The 87-year-old king was on a private vacation in a South-East Asian country when he got sick with an infection earlier this week.
“The King is still getting better,” the palace said.
The government of Norway asked its military to help bring the king back to Norway.
A medical plane arrived in Langkawi on Friday after leaving Oslo the day before.
Prince Haakon is in charge when his father isn’t there. He is going to lead the meeting with the prime minister and the government on Friday.
King Harald has been the leader of Norway for a long time, and he is the oldest king in Europe who is still alive. He has been in the hospital a lot in the past few years because of infections, and he has also had heart surgery.
Harald is a well-liked king and he is related to Queen Victoria. He says he won’t give up being king because he promised to serve Norway forever.
The ex-leader of Malaysia, Najib Razak, was given a 6-year jail sentence for being corrupt instead of his original 12-year sentence by the country’s pardons board.
Najib was put in prison in 2022 for stealing money from Malaysia’s government fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The board lowered the fine for him to 50 million ringgit (8. 3 million pounds; 10. 5 million dollars) from the original 210 million ringgit.
Najib has to pay all of it to be let go in August 2028.
If he doesn’t pay, he will have to stay in prison for another year until 2029.
He was found guilty in 2020 after trying for two years to prove he was not guilty in court.
The arrest of a very important leader in Asian politics at that time caused big problems in South East Asia. It was seen as a rare case of being responsible in a place where those in charge often don’t have to explain their actions.
But on Tuesday, it was reported that Malaysia’s pardons board had met on the last day of the King’s time in office to discuss Najib’s request to be released. Malaysia has a monarchy where the king changes every now and then. King Abdullah Ahmad Shah gave his role to Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar on Wednesday.
James Chin, a professor at the University of Tasmania, said that the shorter sentence shows that leaders in South East Asia do whatever they want without punishment.
“If you become successful in your career, nothing bad can happen to you,” Prof Chin told the BBC.
He said that the information about the pardons board’s decision seems like they wanted to control how the public might feel about it.
Najib’s political party, UMNO, used to be in charge of Malaysia. Now they are trying to get a pardon from the king after trying other ways to appeal their case.
Two weeks ago, Najib was taken from prison by guards to go to a court in Kuala Lumpur to hear his new legal challenge. He and his wife Rosmah Mansor still have a lot of other charges against them.
Even though Najib’s reputation was hurt a lot by the 1MDB scandal and his involvement in it, he is still liked by regular UMNO supporters. This is because he gave a lot of help to ethnic Malay communities while he was in charge. He built more support for himself with a clever advertising campaign, even after he was accused, using the slogan Bossku (Your Boss).
No UMNO leaders who took over for him are as well-liked, so they had to make it look like they were trying to remove him. Najib’s party is not as strong as it used to be, but it is still one of the biggest parties in Malaysia. It is also part of the government group led by his old enemy Anwar Ibrahim. It’s not surprising to see its wishes being met.
The 1MDB scheme is a big scam that involved stealing money from public projects in Malaysia and putting it into private pockets, including Najib’s.
Jho Low, a runaway money man, is thought to have planned the scam and is wanted by Malaysian officials. Last year, the country’s anti-corruption organization said they think he is in Macau.
The case is about a fund called 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) that was started in 2009 while Najib was the prime minister.
Sovereign wealth funds are like piggy banks that belong to the government and are used to help the country grow economically. Constructed using money earned by the state, such as profits from selling oil and other products, they have a lot of cash to invest and a lot of power in other countries.
In 2015, people were worried about what 1MBD was doing when it didn’t pay the money it owed to banks and people who had bought its bonds.
Malaysian and US governments say that $4. 5 billion was taken from the fund unfairly and put into people’s own pockets.
The stolen money was used to buy fancy houses, a private airplane, paintings by Van Gogh and Monet, and even to fund a big movie called The Wolf of Wall Street. Leonardo DiCaprio starred in the movie.
Last week, the US bank Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $3. 9 billion to the Malaysian government for its involvement in a large corruption scheme.
The agreement settles accusations in Malaysia that the bank deceived investors while assisting in raising $6. 5 billion for 1MDB.
Malaysia has taken a significant step by prohibiting cargo ships displaying Israeli flags from docking at its ports, citing Israel’s actions in Gaza as a violation of basic humanitarian principles.
This move extends to banning all ships destined for Israel from loading cargo at ports within the Muslim-majority country.
Malaysia, which lacks formal diplomatic ties with Israel, faced pressure from groups within the government to enforce this ban.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in a statement, announced the immediate revocation of the permit allowing Israel’s largest shipping company, ZIM, to utilize Malaysian ports.
He said: “These sanctions are a response to Israel’s actions that ignore basic humanitarian principles and violate international law through the ongoing massacre and brutality against Palestinians.”
ZIM and the Israeli government have not yet responded to the announcement.
The Philippines, alongside Malaysia and India, is unhappy with China‘s new national map because it seems like China is claiming their land.
China released a new version of its national map on Monday, which it has been doing since at least 2006, to fix what Beijing has previously called “problematic maps” that it believes incorrectly depict its boundaries.
The Philippines stated on Thursday that they did not accept the map because it showed a dashed line around disputed parts of the South China Sea. This line was part of a ruling by an international tribunal in 2016, which supported the Philippines’ claims.
The Philippines Foreign Affairs department said that the map is China’s recent attempt to make it seem like they have power and control over Philippine areas and waters. However, this is not supported by international law.
India was the first to express unhappiness on Tuesday by strongly objecting to China including the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and the disputed Aksai-Chin territory as part of its own territory.
India’s foreign secretary, Arindam Bagchi, said that we have expressed our strong disagreement with China through diplomatic channels about their map claiming India’s land in 2023. “We disagree with these statements since they lack any proof or foundation. ”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Malaysia disagreed with China’s claims and said that Malaysia does not accept any foreign party’s ownership or control of Malaysia’s maritime features.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin responded to the complaints during a press briefing on Wednesday. He said that the changes made were a normal practice of exercising control within the country’s laws.
“He added that he hopes everyone involved can stay fair-minded and calm, and avoid making too many assumptions about the issue. ”
Since becoming the leader in 2012, Xi Jinping has tried to make China very powerful worldwide. He has been aggressive in dealing with other countries and has made bold moves in important areas in Asia.
