
Istana Seri Kinabalu denies viral claim linking Sabah Governor's family to Form One student's death in Papar
In an official statement issued to Bernama today, the palace described the allegations as baseless, irresponsible, and defamatory, saying they threaten to tarnish the reputation of Tun Musa's family.
It also called on the public not to spread unverified or slanderous information, and reminded them that disseminating false content is an offence under existing laws, including the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
'Any developments related to the investigation into the case should be referred to the police or the Ministry of Education Malaysia to avoid public confusion and misinformation,' the statement read.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun was quoted earlier today as confirming that the case has been transferred to Bukit Aman for final review before being referred to the Attorney General's Chambers.
The 13-year-old student was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu at 11 am on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory at around 4 am on July 16. — Bernama
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Free Malaysia Today
42 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Race-based policies a thorn in both sides, says ex-Umno man
(From left) Shahril Hamdan, formerly of Umno, was at a panel discussion with Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad of PKR and Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal of Bersatu. KUALA LUMPUR : A former Umno leader has called for an honest national dialogue on how Bumiputera policies are implemented, as current approaches have bred resentment not just among non-Bumiputeras but also within the Bumiputera community itself. 'I think you need to make sure that whatever set of policies you have, reduce resentment,' former Umno Supreme Council member Shahril Hamdan said at the Malaysian student leaders summit held here today. 'There's too much resentment in this country,' he said. 'Clearly, the Bumiputera policy has been actioned in a way that has caused resentment among the non-Bumiputeras. And what's tragic is that you also have resentment from the Bumiputera community. 'Although they get Bumiputera privilege, they feel that they got a raw deal,' he said at a panel discussion on the mandate of the Madani government. Another speaker, former minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad of PKR said Malaysia should gradually shift away from race-based affirmative action to a needs-based approach, which was also seen in the 13th Malaysia Plan. Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal of Bersatu called for the social contract to be renegotiated, through a national dialogue. He agreed that some reforms were overdue, saying: 'It's high time in certain areas, race-based policies need to be forgone.' However, he said he would continue to uphold Bumiputera rights and privileges as part of his political struggle, but without sacrificing justice for other communities, because strategic intervention or affirmative action in certain areas was still needed on a race-based basis. Shahril said Singapore also provides for Malay rights in its constitution, but does so without stoking public frustration. 'Nobody talks about it, because the way it is expressed is probably a lot smaller than ours, and secondly, it's done in a way that does not cause resentment.' He said Malaysia's constitutional provisions for Bumiputera rights are difficult to amend, requiring not only a two-thirds majority in Parliament but also consent from the Conference of Rulers. 'So how do we then action (act) the policy in a particular way that reduces resentment? And that's a worthwhile national dialogue to have, but it has to be done honestly and sincerely,' he added. Wan Fayhsal, in calling for renegotiation of the social contract, said: 'How do we go about it? Through political discussion. And there has to be a lot of engagements done by political parties and governments. It's a national dialogue to begin with.' Any shift towards a more inclusive identity must be preceded by public engagement, 'unless you want a somewhat equal identity of Malaysian-based politics or economic policy'. Nik Nazmi said affirmative action must also consider other factors beyond race. 'We need to look at gender, look at communities, and race in terms of how you push people to participate in the country,' he said. He said this shift was discussed in Najib Razak's government and remains relevant today. Current policies place excessive focus on race alone, which undermines the broader goals of equitable development, he said. The three political leaders were responding to a question on what each panel member thought about Bumiputera quotas and the relationships between Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras.


