Earlier, Trump invoked his authority under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a 15% tariff. “We do not know whether the US Congress will agree with the Supreme Court or have differing views. Anwar said the government does not want to make any hasty decisions that could potentially jeopardise the country’s trade interests as the US is a key trading partner. He was responding to a question by Datuk Rosol Wahid (PN-Hulu Terengganu) on Malaysia’s position after the Supreme Court’s decision. This is quite clear, in my understanding, that maintaining any existing provisions does not override Malaysia’s national security or economic interests,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Learning Matrix (MPM) for Year Four pupils will assess students’ progress in literacy, numeracy and basic scientific skills, says Wong Kah Woh. Wong said the MPM would begin for Year 4 this year and for next year for Form 3 students. Wong said PBD is a key assessment tool to obtain information on students’ development, progress, abilities, and level of mastery of the curriculum objectives. “PBD plays a critical role in providing a clear picture of students’ mastery of the Learning Standards outlined in the curriculum. Through this process, teachers can systematically collect information, conduct analysis, and continuously reflect to monitor students’ progress,” he said.

KOTA KINABALU: A resort offering pangolin soup and meat for an "exquisite" experience for tourists is going to pay expensively after authorities swooped in on their illegal activities. In an integrated crackdown dubbed Ops Khazanah on Feb 23, Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) officials together with the police had raided a resort in Semporna district, after getting information of the operators storing and serving the protected species. “During the raid, a live pangolin as well as several pots containing cooked pangolin in herbal soup were found,” SWD director Soffian Abu Bakar said in a statement, Tuesday (Feb 24). Three individuals were also arrested to facilitate probes under the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, he said. “We are stepping up patrols and enforcement to protect our wildlife in Sabah,” he added.

COMMUNITY leaders in Brickfields are calling for the iconic Little India enclave to be designated a “no-banner zone”, following recent enforcement action against a local restaurant for illegal advertising. The fine was issued under Advertisement By-Laws (Federal Territory) 1982. Rajendran says a ‘no-banner zone’ will only work if monitoring is constant. StarMetro previously reported that DBKL carries out monthly enforcement operations, removing between 25,000 and 30,000 illegal banners and bunting on average. Such advertisements fall under Advertisement By-Laws (Federal Territory) 1982 as well as Vandalism By-Laws (Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur) 1991.

The lower rate is in line with the universal rate imposed on all countries under US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff regime, implemented using Section 122 legislation. Thus far, Trump has imposed Section 232 tariffs on sectors such as steel, aluminium, automobiles, copper, timber, and advanced semiconductors. Sector-wise, Khaw maintained that the local semiconductor and electronics industry remains the most vulnerable due to Section 232 tariffs. “We already saw and priced in the worst-case scenarios when the tariff rate imposed on the country was at 19%. Hence, it is unlikely that the situation – even as more developments unfold in the coming days – will worsen beyond that, particularly as the global tariff rate is now 15%.

“At this stage, there is no evidence that these deep earthquakes mean increased earthquake danger for Sabah,” Prof Tongkul, who is with UMS’s Natural Disaster Research Centre, said when contacted. Because it was so deep, the shaking felt on the ground was generally mild and spread over a wide area. Sometimes, the stress becomes too great, and a deep earthquake occurs,” he added. Prof Tongkul explained that these deep earthquakes differ from shallow earthquakes such as the 2015 Ranau earthquake. The latest quake is dubbed the strongest registered in Malaysia in 11 years, since the 2015 Ranau earthquake (6.0-magnitude, which claimed 18 lives.

WASHINGTON (Feb 24): Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek's latest artificial intelligence (AI) model, set to be released as soon as next week, was trained on Nvidia's most advanced AI chip, the Blackwell, a senior Trump administration official said on Monday, in what could represent a violation of US export controls. But China hawks fear chips could easily be diverted from commercial uses to help supercharge China's military and threaten US dominance in AI. "This shows why exporting any AI chips to China is so dangerous," said Chris McGuire, who served as a White House National Security Council official under former president Joe Biden. The technique known as distillation involves having an older, more established and powerful AI model evaluate the quality of the answers coming out of a newer model, effectively transferring the older model's learnings. The Information previously reported that DeepSeek had smuggled chips into China to train its next model.