The argument over the map happened a few days after the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Xi met in South Africa. During their meeting, they agreed to work harder to reduce tensions at their disputed border. This was seen as a positive step towards improving their strained relationship.
This happened after India and China talked for the 19th time to sort out their border problem. It happened before there might be a meeting between Modi and Xi at the G20 summit in New Delhi next week – if Xi goes to the summit.
Although it seems like progress is being made in their border disputes, experts say that may not always be true.
Akhil Ramesh, a senior fellow at the Pacific Forum, a foreign policy research institute in Honolulu, said that India and China try to resolve their differences, but it seems like they make little progress and often face setbacks.
In this situation, even though both sides may say they want to reduce tensions, I don’t think it will actually happen. Both countries want to become leaders in the southern part of the world, and they are both working hard to achieve this.
Borders have caused problems between New Delhi and Beijing for a long time, and conflicts in the area have led to war in the past, which China won in 1962. Over the years, a border known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has divided two very populated countries.
The two countries had more problems in 2020 after a big fight in the Galwan Valley. This place is near Aksai Chin, an area controlled by China but both countries say it belongs to them. Tensions have been building up since then and recently became more serious in December when there was a clash between soldiers from both sides in the Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh, causing minor injuries.
While there are problems between Beijing and New Delhi, politicians from India’s main opposition party, Congress, have criticized Modi for not taking the border issue seriously.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that China frequently changes the names and boundaries of territories that belong to other countries. The Modi government needs to make sure that the Chinese occupation of 2,000 square kilometers of Indian land along the LAC is stopped and ended.
Lawmaker Rahul Gandhi told the reporters on Wednesday that he has been saying for a long time that the prime minister was not telling the truth when he claimed that no land was lost in Ladakh.
Everyone in Ladakh knows that China has taken our land. This map problem is very important. the prime minister should talk about it,” he added.
Modi has mostly stayed away from talking about the border problem, even going on live TV and claiming that no one has entered or is entering the country.
But India has taken some actions to resist potential dangers from China. They have prohibited the use of popular Chinese apps like TikTok on social media because they believe these apps may harm their independence and unity. Additionally, they are also preventing Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE from providing their 5G network.
With a growing sense of patriotism in both countries, New Delhi has become more worried about China’s increasing assertiveness. This worry has strengthened India’s relationship with the United States, particularly through the Quad – a group consisting of Japan, the US, India, and Australia, which is seen as a way to balance China’s power.
China refused to attend a G20 tourism meeting organized by India in the Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir. They did this because they disagree with having any G20 meetings in disputed areas. Both India and Pakistan say that they own the disputed region of Kashmir completely.
A private jet that was trying to land in Malaysia collided with a road, perhaps killing several persons.
Police informed Reuters and AFP that when the jet struck Guthrie Highway close to Elmina, eight persons on board as well as two drivers all perished.
CAAM, the aviation regulator, would not, however, confirm the fee.
The Beechcraft Model 390 aircraft, which was flying from Langkawi to Selangor, collided with the highway while trying to land.
According to Selangor Police Chief Hussein Omar Khan, the plane crashed on the highway as it was about to arrive at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Selangor after losing communication with the air traffic control tower.
“There was no emergency call, and the aircraft had been given clearance to land,” he continued.
Norazman Mahmud, the chief executive of the aviation authority, stated that the conditions of the six passengers and two members of the flight crew are yet unknown.
He noted that a search and rescue operation was underway.
The bodies of 23 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar’s Rakhine state have been discovered after their boat capsized.
According to reports, eight people made it through the catastrophe, but thirty more remain missing.
According to the survivors, they were trying to travel to Malaysia on Sunday when their boat, which was carrying more than 50 passengers, capsized and the crew abandoned it.
Hundreds of Rohingyas travel perilously by sea to Malaysia or Indonesia every year.
They are running away from Bangladeshi refugee camps that are overcrowded and persecution in Myanmar. According to a rescue team that spoke to BBC Burmese, there were 13 women and 10 men, all Muslims from the Rohingya ethnic minority, killed this week.
In Myanmar, which is primarily a Buddhist country, the Muslim Rohingyas constitute an ethnic minority. In 2017, many of them fled to Bangladesh to avoid a genocide campaign carried out by the Burmese military. Since the military coup in 2021, many who are still in Myanmar have been attempting to leave as well.
The boat’s survivors this week recall being hit by a big wave close to Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine.
According to them, the smugglers abandoned the boat after receiving payment of about $4,000 (£3,153) per person for the trip to Malaysia. The victims’ bodies had either washed ashore or been picked up by other boats.
At this time of year, when monsoon storm season is at its height, travelling across the Andaman Sea in crowded fishing boats is particularly risky.
The majority of Rohingyas try to cross between October and May.
They are willing to take the chance because of the unbearably bad circumstances in which they are forced to live, whether as refugees in horrendously crowded camps in Bangladesh or as political prisoners facing discrimination and movement restrictions in Myanmar. They frequently sell their only assets, such as land, to finance the trip.
In Malaysia and Singapore, a comedian in New York who joked about the safety of Malaysian airlines in an apparent allusion to the missing of flight MH370 has triggered a fierce protest.
Controversy over the joke by lawyer-turned comedian Jocelyn Chia at Manhattan’s Comedy Cellar erupted soon after a short clip of her stand-up performance was posted online earlier this week.
Chia’s bit had centered on the uneasy past between Singapore and Malaysia, which were once part of the same country. She led off with a suggestion that since the two had separated in 1965, Singapore had risen to become a first-world country while Malaysia had allegedly remained a “developing” one.
She then went on to take aim at Malaysian airplanes by suggesting they “can’t fly,” before making what many have taken as a reference to Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the Beijing-bound flight which went missing along with 239 passengers and crew after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014.
What happened to the flight has never been conclusively established, though pieces of debris suspected of belonging to it have occasionally been discovered.
“What? Malaysia Airlines going missing not funny, huh?” she quipped to laughter, before delivering her punchline: “Some jokes don’t land.”
Police carry debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on July 29, 2015. An air safety expert did not exclude it could be a part of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.Yannick Pitonyaninick Piton/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
The joke has caused a wave of controversy in both Malaysia and Singapore. In Malaysia, the youth wing of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) – one of the biggest political parties in the country – marched to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Friday to protest what they see as an insult.
About 100 protesters and representatives handed a memorandum to the US diplomatic outpost, according to the youth group’s chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh.