Free Malaysia Today
4 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Creating Anwar's legacy — ending ‘gomenshud'
One of the most common Malaysian words I hear is 'gomenshud'. This is used whenever an issue of concern arises and the 'government should' do something about it rather than the private sector or, heaven-forfend, that individuals should fix it for themselves. It is ironic that people complain of incompetence, systemic corruption and moral turpitude within the executive, legislature, judiciary and the permanent civil service at federal and state levels but still demand that more money, responsibility and interference opportunities should be handed to them. The economics of government and policy design, called 'public choice theory' tells us clearly that people in government are not driven by the 'greater good' or the 'public interest', they are, just like the rest of us, driven by personal and collective self-interest. This is not meant to be cynical or offensive but simply to help us understand those in public policy as human beings — they have hopes and dreams, they want to make life easy for themselves as far as possible and if there is a chance to make a few bucks they will take it. Each year the auditor-general reports hundreds of millions lost in wastage and leakages across the government sector. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) estimates RM277 billion lost to corruption between 2018 and 2023. The think tank Emir Research estimates that RM4.5 trillion was lost to corruption in the last 26 years. This is all identified after the fact and to stop this haemorrhage of resources we need to address the 'gomenshud mentality' which defaults to intervention from the start without proper evaluation of the costs and benefits and the likely losses due specifically to policy design. A common form of policy design in Malaysia is the 'patronage cascade' where projects, concessions and access routes to money are specifically built-in to benefit middlemen often through pre-allocated packages and contracts. With this in mind, the 13th Malaysia Plan which will be tabled this week should reduce the role and interference of government. We should be cautious if we see 'patronage cascades' where policies are specifically designed to pass projects to vested interests. Instead, broad-based universal programmes, available to everyone, with open and transparent access routes should be the emphasis. This can be achieved first by government exiting commercial activities which crowd out large businesses, SMEs and micro enterprises and leaving these activities to the private sector. Second by slashing regulations and focusing only on minimum standards of health and safety, anti-corruption, good governance and anti-trust issues. Finally, by focusing on the basic role of government in many areas where there are direct and legitimate concerns for public policy including public health, education and social protection. Economic mechanisms we hope to see in the 13MP include liberalisation of markets, reducing regulatory burdens, limiting government interference and promoting creative, innovative, agile, competitive businesses. The US tariff issue also sends us a lesson that protectionist policies come with a reciprocal cost. So removing restrictions to market access should also be a priority for the 13MP. Proper independent assessments have rarely been made of the targets of previous Malaysia plans and many have not been delivered, fully or at all. The main unfulfilled target of every Malaysia plan is to build in a mechanism to end the need for future plans. In other words, these are 'forever wars' against dreamed up economic challenges more typical of centrally planned economies. They are increasingly irrelevant in a modern technology-driven economic environment in which anything laid down in July 2025 will be obsolete by December 2025 let alone by 2030 — gomenshud recognise this and end it once and for all. The views expressed are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.


The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
King's historic state visit to Russia underscores deepening bilateral ties, says Ambassador
MOSCOW: The state visit by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, to Russia from Aug 5-10 has been described as the highlight of the diplomatic ties between the two countries, said Malaysia's Ambassador to Russia Datuk Cheong Loon Lai. He said the visit is the highest-level ever made and the first by a Malaysian head of state to Russia since diplomatic relations were established in April 1967. "His Majesty's state visit, at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, is a recognition of the five decades of diplomatic ties with Malaysia, which was among the earliest Asean countries to establish ties with the then Soviet Union. "This visit also reflects the crucial role of the institution of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the context of international relations,' he told Bernama here on Sunday (Aug 1) in conjunction with Sultan Ibrahim's state visit. Cheong said the visit will begin in Moscow, where His Majesty is scheduled to hold an official meeting with Putin at the Grand Kremlin Palace. Both leaders are expected to discuss potential cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, higher education, technology and innovation, people-to-people ties, digital transformation, agriculture and food security, as well as regional and international issues. "This highest-level visit will certainly have a high impact in increasing the momentum and positive trend of bilateral relations between Malaysia and Russia. "It sends the message that Malaysia is serious and committed to efforts to strengthen and improve bilateral relations with Russia in all fields, particularly strategic cooperation and people-to-people ties,' he said. Sultan Ibrahim is scheduled to arrive in Moscow on Tuesday (Aug 5) and will be accorded a state welcome ceremony at the Kremlin on Wednesday (Aug 6), before holding an official meeting with Putin and attending a state banquet hosted by the Russian President. His Majesty is also scheduled to receive an audience from the Russian Automotive Technology Development Company as well as the Tochka Kipeniya Technology and Innovation Hub. On Friday (Aug 8), Sultan Ibrahim will travel to Kazan, the fifth largest city in Russia, to receive an audience from the Rais (Head) of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, at the Kazan Kremlin. Both parties are expected to discuss potential collaboration in the trade, investment, halal industry sectors and agricultural technology. His Majesty is also scheduled to attend a reception ceremony hosted by Minnikhanov and visit the Kazan Helicopter Plant to observe the manufacturing operations of civilian, defence and rescue helicopters. Russia is currently Malaysia's ninth-largest trading partner among European countries and 28th globally, with bilateral trade valued at RM11.46bil (US$2.48bil) in 2024. For the period January to June 2025, Malaysia-Russia trade volume was recorded at RM4.13bil (US$945.7mil). — Bernama