Malaysia Morning News For August 23

KLIA system disruption continues, but credit card service restored
The credit card system for the retail and food and beverage outlets at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has been restored, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) said today.
— Malay Mail

Australian mining company Lynas gets permission to dispose of radioactive waste in Malaysia, dividing locals
An Australian mining company has been told to “get lost” and “go back to Australia” amid an ongoing row over hundreds of thousands of tonnes of radioactive waste piling up in Malaysia.
— ABC

Corporate tax cut may not be feasible, says economist
It may not be feasible to grant the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers’ (FMM) wish for a corporate tax cut to 20% from the current 24% in view of the country’s financial condition.
— The Sun Daily

Penang to conduct study on future needs of airport facilities, says CM
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today said that a study will be conducted on the future needs of airport facilities for the state.
— Malay Mail

Malaysian prison staff missing work and sneaking prohibited items into jail: Director
Not showing up for work and sneaking prohibited items into prisons were among the offences committed by prison staff, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Prisons director Abdul Kadir Rais said on Wednesday (Aug 21).
— CNA

Widening, lengthening Causeway among ideas to ease gridlock: Malaysian home ministry
Malaysia will look into widening and lengthening the Causeway and expanding the checkpoint complex to tackle the heavy congestion at the link between Johor and Singapore.
— CNA

Cash payments only now, MAHB tells visitors to KLIA main terminal
The massive outage to systems at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has also affected all retail and food and beverage stores in the main terminal, cutting off credit card transactions for now.
— Malay Mail

Malaysia’s new startup incubator Nexting Ventures launches with US$380K funding
Nexting has also developed four startups in-house for an incubation program – Lifyn, Vision Building, Next Pictures and Pinnacle Living Malaysia has got a new startup incubator, with Selangor-based Nexting Venturesannouncing its official launch.
— e27

BNM international reserves dip 0.8% to US$103.1 billion as at August 15
Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) international reserves amounted US$103.1 billion (RM431.01 billion) as at August 15, 2019, 0.8% dip from US$103.9 billion recorded as at July 31, 2019.
— The Sun Daily

Putrajaya says waiting for Pahang to submit potential Lynas PDF locations
The Housing and Local Government Ministry has yet to receive a list of potential locations for the permanent disposal facility (PDF) for the Lynas rare earth refinery in Gebeng from the Pahang government.
— Malay Mail

Cabinet to look at reducing toll rates for 29 highways
The Cabinet will discuss on the best ways to reduce toll rates for 29 highways during its meeting next Wednesday, according to a Singapore daily.
— The Sun Daily

Penang expects to top RM10b in investments by year-end
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today said that the state is expecting to top RM10 billion in total investments by the end of the year.
— Malay Mail

Motorcycle e-hailing service to address youth unemployment: Syed Saddiq
Addressing high unemployment among youths is the main reason that Malaysia should introduce the two-wheel ride-hailing service, according to Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
— The Sun Daily

Guan Eng sees 20pc increase in housing loan approvals with Bank Negara’s new requirements
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng today predicted that Bank Negara Malaysia’s expanded eligibility criteria for its RM1 billion Affordable Housing Fund will boost first-time home buyers’ loan approval by at least another 20.
— Malay Mail

Air quality in Sarawak’s Kuala Baram at hazardous level
The air quality in Kuala Baram, which is battling forest and peat-soil fires, worsened to the hazardous level today, with the Air Pollutants Index (API) at 404 at 9am.
— The Sun Daily

Lorry protection: Another RTD personnel claims trial to bribery charges
Another Penang Road Transport Department (RTD) enforcement personnel pleaded not guilty in the sessions court here yesterday, to eight counts of receiving bribes amounting RM6,300, as inducement not to take action against lorry drivers of a company for violating traffic rules in the state.
— The Sun Daily

BNM expands eligibility criteria for RM1b affordable homes fund
Bank Negara Malaysia has expanded the eligibility criteria for its RM1 billion Fund for Affordable Homes.
— The Sun Daily

Dr Jerip stays on in State Cabinet after shock departure from PSB
Datuk Dr Jerip Susil can heave a sigh of relief after he was retained in the minor State Cabinet reshuffle.
— The Borneo Post

Jaul Samion is now Sarawak state secretary, says CM
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg today announced the appointment of Datuk Jaul Samion as the new Sarawak state secretary, taking over from Tan Sri Morshidi Ghani, effective today.
— Malay Mail

Tok Pa brushes off talk of him being included in Cabinet
Former International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed has brushed off talk that he may be roped into the Cabinet should there be a reshuffle.
— The Star Online

Media Prima posts RM8.83m net loss in Q2
Media Prima Bhd reported a net loss of RM8.83 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 against a net profit of RM31.95 million recorded in the same period of 2018, due to the decline in performance across most of its business segments.
— The Sun Daily

Sarawak unveils new state line-up
This comes after the resignation of veteran state finance minister Wong Soon Koh.
— FMT News

TNB’s Jimah East power plant commences operations
Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) announced that the first of two units coal-fired plants owned and operated by its subsidiary Jimah East Power Sdn Bhd (JEP) has started operations, contributing an additional 1,000 megawatts (MW) to Peninsular Malaysia existing generation capacity of 22,748 MW.
— The Sun Daily

PSM urges Finance Ministry to review the halting of BSH handout for certain B40 groups
Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj today urged the government to review the cessation of Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) cash handout for certain lower-income group (B40) including single-parent.
— Malay Mail

Mohd Zubil appointed new MMEA Director-General
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Deputy Director-General (Operations) Maritime Vice-Admiral Datuk Mohd Zubil Mat Som has been appointed as the new Director-General of MMEA effective Aug 19.
— The Borneo Post

