Siti Hasmah, wife of Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad, dies aged 100

🔮 National elections are due by February 2028, although Anwar has indicated an earlier vote could be considered.

🔮 The government will publicly release findings on alleged corruption and coerced takeovers involving senior officials within three months Public discontent has been compounded by allegations of a so-called “corporate mafia” involving officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), who were alleged to have coerced stake sales and corporate takeovers.

🔮 Royal row tests Malaysia’s constitutional order What began as a customary dispute over a throne has left an administration purged and a state in legal limbo Observers warn that the months-long constitutional crisis could create ripple effects well beyond the state’s borders, testing the entire nation’s systems of monarchy and government.

🔮 Malaysia budget: Anwar to boost welfare, keep subsidies amid inflation worries The US$112.5 billion budget comes as the Malaysian leader faces pressure to hold an early general election after several state poll defeats 3-MIN READ3-MIN Malaysia’s government will boost spending on social welfare while maintaining subsidies to rein in the cost of living under its 2027 Budget unveiled on Friday, as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim seeks to shore up public support while under pressure to call for an early general election.

🔮 The scourge of scams and financial crime could become worse with the adoption of agentic AI, which experts say could allow criminals to automate and scale their operations with unprecedented speed.

🔮 Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim is expected to roll out a populist budget on Friday aimed at placating voter concerns over the cost of living and access to essential services, experts say, as the prime minister seeks to shore up support ahead of a general election that could be called as soon as next year.

🔮 The ex-prime minister’s legal team also dismisses a ‘stupid question’ about ‘the billions’ donated by the Saudi royal family King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar last Friday decreed that Najib would be allowed to serve out the remainder of his sentence at home, on condition that he pay his 50 million ringgit (US$10.3 million) fine. The decision triggered widespread outrage among Malaysians over the purported preferential treatment for the corruption-tainted former prime minister and a fundraiser launched by his former ruling Umno party to settle the fine. Najib’s release into house arrest, however, was far from certain as he currently had no means to raise the funds on his own after the authorities froze access to all of his bank accounts, his lawyers said outside the Kuala Lumpur court complex on Friday.

🔮 “A state election will be held within 60 days of the dissolution of the state assembly,” commission chairman Ramlan Harun said in a statement late on Tuesday, adding that the commission would convene a special meeting soon to decide on the date of the election.

🔮 Anwar and PH’s reformist credentials took a hit on Friday after the Pardons Board announced that Najib would be allowed to serve out the remainder of his jail term at home, provided the former prime minister settles his 50 million ringgit (US$10.3 million) fine. In response, Anthony Loke, secretary general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), announced on Saturday that he would resign from cabinet in a move widely seen as decrying Najib’s house arrest.

🔮 Will Malaysia reap the rewards?

🔮 As Malaysia accelerates AI in classrooms, fears mount that students will trade genuine understanding and values for easy answers Pravin, 42, taught her a few basic prompts and checked the answers closely, finding that generative AI is particularly good at breaking down difficult concepts into child-friendly terms.

🔮 Will South China Sea’s code of conduct remain elusive as deadline looms?

🔮 She would scribble detailed notes on her target’s movements at her stilted home, backed by tips from her network of part-time conservationists on nearby islands.

🔮 How DNA ‘fingerprinting’ is keeping Malaysia’s green turtles safe from poachers Decades of conservation have helped Malaysia’s green turtles recover, but tight budgets, fuel costs and poachers threaten progress As dawn breaks on Mataking Island off Sabah’s east coast, a tiny green turtle crawls across the sand, driven by instinct towards the surf before disappearing into the ocean on a journey that could cover thousands of kilometres. The hatchling is one of tens of thousands that emerge from Sabah’s beaches each year, as the species continues a remarkable recovery after decades of conservation efforts to reverse its decline.

🔮 Malaysia divided over working past 60 Calls to raise the retirement age come amid warnings over inadequate savings, and experts say a one-size-fits-all policy could hurt workers Chew Kin Wah spent seven seasons gracing Malaysian television screens as “Kee Tat” in the hit sitcom Kopitiam in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

🔮 Speaking at a tech event, Malaysia’s defence minister says the country is ‘non-aligned’ in ‘every domain’, including in cyberspace Despite Malaysia’s insistence that its long-standing non-alignment policy extends to cyberspace, analysts say the country’s reliance on American and Chinese technology could make such a stance difficult to sustain amid the rivalry between the two superpowers.

🔮 BreakingMalaysia’s Loke resigns as transport minister following Najib’s house arrest approval The DAP secretary general says the decision to step down involves only him, while other party members will remain in their positions “I have decided to resign as the minister of transport to the prime minister, and this only involves me as minister,” Loke said.

🔮 He was ordered into psychiatric confinement, where he will remain indefinitely.