Good morning, here's what you need to know today.

Key Highlights

• Royal pressure
  
  
• Who is the future PM?
  
  
• Vaccine frustrations
  
  

Royal pressure

There appears to be royal pressure for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to convene Parliament earlier than Sept 6.

A highly placed source told Malaysiakini that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong reminded Muhyiddin of the need to promptly prove his majority.

Previously, Muhyiddin claimed to have received royal assent to hold a vote of confidence in September - which critics claim was an attempt to buy time and support.

Malaysiakini's tracking indicates that the prime minister is 11 MPs short of a majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

A meeting with PN and GPS leaders was later held at Muhyiddin's home, but no details have emerged as to what was discussed in the two-hour pow-wow.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Ex-AG urges King to reject dissolving Parliament Thomas says such a bid is reckless.
	Speaker denies saying PM lost the majority This is after a fake message went viral.
	Parliament urged to scrutinise civil service 'Police, health services must be impartial'.

Who is the future PM?

In the event that Muhyiddin is no longer the prime minister, a power vacuum is expected for a while.

Local Government and Housing Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the government of today should continue to remain in power as the opposition does not have an alternative prime minister candidate.

This is true to some extent. Pakatan Harapan's official stance is for PKR president Anwar Ibrahim to be prime minister.

However, Harapan only has 88 MPs, and even with support from Anwar's alleged ally Ahmad Zahid Hamidi - who commands 15 MPs - it is not enough to form a majority in Parliament.

Plans to install Anwar as the prime minister would also likely meet resistance from Warisan and Pejuang.

Warisan may want its president Shafie Apdal to be the prime minister, while Pejuang's Dr Mahathir Mohamad seems disinterested in building a government - and is instead bent on forming a National Recovery Council.

Follow Malaysiakini's Battle for Putrajaya tracker to see how the cards are being stacked.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Umno won't fire MPs sticking with PN Sec-gen says only a reminder will be issued.
	Saifuddin-Zuraida to clash in court Mediation over defamation failed.
	Zahid's corruption trial to resume on Aug 25 The trial was postponed twice, due to the MCO.

Vaccine frustrations

All the politicking among the politicians, however, comes amid rising frustrations over the Covid-19 situation as new cases and deaths continue to rise.

DAP's Sabai assemblyperson Kamache Doray Rajoo said that at this juncture, the people could not care less about who had a majority in Parliament.

Instead, their attention is on the loved ones they are losing to the pandemic, she said.

Kamache said there was a dire shortage of vaccines in Bentong, Pahang, where she is based.

The Health Ministry also revealed that there has been a sharp increase in pregnant women dying or contracting severe illness from Covid-19, partly due to low vaccination uptake.

HIGHLIGHTS

	'Hugging' queue outside PPV DPM wants authorities to take action
	Vaccination certs sold online A police report has been lodged.
	Shah Alam MP quarantined A staff of Khalid Samad contracted Covid-19

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 20,780 new cases yesterday (Aug 11)
  
  
• Eight states and territories reported four-figure cases, with Sabah, Penang, Johor and Kelantan each reporting record highs.
  
  
• The number of active cases is continuing, with a 48-day climb.
  
  
• For trends on daily cases, tests, hospital beds capacity, vaccination progress and more, follow our Covid-19 tracker.
  
  

What else is happening?

• Malaysiakini examined how pro- and anti-China disinformation spread in Malaysia during the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests via local media, social media groups, and even the embassy.
  
  
• The mayor of Johor Bahru, Adib Azhari Daud, was remanded for three days to facilitate a probe into an alleged graft case.
  
  
• A woman who was allegedly raped by two men linked to Gombak Setia assemblyperson Hilman Idham vowed to sue the police for inaction.
  
  
• Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and police were urged to stop trampling on people’s freedom to criticise politicians.
  
  

What are people saying?

	A roadmap for political stability after confidence vote By Wong Chin Huat
	Emergency 2021: An appraisal By Syahredzan Johan
	Pay durians and you’ll still get monkeys By James Chai