Airport operator says 20 flights delayed at KLIA, mobile app down
As many as 20 flights scheduled to depart from the main Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) were delayed this morning due to a massive disruption of its systems, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) said today.
— Malay Mail

Patriot: Malaysia is for all Malaysians, there is no room for exclusivity
Patriot president Brig Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji today warned that there is no room for racism and exclusivity in the country as he took Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin to task for saying ‘Malaysia.
— Malay Mail

Bersatu in favour of Lynas continuing operations
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) is in favour of Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Lynas) continuing operations of its rare earth plant in Gebeng here because of the huge investment it brought to the country, according to the party’s Supreme Council (MT) member Wan Saiful Wan Jan.
— The Sun Daily

Laundry associations: Reconsider ban on foreign workers
Two laundry associations today appealed to the government to reconsider the policy to ban and freeze the hiring of foreign workers in the services and laundry sectors.
— The Sun Daily

Tomei’s Q2 profit almost triples
Tomei Consolidated Bhd’s net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 surged almost three times to RM1.12 million from RM394,000 a year ago, thanks to its retail and manufacturing and wholesale segments.
— The Sun Daily

Mention of prosecution’s appeal against Khalid Samad’s sedition acquittal fixed for Sept 30
The prosecution’s application to withdraw its appeal against Shah Alam Member of Parliament Khalid Abdul Samad’s acquittal of sedition against the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) has been fixed for mention on.
— Malay Mail

PPj to lead horse parade on National Day
The mounted unit of Putrajaya Corporation’s (PPj) enforcement section has been given the honour of leading the parade of the civil servants horse contingent during National Day celebrations on Aug 31 in Putrajaya.
— The Sun Daily

Perak to form education consultative council
Perak will set up an Education Consultative Council to enable the voice of the stakeholders to be heard towards further developing the field of education in the state.
— The Sun Daily

Stopping the illegal wildlife trade means engaging with local communities
From the illegal trafficking of pangolin scales and rhino horns to the smuggling of live corals, the 29th International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2019) was replete with tales of the grim and increasingly depressing wildlife trade around the world.
— Star2.com

Najib’s 1MDB trial dates still up in the air
Parties to meet trial judge again tomorrow evening, although the defence hopes the case can begin on Sept 3.
— FMT News

AMMB Q1 net profit up 12.6%
AMMB Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, 2019 (Q1FY20) jumped 12.6% to RM391.46 million from RM347.59 million a year ago, underpinned by consistent net interest income (NII) growth, coupled with higher trading and insurance income.
— The Sun Daily

NFCorp to file counterclaim against govt over RM253 million suit
The High Court adds three additional days for hearing after NFCorp says it will file a counterclaim against the government’s suit to recover RM253.6 million owed to it.
— FMT News

KK gets lots more for garbage
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has announced a bigger allocation of RM1mil next year for Kota Kinabalu City Hall to handle waste management.
— The Star Online

STAR president warns Sarawak CM not to accept any of federal govt’s oil and gas proposals
Sarawak Reform Party (STAR) president Lina Soo today cautioned Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg not to accept any proposal related to oil and gas raised in his meeting with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad,
— Malay Mail

Ringgit unchanged at opening
The ringgit opened flat against the US dollar on lack of catalysts. At 9.22am, the ringgit was unchanged at Wednesday’s close of 4.1750/1800 against the greenback.
— The Sun Daily

Absence from work a disciplinary issue among staff: Prison director
Absence from work is a common occurrence among prison staff, according to Selangor and Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur Prisons director Abdul Kadir Rais.
— The Sun Daily

Drug addicts still afraid of seeking treatment voluntarily: Nada DG
The number of drug addicts who voluntarily seek treatment from the National Anti-Drug Agency (Nada) is still low, in part due to the stigma against the community.
— The Sun Daily

Discard mistrust, respect differences: Sultan Nazrin
In an increasingly divided and conflicted world, the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah (pix) said people should take note of what Islam and Confucianism teach about respecting differences and genuine acceptance of others.
— The Sun Daily

Coroner’s court told committal application by Adib’s family against AG not complete
The Coroner’s Court conducting the inquest into the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim was today told that Attorney-General (AG) Tommy Thomas (pix) said the committal application filed by the family against him for contempt in the inquest proceedings was incomplete.
— The Sun Daily

MSM registers third straight quarterly loss
MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd saw a net loss of RM67.33 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 compared with a net profit of RM14.33 million a year ago, attributable to lower average selling price, higher refining cost and higher finance cost incurred following the modification of certain terms in respect of the Islamic term loan.
— The Sun Daily

Women’s involvement in suicide bombing worrying: Police
The involvement of women from the Southeast Asian region in suicide bombing has become more alarming, said Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division principal assistant director Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay (pix).
— The Sun Daily

We’re not inconsiderate, just focused on strengthening finances, PM tells civil servants
Dr Mahathir Mohamad explains why his administration cannot simply hand out financial assistance unlike the previous government.
— FMT News

Isesco and Education Ministry strengthen ties towards teaching Arab
The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Isesco) and the Education Ministry have come up with several annual programmes aimed at giving a fresh impetus to the teaching and learning of Arab language for both students and teachers in the country.
— The Sun Daily

Thailand sees KK as main gateway to Bimp-Eaga
Thailand is looking to enhance its investment in Sabah, particularly in the medical tourism sector and niche tourism packages.
— The Borneo Post

Inix to raise funds for ICT venture, acquisition
Inix Technologies Holdings Bhd proposes a private placement exercise to raise up to RM1.95 million to fund the potential foray into the ICT segment, among others.
— The Sun Daily

Feature photo Islamic Relief Malaysia

This week’s Malaysia morning news feature photo focuses on World Humanitarian Day, August 19.

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).

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