Disheartening that reading still not a culture in Malaysia, says PM Anwar
He said this reality is at odds with the aspirations of the MADANI government, which is anchored on the values of conviction and a deep appreciation for knowledge.
'Reading has not yet become a culture in our country, and to me, that is disheartening. When we speak of a MADANI nation, it is one that is rooted in conviction and love for knowledge,' he said.
How can we claim to love knowledge if we only rely on speeches, opinions... sometimes filled with insults, but not grounded in knowledge?
'Reading just four lines or listening to two-minute rants on social media and forming conclusions, this world is challenging and it demands individuals with deep knowledge,' he said during his speech at the closing ceremony of the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair (PBAKL) 2025 here today.
Also present were Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka director-general Dr Hazami Jahari.
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Focus Malaysia
34 minutes ago
- Focus Malaysia
A case of 'Act of God, blaming silly soil in Putra Heights explosion
SO the Putra Heights gas pipe explosion was due to an 'Act of God', sorry, I mean an 'Act of Soil'. No politicians or developers were at fault, even though there was digging work for a construction project near the pipe. Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari revealed on June 30 that soil subsidence had happened since the PETRONAS gas pipeline was laid in 2000, causing it to sink by 15.9cm. So was the MB indirectly pointing the finger at PETRONAS for not maintaining the gas pipeline properly in those 25 years? Yet Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan declared there was no negligence, no sabotage and no mischief. Did that clear PETRONAS? So, we have yet another Malaysian disaster with ZERO human involvement. Let's all blame the silent soil that can't speak! I read many funny and sarcastic comments online about the 'real cause' of the tragedy. Here are some: 'Maybe the earthworms wrongly hit the gas pipe.' 'Bring the soil to court!!' 'Even the foreign grass cutters would have noticed if the soil was sinking.' Only in Malaysia. Floods: Blame too much rain. Landslides: Blame rain and weak soil. Gasipe explosion: Blame soil movement! 1MDB repeated? It's like 1MDB all over again — a great crime with 'no criminals' – as local authorities initially proclaimed. And now we have Malaysia's biggest industrial disaster – with no human fault. The only difference is that this is happening under a Madani, not Barisan Nasional (BN) government. On April 1, the fire from the PETRONAS gas pipeline saw flames shooting over 30m into the air with temperatures reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius. The surroundings became a hellfire landscape with 162 houses severely or partially damaged though incredibly no single life was lost.. So who is going to compensate residents for the damage and hardship? The soil? The Department of Occupational Safety and Health Department (DOSH) said the gas pipe met technical specifications but was not fully supported by the soil around it. This caused a weakness in the welded joint which then broke apart. The Minerals and Geosciences Department had also found that the pipe was located in 'waterlogged soil'. The presence of water had caused the soil to become loose, causing the pipe to sink. But something doesn't smell right. Even if soil is water-logged, why would it move when it's not on a slope but deep underground? No landslides were reported there. I'm sorry to say this but blaming 'water in soil' is like saying 'heavy rain from the heavens' caused the explosion. This sounds like the 'Act of God' excuse that the late Tun S. Samy Vellu used whenever disasters struck. The DOSH finding is very alarming because PETRONAS has 2,623km of gas pipelines supplying power and petrochemical plants plus other factories across Peninsular Malaysia. Since our country has heavy rains, how many pipes are in 'water-logged' soil? The Cilisos portal traced PETRONAS gas pipes online and the map shows that they pass areas of coastal Selangor that were once peat swamps bit now drained for padi fields. These soils become 'water-logged' during downpours. Cilisos also found many housing areas next to gas pipelines – some without the required 30m 'buffer zone'.\ Does PETRONAS need to stop transporting gas until every inch of pipeline is inspected and certified safe? Or should all residents living near such pipes sell their homes to avoid getting burnt alive? Is PETRONAS guilty? DAP Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin now insisted PETRONAS is still liable for the disaster even though ground instability was found to be 'the cause'. Yeo, a former oil and gas field engineer, further claimed that PETRONAS is responsible for ensuring its assets are in good condition and should compensate those affected by the fire. But there is one problem here – the Selangor police chief has already announced there was NO negligence, sabotage nor mischief. So how can PETRONAS be liable? Yet all these years before the Putra Heights disaster, there have been no explosions on over 2,000km of gas pipelines even though some surely pass through 'water-logged' soil. According to an expert familiar with pipeline safety, PETRONAS actually has a decent safety record. 'Gas pipelines are very robust and virtually indestructible. They have gauges at every junction.' 'If there is a leakage, this will trigger an alarm at the central command centre,' explained the expert. 