KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): The Supplementary Electoral Roll for November 2025 (DPT BLN11/2025) is open for review for a period of 30 days starting Tuesday until Jan 21, 2026, said Election Commission (EC) secretary Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus. “In addition, 14,131 registered voters changed electoral divisions and 1,303 voters changed voter category or status,” he said in a statement. Khairul Shahril said the EC provided five verification methods, namely through the EC portal at https://www.spr.gov.my or https://mysprsemak.spr.gov.my, the official portal of the state election offices at http://ppn.spr.gov.my and the online application at https://myspr.spr.gov.my. Meanwhile, the EC urged citizens who turned 18 between Nov 1 to 30, 2025, and any registered voters who had applied for a change of electoral division or voter category or status, to check their names in DPT BLN11/2025. For any inquiries related to the DPT BLN11/2025 review, the public can visit the official EC portal at https://www.spr.gov.my or contact the EC at 03-8892 7218, or head to any state election office.

ALSO READ: Najib’s house arrest bid rejected“The High Court’s decision must be respected. Anwar's remarks followed the High Court’s ruling, which rejected former prime minister Najib’s application to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest. The court found that the royal addendum order on which Najib relied was constitutionally invalid. She noted that the addendum order was neither deliberated nor decided at the 61st Pardons Board meeting held on Jan 29, 2024. On April 1, 2024, Najib filed an application for leave for judicial review, claiming that a royal addendum order would have permitted him to serve his prison time under house arrest.

“On Oct 1, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court approved the forfeiture of the seized money after no party came forward to claim it,” the statement said. A total of 27 people, including 18 enforcement officers, were arrested following operations in Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Selangor, with 57 bank accounts worth approximately RM2.7 million frozen. The three individuals were detained between Nov 27 and 28, before Albert Tei and Shamsul Iskandar were charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Dec 4. According to statistics, the MACC recorded seizures amounting to RM566.77 million under the MACC Act 2009 and RM6.26 billion under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, in addition to freezing assets worth RM36.14 million as of Nov 30. During the same period, the MACC received 6,114 pieces of information, opened 966 investigation papers, arrested 1,128 individuals, filed 445 charges and recorded 189 convictions, the statement said.

KUANTAN: The number of flood victims in Pahang decreased slightly, with 194 people from 58 families still at five relief centres on Tuesday (Dec 23) morning, down from 218 people from 66 families on Monday evening. According to the Social Welfare Department's Infobencana application, 129 people from 35 families are at the Kampung Semangat Community Centre in Kuantan, while the flood victims in Maran, comprising 35 people from six families, are at the Kampung Baru Pertanian Community Centre. In Pekan, there are 30 victims from 17 families still at three centres, namely Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, Sekolah Kebangsaan Pulau Manis and Dewan Orang Ramai Air Hitam. The infobanjir website also reported that the water level of the Pahang River in Paloh Hinai, Pekan, has exceeded the danger level at 8am on Tuesday. Continuous heavy rains last week led to flooding in several districts across the state, with more than 13,000 people evacuated to the PPS.

Go to the Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum (opened in 2023) before actually visiting the main building, especially if you’re not travelling with a guide. Powered by DEM Museums, this attraction takes visitors through the history of Hagia Sophia – all 1,700 years of it – via cutting-edge digital imagery and storytelling, complemented by physical artefacts. The journey begins with the “founding of the Byzantine Empire, tracing the construction and transformation of the Hagia Sophia through time”, says its website. This structure lies 12m underground, about 150m away from the Hagia Sophia. Head to the Buyuk Camlica Camii or Grand Camlica Mosque, Turkiye’s largest mosque (63,000 people!

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): PETRONAS Gas Bhd (KL:PETGAS) said on Monday it is paying up to US$173.64 million (RM705.67 million) cash upfront for 18 years of jetty fees at its Pengerang liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in a one-off deal to reduce its exposure to currency fluctuations. The ringgit rose to a five-year high against the US dollar at 4.0645 on Tuesday. In a filing with the bourse, PETRONAS Gas said its subsidiary Pengerang LNG (Two) Sdn Bhd (PLNG2) signed a one-off agreement with Pengerang Terminals (Two) Sdn Bhd (PT2SB) to prepay annual fixed charges under the 2017 Jetty Usage Agreement (JUA) for jetty services at the Pengerang LNG terminal. PT2SB is a joint venture between PETRONAS’ wholly owned unit PRPC Utilities and Facilities Sdn Bhd, Dialog Equity (Two) Sdn Bhd, Vopak Terminal Pengerang BV, and Permodalan Darul Ta’zim Sdn Bhd. PETRONAS Gas said the jetty facilities will continue to be used by PLNG2 until the end of the contracted period, and the operational portion of the JUA will remain unaffected.

(Dec 23): Copper hit a fresh all-time high above US$12,000 a ton as severe mine outages and trade dislocations linked to US President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda put the crucial industrial metal on course for its biggest annual gain since 2009. Prices rose as much as 0.9% to US$12,031.50 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, extending a rally that has lifted prices by about 37% this year. The impact on global trade flows has been so extreme that prices have rallied even though underlying usage has deteriorated rapidly in China, which consumes about half the world’s copper. Investors often view copper as a barometer for global industrial activity, but the slowdown in China has done little to put the brakes on the rally. Even so, copper remains its top pick in industrial metal markets, and the firm in mid December upgraded its price forecast for next year to US$11,400 a ton.

