2 January – The cabinet decided to halt all bauxite mining operation in Kuantan, Pahang.
4 January – All 120 vape outlets in Johor have ceased operations after various government agencies led by Johor police carried out massive raids since the beginning of the year.
11 January – Prime Minister Najib Razak and former MCA president Ling Liong Sik are attempting mediation to resolve a defamation suit linked to the RM2.6 billion donation issue.[1]
11 January – Mualim become the eleventh district of Perak.
11 January – Two Malaysians suicide bombers blew themselves up, killing more than 33 others during their assigned missions in Syria and Iraq last week.
11 January – A book on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is launched as part of efforts to enhance the public's understanding over its implementation.
12 January – The MEASAT satellite celebrates its 20th anniversary.
13 January – Terengganu officially declared it is hit by a dengue outbreak.
Wisma Putra confirms that there are no Malaysians affected by the Jakarta bomb explosions.
Police have raised the alert level in Malaysia to the highest degree following today's attacks in Jakarta.
Malaysia strongly condemns the attacks in Jakarta which claimed the lives of several innocent lives. Malaysia expressed its deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the families of innocent people who were killed or injured in the attacks.
16 January – Johor and Selangor police increased their presence at public places following the terrorist attacks in Jakarta, in line with a statement from Inspector General of Police, Khalid Abu Bakar that the security alert had been raised to the highest level.
17 January – Police have arrested a 28-year-old insurance agent who planned to carry out a lone wolf suicide bomb attack in Malaysia, in the wake of the terrorist attack by Islamic State (IS) militants in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 January.
19 January – The National Security Council (NSC) has decided to raise the sensitivity level of the country's security and increase joint police-military patrols at tourist and public areas.
21 January – Mukhriz Mahathir lost the support and confidence of KedahUMNO as Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) and state party chief, with division leaders citing his weak leadership as reason that he must be replaced.
23 January – An estimated 4,000 protesters rallied in Kuala Lumpur in a last-ditch attempt to stop Malaysia from joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement that will be voted on in Parliament next week.
A piece of suspected plane wreckage has been found off the coast of southern Thailand, a local official said, prompting speculation it might belong to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished nearly two years ago.
24 January – Police have detained seven people believed to be linked to the Islamic State (IS) group.
To increase the people's discretionary income to cope with the rising cost of living, the Government has agreed to lower the employees' contribution to Employee's Provident Fund (EPF) by 3% beginning March 2016 to December 2017. Contribution by employers will remain at 12% (for employees earning above RM5,000) and 13% (for employees earning RM5,000 and below). The new rate means employees have the option of contributing only 8% of their salary to EPF. This is expected to increase private sector spending by RM8 billion a year.
However, for taxpayers, the additional discretionary income they get from this will still be taxed.
The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) will establish markets or MyFarm Outlets that sell agricultural produce directly such as fish, poultry, meat, vegetables and fruits at prices between 5% and 20% below market prices. These outlets will be established in 11 locations, the first location being Precinct 7, Putrajaya in March.
The Government will liberalise Approved Permits (Aps) for eight agricultural products including coffee beans and meats. This will ensure consistency of supplies for these items.
The Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) to identify more fair price shops, including foreign and local hypermarkets, and increase the number of these shops from 640 to 1,000 this year.
According to Senator Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, Malaysia's poverty rate went down to 0.6% last year from 1.7% in 2012. These hardcore poor households may be struggling to cope with the increasing cost of living, hence the MyBeras programme will be introduced where 20 kg of rice will be distributed to these households every month until December 2016.
All new housing projects priced up to RM300,000 will be limited to first-time house buyers only, with immediate effect.
The Government will organise Integrated House Ownership Expo Roadshows, which will offer more than 100,000 housing units under programmes like the National Housing Department (JPN), 1Malaysia People Housing Programme (PR1MA), Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB), and Perumahan Penjawat Awam 1Malaysia (PPA1M).
For houses priced at RM35,000 under the People's Housing Programme (Projek Perumahan Rakyat or PPR), the Government will offer a financing package at 4% through Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) and Bank Rakyat. This will benefit more than 10,000 house owners.
The middle-income earners are not left behind in this revision with the reintroduction of the special tax relief of RM2,000 for individual taxpayers with a monthly income of RM8,000 or below. This is valid for the Year of Assessment 2015 and will benefit two million taxpayers. This was last introduced for Year of Assessment 2013.
The National Scholarship Programme for 20 top SPM students to pursue study at renowned universities globally.
