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Malaysia

Malaysia’s Bakun dam online but criticisms persist

The first turbine is spinning, electricity is pulsing out, and the water level is climbing in the Borneo jungle behind Malaysia’s huge $2.2 billion Bakun hydroelectric dam.
But questions continue to swirl around the viability of a project described by critics as a graft-plagued human and ecological disaster — and as opposition mounts against [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 28, 2011

Japanese woman to hang in Malaysia for drugs

A Malaysian court sentenced a Japanese woman to death on Tuesday for smuggling methamphetamine into the country in what an official said was the first such case involving a citizen of Japan.
A high court in Shah Alam near the capital Kuala Lumpur found Mariko Takeuchi guilty of drug trafficking, said a court [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 25, 2011

Choi holds off Tseng to win in Malaysia

South Korea’s Choi Na-Yeon held off a hard-charging world number one Yani Tseng to win the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia in an exciting finish at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club on Sunday.
The world number four carded a nervous 3-under 68 to finish on 15-under 269 to claim the top prize of $285,000.
Taiwan’s Tseng, [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 17, 2011

Malaysia Unveils Plan for Handouts

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak unveiled a government spending plan for 2012 that pledged cash handouts and more benefits for ordinary Malaysians, while also shoring up the country’s finances and reining in its budget deficit at a time of global economic uncertainty.
Political analysts said Mr. Najib had at least one eye on [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 8, 2011

Malaysia to start security law reforms next week

Malaysia will move to abolish two minor security laws next week but wait to scrap the tougher Internal Security Act (ISA) until next year, the prime minister said.
Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged last month to abolish the dreaded ISA, which allows indefinite detention without trial, and reform other laws which opposition leaders and activists have long criticised as outdated and cruel.
Najib [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 1, 2011

Baghdatis back to winning ways in Malaysia

Cypriot crowd-pleaser Marcos Baghdatis began the Malaysian Open with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 win over American sixth seed Alex Bogomolov on Monday.
Bogomolov, 28, has been in the form of his life this season, with career-best third-round appearances at both Wimbledon and the US Open.
But Baghdatis, 26, once ranked eighth in the world, claimed victory in [...]

Read More » No commentSeptember 27, 2011

Debutant Almagro top seed in Malaysia

The Davis Cup has taken a severe toll on the ATP Malaysian Open starting Monday, with Spain’s Nicolas Almagro taking over as top seed after the withdrawal of world number nine Tomas Berdych.
Berdych, who helped the Czech Republic remain in the Davis Cup World Group, is suffering with a nagging shoulder problem that forced him [...]

Read More » No commentSeptember 26, 2011

Malaysia PM seeks to quash Anwar trial subpoen

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife applied Wednesday to quash a subpoena ordering them to testify in the sodomy trial of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, the premier’s lawyer said.
Anwar, 64, is charged with sodomising a young male aide in June 2008, a charge he says was cooked up with Najib’s involvement in a [...]

Read More » No commentSeptember 22, 2011

Malaysia suspends anti-graft officers after death

Malaysia’s anti-corruption force on Saturday suspended three officers who are alleged to have broken rules when investigating a political aide who later died in a suspected suicide.
The suspension order came two days after an inquiry announced that Teoh Beng Hock jumped from the offices of the country’s anti-graft body following [...]

Read More » No commentJuly 24, 2011

Finland’s Granberg wins in Malaysia

Finland’s Joonas Granberg fired a closing round of six-under-par 66 to edge out Thai teenager Panuphol Pittayarat and win the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters in Malaysia on Saturday.
The 24-year-old rookie, who set a new course record 62 in the opening round, became only the second Finnish victor on the Asian Tour with [...]

Read More » No commentJuly 24, 2011