The fire resulted in damage to the academic block housing classrooms and the hostel supervisor’s room as well as the male students’ hostel. BERNAMA/READERS
BACHOK: Three building blocks at Sekolah Menengah Ugama (A) Darul Ulum Muhammadiah, Kolam, Pak Badol here caught fire this afternoon.
Bachok Fire and Rescue Station senior officer Khairul Arifin Ramli said the buildings suffered 98 per cent, 80 per cent and 30 per cent damage respectively because of the fire, but no casualties were reported.
"We received a distress call at 3.37pm and the fire engine arrived at the location, about 12km away, at 3.56pm.
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"Firefighting teams from Ketereh, Pasir Tumboh and Pengkalan Chepa assisted the operation to put out the fire, with 25 personnel involved," he said in a statement today, adding that the fire was brought under control at 4.10pm and that the operation was still ongoing to ensure that no fire source remained to cause a recurrence.
Meanwhile, school principal Ahmad Norisham Ab Halim said that the fire occurred when students were having outdoor activities and were instructed to gather at the school field as a safety measure once the fire was discovered.
The school would also be conducting learning from home until Thursday, he told Bernama at the scene of the fire.
Meanwhile, the Kelantan State Education Department, in a statement, said it had taken immediate action to ensure the safety, welfare and well-being of the school community.
"The fire resulted in damage to the academic block housing classrooms and the hostel supervisor's room as well as the male students' hostel.
"No injuries were reported in the incident. All students, teachers and support staff at the school were moved to a safe area," the statement said today.
Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, in his resignation letter as opposition leader, said he aimed to foster a more conducive political environment and ease matters within Perikatan Nasional (PN). - NSTP/AMIR MAMAT
KOTA BARU: Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, in his resignation letter as opposition leader, said he aimed to foster a more conducive political environment and ease matters within Perikatan Nasional (PN).
PN secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said this was stated in the letter sent to the coalition yesterday.
Takiyuddin said PN would submit a formal notification to the Speaker on the vacancy of the Opposition Leader post.
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"As PN chief whip, I will submit the notification to the Speaker, within the next two or three days," he said.
PN secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said this was stated in the letter sent to the coalition yesterday. - NSTP/NIK ABDULLAH NIK OMAR
The Kota Baru Member of Parliament was speaking to reporters at his Hari Raya open house here tonight.
Hamzah, the Larut MP, has had his position as opposition leader in limbo since his expulsion from Bersatu on Feb 13, amid an internal leadership tussle with party president Muhyiddin Yassin. - NST
Dr Taufiq Johari says his ministry is assessing the former athlete’s needs and medical costs to ensure he and his family receive sufficient assistance.
Youth and sports minister Dr Taufiq Johari visiting G Saravanan, who is battling motor neurone disease, at his home in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, today. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Youth and sports minister Dr Taufiq Johari today visited former national walker G Saravanan, who is battling motor neurone disease (MND), to present a financial contribution from his ministry.
Taufiq said the ministry would continue to assist and oversee Saravanan’s welfare, and would not neglect the welfare of veteran athletes who have brought international glory to the nation.
“The ministry and the National Athletes Welfare Foundation (Yakeb) are assessing his current needs and medical costs, including physiotherapy, medical treatment and other monthly expenses, to ensure the assistance provided is sufficient for him and his family,” Bernama reported him as saying after the visit in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.
Saravanan, 56, Malaysia’s only Commonwealth Games athletics gold medallist, was diagnosed with MND in 2021 and now relies on a feeding tube, requiring constant care.
FMT previously reported that his battle with MND has progressively stripped away his ability to walk, speak, and eat.
Taufiq spent about half an hour visiting Saravanan, during which he also gave him a personal contribution.
Yakeb chairman Ahmad Shapawi Ismail said the foundation has provided various forms of aid to Saravanan since he fell ill, including a monthly contribution of RM500 to alleviate the family’s financial burden.
“Yakeb has channelled over RM30,000 to Saravanan. We have been monitoring his disease’s progression since he was diagnosed and are doing our best to help his family,” he said.
Saravanan’s wife, M Sassikala, 53, said his condition was stable and showing slight positive development, although he still requires a ventilator at night to assist his breathing. - FMT
KPKM akan bentang langkah segera serta jangka sederhana kepada MTEN dan Jemaah Menteri.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri Zahid Hamidi kata pandangan pemain industri diambil kira dalam merangka langkah tangani risiko krisis tenaga global.
ALOR GAJAH: Kementerian Pertanian dan Keterjaminan Makanan (KPKM) akan mengemukakan cadangan langkah segera serta jangka sederhana kepada Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Negara dan Jemaah Menteri bagi menangani risiko berkaitan sektor pertanian susulan krisis tenaga global.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri Zahid Hamidi berkata cadangan itu turut mengambil kira pandangan pemain industri bagi memastikan kesiapsiagaan negara.
“Pengumuman berkaitan perkara ini akan dibuat oleh KPKM,” katanya ketika ditemui pemberita selepas menghadiri majlis rumah terbuka di Masjid Tanah.
Dalam pada itu, Zahid menggesa pembangkang agar mengemukakan cadangan konstruktif bagi membantu kerajaan menangani cabaran yang timbul akibat ketidakstabilan geopolitik global.
“Masalah ini adalah masalah bersama… sepatutnya pembangkang memberikan buah fikiran yang bernas.
“Jika mereka mempunyai kepakaran, inilah masa terbaik untuk kita mencari jalan menyelamatkan negara walaupun berada di pihak pembangkang,” katanya.
Menteri Pertanian dan Keterjaminan Makanan Mohamad Sabu dilaporkan berkata kerajaan sedang meneliti beberapa cadangan bagi membantu pesawah yang terkesan akibat kenaikan kos input pertanian susulan lonjakan harga bahan api global.
Beliau berkata cadangan yang sedang dipertimbangkan termasuk penggunaan kad ‘fleet’ bagi jentera pertanian serta peningkatan insentif pembajakan dan penuaian padi. - FMT
Anthony Albanese will travel to Kuala Lumpur and Bandar Seri Begawan from April 14 to 17, and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s trip comes as Australia leans on its Asian allies to maintain fuel supplies amid disruptions caused by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. (Bernama pic)
SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit Malaysia and Brunei this week, continuing diplomatic efforts to secure fuel supplies from Asian allies after disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.
Albanese will travel to Kuala Lumpur and Bandar Seri Begawan from April 14 to 17, his office said in a statement on Sunday.
He is scheduled to meet Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Foreign minister Penny Wong would also meet her counterparts in Brunei and Malaysia, the statement said.
“Engaging with critical regional partners such as Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia will help ensure Australia’s energy supply remains secure during times of uncertainty,” Albanese said.
“We are taking every step to reinforce relationships and engage with key partners to keep our fuel supply flowing.”
The trip comes as Australia leans on its Asian allies to maintain fuel supplies amid disruptions caused by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited before the conflict.
Australia, which imports about 80% of its fuel, has experienced localised shortages and soaring prices since the strait’s closure.
Malaysia is Australia’s third-largest source of refined fuel and supplies 10% of its fertiliser-grade urea imports, while Australia supplies 95% of Malaysia’s imported natural gas.
Brunei supplies 9% of Australia’s diesel imports and 11% of its fertiliser-grade urea imports.
The government has held talks on fuel with Malaysia, Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, among others.
Albanese also travelled to Singapore last week and met prime minister Lawrence Wong on Friday, with the two leaders agreeing to closer cooperation to ensure energy security. - FMT
WE LIVE in an age of interconnected crises, climate change, pandemics, supply chain fragility, that demand unprecedented global cooperation.
Yet our political landscape is dominated by trade wars that fracture economies, border conflicts that spill blood, and a resurgence of zero-sum thinking that treats the world as a chessboard of winners and losers.
The user’s plea, “Can’t there be more diplomacy?” is not naive; it is the essential, urgent question of our time.
The current disruption of sustainability is not a side effect of global politics—it is a direct result of its failure.
The problem is not a lack of diplomatic forums; the UN, G20, and countless summits exist. The crisis is a crisis of diplomatic intent and method.
Modern statecraft has become dangerously transactional, reduced to public threats and sanctions, conducted for domestic audiences rather than for genuine problem-solving.
Leaders are incentivized to appear “strong,” often conflating strength with belligerence, while the quiet, patient, and courageous work of building understanding is dismissed as weakness.
This is a catastrophic miscalculation. In a world of climate tipping points and nuclear arsenals, there are no victors in a war of all against all, only varying degrees of collective loss.
So, how do we recalibrate? The path forward requires a renaissance of diplomacy, rebuilt on three pillars: First, we must institutionalize and legitimize “permanent dialogue.”
The most successful diplomatic frameworks of the past—like the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe during the Cold War—created continuous tables for conversation, even amidst profound hostility.
We need to create new, dedicated, and high-level channels for the most fraught issues, particularly between major powers.
These should be insulated, as much as possible, from the daily churn of domestic politics and Twitter storms.
Their mandate should be not just to manage crises, but to proactively identify shared interests—like pandemic preparedness or Arctic governance—and build cooperation there, creating threads of trust that can withstand tension elsewhere.
Second, we must empower “track-two” diplomacy and civil society. Official state-to-state talks are necessary but insufficient.
Parliamentarian exchanges, scientific collaborations, city-to-city partnerships, and business leader dialogues create a web of relationships that states cannot easily sever.
When Beijing and Washington are at odds, the collaboration between their climate scientists or epidemiologists must be protected and amplified.
These networks act as shock absorbers and idea incubators, often finding pragmatic solutions that formal politics cannot. This is what science diplomacy is all about.
Third, we must redefine national interest for the Anthropocene. The obsolete definition equates interest with relative advantage.
The new definition must integrate absolute survival. No nation wins a trade war if it exacerbates food insecurity that leads to regional instability.
No nation “wins” a border conflict if it triggers a refugee crisis or diverts resources from the green transition. Statesmanship now means understanding that your nation’s security is inextricably linked to your adversary’s stability and the planet’s health.
This requires leaders to educate their publics, arguing that funding a global vaccine initiative or honoring a climate accord is not charity, but strategic foresight.
Ultimately, this hinges on leadership. We need leaders who possess the historical imagination to see beyond the next election or news cycle, and the moral courage to pursue dialogue when demagoguery is easier.
They must be held accountable not just for quarterly GDP figures, but for the long-term health of the international system.
The obstructionists will cry “utopian.” But the truly naïve stance is believing we can navigate the 21st century’s existential threats with the 19th century’s playbook of rivalry and domination.
Diplomacy is not a synonym for concession; it is the tool of intelligent statecraft. It is the recognition that in an interconnected world, your opponent’s problem will, inevitably, become your own.
The stakes are not merely peace or prosperity, but sustainability and continuity itself. The choice is not between diplomacy or strength.
The choice is between diplomatic engagement and collective ruin. We must choose, decisively, the former. The table is waiting; we only need the will to sit down at it.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
Professor Dato Dr Ahmad Ibrahim is an Adjunct Professor at the Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, Universiti Malaya.
