Joseph Sipalan

1 week ago | scmp.com | Joseph Sipalan

Trade authorities in Malaysia have launched an investigation into claims that Chinese engineers bypassed US chip curbs by renting data centres packed with high-end Nvidia chips to train their artificial intelligence (AI) model in the country. The allegation, made in a report by The Wall Street Journal last Thursday, poses a potential stumbling block to Malaysia’s tariff negotiations with the US, which has curbed China’s access to high-end chips, including through third nations.

1 week ago | scmp.com | Joseph Sipalan

Southeast Asian nations are urging the evacuation of their citizens from Iran and Israel as the air war escalates, with Malaysia warning of “rapidly deteriorating conditions” and Thailand preparing to bring back tens of thousands of migrant labourers from Israeli farms and factories. Thousands of Iranians have fled the capital of Tehran this week, since Israel launched strikes that have killed more than 220 people, mostly civilians.

1 week ago | scmp.com | Joseph Sipalan

A Malaysian singer and actor was charged on Tuesday for the alleged sexual assault of an underaged girl, a crime that carries up to 20 years in jail and caning if convicted. Naim Daniel, who shot to fame with his 2022 hit single Sumpah (Swear) – which has reached 42 million views on YouTube – is accused of sexually assaulting the 17-year-old victim on May 19 at a hotel in Petaling Jaya district, just outside the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

1 week ago | scmp.com | Joseph Sipalan

Malaysia will press on with planned cuts to petrol subsidies, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said, despite mounting public pushback over government measures to cut costs and raise taxes. The government is expected to slash costly petrol subsidies as early as July, a move that Anwar said was necessary to deflate the country’s multibillion-dollar subsidy bill and make sure the savings reach those most in need.

1 week ago | scmp.com | Joseph Sipalan

Malaysia’s government is under pressure to fix damaged highways and tackle the country’s poor road safety record after a Singaporean cyclist became the latest casualty of roads that claim the life of one person every two hours. A 42-year-old Singaporean man died on Saturday when he was run over by a gravel-laden truck after he hit a pothole and fell from his bike in the Kulai district of the southern Johor state, police said.