“This is something that is unacceptable for the whole nation and we are here,” he said, adding, “freedom of speech must come with sensitivity.”
Singapore meanwhile has distanced itself from Chia, who according to her website is originally from the Asian city state, and apologized to Malaysia.
“The Singapore government does not condone words or actions that cause harm or hurt to others and Chia,” said Vanu Gopala Menon, Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia in a statement online. “(Chia) does not in any way reflect our views,” he added.
Menon said Chia’s joke contained “gratuitously offensive comments,” adding, “I sincerely apologize to all Malaysians for her hurtful remarks.”
In a tweet, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Chia “certainly does not speak for Singaporeans” and he was “appalled by her horrendous statements.”
“We treasure our ties with family and friends in Malaysia, and are sorry for the offense and hurt caused to all Malaysians,” he added.
His Malaysian counterpart, Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, accused the comedian of lacking sensitivity and empathy toward Malaysians and the families of the victims.
“This video also clearly depicts behavior that is contrary to the values of an Asian country that is known for its manners and morals,” he said, according to state-run news agency Bernama.
CNN has reached out to Jocelyn Chia, her agent and the Comedy Cellar for comment.
As of Sunday, Chia’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were no longer available to view.
Eid al-Fitr, the “festival of breaking the fast” that follows the holy month of Ramadan, is a time when Muslims congregate in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Relieved to be allowed to celebrate freely following the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions that had stifled past festivities, Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia have congregated in large numbers to usher in the Eid al-Fitr festival, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
To commemorate the conclusion of Ramadan, hundreds of worshippers gathered at the historic harbour of Sunda Kelapa in North Jakarta, the country with the largest proportion of Muslims in the world, for morning prayers on Saturday.
“I’m very happy that we’re free (of COVID curbs) now,” Laila, 35, who goes by one name like many Indonesians, told the Reuters news agency.
Another worshipper, 30-year-old Adit Chandra, said: “I hope it gets better from here on, and that we can gather together with our families after the last three years of not being able to go back to our hometown.”
Chandra is among the more than 120 million Indonesians – nearly half the country’s population – who plan to travel from major urban centres to their hometowns for Eid al-Fitr.
In neighbouring Malaysia, devotees also celebrated with families.
“We can visit the extended family, and do so without suspicious feelings … during the pandemic we were cautious,” said Khairul Soryati, a 39-year-old resident of the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
Muhd Nur Afham, 31, who works in Singapore said he could finally celebrate with family in Malaysia this year after not being able to travel during the pandemic.
“I’m grateful … last time we only met through video call,” he said.
Authorities in both countries have, however, urged the public to remain cautious amid reports of rising COVID cases.
In Malaysia, an elderly couple died after consuming deadly pufferfish, prompting their daughter to call for stricter regulations to stop other people from meeting the same fate.
According to authorities in the southern state of Johor, Ng Chuan Sing and his wife Lim Siew Guan, who are both in their early 80s, accidentally bought at least two pufferfish from an internet dealer on March 25.
Lim started having “breathing difficulty and shivers” the same day he fried the fish for lunch, according to the authorities. They said that her spouse Ng began exhibiting comparable symptoms an hour after the dinner.
Ng fell into a coma for eight days but his condition worsened and he died on Saturday morning, said the couple’s daughter, Ng Ai Lee, who gave a press conference at the couple’s home on Sunday before their funeral.
Ng demanded accountability for her parents’ death and for stronger laws in Malaysia, where at least 30 species of pufferfish are commonly found in surrounding waters.
“Those responsible for their deaths should be held accountable under the law and I hope the authorities will speed up investigations,” Ng said. “I also hope the Malaysian government will beef up enforcement and help to raise public awareness on pufferfish poisoning to prevent such incidents from happening again.”
Despite the dangers, poisonous pufferfish are sold at many Malaysian wet markets, experts said. “It’s considered exotic and tends to attract consumers,” said Aileen Tan, a marine biologist and director at the Universiti Sains Malaysia Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies.
“Once pufferfish have been cleaned and sold as slices, it is nearly impossible for the public to know the type of fish that they purchased,” Tan warned. “As for sellers, it is debatable on their (part) if they are aware (of the risks).”
“There needs to be more awareness about the risks of consuming puffer fish – maybe authorities need to look at special certifications for vendors and suppliers,” she said.
Commonly referred to as ‘fugu’ – the Japanese term for pufferfish – pufferfish meat is enjoyed as a highly-priced delicacy despite containing deadly poison.
The fish’s organs, as well as skin, blood and bones, contain high concentrations of a deadly poison known as tetrodotoxin. Ingestion can rapidly cause tingling around the mouth and dizziness, which may be followed by convulsions, respiratory paralysis and death, medical experts say.
It is most commonly served in high-end Tokyo restaurants as sashimi and hot pot ingredients but has also caught on in popularity in countries like South Korea and Singapore, where dedicated fugu restaurants operate.
Under Japanese law, fugu chefs must undergo extensive apprenticeships of up to three years before they are licensed and allowed to handle and prepare the fish for food. Incorrectly prepared fugu has been found to be one of the most frequent causes of food poisoning in Japan, according to its health ministry.
There is no known antidote to the poison.
Despite the danger and risks, fugu has grown in popularity especially among gourmets and thrill seekers and is now also eaten countries outside Japan – at times, unregulated. In 2020, food poisoning killed three people in the Philippines after they ate pufferfish from a local barbecue stand.
The Malaysian health ministry said 58 poisoning incidents involving pufferfish consumption, including 18 deaths, were reported in the country between 1985 and 2023.
Photos shared by Ng on Facebook showed two pufferfish cooked by the couple – fried, headless and served on plates.
Their deaths sparked a public outcry and outpouring of sympathy, authorities are investigating who sold them the fish.
“The state district health office has opened investigations under the Food Act 1983… and carried out an investigation on the ground to identify the supplier, wholesaler and seller of the pufferfish,” Ling Tian Soon, chief of the Johor Health and Unity Committee, said in a statement issued Sunday.
He added that his health department would be holding discussions with the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia, a government agency overseeing seafood supplies in the country as well as local universities with fishery expertise.
“Information on pufferfish has also been posted on the Health Ministry’s Food Safety and Quality Facebook page,” Ling said.
“We urge the public to be careful when choosing their food, especially if it has known risks.”
