PRESS DIGEST - Malaysia - Dec 27

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

THE STAR

- Motorists beware. Cameras at thousands of locations around the country will be tracking traffic offenders and bad drivers, said Malaysian Institute for Road Safety and Research Director-General Radin Umar Radin Sohadi.

- It is definitely the time for oil palm planters to celebrate, given that the crude palm oil three-month futures contract price soared to a historic high of 3,080 ringgit per tonne on Wednesday - nearly quadruple their production costs, analysts said.

NEW STRAITS TIMES

- Malaysia cannot allow extremism to take root in the country and consequentially undermine inter-racial harmony, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

BUSINESS TIMES

- Gadang Holdings Bhd (GADA.KL), a construction and property firm, plans to partner foreign contractors and bid for the four billion ringgit Pahang-Selangor water transfer project, its Managing Director Kok Onn said.

THE EDGE FINANCIAL DAILY

- Retailers are registering bumper sales in the final quarter of 2007 given the robust consumer spending during this period, especially with the opening of new shopping malls and aggressive year-end sales despite threats of higher inflation and a gloomy external outlook next year, said Malaysian Retailers Association Vice-President Abdul Rashid Adam.

- Steel maker MEGS Industries Sdn Bhd, wholly owned by prominent lawyer Zaid Ibrahim, is expected to sell a 60 percent stake to South Korea's Posco for US$15.6 million (52.26 million ringgit).

THE MALAYSIAN RESERVE

- An interested party is believed to have approached Proton Holdings Bhd (PROT.KL) with the intention of acquiring the national carmaker's subsidiary Group Lotus plc, an industry source said.

THE SUN

- Collectors queued up as early as 7am at Bank Negara Malaysia's head office on Wednesday to buy specially-packaged 50 ringgit commemorative notes.

- Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) is optimistic the current momentum in car sales will continue through next year, with its cars at the leading edge of this drive, its Managing Director, Syed Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar said.

** Looking for more information from local sources? Reuters Business Briefing has 13 Malaysian sources including Business Times Malaysia. For details of the product please call your local help desk (PHONE/HELP).