Latest news with #RM18
The Sun
12 hours ago
- The Sun
Terengganu seeks RMAF assistance for injured UPSI student
SETIU: The Terengganu state government is negotiating with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to secure a mercy flight service to bring home an Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) student who was injured in a bus accident on the East-West Highway (JRTB) near Gerik, Perak on June 9. State Welfare, Women's Development, Family and National Unity Committee chairman Maliaman Kassim said the student, Nur Erika Alisya Mohd Zaidi, 21, who is currently still being treated at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh, can only be transported back to Terengganu by air. 'Following my recent visit, the hospital informed us that if we want to bring the student home, she cannot travel by land vehicle due to her injuries. Therefore, we are currently negotiating with the RMAF to make efforts to bring Nur Erika Alisya home via a mercy flight,' he told Bernama here today. He said this when met after visiting another UPSI student injured in the accident, Aimi Nusaha Che Azmi, 21, in Kampung Gong Batu, Bandar Permaisuri, here. Maliaman said that in addition to Nur Erika Alisya, another UPSI student is still receiving treatment at the same hospital, one is being treated at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, while the rest have returned to their respective hometowns. In the meantime, he said the state government has provided aid to 48 victims and heirs involved in the tragedy, namely RM3,000 to the families of those who died, and RM1,000 to those injured, including the bus driver, co-driver, and four individuals in the Perodua Alza car. He added that the state government will continue to assist the victims, including medical costs, with the highest medical cost funded by the state government being RM18,588 for Nur Erika Alisya's treatment. In the early morning incident on June 9, 15 UPSI students died when a bus specially rented from Jertih to return to the university's main campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak, overturned after being involved in an accident with a Perodua Alza on the JRTB. The accident also resulted in 33 others being injured, including the bus driver and co-driver, as well as the driver and three passengers of the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV).
The Sun
12 hours ago
- The Sun
Terengganu govt seeking RMAF's assistance to airlift UPSI student injured in Gerik bus accident
SETIU: The Terengganu state government is negotiating with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to secure a mercy flight service to bring home an Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) student who was injured in a bus accident on the East-West Highway (JRTB) near Gerik, Perak on June 9. State Welfare, Women's Development, Family and National Unity Committee chairman Maliaman Kassim said the student, Nur Erika Alisya Mohd Zaidi, 21, who is currently still being treated at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh, can only be transported back to Terengganu by air. 'Following my recent visit, the hospital informed us that if we want to bring the student home, she cannot travel by land vehicle due to her injuries. Therefore, we are currently negotiating with the RMAF to make efforts to bring Nur Erika Alisya home via a mercy flight,' he told Bernama here today. He said this when met after visiting another UPSI student injured in the accident, Aimi Nusaha Che Azmi, 21, in Kampung Gong Batu, Bandar Permaisuri, here. Maliaman said that in addition to Nur Erika Alisya, another UPSI student is still receiving treatment at the same hospital, one is being treated at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, while the rest have returned to their respective hometowns. In the meantime, he said the state government has provided aid to 48 victims and heirs involved in the tragedy, namely RM3,000 to the families of those who died, and RM1,000 to those injured, including the bus driver, co-driver, and four individuals in the Perodua Alza car. He added that the state government will continue to assist the victims, including medical costs, with the highest medical cost funded by the state government being RM18,588 for Nur Erika Alisya's treatment. In the early morning incident on June 9, 15 UPSI students died when a bus specially rented from Jertih to return to the university's main campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak, overturned after being involved in an accident with a Perodua Alza on the JRTB. The accident also resulted in 33 others being injured, including the bus driver and co-driver, as well as the driver and three passengers of the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV).
