Platform Review the NEW STRAITS TIMES PRESS

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Platform Review the NEW STRAITS TIMES PRESS WHERE WE ARE Media Prima Berhad 28 Platform Review THE NEW STRAITS TIMES PRESS As the leading print and digital media company in Malaysia with innovative products and comprehensive media solutions, The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad’s (“NSTP”) main purpose is to provide the best content and product that is relevant, compelling and attractive to readers and business partners. 2020 marked a significant milestone for NSTP driven value-added focus, NSTP had made several as we adapted to the new business normal from organisational changes to achieve this aim. The NSTP group the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. All this while we bagged a total of maintained our same aggressive push in both In January 2020, NSTP had agreed to transfer the nine awards at the the digital realm, as well as in print for our three administrative as well as the digital sales functions prestigious MPI- Petronas Malaysian newspaper titles — New Straits Times (“NST”), of all its digital assets to REV Media Group (“RMG”), Journalism Awards Berita Harian (“BH”) and Harian Metro (“HM”). a 100% subsidiary of Media Prima. 2019, including making a clean As with other industries, the newspaper and media January also saw the official commencement of sweep of two industry was not spared from the Covid-19 impact, operations for Print Towers Sdn Bhd (“PTSB”), a categories, namely Best Columnist which had affected NSTP’s advertising revenue. 100% subsidiary of NSTP. Formerly known as Berita and Excellence Leveraging Media Prima Berhad’s (“MPB”) group Harian Publishing Sdn Bhd, PTSB is a full-fledged, International transformation strategy of being subsidiary- stand-alone commercial newspaper printing and Journalism. centric with a lean structure and a clear profit- logistics business, that undertakes orders beyond Media Prima and Media Mulia Sdn Bhd. WHERE WE ARE Annual Report 2020 29 1 For mobile, we continued to grow our reach with ongoing developments of our e-paper and mobile applications including NST Mobile, HM Mobile and BH Mobile. 2 In April 2020, as part of the Group’s strategy of having integrated marketing functions under a separate entity, NSTP’s entire Advertising Sales department were transferred to Media Prima Omnia Sdn Bhd (“Omnia”), another subsidiary of MPB. Three main targets were set — to become the undisputed leader for Malaysian news and content by focussing on our core business of content generation; to maximise the value of every NSTP product; and to continue playing our part as an active corporate citizen and contribute more towards nation-building. For NSTP’s three main publications, despite the movement restrictions and new SOPs, we continued to enhance our newspapers’ DNA which are known as the 4Es: Exclusive, Examine, Educate For NST, which celebrated its 175th anniversary and Entertain. For print, we strengthened their on 15 July, a grand exhibition titled “Traversing 1. editorial offerings with new columnists and new 175” was held at Galeri Prima in August 2020, Prime Minister of exclusive stories every month, before following up which saw the YAB Prime Minister graciously Malaysia, YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin with more current and related news for the online officiating the event with a hope for NST to “always launched the New audience. be the foremost English-language newspaper and Straits Times’ 175th remains as the source of reference for everyone, Anniversary Exhibition For mobile, we continued to grow our reach with not just in Malaysia but the whole world - when the held at Galeri Prima, ongoing developments of our e-paper and mobile world wants to know about Malaysia.” Balai Berita Bangsar. applications including NST Mobile, HM Mobile 2. and BH Mobile. In the social sphere, we rallied For BH, the professional, family-oriented Bahasa NSTP received a the public’s support to help us contribute more daily truly lived up to its tagline as the “Wadah courtesy visit from towards nation-building, by leveraging the history Pembaharuan - Berimbang, Adil dan Tepat”, with Russia Ambassador to and legacy behind NSTP as an institution that has live forums and talk shows held to build trust with Malaysia, Naiyl Latypov (right) at Balai Berita produced some of the nation’s greatest literary and our young online audience and increase our online Bangsar. journalism giants. programming variety. WHERE WE ARE Media Prima Berhad 30 Platform Review The Bicara BH, for example, which is streamed evoking word-plays and more community-centric 3. live on Facebook, had several ministers and stories, which has been successful in getting the As a way to help the needy other distinguished panellists and industry attention of the public and corporate