Staying protected: Leow Pui Ling, 28, getting her second booster shot at iHEAL Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
PETALING JAYA: There has been a 51% increase in the number of people being vaccinated over the last two weeks, as new Omicron sub-variants create fears of another Covid-19 wave.
According to figures from ProtectHealth, vaccination went up from 38,822 during the week of June 27-July 3 to 50,774 during the week of July 4-July 10, a 31% increase.
ALSO READ:Better safe than sorry, say those getting second booster
From the week of July 11-July 17, there was a 51% increase to 76,433.
As infections and hospitalisations rise across the country, health experts are also calling for Malaysians, especially those over 60 as well as the medically vulnerable, to get their second booster shot.
This is because the Omicron sub-variants are highly contagious and can bypass immunity from a past infection or vaccination.
Public health expert Prof Dr Moy Foong Ming of Universiti Malaya said the Omicron sub-variant BA.5 could evade antibody responses in people with previous Covid-19 infection and those who had been fully vaccinated and boosted.
“Reinfections may be inevitable but boosters will help provide protection against severe symptoms, hospitalisation and even death.
“Even though the BA.5 does not seem to cause more severe symptoms compared to BA.1 and BA.2, the elderly and vulnerable groups will likely experience severe symptoms,” Prof Moy said.
She cautioned that if the total caseload increases tremendously, even with a low percentage of hospitalisation, the number will be a huge burden on the healthcare system.
“We don’t want to lose precious lives if it can be prevented,” she said.
For those below 60, it may not be necessary to take the second booster at this moment.
“If this group of individuals had received their third dose, they should be well protected from severe symptoms,” said Prof Moy.
“When new vaccines are able to bring a stronger immune response against all new variants, then a second booster may be offered to all.”
Prof Moy also said Malaysians should consider taking a flu shot if they were in the high-risk group, especially those aged 65 and above, and with chronic health conditions such as diabetes and weakened immune system.
Public health expert Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 were known to evade immunity, hence breakthrough infections could occur.
“The risk will be reduced if you obtain another booster,” she said.
“The elderly, immunocompromised, as well as people with morbidities and frontliners should be prioritised for a second booster. But now, even those who are young and have received only two doses should get a third jab,” she said.
Prof Sharifa Ezat also reminded the public to get tested for Covid-19 and influenza if symptomatic, as these can mimic each other and it is possible to get infected with both.
“This impedes recovery. If possible, get vaccinated against both,” she said.
“The government should work on obtaining supply for flu tests and pushing the flu vaccine price down.”
Volunteers For Community Engagement and Empowerment For Covid-19 chairman Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar reminded Malaysians to continue with good personal health practices such as wearing a face mask, avoiding crowded places, self-testing and quarantining if positive with Covid-19, as well as observing a good diet.
What is the Unification Church and could it be linked to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination?
A bride poses for a photo before a giant image of the late founder of Unification Church Sun Myung Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han before a mass wedding ceremony in Gapyeong on September 7, 2017. Photo: AFP
The curtains have come down on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after the sobering end of his funeral. But the cloud of suspicion surrounding his assassination still looms large in the minds of many around the world. Sentiments of shock continue to be expressed at the fact that Japan's worst political assassination since World War II is related to a cult.
On July 8, Abe was fatally shot while addressing a crowd at a campaign stop in Nara by a 41-year-old man identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, who confessed to the police that he "did not resent Abe's political beliefs," but that his resentment toward the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Unification Church, a religious movement founded in South Korea, turned into a desire to kill the former national leader.
Yamagami believed Abe had promoted a religious group to which his mother made a "huge donation," Kyodo news agency has said, citing investigative sources. His mother subsequently went bankrupt.
The police investigation into the assassination prompted the head of the Japanese branch of the Unification Church to confirm on July 11 that Yamagami's mother is a member.Looking back on the history of the Unification Church, people have seen the specter of an extremist religious group looming over the political arena of Japan, South Korea, and even the US.
