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Singapore’s former Transport Minister S. Iswaran was handed eight more charges taking the grand total to 35 charges today.

The additional charges involved allegations of obtaining valuable items worth about SGD18,956 (RM66,582.50), in the capacity of a minister from an individual who had dealings with the Ministry, said the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

According to the charge sheet, the items included bottles of whiskey, golf clubs and a Brompton bicycle worth SGD$7,907.50 (RM27,784).

The business transaction involved a contract between Lum Chang Building Contractors (Lum Chang) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), for the addition and renovation of Tanah Merah Station and the existing viaduct.

The firm had also secured multi-billion dollar civil, building and infrastructure projects in Singapore including being the prime contractor for the Bukit Panjang station along the Downtown Line.

The case has gripped Singapore, as a major Asian financial hub that prides itself on a squeaky-clean government rarely involving corruption.

Iswaran, 61, denies the charges according to local media reports.

He was initially arrested in July last year and alleged to have obtained kickbacks worth S$384,340 (RM1,349,813.96) from property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, partly to advance Ong’s business interests.

Charge sheets show the favours included tickets to football matches, musicals, a flight on Ong’s private plane and tickets to the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix. Iswaran was advisor to the Grand Prix’s steering committee, while Ong owns the rights to the race.

The FIM Stewards had decided that the clash between Marc Marquez and Franceso “Pecco” Bagnaia at the Portugese MotoGP was a racing incident. As such, no penalty will be handed out.

The incident saw Bagnaia losing the front of his bike underneath Marquez, thereby taking both of them out of the race, with just 3 laps to go.

While he accepted the FIM Stewards’ decision, Marquez also felt it was at the ‘very limit’ of such a description, on the grounds that Pecco had made a ‘mistake’ in launching the ‘optimistic’ re-pass attempt.

The incident occurred moments after Marquez had outbraked the fading factory Ducati rider for fifth place into the Turn 5 hairpin at the Algarve Circuit in Portimao. As the Spaniard then drifted slightly off line at the apex, Bagnaia retaliated by diving for the gap but the pair promptly collided and crashed.

What Marquez said:

“Just an impact on the shoulder, but nothing important,” said Marquez, who remounted to finish in 16th and out of the points.

“But it was a mistake because we were fighting for 5th, 6th position. Two more points, two less. And he was suffering a lot with the tyres, especially with the rear tyre.  So in the end, when 3 laps remain, you know that you will lose the position, so it’s not necessary to come back in that aggressive mode. But, he decided like this. The consequence to Ducati is 0 points.”

The Kedah Menteri Besar explained that he changed to a new car because the old one often breaks down. According to him it is or official use.

Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md. Nor said that the high cost of maintenance and repairs of the previous car made it no longer worth using. He also said the state government has never bought a car for the Menteri Besar since May 2020 and he has only used cars bought by the previous Menteri Besar.

“Those two old Mercedes-Benz used to break down in the middle of the road, sometimes tilted to one side, sometimes lifted due to suspension problems.

“They have reached a stage that is no longer economical, but we continued to repair it because they looked like they were still good but it costs up to RM50,000 to repair.

“The new car is not a luxury car, it’s ordinary… if I want to buy it myself, I have money, I can buy two.

“It’s not very expensive, but the government has already bought it. Those who are jealous will buy it when they become the Menteri Besar,” he said.

Previously, the issue of the Korean-made Hyundai Palisade sports utility vehicle (SUV) priced between RM368,888 to RM399,888, which was used by Muhammad Sanusi with the registration number KCX8, went viral on social media.

Muhammad Sanusi said, the purchase of that type of car is based on his needs because it is more rugged and suitable for his tens of thousands of kilometers of travelling  a month.

“If you look at my movements as menteri besar, you cannot will give up and not follow. I travel tens of thousands of kilometers a month, so I have to have a tough car,” he said.

