5 things you should know before polling day in Malacca

In a makeshift studio inside his public housing flat in Singapore, Shane Soh stands before his smartphone, running his fingers through a towel as he extols its softness to viewers watching his live stream. A ring light illuminates his face while more than a dozen other products sit on a shelf behind him, waiting for their moment on camera. “Don’t just buy one towel today, but get bedsheets as well. It’s perfect for Hari Raya or Christmas, and the thread count is 1,800 … It’s the best kind of...

Najib Razak, Malaysia’s corrupt former prime minister, may be back home to serve the rest of his prison sentence, but that does not mean he will be living in comfort with wife Rosmah Mansor and the rest of his family, a member of his party has confirmed. Najib returned to his house on Jalan Langgak Duta at about 9.30pm on Tuesday, after the High Court cleared the way for his release from jail. The start of his house arrest also marked the end of Anthony Loke’s stint as transport minister. Loke,...

Ukraine has captured its first Indonesian prisoner of war, exposing Jakarta’s uphill battle to stop its citizens from being recruited to fight for Russia in the war sparked by Moscow’s 2022 invasion. The 49-year-old contract soldier from Java was captured in the frontline Zaporizhzhia region after entering Ukrainian-held territory following a drone strike on his Russian unit, The Guardian reported, citing Kyiv’s state-backed “I Want to Live” surrender initiative. According to the project,...

Umno chief invokes constitutional authority amid cabinet-level backlash.

Shafee says his team has not yet received any certainty on the matter.

Malaysia is seeking to reassure Taiwanese investors that it remains a reliable destination for hi-tech manufacturing after Taipei suspended bilateral investment talks over Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks on China, raising concerns over the future of semiconductor investments in the Southeast Asian nation. Taiwan confirmed on Tuesday that it had paused negotiations scheduled for late October. The move came after Anwar told Al Jazeera in an August interview that he saw the self-governed...

MPs question what changed to allow implementation to proceed.

Anwar also scheduled to hold Prime Minister's Question Time.

He urges Malaysians to reject permissiveness towards wrongdoing.

Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka submitted his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday, setting the stage for a potential political shake-up amid competing interests within his governing coalition. “Yes,” Budi Arie Setiadi, a political aide to Gibran and chairman of the pro-Jokowi organisation Projo, said in a text message to journalists confirming the resignation. Budi also confirmed that Gibran had handed his resignation letter to Prabowo at Halim Perdanakusuma...

The Philippine foreign affairs department’s rare rebuke of officials and agencies over anti-China rhetoric could signal Manila’s bid to rein in tensions ahead of the Asean summit next week – but also internal disagreements over strategy, according to analysts. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Sunday said public criticism of China could undermine diplomatic efforts. “In high-stakes diplomacy, a disciplined and coherent national voice remains essential to advancing our national...

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Wednesday that the cabin colour palette for its newly unveiled business class seats was “carefully selected” after the reveal drew criticism from some content creators and travel writers, including those who likened them to “dental chairs”. Much of the reaction has focused on the grey-and-yellow colour palette of the seats, which were developed by SIA in collaboration with seat manufacturer Recaro and creative design firm Designworks. An SIA spokesperson said the...