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

Perlis mufti defends controversial poem

Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin again defended his controversial poem, which is largely seen as anti-Hindu, saying he has always been fair to all religions. He instead hits out at Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) for allegedly meddling in issues pertaining to Islam.

This is, however, disputed by Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia chairperson P Waythamoorthy, who in an open letter to the mufti said Asri should just own up to his wrongdoing and apologise.

Meanwhile, BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor cited a Quranic verse which urges Muslims not to meddle in the religions of others, when commenting on the Asri poem.

In a related matter, PAS ulama wing information chief Khairuddin Aman Razali dragged DAP into the furore surrounding Indian national preacher Zakir Naik receiving permanent resident (PR) status in Malaysia, when condemning Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam for questioning how Zakir got his PR.

Malacca Umno politician nabbed over RM150m assets to be charged

A Malacca Umno politician who was last year detained and had RM150 million worth of cash and other assets seized in money laundering investigations, is expected to be charged on Tuesday, a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) source said.

Meanwhile, Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor said he agreed with Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin that the 30 percent quotas for Malays is "insulting", but unlike Khairy who said it stops Malays from developing, Tengku Adnan said it is demeaning because Malays make up over 60 percent of the population.

Speaking at a carnival at Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, Tengku Adnan also said he does not understand why the constituency with demographics mirroring the nation has twice turned its back on BN, despite the various development assistance projects there.

Other Kinibites

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak launched the Malaysian Indian Blueprint, which lays out what the government aims to do to assist the ethnic Indians and includes allocations of hundreds of millions of ringgit to assist in education and loans for entrepreneurs.

Tengku Adnan claimed PKR and DAP members who are members of food traders' associations are colluding to raise prices in restaurants in order to negate government efforts to ensure fair pricing.

Kelantan pasar malam traders met by Malaysiakini do not support the maghrib shut down, arguing they can take turns to do their prayers.

The assistant warden of a private religious school, who allegedly hit an 11-year-old student who is now in a coma after his legs were amputated to avoid infection, is a convicted felon who served 30 months in jail for theft.

Looking ahead

Today is a public holiday to celebrate the coronation of Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.