Malaysia Morning News For April 1

Govt investigates dumping in steel, cement industries
The government will impose anti-dumping duties at the rate that is necessary to prevent further injury to the domestic steel and cement industries if investigation findings are found to be affirmative.
— The Sun Daily

Food Bank Malaysia has benefited 45,850 households
Food Bank Malaysia, an initiative by the government to alleviate the cost of living, has benefited 45,850 households as of February.
— Malaysiakini

Malaysia, China about to finalise railway project talks
The fate of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is close to being finalised with just some minor details to be sorted out in negotiations between Malaysia and China.
— VietnamPlus

Renegotiating 121 BN projects saved govt RM806 mil
The finance ministry today said it had saved RM806 million by renegotiating 121 infrastructural projects initiated under the Barisan Nasional administration.
— FMT

MoF: Putrajaya saved RM805m from open tenders on old projects
The Pakatan Harapan government saved RM805 million after it reviewed and renegotiated the tender for 121 projects, the Ministry of Finance said today.
— Malay Mail

Malaysia to get first neo-bank by 2020
According to a recent report, experts in FinTech state that Malaysia will likely be able to initiate its virtual banking revolution and set up its first neo/virtual bank in the third quarter of 2020 at the earliest.
— OpenGovAsia

New Visit Malaysia 2020 logo ready in May: Mohamaddin
The new official logo for Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign will be announced in May, according to Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi.
— The Sun Daily

“Malaysiakini” interns assaulted by political party leaders
Umno leaders and supporters harassed two Malaysiakini interns as they covered a talk by the former Prime Minister in Kuala Lumpur on March 22. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the National Union of Journalists, Peninsular Malaysia (NUJM), have strongly criticized the attack and demanded an investigation.
— Malaysia Sun

Dassault Aviation looking forward to expanding in Malaysia
Dassault Aviation is upbeat on growing its business presence in Malaysia, driven by a conducive environment in the Asia Pacific region.
— New Straits Times

Firefly may soon resume Singapore flights, says Malaysian Transport Minister
Malaysian carrier Firefly will soon know whether it can resume its services to Singapore, the country’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Sunday (March 31).
— The Straits Times

Vertice mutually terminates RM218.5m sub-contract
Vertice Bhd today announced a mutual termination of a sub-contract worth RM218.48 million for the proposed road upgrading works from Gambang, Pahang to Segamat in Johor.
— The Sun Daily

Mahmoud Qattan: Saudi Arabia and Malaysia agree on how to fight extremism
The Saudi ambassador to Malaysia, Mahmoud Qattan, attended the opening ceremony of the Kingdom’s pavilion at the 38th Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair on Sunday.
— Arab News

Commentary: Malaysia is falling into a middle-income trap
Malaysia’s burgeoning middle class has high expectations for future economic development. But the nation won’t escape the “middle-income trap” and won’t have socially-inclusive growth under current government policies.
— Channel NewsAsia

Hotels in Malaysia are receiving more local guests
It would appear that going domestic is the future of travel for the Malaysian hotel scene, or at least that’s how one of the world’s biggest hospitality companies sees it.
— Star2

Bank Negara reserves at US$102.36b, as at end-Feb 2019
Malaysia’s reserves remained usable as at end-Feb 2019, with official reserve assets at US$102.36 billion, in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (IMF SDDS) format.
— New Straits Times

Malaysia’s Mahathir says in a hurry as he does not have much time left to live
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said that he is in a hurry to get things done as he does not have much time left to live.
— The Straits Times

Total household debt in Malaysia
THE household debt to gross domestic product in Malaysia had fallen slightly to 83% in 2018, thanks to the growth in the economy which was faster than debt.
— The Star Online

Futures brokerage Yutaka Shoji expands into Malaysia’s palm oil trade
Yutaka Shoji, Japan’s futures trading company listed on the JASDAQ Securities Exchange, will be investing more than RM13 million to set up a presence in Malaysia.
— New Straits Times

Malaysia heritage food: Serving nostalgia amid new realities
The “alley Starbucks” has cleaned up pretty well. Ho Kow Hainam Kopitiam earned the moniker from students of a nearby college.
— Channel NewsAsia

