Group wants action against student dropped; Onn: Release Johor-Singapore economic plan

 

Student activism

• Sekretariat Mansuh AUKU has submitted a letter of protest to the Higher Education Ministry pertaining to two Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) students reportedly facing disciplinary actions for participating in peaceful protests.

  The group demanded that the disciplinary action proceedings against the duo be dropped immediately and that the ministry provide written assurance that students will not face disciplinary action for peacefully raising issues of public interest.

  

  The Higher Edcuation Ministry building

  It also urged a circular to be issued directing universities to stop all forms of intimidation and pressure against students involved in public advocacy and civil society movements.

  Sekretariat Mansuh AUKU further called for the abolition of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 and urged MPs to take a stand on the matter and raise it in Parliament.

Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone 

• The Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) Master Plan is ready and should be released immediately, said Johor caretaker menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

  In a Facebook statement, he said that the plan has already been completed and that announcing it without further delay is necessary to sustain Johor’s economic momentum.

  

  Caretaker Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi

  Onn lamented that the repeated postponements are unjustified and pointed out that the master plan was initially due to be unveiled at the end of 2025, then rescheduled for March 30, 2026, only to be delayed once again.

  “There is no need to wait until the leaders’ retreat at the end of this year to launch the master plan, as it does not require the approval of the Singapore government. In fact, the relevant agencies from Singapore, Malaysia, and Johor have already provided their input and feedback.

  “The JS-SEZ is of critical importance to Bangsa Johor. The Johor state government appeals to and urges the federal government not to delay this matter any further,” he added.

State economy

• Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said the state accounted for 26.5 percent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025, with the state’s economy rising to RM460.1 billion after an expansion of RM28 billion.

  He said this growth was more than double that recorded by any other state, and exceeded projections made by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and the Selangor Research Institute, which had estimated the economy at RM455.3 billion.

  

  Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari

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  He said Selangor’s economic performance also outpaced the national economy, recording 6.3 percent growth compared with Malaysia’s overall growth rate of 5.2 percent.

  He added that the expansion was driven by three main sectors: services (RM15.9 billion), manufacturing (RM5.3 billion), and construction (RM3.7 billion).

  Amirudin said Selangor’s contribution now includes 35.9 percent of national construction activity, 32.8 percent of manufacturing activity, and 27.1 percent of services activity nationwide. - Mkini