31/01/2026

SATURDAY | JAN 31, 2026

3 Over 600 housing projects with problems identified

Initiative to boost cyber safety awareness KUALA LUMPUR: The Safer Internet Day celebration on Feb 8 will focus on strengthening the role of parents in monitoring their children’s internet usage while also raising public awareness on cybercrime. Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chief officer of state affairs Bukhari Yahya said the large-scale community event at Titiwangsa Lake would feature various education programmes on digital safety to help the public understand how to protect themselves and their families while online. He said the celebration would differ from previous programmes as MCMC would deploy technical teams and experts to directly assist visitors in setting up security features on their devices, including the use of parental control apps, Bernama reported. “We will also have platform operators such as TikTok, Google and Facebook. Sometimes, when parents open Facebook, there are apps related to parental guidance settings but they do not know how to use them. Therefore, hands-on education will be provided on that day.” Bukhari was speaking as a guest on Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme titled Safer Internet Day 2026: Safer Internet, Shared Responsibility. He said various agencies, including police and the National Scam Response Centre, would set up booths to raise awareness on cybercrime issues. He added that it is also identifying schools facing classroom shortages, particularly overcrowded schools, and would construct additional classrooms using the Industrialised Building System. – Bernama Gearing up for ‘double cohort’ Year One intake IPOH: The Education Ministry is making early preparations to ensure that schools are operationally ready for the intake of Year One pupils under the “double cohort” plan next year. Education Deputy Minister Wong Kah Woh said the “double cohort” involves the simultaneous enrolment of six and seven-year-old children into Year One, adding that the ministry has begun early planning, including school operations, teacher placement and classroom facilities. He said the ministry would monitor the number of six-year-olds registering after March 31 to determine the actual needs at the school level while giving parents sufficient time to make informed decisions. “Under the Madani government, teacher placement rates have increased from 95% to over 97% across all types of schools, including national schools, Chinese-medium and Tamil-medium schools.” Wong was speaking after a working visit to Yuk Choy High School yesterday. He said the ministry is in discussions with the Education Service Commission to increase teacher recruitment, including interim measures while awaiting the training of new teachers, which typically takes up to five years through the Institute of Teacher Education.

Ű BY QIRANA NABILLA MOHD RASHIDI newsdesk@thesundaily.com

o Selangor tops list of states with highest number of delayed, ‘sick’ or abandoned developments

together with the task force team. She said of the sites inspected, 46 projects have successfully obtained the CCC, while the remaining projects have shown encouraging physical progress and are expected to be completed according to scheduled timelines. “When we go down to the ground, we do not engage in fault-finding or blame games. Instead, we focus on identifying the real issues that cause delays, sickness or the risk of abandonment, and we implement specific, targeted interventions.” She said such an approach is aligned with the ministry’s commitment to reduce problematic housing projects while ensuring that there would be no new abandoned housing projects by 2030. “We remain committed to strengthening our monitoring mechanisms. This year, I will personally visit with the task force team 45 targeted projects as part of the ongoing oversight of about 3,000 housing projects nationwide. We have already visited seven (this month), with 38 more to go.” Aiman Athirah said various factors continue to cause projects to remain sick, with the main issue being the financial capability of developers. She said based on the 3,000 projects the ministry is monitoring, the majority of delayed and sick projects are a result of the impact of Covid-19. “During the lockdowns, construction activities stopped and workers were sent home. Even after reopening, it took time to recruit new workers. From what I have observed, the process of rehiring workers typically took between six months to a year.” On safety matters, she said the task force conducts monitoring visits every three months, with the next visit in February covering the entire structures from the lowest to the highest floors. “ Insya-Allah , I hope the targets, including the full resolution of these housing projects by March 2027, can be achieved.” near future. “Candidates who are successful will receive professional training at teacher education institutes in various areas to ensure they are fully prepared for classroom duties. “This initiative shows the government’s ongoing commitment under the Madani framework to enhance the quality of education and produce the best outcomes for Malaysian children,” Mohd Azam added.

PUTRAJAYA: A total of 609 private housing projects nationwide were classified as delayed, “sick” or abandoned as of Dec 31, comprising 161 delayed, 349 sick and 99 abandoned projects, according to the Housing and Local Government Ministry. Its deputy minister Datuk Aiman Athirah Sabu said at a media conference yesterday that Selangor tops the list of states with the highest number of sick housing projects, followed by Johor, Perak and Pahang. “Although the number of delayed and sick projects has slightly increased, all remain under control through continuous monitoring and targeted interventions by the Task Force on Delayed, Sick and

establishment of the task force in January 2023 under the Madani government. She said based on an average household size of five, this benefits more than half a million Malaysians. She added that 109 projects were restored from sick to normal status, 1,265 projects obtained the Certificates of Completion and Compliance (CCC) and 34 abandoned projects were fully rehabilitated. Aiman Athirah said the task force has conducted site visits to 68 housing projects, and she personally inspected the sites

Abandoned Housing Projects. “Encouragingly, the number of abandoned projects has shown a decrease, from 102 to 99,” she said, adding that this reflects the effectiveness of close collaboration between the task force and various stakeholders and strategic partners at the ground level in rehabilitating housing projects. Aiman Athirah also highlighted that a total of 1,399 housing projects have been successfully rehabilitated, comprising 167,423 housing units with a gross development value of RM133.78 billion since the

Aiman Athirah speaking at the media conference in Putrajaya yesterday. – ADIB RAWI YAHYA/THESUN

Ministry to hire 20,000 new teachers

Ű BY ANDREW SAGAYAM newsdesk@thesundaily.com

admission of six-year-old students into Year One, which will begin next year. This move by the Education Ministry has the full cooperation of the Education Service Commission.” The ministry’s director-general Dr Mohd Azam Ahmad said applications for the posts would be open from March 2 to 20. “Interviews and screening will take place from April 27 to May 14. Further details on the recruitment process will be announced in the

In a statement issued yesterday, the ministry announced its recruitment initiative of 20,000 new Education Service Officers on Grade DG9 Contract of Service to be placed in schools nationwide. “This new teacher recruitment initiative is part of the initial preparation by the ministry for the implementation of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2026-2035. “The hiring of these new teachers is in anticipation of the voluntary

KUALA LUMPUR: To cater to the needs of schools nationwide, 20,000 new teachers will be hired by the Education Ministry. This large-scale recruitment initiative aims to address the nationwide shortage of teachers and facilitate the execution of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2026–2035.