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

Red shirts back out

Pertubuhan Pembela Nasib Melayu (Gerakan Merah) said that it will not hold a counter demonstration against the TangkapMO1 rally scheduled for this afternoon at Dataran Merdeka. The right-wing group dismissed the rally as being organised by “schoolchildren”, and added that it would leave it to the police to “school them”.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is expected to make an appearance at the rally, according to former Umno man Khairuddin Abu Hassan.

Malaysiakini talked to one of the leaders behind the protest, student activist Anis Syafiqah Mohd Yusof, who has been in the spotlight as the spokesperson for the Tangkap Malaysian Official One coalition.

Is holding the rally at the historic landmark Dataran Merdeka appropriate? Hear what the detractors and proponents have to say.

More MACC arrests

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will summon 30 more Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officers for questioning following last week's arrest of an executive director.

In a related development, the managing director of a government-linked bank and three others have been remanded for three days by the Magistrate's Court in Putrajaya yesterday over a case involving abuse of power and corruption.

The anti-graft body's deputy chief commissioner Mohd Jamidan Abdullah said MACC’s actions are determined by the evidence procured, no matter whether those investigated are “big or small fish”. However, he declined to comment on those implicated in the 1MDB scandal.

Bangsa Johor gets mixed reactions

The poser over whether the 'Bangsa Johor' sentiment is good or bad for the country elicits mixed reactions from Malaysians polled and interviewed by Malaysiakini.

Meanwhile, Johor Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, one of the proponents of Bangsa Johor, has won the bid for the 'V1' number plate for RM989,780, according to automotive portal Paultan.org which said it was the Johor monarch's highest bid for a number plate yet after his winning bids for ‘F1’, ‘WW1’ and ‘W1N’.

More Kini bites

National badminton ace Lee Chong Wei has dismissed reports that he is worth RM300 million.

There is still a cause for concern in the wake of the leak of secret documents regarding India’s Scorpene-class submarines, said defence analyst Lam Choong Wah, despite the government downplaying its implications on Malaysia’s own Scorpene fleet.

Purported gang insignia displayed in Tamil school lavatories are tell-tale signs that some Indian children are being exposed to a life of violence from a young age, said MySkills Foundation director S Pasupathi at a forum titled ‘Kabali - Myth or Reality’.

Looking ahead

The student-organised TangkapMO1 rally will be held at Dataran Merdeka at 2pm today. The authorities are expected to cordon off the area and stop protesters from entering the historic square.

Rally leaders have called on protesters to gather at two meeting points - Sogo shopping complex and Masjid Negara - before marching to Dataran.

Malaysiakini will be covering the event live.