Young adults hardest hit by scams
KUALA LUMPUR: Young adults, aged between 21 and 30, formed the majority of victims of telecommunications fraud from January to November this year. There were 8,789 victims from this age category. Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) said in a statement shared on its Facebook page yesterday that a total of 28,698 telecommunications crime cases were reported nationwide during the period with losses amounting to RM715mil. “The 31 to 40 age group recorded the second highest number of victims, totalling 6,825, followed by those aged 41 to 50, involving 4,977 victims,” it said. Members of the public who fall victim to such crimes are advised to lodge a report with the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997, verify information through the Semak Mule portal and report the incident to the police for further action.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 02:38 UTC
No house arrest for Najib (Live Blog)
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak has to complete his imprisonment at the Kajang Prison following the High Court's decision that dismissed his judicial review on his bid to serve his sentence under house arrest. Justice Alice Loke, in her decision, said while the existence of the addendum order no longer became an issue, the order itself was not deliberated nor decided at the 61st Pardons Board meeting, held on Jan 29, 2024. ALSO READ: No discussion of house arrest order at Pardons Board meeting, says judgeShe said the addendum order did not comply with Article 42 of the Federal Constitution, and consequently became invalid. The judicial review is therefore dismissed," Justice Loke said here on Monday. The court did not make any order as to cost.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 02:35 UTC
MBJB to address street begging, homelessness
JOHOR Baru City Council (MBJB) wants to clear the city of street begging and homelessness in the countdown to Visit Johor 2026 (VJ2026) in January. Mohd Haffiz said the city council has received public complaints about the existence of street beggars and homeless folk in the city centre. An MBJB building in Jalan Kamunting, Kebun Teh, acted as a transit home, accommodating up to 50 residents at a time, he said. He added that the night flea market could attract more customers with programmes such as cultural shows, music events and street performances held at the two premises. Mohd Haffiz said MBJB would also discuss with Perbadanan Pengangkutan Awam Johor about free shuttle bus services to the new flea market site.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 02:25 UTC
Silence over DBKL’s 2026 budget raises concerns
WITH little over a week left in the year, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has yet to table its 2026 budget, an unusual delay that has raised concerns over transparency and accountability. Civic groups and several Kuala Lumpur MPs described the delay as worrying, citing DBKL’s large budget and its direct impact on residents’ daily lives. “This raises questions about transparency and public participation,” he said, adding that DBKL’s budget was larger than even some state governments, making public engagement and disclosure even more critical. “DBKL has not been transparent enough in its budget cycle, with public involvement largely ending at the budget town hall session. After Pakatan Harapan won the 14th General Election in 2018, Kuala Lumpur lawmakers were, for the first time, allowed to provide input on DBKL’s budget.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 02:13 UTC
No penalties for first year
PUTRAJAYA: The Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) will not impose penalties during the first year of the Self-Assessment Stamp Duty System (STSDS) for applications submitted from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2026, in efforts to ease duty payers into the new regime. It said the concession covers errors in Stamp Duty Return Form submissions, inaccurate information affecting stamp duty assessment, and offences identified under subsection 72D(2) of the Stamp Act. “The measure is intended to ease duty payers into the new system, encourage voluntary compliance and allow time to familiarise themselves with electronic self-stamping,” it said in a statement, Bernama reported.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 01:59 UTC
Woman-in-bag murder linked to financial row
Negri Sembilan deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm Muhammad Idzam Jaafar said preliminary investigations indicated that the victim and the main suspect were involved in an argument prior to the incident. “The conflict is believed to have stemmed from the victim allegedly asking the suspect for money,” he said. SAC Muhammad Idzam added that the main suspect was remanded and police were still recording his statement. “The fight was caused by financial issues and further investigations are still ongoing,” he said, Bernama reported. On Friday, SAC Muhammad Idzam said police arrested the main suspect in Genting Sempah, Pahang.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 01:53 UTC
Nine drugmakers strike deals with Trump
NEW YORK: President Donald Trump announced deals with nine pharmaceutical companies last Friday, the latest in a series of pacts designed to lower drug prices for some Americans in exchange for a three-year reprieve from threatened tariffs. “American drug prices will come down fast and furious, and will soon be among the lowest in the developed world,” Trump said during an event in the Oval Office. The programme is designed to cut review times from 10 to 12 months down to one or two months. In an aside, Trump also said he plans to call a meeting with insurance companies to see if they’ll lower prices, an issue he has focused on in recent days. The group welcomes “any opportunity to discuss common-sense solutions to lower costs for everyone,” AHIP CEO Mike Tuffin said in an emailed statement.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 01:33 UTC
New year calls for new laws
