In hindsight, it was only a matter of time before Esha Yusof joined the growing ranks of Malaysian shoppers being drawn to Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo. Esha is a relative newcomer. She signed up in July, more than half a year after the platform launched in Malaysia – and has been smitten with it ever since. Rock-bottom prices, a vast range of products and seamless payments through a popular local e-wallet make it easy for the 32-year-old to spend an average of 500 ringgit (US$122) a month...

A Malaysian ruler known for being reserved has publicly berated his chief minister over efforts to unseat him, telling the politician to “go away” and withdraw his claim that the monarch no longer holds the throne. Negeri Sembilan, south of Kuala Lumpur, has been caught in a dispute since April over who is its rightful ruler, bringing down one state government aligned with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and leaving its newly appointed chief minister without...

A Malaysian court on Wednesday rejected Najib Razak’s bid to suspend his 15-year jail sentence in the 1MDB scandal pending the jailed former prime minister’s appeals, ruling that his health and other grounds did not justify a stay. The decision means his sentence is set to begin after his current prison term ends in August 2028. Najib, 73, received a conditional royal pardon last month allowing him to serve that separate sentence in the SRC International case at home, but he must first pay a 50...