Japan's Nikkei share average surpassed the 59,000 mark for the first time on Thursday. AFP picTOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average surpassed the 59,000 mark for the first time on Thursday, led by software-related shares as investor fears over artificial intelligence disruption eased. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.2 per cent at 58,672.37 after climbing as high as 59,332.43 earlier in the day. So far, the Nikkei is up 16.4 per cent for the year. Software-related shares surged, with software test service firm Shift jumping 11.3 per cent to become the largest percentage gainer on the Nikkei.

Shares of Kelington Group Bhd opened at RM5.24 today, 12 sen or 2.34 per cent higher than its previous close of RM5.12, placing the counter among the top gainers on Bursa Malaysia. KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Kelington Group Bhd opened at RM5.24 today, 12 sen or 2.34 per cent higher than its previous close of RM5.12, placing the counter among the top gainers on Bursa Malaysia. At press time, the shares were trading at RM5.39, up 27 sen, or 5.27 per cent, from the previous close, with 14,775 shares changing hands. The company declared a special interim dividend of 1.5 sen per share, along with a fourth interim dividend of 2.5 sen per share. The growth was supported by higher contributions from its engineering segment, particularly advanced engineering projects in Singapore and general contracting works in Malaysia.

PETALING JAYA: Cristina Chew (pic) was in a foreign country when she began fasting for the first time. Cristina is a full time social media content creator with quite a significant Muslim following. Recounting her journey to becoming a Muslim, she said it had not been an easy decision to make. Unlike many Muslim converts who embrace the religion through marriage, Chew, who was raised a Buddhist, said she chose Islam after much research and reflection. Islam gave me structure and clarity.

(Feb 26): Nvidia Corp failed to impress investors with its latest forecast, signalling that concerns about an overheated AI economy will continue to dog the company. Fiscal first-quarter sales will be about US$78 billion (RM302.9 billion), the chipmaker said in a statement Wednesday. After a remarkable run of sales growth, which turned Nvidia into the world’s most valuable company, investors have proven harder to satisfy. Nvidia said Wednesday that it wasn’t including any China data-centre revenue in its first-quarter sales outlook. “To date, we have not generated any revenue under the H200 licensing programme, and do not yet know whether any imports will be allowed into China,” Nvidia said.

A lorry carrying fruits and vegetables overturned on Jalan Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari, Alam Budiman, yesterday. - Pic courtesy of readerSHAH ALAM: A lorry carrying fruits and vegetables overturned on Jalan Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari, Alam Budiman, yesterday. Shah Alam district police chief, Assistant Commissioner Ramsay Embol, said investigations revealed the accident occurred at 1pm yesterday. "The accident involved a lorry loaded with fruits and vegetables, driven by a local man in his 20s, accompanied by a local assistant in his 30s, travelling from Bidor, Perak, to Shah Alam. Both the driver and assistant sustained injuries to the head and legs and were taken to Shah Alam Hospital for treatment.

27 Leong Jun Hao, who is expected to spearhead Malaysia’s singles challenge at the prestigious team event in Denmark, had another disappointing outing after crashing out in the first round of the German Open in Mulheim on Wednesday. 27 Leong Jun Hao, who is expected to spearhead Malaysia's singles challenge at the prestigious team event in Denmark, had another disappointing outing after crashing out in the first round of the German Open in Mulheim on Wednesday. Jun Hao went down 18-21, 21-5, 22-20 to Taiwan's world No. 38 Justin Hoh, Malaysia's second-highest ranked men's singles player, was also sent packing following a defeat to Hong Kong's world No. With Zii Jia still working his way back up the rankings and the supporting cast struggling for consistency, Malaysia's singles department remains a pressing concern.

SUNGAI BULOH: Authorities insist border enforcement will be further strengthened after a senior officer was shot at in Bukit Kayu Hitam. Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) deputy director-general (management) Ismail Mokhtar said the agency would not compromise when it comes to threats against its personnel. Ismail stressed that AKPS, a newly established agency consisting of multiple enforcement bodies at entry points, would not compromise when it comes to threats against its personnel. “There might be a special team to ensure the safety of officers, like other people have. We are looking to intensify our forces, our research teams and the teams under our control,” he said.

