SNAPSHOT | Ibrahim calls for fuel prices protest; Pahang govt gives employees 2 days WFH per week

KINI SNAPSHOT | What’s going on in the news today, with updates at 9am, 2pm, 6pm, and 9pm.

9pm

Protest

• Putra president Ibrahim Ali has called for a protest against rising fuel prices, which is to be held on Sunday afternoon outside the Sogo department store in Kuala Lumpur.

  In a strongly worded statement, Ibrahim said silence and complacency would merely signal submission to the government, even as prices keep increasing.

  

  “Don’t wait for others. Don’t wait for things to get worse. Because every second that you wait, they are planning the next pain point for you and your family,” he said.

  He also questioned why the price of fuel has increased multiple times, even though the government assured that Malaysia has sufficient supplies until May.

  “Old stocks won’t be affected by oil prices rising above US$100 a barrel. The Madani (government) is seizing the opportunity to lie and extort the people,” he claimed.

Work from home policy

• The Pahang state government will introduce a two-day-per-week work-from-home arrangement for its employees beginning next week. 

  Bernama reported that Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail announced the decision following a state executive council meeting, citing public concerns and the growing financial pressures on households amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

  Meanwhile, the Negeri Sembilan state government has indicated it is open to adopting a similar arrangement as a means of reducing fuel consumption. 

  

  Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun was reported as saying that the state is gathering data on employees who reside outside Negeri Sembilan to determine the appropriate course of action before any policy is formalised.

  Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, however, opted against similar policies for the state for now, with Bernama quoting him as saying there is no pressing need to do so yet.

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READ MORE: Federal govt agencies, GLCs to work from home from April 15: PM

Taxation

• Bernama reported that the Penang State Executive Council agreed to a revised mechanism for determining annual quit rent rates, aimed at reducing the financial burden on landowners.

  Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow reportedly said that all land classified under industrial and commercial use on First Grade land, particularly those without planning approval, will be reclassified as building use.

  

  Under the new structure, quit rent rates will follow the “building (others)” category, set at 70 sen per square metre for urban land and 50 sen per square metre for rural land.

  However, affected landowners will not be eligible for the existing 50 percent rebate.

  Chow said that as of March 31, a total of 4,001 feedback submissions and appeals had been received, with 2,885 linked to increased quit rent rates involving First Grade land, reclassification from rural to urban status, agricultural (durian) land, hillside plots and rate reviews.

READ MORE: After Loke's rebuke, Guan Eng to stand down on quit rent criticism

6pm

Energy crisis

• Putrajaya has established a Communications Command Centre under the National Economic Action Council, with the centre chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof to deliver daily briefings on the government’s economic responses and measures.

  Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said the briefings, which come amid the conflict in West Asia, are scheduled to begin tomorrow at around 4pm.

  Addressing a post-cabinet meeting press conference today, Fahmi said the briefings will detail the government’s strategy in dealing with the global energy crisis and the ongoing war.

  Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan and Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Nasir will also meet with the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Finance and Economy to discuss the government’s strategies and initiatives thus far.   

• Fahmi also said the cabinet was informed that the annual Asean meeting this year will be held virtually, with the only exception being meetings including heads of government, who will meet in person.

  

  The communications minister said the first Asean meeting this year, involving Asean health ministers, will be held online.

  The matter, he said, was conveyed by Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan. 

• The Energy Commission says about 85 percent of domestic households will see little impact in their electricity bills from the Energy Efficiency Incentive, despite the global energy crisis caused by conflict in West Asia.

  “The incentive also applies to low voltage non-domestic consumers for consumption of up to 200 kWh, and these measures we hope will help to mitigate some of the expected inflationary impacts from the crisis that is occurring today,” said its CEO, Siti Safinah Salleh.

  

  Bernama quoted her as saying Malaysia is insulated from the global energy crisis for now, because about 80 percent of its natural gas for electricity generation is sourced domestically.

  However, there will still be an impact because it is tied to the market reference price.

