Kuala Lumpur - Somali pirates have released a Malaysian oil tanker after holding the vessel and its 41-member crew hostage for more than a month, reports said Monday.
The MT Bunga Melati 5 tanker was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen on August 29, and its crew of Malaysian and Filipino nationals taken hostage.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said late Sunday that the pirates have released the ship, and all remaining crew members were safe.
"All its crew members have been released and the vessel is now heading to Djibouti. The crew members are all in good health," he said.
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's ruling party decided Friday to postpone its elections amid growing speculations that embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will resign within months.
Abdullah, who is president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), said that the party will hold its elections in March instead of December as scheduled.
Abdullah said this was to "facilitate an early transition," but declined to elaborate. Abdullah has said he is likely to resign before June 2010 and hand power over to his deputy Najib Razak. Traditionally, the UMNO president becomes the prime minister.
Kuala Lumpur, Sept. 25 : A group of 96 Indian non-governmental organizations want the Government to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) leaders detained before Deepavali next month.
According to The Star, they said it would be the best gift to the Indian community if the five -- M. Manoharan, P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and K. Vasanthakumar -- detained for 268 days under the Internal Security Act (ISA) were released.
At a meeting organized by the MIC Youth, they said they supported the appeal made by MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to free them.
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia has enlisted 2,000 housewives and students to go undercover to unmask traders and retailers who charge exorbitant prices for their goods and services, news reports said Thursday.
The government has imposed price controls on 17 items, and traders caught selling those goods for more than the stipulated ceiling would be fined.
Kuala Lumpur, Sep 24 : The Malaysian Indian Congress has urged the Government to set up a special unit to handle the issue of Malay Indians without birth certificates and identity cards.
MIC Youth chief T. Mohan said the issue affected over 20,000 people and that such a unit was necessary because the National Registration Department (NRD) took a long time to resolve these cases.
“There have been instances when a case was resolved only after it was highlighted in the media,” The Star quoted him, as saying.
Mohan said he had handled these cases for more than seven years but achieved a success rate of only between 6-7 percent.
Kuala Lumpur, Sep 24 : Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has agreed to consider the Malaysian Indian Congress’s appeal to release five Hindraf leaders detained under the ISA.
“The Prime Minister has promised to discuss the matter with the Home Minister and arrive at a decision,” said MIC president S. Samy Vellu.
Samy Vellu and Human Resources Minister Dr S. Subramaniam, who is also MIC secretary-general, had a 30-minute meeting with Badawi in Putrajaya.
He said the meeting was to seek the immediate release of the five Hindraf leaders R. Kengadharan, M. Manoharan, V. Ganabatirau, P. Uthayakumar and K. Vasantha Kumar from ISA detention.
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia has enlisted 2,000 housewives and students to go undercover to unmask traders and retailers who charge exorbitant prices for their goods and services, news reports said Thursday.
