Malaysian Politics

The palace and the players
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Malaysia has been rocked by political upheaval since Muhyiddin Yassin became prime minister without a parliamentary vote in March 2020. The country's constitutional monarch has taken a more active role in politics while a power tussle involving veteran politicians Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim continues.

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News
Lifestyle & Culture
A snow-like foam covered a Malaysian highway after rain revived soap residue from a lorry spill. Photo: Threads/umminazali
Lifestyle & Culture
Snow in Malaysia? Viral highway fun washed away by soapy truth
Police said the white-topped Shah Alam Expressway that mesmerised motorists was caused by a rain-activated soap spill from a lorry.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on August 31. Photo: Xinhua via AP
China
China’s Xi eyes Apec trilateral; no outrunning deadly Nepal floods: 7 highlights
From an Air China jet grounded in New York to a Hong Kong school’s legal settlement, here are top stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.
Indonesian customs officials display drugs smuggled by a Malaysian pilot as evidence during a press conference at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on July 31. Photo: AFP
Southeast Asia
Malaysia arrests 6 over drugs supplied to pilot caught with Ecstasy in Jakarta
Police said the suspects were taken into custody during a special operation conducted last month.
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Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, regent of Malaysia’s Johor state. Photo: Instagram/hrhcrownprinceofjohor
Southeast Asia
US$1.6 billion levy complicates sale of Singapore land by Malaysian king’s son
Tunku Ismail Ibrahim is seeking to sell 16.6 hectares of land, with his representatives courting buyers from the US and elsewhere.
Chinese airlines transported 153.64 million passenger trips between July 1 and Monday, a historic high. Photo: AFP
China Economy
How Japan fell from China’s tourism top 3 despite record summer travel boom
Mainland carriers scrap more than 30 per cent of flights to Japan as travellers turn to South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia.
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Participants at the Miss Equality World 2026 pageant in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Facebook/MissEqualityWorld
Southeast Asia
Malaysian under fire for competing at transgender beauty pageant in Thailand
The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia said it would summon the contestant in the Miss Equality World event for questioning.
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Malaysia’s Lembaga Tabung Haji headquarters (left) in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Wikipedia Commons / 龍崎 Jeffrey
People
Former Malaysian minister arrested in state haj fund corruption probe
Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency says the ex-minister is being investigated for his links to a hotel lease agreement in Saudi Arabia.
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Thai soldiers inspect a workstation at a suspected scam compound near the Chong Chom-O’Smach border crossing with Cambodia in December. Photo: Reuters
Economics
Southeast Asia’s scam gangs regroup after Cambodia’s crackdown
Dislodged from Cambodian compounds, cyberscam cartels have been setting up shop in Laos, Myanmar and even Malaysia.
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A still from a social media video shows a member of staff helping tourists at the KL City Gallery in the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: YouTube
Lifestyle & Culture
Malaysian heritage site caught in row over non-local staff
A viral video shot at the Sultan Abdul Samad Building has sparked a backlash, despite management insisting the worker was not a tour guide.
Malaysian Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu (centre) visits a rice-prawn farm in the city of Wuhu in China’s eastern Anhui province in August. Photo: Facebook/Mohamad Sabu
Economics
As rice output falls, Malaysia looks to China’s ‘2 yields, 1 land’ model
Chinese rice-prawn farms could help boost Malaysia’s farming production as it faces hurdles to meet its rice self-sufficiency goal.
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US President Donald Trump’s administration has tightened legal immigration through new screening and higher costs. Photo: TNS
Asia
Trump’s US visa pause; Malaysia elephant’s 100km trek home: 7 Asia highlights
From Filipino migrants in Japan to South Asians rethinking Western education, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.
Methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth. Police in Malaysia and Thailand have seized a total of 252.2kg of methamphetamine through a joint operation. Photo: Shutterstock
Southeast Asia
Malaysian police smash drug ring, seize US$1 million of meth disguised as tea
The bust resulted from intelligence sharing between Malaysian and Thai police after a man is caught with suspected drugs in Hua Hin.
The skyline of Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur is seen shrouded in haze from regional wildfires on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Health & Environment
Malaysia’s air quality turns hazardous as Indonesian wildfires burn
Pollution index hits 476 near the border, forcing school closures and triggering emergency cloud-seeding plans in Sarawak.
Children aged 15 to 17 “should be in school, not thinking about marriage”, one local politician said in response to the proposal. Photo: Shutterstock
People
Malaysian state’s cash handouts for teen weddings trigger backlash
Perak’s plan to offer money to newlyweds as young as 15 risks endorsing child marriage, rights groups warn.
Singapore’s Lawrence Wong attends an Asean meeting in 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE
Politics
Small state, big agenda: Singapore prepares to steer Asean through crisis
The city state takes the helm on Asean’s 60th anniversary amid civil war, tariff threats and rising global tensions.
Veterinarians treat an orangutan named Sampurna during a rescue operation at a palm-oil plantation near an area affected by wildfires, in Kuala Satong village, Ketapang regency, West Kalimantan province, Indonesia, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Southeast Asia
Orangutan rescued from Borneo fire battles respiratory illness
Indonesia has intensified efforts to contain forest and land fires across six provinces in Borneo and Sumatra.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim attends a meeting with Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman (not pictured) at the Federal Government office “Perdana Putra” in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on June 22. Photo: Reuters
Southeast Asia
Malaysia’s Anwar unveils cost of living measures as opposition rises
Anwar ⁠has faced declining support over a perceived failure to deliver on reforms as well as the mishandling of several high-profile corruption cases.
BINI perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, in April. Photo: Reuters
Lifestyle & Culture
Can Southeast Asian artists replicate K-pop’s global success with SEA-pop?
