Look closely at the city streets and surroundings, and you'll find art hiding in plain sight.
Creative minds are turning plain urban walls, ordinary cracks and broken fixtures into brilliant visual surprises.
It is proof that our city streets are actually giant, open-air galleries just waiting to make you smile.
The gazettement actually took effect on June 25, 2026, following approval by the state government to safeguard local traditions.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow noted that the move highlights the diverse religious traditions practiced by the Chinese community.
Celebrated during the seventh lunar month, the festival features large "Tai Su Yeah" (King of Hades) effigies, getai stage shows, and traditional Chinese opera.
Pearly and Thinaah were originally drawn to face China's Luo Yi and Wang Tingge in the round of 32. However, following a wave of late withdrawals from top-seeded pairs, a Seed Withdrawal Movement (SWM) reshuffled the draw, giving the Malaysians a direct first-round bye straight into the round of 16.
I am really disappointed. It's unforgivable. Another tournament, another self-inflicted disaster from Pearly and Thinaah. As the world No. 5 pair, how are they still handing over the opening game like charity?
This toxic habit of losing the first game is a ticking time bomb, and it again blew up in their faces against a pair ranked No. 43 in the world! They were handed fresh legs and a massive physical advantage on a silver platter.
What did they do with it? They wasted it by playing catch-up yet again, turning what should have been a straightforward win into an exhausting three-game torture.
A graceful black monkey edges across a swaying red rope bridge strung over a busy residential road in Malaysia’s Penang, watched by local conservationists who carefully record her movements.
For Malaysia’s endangered dusky langurs, recognisable by the “masks” of white fur that ring their eyes, survival increasingly depends on such man-made crossings and the work of “citizen scientists”.
A fragmented habitat, conflict with local communities, and poaching have all pushed the species to endangered status. But the Langur Project Penang (LPP) conservation group hopes that low-tech engineering and high-tech community engagement can help protect the species, also known as the dusky leaf monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus).
Key to their efforts is helping the monkeys navigate fragmented habitat crisscrossed by busy roads where the animals are often killed.
LPP founder Yap Jo Leen realised the need for a solution when she saw dusky langurs repeatedly risking road crossings as she carried out fieldwork in 2016.
“I realised that they don’t just stay in the forest. They also cross roads to the coastal area to look for food”, she told AFP. She came up with the idea of building some kind of crossing, and pairing the solution with community engagement.
“At the time, the idea was wild because no one in Malaysia had actually done it before” she said of the crossing plan.
Similar canopy bridges have helped other endangered primates elsewhere, including in Indonesia, where an orangutan was recently seen using such a crossing for the first time.
Yap’s team experimented with different materials before settling on upcycled fire hoses “twisted to mimic tree branches”. They are suspended over roads from a tree on one side and a custom-installed pole on the other.
LPP have now installed three, including in April in the coastal suburb and beach destination of Batu Ferringhi.
Yap said the group’s research showed they work. At one site, at least eight monkeys died in traffic accidents between 2016 and 2018. No deaths have been recorded since the crossing was installed in 2019.
The crossings also allow groups of monkeys that were once largely confined to an area to expand their range.
“They have more opportunity to venture closer to the hills… and find their way to a safe haven”, she said.
That not only benefits the animals, but decreases pressure on local communities that have come into conflict with hungry roving bands of dusky langurs seeking food in urban neighbourhoods.
Addressing that conflict is another part of LPP’s efforts. They recruit members of the local community to serve as “citizen scientists” who track langur movements, collect data and record GPS coordinates using spreadsheets and the Wikiloc trail app. The volunteers receive a small stipend and training in fieldwork in return for committing to tracking the monkeys for at least three months.
The data helps researchers understand more about the monkeys, including their home range and their feeding habits, and could one day even help guide reforestation efforts.
The current volunteers range from age 17 to 65 and “call themselves the ‘monkey stalkers’ or ‘monkey whisperers'”, Yap said with a laugh.