The Star
13 hours ago
- The Star
Gerik bus crash: Terengganu seeking Air Force's help to airlift injured UPSI student home
SETIU: The Terengganu government is negotiating with the Air Force to arrange a mercy flight for a Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) student injured in the bus crash on the East-West Highway to return home. State welfare, women's development, family and national unity committee chairman Maliaman Kassim said the student, Nur Erika Alisya Mohd Zaidi, 21, who is still receiving treatment at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh, can only be transported back to Terengganu by air. "The hospital said she cannot travel by land due to her injuries. So we are negotiating with the Air Force for a mercy flight to bring Nur Erika home via," he said on Friday (June 20) after visiting another injured UPSI student, Aimi Nusaha Che Azmi, 21, in Kampung Gong Batu, Bandar Permaisuri, here. Maliaman said in addition to Nur Erika, there is another UPSI student still receiving treatment at the Ipoh hospital and another at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. The rest have returned to their respective hometowns. He also said the state government had provided aid to 48 victims and family members involved in the tragedy, namely RM3,000 to the families of the deceased and RM1,000 to those injured, including the bus driver, co-driver and four individuals in a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV). He added that the state government would continue to assist the victims, including for medical costs, adding that Nur Erika had incurred the highest cost of RM18,588. In the early June 9 incident, 15 UPSI students died when a bus travelling from Jertih to the UPSI campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak, overturned in an accident with an MPV on the highway. Another 33 were injured, including the bus driver and co-driver, as well as the driver and three passengers of the MPV. – Bernama
The Star
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
Potential EV price war
PETALING JAYA: Amid global overcapacity, a 'full-blown' price war could be unleashed in the local electric vehicle (EV) space, warns an analyst. In Malaysia, locally assembled EVs – or also known as completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles – enjoy tax breaks until end-2027. These include exemptions from import, excise, and sales taxes to promote local assembly. Imported EVs – or completely built-up (CBU) units – have also been tax-free, but only until Dec 31, 2025. After that, they are set to face full duties again, making them more expensive – although calls to extend the exemptions have grown louder to drive EV adoption. Additionally, to protect local players, the government had set a minimum price of RM100,000 for imported EVs, also until end-2025. And with Geely Holding Group chairman Li Shufu warning of 'serious overcapacity' in the global automotive industry, Malaysia could feel the ripple effects, especially as EV makers, particularly those in China, offload excess production to new markets. On these fronts, BIMB Securities analyst Sabariah Akhair said the expiry of the RM100,000 price floor presents a 'strategic fork in the road', with two distinct outcomes depending on future government decisions. 'If policymakers remove the RM100,000 franchise approved permit policy price floor and extend CBU EV tax exemptions beyond 2025, we expect a full-blown EV price war,' she said. She said this scenario could pave the way for a surge of cheap Chinese EVs like the BYD Seagull and Wuling Mini EV priced as low as RM18,000 to RM45,000. Sabariah cautioned that traditional players, especially those without local assembly (CKD) scale or cost control, may delay investments or cut output. 'While consumers would benefit in the short term, the local EV industry risks being hollowed out, impacting jobs, localisation and long-term industrial growth,' she said. On the other hand, Sabariah said if the government allows the CBU tax exemptions to expire as scheduled while removing the RM100,000 price floor, the outcome could be more 'orderly'. 'We expect a more orderly and sustainable EV market. 'Prices of imported EVs would gradually return to previous levels, avoiding a destructive price war and supporting Malaysia's localisation goals.' Overall, she believes EV adoption may grow at a steadier pace of between 3.5% and 4% of total vehicle sales – or total industry volume (TIV) – in 2025, but this approach supports long-term industry development. 'Still, success depends on clear policies, robust charging infrastructure and affordable financing to support broader adoption.' To note, the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) reported that EVs accounted for 2.9% of TIV in the first quarter of 2025, up from 1.8% in 2024. An industry observer closely tied to EV distribution said the end of the import duty and excise tax exemptions on imported EVs at year-end will push prices up next year, making new imports less viable and potentially leading to a drop in EV sales volume. 'But with the removal of the RM100,000 floor price, more new models will find their way to Malaysia,' he added. He believes that internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles remain relevant, and this is where traditional players will continue to hold ground. 'EV adoption may take time due to limited charging infrastructure and range anxiety among consumers. Range-extended EVs (REVs), which help overcome range anxiety, may be more relevant in the near term. However, no tax incentives are currently offered for REVs, even though they are selling very well in China right now,' he said. 