PETALING JAYA: Harry Hartono, along with Yeoh Kay Bin and Mohd Zakry Latif, are expected to be officially announced by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) as the new coaching line-up for the national squad tomorrow. This was confirmed by BAM performance committee chairman Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei, who finalised the appointments yesterday. 1 also expressed relief that the plans to secure new coaches have finally been finalised, with only the official announcement pending. This now allows BAM to begin implementing a long-term plan to rebuild the country’s badminton ecosystem, starting from the grassroots level. “First of all, we are happy that these coaches are coming to Malaysia.

SEPANG: Three key members of the “Captain Praba” gang have been extradited back to Malaysia and charged in court. The suspects, believed to be in their 30s, were detained by Indian authorities at the Mumbai airport after turning violent upon their arrival there on Jan 25. After landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), the suspects were brought to Sepang district police headquarters for the purpose of documentation. In the afternoon, they were brought to the Sepang court where they were charged with being members of an organised crime group. The suspects are believed to be involved in various violent crimes, including murder, armed assault, gang robbery and arson.

PUTRAJAYA: Health surveillance and border controls have been stepped up amid renewed concerns over Nipah virus infections in India, according to the Health Ministry and border control agency. Cross-sector and inter-agency cooperation has also been reinforced to safeguard public health and prevent any re-emergence of Nipah disease, a Bernama report quoted the ministry. “To date, no Nipah virus has been detected in domestic or wild animals.”The ministry advised the ­public, particularly travellers to high-risk areas, to maintain good personal hygiene and avoid contact with sick animals or consuming contaminated products to prevent Nipah virus infection. Nipah disease is classified as a notifiable disease under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342). Nipah disease is a zoonotic infectious disease resulting from infection with the Nipah virus (NiV), with flying foxes/fruit bats as its natural reservoir.

IPOH: The presence of peregrine falcons in Peninsular Malaysia is closely tied to one critical and increasingly threatened habitat –tall limestone cliffs. Trained as a biologist and now a statistical modeller at the Swiss Ornithological Institute, he has spent decades studying peregrine falcons, from Europe’s limestone cliffs to Malaysia’s karst hills. He said falco peregrinus ernesti is the darkest of all peregrine subspecies and looks strikingly different from those in Europe, with nearly 20 recognised peregrine subspecies globally. Before the coordinated surveys began, only about 20 breeding sites were known, a figure that has since increased to 42. Perak MNS committee member Robert Percival said falcons are elusive birds and tend to keep to high limestone hills and seldom come down to the ground.

KUALA LUMPUR: Five people, said to be "cronies" of a senior Navy officer, have been remanded over an investigation into several companies suspected of corrupt practices. The remand orders were issued by Magistrate Ezrene Zakariah at the Putrajaya Magistrate's Court on Wednesday (Jan 28). The court allowed four to be remanded until Jan 29 and another until Jan 30. Sources said those remanded comprised company directors, managers and business owners with links to firms that had secured projects at the Lumut navy base. Meanwhile, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) intelligence division senior director Datuk Saiful Ezral Arifin confirmed the development, adding that investigations were being carried out professionally in accordance with the law.

JOHOR BARU: Scam syndicates are taking advantage of the ­booming high-rise property market in the city to hide their operations. A police official said they seized dozens of mobile phones, routers, name lists and other items worth over RM100,000 from the scam centres. “Two of the apartments were used as centres to offer stock picks and other investments to wealthy people abroad. At press time, the Commercial Crime Investigation Department was still trying to determine if all the scam centres are linked to a single syndicate. “The documents provided by the suspects are fake and were not issued by our office,” said Comm Ab Rahaman.

Even His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, has not been spared with deepfakes being made using the King’s image. ALSO READ : AI Bill to iron out usageAgainst this worrying backdrop, the upcoming AI Gover­nance Bill aims to form a coherent national framework that addresses safeguards in artificial intelligence (AI) production. “It aims to consider the responsibilities of actors across the lifecycle of AI systems. On cybersecurity threats and deepfakes, Gobind described such generative AI as “increasingly serious”, noting how the threat profile shifts from purely technical intrusion to trust exploitation aimed at manipulating victims into transferring funds or disclosing sensitive information. This, he said, gives both Malaysian and foreign firms greater confidence to invest, scale and deploy AI solutions in Malaysia.

IPOH: Marine police here arrested a local man and seized various types of fireworks, estimated to be worth RM105,400, during a raid at a house in Taman Rasa Sayang near Sitiawan on Tuesday (Jan 27). Its commander Asst Comm Jaffri Bidin said the 44-year-old man was detained at 4pm following a public tip-off. Further inspections found several boxes of fireworks stored in the kitchen area of the house as well as inside a van. "Among the types of fireworks seized were 'happy boom red cracker', 'happy boom assorted celebration cake repeater', 'happy boom shoot cake' and 'happy boom celebration red fire cracker'," he said in a statement on Wednesday. "The police welcome information from the public to curb any illegal fireworks trading activities.

