Malaysia's plan for Middle East tensions in Dewan Rakyat focus
Published on: Tue, Jul 22, 2025
By: Bernama Text Size: The session will proceed with the first reading of the Poisons (Amendment) Bill 2025, followed by the second reading of the Street, Drainage and Building (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Whistleblower Protection (Amendment) 2025. - Bernama pic for illustration only. Kuala Lumpur: The government's short-term and long-term action plans to address geopolitical tensions in the Middle East will be a key focus in today's Dewan Rakyat sitting. According to the Order Paper, Mohd Sany Hamzan (PH-Hulu Langat) will raise the issue during the Minister's Question Time. Another significant topic involves Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee (PN-Beluran), who will question the Prime Minister on how the 2002 International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on Ligitan and Sipadan Islands could affect maritime boundary negotiations with Indonesia in the Sulawesi Sea, including sovereignty over blocks ND6 and ND7. During the oral answers session, Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman (PN-Bachok) will seek clarification from the Investment, Trade and Industry Minister on government measures to tackle US tariff issues involving state governments. Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Sh Mohmed Puzi Sh Ali (BN-Pekan) will ask the Agriculture and Food Security Minister about savings from subsidy cuts and their impact on the egg market. The session will proceed with the first reading of the Poisons (Amendment) Bill 2025, followed by the second reading of the Street, Drainage and Building (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Whistleblower Protection (Amendment) 2025. The Second Meeting of the Fourth Session of the 15th Parliament is set for 24 days, with the 13th Malaysia Plan slated for tabling on July 31. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
30 minutes ago
- The Star
Ukraine facing fierce fighting around eastern city of Pokrovsk, Zelenskiy says
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press briefing following phone calls with U.S. President Donald Trump, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Ukrainian forces were facing fierce fighting around the city of Pokrovsk in the east, a logistics hub near which Russia has been announcing the capture of villages on an almost daily basis. Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, told a meeting of senior officials that the situation around Pokrovsk was the current focal point of its attention in the war, which began when Russia invaded in February 2022. "All operational directions were covered, with particular focus on Pokrovsk. It receives the most attention," Zelenskiy said. Ukrainian forces, he said, were also "continuing to act" in border areas in the northern Sumy region, where Russian troops have gained a foothold in recent weeks. Syrskyi, in a separate report on the Telegram messaging app, described Pokrovsk and five other sectors as among the most difficult theatres along the 1,000-km (620-mile) front. "The Russian Federation is paying the maximum price for attempting a 'summer offensive,'" Syrskyi wrote. Russian forces have for months been trying to close in on Pokrovsk, a road and rail hub whose pre-war population of about 60,000 has been all but evacuated. Syrskyi in May reported that Kyiv's troops had stabilised the situation around the town, also the site of the only colliery in Ukraine producing coking coal for the country's steel industry. Russia's Defence Ministry on Thursday announced the capture of two villages on either side of Pokrovsk -- Zvirove to the west and Novoekonomichne to the east. A third village near the city -- Novotoretske -- was declared by Moscow to be "liberated" earlier in the week. Ukrainian officials have made no acknowledgement that the villages have changed hands. The General Staff of Ukraine's military said in an evening report that two of them -- Zvirove and Novoekonomichne - were in areas where Russian troops were trying to penetrate Ukrainian defences. In Sumy region, where Russian troops are trying to establish what Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin calls a "buffer zone", the popular Ukrainian military blog DeepState said Kyiv's forces had retaken a previously lost village. DeepState, which relies on open source reports to track the presence of Russian forces, said Ukrainian troops had restored control over the village of Kindrativka. There was no official comment from either side. (Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Ukraine anti-corruption chief says his agency faces 'dirty information campaign'
Semen Kryvonos, Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, speaks during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Yurii Kovalenko KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's top anti-corruption investigator said on Friday that he did not expect attempts to derail his agency's work to end, despite an abrupt U-turn by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on curbing their independence that fuelled rare wartime protests. Semen Kryvonos, director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), said he was taken aback by attempts this week to curtail his agency's fight against graft but did not name those who may have been behind the legislation. "Everyone united around the idea of ruining our independence," Kryvonos told Reuters in an interview in Kyiv, referring to parliament passing the controversial measures. "This was a shock for me - how much demand had built up to destroy us." He spoke a day after Zelenskiy sought to defuse tensions by submitting legislation restoring the independence of NABU and its sister agency, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). Thousands of protesters took part in protests in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities this week after lawmakers fast-tracked a bill granting a Zelenskiy-appointed general prosecutor power over the two bodies. The move had also threatened Kyiv's ties with the European Union and Western donors which have been a critical source of financial and military support during Russia's war in Ukraine. Kryvonos applauded Zelenskiy's reversal, but said NABU and SAPO remain a high-priority target for vested interests aiming to stymie their closely watched efforts to clean up. Parliament will consider Zelenskiy's new bill in a special session next week. But Kryvonos worries corrupt actors will step up a "dirty information campaign" already being waged against NABU on widely read anonymous Telegram channels, casting the agency as slow or ineffective. He did not identify the exact sources of resistance to his agency's work, saying only that they are "various representatives of the government, various financial groups". "Everyone who is offended by NABU and SAPO will be pushing out this message," Kryvonos said. 'SYSTEMIC WORK' AND THREATS Since Russia's February 2022 invasion, Ukraine has stepped up a campaign to eradicate the pervasive graft that has plagued its political culture for decades. Stamping out corruption is both critical to Kyiv's bid to join the EU and its effort to erase a legacy of autocracy and Russian rule. NABU and SAPO, launched with Western support after a 2014 revolution toppled a pro-Russian president, have levelled charges against lawmakers and senior government officials. In recent months, Kryvonos's agency has uncovered huge real estate schemes in the capital Kyiv and accused a then deputy prime minister of taking a $345,000 kickback. Kryvonos suggested such efforts had led to a sweeping crackdown this week that paved the way for the rollback of NABU's and SAPO's powers. Two NABU officials were arrested for suspected ties to Russia and nearly 20 other agency employees searched over lesser alleged infractions in a campaign critics said went too far. "All of this was a result of systemic work by NABU and SAPO, especially over the past half-year," he said, adding that he had also received "a huge amount" of threats. Despite winning a hard-fought victory this week, he said resistance was still widespread enough across the political landscape to pose a serious challenge. He cited the controversial law that had been supported by most of Zelenskiy's political party as well as opposition lawmakers and those associated with former pro-Russian factions. Political elites, Kryvonos said, "need to stop considering us as accept us as an important part of state institutions." (Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Barnama
5 hours ago
- Barnama
TNB Evaluating Legal Options After Receiving RM840 Mln Tax Notice
TNB Evaluating Legal Options After Receiving RM840 Mln Tax Notice KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 (Bernama) -- Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has received a Notice of Additional Assessment for the Year of Assessment (YA) 2022 amounting to RM840.12 million, dated July 24, 2025, from the Inland Revenue Board. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, TNB said that in light of the Federal Court's decision relating to a similar Notice of Additional Assessment issued for YA 2018, it is currently evaluating its available legal options to address the matter. "This evaluation takes into consideration that TNB has already submitted an application for Investment Allowance under Schedule 7B of the Income Tax Act 1967 (including those for YA 2022) to the Minister of Finance," it added. -- BERNAMA