In the mid-1960s, Abe's maternal grandfather and former Japanese Prime Minister, Nobusuke Kishi, would never have imagined that his association with Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, would sow the seed that eventually led to the death of his grandson.
Expansion of a cultMoon founded the Unification Church in South Korea in 1954. Within a year, about 30 church centers had sprung up. Moon began organizing the Unification Church on a large scale in the US in the early 1970s. He also sent his church emissaries to Japan in the early days when the Unification Church developed fast. He settled in the US in 1972.
One of the activities that the Unification Church likes to practice is Tetsuya Yamagami. Moon claimed that he can complete the unfulfilled task of Jesus: To restore humankind to a state of perfection by producing sinless children, and by blessing couples who would produce them. According to media reports, thousands of couples often attended such mass weddings. But those couples would only meet each other weeks prior and they went into marriage based on Moon's arrangement. Many had to remain separated for several years doing church work.
Thousands of couples attend a mass wedding held by the Unification
Church on August 27, 2018 in Gapyeong, South Korea. Photo: VCG
At the same time, Moon was particularly interested in politics. Church leaders plotted a strategy to defend former US President Richard M. Nixon for his role in the Watergate crisis and held rallies in support of him. In the late 1970s, Moon was embroiled in many scandals and was under investigation by US federal authorities mainly over allegations that he has ties to South Korean intelligence and was involved in bribing members of Congress to support President Park Chung-hee, according to a New York Times report.
Moon liked to court world leaders and politicians to advance the Unification Church and sometimes he behaved quite oddly.
Moon, who spoke fluent Japanese, launched an anti-communist group in Japan in the late 1960s, the International Federation for Victory Over Communism, and built relations with Japanese politicians, according to the church's publications, Reuters reported.
Nobusuke Kishi, Abe's maternal grandfather and a former prime minister, was an honorary executive chair at a group banquet hosted by Moon, the International Federation for Victory Over Communism said on its website.
In 2004, Moon had himself crowned "humanity's savior" in front of members of Congress at a Capitol Hill luncheon, read the New York Times report.
Prominent people including the US president were paid to appear at Moon-linked conferences. "The first President George Bush did so after he left office. Others, like former President Gerald R. Ford, Bill Cosby, Mikhail S. Gorbachev, and Jack Kemp, attended banquets and gatherings, sometimes saying later that they had not known of a connection between Moon and the organizations that invited them," said the New York Times report.The Unification Church has a long history of courting Republican officials as part of a propaganda campaign, according to media outlet The Independent. In September 2021, former US President Donald Trump appeared in a virtual address linked to the Unification Church. He praised the founders of the Unification Church. Abe also participated in the same event.
The Financial Times reported that for decades, close ties between the Unification Church in Japan and prominent figures in the governing Liberal Democratic Party have been an open secret in Japanese politics.
"The Unification Church has a strong capacity for brainwashing with propaganda and external expansion. Through the establishment of personal worship and an emphasis on donations for purposes of enrichment, meddling in private property distribution and marriage autonomy of the congregation, the group has garnered a loyal following," an Beijing-based expert on Japan studies surname Zhou told the Global Times.
On the other hand, Zhou pointed out that, through generous political cash and mutual exploitation, the Unification Church has gradually gained a strong foothold in East Asia and the world.
Along with the expansion of the Unification Church was the growth of Moon's business empire. He was involved in many industries in South Korea and also had various commercial interests in Japan. Right-wing nationalist donors in Japan were said to be an important financial source. In the US, he had business interests in a range of fields including jewelry and construction, and bought properties including the New Yorker Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
"In addition to spreading extremist ideas, the Unification Church also has a strong sense of modern business management, operating the religious group as a company, investing and expanding extensively in industry, finance, culture, education, media, and other industries, providing the basis for a 'virtuous' cycle of development for the expansion of its extremist ideology and political infiltration," Zhou said.
The church has about 600,000 members in Japan, out of 10 million globally, Reuters reported.
