Author: Murni Yakoob

Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on Thursday called on the international community to avoid confusion and discrimination in dealing with the conflict and human suffering in Palestine, Anadolu Agency reports. Addressing the East Asia Summit in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, Anwar said any form of racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia cannot be accepted and should be condemned as strongly as possible. The Malaysian Prime Minister is in Indonesia to attend the annual summit of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN). On Palestine, Anwar, and ASEAN leaders expressed concern over the developments in the Middle East and reiterated the need for a…

Brussels (21/08 – 62.50) The theatrical performance, 40 Days of Miracles was shown in the main concert hall of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea by the Republican State Academic Korean Theater of Musical Comedy of Kazakhstan, which is on tour in South Korea. In total, more than 500 spectators attended the event, including the Chairman of the Korea-Kazakhstan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Woo Won Shik, deputies, politicians, the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, cultural and art figures, businessmen, as well as representatives of the…

Berlin (21/08 – 50) A small community of bird enthusiasts in Astana have been setting ecological trends, advocating for ethical observation practices and environmental responsibility, and fostering camaraderie through shared sightings and insights. Ruslan Urazaliev, researcher and photographer, Kulyanda Tulebaeva, birdwatcher and photographer, and Vera Voronova, the executive director of the Association for Biodiversity Conservation of Kazakhstan (ASBK), shared their experiences supporting the city’s avian residents. Astana’s rough climate does not deter avian species, making it an unexpected winter haven for colorful birds like bullfinches, goldfinches, and snow buntings. As winter wanes, migratory birds stop in urban parks to recharge…

Malaysia’s closely watched state elections were a “setback” for the ruling coalition government, according to a political analyst from a risk consultancy. The polls were held in six states on Saturday, and ended in a split result between the ruling and opposition coalitions, with each side retaining control of three states. Still, the conservative opposition coalition was able to make significant inroads gaining popularity among voters. The contest was widely seen as a first test for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition and unity government that came to power in November. To be clear, the results will not directly impact the Malaysia leader’s two-thirds majority in parliament. “It’s…

Malaysia’s Pakatan Harapan government has always been precarious. And it may face a reckoning when six Malay-majority states go to the polls on Aug. 12. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan will be contesting these state assembly elections alongside its federal government partner, UMNO. They face a formidable opposition in Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional, which projects itself as the standard bearer for Malay Muslims – a voter base long faithful in the past to the United Malays National Organization. After the general election last November, the two coalitions vied to form a government. For days, it was almost a hung parliament. …

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia and Malaysia have inked 10 memoranda of understanding (MoUs), agreements (MoAs), and cooperations (MoCs) in the higher education sector that will involve a number of agencies, associations, and universities from the two countries. “Today, I think we need to elevate relations to a better stage, especially in the higher education sector,” Malaysia’s Minister of Higher Education Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said on the sidelines of the signing ceremony here on Tuesday. Nordin attended the signing ceremony during his first visit to Indonesia as Minister of Higher Education. The visit was made to provide support for various…

Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional is rebalancing its investment portfolio for greater resilience against market volatility, according to its managing director. Khazanah’s net asset value declined 5% to 81 billion ringgit ($17.4 billion) in 2022 from a year ago, hit by global market downtrends, the fund said in March. The Kuala Lumpur-based fund invests more than half of its portfolio in public markets. “What we are focused on doing here is to look at how we can be a bit more resilient in the market,” Khazanah’s managing director Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir told CNBC Monday on the sidelines of the…

VIENTIANE: The governments of Laos and Malaysia have agreed to further cooperation in areas with strong potential and shared views on emerging regional and international situations of mutual interest. A bilateral meeting between Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith and Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir was held at the Lao capital Vientiane on Monday (June 26). The two ministers reviewed cooperation between Laos and Malaysia since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1966 and were in agreement about the value of their friendship and cooperation, which has seen continuous growth over the years…

The recently concluded China-Central Asia Summit—the first of its kind—reflects China’s Middle-Kingdom aspirations—aiming to restore China’s historical position of prominence and influence in world affairs. What helps China support its Middle-Kingdom aspirations—strategic, economic, and connectivity—in Central Asia is the veil of reviving the ancient ‘Silk Route’. As Beijing clears its intent in Central Asia amidst Russia’s critical strategic dependency on China due to sanctions from the West, Moscow’s position in the region may be altering. At the first China-Central Asia Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping presented a “vision of a China-central Asia community with a shared future” based on a…

The nominee to be the next US ambassador to Malaysia said yesterday he saw the potential for the United States to expand cooperation with the South-east Asian country in diversifying supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals. Edgard Kagan, a career diplomat who is currently the senior official for East Asia at the White House National Security Council, told his Senate confirmation hearing that developing new sources for critical minerals to ensure reliable supply chains was a very high priority for the Biden administration. “The importance of working on these arrangements with countries where we have good relationships……