2018 in Malaysia

2018 in Malaysia is Malaysia's 61st anniversary of its independence and 55th anniversary of Malaysia's formation.

← 2017 2016 2015 2018 in Malaysia → 2019 2020 2021
Decades:	1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2018 History of Malaysia  • Timeline  • Years

Incumbents

Federal Level

Position	Name
Yang di-Pertuan Agong	Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan
Raja Permaisuri Agong	Vacant
Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong	Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah of Perak
Prime Minister	Najib Razak (until 9 May)
	Mahathir Mohamad (from 10 May)
Deputy Prime Minister	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (until 9 May)
	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (from 21 May)
Chief Justice	Md Raus Sharif (until 31 July)
	Richard Malanjum (from 11 July)

State level

State	Position	Name
Johor	Sultan of Johor	Sultan Ibrahim Ismail
	Menteri Besar of Johor	Mohamed Khaled Nordin (until May 9)
		Osman Sapian (from May 12)
Kedah	Sultan of Kedah	Sultan Sallehuddin
	Menteri Besar of Kedah	Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah (until May 9)
		Mukhriz Mahathir (from May 10)
Kelantan	Sultan of Kelantan	Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra (regent)
	Menteri Besar of Kelantan	Ahmad Yaakob
Perlis	Raja of Perlis	Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin
	Menteri Besar of Perlis	Azlan Man
Perak	Sultan of Perak	Sultan Nazrin Shah
	Menteri Besar of Perak	Zambry Abdul Kadir (until May 9)
		Ahmad Faizal Azumu (from May 12)
Pahang	Sultan of Pahang	Sultan Ahmad Shah
	Menteri Besar of Pahang	Adnan Yaakob (until May 14)
		Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail (from May 15)
Selangor	Sultan of Selangor	Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah
	Menteri Besar of Selangor	Mohamed Azmin Ali (until June 19)
		Amirudin Shari (from June 19)
Terengganu	Sultan of Terengganu	Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin
	Menteri Besar of Terengganu	Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman (until May 9)
		Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar (from May 10)
Negeri Sembilan	Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan	Tuanku Muhriz
	Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan	Mohamad Hasan (until May 9)
		Aminuddin Harun (from May 11)
Penang	Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang	Abdul Rahman Abbas
	Chief Minister of Penang	Lim Guan Eng (until May 9)
		Chow Kon Yeow (from May 10)
Malacca	Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca	Mohd Khalil Yaakob
	Chief Minister of Malacca	Idris Haron (until May 9)
		Adly Zahari (from May 10)
Sarawak	Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak	Abdul Taib Mahmud
	Chief Minister of Sarawak	Abang Johari Openg
Sabah	Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah	Juhar Mahiruddin
	Chief Minister of Sabah	Musa Aman (until May 12)
		Shafie Apdal (from May 12)

Events

January

Date	Event
1 January	The nation's oldest shopping center, Ampang Park is officially closed.[1]
	Astro Radio drops the "FM" suffix for all 11 radio stations as part of its re-branding.[2]
3 January	Four Singaporeans including a child were an Indonesian rebels killed, while five others were injured in the accident involving five vehicles at the junction of Jalan Lukut-Sepang Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.
6 January	Mah Siew Keong who is also Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister had reportedly made several mistakes in a few lines leaving the audience amused during a joint rally with MCA. His speech has been edited into a viral video.[3]
7 January	14th Malaysian general election (GE14) : Pakatan Harapan has chosen former Prime Minister and coalition chairman, Mahathir Mohamad, and coalition president, Wan Azizah, as their candidate for the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister post respectively for the upcoming General Election.
8 January	The High Court in Kuala Lumpur has postponed the hearing of the defamation suit brought by Prime Minister Najib Razak against former MCA President Ling Liong Sik.[4]
10 January	Former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad not allowed by prison authorities to visit People's Justice Party (PKR) chief Anwar Ibrahim in Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital.[5]
11 January	An actor and film director, Farid Kamil was arrested for allegedly assaulting a traffic policeman and a civilian at the Kota Damansara police station. He also tested positive for marijuana.[6]
27 January	50,000 Muslims gathered to pray for the Palestine's well-being and liberation of Palestine from Zionist tyranny near Palace of Justice, Putrajaya.[7]
29 January	Malaysian netizen criticize and make jokes over the new logo of the Visit Malaysia Year 2020 campaign after it was presented at the launch of a promotion in Chiang Mai, Thailand.[8] Minister of Tourism and Culture, Nazri Aziz defend the logo and says criticism is normal, cannot get the consensus of the whole of Malaysia.[9]
	Film Censorship Board of Malaysia banned Hindi film, Padmaavat because of elements sensitivity to the Muslim.[10]

