Kuala Lumpur  - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi resigned Thursday after obtaining the consent of the country's constitutional monarch, paving the way for his deputy Najib Razak to be declared the new premier.

Abdullah, 70, arrived at the royal palace in the capital Kuala Lumpur early Thursday, to hand in his letter of resignation.

Government officials said Najib is due to be sworn in as the country's sixth prime minister on Friday.

Abdullah served as premier for slightly over five years, after he took over from former leader Mahathir Mohamad in November 2003.

Kuala Lumpur  - A 9-year-old boy said to be suffering from a central nervous system disorder died after he was caned by his teacher at school, official news reports said Wednesday.

The boy complained of dizziness after he was disciplined and caned by the female teacher at a school in the southern state of Negeri Sembilan, said state police chief Osman Salleh.

His parents were alerted, and they immediately sent the boy to a hospital for treatment, Osman was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Kuala Lumpur  - Barring divine intervention or an extremely well-hidden plan by his detractors, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak will be named Malaysia's sixth prime minister in a matter of days.

Outgoing premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is scheduled to resign on Thursday, paving the way for his deputy to be sworn in at a date that has yet to be announced, but that could happen the very same day.

Kuala Lumpur - The Japanese government on Monday pledged a grant of 29.9 million ringgit (8.1 million dollars) to boost Malaysia's maritime security efforts in the Malacca Strait.

"Safety and security in the strait is a high priority not only to Malaysia but also for international users like Japan," said Japanese Ambassador Masahiko Horie during a signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's national carmaker and Dutch firm Detroit Electric on Monday inked a 1.2-billion-ringgit (331 million dollars) agreement to mass produce electric cars to sell in Europe, China and the United States.

The agreement calls for Proton to build 40,000 vehicles within the first year, all of which will be marketed under Detroit Electric's own brand and launched in Europe and Asia from next February, and in the US three to six months later, said Albert Lam, chief executive of Detroit Electric.

Kuala Lumpur, Mar 28 : Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) leader P. Uthayakumar has filed a fourth habeas corpus application in the Malaysian High Court to secure release from detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Uthayakumar has filed a notice of motion, a supporting affidavit and a certificate of urgency at the court’s criminal registry through his lawyer N. Surendran on Friday, The Star reported.

In the notice of motion, Surendran applied for his client to be freed immediately due to his worsening diabetic condition and injury on his left foot.