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

Key Highlights

• Booster interval now at 3 months
  
  

• Warisan defections
  
  

• Spotlight on Azam Baki
  
  

Booster interval now at 3 months

The Health Ministry has shortened the interval for Covid-19 vaccine booster shot from six months to three months across the board.

Previously, only Sinovac and Sinopharm recipients were required to get their boosters after three months of the primer doses.

An exception is the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, for which the interval is two months.

The move came amid a looming wave of Covid-19 involving the Omicron variant as more people returning from abroad are carrying the strain.

The Health Ministry is encouraging returning travellers to conduct self-tests daily while under quarantine. The government is also mulling action against those who break quarantine.

	Cops probing celebrity wedding for SOP violation Attendees allegedly did not wear masks.
	Perlis mufti: Ministers should stick to their jobs 'Don't be fodder for jokes.'
	RM34m in flood aid disbursed - PM 34,000 households were involved.

Warisan defections

Former Sabah minister Peter Anthony, who was last year slapped with forgery, money laundering and criminal breach of trust charges, has decided to quit Warisan.

Anthony, who is the Melalap assemblyperson, announced he will be forming a new political party that will be friendly to the PN-BN-PBS government in Sabah. He was joined by Limbahau assemblyperson Juil Nuatim who also quit the party.

The move came two weeks after the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court ordered Anthony to enter his defence over the forgery case.

Anthony is not the first elected representative facing a court case to defect.

In March last year, Tronoh assemblyperson Paul Yong defected from DAP to Bersatu. He was on Aug 23, 2019, charged with allegedly raping his domestic helper.

Kuala Langat MP Dr Xavier Jayakumar also quit PKR in March last year to become government-friendly, a month after his associate was arrested by the MACC. 

HIGHLIGHTS

	Sabah ban on timber export to be lifted The ban was imposed in 2018.
	Continuous rain warning for several states The states are Sabah, K'tan, T'gnau, Pahang and Johor.
	Cancelled Canal City project resurfaces after Selangor floods Najib wants a revival to be considered.

Spotlight on Azam Baki

MACC chief Azam Baki is facing calls to go on garden leave.

This was after Edmund Terence Gomez resigned from the MACC Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel on the grounds that it had failed to act on aconflict of interest issues involving Azam, particularly on his alleged ownership of two million shares in a public listed company.

The panel's chairperson Borhan Dolah, who was accused of ignoring Gomez's call for a meeting on the matter, said he had considered the matter but was told that it was not within the panel's jurisdiction.

He also said Gomez in his emails had not mentioned the nature of the alleged misconduct.

Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang called on Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to look into the matter.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Malacca CM downplays Umno involvement in reclamation 'State govt will work with authorities if problems arise.'
	Yeoh wants probe into plan to develop KL retention ponds This comes after record floods in the Klang Valley.
	WCEF: Najib brushes off tycoon's embarrassment Ex-PM zooms on tycoon's links with Mahathir.

 

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 2,897 new cases yesterday (Dec 28).
  
  
• 23 new fatalities put the death toll at 31,392.
  
  

New cases by states

Selangor (675)
Johor (297)
Kelantan (295)
Kedah (245)
Pahang (215)
Kuala Lumpur (205)
Terengganu (190)
Penang (183)
Sabah (168)
Malacca (144)
Perak (117)
Negeri Sembilan (94)
Putrajaya (24)
Perlis (22)
Sarawak (19)
Labuan (4)

What else is happening?

• The Kuala Lumpur Library was criticised after it barred refugee children from its premises.
  
  
• The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is seeking additional funding of up to RM33 million in anticipation of another wave of floods.
  
  
• All politicians and political operatives will be banned from teaching Islam in Selangor, beginning next year, in accordance with the state ruler's decree.
  
  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	Serba Dinamik charged with submitting false statement They plead not guilty at the KL Sessions Court.
	Muda's flood relief effort hit by Covid-19 outbreak Four of its volunteers have tested positive for Covid-19.
	Orang Asli villagers want a reinforced concrete bridge They are now using a makeshift raft to cross the river.

What are people saying?

	Waiting for Godot By Nur Ayuni Zainal Abidin
	Let armed forces handle calamities in future By R Suresh
	Chirping over Rina’s bird poop clean-up By Malaysiakini readers