(Dec 23): Ryanair Holdings plc was fined nearly €256 million (RM1.23 billion) by Italy’s antitrust watchdog for allegedly using an “abusive strategy” to thwart customers who booked through travel agencies. Ryanair also pressured agencies into restrictive contracts, stymied bundling with other services, and publicly attacked non-partners, the Italian watchdog added. The relationship with Dublin-based Ryanair and Italian authorities has been strained in recent years. Tensions mounted in the summer of 2023, when the government issued a decree capping tickets for domestic airline tickets to Italian island destinations. Online travel agency group eu travel tech welcomed the Italian fine, saying Ryanair’s practices “pursued one single goal: preventing consumers from easily comparing and combining travel options on online platforms”.

(Dec 23): Bet365 Group Ltd founder Denise Coates was paid roughly £287 million (US$388 million) in 2025, retaining her title as one of the world’s best-paid executives even as her gambling empire’s earnings slumped. A representative for the 58-year-old, who is the UK’s richest woman, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. She had a net worth before her latest pay details of about US$7.3 billion, making her the world’s 498th richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Coates trained as an accountant and took over a small chain of betting shops her father owned on the side. She became managing director of the business at the age of 22, and expanded the number of shops before deciding to move the business online.

PETALING JAYA: Pharmora Investment Holdings Pte Ltd’s takeover offer in Apex Healthcare Bhd (AHB) has become unconditional as the former currently holds more than 90% of Apex Healthcare shares. In a notice issued by UOB Kay Hian (M) Sdn Bhd on behalf of the offeror, Pharmora has accumulated 671.77 million shares or a 92.98% stake in AHB. Last month, AHB received a conditional voluntary take-over offer from Pharmora to buy all outstanding shares in the former at RM2.64 a share. Pharmora Investment is a special purpose vehicle through which is held by joint ultimate offerors, Quadria Capital Fund III Holdings Pte Ltd (Quadria CFIII) and Dr Kee Kirk Chin who is a major shareholder, chairman and chief executive officer of AHB. The offerers do not intend to maintain the listing status of AHB on Bursa Malaysia.

Former world champions Aaron-Wooi Yik enjoyed a strong start to the year, winning three titles and reaching six finals. Separated at the start of the year, the pair reunited and went on to win Malaysia’s first-ever mixed doubles world title. 1 An Se-young capped her season in style by winning the World Tour Finals, becoming the most successful women’s singles player of the year and equalling Kento Momota’s record of 11 World Tour titles in a single season. “I want to keep going for more records,” she said in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Mixed doubles: Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) 21-12, 21-17.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): Bursa Malaysia Bhd (KL:BURSA) and its subsidiaries will be closed on Dec 25, 2025, in conjunction with Christmas Day and Jan 1, 2026, for the New Year’s Day holiday. In a statement on Tuesday, the exchange said operations will resume on the day after each of these public holidays. However, Bursa Gold Dinar (BGD) primary marketplace and Bursa Suq Al-Sila (BSAS) will remain open for trading throughout the public holidays, it added.

Compiled by C. ARUNO, OON JUN-YANG and R. ARAVINTHANINSPIRED by the plot in a detective novel, a student in China managed to break into a safe at school using only chalk dust to trace fingerprints on the number pad, reported Sin Chew Daily. The incident took place at a high school in Shenzhen on Nov 14 when a student decided to crack the password combination on the safe in his classroom. Having taken inspiration from a detective novel, the student applied chalk dust on the number pad and managed to identify the numbers which had been pressed. Five days later, a fourth student opened the safe and stole all the phones stored inside. In one of the videos, the husband opened their bedroom wardrobe which revealed packs of tissue paper stacked as high as the ceiling.

KUALA LUMPUR: It’s the sort of advice that road users would often hear, but it’s worth repeating especially in view of the wet weather during the current holiday season. Drivers must make sure they have proper rest before beginning their journey so they can stay alert,” he said when contacted. In view of the rainy season, Comm Mohd Yusri said road users must be extra cautious. “Dashcams, CCTV, and police apps such as the VSP enable the public to monitor their homes and report suspicious activity to the police. Stay vigilant always and be a good and concerned citizen.”Ayub also advised the public to be aware of flood and landslide hotspots.

KUALA LUMPUR: From midnight Mass to long-awaited family reunions, Malaysians celebrating Christmas are marking the occasion as a season of togetherness, reflection and renewed bonds. For medical device sales executive Aaron Xavier, the Christmas eve midnight Mass is a must for his family. For retired English teacher Oon Sok Imm, 67, she would not miss attending the midnight mass each year. Its message can be easily overlooked due to the grand decorations so we need to reflect on how Christmas came to be,” she said. Many of the parishioners came after working hours to help decorate the manger,” said a parish staff member.