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PORT KLANG –  Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the United States has assured that Malaysia is indeed the owner of the super yacht Equanimity as it had been acquired by businessman Low Taek Jho, often called Jho Low, using funds siphoned from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The prime minister said this was uncovered in the course of an investigation by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). "The DOJ investigated and they found that this yacht belonged to Jho Low and that the money he paid for it was stolen money, from 1MDB," he told reporters after touring the luxury ship that was handed over to Malaysia by Indonesia on Aug 7, at the Boustead Cruise Centre. Dr Mahathir said the US had the documents on this. "They have assured us that this is Jho Low's boat and they said if we want to keep it we are entitled to it because this is ours, and (the yacht had been) bought with stolen Malaysian money, and when we eventually ...

GEORGE TOWN -- Kerajaan Pakatan Harapan (PH) telah melepasi tahap lulus dalam usaha untuk menunaikan janjinya yang terkandung dalam manifesto pilihan raya umum ke-14 (PRU14) dalam tempoh 100 hari. Menteri Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna, Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail berkata kerajaan yang dipimpin oleh Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad akan komited untuk merealisasikan janji PRU14. "Walaupun terdapat kategori yang kami berjaya laksanakan tetapi ada juga kategori dalam manifesto PRU14 yang belum dilaksanakan dan ada yang dalam proses pelaksanaan tetapi tidak sepenuhnya. Saya fikir rakyat boleh menerimanya," katanya kepada pemberita mengenai tahap pencapaian PH dalam menunaikan janji manifesto PRU14. Antara janji yang ditunaikan adalah penghapusan senarai hitam melibatkan peminjam Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN), memansuhkan Cukai Barang dan Perkhidmatan (GST), caruman Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) unt...

KUALA LUMPUR -- Bursa Malaysia is likely to trend higher this week after recording gains over the past five consecutive weeks amid follow-through foreign buying. Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd Head of Research Pong Teng Siew expected foreign investors would remain as the net buyers in the local equity market in the near term of a month or so, and continue to push the key index upwards. "Therefore, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) is likely to trade between 1,823 and 1,890 next week on continuous buying by foreign investors," he told Bernama. Pong viewed the foreign inflows as a cycle, especially after the international investors dumped nearly RM12 billion worth of local equities in early May this year. "I view this as a transition period as foreign funds have consistently been the net buyers on Bursa Malaysia for the past three weeks," he said. Asked how the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led government's first 100-day fiscal reform...

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 (Bernama) – The delay in refunding the input tax from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to companies will affect their cash flow as they might need to rely on borrowings to cover the unexpected delay. Tax consultant from YYC Holdings Sdn Bhd, Yap Shin Siang, said companies would have to bear a financial burden as they have to operate on extra financial cost to fund such borrowings. “In today’s scenario, businesses were uncertain whether they could get their tax refund back or not,” she told. However, she said that it was still too early to tell if the delay in GST refunds would have any implications on small businesses or consumers. This is because the delay in input tax was incurred on exporters and companies which have large capital upfront such as property developers, oil and gas companies, as well as warehouse and factories. “Even though this would be a burden, businesses would not increase t...

KOTA KINABALU -- The Sabah State Legislative Assembly will sitting again today. It will  the third (sitting) since Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) and its political allies in Sabah formed the new state government when it won the 14th general election (held on  May 9). The first meeting was a special session held on June 11 where  43 assemblymen from the ruling parties, those who “jumped ship” to support Warisan and appointed assemblyman, were sworn. However, all opposition assemblymen, including former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, from UMNO and former Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties which remained loyal to the ousted coalition, did not attend and thus did not take their oath as assemblyman on that day. Instead, they, except Musa (Sungai Sibuga) and Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan (Apas), from UMNO and former BN component parties, took their oath as assemblyman  the next day (June 12)at the Sabah State Assembly Spe...

PUTRAJAYA -- The abolition of the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 (Act 803) is in line with the government’s aim to ensure the media has the freedom to carry out its checks and balances on the current administration, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong. On Wednesday, he had presented the Bill (Bill) to repeal the Act for the first reading in the Dewan Rakyat. Liew said seeking to repeal the Act was not done hastily as claimed by Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman, adding that the current government was of the view that existing laws were sufficient to deal with fake news. "Strict action can still be taken with the existing laws against any party spreading false news. "In fact, the abolition of the Act will also give the people the freedom to speak up, subject to existing laws," he said in a statement here today. His statement was also to deny Azalina's Facebook posting on Thursday...

PORT KLANG – The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) are still hunting for businessman Low Taek Jhow or Jho Low over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun. "Investigations against him are proceeding as normal," he said briefly to reporters when asked about the development of efforts to hunt for Jho Low. The blog Sarawak Report previously reported a radio station in Hong Kong broadcasting a news report on Jho Low's arrest in China. However, the report did not obtain confirmation from any party on the detention. Jho Low's passport was cancelled by the Immigration Department of Malaysia on June 15 at the request of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over their investigation of the 1MDB scandal. Earlier, Mohamad Fuzi accompanied Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to visit the controversial luxury yacht, Equanimity, which had docked at the Boustead Cruise Centre Term...

