Which kind of democracy is good is not defined by a war of words. The good democracy must effectively provide economic and social development with a steady stream of impetus and promote the well-being of the broad masses of people. Facts will be the best judge.
China is making great efforts to bring benefits to its people and contribute positively to building a community with a shared future for mankind. We are earnest explorers of a democratic system that fits our own conditions. Our efforts and success have received much attention and praises from a vast number of developing countries. We have expanded people's political vision, and contributed important experiences.
Developing countries generally face pressure from the US and the West. Due to their size, many countries are unable to withstand the pressure to explore an independent democratic paradigm. China's practice is in line with their interests, bringing the light of freedom to the world when it comes to the national choice of development path.
Democracy not 'patent' of the West; US democracy summit a 'huge irony' aiming to split world: senior CPC official
Photo: Zhao Juecheng/GT
The US' democracy summit convened next month with the attempt to "revive" Western democracy amid mounting democratic problems in their countries is a huge irony, as its purpose is simply to suppress other countries and divide the world into different camps, a senior Chinese official said on Friday.
Jiang Jinquan,director of the Policy Research Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at Friday's press conference on the sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
He said democracy is not a patent of the West, nor can it be defined by the West. Western democracy is a democracy dominated by capital, a democracy of the rich, not true democracy.
Some Western countries have shown a hollowing out of democracy,triggering dissatisfaction among their fellow people, but they are still trying to impose their democratic model on other countries. Color revolutions in recent years ago have resulted in disasters to local people, which the people of the world have become increasingly aware of, Jiang said in response to a question on comparison between China's whole-process people's democracy and Western democracy.
Jiang listed several polls as an example. According to a new survey from the Pew Research Centre, 57 percent of global respondents and 72 percent of Americans said that US democracy used to be a good example but has not been recently.
According to an NPR poll, 81 percent of US adults say the future of US democracy is under threat.
In contrast, two recent polls released by a US polling agency show that Chinese people's satisfaction with the CPC and the Chinese government is 95 percent and 98 percent, respectively.
Democracy is not for decoration, but for solving people's problems. Whether a country is democratic or not depends on whether its people are the masters of the country, whether its people have the right to vote and more importantly, whether they have the right to participate widely. It depends on what promises are made during the election process, but more importantly, it depends on how many of these promises are fulfilled after an election, Jiang said.
"Democracy is not true if the people are awakened only at the time of voting and then fall into hibernation, if they can only listen to the election slogans but have no say after the election, if they are favored only at the time of campaigning and then are left out after the election," Jiang said.
Jiang said the CPC has realized that China's political civilization and political system must be deeply rooted in the mind of Chinese society. Copying other countries' political systems will not work and may even destroy the country's future.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has adhered to the path of political development under socialism with Chinese characteristics and upheld the leadership of the Party and the position of the people as masters of the country, has resolutely resisted the erosion and influence of the Western political trend of so-called "constitutionalism", ruling party rotation, and developed a democratic road of whole-process people's democracy, Jiang said.
The Chinese people have a high degree of confidence in their political system,and the fundamental reason lies in the fact that whole-process people's democracy is highly democratic, fully fledged and deeply welcomed by the Chinese people. This is true people's democracy, Jiang said.
To break out of its paralysis, the West needs to take a hard look and address three key challenges, Rethinking Democracy, the Social Contract, and Globalization
Are my ears fooling me, or did I hear PAS president Abdul Hadi saying that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition was formed to fight extremist forces in the country?
Did he say that these extremist forces are now operating in Melaka?
The self-righteous Hadi thinks that he can say whatever he wants simply because he comes from the holier than thou religious party, the bridge between heaven and earth.
As they say, it takes a thief to know another thief.
It is well known that Hadi is a racist and religious extremist. His political strategy is based on the principle of divide and rule, not just non-Muslims but also among Muslims.
Hadi thinks by labelling others as extremists, he can emerge as a moderate and respectful leader.
But unfortunately, it is too late in the day for this. He and his party are beyond redemption.
Gone are the respectful days of PAS’ former spiritual leader, the much beloved Tok Guru, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.
