KUALA LUMPUR: Professional men’s doubles player Ong Yew Sin has been advised to lodge a police report for the authorities to investigate recent online threats against him. Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Fadil Marsus said the threats constitute a criminal offence. "Yew Sin needs to file a report so that investigations can be conducted and appropriate action taken," he said here on Thursday (Jan 22). ALSO READ: Yew Sin latest victim in growing cyberbullying problem"In my view, any issues of this nature should be reported to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), not just by athletes but by all citizens. Earlier, mixed doubles player Toh Ee Wei was subjected to online abuse and cyberbullying after inconsistent performances at last week’s Indian Open.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 22): Sentral REIT’s (KL:SENTRAL) manager Sentral REIT Management Sdn Bhd has appointed Tay Hui Ling as acting CEO effective Jan 22, with her appointment to be formalised once Securities Commission approves it, according to a bourse filing on Thursday. Her predecessor, vice-chairman of the Malaysian REIT Managers Association Teh Wan Wei, stepped down as Sentral REIT’s CEO in September last year. “Her responsibilities included portfolio strategy, asset and liquidity management, fund structuring, capital raising, acquisitions and divestments, and investor relations,” Sentral REIT said. Sentral REIT manages prime office and commercial buildings in Klang Valley and Penang. Units in Sentral REIT ended unchanged at 80 sen, valuing it at RM956.4 million.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 22): Fertility care company Alpha IVF Group Bhd (KL:ALPHA) has reported a 20.5% decline in second-quarter earnings despite higher revenue, as pre-operational costs tied to its ongoing expansion weighed on profitability. Alpha IVF continued to pursue aggressive growth, expanding its network of full-fledged IVF centres to six following the opening of new facilities in Kota Kinabalu, and Manila in the Philippines. In parallel, Alpha IVF commenced operations at a new satellite clinic in Medan, Indonesia, complementing its existing clinics in Jakarta and Surabaya. This represents a payout ratio of 89.1% for the first half of FY2026, with Alpha IVF reaffirming its commitment to a full-year dividend policy of 60%. Alpha IVF managing director Datuk Dr Colin Lee Soon Soo said that while earnings were temporarily impacted by expansion-related investments, these initiatives were vital for building a scalable regional platform.

PETALING JAYA: With the ageing population increasing in the country, so are hip fractures caused by falls. ALSO READ:Singapore is expected to see the second-largest increase in hip fractures, rising 3.53-fold from 4,477 to 15,806, followed by Hong Kong (2.86-fold) and South Korea (2.85-fold). “The main target in Asia is to reduce the annual incidence of hip fracture by 2% to 3% each year to stabilise the total number of hip fractures over time. The study said Malaysians who sustained hip fractures shared similar characteristics with those reported internationally – they were older, medically com­­­plex and at a high risk of falling. “The average age of hip fracture patients in Malaysia ranges from 74 to 79 years, and up to three-quarters are women.

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 248,000 former residents at Narcotics Addiction Rehabilitation Centres (Puspen) have received job offers since 2020, following efforts to help them reintegrate into society, the Dewan Rakyat was told. The Home Ministry said the National Anti-Drug Agency also conducts pre-placement programmes in efforts to prepare residents for the job market. The ministry said there are also follow up programmes for former Puspen residents to assist them in finding jobs post-treatment. According to the ministry, 3,143 clients successfully obtained certification between 2020 to 2025, with as many as 1,040 clients targeted to join the programme this year. "Our initiatives aim to ensure former Puspen clients remain independent, productive and once again accepted by society," it said.

MALAYSIA IS set to introduce new designs for its passports and MyKad this year, following an announcement by the Home Minister earlier this month. But have the designs for the new MyKad and passport really been leaked? Verdict:FALSEA viral post on TikTok claimed to display images of the new 2026 passport and MyKad designs, according to fact-checking website MyCheck.my. "The new passport and MyKad designs going viral on social media are not official images and were not issued by the Home Ministry," the statement read. "The visual design is not authentic and does not represent the actual design of the new passport or MyKad as claimed," it added.

KUALA LUMPUR: An average of 3,169 new HIV cases were recorded annually between 2018 to 2025, the Dewan Rakyat was told. The Health Ministry said that while there was a 50% drop in cases between 2000 to 2009, a gradual 32% increase was recorded from 2010 to 2025. According to the ministry, some 3,293 cases were recorded in 2018 followed by 3,564 in 2019, 3,146 in 2020, 2,760 in 2021, 3,177 in 2022, 3,220 in 2023, 3,185 in 2024 and 3,004 preliminary cases in 2025. "Between 2021 to 2025, up to RM223mil was spent for 25 antiretroviral medication at Health Ministry healthcare facilities," it said in a written reply on Thursday (Jan 22). The ministry was responding to a question by Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff of Perikatan Nasional, who asked about the number of HIV patients between 2018 to 2026 and the estimated cost spent for HIV treatment.

