Discontent over frontrunners for Muhyiddin’s cabinet, and 9 news from yesterday

KINI ROUNDUP | Key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

1. There are signs of discontent within the Umno leadership over who might be picked to senior positions in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s cabinet, though some Umno leaders assure all is well.

2. Both Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said they want Muhyiddin to have a free hand in picking his cabinet members.

3. Analysts said appointing ministers who have a clean track record will help bolster support for the new Perikatan Nasional-led federal government, while former chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad warned that appointing Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi could spell disaster for the new coalition.

 4. Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak said the fall of the previous Pakatan Harapan-led government means he can expect an atmosphere more conducive to a fair trial.

5. Former federal territories minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is livid after being compelled to reveal his asset declarations, which amounted to almost RM1 billion in 2001.

6. PKR president Anwar Ibrahim affirmed a claim that he was offered the prime minister’s post in return for abandoning his allies and working with Umno en bloc.

7. Seberang Jaya assemblyperson Dr Afif Bahardin has resigned from the Penang executive council after PKR accused him of sabotaging the party’s annual congress. He also admitted being at Sheraton Hotel on Feb 23, but said he was only there to monitor the situation.

8. PKR’s Pemanis assemblyperson Dr Chong Fat Full has resigned from his party, giving Perikatan Nasional majority control over the Johor state assembly.

9. It is still business as usual for the Pakatan Harapan-Bersatu state government in Kedah, but it remains in a precarious position.

10. Malaysia recorded 14 new Covid-19 cases as the Health Ministry zooms in on a local transmission cluster involving Patient 26, who is a senior official at Khazanah Nasional and UDA Holdings.