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

AG laments biased perceptions

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali lamented that his office has been assailed by attacks and biased perceptions.

Electoral reform group Bersih said the Election Commission, which has also complained of negative perceptions, had itself to blame.

Malaysian Bar president Steven Thiru expressed concern that the inaction of the authorities on the 1MDB scandal reinforced the perception that they are not willing to get to the bottom of the scandal and bring the guilty to book.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria said the Judicial Appointments Commission has been informed of his possible successors when he retires.

Minister puts lid on Mara sponsorship

Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Mara and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) were instructed not to engage in any non-educational sponsorships after it was revealed they had previously sponsored the Kelantan Football Association (Kafa).

Mara chairperson Annuar Musa, who oversaw the sponsorship, defended Mara and UniKL, insisting that they were legitimate deals.

Haniff Khatri Abdulla, who is a lawyer for former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said Annuar should be investigated despite his denials.

Indebtedness to China dismissed

Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani dismissed any likelihood that Malaysia may go the way of Sri Lanka, which is heavily indebted to China.

Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong said any investment is welcomed but that Malaysia should be selective in the kind of investments it wants from China.

Bank Negara governor Muhammad Ibrahim said economic analysts should not be fixated on the level of the ringgit.

Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli urged Bank Negara to scrutinise a RM1 billion loan taken out by the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda).

Other Kinibites

Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu deputy president Abang Johari Openg was sworn in as the new Sarawak chief minister following the passing of Adenan Satem.

The High Court in Penang ordered New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd to pay RM300,000 in damages to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng over a defamatory report.

Convicted former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei reportedly went on a A$8.2 million (RM27.4 million) property-buying spree in Australia while he was working on deals related to 1MDB when he was a wealth manager at the bank.

Famed cartoonist Mohammad Nor Khalid, popularly known as Lat, was admitted to a hospital in Ipoh over a heart problem.

A group of Orang Asli from Ledang, Johor, are claiming an ongoing state project has encroached into their customary land and sacred graves sites.

Looking ahead

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia will be officially launching the party at Stadium Melawati in Shah Alam at 8pm.

PAS is to kick off its roadshow in Kuala Lumpur tonight, in support of its proposed amendment to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.