“Back home, the fasting practices vary from family to family. Liu, who is a postgraduate student pursuing education management, said the Ramadan bazaars are among the highlights of the fasting month. In Malaysia, Sana mentioned that she and her family felt welcomed as they observed fasting and fulfilled other Islamic obligations without attracting undue attention. Experiencing the accessibility of mosques here, the community gatherings, and the always-crowded bazaars has been really cool because these types of things do not really exist in Canada,” she said. Since relocating to Malaysia, Sana also described how Ramadan in the country has subtly reshaped daily rhythms.

Regional currencies were steady against a broadly flat dollar index as investors assessed the global trade impact of renewed turbulence surrounding US President Donald Trump's tariff regime. The MSCI index of emerging Asian equities climbed 0.7% to a record peak, buoyed by a 2.1% rise in South Korea's Kospi and a 2.7% gain in Taiwan stocks. Despite the broad weakness, South Korean shares extended their rally, moving closer to the 6,000-point milestone. Taiwan stocks extended their advance to a record high of 34,707.02 points, with top contract chipmaker TSMC up 4%. Singapore stocks lost 0.7%.

(Feb 24): Bitcoin extended its decline on Tuesday (Feb 24), putting the token on course for its steepest monthly drop since the industry suffered a slew of corporate collapses in 2022. It’s now down more than 19% in February, set for its worst monthly performance since June 2022. Bitcoin is also on track for a fifth straight monthly decline, its longest losing streak since 2018 — another bruising period for crypto markets defined by the unravelling of an initial coin offering boom. “President Trump’s decision to raise global tariffs to 15% rattled risk assets broadly and Bitcoin moved with them,” said Rachael Lucas, crypto analyst at BTC Markets. Conversely, a fall to below the US$58,000 to US$60,000 support zone “would likely open the door to a deeper pullback,” Sycamore wrote.

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24): Tropicana Corp Bhd (KL:TROP) inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Signature International Bhd and EDCA Energy on Tuesday to offer home renovation and solar panel system packages respectively, to buyers of Avisa Residences at Tropicana Alam. Under the collaboration, Signature is offering seven curated and flexible home enhancement packages, with prices starting from RM20,800. Buyers can settle their selected packages via a six- to 18-month instalment scheme prior to the commencement of renovation works. EDCA Energy is offering two solar packages under its Solar Accelerated Transition Action Programme (Solar ATAP) — an eight-panel and a 12-panel option priced from RM14,299 to RM19,999. The company started the Solar ATAP programme for users to be able to backflow excess energy for further use and may expand the programme if demand is encouraging.

(Feb 24): Pfizer Inc has acquired exclusive rights to commercialise an obesity therapy in China, strengthening its push into the fast-growing weight loss market. It “accelerates Pfizer’s long-term strategic planning in the metabolic space and meets the growing needs of Chinese patients,” Jean-Christophe Pointeau, Pfizer’s China president, said in the statement. He noted that obesity affects 14.1% of Chinese adults and has been prioritised under the government’s Healthy China campaign. In a late-stage study, ecnoglutide spurred weight loss on par with Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. Under the deal with Pfizer, Sciwind will still be responsible for the development, registration, manufacturing and supply of the drug.

IN a higher education landscape shaped by rapid technological change and rising global competition, awards are more than symbols of prestige. “At APU, our leadership, led by chief executive officer and co-founder Datuk Parmjit Singh, has consistently positioned us as a future-ready institution. The result is momentum — evident in APU’s repeated wins in categories such as Best Tech University, Best AI University, Best Future-Ready University and Employer’s Choice of University. At APU, recognition is not the goal — it is the natural outcome of a higher education designed with purpose, relevance, and real-world impact. Each element reinforces the next, creating a virtuous cycle where excellence generates recognition, and recognition fuels ambition.

KUALA LUMPUR: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, granted an audience to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday (Feb 24). During the session, His Majesty was presented with the latest developments concerning the administration of the federal government and discussions were held on current issues of national interest. According to a post on His Majesty's official Facebook page, the meeting between His Majesty and the Prime Minister took place at Istana Bukit Tunku here.

This year, the Chinese New Year coincides with the start of Ramadan, a cycle that comes every 30 years. This means Malaysians will be jointly celebrating Chinese New Year and Ramadan for the next few years, culminating with a Kongsi Raya in 2029 and 2030. Chinese New Year and Ramadan this year come at the right time, with their messages of faith, love, peace, understanding and fortitude. Just like with Hindu temples, you can worship as you please and set up temples, but follow the rules. Let us not forget that there are many Muslims among the Chinese and Indians, too.