Day: October 1, 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, The High Court today was told that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak believe that the RM2 billion donation from Saudi Arabia was not unreasonable as Ambank, the bank which handled the transaction, had processed the funds under the understanding that they were a legitimate donation. Najib’s counsel Tania Scivetti submitted that AmBank, as one of the major financial institutions, had a dedicated compliance department that processed the funds based on letters which purportedly supported the claim that the money originated from an Arab royalty as a donation. “The defence argues that this situation lent credibility to Najib’s belief

KOTA BHARU, The Federal Government has approved an allocation of RM5.5 million to repair and upgrade the infrastructure at the iconic Siti Khadijah Market here. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the MADANI Government was committed to repairing the market under the 12th Malaysia Plan as it is very much needed by the 1,500 traders at the premises. “I approved the allocation this week and asked the Kelantan State Development director (Jasri Kasim) to look at the repairs that need to be carried out first. “I passed by the market (and) the roof is leaking and the wiring is

KOTA KINABALU, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) must remain committed to be a knowledge centre of excellence and produce competitive and innovative students to fulfil the need for a skilled workforce, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said. The UMS Pro Chancellor said this included strengthening partnerships with industry players in research, development, commercialisation and innovation activities. ‘The Sabah government and its people are very proud of UMS’ current achievements that have helped spur development transformation in various aspects as well as being a reference centre in the state,’ he said during his speech during the university’s 30th orientation week

KOTA KINABALU, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said that the time has come to conduct a study on increasing the number of parliamentary seats in Sabah. He said that Sabah had previously seen an increase of 13 state seats, bringing the total from 60 to 73, which were contested in the 16th State Election in Sept 2020. “I believe the conditions are sufficient for us to conduct a study on the possibility of adding more parliamentary seats,” he told reporters after launching the Pledge and Oath Ceremony in conjunction with orientation week for new students at Universiti Malaysia Sabah

KUALA LUMPUR, The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar on Tuesday on profit-taking after recent sharp gains, in line with other regional currencies, as the United States signalled a lower interest rate cut going forward. At 6 pm, the ringgit traded at 4.1530/1610, down from Monday’s close of 4.1210/1280. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid attributed the weaker performance to the latest remarks by US Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman Jerome Powell, who reassured markets that monetary easing would continue but that the Fed is not in a hurry to cut rates quickly. He expects