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KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has safely returned to Malaysia from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, early this morning following his official visit to the Central Asian nation. In a brief statement shared on social media, Anwar expressed gratitude for his safe return and announced that he would immediately resume his official responsibilities in Penang. “Alhamdulillah, I have safely arrived in my homeland early this morning from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Today, I resume my duty in Penang for some official events, God willing,” he said. The Prime Minister’s visit to Turkmenistan was aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and exploring new opportunities for cooperation in strategic sectors between the two countries. Anwar is scheduled to attend several official programmes in Penang as part of his ongoing duties under the Malaysia MADANI agenda.   -- MINUTESMY  -- SOURCE: FB ANWAR IBRAHIM 

PM Anwar Returns Safely from Turkmenistan, Resumes Official Duties in Penang

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has safely returned to Malaysia from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, early this morning following his official visit to the Central Asian nation.

In a brief statement shared on social media, Anwar expressed gratitude for his safe return and announced that he would immediately resume his official responsibilities in Penang.

“Alhamdulillah, I have safely arrived in my homeland early this morning from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Today, I resume my duty in Penang for some official events, God willing,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s visit to Turkmenistan was aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and exploring new opportunities for cooperation in strategic sectors between the two countries.

Anwar is scheduled to attend several official programmes in Penang as part of his ongoing duties under the Malaysia MADANI agenda.

— MINUTESMY 

— SOURCE: FB ANWAR IBRAHIM 

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BUTTERWORTH, JUNE 20 -- Newly appointed Malaysian Media Council (MMC) chairman Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan believes that her decades of experience in the judiciary can help the council build credibility, defend freedom and gain the people's trust. Responding to a question about the selection of a former judge to lead the media self-regulatory body, Nallini said the effectiveness of the council did not depend on power, but rather on its ability to gain confidence through the principles of justice and independence. "I am not a journalist. I have never run a newsroom, determined front pages or worked to deadlines to complete an assignment for the news desk," he said at a Media Dialogue Session with Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, here, today. However, the former Federal Court Judge said his experience in the judicial institution equipped him with the skills to defend the independence of the council, ensure a fair process and maintain public confidence in every decision made. "The main thing I can bring to this table is justice between parties who have no vested interest, decided based on evidence and explained openly with reasonable reasons," he said. Nallini said the Malaysian Media Council Act itself clearly stipulates that its chairman must be independent of political influence, the civil service and the legislature, thus reflecting the need for a neutral figure who is able to gain the trust of all stakeholders. He said that while editors and journalists remain experts in reporting and newsroom operations, the council's role is to strengthen the media ecosystem through authoritative standards, effective complaints mechanisms and fair dispute resolution. Commenting on the direction of the MMC, Nallini said that among his main priorities was to ensure that the council's basic structure was built based on the principles of justice and accountability. “My priority is on quality and fairness in our own processes, including our code of ethics, complaints mechanisms and how we reach and explain decisions. "These early months are actually the phase of building the constitution of this institution. If we can lay the right foundation such as fundamental justice, balanced considerations and reasons that can be scrutinized, the position of this council will be built on its own," he said. He said the second principle that needs to be applied is that independent media must also be responsible, while responsible media must be protected from pressure, harassment, misuse of names and manipulation. "Freedom and responsibility are not two opposing things, but rather complement each other in building trust," he said. In this regard, Nallini said the MMC has identified three immediate priorities, namely establishing a fair and efficient complaints and adjudication framework, expanding membership in the industry, and addressing new challenges including fake content and the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI). "This council will only benefit the government, industry and society as long as it is not owned by any party." "This kind of freedom cannot be declared just through speech, but must be proven through every decision and our willingness to differ from any party. That is the standard we want to uphold," he said. At the same time, he stressed that the council's complaints mechanism should not be used as a tool to silence journalists because courageous reporting, challenging authorities and raising difficult questions are not problems that need to be fixed, but rather an important role of the independent media. "This council will uphold standards, but we will always ensure that efforts to uphold those standards are not abused to the point of hindering journalism, which is so necessary in a democracy," he said. Also present at the dialogue session held in conjunction with the celebration of National Journalists' Day (HAWANA) 2026 were the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Communications Datuk Abdul Halim Hamzah and Deputy Secretary-General (Strategic Communications and Creative Industries) Datuk Bahria Mohd Tamil. Also present were Bernama Chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai; Bernama Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the HAWANA 2026 Working Committee Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin; Bernama Editor-in-Chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, as well as senior management of local media organisations. -- BERNAMA

