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Malaysia 8th worst in government curbs on religion, says study - The Malaysian Insider
Malaysia has been ranked among the top 10 countries with very high government restrictions on religion, according to the latest findings of US-based think tank Pew Research Center. The findings, which cover 2013, put Malaysia at the eighth spot in the "very high" category among countries known for state interference or curbs on religion. Malaysia was ranked just a spot lower than Saudi Arabia, while neighbouring Brunei and Singapore were placed at the 15th and 18th spots, respectively. Malaysia increased its score on restrictions imposed by the state, climbing to 7.9 out of 10 in 2013, from 7.6 the year before.
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Dismissing suit threat, The Edge says will keep publishing Jho Low, 1MDB articles
— Reuters picKUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — The Edge Media Group said today it will continue to publish articles on Low Taek Jho and his alleged links to the controversies surrounding 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), despite facing possible legal action by the Malaysian billionaire. In a brief statement that ran in its business weekly The Edge, group CEO and publisher Ho Kay Tat said the group has received several letters from Low’s lawyers accusing the group of allegedly defaming Low. “We would like to state here that The Edge Media Group stands by all the articles we have published about Mr Low and about 1Malaysia Development Bhd, and we will continue to publish news stories about Mr Low and 1MDB as and when it is merited,” Ho said. The statement also attached the first page of the latest legal notice the group received dated February 26, demanding a retraction of an allegedly false and defamatory assertion published by the group’s news portal The Malaysian Insider (TMI).
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U.S.-led coalition launches air strikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq, Syria - World | The Star Online
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S.-led coalition launched 11 air strikes in Iraq and nine in Syria since early Friday against Islamic State militants, the Combined Joint Task Force said.
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1MDB’s first US$1billion money trail - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic, March 1, 2015.From 2009 to 2014, 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) initial US$1 billion was shuffled and swapped around, in an apparent bid to avoid scrutiny by its string of external auditors, The Edge Malaysia reported. 1MDB invested US$1 billion into a US$2.5 billion joint venture with PetroSaudi Holdings Cayman Ltd, a private Saudi Arabian company whose main shareholder was a businessman named Tarek Obaid. However, PetroSaudi Holdings did not inject any money into the joint venture, and its 60% equity was in the form of a valuation of assets worth US$1.5 billion. Once it was formed, the joint venture firm immediately had to repay a mysterious “loan” of US$700 million to PetroSaudi Holdings, leaving it with only US$300 million before it had even begun operations.
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Malay Unity assembly attracts thousands of participants – Bernama - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, February 28, 2015.Thousands of Malay youths and veterans gathered tonight at the Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur to attend the Malay Unity Movement assembly aimed to strengthen unity in empowering the Malay community. The event which will see various high profile Malay leaders attending, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was scheduled to begin with Maghrib prayers. At the climax of the event, Najib is scheduled to deliver a special mandate in which the contents of the message is not only to be cherished by the audience at the stadium, but also for all the Malays who prioritised unity nationwide. The event's itinerary also includes events such as the launch of the big agendas of the 21st century, signing of the 21st century Malay "Waad", mandates by Malay leaders, and launch of the permanent secretariat of the Malay Renaissance Movement.
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The Dress That Broke The Internet
Blue and black? Gold and white? It's a debate that still rages on. The stars weigh in! Plus, meet the woman who started the whole thing!
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Mainland Chinese family ejected from flight over seatbelt dispute - Nation | The Star Online
PETALING JAYA: A three-year-old boy who refused to fasten his seatbelt during a Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific flight caused his family to be ejected from the aircraft, but not before sparking a commotion on board and delaying the flight. The Straits Times reported that the boy’s parents, a mainland Chinese couple, were urged to secure their three-year-old in his seat moments before flight CX564 was due to take-off from Bangkok at 3.15pm on Tuesday. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported a passenger by the surname Lau telling Apple Daily that the boy had refused to sit down and wear his seatbelt. A video taken by Lau showed another female passenger getting irritated with the commotion and asking the flight crew to “call the police”.
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Famous Thai temple to build separate toilets for non-Chinese | theSundaily
BANGKOK: A famous temple in northern Thailand will build separate toilets for Thais and other non-Chinese tourists, officials confirmed Saturday.
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Batu Kawan Umno vice-chief Khairuddin sacked - Nation | The Star Online
GEORGE TOWN: Umno has sacked Datuk Seri Paduka Khairuddin Abu Hassan (pic) as the party's Batu Kawan division vice-chairman. The party's Penang state secretary Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir said Saturday he had received a copy of the letter from Umno headquarters, which decided to sack Khairuddin, who had lodged two police reports against 1Malaysia Development Berhad. “His sacking is in accordance with the Umno Constitution and Umno Conference Regulations.
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My body is not an invitation – Rosheen Fatima - The Malaysian Insider
This article was first published on ELLE Malaysia’s website. In his column this week in Sinar Harian, ironically titled "When the ignorant speak", Ridhuan Tee claimed that women's bodies invite rape. As a rape survivor, woman, sister, daughter and – most importantly – as a human being, this statement filled me with disgust. Years later, after putting my life back together, going through the court case, seeing my rapists convicted and beginning to move on and heal (an endless journey), I see headlines telling me that, according to Ridhuan Tee, I invited the rape by virtue of my having a female body.
