Riza Aziz's RM465 million plea bargain and 9 news from yesterday

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

1. The stepson of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak - Riza Abdul Aziz (above) - has been granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for his money laundering charge, on condition he returns foreign assets worth RM465.3 million.

2. Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas disputed MACC’s claim that he had agreed to the plea bargain, but the MACC stood by its statement, saying it was based on information from a deputy public prosecutor involved in the case.

3. Kepong MP and lawyer Lim Lip Eng sees some advantages in the plea bargain, but his Pakatan Harapan colleagues Tan Yee Kew and Dr Xavier Jayakumar warned that it sends the wrong message.

4. The Johor State Assembly ended with the status quo, after an uneventful sitting where Pakatan Harapan claimed to have the numbers to push a no-confidence motion but would reserve this for a more appropriate time.

5. In conjunction with Umno’s 74th anniversary, Najib said Umno needs to be more open to new members and be less rigid in its hierarchy to boost its appeal to younger voters.

6. In a second leak of audio recordings purported to be taken during a Bersatu supreme council meeting on Feb 23, a voice resembling that of its chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad is heard pleading with the council not to force him to break his promise to step down as prime minister.

7. Gerakan is set to announce its support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today, despite once opposing the idea of a “backdoor government”.

8. A man who was found dead with Covid-19 on a roadside turned out to be a former security guard who was attempting a 372km walk home from Segamat to Kuala Terengganu after finding himself out of work and without transportation.

9. The Health Ministry has urged all madrasah students, regardless of their health status, to get tested for Covid-19, after finding 84.9 percent of the 539 students, teachers, and staff who tested positive showed no symptoms.

10. Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah again urged people to adapt to new norms, after a World Health Organisation official said it could take up to five years to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.