'Time will tell whether ICE cars from China will overtake traditional players. In terms of driving performance, they are still lacking.' Meanwhile, BIMB's Sabariah said incumbent distributors – or the traditional players – such as Bermaz Auto Bhd (BAuto) and Sime Darby Bhd are 'fundamentally equipped to sustain their market presence despite escalating competition from Chinese EV entrants'. 'Both companies have demonstrated strategic foresight by expanding their EV portfolios, thereby aligning with shifting consumer preferences and regulatory tailwinds supporting EV adoption,' she noted. However, she expects some near-term market share erosion, particularly in the B and C-segment passenger space where Chinese brands are most aggressive. 'While the landscape is undoubtedly becoming more fragmented, we believe both Sime and BAuto have laid solid groundwork for long-term resilience.' On local marques, Sabariah said both Proton and Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) remain structurally well-positioned to defend their market share amid growing competition from Chinese EV brands. Proton, in particular, she said has made a notable entrance into the EV space with the launch of the 7, which has quickly gained traction – topping EV registrations in early 2025. 'Backed by its strategic alliance with Geely and the ongoing development of the Automotive High-Tech Valley (AHTV) in Tanjung Malim, Proton is laying the groundwork for a vertically integrated EV ecosystem,' she noted. 'We see long-term upside in localised production, which could significantly lower production costs and provide pricing flexibility to compete against value-driven CBU imports from China.' Perodua, on the other hand, is expected to unveil its first EV – targeted below the RM100,000 price point – by end-2025, 'directly addressing the mass-market segment'. 'Unlike other rebadged models, Perodua's EV is reportedly developed from the ground up, reinforcing consumer trust in its engineering and brand identity. Moreover, the anticipated adoption of a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model – where batteries are leased rather than owned – may ease affordability concerns and further differentiate Perodua from lower-trust Chinese offerings,' she added. 'In our view, both national carmakers benefit from strong brand equity, entrenched dealership networks, and long-standing government policy support. While we acknowledge the near-term pricing pressure from an influx of CBU EVs, the local players' focus on CKD localisation, cost optimisation, and mass-market appeal should enable them to weather the storm and maintain relevance in a more competitive landscape.' Meanwhile, the industry observer noted that tax exemptions for imported EVs will eventually require China EV manufacturers to start their CKD projects. 'From 2026 onwards, Chinese EV makers will need to set up CKD projects in Malaysia to maintain tax incentives. But due to volume constraints, this may not be viable for many of them,' he said. 'I understand that Perodua is developing its EV below RM100,000, so it may not be affected by the influx of Chinese EVs. If Proton can do the same through its partnership with Geely, it will be in a stronger position compared to those Chinese carmakers without CKD operations in Malaysia,' the observer added.
The Star
06-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Ambulance or college degree, 'Uncle Potato' is your make-it-happen genie
GLOWING in her commencement robe, gripping the scroll that would set her on the path to being a doctor, Lim Jia Jia's megawatt smile carries all the pride deserved by her truck driver father and homemaker mother. Also beaming for her was Malaysia's "Uncle Kentang (Potato)". It's a moniker that has stuck with Kuan Chee Heng (left) since his early portly days, despite him dropping a few sizes now. The potato avatar, however, symbolises hope for kids like Jia Jia who have the dream — but not the money — to make it through college. It's not just education. Whatever the need, be it an ambulance, funeral service, eyeglasses, prosthetics, wheelchair — even a car with paid road tax and insurance — both Chee Heng and his mission (which uses the Malay word for potato) are there to help. From dawn ('I'm up by 4.30am,' he says) to dusk ('my bedtime is decided by the urgency of people's needs'), Chee Heng and his crowdfunded mission operate with a small army of ambulance drivers, paramedics, nurses and other skilled individuals ready to perform any humanitarian deed — often for free and sometimes a nominal fee. To give you an idea of what those deeds are, there's a production crew that shoots videos with a green-screen backdrop to later insert images of businesses run by retirees and single parents needing to make a little more money. There's a hospitality desk that arranges RM1 hotel rooms for poor families arriving from out of state for medical treatment in KL. Need to cook as well? No worries, there's a homestay — for the same RM1. There are teams that oversee multiple food and grocery programmes, including at a cafe and shop where the hungry and poor can purchase food and other items for RM1. There's also a RM1 market, where preloved items, from furniture to clothing and motorcycles, are refurbished and sold to the underprivileged. The RM1 seems to be a recurring theme, when the services could be free, I observed. Why? 'It gives people dignity when they pay for something, instead of getting it for free,' he told me. 'Believe me, I've been there. I know what it's like to be poor and to beg.' Deciding between optics and need The visibility attracts — not a day goes by without it making news for handing out a new scholarship, car or hospital bed — has led to scrutiny at times on how deserving its recipients are, since the organisation is declared as a "badan amal", or charity, that runs on community funds. 