KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Gas Bhd (PGB) pada masa ini dianggarkan mengalami jumlah impak keuntungan sebanyak RM60 juta bagi tahun kewangan 2025.

Syarikat penghantaran gas asli itu dalam makluman kepada Bursa Malaysia hari ini berkata jumlah berkenaan merangkumi kos pembaikan dan kehilangan perolehan yang berpunca daripada insiden kebakaran saluran paip utama PGB berhampiran Putra Heights di Puchong, Selangor pada 1 April 2025.

MUMBAI, May 26 — Monsoon rains hit the coast of India’s southernmost state of Kerala yesterday, eight days earlier than usual, marking the earliest arrival in 16 years and providing the promise of a bumper harvest and relief from a gruelling heatwave.

The monsoon — the lifeblood of the country’s US$4 trillion (RM16.83 trillion) economy — delivers nearly 70 per cent of the rain that India needs to water farms and replenish aquifers and reservoirs.

Nearly half of India’s farmland, without any irrigation cover, depends on the annual June–September rains to grow a number of crops.

Summer rains usually begin to lash Kerala around June 1 before spreading nationwide by mid-July, allowing farmers to plant crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane.

The onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala on May 24 is its earliest onset since May 23, 2009, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said yesterday.

The monsoon has covered Kerala and parts of neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as parts of the northeastern state of Mizoram, the IMD said.

Conditions are favourable for the monsoon’s further spread into Goa, parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, the northeastern states, West Bengal, and the remaining parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the next 2 to 3 days.

Surplus pre-monsoon rainfall and an early monsoon onset will help farmers, especially in the southern and central states, to sow summer crops earlier than usual, said Ashwini Bansod, vice president for commodities research at Phillip Capital India, a Mumbai-based brokerage.

“Abundant soil moisture and early sowing could potentially boost crop yields,” Bansod said.

Last year, the monsoon reached the coast of Kerala on May 30, and overall summer rains were the highest since 2020, supporting recovery from a drought in 2023.

The IMD last month forecast above-average monsoon rains for the second straight year in 2025.

The department defines average or normal rainfall as ranging between 96 per cent and 104 per cent of a 50-year average of 87 centimetres for the four-month season. — Reuters

KUCHING (May 25): Two vehicles were damaged after strong winds caused pieces of roofing to fall onto them at Brighton Square this afternoon.

The vehicles have since been removed, and contractors were seen removing the roofs and debris at the scene of the incident.

According to one of the workers, he said the roofing material fell following strong winds that occurred some time at 5.30pm.

A similar incident occurred about an hour earlier, when a tree branch fell due to strong winds and damaged a hatchback vehicle behind a mall at Mile 6 here.

Aside from property damage, no casualties were reported.

SEREMBAN: The Negri Sembilan government has approved an allocation of RM400,000 to repair houses damaged during a recent storm in Kampung Baru Ayer Hitam, Kampung Dusat and Felda Lui Barat in Jempol.

Senior state executive councillor Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias said repair works began yesterday under the supervision of the district disaster committee and are expected to be completed within a week.

“Currently, 25 individuals from six families are being housed at the temporary relief centre at SMK Lui Barat, where they will remain until the repair works are completed,” he told Bernama.

It was reported that more than 80 houses in Felda Lui Barat and six houses in Kampung Baru Ayer Hitam in Jempol were damaged due to the storm and heavy rain on Saturday evening.

One of the victims, Vidawati Khalid, 48, said she and her two siblings incurred losses of nearly RM30,000 after their respective houses were damaged in the storm.

She said it was the first time such an incident had occurred, adding that her family was terrified as they witnessed the whirlwind tear through their home, ripping off the roof.

Vidawati said she and her two children managed to escape.

“I remember seeing the strong winds swirling through the living room. Thankfully, we took shelter in a bedroom before making our way to my mother’s house to seek safety,” she said.