Judicial experience helps strengthen MMC’s credibility – Nallini

BUTTERWORTH, JUNE 20 -- Timor-Leste has requested Malaysia's assistance to facilitate collaboration with Google to establish the technology company's official presence in the country, thus making it easier for local digital content creators to generate income and develop the country's creative economy. Timor-Leste's Secretary of State for Social Communications Expedito Loro Dias Ximenes said the lack of official representation of Google and YouTube in the country was one of the main challenges preventing local content creators from generating income through the platform's monetization programs. "The Minister (Communications Datuk Fahmi Fadzil) has already promised to help us (Timor-Leste) to send Google experts to Timor-Leste so they can talk to us," he told Bernama. Before that, he had a meeting with Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil on the sidelines of the National Journalists' Day (HAWANA) 2026 summit, which was held at the PICCA Convention Centre @ Butterworth Arena here on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ximenes said Malaysia and Timor-Leste also agreed to strengthen media cooperation through the sharing of news, photos and multimedia content, as well as journalism training and journalist exchange programmes. The Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) and the Timor-Leste news agency, Agência Noticiosa de Timor-Leste (TATOLI), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen media cooperation between the two ASEAN member countries. The MOU was signed by the Chief Executive Officer of Bernama Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and TATOLI President Noémio Mateus Soares Falcão on behalf of their respective agencies, recently. "The Minister and I have both agreed to continue our cooperation following the MOU exchanged today between TATOLI, Timor-Leste and Bernama through the sharing of content and training for journalists, journalists from Timor-Leste to Malaysia and Malaysia to Timor-Leste," he said. He said the collaboration was also hoped to be expanded to the broadcasting sector through a partnership between Rádio e Televisão de Timor-Leste and Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). "The minister immediately called his director general (Ashwad Ismail) to provide information to establish cooperation in the near future," he said. Ximenes is in Malaysia with the Timor-Leste delegation including President TATOLI and his Deputy Madalena DE JCP Carlos to attend the HAWANA 2026 summit. The sixth edition of HAWANA brought together approximately 1,000 local and foreign media practitioners under the theme "Media with Integrity, Core Credibility", and was officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. -- BERNAMA

Timor-Leste requests Malaysia’s help to withdraw Google’s presence

JOHOR BAHRU, JUNE 20 -- The Malaysian Democratic Alliance (MUDA) has announced Puteri Wangsa State Assembly Service Centre Chief Officer Rashifa Aljunied, 26, as a candidate for the Puteri Wangsa State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seat in the Johor State Election (PRN). The announcement was made by MUDA President Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz, who is also the former incumbent of the seat. "The decision to place Rashifa as a candidate was made after in-depth discussions with the top leadership and party machinery," he said at a press conference announcing the party's candidate for the first series today. Amira Aisya said her decision not to defend the seat was to contest at the Parliamentary level in the upcoming 16th General Election (GE-16). It is understood that MUDA will make a second series of candidate announcements for several more seats in the capital tomorrow. In the 2022 Johor state election, the Puteri Wangsa state seat was the only seat won by MUDA. Amira Aisya won the six-cornered contest in the seat with a majority of 7,114 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional (BN) challenger Ng Yew Aik. The Election Commission has set July 11 as polling day for the Johor state election with June 27 as nomination day and early voting on July 7. -- BERNAMA

Johor state election: MUDA bets on Rashifa Aljunied to defend Puteri Wangsa state seat

KLANG, JUNE 20 -- Negotiations between the Malaysian and Thai governments involving the issue of the temporary suspension of shrimp imports are being carried out intensively, said Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu. He said discussions between the two countries were leading to the best solution that could safeguard the interests of all parties. "We are still at the negotiation stage and this matter has also received the attention of the Prime Minister. So, intensive discussions are being held to find the best solution." "We are trying to defend the country's rights and interests while their side will explain matters related to fish and shrimp exports to Malaysia," he said at a press conference after opening the Road To MAHA 2026 program at the Central Zone level here today. Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM), Datuk Seri Isham Ishak, when commenting on the questionnaire response sent by the ministry to Thailand, said Malaysia had received the response and it was currently in the evaluation process. "The feedback has been received. What needs to be done now is to assess, verify and audit the information provided to meet all the country's biosecurity requirements and conditions," he said when met at the same event. Previously, the media reported that Malaysia was awaiting a response from Thailand on a questionnaire regarding shrimp imports before assessing the country's level of compliance with biosecurity aspects following the temporary suspension of the import of five species of shrimp from the country. Fisheries Director-General Datuk Adnan Hussain reportedly said that the Ministry of Fisheries had asked Thailand to respond to a questionnaire sent through the Malaysian agricultural representative office in Bangkok. On May 16, Malaysia tightened controls on the import of fishery products from Thailand through the enforcement of CoA requirements for sea bass as well as a temporary ban on five species of shrimp starting June 1. The temporary restrictions involve the species Penaeus esculentus (brown tiger shrimp), Fenneropenaeus merguiensis (red/white leg shrimp), Penaeus vannamei (white lutz shrimp), Penaeus monodon (tiger shrimp) and Penaeus stylirostris (blue shrimp). Following this, Thailand is reported to be ready to raise the issue of Malaysia's temporary suspension of imports of five species of shrimp from the country at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and ASEAN forums if bilateral negotiations fail to resolve the issue. -- BERNAMA