'We do our due diligence, of course,' Chee Heng said, 'But what's more important is that no needy person should be deprived of our services.' That can be difficult. One woman who received a car from him was accused — at least by appearance on social media (left) — of carrying an expensive mobile phone and handbag. Uncle Kentang had to clarify later that she was a single mom using a cheaper-than-thought phone and a fake luxury bag. The RM18,000 car was wilfully donated by an anonymous contributor to Yet, it didn't help the optics in this case. On another level, his interactions with preacher Ebit Lew, who faces a battery of sexual harassment charges, and fugitive businessman Nicky Liow, who's been linked to suspects of organised crime, have raised questions about Uncle Kentang's own character. Chee Heng makes no apologies for either. 'If you bring meaningful change to what I do, your past is of no concern to me. Everyone deserves a second chance, even a murderer or rapist. What's done is done.' What he regrets though is the negative chatter that sometimes deprives his organisation — and the people that can count on it — the aid it needs. In January, he made a call to Sports Toto winners to spend some of their windfall on ambulances for his mission. He was elated to get three pledges, only to lose one later when some people trolled him for bothering lottery winners. In a polite post later, he invited commentators to think first of 'the poor, sick and bedridden' before having their say, adding: 'It can be your loved ones needing an ambulance and by then, it may be a bit too late. We should consider supporting good causes. Do not kill good initiatives for the people. Thank you.' Kuan Chee Heng with an ambulance that runs under his mission Doing the job others are supposed to Viewing the site makes one wonder how an organisation with fewer than two dozen ambulances can manage the sort of first responder services typically expected of hospitals with far greater resources. On the site, a team of 50 trained operatives handle more than 30 calls a day coming in from all over to its Puchong base just outside the capital and route them to ambulances, mobility vans and other trauma services. When lives are lost, the kereta jenazah — hearse to transport the remains — and funeral assistance usually follow. Often, the 62-year-old Uncle Kentang can be seen in the thick of the action (left). When I rang one afternoon, I heard him talking over the siren of an ambulance racing to hospital with a heart patient onboard. Why do you do this, I asked when I got to speak to him later that day. What I meant was why he felt the need to provide emergency services when there were so many hospitals in the country, from government to private, to do that. Wouldn't dialing 999 itself get someone an ambulance? How much difference did his service make? 'It all has to do with the response time,' he replied. 'In an emergency, our affirmation for an ambulance is 10 seconds and 15 minutes to get there. Before asking why I do this, ask how many have those targets.' Proving his point, — despite its limited resources — was the first to reach Putra Heights after the Petronas gas pipeline explosion on April 1 and provide initial response to victims with third-degree burns. 'But you're right about what you asked,' Chee Heng said in an afterthought to my question. 'I wouldn't have to do this if those in positions of responsibility had done what they were supposed to.' Whatever the case, he seems to have done his job well enough to receive the Commonwealth Points of Light award in 2021, in recognition of his exemplary voluntary services to community. At that time, Chee Heng was the only fourth Malaysian chosen for the Queen Elizabeth honour among recipients in 56 Commonwealth countries. More remarkable is that while running his emergency services, he also looks to the needs of the police and fire departments and various municipalities, regularly donating special purpose vehicles and other items they need. 'There's a lot of bureaucracy in this country that prevents things from getting done in a timely manner and the more you get into public services, the more you realise that,' he added. 'As I said, my organisation doesn't discriminate or dwell on the problems; we try to solve them. If we can positively change a situation or save just one more life, we are the happiest.' A directionless teen before becoming celebrated giver In the post hailing doctoral student Jia Jia (left), Chee Heng said as a teen he himself was 'useless, not productive' and a 'mother's lousy son'. 'I did not possess any good results throughout my school time … (was) never an excellent student,' he wrote, adding that he did not 'have any successful story to break during family dinners or gatherings.' As though that wasn't enough, he appealed to readers to 'bear with me as I don't (know) how to narrate properly … my vocab is lousy'. But seated across from me, I found a man who not only spoke with near-perfect grammar and diction but could probably hold the attention of any room. 