The capital sentence is no longer mandatory in Malaysia, potentially saving the lives of more than 1,300 people who are now on death row.
Since 2018, there hasn’t been any executions in the nation.
Nonetheless, lawmakers unanimously decided to abolish the death penalty as the mandatory punishment for 11 major offenses, including terrorism and murder, on Monday.
Judges will still have the option to apply the death penalty in unusual circumstances.
Yet, for the most heinous offenses, the courts will now impose caning or life sentences of up to 40 years, according to MPs.
The reforms still need to clear the country’s upper house but are widely expected to pass.
Speaking in parliament on Monday, Malaysia’s deputy law minister said capital punishment was irreversible and had not worked as a deterrent to crime.
“The death penalty has not brought the results it was intended to bring,” said Ramkarpal Singh.
There are 34 criminal offences punishable by death in Malaysia – 11 of which before Monday carried the mandatory death penalty.
The new laws once enacted will apply retrospectively, allowing those on death row 90 days to seek a review of their sentences.
There has been a moratorium on executions in Malaysia since 2018
There are currently 1,341 such prisoners in the country, more than 60% of whom had received a mandatory sentence according to an Amnesty International assessment.
The legislative process of overturning the country’s death penalty began last June, when the former government under Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced it would abolish the death penalty as a mandatory punishment.
However Malaysia has been debating abolishing capital punishment for over a decade now. The two critical bills to reform the laws were introduced into parliament last week following a year of political debate.
Rights groups have hailed the reform as a major step forward for Malaysia and the wider South East Asia region, with Human Rights Watch saying it hoped it might influence neighbouring countries.
Last year, neighbouring city-state Singapore executed 11 people for drug trafficking offences.
The military government in Myanmar also handed down its first death sentences in decades, executing four pro-democracy activists.
According to official data, some 1,318 prisoners were hanged between 1992 and 2023 in Malaysia.
Kuala Lumpur has declared that it is “appalled” by the recent recurrence of Islamophobic acts in the two European nations.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Swedish and Dutch embassies in Kuala Lumpur to protest the recent destruction of the Quran in both nations. Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned “in the strongest terms” the desecration of the Quran by a far-right activist in the Netherlands.
The ministry’s statement on Friday was directed at Dutch far-right leader Edwin Wagensveld, who on Sunday tore pages from a Quran and trampled them in front of the parliament in The Hague.
On Thursday, the foreign ministry summoned Sweden’s envoy to express theMalaysian government’s “objection and disappointment” with Sweden for not taking action to stop Rasmus Paluda, a Danish far-right political leader, from burning a Quran on Saturday near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
“Malaysia is appalled that such an Islamophobic act has been repeated within the last few days despite global condemnation,” the ministry said.
“Malaysia reiterates that bigotry, racism and any form of desecration of the Holy Scriptures, regardless of religion is unacceptable and should be condemned,” it said.
The right to freedom of expression involves “certain responsibilities and should not be abused”, the ministry said, calling on the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the UN’s Human Rights Council to “urgently address” the issue of protection of religious scriptures around the world.
The foreign ministry pressed Sweden on Thursday to take “serious measures to combat all forms of violence and hatred against Islam”.
Failing to do so would allow Islamophobia and xenophobia to continue to prevail, the ministry said in a statement after its meeting with the Swedish charge d’affaires.
Local media in Malaysia reported that groups of protesters had gathered on Friday at offices housing the embassies of Sweden and the Netherlands to protest the desecration of the Quran. Estimates of the numbers of protesters ranged from dozens to 100 and possibly as many as 1,000, according to one report.
Al Jazeera’s Florence Looi, reporting from Kuala Lumpur, said anger generated by the burning of the Quran had not diminished and the protesters had marched to the Swedish embassy to hand in a protest note.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had also weighed in on the matter, according to Looi, describing the desecration of the Quran as a “vile act” a “hate crime” and a “grave provocation to Muslims worldwide”.
Azmi Abdul Hamid, president of the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisation, said there would be international consequences for what had taken place.
“You cannot say that this is a small matter. This will have an international repercussion,” he said at the protests.
Al Jazeera’s Florence Looi, reporting from Kuala Lumpur, said anger generated by the burning of the Quran had not diminished and the protesters had marched to the Swedish embassy to hand in a protest note.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had also weighed in on the matter, according to Looi, describing the desecration of the Quran as a “vile act” a “hate crime” and a “grave provocation to Muslims worldwide”.
After an unprecedented hung parliament resulted from the election last month, the victoryis crucial support for Anwar’s premiership.
Following last month’s election, which resulted in an unprecedented hung parliament, the Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s motion of confidence was approved by parliament, giving him crucial support for continuing as leader.
After his rival and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin questioned his support, Anwar called a special session of parliament on Monday to demonstrate his majority.
After the opposition argued against it because Anwar had already been formally sworn in as prime minister by the monarch, the confidence motion was approved by a simple voice vote with legislators supporting it.
“The ayes have it … We have a sufficient majority, and it is two-thirds,” communications and digital minister Fahmi Fadzil said.
“The unity government in Malaysia stands strong with solid support, and we will focus on the people’s welfare,” he added.
The opposition bloc continued to question the number of legislators in the 222-seat parliament who supported Anwar and said they were ready to take over as ruling government “when the time comes”.
“It can be any time; tomorrow, next week or next election,” said opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin.
Anwar, 75, who is also finance minister, took steps to cement his support last week by signing a cooperation pact with smaller political parties.
The parties agreed to ensure political stability after years of turmoil, spur the economy, foster good governance, and uphold the rights of the country’s majority Malay community and maintain Islam as its official religion.
Anwar – who has spent more than two decades as an opposition figure – had previously been denied the premiership despite getting within striking distance of it.
In between, he spent nearly a decade in jail for sodomy and corruption in what he says were politically motivated charges.
In the closely contested polls last month, Anwar’s bloc did not win a simple majority. But he was appointed by Malaysia’s king and proceeded to form a coalition government with the help of other political blocs.
His new government includes the previous ruling coalition Barisan Nasional, which he spent much of his political career seekingto overthrow.
Rescue operations are still underway at the scene northeast of Kuala Lumpur, where a landslide occurred early this morning.
In the early morning hours, a landslide buried a campsite close to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, killing at least 19 people. More than a dozen people are still missing, and search and rescue operations are ongoing.
