JOHOR BARU: Five litterbugs have become among the first people in the country to carry out community service under the newly imposed anti-littering law. "Of the number, five were charged in court and began their community service today," he told a press conference after an inspection around the Stulang Laut area here on Friday (Feb 13). He added that of the 89 cases, 52 involved locals and 37 were foreigners, from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Singapore among other countries. Full enforcement of offences under Section 77A of the Act was implemented from 12.01am on Jan 1. Under the law, offenders may be fined up to RM2,000, and the court may also impose a community service order within a timeframe of up to six months, involving work not exceeding 12 hours in total.

SHAH ALAM: Any investigation of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki should not stop the graft buster's fight against corruption, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. When met after Friday prayers here, Anwar had been asked to comment on the decision by the Cabinet earlier in the day to form a special taskforce to probe Azam's alleged share ownership. ALSO READ: Special task force to probe Azam Baki, says Fahmi"We have discussed this matter and agreed that the probe must be transparent. "The investigation should not disturb the work and role of the MACC, especially when there are always efforts to derail it. ALSO READ: I’ve nothing to hide: Azam Baki says ready to face independent probe over share ownershipIn response, Azam said on Tuesday (Feb 10) that his acquisition of shares was conducted transparently and did not violate any laws.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has reached a significant medical milestone following the successful performance of an "awake" brain aneurysm clipping surgery, the first of its kind in Borneo. The historic procedure was carried out on Feb 6 through a collaboration between Hospital Queen Elizabeth II (HQE II) and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). The highly specialised surgery was led by consultant neurosurgeon Dr Mohd Sofan Zenian, while neuroanaesthetic management was handled by Dr Yeap Boon Tat from UMS. Dr Sofan explained that the awake approach provides instant feedback during the placement of the surgical clip. Dr Yeap noted that the success of such surgery relies on meticulous anaesthetic planning to maintain patient comfort while preserving brain function.

KUALA LUMPUR: Forty foreign nationals, including the mastermind of a prostitution syndicate, were busted following a raid on a three-storey bungalow at a luxury residential area in Desa Pahlawan here. "Others detained were 11 Chinese men and 19 Chinese women, five Vietnamese women, two Myanmar women and two Japanese women," he said in a statement on Friday (Feb 13). Initial investigations revealed that the alleged mastermind and another Chinese man possessed valid employment passes, he said. "Six Chinese men, 19 Chinese women, two Japanese women and five Vietnamese women were found to be holding social visit passes. "The remaining foreign nationals did not have any valid travel documents or passes to remain in the country," he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution has withdrawn its appeal against the acquittal of the late Datuk Shamsubahrin Ismail, founder of Big Blue Taxi Premium Services, on charges of cheating a company director over a cleaning contract at the KLCC building seven years ago. Deputy Public Prosecutor Anis Wahidah Mohamad informed High Court judge Nurulhuda Nur'ain Mohamad Nor that the prosecution was withdrawing the appeal following Shamsubahrin's death at the age of 60 on Wednesday (Feb 11). "Since the respondent's death has been formally notified with a death certificate from Kuala Lumpur Hospital, the prosecution sees no point in proceeding with the appeal. Accordingly, the appeal is withdrawn," said Anis Wahidah. Judge Nurulhuda Nur'ain subsequently struck out the appeal.

PETALING JAYA: Johor Plantations Group Bhd has achieved a better quarter – its profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2025 came in at RM87.9mil, higher than the RM80.5mil posted in the same quarter a year ago. According to the group, its better earnings were supported by resilient processing volumes across crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK), despite softer market pricing towards year-end. A higher OER translates to the extraction of more oil from each tonne of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) processed. The year 2025 was a year of disciplined execution translating into strong financial outcomes. He added the higher volumes of FFB processed across its mills reflect both operational strength and effective engagement with independent smallholders, including both Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certified suppliers.

“Credit is the bedrock of any modern economy, and Malaysia thrives on credit,” Liew remarked in his address. As a tech-driven data hub, the platform uses predictive analytics and intelligent decision tools to support informed credit and risk decisions across commercial and personal contexts. “We’ve built a recommendation engine that suggests companies to you based on its nature of business, revenue, and geo-proximity to your business,” Liew explained. “If your debts or credit terms go south, you can contribute to our credit ecosystem, which will affect the credit scores of the individual or company that you submit,” he added. Built upon a three-tiered foundation of data, intelligence and technology, One Credit combines a wide range of business, credit and contextual data points, reducing reliance on fragmented sources while applying analytics to uncover patterns, risks and relationships.