Maybe Hadi, since he knows so much about the extremist forces, should go one step further to name and shame them.
Maybe he should elaborate on the extremist forces that sought to amend the Constitution. What was the amendment about?
It is typical of wishy washy Hadi to say things in general to escape the responsibility of getting into specifics or details.
He fears that once he gets into these details, he might be exposed for his lies and deception.
Can Hadi name the extremist forces operating in Melaka. Is it the much disliked DAP and its allies?
By talking about extremism in Malaysian politics, is Hadi pressing the panic button in anticipation of a possible electoral disaster in Melaka?
Is there a real fear in the ranks of the members of the PN coalition that the Melaka election might be their Waterloo?
Hadi is a very desperate political leader.
If the PN is wiped out in the state election, PAS and Bersatu might not have a national presence to face the next general election (GE15).
Calling others extremists is an indication that all is not well with PAS or its leadership.
Its role in the federal government with ministerial appointments has certainly dented the religious stature of the party.
P Ramasamy is a Penang deputy chief minister.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic law by separating religion, state<br />
Islam is getting in trouble. Sudan is the first country to ban Islam: See how the world is acting fast on the threat posed by Islam and its barbaric Sharia Law!
Many Christians in US, Europe who became Muslims are doing Ghar Vapsi
Japan has always refused Muslims to live permanently in their country and they cannot own any real estate or any type of business, and have banned any worship of Islam.Any Muslim tourist caught spreading the word of Islam will be deported immediately, including all family members!
Cuba rejects plans for first mosque!
The African nation of Angola and several other nations have officially banned Islam!
A record number of Muslims (over 2,000) deported from Norway as a way of fighting crime. Since these Muslim criminals have been deported, crime has dropped by a staggering 72%. Prison Officials are reporting that nearly half of their jail cells are now vacant, Court Rooms nearly empty, Police now free to attend to other matters, mainly traffic offenses to keep their roads & highways safe & assisting the public in as many ways as they can!
In Germany alone, in the last year, there were 81 violent attacks targeting mosques!
Austrian police arrested 13 men suspected jihad recruiters!
A Chinese court sends 22 Muslim Imams to jail for 16 to 20 years for spreading Islamic hatred & have executed 18 Jihadis; China campaigns against Separatism (disallowing Islamist to have their own separate state).Muslim prayers banned in govt buildings & schools in Xinjiang (Western China). Hundreds of Muslim families prepared to leave China for their own safety & return back to their own Middle Eastern countries!
Muslim refugees beginning to realize that they are not welcome in Christian countries because of their violent ways & the continuing wars in Syria & Iraq whipped up by the hideous IS who are murdering young children & using mothers & daughters as sex slaves!
British Home Secretary prepares to introduce 'Anti-Social Behaviour Order' for extremists & strip dual nationals of their Citizenship. Deportation laws also being prepared!
The Czech Republic blatantly refuses Islam in their country, regarding it as evil!
Many US states- A new controversial amendment that will ban the recognition of "foreign laws which would include Sharia law"!
The Polish Defense League issues a warning to Muslims. 16 States have all Introduced Legislation to Ban Sharia Law!
Many Muslims in Northern Ireland have announced plans to leave the country to avoid anti-Islamic violence by Irish locals. The announcement comes after an attack on groups of Muslims in the city of Belfast, Groups of Irish locals went berserk & bashed teenage Muslim gangs who were referring to young Irish girls as sluts & all should be gang raped, as per ''Sharia Law''.
Even hospital staff were reluctant to treat the battered Muslim Patients, the majority were given the Band-Aid treatment & sent home with staff muttering ''Good Riddance''!
North Carolina bans Islamic "Sharia Law" in the State, regarding it now as a criminal offence!
Dutch MPs call for removal of all mosques in the Netherlands. One of the Members of the Dutch Parliament said: "We want to clean Netherlands of Islam"! Dutch MP Michael DeGraaf spoke on behalf of the Party for Freedom when he said, "All mosques in the Netherlands should be shut down. Without Islam, the Netherlands would be a wonderful safe country to live in, as it was before the arrival of Muslim refugees''!
