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Tuesday, 22 June 2021

RM30bil more cash aid to be distributed

 Govt is also working on additional assistance under National Recovery Plan

PETALING JAYA: The government has close to RM30bil left to be distributed to the rakyat and businesses in the form of cash aid and indirect assistance.

The amount represents about 63.5% of the government’s initial allocation of RM46.3bil for the entire year of 2021.

These are not inclusive of the additional assistance measures that will be announced in due course to mitigate the impact of the upcoming Phases 2, 3 and 4 of the lockdown.

Speaking at a virtual briefing yesterday, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz (pic) said out of the RM16.7bil cash aid allocated for 2021, about RM8.1bil would be channelled to affected households and individuals between June and December.


This will be in the form of Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (RM4.5bil), Bantuan Kebajikan Masyarakat (RM1.25bil), Jaringan Prihatin (RM1.75bil), eBelia e-wallet credit programme (RM80mil) and assistance for taxi and e-hailing drivers as well as tour guides (RM70.7mil).

Meanwhile, about RM9.8bil in financial aid will be distributed to businesses between June and December.

Earlier, the government had allocated RM14.1bil in cash assistance for this group.

The remaining cash aid for businesses are wage subsidy and hiring incentive programme (RM6.29bil), Prihatin Special Grant (RM1.5bil), microcredit financing facility (RM1bil), electricity bill discount for six sectors (RM344.7mil) and SME Digitalisation Grant (RM14.3mil).

In addition to such assistance, the government will also provide indirect help to four sectors, namely, consumers, education, transportation and agriculture. These include subsidies for petrol, flour, cooking oil and toll, among others.

Out of the RM15.5bil allocated for 2021, about RM4bil has been spent in the first five months of the year, leaving RM11.5bil for the next seven months.

In comparison, the government has only spent RM9bil for such assistance last year.

Despite the government’s limited fiscal space amid astronomical spending incurred since last year to prop up the flailing economy, Tengku Zafrul said the government remain committed to helping households and businesses that were affected by the lockdown.

“In terms of assistance, the government has already announced the Pemerkasa+ package to complement the earlier stimulus packages of Permai and Pemerkasa, as well as Budget 2021.

“In this context, Pemerkasa+ is an additional assistance for the Phase 1 of the lockdown, which is now in place.

“Currently, the government is working on additional assistance according to the needs of each phase under the National Recovery Plan (NRP).

“This will be announced in the near future,” he said.

Tengku Zafrul pointed out that the transition to each subsequent phase of the lockdown would only be done once the criteria mentioned in the NRP were met.

He added that the government does not intend to reopen the economy “too much, too soon”.

Nevertheless, Tengku Zafrul acknowledged that the government could not afford a full movement control order for too long.

“Neither can our rakyat, particularly in terms of loss of income, loss of jobs and ultimately their ability to put food on the table.

“It is estimated that the economy loses RM1bil a day in Phase 1 of the lockdown,” he said.

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Be advised of checking first, not to fall victim to love or parcel scam thru social media

 

BALIK PULAU: If you fall in love with someone on social media and that someone needs financial help and gives you bank account numbers to send money to, there is one way to check if you might be ensnared in a love scam.

“The public is advised to check the account numbers through the Royal Malaysia Police’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department website  (https://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule) or download the Check Scammers CCID app through Google Play before making transactions,” said Balik Pulau OCPD Supt Kamarul Rizal Jenal.

You can also key in your online lover’s telephone number to check if the number was used to dupe anyone.

The checking system is available in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil.

Supt Kamarul urged the public to always be careful and not fall victim to love or parcel scam syndicates through social media.

He gave this advice after a 47-year-old businesswoman here became RM74,000 poorer after sending money to her “American boyfriend” whom she had met on social media.

The woman came to her senses and lodged a police report on Thursday night.

“The victim met the suspect on Facebook in April.

“The suspect claimed to be from the United States and experiencing a financial crisis related to an excavation project in Italy.

“He told the victim he needed money to repair the site of the excavation project.

“The victim, who had known the suspect for just a month, believed him and transferred RM74,000 through seven transactions to two local bank accounts provided by the suspect.

“The victim finally realised that she was scammed after telling a friend about the incident.

“She found out that the suspect’s profile pictures were used on several fake Facebook accounts and lodged a police report,” Supt Kamarul said in a statement yesterday.

The case will be investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

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Friday, 18 June 2021

'Divine vessel' launched successfully; three astronauts aboard to reach China's space station core module

 



http://1253985869.vod2.myqcloud.com/39f921f7vodgzp1253985869/416c0b6f3701925919486939311/fa2TUudjvKsA.mp4
Credit...Greg Baker/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Riding atop the Long March-2F Y12 carrier rocket, the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft was successfully launched into preset orbit on Thursday morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in Southwest China's Gansu Province, signifying that China's Tianhe space station core cabin module is now only hours away from receiving its first batch of astronauts for their three-month stay.

With the aim of ferrying a three-strong crew consisting of veteran astronaut Nie Haisheng, who visited space twice in October 2005 and June 2013, Liu Boming, who had flew to space and participated the country’s first spacewalk together with Zhai Zhigang during the Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008 and one new face Tang Hongbo to the orbiting space module of Tianhe, Shenzhou-12 or the “Divine Vessel” entered its designated orbit after separating with the rocket 573 seconds after its launch, declaring full success for the launch mission, Global Times learned from China’s Manned Space Agency.