The Special Engineering Programme for 200 students to Japan, Korea, Germany and France.
The Bursary Graduate Programme for 744 students to pursue undergraduate studies in public universities and private institutions of higher learning in the country.
The new intake of 8,000 students will be awarded scholarships to pursue undergraduate studies in the country.
RM5 billion will be allocated for the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) for undergraduates,
MyBrain15, Academic Training Scheme for Bumiputera (SLAB) and Academic Training Scheme of Public Higher Education Institutions (SLAI) programmes will be continued to intensify investment in human capital,
Increase the students from 25,000 overall to: 15,000 new students for the MyMaster programme, 5,000 for MyPhD, and 300 for SLAI. These programmes will be given an additional allocation of RM300 million.
The promotion of domestic tourism will be intensified through organising sales of integrated domestic holiday packages.
The Government will facilitate the entry of foreign tourists by expediting the implementation of eVisa to several countries which have been identified.
Tourists from China will not require a visa to visit Malaysia from March 1 to December 31, 2016 (for a period of stay not exceeding 15 days).
Double compliance and auditing efforts on tax evaders,
Special consideration for penalty on tax evaders to encourage them to come forward and declare their past years' income if tax arrears are settled before December 31, 2016,
For duty-free islands, the Government will restructure the selling channel of cigarettes and liquors limited to duty-free outlets licensed by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD). This is expected to reduce revenue loss of up to RM1 billion,
Free duty treatment on imported vehicles in duty-free islands will be tightened,
The Government will optimise the revenue from the telecommunication spectrum through a redistribution and bidding process which will be implemented soon, and
Develop several strategic areas owned by the Government through a bidding process to invigorate economic activity.
Government will exercise prudent spending on supplies and services and to continue with grant rationalisation. However, the measures were not specified in the Budget 2016 recalibration announcement.
The development budget will focus on projects and programmes that place the people first, have high multiplier effect and low import content.
Physical projects (including construction of affordable houses, hospitals, schools, roads, public transport and security) to be prioritised. Non-physical projects and projects still under study to be rescheduled. This is expected to reduce cash flow commitments up to RM5 billion.
8 February – The Tugu Negara (National Monument) celebrates its 50th anniversary.
10 February – Dead whale found at Pantai Rambah near Pontian, Johor.
13 February – Sabah police arrested 520 individuals in a massive joint operation to weed out criminal elements at one of the biggest settlements for immigrants in the state. Six of those arrested, including a woman, are nabbed for investigation under the Security Offences (Special Measure) Act 2012.
18 February โ Former MCA president Ling Liong Sik spared no bullets in his attack on Prime Minister Najib Razak.[6]
19 February – Government has suspended the recruitment of all foreign workers, including those from Bangladesh, pending a review of the levy and rehiring programme.
21โ28 February – Several parts of Sarawak were hit by flash floods.
21 February – A lorry driver rammed his heavy vehicle into 22 cars and two motorcycles to drive through the congested area near the Taman Berjaya market, Nibong Tebal, Penang, causing all the smaller vehicles to be badly damaged. On 23 February, a lorry driver, G Mathan finally surrendered to the police. He pleaded not guilty by the Jawi Magistrate's court.
26 February – Prime Minister Najib Razak's Facebook page was awash with angry vibes as thousands of netizens went on an emoji rampage.[7]
26 February – A Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) CN-235 makes its emergency landing and crashed near the coast of Kuala Selangor, Selangor. All eight crew members are saved. Meanwhile, a fisherman drowned in his attempt to rescue the survivors of the CN-235 crash. On 27 November, RMAF has set up an Investigation Board Team to look into the incident of an CN-235 aircraft emergency landing at the Kuala Selangor coast.
26 February – UMNO suspended Muhyiddin Yassin as deputy president owing to his continued open criticism of the party leadership.
1 March – The RON 95 reduced at RM1.60 per litre (15 sen down compared to February), RON 97 at RM1.95 per litre (10 sen down), diesel at RM1.35 per litre (unchanged) and EURO 5 diesel at RM1.45 (unchanged).
Media report the discovery of an object, found on a sandbar in Mozambique, that may have originated from a Boeing 777 of the Flight 370. The object, found by an American tourist the preceding weekend, will be flown to Australia for examination.
3 March – The first feature film of popular local children's animated TV series BoBoiBoy: The Movie has made it into the Malaysian Book of Records for raking in more than RM 500,000 in ticket sales on the first day of its release.
