GEORGE TOWN, Dec 4 — About 500 people were affected by the Penang Hill funicular service disruption for over two hours since 10am today.

Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) general manager Datuk Cheok Lay Leng said the disruption was due to a system error caused by operations error with the team discovering it around 10am.

According to him, most people affected were tourists and at that point of time, there were about 500 tourists on top of the hill.

“The system error was caused by human error or our own operation error and it ended up where we had to do a full system check… initially to ensure that there was no other problem. Putting up a system, checking and rebooting of the system took a long time,” he told Bernama when contacted, here today.

However, he said PHC’s funicular operation team had been working hard to rectify the situation and the funicular service was fully restored at around 12.30pm.

Cheok said there was no victim involved and those people affected by the service disruption were given alternatives.

“Visitors who wished to come down from the hill at that time could opt for Jeep service including those who needed to catch their flights at the Penang International Airport,” he said.

He also thanked those visitors who waited patiently for the service to resume after two hours.

Meanwhile, one of the visitors Azhar Abdul Khafar, 38, said he was informed about the technical error about 10am which prevented them from going down using the funicular service.

Azhar from Kuala Lumpur who was holidaying with his family in Penang said after waiting for about 30 minutes, they were offered to come down using the jeep. — Bernama

VATICAN CITY: A senior American Catholic clergyman quit on Wednesday, the Vatican said, as the diocese of Buffalo continues to wrestle with an ongoing sexual abuse scandal.

Bishop Richard Malone, 73, has been accused by US media of concealing the names of accused priests and allowing some to remain in the ministry in his diocese in Buffalo in New York state.

He admitted last year he had “fallen short” in his handling of allegations of misconduct, particularly by priests accused of abusing adults.

Buffalo has been in turmoil since February 2018 when a retired priest admitted to sexually abusing children, sparking further allegations across the diocese.

The Church has already paid US$17.5 million to victims, according to the Buffalo News, which says that 220 lawsuits have been filed by people claiming to have been abused by priests.

Malone, in his post since 2012, announced he was retiring early, explaining that Catholics in Buffalo would be “better served by a new bishop who perhaps is better able to bring about the reconciliation, healing and renewal that is so needed”.

He added in a statement on Wednesday: “I have acknowledged on many occasions the mistakes I have made in not addressing more swiftly personnel issues that, in my view, required time to sort out complex details pertaining to behaviour between adults.”

In a brief communique, the Vatican said Pope Francis had accepted the resignation of Malone and offered no further detail.

The bishop of Albany, Edward Scharfenberger, will take over until a new bishop is named.

The Catholic church continues to struggle with a worldwide sex abuse scandal.

In the United States, an August 2018 grand jury report examining child sex abuse within six dioceses in the state of Pennsylvania found more than 1,000 child victims, underscoring the scale of the problem.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 — Only Malay leaders with a strong moral compass, sharp acumen and forward-thinking abilities are able to lead the country to success, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said today.

Mohamad stressed that Malaysia cannot afford to be led astray by unqualified Malay leaders who put the country’s future at risk.

“Malaysia, ladies and gentlemen, if it wishes to be a developed country, it must have leaders with clarity of mind, driven by admirable morals and ethics.

“But as of late, the moral crisis within the leaders of our people is worsening.

“This country cannot be led, even for a second, by those of questionable authority. Malaysia deserves a more fair, pure, humble and faithful Malay leadership,” he said during his speech when he officiated the joint opening of the party’s Youth, Women and Puteri wings’ annual general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

Mohamad’s remarks come on the backdrop of political infighting within Pakatan Harapan’s component party PKR, especially between party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his deputy Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

To avert such failures in leadership within the party, Mohamad reminded Umno members of the importance of developing talents within its ranks to subsequently create credible leaders.

Mohamad also claimed that leaders in Pakatan Harapan are not interested in governing the country, instead, they prefer to engage in politicking to the extent of dragging other unaffiliated parties into their troubles.

“They are a failed coalition, a coalition that not only made the country more vulnerable but also weakened the position, influence and the authority of the Malays and the position of Islam

“Their priority is not to govern the country but who would be the next prime minister.

“To the extent that various infightings and power play has emerged, that is most embarrassing.

There are even those from our ranks that had to follow along and even used by certain parties for the sake of survival and machinations of the political position of a figure,” he said.

Last month, vice president Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein had led a delegation of BN lawmakers to meet Azmin at the latter’s home in Putrajaya.

This led to an uproar from both parties against their respective lawmakers who attend the supposed clandestine meeting.

SEOUL: South Korea and China agreed to beef up diplomatic and cultural exchanges to “completely normalise” ties that soured over the deployment of US anti-missile systems in 2017, Seoul officials said on Wednesday.

Making his first visit to South Korea in over four years, China’s State Councillor Wang Yi, who also serves as foreign minister, met South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and was set to meet President Moon Jae-in on Thursday.

Relations between the two countries were strained by a dispute that erupted over the installation of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system in South Korea, which led to a sharp slump in South Korea’s tourism, cosmetics and entertainment industries.

Kang and Wang agreed to hold the first gathering of a planned joint vice-ministerial panel on people-to-people exchanges “in the near future” and create a new meeting on maritime affairs, South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Both sides concurred that relations should be put back on a normal orbit and completely normalised,” a ministry official told reporters after the meeting.

Kang and Wang also discussed Moon’s expected trip to China later this month for a trilateral summit with Japan, a possible visit to Seoul by Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as stalled denuclearisation talks between North Korea and the United States, the ministry said.

Calling the two countries “close neighbours, friends, and partners”, China’s Wang said at the start of the meeting that they should work together to keep regional peace and stability.

The biggest threat the world faces is “unilateralism that destroys the global order and hegemonic acts that challenge rules of international relations,” Wang said, in a purported swipe at the United States, whose rivalry with China is intensifying.

Addressing North Korean issues, Wang said North Korea’s reasonable concerns about its security should be respected and resolved, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Kang told Wang she hoped for in-depth discussions to promote economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, as well as “ways to work together to establish denuclearisation and peace on the Korean peninsula”.

South Korea sees China as instrumental in reviving the stalemated nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea, a longtime ally of Beijing.

Kang and Wang agreed to cooperate to facilitate the talks based on shared views that North Korea’s nuclear programmes cannot be accepted, peace should be maintained and there must not be war again, another South Korean foreign ministry official told reporters.

Negotiations between North Korea and the United States hit a stalemate after a day-long working-level meeting in October in Stockholm broke down.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has set an end-year deadline for Washington to review its approach to talks. U.S. officials downplayed the deadline, calling it artificial.

Wang last visited Seoul for a trilateral meeting, also attended by Japan, in 2015.

A year later a row blew up over the planned sitting in South Korea of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, designed to intercept ballistic missiles.

Beijing said it upset the regional security balance as the system’s powerful radar could penetrate into Chinese territory.

South Korea and the United States went ahead regardless, installing the anti-missile system in 2017, saying it was warranted because of North Korea’s provocations.

North Korea has test fired dozens of missiles since, most recently on the US Thanksgiving holiday last week.

Seoul is also seeking to open additional military hotlines with Beijing to promote communications as Chinese military aircraft frequently violate South Korea’s air defence zone, creating another source of contention.

China’s Global Times newspaper said relations with Seoul had begun to thaw, despite remaining problems of the THAAD deployment.

“The ice is melting between the two countries but spring has not yet arrived,” it quoted Renmin University of China associate professor Cheng Xiaohe as saying.