'Oh, that's 30 years of work,' he said, before walking me through that history. Born into a large family of ten siblings — six girls and four boys — Chee Heng was the ninth child to a pair of rubber tappers in Johor. From childhood to his young adult years, he could not remember much beyond poverty. He finished school at 17, with neither the interest nor intellectual capacity to do more (as he said in the post he authored on Jia Jia). A string of odd jobs, including an extended run as a despatch rider, followed over the next 12 years as he moved to Kuala Lumpur, then returned home, before trying his luck in the capital one more time. Saying it right with flowers It was on his second venture out of Johor that Chee Heng found his first calling: flowers. Working for a friend who was a florist, he learned not just how to arrange and sell bouquets but also how to get people to say it with flowers. Opening his own little floral nook in Jalan Sultan Ismail, he began making definitions for flowers no one had thought of till then. Red roses everyone knew were for love. How about white? Answer: Sincerity. Yellow? Apology. Champagne? Romantic love. Amber? Deep love. There's more: One rose = I want to be your friend. Two roses = Can we have a date? (Really? Why didn't I know that when I was dating? I was buying them by the bunches!) Eleven stalks = I can't stop loving you. Twenty-four roses? I'm loving you every minute. Ninety-nine roses? I won't stop loving you eternally (I really have to hand it to this guy). He helped his customers craft those messages onto the stalks and bouquets they bought. Soon, it became a trend as other florists latched on to his innovative floral messaging that appeared in newspaper ads. Chee Heng's own customer base rocketed from retail to corporate VVIP. His non-linear thinking also brought him his single biggest paycheck for a task when a businessman dared him to make a flower arrangement so large that it wouldn't get through the entrance of the Parkroyal Hotel in Bukit Bintang, in an effort to impress his girlfriend who worked there. No problem, said Chee Heng, who strung together dozens of baby-bouquet baskets holding about 1,000 stalks of roses to make a structure wider than the entrance. He won the bet for RM10,000; then turned the whole arrangement sideways and delivered the roses anyway to the woman — as a bonus. Keeping a good thing going All this happened in the 1990s and Chee Heng was just in his thirties. His fortunes were changing but so was something else within him. The poverty that shaped nearly three decades of his life had instilled in him deep empathy for the downtrodden. Uncle Kentang, the champion of the poor, began to emerge. Chatting with a moneychanger friend gave Chee Heng the idea of handing the vagabonds who hung outside his florist store RM5 each day to buy food. The Sultan Ismail-Bukit Bintang vicinity — long before today's Golden Triangle lure — was once a haunt for drug addicts and the homeless. 'No one plans for a life of addiction; it's all about circumstances and once you're trapped in there, there's usually no way back,' said Chee Heng. 'Society shuns addicts but we forget that these people have stomachs and they feel hunger too.' Chee Heng also made arrangements with a restaurant in Bukit Bintang where the addicts could take away meals when they did not pick up money from him. It wasn't long before his initiative to feed the destitute morphed into an idea of providing aid for the poor everywhere. The seeds for the movement were sown. Chee Heng leaned heavily on his top 1% customer base for help and contributions began piling in. At the height of it, he was sitting on a cash pile of RM7mil — something he couldn't believe himself. But those were days before the Covid-19 outbreak. When the pandemic struck, demand for aid went through the roof and had to double down on its services, unleashing a response it could no longer slow. The problem was that it also set in motion a cash drain the movement hadn't seen before. In just five years, Chee Heng's mission burnt through RM5mil — or an average of RM1mil per year — leaving it with just a couple of million from the total he had raised. Contributions have thinned further since the Covid-19 era. estimates it needs between RM300,000 and RM350,000 a month now to keep things going. At least 70% — or RM240,000 — is required to pay the 60 people on board, who receive an average of RM4,000 each. But what Joe Public itself is giving is less than RM30,000 a month — leaving the movement more than 90% underfunded. Chee Heng has come up with all sorts of ideas to raise more money, including a goofy one where he put himself up as a 'rental boyfriend' available for candlelight dinner with lonely women at RM50 an hour. 'Book early to avoid disappointment. I promise I will not disappoint you' he wrote in the post that pictured him in two shots — one in a biker's jacket (left) and another hugging a lamppost (I kid not). Probably sensing how the whole thing sounded, the father of three quickly added that he had 'just dinner and nothing else' in mind. 'Too many ladies get conned by virtual lovers. At least your money will go to the needful and hungry,' he said, summing up. It's not known if any woman took him up on the offer. In a more serious effort, he ran as an independent candidate for Puchong in the 2022 elections, losing so badly that the deposit he placed vanished too. 'Most people are still unable to accept someone not affiliated with a political party in this country, no matter how hard the person works for society,' he told me. 'But I guess that's democracy.' In the meantime, his movement continues to bleed cash. At the rate it's going, it could run out of money in six to seven months. 'Or we could keep going, with the will of the divine,' said Chee Heng. 'Without that, a pauper like me could have never dreamt of being a philanthropist.' I thought about that for a moment. Chee Heng was neither Disney's Tinker Bell with the magic wand, nor the lamp genie acting on Aladdin's command. But he was the real deal that made it happen for Malaysia's downtrodden. God, I sure hope he continues!
