MOE bins plan to reduce language class periods, BM was also on chopping block

Aliff admits his mistake, pledges to reform.

Vietnam’s growing nuclear partnership with Russia could help Hanoi gain the expertise needed to fuel its ambitious nuclear programme amid doubts over Western sanctions against Moscow and financing challenges complicating the plans. The Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (Vinatom) and a subsidiary of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, which is leading the development of the MBIR International Research Centre, announced on Tuesday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to...

A young Malaysian Muslim who took part in Hindu rituals to pray for his ailing mother publicly repented on Thursday in a ceremony live-streamed by state religious authorities, a day after a sharia court ordered him to undergo three months of faith rehabilitation. The spectacle has raised questions about the enforcement of Islamic orthodoxy in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where state religious departments wield significant influence to police the personal conduct and religious beliefs of...

Sultan Abdullah believes Putrajaya should conduct review of whether UNHCR should continue operating in M'sia.

'This is to ensure more bumiputera entrepreneurs participate in country’s automotive industry.'

Thailand has banned a textbook about the country on national security grounds, with the tome’s exiled editor saying on Thursday it was outlawed over its content on the Thai monarchy. The royal family holds revered status in Thai society and is shielded from criticism by a strict defamation law that critics say is used to muzzle dissent. The book, a second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Thailand published in English in August, was edited by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a prominent...

DCM says the RM100k was from MAINPP's administrative budget, not zakat.

Thai conservationists are sleuthing for clues to help save the country’s last herd of dugongs by testing the mammal’s poop for stress hormones, its microbiome and other health indicators to prevent the extinction of this beloved yet critically endangered sea creature. But first they have to find the faeces – a green fist-sized ball consisting of the seagrass the gentle dugongs graze on daily in the coastal shallows of the Andaman Sea. It is literally drop-in-the-ocean work for the teams using...

The activities aim to honour national cultural identity, inspire the spirit of solidarity and create opportunities for people to actively participate in, create and enjoy cultural activities.

Online aggression and xenophobic vitriol expected to intensify as GE16 looms.

Philippine investigators are examining whether Thomas Markle Jnr, the half-brother of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was involved in alleged child sexual abuse offences as an investigation into their father widens, according to the country’s interior secretary on Thursday. Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said witnesses had alleged that underage girls were brought to the younger Markle’s home. Markle Jnr was being treated as a “person of interest”, not a suspect, Remulla told reporters...

Plaintiffs leave out govt from suit.