The Kota Kinabalu High Court has made a historic ruling that Putrajaya acted unlawfully by failing to honour Sabah’s 40 percent share of federal revenue collected from the state, for nearly five decades. This marks an end of sorts to a longstanding negotiation. We speak to Ariff Adi Putera Anwar about the significance of this ruling and the political risks of a federal appeal.

Other stories we covered:

• A new era for Malaysian squash: Sivasangari Subramaniam has climbed to sixth in the world squash rankings, marking a major milestone for Malaysian sport. Her rise comes just two years after a near-fatal car accident that forced her out of the Commonwealth Games. We speak about this with Gerard Monteiro, president of the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia as well as Sandru Narayanan, a sports journalist from Scoop.

• Perak fish species about to go extinct: The Temoleh fish, once abundant in Perak’s rivers, is now swimming dangerously close to extinction. High demand, limited spawning windows, and the rise of invasive species have pushed it closer to extinction. Professor Dr Noor Amal Azmai, Professor at the Department of Biology at University Putra Malaysia shares his insight and conservation efforts that are needed.

• Are insurance companies interfering with medical decisions?: A new survey reveals that 99% of private hospital specialists in Malaysia perceive a level of interference from insurance companies, when making their clinical decisions. From denied coverage to revoked guarantee letters, these practices are forcing patients to delay or abandon treatment. We hear from Mark O’Dell, CEO of the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia, Dr Kuljit Singh, President of the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia as well as Professor Dato' Dr Hanafiah Harunarashid, Master of the Academy of Medicine Malaysia.

• Louvre museum heist: Thieves broke into the Louvre and made off with eight pieces of Napoleonic jewellery, then escaped on scooters. Experts say this wasn’t a cinematic caper, but a symptom of weakened museum security and rising art crime. We get into it.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Alia Zefri, Sudais Ferhard, Sneha Harikannan, Tee Shiao Eek, Susan Tam

Presented by: Sharaad Kuttan, Susan Tam

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Categories:  controversies,  economy,  health policy,  financial wellness,  environment,  Law/Activism,  sports,  politics,  government

Tags:  Louvre museum,  Kota Kinabalu High Court,  heist,  insurance companies,  medical insurance,  private hospitals,  fish,  perak,  species extinction,  malaysian squash,  Sivasangari Subramaniam,  putrajaya,