Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been admitted to the National Heart Institute for an elective procedure. The NHI said in a statement that he was admitted for an elective medical procedure and that due to current SOPs, Mahathir was not permitted visitors.[2]
Molek FM is launched for the East Coast states.[3]
9 January – A train did not stop at Kuala Gris station in Kuala Krai, causing 100 SMK Dabong students to miss school.[4]
10 January – Former prime minister Najib Razak will not be taking the stand as a defence witness in his wife Rosmah Mansor’s corruption trial linked to the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid energy project.[5]
13 January – Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been discharged from National Heart Institute (IJN) after successfully undergoing an elective medical procedure on Jan 7.[6]
19 January – Badminton player Lee Zii Jia resigns from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to become an independent player.[9] Lee was slapped with a two-year ban by the BAM two days later.[10] Lee later appealed, resulting in the ban being lifted on 25 January after a deal.[11][12]
A spokesperson from the office of Mahathir Mohamad has confirmed that the former prime minister is currently being treated at the National Heart Institute (IJN)'s coronary care unit (CCU).[14]
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob arrived at the National Heart Institute (IJN) to visit Mahathir Mohamad.[15]
24 January
Former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has been ordered to enter his defence against all 47 criminal breach of trust (CBT), corruption and money laundering charges involving funds from Yayasan Akalbudi, a charity foundation which he had set up.[16]
Former prime minister Najib Razak is seeking to appoint a Queen’s Counsel from the United Kingdom to act on his behalf in his appeal to quash his conviction in the RM42 million SRC International corruption case.[17]
25 January – Five vehicles were damaged due to a landslip with no casualties reported.[18]
26 January
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's health has improved well enough for him to be moved to a normal ward from the coronary care unit (CCU) at the National Heart Institute (IJN).[19]
27 January – The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by former prime minister Najib Razak to reinstate his lawsuit against former banker Joanna Yu, AmBank Islamic Bhd and AMMB Holdings Bhd. In a unanimous decision, a three-man panel chaired by Justice Yaacob Md Sam ruled that there was no appealable error by the learned High Court judge that could warrant appellate intervention. The court also granted costs of RM40,000 to both the Ambank entities and RM35,000 costs to Yu.[21]
28 January – AirAsia is renamed Capital A to reflect its new focus in the digital industry.[22]
30 January – A tornado ripped through Ipoh, Perak with 100 trees felled and 219 houses damaged as a result.[23][24][25][26]
Scotiabank plans to exit Malaysia after 49 years by year-end.[27]
An express train catches fire in Pasir Mas. No injuries are reported in this incident.[28]
Kuala Lumpur celebrates 50 years since it was granted city status with new plans unveiled for sustainability.[29]
2 February – A fire at the Pulau Burung landfill is completely extinguished after it began on 12 January.[30]
4 February – Former prime minister Najib Razak's wife Rosmah Mansor’s bribery and corruption trial has been delayed once again as the final witness was unable to attend the court proceedings.[31]
5 February – Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been discharged from the National Heart Institute (IJN).[32][33]
9 February
The Commercial Division of the Kuala Lumpur High Court has granted an ex-parte Mareva injunction to 1MDB and its subsidiaries to freeze former prime minister Najib Razak or his agents in relation to their claim of US$681 million allegedly going into his personal bank account. The ex-parte application given by judicial commissioner Atan Mustaffa Yussof Ahmad only allowed Najib to withdraw up to RM100,000 monthly from his bank accounts to meet his expenditure or living expenses.[34]
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is close to full recovery after being discharged from the National Heart Institute (IJN). He said in a video clip uploaded to his Facebook page that he could now carry out various daily activities and hoped to fully recover.[35]
Constitutional amendments restoring Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners with Malaya are now in force.[37]
15 February – Sarawak Legislative Assembly passes Bill to rename the title of the head of the state's executive branch from 'Chief Minister' to 'Premier'.[38]
22 February – Former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah has applied to strike out the suit filed by 1MDB against him and former chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy to pay US$6.59 billion (RM27.6 billion).[39]
23 February – The star witness in the bribery trial of former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng testified that ex-Goldman chief Lloyd Blankfein met in 2009 with then Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak ahead of a US$6.5bil (RM27.2bil) in bond deals for the country’s wealth fund - and that the meeting came with an agenda. In return for the lucrative business, Goldman was to get Najib's three children jobs at the bank.[40]
24 February – Najib's daughter Nooryana Najwa Najib has confirmed that she did try to apply for a job at Goldman Sachs. She said she once met two former Goldman Sachs employees, Roger Ng and Tim Leissner as part of her networking efforts to land a "competitive job".[41]
27 February – Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said he will review a video depicting Najib Razak purportedly violating Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) during a campaign visit in Perling, Johor.[43]
28 February – Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim submitted a motion to discuss the disclosure of corruption, abuse of power and institutional malpractice, especially on Bank Negara in relation to the 1MDB scandal.[44]
The Federal Court rejected former prime minister Najib Razak’s application to vacate the appeal hearing dates on new evidence, which is scheduled on March 15 and 16.[45][46]
Najib told the Dewan Rakyat that not a single sen of public funds has been used by the government to repay the principal amount of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) debts. He said this is because various entities, including Goldman Sachs, audit firms KPMG and Deloitte, Ambank and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) had returned 1MDB funds totalling RM23 billion to Malaysia.[47][48]
