Compiled by C. ARUNO, RAHIMY RAHIM and R. ARAVINTHANA MAN in a Hindu temple in Jalan Gasing, who was seen forcefully confiscating and throwing out food brought by a woman for annadanam (food offering) has drawn flak, Malaysia Nanban reported. In videos posted online, the woman is seen with packets of food she had brought for devotees visiting the well-known temple in Petaling Jaya. However, an unknown man rudely confronted and told her that outsiders cannot give annadanam “in our temple”. He is seen grabbing the items following an argument which caused the food to be spilled on the ground. Meanwhile, Malaysia Hindu Sangam president T. Ganesan issued a statement, urging all temples and temple officials to remember that they are serving the faith and the community.

“As such, when attempts run into the billions, even a tiny success rate makes the economics work, which makes scams highly lucrative. He said a large number of scam calls originate from overseas and use voice-over-internet-protocol technology that allows calls to be generated cheaply before making its way here through international gateways. Raymon said this makes scam operations scalable and adaptable, enabling rapid rotation of numbers and routes when blocks are imposed. “The result is a shift from crude mass attempts to psychologically-tailored scams, making ­detection harder and scam attacks far more convincing,” Sundramoorthy said. The Communications Ministry also revealed that many of the phone scams rely on caller ID spoofing where fraudsters mask their true identity to display trusted or recognisable numbers.

Ng noted that for many small business owners, business and household finances are closely linked, so prolonged refund delays also affect their families. SME Association of Malaysia president Dr Chin Chee Seong said SMEs treat tax refunds as part of working capital rather than a windfall. Both SME leaders welcomed the Prime Minister’s recent announcement to increase the tax refund allocation and updates from the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) on efforts to expedite processing. 'CLICK TO ENLARGE'SMEs have recently raised concerns about significant delays in tax refund payments, disrupting their cash flows and creating operational challenges. LHDN has said it has processed RM17bil in tax refunds this year, covering over 3.5 million cases, and is committed to disbursing the remaining RM2bil before the end of December.

PETALING JAYA: The 2025 season has been a roller-coaster ride for women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, filled with highs, lows and plenty of challenges. Despite falling short at the World Tour Finals, losing to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto in the semi-finals on Saturday, national women’s doubles head coach Rosman Razak said he was pleased with their overall performance this year. Rosman highlighted that Pearly and Thinaah had a remarkable season, winning three titles at the Japan Masters, Arctic Open and Thailand Open, and finishing runners-up at the Japan Open, Indonesia Open and Indonesian Masters. They also made history as the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to reach the final of the World Championships, bringing home a silver medal. We have also learned a lot over the past two weeks, and now it’s time to focus on recovery ahead of the next season,” said Rosman.

PETALING JAYA: The Solar Acce­le­rated Transition Action Prog­ram­me, or Solar Atap, introduces greater flexibility and stron­ger market alignment, and will help to improve the overall attractiveness of rooftop solar adoption, say industry players. “The NEM framework played a pivotal role in establishing Malay­sia’s rooftop solar market by enabling consumers to offset electri­city consumption through self-gene­ration. Sim said Solar Atap introduces market-based energy offset mechanisms and provides a more adap­tive framework to support long-term rooftop solar growth. “This programme empowers consumers to optimise self-consumption while aligning rooftop solar development with national energy transition goals,” he said. As for residential consumers, he said more details are needed on the export rate applicable under Solar Atap.

GEORGE TOWN: Chingay may have originated with the Chinese community but today, the art form is practised by people of various backgrounds. Fuelled by the spirit of camaraderie, they stood shoulder to shoulder as they manoeuvred giant 10m-tall flagpoles along crowded streets during the Penang Chingay Parade 2025. The key is to be brave and never second guess yourself when executing stunts,” said the single mother of two after the event on Saturday. While practitioners may sometimes seem nonchalant in executing Chingay stunts, Jamil said they actually take safety seriously. This is what makes the event such a community event,” Jamil added.

SINGAPORE: St Joseph’s Church in Bukit Timah was evacuated after a suspicious item was found on Sunday (Dec 21) morning. An ambulance entering the premises on Dec 21. Police directing traffic away from the St Joseph’s Church on Dec 21. A check on the church’s website showed that mass services at 7.30am, 9.30am and 11.30am on Dec 21 have been cancelled till further notice. Church volunteers telling attendees that mass would be cancelled on Dec 21.

PETALING JAYA: In October, the authorities decided that police personnel would be stationed at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex to stop touts. During a recent visit to the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex, The Star found that Rela officers were still stationed at the courthouse’s entrance and at the bail counter area. Rela officers are still handling security duties,” he said. A complaint was received on Sept 22 alleging the presence of touting activities involving lawyers and certain individuals at the courts complex. Security officers would then be able to vet whether an individual entering the courts complex is a bail tout or someone acting on behalf of lawyers and law firms.

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Information chief Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman denies reports of any riot, calls for the party president to step down or any long debate urging such action. Azis said the party convention proceeded smoothly, and any claims stating otherwise were baseless and distorted. He said allegations that the riot happened after members pushed for him to take over as party president were false and misleading. “As for claims that I have resigned from the party with immediate effect, this is clear slander. Apparently, videos of a so-called riot and unverified information of Azis calling for Shafie to step down had circulated widely since Saturday during Warisan’s party convention.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has saved RM800mil since the Budi Madani RON95 (Budi95) was implemented in Sept 30, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Anway, who is also Finance Minister, said this was from better targeting of fuel subsidies for Malaysians only, effectively curbing leakages that previously benefited more than 3.5 million foreigners as well as fuel smuggling. "Every ringgit saved is channelled back to the people through initiatives such as the Rahmah Cash Contribution (STR) and the Rahmah Basic Contribution (Sara), in addition to upgrading clinics and hospitals, improving roads and strengthening infrastructure," he said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Dec 21). Anwar said targeted fuel subsidies had been debated for more than 20 years by successive governments, but none had the courage or political will to implement them until the Madani government took the bold step of introducing Budi95. Under the programme, all Malaysian MyKad holders aged 16 and above with a valid driving licence are eligible to purchase up to 300 litres of subsidised RON95 fuel per month at RM1.99 per litre, compared with RM2.60 per litre without the subsidy.

BUTTERWORTH: Barisan Nasional will push for full implementation of the Indian Blueprint programme, a government plan launched in 2017, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He said the Blueprint was launched in 2017 to address socio-economic challenges faced by the Indian community. "As Barisan chairman, we insist that 100% of the Indian Blueprint programme must be implemented by the unity government. "Through the Indian Blueprint, we even send Indian TVET students to China for training, fully funded by the government," he said. "From the start, Makkal Sakti has held to the divine principle of carrying the voice of the people," he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: A moderate category 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit the north of Molucca Sea, near North Sulawesi at 8.21pm on Sunday (Dec 21). The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) said the earthquake occurred at 1.5 degrees North and 126.4 darjah East at a depth of 10km, about 131km east of Bitung, Indonesia, the department said in a statement on the same day. There is no threat of tsunami hitting Malaysia due to the earthquake, it added.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's rail development has progressed steadily in 2025, reaching major milestones in national megaprojects, renewed cross-border ambitions, and intensified planning for long-term transport connectivity. Malaysia's other national rail initiative, the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR), remained under evaluation as of Oct 7. Urban rail networks also made progress, with the Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT3) on track to begin operations on Dec 31, pending final reliability and safety tests. State-focused Rail DevelopmentsJohor renewed calls for federal approval of its proposed domestic rail system, citing the need to manage passenger volumes once the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System link opens in 2027. Borneo Road and Rail InitiativesOn Borneo, rail development has moved into a strategic planning phase.

KUALA LUMPUR: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia, congratulated the Malaysian contingent on their achievement in winning a total of 231 medals at the SEA Games Thailand 2025. According to a post on Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar's Facebook page Sunday (Dec 21), Their Majesties also expressed pride in the fighting spirit and high level of commitment demonstrated by the country's athletes throughout the Games. The King and Queen also expressed their appreciation to the National Sports Council, coaching staff, officials and all parties involved, both directly and indirectly, in ensuring the success of the national contingent. "This achievement serves as a catalyst for the country's sporting excellence and an inspiration for the younger generation to continue striving for success at a higher level," said Their Majesties. The SEA Games Thailand 2025, which officially concluded Saturday (Dec 20), saw Malaysia finish fourth overall with a haul of 57 gold, 57 silver and 117 bronze medals, while host nation Thailand topped the medal standings with 233 gold, 154 silver and 112 bronze medals.

JERANTUT: Few possess the skills to repair and manufacture spare parts for high-technology electronic circuit boards, but such expertise has shaped the career path of a local electronic engineer from this district. He specialises in repairing and producing high-technology electronic circuit boards that serve as core electronic components for navigation systems, radar, sonar and transponders used in aircraft, helicopters and ships. He is also skilled in maintaining, restoring and reproducing complex high-tech electronic circuit board components that are no longer manufactured in their countries of origin – a task generally considered extremely challenging. His career started at a Taiwan­ese electronic components and tele­communications systems com­pany after graduation. “I was the only local staff given the opportunity to be part of the R&D team involved in developing and improving electronic and telecommunications systems.