Thousands of couples attend a mass wedding held by the Unification Church on August 27, 2018 in Gapyeong, South Korea. Photo: VCG
Conservative tone
During the Cold War, the Unification Church movement was criticized by the mainstream media for its anti-Communist activism.
In 2010, Moon bought the US-based media publication the Washington Times into the New World Communications, an international media conglomerate similar to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which owns Fox News. The conglomerate was directly affiliated with Moon's Unification Church, the US News reported.
The newspaper often plays up claims that the Chinese mainland will "invade" the island of Taiwan, for example, citing US officials who accuse the Chinese military of posing an "acute threat" to the island
The New York Times reported that Moon acknowledged that in the two decades since the founding of The Washington Times in 1982, he pumped in more than $1 billion in subsidies to keep it going.
In 2002, during the 20th anniversary party for the Washington Times, Moon said, "The Washington Times will become the instrument in spreading the truth about God to the world," the Washington Post reported in 2009.
Unification is a political concept, and the Unification Church, which uses this concept as its name, has always been a heretical religious organization with distinct political positions and intentions, Zhou noted.
Unification Church followers hold a memorial service mourning the death of their leader Sun Myung Moon in the church's Seoul headquarters on September 3, 2012.? Photo: AFP
Alarm bells
The cultist elements behind the Abe assassination have set off alarms in China, which has maintained a zero-tolerance attitude toward cults through various efforts.
The Unification Church has been classified as a cult since the 1990s in China. In May 1997, the Ministry of Public Security listed the Unification church as a cultic organization, according to chinafxj.com, a website promoting China's anti-cult policies under the State Council.
The chinafxj.com website states that the Unification Church has been infiltrating China since as early as the country's Reform and Opening-up in 1978 in the name of investment, sponsorship, and tourism, in a bid to take root in China and expand its influence.
In recent years, the cult's infiltration efforts have become more active in China. Its affiliated organization "International Education Foundation," for instance, carried out penetration activities in some cities in the name of cultural exchange and educational cooperation. The church also set up branches secretly in Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Xi'an, and other major cities to carry out illegal missionary activities. Sunmoon University also tried to absorb Chinese believers via cooperation with China's universities, said the website.
Currently in China, the Unification Church is among the list of 18 defined cultist organizations masquerading as Christian churches, according to chinafxj.com.
The cults share similar traits and modes of operation, such as deifying leaders or founders, promoting inhumane, antisocial, and immoral theories, and inciting the public to confront the larger society, Yan Kejia, director of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Religious Studies, told the Global Times. "The cults could easily confuse the public by taking advantage of religious beliefs and feudal superstition."
China has been cracking down on cults, especially since the late 1990s, Yan noted. "The efforts have been greatly beneficial. The campaigns against cults are widely understood and supported by the public and have brought a breath of fresh air to the society."
"The Abe incident proved that governments should pay great attention to issues surrounding cultic activities. It also reminds China that the work to fight cults should be consistently enhanced," he said.
In this file photo taken on April 21, 2015 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waves as he headed for Indonesia at the Tokyo International
Airport. Photo:AFP
How Generation MZ in S. Korea view jobs and the workplace
The luxe life: Shoppers with tents and portable chairs lining up outside a Chanel store in Seoul in December. With homes beyond the reach of millennials and Gen Z-ers, many are spending their money on luxuries, helping to make South Korea the seventh largest market for luxury brand items globally. — Bloomberg
LATELY, the foreign press has featured some intriguing articles on South Korea’s “Generation MZ,” a term that encompasses millennials and Generation Z, or roughly those born from the 1980s into the 2010s.