Even as more regional artists are performing overseas, they should not blindly copy the K-pop playbook, industry observers say.
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The Petronas Twin Towers and other commercial buildings as seen from KL Tower in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: AFP
Lifestyle & Culture
Reviving Kuala Lumpur: can Malaysia modernise without pricing out its past?
Urban renewal aims to regenerate the capital’s historic core, but polish and authenticity don’t always share the same street.
Defendants (in blue) stand during their trial for drug trafficking in Ho Chi Minh on November 12, 2023. Photo: Vietnam News Agency/AFP
Health & Environment
Vietnam’s move to end executions for drug trafficking sparks debate in region
The proposal has put a spotlight on the different legal approaches against drug trafficking offences in the region.
Men hang out a car and sit on the windows in Kuala Lumpur early Friday morning. Photo: Reddit/whusler
Southeast Asia
Malaysian police arrest 7 Yemeni men after dangerous road stunt goes viral
The men reportedly told police that they leaned out of the cars and sat on the windows for fun while celebrating a friend’s wedding.
Illustration: Huy Truong
Economics
All a board: inside Thailand’s bid to wire the world’s AI boom
Malaysia has the chips. Vietnam has the assembly lines. But Thailand’s humble circuit boards help keep the AI boom alive.
US Undersecretary of State Jacob Helberg (left) convenes the inaugural Pax Silica Summit in Washington on December 12, 2025. Photo: Getty Images for Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg
Diplomacy
Uzbekistan tests US-China AI rift with bid to join rival tech bloc
Tashkent eyes Pax Silica entry as Central Asian nations resist growing pressure to choose between Washington and Beijing in the AI race.
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Illustration: Henry Wong
World Opinion
Opinion|US and China must team up to keep maritime trade routes free and safe
The Strait of Hormuz crisis shows neither state benefits when key waterways can become instruments of political pressure or economic coercion.
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A view of Kuala Lumpur’s city skyline. Photo: Shutterstock
Lifestyle & Culture
Why Malaysia’s push for 15 million Muslim tourists is no sure thing
With disruption to long-haul flights, Malaysia may not draw more Muslim visitors at the expense of the travel hubs in Dubai and Doha.
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A Royal Malaysian Police vehicle. Malaysia has reported six familicide cases so far in 2026. Photo: Shutterstock
People
Malaysian man kills wife, 2 children and self over love scam
Police say the distraught husband left a note blaming US$61,000 in scam debts and his wife’s ongoing contact with a fraudster.
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What does the pause on US green card and visa interviews mean for applicants worldwide? Photo: Getty Images
China
US visa interviews on hold; China slams fresh sanctions over Iran: 7 highlights
From catastrophic flash floods at the China-Nepal border to a sacked Malaysian academic, here are top stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.
Tourists look at the city-centre skyline, shrouded in haze from wildfires in Indonesia, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August. Photo: Reuters
Southeast Asia
Malaysia moves Anwar’s National Day speech indoors as haze spikes
Choking cross-border air pollution from Indonesian wildfires forces the Malaysian prime minister to relocate his National Day address.
Opinion
Macroscope|Asia is not on the edge of a new 1997-style financial crisis
While risks to Asia’s financial stability exist, they have nothing to do with the policy and structural weaknesses behind the 1997 crisis.
Nicholas Spiro
Reflections|How Chinese emperors’ birthdays became national holidays celebrated by all
In 729, Emperor Xuanzong marked his birthday with official ceremonies and festivities across China in a tradition that endured for centuries.
Wee Kek Koon
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Editorial|HKEX’s role crucial as Hong Kong helps build future of global finance
The city’s stock exchange is set to attract hi-tech mainland manufacturers looking to raise funds even as it forges partnerships overseas.
SCMP Editorial
1
The View|Malaysia wants sustainable data centres, not a blanket ban
Unlike the US backlash, Malaysia is drawing up efficiency requirements to guide a sustainable tech boom.
Nicholas Spiro
Editorial|‘Transshipment scam’ is not a global conspiracy but a warning to the US
The White House’s accusation that over 40 nations are involved in a shadow network that harms the US betrays a misunderstanding of how trade works.
SCMP Editorial
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Editorial|Hong Kong’s economic and trade network plays to city’s strengths
The opening of a new Economic and Trade Office in Kuala Lumpur is part of a strategic move towards bolstering relations with Asean.
SCMP Editorial
Asian Angle|Cambodia and Thailand must define the border to achieve lasting peace
Without boundary demarcation, all Cambodia-Thailand ceasefires are on borrowed time.
Chheang Vannarith
Asian Angle|Decades of talk, zero barrels stored: why can’t Asean stockpile oil?
The Iran war energy crisis revived Asean’s joint reserve plans. To avoid another shelved ambition, the bloc needs swift, binding action.
Elbinsar Purba
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Asian Angle|Southeast Asia must embrace reforms for ‘China plus one’ to succeed
The region needs to build strong institutions, pursue industrial policies that allow local firms to compete and upgrade its supply chains.
Anna FongDonald Low
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Asian Angle|Why a second ‘China shock’ is good for Southeast Asia
Fear of Chinese imports is misplaced. Roughly 90 per cent of what the region buys is inputs and machinery driving local manufacturing.
Roland Rajah
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Macroscope|Don’t expect the rising tide of AI to lift all boats
While economies linked to hi-tech supply chains may perform well, unequal outcomes and economic instability still loom for much of the world.
Anthony Rowley
My Take|Putting the social media genie back in the bottle will not be easy to do
The determination around the world to crack down on the use of these platforms by children is a response to the mounting evidence of the harm it can do.
SCMP ColumnistCliff Buddle
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