Compiled by C. ARUNO and JUNAID IBRAHIM

       TAIWANESE actress-model Yvonne Liu (pic) claims that nearly 70% of the Musang King durian in the Malaysian market is grown by her family.

       “My dad is Malaysian. More than two-thirds of all the Musang King durian in the market in Malaysia are grown by my family,” Liu said on the TV show WTO Sister Show, according to Sin Chew Daily.

       The 34-year-old star added that when she was young, she would often see durians being unloaded from several lorries at her front porch on a daily basis, which caused the house to reek of durian.

       Liu said she could not stand the smell and has never eaten durian despite it being the family business.

       “My mother would tell me that if I do not succeed in my career or if I marry the wrong person, I could return home and be the durian princess,” she quipped.

       Her surprise claim came as the host jokingly said she should consider returning home to take over the family business.

       > The satirical tune Fragile by Namewee has surpassed 20 million views on YouTube in just two weeks, grabbing the headlines in the United States and Australia, reported Sin Chew Daily.

       “It is published in Hollywood news. Cool!” Namewee wrote online.

       Released on Oct 15, the song by the controversial Malaysian singer featuring Australian singer Kimberley Chen is ostensibly about a lovers’ spat but the lyrics contain veiled references to Chinese leader Xi Jinping and touch on sensitive topics such as censorship, Covid-19 and the Uighurs.

       Although there is no mention of China in the lyrics, the music video – which has a panda cavorting in the background amid a pink-themed setting – is seen as a dig at nationalistic Chinese netizens known as ‘Little Pinks’.

       Just days after the song went online, both Namewee and Chen’s Weibo (China’s equivalent of Twitter) accounts were shut down. Their songs were also removed from major Chinese streaming services.

       Asked if she regretted doing the song, Chen told Australia’s ABC News: “I’m lucky to be based in Taiwan. Even though one door has closed, many others have opened up. Everyone should have the right to voice their opinion.”

       The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.