22/04/2026

WEDNESDAY | APR 22, 2026

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King presents instruments of appointment to 14 judges KUALA LUMPUR: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, yesterday granted an audience and presented the instruments of appointment to 14 judges at Istana Negara here.

The ceremony began with the presentation of the instruments of appointment as Federal Court judges to Datuk Ravinthran Paramaguru and Datuk Azmi Ariffin. His Majesty also presented the instruments of appointment to six Court of Appeal judges. They are Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh, Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Harun, Datuk Aliza Sulaiman, Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh, Dean Wayne Daly and Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar. Six High Court judges also received their instruments of appointment from the King. They are Dr Suzana Muhamad Said, Yusrin Faidz Yusoff, Arziah Mohamed Apandi, Datuk Hazizah Kassim, Gan Techiong and Suriyati Hasimah Mohd Hashim. The ceremony was also attended by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar. Also present were Chief Justice Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh and the Keeper of the Rulers’Seal

Sultan Ibrahim in a group photo with the 14 judges after presenting them with their instruments of appointment at Istana Negara. – BERNAMAPIC

Mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Sukki Othman, Penang Police Chief Datuk Azizee Ismail and Istana Negara Religious Officer Datuk Munir Md Salleh. – Bernama

Zulkifli Long and State Legal Adviser Datuk Wan Nor Sakina Saad. Also receiving the instruments of appointment were State Financial Officer Datuk Zairi Mat Ali, Penang

Religious Council (MAINPP) members. They included MAINPP president Datuk Dr Mohamad Abdul Hamid, its deputy president Datuk Ahmad Shaziy Ismail Bakti, State Secretary Datuk Seri

Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad. At a separate ceremony, Sultan Ibrahim granted an audience and presented the instruments of appointment to 17 Penang Islamic

Padu upgrade must fix aid leakage o Economists say new analytics mean nothing if coordination remains broken for those in need

Govern AI, genetics now to avoid future mistakes: Sultan Nazrin

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah cautioned that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and genetic engineering must be governed in advance to avoid the historical mistake of “building first and governing later”. His Royal Highness noted that the world failed to establish a regulatory framework for the atomic bomb before its detonation and urged the global community not to repeat such an error with the converging technologies of this century. “They demand governance in advance, not in retrospect. And there is one domain above all where the cost of governing in retrospect may prove irreversible: the health of the planet itself,” he said. Sultan Nazrin delivered his keynote address at the opening of the 8th Putrajaya Forum 2026, held in conjunction with the Defence Services Asia and National Security Asia exhibitions here yesterday. His Royal Highness said that while emerging technologies such as AI, quantum computing, biotechnology and advanced communication provide powerful tools to enhance security, they are also reshaping the global risk landscape. Sultan Nazrin said AI could be deployed to deter cyber threats in real time by identifying anomalies faster than any human operator, adding that practical analytics can anticipate risks to enable pre-emptive action rather than reactive measures. He noted that blockchain technology offers enhanced data integrity to ensure transparency and reduce fraud, while advanced surveillance systems and satellite technologies can improve public safety and disaster response. “But these technologies also carry

grave risks. The deployment of AI in military contexts could inadvertently precipitate conflict. Through automation bias, humans could place too much trust in machines, allowing them to make life-or-death decisions that break moral and legal rules.” His Royal Highness cautioned that errors caused by AI in nuclear systems could have catastrophic consequences. In the digital realm, quantum computing poses a huge threat to online security, while deepfakes have the potential to destabilise society through dangerous distortions of truth. Sultan Nazrin highlighted that critical infrastructure, including energy grids and financial systems, is increasingly digitised and exposed to risks that could compromise national sovereignty without a single shot being fired, Bernama reported. “Consider the implications: A cyberattack on a regional financial system could disrupt economies across borders within minutes. A coordinated misinformation campaign could erode public trust in institutions. A breach of sensitive data could compromise national sovereignty without a single shot being fired,” he said. The Sultan of Perak also called for deeper Asean cooperation, particularly in developing AI governance frameworks that reflect regional values and ensuring the fair distribution of technological gains. He said regional collaboration, rather than competition alone, is key to meaningful and sustainable progress.“True security lies in working together, not in isolation. This means cooperating on AI governance frameworks that reflect our values and protect our people, and ensuring that the wealth generated by technology is distributed with fairness.”

biggest weakness remained the low number of adults who had updated their personal details, warning that this could still cause many eligible recipients to miss out. “The system is already robust enough to serve as the main base for targeted RON95 subsidies because the information in the database is relevant in identifying those who are actually eligible, not merely based on monthly income alone. “But the main weakness is that only about half of Malaysia’s adult population has updated their personal information in Padu. “This means many could still be left out of targeted aid, while the government may also face difficulty estimating the true subsidy allocation needed each year,” he said. At a press conference after the Economy Ministry’s monthly assembly, Economy Minister Datuk Seri Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said Padu’s build-out phase was complete and the next challenge was to deepen agency use of the platform. He said Padu would begin offering an analytics service to government agencies from May, on top of its current verification role, with 26 agencies and departments approved to use the system as of March. Padu was introduced under former Economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli as a central socio economic database to sharpen subsidy targeting, aid delivery and broader government planning.

Ű BY FAIZ RUZMAN newsdesk@thesundaily.com

place, we were not just trying to collect information. “The bigger issue to address was that government social assistance has long been very fragmented. In the past, we had a lot of coverage gaps. There were exclusion errors, meaning people who should get assistance did not get it. “There were also inclusion errors, where some people who were better informed ended up getting more. So we need a system that can coordinate all this better,” he told theSun . Zulkiply said the move to add analytics was a positive development because it would help shift the system from simply storing information to supporting evidence-based decisions. He said that in practical terms, this could help the government improve both the coverage and adequacy of assistance, making aid delivery more efficient and fairer to recipients. Putra Business School MBA and DBA programmes director Prof Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff said Padu is strong enough to support targeted subsidy measures such as RON95, as it allows the government to assess eligibility using broader indicators instead of relying solely on monthly income. However, he said the system’s

PETALING JAYA: Economists say the government’s latest move to expand the Central Data Repository (Pangkalan Data Utama or Padu) beyond verification into analytics will only matter if it helps solve the actual problem of aid leakage and fragmentation. They said the system was originally meant to ensure that targeted subsidies and assistance reach the right people more fairly, while reducing gaps and mismatches on the ground Malaysian Institute of Economic Research and Universiti Malaya Social Wellbeing Research Centre senior research fellow Dr Zulkiply Omar said Padu’s value should not be seen merely as a data-gathering exercise but as a way to address the long-standing fragmentation of government social assistance. He said one of the biggest weaknesses in the existing system was that aid and welfare support were spread across multiple channels without enough coordination, creating coverage gaps that left some deserving recipients out while allowing others to receive more than they should. “Of course, it is getting closer to the original goal because in the first