KUALA LUMPUR: South Korean sensation An Se-young is refusing to let fatigue stop her as she chases more badminton records this year. This year, Se-young said that she aimed to finish the season unbeaten which will be an unprecedented feat. Keep the smile: South Korea women’s singles shuttler An Se-young reacts after winning over Canada’s Michelle Li at Malaysian Open. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The StarAnd she showed her hunger for more by clearing the first round of the Malaysian Open at the Axiata Arena on Tuesday (Jan 6). Despite the difficult challenge ahead, Se-young is keen to capture her third consecutive Malaysian Open title.

ANKARA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be conferred the Order of the Republic during the Prime Minister’s three-day official visit to Turkiye. Malaysian ambassador to Turkiye Sazali Mustafa Kamal said the award is Turkiye’s ­highest honour conferred on foreign leaders for strengthening Malaysia-Turkiye diplomatic relations. Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, is visiting Turkiye as part of Malaysia’s efforts to ­further strengthen the long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries. Sazali said the meeting, co-­chaired by Anwar and Erdogan, would serve as the main platform to discuss strategic cooperation across various sectors. Anwar was accompanied by his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as well as Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, and senior government officials.

The Zurich-based firm is set to begin another set of job cuts in mid-January, according to people familiar with the matter. That will be followed by another round later in 2026 as UBS switches off computer systems it acquired from Credit Suisse, people familiar said last month. He formerly ran teams that trade currencies, bonds, interest-rate products and credit instruments across Asia. Naohiro Kuroda, the country’s global markets co-head, stepped down months after the veteran of structured investments touted his team’s expansion, people familiar said in July. UBS is entering the final year of its integration of Credit Suisse, which it bought in an emergency government-brokered deal in 2023.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles shuttlers Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie survived a scare against Taiwan’s Wu Guan-xun-Lee Chia-hsin to book their spot in the Malaysian Open second round. Soon Huat-Shevon dropped the first game 15-21 against the world No. 38 Taiwanese duo but managed to stage a fightback to win the next two games 21-19, 21-14 at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Wednesday (Jan 7). 9 independent pair will next play world No. 32 Americans Presley Smith-Jennie Gai for a place in the quarter-finals.

Brent crude futures fell US$1.06, or 1.7%, to settle at US$60.70 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell US$1.19, or 2%, to US$57.13 a barrel. OPEC supply grew 1.6 million bpd and non-Opec supply grew about 2.4 million bpd between the fourth quarters of 2024 and 2025, the Morgan Stanley analysts said. Market participants ‍polled by Reuters in December ⁠also said they expected ‍oil prices ​to be under pressure in 2026 because of rising supply and weak demand. Oil production from the country averaged 1.1 million bpd last year. Meanwhile, US crude oil and product stockpiles were expected to have risen last week, an extended Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.

JOHOR BARU: The construction sector is bracing for a surge in manpower demand this year as Johor’s economy continues to grow rapidly, says the Johor Master Builders Association. “However, this is no longer the case, as we are now unable to recruit foreign workers directly and can only source them through labour subcontractors. Kong stressed that the matter needed to be dealt with immediately to ensure Johor maintains its momentum as the country’s top investment destination. “The investments have also boosted the construction sector as more companies, including fore­ign firms, expand and build their facilities in Johor. “It is encouraging, but to support this growth, we need more skilled foreign workers to keep up with demand,” he said.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians working abroad can return home at any time, with jobs and career guidance available through Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd (TalentCorp) initiatives, says Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan. “We are working on initiatives to have better opportunities for Malaysians to work in their home country,” he said during a corporate briefing at the TalentCorp office yesterday. TalentCorp has an existing research and report that helps industries identify persistent labour shortages in Malaysia with the annual report of MyMahir Malaysia Critical Occupations List (MyCOL). This report by TalentCorp provides insights for Malaysians, expatriates and investors into occupations that are critical to the country’s economic transformation and remain difficult to fill. Wong noted that attracting Malaysians abroad to return home also depends on creating the right economic conditions.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will not compromise on any form of misconduct or disciplinary breach amid allegations of unauthorised entry and immoral activities at a military camp. RMAF Chief Gen Datuk Seri Muhamad Norazlan Aris said a thorough investigation was underway and that stern action, including dismissal from service, would be taken against those found guilty. “Stern action will be taken in accordance with service regulations to safeguard the image, dignity and professionalism of the RMAF,” he said in a statement Wednesday, while expressing regret over the allegations. Muhamad Norazlan stressed that any form of immoral conduct within air bases was strictly prohibited, as it tarnished the image and dignity of the RMAF, adding that he viewed every issue involving the discipline and integrity of officers and personnel very seriously. Since last Sunday, claims have been circulating on social media alleging that immoral activities occurred in military camps involving outsiders and military officers.

