Malaysia is poised to host Asia’s first public issue of loss-absorbing bank debt, so-called bail-in bonds, since the region began the transition to Basel III standards earlier this year. CIMB Bank has received preliminary approval from the country’s central bank for a subordinated ringgit bond that will count towards its Tier 2 capital, and may [...]

A Malaysian court on Thursday charged a student activist with sedition and police arrested three others, including two opposition politicians, in what critics decried as a crackdown on dissent. The latest arrests under the Sedition Act – which prime minister Najib Razak pledged last year to repeal – raised tensions amid opposition claims that fraud [...]

The national police chief and home minister should be held accountable for the latest death in police custody, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) said today when condemning the police for allegedly causing N. Dharmendran’s death. “SUARAM demands IGP Khalid Abu Bakar and Home minister Zahid Hamidi to take responsibility over the death and announce to the [...]

Malaysian police have arrested three opposition politicians and activists and charged another with sedition, launching a crackdown on dissent three weeks after a divisive election that sparked a series of protests. Opposition member of parliament Tian Chua, who is vice president of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance), and pro-opposition activists Haris Ibrahim and Tamrin [...]

A Malaysian court on Thursday sentenced a lawyer and three farm workers to death over the gruesome murder of a glamorous cosmetics tycoon and her three associates. The 2010 murder of Sosilawati Lawiya, 47, her driver, lawyer and bank officer shocked Malaysians and dominated the headlines for weeks. The four were reported missing after going [...]

Despite earning a civil servant’s salary for three decades, Taib Mahmud, the powerful chief minister of Malaysia’s Sarawak state, is reputed by critics to be one of Asia’s richest men. Taib, 77, and his family are accused of massive corruption and running Malaysia’s largest state like a family business, controlling its biggest companies with stakes [...]

AirAsia, Asia’s largest low-cost carrier by fleet size, said Wednesday that first-quarter net profit fell 39 percent year-on-year due to a foreign exchange loss on borrowings. The airline said in a filing to the Malaysian stock exchange that profit for the three months ending March 31 was 104.79 million ringgit ($34.79 million) compared to 172.44 [...]

About 300 Borneo tribespeople staged a protest at a world hydroelectric industry meeting in Malaysia on Wednesday to denounce dams they say are destroying forests and native ways. Officials in the Malaysian state of Sarawak have for years been accused of ramming through controversial dams, and opponents have harshly criticised the International Hydropower Association’s (IHA) [...]

Two ethnic Indian men have been jailed by a Malaysian court for the murder of a Nigerian student who they claimed had cheated them. High court judge Noor Azian Shaari sentenced security guards V Ganesan, 29, and T Kumar, also 29, to one-year and seven-year jail terms for causing the death of 27-year-old Nwabudike Emmanuel [...]

Higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages pushed Malaysia’s inflation rate up 1.7 percent in April, which was the highest in 11 months. The Statistics Department said on Wednesday the consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.7 percent from 104.5 to 106.3. The 1.7 percent increase was in line with Bloomberg’s consensus forecast of 1.7 percent. [...]

Axiata Group Bhd, Malaysia’s largest mobile-phone operator, is evaluating a bid for PT Axis Telekom Indonesia, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Any offer for Axis would be made by Axiata’s Indonesian unit, PT XL Axiata, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information was private. Purchasing the Indonesian [...]

MINI has officially launched their seventh MINI model for the Malaysian market, The MINI Cooper S Paceman. The sports activity coupe features serious and amusing technology that add to its quirky character. BMW Group Malaysia has finally introduced the new MINI Cooper S Paceman to the Malaysian market. The Paceman, is the seventh MINI model [...]

Barisan Nasional’s (BN) rule will continue as long as Malaysia uses the first-past-the-post voting system despite redelineation, academic Amer Saifude told a forum here last night. The Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel) deputy director said the expected redelineation of constituencies by end of the year would benefit prime minister Datuk Seri Najib [...]

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), Malaysia’s biggest bank by assets, posted a 11.8 percent rise in first quarter profit, helped by higher net interest income and strong Islamic banking performance. Maybank earned 1.51 billion ringgit ($499.75 million) in the three months ended March, compared with a net profit of 1.35 billion ringgit a year earlier. Its [...]

Malaysian authorities detained two anti-government figures and charged a student activist with sedition Thursday, raising political tensions after recent national elections triggered claims of fraud. Opposition activists have staged numerous peaceful demonstrations since May 5 general elections, which the National Front coalition won with a weakened parliamentary majority. They insist the coalition, which has governed [...]

Prosecutors in Malaysia are pursuing rape charges against a 40-year-old man who allegedly had sex with a 13-year-old girl and then married her. Restaurant manager Riduan Masmud was charged with committing statutory rape in a parked car in Borneo in February, but the man has defended his actions by saying he since married the girl. [...]

