Kuala Lumpur, Aug 23 : Following reports of school teachers targeting students of Indian origin in Malaysia and subjecting them to physical and verbal abuse, the country’s police have found themselves powerless in taking action against such teachers, saying the maximum they could do was to report such instances to the Education Department.

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's government Saturday reduced the retail price of petrol by 5.6 per cent to help curb rising inflation.

The pump price of gasoline was fixed at 2.55 ringgit (0.77 dollars) per litre down from 2.70 ringgit. Diesel prices have been reduced from 2.58 ringgit to 2.50 ringgit per litre.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made the announcement late Friday, saying the move would help curb inflation, which rose to a decade-high of 8.5 per cent in July.

"The government hopes that the reduction in gasoline and diesel prices will help to ease consumers' burden as well as ease inflationary pressure," Abdullah said in a statement.

Kuala Lumpur, Aug 22: Over the past almost one year, incidents of school teachers physically abusing students of Indian origin have been on the rise in Malaysia, and in some instances, teachers even called the Indian students by derogatory names.

The school teachers have reportedly acquired the ‘hate-Indian students’ attitude after the transfer of a school teacher from a secondary school in Banting, who is now facing an inquiry after she admitted to leveling racial slurs against Indian students.

Several parents of such children here have lodged police reports since November last year alleging that as many as five school teachers had physically and verbally abused Indian students.

Kuala Lumpur - Two trainee pilots have been reported missing after their two-seater aircraft was believed to have crashed in a jungle in Malaysia's north-eastern state of Terengganu, news reports said Thursday.

The two trainees, ages 20 and 21, from a private aviation school had taken off in a Diamon 40 MAHA aircraft late Wednesday before losing contact with the control tower minutes later, the official Bernama news agency said.

Nairobi/Mogadishu - Pirates have hijacked a Malaysian tanker with over 20 crew members on board in the Gulf of Aden, the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre said Wednesday.

The body said that the ship, which is carrying crude palm oil, is thought to be heading into Somali coast waters.

A ransom demand is expected to be issued soon.

Piracy off Somalia's lawless coast has surged in the last three months. Prior to the latest attack, the IMB said that eight vessels had been attacked in the region and issued a fresh warning for the Gulf of Aden.

A general cargo ship was hijacked on August 12, and is currently being held for ransom along with its 28 crew, the IMB said.

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's former immigration chief was charged Tuesday with accepting bribes worth 60,000 ringgit (18,000 dollars) to speed up visas for more than 4,300 Bangladeshi workers.

Former immigration director-general Abdul Wahid Mohamad Don pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on a 50,000-ringgit bail, the official Bernama news agency said.

Abdul Wahid was accused of accepting the bribe on 10 July to expedite visa approvals for 4,337 Bangladeshis. He was arrested two days later by the Anti-Corruption Agency.