Oil price up or down also benefits Malaysia

Midnight Rain — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 12:53:21 +0800

Oil price up, government more tax revenue to spend.

Oil price down, government less expenses due to less subsidies.

Always think of the positive, don't be a negative Nancy.

Anti hopping bill seems useless

Midnight Rain — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 23:47:03 +0800

So I read a bit about what has been proposed:

https://c4center.org/mygovtreformtracker/mp...t-vacate-seats/

"Based on the new draft of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No 3) 2022 on the ban on elected representatives from changing parties tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today, the vacancy was however exempted for three reasons, namely dissolution or cancellation of party registration, release of party membership when elected as president, as well as being fired by the party."

I can already see the loophole already. The so-called frog can actually stay in the same party but always vote against everything that party does to support a different faction. And there is nothing the party can do about it. If the party fire the MP, then the MP can stay independent and continue to do the same thing without trigging a re-election.

Will this happen? Lets wait and see.

T20 should be 10k USD monthly income

Midnight Rain — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 16:27:33 +0800

Malaysia government should set a pki to achieve T20 should have 10k USD monthly income, not 10k MYR. Only then Malaysia can join other rich nations to drive EV to preserve the environment, and to own iPhones for data privacy. If cannot set such goals, then accept the reality that it cannot be achieved and start working on nuclear power for cheap future energy. You have to accept your place in the global economy, if you are not at the high-end, then you have to live a modest life and accept third world economy.

Habis lah now medicine shortage

Midnight Rain — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 19:44:18 +0800

https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2022/06/02...ia-ukraine-war/

Malaysia Facing Medicine Shortages, Potential Price Hikes From China Lockdowns, Russia-Ukraine War

Malaysian pharmaceutical suppliers expect worsening shortages not only of OTC drugs, but medicines across all therapeutic segments in the mid- to long-term.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 – The two-month hardcore lockdown in Shanghai, China, and Russia’s war in Ukraine have sparked major shortages of various prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications in Malaysia, including syrups for children and treatments for chronic conditions, say pharmaceutical suppliers, doctors, and pharmacists.

This is because Malaysia’s entire supply of finished pharmaceutical products are either directly imported, or indirectly imported through the import of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and pharmaceutical intermediates for local manufacture – both of which have been disrupted due to these external events and a surge in both local and global demand for medicines.

APIs are the active components of a drug that produce the intended effect on the body, while pharmaceutical intermediates are the chemical compounds that form the building blocks of APIs.

According to the Malaysian Association of Pharmaceutical Suppliers (MAPS), locally manufactured pharmaceutical products in Malaysia are heavily dependent on imported APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates. China is the world’s number one supplier of APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on the other hand, has led to soaring oil prices and rising costs of shipments, disrupting supply of certain pharmaceutical ingredients that are derived from petrol, according to MAPS.

Both China and Russia are also major exporters of starch, the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations, Malaysia (FPMPAM) pointed out. Starch is a common pharmaceutical excipient (inert ingredient) that is used to bind all the powders in a tablet together, influencing the flowability and disintegration of the tablet. Starch is also used in syrup medicines to control the viscosity of the final product.

Russia, FPMPAM added, is a big exporter of metals, of which raw materials are used in the packaging of medications, such as blister packs requiring raw material of aluminium. The Russia-Ukraine conflict causes logistical problems too, as Russian forces had cut off shipping routes.

“Malaysia is severely affected as she is dependent on the global supply of APIs and finished products,” MAPS executive director Dr Choe Tong Seng told CodeBlue yesterday.

“Thus, Malaysia can expect the shortage to deteriorate or escalate not only in OTC [medicines] or paediatric medications, but also in all therapeutic segments in the mid- to long- term. The shortage will be more felt in more common disease therapeutic segments like the common flu, antibiotics, and hypertensive and diabetic medications in the immediate term.”

Besides the two-month Shanghai lockdown that caused a near standstill in shipments and subsequent delivery of supplies, affecting the logistics delivery chain, MAPS also highlighted higher global demand from the return of the world’s economy as another factor in pharmaceutical supply problems.

This is especially if pharmaceutical sources previously had low-production yields and deliveries from the global prolonged lockdown in the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic that began abating in 2022.

Dr Choe is only aware of two small local API suppliers in Malaysia, which he said lacked scale and product range. Without scale, purchasing APIs from abroad would be cheaper than buying local.

He further expects medicine price hikes due to the weakened ringgit, as most transactions for Malaysia’s pharmaceutical supply are conducted in US dollars. The Edge reported last May 19 that the Malaysian ringgit weakened past 4.4 against the US dollar for the first time since March 2020.

“Due to the challenges of ‘demand and supply’, we can expect continual shortages and price increases. Prayerfully, we do not run ‘out of stock’,” Dr Choe said, even as private medical practitioners complain that many medicines are already out of stock.

“The local manufacturers and importers are working towards meeting the demand by working closely with overseas suppliers in both APIs and finished products. Do note that the present shortage is not in Malaysia only. Other countries are also affected to a different degree,” he added.

Besides the impact of global supply disruptions, Dr Choe highlighted several domestic factors that are contributing to Malaysia’s present “critical” medicine supply shortage.

He pointed out that demand for medications has increased as the country reopened amid the easing of the Covid-19 epidemic, with a rising number of patients in clinics and hospitals and people visiting pharmacies since they feel safer in going out to seek treatment.

The return of people to work and children to school has also increased the risk of common infections.

MAPS said clinics and pharmacies have also increased their purchases of medicines, creating an “artificial” shortage in the supply chain.

Meanwhile, Malaysian pharmaceutical manufacturers are unable to cope with the local surge in demand due to a short and erratic supply of APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates. Local manufacturing facilities are also facing manpower shortages due to labour supply issues during the Covid-19 pandemic and factory lockdowns when workers get infected with the coronavirus.

As for importers of finished pharmaceutical products, their orders for medicines have been reduced by overseas suppliers who may be facing similar challenges like Malaysia. Importers also face logistical problems that result in erratic deliveries, as orders are delayed or reduced, depending on the source country and/ or type of medications.

Economy all buka why still need to withdraw 10k?

Midnight Rain — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 16:05:18 +0800

Those going to withdraw 10k all working in nightclub?

Cannot be unable to find job. Burger King offer 1.5k plus free meal also cannot get employees. And I even see other fast food offering 1.8k plus meal.

If have a job but still need 10k then one should really take a look at own financial planning. Over commit or overspending in unnecessary stuffs or dubious investments, will just continue to cause more problems even after another round of withdrawal.

Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Midnight Rain

Oil price up or down also benefits Malaysia

Anti hopping bill seems useless

T20 should be 10k USD monthly income

Habis lah now medicine shortage

Economy all buka why still need to withdraw 10k?