KUCHING (Jan 26): Outgoing US ambassador to Malaysia Edgard D Kagan has expressed confidence that Sarawak will continue to attract greater interest and investment from American companies following sustained efforts to promote the state as a viable business destination. “I’ve told every American company with whom I engage, who are looking at Malaysia, that they should look at Sarawak. But I think that we've helped put Sarawak on the map for American businesses, working with our friends at the American Chambers of Commerce, at the US-Asean Business Council, and with the Malaysian government as well as the Sarawak state government. The ambassador also highlighted Sarawak’s strong potential in the energy sector, particularly in renewable energy, noting that opportunities extended beyond power generation to include energy transmission and management. “It is noticeable that Sarawak’s energy capacity, along with its access to electricity and water, positions the state well to attract data centres.

(Jan 26): Norway’s US$2.1 trillion (RM8.3 trillion) sovereign wealth fund has to raise its preparedness to handle growing geopolitical risks, a government-appointed advisory panel said. “The political risk to which the fund’s investments are exposed abroad is increasing,” the panel said, pointing out that the size and visibility of the fund further raises such risks. “The fund may ultimately be subject to increased taxation, regulatory intervention and even confiscation.”The report comes after a tumultuous period for the world’s biggest owner of listed equities. That, in turn, led Norwegian policymakers to suspend the ethics council advising the fund, to prevent other sudden divestments. The group is urging policymakers to use scenario-analysis to increase the understanding of political risks, echoing recommendations from another government-appointed panel which in 2022 warned that the fund was likely to face increasingly challenging moral dilemmas.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sixteen bank accounts with RM10.2mil in funds along with other assets were seized in connection with the investigation into alleged corruption involving e-waste processing, effluent disposal and scheduled waste dumping activities in Selangor and Negri Sembilan. Sources said a company director under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Investigation division has had his remand extended from Monday (Jan 26) until Jan 30. Meanwhile, the Negri Sembilan MACC has remanded four individuals, including a senior officer from a government department, from Jan 20 to 26. "The MACC also seized RM87,000 in cash along with valuables including vehicles and jewellery, estimated to be worth about RM220,000. "The arrests and remand involve company directors and officers from the Environment Department suspected of protecting illegal e-waste processing factories, as well as facilitating the disposal of scheduled waste without complying with prescribed procedures,” the source said.

BUTTERWORTH (Jan 26): The Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) is encouraging Area Fishermen’s Associations (PNK) and State Fishermen’s Associations (PNN) to actively participate in aquaculture as part of efforts to strengthen national food security and raise the income of fishing communities. He said fishermen can no longer depend solely on marine catches for stable income and must diversify into more sustainable and consistent business ventures. He added that LKIM is developing programmes in Pantai Merdeka, Kedah and Badung, Pahang, involving experienced private firms as anchor players to train fishermen in aquaculture and business management, aimed at enabling them to operate aquaculture ventures independently within five years. “Several ponds will be designated to train fishermen in aquaculture farming and business, enabling them to operate aquaculture ventures within five years,” he said. Earlier, Muhammad Faiz presented Touch Point assistance in the form of nets and containers to 31 fishermen in Ujong Batu, as well as an engine to the local PNK.

KUALA TERENGGANU: Salwani Anuar@Kamaruddin, the wife of former army chief Tan Sri Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan, was charged at the Sessions Court here today with receiving proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to RM5,000 last year. Based on the charge, Salwani is alleged to have received proceeds from illegal activities in the form of RM5,000, which was deposited into her bank account. The court then granted bail on the same terms as those previously imposed by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, with similar conditions. On the same day, her husband, Muhammad Hafizuddeain, 58, was charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on four counts of receiving proceeds from illegal activities amounting to more than RM2.12mil. He was subsequently charged at the Shah Alam Sessions Court last Friday on two additional counts involving RM145,000 for the same offence.

He has been devoted to the sport here for almost his entire life," said the 43-year-old Chong Wei. Misbun must have been looking for a change.”Chong Wei credited Misbun for shaping him both as a player and as a person. I respect his decision and wish him only the best.”Now the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) performance committee chairman, Chong Wei believes Misbun will make a strong impact in India. Asked whether he himself would consider coaching overseas, Chong Wei said Malaysia remains closest to his heart. Currently, India’s two leading setups are the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru and the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad.

KOTA BARU: Although the amount may be small, the practice of giving “duit kopi” (coffee money/bribe) at border crossings can pose a serious threat to natio­nal security. “This includes highlighting inte­grity as a core National Secu­rity Value under the 2021-2025 Natio­nal Security Policy, recognising it as essential to maintaining Malay­sia’s sovereignty, peace and prosperity. Meanwhile, Zakaria also said that there will be no compromise in the discharge of duties at the country’s entry points, including practices such as the ‘hand-raising’ culture that could jeopardise national security. He said no official reports had been received regarding allegations of such practices at the Immigration, Customs, Quaran­tine and Security (ICQS) Complex along the Malaysia-Thailand border. “Every act of ‘hand-raising’, however, trivial it may seem, is the beginning of a chain of leakages that could lead to disaster, including opening the door to organised crime syndicates and elements that can threa­ten national security,” he said.

