Good morning! Before we start, I'd like to wish our readers Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri in advance.

Kini Morning Brief will be taking a break during the holidays and we'll be back next Monday (May 17).

Here's what you need to know today.

Key Highlights

• Quarantine: Minister vs you
  
  
• Scramble for ICUs
  
  
• Perkasa and 1MDB funds
  
  

Quarantine: Minister vs you

International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali's presence at a public event six days after returning from overseas sparked an uproar on social media.

Technically, Azmin didn’t do anything wrong. To recap, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba signed an order in February allowing ministers returning from official overseas trips to quarantine themselves for three days only.

Whether the policy is justified is another matter. Amid concerns of more deadly Covid-19 variants entering the country, the Health Ministry recently extended the quarantine period for normal citizens.

On April 29, Putrajaya extended the quarantine period for travellers from 40 countries from 10 days to 14 days. This included the United Arab Emirates - from where Azmin returned.

Likewise, the quarantine period for travellers from Singapore was also extended from seven days to 14 days.

However, the new Covid-19 variants have not yet prompted a review of ministers’ three-day quarantine period.

For now, it’s three days for the ministers and 14 days for you - if you’re able to get approval for an overseas trip.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Taskforce: Walk-in vaccinations not allowed It does not want people loitering and crowding.
	Explainer: What we know about the Indian variant Scientists looking if it's causing the surge in India.
	Opposition wants reps on NSC to prevent MCO 4.0 DAP sec-gen calls for bipartisanship.

Scramble for ICUs

The Health Ministry is scrambling to increase the capacity in the intensive care units (ICU) at hospitals throughout the country.

This was amid a surge of Covid-19 patients who become critically ill.

We’ve set a new record high every day in the last six days for the number of ICU patients. It stood at 453 yesterday.

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the country needed to add another 1,000 ICU beds - more than double the current capacity.

In the Klang Valley, hospitals have resorted to taking equipment from the yet to be opened Cyberjaya hospital.

In Penang, the ICU capacity at public hospitals is at 100 percent.

The lack of facilities to treat critically ill patients could lead to a surge in deaths, which is also already at record highs.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Doctor worried about cramped quarantine centres He says it'll increase the viral load.
	'Govt must help urban poor during MCO 3.0' An economist says many families are struggling.
	MCO 3.0 not expected to significantly impact economy Finance minister says the economic sector is functioning.

Perkasa and 1MDB funds

It has emerged that then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had funded Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali in 2013.

Ibrahim’s right-wing organisation was responsible for racially and religiously charged actions, including a threat to burn copies of the Bible in the Malay language.

The funding came to light after former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd sued Ibrahim to recover the funds which it claimed were from the state-owned entity.

Ibrahim admitted to taking RM600,000 from Najib but said he had no knowledge that the money was linked to 1MDB.

He claimed the money was spent on “people-centric” programmes in the Pasir Mas constituency where he was the former MP.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Senior cop linked to Nicky Gang withdraws application The accused has been released on police bail.
	Ismail blames Harapan for naval ship fiasco It was supposed to be delivered in 2019 but was delayed.
	We've been closing factories, 70 so far - minister He responded to claims the govt is soft on factories.

 

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 3,973 new cases yesterday (May 11).
  
  
• 22 new deaths. Prior to this month, the country only saw more than 20 deaths in a day on four occasions throughout the pandemic. This month, we've recorded more than 20 deaths in five out of the 11 days.
  
  
• The infectivity rate is at 1.13 and has stubbornly remained above 1.10 since May 7. Cases will continue to grow exponentially, unless it is brought below 1.00.
  
  
• For trends on daily cases, tests, hospital beds capacity, vaccination progress and more, follow our Covid-19 tracker.
  
  

What else is happening?

• Defence Minister Ismail Sabri defended the government's Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) flip-flop, stating that the government needed to constantly adapt to a dynamic situation. However, he acknowledged confusion and said all SOPs are now standardised nationwide.
  
  
• Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi appeared to soften his "No Anwar, No DAP" position. He cited former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein's engagement with the opposition that led to the formation of BN.
  
  
• There are fresh calls for a loan moratorium following the implementation of the third movement control order (MCO 3.0) but Bank Negara is not in favour of the proposal.
  
  
• Sarawak will continue with the conditional MCO, even though Putrajaya announced a full MCO throughout the country which takes effect today. However, Sarawak said it will tighten restrictions.
  
  
• The Keeper of the Ruler's Seal confirmed that Hari Raya Aidilfitri will fall on May 13 (Thursday).
  
  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	Nightmare continues for UM sexual harassment victim The student recounts the incident.
	MCO 3.0: Festive air missing at 'Kampung Lemang' Lemang traders in Manek Urai see a decline in business.
	Woman submits evidence of intimidation in rape case Case involves the associates of an assemblyperson.

What are people saying?

	Govt must be transparent on combat ship saga By Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
	Message for our leaders By Sharifah Munirah Alatas
	Act now to avert mental health crisis post-MCO3 By Dr Nur Nabila Nasharuddin & Dr Khor Swee Kheng

CARTOON KINI