Gang threaten students with weapons

China Press and Guang Ming Daily reported that gang members from a particular group posed as students, infiltrated the schools and used machetes and iron rods to intimidate and coerce students into joining their gang. Those who refused were threatened with violence. The two dailies claimed six students from two unnamed schools in Kajang, aged 14 to 16 were threatened. One student who resisted was attacked at a hawker centre along with his three friends, sustaining head injuries.

Economists believed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement to implement targeted diesel subsidy measures first in Peninsular Malaysia can potentially improve the government’s financial situation is the headline in Nanyang Daily.

However, they caution that this must be done gradually; otherwise, it could disrupt the national economy and hinder Malaysia’s medium- to long-term development plan.

Sin Chew Daily highlighted Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Chang Lih Kang’s statement that future purchases of hydrogen vehicles may come with multiple benefits, including exemptions from import tax, excise tax, and road tax, and possibly even subsidies for the purchase of the vehicles.

Kwong Wah Daily reported Minister of Housing and Local Government, Nga Kor Ming’s disclosure that his ministry closely monitored local councils that failed to comply with directives and demonstrated poor performance. If their performance had failed to improve, the matter would have been escalated to the Public Service Department for necessary action. He stressed that the allocation of funds by the ministry was contingent upon the performance of each local council. Any local councils that exhibited subpar performance would have faced reductions in their funding, along with the issuance of warning letters to the respective district or city council chairperson and secretary.

Editorial

Nanyang Daily

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deepfake technology have become more prevalent and pose unprecedented challenges pointed out Nanyang Daily. These technologies can be used to create deceptive videos and audio. The daily said scammers made use of AI to deceive people. It also mentioned that addressing this threat required technological tools to detect deepfakes, public awareness campaigns, and robust legal frameworks. The daily added that International collaboration was crucial to combat cross-border crimes. The daily underscored the necessity for collaborative endeavours in technology, education, law, and global cooperation to safeguard public interests and foster societal harmony in the AI era, while also recognizing the strides made in technological advancements.

Sin Chew Daily

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stated in his national address on Tuesday evening that shrinking income and excessive spending were the main reasons for the government’s heavy debt burden, pointed out Sin Chew Daily. The daily mentioned that currently, Malaysia’s debt (including federal government debt, guaranteed commitments, 1MDB debt, and other liabilities) totalled RM1.2 trillion, accounting for 64.3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The daily said that this meant that for every RM1 of tax revenue, the government needed to allocate 16 sen to repay debt interest. Yes, a total of 16% of tax revenue was solely used for interest payments, excluding debt principal repayment.

The daily said that the Madani government had to prioritize reforms, including reducing national debt, improving administrative efficiency, offering incentives for foreign investment, and increasing people’s wages. It also said that steadfast determination was crucial for Malaysia to overcome the middle-income trap.