PRESS DIGEST - Malaysia - May 8

Following are the main stories in Malaysian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

ALL NEWSPAPEWRS

-- The Perak State Assembly sitting turned ugly with scenes of shoving, scuffling and shouting among elected representatives, reminiscent of Taiwanese parliamentary sessions. Upto 70 arrests were made.

THE STAR (www.thestar.com.my)

-- The "archaic" Hire Purchase Act is in urgent need of review, especially more so in the current tough economic environment, say consumer groups and economists.

-- The KL Composite Index (KLCI) experienced its third busiest trading session in history on Thursday with some 3.357 billion shares changing hands in a market where penny stocks clearly dominated trade.

BUSINESS TIMES (www.btimes.com.my)

-- Ramunia Holdings Bhd (RAMU.KL) will sell its fabrication business to Sime Darby Bhd (SIME.KL), leaving it without a core business, but it plans to stay in the oil and gas industry, a source said.

-- Companies in the United Kingdom (UK), Italy and Germany have expressed interest to invest some 3.3 billion ringgit in Malaysia, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said.

NEW STRAITS TIMES (www.nst.com.my)

-- Malaysian companies, including government-linked companies, should forge strategic partnerships with international corporations in the halal industry, Prime Minister Najib Razak said.

-- The Works Ministry has suspended a policy requiring Class A contractors to distribute 10 percent of all projects to small-time contractors, Works Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor said.

THE EDGE FINANCIAL DAILY (www.theedgemalaysia.com)

-- Trading volume on Bursa Malaysia surged to 3.36 billion shares on Thursday, the highest since February 2007, as retail investors returned to the market in droves, buoyed by optimism about the sustainability of the global economic recovery.

THE MALAYSIAN RESERVE (www.themalaysianreserve.com)

-- CCM Duopharma Biotech Bhd (CCMD.KL) has secured two new contracts from the government worth 20 million ringgit over a two-year period, its Chief Executive Officer Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar said.