Category: Malaysia In The News

By Robin BrantBBC News, Kuala Lumpur Millions of people in Malaysia have been banned from doing yoga because of ears it could corrupt Muslims. The Islamic authorities have issued a ruling, known as a fatwa, instructing he country’s Muslims to avoid yoga because of its Hindu roots. To most people yoga is simply a sport… Continue reading Malaysia clerics issue yoga fatwa

By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer   Tuesday, November 25 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Before banning Muslims from performing yoga, Malaysia’s top Islamic body should have first consulted the country’s nine hereditary sultans who are considered upholders of Islam here, one sultan said Monday. The unprecedented comment bordering on rebuke by Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah… Continue reading Malay royal questions ban on yoga for Muslims

The writer is a Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.   Written by Dr ooi Kee Beng Published in The Malaysian Insider, quoting TODAY   NOV 8 — During his five years in power, corruption in the government’s inner organs was one of the major ills that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad… Continue reading Is corruption like the common cold, or like AIDS?

Written by Straits Times (Singapore)Published by The Malaysian Insider October 29, 2008 SINGAPORE, Oct 29 – Malaysia is rated as “high risk” while Singapore is well-positioned to weather the economic slowdown because of its political and social stability, says Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy. Its analysts ranked Singapore as having the least political… Continue reading Weathering the financial crisis: Malaysia rated among ‘most risky’

Written by Business Times (Singapore)Published by The Malaysian Insider October 20, 2008 Malaysia should cut spending, reassess fuel subsidy, energy policies KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 – While Malaysia will likely escape a recession this year, next year is harder to call. Although one of the stronger economies in the region, it is a major trading… Continue reading Taking stock in a global turmoil

By Robin Brant BBC News, Kuala Lumpur  Abdullah Badawi said he had not been forced out. Mr Badawi (standing) is due to step down in March   When I asked him if he regretted being pushed, he gestured to the man sitting beside him, his deputy and heir Najib Razak, and to the other politicians… Continue reading How Malaysia’s PM fell from grace

Written by Straits Times (Singapore) Published by The Malaysian InsiderOctober 10, 2008 KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 – It is testament to Malaysia’s long drawn-out political instability that even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s unambiguous pledge to retire in March is being met with scepticism. This was partly because he used ambiguous words during… Continue reading Abdullah’s move to step down will bring stability, but for how long?

Written by The AgePublished by The Malaysian Insider October 8, 2008 OCT 8 – Delmonico’s, near Wall Street, is a bit like ‘The Restaurant at the End of the Universe’ in Douglas Adams’ book of the same name. Get a window seat there right now and you can watch the universe end while you await… Continue reading Government is crumbling, but the Opposition is stumbling

Written by various News Agencies Published in The Malaysian Insider September 23, 2008 KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — A prominent political blogger was jailed for two years under a strict security law that can keep him in prison indefinitely, a lawyer said today. Online commentator Raja Petra Kamarudin, known for his anti-government views, was already… Continue reading Raja Petra detained for 2 years

document.write(parent.prscreen) Published by ST (Singapore) September 18, 2008 KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — After all the hype in Malaysia, Sept 17 turned out to be more eventful than Sept 16. A day after opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim failed to topple the government, a change occurred at the top. The Cabinet reshuffle yesterday saw… Continue reading Transition or appeasement?