Sorry, Singapore: Malaysia dumps assets to cope with $332 billion debt
A year into a new ruling administration, Malaysia continues to grapple with a whopping 1 trillion ringgit debt (US$245 billion, S$332 billion) – but as it goes on a selling spree of “non-strategic assets”, questions are being asked over who is benefiting from the exercise and whether the moves could cause ties with neighbouring Singapore to take a further hit.
— Asia One

Lima 2019: Visitors wowed by mega show
WHILE Lima 2019 excited, amazed and thrilled many, some visitors took the opportunity to gain exposure and experience from the mega show.
— New Straits Times

Johor official says to meet Malaysian ministries on easing congestion at two Singapore links
The Johor state government plans to meet with three federal Malaysian ministries to look into how to ease traffic congestion at two entry points from Singapore, Bernama news agency reported on Saturday (March 30).
— The Straits Times

TNB’s employees pay tribute to outgoing CEO Azman
Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) employees paid their tribute to outgoing president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Azman Mohd in an appreciation ceremony here today.
— New Straits Times

Two police reports lodged over fake news involving Malaysia’s minister
Two police reports have been lodged over the dissemination of fake messages and news relating to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on social media.
— Borneo Bulletin

ECM Libra sells Libra Invest to Kenanga Investors for RM50.07m
ECM Libra Financial Group Bhd (ECMLFG) has entered into a conditional share purchase agreement with Kenanga Investors Bhd to dispose of its 100 per cent stake in Libra Invest Bhd for RM50.07 million.
— New Straits Times

Malaysia Labour Market: 6 lakh Bangladeshis face deportation
Over six lakh Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia may face deportation as the Southeast Asian country plans to reform its foreign workers sector, with an immediate step being the shutting down of its outsourcing companies by March 31.
— The Daily Star

Fifth Malaysian man nabbed over $5.4 million impersonation scam
A fifth Malaysian suspect who was allegedly part of a 2017 impersonation scam which cost a woman about $5.4 million was arrested on Friday (March 29).
— Asia One

Malaysia’s Genovasi becomes global secretariat for Global Design Thinking Alliance
The country’s dedicated school of innovation and design thinking, Genovasi d.school Malaysia, has become the global secretariat for the Global Design Thinking Alliance (GDTA) which involves 10 other world-renowned academic institutions.
— Malay Mail

Malaysia PM warns Philippines vs influx of foreign workers
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday warned the Philippines against letting in foreigners who could “disturb the political equations” after President Duterte’s Beijing pivot sparked an influx of Chinese workers.
— Eleven Myanmar

No suggestion that Lynas contributes to increased heavy metals in underground water, says review committee
The review committee appointed by the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry (Mestecc) did not suggest that any increase in the concentration of heavy metals in groundwater was due to operations by Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Lynas).
— Malay Mail

KTM offers 20% discount card to bring back passengers
The national railway, KTM, has introduced a discount card, KTM XTRA20, to bring back passengers by offering users a 20% discount at every train station.
— FMT

Outlook for Malaysian REITs remains sluggish
Malaysian real estate investment trusts (MREITs) fundamental outlook remains sluggish with rental reversions either weak or limited given the oversupply of retail and office spaces, according to Kenanga Research.
— The Sun Daily

Penang govt targets 40:40:20 ratio for men, women in decision-making
The Penang state government targets a ratio of 40:40:20 as the benchmark for men and women’s participation at the decision-making level.
— Malay Mail

Committee to manage toxic waste to be set up
A National Scheduled Toxic Waste Management Committee is to be established by the government to draft standard operating procedures for chemical pollution disasters, Bernama reported.
— FMT

Third bridge to Singapore? How about building RTS now? Najib asks
Opposition politician Datuk Seri Najib Razak today questioned the government’s delay in starting the construction of the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) that aims to improve traffic connectivity between both countries.
— Malay Mail

SC reprimands 3 China-based companies
PETALING JAYA: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has reprimanded three China-based companies for various breaches of securities laws.
— The Sun Daily

Rural Sarawak town plans to turn wild crocodiles into tourist attraction
The rural town of Spaoh in Betong Division will soon have crocodiles in their natural habitat in Paku River as a tourist attraction, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said today.
— Malay Mail

Feature photo NASOM

This week’s Malaysia morning news feature photo acknowledges World Autism Awareness Day, April 2.

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Malaysia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Malaysia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.