PETALING JAYA: A slew of new laws that will better protect consumers are set to come into effect next year. According to the Federal Gazette, the Online Safety Act will come into effect on Jan 1. With the amendments, the long-criticised flat rate and Rule 78 interest methods will be replaced with the reducing balance system and effective interest rate calculation. Consumer groups are looking forward to these laws but they also want the Lemon Law to be implemented. National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) senior manager Saral James Maniam said the new laws are a much-needed boost for consumer protection.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 01:29 UTC
Spat over ‘outsider’ food donor
Compiled by C. ARUNO, RAHIMY RAHIM and R. ARAVINTHANA MAN in a Hindu temple in Jalan Gasing, who was seen forcefully confiscating and throwing out food brought by a woman for annadanam (food offering) has drawn flak, Malaysia Nanban reported. In videos posted online, the woman is seen with packets of food she had brought for devotees visiting the well-known temple in Petaling Jaya. However, an unknown man rudely confronted and told her that outsiders cannot give annadanam “in our temple”. He is seen grabbing the items following an argument which caused the food to be spilled on the ground. Meanwhile, Malaysia Hindu Sangam president T. Ganesan issued a statement, urging all temples and temple officials to remember that they are serving the faith and the community.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 01:15 UTC
Phone scams are evolving
“As such, when attempts run into the billions, even a tiny success rate makes the economics work, which makes scams highly lucrative. He said a large number of scam calls originate from overseas and use voice-over-internet-protocol technology that allows calls to be generated cheaply before making its way here through international gateways. Raymon said this makes scam operations scalable and adaptable, enabling rapid rotation of numbers and routes when blocks are imposed. “The result is a shift from crude mass attempts to psychologically-tailored scams, making detection harder and scam attacks far more convincing,” Sundramoorthy said. The Communications Ministry also revealed that many of the phone scams rely on caller ID spoofing where fraudsters mask their true identity to display trusted or recognisable numbers.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 00:55 UTC
Long wait too taxing on SMEs
Ng noted that for many small business owners, business and household finances are closely linked, so prolonged refund delays also affect their families. SME Association of Malaysia president Dr Chin Chee Seong said SMEs treat tax refunds as part of working capital rather than a windfall. Both SME leaders welcomed the Prime Minister’s recent announcement to increase the tax refund allocation and updates from the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) on efforts to expedite processing. 'CLICK TO ENLARGE'SMEs have recently raised concerns about significant delays in tax refund payments, disrupting their cash flows and creating operational challenges. LHDN has said it has processed RM17bil in tax refunds this year, covering over 3.5 million cases, and is committed to disbursing the remaining RM2bil before the end of December.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 00:49 UTC
Rosman sees positives in testing season for Pearly-Thinaah
PETALING JAYA: The 2025 season has been a roller-coaster ride for women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, filled with highs, lows and plenty of challenges. Despite falling short at the World Tour Finals, losing to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto in the semi-finals on Saturday, national women’s doubles head coach Rosman Razak said he was pleased with their overall performance this year. Rosman highlighted that Pearly and Thinaah had a remarkable season, winning three titles at the Japan Masters, Arctic Open and Thailand Open, and finishing runners-up at the Japan Open, Indonesia Open and Indonesian Masters. They also made history as the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to reach the final of the World Championships, bringing home a silver medal. We have also learned a lot over the past two weeks, and now it’s time to focus on recovery ahead of the next season,” said Rosman.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 00:45 UTC
Move will attract more to install rooftop solar panels
PETALING JAYA: The Solar Accelerated Transition Action Programme, or Solar Atap, introduces greater flexibility and stronger market alignment, and will help to improve the overall attractiveness of rooftop solar adoption, say industry players. “The NEM framework played a pivotal role in establishing Malaysia’s rooftop solar market by enabling consumers to offset electricity consumption through self-generation. Sim said Solar Atap introduces market-based energy offset mechanisms and provides a more adaptive framework to support long-term rooftop solar growth. “This programme empowers consumers to optimise self-consumption while aligning rooftop solar development with national energy transition goals,” he said. As for residential consumers, he said more details are needed on the export rate applicable under Solar Atap.
Source:The Star
December 22, 2025 00:09 UTC
A towering display of our unity
GEORGE TOWN: Chingay may have originated with the Chinese community but today, the art form is practised by people of various backgrounds. Fuelled by the spirit of camaraderie, they stood shoulder to shoulder as they manoeuvred giant 10m-tall flagpoles along crowded streets during the Penang Chingay Parade 2025. The key is to be brave and never second guess yourself when executing stunts,” said the single mother of two after the event on Saturday. While practitioners may sometimes seem nonchalant in executing Chingay stunts, Jamil said they actually take safety seriously. This is what makes the event such a community event,” Jamil added.
Source:The Star
December 21, 2025 23:39 UTC
Singapore church evacuated after suspicious item found, mass services cancelled
SINGAPORE: St Joseph’s Church in Bukit Timah was evacuated after a suspicious item was found on Sunday (Dec 21) morning. An ambulance entering the premises on Dec 21. Police directing traffic away from the St Joseph’s Church on Dec 21. A check on the church’s website showed that mass services at 7.30am, 9.30am and 11.30am on Dec 21 have been cancelled till further notice. Church volunteers telling attendees that mass would be cancelled on Dec 21.
Source:The Star
December 21, 2025 20:40 UTC