The three astronauts of the Shenzhou-12 mission, who were selected from China's first and second batch of astronauts, will stay in space for three months, during which they will carry out tasks including repair and maintenance, appliance switch and scientific operation of payloads.

It was the first time in nearly five years that China has sent astronauts into space, and is the first crewed flight mission and third leg of the country's total 11 space launch missions of the intensive space station construction phase.

China previously sent the space station's Tianhe core cabin module via Long March-5B carrier rocket on April 29, and the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft via Long March-7 on May 29. 

Shenzhou-12 successfully launched for manned mission to space on June 17, 2021 Graphic: GT

Shenzhou-12 successfully launched for manned mission to space on June 17, 2021 Graphic: GT

Vessel of life

According to Gao Xu, the deputy director designer of the Shenzhou-12 with the project prime contractor China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), the development of the manned spacecraft followed the highest standards in the country's space industry.

The Shenzhou-12 is made up of three sections—an orbiter module, a return module and a propelling module, and has 14 sub-systems onboard. Gao referred to the spacecraft with a term of affection: "Vessel of life", as it will not only ferry three astronauts to the orbiting Tianhe core module, but is also expected to carry them home to Earth in approximately 90 days.

Making the safety of astronauts a priority, the research team of the Shenzhou-12 mission has also developed a new emergency response system to ensure that the astronauts can be rescued both in space and at the launch site.

According to CAST, two Shenzhou vessels have been transported to the launch site, which means that Shenzhou-12 has a back-up that will stand by in the event of an emergency. The latter has the capability of being launched in eight and a half days to carry out space rescue work after the launch of the former.

Compared to its crewed mission predecessor from five years ago, whose exterior was dull grey color, the Shenzhou-12 has a new shining silver look, due to the application of a new type of heat-resistant coating.

The Shenzhou-12 will spend longer in orbit than previous Shenzhou spacecraft, meaning it will face with a harsher space environment. For example, it Sun-exposed side will reach 90 degree Celsius on the surface and minus 30 degree Celsius on the far side from the Sun, according to CAST.

The new coating that uses new materials will help protect the inside of the craft from this harsh environment, and prevent it from affecting the living conditions of astronauts and working conditions for multiple precision appliances on board, said the coating designers.

The new coating will also provide protection against a range of radiation in space around the clock, they said.

As the only manned space launch vehicle, Long March-2F is 58.3 meters in height with four 2.25-diameter-boosters and a 3.35-meter-diameter core stage.

The rocket is the go-to type for China's manned space program, and with Thursday's successful launch, it has scored a perfect launch rate in all 14 deployments including seven manned flight missions, five uncrewed spacecraft flight missions and the launch of two space labs (Tiangong-1 and -2.)

The development of the rocket type was approved by state authorities in 1992, the same year the country's manned space project was approved. Long March-2F made its successful maiden flight in 1999.

According to developers of the rocket from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the escape tower - the lightning rod-like device atop the rocket body - will enable astronauts to get out of the rocket from 15 minutes before launch to 120 seconds after take-off in emergency situations.

To make the flight safer, the Long March-12 developers have further enhanced the rocket's escape mechanism, adding a new ignition function to the launch safety system.

CALT designers said that once an emergency occurs, the escape system will be activated, pulling off the return module of the spacecraft from the malfunctioning rocket. The module will then open its parachute before landing on the ground.

However, the parachute system can be easily affected by the wind near the ground.

To address that issue, the new ignition system will enable the escaping craft to fly in a direction perpendicular to the wind direction, so as to make the process safer and more flexible.

This improvement has enhanced the rocket security assessment value to a world-leading 0.99996. "That's to say, there would be four failed escapes in 100,000 launches," disclosed Chang Wuquan, one of the system's designers.

Shenzhou-12 astronauts’ lives in space Infographic: Wu Tiantong/GT 

Shenzhou-12 astronauts’ lives in space Infographic: Wu Tiantong/GT



Breakthroughs to accomplish

According to CAST, Shenzhou-12 will attempt a fast and automated rendezvous and docking with the Tianhe core cabin for crewed spacecraft, a first in the country's history which can take place only 6.5 hours after the launch.

During the mission of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, China managed to pull off a fast but smooth automatic docking of the cargo ship with the Tianhe module within only eight hours after launch.

Pang Zhihao, a Beijing-based senior space expert, hailed the breakthrough technology, saying it would tremendously benefit crewed missions, as it would save astronauts from longer stays in the narrow space onboard the spacecraft, making their space travel more comfortable.

Also, the spacecraft will conduct an experiment of fly-around and radial approach of rendezvous and docking with the orbiting space station core module.

Following that, the Shenzhou-12 will stay in-orbit and fly with the Tianhe core module for three months, marking another first in China's space history.

Unlike China's previous Shenzhou craft, which returned to Earth from an orbit of fixed altitude, Shenzhou-12 will be able to return from a range of orbital locations, a design that is aimed to enhance the craft's adaptability and reliability for its journey back to Earth.

The Shenzhou-12 crewed flight is believed by insiders to set a solid foundation for following space station construction missions which started in late April with the Tianhe core cabin launch and will last through 2022.

Next, the Tianzhou-3 cargo craft will be launched in September, and the Shenzhou-13 crewed spaceship will follow in October, according to CMSA director Hao Chun.



As the first manned space station mission, the Shenzhou-12 flight is of utmost significance due to its crucial role in connecting the previous 2 missions and the following legs in the 11 intensive construction schedule.

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