- Malaysia will soon enjoy 90 days of visa-free travel to China
- WFH for students during the ASEAN Summit
- The Pakistan-India conflict is escalating fast
IN Malaysia
Malaysians can enter China visa-free for up to 90 days
Goodbye Kampung Kuala London, as the likes of Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be the new year-end gateway for Malaysians, as under the soon-to-be formalised Mutual Visa Exemption Agreement, Malaysian citizens will soon be able to enjoy visa-free entry to China for a cumulative stay of up to 90 days. The Embassy of China in Malaysia, in a statement, said the agreement will be in force for five years and will be automatically extended for another five years. The extension builds on the current reciprocal agreement, which allows nationals of China and Malaysia to make visa-free visits to each other for stays of up to 30 days.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/754276
Thank you, China, for this privilege for Malaysians. Bila a good friend gives you a present, as part of Malaysian culture, we normally give something similar or better in return. However, this time around, Malaysia acted like Jebat derhaka kepada sultan. Malaysia has imposed a five-year anti-dumping duty on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) imports from Indonesia (37.44%) and China (2.29% to 11.74%). Dumping refers to a situation where a company or country sells goods in a foreign market at a price lower than the price they charge in their own domestic market, or even below their cost of production. The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) has found out that the dumping activities have negatively impacted the domestic producers that manufacture similar products. The decision to impose the anti-dumping duty was made based on a petition filed by a local producer, Recron (M) Sdn Bhd.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/754298
Diving deeper into the visa-free travel, the privilege is also reciprocally enjoyed by Chinese travellers to Malaysia. However, not all Malaysians are happy with this news. Small business owners, such as a photography studio owner, Alan Neh, have expressed concerns that the visa-free travel will lead to the growing influx of mainland Chinese who will exploit the benefit and work illegally in Malaysia. In responding to the matter, Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing has defended the 90-day visa-free entry policy for Chinese nationals to Malaysia and stated that the problem is not the policy but the enforcement of the policy. For this part, we agree with Tiong that any policy involving the free movement of people in a controlled manner is welcomed, as it will spur spending at businesses in Malaysia. Increased travel convenience will also translate into more business opportunities. We do not see this issue when we open the door to ang moh, so why treat Chinese nationals differently? Nanti bilang kamu r***st kamu terasa pula.
ECRL is 82.45% completed
Transport Minister Anthony Loke has updated that the anticipated East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project has achieved an overall progress rate of 82.45% as of April 2025. Below is the key information on the project –
- ECRL’s first phase, spanning 665km from Kota Bharu to Terminal Bersepadu Gombak, will be operational in January 2027;
- There will be 20 stations, where 10 will be passenger-only stations and the remaining 10 will be combined passenger and freight stations;
- The operational speed for the passenger train will be 160km/h, while the freight train will be half the speed of the passenger train, at 80km/h;
- There will be four main interchanges at Temerloh, Gombak, Serendah Baru and Jalan Kastam, connecting ECRL to other rail lines such as KTM ETS/Intercity, KTM Komuter and LRT.
Once operational, Loke said that the project will employ some 1,800 personnel. The main contractor of the project, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), has contributed RM12 mil as part of its sponsorship commitment to support Malaysian students through an industrial skills training program. As an initial step, 210 Malaysian trainees from various backgrounds will be sent to Liuzhou, China, for a one-year intensive training program. The first batch of 102 trainees is scheduled to depart in phases beginning May 15.
Certain schools will WFH during the ASEAN Summit
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced that schools located on routes to be affected by the upcoming two-day ASEAN Summit will be closed, but students and teachers will still be in classes, albeit virtually. The Ministry of Education will release the list of schools that will be closed soon. Additionally, the government has encouraged both private and public employers to work from home on those two days.
The 46th ASEAN Summit, which is held biannually, will return to Kuala Lumpur on May 26 and 27 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC). About 20,000 people will gather at KLCC, including 19 heads of state and government, from ASEAN countries, Gulf nations and China. This round of the ASEAN Summit will, of course, be focusing on Trump’s tariffs and how the region is expected to respond to the matter, amongst others.
Around the S.E.A.
India and Pakistan went full ballistic
In response to the missile strikes by India into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan proper, Pakistan responded by allegedly shooting down five Indian Air Force jets, including three Rafale jets – sophisticated multi-role fighters made in France – were among those downed, as well as a Mig-29 and an SU-30 fighter. Although the main players in this battlefield are India and Pakistan, however, both France and China are also players behind the scenes. So, how are China and France involved in a conflict fought thousands of kilometres from their border? The French-based Dassault Group is the manufacturer of the Rafale jets. As fighter jets are the pride and glory of a country that manufactures them, the downing of the Rafale jets is a huge slap in the face for both Dassault and France, as they always brag about the jets being one of the most advanced jets in the world. As for China, it has appeared that China’s PL-15 Air-To-Air missiles were used to shoot down the Rafale jets. Having a stigma of producing sub-par military equipment previously, this situation will surely boost Chinese military arsenal exports in the future. So, yay to China and boo to France.
Oh, to those uninformed, the current escalation between India and Pakistan is in response to the massacre of 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, who died in April when gunmen stormed a scenic mountain spot in the India-administered part of Kashmir, a disputed border region. India has blamed Pakistan for the attack, which Islamabad denies.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/07/asia/operation-sindoor-india-pakistan-attack-wwk-intl-hnk
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