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Adenan Satem passes away; 1MDB’s CSR bill; S’gor plastic ban poser

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

Adenan Satem passes away

Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem passed away yesterday, at the age of 72. It is understood that he was recently warded at the Sarawak General Hospital Heart Centre in Kota Samarahan.

Messages of condolence flooded social networking site Twitter following his passing.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) professor Jeniri Amir praised Adenan as a leader who sacrificed himself for the state and the people, for even when he knew he was in poor health, he steeled his resolve to fight for the people.

State Governor Taib Mahmud said Sarawak did well under Adenan’s stewardship. “He has left behind a government as good as ever, more than what i inherited before,” Taib told reporters when met at the Kota Samarahan Heart Centre.

1MDB’s CSR bill

DAP lawmaker Tony Pua claimed that 1MDB was pretending to be a big profitable company by spending big on corporate social responsibility (CSR) via its mega-borrowings, which it is now unable to service, potentially leading to another huge debt the people will have to foot.

Meanwhile, others questioned what became of the US$60 million (RM240 million) that 1MDB invested in Mongolia. According to the Finance Ministry, it was invested in the country, but with no further details forthcoming from the ministry.

In Singapore, the manager of the Falcon Private Bank branch there, Jens Fred Sturzenegger, pleaded guilty to six charges related to Singapore’s probe into1MDB. The fifth person to be prosecuted in Singapore in relation to the probe, Sturzenegger was sentenced to 28 weeks’ jail and fined S$128,000.

Selangor plastic ban poser

The 20 sen per plastic bag charged on consumers in Selangor should be used for environmental and wildlife protection, said the office of Selangor executive councillor Elizabeth Wong, though it admitted that the state government was powerless to audit retailers and traders.

Selangor’s ‘No Plastic’ campaign will not achieve its objectives if the state government still allowed the sale of plastic bags to shoppers, said Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar.

However, others argue that the benefits of the plastic bag ban for the environment far outweighs any issue or inconvenience.

More Kinibites

Eswary Vengatasamy, the mother of Prabagaran Srivijayan who is currently on death row in Singapore, made an emotional appeal to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, hoping that the government would intervene to save her son’s life.

Selangor exco member Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad’s legal troubles for organising the Black 505 rally three years ago is not over, as prosecutors are appealing for stiffer penalties than the punishment meted last month.

The cabinet has agreed to postpone a move requiring employers to pay their foreign workers’ levy, to next year. Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the cabinet agreed on this matter at its meeting yesterday.

Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali and former Umno member Muhammad Zahid Md Arip’s applications to have the court declassify the auditor-general’s report on 1MDB, at present classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), will now be heard on their merits.

Looking ahead

Adenan will be laid to rest at the Samariang Muslim cemetery after Zohor prayers today.

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