11 March – Former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad terminated as a Petronas advisor by the Najib Razak's cabinet. The decision is made following his recent actions which are contrary to the country's laws and constitution.[12][13]
18 March – The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has condemned the vote in the French National Assembly to impose a discriminatory tax on palm oil produced in the developing world, especially Indonesia and Malaysia.[14]
21 March – All schools in Kedah and Perlis are ordered to close for two days due to extreme hot and dry weather.
29 March – Taxi drivers staged a protest in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur as they were protesting against Uber and GrabCar. Later, police have detained five taxi drivers who took part in a protest against Uber and Grabcar in Bukit Bintang.
1 April – Four crewmen from a Malaysian boat are kidnapped by armed Filipino gunmen near Ligitan Island off Semporna in the east coast of Sabah.
2 April – Former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad arrived the anti-Goods and Services Tax (GST) rally organised by Pakatan Harapan which also demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak.
4 April – A total of 77 schools in three districts in Sabah are closed due to the haze.
5 April – Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice president and also Pandan Member of Parliament, Rafizi Ramli was arrested in front of the Parliament House for the alleged wrongful communication of classified documents. He was arrested under Section 8 of the Official Secrets Acts (OSA), which relates to wrongful communication of an official secret.
7 April – The giant baby panda which was born in Zoo Negara seven months ago is named "Nuan Nuan" (friendly).
9 April – Rayani Air suspended its operations temporarily in order to restructure the airline's management.
15 April – Nearly 40,000 people attended an Indian Muslim preacher, Zakir Naik's final lecture in Padang Astaka, Kemaman, Terengganu. Meanwhile, a Christian girl, Wu Nina Grace converted to Islam after attending Zakar's final lecture in Padang Astaka.
5 May – A helicopter, believed to be ferrying VIPs, including a deputy minister, from Betong to Kuching, Sarawak, has gone missing from radar near the Sebuyau district. Among those believed to be onboard are: Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Noriah Kasnon, Noriah's husband Asmuni Abdullah, Kuala Kangsar Member of Parliament Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad, Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry secretary-general Sundaran Annamalai and Noriah's bodyguard Ahmad Sobri Harun.
Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Noriah Kasnon has been identified as the first victim of a helicopter crash.
Noriah Kasnon's remains was flown back to Selangor and was laid to rest at the Muslim Cemetery in Batu 12 Sungai Burong, Sabak Bernam.
7 May – 2016 Sebuyau helicopter crash:
The second body recovered from the helicopter crash has been identified as Sundaran Annamalai.
7 May – 11th Sarawak state election:Barisan Nasional (BN) wins a two-thirds majority in the election. BN secured a 72-seat majority in the 82-strong state assembly in the election. Adenan Satem is sworn in as a Chief Minister.
9 May – KTM Intercity's popular train service Ekspres Rakyat (Butterworth - KL Sentral - JB Sentral - Woodlands, Singapore) has ceased its operations after 40 years in service.
11 May – UMNO celebrates its 70th anniversary of the foundation.
18 May – A new prefix of registration number - "F" and "V" โ will be assigned for the Federal Territories of Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur vehicles in June and July respectively.
22 May – A freak highway crash occurred at the NorthโSouth Expressway Southern Route, near the Simpang Ampat Interchange in Alor Gajah, Melaka. The attitude of some Malaysians during an accident at the expressway toll exit has sparked uproar among netizens for using the emergency lane, which allegedly led to the death of two motorists. The selfish needs of some drivers, who blocked the emergency lane, delayed the first ambulance by an hour and the second by almost three hours to get to the accident victims.
In Kuala Kangsar, Perak. BN candidate, Mastura Mohd Yazid wins this by-elections with a majority of 6,969 votes beating Dr Najihatussalehah Ahmad from PAS, Dr Ahmad Termizi Ramli from PAN and Independent candidate, Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary.
20 June – Petaling Jaya celebrates its 10th anniversary of the city status.
26 June – Semporna UMNO division vice-chief Jaujan Sambakong, leader of three wings and 300 branch chief have quit the party following Shafie Apdal's suspension.
30 June – Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng charged with two counts of corruption charges involving a piece of land and a bungalow and with using his position's gratification.
1 July – The RON95 increased at RM1.75 per litre (5 sen higher than the current price) while RON97 increased at RM2.10 (5 sen higher).