For example, Bloomberg reported on young people in South Korea in their 20s and 30s standing in a long line at 5am to buy famous brands at a department store. The New York Times, too, in an article called “The new political cry in South Korea: ‘Out with men haters’”, covers another side of the MZ generation: the rise of anti-feminist sentiment among many Korean young men. `
In the eyes of the foreign press, these behaviours of South Korea’s younger generations must look weird. However, despite some obvious problems, there is a grain of reason in some of their unusual behaviours. Many Korean men born between the early 1980s and early 2000s cannot find a decent job today, and this harsh reality has left them deeply disillusioned and frustrated. They are angry at their society for not providing them with a happy, stable life. `
In that sense, they are the Angry Generation. They are angry because their unemployment status has also forced them to give up vital things in life, such as getting married, having children, owning a home and a myriad of other things. That is why MSN called them “South Korea’s Give-Up Generation”. Korea’s Generation MZ also calls itself the Lost Generation. `
Since they cannot afford a home in their lifetimes due to skyrocketing real estate prices, Generation MZ finds pleasure elsewhere; they buy luxury cars or merchandise from a famous brand instead. It is no wonder, therefore, that they are willing to stand in a long line early in the morning to purchase luxury items or drive a Mercedes or BMW. Ostensibly, their attitude looks like snobbery, and yet deep down, there is sadness and anger in their desperate, extravagant spending of money. `
As for young Korean men’s anti-feminist attitudes, there are reasons behind that, too. They believe that feminism belongs to the older generation, who discriminated against women in a male chauvinist society. Assuming there is no longer real discrimination against women in South Korean society, these young men in their 20s think that it is unfair and absurd to give advantages to young women in the name of feminism. `
Moreover, they are angry because they think women take away all available jobs while men still have to fulfil mandatory military duty for about one-and-a-half years. That is why Korean young men think that it is only fair that Korean women, too, have compulsory military duty, just like men. `
Of course, young Korean women do not agree with them. Women argue that there is still discrimination against women at workplaces in salaries and wages. Besides, if a woman becomes pregnant, she feels the invisible pressure to resign, unless she works at a government institution. `
Korean women are also disappointed in Korean men because they think it is unmanly for them to demand that women serve in the army under the guise of gender equality. `
Yet despite these profound gender differences, both men and women of Generation MZ can agree that their government has failed to provide them with happy, secure lives. `
Young Koreans detest the older politicians’ self-righteousness and the illusion that they represent justice. Young people in Korea are perfectly aware that what the officials call “justice” is arbitrary and thus even dictators can claim that they represent justice, just as Michel Foucault perceived it many years ago. `
Young Koreans also hate the hypocrisy of the older generation that preaches “fairness,” while they themselves are relishing the sweetness of privileges and unfair advantages. `
Korea’s Generation MZ also does not approve of the older generation’s servile attitude towards bully nations. `
Young people in Korea think that Korean politicians should say “No!” to their neighbouring countries when they are overbearing and rude. `
Young Koreans are confident and proud because they live in an advanced, affluent country. `
To a certain extent, Korea’s Generation MZ resembles America’s Soft Generation in the 1960s. `
American parents who had gone through the Great Depression in the 1930s raised their children as sheltered kids who were consequently vulnerable to violence and adversity. `
The parents of South Korea’s Generation MZ, who had gone through the IMF (International Monetary Fund) financial crisis, also raised their children as sheltered kids with over-protection and excessive care. `
South Korea’s Generation MZ may look selfish, but they value individual freedom, fairness and transparency. They detest group-oriented, communal impositions and dogmatic political ideologies. `
Moreover, they are computer- savvy kids who live with social media every day. Recently, a Reuters story contained the headline, “South Korea‘s Gen MZ leads rush into the ‘metaverse’”. `
They are the future of South Korea. In the upcoming presidential election, Generation MZ should choose wisely so they can have a bright future.
– The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
By Kim Seong-kon, a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College, the United States.