February

Date	Event
1 February	Five individuals including two Nepali nationals, aged between 19 and 62 were rushed to Penang General Hospital after experiencing weakness, fatigue and unconsciousness as a result of consuming a kind of durian-flavoured premix coffee believed to have mixed with drug.[11]
13 February	An Employees Provident Fund (EPF) building in Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya was nearly destroyed by a fire at 12 noon.[12][13]
22 February	Prime Minister Najib Razak mentioned that he had switched from rice to quinoa because it was better for his health. This had attracted torrents of criticisms and a flurry of Google searches on what exactly was quinoa.[14]
23 February	The Prime Minister's Office has clarified that Prime Minister Najib Razak does not rely exclusively on quinoa for his daily nutrition. It said that quinoa was part of Najib's dietary regime because it was recommended by doctors.[15]

March

Date	Event
6 March	Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia has rejected an emergency motion which was filed to urge Prime Minister Najib Razak to explain attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali's statement that the government will not claim businessperson Jho Low's luxury yacht Equanimity.[16]
8 March	The weekly magazine Economist featured an article titled “Stop, thief! Malaysia's PM is about to steal an election”.[17]
11 March	The 1MDB scandal has made to the front page of leading Indonesian current affairs magazine Tempo.[18]
16 March	Former MCA president Ling Liong Sik has failed to strike out the suit filed by Prime Minister Najib Razak.[19]
21 March	Sand dredging vessel JBB Rong Chang 8 is reported to have capsized off Malaysia's southern state of Johor in the waters of Parit Jawa, Muar in which 14 crewmen were missing. Two crewmen were rescued barely alive from the engine room of the vessel by the Civil Defence personnel 50 hours after being trapped in the vessel.[20][21][22]

April

Date	Event
7 April	14th Malaysian general election (GE14) : The 13th session of the Parliament of Malaysia was dissolved to make way for the 14th general election.[23]
10 April	The Jakarta Post said caretaker Prime Minister Najib Razak is reminiscent of former Indonesian president Suharto with his similar “manipulative” tactics. An editorial, the Indonesian daily said: "For Indonesians, the manipulative tactics being used by Malaysian leader Najib Razak to win the upcoming general election is a strong reminder of former president Suharto’s tricks during his 32-year rule."[24]
28 April	14th Malaysian general election (GE14) : Candidate nominations for Parliament seats and state assembly seats were held on this day.

May

14th Malaysian general election (GE14) :