- NSTP/MOHD FADLI HAMZAHKUALA LUMPUR: The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry is developing a dedicated National Food Security Indicator and Index to provide a more holistic, Malaysia-specific assessment of the country's food security status. Wee Jeck Seng (BN–Tanjung Piai) had asked about national strategies to boost domestic food production, reduce reliance on imports of critical raw food commodities, and outline production targets and food security benchmarks. Mohamad said the framework would measure four key dimensions of food security — availability, accessibility, utilisation and stability. Mohamad added that the system would enable rapid and orderly food distribution to safeguard continuity of supply for the people. "This will support increased domestic food production and reduce import dependency, ensuring sustainable national food security," he said.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) must undergo a high-level investigation into alle­ga­tions of a “corporate mafia” within the agency to prove that it is “whiter than white”, says Anthony Loke. The Transport Minister said that only such an investigation can clear the name of the MACC and that the “corporate mafia” allegations cannot be dismissed as hearsay or swept under the rug. “They should welcome a high-level investigation to clear the name of the MACC. He reiterated that the current probe by a special committee into the MACC is insufficient, as it is limited to shareholding issues involving its chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki. “This is a very serious allegation because our institutions cannot be used as a tool by anyone,” he said.

THE RM22.45bil in tax refunds for overpaid taxes in 2025 was the highest in five years, the Finance Ministry said in a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday. “All outstanding tax overpayment cases for 2022 and earlier that were eligible for payment were fully settled in 2025. The settlement of these refunds involved 3.7 million cases in 2025, compared with 2.7 million cases in 2024. “Refunds for tax overpayments for 2024 are targeted to be completed before the end of this year. “The government remains committed to ensuring that tax overpayment refunds are fully implemented fairly, transparently, and equitably, taking into account the interests of all taxpayers and strengthening business confidence,” it added.

The three-and-a-half-hour failure, which occurred between 3am and 6.30am yesterday, not only knocked out the immigration system but also affected other agencies, as it was due to a network problem. Stuck in place: Passengers waiting to clear immigration manually following the latest network outage at the BSI in Johor Baru. At press time, no official statement had been issued by the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) regarding the outage. The Star had earlier reported that in January, foreigners were advised to use the new National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) when clearing immigration at BSI following a system failure involving autogates. AKPS said in a statement then that, besides NIIse, foreigners could also use the manual counters to clear immigration.

PETALING JAYA: Allegations of a “corporate mafia” network linked to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) have triggered calls from leaders across the political divide for a probe into the anti-graft agency and its chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki. MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic) said that the latest “corporate mafia” issue demands serious public attention, as corruption must not be taken lightly. The report later described this situation as a “corporate mafia” network. A Special Investigation Com­mittee led by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Bakar was recently set up to investigate the allegations against Azam. On Feb 24, the MACC also strongly denied allegations of a “corporate mafia”.

Australia’s landmark social media ban for children under 16 officially took effect on Dec 10 last year. "What concerns me most are the unhealthy elements on social media, because we cannot fully control children's activities there. "I think what needs to be improved is ensuring proper age verification for all accounts registered in social media platforms," he added. It was reported that the government was expected to enforce a minimum age limit of 16 for social media use as early as July. The measure will be carried out under Onsa, with ongoing discussions with social media platform providers to determine the most effective approach.

KUALA LUMPUR: Her Majesty, Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia attended a breaking of the fast ceremony with members of the Cabinet and foreign delegates at Istana Negara here on Wednesday (Feb 25). Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as well as the two deputy prime ministers Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. Among the Cabinet members present were Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and deputy ministers. Also present were chairman of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj and acting deputy editor-in-chief of the Economic News Service Harlina Samson. Her Majesty also performed Maghrib prayers with invited guests led by Federal Territories Mufti Ahmad Fauwaz Fadzil at the Istana Negara Main Surau.- Bernama

PETALING JAYA: The big question among Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors is whether the 2025 dividends expected to be announced soon will be better than the 6.3% for conventional savings in 2024. For 2025, experts believe EPF could maintain the dividend rate for conventional savings at 6.3% in 2025. For 2024, both the conventional and syariah funds reported dividends of 6.3%, the fund’s strongest performance since 2017. What do you think will be the dividend rate for 2025? What do you think will be EPF's Conventional Savings dividend rate for 2025?