KINI ROUNDUP | Here are the key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

PM's anti-climatic reveal

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's highly anticipated announcement turned out to be the return of former Selangor menteri besar Muhammad Muhammad Taib to Umno.

Pakatan Harapan leaders, who were bracing for a possible bombshell, took to social media to laugh off the anti-climatic outcome.

Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar was unamused at the jokes about Muhammad, widely known as Mat Taib, and criticised the opposition for also taking in old leaders like former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Prior to the announcement, there had been various speculations, including the return of Shafie Apdal to Umno, which was denied by Parti Warisan Sabah leaders.

Mahathir mocked Mat Taib's re-entry into Umno and raised his arrest in Australia in 1997 for attempting to get through the Immigration with around US$1 million in Malaysian, Singaporean and New Zealand notes, an offence for which he was charged but acquitted.

Najib's diplomacy

Najib said he was warmly welcomed by world leaders as Malaysia is a highly regarded country.

DAP's Kluang MP Liew Ching Tong criticised Najib's announced investments in the US, likening it as a tribute from a vassal state.

Responding to several criticisms, including allegedly allowing the country to come under the influence of China, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman stressed that Malaysia's foreign policy is clear and consistent.

Targeting Chinese in speech

Liew said Najib's speech at an MCA event that Chinese Malaysians will be first to be targeted if there was no peace in the country was a perceived threat to the community.

However, MCA secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan said the prime minister's speech was taken out of context.

Other Kinibites

The latest edition of Malaysianskini follows 90-year-old Rasammah Bhupalan, who recollects her memories about the country's first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Mahathir, in an interview with Malaysiakini, said Harapan will protect Malay rights but not at the expense of non-Malays.

Survivors of the deadly Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah Tahfiz Centre fire on Jalan Keramat Ujung, Kuala Lumpur, will resume class in October.

Najib gave his assurance that the rights of Sabah and Sarawak will be preserved in the Malaysian Federation.

Three men were arrested in Kulim, Kedah for allegedly rioting.

Looking ahead

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will hand keys to recipients of a rent-to-own housing project in Kepong.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will be officiating a conference on occupational safety in Putrajaya.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the forex scandal will resume with Mahathir possibly taking the witness stand.