sponsors. The affected by Covid-19, the representatives discussing various interesting and funds poured into HM’s Tabung Metro Prihatin under Titipan Kasih Khas Harian up-to-date topics that were more relatable to the the Media Prima-NSTP Humanitarian Fund, allowed Metro Bersama Affin Islamic Bank Bhd programme paid a younger audience. us to give more in 2020, and truly reach out to those visit to a single father, Syed in need. Abdullah Nik (third, left) With an invitation to be in someone else’s shoes, in Sik, Kedah, who raised the “Rasai Berita Sebenar” tagline aptly describes Our overall resolve to deliver beyond expectations three children including two HM’s overall content approach, with emotion- was also severely tested during the staging of adopted children, one of rd whom is disabled. this year’s 33 Anugerah Bintang Popular BH (“ABPBH33”) in November 2020. Initially mired 4. For NSTP, our reason for being in online controversy, it turned out to be a huge The 33rd Anugerah Bintang success with this year’s show garnering an even Popular BH paid a special has always been to serve higher audience share ratings than last year’s. tribute to veteran singer- songwriter Francissca Malaysians with high quality Peter with the Lifetime Staged at Axiata Arena within the new normals, Achievement Award. and credible content. with no audiences and strict adherence to SOPs, ABPBH33 was aired and streamed live on TV3, tonton, the YouTube channels of TV3 and BH, as well as on ABPBH’s official website (www.abpbh.com. 3 my) and the TikTok app. Moving forward, it will remain a very challenging operating environment ahead for the overall newspaper and media industry, with some analysts opining that the pandemic is actually hastening the decline in traditional media revenues as advertising expenditure suffers. With the operating environment expected to remain as such within the immediate to near term, NSTP as a company will consciously improve its operational efficiencies internally with more prudent cost- saving measures as a way to cushion the impact of lower revenues. 4 At the same time, the Company will continue to develop and grow our digital initiatives, to meaningfully offset any declines in traditional revenue, and focus on the value stream we use to deliver content to the audience. For NSTP, our reason for being has always been to serve Malaysians with high quality and credible content, be it news, lifestyle or entertainment, that will enrich and complement their daily lives. New work structure, new approaches and processes within a new normal, cost optimisations and new strategies are just some of the plans put in place by NSTP to meet the current challenges and strive forward, pandemic or not. .
Recommended publications
  • Media Prima Project
    Media Prima Project A complex system made simple TABLE OF CONTENS 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 4 2. REQUESTED FEATURES ............................................................................................. 5 3. PROPOSED SOLUTION ................................................................................................ 6 4. ETERE ARCHITECTURE ............................................................................................... 6 4.1 A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM............................................................................................................................. 6 4.2 ETERE GUI WITH SECONDARY EVENTS ....................................................................................................... 7 4.3 MAIN CLONE REDUNDANCY ........................................................................................................................ 8 4.4 ET0558-B REDUNDANCY SWITCH .............................................................................................................. 9 5. NLE INTEGRATION USING ETERE WEB ..................................................................... 9 5.1 FIREWALL AND DMZ ................................................................................................................................ 10 5.2 ETERE TAPELESS CONCEPT ..................................................................................................................... 10 5.3 ETERE LOGS
    [Show full text]
  • Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020
    Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020 Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020 Nic Newman with Richard Fletcher, Anne Schulz, Simge Andı, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen Supported by Surveyed by © Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism / Digital News Report 2020 4 Contents Foreword by Rasmus Kleis Nielsen 5 3.15 Netherlands 76 Methodology 6 3.16 Norway 77 Authorship and Research Acknowledgements 7 3.17 Poland 78 3.18 Portugal 79 SECTION 1 3.19 Romania 80 Executive Summary and Key Findings by Nic Newman 9 3.20 Slovakia 81 3.21 Spain 82 SECTION 2 3.22 Sweden 83 Further Analysis and International Comparison 33 3.23 Switzerland 84 2.1 How and Why People are Paying for Online News 34 3.24 Turkey 85 2.2 The Resurgence and Importance of Email Newsletters 38 AMERICAS 2.3 How Do People Want the Media to Cover Politics? 42 3.25 United States 88 2.4 Global Turmoil in the Neighbourhood: 3.26 Argentina 89 Problems Mount for Regional and Local News 47 3.27 Brazil 90 2.5 How People Access News about Climate Change 52 3.28 Canada 91 3.29 Chile 92 SECTION 3 3.30 Mexico 93 Country and Market Data 59 ASIA PACIFIC EUROPE 3.31 Australia 96 3.01 United Kingdom 62 3.32 Hong Kong 97 3.02 Austria 63 3.33 Japan 98 3.03 Belgium 64 3.34 Malaysia 99 3.04 Bulgaria 65 3.35 Philippines 100 3.05 Croatia 66 3.36 Singapore 101 3.06 Czech Republic 67 3.37 South Korea 102 3.07 Denmark 68 3.38 Taiwan 103 3.08 Finland 69 AFRICA 3.09 France 70 3.39 Kenya 106 3.10 Germany 71 3.40 South Africa 107 3.11 Greece 72 3.12 Hungary 73 SECTION 4 3.13 Ireland 74 References and Selected Publications 109 3.14 Italy 75 4 / 5 Foreword Professor Rasmus Kleis Nielsen Director, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) The coronavirus crisis is having a profound impact not just on Our main survey this year covered respondents in 40 markets, our health and our communities, but also on the news media.
    [Show full text]
  • <Notes> Malaysia's National Language Mass Media
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Kyoto University Research Information Repository <Notes> Malaysia's National Language Mass Media : History Title and Present Status Author(s) Lent, John A. Citation 東南アジア研究 (1978), 15(4): 598-612 Issue Date 1978-03 URL http://hdl.handle.net/2433/55900 Right Type Journal Article Textversion publisher Kyoto University South East Asian Studies, Vol. 15, No.4, March 1978 Malaysia's National Language Mass Media: History and Present Status John A. LENT* Compared to its English annd Chinese language newspapers and periodicals, Nlalaysia's national language press is relatively young. The first recognized newspaper in the Malay (also called Bahasa Malaysia) language appeared in 1876, seven decades after the Go'vern­ ment Gazette was published in English, and 61 years later than the Chinese J!lonthly 1\1agazine. However, once developed, the Malay press became extremely important in the peninsula, especially in its efforts to unify the Malays in a spirit of national consciousness. Between 1876 and 1941, at least 162 Malay language newspapers, magazines and journals were published, plus eight others in English designed by or for Malays and three in Malay and English.I) At least another 27 were published since 1941, bringing the total to 200. 2) Of the 173 pre-World War II periodicals, 104 were established in the Straits Settlements of Singapore and Penang (68 and 36, respectively): this is understandable in that these cities had large concentrations of Malay population. In fact, during the first four decades of Malay journalism, only four of the 26 newspapers or periodicals were published in the peninsular states, all four in Perak.
    [Show full text]
  • Malaysian Newspaper Discourse and Citizen Participation
    www.ccsenet.org/ass Asian Social Science Vol. 8, No. 5; April 2012 Malaysian Newspaper Discourse and Citizen Participation Arina Anis Azlan (Corresponding author) School of Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Tel: 60-3-8921-4456 E-mail: [email protected] Samsudin A. Rahim School of Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Tel: 60-3-8921-5832 E-mail: [email protected] Fuziah Kartini Hassan Basri School of Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Tel: 60-3-8921-5908 E-mail: [email protected] Mohd Safar Hasim Centre of Corporate Communications Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Tel: 60-3-8921-5540 E-mail: [email protected] Received: February 26, 2012 Accepted: March 13, 2012 Published: April 16, 2012 doi:10.5539/ass.v8n5p116 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v8n5p116 This project is funded by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia under the research code UKM-AP-CMNB-19-2009/1 Abstract Newspapers are a particularly important tool for the communication of government agenda, policies and issues to the general public. An informed public makes for better democracy and active citizen participation, with citizens able to make well-informed decisions about the governance of their nation. This paper observes the role of Malaysian mainstream newspapers in the facilitation of citizen participation to exercise their political rights and responsibilities through a critical discourse analysis on newspaper coverage of the New Economic Model (NEM), a landmark policy of the Najib Administration.
