09/04/2026

THURSDAY | APR 9, 2026

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Taiwan opposition leader pledges reconciliation

Indonesia sets biofuel timeline JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Energy Ministry has issued a ministerial decree setting the timeline for the implementation of its biofuel blending mandate, an official said yesterday, as it tries to meet energy transition and self sufficiency targets. It said that by 2028, all biodiesel users will shift to the B50 standard, which includes 50% palm oil-based fuel. Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, originally planned to implement a mandatory blend of “at least” 40% palm-based biodiesel blended with 60% conventional diesel this year, according to the decree, which was signed on March 3. Indonesia has since said it will launch a programme to raise the mandatory blending rate for palm based biodiesel from 40% to 50%, a standard known as B50, starting from July 1. The early implementation of B50 was part of a wider plan to mitigate risks arising from the Iran war. Indonesia plans to keep the palm oil blending rate at 50% for subsidised diesel in 2027, but unsubsidised diesel could stay at 40%, depending on the capacity available. B50 will be the standard for all users by 2028, the decree said. “Through more comprehensive regulations and clear phasing, we want to ensure that biofuel use can be implemented optimally, while still considering the readiness of raw materials, infrastructure, and industrial support,” said director general of renewable energy Eniya Listiani Dewi. The Energy Ministry will issue a new ministerial decree to allocate the biodiesel required to meet the B50 goal in the second half of this year, Eniya said. It had previously allocated 15.65 million kilolitres for 2026 to meet the B40 standard. SEOUL: North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles in two rounds yesterday, South Korea’s military said, hours after reporting an “unidentified projectile” launched from the North’s capital area the previous day. The launches follow Seoul’s expression of regret on Monday over civilian drone incursions into the North in January, with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung calling it “irresponsible” and noting that government officials had been involved in the operation. They are seen as North Korea’s latest rebuff of South Korea’s peace overtures, according to analysts. Seoul’s military said early yesterday it had detected “an unidentified projectile” launched from the Pyongyang area a day earlier. About an hour later, the military said it also detected “multiple unidentified ballistic missiles” fired from North Korea’s Wonsan area toward the East Sea yesterday

US$25 billion (RM99.5 billion) into Saigon Commercial Bank over about two-and-a-half years after a run on the lender in October 2022. During Hong’s term, the SBV tried at times to soften the impact of political decisions that could pose risks to long-term stability. Last year it warned about risks from a bid by leading conglomerate Vingroup for a major railway project that would have transferred most financial risks onto the state budget. Vingroup later withdrew its bid. “Growth must go hand-in-hand with inflation control and macroeconomic stability, and stability will not be sacrificed for short-term growth,” Hong said in one of her last public speeches in late March. On Monday, she was appointed a deputy head of parliament. – Reuters “Likewise, on the mainland, we have also seen and witnessed progress and development that exceeded everyone’s expectations and imagination,” she said. While Taiwan is a multi-party democracy, China’s communist party brooks no dissent to its rule. Security was tight for her visit. “I think this is very important for peaceful exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait,” said student Yang Zihang, 19, who came with his classmate to see Cheng’s motorcade. China refuses to speak to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist”. Lai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. Neither government formally recognises the other. Cheng says she is on a mission of peace, and that while she supports defence spending, it has to be balanced with dialogue. Wu Cheng, a spokesperson for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said if the KMT really wanted stability across the strait it should stop blocking defence spending in parliament. “Peace has never come from the charity of dictators; it must be safeguarded by Taiwan’s own strength,” he said in a statement. Lai’s government has said Cheng should also tell Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping should she meet him, to stop China’s regular military harassment of the island and respect the Taiwanese people’s right to choose their own future. Speaking to reporters at parliament in Taipei earlier yesterday, Taiwan National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen said he couldn’t comment on what political parties do, but added China uses a carrot-and-stick approach. China uses military intimidation and harassment to create an atmosphere of rising military danger and instability across the Taiwan Strait, he said. – Reuters

promote reconciliation and unity across the (Taiwan) Strait and create regional prosperity and peace.” Sun, who overthrew the last imperial dynasty and founded the Republic of China in 1912, died of cancer in 1925. He is still officially venerated in Taiwan as the founder of the Republic of China, but also in China by the Communist Party as a Chinese national hero. Mao declared him the “great revolutionary forerunner”. Cheng said the KMT had eventually honoured Sun’s founding principles and made Taiwan into a free and democratic society, though she also mentioned the “white terror” of the 38 years of martial law the island lived under until 1987.

pressure on Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, and as the opposition-dominated parliament stalls a government plan for US$40 billion (RM159 billion) in extra defence spending. In a moment filled with symbolism on her first full day in the country, Cheng laid a wreath at Sun’s mausoleum in the eastern city of Nanjing, also the capital of the KMT led Republic of China government before it fled to Taiwan in 1949 having lost a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists. “The core values of Sun Yat-sen’s ideal that ‘all under heaven are equal’ have always been equality, inclusiveness, and unity,” Cheng said. “We should work together to

NANJING: Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-wun pledged yesterday to channel the spirit of her party’s founder Sun Yat-sen and seek reconciliation with China, offering praise at his tomb for the country’s achievements following the communist revolution. Cheng, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party, is in China at a time of increased Chinese military o Kuomintang head lays wreath at Sun Yat-sen memorial

Indonesia also plans to mix non-subsidised petrol with at least 5% ethanol in Java over the 2026 2027 period, and raise the proportion to 10% by 2028. – Reuters North Korea fires ballistic missiles

Cheng at the Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum in Nanjing yesterday. – CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY RELEASE/AFPPIC

Vietnam names new central bank governor, finance minister

morning, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. Later the South Korean military clarified they were short-range ballistic missiles, fired at around 8.50am (7.50am in Malaysia) and flew around 240km. Hours later, they announced North Korea fired at least one other ballistic missile towards the East Sea, without giving details. The launches yesterday marked North Korea’s fourth and fifth known ballistic missile tests this year, including a salvo of around 10 fired from the Sunan area in March. The Office of National Security at the presidential Blue House held an emergency meeting over the launch, asking Pyongyang to immediately stop provocations. “Given the ongoing war in the Middle East, (the office) instructed relevant agencies to exercise even greater vigilance in maintaining a state of readiness,” it said in a statement. – AFP

HANOI: Vietnam’s parliament has approved career banker Pham Duc An as the new central bank governor for a five-year term and named a new finance minister, according to a list of appointments published yesterday. The change is part of a regular leadership turnover and is not expected to have a significant impact on monetary policy, but it comes at a delicate moment when central banks grapple with an energy crisis caused by the Iran war. The change, reported by Reuters in late March, follows the five-yearly congress of the Communist Party in January and the appointment of Le Minh Hung as the country’s new prime minister on Tuesday. The central bank governor is a member of the government. Among the other government members approved yesterday by the parliament was new Finance Minister

Ngo Van Tuan, a long-time ministry official and lately the head of a public sector watchdog who focused on fighting corruption. Phan Van Giang, who was viewed as a possible candidate for the state presidency, has also been confirmed as defence minister and promoted to deputy prime minister. An, 56, spent about two decades at the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), one of Vietnam’s leading state-owned commercial lenders. He also worked at other banks, including the Vietnam–Russia Joint Venture Bank in 2011-14, according to Vietnam’s government. He replaces Nguyen Thi Hong, who has led the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) since 2020. During her tenure, the central bank oversaw the country’s largest ever bailout, injecting more than