Amir Yusof

Continuing entrenched petrol subsidies may undermine Putrajaya's long-term fiscal health but cutting them could provoke significant backlash against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's government, say experts.

“Even small leakages effectively become a transfer of public funds beyond Malaysia's borders,” says an economist.

Drawn by lower costs and the dream of building something of their own, some Singaporeans have ventured into farming in Johor. They share their advice and experiences with CNA.

Singaporean couple Ashraf Bakar and Nabilah Bagarib traded their city life for farm life in 2015, when they left their corporate jobs to start a sheep farm in Johor. Since then, they have expanded their business and now own several farms in the region.

Speaking to reporters on Friday (May 8), Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has also pledged that Malaysia will adopt a more “proactive approach” to ensure immigration glitches do not recur ahead of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) launch.

Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (second from left), UMNO deputy president Mohamad Hasan (left) and UMNO

Speaking at a Pakatan Harapan (PH) convention, PM Anwar Ibrahim suggested that Barisan Nasional's announcement that it would go solo in contesting upcoming Johor state polls was akin to threats that could amount to “betrayal” to their unity government partnership.

Companies like Gardenia, Yeo’s and APB Singapore are moving production operations from Singapore to Malaysia. While boosting investment, this could intensify competition for labour, industrial land and other limited resources, say observers.

This decision has been made with the intention of ensuring that the people of Johor continue to have a stable and strong government, said Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

Speaking at a special lecture in Singapore, Minister Hakan Fidan touched on Israel and the Middle East conflict, finding alternative connectivity routes to the Straits of Hormuz and Ankara's foreign policy approach in Southeast Asia.