    [Show full text]
  • IPR 2019 MCMC.Pdf
    STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS In accordance with Part V, Chapter 15, Sections 123 – 125 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, and Part II, Section 6 of Postal Services Act 2012, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission hereby publishes and has transmitted to the Minister of Communications and Multimedia a copy of this Industry Performance Report (IPR) for the year ended 31 December 2019. MALAYSIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MULTIMEDIA COMMISSION, 2020 The information or material in this publication is protected under copyright and save where otherwise stated, may be reproduced for non-commercial use provided it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. Where any material is reproduced, MCMC as the source of the material must be identified and the copyright status acknowledged. The permission to reproduce does not extend to any information or material the copyright of which belongs to any other person, organisation or third party. Authorisation or permission to reproduce such information or material must be obtained from the copyright holders concerned. This work is based on sources believed to be reliable, but MCMC does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information for any purpose and cannot accept responsibility for any error or omission. Published by: Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission MCMC Tower 1 Jalan Impact Cyber 6 63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan T: +60 3 86 88 80 00 F: +60 3 86 88 10 00 Toll Free: 1-800-888-030 W: www.mcmc.gov.my ISSN 1823 – 3724 Note: Numbers and percentages may not add up due to rounding practices. Information and figures given are accurate as per current date and time report was produced.
    [Show full text]
  • In Berita Harian and Harian Metro
    Newspaper Coverage on Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) in Berita Harian and Harian Metro NEWSPAPER COVERAGE ON METHADONE MAINTENANCE THERAPY (MMT) IN BERITA HARIAN AND HARIAN METRO Siti Hajar Abd Aziz1, Noor Mayudia Mohd Mothar2 & Shahril Anuar Abdul Ghalim3 ABSTRACT Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) is a programme launched by government in year 2005 to target heroin addicts, but scepticism still prevails on this unorthodox treatment method. The public misconceived the treatment as just another alternative to meet the addiction habits. Question arose whether the media has given enough coverage to the programme and whether the newspapers have been supportive in term of writing style and the information offered in the news. Therefore, the paper will examine the contents of news on methadone as reported by Berita Harian and Harian Metro in year 2008 and 2009 to determine their level of support on the MMT programme. The study found out that there is still a lacking in coverage on the MMT programme by these newspapers whereby only 35 news articles on methadone were published by both newspapers throughout the two years. Although small in number, Berita Harian has focused their news to create awareness on the therapy drug, using the ministry representatives and health practitioners as the official sources. Harian Metro, however, preferred to represent methadone in the form of crime news, and using enforcement bodies as their sources. Therefore methadone programme did suffer from this stereotype of news values practised by most tabloid newspapers.
    [Show full text]
  • Online News Coverage of the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax in Malaysia: Content Analysis
    JMIR PUBLIC HEALTH AND SURVEILLANCE Mohd Hanim et al Original Paper Online News Coverage of the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax in Malaysia: Content Analysis Muhammad Faiz Mohd Hanim*, BDS, MSc; Budi Aslinie Md Sabri*, BDS, MSc, PhD, DDPHRCS; Norashikin Yusof*, BDS, DDPHRCS, MPA Centre of Population Oral Health and Clinical Prevention Studies, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Sungai Buloh, Malaysia *all authors contributed equally Corresponding Author: Norashikin Yusof, BDS, DDPHRCS, MPA Centre of Population Oral Health and Clinical Prevention Studies Faculty of Dentistry Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) UiTM Sg. Buloh Campus Sungai Buloh, 47000 Malaysia Phone: 60 3 6126 6621 Email: [email protected] Abstract Background: In Malaysia, the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) tax was announced during the parliament©s 2019 Budget Speech. The tax was slated to be enforced by April 2019 but was later postponed to July 2019. The announcement has since generated significant media coverage and public feedback. Objective: This study presents a qualitative and quantitative cross-sectional study using netnography to examine how Malaysian online news articles responded to the SSBs tax after the announcement and postimplementation. Methods: Online news articles published on popular online news platforms from November 2018 to August 2019 were downloaded using NCapture and imported into NVivo for analysis using the inductive approach and thematic content analysis following the initial SSBs implementation announcement. Results: A total of 62 news articles were analyzed. Most of the articles positively portrayed the SSBs tax (46.8%) and highlighted its health impacts (76%). There were 7 key framing arguments identified in the articles. The positive arguments revolved around incentivizing manufacturers to introduce healthier products voluntarily, positive health consequences, the tax's impact on government revenue, and the use of the generated revenue toward beneficial social programs.