You are rawr-some: A person in a dinosaur costume checking in on children waiting their turn and receiving the Covid-19 vaccine jab at a vaccination centre in Kota Damansara. — AZHAR
MAHFOF/The Star
Health experts are calling on Malaysia to fine-tune its Covid-19 mitigation strategies to cope with the Omicron surge as the nation braces itself for the wave of cases, which is expected to last some weeks. `
This comes as Malaysia recorded over 10,000 cases over the past 24 hours, something which it had not seen since October. `
Epidemiologist Dr Sanjay Rampal warned that the peak of this new wave of Covid-19 cases would be felt in the coming two or three months. `
He explained that the reason for this could be due to the community transmission of the Omicron strain and decreased health seeking behaviour following the floods at the end of last year. `
“If the recent increase is due to the Omicron strain, I believe that could breach the 20,000 daily cases in four weeks,” he said when contacted yesterday. `
The Health Ministry had also predicted that Malaysia’s Covid-19 cases would continue to show an upwards trend in the coming weeks. `
However, following the precedent in other countries like South Africa, Britain and the United States, where the strain had peaked and ebbed, the surge was likely to last weeks and not months. `
For example, according to Our World in Data, the number of new cases recorded in Britain were over 847,371 on Jan 31 but this had fallen drastically to over 60,114 by Feb 5. `
Similarly, new cases in South Africa peaked at 26,389 on Dec 15 but had fallen to 8,078 cases by Jan 4. On Feb 5, there were 6,135 cases. `
Health authorities, said Rampal, could manage the coming Omicron wave by getting ready the country’s public health services, testing facilities, and primary health care facilities to cope with the possible exponential increase in demand for prevention activities. `
“A failure to plan for surge capacity at the district level will lead to our public health services being overwhelmed and higher levels of Covid-19 community transmission. `
“Although the stress to our hospitals will be relatively lower in this new wave, I expect a very much higher demand for primary health care services,” he added. `
Immunologist Datuk Dr Musa Nordin said the Health Minister would need to take a proactive stance and sound the clarion call to counter the onslaught of Omicron by reactivating the Covid-19 National Task Force (NTF). `
Originally known as the Greater Klang Valley Special Covid-19 Task Force (GKVSTF), the NTF is made up of an inclusive, coordinated multi-agency or sectorial team with varying expertise in pandemic management. `
“The GKVSTF had successfully flattened the Delta curve when earlier efforts, including MCOs and Emergency Ordinances (EO), failed, causing critical case numbers to spike in July last year, resulting in a total collapse of health care services, and a catastrophic number of deaths,” said Dr Musa. `
He also noted that the entire workflow involving district hospitals, quarantine centres, government and private hospitals must be comprehensively addressed, with the implementation of an end-to-end automated outbreak management system. `
“Omicron has also taken a toll on health care workers with many falling sick. It is important that our health care workers are all boosted with mRNA vaccines to ensure that we are not short-staffed when Omicron really hits us. `
“There is no need to reinvent the wheel. We have a working model (GKVTF) and modus operandi that successfully dealt with the Delta wave,” he suggested. `
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia health economics, hospital and health management’s Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh said if proper mitigation plans were not implemented by the relevant authorities, the numbers would continue to go up in the next few weeks. `
“I would strongly urge the authorities to come up with a proper mitigation plan to address this. `
“I am not saying that they should implement a full movement control order because of its adverse impact including to the economy. But they can implement measures, such as enhanced movement control orders, in certain high risk areas, and re-look at prevention plans to limit movement in public areas like offices and schools,” she said. `
“Those who are able to work from home can continue to do so or perhaps employers can consider implementing a hybrid working arrangement,” she said. `
Although Omicron cases were reportedly less severe, Dr Sharifa Ezat urged everyone not to take the situation for granted due to the rapid transmission. `
“It is true that we should not panic but if we don’t do anything, the situation will worsen as fatalities are still being recorded,” she said. `
On whether the numbers would continue to climb, Universiti Putra Malaysia medical epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman believes this will largely depend on the public’s commitment to adhere to all the standard operating procedures (SOP). `
“I think the community should play a role as well and help our frontliners from being further overburdened by practising all the SOP,” she said. `
In other countries, including Denmark and Britain, governments have announced plans to lift all their domestic Covid-19 restrictions with Omicron not being categorised “as a severe disease for the vaccinated”. `
However, face coverings are still required in healthcare settings, including hospitals, and on public transport. `
Covid passes are also not required for large events and at public venues, and people are no longer being advised to work from home.