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) won in 59 mixed-race federal seats, almost double its 30 wins in Chinese-majority seats in Malaysia’s Election 2013, according to a new research, debunking Barisan Nasional’s (BN) claim of a “Chinese Tsunami” that cost it more losses. Independent online research house PoliTweet.org also said the ruling BN gained most of its votes [...]

Barisan Nasional’s (BN) rule will continue as long as Malaysia uses the first-past-the-post voting system despite redelineation, academic Amer Saifude told a forum here last night. The Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel) deputy director said the expected redelineation of constituencies by end of the year would benefit prime minister Datuk Seri Najib [...]

A group of American manufacturers in Malaysia told Putrajaya today to keep the teaching of science and mathematics in English (PPSMI) as a way of strengthening the nation’s talent pool. This comes as over two-thirds of its members surveyed found it difficult to recruit local workforce in the design and development sector, in an annual [...]

The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) student representative council lodged a police report today urging PDRM to safeguard student safety. Council treasurer Chuah Wen Xu and vice president Loh Kit Mun, along with several other committee members, lodged the police report at the Sungai Nibong police station here, this morning. “We are very concerned over the [...]

Malaysia’s total investments approved in Q1 2013 amounted to 49.3 billion ringgit (US$16.3 billion), a 44 per cent increase year-on-year. 1,244 projects were approved during the period and it is expected to generate close to 42,000 jobs. The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), which released the data on Tuesday, added that domestic and foreign direct [...]

The United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) must be “prepared to make changes” and meet conditions set by the Ministry of Education if the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) is to be recognised, the government said today. Education minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (picture) revealed that the bilateral talks on Dong Zong’s push [...]

Malaysia will go all out to secure a seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2015-2016 term so that the country can play a part in international security issues. Foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said Tuesday that although he was confident that Asean member states would support Malaysia, considering it was [...]

The recent visit of Malaysian trade mission and the participation of 11 companies at the Saudi Food & Hotel and Hospitality 2013 are just part of the continuing efforts to strengthen bilateral trade relationship of Malaysia with Saudi Arabia, according Malaysian Consul general. While welcoming and shaking hands with visitors to the Malaysian pavilion at [...]

Three dozen Malaysian NGOs on Tuesday denounced the world hydroelectric industry’s decision to hold a conference in a Borneo state where dam projects have uprooted forests and native peoples. The groups, including the Malaysian chapters of Amnesty International and Transparency International, said in a statement the choice of Sarawak state “makes a mockery” of the [...]

Election 2013 demonstrated that Malaysia’s system of race-based politics is crumbling under the impact of urbanisation and the reality of Malay-majority rule, an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal suggested today. Datuk Seri Najib Razak is also considered more popular than Umno, and should help usher in “unstoppable” change and the move away from [...]

Malaysia Airlines has flown home a mother and her 14-month-old daughter who were prevented from boarding an AirAsia flight back home from Vietnam. Isan Suhaila Mohd Ali, 36, and her daughter, Mariam Sofea Mohd Reza, were held back by AirAsia staff at the Ho Chi Minh airport on Saturday night after the latter was suspected [...]

Malaysian authorities have completed their investigation into the entry into Sabah of armed followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, with the probe zeroing in on least three individuals, a Malaysian news site reported on Tuesday. The New Straits Times quoted Malaysian Home minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying the relevant documents [...]

Malaysia-based Lotte Chemical Titan, a unit of South Korea’s top ethylene maker Lotte Chemical, is seeking up to 130,000 tonnes of naphtha for July 2013 to June 2014 delivery, traders said on Monday. The volumes are lower than the 200,000 tonnes of full-range naphtha it bought last year for October 2012 to September 2013 delivery [...]

The Consulate general of Malaysia Commercial section (MATRADE Jeddah) in collaboration with Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) and Jeddah Chamber of Commerce (JCCI) organised a meeting between Saudi businesspeople and their Malaysian counterparts in Jeddah yesterday. The Malaysian delegation was led by Muhammad Khalid Abbasi Abdul Razak, Malaysian consul general; Nurammar bin Abu Bakar, deputy [...]

A Malaysian court has ordered the release of an al-Qaida-linked former army captain and two other suspects charged with inciting terrorist acts. The verdict underlines the legal limits of a security law introduced last year to replace legislation that allowed indefinite detention without trial. Authorities invoked the law for the first time in February to [...]

Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is unlikely to surpass 5 percent in 2013, given the weaker 4.1 percent growth achieved in the first quarter of the year, according to UBS Investment Bank. “GDP grew 4.1 percent in the first quarter. You need a pretty strong bounce-back to reach 5 percent in 2013,” said UBS senior [...]

The Malaysian economy will pick up pace and grow further in the second half of this year following the moderate performance in the first quarter, says a leading banker. Maybank president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said the moderation in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter reflected [...]

Putrajaya cannot turn a blind eye to the call by Malay groups to boycott Chinese businesses as the campaign risks derailing the government’s economic transformation plans that could further slow down Malaysia’s growth, corporate leaders and an economist have warned. The Malay and Chinese Chambers of Commerce, as well as economist Yeah Kim Leng, said [...]

Egyptians must understand the thin line between using freedom and abusing it, the latter of which will have negative repercussions for the country, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamed said on Sunday. Speaking at a Cairo conference organised by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party to discuss the “Malaysian renaissance experience,” Mohamed said it [...]

Post-election protests and rising ethnic tensions have plagued Malaysia following a highly divisive poll this month, raising fears the country could plunge into instability. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has led five rallies in the capital and nearby states to protest the results of the May 5 election, which he said was tainted by massive fraud. [...]

Malaysia will be able to rake in an additional income of up to RM27 billion (S$11.25 billion) if the proposed goods and services tax (GST) of 7 per cent is implemented. Minister in the prime minister’s Department Idris Jala said the new taxation mechanism could guarantee additional revenue of RM20 billion to RM27 billion, according [...]

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) chair P Waythamoorthy has promised to solve the problems faced by Malaysia’s minority ethnic Indian community and bring positive changes to its socio-economic position in the next five years. Waythamoorthy, who has been appointed deputy minister in the prime minister’s Department, said he would focus on displaced estate workers, stateless [...]

Malaysia’s UMW Holdings Bhd plans to sell 39 percent of its oil and gas unit in an initial public offering this year that could raise up to $1 billion, a source said Friday. The state-backed conglomerate’s announcement is the latest in a slew of planned listings, looking to build on last year’s momentum that saw [...]

Malaysia’s economy will grow stronger in the second half this year, driven by the removal of the political uncertainty and the government’s firm economic policy, said Credit Suisse Securities (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Stephen Hagger. He said Malaysia would join an exclusive club currently comprising the Philippines and Thailand which had all the three [...]

Home minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is denying Malaysians the right to a better voting system by telling them to migrate if they are unhappy with Malaysia’s first-past-the-post system, the DAP’s Tony Pua said today. The DAP publicity chief pointed out that although the first-past-the-post system allows political parties or coalitions to win elections [...]

A court on Thursday sentenced a Malaysian couple to 24 years in jail for starving their Cambodian maid to death, one of many such abuse cases straining ties between the country and its neighbours. Hardware store owners Soh Chew Tong, 44, and his wife Chin Chui Ling, 42, were found guilty of culpable homicide at [...]

Malaysia was among the world’s IPO leaders last year and the pace looks set to pick up again with tense elections out of the way and expectations that the government will push a reform agenda. Malaysia’s exchange had a banner year for initial public offerings in 2012 as big issues capitalised on a rising share [...]

Despite the disappointing gross domestic product (GDP) year-on-year figures in the first quarter of 2013, Malaysia’s economic growth is expected to improve in the second half of 2013. Analysts said the economy would pick up more in the second half on better export data, continuous strong domestic demand, improved sentiment and confidence in the economy [...]

A court has sentenced a Malaysian couple to 24 years in prison for fatally starving their Cambodian housemaid. Police found the body of Mey Sichan at the couple’s home in Malaysia’s northern Penang state in April last year. Medical reports said she weighed only 26 kilograms (57 pounds). The Penang High Court on Thursday convicted [...]

Despite winning one of the most heated elections in Malaysian history, the ruling coalition faces a challenging time governing the country as it struggles with ongoing allegations of electoral fraud and a restless opposition. Last Sunday ruling coalition Barisan Nasional, which has been in power for more than half a century since the country’s independence, [...]

Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd will be included as a component of the 42-stock MSCI Malaysia Index with effect from May 31. MSCI Inc said Astro would replace Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MMHE) in the index. Astro added one sen to RM3.16 with 17.71 million shares traded while MMHE fell 11 sen or [...]

Malaysia is the sixth most vulnerable country in the world to cyber crime, in the form of malware attacks through the computer or smartphone. CyberSecurity Malaysia Research vice president Lt Col (R) Sazali Sukardi said the Sophos Security Threat Report 2013 found, in a period of three months this year, that besides Malaysia, nine others [...]

In order to ensure that the young generation of ethnic Indians in Malaysia is aware of their Indian traditions and customs, Hindu temple committees should organise religious seminars and weekly classes, a senior temple committee member here has said. Malaysia’s Hindu Sangam president R S Mohan Shan’s reaction comes after he observed that some of [...]

The inclusion of Datuk Paul Low in the Cabinet will be judged on the Transparency-International Malaysia (TI-M) chair’s achievements in eradicating “rampant corruption”, the DAP’s Tony Pua said today. The DAP publicity chief pointed out that Low (picture) would be scrutinised on his ability to carry out reforms like ensuring that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission [...]