China warships to call on Penang port

GEORGE TOWN, May 4 — In a historic act, three Chinese warships will call on a Penang port next Friday to improve bilateral and military relations between China and Malaysia, an official from...

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‘Negaraku’ soars the skies with Malaysia Airlines

PUTRAJAYA, May 4 — Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has pledged its support for the “Negaraku” initiative, a nationwide movement aimed at fostering unity in the spirit of patriotism. In...

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Teach for Malaysia co-founder: Pay teachers well so we can get better students

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — How do we get better students? How about paying teachers better for a start, said Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) ambassador Dzameer Dzulkifli. The Teach for Malaysia...

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Malaysia arrests 2 Turks suspected of threatening national security

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian police have arrested two Turks, including the head of an international school, suspected of activities threatening national security, police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said.

The men, school head Turgay Karaman and businessman Ihsan Aslan, were arrested on Tuesday under a section of the penal code related to "terrorist acts", he said in a Tweet.

No further details of their alleged activities in Muslim-majority Malaysia were immediately available.

The police confirmation came after Karaman was seen on CCTV recordings circulated on social media being forced into an unmarked car by five unknown men at a carpark in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur.

A police report was filed on Karaman's disappearance by a friend on Tuesday night.

Aslan was also reported missing by his wife on Tuesday night after she failed to hear from him for more than a day.

Karaman's lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, told Reuters that the disappearances bore similarities to a case in October when two Turks were reported missing and later discovered to have been deported to Turkey.

He denied speculation that the men were supporters of U.S-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is being blamed by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for orchestrating a failed coup last year.

Gulen denies any involvement in the failed coup in which more than 230 people were killed. "They are academics.

They have not been charged for any Gulen activities," Rosli said.

Turkey has applied pressure to other countries that are home to institutions backed by Gulen, whose Hizmet movement runs about 2,000 educational establishments around the world.

Human Rights Watch on Wednesday said the two men should not be forcibly sent to Turkey, and called for an urgent investigation.

"There is little doubt that if they are returned to Turkey, they will face torture in detention, and if charged with crimes there, be subjected to a trial that will fall far short of fair trial standards,"

Malaysia, Asia

Wednesday, May 3, 2017 - 17:14

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Malaysia police arrest Turks over 'security threat'

Two Turkish nationals who went missing in Malaysia have been arrested as a security threat, the police chief announced on Wednesday, but a rights group raised concerns of possible pressure from Ankara for the detentions. National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar tweeted that Turgay Karaman and Ihsan Aslan were arrested "because they threatened the security of Malaysia." No further details were provided by authorities and the Turkish embassy refused to comment. Another Turkish national Suheyl Ozcelik on Tuesday lodged a police report saying he had seen CCTV footage of five men abducting Karaman, a physics teacher, at a Kuala Lumpur carpark.

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