KOTA BHARU (Jan 22): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has remanded six company owners found to be involved in the smuggling of electronic waste (e-waste) into the country and frozen 14 accounts amounting to RM7.2 million. MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the commission is in the process of detaining two more company owners suspected of involvement in the same offence, with arrests expected to be made soon. “So far, seven companies operating in Selangor have been identified as masterminding the entry of e-waste into the country. Two more company owners are currently being tracked for further action. The MACC will calculate the profits obtained by the companies involved based on the duration of the activities for follow-up action,” he said.

JAKARTA (Jan 22): Indonesia's energy ministry was not consulted before President Prabowo Subianto decided to revoke the permit of a China-backed hydroelectric power plant on the island of Sumatra, an official at the ministry, Eniya Listiani Dewi, said on Thursday. The government said on Tuesday that it had revoked the permits of 28 firms accused of environmental breaches that worsened last year's deadly floods in Sumatra. The firms include PT North Sumatra Hydro Energy (NSHE), which runs the Batangtoru hydropower facility. The company is controlled by China's state-run SDIC Power Holdings Co Ltd.Eniya Listiani Dewi told reporters that she hadn't been informed why the permit for the plant had been cancelled, or what kind of permit it was. The energy ministry is part of the forestry task force and must have been involved in the decision making process, the task force's spokesperson Barita Simanjuntak told Reuters on Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 22): KomarkCorp Bhd (KL:KOMARK) has proposed a share capital reduction of RM148.7 million to offset its significant accumulated losses. At the group level, KomarkCorp recorded accumulated losses of RM118.36 million as at end-September 2025. Following the capital reduction, the group will have retained earnings of RM30.34 million. At the company level, its accumulated losses stood at RM148.76 million, which will be slashed to just RM59,327 with the capital reduction. As at Jan 15 this year, KomarkCorp’s issued share capital stood at RM173.27 million, comprising 230.92 million ordinary shares.

The gunman charged with killing Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe was found guilty and jailed for life, as the judge declared the broad- daylight assassination “despicable and extremely malicious”. As he handed down the sentence at a court in the city of Nara, judge Shinichi Tanaka said Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, had been “determined” to shoot Abe. The fact he “shot him from behind and did so when (Abe) was least expecting it” points to the “despicable and extremely malicious” nature of his act, he said. A queue of people waited yesterday morning for tickets to enter the courtroom, highlighting inten­se public interest in the trial. Prosecutors had argued that the defendant’s motive to kill Abe was rooted in his desire to besmirch the Unification Church, to which his mother’s blind donations plun­ged his family into bankruptcy.

Ex-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (pic) became the first Yoon administration official convicted of rebellion charges in related to Yoon’s martial law imposition in December 2024. The court sentenced Han for playing a key role in Yoon’s rebellion by trying to give procedural legitimacy to Yoon’s martial law decree by getting it passed through a Cabinet Council meeting. The court also convicted Han of falsifying the martial law proclamation and destroying it and lying under oath. The court said Han, then prime minister, neglected his respon­sibilities to protect the constitution, choosing instead to take part in Yoon’s rebellion with the belief that it might succeed. Yoon, who has already been in jail for months, faces eight criminal trials including his rebellion case over the martial law decree and other allegations.

DAVOS (Jan 22): The world needs to more than double oil production, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday, while criticising the European Union and the US state of California for wasting money on what he described as inefficient green energy. In recent years, the World Economic Forum's discussions on energy have centred on ways to boost lower-carbon policies. But during Wright's discussionwith energy company Occidental's CEO Vicki Hollub in Davos, they emphasised that the world will depend on oil for decades to come. "These regulations could threaten you (US producers) liability-wise to send gas to Europe," Wright said. After months of pressure from companies and governments, the European Union agreed last month to sharply scale back two flagship laws, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

KOTA BHARU (Jan 21): Two more senior officers of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF), both with the title ‘Datuk’, are expected to be charged next week. Confirming the matter, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the charges are subject to the approval of Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar. “If the attorney general agrees, we will proceed with charging two more individuals. “This is a responsibility that I have fulfilled, and the attorney general also has a responsibility to discharge. On Dec 23, 2025, a team of MACC officers arrived at the Ministry of Defence (Mindef), to conduct preliminary investigations into several army-related projects dating back to 2023.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has recorded the statements of the editor-in-chief and online editor of China Press over online posts in regards to the King’s Royal Address in Parliament. KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has recorded statements from two China Press editors over online posts allegedly containing false information in relation to the King's Royal Address in Parliament. It said it is probing the content, published via China Press' official online media accounts, under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. The commission said it takes seriously any publication involving the King's Royal Address and matters concerning Bahasa Melayu as the national language, and reminded media organisations to conduct rigorous fact-checking and uphold responsible journalism. Yesterday, federal police Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk M. Kumar had said investigators from the Classified Crime Investigation Unit had recorded statements from the editor-in-chief and a sub-editor over the same matter.