KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Scores of people have fallen ill and hundreds of schools have been closed in Malaysia due to toxic fumes believed to have come from a chemical factory, authorities said Tuesday. It was the second serious incident involving poisonous gas in Pasir Gudang district, in southern Johor state, in three months after thousands of people became sick in March when waste was dumped in a river and emitted noxious fumes. […]
Tag: Malaysia
Mahathir says escalating US-China trade war not good for the world
(Eagle News) – Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that the escalating US-China trade war is affecting other nations, as he urged more dialogue between the two superpowers. Mahathir was the keynote speaker in the opening of the 25th Future of Asia conference in Tokyo on Thursday, May 30, which is sponsored by Nikkei. The 93-year old Southeast Asian leader said that the US-China trade war is creating instability and uncertainty in the world. […]
Mahathir: Malaysia will use Huawei ‘as much as possible’
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Malaysia will continue using Huawei products “as much as possible,” bucking a global trend prompted by security concerns and a US ban on the Chinese firm, the country’s prime minister said Thursday. Mahathir Mohamad, speaking at a conference in Tokyo, acknowledged the security concerns but said they would not deter Malaysia. “Yes, there may be some spying. But what is there to spy (on) exactly in Malaysia? We are an open […]
Malaysia to ship back hundreds of tonnes of plastic waste
by M JEGATHESAN PORT KLANG, Malaysia (AFP) — Hundreds of tonnes of imported plastic waste will be shipped back to where it came from, Malaysia said Tuesday, insisting the country did not want to be a global dumping ground. Around 300 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year, according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), with much of it ending up in landfill or polluting the seas, in what is becoming a growing […]
Malaysia criticized for failures on rights reforms
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s government faced criticism Thursday for failing to repeal repressive laws and backtracking on promises to improve human rights a year after sweeping to power with a reformist agenda. A ramshackle coalition headed by veteran politician Mahathir Mohamad stormed to a shock election victory on May 9 last year, toppling a corruption-plagued regime that had led the country since independence from Britain in 1957. The Pact of Hope alliance had […]
Malaysia revives massive Chinese rail project
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia said Friday a major Chinese-backed railway had been revived following a deal to cut costs, lifting a suspension slapped on the project when a corruption-plagued regime lost power last year. The railway was among several infrastructure projects in Malaysia supported by Beijing but put on hold after the shock defeat of a coalition that had ruled the country for six decades. Critics said the projects lacked transparency, could […]
Malaysia makes a U-turn, won’t join ICC anymore
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s government did a U-turn Friday on its decision to join the International Criminal Court, the prime minister said, after a backlash from a powerful Islamic ruler and opposition politicians. The Southeast Asian nation announced in March it was joining the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal after a reform-minded government came to power last year. But the move sparked an outcry from opposition politicians and the powerful sultan […]
Malaysia ex-PM Najib pleads not guilty as he goes on trial over 1MDB mega-scandal
by M. Jegathesan Agence France Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s disgraced former leader Najib Razak pleaded not guilty to all charges against him as he went on trial Wednesday over a multi-billion-dollar fraud. The 65-year-old faced the first of several trials over his alleged involvement in the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a state investment vehicle established to develop the economy of the Southeast Asian nation. The former premier and his cronies […]
Malaysia ex-PM Najib to go on trial for corruption
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s disgraced former leader Najib Razak will go on trial Wednesday over a multi-billion-dollar financial scandal that contributed to his long-ruling coalition’s downfall last year and sent shockwaves around the world. The 65-year-old will face the first of several trials over his alleged involvement in the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a state investment vehicle established to develop the economy of the Southeast Asian nation. The former premier and […]
Vietnam woman in N. Korea murder case has release bid rejected: prosecutor
SHAH ALAM, Malaysia (AFP) — A Vietnamese woman charged with assassinating the North Korean leader’s half-brother lost her bid for immediate release Thursday as Malaysian authorities refused to drop a murder charge, days after her Indonesian co-accused was freed. “In reference to the representation submitted on March 11 to the honourable attorney-general, we got an order to proceed with the case,” lead prosecutor Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad told the High Court in Shah Alam, outside Kuala […]
Over 100 Malaysian schools shut after toxic waste dump
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Over 100 schools in Malaysia have been closed after the dumping of toxic waste into a river caused hundreds of people to fall ill, including many children, authorities said. A lorry is believed to have dumped the waste in southern Johor state last week, sending hazardous fumes across a wide area and causing those affected to display symptoms of poisoning such as nausea and vomiting. Over 500 people, many of […]
Malaysia court frees Indonesian in Kim Jong Nam murder case
SHAH ALAM, Malaysia (AFP) — A Malaysian court Monday freed an Indonesian woman accused of assassinating the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother after prosecutors withdrew the murder charge against her. Siti Aisyah had been accused alongside Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam of killing Kim Jong Nam by smearing VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017, in a brazen Cold War-style hit that shocked the world. “Siti Aisyah […]