'The pipe is monitored by Petronas with sound and pressure sensors. But the gas leak and ignition may have happened too fast before action could be taken.' The shops and excavator So what could have caused such a sudden gas leak? Shortly after the explosion, many netizens pointed to the building of shop lots near the accident site. In response, Subang Jaya mayor Datuk Amirul Azizan Abd Rahim told The Star that the shop development was legally sanctioned back in 2022. This included approvals to utilise the PETRONAS Right-of-Way (ROW) over the pipeline area. The contractor was also on an approved panel said the mayor. But we may have a 'smoking gun' clue to this great mystery, a big metal suspect. This is the infamous excavator at the site. Menteri Besar Amirudin initially said no excavators were found there. But he was forced to U-turn on this, claiming he was 'misunderstood'. He also denied that he was trying to 'protect' certain developers. This was after Selangor police chief Hussein confirmed in early April that excavation work for a sewage pipe was done 30m from the site but said police would need two more weeks to investigate if this had caused the blast. He promised the public then, 'No one will escape, and every party involved will be investigated.' Yet a few days later on April 7, Hussein was quoted by The Rakyat Post that there was 'no need to reveal the contractor's identity at this stage.' According to police statements, the contractor 'followed all standard operating procedures', including maintaining the approved 2.1-meter depth limit for the sewage pipe installation. Yet given that investigations were on-going then, so how did the police know that excavation SOP had been followed? On April 29, Hussein announced that this notorious excavator had been located buried using ground penetrating radar. And now, three months after the tragedy – when the soil is being blamed = the excavation contractor has STILL not been publicly revealed. The pipe safety expert commented, 'The soil subsided because digging was not supervised properly.' 'The same amount of soil extracted must be replaced with the same amount of soil filled. Otherwise, the soil will subside. It's basic soil mechanics.' So what's the conclusion? Unfortunately, it's to blame the stupid soil for not staying still. Blame the wicked water in the soil. Because humans are beyond blame when it comes to mysterious Malaysian disasters. – July 3, 2025
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Rafizi backs plans to develop Ambalat with Indonesia
Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli said the Ambalat block contains significant oil and gas reserves, which is especially crucial considering Petronas's declining output. PETALING JAYA : Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli says he supports Malaysia's plans to work with Indonesia to develop the disputed Ambalat area off the east coast of Borneo, amid claims by Perikatan Nasional that such joint ventures could jeopardise the nation's sovereignty. In a statement on X, Rafizi highlighted the importance of such joint development plans to the country's coffers. He said the Ambalat block contains significant oil and gas reserves, which is especially crucial considering Petronas's declining output. The Pandan MP said similar exploration efforts between Malaysia and Thailand in areas over which they had overlapping maritime claims had paid off handsomely as these projects now produce nearly one-third of Peninsular Malaysia's gas supply. 'Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto have, in principle, agreed to explore joint development between Malaysia and Indonesia to unlock the oil potential in Ambalat. 'I agree and support this. In fact, this was one of the matters I brought up when I was in the Cabinet. 'The federal government must engage in simultaneous discussions with both the Indonesian government and the Sabah government to ensure the state's interests are protected and that a fair share of the profits goes to the people there. 'But if this becomes a political football and the joint development plan stalls, the country and the people, from Sabah to Perlis, will continue to lose billions of ringgit in revenue every year at a time when our oil revenues are already in decline.' Malaysia and Indonesia have had overlapping claims over the waters of the Sulawesi Sea known as the Ambalat block – located between East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and southeast Sabah – since Malaysia published a map in 1979 showing the maritime border area within Malaysian waters. Anwar and Prabowo announced plans last week to jointly develop the Ambalat block in the Sulawesi Sea while continuing legal and diplomatic discussions on maritime sovereignty over the 15,000 sq km area. Yesterday, opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin, who served as home minister under former prime ministers Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob, claimed that a joint development agreement with a foreign country claiming maritime sovereignty over the area to be developed could jeopardise Malaysia's national interests. Muhyiddin, meanwhile, said developing the Ambalat block without a clear ruling on maritime borders by the International Court of Justice or other recognised legal bodies could set a dangerous precedent and this might be used in future to undermine Malaysia's claims over this and other disputed areas. In his post on X, Rafizi said that while PN had the right to oppose such plans, such objections should only be raised after examining the full merits of the case. 'Don't just oppose (such plans) blindly,' he said.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Anwar to spend two days in Paris on inaugural visit as PM
PARIS: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will spend two days here in his inaugural visit to this European city as prime minister. The visit, at the invitation of French president Emmanuel Macron, includes a tete-a-tete between the two leaders, followed by a delegation meeting at the Elysee Palace. Discussions will cover the overall state of Malaysia-France relations, with particular emphasis on enhancing cooperation in trade and investment, defence, education and tourism, among other things. Both leaders are also expected to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern including Asean-France Development Partnership, Asean-EU Dialogue Relations and the situation in West Asia. France is one of Malaysia's top five trading partners in the European Union and a key source of FDI in the high-tech and strategic sectors. In 2024, total trade between Malaysia and France amounted to RM15.95bil. After France, Anwar will visit Brazil.
