The Health Ministry (MOH) will introduce a heightened alert system to detect early signs of an increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. Through the system, the MOH proposed that some sectors be tightened if there was an increase in cases, but it would not be a “total lockdown”. The details of the situation on how this system will be applied will be announced in a week or two.

There has been great anticipation over the past few years on the proposed amendments to be made to the existing Employment Act 1955 ("Act") in Malaysia. The Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021 ("Bill") to amend the Act was tabled in Parliament for first reading on 25 October 2021. Although the proposed changes set out in the Bill are less wide-ranging as previously envisaged, there are nonetheless notable proposed changes that may affect certain industries.

This Update provides a summary of the material proposed amendments.

The Star Newspaper in Education (NiE) programme got a boost when multinational company Flex Penang donated RM10,000. The sponsorship from the company will benefit five schools in Penang. They are SK Pendidikan Khas Persekutuan, SK Batu Kawan, SJK (T) Ladang Juru, Penang Chinese Girls High School and SJK (C) Chung Hwa 3, Prai.

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) announced it is set to revamp and rebrand the MSC Malaysia initiative as it marks its 25th anniversary this year. The new and improved MSC will seek to accelerate participation in the digital economy and address the concerns on the widening digital divide by providing equitable access to digital tools, knowledge and income opportunities, enhancing Malaysia's value proposition to attract more digital investments.

Cloud computing – the on-demand, pay-as-you-go delivery of IT resources over the internet – enables organizations to pivot business models, scale up and down, and respond quickly to customers’ needs. Small and medium businesses (SMBs), enterprises, startups and public sector organizations that have already embraced cloud-based services are prepared to manage the bumpy road to recovery.