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

Gov’t takes over TRX

1MDB’s Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) project is now under the full control of the Finance Ministry, according to Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani. “Otherwise, we will have to leave it to 1MDB and they will never be able to do it,” he reportedly said.

Johari also said 1MDB has made interest payments on one of its bond issues this quarter, after failing to pay earlier this year because of a dispute with a guarantor, Abu Dhabi state investment fund International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC).

Rafizi tells off Harapan

Pakatan Harapan should cease speculating on candidates for the prime minister and deputy prime minister posts should the opposition coalition seize federal power, said PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, as people do not appreciate such discussions, which would provide ammunition for the BN.

The annual salary hike between top civil servants and the rest of the civil service is very disproportionate, said Rafizi, noting that the top few grades get salary hikes of nine percent annually while the lower grades got less.

Ex-IGP vs RPK

Former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan has threatened to sue blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, popular known as RPK, for defamation if he does not retract his allegation that the ex-top cop was part of a plot to jail former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak were not involved in the second sodomy case against Anwar, Musa insists.

More Kinibites

Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has expressed his disappointment over the level of “hypocrisy” in sports and other issues taking place in Malaysia, noting how politicians are handling the football clubs, which he believes may signal that election is near.

Former BSI Singapore banker Yeo Jiawei has been convicted on witness-tampering charges in relation to the island republic’s investigations into 1MDB’s money trail. District judge Ng Peng Hong said Yeo was an “unreliable and not a credible witness” before finding him guilty.

The Court of Appeal today ruled that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng cannot sue the media for defamation in his official capacity, citing the case of Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd vs Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob, that public officials could not sue the media for defamation..

A Royal Malaysian Air Force aircraft crashed today near the munitions terminal of the Butterworth airbase, killing the pilot and injuring three other people on board. The RMAF will set up a team to investigate the incident.

Looking ahead

Tonight, Mahathir and student activist Anis Syafiqah Md Yusof will talk at a forum organised by student group Challenger, on the University and University Colleges Act, which came into force when Mahathir was PM and has been credited with stifling student activism.