PETALING JAYA: The New Economic Policy (NEP) needs to be reviewed because it has failed, as can be seen from the level of poverty in East Malaysia, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said. The former youth and sports minister said the policy, announced in 1970 following the May 13 riots…
KUALA LUMPUR: A tax exemption of up to RM1,000 will be given to individuals who take Covid-19 tests. This exemption, for the individual, spouse or children, is among the provisions under the Finance Bill 2021. Deputy finance minister Mohd Shahar Abdullah said this was contained in the amendments to the…
PETALING JAYA: Little is likely to change come election day in Sarawak this weekend, as money talks loudest in the state, allowing the ruling class to strengthen its grip on power over decades of rule, say observers. Speaking during an online forum hosted by Malaysiana LCMS, political analyst James Chin…
PETALING JAYA: Southeast Asia’s superapp Grab Holdings Ltd (Grab) is buying over supermarket chain Jaya Grocer. According to a report in The Edge Markets, Grab will pay between RM1.5 billion and RM1.8 billion to acquire the chain. On Dec 11, Grab announced the acquisition to the US Securities and Exchange…
PETALING JAYA: Battered and bruised by the Covid-19 pandemic, the nation’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have now been given a “lifeline” in Budget 2022. These SMEs have suffered from decreased sales revenue and tightened cash flow. They have faced a lack of labour and difficulties in adopting technological solutions…
PETALING JAYA: Independence from Malaysia may be an attractive talking point for candidates and parties in the Sarawak elections, but it’s not going to be enough to swing voters on its own, an analyst said. University of Tasmania professor James Chin said that while “independence” as a concept had been…
PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has dismissed accusations by a Warisan leader that PH was yielding to Putrajaya after signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration. Saifuddin, who is also PKR secretary-general, also slammed Penampang MP Darell Leiking’s accusations that the…
KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat today passed the constitutional amendments based on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) by a bloc vote. The vote was divided into five blocs representing the government and opposition MPs. Speaker Azhar Harun said 199 MPs supported the bill and no one rejected it. “Twenty-one MPs…
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) has opened a tender exercise for 226 commercial lots at its airports, the company said. This comes as global travel restrictions begin to ease and international travel slowly starts to pick up pace. In a statement today, MAHB said the exercise was in…
PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has warned that voter fatigue and disenchantment with the electoral process could lead to corrupt parties running the country. The Langkawi MP said that it was apparent that many Malaysians had become disillusioned after seeing the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) government deposed…
PETALING JAYA: The country cannot wait until the next parliament session to table amendments to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342), says health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. Stating that the provisions under the Emergency Ordinance were found to have been effective in preventing the…
PETALING JAYA: An opposition assemblyman surprised the Perak state assembly today by holding up a whole, fresh chicken to protest against price increases over the past month. Muhamad Arafat Varisai Mahamad (PH-Hulu Kinta) said he did so to remind Razman Zakaria, who is the state plantation, agriculture and food industry…
PETALING JAYA: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says the opposition cannot support the proposed amendments to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) in its current form. The amendments were presented by health minister Khairy Jamaluddin for the first reading today, and Anwar said the Dewan Rakyat…
KUALA LUMPUR: Several PKR MPs have accused a top Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) official of owning shares worth millions of ringgit in two public-listed companies. The group, led by Sungai Buloh MP Sivarasa Rasiah, said it had received “reliable” information that the top official had acquired the shares between April…
PETALING JAYA: Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) will welcome other parties that want to be involved in the nation’s 5G network rollout, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said. It said mobile network operators could work together in the rollout. “There is nothing stopping mobile network operators (MNOs) from working…
KUALA LUMPUR: Rosmah Mansor’s corruption trial in connection with the Sarawak schools’ solar power project was postponed for the third time today as her MySejahtera status still showed that she had close contact with a Covid-19 case. High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan vacated today’s hearing after senior deputy public…
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno MP Ahmad Maslan said 68% of Malaysian workers possess the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or lesser qualifications and raised concerns over their growing numbers in the B40 group. He said parliamentary replies from the human resources ministry last week stated that there are 14.2 million workers in…
PETALING JAYA: Two people, including a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer, have been remanded for three and four days respectively, to assist in the investigation of a RM700,000 robbery case. Dang Wangi police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya said the two suspects, aged about 30, were arrested over the weekend by…
KUCHING: Caretaker chief minister Abang Johari Openg has been taken to task by electoral watchdog Bersih for the recent elevation of Gedong to a district. Abang Johari, who had been the Satok assemblyman for 30 years, is contesting the Gedong seat in the Dec 18 state elections. Yesterday, the Gabungan…
PETALING JAYA: Bersatu has sacked three members who are contesting as independents in the upcoming Sarawak elections. Sarawak Bersatu chairman Jaziri Alkaf Abdilah Suffian said the trio are Siki Balarik (Belaga), Ricky Enteri (Bawang Assan) and Ismawi Muhammad (Muara Tuang). Bernama quoted Jaziri as saying Bersatu was firm in its…