FMT takes a look at the people and events that made the headlines in 2025.
January: JS-SEZ, ham sandwich furore
The year 2025 kicked off with Malaysia and Singapore signing a historic agreement to create the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), seeking to draw investments and free up the movement of goods and people between the countries.
Days later, controversy erupted over ham sandwiches with bogus halal certification being sold at a convenience store in Universiti Malaya. This culminated in a company and its director being hauled to court.
February: Setia Alam shooting, Ismail Sabri under probe
In February, the Klang Valley was shaken by a shooting in a Setia Alam mall which left a janitor injured and saw a family held at gunpoint as the shooter escaped.
The 30-something gunman, referred to as “Ah Boy”, was later killed in a shootout with police in Pulau Ketam. He was said to have taken drugs which made him “trigger-happy” and drove him to commit robberies, break-ins and other crimes.
February also saw the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) launch a probe into Ismail Sabri Yaakob after RM170 million in cash and 16kg of gold bars worth several million ringgit were seized in an investigation into four senior officers linked to the former prime minister.
March: DAP shakeup, uproar over 130-year-old Hindu temple
The DAP elections saw a new leadership lineup with Lim Guan Eng stepping back to an advisory role as Gobind Singh Deo assumed the chairmanship, amid contentious calls for veterans to make way for younger faces.
Several senior figures aligned to Lim failed to make the cut for the DAP central executive committee, including the likes of Teresa Kok, V Ganabatirau and Lim Lip Eng, as delegates voted overwhelmingly in favour of leadership renewal.
Then there was uproar over the relocation of a 130-year-old Hindu temple off Jalan Masjid India to make way for the construction of a new mosque, which prompted Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to order his Cabinet to negotiate an amicable solution. The issue was finally resolved after the management of the temple agreed to move just 50m from its previous location.
April: Putra Heights blast, Pamela Ling
April began with a literal bang when a gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights sent flames soaring more than 30 metres high, with temperatures reaching up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.
Thankfully, there were no fatalities but 150 victims had to seek treatment at hospitals while firefighters took nearly eight hours to extinguish the fire which destroyed 81 houses and displaced hundreds of families.
The month was also marked by the unexplained disappearance of Sarawak-born businesswoman Pamela Ling, 42, allegedly kidnapped while en route to MACC’s headquarters in Putrajaya. Ling was due to give a statement as a witness in a money laundering investigation. Eight suspects and five vehicles were said to have been involved in her alleged abduction, with two individuals seen on CCTV footage wearing police vests. Ling remains missing.
May: Rafizi quits Cabinet after PKR defeat
Tensions rose within PKR during its internal elections as Rafizi Ramli went on the offensive against certain leaders while seeking to defend the PKR deputy presidency against challenger Nurul Izzah Anwar, who had the backing of over 200 divisions.
He eventually lost, with others in his corner also failing to be elected, including Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad who failed to retain his post as one of the party’s four vice-presidents.
Rafizi resigned as economy minister and Nik Nazmi as natural resources and environmental sustainability minister, posts that were only permanently filled following a Cabinet reshuffle in December.
June: Fatal UPSI crash, Cyberjaya student murder, Syed Saddiq acquitted
A fatal early morning accident on June 9 took the lives of 15 students from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris in the country’s deadliest bus crash in over a decade. The bus driver has since claimed trial to causing their death through reckless driving.
Later that month, 20-year-old Maniishapriet Kaur Akhara was murdered in her university residential unit in Cyberjaya, sparking widespread outrage and calls for justice. Two 19-year-olds have been charged with her murder.
June also saw the Court of Appeal unanimously acquitting Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman of corruption and money laundering charges, with the judges ruling that the Muar MP should have been acquitted without his defence being called during the trial.
Former prime minister Najib Razak, meanwhile, obtained a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in his RM27 million SRC International Sdn Bhd money laundering case, after the High Court cited delays by the prosecution in pursuing the case.
July: US tariffs, Zara’s death
Washington slapped Malaysia with a 25% tariff on certain Malaysian exports, which US president Donald Trump said was “far less” than needed to eliminate the country’s trade deficit with Malaysia. This was reduced to 19% the following month after negotiations.
