KINI ROUNDUP | Here are key headlines you may have missed, in brief.
1. PKR president Anwar Ibrahim announced he has a solid majority in Parliament but will only reveal his numbers after an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who has fallen ill and is being treated at the National Heart Institute. Read the full transcript of Anwar’s statement here.
2. Amanah said it would fully support Anwar’s claim while DAP has set conditions for supporting Anwar. Gabungan Parti Sarawak said it would support Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister and PAS is not backing Anwar either, while Pejuang’s Dr Mahathir Mohamad is not convinced by Anwar’s claim.
3. Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi conceded that “many” in Umno and BN are supporting Anwar, which Pakatan Harapan chief secretary Saifuddin Nasution Ismail claimed is proof that Muhyiddin has lost majority control of the Parliament. BN secretary-general Annuar Musa, meanwhile, joined others in urging for a snap general election.
4. Umno Youth deputy chief Shahril Hamdan is the second political party leader to test positive for Covid-19 following campaign activities in the Sabah state election. Zahid and MCA leaders who came into contact with Shahril tested negative, while three candidates from Umno and Warisan are required to undergo quarantine.
5. Covid-19 cases in Malaysia hit the triple-digit yesterday, and three deaths were reported. The Health Ministry responded to the growing outbreak in Sabah by redeploying its supplies of personal protective equipment and shoring up on testing capacity, hospital beds and ventilators.
6. Bersih and several lawyers insisted that Covid-19 patients have a constitutional right to vote, despite being isolated from the general population, while the Election Commission restricted ceramah activities in Sabah at Covid-19 red zones to just 30 people.
7. Muhyiddin announced the second round of Bantuan Prihatin Nasional aid for B40 and M40 households and singles, including wage subsidies, and direct payments to be made in October this year and January next year. He also urged the people to reject politicians who cause instability and negatively impact the government’s economic recovery plan.
8. Former federal territories minister Tengku Adnan Mansor has reached a settlement with the Inland Revenue Board over a lawsuit on RM57.17 million in allegedly unpaid taxes. The verdict for his corruption charges, meanwhile, will be announced on Nov 17.
9. BN candidate for Likas Dr Chang Kee Ying has condemned gutter politics and lodged a police report after netizens circulated nude photographs of her, which she said had been ‘doctored’.
10. Negotiations to reopen the Malaysia-Singapore border are still going on, said Singapore’s Multi-ministry Taskforce on Covid-19 co-chairperson Lawrence Wong.
