Feb 4: Amid rising religious tension in Malaysia, Christian interest groups in Sabah are meeting today to find ways to reverse the conversion of 64 natives who claimed they were tricked into converting to Islam last month. The Malaysian Insider learnt that a lunch meeting in Kota Kinabalu on the matter will be chaired by United Pasokmomogun Kadazan Dusun Murut Organisation (Upko) president Tan Sri Bernard D ...

KOTA KINABALU, Feb 3: A family here is hoping that a restaurant manager’s conviction and sentencing for raping the 13-year-old girl who he later married will enable the victim to move on with her life. An aunt who had been caring for the girl said they were now hoping for her to return to school after a year’s absence following the incident on Feb 18 last year. "She is academically bright and her ambition i ...

Feb 2: For the first time, Google, Facebook and other leading Internet companies issued reports Monday about previously secret U.S. government demands for their users' data, while renewing their call for reform of surveillance programs that have become a major source of friction between Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. The companies said the government's demands under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillanc ...

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Feb 3: Commuters travelling by road to and from Brunei-Muara to Temburong yesterday lauded the convenience and time saved by the Friendship Bridge built to cross Sg Pandaruan. However, they lamented the delays experienced at the border control checkpoints. Gahat Hj Hassan, a resident of Kg Medait in Limbang who was attending a wedding function in the district that separated the two part ...

TUTONG, Feb 3: Kg Lamunin looks to introduce more recreational activities to lure more tourists, local and foreign, to enjoy the lush nature in the village next year. Village head Major (Rtd) Said Hj Tinggal said they saw the market potential in activities such as jungle trekking and camping in the Tutong forests, citing the Bintudoh forest as a prime example. “We have identified Bintudoh forest as having t ...

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Feb 3: The long weekend, coinciding with the Chinese New Year, saw unprecedented rush of holidaymakers going to Miri and Kuala Lurah resulting in long queues at the immigration posts of both countries. Although such heavy traffic is not unusual during the holiday season, Bruneian immigration authorities set up more booths to ease the flow of holidaymakers. Spokespersons from the Bruneia ...

KOTA KINABALU, Feb 3: A former restaurant manager, Riduan Masmud, who raped an underaged girl before marrying her was sentenced to 12 years jail at the Sessions Court here. The 41-year-old father of four children was also ordered to be caned twice and to be kept under police supervision for a year after serving his sentence. Judge Ummu Kalthom Abdul Samad however allowed an application for a stay of executi ...

RANAU: Ranau folks were shaken by a minor earthquake that hit the district at 7.35pm. The tremor measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale was felt by residents in Kundasang as well as in parts of Kota Belud. Sabah Meteorological Department director Abdul Malek Tusin said the tremor was believed centred around Poring. "This area is known for active earthquake activity but we have not received reports on any damage ...

KARO, NORTH SUMATRA, Jan 2: Fourteen people, including four schoolchildren, were killed on Saturday after they were engulfed in scorching ash clouds spat out by Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung in its biggest eruption in recent days, officials said. Dark, searing clouds rolling down the mountain left apocalyptic scenes of ash-covered bodies scattered by a roadside in Sukameriah village, just 2.7 kilometers from t ...

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 31: The lingering death of the timber industry in Sabah has got the last remaining people still in it pleading for life-support from the state government. “We are asking for the government to at least assist to subsidise us to get by during this recession period,” Sabah Timber Industries Association (STIA) president James Hwong said this week in acknowledgement that the good times are ove ...