Lessons from Anwars China visit on Malaysias talent and tech development Accompanying Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his recent official visit to China, I had the opportunity to experience a high-speed rail ride from Shanghai to Hangzhou. Covering a distance of over 160 kilometers, the journey took just 45 minutes. About 10 minutes after the train departed, Anwar walked into the media carriage. Initially, everyone assumed he was merely dropping by for a casual chat with reporters. ..

THE growing number of senior citizens in Malaysia should prompt us to think beyond celebrations, discounts and occasional programmes for the elderly. Malaysia is ageing and this demographic change will eventually affect almost every part of society. Department of Statistics Malaysia figures show that the proportion of Malaysians aged 65 and above increased from 8.0% in 2025 to 8.4% in 2026. The proportion aged 60 and above had already reached 12% in 2025, representing about 4.1 million people. ..

U.S. and China back to the future with a strong sense of history President Xi Jinpings state visit to the United States did not end in a communiqu thick with numbers. It ended under chandeliers in the East Room, with two toasts that tried to do what briefing books cannot: give a quarrelsome present a usable past. The White House state dinner of Sep 24 was a ceremony, of coursesea bass, sparkling wine, an eagle in bronze, a curtain hiding a ballroom still under construction. But the speeches ..

Remembering Tun Siti Hasmah: She made me feel I belonged here On Monday morning, when I read that Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali had died, I sat still for a long time. She was 100 years old. A century is a life we instinctively call long, full and blessed. But numbers do little to soften a goodbye, particularly when someone remains so vivid in memory. To Malaysians, Tun Siti Hasmah was many things: one of the countrys pioneering Malay women doctors, an advocate for maternal and child health, a ..

Tun Dr Siti Hasmah: The exemplary prime ministers wife News of Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Alis passing has brought widespread grief to Malaysia. In my heart, I quietly say goodbye to a lady who was both extraordinarily noble and comfortably grounded. Throughout my career in media, I met Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah on numerous occasionssometimes on the reporting trail, other times at official functions or the Prime Ministers residence. She and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad were complete contrasts. He was almost ..

Domestic violence: Are we seeing more violence or more reporting? The recent reports of rising domestic violence cases in Malaysia should concern all of us. Police statistics show that 7,391 domestic violence cases were recorded nationwide in 2025, compared with 7,116 in 2024. The figure stood at 5,507 in 2023 and 6,540 in 2022. At first glance, the figures appear to show a clear upward trend. But there is an important question that deserves closer examination: Are more people actually ..

In Melaka and GE16, PH + Bersatu + MUDA must team up to beat BN + PN In the past two state elections, Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) played a very pragmatic and realistic political war gameand both came out victorious each time. Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan (PH), Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), and Parti Bersama Malaysia have been playing an isolated solo game, achieving little to nothing. Who are the worst candidates to govern Malaysia? BN and PN, undoubtedly. Who ..

The royal institution must not become a political football Disrespectful and uncivilised. Those were the unusually strong words used by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when he criticised the actions of the Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Ismail Lasim and members of the state executive council in the continuing royal and constitutional crisis. In this rather unfortunate dispute, I stand behind the prime minister and the federal government because, in my profound view, we must uphold ..

How Umno and PAS undermined their own political advantage in Negeri Sembilan Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) scored a sweeping victory in the Negeri Sembilan state election, demonstrating an apparently unstoppable momentum. Had it not been for their own reckless blunders, their political rivals would never have found an opening to strike back. Upon forming a joint state government in Negeri Sembilan, BN and PN ought to have repaid the strong mandate from Malay voters through ..

A tale of two first ladiesMelania Trump vs Liyuan Xi President Xi Jinpings visit to the United States has unfolded with an almost cinematic precision, and the American sidethrough the Trump White Househas matched that tempo with a performance of its own. The arrival, the motorcade shot and every step from carpet to dais carried an unspoken promise: nothing will be left to accident. And nowhere has the symbolism felt more immediate than in the figures standing just off centre stagetwo First ..

Najibs pardon sparks public outrage: royal prerogative vs public morality News that former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been granted a conditional royal pardon with permission to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest has sent shockwaves through Malaysia's political landscape. The development has triggered opposite reactions across political parties, civil society groups, and the general public. While Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters made no attempt to hide ..

The open-air experiment: Are we building our own replacements? Humanity is currently running the largest, most consequential experiment in its history. But unlike traditional scientific trials, this experiment isnt confined to a sterile laboratory. It is happening in the open, connected to our global networks, and its subject is a technology that could soon outsmart us: Artificial Intelligence (AI). As artificial intelligence rapidly evolves, a fear is taking root that AI will achieve a level ..

Will royal sackings trigger a snap election in Negeri Sembilan? The palace crisis in Negri Sembilan is intensifying. Facing an attempt to oust him, the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Mukhriz Tuanku Munawir, has revoked the appointments of all 10 state executive councillors (exco) with immediate effect. According to a royal statement, the decision was made after the exco members were found to have breached their oaths of office and their pledges of loyalty made to the ruler ..

