KINI SNAPSHOT | What’s going on in the news today, with updates at 11am, 2pm, and 6pm.

6pm

Politics

  • Former Umno supreme council member Noh Omar made a surprise appearance at the launch of BN election machinery for the Johor state election in Johor Bahru today.

    Noh, who was seen wearing the signature blue BN attire, confirmed that he had returned to the "House of Umno" (Rumah Bangsa Umno).

    The former Tanjung Karang MP had previously been expelled from Umno and later joined Bersatu as his political platform.

    On Feb 14, Noh resigned from Bersatu's supreme leadership council, citing disappointment with the party's leadership.

Official visit

  • Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will undertake an official visit to Japan from June 8 to 10 to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and further advance the Malaysia-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

    Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

    Discussions are expected to focus on key areas of cooperation, including green technology, energy resilience and transition, environmental cooperation, defence and regional security, as well as higher education.

    According to Wisma Putra, Anwar will also deliver a special lecture at Tokyo University and a keynote address at the 31st Nikkei Forum: Future of Asia.

    In addition, he will engage Japanese business leaders to promote high-value investments and strengthen economic cooperation, reflecting the importance of Japan as one of Malaysia’s key economic and investment partners.

Infrastructure development

  • The Health Ministry is planning to develop several health infrastructure projects in Malacca under the Rolling Plan Two (RP2) of the 13th Malaysian Plan (13MP), worth RM1.8 billion, said its minister, Dzulkefly Ahmad.

    He said among the planned infrastructure developments is a Type 2 Specialist Hospital covering 24.2ha in Ayer Keroh costing an estimated RM875 million.

    Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad

    “The hospital will have 400 beds and focus on providing Cardiology, Cardiothoracic, Neurosurgery and Ambulatory Care Centre services.

    “In addition, we are expediting the construction of the RM697 million 476-bed capacity Women and Children’s Block at the Malacca Hospital, which is in the tender process, to resolve the capacity issues at the hospital,” he said, according to Bernama, after a working visit to the hospital today.

    Also present were Hang Tuah Jaya MP Adam Adli Abd Halim, state Health, Human Resources and Unity Committee chairperson Ngwe Hee Sem and Malacca Health Department director Dr Husnina Ibrahim.

Sabah issues

  • Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) is expected to decide on Upko’s application to join the coalition as a component party on June 18.

    According to Bernama, GRS secretary-general Armizan Ali said he is conducting engagement sessions with Upko leaders to gather the necessary information before preparing a paper for consideration at the coalition's supreme council meeting on that date.

    On May 29, Upko - a former Harapan component - formally submitted its application to GRS chairperson Hajiji Noor, who is also Sabah chief minister, through its president, Ewon Benedick.

  • Warisan supreme council member Chen Ket Chien has urged the Sabah government to channel part of the RM1.5 billion interim special grant announced by Putrajaya towards addressing the state's child wellbeing crisis.

    Citing findings from the Sabah Child Wellbeing Index 2026, Chen said the report painted a worrying picture of the challenges faced by children in the state.

    "Only 55.9 percent of Sabah children meet basic health needs, 27.2 percent meet learning wellbeing standards, 30.6 percent meet growth and development thresholds, while only 6.1 percent meet the threshold for a safe and harmonious living environment.

    "This is not a small administrative gap. It is evidence of a serious failure of governance," he said in a statement today.

    As such, he proposed the establishment of a Sabah Child Wellbeing Fund financed from the RM1.5 billion grant, with allocations for food security and school meal programmes, immunisation and rural health outreach, housing and sanitation improvements, digital access for students, and annual public reporting on child wellbeing outcomes.

Previously at 2pm | Gobind praises PM at DAP's 60th anniversary; cops record statements from hiker's rescuers

11am | Everyone has right to form party - Anwar; Harapan Johor polls seat talks concluded