Author - De Fa Wang

99 Speed Mart clarifies EPF acquired 0.07% stake, raising holding to 5.02%

PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has emerged as a substantial shareholder in 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd after acquiring a 0.07% stake in the company. In an amended filing with Bursa Malaysia, the EPF clarified that it had acquired six million shares in the minimart chain operator on June 4 and not 421.79...

Solar streetlights to be installed on East-West Highway

IPOH: A total of 385 solar-powered streetlights are planned for installation along the stretch of the East-West Highway in Gerik, where a fatal crash claimed the lives of 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students. Perak Public Works Department director Zamri Mat Kasim said the units have already been tendered for installation in the area. The tender...

Petronas prioritises employee welfare amid strategic workforce rightsizing

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) remains committed to safeguarding employee welfare amid a global polycrisis and mounting challenges in maximising the country’s oil and gas potential. The national oil company announced plans for workforce adjustments, estimating a 10% reduction as part of a group-wide restructuring to cut costs amid falling crude prices and continued market...

Beijing airports see surging tax refunds for overseas travellers

BEIJING: In the first five months of this year, the customs of two major airports in Beijing processed departure tax refund applications for overseas travellers totalling approximately 478 million yuan (about US$66.52 million), up 91.61 per cent year-on-year, setting a new record high for the same period in history, according to Beijing Customs. From January to...

Haj 1446H marks final summer Haj until 2050s, says Saudi National Centre for Meteorology

MINA: Spokesperson for the Saudi National Centre for Meteorology (NCM), Hussein Al-Qahtani stated that this year’s Haj season, 1446 AH, marks the end of Haj’s association with the summer months. Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that Al-Qahtani noted that the next eight Haj seasons will occur during spring, followed by eight more in winter, then in...

Mother pleads for runaway daughter to return home

JOHOR BARU: A single mother is pleading for her teenage daughter to come home, nearly two months after she ran away from the family home in Batu Pahat. Soh Shui Ping, 35, said her 15-year-old daughter, the eldest of four children, left their home in Taman Murni, Batu Pahat, on April 28. She claims a man who...

Opinion: All phones should be banned from all schools

I am breaking my behavioural advice column format for the first time since I started writing it in 2014. The normal format of answering questions about how adults can teach kids to be better people will return next week. I have never broken format because, in my lifetime, there has never been a topic in education that...

S’wak keen on global partnerships in its bid to become a clean energy leader

KUCHING: Sarawak is reaffirming its position as South-East Asia's clean energy leader with a commitment to clear policies and international cooperation, says the state's Deputy Energy and Environmental Sustainability Minister. Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni said Sarawak also invested in innovation as part of its energy transition plans. "Sarawak is proud to be a pioneer in Asean...

HK actress Tavia Yeung attends Raymond Lam’s concert, then takes bus to hotpot supper

Hong Kong actor-singer Raymond Lam is one lucky guy. Not only did he have a lineup of guest performers – including former co-star Linda Chung –  at his concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum, he also drew a crowd of celebrity friends to support him in the audience. On one of the seven nights of his concert series,...

Feeling powerless at work? You need a change in perspective

Whether it’s feeling left out of important decisions, not daring to speak up in meetings or ­thinking that everything has already been decided, for many employees, their lack of power at work engenders a form of despondency. Yet a recent study suggests that a simple change of perspective could be enough to help reverse the situation. It...