Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal says he left before the voting because he disagreed with the proposed law, while Julau MP Larry Sng says he was stuck in traffic.
Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal said he disagreed with the bill, while Julau MP Larry Sng said he would have voted in its favour if he had not been delayed.
PETALING JAYA: Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal confirmed tonight that he did not turn up to vote for a bill that would limit the prime minister’s tenure to 10 years.
Syed Hussin said he decided to skip the vote because he disagreed with the proposed law.
“I want Anwar Ibrahim to remain as prime minister for as long as possible,” Syed Hussin, who pledged his support for Anwar in 2024, told FMT.
Earlier today, FMT reported that Syed Hussin was among the eight MPs from the government bloc absent during the vote on the bill.
The other seven were Hishammuddin Hussein (Sembrong), M Saravanan (Tapah), Larry Sng (Julau), Henry Sum Agong (Lawas), Suhaimi Nasir (Libaran), Riduan Rubin (Tenom) and former Sabah deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan (Keningau).
Sng also confirmed his absence from today’s vote.
“I was on my way back to Parliament from an engagement but was stuck in traffic,” he said, adding that he supported the bill.
The Dewan Rakyat failed to pass a constitutional amendment to limit the prime minister’s tenure after the vote fell short of the required two-thirds majority.
In the bloc vote, 146 MPs supported the bill, 44 abstained and 32 were absent. It needed at least 148 votes to meet the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment.
Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Alice Lau later revealed that eight MPs from the government bloc were absent, while all of Pakatan Harapan’s MPs were “present and backed the bill”. - FMT
Singapore says the first phase of the development is expected to be completed around 2030.
Given its proximity to the RTS Link, Woodlands Gateway will cater to Singapore firms with manufacturing sites in Johor.
PETALING JAYA: Singapore is to develop Woodlands Gateway around the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link.
This will serve as the republic’s northern corridor to enhance connectivity with the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), Bernama reported.
Singapore’s trade and industry minister Gan Siow Huang said the first phase of the development is expected to be completed around 2030.
She noted that the 35ha mixed-use district would include a transport hub connected to the RTS Link and Woodlands North MRT stations.
“Woodlands Gateway will offer commercial and lifestyle amenities for commuters, residents and people working in the Woodlands North area.
“Given its proximity to the RTS Link, Woodlands Gateway will also cater to firms with manufacturing sites in Johor but with their regional headquarters in Singapore,” she said during the Committee of Supply 2026 debate in Parliament today.
Giving an example, Gan said Edmund Optics, a leading global precision optics supplier, had demonstrated the benefits of a twinning model with its facility in Woodlands North Coast serving as a sales innovation and research and development (R&D) facility, while the Johor facility manufactures the components.
“As a crucial node in Edmund Optics’ global footprint, this twin ecosystem has helped the firm remain cost-efficient and competitive while providing jobs to people in both countries.
“Now the RTS Link will make this ecosystem connection even more seamless,” she added. - FMT
The electoral reform group says political differences should have been set aside in the best interest of the nation.
Bersih said voters and civil society want to see institutional reforms.
PETALING JAYA: Electoral reform group Bersih has hit out at the opposition after they abstained from voting for a bill that would limit the prime minister’s tenure to 10 years.
Bersih chairman Faisal Abdul Aziz questioned the rationale for the opposition’s action, pointing out that the proposed law was tabled in the best interest of the country.
“We shouldn’t allow our political differences to influence our decision (to vote for or against a bill).
“Voters and civil society want to see institutional reforms,” he told FMT.
Earlier today, the Dewan Rakyat failed to pass the constitutional amendment after the bill fell short of the required two-thirds majority.
In the bloc vote, 146 MPs supported the bill, 44 abstained and 32 were absent.
The bill needed at least 148 votes to meet the required two-thirds majority.
It was later revealed that among those absent were eight MPs from the government bloc.
Last week, Bersih urged MPs across the divide to back the bill, saying it would be an important mechanism to prevent authoritarian tendencies.
Opposition MPs, mainly from PAS, said they were concerned the bill would encroach on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s powers, arguing that the king has the ultimate say on who becomes prime minister.
They also said that apart from a tenure cap, there should be a clear separation between the roles of the prime minister and finance minister.
Former law minister Takiyuddin Hassan, the Kota Bharu MP from Perikatan Nasional, said caveats should be added so that the king’s discretion is not infringed upon.
Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said dismissed claims the amendment would usurp the king’s powers, saying it only adds a new condition for the prime minister’s office and does not touch on the rights of the Malay rulers. - FMT
IT is utterly uncivilised for the United States (US) and Israel to launch strikes on Iran despite ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iran responded to Saturday’s attacks with missile and air strikes across the region, including in Israel, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq.
It is obvious that Iran’s actions in striking US bases in the region could result in a regional war that would only divide the region further and strengthen US-Israel hegemony.
According to reports an Israeli strike has hit an elementary girls’ school in Minab, a city in the Hormozgan province of southern Iran, killing at least 53 people.
One wonders how concerned are US and Israel on the lives of civilians in Iran which they claim to defend when there was a recent uprising.
From the very beginning the so-called diplomatic negotiations were bound to fail because the US was conducting diplomacy by metaphorically pointing a gun at the heads of the Iranians.
They believed that issuing military threats through the press and marshalling war ships to the region would persuade Iran to accept solutions that would certainly violate its national sovereignty.
It was the same parallel cowboy diplomacy conducted with Venezuela that led to the recent invasion and the kidnapping of its president.
The United Nations, which is supposed to prevent wars through diplomatic engagement, has been helpless in both crises because the US cowboy culture of “might is right” has trumped every decent and civilised diplomacy that could have avoided war and civilian casualties.
Authentic diplomacy works through an approach of win-win solutions guided by the principles of human solidarity and common good.
What the US and Israel represent is the law of the jungle that makes it difficult for dignified and civilised nations to accept its terms.
Therefore the Association for Welfare, Community and Dialogue (ACID) appeals for the cessation of all hostilities among warring parties and to get back to the negotiating table and work for the common good.
These can only be done by creating favorable conditions to alleviate the suffering of the people of West Asia.
There is a need to refrain from cowboy diplomacy and negotiate in good faith so that West Asia could be free from hegemonic designs that creates conditions for resistance.
Ronald Benjamin is a human resources practitioner based in Ipoh. He is currently secretary of the Association for Community and Dialogue.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
MALAYSIA has made meaningful progress in digital payment adoption. Yet, the next phase of growth for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will depend not on how widely payments are accepted, but on how intelligently transaction data is harnessed.
MSMEs contribute 38% of national GDP and employ 48% of the workforce. Any structural inefficiency in how they manage cash flow, financing or operations therefore carries national consequences, not just for individual businesses but for the broader economy.
Over the past few years, digital acceptance has accelerated across sectors. QR codes, online transfers and card payments have become commonplace even among smaller merchants.
However, adoption alone does not equate to operational maturity. While digital payments are widely used, only 46% of Malaysian MSMEs have adopted online finance and accounting tools.
This gap indicates that many businesses collect payments digitally but continue to manage reconciliation, forecasting and working capital through fragmented and manual processes.
(Image: iStock)
This disconnect limits the true value of digitalisation. When transaction data is not consolidated, analysed and translated into insight, business owners lack clear visibility into revenue cycles, peak demand periods, margin fluctuations and liquidity trends.
Decisions around hiring, procurement and expansion are then made conservatively, often based on instinct rather than evidence. Over time, this reactive approach constrains growth, reduces agility and weakens resilience against market volatility.
The implications are particularly visible in access to financing. The same Visa study estimates a US$2.5 bil funding gap for Malaysian MSMEs, largely driven by difficulties in borrowing due to insufficient credit history or formal financial records.
Many small businesses generate consistent daily sales yet remain unable to demonstrate their performance in formats recognised by traditional credit models. In this context, digital transaction histories represent an under-utilised asset.
Structured payment data can offer lenders a more accurate view of revenue stability and cash flow consistency. When analysed responsibly, transaction intelligence enables performance-based assessment that better reflects real business activity.
This approach potentially shortens approval cycles, reduces reliance on collateral and expands financing access to viable but previously underserved merchants.
For businesses operating within or adjacent to informal systems, digital payments can serve as the first step toward building a recognised financial footprint.
Each recorded transaction contributes to a verifiable income trail, strengthening compliance readiness in areas such as e-invoicing and improving eligibility for credit and other financial services.
(Image: Bernama)
Without structured data, businesses may remain economically active but financially invisible, perpetuating exclusion and limiting upward mobility.
Malaysia now stands at a strategic inflection point. Having achieved scale in digital payment acceptance, the national priority must shift toward depth, integration, and data-driven decision-making.
If digital adoption stops at the point of payment, SMEs risk remaining connected but constrained, with limited visibility and restricted access to capital. If transaction data is activated effectively, however, it can strengthen resilience, close financing gaps and create a more inclusive pathway into the formal economy.
The future of Malaysia’s SME ecosystem will not be defined by the number of QR codes displayed at checkout counters, but by how effectively transaction intelligence is transformed into actionable insight.
When structured transaction data supports better forecasting, stronger financial identities, and fairer access to capital, digital adoption evolves from convenience to empowerment.
That is the true shift from transaction to transformation, and it is essential if Malaysia is to build a digital economy that is not only competitive but genuinely inclusive.
Tee Kean Kang is the CEO of Paydibs.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