The Asean secretary-general and leaders of the 15 RCEP member countries with their trade ministers after the pact was signed on 15 Nov 2020.
PHOTO: MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION (MCI)
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SAN FRANCISCO (CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, REUTERS) - The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, which will take effect on Saturday (Jan 1), is expected to significantly boost the regional and global economies and offer lessons for international cooperation.
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"The RCEP is a huge, potentially powerful agreement among rich and poor countries that complements each other's strengths," Professor Peter Petri, who specialises in international finance at Brandeis University in the United States, told China Daily.
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"For example, it has favourable rules for parts and components trade, and these could help developing members benefit from partnering with more advanced countries, making the region a haven for some of the world's most efficient supply chains," he said.
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"If its potential is realised, the RCEP would create larger markets and innovative, affordable products for the world economy," he added.
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Signed in November last year by 15 Asia-Pacific economies - all 10 member states of Asean, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand - the agreement has created the world's largest free trade bloc that accounts for about one-third of the global population and gross domestic product.
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It will take effect in 10 member states - Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand - on Jan 1, and for the other five members 60 days after official deposition of ratification, acceptance or approval.
South Korea will see it take effect on Feb 1.
Indonesia's chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Friday (Dec 31) that Indonesia, South-east Asia’s largest economy, will likely ratify its RCEP membership in early 2022.
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A parliamentary commission overseeing trade rules had approved the ratification and its endorsement will be brought to a wider parliamentary vote in the first quarter of 2022, he said.
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President Joko Widodo will sign off on the ratification after parliamentary approval, he added.
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According to a recent study by Prof Petri and Prof Michael Plummer, an international economics expert at Johns Hopkins University in the US, the RCEP is estimated to increase world trade by nearly US$500 billion (S$675 billion) annually by 2030 and raise world incomes by US$263 billion annually.
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"There are several aspects of the agreement that will lead to significant economic effects, even if the RCEP is not as ambitious in scope as, say, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership," Prof Plummer told China Daily.
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"For example, it will create harmonised, cumulative rules of origin for intra-RCEP trade, which should give a significant boost to regional supply chains, at a time when supply chains are facing headwinds," he said.
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The agreement will lower tariffs on about 90 per cent of traded commodities and reduce some non-tariff barriers to trade in goods and services, according to Prof Plummer.
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"Importantly, it will create a free trade area among the North-east Asian economies of China, Japan and South Korea, giving a particularly strong boost to trade and production in the area of advanced manufacturers," he added.
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The study by the two economists, published by the East Asian Economic Review, estimates that the RCEP should increase regional incomes by US$245 billion on a permanent basis and create 2.8 million jobs in the region, which Prof Plummer described as "a significant boost".
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"In addition to its salutary effects on global incomes and trade, the RCEP offers an important boost to opening international markets, with very little negative effects on outside economies in the form of trade diversion," said Dr Plummer.
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Moreover, the RCEP shows how developed and developing countries can work together to include the interests of countries at all levels of economic development, he said.
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"This could hold some important lessons for the WTO (World Trade Organisation), which reached an impasse at the Doha Development Agenda to a large extent because it was unable to accommodate the interests of developed and developing economies sufficiently," said Prof Plummer.
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Prof Petri also noted that the RCEP's success will depend on how well countries with different systems will work together to make the agreement successful.
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"If benefits are widely shared and relations are positive, members will implement the agreement fully and may even expand its scope," he said. "The RCEP could become a model for cooperation in an unusually diverse economic region."
Thousands of couples attend a mass wedding held by the Unification
Church on August 27, 2018 in Gapyeong, South Korea. Photo: VCG 
