- Employers need to follow the September 15 holiday directive
- KLIA Terminal 2 autogate rosak lagi
- Thailand and Cambodia gaduh lagi
IN Malaysia
PM Anwar rolls out Sejahtera Madani for rakyat and new manisan for the semicon
Before we start, I want to do a bit of ranting. Understandable that the word ‘Madani’ is slapped on everything for branding purposes. We can’t help ourselves but wonder, if ditakdirkan PM Anwar is no longer the PM, would Sejahtera Madani still be known as Sejahtera Madani? Or will it quietly evolve into Sejahtera [Insert New Slogan Here]? Maybe this is all part of a masterplan to grow our creative industry from 1.9% of GDP in 2022 to… who knows, 5% by 2027? Malaysia memang boleh.
Okay, back to serious stuff, PM Anwar Ibrahim recently announced the Sejahtera Madani 2025 initiative aimed at improving the well-being of poor and hardcore poor households across Malaysia. Targeting rakyat within their eKasih database, Sejahtera Madani will consolidate various forms of government, private sector, and civil society aid into a single, focused approach to poverty reduction, in the form of four main pillars – income generation, education, housing and welfare. As of July 15, 306,403 heads of households are registered in eKasih nationwide, comprising 1,017 hardcore poor and 305,386 poor households.
Apart from the rakyat, on a separate event during the Asean Semiconductor Summit in Kuala Lumpur this week, PM Anwar announced three key measures to ensure Malaysia’s semiconductor industry remains globally competitive.
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Unlock more catalytic capital to support early-stage research and development, product development, and ecosystem scaling. So far, RM2 bil has been pooled from stakeholders to support this measure.;
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Elevate our semiconductor diplomacy through deeper government-to-government cooperation, expanding market access for Malaysian firms and forging trusted technology partnerships;
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Robust talent development via collaboration between Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science and Technology (Crest) and Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp). RM1.2 bul has been earmarked for the next five years to create 60,000 engineers.
During the event, PM Anwar also revealed that Malaysia has secured over RM63 bil (RM58 bil came from foreign investors and RM5 bil from domestic sources) worth of semiconductor investments under its National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) as of March 2025. NSS aims to grow 10 Malaysian companies with revenues exceeding USD1 bil (RM4.2 bil) and 100 companies with revenue close to RM1 bil. Putrajaya even set a moonshot target to add another Malaysian company to the Fortune 500 listing. So far, Petronas is the only Malaysian company featured in the list.
https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/763905
Pening-pening lalat on the September 15 additional holiday
PM Anwar Ibrahim recently announced an additional public holiday on September 15. The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president, Soh Thian Lai, is calling on Putrajaya to issue the official gazette notification under the Holidays Act 1951 to confirm whether this falls under Section 8 or Section 9. As the manufacturing sector is sensitive to last-minute holiday declarations, such a delay in providing clarity by the Government can cost the sector up to RM1 bil in lost productivity. Section 8 allows the Minister to declare special public or bank holidays for Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territories, while Section 9 permits state authorities to declare public holidays specific to their respective states.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/763808
In an effort to provide clarity to the industry, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim stated that employers must comply with the public holiday declared on September 15 by either giving employees the day off with regular pay, paying public holiday rates if they are required to work, or offering a replacement day off. This is because the additional holiday is subject to provisions under Section 60D(1) of the Employment Act 1955, the Sabah Labour Ordinance (Chapter 67), the Sarawak Labour Ordinance (Chapter 76), and the Holidays Act 1951.
Shorts
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Autogate crash at KLIA Terminal 2 – Not again, as less than a week after the previous crash, half of KLIA Terminal 2’s automatic gate suffered a technical glitch. However, the autogates at KLIA Terminal 1, totalling about 100 units, were functioning properly. Malaysia Boleh!Kbai.
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Lynas to go deeper into Malaysia – Australian-based Lynas Rare Earths Ltd announced that the company has signed an initial pact with Korean permanent magnet manufacturer JS Link to develop a rare earth permanent magnet production in Malaysia. The new magnet production plant, projected to manufacture up to tonnes of neodymium-iron-boron type of permanent sintered magnet, will be built in Kuantan, Pahang. The magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnet currently available, used in wind turbines and other devices requiring high torque and power, such as MRI scanners. Majulah Malaysia. Eh salah, Malaysia Boleh.
Around the SEA
Thailand and Cambodia cannot just stop fighting
As both Cambodia and Thailand are tense up in the balls regarding the border dispute, a morning clash that started with small arms fire to heavy shelling by both parties. The situation prompted Thailand to scramble F-16 fighter jets to bomb targets in Cambodia. Cambodia called the airstrike ‘reckless and brutal military aggression’. All in all, according to Thailand, 12 fatalities were recorded, where 11 of them were civilians. The number of Cambodian casualties was unclear.
The situation at the Thailand-Cambodia border can quickly escalate into a regional fight if this conflict is not quickly put under control. ASEAN, please buat kerja and play a bigger role in mediating beyond the meeting rooms.
— Canton Straits (@straits_canton) July 24, 2025
For your EYES only
After the ‘penghargaan luar biasa’ announcement by PM Anwar Ibrahim, you might want to make sure your MyKad is up to date to receive the RM100 vouchers to be remitted to all Malaysians via MyKad.
[1/3] SIRI #AmbilTahu : MYKAD ROSAK, APA PERLU BUAT?
Ramai dah mula cek MyKad kan?
Tak perlu serbu kaunter JPN hanya untuk semak MyKad. Pastikan dulu ada tanda kerosakan contohnya macam cip gagal dibaca atau kad retak. pic.twitter.com/Fmr32vcORK
— Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara 🇲🇾 (@jpnhqofficial) July 24, 2025