Malaysia's Zoo Taiping and Night Safari, located at Jalan Pekeliling, Taman Tasik Taiping in Taiping, Perak are recognized for their successful species propagation programs, naturalistic habitats, and commitment to wildlife conservation and biological continuity.
And in the latter half of last year, there was a surge in new animal births, highlighting ZTNS captive breeding achievements. Among the notable births were a Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), three agile wallabies (Macropus agilis), three milky storks (Mycteria cinerea), two Bawean deer (Axis kuhlii), two chital (Axis axis), and a sambar deer (Cervus unicolor).
During the same period, 16 milky storks also hatched naturally in habitats outside the zoo's exhibition areas. Taiping Municipal Council president Mohamed Akmal Dahalan said the total population of milky storks at the zoo – including those in enclosures and free-ranging outside – now stands at 106 birds.
He said the achievement reflected the high standard of animal care and habitat management at the facility.
"The successful births of several species within a relatively short period show that the environment and care provided at the zoo are conducive to wildlife breeding. This is an encouraging development as it contributes to conservation efforts, particularly for species that are threatened and require continuous protection", he said in a March 11 statement.
In a related development, the zoo also contributed two sambar deer and three wild boars to the Deer Release Programme for the Conservation of the Malayan Tiger's Food Source, held at Royal Belum State Park on February 11.
The programme marked a first-time collaboration between the Taiping Municipal Council, the Perak state government, the Perak State Parks Corporation, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and Yayasan Sultan Idris Shah II.
Akmal said the initiative aims to strengthen prey populations in forest ecosystems, ensuring a sustainable food source for the endangered Malayan tiger.
"This initiative demonstrates that Zoo Taiping and Night Safari (are) not only a recreational and educational destination but also an active conservation institution supporting efforts to protect the nation's biodiversity", he added.
In Malaysia’s Penang state, this means durian trees are anticipated to fruit sooner than usual, fueling expectations of an earlier harvest with higher-quality yields.
His big, brash argument? Back in 1791, the British "leased" the island from Kedah.
He says his claim is totally different from the old Sulu Sultanate's failed attempt to claim Sabah. Why? Because Kedah's sultanate still exists and he's doing everything "according to the law".
But Sanusi ain't giving up! He's already got lawyers working on the case. They'll have all the documents ready in three to four months. (Hmm, I thought he already got everything siap sedia before he first made this absurd assertion in June 2023?)
While Sanusi is busy daydreaming about taking Penang, maybe he should spend that time actually developing his own state! Just a thought. It's like that kid in class who doesn't study but spends all his time scheming how to steal someone else's homework. In the real world, success comes from hard work – not from cooking up wild claims about your neighbour's property. But hey, lawyers gotta cari makan too, right? 😉
Liverpool hosted Newcastle United yesterday as they aimed to take their strong Champions League form back into the Premier League.
And they did. The former overcame the latter 4-1, their first league win of 2026! For sure, a big win for Liverpool!
The Magpies struck the first blow in the thirty-sixth minute. A short-lived head start though because Hugo Ekitike sprinkled some magic dust on himself and produced a brilliant brace, 41st and 43rd minutes to turn his team's fortunes around.
It was Florian Wirtz who created the equaliser as he danced through a crowd of black-and-white shirts before cutting the ball across to Ekitike, who finished clinically first time at the near post. And the Frenchman wasn't done yet. He latched onto Milos Kerkez’s pass down the left channel, drove into the box and fired past the goalie into the bottom corner to put Liverpool ahead.
The third goal came when the Reds won the ball on the halfway line, surged forward and Wirtz played it wide to Mohamed Salah who then drove it back for Wirtz to send a pinpoint shot in off the far post in the 67th minute.
And the fourth was when Ibrahima Konaté prodded home after the opposing goalkeeper dropped a Dominik Szoboszlai corner in stoppage time.