    [Show full text]
  • Newpapers' Coverage During the Permatang Pauh By-Election
    ISSC 2016 : International Soft Science Conference Newpapers’ Coverage During the Permatang Pauh By-Election Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani* * Corresponding author: Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, [email protected] School of International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia Abstract http://dx.doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2016.08.110 This paper is based on a research about newspapers’ coverage during the Permatang Pauh By-Election which was held on 7 May 2015. Five newspapers were selected are the Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, Sinar Harian, New Straits Times and the Star. This research will determine the coverage of the press in term of biasness tendency toward political parties contested in the by-election. The Permatang Pauh by-election was contested by four candidates, consisting of former opposition leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail from People’s Justice Party (PKR), Barisan Nasional (BN)’s Suhaimi Sabudin, Malaysia’s People’s Party (PRM)’s Azman Shah Othman and independent candidate Salleh Isahak. This by-election was won by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. However, this research has been able to find the link between ownership with the biasness of print media toward political parties empirically. The finding is that all newspapers were bias toward the ruling BN, except for the Sinar Harian which was balance in its coverage. © 2016 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.uk Keywords: Permatang Pauh By-Election; Malaysia; Newspapers; Barisan Nasional; People’s Justice Party. 1. Introduction Permatang Pauh by-election was held for the Lower House (Dewan Rakyat) Parliamentary seat on 7 May 2015. The by-election was held after the seat was vacant.
    [Show full text]
  • Incorporating a Malaysian Nation
    Incorporating a Malaysian Nation Thomas Williamson St. Olaf College What value remains in the concept of economic nationalism? As Michael Heilperin defined it in 1960, economic nationalism referred to "the desire to plan the economic life of the country as independently as possible of the condi- tion of the world economy" (19£0:20). Heilperin's analysis echoes back to old battles between mercantilists and the liberal economists, whose arguments over trade and tariffs Eric Hobsbawm has summarized (1990:24-31). The con- cept of economic nationalism reached a particular florescence after World War I, sufficient to warrant its own volume in publisher H. W. Wilson's 1933 series of "timely topics" called The Reference Shelf (Hodgson 1933). Through the depths of the 1930s depression and the return of substantial tariff barriers, to the import substitution policies followed by many of the postcolonial new na- tions, the considerable literature concerned with "economic nationalism" de- scribes the shifting alignments of economic and political borders (Burnell 1986; Johnson 1967; Simonds and Emeny 1935). Tracing these debates out- lines an international history of the possibilities for social affiliation during the age of nation-states. Economic nationalism takes on a particular importance in a society like Malaysia where it is difficult to locate a more conventional modern national ensemble. Several years ago, Malaysian academic and politician Goh Cheng Teik described his country's population as being one where "deep in our heart of hearts, we are still ethnic. We are Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Mela- naus, Kadazans or Bajaus, not Malaysians" (1994:5). As Goh suggests, a major challenge for articulating Malaysian nationalism is the country's prominent ethnic divisions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Survival of Malaysia's National Television Within a Changing
    The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Vol. 16(3), 2011, article 2. The Survival of Malaysia’s National Television Within a Changing Mediascape Fuziah Kartini Hassan Basri Abdul Latiff Ahmad Emma Mirza Wati Mohamad Arina Anis Azlan Hasrul Hashim School of Media and Communication Studies Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600. Bangi Selangor MALAYSIA The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Vol. 16(3), 2011, article 2. The Survival of Malaysia’s National Television Within a Changing Mediascape Fuziah Kartini Hassan Basri, Abdul Latiff Ahmad, Emma Mirza Wati Mohamad, Arina Anis Azlan and Hasrul Hashim ABSTRACT National television is the term used to describe television broadcasting owned and maintained for the public by the national government, and usually aimed at educational, informational and cultural programming. By this definition, Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s TV1 is the national television in Malaysia and until 1984 was the only television broadcast offered to Malaysians. With the privatization policy, new and private stations were established, and RTM eventually faced competition. The advent of direct satellite broadcasting saw another development in the country—the establishment of Astro in 1998. The direct-to-user satellite broadcaster currently carries over 100 channels, including 8 HD channels, thus creating many more choices for viewers. More importantly, Astro carries the global media directly into our homes. International offerings such as CNN, BBC, CCTV, HBO, MTV, FOX, ESPN, Star Sports, and Star World are now within the push of a button for most Malaysians. Astro is a success story, but there were also a few failed attempts along the way such as MetroVision, MegaTV and MiTV.
