Malaysia Morning News For May 10

Malaysian PM Says No Timetable for Handing over Power
A year after his election victory, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has defended his government’s record but gave no timetable for handing over power to his successor Anwar Ibrahim.
— NewsMax

Malaysia Rail Link: Improved ECRL deal driven by transparency, accountability
The improved deal for the 640-km East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project is rakyat-centric and driven by transparency and accountability, Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) said.
— The Star Online

Penang to call for fresh proposals to reintroduce free Wi-Fi service
State exco man says earlier request for proposal was too stringent for telcos to comply with and that the new one will be less rigid.
— FMT News

Malaysia criticised for failures on rights reforms
Malaysia’s government yesterday faced criticism for failing to repeal repressive laws and backtracking on promises to improve human rights a year after sweeping to power with a reformist agenda.
— The Daily Star

Sarawak banks on durian, pineapples, bananas, coconuts as new cash crops
The state Ministry Of Agriculture, Native Land And Regional Development is focusing on durian, pineapple, banana and coconut as the chosen fruit crops to help meet Sarawak’s goal of becoming a net food exporter by 2030, Datuk.
— Malay Mail

Panasonic sells solar factory in Malaysia to new Chinese R&D ally
Panasonic will sell a Malaysian subsidiary that manufacturers solar panels to Chinese company GS-Solar, its new partner in a research venture, the Japanese electronics group said Thursday.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

Sarawak CM repeats pledge for transparent, corruption-free government
Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Abang Johari Openg today said he is fully committed to have a clean and transparent state government. “We are focused in our efforts to achieve high integrity and corruption-free government,” he…
— Malay Mail

A year on, impatient Malaysia expects miracles from their leader
A “clean and dynamic Malaysia” is the promise Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has given to citizens now questioning whether they made the right choice in toppling a six-decade-old regime a year ago.
— The Straits Times

Explaining the first year of Malaysian politics post-GE14 in four charts
To the uninitiated, the twists and turns of Malaysian politics over the past year may seem baffling.
— Malay Mail

Malaysia Now and Then: ‘How did things get this bad?’, rubber tapper asks
SWEATING under the scorching sun in Kuala Kangsar, chased by hordes of mosquitoes (one clap of the hands can kill up to five!), 57-year-old Ah Seng teaches Team Ceritalah how to tap rubber.
— The Star Online

Uggah: S’wak’s goal of becoming net food exporter by 2030 achievable
Sarawak’s food import was valued at RM4.6 billion while its food exports stood at only RM1 billion, giving a food trade deficit of RM3.6 billion in 2017.
— The Borneo Post

HRW: Malaysia will face difficulty voicing concerns if not part of ICC
Malaysia will have a much more difficult time raising key foreign policy issues that they are concerned about, if they are not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), says Human Rights Watch.
— The Star Online

Sarawak ports show increase in cargo handling last year
The cargo throughput handled by state-owned port authorities increased 1.53 million tonnes, or 7.2 per cent, to 22.79 million tonnes last year from about 21.26 million tonnes in 2017.
— New Sarawak Tribune

Anwar: Meaningful economic measures vital, as race relations appears to have worsened
Pakatan Harapan’s effort to introduce reforms could be derailed if racial and religious problems in the country are left unchecked, says PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
— The Star Online

SRC trial: Witnesses describe RM4b loan as among biggest by KWAP
The Retirement Fund Incorporated’s (KWAP) two loans totalling RM4 billion to SRC International Sdn Bhd were among the largest approved by the civil service pension fund, said two witnesses responsible for the approval of.
— Malay Mail

Shell to shut Malaysia oilfield in July for maintenance; Kimanis exports to drop -sources
Royal Dutch Shell plans to carry out maintenance at an oilfield offshore Sabah in eastern Malaysia, reducing the volume of Kimanis crude exports in July, four industry sources said on Thursday.
— Reuters

Malaysia reform momentum wanes a year after historic election
On the night of May 9 last year, Malaysians celebrated the Southeast Asian nation’s first democratic change in government in six decades and the departure of Najib Razak amid allegations billions of dollars had gone missing from state fund 1MDB.
— Aljazeera

Savings from renegotiated ECRL deal not solely down to overpricing, says MRL
Neither Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) or the government have claimed the savings of RM21.5 billion for the improved East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project was purely from an element of overpricing.
— The Sun Daily