(Jan 29) : The Federal Reserve’s decision to leave rates steady sent stocks and bonds wavering, with Jerome Powell refraining from signaling any imminent resumption of rate cuts amid a solid economy. Powell talked up a “clear improvement” in what’s expected for the economy in the year ahead. “And with the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropping last month, the Fed feels confident enough to remove any reference to downside risks. The Fed paused, but the “pivot is still alive,” according to Gina Bolvin at Bolvin Wealth Management Group. At the same time, AI investing has become less monolithic in the tech sector, with investors starting to choose winners and losers.

KOTA TINGGI: The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department has conducted 21 water-bombing sorties and dropped 33,000 litres of water to extinguish a peatland fire spanning nearly 100ha at Jalan Sungai Kapal, Taman Bayu Damai in Pengerang. He added that the operation faced challenges due to the proximity of residential areas and strong sea winds, which increased flight safety risks. Mohd Ruzaidi added that another flight is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, with an expected 40 water bombing sorties involving an additional 50,000 litres of water. An aerial survey revealed that several residential areas remain blanketed in thick smoke, with visible fire damage at multiple locations. On Tuesday, operations in Sector B focused on fire suppression using 152.4m hose reels, assisted by breaching and nozzles, alongside the construction of fire breaks to prevent further spread.

EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Piero Cipollone has warned that global turbulence could hit the eurozone, according to an interview in El Pais. “Uncertainty may increase and this may affect the strength of the recovery, as it would jeopardise investment,” he told the Spanish paper. “This could have an impact, especially on growth, and would obviously have an effect on inflation. If this uncertainty is prolonged, it will have an impact on the real economy.”The ECB hasn’t cut interest rates since June and – with inflation hovering around the 2% goal – investors and most economists expect it to stay on hold through 2026. “Gross domestic product has been resilient and we expect figures that could even be better than forecast,” Cipollone said.

SEPANG: Three men have been charged at the Sessions Court here with being members of an organised crime group. No plea was recorded from the accused after the charges were read in Tamil before Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman as organised crime cases fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court. They are accused of being members of an organised crime group in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat, between December 2023 and September 2025. On Sept 11, police launched a multi-state operation, codenamed "Ops Jack Sparrow", targetting the gang, which has 33 members and led by an individual known as Captain Praba. They are believed to be involved in various violent crimes, including murder, assault with dangerous weapons, gang robbery and arson.

KUALA LUMPUR: Police investigations of allegations that former attorney general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali covered up crimes committed by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak have been officially classified as "No Further Action" (NFA), says Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. "The investigation was completed and referred to the Attorney General’s Chambers on Oct 5, 2022, with the (decision of) NFA," he told Pang Hok Liong (PH-Labis), who wanted to know the status of the probe. Separately, Saifuddin Nasution declined to provide information on the investigation of the attack on Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli’s son. Therefore, the request cannot be accommodated," Saifuddin Nasution said. The 12-year-old son of the former economy minister was attacked at a shopping mall in Putrajaya in August last year.

PETALING JAYA: The abolition of the Perikatan Nasional chairman's post was never discussed with or agreed to by PAS, says Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang. The PAS president said on Wednesday (Jan 28), that the issue had never been discussed or agreed to, including at a meeting with former Perikatan chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Jan 16. This comes following the circulation of an internal letter to the presidents of Perikatan component parties. In the letter, dated Jan 27, Muhyiddin said that PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang had agreed to this during a meeting at Muhyiddin's house on Jan 16. He said that two councils were mooted during the meeting - a presidential council led by Bersatu and an executive council led by PAS.

Any queries regarding the review of DPT BLN12/2025 can be submitted to the EC via the official portal or by calling the EC hotline at 03-8892 7218 - NSTP FILE PICKUALA LUMPUR: The December 2025 Supplementary Electoral Roll Review (DPT BLN12/2025) is now open for 30 days starting today until Feb 26, said Election Commission (EC) secretary Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus. He said the DPT BLN12/2025 which was certified and gazetted today contains 44,042 names of citizens aged 18 and above from Dec 1 to 31, 2025 who were automatically registered as new voters. Apart from that, Khairul said it also contains 16,699 registered voters who changed constituencies and 4,872 voters who changed voter categories or status. "The EC calls on citizens aged 18 and above between Dec 1 and 31 2025 and any registered voters who have applied for a change of constituency or change of voter category or status to check their names in the DPT BLN12/2025," he said in a statement here tonight. Visit EC portal at https://www.spr.gov.my or https://mysprsemak.spr.gov.my, the official portal of the State Election Office at http://ppn.spr.gov.my, online application https://myspr.spr.gov.my, MySPR Semak mobile application or call 03-8892 7218.