    [Show full text]
  • Selective Exposure to Berita Harian Online and Utusan Malaysia Online: the Roles of Surveillance Motivation, Website Usability and Website Attractiveness
    SEARCH: The Journal of the South East Asia Research centre ISSN 2229-872X for Communications and Humanities. Vol. 6 No. 2, 2014, pp 25-45 Selective Exposure to Berita Harian Online and Utusan Malaysia Online: The Roles of Surveillance Motivation, Website Usability and Website Attractiveness Nur Azimah Zulkafli Bahiyah Omar Nor Hazlina Hashim School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia © The Author(s) 2014. This article is published with open access by Taylor’s Press. ABSTRACT News media allows audiences to be selective in determining both their news sources and type of news stories they read. This study examined factors influencing selective exposure to the online editions of two mainstream Malaysian newspapers, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia. Using selective exposure theory as the theoretical lens, this study compared both newspapers in terms of their audiences’ level of surveillance motivation, and how audiences rate the newspapers’ websites with respect to usability and attractiveness. This study used a within-subject experimental research design that exposed 51 subjects to both Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia online newspapers. The results of the experiment indicate that Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia online were significantly different in terms of website usability; however, no significant differences were found in terms of surveillance motivation or website attractiveness between the two newspapers. Further analysis indicate that the only significant predictor of selective exposure was website usability. This study highlights the importance of website usability for online newspapers wanting to harness audience selectivity. Keywords: Selective exposure, online newspapers, surveillance motivation, website usability, website attractiveness 1. INTRODUCTION News media began to have an online presence during the mid-1990s.
    [Show full text]
  • COVID-19 in Malaysia: Crucial Measures in Critical Times
    Cite as: Ganasegeran K, Ch’ng ASH, Looi I. COVID-19 in Malaysia: Crucial measures in critical times. J Glob Health 2020;10:020333. COVID-19 in Malaysia: Crucial measures in critical times Kurubaran Ganasegeran 1, Alan Swee Hock Ch’ng 1,2 , Irene Looi 1,2 1Clinical Research Center, Seberang Jaya Hospital, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia 2Medical Department, Seberang Jaya Hospital, Penang, Malaysia Photo: Support to governmental health facilities and healthcare workers who advocate standard operating procedures such as movement restriction, social distancing and face masking to the public during Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia (photo collection by the authors). Malaysia contracted a high number of COVID-19 positive cases within the Southeast Asian countries. Albeit the global COVID-19 pandemic trend is increasing, Malaysia is seeing a decrease on the number of infections, with high recoveries and low mortality rates [1]. This viewpoint aims to discuss the targeted containment strategies executed by Malaysia, which till date is showing positive responses in controlling the spread of COVID-19. Situational analysis As of July 04, 2020, Malaysia recorded 8658 COVID-19 positive cases, with 121 deaths and 8461 recoveries, leaving with only 76 active cases [1]. The first wave of the outbreak (January 25, 2020 - February 16, 2020) reported 22 cases and constituted mostly of imported cases [2]. 1 Malaysia noted zero new cases until February 27, 2020, however, beyond this date marked the beginning of the second wave that observed an exponential rise of daily positive cases. As of April 10, 2020, Malaysia recorded 4346 positive cases with 70 deaths, being one of the highest across the Southeast Asian countries [2].
    [Show full text]