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Hisham's new role fuels speculation; police pass 1MDB ball to AG

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

Hisham's new role fuels speculation

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak expanded Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's role in the government, making him minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of special functions.

The move sparked speculations that it was meant to bolster Hishammuddin against political rival Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is currently the deputy prime minister.

Hishammuddin thanked Najib for the appointment but warned against trying to create a rift in the government.

Ahmad Zahid also publicly declared support for Hishammuddin's appointment.

Parti Amanah Negara speculated that the appointment may be intended to set the table for Hishammuddin to take over as prime minister in future.

Meanwhile, pro-Umno portal MyKMU offered another perspective, stating that the move was to prepare Hishammuddin as deputy prime minister and Ahmad Zahid would still be elevated to prime minister.

Police conclude 1MDB probe

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said cops have wrapped up their probe into 1MDB and the report is now with the Attorney-General's Chambers.

Coutts & Co Ltd, one of the banks implicated in the 1MDB scandal, was fined by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority for flouting anti-money laundering rules.

Edra Global Energy, a company which 1MDB sold to China to settle its debts, will be building a power plant in Alor Gajah and selling the energy generated to Tenaga Nasional Berhad.

Foreign investors pulled out around US$6 billion from Malaysian bonds in March, the largest sell-off since January 2011.

The Inland Revenue Board plans to more than double the penalty on tax dodgers beginning next year.

S'gor speaker under fire

The Selangor government suspended the controversial guidelines that imposed curbs on non-Muslim places of worships.

DAP's Bukit Gasing state assemblyperson R Rajiv criticised MCA for playing up the curbs, which the government said was included by mistake, stating that they were first introduced by the BN government and endorsed by MCA.

Selangor state assembly speaker Hannah Yeoh had also defended the state government on the matter but came under criticism as her critics said they should be impartial due to her role in the House.

Other Kinibites

The per litre retail price of petrol and diesel went up between eight and nine sen, bringing the new price of RON95 to RM2.24, RON97 to RM2.52 and diesel to RM2.16.

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said social activist Peter Chong, who was reportedly missing, had crossed into Thailand on April 7.

Perak PAS chief Razman Zakaria raised the possibility of a Malay Muslim government with party president Abdul Hadi Awang as prime minister, based on PAS controlling 80 seats in Parliament followed by 40 by Umno and 45 by East Malaysia.

A datuk seri and his son were remanded for six days in Penang for abuse of power in selling land belonging to a company without going through proper procedures.

A 48-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly posting offensive remarks against Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar on Facebook.

Looking ahead

PKR vice president Rafizi Ramli is expected to reveal the identity of the former PAS leader who allegedly received funds linked to 1MDB.

Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos and supporters are expected to be charged for scuffling with police while trying to confront Bersih supporters in Ampang November last year.

The murder case of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of Kim Jong-un, will commence in court.

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