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

EC malapportionment slammed

DAP parliamentarian and political scientist Ong Kian Ming contextualised why he believes the 2016 delimitation exercise is unfair, focusing on the serious malapportionment between constituencies.

Compared to Australia, United Kingdom and Canada, Malaysia's malapportionment appears rife with imbalances among constituencies which dilutes the value of votes in larger constituencies compared to smaller constituencies.

Political analysts refuted Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's hypothesis that a divide amongst the Malays would benefit DAP, some noting that the opposition party is confined to urban Chinese seats and cannot yet at present expand into the rural Malay heartland.

Najib backs funding reforms

Najib said Umno and BN are in agreement with the political funding reforms mooted by the National Consultative Committee on Political Financing.

The proposals from the committee for a new law to regulate political expenditure was not well received by Pakatan Harapan lawmakers however, who gave it a general thumbs down.

Meanwhile, pro-electoral reforms NGO Bersih 2.0 hailed the committee as a good start, but said more should be done to regulate political funding.

‘BN behind athletes' success’

The success of the athletes at the 2016 Rio Olympics and Paralympics were partly due to the policies of the government under Umno and BN, said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

On another matter, Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli argued that Malaysia's global competitiveness did not drop seven places due to complaints from the public as claimed by federal minister Ong Ka Chuan, pointing his fingers to government investment arm 1MDB-linked alleged embezzlement and money laundering instead.

More Kini bites

A report that Proton may be selling up to 51 percent of the company to foreign investors has been welcomed by industry observers who hope that the move will reinvigorate the flagging car producer.

Almost all Kuala Lumpur folks who spoke to Malaysiakini disagreed with the scorn rained on Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for his lack of English proficiency, though they admit that he has to make efforts to further improve his English.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has labelled the two graft charges against him, which come up for mention at the Penang High Court yesterday morning, as a BN-led federal government's “magic trick” against him.

The police said they are investigating a caller who had warned security personnel at the Bursa Malaysia headquarters in Exchange Square in Kuala Lumpur that there would be an explosion at the building and a nearby Hindu temple after Friday prayers.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) has urged the authorities to investigate claims that the police and Forestry Department assisted loggers to break up a blockade by the local Orang Asli community in Gua Musang.

Looking ahead

Bersih will kick start its nationwide convoy to drum up support for the upcoming November Bersih 5 rally in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. The pro-Najib red shirts are expected to be making an appearance there.