Here are some of the key headlines from yesterday that you may have missed, in brief.
Najib drubs NSC fearmongers
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak have accused politically-motivated fearmongers of deliberately misinterpreting newly-introduced security laws, especially the National Security Council (NSC) Act 2016 which will come into force next Monday.
This was after civil liberties advocates Lawyers for Liberty warned that the NSC Act is nothing more than a redressing of the now repealed Internal Security Act (ISA) that will grant Najib arbitrary powers, and even bypass safeguards that existed in the old law.
Meanwhile, Kuala Terengganu MP Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad wondered if the NSC Act is truly to combat terrorism or just another tool for the powers-that-be to rein in the opposition.
More DOJ fallout
Deloitte Malaysia said its audit of 1MDB in 2013 and 2014 would have been “impacted” if it had known at that time the information contained in the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) lawsuits to seize US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets, adding that its audit of the troubled state-owned company for those two years could "no longer be relied upon".
Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali should revisit his decision to close the case on the RM2.6 billion donation given to Najib, PKR vice-president Shamsul Iskandar said after sending a memorandum to the AG's Chambers in Putrajaya on the matter.
BN strategic communications director Abdul Rahman Dahlan argued that the DOJ should at least have the courtesy to contact 1MDB to listen to their side of the story rather than only based its court filings on reports by whistleblower website Sarawak Report.
PKR-DAP ‘naked’ spat
In what may be a reference to PKR’s reluctance to holding snap polls in Penang, Selangor DAP chief Tony Pua posted on Facebook that he was disappointed with friends who failed to live up to expectations, lamenting the friends who leave you naked when you need them most.
In an obvious retort to Pua, PKR's Latheefa Koya said her party cannot be expected to ask "how high" whenever its coalition partner asked it to jump. "Don't strip first and then complain about being left naked," she said in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke reasoned that the Penang state election would be the best time for opposition pact Pakatan Harapan to attack BN and Najib and create a momentum for the next general election.
More Kini bites
In the latest string of broad daylight shootings, a man was gunned down at a traffic light intersection in Kuala Lumpur. The brazen Mafia-style assassination was capture on CCTV.
On the first anniversary since he was appointed as attorney-general to replace his predecessor Abdul Gani Patail, who was removed based on health grounds, Apandi said he was perplexed over the criticism he received despite explaining his decisions not to charge Najib.
Putrajaya has apparently denied Sarawak Report’s latest allegation that the cost of the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) project would be increased from RM30 billion to RM60 billion in order to settle 1MDB’s debts. Works Minister Fadillah Yusof said the project cost was not discussed by the cabinet which met yesterday.
In a twist of irony, a Pokémon was caught during an anti-Pokémon Go press conference in front of the Dang Wangi police district headquarters this morning, right next to Abdul Rani Kulup, president of Martabat Jalinan Muhibah Malaysia (MJMM), as he was speaking to reporters on the need to stop the game from entering Malaysia.
Looking ahead
Lembah Pantai parliamentarian Nurul Izzah Anwar will be handing over a memorandum to Kuala Lumpur City Hall to protest the recent hike in parking charges.