• 9 May—The 14th general election was held on this day. For the first time in the country's history, the Barisan Nasional coalition was defeated by the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan, only winning 79 seats against Pakatan Harapan's 121. The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party won 18 seats while independents won 3 seats. Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who led Pakatan Harapan to victory, manage to defeat his protege Najib Razak,
• 10 May -- Mahathir Mohamad is sworn in as the seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia at 2130 hours (GMT+8), as he becomes the world's oldest elected state leader at the age of 92.^[25] This marks his return to the position after holding the post previously for 22 years, from 1981 to 2003.
• 12 May --
  • A Council of Eminent Persons is formed as government's advisory board, board members are
    1. Tun Daim Zainuddin, former Finance Minister of Malaysia
    2. Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)
    3. Tan Sri Hassan Marican, former president and CEO of Petronas
    4. Robert Kuok, Hong-Kong based Malaysian billionaire tycoon
    5. Professor Jomo Kwame Sundaram, prominent economist
  • Lim Guan Eng, Muhyiddin Yassin, and Mohamad Sabu are named for three top cabinet posts
  • Former prime minister Najib Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor are barred from leaving the country^[26]
  • Najib resigns as UMNO and BN chief
• 13 May --
  • Mahathir instructs Inland Revenue Board to return taxes collected 'illegally'.
• 14 May --
  • Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali goes on unrecorded leave, duties taken over by solicitor-general
  • MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad resigns
  • Treasurer general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah's contract shortened, transferred to Public Service Department
  • Mahathir says laws on fake news will be clearly defined
  • Mahathir says political appointments in government-linked companies will be reviewed.
• 15 May --
  • Audit Department declassifies its 1MDB report
  • Council of Eminent Persons sets up a committee on institutional reforms, committee includes:
    1. Retired judge of Court of Appeal Datuk KC Vohrah;
    2. Retired judge of the Court of Appeal and Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) Commissioner Datuk Mah Weng Kwai;
    3. National Patriot Association President Brigadier General (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji;
    4. University Malaya Tunku Abdul Rahman Professor of Law Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi;
    5. Hakam President and Bar Council former President Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan
  • Apandi Ali, Irwan Serigar, Dzulkifli and former IGP Khalid Abu Bakar barred from leaving the country.
• 16 May --
  • Pakatan Harapan de facto leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is released from prison after being pardoned by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He had served three years of his prison sentence.
  • 1MDB president Arul Kanda Kandasamy is also barred from leaving the country
  • Police search Najib's house and seize handbags and clothes
  • Government announces GST will be zero-rated effective, 1 June 2018
  • Mahathir to sack 17,000 political appointees from civil service
  • Registrar of Societies approves Pakatan Harapan's registration.
  • Ministries instructed to cease use of 1Malaysia slogan
  • Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia 2.0 (KR1M) programme ceased
  • Board meetings of the Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia and committees which have political appointees to be postponed.
• 17 May
  • Police search at Najib's house continues
  • Finance Ministry initiates fiscal reforms.
• 20 May
  • Former executive of PetroSaudi whistleblower Swiss national Xavier Justo meets Mahathir ^[27]
• 21 May
  • Special task force formed to investigate the 1MDB scandal as well as to prosecute wrongdoers and retrieve related assets. Task force would be jointly headed by former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, former MACC head Abu Kassim Mohamed, current MACC head Mohd Shukri Abdull and former special branch head Abdul Hamid Bador.
  • Deputy prime minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and several federal ministers officially sworn in as members of cabinet.
• 22 May
  • Former prime minister Najib Razak is brought in for questioning at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission(MACC).^[28]

June

Date	Event
1 June	The hugely unpopular Goods and Services Tax (GST) is reduced to 0% by the Malaysian Government.
5 June	Tommy Thomas is officially appointed as the Attorney General, being the first non-Malay to be appointed to the post.
5 June	Former prime minister Najib Razak's wife Rosmah Mansor left Malaysia's anti-graft agency headquarters after being quizzed for five hours as part of a probe into the alleged misappropriation of funds at SRC International, a former subsidiary of state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).[29]
20 June	Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad met the father of murdered Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu and agreed that the case should be reopened.[30][31]
27 June	Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) celebrate its 20th anniversary.

July

Date	Event
1 July	Friendster closes down as a company after 16 years.
2 July	New ministers in Pakatan Harapan's cabinet led by Mahathir were introduced.[32] Remaining members sworn in on that day completes cabinet line-up.
	UMNO Sungai Besar Branch Chief, Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos was arrested by Indonesian police while having a hair cut at a barbershop in South Jakarta.[33]
3 July	Former Prime Minister Najib Razak is arrested for allegedly stealing US$4.5 billion.[34]
4 July	Najib was charged for the first time in the Sessions Court with three counts of CBT and one charge of abusing his post over SRC International Sdn Bhd's funds totalling RM42 million. The case was later transferred to the High Court.[35]
16 July	Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad lead the 222 Members of Parliament to swear in as members of the Dewan Rakyat for the 14th term of the Malaysian Parliament.[36]
17 July	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Muhammad V of Kelantan opens the first session of 14th Parliament in the Parliament building in Kuala Lumpur.[37]

August

Date	Event
8 August	Former prime minister Najib Razak was charged in the Sessions Court with three counts of having received RM42 million in proceeds from unlawful activities into two of his accounts four years ago, with the money belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd.[38][39]
	Touch 'n Go stops selling SmartTAGs, with an RFID pilot to replace these devices starting next month.[40]
10 August	High Court Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali dismissed Najib's application for a gag order restraining the media and public from publishing statements on the merits of his criminal charges, which would infer Najib’s guilt pending the disposal of his case.[41]
13 August	Najib filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal against the High Court refusal to issue an order restraining the media and public from publishing statements on the merits of his case.[42]
19 August – 2 September	2018 Asian Games : Malaysia participated at the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia, sending 447 athletes to compete in 38 sports. The national contingent won 7 Golds, 13 Silvers and 16 Bronzes at the continental event.[43]
31 August	Malaysia celebrated its 61st Independence Day.