Malaysias PISA 2025 results: The socio-economic gap isn't just wide It's huge The PISA 2025 data confirms that a student's family background remains one of the strongest predictors of academic performance in Malaysia. Socio- economically advantaged 15-year-oldsthe top 25% by family wealth, parental education, and home resourcesoutscored their disadvantaged peers (the bottom 25%) by 82 points in science, according to the OECDs latest PISA 2025 data for Malaysia. What this means in real-world ..

Trumps Irish solution Farewell to the Good Friday Agreement When Donald Trump landed in Dublin in mid-September, the trip was billed as golf and courtesy. What he actually delivered was a sentence that landed like a diplomatic charge. Sitting beside President Michel Martin, he said he would love to see Ireland unified, that unification would be fantastic, that it was going to happen eventually, and that it may as well happen now. He added, almost as an afterthought, that London would have ..

The RM50 million equation: Measuring Najib's true political capital Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been granted house arrest under a conditional pardon, but he must first settle a RM50 million fine. Why attached a RM50 million condition rather than an unconditional pardon? Why is Umno spearheading a public fundraiser for him instead of Najib paying out of his own pocket? And if the donation drive falls short, where does that leave both Umno and Najib? In reality, this RM50 ..

Anwar and Zahids mentor-mentee relationship ends: Who will have the last laugh? The mentor-mentee bond between Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has, in all likelihood, reached its end. From Zahids hard-hitting address at the Umno General Assembly to their subtle back-and- forth exchanges on social media, this political relationshipwhich once managed to keep up appearances for the sake of the Unity Governmentcan no longer hide its deep rifts. Zahid came clearly ..

AI agents breaking out of their sandbox: Malaysia and ASEAN should pay attention The security incident involving OpenAI agents and Hugging Face in July 2026 deserves considerably more attention than an ordinary cybersecurity breach. It was not simply a case of hackers penetrating a computer network. According to the independent investigation by Model Evaluation and Threat Research (METR), artificial intelligence agents that were supposed to operate separately discovered a means of communicating ..

The writer initially thought he was watching a Hong Kong film. It was only after spotting Malaysian actors, Kuala Lumpur streetscapes, and hearing familiar Malay dialogue from daily life that I was certain this was a purely local production. Although its plot shares similarities with Hong Kong film _Internal Affairs_, it does not diminish the value of the Malaysian film _Chelot_, which can rightly be called a pride of Malaysia. First and foremost, this is a film co-invested, produced, and ..

The Malays do not eat pork but eat beef; the Indians do not eat beef while the Chinese eat pork. Based on that, we cannot even eat together. But we can, and we do. I cant recall the exact date Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said those words. It was likely during the 1990s in his first tenure as Prime Minister, back when he was known simply as Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir. He was addressing a mostly Western foreign audience at an event in Kuala Lumpurperhaps a conference or a seminar. Regardless of the ..

Malaysia doesn't lack STEM grads, it lacks RSET talent With Budget 2027s tabling fast approaching on October 9, it is a good time to reevaluate one of Malaysias more ambitious national targets under the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (DSTIN 2021-2030): growing the country's pool of researchers, scientists, engineers and technologists (RSET) to 200 for every 10,000 members of the workforce by 2030. At first glance, it may seem like a slow STEM graduate supply is affecting our ..

I am angry. I will not beat around the bush. This is not the time to be diplomatic or politically correct. I will say what should be said, and I will say it loud and clear. Yes, I am sad, deeply disappointed and angry to the core. Many Sarawakians probably feel exactly the same way. They are angry too, but being nice folks, they may choose to remain silent. I am not that nice. On this very grave matter of helicopter crashes in Sarawak, I have only one thing to say: Cukup lah! Enough is enough! ..

Is the Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar ignorant or being set up? Datuk Ismail Lasim is the most catastrophic Menteri Besar (MB) in history, and quite possibly the one with the shortest tenure; the extent of his absurdity is matched only by how brief his term will likely be. After the Negeri Sembilan state election was concluded, he was sworn in as Menteri Besar before the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir on Aug 2. This was the jackpot of his lifetime. Ismail ..

Reflecting on Chinese cultural interactions and exchanges between Johor and Singapore On September 12 and 13, the 7th 24 Seasons Drums Festival returns to its birthplace, Johor Bahru, after an eight-year hiatus. Like before, the Chinese community in Singapore will join the celebration. In the past, Chinese cultural exchanges between the two sides of the strait were vibrant. Following the founding of Nanyang University in Singapore during the 1950s, these exchanges grew. Early activities were ..

From Russia with force: A Pan-Slavic war in Ukraine that is upending world order Russia's strike on the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, in the heart of Kyiv on September 4 should not be treated as merely another episode in a war that has already lasted more than four and a half years. It represents another crossing of the psychological thresholds that once appeared to constrain the conflict. The drone was reportedly aimed directly at the office of the acting head of the SBU, ..

This is my second article on Marina Ibrahim in this column. Three months ago, on June 2, I wrote a piece titled A DAP blunder to sideline Marina Ibrahim. It did not go down particularly well with some of my friends in DAP. From what I gathered, the general feeling among the unhappy lot was that I was defending Marina without presenting the partys side of the story. My commentary was therefore perceived as one-sided and, consequently, unfair to DAP. Let me say this again today. I do not know ..