1 July – The RM1,000 minimum wage for Peninsular Malaysia and RM920 for Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan, has come into effect. This marked a RM100 (11 per cent) increase for the peninsula, and a RM120 (15 per cent) increase for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
13 July – Four in a family are gunned down by a 32-year-old gunman at the chicken processing factory in Batu Maung, Penang. On 14 July, a gunman, Chung Chun Wah, was shot down by police at George Town.
15 July – Terror attack in Nice, France. A Malaysian student injured in the terror attack was hit by the side of the 19-tonne truck that rammed into a crowd of revellers at a Bastille celebration and killed at least 84 people.
The High Court in Kuala Lumpur dismissed Mahathir Mohamad's affidavit in support of former MCA president Ling Liong Sik's application to strike out Prime Minister Najib Razak's suit.[22]
27 August – The Ministry of Health is beefing up health screening at the Malaysia-Singapore border entrance in Johor following reports of a Malaysian infected by the Zika virus in Singapore.
31 August – Police arrested three suspected Islamic State (IS) militants said to have targeted the Batu Caves Hindu Temple and several entertainment outlets in Kuala Lumpur. The attacks are believed to have been scheduled to take place on the Independence Day celebration eve.
1 September – The RON 95 priced at RM1.70 per litre (down 5 sen), RON 97 at RM2.05 per litre (down 5 sen), diesel at RM1.70 per litre (unchanged) and Euro 5 diesel at RM1.80 (unchanged).
1 September – The Ministry of Health confirmed its first Zika infection case at the Sungai Buloh Hospital, in a woman who recently travelled to Singapore.
7 September – Hundreds of morning commuters are stranded on their way to work as the Rapid KL's Light Rail Transit (LRT) service for the Kelana Jaya Line is experiencing technical difficulties due to a power outage.
9 September – Hundreds of evening commuters are stranded again on their way to home for Hari Raya Aidiladha holiday as a power outage hits LRT Kelana Jaya Line stretches from Setiawangsa to KLCC station.
9 September – Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones are banned at all Malaysian flight carrier due to safety concerns over its battery.
10 September – The 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
Malaysia calls for firm action against those who responsible the downing the MH17.
30 September – The Bursa Malaysia building, Exchange Square, Kuala Lumpur has been evacuated shortly in the afternoon due to bomb hoax. Police confirmed that the building is safe, entry and occupation of the Exchange Square building has normalized. Later, trading at Bursa Malaysia has now go on as usual in the afternoon session.
1 October – About 2,500 UMNO youths from Perak, Penang, Kedah and Perlis gathered at the Gurney Drive roundabout here to call for the resignation of Lim Guan Eng as Penang Chief Minister.
5 October – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has recorded one of its largest ever seizures, totalling RM112 million, following its probe on four people, including two senior officers of a Sabah government agency in Kota Kinabalu. Four men including a director of a Sabah state department and his deputy are remanded seven days over a corruption probe by the MACC.
5 October – Physician and activists, Dr Fauziah Mohd Hassan took part in the Women's Boat to Gaza (WBG) peaceful mission to Gaza Strip. The peaceful mission was attacked by Israeli Occupation Navy and took 13 activists including Fauziah in Israeli custody. Later, Fauziah and 12 activists were released by the Israeli Navy.
7 October – Security forces have arrested more than 10 people suspected to be informers for the Abu Sayyaf and kidnap-for-ransom groups in a special operation in Sabah.
7 October – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has seized jewellery worth RM3.64 million from two senior Sabah government officers suspected of involvement in a multi-million ringgit graft case.
7 October – A 54-year-old female senior Customs officer, was killed in a car chase with suspected smugglers "tonto" at Kampung Banggol Chicha in Pasir Mas, Kelantan.
8 October – Tengku Amir Shah is installed as Raja Muda of Selangor.
8 October – Two men wearing Bersih 5 T-shirts are attacked by Red Shirts group in Sabak Bernam, Selangor.
8 October – The Langat and Cheras water treatment plants are shut down due to odour pollution suspected to be from the Semantan River in Pahang
11 October – The Federal Court has reserved its judgment on the much-awaited hearing of opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim's review application to set aside his sodomy conviction.
