March 2006 in Malaysia and Singapore

This page deals with March 2006 events in, or related to, Malaysia and Singapore and their citizens.

30 March 2006 (Thursday)

• 45-year-old Joseph Chan Sum Foo, the general manager of a property development company Abad Naluri Sdn Bhd was killed by the rotating blades of a helicopter in an accident in Batu Kawan. (The Star)
• The chief justice of the High Court of Singapore, Yong Pung How retires after 15 years as the judge. Current Attorney-general, Chan Sek Keong to take over his position from April 11 for a period of two years. (CNA)

17 March 2006 (Friday)

• Chee Soon Juan, leader of the Singapore Democratic Party, is jailed for a further seven days after he did not pay the fine of S$6,000 for contempt of court. (CNA)
• TV9 will start operating on April 22. TV9 is owned by Media Prima Berhad, owner to TV3 and three other major free-to-air channels in Malaysia. (Bernama)

16 March 2006 (Thursday)

• Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Singapore for a three-day state visit. (CNA)

14 March 2006 (Tuesday)

• Gloomy hazy days may just come back to haunt the region, with fires spreading rapidly through some 200 square kilometres of forest in Riau, Sumatra. (The Star)

7 March 2006 (Tuesday)

• Malaysia and the United States prepare for a free trade deal. (Reuters)

5 March 2006 (Sunday)

• PAP Kindergartens may have special programmes for autistic children and also for teachers to detect for children with autism. Parents have to pay a fee for the programmes. (CNA)
• Singapore Zoo to open a veterinary hospital on its premises, which houses advanced medical facilities and improved wards for the animals. (CNA)

4 March 2006 (Saturday)

• Singapore and Libya establish diplomatic relations. (MFA)(Xinhua)
• Missing two-year-old girl, Nurasyura Mohamed Fauzi, found dead under Paya Lebar Flyover. The body was partially decomposed and was naked. The suspect, which is the girl's stepfather was arrested. (CNA) (CNA) (CNA)
• 24 Indonesians were arrested with 160 cartons of cigarettes seized at Yew Tee Industrial Park near Woodlands Road. (CNA)
• A small but rising number of parents do not wish to vaccinate their children, fearing that it may lead to autism and brain damage. (CNA)

3 March 2006 (Friday)

• The Elections Department publishes its report on updated electoral boundaries for the upcoming general election. (CNA)
• Almost 1,000 protestors led by the Islamic opposition party, PAS gathered in Kuala Lumpur to protest against the government's 30 sen increase for fuel. (Reuters)
• The sudden rise of hand, foot and mouth disease in Sarawak children has prompted the government to impose a two-week closure of all 488 kindergartens in the state. (The Star)
• Sabah's health and veterinary officials are keeping watch at the state's border with Sarawak in light of the hand, foot and mouth disease outbreak in Sarawak. (The Star)
• A government decision to limit visitors to Sabah's ex-resort island of Sipadan was found to be benefiting towards the island, as the island's plant life and turtle landings have increased. (The Star)
• A 1:45 p.m. fire broke out at the trainers' quarter in a National Service camp in Macang Bubok, costing around RM250,000 in damages. (The Star)
• A new public transportation zoning system will be introduced in Penang to improve the state's public bus service. (The Star)
• In an alumni dinner at Menara Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi indicates that the Ninth Malaysia Plan will emphasis on producing skilled Malaysians to ensure Malaysia reaches developed nation status by 2020. (The Star)
• Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak says that the government has plans to build a "book city" to promote local books by local publishers. (The Star)
• The Housing and Local Government Ministry will blacklist the developers of 150 abandoned projects will stay blacklisted until the projects will be revived. (The Star)

2 March 2006 (Thursday)

• Iranian President Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in Malaysia for a three-day visit. (Bernama) (Bloomberg)
• Malaysia has potentially exploitable mineral reserves worth RM148.7 billion. (Bernama)
• 488 kindergartens in Sarawak has been ordered by the government to be closed to curb hand, foot and mouth disease, which has already claimed the lives of 3 children in the state. (The Star)
• Following an unexpected flooding in parts of Shah Alam, the Sultan of Selangor summons the mayor of Shah Alam and state department officers to his palace to enquire the reasons of the flooding. (The Star)
• MiTV Corporation and TTDotcom were both awarded a licence each to operate 3G services in Malaysia, but frontrunner DiGi Telecommunications was unsuccessful in its application. (The Star)
• Yasmin Ahmad's sequel to Sepet, titled Gubra has been approved by the Censorship Board to be released without any portions being cut off. (The Star)

1 March 2006 (Wednesday)

• Singapore Exchange shares closes flat. The Straits Times Index edged up 0.71 point to 2,482.67. Volume reached 1.43 billion shares worth 1.22 billion Singapore dollars. (CNA)
• A condominium security guard dies after being knocked by a school bus at a Balmoral Road condominium. (CNA)
• Singapore and Panama sign a Free Trade Agreement, under which tariff on 98% of Singapore exports to Panama will be eliminated. (CNA)
• In an interview on RTM, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak explains the rationale of 30 sen price hike in fuel. (Bernama)
• Suspected murderer of Lim Hock Soon, a nightclub owner, has been arrested in Kuala Lumpur and has been brought back to Singapore. (CNA)

News collections and sources

• Wikipedia:News collections and sources.
• Wikipedia:News sources - This has much of the same material organised in a hierarchical manner to help encourage NPOV in our news reporting.

Malaysia

• New Straits Times
• The Star
• Bernama
• The Malay Mail
• Daily Express (mainly Sabah news)

Singapore

• Channel NewsAsia
• Straits Times
• Business Times
• The New Paper
• Visit Singapore, Event Calendar