Good morning. Here's what you should know today.
Key Highlights
Muhyiddin acquittal quashed
Royal warning to Hadi
New 'inclusive' bumiputera policy
Muhyiddin acquittal quashed
The Court of Appeal quashed the discharge and acquittal of Muhyiddin Yassin when it reinstated the four abuse of power charges against him linked to the Jana Wibawa programme.
The High Court had previously acquitted Muhyiddin of the four charges of using his position as then prime minister and Bersatu president for an inducement of RM232.5 million.
This was after it allowed his challenge against the four charges for being "vague and defective”.
The Court of Appeal, however, ruled that the charges were clear and unambiguous.
Before the appellate court ruling, Muhyiddin was still on the hook for three money laundering charges in the same case.
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Royal warning to Hadi
Selangor's Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah gave a stern warning to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang not to insult the Malay rulers and divide Muslims in the country again.
The royal rebuke came over a week after Hadi reminded all Muslims to safeguard their faith, including the rulers, whom he said must consider the hereafter and not just worldly interests.
The reminder, in turn, is believed to be partly in response to Sultan Sharafuddin calling for calm after the Federal Court quashed several of Kelantan's syariah criminal provisions for overlapping with federal civil law.
Sultan Sharafuddin noted that Hadi would have understood the real message behind the ruler’s statement had he taken more effort to read and understand the decree.
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New 'inclusive' bumiputera policy
The government has launched a new bumiputera empowerment policy, dubbed the Bumiputera Economic Transformation.
The government is painting it to be an “inclusive” plan, that will benefit both bumiputeras and non-bumiputeras.
This includes assurances that non-bumiputera rights will be protected and that they would benefit from the spillover effects of bumiputera upliftment.
At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who unveiled the plan at the Bumiputera Economic Congress, said there was no need to be apologetic about discussing the bumiputera agenda.
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Views that matter
 | By P Gunasegaram |
 | By S Thayaparan |
 | By Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj |
Other news that matter
Service taxes for various services such as hotels, nightclubs, karaoke centres, and legal services are being increased to 8 percent effective today (March 1)
However, the tax for food and beverage and telecomunication services are among those that will remain at 6 percent.
The Luxury Goods Tax will also come into force today.
Former 1MDB executive Jasmine Loo testified that any moves by the company had to receive the blessing of Najib Abdul Razak.
The Madani Medical Scheme is being downscaled to only serve 10 districts after almost 79 percent of its RM100 million allocation was used up.
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