Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hiked the minimum wage, expanded tax relief for the middle class and pledged to ease cost-of-living pressures in his 2027 budget, potentially the last before he calls a general election.

Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar has deferred a ruling on jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bid for a royal pardon, the government said in a statement on Friday.

Relations between Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his ruling alliance partner Zahid Hamidi have deteriorated in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter, with the two men barely seen talking to each other.

Joel William is about to begin a feasibility study for a Chinese client weighing a chemical plant in Sarawak, Malaysia’s biggest state on the northern coast of Borneo.