Tuesday decision on Harapan’s PM candidate, and 9 news from yesterday

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

1. Pakatan Harapan and its allies would hopefully reach consensus on their candidate for prime minister in event of a countercoup, said PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil.

2. In the background, various proposals for PM candidate are being considered including PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal. Analysts speculate that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is seeking to make a comeback, even if briefly, to set the stage for an honourable exit from the political arena.

3. While the debate on the next Harapan prime minister continues, Anwar reflects on the previous Harapan administration’s missteps on thorny issues of race and religion in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini.

4. Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik asserted that Anwar does not have the sole claim to be Harapan’s pick for prime minister, but PKR leaders said Mahathir cannot lay such claim either.

5. Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has filed an application to disqualify Gopal Sri Ram as special prosecutor for the 1MDB case against him, in light of former attorney-general Apandi Ali’s claim that Gopal tried to persuade him to play a role in arresting Najib in 2018.

6. Johor exco member Chong Fat Full defended his move to require nominees to become Chinese new village chiefs to sign a pledge to support International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali, saying that DAP previously required nominees to become party members.

7. A barber who tested positive for Covid-19 is found to have provided illegal service to 25 people during the movement control order period, and another 15 people once his shop at KL Traders Square reopened when the recovery movement control order came into effect.

8. Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah outlined the scientific justification for no longer requiring Covid-19 patients to test negative prior to being discharged from hospital, and said social distancing and hand hygiene will be sufficient to prevent the spread of the disease in schools even without facemasks.

9. The tabling of the 2021 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat has been postponed from October to November, while the tabling of the 12 Malaysia Plan has been postponed to a date yet to be undetermined.

10. Venezuelan oil is being disguised as Malaysian oil to evade US sanctions, which involved using tankers anchored off the coast of Malaysia.