Taiwan’s Nationalist party, the Kuomintang, which had been drawing closer to China in business and diplomacy, suffered a crushing defeat in local elections. The result has been variously attributed to the rising cost of living, protests over trade deals, and concerns over authoritarian China’s influence in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Batu Ferringhi press conference disrupted by rowdy group (updated)
A press conference in Park Royal Hotel in Batu Ferringhi to express concern about a high-rise housing project near a low-density low-rise neighbourhood was disrupted by a rowdy group using rough language this evening.
US law firms file class action suits against MOL Global Inc
Remember how MOLPay recently wrote to Zunar saying it was being asked to furnish details of the customers of his online transactions to the police?
All of a sudden, MOL has bigger problems than a pesky popular cartoonist:
Now, MOLPay is a payments solution for online merchants that comes under MOL Global Inc, whose headquarters are in KL.
Vincent Tan is the single largest shareholder (according to The Star) with a 45 per cent stake.
A tale of two stock markets
The US stock market (Dow Jones) in 2014:
The Malaysian stock market in 2014:
Reuters attributes the plunge in Malaysian and Singapore share prices to weaker oil and gas prices. But is that the only reason?
Oil price plunge: Heads they win; tails we lose
The plunge in global oil prices will lead to much lower Petronas – and consequently, government – revenue and worsen the government’s fiscal deficit.
Waterspout spotted in Penang channel (video)
A waterspout was spotted in the northern channel of Penang on 26 November 2014.
It is the latest in unusual weather phenomena in the northern region, coming on the heels of a mini-tornado in Kedah a few weeks earlier.
Pope Francis prays with Grand Mufti of Istanbul in Turkish mosque
This is something to think about, no?
PHOTOS: Pope Francis and Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Rahmi Yaran pray in the Sultan Ahmet mosque. http://t.co/slbbqel7pc pic.twitter.com/EImBtgaZwU
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) November 29, 2014
Quick poll: Do you think the Sedition Act should be retained?
This polls ends at 5.00pm today.
Here’s is the reformist Najib speaking:
And the ultimate ‘gostan’.
What a letdown.
Blog reader Ed G writes:
The ISA was enacted in 1960 after Malayan independence. The then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, defined the purpose of the act as to “be used solely against the communists… My Cabinet colleagues and I gave a solemn promise to Parliament and the nation that the immense powers given to the government under the ISA would never be used to stifle legitimate opposition and silence lawful dissent”.
Umno’s shrill voices mask elite concentration of wealth
It is everything we have come to expect of an Umno general assembly: the shrill voices, the diversionary topics, the silence on critical issues facing the country, the play on race and religion to shore up support.