Thai shrimp issue being discussed intensively – Mohamad Sabu

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BUTTERWORTH, JUNE 20 -- Newly appointed Malaysian Media Council (MMC) chairman Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan believes that her decades of experience in the judiciary can help the council build credibility, defend freedom and gain the people's trust. Responding to a question about the selection of a former judge to lead the media self-regulatory body, Nallini said the effectiveness of the council did not depend on power, but rather on its ability to gain confidence through the principles of justice and independence. "I am not a journalist. I have never run a newsroom, determined front pages or worked to deadlines to complete an assignment for the news desk," he said at a Media Dialogue Session with Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, here, today. However, the former Federal Court Judge said his experience in the judicial institution equipped him with the skills to defend the independence of the council, ensure a fair process and maintain public confidence in every decision made. "The main thing I can bring to this table is justice between parties who have no vested interest, decided based on evidence and explained openly with reasonable reasons," he said. Nallini said the Malaysian Media Council Act itself clearly stipulates that its chairman must be independent of political influence, the civil service and the legislature, thus reflecting the need for a neutral figure who is able to gain the trust of all stakeholders. He said that while editors and journalists remain experts in reporting and newsroom operations, the council's role is to strengthen the media ecosystem through authoritative standards, effective complaints mechanisms and fair dispute resolution. Commenting on the direction of the MMC, Nallini said that among his main priorities was to ensure that the council's basic structure was built based on the principles of justice and accountability. “My priority is on quality and fairness in our own processes, including our code of ethics, complaints mechanisms and how we reach and explain decisions. "These early months are actually the phase of building the constitution of this institution. If we can lay the right foundation such as fundamental justice, balanced considerations and reasons that can be scrutinized, the position of this council will be built on its own," he said. He said the second principle that needs to be applied is that independent media must also be responsible, while responsible media must be protected from pressure, harassment, misuse of names and manipulation. "Freedom and responsibility are not two opposing things, but rather complement each other in building trust," he said. In this regard, Nallini said the MMC has identified three immediate priorities, namely establishing a fair and efficient complaints and adjudication framework, expanding membership in the industry, and addressing new challenges including fake content and the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI). "This council will only benefit the government, industry and society as long as it is not owned by any party." "This kind of freedom cannot be declared just through speech, but must be proven through every decision and our willingness to differ from any party. That is the standard we want to uphold," he said. At the same time, he stressed that the council's complaints mechanism should not be used as a tool to silence journalists because courageous reporting, challenging authorities and raising difficult questions are not problems that need to be fixed, but rather an important role of the independent media. "This council will uphold standards, but we will always ensure that efforts to uphold those standards are not abused to the point of hindering journalism, which is so necessary in a democracy," he said. Also present at the dialogue session held in conjunction with the celebration of National Journalists' Day (HAWANA) 2026 were the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Communications Datuk Abdul Halim Hamzah and Deputy Secretary-General (Strategic Communications and Creative Industries) Datuk Bahria Mohd Tamil. Also present were Bernama Chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai; Bernama Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the HAWANA 2026 Working Committee Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin; Bernama Editor-in-Chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, as well as senior management of local media organisations. -- BERNAMA

