Malaysiakini compares the key news and views in major newspapers. What is today's agenda for the newspapers?

Front Page

English newspapers

New Straits Times expected fireworks at Selangor’s emergency legislative assembly sitting today as the representatives of the opposition bench are steadfast in rejecting amendments to the state’s constitution to return the power to appoint the state’s high profile civil servants to the sultan and the menteri besar.

Star highlighted the Home Ministry’s 100 percent Key Performance Index (KPI) score following its achievement in clearing over tens of thousands of backlogged documents pertaining to citizenship and entry permit application as well as late registration of births since 2009.

Malay newspapers

Utusan Malaysia

led off with the controversies surrounding Selangor’s legislative assembly sitting to amend the state’s constitution and the recent spat between speaker Teng Chang Khim and former Port Klang assemblyperson Badrul Hisham Abdullah.

Sinar Harian front-paged news of the 10,000 people who gathered at the Kelana Jaya Stadium yesterday to protest against the federal government’s decision to appoint former Selangor Islamic Affairs Department director Mohd Khusrin Munawi as Selangor’s new state secretary, bypassing the discontent expressed by Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim.

Berita Harian led with news of a Malaysian student who had to fend for herself after the Malaysian High Commission and the Malaysian Students Department failed to channel help to those caught in the floods in Brisbane, Queensland last week without food and other necessities.

China Press headlined a report about a three-year-old boy from Hong Kong who caught the H1N1 virus even though he had been injected with the vaccine.

Sin Chew Daily front-paged that underworld gangs had set up fanpages on Facebook .

Nanyang Siang Pau headlined that ACCCIM president William Cheng had urged state governments to allocate land for modern pig farming which does not pollute the environment.

Oriental Daily News

reported on Pakatan’s aim in expressing their standpoint on the state secretary issue, although their effort to amend the Selangor constitution is unlikely to succeed.

Editorial

New Straits Times raised concerns on the problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. It opined that other nations’ ships crusing international waters should beef up security using their navies and assert their rights to protect the ships with “deadly force” if needed, rather than abide readily to demands for ransom.

Berita Harian opined that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) should keep a close watch to avoid the emergence of bloggers who write for money who might take the opportunity to rake in profits by spreading rumours and fallacies that could destroy the country’s harmony.

Utusan Malaysia discussed the urgent need to construct a huge incinerator in the country to tackle the 10,950,000 tonnes of rubbish discarded annually.

Nanyang Siang Pau commented that the Tenang by-election posts a big challenge for MCA, as it has to show that it still has the support of Chinese society.

Sin Chew Daily urged the 1Malaysia Youth fund not to select its applicants only through a reality TV programme.

China Press thinks that candidates for MPs and state assemblypersons should go through a health check before contesting, in order to avoid costly by-elections.