Timor-Leste, Zchwantech to seal landmark partnership to pioneer sovereign AI-powered digital nation

 

FOLLOWING a highly successful high-level delegation visit to Kuala Lumpur recently, the Timor-Leste government and home-grown technology architect Zchwantech Sdn Bhd have unveiled the formation of a strategic partnership to co-develop a sovereign, AI (artificial intelligence-powered national digital ecosystem.

This would mark a significant milestone in Timor Leste’s digital transformation strategy outlined in Timor Digital 2032.

“Zchwantech is well-positioned to support Timor-Leste’s digital transformation by delivering end-to-end capabilities from sovereign infrastructure and cybersecurity to AI-driven platforms and governance frameworks,” enthused Zchwantech chairman Datuk Seow Gim Shen.

“Our role is to enable the development of secure, future-ready national systems grounded in sovereignty, resilience and long-term nation-building.”

Beyond system delivery, Zchwantech will focus on effective transfer of technology and operational know-how, according to its executive director Alex Chan.

“We aim to work alongside Timor-Leste’s institutions to ensure local teams are equipped to operate, manage and progressively enhance these digital platforms. This approach supports long-term sustainability while allowing solutions to expand in step with national priorities.”

As a start, a feasibility study will be conducted for a National Sovereign AI Cloud and Data Centre which is designed to Tier 3+ standards and located within Timor Leste.

Digital boom

This in-country infrastructure is intended to underpin the youngest ASEAN member’s national digital services, thus ensuring data sovereignty, cybersecurity and long-term operational resilience.

Building on this foundation, the collaboration will explore the development of an AI-Enhanced National Digital Identity System (Digital ID) that integrates advanced biometrics and artificial intelligence.

Envisioned as a unified digital key, the Digital ID platform aims to enable secure access to public services, social benefits and financial systems, strengthening inclusion and governance.

As part of this effort, the Zchwantech-Timor Leste partnership will assess Secure and Smart Border Management solutions, including automated passport control through e-Gates, advanced biometric verification and predictive analytics.

These solutions are intended to enhance national security while improving traveller processing efficiency and the overall tourism experience.

The scope of cooperation will initially prioritise foundational national digital capabilities with future phases potentially extending to selected public service innovation initiatives spanning smart healthcare, AI optimised agricultural logistics, predictive maintenance for public infrastructure and personalised digital education platforms across key ministries.

In parallel, the partnership will study the establishment of a Digital Trade Facilitation Corridor, including the implementation of a National Single Window and AI-driven logistics platforms to streamline customs procedures, reduce trade costs and improve cross-border efficiency.

In the words of Timor Leste’s Chief of Staff for its State Administration Minister, Benigno Humberto Gregorio Da Cruz, Timor-Leste is embarking “on a decisive journey where technology empowers our people and accelerates our development”.

“Our partnership with Zchwantech is a strategic choice to build sovereign capability. We are co-creating a secure digital foundation that will serve our citizens equitably and propel our nation toward its goals under the Timor Digital 2032 vision,” he added. –  Focus Malaysia

Hijab wearing lady gets instant infamy for drinking alcohol on video

 

IF NOT because of Adam and Eve stealing a bite from the forbidden fruit, humanity would not be on earth suffering for their sins. 

We can never understand why the forbidden things are so irresistible and delicious—alcohol, incest, cheating, and all the behaviour associated with sin.

The only consolation for Adam and Eve was the fact that they did not have a handphone to record them in the act of eating the forbidden fruit. Sin is best committed under wraps, away from the prying eyes of the judgemental public.

And for those who do not observe this golden rule, woe betide them. Take for example a recent video post on X by netizen @update11111 where a lady wearing a hijab could be seen drinking from a can of Carlsberg.

The video can be found at: https://x.com/update11111/status/2003451943151370682?s=20

Little did she know, the invisible angel sitting on her shoulder is taking notes while making imperceptible noises of disapproval. What’s not invisible was the many netizens who hurled condemnation towards the lady and the person who recorded the video.

Looking through the internet, we can see that the same video had been posted several times over by many other netizens. “How would you feel if we urinated at your temple. That is how the muslims feel now. Stupid,” said @zackbellingham.

Another netizen pointed out that the real insult was the fact that the hijabi lady in the video was in fact a Chinese male wearing the hijab.

Now that this was mentioned, we do note that the lady has a prominent chin, not forgetting her masculine facial features. If this is true, then the man and the video recorder are playing with fire. 

Note that the video was originally recorded by a lady who owned a hair salon which we find inappropriate to reveal. The hair salon has since offered an apology via a statement:

Netizen @riadz_akmal added that the social media account had already been deactivated. — Focus Malaysia

Pitting palace against judiciary a dangerous trend to get Bossku out of prison

 

THE Kuala Lumpur High Court has delivered its verdict and it should be accepted with an open mind: former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak must stay behind bars for the rest of his six-year jail term. There is no house arrest for him.

Judge Alice Loke Yee Ching ruled on Monday (Dec 22) that the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal decree on the house arrest was invalid under the law.

So Najib’s bid to get out of Kajang Prison based on the royal addendum order has failed and the whole saga should have ended peacefully.

