Bill to limit tenure of prime minister's term does not have major impact on the livelihood of the people, says Sng

KUCHING, March 7 2026: Julau MP Larry Sng (picture) said that it does not “actually have a major impact on livelihood of the people” whether or not a Bill to limit the tenure of term of prime minister to 10 years is passed in parliament.

 “None of my constituents are up in arms that it wasn’t passed nor even a mention on my usual walk about.

“Some may even question the need for such an amendment given that Malaysia had been developed the fastest under a certain prime minister who lasted longer than 10 years,” Sng said on his Facebook post.

Sng, who is Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) president, is one of the government MPs who were absent when the Bill was put to vote in parliament.

The bill was not passed for the failure to reach the two-third majority that was required to amend the Federal Constitution.

Nevertheless, he said he is sure when the Bill comes around to be retabled, it will likely be passed without issue.

“Nonetheless there are a few key take away from this,” he adding, that firstly, the Back-Benchers Club (BBC) needs to play a more proactive role as it had in the past especially under an Umno chairman, who monitored and made sure that every vote turns up.

“This was the case under Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatana Nasional (PN) governments.

“Pakatan Harapan (PH) and especially PKR leaders are less sensitive and perhaps this is a lesson learned,” he opined.

Sng also suggested that MPs from smaller parties should be given a bigger role to play, saying that currently those parties that are not part of the four big government blocks namely PH, BN, GPS and GRS, have limited role and influence in government.

“However in terms of numbers they are quite sizable, 11 MPs in total (namely PBM, STAR, KDM and Independents).

“Perhaps MCA and MIC can also be added to the list given that they too have voiced displeasure to being marginalised by BN,” he said.

He also said civil societies need to network with MPs and should know their limitations., saying that excessive criticism of MPs would limit their influence in parliament.

“Besides, if they are so influential as some think, perhaps they should run for elections,” he suggested, adding that there is no point talking about checks and balances if at the end of the day “you only make noise.”

Sng said as fourth-term legislator having served in the state andfederal governments, he personally prefers a strong authoritarian leader who can deliver results rather than a weak leader who needs to please everyone.

“Difficult decisions require strong leadership. Doesn’t really matter how long they are there as long as they get the job done.

“Even though that’s my personal view but as a government MP, I will always vote along government lines,” he said.

40yo man injured in a road accident in Miri

 MIRI, March 7 2026: A 40-year old man was seriously injured when a car he was driving collided with a 4WD  vehicle  at Simpang Penjara Lambir here this morning.

Caption: EMRS Unit members helping the injured man

In the collision,  Nazaimie Samsudin@Sulaini suffered injuries to his head and right leg and was given initial treatment by members of the emergency medical response service (EMRS) unit and then handed over to the Ministry of Health for further action.

Miri Sentral Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) said the driver of the Toyota Hilux escaped unhurt.

The department said it received a call about 8.45am, informing that Proton Saga Iswara car and Toyota Hilux were involved in an accident.

The operation commander Mohd Fairus Apit said the driver was still in the Proton Saga Iswara car.

The department said the firemen then used a special equipment to extract the victim.

 

Dawn fire kills 9yo boy, injures five other family members in Simanggang

SIMANGGANG, March 7 2026: A nine-year old boy was killed while five other members of the family suffered various degrees of burns in a dawn fire the completely razed their double-storey house at Taman Sentosa Indah RPR Phase 1, here.

 Caption: The dawn fire at its peak - Photo by Bomba 

The charred remains of grandson Ahmed Arfan Shan were found after the fire has been extinguished by the firemen.

Simanggang Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) station identified the rest of the family as 65-year old father Abang Mohd Sanwani (burns all over the body), 40-year old daughter Dayang Siti Mahfuzah (burns on the legs), 41-year old Dayang Khairulnisa (burns all over the body), 13-year old grandson Anis Natrah (burns on the legs) and 15-year old grandson Ahmed Alif Firdaus (burns on the legs).

The station said it received a call about  3am, informing that a fire had broken out at Taman Sentosa Indah Phase 1.

It said the fire involved a two-storey semi-permanent house which was completely destroyed.

“Two occupants of the house were successfully removed by members of the public before the arrival of the rescue team.

“An adult female victim suffered burns to her entire body, while an adult male victim suffered burns to almost her entire body estimated at 80 per cent.

“Both victims were sent by the emergency medical response service (EMRS) Unit to Sri Aman Hospital for further treatment,” the station said.

In addition, it said three other victims who suffered burns to their legs were sent to the hospital by members of the public.