Judicial experience helps strengthen MMC’s credibility – Nallini

BUTTERWORTH, JUNE 20 -- Timor-Leste has requested Malaysia's assistance to facilitate collaboration with Google to establish the technology company's official presence in the country, thus making it easier for local digital content creators to generate income and develop the country's creative economy. Timor-Leste's Secretary of State for Social Communications Expedito Loro Dias Ximenes said the lack of official representation of Google and YouTube in the country was one of the main challenges preventing local content creators from generating income through the platform's monetization programs. "The Minister (Communications Datuk Fahmi Fadzil) has already promised to help us (Timor-Leste) to send Google experts to Timor-Leste so they can talk to us," he told Bernama. Before that, he had a meeting with Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil on the sidelines of the National Journalists' Day (HAWANA) 2026 summit, which was held at the PICCA Convention Centre @ Butterworth Arena here on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ximenes said Malaysia and Timor-Leste also agreed to strengthen media cooperation through the sharing of news, photos and multimedia content, as well as journalism training and journalist exchange programmes. The Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) and the Timor-Leste news agency, Agência Noticiosa de Timor-Leste (TATOLI), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen media cooperation between the two ASEAN member countries. The MOU was signed by the Chief Executive Officer of Bernama Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and TATOLI President Noémio Mateus Soares Falcão on behalf of their respective agencies, recently. "The Minister and I have both agreed to continue our cooperation following the MOU exchanged today between TATOLI, Timor-Leste and Bernama through the sharing of content and training for journalists, journalists from Timor-Leste to Malaysia and Malaysia to Timor-Leste," he said. He said the collaboration was also hoped to be expanded to the broadcasting sector through a partnership between Rádio e Televisão de Timor-Leste and Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). "The minister immediately called his director general (Ashwad Ismail) to provide information to establish cooperation in the near future," he said. Ximenes is in Malaysia with the Timor-Leste delegation including President TATOLI and his Deputy Madalena DE JCP Carlos to attend the HAWANA 2026 summit. The sixth edition of HAWANA brought together approximately 1,000 local and foreign media practitioners under the theme "Media with Integrity, Core Credibility", and was officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. -- BERNAMA

Timor-Leste requests Malaysia’s help to withdraw Google’s presence

JOHOR BAHRU, JUNE 20 -- The Malaysian Democratic Alliance (MUDA) has announced Puteri Wangsa State Assembly Service Centre Chief Officer Rashifa Aljunied, 26, as a candidate for the Puteri Wangsa State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seat in the Johor State Election (PRN). The announcement was made by MUDA President Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz, who is also the former incumbent of the seat. "The decision to place Rashifa as a candidate was made after in-depth discussions with the top leadership and party machinery," he said at a press conference announcing the party's candidate for the first series today. Amira Aisya said her decision not to defend the seat was to contest at the Parliamentary level in the upcoming 16th General Election (GE-16). It is understood that MUDA will make a second series of candidate announcements for several more seats in the capital tomorrow. In the 2022 Johor state election, the Puteri Wangsa state seat was the only seat won by MUDA. Amira Aisya won the six-cornered contest in the seat with a majority of 7,114 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional (BN) challenger Ng Yew Aik. The Election Commission has set July 11 as polling day for the Johor state election with June 27 as nomination day and early voting on July 7. -- BERNAMA

Johor state election: MUDA bets on Rashifa Aljunied to defend Puteri Wangsa state seat

KLANG, JUNE 20 -- Negotiations between the Malaysian and Thai governments involving the issue of the temporary suspension of shrimp imports are being carried out intensively, said Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu. He said discussions between the two countries were leading to the best solution that could safeguard the interests of all parties. "We are still at the negotiation stage and this matter has also received the attention of the Prime Minister. So, intensive discussions are being held to find the best solution." "We are trying to defend the country's rights and interests while their side will explain matters related to fish and shrimp exports to Malaysia," he said at a press conference after opening the Road To MAHA 2026 program at the Central Zone level here today. Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM), Datuk Seri Isham Ishak, when commenting on the questionnaire response sent by the ministry to Thailand, said Malaysia had received the response and it was currently in the evaluation process. "The feedback has been received. What needs to be done now is to assess, verify and audit the information provided to meet all the country's biosecurity requirements and conditions," he said when met at the same event. Previously, the media reported that Malaysia was awaiting a response from Thailand on a questionnaire regarding shrimp imports before assessing the country's level of compliance with biosecurity aspects following the temporary suspension of the import of five species of shrimp from the country. Fisheries Director-General Datuk Adnan Hussain reportedly said that the Ministry of Fisheries had asked Thailand to respond to a questionnaire sent through the Malaysian agricultural representative office in Bangkok. On May 16, Malaysia tightened controls on the import of fishery products from Thailand through the enforcement of CoA requirements for sea bass as well as a temporary ban on five species of shrimp starting June 1. The temporary restrictions involve the species Penaeus esculentus (brown tiger shrimp), Fenneropenaeus merguiensis (red/white leg shrimp), Penaeus vannamei (white lutz shrimp), Penaeus monodon (tiger shrimp) and Penaeus stylirostris (blue shrimp). Following this, Thailand is reported to be ready to raise the issue of Malaysia's temporary suspension of imports of five species of shrimp from the country at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and ASEAN forums if bilateral negotiations fail to resolve the issue. -- BERNAMA

Thai shrimp issue being discussed intensively – Mohamad Sabu

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