Here are the key headlines that you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

'If Dr M can change, so should Umno'

BN leaders took aim at the apparent reconciliation between ex-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim with Umno supreme council member Noh Omar dismissing it as a "hilarious Bollywood drama".

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said Mahathir can have Anwar but Malaysians will continue to back Umno.

However, MCA leader Ti Lian Ker said if Mahathir can dramatically change his strategy, so should Umno - by abandoning religious and racial fear-mongering.

Former minister Zainuddin Maidin concurred, claiming that Umno, particularly its youth wing, still practised "kampung (village) politics".

Meanwhile, PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli said the impact of the Mahathir-Anwar meeting remains to be seen but stressed that the people should not just bank on the elites to solve our political morass.

Oddities and politics

Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob baffled members of the Pahang state assembly when he took off his shoes, raised his legs and put a pen between his toes, in an apparent attempt to proof that he was in good health.

In another bizarre development, a motorcyclist ranted against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, demanding for his resignation and arrest, after he was slapped with a summons for an expired road tax.

MACC widens net in Bank Rakyat case

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said more people may be dragged to court in Bank Rakyat’s RM15 million criminal breach of trust case.

Meanwhile, a company managing director was freed after a 12-day remand in relation to the case.

While the MACC has shifted its sights from the 1MDB scandal, Mahathir continued to highlight the US Department of Justice (DOJ) court filings which detailed how over US$3.5 billion was allegedly misappropriated from the nation’s sovereign fund.

Other Kini bites

Najib exchanged pleasantries with US president Barack Obama informally at a gala dinner held in conjunction with the Asean Summit in Laos. It was the first meeting since the DOJ’s action to recover “stolen money” linked to the 1MDB scandal.

Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar announced that housing developers will now be allowed to act as moneylenders to help boost home ownership.

The Registrar of Societies (ROS) approved Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia but said it has to use the acronym "PPBM" instead of "Bersatu".

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin criticised the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is attempting a witch hunt against whistle-blowers who raised weaknesses in the organisation.

China-based firm Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) has settled with the next-of-kin of a woman who was crushed to death by the company's crane.

Looking ahead

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leaders are set to meet ROS after the regulator approved Bersatu as a party.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is set to charge a "datuk seri" from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall in a housing graft case.