3 March – The High Court in Kuala Lumpur dismissed an application by Najib Razak and former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah for them to be given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on six counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) amounting to RM6.6 billion involving the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).[49]
7 March – Former prime minister Najib Razak has been asked to explain to the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday his remarks on 1MDB during last week's debate which were said to have misled the august House. Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun said he had written a letter to Najib, to seek clarification on the matter and asked him to reply.[50]
9 March – Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad confirmed he would not be contesting or defending his Langkawi parliamentary seat in the next general election.[51]
16 March – A five-member Federal Court bench led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat has unanimously dismissed former prime minister Najib Razak's appeal to adduce more evidence to the SRC International Sdn Bhd graft case in a bid to overturn his conviction and sentence.[53]
5 April - The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has confirmed that there is no new investigation being conducted on former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.[54]
13 April - The suit filed by Mohamed Apandi Ali against former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and the Malaysian government over the termination of his contract as the Attorney-General (AG), has been settled amicably at the High Court.[55][56]
15 April - Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Takahashi Katsuhiko thanked former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for initiating the Look East Policy (LEP) in 1982, aimed at social and economic development in Malaysia through Japanese patronage and guidance.[57]
25 April - Former prime minister Najib Razak has submitted 94 grounds in his petition of appeal on why he should be freed of the charges of misappropriating RM42 million in SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.[61]
29 April – Bank Negara Malaysia awards digital bank licences to five consortia, being Boost Holdings and RHB Bank, GXS Bank and Kuok Brothers, Sea Limited and YTL Digital Capital for the main banks, and AEON Financial Service, AEON Credit Service and MoneyLion, KAF Investment Bank for the Islamic banks.[62][63]
9 May - The Federal Court has fixed 10 days in August to hear former prime minister Najib Razak's final bid against his conviction and jail sentence for misappropriation of RM42mil in SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.[64][65][66]
10 May - Former prime minister Najib Razak and his son Nazifuddin Najib can appeal to the Federal Court over a summary judgment entered against them regarding the payment of income tax amounting to RM1.69 billion and RM37.6 million respectively to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).[67]
12 May - The Kuala Lumpur High Court has set July 7 to deliver its verdict on the corruption trial involving Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak.[68]
20 May - Former prime minister Najib Razak declined to comment over the issue of an alleged "wedding" photo of him with a woman that went viral two days ago.[69]
The Sessions Court sentenced former Sabah state executive Councillor Peter Anthony to three years imprisonment and a fine of RM50,000 after he was found guilty of forging a letter for a Mechanical and Electrical Systems (M&E) maintenance work at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).[71]
8 June - Former prime minister Najib Razak's legal team has filed a fresh bid to nullify the SRC International trial. The filing with the Federal Court seeks to disqualify judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali over conflicts of interest.[72]
16 June - The official launch for Phase 1 of the second MRT line in Klang Valley, known as the MRT Putrajaya Line (SSP Line), by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. A 1-month free ride for all public transportation services in Kuala Lumpur was also announced following the launch of the new line.[73]
1 July - The Kuala Lumpur High Court has postponed the verdict for Rosmah Mansor’s solar corruption case to Sept 1.[74][75][76]
8 July - The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has denied allegations that it nullified former prime minister Najib Razak’s SRC International proceedings. It said the allegations that the case is nullified because of an error in proceedings are fake.[77][78][79]
10 July - Born on July 10 in 1925, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad turns 97.[80]
26 July - Former prime minister Najib Razak has discharged his lead defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and the latter’s law firm from representing him in his final appeal against his guilty verdict over the misappropriation of SRC International Sdn Bhd's RM42 million.[82][83][84] Najib confirmed that Hisyam Teh Poh Teik would be his lead counsel in the SRC appeal, while the law firm Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners will be the solicitors for this case.[85][86][87]
29 July - Dewan Rakyat passes anti-party-hoping law with 2/3 majority [88]
2 August - US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her congressional delegation arrived in Malaysia as part of the second-leg of their Indo-Pacific tour.[89]
The Federal Court has affirmed former prime minister Najib Razak’s conviction and sentence in the SRC International case. With the decision, Najib becomes the first former prime minister in the history of Malaysia to be jailed.[91][92]
Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said the defence was so inherently inconsistent, it failed to raise reasonable doubt, adding that the conviction was safe on all seven charges and that the sentence was not excessive.[93]
Following the Federal Court’s affirmation of Najib’s conviction and sentence, his daughter Nooryana Najwa said Najib “did not stand a fighting chance” in the trial. She said "But Bossku (Najib's moniker) does not end here".[96]
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said that Najib might be able to receive a royal pardon for his conviction over the 1MDB scandal like what had happened to Anwar Ibrahim previously for his sodomy charges.[97][98]
Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the decision of the Federal Court proved the country’s judiciary system is independent and could ensure justice, and the decision has restored the tarnished dignity of the country.[99]