“The total is 19 people (dead),” Norazam Khamis, director of the Selangor state fire and rescue department, told reporters on Friday.
Two of the victims were “believed to be a mother and her child in a state of embrace buried under the earth”, he said, adding that 14 people were still missing.
Emergency services, including officers from 12 fire stations and civil defence, said they rushed to the scene– in a hilly part of the state of Selangor – after receiving a distress call at 2.24am on Friday (18:24 GMT on Thursday).
The Ministry of Local Government and Development said that dozens were pulled from the mud and debris with the injured taken to hospital. Authorities said rescue efforts would continue but if it rained, they would have to stop.
Damaged cars are seen amongst the debris during a rescue and evacuation operation following the landslide [Korporat JBPM/Reuters]
The National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) earlier said that 92 people were at the site when the disaster happened.
The landslide struck at the side of the road near an organic farm about 45 minutes northeast of the capital, Kuala Lumpur. The farm operates three camping areas – one by the river, one with a view of the farm and one at the hilltop – and is a popular getaway for families from the city.
Camper Leong Jim Meng told the New Straits Times newspaper that he and his family were asleep when the landslide happened.
“We felt the earth move and the soil came down,” the 57-year-old said, adding that the mud covered their tent but they managed to escape to the car park area where he called the emergency services.
She said she and her mother managed to crawl out of their tent even after it was toppled in the landslide, but that one of her brothers had died and the other had been admitted to hospital.
“Everything happened too quickly,” she said.
She said she and her mother managed to crawl out of their tent even after it was toppled in the landslide, but that one of her brothers had died and the other had been admitted to hospital.
Kejadian Tanah Runtuh Fathers Organik Farms Gohtong
Pasukan Khas Pertahanan Awam (PASPA) dan APM Hulu Selangor bersama membantu pasukan keselamatan untuk bersama dalam operasi mencari dan menyelamat mangsa tanah runtuh di Fathers Organik Farms Gohtong, Batang Kali, pic.twitter.com/2WmMmBH9lq
— Official Angkatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia (@APMtwiter) December 16, 2022
Pictures shared on social media showed rescue workers searching through piles of mud and fallen trees to find survivors.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he was “shocked” at the news of the landslide and had been briefed on the rescue efforts. He said some ministers were on the ground, and that he would visit the site later on Friday.
“Let’s pray for the people of Malaysia and hope that this mission goes smoothly,” he said in a statement.
Malaysia is in the midst of the monsoon and experiencing regular downpours.
Landslides are not uncommon in the areas near the capital in the rainy season.
According to Nga Kor Ming, the local government development minister, 61 people so far have been found safe after the predawn landslide near the town of Batang Kali, just outside Kuala Lumpur and near a mountain casino resort.
In March, officials in Selangor said they had identified some 150 slopes at high risk of landslides, many of them around the hills to the east of Kuala Lumpur.
A large landslide after 10 days of torrential rain in the same area led to the collapse of a block of apartments at the Highland Towers condominium complex in December 1993. Some 48 people died in the disaster, making it the worst building collapse in Malaysian history.
At the invitation of the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, Ghana’s former president, John Agyekum Kufuor, experienced something in the southeastern Asian country that forever changed his mindset about presidential tenures.
Narrating how that came to be, during his engagement with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) on Reviewing the 1992 constitution recently, Kufuor said that on arriving in the country he came face-to-face with two realities.
He said that after learning that Malaysia got its oil palm seedlings from Ghana, he arrived in the country to an even more eye-opening discovery of how well the country had utilized the ‘gift’ it got from his very own country.
“I was invited to Malaysia by Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, who was Prime Minister; I was president and it must have been 2005-2006 and it was a great eye opener to me. I had learnt that Malaysia took the oil palm seedling from here (Ghana) there. I got to Kuala Lumpur, the plane, as it was coming to land, you’ll see miles and miles of palm trees all over, and very modern agriculture.
“And then when I got there, probably, they just wanted to show me something, they took me to where they had refined palm oil into some oil that will be used even as engine oil. And then they used the husks for fertilizer for the palm trees, so every bit of palm.
“So, I said these people got this thing from us and we do not know how to do this. See what they are doing with it themselves. Then, at a point, he invited me to his offices in New Kuala Lumpur; the office is like a mosque, he took me to the rooftop, and Dr Mohammed, perhaps not taller than 5 feet… and then from there, I saw the layout of the city: the streets – beautiful, and the development,” he said.
President John Agyekum Kufuor also explained that having been quite surprised at the expanse of development and innovation that the Malaysians had used the oil palm seedlings for in their country, he asked Dr. Mohamed how they did it.
In response, he said the Malaysian Prime Minister asked him a question that jolted his mind so much, he came to the realization that there is the need for Ghana to relook at its constitutional arrangement for the tenure of its presidency.
“So, I gasped and said, ‘Oh, Mr. Prime Minister, since when have you been doing this?’ So, the man looked me up and down. The question he asked me was, ‘What’s your term of office?’
“I said, 4 years. So, he said back, what can you do in four years? By then he had exceeded 10 years and I’m not suggesting we go that way, but definitely, 4 years, he made the point forcefully that you don’t really create so much in 4 years,” he added.
After days of haggling and the intervention of the monarch, a veteran politician finally secures the top position after an inconclusive election.Anwar Ibrahim has been sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister, capping an incredible comeback for a man who was initially groomed for the job in the 1990s before being abruptly fired and imprisoned.
The 75-year-old veteran politician took the oath of office in front of King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at the palace in Kuala Lumpur shortly after 5 p.m. (09:00 GMT) on Thursday afternoon, just hours after the monarch appointed him to the top job.
PH and the rival conservative Malay-Muslim Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition under former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, which had the second-highest number of seats, both began negotiations to form a government, wooing smaller coalitions in the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak as well as Barisan Nasional (BN), the alliance that dominated Malaysia for some 60 years before its historic defeat in the last elections in 2018.
With neither able to make a breakthrough, the king met Anwar and Muhyiddin, as well as newly elected members of parliament to canvas their views on who should lead the new government.
After a meeting of the royal households on Thursday, Anwar was announced as the leader because the king was convinced he had the support of the majority of Malaysia’s 222 members of parliament.
There are “no absolute winners and no absolute losers,” King Sultan Abdullah said in the statement, urging all politicians to work together for the benefit of the country.
Following his inauguration, Anwar said he would shoulder the duties entrusted to him with “utmost humility”.
“With my team, I will carry out this heavy responsibility based on the people’s aspirations,” he said in a Twitter post.
Amanah akan digalas dengan penuh tawaduk dan bertanggungjawab.
“It is a long time coming for Anwar,” Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, the deputy managing director at consultancy BGA Malaysia, told Al Jazeera. “All his struggles and campaigns for reform are now vindicated.”
Sodomy charges
Anwar Ibrahim started his political career as a student activist, founding the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, known by its Malay acronym ABIM, in 1971 and later leading protests against rural poverty and on other socioeconomic causes.
His activism caught the eye of then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who persuaded him to join the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the dominant party in BN, which had ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957.
Anwar rose rapidly through the ranks to become finance minister and deputy prime minister, earning a reputation as a charismatic, ambitious and reform-minded politician.
But as the Asian financial crisis deepened, Mahathir turned on the man he had chosen as his successor.
In September 1998, Anwar was sacked and accused of corruption and sodomy, a crime in Malaysia.
Thousands took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur and Anwar, who maintained the charges were politically motivated, was arrested.
His trial veered from the shocking – a black eye later confirmed to be inflicted by the then-police chief while Anwar was in custody – to the absurd – a stained mattress hauled into court as evidence.
Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking in 1998 and then trial on charges of corruption and sodomy kickstarted Malaysia’s reform movement [File: Andy Wong/AP Photo]
After being found guilty, Anwar was released in 2004 and a second sodomy trial followed as the reform movement that had begun with his 1998 downfall gathered momentum.
In all, Anwar spent some 10 years in prison before he was finally pardoned and released in 2018.
By that time he had once again joined forces with Mahathir – under the PH banner – in a bid to ensure BN was punished at the ballot box for the multibillion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB.
But Anwar’s route to the top was again thwarted when Mahathir wavered on his promise to hand over power and the PH government collapsed amid infighting and pressure from Malay-Muslim conservatives.
Reform agenda
Chants of “reformasi” or reform continued to reverberate around PH rallies in the campaign leading up to Saturday’s election, with PH supporters looking for a government that would tackle corruption, defend democratic freedoms and ensure the independence of key institutions such as parliament and the judiciary.
In the face of a probable economic slowdown, Anwar told supporters that his government would also reduce the size of the cabinet, and cut ministerial salaries and allowances.
Still, any moves to reform could still be stymied by more conservative factions.
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country where most people are ethnic Malay Muslim, but there are significant numbers of people of Chinese and Indian origin as well as Indigenous communities.
The previous PH government was partly undone by a reform agenda that Malay nationalists feared would undermine the privileges granted to them under the constitution.
Such pressures could also affect the new government, given the surge in support for PAS, Malaysia’s religiously conservative Muslim party, which emerged from the election with the most seats of any single party.
It is also the dominant player in PN.
Wong Chin Huat, a political expert and professor at Sunway University outside Kuala Lumpur, says Anwar needs “to get the politics right” to be able to fix the economy.
“He needs to be PM for 100 percent of Malaysians, not just the 38 percent PH voters and 22 percent BN voters,” Wong explained to Al Jazeera. “He needs to especially assure the 30 percent of voters who support PN that their voices will be heard.”
Official figures from Saturday’s election showed a record number of Malaysians casting their ballots, with PH securing 5.81 million votes, PN 4.67 million and BN 3.43 million.
The electoral roll had been enlarged after a constitutional change to give 18-year-olds the right to vote and for automatic voter registration, which further increased uncertainty over the outcome.
The governor of Kenya’s Nairobicounty has said that he intends to import palm trees from Malaysia as part of a measure to make the capital a “green city”.
Governor Johnson Sakaja also announced as part of a “greening” initiative that a tree planting programme for unemployed youths would be introduced.
The environmental programme would grant the young participants Sh2,400 ($20; £17) every week in collaboration with Kenya Forest Services.
Some Kenyans on social media have criticised Governor Sakaja’s plans, questioning why Kenyacan’t just plant its own trees instead of importing them from the south-east Asian country.
The governor of Kenya’s Nairobi county has said that he intends to import palm trees from Malaysia as part of a measure to make the capital a “green city”.
Governor Johnson Sakaja also announced as part of a “greening” initiative that a tree planting programme for unemployed youths would be introduced.
The environmental programme would grant the young participants Sh2,400 ($20; £17) every week in collaboration with Kenya Forest Services.
Some Kenyans on social media have criticised Governor Sakaja’s plans, questioning why Kenya can’t just plant its own trees instead of importing them from the south-east Asian country.
Govenor Sakaja, it’s an insult to Kenyans to import trees from Malaysia. Get a plot of land, buy some seedling, plant them at an appropriate time all over the city. Will Kenya be importing everything, even water?
He has since responded to the reaction by clarifying that the Malaysian trees are just “donations” and that there will also be a programme for planting indigenous species, too.
Don’t be swayed by the sensationalization about trees 😅. We’re engaging KFS, our nursery at City Park as well as local groups whom we shall help establish nurseries for our tree planting program. Indigenous & fruit trees. Za Malaysia etc are donations we will gladly accept. pic.twitter.com/Vw8qsA1kMV
Refugees are concerned that the incoming administration will continue to close UNHCR officesand expand an official tracking system.
Millions of Malaysians will go to the polls on November 19 to decide the direction of their country for the next five years.
While Malaysians vote in the hope of creating the country they want, the 183,000 refugees who live there are wary of what appears to be a recent hardening of rhetoric toward asylum seekers and refugees.
Refugees, who are classified as “illegal immigrants” under Malaysian law, are one of the country’s most marginalised and vulnerable communities, with no right to work or access to formal education.
Like most of its neighbours in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN’s 1951 refugee convention or the 1967 protocol, but in recent months the government of incumbent Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has returned asylum seekers to Myanmar, launched a new tracking system for refugees and announced its commitment to closing down the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which currently handles protection needs for asylum seekers and refugees.
“The presence of UNHCR offices is seen to be the biggest pulling factor towards the increased arrival of foreign migrants,” a cabinet minister, Abd Latiff Ahmad, said in a parliamentary reply to then-opposition member of parliament Charles Santiago on October 7 shortly before the house was dissolved.