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s mental health helpline – Talian HEAL 15555 – is ringing more than ever. CLICK TO ENLARGEClose to 91,000 calls were received in 2025, marking a twofold increase compared to the number of calls received by the mental health helpline in 2024 (42,990). It is also difficult to identify what caused the spike in calls, but we can see that many are more willing to seek help, alongside the destigmatisation of mental health issues. The Talian HEAL helpline also receives about 80 calls a day, according to the minister. Of the calls received between 2022 and 2025, Dzukefly said some 125,417 (77%) received emo­tional support, whereas 38,292 (23%) received special intervention measures from psychology counselling officers.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have set-up an all-Malaysian second round clash against Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin after powering into the home Open second round. The reigning world champions maintained their unbeaten record against Indonesia’s world No. 10 Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu by ousting the duo 21-12, 21-17 in 39 minutes at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday (Jan 6). It was Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s seventh consecutive win over Jafar-Felisha and assured Malaysia of a representative in the last eight. 21 Pang Ron-Su Yin, who earlier toppled Denmark’s Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje (No.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 6): Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (KL:IWCITY) has obtained approval from Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd for its proposed regularisation plan, which comprises a proposed debt settlement and a proposed capital reduction, to exit its affected listed issuer status. In a Bursa Malaysia filing on Tuesday, the property developer and construction group said the approval pertained to the company’s announcements dated March 20, 2025, Sept 22, 2025, and Sept 23, 2025, concerning the proposed regularisation plan. On June 10, 2022, the board of directors announced that the company was an affected listed issuer pursuant to Paragraph 8.03A(7)(b) of the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Securities, as it had insignificant business or operations due to its consolidated revenue representing less than 5% of its share capital. Previously, it was reported by local media that the company had proposed a regularisation plan involving the issuance of new shares to settle outstanding debts, a private placement, and a capital reduction to exit its affected listed issuer status. Read also:IWCity seeks fifth extension to deliberate IWH merger

KUALA LUMPUR: Capital A Bhd did not receive approval from Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd for an extension of time to complete its proposed share distribution. However, the distribution will still be implemented concurrently with the AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) private placement. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the company said that as announced on Dec 31, 2025, the distribution shares are intended to be allotted and issued by AAX concurrently with the placement shares to be issued pursuant to the AAX private placement. “The board intends to allot and issue the distribution shares soonest when they are allotted and issued concurrently with the AAX private placement.”For the avoidance of doubt, it said Capital A had proceeded to announce the entitlement date on the premise that there was sufficient time for the identified investors to provide the necessary documentation.

PUTRAJAYA: Umno has no intention of engaging in any “backdoor” (tebuk-atap) manoeuvres against the unity government prior to the next general election, says party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He added that Umno has made it clear on its position against such moves from the outset and it will carefully scrutinise all views expressed by Umno state representatives on the matter. He was responding to questions on whether Umno would revive its political cooperation with PAS and withdraw from the unity government to take on the role of the opposition. Last Saturday, Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Mohamad Akmal Saleh tabled two motions at a party youth special convention, calling for Umno to resume its cooperation with PAS and withdraw from the unity government to assume its role of the opposition. Ahmad Zahid also said that Umno does not wish to repeat past mistakes in forging cooperation with any opposition party.

(Jan 7): KKR & Co agreed to acquire Arctos Partners in a deal that would value the sports and secondaries investor at about US$1 billion and keep existing management in place, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The deal includes incentives for Arctos senior managers, including co-founder Ian Charles, that could boost the value closer to US$1.5 billion. Representatives for the National Football League, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association didn’t immediately reply to messages seeking comment. Acquiring Arctos, which has about US$15 billion of assets under management, gives KKR a foothold in two booming areas of private markets: sports and secondaries investing. KKR will use its balance sheet to acquire Arctos, which will be part of the asset management business, they said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Men’s doubles shuttlers Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun pulled off an impressive win over Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen to reach the Malaysian Open second round. Wei Chong-Kai Wun faced a tricky task against veterans Astrup-Rasmussen, who won silver and bronze in the World Championships in 2023 and 2025 respectively but put up a composed performance to claim a 21-17, 21-18 victory at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Tuesday (Jan 6) much to the delight of the home fans. The world No. 5 pair will next be looking to continue their good form when they take on Japan’s world No. 26 Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito.