Covid-19: No Selangor The late Ungku Aziz, A turbulent year, 2020: Hard times letting up yet welcomes you! honoured in brief and resilience 3 5 10 8&9 12-14 FREE l JANUARY 2021 EDITION l www.selangorjournal.my SELANGOR Virtual success THE Selangor International Business Summit 2020 (SIBS 2020) recorded an overwhelming turnout despite being held online and in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, giving the state government the motivation to hold it again this year. The annual global business and trade expo that was scheduled to run for four days from Oct 14, 2020, saw a three-day extension due to its popu- larity. With a more diverse audience and a total of 286 exhibitors and 51 speakers, the summit yielded 282 matched businesses. MORE ON PAGE 6 2 NEWS Selangor Journal l JANUARY 2021 The people’s welfare a priority, says Ruler SHAH ALAM - Sultan of Selangor Sultan economic problems. staff and the frontliners who have been “With the country facing Covid-19, I Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj wants the “As the Selangor Sultan, I also feel the working tirelessly to manage Covid-19. have decided not to hold any ceremony state government to identify the prob- suffering of the people and always want “I really appreciate all your sacrifices for my birthday celebration this (last) year. lems faced by the people and to work the wellbeing and prosperity of my peo- and I pray that Allah will always take care “However, the investiture ceremony hard towards helping those who are se- ple to be safeguarded,” he said in con- of the health of the frontline workers so will be held on a date to be set depending verely affected by Covid-19. junction with his 75th birthday celebra- that they can continue with their duties on the Covid-19 situation,” he said. In a statement via the official Facebook tion on Dec 11. and efforts. Sultan Sharafuddin reminded the peo- of Istana Selangor, the Sultan said he is Sultan Sharafuddin expressed hope that “Therefore, in appreciation of the ser- ple of Selangor to remain vigilant and to concerned about the welfare of his peo- the people will continue to be patient and vices and sacrifices of those who died strictly comply with the standard operat- ple, especially their economic problems. remain calm in the face of challenges and while on duty, I have agreed to award ing procedures as they go about their dai- “I always remind Selangor Menteri Be- that he would pray for difficult times to be them with the state’s awards and medals.” ly lives. sar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari and his gov- over and for things to return to normal. The Sultan also expressed his gratitude “I hope the risks from Covid-19 can be ernment to delve into the people’s prob- His Royal Highness also expressed his to Allah for being able to celebrate his reduced and soon be eliminated in our lems and find ways to overcome their appreciation to doctors, nurses, hospital 75th birthday. country,” he added. - Bernama SELangkah now works faster to test, trace, treat By SHEEDA FATHIL people registered a day before the portal was launched via the SHAH ALAM - The SELangkah website screening.selangkah. community screening portal has my. been refined to ensure better With the enhancements, a to- and faster access to information. tal of 44.2 per cent of the resi- SELangkah Ventures Sdn Bhd dents screened were tested with- chairman Dr Muaz Omar said in five hours and the results were the portal is now an integrated made available within 24 hours. digital solution, not just for quick The initiative received a pos- screening and contact tracing, itive response, with village but also provides diagnoses, re- heads and state representatives ports, as well as monitoring. spreading the word to the public. “The integration process is To streamline the delivery of crucial in efforts to reduce the reporting, the results collected number of tests collected espe- by SELangkah are shared with cially when there is a spike in cas- the Health Ministry through the es within a community. Public Health Laboratory Infor- “The new technological solu- mation System. tion would ensure that individ- The public has been advised uals who have been traced and to register with SELangkah to re- are at risk would be prompted ceive notifications on the state for testing, which would help in government’s free screening the screening process,” he said. programmes that will be held The portal was activated on from time to time. Dec 2 during the state govern- For further information visit ment’s mass screening pro- www.selangkah.my or get up- gramme in several residential dates from its social media plat- A lady checks in with SELangkah at a supermarket in Shah Alam. The easy-to-use application has areas in Meru, Klang, where the forms on Facebook and Twitter. been enhanced to provide diagnoses and reports New guidelines for workplaces SHAH ALAM - The Selangor Task state government, employers and contact tracing, quick screening, Force for Covid-19 (STFC) has in- NGOs. diagnosis, reporting and integrat- troduced a programme that aims “STFC would plan out several ed monitoring,” he said in a state- to prevent the spread of Covid-19 steps including diversifying the ment on Dec 11. at workplaces. standard operating procedure The former Health Minister Its chairman Datuk Seri Dr Dz- (SOP) as well as speeding up the added that the programme will ulkefly Ahmad said the ‘Prevent- initial screening procedure. enable the state administration ing Outbreak on Ignition Sites’ “The SELangkah system will and the Selangor State Health De- (Poise) voluntary programme also be improved to include in- partment to help NGOs trace the brings together the efforts of the termediate system integration for virus in hotspot areas. Selangor Journal l JANUARY 2021 NEWS 3 The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj, grants an audience to Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, daughter of the late Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz Ungku Abdul Hamid, on Dec 31, 2020, to convey his condolences as well as the decision to rename the iconic Jalan Universiti in Petaling Jaya after her late father. MORE ON PAGE 10 Tracing tool’s use extends beyond Covid-19 STFC: Expect high BY SHEEDA FATHIL sia. The system was developed by the Selangor Task Force for number of cases till SHAH ALAM - The SELangkah Covid-19 (STFC) and has since (Step In, Safely) contact tracing been enhanced to feature inclu- system has received a positive sivity, taking into consideration response, recording 6.4 million non-smartphone users. users within the first month it Meanwhile, Muhammad Azfi- mid-year was launched. zam said the application does Its project director Dr Hel- not only function to trace close mi Zakariah said this indicates contacts but is also useful for SHAH ALAM - Covid-19 cas- number of daily new cases is The Malaysian Insight on Dec a general compliance with the other purposes. es in Selangor are expected not expected to come down 29. standard operating procedure He said the latest features also to remain high until any time soon. Commenting further, Dzu- put in place to curb Covid-19. allow the public to receive infor- the middle of this “We foresee that lkefly said the surge in cases is “The public does not need to mation regarding programmes year as the state this will be the anticipated following the Hu- worry about the data shared on by the Selangor government. has recorded the trend going for- man Resources Ministry’s man- SELangkah as it is a lot safer and “If the Covid-19 pandemic highest daily in- ward until the datory screening of foreign less risky than writing the infor- ends, SELangkah can also ben- fections in the foreseeable fu- workers. mation manually on paper,” he efit the people by helping them country for 13 ture perhaps “Selangor being the most said on Media Selangor’s Bual Bic- to access state government consecutive days. till the middle of industrialised state, by way of ara talk show on Dec 28. programmes such as Kasih Ibu Selangor Task 2021. Hopefully, both factories and construction Also present was Selcare Smart Selangor (Kiss), where Force for Covid-19 we will get to see the sites, would naturally be the Management Sdn Bhd (Selcare) they only need to use the QR chairman Datuk Seri Covid-19 vaccine in the hotbed for cluster outbreaks,” director Muhammad Azfizam codes while shopping as com- Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the first quarter,” Dzulkefly told he said. Hamzah. pared to using (the) existing Dr Helmi said the data shared cards. It is easier. with SELangkah is not perma- “Also, through this appli- No symptoms for 80 pct of infections nently stored and is deleted ac- cation, the state government cording to a 30-day policy to would also be able to keep track SHAH ALAM - The mass com- know about our health status, filled, after which the Selangor avoid abuse. of the list of purchased items munity screening initiated by thus, the need to do personal Task Force for Covid-19 (STFC) “The data is only used for and if they buy things they the Selangor government has screening or the targeted com- will determine whether an area health purposes in the Covid-19 should not be buying, we can shown that almost 80 per cent munity screenings,” he said on requires community screening contact tracing process and will cancel the transaction. At the of the individuals tested positive Media Selangor’s Bual Bicara talk or not,” he explained.