30-year-old Finnish MP dies inside parliament building
HELSINKI : An MP from Finland's Social Democratic Party, Eemeli Peltonen, died in Finland's parliament building today at the age of 30, the assembly's communications office said.
'The person who passed away in the parliament building on the morning of Aug 19 is Eemeli Peltonen, a member of parliament in his first term,' the statement said, expressing condolences to his relatives.
Peltonen died around 11am local time, Finnish police said.
The police said it 'was investigating the causes of death, but do not suspect crime at this stage'.
Chair of the social democratic parliamentary group, Tytti Tuppurainen, said the 'passing of Eemeli Peltonen deeply shocks me and all of us' in a statement.
'He was a much-loved member of our community and we will miss him deeply,' she said.
'A young life has ended far too soon. We share in the grief of his loved ones and wish them strength in their mourning.'
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, alongside many MP, described the news as deeply shocking and tragic.
'Today we received tragic news from parliament. My warmest condolences go out to Eemeli Peltonen's loved ones, and I wish them strength in their time of mourning,' Stubb wrote on X.
The Finnish flag could be seen flown at half-mast today outside parliament.
Finnish MPS are on summer recess, with the autumn sittings set to begin on Sept 2.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
PSM deputy chairman arrested over Parliament protest
KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan was arrested at 6pm today at the Dang Wangi police headquarters over a protest outside Parliament last week. PSM secretary-general M. Sivaranjani said Arutchelvan surrendered himself after being ordered to report to the police. "This arrest is unlawful and constitutes an abuse of police power," she told FTM. The protest on Wednesday involved more than 100 plantation workers from Perak, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kedah and Johor, who marched from Taman Tugu to Parliament to submit a memorandum and draft bill seeking to make it compulsory for estates to provide housing for local plantation workers. It was reported that police initially blocked the group from assembling outside the Parliament gates but later allowed them to hand the documents to Deputy Law and Institutional Reform Minister M. Kulasegaran and Opposition Chief Whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan. A scuffle broke out at the gates, which Arutchelvan later said was a 'misunderstanding'. Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Fadil Marsus later said an investigation had been opened into a scuffle during the handover, which allegedly left a police officer injured. He said the case is being investigated under Section 353 of the Penal Code for using criminal force to deter a public servant from carrying out his duties, and Section 427 for mischief. Fadil had also referred to a video uploaded on TikTok showing participants of the gathering "provoking and forcefully breaching" police officers on duty at Jalan Parlimen. Police had summoned Arutchelvan the following day to record his statement. Arutchelvan was reported saying that he and several rally participants had a 'misunderstanding' outside the Parliament.
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: Of defence assets and agents
AUG 16 will be a day that the people who matter in the Defence Ministry will never forget. It was the day His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia disclosed to the nation that the ministry was full of agents, ex-generals turned salesmen and even textile merchants peddling drones. He made this disclosure in his royal address during the parade marking the 60th anniversary of the Special Forces Regiment at Kem Iskandar in Mersing, Johor. Relying on agents is a dangerous pursuit for an institution that is tasked with defending the country. And in case they forget, three days later, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reminded those responsible for procuring defence assets to end the reliance on agents when replying to a question in Parliament. The Defence Ministry, he said, had faced decades of controversies and scandals involving procurement, forcing the government to adopt government-to-government negotiations. Why then is the Defence Ministry packed with agents? Perhaps the RM5 billion defence procurement and development spending in 2024 — an increase of RM2 billion from that of 2020 — has something to do with it. A royal reprimand and a prime ministerial reminder say a lot about the seriousness of the problem. Enough of the "the decades of controversies and scandals", we say. We know that middlemen is a Malaysian malaise, but of all places in the Defence Ministry? The use of agents — ex-generals or otherwise — comes with at least two dangers. Let's begin with the more dangerous of the dangers: poor quality of defence assets peddled by the agents. Compromise the defence assets, then you compromise the defence of the country. Defence assets of quality don't need agents to peddle them. Nations will beat the path to their door. It is "flying coffins", to borrow a royal phrase, like the second-hand A-4 Skyhawk aircraft bought in the 1980s, that need the hawking, excuse the pun. Scrap the plan to buy the 30-year-old Black Hawk helicopters, Sultan Ibrahim ordered the Defence Ministry. Media reports say the armed forces is scrapping its plan to buy four Black Hawk helicopters at a cost of RM187 million. But the question is: why wait for the royal command? Isn't the internal process robust enough to raise red flags? Or is integrity a challenge? Dropping the purchase of the helicopters is just the first step. More needs to be done. The primary interest of agents, even ex-generals turned salesmen, is how much they can get out of the deal. The quality of the defence assets they are hawking or whether or not they are compromising the security of the nation is secondary. For Malaysia, a nation of small means, every ringgit spent must show up its worth. The purchase of 88 second-hand A-4 Skyhawk jets did the exact opposite. It drained the country's coffers of millions. Although the price tag was US$1 million each, getting them refurbished took years, spiralling the cost to four times that to RM1.2 billion, media reports say. Then there is the Scorpene submarine deal in 2002 that cost US$130 million in commission. If this is how we do procurement of defence assets, even hundreds of billions wouldn't be enough.
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
Govt boosts R&D investment for industry competitiveness in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: The government supports increasing investment in research and development activities that focus on enhancing industrial sector competitiveness. Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang identified insufficient returns on current R&D investments as a primary national challenge. He stated that most research currently remains in pre-commercialization phases requiring advancement toward market readiness. Chang addressed these concerns during his winding-up speech for the 13th Malaysia Plan debate in Parliament today. His remarks responded directly to proposals from Kubang Pasu member Datuk Dr Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail regarding R&D funding increases. The minister highlighted regional technology development through ASEAN Startup as a promising solution to attract talent. Regional collaboration efforts could bring more technology professionals to establish businesses in Malaysia. This influx would significantly boost the country's research and development competitiveness according to the ministry. Experimental R&D investment data shows a promising increase to 60.97 percent in 2022. However only 0.3 percent of business enterprises currently invest in research and development activities. This statistic reveals limited private sector participation in research funding initiatives. Chang emphasized the need for special incentives to stimulate greater corporate investment interest. MOSTI has implemented various measures including the Malaysia Science Endowment program. This initiative develops alternative financing through collaborative partnerships across multiple sectors. The ministry also launched mission-based initiatives under the Mission Oriented Initiative framework. This approach unifies research, development, innovation, and commercialization under strategic national missions.
