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Cluster hospital system for public, army and private hospitals nationwide

The management of public, army and private hospitals nationwide will have a hybrid cluster hospital concept under the Integrated Covid-19 Control Centre.

Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali said the move is part of the emergency management plan approved by the National Security Council.

The technical committee overseeing the emergency management plan has met four times since the emergency was declared on Jan 12.

“Systematic cooperation will ensure access to healthcare for Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients,” Mohd Zuki said, adding government facilities and buildings nationwide were being identified as Covid-19 swab test centres.

He added the health and finance ministries, along with the insurance industry and Bank Negara, are fine-tuning the payment mechanism by insurance companies for Covid-19 patients in private hospitals.

Mohd Zuki himself is in self-quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 on Jan 22.

He also said 16 National Service Training Programme and nation-building camps will be converted into detention centres for prisoners and immigration detainees.

“The move is to ensure physical distancing among detainees in prisons and lock-ups and to curb the spread of Covid-19. Detainees in these facilities will only be those who committed minor offences,” Zuki said in a statement.

“Civil service workers will also be temporarily relocated to areas where additional health and security support are needed,” he added.

10 PEOPLE TO ACCOMPANY SILVER CHARIOT TO BATU CAVES

The Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple Batu Caves’ silver chariot will make its Thaipusam journey with just 10 people.

Batu Caves temple committee chairman Tan Sri R. Nadarajah said the 10 people accompanying the 7.3-metre-high chariot would include the driver, electrical technician, lighting man, a temple priest and five committee members.

The silver chariot will begin its journey from the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in Kuala Lumpur at 2.30am tomorrow (Jan 27) after a prayer ceremony. The chariot is expected to arrive at Batu Caves at 5.30am the same day. It will return to the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple at 2.30am on Jan 29.

NAJIB’S CASE, OTHER HIGH-PROFILE CASES TO PROCEED

A bid by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to disqualify Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram as prosecutor in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) audit-tampering case, will be heard tomorrow at the Kuala Lumpur High Court as scheduled.

The Federal Court Chief Registrar’s Office said on Jan 12 all criminal cases scheduled in open court from Jan 13 to Jan 26 were postponed with the re-implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO). The MCO is to end on Feb 4.

This resulted in high-profile trials, including that of Najib and his former deputy Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, being postponed.

However, on Jan 20, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat issued a directive that all criminal case proceedings, including cases of public interest, would continue to be heard in open court beginning tomorrow.

MAKE ONLINE LEARNING MORE AFFORDABLE

The Education Ministry must work with schools to make laptops or other devices easily available for families, said veteran educator Veronica Shepherdson.

Shepherdson said laptops, tablets and other such devices are essential now for education and one way around this is for the Education Ministry to make these devices a requirement from Year 1.

EX-ALL ENGLAND CHAMP HAFIZ TELLS OFF PARENTS WHO TAKE AIM AT COACHES

Former All England Open champion Hafiz Hashim has always wanted to tell overzealous parents not to interfere in their children’s training.

He finally took to Facebook today to do exactly that, telling off parents who whine about coaches on social media when their children fail to perform.