Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 15 : The Chairman of the the National Fatwa Council, in Malaysia, Dr Abdul Shukor Husin, has said the council has never issued a fatwa (edict) without the states' approval.

"The states could adopt the council's views or make their own adjustments" he said.

Noting that there was a lot of confusion over the recent fatwa, including the controversial one involving yoga, The Star quoted him as saying:"What the council presented before the enforcement is considered `pandangan' (views) after the council held dialogues."

"The view only becomes a fatwa (edict) once the state governments decide to gazette it," he added.

Kuala Lumpur  - Malaysian police arrested two men after the trailer that they had hijacked crashed into three cars as they attempted a hasty escape, news reports said Sunday.

The suspects - three locals - had allegedly pulled up beside the trailer in a white van Saturday morning in Kuala Lumpur and threatened the driver and his assistant with machetes after they had stopped by the roadside to relieve themselves.

Two of the suspects, ages 21 and 30, then boarded and drove off with the trailer, laden with soap-making materials worth thousands of ringgit, while the third man escaped in their van, the Star daily reported.

Kuala Lumpur  - With the emergence of several landmark court rulings this year, there is renewed hope among Malaysia's legal fraternity that the judiciary system, more often than not the object of scorn and ridicule, is beginning a long-awaited path to reform.

Years of controversies surrounding the judiciary have led to an all-time low public opinion of judges and the courts.

The first major crisis faced was 20 years ago in what is remembered as the Judicial Crisis of 1988, when ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad sacked six top judges from the Supreme Court following a series of clashes between the former leader and the judges.

Kuala Lumpur, December 11 : A bride has run-off with jewellery and cash after conning more than 10 grooms she had promised to marry.

The 30-year-old woman, said to have a striking resemblance to Taiwanese supermodel Lin Chiling, had promised to tie the knot with more than 10 men but had vanished into thin air a little before the "weddings".

It was revealed that the woman, who had met the grooms' families but not introduced hers to the men, had asked for jewellery and a dowry between a few thousand ringgit to RM10,000 from each of her would-be "husbands."

Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 11 : Twelve South Indian nationals who lost their jobs two months ago are reported to have no money to return home.

One of them, R. Arokiasamy, 28, was quoted by The Star as saying that they were recruited on a three-year work permit by a company specialising in making computer parts based in Taman Desa Cemerlang in Ulu Tiram, Johor.

He said the company failed to renew their work permits, which expired in October and pay them two months' salary for terminating their employment.

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday proposed a much-anticipated anti-corruption bill and another bill to restore integrity to the country's judiciary.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission bill, aimed to take effect in January, was aimed at stamping out corruption in the public and private sectors.

Abdullah also proposed an independent judicial body to manage the appointment of judges of superior courts.

Both bills came amid growing criticism that Abdullah has done little to make good on his pledge to clamp down on corruption since taking office in November 2003.