It was a shock, and a big loss to the Southeast Asian Film Community. I’d like to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family of Yasmin, a filmmaker whose films I admired and enjoyed. It was also a startling coincidence that last year I and my friends in Bangkok made a documentary called The Convert, [...]

Malaysia has recorded the first influenza A (H1N1)-related death from a local transmission, signalling that the flu in the country is worsening. The 42-year-old man, who died on Monday, is the third victim to have died from the flu. The two earlier deaths were linked to imported cases of the H1N1. They were a 46-year-old [...]

Malaysian film director Yasmin Ahmad, who won accolades for her deeply felt depictions of everyday struggles with racial prejudice and social barriers, has died of complications from a stroke. She was 51. Yasmin’s close friend, Fatimah Abu Bakar, confirmed her death late Saturday at a news conference in a Kuala Lumpur hospital. Relatives earlier said [...]

PAS has retained the Manek Urai state seat by a wafer-thin margin of 65, or 0.61 per cent of votes cast, despite earlier predictions of a thumping win for the Islamist party. PAS polled 5,348 against Umno’s 5,283. Last year the party defeated Barisan Nasional (BN) by 1,352 votes. The close win showed PAS had [...]

In a move to nip the Kampung Buah Pala issue from brewing further, Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng has agreed to meet the residents in two days time. The meeting came about after the residents, comprising 23 cowherd families in what is dubbed Penang’s High Chapparal, apologised to Guan Eng for misunderstandings in their [...]

The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Selangor state government is planning to introduce a new tax system which will allow it to have control over taxes. Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim wants to implement a zakat system that is currently practiced by Muslims to the non-Muslims in the state. “The state and federal government have [...]