Opposition cries foul over Chin Peng's remains, and 9 news from yesterday

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

1. Opposition MPs expressed shock and condemned a group’s move to bring the remains of deceased communist leader Chin Peng back to Malaysia, while police said they are investigating the group for supposed “insult to provoke a breach of peace”.

2. PKR president Anwar Ibrahim resolved the party’s internal conflict in Malacca that led to two PKR assemblypersons to allow a government motion in the Malacca state assembly for the appointment of a senator to be defeated.

3. Former auditor-general Ambrin Buang backed National Audit Department Nor Salwani Muhammad’s move to slip a voice recorder into a meeting where alleged tampering of the 1MDB audit report was discussed.

4. De facto Law Minister Liew Vui Keong said a bill to implement the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) could be tabled in Parliament next week, but several NGOs urged for more time for a more detailed study, so as to ensure no disputes would arise once the IPCMC is implemented.

5. Liew reaffirmed that the government will do away with the Official Secrets Act 1972, but some of its provisions would be retained in the Freedom of Information Act that would replace it.

6. The Perak government’s Menteri Besar Incorporated said, after having signed a memorandum of understanding with a China firm to explore the mining of rare earth in the state, that it is mindful of the state’s previous misadventure with the rare earth metals industry, in Bukit Merah during the 1990s. It said this in response to criticism from environmental movement Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

7. MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya said the Dewan Rakyat speaker would be the one responsible for taking recalcitrant opposition MPs to task if they continue to refuse to declare their assets.

8. PKR chief whip Johari Abdul blamed fatigue and busy schedules as among the reasons for the poor attendance of MPs in Parliament.

9. The government is to float the price of RON95 petrol in stages, beginning January next year, by increasing prices by one or two sen per week. This will be carried out until the price of RON95 reaches market price.

10. The ratio of the crime rate in 2018 has improved, compared to the year before, according to chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin.