TOPIC

/ location

Malaysia

Malaysia

Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on Malaysia, covering politics, economy, society and the Asean member-nation’s relationships with China, Singapore, and other Southeast Asian countries.

Capital

Kuala Lumpur

Head of State

Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar

Head of Government

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

A Tapanuli orangutan, and its young, hanging on a tree in Batang Toru, Tapanuli, North Sumatra, Indonesia in 2015. Photo: Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme/EPA-EFE

‘Could go extinct here’: orangutans at risk as Indonesia floods devastate habitat

Orangutans have disappeared since landslides struck Sipirok in North Sumatra province.

6 hours agovideocam

Gotta pay ’em all: Singapore Pokemon card bust sparks Malaysia customs warning

9 Dec 2025 - 5:21PM

SCMP Highlights

Singaporean Chinese ‘least attractive’, Philippines cyclones: 7 Asia highlights

9 Dec 2025 - 12:30PM

Scams and swindles

Letters | Cambodia is confronting the scourge of online scams head-on

Readers discuss the cross-border effort targeting the syndicates behind Cambodia’s scam farms, Malaysia’s first fully home-grown EV, and the investigation into the Tai Po fire in Hong Kong.

9 Dec 2025 - 11:30AM

Suspects are detained during a police raid on a scam centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on July 16. The operation was part of a nationwide crackdown on cybercrime networks, following Prime Minister Hun Manet’s order to shut down online scam operations often run like sweatshops. Photo: EPA

Chinese tourists

Chinese tourist’s Penang panda mural that drew criticism turns crowd-puller

Local officials review an application to keep the unauthorised artwork at Chew Jetty intact after ordering the painting to be removed.

9 Dec 2025 - 9:52AM

Accidents and disasters in China

Chinese court orders Malaysia Airlines to pay families of 8 MH370 victims

The airline must pay over US$410,000 per passenger in China’s first formal compensation ruling on flight that vanished 11 years ago.

8 Dec 2025 - 10:29PMvideocam

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Malaysian politics

Malaysian ex-minister Rafizi challenges PM Anwar’s anti-corruption credentials

He alleged that anti-corruption officers targeted PKR candidates who challenged the prime minister’s daughter in party polls.

8 Dec 2025 - 5:09PMvideocam

Left: Former Malaysian economy minister Rafizi Ramli on his Yang Berhenti Menteri (The Minister Who Quit) podcast. Right: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Photos: Facebook / Rafizi Ramli and AFP

Thailand launches air strikes on Cambodia after soldier killed

Thailand says the F-16 strikes were ‘executed with caution’ against military targets to neutralise a threat to national security.

8 Dec 2025 - 8:23PMvideocam

Lee Kuan Yew’s pain and his deputy’s resolve in Singapore-Malaysia separation

A new book unveiled by ex-PM Lee Hsien Loong reveals how Goh Keng Swee shaped Singapore’s 1965 split from Malaysia.

7 Dec 2025 - 5:18PM

Singapore launches book on Malaysia separation with declassified files

‘The Albatross File: Inside Separation’ sheds light on the negotiations leading up to Singapore’s break from Malaysia.

7 Dec 2025 - 4:11PM

Lee Kuan Yew meeting the press on the morning of Singapore’s separation from Malaysia on August 9, 1965. Photo: Straits Times

Electric & new energy vehicles

Malaysians swap hotels for RVs to drive down holiday costs

Rentals are up 200 per cent, with families finding a six-berth campervan more affordable than booking seaside resorts.

7 Dec 2025 - 12:06PM

Malaysians are increasingly turning to campervans for cheaper and more adventurous holidays. Photo: SAIC

US-China relations

US public backs active role in global affairs, including Taiwan defence: poll

A poll by the Ronald Reagan Institute suggests the American public’s view of global affairs is out of sync with Donald Trump’s approach.

6 Dec 2025 - 6:00PMvideocam

Indonesia’s flood death toll hits 908, hundreds still missing

The governor of hard-hit Aceh warns starvation has become the gravest threat to survivors in remote villages cut off by the devastation.

6 Dec 2025 - 7:23PMvideocam

‘We all knew’: is your job safe from the AI you are helping to train?

Asia makes the chips driving the AI boom, but the technology threatens to erase jobs and widen the region’s wealth gap, a new UN report says.

6 Dec 2025 - 3:54PM

A Thai engineer services AI-powered healthcare robots in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

US-China relations

Why China may be better placed than US in tussle for rare earths

While Beijing has long engaged with resource-rich nations, Trump’s Washington is seen as more ‘aggressive’ and reactive.

6 Dec 2025 - 6:51AMvideocam

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

Hong Kong’s religious communities unite in prayer to mourn Tai Po fire victims

Muslims and other faith groups express solidarity and sorrow for victims of deadly blaze at Wang Fuk Court.

5 Dec 2025 - 7:29PM

Malaysia under pressure to explain police shooting of trio as outcry mounts

Audio recording and forensic claims released by the men’s families appear to contradict police accounts of the confrontation.

5 Dec 2025 - 6:40PM

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

TikTok will block under-16s in Australia to comply with ‘upsetting’ new law

Australia’s world-first legislation banning under-16s from social media platforms and websites comes into effect on December 10.

9 Dec 2025 - 4:22PMvideocam

TikTok will comply with an under-16 ban in Australia on social media use. Photo: Shutterstock

‘Better late than never’: Singapore parents laud curbs on phone use in schools

The city state is among countries that have stepped up measures to curb screen time and tighten social media restrictions for adolescents.

5 Dec 2025 - 5:47PM

‘Crowd is missing’: stronger ringgit keeps Singapore shoppers away from Johor

‘This is probably the worst year-end crowd we have seen since the Covid-19 pandemic,’ a business owner says.

5 Dec 2025 - 12:01PM

Iraq removes Hezbollah and Houthis from asset-freeze list after ‘mistake’

Iraqi PM orders accountability for the error over list meant for Islamic State/al-Qaeda only. Reversal is blow to US efforts curbing Iran.

5 Dec 2025 - 4:58AM

Houthi fighters participate in a rally marking the second anniversary of the attacks carried by Hamas against Israel, in Sana’a, Yemen in October. Photo: EPA

‘No longer contentious’: Malaysia to weigh Singapore’s water project plan

The two countries have disagreed over water supply for decades, such as the perceived low prices charged by Malaysia’s Johor.

5 Dec 2025 - 1:58PM

The border crossing connecting Singapore to the Malaysian southern city of Johor Bahru. The state of Johor supplies untreated water to Singapore daily. Photo: AFP

Malaysian man stranded by Thai floods with ‘colleagues’ exposed holidaying with lover

The wife remains unaware of her husband’s affair, as he regularly communicates with her.

4 Dec 2025 - 6:00PM

Chinese tourists pivot to South Korea, Thailand amid Japan travel ban

Spat began when Japan’s PM Sanae Takaichi suggested potential military intervention in Taiwan Strait, leading Beijing to issue a travel warning.

4 Dec 2025 - 5:06PM

Penang set to scoop up Chinese tourists skipping Japan, Thailand’s Hat Yai

Penang anticipates a surge in year-end visitors, with events and food-driven itineraries boosting hotel bookings.

4 Dec 2025 - 4:02PMvideocam

Tourists visit George Town in Malaysia’s Penang state. Photo: Shutterstock

Explainer | As China’s companies become industry leaders, where in the world are they going?

Across numerous sectors, China’s firms are setting up shop worldwide – and gaining ground on their well-entrenched competitors.

5 Dec 2025 - 5:58PMvideocam

Vehicles are seen loaded on a cargo ship for export at Wuhu Port, Anhui province. Photo: Getty Images

Corruption in Asia

Anwar’s ex-aide to stand trial on corruption charges linked to Sabah businessman

The aide is accused of receiving cash and gifts as inducement to help the businessman secure mineral exploration projects.

4 Dec 2025 - 2:21PMvideocam

Aviation accidents

Chinese families ‘hope truth will come out’ when search for flight MH370 resumes

Relatives still waiting for answers 11 years after plane disappeared welcome news that the search will continue later this month.

4 Dec 2025 - 3:29PMvideocam

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement