Aspen’s Malaysian unit Aspen Vision All Sdn Bhd (AVA), together with CMY Capital and Iskandar Basha Abdul Kadir, will develop the new business which will be undertaken by Aspen Glove Sdn Bhd (AGSB), said the real estate developer.

During cross-examination today, defence counsel Datuk N Sivananthan, who is representing 1MDB's former president Arul Kanda Kandasamy, asserted that although there were suggestions and requests to drop certain parts of the audit report, the ultimate decision on removing and/or tampering with the report was still the onus of Ambrin.

However, Ambrin defended that since the order came from the government, he felt the pressure to comply with the requests.

"From the ministry's point of view on the proposal to impose such tax, there is no need for now but such a proposal would be reviewed and may be studied [further]."

The company said local projects had contributed 80% of the total sales while the remaining RM173 million or approximately 20% were contributed largely by international projects.

Malaysia has made the use of face masks mandatory in crowded public areas starting Aug 1, 2020 to curb the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Special Functions) Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof said based on the latest information, there have been no reports about victims from Malaysia.

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research analyst Nazira Abdullah said she believes the limit was temporarily raised to help ailing REITs with their cash flow and allow their managers to manage the debt and capital of these trusts more efficiently, especially amid the challenging operating environment brought on by the pandemic.

HBA honorary secretary-general Datuk Chang Kim Loong stressed that landlords should protect themselves by requesting tenants to sign a written tenancy agreement and asking them to state down the nature of their businesses.

“We will also recommend to local councils to revoke the business licenses of coffee shop owners or shops selling SIM cards who are in cahoots with illegal gambling syndicates.”

IGP Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador confirmed that Acryl Sani takes over from Datuk Mazlan Mansor who goes on mandatory retirement tomorrow.