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said the court’s decision “proves the people are powerful and have made a decision to ensure the judiciary is free to clean the country of corruption”.[100]
The Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) applauded the sentencing of Najib, calling it a monumental victory for Malaysians and the judiciary.[101]
24 August
Barely 24 hours after disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak began his prison sentence, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob arrived at Umno headquarters for a political bureau meeting.[102]
The Prisons Department has denied that Najib is given special treatment at the Kajang Prison.[103][104]
25 August
After spending three days behind bars, former prime minister Najib Razak is back at the Court Complex for his other corruption trial over the misappropriation of RM2.3 billion of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds.[105]
The prestigious Royal Lake Club has removed disgraced and incarcerated Najib as its patron.[106][107]
31 August - Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad tested positive for Covid-19. He has been admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) for observation for the next few days as advised by the medical team.[108][109][110]
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined RM970 million after being found guilty of corruption in connection with the RM1.25 billion Sarawak rural schools’ solar energy project.[111][112]
Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said has resigned as Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s special adviser for law and human rights.[113] Azalina had said whoever became prime minister would usually appoint “one of their own” to become the AG, a post which came with wide-ranging powers.[114] Her comments drew criticisms from Bersatu and Pakatan Harapan leaders.[115][116]
2 September - Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Bung Moktar Radin and his wife Zizie Izette Abdul Samad have been ordered to enter their defence on all three charges of corruption amounting to RM2.8mil over unit trust investments.[117][118]
The Prisons Department has denied allegations that former prime minister Najib Razak was placed in a house within the prison grounds.[127][128]
12 September - The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah revoked the title given by the state to former prime minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor following their conviction of criminal cases. Najib was conferred the Keahlian Darjah Kebesaran Seri Paduka Mahkota Selangor (SPMS) First Class, which carries the title Datuk Seri in 2004 and the Darjah Kebesaran Dato’ Paduka Mahkota Selangor (DPMS) Second Class, which comes with the title Datuk, in 1992.[129][130]
15 September - Penang governor Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak has agreed to withdraw the Darjah Utama Pangkuan Negeri (DUPN) award that was given to former prime minister Najib Razak. Najib was awarded the DUPN, which carries the title Datuk Seri Utama, in 2009.[131][132][133]
28 September - Former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s review application to overturn his conviction and jail sentence in the RM42 million SRC International corruption case has been set for case management before the apex court on October 21.[134]
11 October - Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, 97, has declared that he will be defending his Langkawi seat in the upcoming 15th general election (GE15).[136][137]
20 October - The Election Commission (EC) during a special meeting chaired by its Chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh selected and declared 5 November as the nomination day, 15 November as the early polling day and 19 November as the polling day for GE15, Pahang, Perlis and Perak state elections. Therefore, the campaigning period is from 5 to 19 November, which is from the nomination to polling days, for 14 days in total.[138]
25 October
The Prisons Department said there were no video recordings involving former prime minister Najib Razak made by any media agencies in the prison premises as claimed. The department said checks showed that the video in question was pre-recorded by Radio Televisyen Malaysia for Episode 57 of Kembara Keluarga Malaysia programme before Najib was sentenced to prison.[139][140][141]
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has questioned why no investigation was launched against former attorney general (AG) Mohamed Apandi Ali over his handling of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal. He further contrasted Apandi’s case with that of disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak, who is currently serving jailtime for his involvement in the multi-million ringgit corruption scandal.[143]
Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob said his party does not have the power to grant former prime minister Najib Razak a pardon for his crimes even if it wins the 15th general election (GE15).[144][145]
27 October - The High Court dismissed former prime minister Najib Razak’s legal challenge over the Prisons Department’s refusal to allow his request to attend Dewan Rakyat proceedings. Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid ruled that there is no live issue to be considered by the court as Najib is no longer a Member of Parliament after the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10.[146][147]
28 October
Muda president Syed Saddiq has been ordered to enter his defence on charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT), misappropriation of assets and money laundering. Judicial Commissioner Azhar Abdul Hamid said the prosecution had proven their case beyond doubt.[148][149]
15 November - The Kuala Lumpur High Court has fixed Jan 30 next year to decide whether former prime minister Najib Razak and former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy will be acquitted or ordered to enter their defence on the audit tampering case.[150][151]
3 December - Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim appointed controversial figure Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as deputy prime minister. Ahmad Zahid was charged on corruption charges.[152][153] Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) expressed its disappointment.[154] Anwar also appointed himself become Finance Minister, breaking the rule that the prime minister should not also be the finance minister since Najib Razak's downfall in 2018.[155]
24 December - Infamous pro-BN NGO leader Ramesh Rao become Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's special officer in charge of Indian affairs.[159][160]
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.