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Service charge at hotels, restaurants not compulsory, says Ahmad Maslan – Bernama - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic, February 28, 2015.The 10% service charge imposed by hotels and restaurants need not be paid after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is implemented, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said today. He said the proposal to rename the service tax to hotel or restaurant charge should also be implemented immediately so that consumers did not confuse it with the GST. "The service tax imposed by hotels and restaurants does not go to the government. "So I want to inform that you don’t have to pay the 10% service charge if their service is not good," he told reporters in Bukit Gantang today.
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Zahid: Some drug addicts as young as seven years old - Nation | The Star Online
SEREMBAN: Thirty-one years after it was declared the country’s number one enemy, drug abuse remains a major problem with some of the latest addicts being as young as seven years old, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic).
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Federer lauds rivalry with Djokovic after 20th win - Tennis | The Star Online
Roger Federer rates his rivalry with Novak Djokovic as highly as his duels with Rafa Nadal, the Swiss said after beating the Serb to win a seventh Dubai title on Saturday. It was their 37th meeting and Federer's 6-3 7-5 victory means he leads the series 20-17. Federer, 33, trails Nadal 23-10 with their last meeting more than a year ago at the Australian Open. "I think it started as a semi-final rivalry, you know, because me and Rafa were ranked one and two and two and one for a long time, and he was always three or four," the 33-year-old told reporters.
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1MDB complainant loses Umno post over bankruptcy case
— AFP pic KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — The Penang Umno leader who made headlines for lodging complaints against 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has been relieved of his party post over a bankruptcy case last year. According to Penang Umno liaison committee secretary datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir, Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan’s sacking order was in accordance with the party’s constitution and conference rules, national news agency Bernama reported. “He (Khairuddin) had been declared as a bankrupt by the court on May 24 last year and a report on the status had been made to the national Umno headquarters,” he was quoted saying in a statement. He added, however, that despite losing his position as Batu Kawan Umno Youth vice-chairman, Khairuddin still remains a party member and is allowed to attend Umno’s annual conference at the branch level.
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Ghosts of MH370 to haunt new MAS CEO’s first week, UK paper says
— AFP picKUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — Christoph R. Mueller faces a daunting week ahead of him when he assumes his role as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of ailing flag carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS), just days shy of the one year anniversary to Flight MH370’s disappearance. UK newspaper The Independent said in a report that Mueller’s to-do list will be “unappetising”, as he not only has to restore public confidence in the airline but will also have to cut jobs as part of the airline’s restructuring plan. “Next weekend, he (Mueller) and his airline will be in a media spotlight as the world remembers MH370. While his staff grieve for lost colleagues, he knows that many of them will also lose their jobs as the airline ‘restructures’,” the UK paper said yesterday, referring to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukrainian airspace back in July last year.
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Heat stroke poser over boy’s death
— Pictures by Shafiq ZainBANTING, March 1 — He was an athletic 17-year-old who played football and hockey. Paul Arven Navies started complaining of headaches during a football match on Friday. Now, his family have many unanswered questions regarding his death. Earlier at the Telok Datok health clinic, they claimed a staff member there said heat stroke could have played a role in the incident.
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Najib says wouldn’t let 1MDB be used for personal gain
— File picKUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib has expanded on his decision to take legal action against PAS’s Harakah Daily over a report linking his stepson to 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), saying he would never allow public funds to be misused. Najib wrote on Facebook last night to say that while he accepts criticism as prime minister, he will not stand idly by when unfounded allegations are aimed at his family. “I would like to emphasise here that 1MDB is a strategic investment firm owned by the government of Malaysia, and I would never allow anyone to use or divert public funds for their personal gain,” Najib wrote.
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Schoolgirl in conversion controversy yet to go to a new school - Nation | The Star Online
KOTA KINABALU: A 16-year-old schoolgirl in the centre of a purported religious conversion controversy last month is still waiting for her transfer to a new school. Penampang MP Darell Leiking, who is her family’s lawyer, said the transfer process was still in progress and was expected to be completed soon. The girl’s father Jilius Yapoo questioned the alleged conversion and stressed that he did not give his consent. The Sabah Education Department also explained that there was no conversion and the warden concerned had moved to another school.
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Home ownership still a dream for Malaysians as prices remain beyond reach - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, March 1, 2015.At a property fair in the SACC mall, in the heart of Shah Alam, shoppers’ faces were grim as they milled around the miniature displays of houses, each with a price tag ranging from around RM300,000 to RM1.4 million. “It’s unreasonable,” said Roslan Mat Sarji, 47, as he studied the glossy pamphlets prepared by the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS), the fair’s organiser. A few metres away, a group of children giggled, oblivious to their parents’ dismay as a lanky, grinning clown hired by PKNS handed out animal-shaped balloons by the dozen. Moody’s Investors Service said in a report earlier this month that demand for residential properties in Malaysia is expected to slow down this year amidst higher mortgage rates and the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).
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Drinking coffee may lower risk of multiple sclerosis | theSundaily
PEOPLE who drink four to six cups of coffee daily may be less likely to get multiple sclerosis, according to international research out Thursday. "Caffeine intake has been associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases," said lead author Ellen Mowry of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. "Our study shows that coffee intake may also protect against MS, supporting the idea that the drug may have protective effects for the brain," she added. The findings of a US and Swedish study – released ahead of the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Washington – each compared more than 1,000 MS patients to a similar number of healthy people.
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