Category: dpa international

Former Malaysia prime minister kicked out of wife’s corruption trial – dpa international

Rosmah Mansor shortly after arriving at Kuala Lumpur High Court on Feb. 6 2020 for the second day of her corruption trial (Simon Roughneen)

KUALA LUMPUR — Najib Razak, the former leader of South-East Asia’s third-biggest economy, was told by a judge on Thursday morning to leave the courtroom where wife Rosmah Mansor is on trial for corruption. Prosecution lawyers complained about Najib’s arrival at 68-year-old Rosmah’s second day of hearings at Kuala Lumpur High Court, saying that he is “a potential witness” in her trials. Judge Mohamad Zaini Mazlan then asked the former prime minister to leave. Mazlan cited “a risk of danger” and dismissed the defence team’s contention that Najib was being a “good husband” by supporting his wife in person. No complaint was raised by the defence when the former premier briefly joined Rosmah in court on Wednesday. Najib is facing multiple corruption charges in separate trials that started last year and is due back in court on Monday for his next hearing. 

After Airbus bribery claims, Air Asia shares bumped by Mahathir – dpa international

Tony Fernandes of Air Asia at the World Economic Forum in Myanmar n mid-2013 (Simon Roughneen)

KUALA LUMPUR — Shares in budget airline Air Asia rebounded to 1.25 ringgit (0.30 dollars) after comments on Thursday by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad about recent bribery allegations involving aircraft maker Airbus. Mahathir, 94, said that it was “normal” in deal-making to ask for an “offset” and that such arrangements were not corrupt unless money was taken for personal use. “Whether you consider an offset as bribery, it is up to you,” Mahathir told reporters after a meeting at the Education Ministry. Shares in the Malaysia-based airline, a household name across Asia, dropped from 1.41 to 1.13 ringgit on Wednesday after it was caught up in allegations that Toulouse-based Airbus bribed its officials to secure aircraft sales.

After delay, Malaysia’s former first lady in court for graft trial – dpa international

KUALA LUMPUR — Rosmah Mansor, known for her diamond-studded handbags and overseas shopping trips, on Wednesday faced the first hearing in what could prove a lengthy series of corruption trials. Today’s hearing saw Rosmah, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, accused of receiving an illicit 6.5-million-ringgit (1.6-million-dollar) payment related to a solar power contract in eastern Malaysia.  Prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram said that the 68-year-old former first lady “wielded considerable influence” on her husband’s government “by reason of her overbearing nature.” Rosmah arrived at Kuala Lumpur High Court shortly before 10 am (0200 GMT) and about an hour after Najib had arrived for one of his multiple corruption trials for alleged plunder of a state fund and abuse of office.

In jab at India, Pakistan pledges to buy more Malaysian palm oil – dpa international

KUALA LUMPUR — Pakistan plans to import more Malaysian palm oil to make up for losses incurred since India imposed informal restrictions on Malaysian imports last month. Speaking alongside visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan today, Malaysian Premier Mahathir Mohamad said Pakistan is “quite ready” to import more of the commodity from Malaysia. Khan in turn thanked Mahathir for speaking out against New Delhi’s policies in Kashmir, a disputed Muslim-majority region divided between India and Pakistan, and said his country will “try its best to compensate” Malaysia for India’s apparent retaliation. Mahathir has also accused the Indian government of discriminating against Muslims.

Malaysia’s trade with US up due to Chinese-American tensions – dpa international

Malaysia's Deputy Trade and Industry Minister Ong Kian Ming speaking a Feb. 4 2020 press conference to announce his country's 2019 trade statistics (Simon Roughneen)

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s trade with the US grew by 5.6 per cent to 164.45 billion ringgit (40 billion dollars) in 2019, government statistics released Tuesday show. The surge came despite an overall trade decline of 2.5 per cent during what Deputy Trade and Industry Minister Ong Kian Ming described as “a very challenging 2019”. Malaysia’s increased trade with the US was “to a large extent” a result of commerce being diverted from China because of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, Ong told dpa during a press conference announcing the 2019 trade data. “E and E exports to the US increased significantly,” Ong added, referring to electrical and electronic goods, of which Malaysia is the world’s seventh-largest manufacturer.