But the unambiguous judgement has only inflamed passions, especially among diehard UMNO supporters who regard their Bossku as being the victim of an unfair trial.

Najib has been serving his time in prison since August 2022 after he was convicted of misappropriating RM42 mill belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd.

He was originally sentenced to 12 years in jail but the Federal Territories Pardon Board halved the sentence last year.

Pitting court of law against palace

Nevertheless, justice has been served and Najib, 72, paid for his crime but now the whole narrative has been twisted to portray him as the victim of injustice.

An even more dangerous trend is to get the palace involved to overturn Loke’s ruling because the verdict meant the powers of the Malay rulers have been reduced.

This is an ingenious line of thought that could have serious repercussions as it pits the royalty against the judiciary. In future, any court ruling can be overturned by virtue of the power of a royal decree.

To give it a racial slant, it has been argued that it is pointless to be Malay-Muslim leaders if they allowed the powers of the Malay rulers to be reduced by a court headed by someone not from the dominant race.

But the judiciary must always stay beyond reproach to give true meaning to its independence and integrity in a parliamentary democracy.

When justice is delivered on a person for any crime committed and is sentenced to a prison term, it must be seen as justice served and not as an unfair treatment meted out to the guilty party.

Unfortunately, in the case of Najib, certain quarters thought it fit to see hidden hands behind the court ruling. One politician even went so far as to imply that the dismissal of Najib’s appeal is the work of “political machination”.

It is not clear what is meant by “political machination”. Does it mean that perhaps Putrajaya is tugging the strings to influence the court? Or that the governing coalition does not want to see Najib returning to the political arena in time for the 16th General Election (GE16)?

Or is it all the work of the DAP bogeyman perennially the punching bag of PAS and UMNO?

False sense of justice

UMNO is still under the illusion that its former boss can one day return as a hero to lead the battered party again to its former days of glory. Some partisans steadfastly believed that his nine-year record of service as premier stands him in good stead to reclaim his lost throne.

But all have conveniently forgotten that Najib has tarnished his record by one heinous crime that has also given Malaysia a bad name at home and abroad. He is no more a man of honour but a convicted felon.

If the 10-term former Pekan MP were to stage a political comeback, he can only count on the support of a broken party and not the public at large who will most assuredly reject him at the ballot box.

Still, UMNO will not throw Najib under the wheel and will do everything it can to save him from political oblivion.

All eyes will be on the palace for a favourable response but it might be an exercise in futility because His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia has made his stance clear upon ascending the throne: he has zero tolerance for corruption.

The king reportedly said: “I’m going to hunt all the corrupt people. I make sure I bring results.”

Najib has already been hunted down and is languishing in his cage – a prized catch for all those who are fighting hard to get rid of the cancer of corruption from the body politics of Malaysia. 

Editor’s Note: Aside from the 12-year imprisonment and RM210 mil fine which have since been reduced by the Pardons Board to six years and RM50 mil respectively for his SRC International case, Najib is awaiting another major verdict.

On Friday (Dec 26) a.k.a. Boxing Day, presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah will deliver his decision in the last on-going criminal case against Najib pertaining to the 1MDB scandal.

Najib is facing four charges of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering amounting to about RM2.2 bil misappropriated from the state-owned strategic development outfit, 1Maaysia Development Bhd.

Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.

Raising delivery prices alone won’t solve logistics challenges, warns rights activist

 

A CONSUMER rights activist has criticised the proposal to impose a minimum delivery price for courier services, saying such a measure does not address the underlying challenges faced by Malaysia’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and online sellers.

While several quarters have highlighted the difficult operating conditions faced by courier operators, Consumer Choice Center representative Tarmizi Anuwar stressed that delivery reliability is a critical issue for MSMEs.

“For sellers, delivery reliability directly affects customer trust, cart conversion, and repeat purchases,” he stressed.

“Delays, missed pickups, stagnant tracking updates, and unpredictable routing are already common. When deliveries go wrong, customers blame the seller not the courier.”

Tarmizi Anuwar

Warning that introducing a price floor does not guarantee improved service, Tarmizi pointed out that higher delivery fees do not automatically translate into better or more reliable services, adding that without structural reforms, raising prices risks rewarding substandard performance while eroding the thin margins of MSMEs.

The statement emphasised that past coverage focusing on cost benchmarking, transparency, and collaborative efforts resonated more with MSMEs because these approaches addressed operational realities.

In contrast, the recent push for price intervention shifts the narrative away from competitiveness, scale, and innovation toward measures that may resemble protectionism.

“Temporary relief for some operators will not solve the core issues sellers face: inconsistent service quality, opaque problem-resolution processes, and rising customer expectations,” Tarmizi continued.

“A truly competitive and future-ready logistics sector cannot be built by making deliveries more expensive while leaving the system itself unchanged.”

Calling for policymakers to consider solutions that support both sellers and buyers, Tarmizi said, “Malaysia’s MSMEs drive a significant share of the digital economy. Any solution affecting logistics costs must address reliability and efficiency, not just prices, to strengthen the sector sustainably.” ‒  Focus Malaysia