Popular Hong Kong actor Kenneth Ma was unable to hold back his tears while talking about his late father on the red carpet at the TVB Anniversary Awards on Jan 4. Ma, who's married to fellow TVB star Roxanne Tong, shared that his father often worried about his hectic career, though the actor would reassure him that he felt no pressure. "He knew I loved him, but I wish I had spent more time with him. Ma laid his father to rest on Dec 11, holding a modest funeral attended by family and close friends. In the recent interview, Ma said he has already finished shooting his scenes for the aforementioned drama and is now focusing on handling family matters.

KUALA LUMPUR: Melati Ehsan Holdings Bhd has announced the resignation of its chief executive officer (CEO), Datuk Ir Leong Chee Kian, with effect from Jan 6, 2026. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the turnkey construction group said Leong, 56, stepped down to pursue his personal interests. It added that there were no disagreements between Leong and the board of directors, and no matters arising from his resignation that needed to be brought to the attention of shareholders. Leong was appointed as CEO on March 1, 2021.

The period between 2002 and mid-2008 - when oil almost reached $150 a barrel – potentially marked the peak of the petrodollar's powers. Thanks to the shale oil revolution, the U.S. is now the world's largest oil producer and has been a net exporter since 2021. Moreover, the rise of China's economic power and new geopolitical rifts have reduced the percentage of the global oil trade denominated in dollars. And last year, the dollar and oil both fell, rather than moving in opposite directions. The greenback's share of foreign currency reserves is currently the lowest in 25 years, and while it remains the preeminent currency of global trade, that position is starting to fray also.

KUALA LUMPUR: Independent men doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani successfully cleared their first hurdle in the Malaysian Open against Denmark’s Mads Vestergaard-Daniel Lundgaard. Sze Fei-Izzuddin suffered a shock defeat to the world No. The world No. 7 pair will face either teammates Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian or England’s Ben Lane-Sean Vendy next for a place in the quarter-finals. The duo are currently training under former international Koo Kien Keat.

(Jan 6): Tesla's sales volume in Germany nearly halved in December from the same month last year, the German road traffic agency KBA said on Tuesday. The number of Teslas sold in 2025 dropped 48.4% to 19,390 units compared with the same period last year. By contrast, the volume of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD surged more than 12-fold to 4,109 units in December, reaching 23,306 units in 2025. The total number of newly registered electric vehicles in 2025 increased by 43.2% to 545,142 units, KBA added. Tesla ceded its crown as the world's top electric vehicle maker to China's BYD after annual sales fell for a second year, hit by rising competition, the expiry of U.S. tax credits and brand backlash.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) has forecast significant weather with the monsoon retreat expected to continue until January 11. MetMalaysia said the situation has the potential to bring continuous heavy rain in the eastern Peninsular Malaysia and western Sarawak, as well as strong winds and rough seas in the South China Sea during that period. "In this regard, a Continuous Rain Warning (Alert) has been issued for the states of Terengganu, northern Kelantan and eastern Pahang, effective until Jan 8, eastern Johor effective from Jan 7 to 8. "Meanwhile, for western Sarawak, effective from Jan 9 to 10, a strong wind and rough sea warning has also been updated effective until Jan 8 for the South China Sea,” MetMalaysia said in a statement. The public is advised to always refer to the website www.met.gov.my and the official social media of MET Malaysia as well as download the myCuaca application for the latest and most accurate information.

BANGKOK: Thailand recorded over 32 million foreign visitors in 2025, with Malaysians topping the list of arrivals with more than 4.5 million visitors. She said the top five source markets were Malaysia with 4.52 million visitors, followed by China (4.47 million), India (2.49 million), Russia (1.9 million) and South Korea (1.55 million). "Overall, foreign tourist arrivals last year generated approximately 1.53 trillion Baht in tourism revenue,” she said in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 6). She said arrivals declined by 16.55% week on week, totalling 724,971 foreign tourists, a decrease of 143,823 visitors compared with the previous week. Looking ahead, Natthriya said foreign tourist arrivals are expected to ease further in the coming week.

KUALA LUMPUR: Seventeen company directors have been remanded for alleged involvement in a cartel linked to procurement tenders for the Army. The directors were remanded until Saturday (Jan 10) by Magistrate Ezrene Zakariah following an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at the Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday (Jan 6). Initial investigations revealed that between 2023 and 2025, there were 158 military procurement projects valued at more than RM500,000 each, while another 4,521 projects were worth below RM500,000. Sources said that checks on these projects found that several companies repeatedly secured high-value contracts, leading to suspicions. The MACC also received a complaint and recorded a statement from activist Badrul Hisham Shaharin, also known as Chegubard, at its headquarters.