September

• 1 September - Sales and services tax (SST)^[44] replaced Goods and Services Tax (GST).^[45]
• 8 – 15 September - The Inaugural Asia Pacific Masters Games was held in Penang.
• 11–22 September - Sukma Games was held in Perak.
• 13 September - Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the lawyer of former prime minister Najib Razak has been charged with money laundering by anti-corruption agents looking into how billions of dollars went missing from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).^[46]
• 20 September - Former prime minister Najib Razak has appeared in court facing 25 charges related to the 1MDB scandal, including abuse of power and money laundering.^[47]
• 26 September - Local independent publishing house ZI Publications has acquired the rights to publish a Bahasa Malaysia translation of Tom Wright and Bradley Hope's Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World.^[48]

October

Date	Event
4 October	Former prime minister Najib Razak's wife Rosmah Mansor has been arrested at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters, where she was being questioned over her alleged role in the 1MDB scandal.[49]
	Six firemen drowned while conducting an operation at a mining pool to search and rescue a drowned teenager.[50]
6 – 13 October	2018 Asian Para Games : Malaysia participated at the 2018 Asian Para Games held in Jakarta in Indonesia, sending 126 athletes to compete in 15 sports. The national contingent won 17 Golds, 26 Silvers and 25 Bronzes at the continental event.[51]
6 – 18 October	2018 Summer Youth Olympics : Malaysia participated at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The national contingent won its first two gold medals in the sporting event's history.
18 October	Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has been arrested the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).[52]
22 October	Sultan Sallehuddin ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah is installed as the 29th Sultan of Kedah.[53]
25 October	Former prime minister Najib Razak and his former treasury secretary-general jointly are charged with six counts of criminal breach of trust over government payments linked to 1MDB.[54][55]
26 October	The Negeri Sembilan palace has revoked the Datuk Seri titles that were conferred on former prime minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor.[56]

November

• 6 November - Prime minister Mahathir Mohamad visited Japan, and received a medal of the Emperor of Japan.
• 15 November - Mahathir came back to Kuala Lumpur since end the 33rd Asean summit in Singapore.

December

• 4 December - A gas piping explosion in one of the food outlet at Cityone Megamall in Kuching, Sarawak resulted in 3 deaths and 22 injuries.^[57]
• 8 December - The Anti-ICERD Rally was organised by opposition right-wing political parties Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), with the support of various non-governmental organisations in response to the new Malaysian government's plan to ratify the United Nations convention known as International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).^[58]
• 16 December - Mohd Hafiz Nor Azman, a 22-year-old motorcycle racer was killed in an accident when competing at the Petronas AAM Malaysian Cub Prix championships at Dataran Bandar Penawar, Johor.^[59]
• 17 December - Malaysia files criminal charges against Goldman Sachs and two former executives over bond sales it organized for 1MDB.^[60]
• 18 December - High Court rejected former prime minister Najib Razak’s request to get the letter of authorisation (fiat) on the appointment of lead prosecutor Sulaiman Abdullah, and his application for discovery of documents pertaining to the case.^[61]

National Day and Malaysia Day

National Day theme

Sayangi Malaysiaku (Love My Malaysia)

National Day parade

Putrajaya

Malaysia Day celebration

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Sports

• 16 – 21 January – 2018 Malaysian Badminton Masters
• 3 – 10 March – 2018 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
• 18 – 25 March – 2018 Tour de Langkawi
• 26 June – 1 July – 2018 Malaysian Badminton Open
• 8 – 15 September – 2018 Asia Pacific Masters Games
• 11 – 22 September – 2018 Sukma Games
• 20 September – 7 October – 2018 AFC U-16 Championship
• 6 – 13 October – 2018 Sultan of Johor Cup
• 15 – 20 October – 2018 Sopma Games
• 4 November – 2018 Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix
• 23 – 28 November – 2018 Para Sukma Games
• 25 November – 2018 Penang Bridge International Marathon

Deaths

• 25 January – Rab Khalid ^[ms] - Actor
• 16 April – Napsiah Omar – Malaysian politician^[62]
• 6 May - Lai Meng
• 8 September - Abu Hassan Omar - Malaysian Politician
• 14 October - Saleem ^[ms]- Singer

See also

• 2018
• 2017 in Malaysia | 2019 in Malaysia
• History of Malaysia
• 2018 in Malaysian football
• 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal