KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — The Education Ministry has refuted claims that several top SPM scorers were denied places in the matriculation programme, saying all eligible 10A students had already been offered admission, according to a Facebook post by Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh.

Wong said MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong had recently alleged that the Madani government failed to fulfil its promise of offering Matriculation Programme places to 10A SPM high achievers, claiming he had received at least 11 cases of students allegedly left out.

He said the claim was inaccurate and unfounded, adding that he had challenged Wee to submit the students’ names to the Education Ministry for verification.

On May 4, Wong said Wee later claimed that all 11 students had secured places in the matriculation programme following MCA’s intervention.

However, Wong said Ministry of Education (KPM) records showed that all the students had already been offered places earlier under the government’s automatic placement policy for 10A SPM scorers.

He outlined a timeline, saying the ministry had announced on April 8, 2026, that all 10A students applying for matriculation would be automatically considered for admission for the 2026/2027 intake.

He said initial offers were issued on April 27 via the Matriculation portal, but some students who obtained their results after rechecking were still pending due to incomplete data at the time.

Wong added that 286 students who received updated 10A results were later notified of their offers on April 29 via SMS, with formal acceptance available from May 6.

On May 1, Wee allegedly repeated claims that the government had failed to deliver on its promise.

Wong said he again asked Wee to provide the names of the 11 students, and the ministry also requested the list through MCA president’s Facebook page.

He said the list was only provided after about 48 hours, following which ministry officials verified the cases.

According to Wong, one student had already been offered a place on April 27, while the remaining 10 had received notifications on April 29 at around 11.01am.

He said all students had therefore been offered places before Wee’s public remarks.

Wong also criticised claims that the admissions were due to MCA’s intervention, saying the intake was the result of government policy changes.

He added that credit for the admissions should go to stakeholders supporting the Madani government’s policy reforms.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — A new 24-hour, open-air art exhibition titled the “Museum of Disappearance” is set to transform the iconic Petaling Street into a city-wide art hunt starting May 6.

The project, launching as part of KL Festival 2026, features 25 text- and sound-based artworks by Malaysian artist OOOH, hidden throughout the streets and alleyways.

The exhibition invites the public to reflect on memory, loss, and the traces left behind by rapid urban transformation.

Instead of providing a map, the museum will release clues on its official social media channels, encouraging visitors to wander and discover the pieces organically.

The first person to find each of the 25 artworks will receive a special edition of the piece for their own collection.

The artist, known as OOOH, said the project stems from her personal experience of growing up around Petaling Street and witnessing its changes after returning from living abroad.

“Petaling Street is part of my growing up. In recent years, the space has changed rapidly—almost every time I return, something familiar is gone,” she said in the statement.

“Through this work, I want to hold on to these disappearing memories.”

Organisers describe the “Museum of Disappearance” as an ad-hoc art intervention, not a permanent institution.

The concept will periodically feature different artists responding to the theme of “disappearance” in various locations. This inaugural edition is supported by KL Festival and the Krishen Jit Fund.

The Hong Kong government is seeking to confiscate HK$127 million in assets belonging to pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, following his conviction and jail term under the national security law.

Lai has been summoned to the High Court on July 8 to hear the government’s application. The case will be presided over by Esther Toh, one of the three judges who heard his national security trial.

In a writ submitted to the High Court earlier this month, the secretary for justice listed assets to be “forfeited” to the authorities.

The list includes credit balances in bank accounts belonging to or linked to the Apple Daily founder.

Fifteen bank accounts under Lai’s name – 10 with HSBC, two with Hang Seng Bank and three with Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank – have over HK$32 million.

The government is also seeking to seize bank accounts belonging to 17 companies linked to Lai. It is also demanding that Lai give up shares in 17 companies, some of which overlap with the 17 firms whose assets the government is seeking to seize.

Among the companies whose assets and shares the government wants to seize are Dico Consultants Ltd, which has over HK$404,302 in its HSBC account, and Lai’s Hotel Properties Ltd, which has over HK$3.1 billion in its four HSBC accounts.

Dico Consultants was at the centre of Lai’s fraud case relating to an alleged lease violation. Lai was accused of allowing the company to occupy parts of Apple Daily’s headquarters in Tseung Kwan O, despite the newspaper premises being rented for printing and publishing.

Lai was jailed for five years and nine months in December 2022 after being found guilty of fraud, but the conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in February this year.

The government also applied to seize HK$10 million in bail money that Lai had given to the court in December 2020, before he was later denied bail and remanded.

The media mogul was jailed for 20 years in February after being found guilty of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and of sedition, both offences under the Beijing-imposed national security law.

The jail term is the longest handed down so far for a national security offence. His lawyers have said that Lai will not appeal.

Ricoh has revealed a new logo and slogan to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the GR series of cameras. The new visual and the messaging "Forever a Snapshooter" will be used throughout the rest of 2026.

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