Suzuki returns to the Suzuka 8 Hour endurance race, albeit with a difference. The Japanese manufacturer had announced their departure from the sport but has decided to participate in the prestigious race using sustainable fuel for their GSX-R1000.

The Suzuka 8 Hour is part of the FIM Endurance World Championship calendar, and features an Experimental Class within the race. This category is meant for motorcycles that do not conform to engineering norms. However, the Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the race does conform to norms but will use a fuel that is only partly of non-fossil origin.

Instead, the factory will use the Elf Moto R40 FIM, which consists of 40% bio-sourced fuel. Interestingly, the Suzuki MotoGP team had begun using the fuel during their last season in the championship in 2022, as stipulated by FIM and Dorna for the class.

 

The fuel may does not seem to cause any drop in performance as demonstrated in the first 2024 MotoGP race in Qatar, where some bikes were 14 seconds faster than those in 2023.

Suzuki has not confirmed their rider lineup, as yet. Their long-time endurance championship winning rider, Sylvain Guintoli has since signed with the BMW Motorrad Motorsport WorldSBK team as a test rider.

Suzuki will enter the race under the Team Suzuki CN Challenge banner, also a departure from their long-time Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki partner. However, Yoshimura Japan will continue to be the factory’s technical partner and seeks to use the platform to develop sustainable technologies in areas such as the muffler, tyres, oil, fairings, and brakes.

The 2024 Suzuka 8 Hours is scheduled for 19 July 2024.

The decision to resume the search for MH370 will be known this May. The decision will be made after the meeting with Ocean Infinity.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said he will personally meet with representatives of the seabed exploration firm to discuss the contract and the proposed search mission. His ministry has already made an appointment with Ocean Infinity for them to present a proposal.

The Ministry of Transport will then propose to the Cabinet after that.

Anthony Loke also emphasized that the search principle is “no find, no fee”. This proposal needs to be approved by the Cabinet because there are financial implications and promises if the plane is found.

Ocean Infinity previously searched the Indian Ocean from 2017 until the search mission was called off in 2018.

But in early March, the company based in Texas, United States claimed to have new scientific evidence about the final location of MH370.

Loke said that, so far, his side is waiting for a proposal from Ocean Infinity first, especially the focus of their search, before any decision is made.

Flight MH370 carrying 239 passengers and crew disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, before it was announced to have ended up in the Indian Ocean.

The case of a senior police officer who allegedly caused the death of a student was transferred to the Ipoh High Court, for a criminal procedure hearing.

The senior officer who holds the rank of Assistant Superintendent (DSP) is accused of killing a Form 5 student who was also a candidate for the SPM examination on 5 December 2023.

Magistrate S. Punitha allowed Deputy Public Prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz’s request to transfer and try the case in the High Court, in accordance with Section 177A(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

However, the date for the case to be mentioned in the High Court has not been decided.

On December 18 last year, Mohd Nazri was accused of causing the death of Muhammad Zaharif Affendi Muhd Zamrie, 17, at Jalan Taman Jati 1, near SMK Jati, in the Kinta district, here, between 12.05pm and 12.40pm, last December 15.

In the tragic incident, Mohd. Nazri, who was waiting to pick up his wife who is a teacher at the victim’s school, got angry when he heard Zaharif revving his friend’s motorcycle engine.

Nazri is alleged to have chased the victim for a distance of one kilometer before hitting the victim with his car, causing serious injuries to his chest and stomach. The victim’s sister, who is a nurse, was near the accident area and administered CPR to her half-conscious brother.

Unfortunately, the victim was declared as deceased by the ambulance team that arrived later.

The accused’s wife said that her husband was “hot-tempered and couldn’t listen to people revving motorcycles.”

Offences under Section 302 of the Penal Code which calls for the death penalty, or imprisonment for a minimum of 30 years and not exceeding 40 years, and if not sentenced to death shall also be punished with no less than 12 lashes of the cane.

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