Malaysia

Malaysia’s toppled leader Najib Razak will learn Monday if his first trial over the 1MDB scandal will proceed, in a key test of efforts to bring him to justice over the multi-billion-dollar fraud. Vast sums were plundered from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB in a mammoth scam allegedly involving Najib and his cronies, which has triggered investigations around the world. His …

An ex-Goldman Sachs banker will stand trial in Malaysia in April over the 1MDB scandal after he returns from the US where he has also been charged, an official said Wednesday. Billions of dollars were stolen from Malaysian state fund 1MDB in a fraud allegedly involving former prime minister Najib Razak and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end …

A Malaysian man who killed a pregnant cat by putting it into a laundrette dryer has been sentenced to 34 months in jail, official media reported, in a case that sparked outrage. K. Ganesh was handed the prison term Tuesday after being found guilty of breaking animal protection laws at the self-service laundry outside Kuala Lumpur in September last year, …

Malaysian ex-leader Najib Razak engaged in a “well-planned” plot to plunder state fund 1MDB, prosecutors argued Tuesday as a judge prepares to decide whether his first trial over the scandal should proceed. But the defence team of the 66-year-old, who was voted out of office last year in large part due to allegations he and his cronies pilfered massive sums …

Animated film “Abominable” will not be shown in Malaysia after its distributor Sunday said it could not comply with censors’ demands to cut a controversial scene showing Beijing’s disputed claims in the South China Sea. The decision comes after Vietnam pulled the Universal Pictures movie from theatres days ago and the Philippines’ foreign secretary called for the segment to be …

Malaysia held talks with Goldman Sachs about dropping charges against three units of the Wall Street bank that prosecutors brought over the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal, a report said Thursday. Huge sums were stolen from Malaysian state fund 1MDB in a fraud allegedly involving former leader Najib Razak and his cronies, and spent on everything from high-end real estate to a …

Malaysia must strengthen its navy to better defend the country’s waters, a minister said Thursday, as tensions mount over Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea. China has laid claim to nearly all of the sea and has built numerous military outposts on small islands and atolls, angering other countries with competing claims to the waters, including Malaysia. …

Starting early next year, secondary schools in Malaysia can expect to do away with Science and Arts/Commerce streaming, according to a report by leading Chinese-language Malaysian newspaper Sin Chew Daily on Thu (10 Oct). Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching reportedly told Sin Chew Daily in an interview that with the implementation of the Standard Secondary School Curriculum (KSSM), students will …

Almost 800 animal parts including a huge stash of hornbill “ivory”, pangolin scales and deer’s antlers, have been seized in a raid on Borneo island, officials in Malaysia said on Thursday. Borneo’s vast jungles are home to a kaleidoscope of rare creatures but they are frequently targeted by poachers who sell their parts to collectors and for use in traditional …

Malaysian police sometimes use torture to extract confessions from suspects in death penalty cases and their trials are often unfair, Amnesty International said Thursday, piling pressure on the government to abolish capital punishment. The Southeast Asian country has the death penalty for dozens of crimes and it is mandatory for several offences, including murder and drug trafficking. A reformist alliance …