“A boy victim was also found charred on the top floor of the house. His body was then handed over to the police for further action,” the station said.

Three vehicles, namely a Toyota Vios 30 per cent burned, a Perodua Axia 30 per cent burned and a motorcycle 50 per cent burned while Perodua Bezza was not affected.

 

Awang Tengah: Sarawak welcomes quality investment from China that can support the state's development agenda

KUCHING, MARCH 6 2026: Deputy Premier Awang Tengah Ali Hasan has told a Chinese business delegation that Sarawak always welcomes quality investments that can support the state's development agenda under the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030).

Caption: Deputy Premier Awang Tengah Ali Hasan (party hidden, 2nd from right) in a meeting with the Chinese business delegation  

In return, he said Sarawak is committed to providing a conducive business ecosystem through continuous efforts to modernise infrastructure including transport and logistics networks, telecommunications and utilities to support the state's economic growth.

He added that one of Sarawak's key advantages is its abundant renewable energy resources with a target of generating 10 gigawatts (GW) of energy by 2030, thus positioning Sarawak as the "Battery of ASEAN."

Awang Tengah,  also the Minister of International Trade, Industry and Investment, encouraged the Chinese  delegation to explore investment opportunities in Sarawak by leveraging the state's natural resources, strategic location and access to the rapidly growing Southeast Asian market and global trade networks.

He also highlighted Sarawak's potential to emerge as a regional hub for the entire petrochemical and food industry value chain, especially in meeting the growing demand for the halal market.

He added Sarawak also remains committed to facilitating investors through transparent policies and continuous infrastructure development to support economic growth and regional integration.

The delegation from Shandong Port Group from China expressed its interested in exploring investment opportunities in the state, especially in the port development and management, petrochemical and agricultural sectors.

The delegation,led by Shandong Port Group Chairman Wang Wei, included Yatong Petrochemical Group Vice President Yu Kechao, Tianye Corporation Director and General Manager Shan Dan and several senior management of the companies.

During the meeting, the Chinese companies also shared their expertise in integrated supply chain services, smart and green port development, commodity storage and advanced petrochemical and agro-food processing technologies.

Present at the meeting were Deputy Minister of International Trade, Industry and Investment Malcom Musen Lamoh, Permanent Secretary Lester Matthew, InvestSarawak Chief Executive Officer Timothy Ong, Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) General Manager Zainal Abidin Abdullah and officials from Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros).

PKR names Baru Bian, five of its ex-MPs in a lawsuit filed in Kuala Lumpur High Court

KUCHING, March 6 2026: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has filed a suit against former Selangau MP Baru Bian and its five other former MPs who left the party in Feb 2020, Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported.

Caption: Former Selangau MP Baru Bian is one of the six former PKR's MPs being named in the suit filed by the party 

They were among those allegedly responsible for the collapse of the 22-month Pakatan Harapan federal government in 2020 following the Sheraton Move.

Apart from Baru, the others are Kamarudin Jaffar (Bandar Tun Razak), Mansor Othman (Nibong Tebal), Rashid Hasnon (Batu Pahat), Saifuddin Abdullah (Indera Mahkota) and Edmund Santhara Kumar (Segamat)

FMT quoted PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh as saying that the party has also filed a similar suit against 10 assemblymen who left in 2020.

In two separate statements of claim, Fuziah said the party is claiming RM10 million each from the defendants for breaching a bond they signed just before the 14th general election in 2018.

The legal firm of Nav & Co filed the suits on Feb 19 at the High Court here, which has fixed March 27 for case management.

Under the terms of the bond, the defendants were required to pay the amount within seven days if they won their seats on PKR’s ticket but later resigned from the party, joined another political party, or became independent elected representatives.

In GE14, the party secured several parliamentary and state legislative seats and subsequently formed the federal and several state governments.

Fuziah said that on or about Feb 24, 2020, it was publicly known that each of the defendants had ceased to be party members after having been elected under PKR’s banner.

She said the defendants had aligned themselves with or supported a political coalition other than PH.

Except for Baru, the rest supported Muhyiddin Yassin in the Sheraton Move to be appointed prime minister. Muhyiddin later headed the Perikatan Nasional federal government.

The party terminated their memberships on March 11, 2020 and demanded compliance with the bond, but received no response.

Fuziah said the party had spent substantial resources protecting its brand, developing human resources to promote its platform, identifying and endorsing candidates, conducting national and state campaigns, and securing electoral success at the federal and state levels.

She said the resignations or realignment of the defendants after the election altered the composition of the governing majority at the federal or state level, and affected the party’s ability to carry out the mandate obtained at the election.