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): Strong domestic demand helped Malaysia outperform expectations, lifting fourth-quarter 2025 GDP to a three-year high of 6.3% and full-year growth to 5.2%, above the government’s forecast, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF). The MOF said this momentum pushed full-year 2025 GDP growth to 5.2%, up from the 5.1% achieved in 2024, putting it well ahead of the government’s official forecast range of 4% to 4.8%. The MOF said the economy is expected to remain on a steady trajectory in 2026, supported by resilient domestic demand, firm household consumption, and continued investment momentum. Higher tourism activity under Visit Malaysia 2026, alongside increases in the minimum wage and civil servant salaries, will further reinforce consumer spending. “At the same time, the Madani government will continue to uphold fiscal discipline to safeguard long-term sustainability while supporting growth momentum,” the ministry added.

PETALING JAYA: With ten new active tuberculosis (TB) clusters detected in seven states, health experts have warned those travelling to mask up. Those with possible symptoms should also seek medical treatment early. Watch out for the symptoms below.

SHANGHAI (Feb 13): China's yuan dipped on Friday, but is set for a 12th week of gains in its longest winning streak in 13 years, as exporters rushed to bring home receipts from booming trade ahead of the Lunar New Year. Some analysts also see the rising yuan and China's buoyant stock market feeding each other, but say the central bank has enough tools up its sleeves to forestall the currency appreciating too quickly. For the week, the yuan has gained roughly 0.4% in its best weekly performance this year. Trading typically thins ahead of the Spring Festival holiday, but the stock market has held at a relatively high level "without pulling back", the brokerage said in a report. "The recent strength in yuan's exchange rate is contributing to the stock market resilience."

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has rejected allegations of a breach of government regulations within the Commission, as reported by Bloomberg media. “All investigations undertaken by MACC are conducted strictly in accordance with the law, guided by evidence, and carried out independently, without fear or favour. As an enforcement agency, MACC’s functions and roles are governed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and are subject to oversight by five independent bodies. Chairman of MACC’s advisory board, Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din, said any media reports on MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki’s personal shareholdings should be based on facts, not perceptions. “The board takes serious note of the Bloomberg report involving Azam and its implications for the integrity and credibility of the institution as a whole.

JOHOR BARU: A 26-year-old teacher has been charged at a Magistrate’s Court here with outraging a foreign woman’s modesty in his car while moonlighting as an e-hailing driver. ALSO READ: E-hailing driver remanded in probe of sexual harassment viral videoDeputy public prosecutor Nurul Syafiqah Sha’ari requested for bail of RM10,000. "(There is also no risk of) the accused... repeating his actions as he is no longer working as an e-hailing driver. On Feb 2, a video made the rounds on social media showing an e-hailing driver’s alleged sexual misconduct towards a Vietnamese passenger. Police arrested 26-year-old man on Feb 4 following a report lodged by the victim on the same day.

GENTING HIGHLANDS: Not all corruption cases classified as No Further Action (NFA) will be permanently closed. Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) operations review panel chairman Datuk Ahmad Rosli Mohd Sham said certain cases could be reassessed and reopened if weaknesses were found in the earlier investigation or if new angles warranted further scrutiny. He said one of the panel's key functions is to evaluate NFA cases that did not result in prosecution, including identifying areas where investigations could be improved. At the same time, Ahmad Rosli said the panel was satisfied with the MACC’s efficiency, particularly in completing investigation papers within the stipulated timeframe. He said the majority of cases were concluded within the targeted period, and observed the guideline that investigations should not exceed 12 months.

Competitiveness today depends on execution speed and coherence across land planning, infrastructure, governance, and talent systems, said Johor Corporation (JCorp) president and chief executive officer, Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim. He said Johor’s experience — shaped by deep industrial networks, cross-border collaboration, and growing digital and infrastructure readiness — reflects a broader reality of global volatility. Syed Mohamed emphasised that regional competitiveness is shifting from scale to velocity. Syed Mohamed said building optionality into the regional economic model allows regions to capitalise on the current trend of global fragmentation. It is structural — and fast becoming the baseline,” Syed Mohamed added.

In November, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi enraged China by suggesting that Japan would intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force. It was the first time since 2022 that the agency has seized a Chinese fishing boat. The arrest of another Chinese fishing boat captain in 2010 off those islands in the East China Sea became a major diplomatic incident between the two countries. Japan and China have close economic ties but Takaichi's comments about Taiwan have sent relations spiralling downwards again. After Takaichi's comments, Beijing summoned Tokyo's ambassador, warned Chinese citizens against visiting Japan and conducted joint air drills with Russia.