This week’s North Sea conference is a “nice answer” to Trump’s statements at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Germany’s economy minister, Katherina Reiche, told reporters. The nations aim to jointly develop 100 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2050 — the bloc’s climate-neutrality target — while strengthening protections for energy infrastructure, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Ed Miliband, the UK’s energy secretary, said clean energy could get the nation “off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and give us energy sovereignty and abundance”. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Commission are also taking part, with Iceland joining despite not being a North Sea nation. Oil and gas extraction in the North Sea accounts for more than 9% of historical global greenhouse gas emissions, said climate non-profit 350.org, citing calculations by Oil Change International.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 26): Former army chief Gen Tan Sri Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan on Monday lodged two police reports over the leakage of his banking documents and defamatory statements circulated by an activist on social media. “Even on the day Tan Sri was charged in court, I saw the watch myself, and it was definitely not a Patek Philippe. He said Muhammad Hafizuddeain is now seriously considering taking civil action against several parties, including individuals who defamed him as well as the banking institutions involved. Earlier, Muhammad Hafizuddeain was seen arriving at the police headquarters at about 12.30pm to lodge the reports. On Jan 23, Muhammad Hafizuddeain pleaded not guilty at the Shah Alam Corruption Court to two charges of receiving proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to RM145,000.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 26): Industronics Bhd (KL:ITRONIC) said its independent non-executive chairman Datuk Leong Sir Ley has emerged as a substantial shareholder after acquiring a 6.32% stake in the company. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Industronics said Leong bought 44.71 million shares, equivalent to a 6.319% stake, on Jan 23. Following the purchase, Leong is now the group’s fourth-largest shareholder, behind Maybank Securities Pte Ltd with a 21.88% stake, Luk Tung Lam with 19.46% and Bluemount Securities Pte Ltd with 6.51%, according to Bloomberg. Leong was appointed chairman in August 2024 and is also the former managing director and CEO of Yong Tai Bhd (KL:YONGTAI). In June 2025, the company’s board decided to change its financial year end from June 30, 2025, to Dec 31, 2025.

(Jan 26): Volkswagen AG’s plans for a possible Audi factory in the US aren’t progressing as President Donald Trump’s tariffs weigh and talks for local incentives haven’t yielded results, chief executive officer Oliver Blume told Handelsblatt. Talks for an Audi plant have been ongoing, initially encouraged by subsidies making an investment economically viable. President Trump’s tariffs have exposed carmakers relying on global production networks. The company also builds VW brand vehicles in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is constructing a US$2 billion (RM8 billion) plant in South Carolina that will make rugged offroaders under the resurrected South Motors nameplate. Blume said the company had several options for an Audi plant, also pointing to ownership of “a large plot of land” in South Carolina.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 26): Coastal Contracts Bhd (KL:COASTAL) said a consortium led by its Mexican joint venture has secured an emergency job from Mexico’s national oil and gas firm Petróleos Mexicanos to immediately design and build a gas sweetening plant at the Ixachi Field to curb excessive gas flaring. In a bourse filing on Monday (Jan 26), the group said the consortium has already commenced full-scale work following the receipt of an “emergency work instruction” (EWI) from Pemex on Jan 23. Gas flaring at the Ixachi Field had escalated into an emergency situation, requiring immediate action and prompting the company to bypass the standard open tender process. The consortium comprises its 50%-owned JV Coastoil Dynamic SA de CV, Sistemas Integrales de Compresión SA de CV and Nuvoil SA de CV. Last month, the consortium clinched a RM4.64 billion gas processing contract from Pemex, sending its shares up nearly 20%.

PUTRAJAYA (Jan 26): Digital infrastructure development under Phase 1 of the National Digital Network (Jendela) plan is 99.1% complete, with 1,646 new communication towers constructed nationwide as of Dec 31 last year. In a statement on Monday, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said a total of 1,661 new shared communication towers using the Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) and Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing approach were targeted under Jendela Phase 1. MCMC noted that premises passed by network coverage increased from 4.96 million before Jendela to 9.81 million as of the end of December last year, exceeding the target of nine million premises. Network coverage and capacity have also been expanded at 18 IPTA campuses and 17 event venues, including Sepang Circuit, SPICE Arena Penang, Sabah International Convention Centre and Borneo Convention Centre Kuching. “MCMC will continue to monitor implementation to ensure sustainable and continuous improvements in internet coverage and service quality, in line with the objectives of Jendela Phase 2 to extend access to low-density areas and major transport corridors,” the statement said.

PARIS (Jan 26): French food and beverage maker Vitagermine has recalled specific batches of baby formula as a precautionary measure, it said on Sunday, as a toxin contamination scare continued to spread. Babybio, a brand of privately-owned Vitagermine, said on its website it had recalled three specific batches of infant formula. "The results we have just received have led us to take the decision today to withdraw three batches strictly limited to Optima 1 infant formula for newborns." French investigators are examining the deaths of two infants who had consumed baby formula products that were recalled. Read also:Danone recalls certain baby formula batches produced in Ireland as toxin scare widens

KUALA LUMPUR: New appointments have been made to the Parliamentary Special Select Committees (PSSC) to replace MPs who have been appointed to the Cabinet as ministers and deputies following the reshuffle last month. Dr Zaliha (PH-Sekijang) will be replacing Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru), who has been appointed as the Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry during the reshuffle. Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad (BN-Simpang Renggam) will replace Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah (BN-Paya Besar) in the Finance and Economy PSSC, following the latter’s appointment as Deputy Economy Minister. Shahar was the previous chairman of the Finance and Economy PSSC. In the Security PSSC, Jimmy Puah (PH-Tebrau) will be replacing Ledang MP Syed Ibrahim bin Syed Noh, who is now the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability.