Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday announced bonuses for the 40,000 employees of national oil firm Petronas, signaling a long wait for a general election is nearly over as he seeks last-minute support from the middle class.
In recent days, Najib has expanded a slew of handouts to include thousands of workers at state-linked firms, underlining the government’s ability to try to win support through its close control of Malaysia’s biggest companies.
Najib, whose ruling National Front coalition could face the closest election battle in its 56-year rule, must call the polls by the end of this month or parliament will automatically dissolve for the first time in the nation’s history.
At a town hall-style meeting with Petronas staff in Kuala Lumpur, Najib said they would each get 1,000 ringgit (US$320) bonuses for “contributing to nation-building.”
Media predicted he would dissolve parliament today. The New Straits Times reported that ministers had been ordered to wear a suit and tie for today’s regular Cabinet meeting for an official photograph. Today marks exactly four years since Najib took power after the coalition’s worst-ever election result.
Najib appeared to be getting ready for battle as he told the Petronas staff, who make up a part of Malaysia’s urban middle class that has swung to the opposition in recent elections, to keep the government in power, company officials said.
“He told us that we had to vote wisely or Petronas, which has always been independent under the current government, will lose its independence if the opposition came into power,” a Petronas employee who attended the meeting said.
The board of Petronas answers only to Najib, who approved the one-off bonuses amounting to 40 million ringgit.
If Najib dissolves parliament today, it would signal an election by at the end of the month or early next month, raising doubt over his participation in an ASEAN summit in Brunei on April 24 and 25.
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
‘POLITICAL LOYALTY’: The move breaks with decades of precedent among US administrations, which have tended to leave career ambassadors in their posts US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered dozens of US ambassadors to step down, people familiar with the matter said, a precedent-breaking recall that would leave embassies abroad without US Senate-confirmed leadership. The envoys, career diplomats who were almost all named to their jobs under former US president Joe Biden, were told over the phone in the past few days they needed to depart in the next few weeks, the people said. They would not be fired, but finding new roles would be a challenge given that many are far along in their careers and opportunities for senior diplomats can
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
RSS