KUALA LUMPUR -- The RM18 billion shortfall in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds did not happen within a month but occurred over a three-year period since its implementation on April 1, 2015, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng. In a statement on Saturday, Lim questioned the former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s allegation that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government had spent RM18 billion within days after he and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad were sworn in as Finance Minister and Prime Minister, respectively. “Can Najib prove his claim that the new PH government was able to spend RM18 billion in only three weeks when he had failed to return the GST refunds in three years, though the law required it to be refunded in two weeks,” he asked. Lim also questioned whether Najib, who was also the former Finance Minister, had authorised Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, the...

KUALA LUMPUR – The MCA admits that it is the underdog in the by-election for the Balakong State assembly seat and faces a tough road in winning it.   MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said at a press conference after visiting the MCA Operations Room for the Balakong by-election that the poll would be the first test for the Barisan Nasional (BN) component party after it suffered a severe defeat in the 14th General Election (GE14) on May 9. "The people's sentiments are still not with us and we must work harder and have added strength to recapture the state seat. "However, we hope the electors in Balakong will give us an opportunity to be the voice of the people in the State Assembly and act as the monitor and contribute to the check and balance element in the state,” he said, Bernama reported. Liow said the MCA had decided on its candidate who is a local resident. The MCA candidate is expected to face the ...

PORT KLANG -- Superyacht Equanimity will not be open for public viewing in order to maintain its value and safeguard its condition, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He said the ship would be sold off as soon as possible as the maintenance costs alone would come to about RM2 million a month. “We have to keep the yacht in good condition. But if you allow hundreds of people to come and view the yacht then it might damage the yacht and also it will give a bad impression. “Buyers will not want to buy a ship that is exhibited like that," he told reporters after conducting an inspection of the vessel, estimated to be worth RM1 billion,  docked at the Boustead Cruise Centre here. The superyacht, believed to be linked to fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low,  arrived in Malaysia on Aug 7 after being handed over by Indonesian authorities. Dr Mahathir, however, said the public would be able to have an idea of what...

KUALA LUMPUR -- The High Court here on Friday dismissed the application by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for a gag order restraining the media and public to publish statements on the merits of his criminal charges which would infer Najib’s guilt pending the disposal of his case. Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali found Najib’s application to be unsustainable and therefore dismissed  the notice of the motion for a gag order. “Further, the specific term of the gag order applied for, in this case, if granted would represent a major incursion into the constitutional right of freedom of expression and speech under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution as well as unjustified departure from the open justice principle of Section 15 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964. “This is with a part from the technical floor that the scope  of the proposed gag order stated in the notice of motion is inconsistent and under this circumstances doe...

MIRI -- A 30-year-old bouncer Mohamad Fitri Pauzi was sent to the gallows by the High Court here on Friday after he was found guilty of murdering Miri PKR secretary Bill Kayong in June 2016. Judge Ravinthran N. Paramaguru when delivering the verdict today said his decision was based on the circumstantialand physical evidences tendered by the prosecution that clearly proved the accused had committed the offence at the traffic light intersection near E-Mart supermarket in Kuala Baram bypass at 8.20 am on June 21 last year. “I hereby find the accused guilty of the charge of murder,” he said in a packed court room filled by the deceased relatives and friends. Ravinthran said the prosecution had proven that the accused had the intention to commit the offence by testing the shot gun used in the murder in a secluded area, as it showed that the accused had made elaborate preparation to commit the act. He s...

KUALA LUMPUR -- The High Court today set 33 days from Feb 12 next year for the trial of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who faces seven charges involving RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd. Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali set Feb 12 to 28 and March 4 to 29 for the trial after giving his decision on Najib's application for a gag order prohibiting the media from discussing the merits of the criminal charges he was facing. The court also set Oct 4 for case management. Earlier, head of Attorney-General's Chambers Appellate and Trial Division Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria told the court that the prosecution was fully prepared to begin the trial in November. “This is in line with Section 172B(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code which provides for the trial of a criminal case to be held within 90 days after the accused was prosecuted,” he said. Mohamad Hanafiah also informed the court that th...

KUALA LUMPUR -- Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reminded cabinet ministers to be sensitive on issuing statements on Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA). The Prime Minister said many statements had been hurled on MARA which influenced the views of the people in general. “It has become a sensitive issue which needs to be given attention by Bersatu and Pakatan Harapan. "I will bring the matter to the ministers so that they understand the importance of being sensitive to the views of the people,” he told reporters after chairing Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) top leadership meeting, Bernama reported. He said PH should be sensitive to the views of the people to continue getting support. In this regard, Dr Mahathir said the government wanted to emulate the Japanese culture especially in producing a nation with excellence. He said the people in the Land of the Rising Sun have very high ethics in their actions. "But of course, here w...

SHAH ALAM -- A scuffle between the UAE team with national players in an international friendly match tonight was somewhat expected according to Under-23 national squad coach Ong Kim Swee. He said UAE or any teams from the Middle East would start to create provocation against their opponents when they are trailing in the game. “UAE are ranked much higher than us (Malaysia), they are not used to be trailing and the provocation was expected,” he said in a press conference after the match, Bernama report. In the incident, several players and members of the coaching team of UAE attacked Malaysian players in the dying minutes of the game. The incident was believed to have been sparked by several rough tackles by players from both teams and it was later brought under control by security personnel about two minutes later.  In the match, the national team defeated UAE 2-0 with goals by Safawi Rasid and Akhyar Abdul Rashid. Ong ...