Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Barely a month in office, Malaysia’s new leader has won opposition support to shore up his fragile government in exchange for a slew of reforms as Parliament reopened Monday.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will sign an unprecedented cooperation pact later Monday with the main opposition bloc led by Anwar Ibrahim that will prevent any bid to undermine his rule ahead of general elections due in two years.

The pact will give Ismail the backing of 88 lawmakers in Anwar’s bloc, in addition to 114 that support him in the 222-member house.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. attempts to point fingers at China over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to fall flat, wrote a columnist in an article published on Malaysian media.

"Unsatisfied with authoritative WHO's findings that did not pinpoint Beijing, U.S. President Joe Biden commissioned a 90-day investigation, but to no avail. The creme de la creme of the Washington intelligence unit failed to substantiate the Wuhan lab leak theory with convincing evidence," M G Heng said in an opinion piece published in local news portal Malaysiakini.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 (NNN-Bernama) — Since Uzbekistan’s independence in 1991, its political role and status in the Central Asian region and in the international arena has increased gradually but significantly.

From the beginning, Uzbekistan – a landlocked country of some 34 million people – attached importance to an open, pragmatic and constructive foreign policy, strengthening close friendly relations and cooperation with all progressive countries.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia’s official stand on Taliban fighters’ takeover of Afghanistan will be decided at the weekly Cabinet meeting this Friday, said Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.

Saifuddin said Malaysia is engaging with all relevant stakeholders including the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and humanitarian groups in Afghanistan to seek their views and feedback on the issue in Afghanistan.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United States must work with China to find a global solution to end the raging COVID-19 pandemic, said renowned U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs in an interview with Malaysian media published on Sunday.

In an email interview with Malaysian newspaper the Star, Sachs said the global response to the pandemic has been wholly inadequate and one of the main geopolitical problems might have been the failure of the United States to work with China for global solutions.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Malaysia has appointed former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin as chairman of a council that will focus on economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the government chief secretary said on Saturday.

The cabinet had on Wednesday agreed to the minister-level appointment for Muhyiddin based on confidence in him to lead a recovery strategy to "achieve the best economic impact and restore the lives of people affected by the pandemic", the chief secretary said in a statement.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 (NNN-Bernama) — A total of 30 Cabinet ministers and 37 deputy ministers were sworn in before the King, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara here today.

The Queen, Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah was in attendance.

The new Cabinet line-up under Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration comprising 31 ministers including four senior ministers and 38 deputy ministers was announced last Friday.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is under self-quarantine after coming into close contact with a COVID-19 patient, the government said on Monday.

Ismail Sabri was not able to attend the swearing-in ceremony of his cabinet, which was held at the National Palace on Monday, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

It added that he would virtually attend the National Day Celebration scheduled for Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob unveiled his cabinet on Friday, forming a lineup similar to his predecessor with no deputy prime minister being named.

In a televised speech, Ismail Sabri said the ministers will have to prove themselves in a short space of time as the country is still grappling with the COVID-19 situation and its economic fallout.

"I will ensure this cabinet focuses on having a high-performance work culture. Therefore, each ministry must draft its short-term and long-term plans and achieve set goals."

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia’s National Heart Institute (IJN) became the first hospital in Asia to succeed in performing a new innovative heart valve treatment for patients suffering from tricuspid regurgitation or leaky heart valves.

IJN in a statement said the procedure was carried out on May 6 by its Heart Failure and Heart Transplant team and Cardiology Department.