Klang water supply to be restored in stages starting tomorrow, says minister
The problem of the unscheduled water disruption in the Klang district following three main pipes bursting near the Banting-Taiping West Coast Expressway (WCE) project construction site, is expected to be progressively.
— Malay Mail

Syndicate issuing fake temporary employment visit passes busted
Two locations in Kuala Lumpur believed to be the usual areas where a syndicate issuing temporary employment visit passes (PLKS) operates, were raided by the Immigration Department on Tuesday, said its director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud.
— The Sun Daily

Uggah: Poverty eradication efforts to continue despite success in bringing down poverty levels
Poverty levels in Sarawak have declined from 2.4 per cent in 2012 to 0.9 per cent in 2014 and further down to 0.6 per cent in 2016, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
— The Borneo Post

Mahathir questions if Islamic gathering was for religion or politics
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pix) has questioned whether a gathering by Muslims in the city on Saturday was to defend the sanctity of Islam and the Constitution or to draw support for certain political parties.
— The Sun Daily

PRG’s Furniweb posts 1Q loss of RM1.2mil
PRG Holdings Bhd’s 63%-owned subsidiary Furniweb Holdings Ltd has recorded a loss of RM1.2mil for the first quarter ended March 31 versus a profit of RM200,000 in the previous corresponding quarter.
— The Star Online

PKR’s Fahmi Fadzil asks government agencies to consider adopting lawmakers’ initiatives
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil proposed today that federal agencies consider initiatives implemented by elected representatives in their constituencies for possible nationwide use. Speaking at the launch of PKR’s duit raya.
— Malay Mail

SP Setia’s Q1 profit sinks 14% on higher taxation
SP Setia Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 fell 14.1% to RM52.83 million from RM61.49 million a year ago mainly due to higher taxation. The group’s effective tax rate (excluding share of results of joint ventures and associated companies).
— The Sun Daily

IPCMC is for your own good, Transparency International Malaysia tells police
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) urged the police to embrace the Independent Police Complaints and Monitoring Commission (IPCMC) as an opportunity to drastically improve their image and bring about overdue reforms.
— Malay Mail

TT Vision debuts on LEAP Market with 28% premium
TT Vision Holdings Bhd debuted on the LEAP Market of Bursa Malaysia this morning with its share price rising some 27.78% in early trade. At 10.49am, TT Vision rose 5 sen to 23 sen from its issue price of 18 sen on 200,000 shares traded.
— The Sun Daily

Nearly half of Malacca manifesto pledges fulfilled
Out of the 86 pledges Pakatan Harapan (PH) has made in its 14th General Election manifesto for the state, 41 have been fulfilled within almost one year of its administration.
— The Sun Daily

RTM Sarawak gives fair coverage: RTM
Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) Sarawak gives fair coverage to all quarters in line with the government’s policy on championing media freedom, RTM said in a statement here yesterday.
— New Sarawak Tribune

Teo Seng Capital Q1 net profit jumps 234% to RM22m
Teo Seng Capital Bhd net profit and revenue jumped in the first quarter ended March 31, 2019, boosted by its poultry farming business.
— The Star Online

Penang to restore roads to original gazetted names
Confusion over the different spellings of many road names and towns in Penang will be relieved soon as these will be returned to their original gazetted versions.
— Malay Mail

On Pakatan’s anniversary, Guan Eng says tired of dealing with 1MDB scandal, wants to focus on Malaysians’ wellbeing
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, after a year in power, said that he is fed up of spending too much time dealing with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
— Malay Mail

‘Good job’, MIC sec-gen tells Klang MP for helping residents in Ramadan water cut
Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari today praised Klang MP Charles Santiago and his team for helping residents in the Selangor royal town whose tap water supply have been disrupted since Sunday, the eve of the Muslim fasting month.
— Malay Mail

RM170m transferred into SRC account, court told
The High Court here today was told that there were two transactions, involving money transfers totalling RM170 million from the accounts of two construction companies into SRC International Sdn Bhd’s account.
— The Sun Daily

Study to elevate Native Courts to independent, autonomous judicial system underway – Uggah
The Sarawak government has decided to undertake a comprehensive study with the ultimate objective of restructuring and elevating the status of Native Courts to be an independent and autonomous judicial system like the Syariah and Civil Courts.
— The Borneo Post

Feature photo Yn. Abdul Aziz

This week’s Malaysia morning news feature photo acknowledges the commencement of Ramadan, May 6.

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.