There was also public outcry over the controversial death of Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir, who died a day after being found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory in Papar, Sabah.
Zara’s death came amid a spate of bullying cases in schools. Five minors were charged with verbally abusing the deceased, while an inquest into her death is ongoing.
August: Johor shaken, MACC busts intel units
Johor was jolted by a series of minor earthquakes that persisted into September, the first and strongest registering 4.1 on the Richter scale and leaving property damage in its wake.
Later in August, the nation was shocked by the arrest of five senior armed forces intelligence officers said to have been at the heart of a sprawling smuggling syndicate, prompting calls for an overhaul of Malaysia’s intelligence apparatus.
September: FAM debacle, targeted RON95 subsidies, Bersatu at war
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) was left red-faced after it and seven naturalised players were sanctioned by Fifa for submitting doctored documentation in an attempt to field them in an Asian Cup qualifier.
Its appeal to Fifa was rejected, with the world football body’s appeals committee revealing that FAM had admitted to making “administrative adjustments” to foreign birth certificates. Fifa also slammed the association for shielding those responsible for falsifying the documents. FAM has filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The busy month of September also saw the long-awaited rollout of targeted RON95 petrol subsidies, as well as the escalation of internal tensions within Bersatu that led to the sacking of one MP and the suspension of another.
October: BU school stabbing, Trump in Malaysia
On Oct 14, 16-year-old Yap Shing Xuen was killed at SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (4) after being stabbed by her junior, reportedly more than 200 times. The case sent shockwaves through the nation and played a part in the incoming social media ban for children under 16.
Hundreds of relatives, teachers and friends gathered to bid Yap a final farewell, releasing blue balloons as a final gesture of love for the deceased. The perpetrator, 14, was meanwhile charged with murder and is still undergoing a three-month psychiatric evaluation.
Another major event saw Donald Trump attend the 47th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur, where he and Anwar inked a wide-ranging trade deal granting certain Malaysian products a 0% tariff rate under a list of aligned partners — a move warmly welcomed by manufacturers.
Meanwhile, in a landmark court decision, the Kota Kinabalu High Court affirmed Sabah’s 40% entitlement to federal revenue earned in the state, ruling that Putrajaya had acted unlawfully by failing to honour the provision for nearly five decades.
November: Sabah polls, Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat
On Nov 5, the High Court ordered the government and police to pay RM37 million to the family of Pastor Raymond Koh and RM3 million to activist Amri Che Mat’s family over their enforced disappearances. This was hailed as vindication for the families, but the Attorney-General’s Chambers is appealing the decision.
The 17th Sabah state election was held on Nov 29 as Sabahans voted overwhelmingly in favour of local parties, with Umno, DAP, PKR and Bersatu suffering heavy losses.
The state polls ended in a hung state assembly with GRS winning the most seats ahead of Warisan, but failing to garner a simple majority. GRS chairman Hajiji Noor was later sworn in for a second term as chief minister, with every party except Warisan backing him.
December: Cabinet reshuffle, Najib jailed 15 more years, PN in turmoil
Anwar reshuffled his Cabinet for the second time since being appointed prime minister in 2022, with two ministers dropped, multiple portfolio changes, and two PKR deputy ministers being promoted.
A week later, Najib Razak was served with a double whammy of court decisions. The first saw the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Dec 22 dismiss the former prime minister’s bid to serve the remainder of his ongoing six-year jail term under house arrest.
Four days later, the High Court in Putrajaya convicted Najib of 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering in his 1MDB case, sentencing him to 15 more years in prison and a RM11.38 billion fine.
Meanwhile, as a new year dawns uncertainty plagues opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional.
PAS’s Perlis menteri besar Shukri Ramli resigned on Christmas Day.
The mantle was then handed to Bersatu’s Abu Bakar Hamzah who was immediately faced with the prospect of a PAS revolt, following the Islamic party’s decision to relinquish all state government posts.
On Dec 30, Muhyiddin Yassin announced he was stepping down as PN chairman effective Jan 1, 2026. PN secretary-general Azmin Ali and several state chiefs immediately followed suit, plunging the coalition into turmoil as the year turned.