Ismail Sabri, who is a vice president of the United Malays National Organisation, is campaigning for re-election as part of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition against two other broad coalitions, including BN’s current partner in government Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan, which won the last election in May 2018 but collapsed amid political manoeuvring.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob (second left) is campaigning hard to form the next government. His administration has said it wants to close the offices of the UN refugee agency in Malaysia [Mohd Rasfan/AFP]
Human Rights Watch’s Asia deputy director, Phil Robertson, told Al Jazeera that some see the moves as an election ploy.
“Many observers believe that the Home Affairs Minister is pushing this issue hard for political reasons, to try and scapegoat UNHCR as the problem, which plays well with parts of the conservative electorate who are more xenophobic and anti-refugee,” he said.
“That’s a real shame because refugees should not be demonised for any reason because it puts people’s lives at risk.”
‘Terrible and sad’
Many refugees are alarmed at the potential closure of the UNHCR offices.
The agency not only assesses protection needs but also helps verify the identity of those caught up in the immigration detention system, although the government has not allowed access to the centres since 2019 during Pakatan Harapan’s brief period in power.
James Bawi Thang Bik, a representative for The Alliance of Chin Refugees in Malaysia, described the move as “terrible and sad news for the refugee community”.
People from Myanmar account for 85 per cent of the refugees in Malaysia, and ethnic Chins who come from the country’s west are the second-largest group after the mostly Muslim Rohingya.
Rohingya refugee children feed a sacrificial cow on the eve of Eid al-Adha in Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 9, 2022 [REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain]
The UNHCR is usually the first point of call for new arrivals, who go through a series of interviews and checks with agency staff to assess whether they are in genuine need of protection. Those assessed as refugees are given identity cards from the agency, with the lucky few eventually securing resettlement elsewhere.
But the process of getting a card can take months and resettlement years.
“We are afraid the registration process will take longer than the UNHCR registration process,” said Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani, the president of the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization in Malaysia (MEHROM). “Usually, it will take between three to six years for the Rohingya asylum seekers to be recognised as refugees. In some cases, more than six years.”
Zafar himself was the target of a disinformation campaign that forced him into hiding in 2020 after a false Facebook post claimed that he had demanded Malaysian citizenship for Rohingya refugees. Two years later, he and his family are still receiving death threats and harassment.
‘Establishing a national framework’
The UN refugee agency first began working in Malaysia during the Vietnam refugee crisis in the 1970s and has expanded rapidly as a result of conflicts in countries from Myanmar to Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Syria.
Its colonial-era bungalow in Kuala Lumpur has been extended multiple times, and the once-lush garden is covered over with portacabins, parking and a vast covered building where asylum seekers wait for interviews and for claims to be processed.
When asked about the government’s plan to close the offices, Yante Ismail, the Kuala Lumpur-based UNHCR spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that it “welcomes the continued engagement of the Government of Malaysia and ongoing efforts to explore closer cooperation on a variety of issues related to refugee protection”.
She added that the organisation has been in close discussions on a framework of cooperation on managing refugees in the country for years through a government-initiated Joint Task Force, cochaired by the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN refugee agency.
“UNHCR welcomes the Malaysian Government’s continued interest in establishing a national framework to manage the refugee situation in the country that may eventually result in the Government assuming greater responsibility for refugee management and protection,” she said.
Rohingya refugee and activist Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani and his wife were forced into hiding in 2020 after disinformation was spread about him on social media. He continues to receive death threats [File: Lim Huey Teng/Reuters]
But others are sceptical about the government’s ability to handle the work.
“The bottom line is the government doesn’t really have the capacity to manage the refugee situation in the country,” Human Rights Watch’s Robertson said.
“With more than 180,000 UNHCR-recognised refugees, there is a major human rights protection challenge to keep those people safe, and nothing the Malaysian government has done to date indicates that they are up for that challenge.”
Questions over resettlement
The plan to take control of asylum seekers and refugees in Malaysia has also raised questions about the resettlement process under which people are able to start new lives in third countries. The UNHCR is central to the process and works with accepting countries to submit refugees for resettlement. In Malaysia, most refugees are resettled in the United States.
“What I can say is that there will be no more resettlement for refugees in the absence of UNHCR,” said James Bawi Thang Bik. “I think resettlement for refugees is beyond the capacity of a government without UNHCR.”
Robertson notes that most governments require a UNHCR interview to determine the status of a refugee.
“The fact that Malaysia is not a state party of the UN Refugee Convention means that UNHCR’s role is even more important and that closing down the office would be like Malaysia shooting itself in the foot,” he said.
While UNHCR identifies refugees in need of resettlement, it is up to resettlement countries to decide how many refugees they will accept with a quota decided each financial year. The US, which takes in the most people, has said it will accept 125,000 refugees under resettlement after reaching an all-time low during the administration of former President Donald Trump when the quota was cut to 15,000.
Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is campaigning as leader of Perikatan Nasional (PN). As prime minister, he had said Malaysia could not cope with any more Rohingya refugees [Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters]
Despite the challenging situation in Malaysia, many refugees are hoping that whoever wins power this week will not only reconsider the plan to close the offices of the UN refugee agency but also develop a more comprehensive policy for refugees and asylum seekers, even though the competing coalitions’ manifestos barely touch on the issue.
Officials have periodically talked of giving refugees the right to work, while outgoing Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah has often visited community schools for Rohingya refugees while in office.
Back in 2016, as he faced growing questions over his role in the multibillion-dollar corruption scandal, now-jailed Prime Minister Najib Razak held a mass rally condemning Myanmar’s “genocide” against the Rohingya.
It was not possible for the world to “sit by and watch genocide taking place” he told thousands of people at a Kuala Lumpur stadium, adding that the persecution of the Rohingya was an “insult” to Islam.
The next year, hundreds of thousands more Rohingya were forced to flee as the Myanmar army launched a brutal crackdown in the country’s northwest that is now the subject of a genocide trial at the International Court of Justice.
“We hope the new government will allow the UNHCRto resume their work to assist refugees and asylum seekers and find a durable solution for them,” said MEHROM’s Zafar.
Ms. Pelosi’s flight to Malaysia on a US air force plane has left Kuala Lumpur. The US Navy has simultaneously deployed four warships east of Taiwan, albeit it is unknown if Ms. Pelosi is on that aircraft.
Even though there has been no official announcement, local media in Taiwan has reported that Ms. Pelosi will arrive in Taipei on Tuesday.
The US airforce jet that Ms. Pelosi flew on to Malaysia has taken off from Kuala Lumpur – it is unclear if Ms. Pelosi is on the plane, but the US Navy has simultaneously deployed four warships east of Taiwan.
A US official called these “routine deployments”.
Prior to her arrival, China‘s foreign ministry confirmed there had been communication with the US, adding it wanted to be “clear about the gravity and sensitivity of this matter”.
Ms. Pelosi began a tour of four Asian countries on Monday, starting in Singapore. She arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday for the second leg, where she met lower house Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun in parliament and then Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
China has threatened retaliation ahead of the visit, driving concerns of a new crisis in the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be annexed by force if necessary, has warned of repercussions, saying its military will “never sit idly by” if Ms. Pelosi pushes ahead with the visit.
The country views Taiwan as a part of its own territory and interprets diplomatic exchanges with the US as a call to formalize its long-standing de facto independence.
The visit would make her the highest-ranking elected US official to visit in more than 25 years.
On Monday, the White House hit back at Beijing’s rhetoric, and said the US has no interest in deepening tensions with China and “will not take the bait or engage in saber-rattling”.
A Malaysian beauty queen has apologised after her comments that black people should “relax” in response to raging US protests against police racism sparked an online outcry, including condemnation from “Crazy Rich Asians” actor Henry Golding.
The US has been rocked for the past week by once-in-a-generation demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, by a white police officer in Minnesota.
But Samantha Katie James, who represented Malaysia in the 2017 Miss Universe pageant in the US, posted on Instagram this week: “To the black people, relax, take it as a challenge, makes you stronger.
“You chose to be born as a ‘colored’ person in America for a reason. To learn a certain lesson.”
Social media lit up with anger following the remarks, with the Malaysian-born English actor Golding also condemning her comments in his Instagram stories.
More than 80,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the 25-year-old to be stripped of her Miss Universe Malaysia crown, which she won in 2017, before competing internationally.
“She misused her platform and social media presence to voice out her blatantly racist and ignorant remarks,” read the petition.
The organisers of the Miss Universe Malaysia contest also slammed the comments as “inappropriate, offensive, unacceptable and hurtful”.
As anger mounted late Tuesday, James posted an apology.
“I do hear you, I’m sorry, I know you’re hurting. I’m not in your shoes to fully understand this,” she said.
Responding to her comment that black people “chose to be black”, she added: “Throughout my journey I have learned that we are more than just this temporary physical body, like an avatar, merely a tiny speck of dust in this vast infinite universe, we tend to overlook that from time to time.
“In our process towards evolution as a human being, on earth. We chose our body, our family, our place of birth, our name and our lessons from the path we take tailor made for us.”
Protests against systemic racism and police brutality have raged across the US since Floyd’s death, with many descending into mayhem as night falls.
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Prosecutors in Malaysia have dropped charges against Wolf of Wall Street producer Riza Aziz over the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
Mr Riza, stepson of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, was accused of money-laundering over allegations he received $250m (£221m) from 1MDB – a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.
He has agreed to pay a sum back, but officials are not saying how much.
His stepfather still faces charges, which he denies.
What was the scandal?
1MDB was established to raise funds for Malaysia’s development and help some of the country’s poorest people.
Co-founded in 2009 by then PM Najib, more than $4bn (£3.3bn) is alleged to have been misappropriated.
US and Malaysian prosecutors allege the money went to a few powerful individuals to buy luxuries, including prime real estate, a yacht, a private jet and valuable artworks.
Mr Najib is contesting dozens of charges and has always denied wrongdoing.
Top US investment bank Goldman Sachs, which raised money for the state fund through bond sales, has also been investigated by US and Malaysian authorities over its role but vowed to vigorously fight charges.
What was Riza Aziz’s alleged involvement?
A joint-founder of Red Granite Productions, he is alleged to have received $248m (£219m) from the fund and faced five charges of money-laundering.
A judge quoted prosecutors as saying he had agreed to return “a substantial sum running into several million ringgit” – one million ringgit is $230,000 – to the government.
The lead prosecutor said Mr Riza would be fully acquitted once the deal was finalised.
The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was one of three films financed using suspected stolen funds from 1MDB, according to US justice officials.
Red Granite also produced Dumb and Dumber 2 and Daddy’s Home.
What about the ex-PM?
Mr Najib, who is currently on trial, lost power in 2018 to veteran Malaysian leader, Mahathir Mohamad, and investigations into 1MDB were stepped up.
But Mr Mahathir lost power earlier this year to an alliance which includes Mr Najib’s party.
Mr Najib told Reuters at the time that he now expected an atmosphere more conducive to a fair hearing.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad submitted his resignation to the country’s king on Monday, his office announced, a shock move that could plunge the country into political crisis.
The surprise announcement comes amid speculation that 94-year-old Mahathir was attempting to form a new ruling coalition that would exclude his promised successor Anwar Ibrahim.
It is not clear who will be the next Prime Minister or whether general elections will be held.
Mahathir’s party, the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (Bersatu) announced Monday it would be dropping out of the ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan in support of the prime minister.
“All members of the House of Representatives of the party are also out of Pakatan Harapan. All of them have signed the Oath to continue to support and trust Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the Prime Minister of Malaysia,” according to a statement from Bersatu President Muhyiddin Yassin.
Deepening the political turmoil, Malaysia’s Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali and Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin were both fired from Anwar’s People’s Justice Party earlier Monday.
Nine other lawmakers declared their allegiance to the ousted pair and left the party as well, according to a statement from the lawmakers. The 11 lawmakers also announced that they are forming an independent block in parliament.
It follows meetings over the weekend between lawmakers of the ruling coalition and members of the former ruling party United Malays National Organization (UMNO), over alleged plans to form a new government, according to local news reports.
In response, Anwar called out “traitors” within his own party and accused members of Mahathir’s party of plotting a change in the current ruling coalition.
“We know there are attempts to bring down PH and form a new government,” Anwar said.
Speaking at his party headquarters Monday, Anwar said he had met with the Prime Minister and told him that, “this treachery could be dealt with together.”
“Those from my party and outside are using his name. He reiterated what he said to me earlier. He had no part in it. He made it very clear in no way would he work with those in the past regime,” Anwar said.