(Jan 6): The world’s most valuable company is on shaky stock market footing as 2026 gets underway. Now, the stock has lost US$460 billion of market value in a matter of months, taking its three-year gain to nearly 1,200%. That said, the demand for AI computing power is so vast that Big Tech companies are still hoovering up Nvidia’s chips even as they deploy their own. As a result, Nvidia’s market share is expected to remain intact for the foreseeable future, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kunjan Sobhani and Oscar Hernandez Tejada. But it dipped in fiscal 2026 due to higher costs from the ramp-up of its Blackwell series chips.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles shuttlers Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin brought joy to the home fans after pulling off a stunning win over Denmark’s world No. Pang Ron-Su Yin struggled for form in 2025 but showed great fighting spirit and determination to come away with a 20-22, 21-18, 21-17 win in 72 minutes over Christiansen-Boje at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Tuesday (Jan 6). Pang Ron-Su Yin will take on either world No. Meanwhile, independent pairs Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing and Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien both crashed out. Tien Ci-Chiew Sien were forced to retire while trailing 2-14 against China’s Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping after Tien Ci picked up an injury.

PETALING JAYA: Private medical practitioners who have submitted applications for their 2026 Annual Practising Certificate (APC) may place orders for medicines as long as they can provide proof of their submission, says the Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia (Phama). The association, which represents 41 pharmaceutical multinational corporations (MNCs), said this was made possible through the intervention of the Health Ministry. It was earlier reported that drug companies refused to sell medicines to medical practitioners without a valid APC. Delays in processing APCs by the MMC left thousands of doctors without a valid practising licence, exposing them to legal issues. The MMC apologised for the delay, citing a surge in applications towards the end of last year.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd (SCIB) has agreed to jointly undertake a residential-cum-commercial project in Bintulu, Sarawak. In a statement, the group said its wholly-owned subsidiary SCIB Development Sdn Bhd will collaborate with the registered landowners of a vacant land parcel measuring about 11.1ha in Sungai Sibiau to develop a mixed-use estate. Under the agreement, SCIB Development will act as the project developer and will oversee the planning, approvals and execution ofthe development works. As the project remains at an early planning stage, SCIB said the overall developmentvalue and financial contribution have yet to be determined. “This project allows us to extend our footprint into property development while building on our established engineering and construction capabilities.

ANKARA, Turkey: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be conferred the Order of the Republic during the Prime Minister's three-day official visit to Turkiye. Malaysian Ambassador to Turkiye Sazali Mustafa Kamal said the award is Turkiye's highest honour conferred on foreign leaders for strengthening Malaysia-Turkiye diplomatic relations. "This award is the highest form of recognition bestowed on a leader who has brought Malaysia and Turkiye closer and strengthened bilateral ties," he said at a press conference in conjunction with the Prime Minister's visit to Turkiye here on Tuesday (Jan 6). Sazali said the award will be presented by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday (Jan 7). Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, is visiting Turkiye as part of Malaysia's efforts to further strengthen the long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries.

China will ratchet up resources to deepen reforms related to the market-oriented allocation of data elements and accelerate the cultivation of a unified national data market in 2026, as part of a broader push to unleash the value of data resources and advance the building of a "Digital China", according to the country's top data governance regulator. The conference stressed the need to formulate and implement the "Digital China" development plan, foster an open, shared and secure unified national data market, vigorously promote the deep integration of data-driven technological innovation and industrial innovation, and boost data sector development. China previously unveiled a plan for overall digital development, vowing to make important progress in the construction of a "Digital China" by the end of 2025. By 2035, the nation is expected to be at the global forefront of digital development. Mei Hong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said digital transformation in traditional industries — such as manufacturing, transportation and energy — has become the main battlefield in the development of the digital economy.

The US military’s ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is set to swiftly reroute the country’s oil exports back toward the United States – and away from China. A smooth transition in Caracas will likely result in a rapid rerouting of Venezuelan oil exports, re-establishing the United States as the major buyer of the country’s volumes. Although the US crude oil mix dramatically changed following the boom in domestic shale oil – a light grade – in the early 2010s, many refineries still require heavy grades to optimise operations. Venezuelan exports collapsed to zero between 2020 and 2022 after Trump imposed direct oil sanctions on the state-owned energy company PDVSA. China accounted for more than half of Venezuela’s crude exports of ‍768,000 bpd last year, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.