Warisan man defends against vote-buying claim and 8 news from yesterday

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

1. Tourism Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi said he is obligated to assist when people ask for help, regardless of whether it is election period.

2. This was after MCA president Wee Ka Siong accused Mohamaddin of vote-buying after he announced an allocation of RM50,000 for a local school in Kimanis, where the by-election campaign for the parliamentary seat is going on.

3. The MACC is set to charge the head of an Education Ministry-owned firm under the Penal Code.

4. The postponed targeted fuel subsidy plan will see some progress by the second quarter of this year as the government begins to register M40 income earners to determine who qualifies for the subsidy.

5. Sixty-two people in Penang and 89 people in Johor have fallen ill with influenza.

6. Local Government and Housing Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said she supported the Health Ministry's ban on smoking at eateries but defended her decision to set up "smoking huts", stating that it is to consider the needs of smokers.

7. Glovemaker WRP Asia admitted that it had hired more than 1,000 irregular migrant workers.

8. Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil helped to organise a khat workshop, which saw multi-racial participation.

9. A student who is suing her English teacher for allegedly being absent for seven months will get her day in court in May.