READ MORE: Higher TNB bill in April for households paying more than RM215.98

Steps taken to ensure supply of energy feedstock: Energy Commission

Education

• The Education Ministry has denied issuing a statement that provided the purported breakdown of the 2025 SPM results by race.

  “What has gone viral is 101 percent incorrect. That is definitely not true,” its deputy minister, Wong Kah Woh, reportedly said, adding that it was not part of the official results announced yesterday.

  

  According to Bernama, the “press release” carried the Education Ministry’s logo and was circulating on social media since yesterday, and contained purported student achievement percentages by race.

  It included an analysis that claimed Malay candidates who took the 2025 SPM had the lowest pass percentage compared to Chinese Malaysian and Indian Malaysian students.

Environment

• Petronas is looking to bring forward its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the Kasawari gas field off the coast of Sarawak as early as 2027, compared to the previous projection of 2029 or 2030.

  Bernama quoted Petronas’ head of carbon management, Emry Hisham Yusoff, saying that the gas field was developed before Petronas had formalised its commitment to net-zero carbon emissions. This caused a gap between its production and carbon management planning.

  

  “When Kasawari was being developed, Petronas had not yet made its carbon commitment. During the fabrication stage, we came up with our net-zero carbon emissions target and realised the field would emit CO2 (carbon dioxide). So we need to address that.

  “There is a gap between production and injection readiness, including identifying suitable fields for CO2 storage. Now that Kasawari is producing and emissions have begun, we are looking to expedite efforts to capture and inject the CO2 as soon as possible,” he said.

READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | What is carbon storage and is it good for Malaysia?

2pm

Pamela Ling 

• A lawyer for the family of Pamela Ling, who was abducted on her way to the MACC’s headquarters in Putrajaya nearly a year ago, has criticised the lack of significant developments in the investigation into her disappearance. 

  In a statement today, Sangeet Kaur Deo said police had recently requested “basic information” from Ling’s family, with the lawyer slamming the “meaningless” questions as confirmation that the probe “lacks direction and seriousness.” 

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  READ MORE: COMMENT | Ling's disappearance: A year on

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  Sangeet also said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s persistent silence on Ling’s disappearance is “striking,” considering the vocal positions he adopted in previous cases during his time in the opposition. 

  

  “(Ling’s case) involves serious allegations of abuse of power by public institutions, which this government cannot continue to ignore,” she added.  

MCMC 

• The MCMC has launched a probe into three individuals suspected of spreading false information on social media regarding an electricity tariff increase, with the alleged wrongdoers said to have misused the branding of a news agency. 

  In a statement today, the commission said it had received complaints on the postings, which it said had led to anxiety and panic among the public. 

  The case is being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 on the misuse of network facilities, which provides for a maximum fine of RM500,000, imprisonment of up to two years, or both.

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  READ MORE: Higher TNB bill in April for households paying more than RM215.98 

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Drink-driving

• Mara has “adopted” two children of delivery rider Amirul Hafiz Omar, who was killed in a suspected drink-driving crash on Sunday.

  

  Mara chairperson Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the two boys - Aqif and Atif - will receive RM120 a month each during primary school years, and RM150 a month each when they are in secondary school.

  Amirul had three children, the youngest of whom is just two years old.

9am

Politics

• There are already rules in place to discipline MPs for making racist remarks as well as rules when debating on royalty, Parliament told the government.

  This was in response to Deputy Unity Minister R Yuneswaran saying that a guideline is being drafted to prevent MPs from touching on 3R (race, religion, and royalty) issues during debates in the lower house.

  In a statement yesterday, Parliament said the guidelines can instead serve as an additional reference when enforcing the existing rules.

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  READ MORE: Rising racial and religious rhetoric in Parliament, report finds

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• Businessperson Albert Tei is co-organising a protest outside the Communications Ministry in Putrajaya this Saturday to defend freedom of speech.

  He claimed the rally at 10am is in protest of government critics allegedly having their social media accounts suspended.

  

  “I don’t know when it will be my turn to have my social media accounts disturbed. If you want to continue seeing my content on social media, join the protest with me this Saturday,” he said in a statement today.

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