Budget 2017 allocates RM260.8 billion, an increase of 3.4 per cent from the 2016 Budget Recalibration
RM214.8 billion for operating expenditure and RM46 billion for development expenditure RM77.4 billion is for emoluments and RM32 billion for supplies and services
Under development expenditure, economic sector receives highest share of RM25.9 billion, social sector (RM12.2 billion), security (RM5.3 billion)
Revenue collection is expected to expand at 3 per cent to RM219.7 billion
Government is expected to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 3 per cent of GDP in 2017
GST collection reached nearly RM30 billion as of 19 Oct 2016
RM350 million to build and refurbish 17,000 units of destitute and dilapidated houses in remote villages and Orang Asli settlements
RM 800 million allocated to implement People-Friendly Projects,
69 flood mitigation plans to be continued nationwide with RM495 million allocation.
5,000 unit of MyBeautiful New Home scheme under National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) for B40 group with allocation of RM200 million, government finance RM20,000, remaining will be paid as instalments by owner
RM275 million proposed for various initiatives to improve rakyat's income opportunities especially B40 group
Nearly RM10 billion provided to ease the cost of living, including cooking gas subsidies; toll charges; and public transport.
BR1M will be increased to RM1,200 for households in e-Kasih database earning below RM3,000
For households earning between RM3,000 & RM4,000, BR1M will be increased to RM900
BR1M will be increased to RM450 for single individuals earning below RM2,000
TVET education capacity will be enhanced with allocation of RM4.6 billion to TVET institutions
Government provide vacant lands at strategic locations to GLCs and PR1MA to build more than 30,000 houses with the selling price between RM150,000 and RM300,000
Build about 10,000 houses in urban areas for rental to eligible youths with permanent job including young graduates
New special "step-up" end-financing scheme for the PR1MA programme. Through this scheme, financing will be easier and more accessible to the buyers with total loan up to 90 per cent to 100 per cent
Lifestyle tax relief up to RM2,500 from 2017 will include purchase of printed newspapers, smartphones and tablets, internet subscriptions and gym membership
RM40 million for 1Malaysia English, Coding in schools, Volunteering for International Professional and Global Entrepreneurship Community 2
RM25 billion allocation proposed for various health programmes
RM20 million allocation in form of loans for NGOs to operate non-profit charitable hospitals based on government hospital rates
RM1.3 billion is allocated to increase food production at a competitive price
Proposal for RM5,000 grant to purchase new vehicles and offer individual taxi permits, with an allocation of RM60 million, in move to benefit 12,000 taxi drivers
BR1M recipients in B40 group to be encouraged to participate as Uber drivers
The 30-year vision plan of National Transformation 2050 (TN50) is announced.
22 October – Penang Free School celebrates its 200th anniversary of the foundation since 1916.
23 October – The Semenyih River water treatment plant had to be shut down due to the detection of contamination in the Semenyih River, Hulu Langat, Selangor.
Red Shirts leader, Jamal Yunos arrested by police.
Nine members of Bersih and Red Shirts are detained by police.
19 November – Four people were killed in a two vehicle collision at Kota Tinggi-Mersing road near FELCRA Sungai Ara, Johor.
19 November – The Bersih 5 rally: More than 44,000 people are taking part in the Bersih 5-Red Shirts rally in Kuala Lumpur. No incidents are reported in the rally.
24 November – Shah Alam Amanah Member of Parliament, Khalid Abdul Samad is attacked by a group from the Pasir Salak UMNO Youth division as he entered Parliament grounds.
28 November – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrested two civil servants in separate operations and froze several bank accounts containing millions of ringgit, believed to have been amassed through graft.
28 November – Bersih leader, Maria Chin Abdullah has been released from detention under the SOSMA act.
28 November – The body found during a search-and-rescue (SAR) operation at Mount Damavand, Iran was confirmed to be Syed Redzuan Syed Salim Shatri, one of the two Malaysians who was reported missing since 20 November.
1 December – The retail price of RON95 and RON97 petrol and diesel decreased by five sen per litre from midnight.
1 December – Three people dead and three others were injured in a drive-by shooting at Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway in Penang. The victims was identified as Datuk Ong Teik Kwang or "Datuk M". Another person injured was Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) videographer Mohamad Amirul Amin. Later, police have caught the man suspected of shooting three people dead in a car on the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.
2 December – National footballer, Mohd Faiz Subri officially shortlisted as among the top three nominees for the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year.
7 December – Myanmar has banned workers from going to Muslim-majority Malaysia as relations sour between the neighbours over a bloody military crackdown on the Buddhist country's Rohingya minority.
Malaysia was only formed on September 16, 1963. Prior to that date, Peninsular Malaysia was known as Malaya, Sarawak under Crown Colony of Sarawak and Kingdom of Sarawak and Sabah under North Borneo.