Tit-for-tat show of force by Anwar and Azmin and 9 other news items you may have missed

KINI ROUNDUP | Here are key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

1. A tit-for-tat show of strength by PKR's top two leaders Anwar Ibrahim and Azmin Ali kicked off when Azmin's supporters - 14 MPs and eight state assemblypersons from PKR - signed a joint statement urging Anwar to refrain from making statements that could create a rift in the party.

This was followed by Anwar's own show of force. Flanked by loyalist MPs, the PKR president declared that he "has the numbers" to be the next prime minister.

2. Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador said hundreds of thousands of ringgit were paid to certain quarters to produce the sex video implicating Azmin.

He added that the facial recognition process conducted with regard to the video came up negative.

3. Laboratory tests on samples taken from the waters sourced around Kampung Kuala Koh in Gua Musang, Kelantan, which saw the deaths of 15 Bateq villagers, revealed contamination and toxic substances.

These tests were commissioned by independent groups - the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners' Associations Malaysia, Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia and the Centre for Malaysian Indigenous Studies, and seemed to contradict earlier findings announced by Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

4. Muslim preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin said Attorney-General Tommy Thomas should begin to seriously review the use of the Sedition Act 1948 before more people are victimised by the controversial law.

5. High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali issued a succinct yet stern reminder to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to refrain from uploading any more online posts that may constitute contempt of court.

6. Election Commission chief Azhar Azizan Harun expressed his doubts that automatic voter registration will be ready in time for the Sarawak election, which must be held by June 2021. He was similarly sceptical when asked if the state polls would see 18-year-olds vote for the first time.

7. Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general J Solomon said there is no need for surveys on how long Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should hold office, as he must be given “all the time and space” he needed to put the country’s economy back on track.

8. Low-cost carrier AirAsia was ordered to pay RM40.73 million in unpaid passenger service charges to Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd.

9. The appearance of a tiger on a highway in Hulu Dungun, Terengganu, which was captured on video, was confirmed by Terengganu Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) Department director Dr Abdul Malek Mohd Yusof

10. A man shouted “die” as he doused an animation studio with fuel and set it ablaze in Japan killing at least 33 people in the nation’s worst mass murder in nearly two decades.