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

Front Page

English newspapers

Star front-paged an appeal by bus operators nationwide asking the government to take over their businesses and liabilities because they could no longer sustain their operations due to escalating costs.

New Straits Times headlined the recommendation by the registrar of societies that the number of political parties in the country be capped at the present 33 as the nation needs a respite from draining politicking since the last general election.

Malay newspapers

Utusan Malaysia front-paged that more than RM4 billion in savings accounts not claimed by their owners was still held by the central bank, as the heirs of the owners had not claimed the money.

Sinar Harian carried the statement by Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim that a state cabinet reshuffle is on the cards.

Berita Harian led with a call by NKRA's Delivery and Monitoring Unit director Hisham Nordin that all officers and government servants who hold "hot" positions and are prone to corruption, should be rotated as a step towards eliminating corruption. They include those in the immigration, customs and road transport departments, district officers, assistant district officers and local government officers.

Chinese newspapers

Oriental Daily News highlighted the country's booming retail industry, with 60 new shopping centres emerging this year, but that experts were worried that the new premises may face difficulties in renting out shoplots and attracting customers.

China Press headlined news of a businessman believed to be abducted by his wife over a financial dispute. His family lodged a police report after they failed to contact the wife.

Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Daily led with the announcement of 5.8 percent dividend by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for 2010.

Editorial

Utusan Malaysia slammed PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim for defending religious pluralism, thereby placing Islam on the same level as the other religions, in order to garner support from the non-Muslim community.

Berita Harian welcomed the agreement reached by Malaysia and China on a memorandum of understanding to cooperate to combat transnational crimes.

New Straits Times commented that the 7.2 percent economic growth achieved in the last quarter of last year was a strong signal of the country having rebounded from the slowdown in 2009. It also showed that Malaysia can achieve the six percent growth needed to become a high-income nation by 2020.

Sin Chew Daily urged the government to allow more freedom of expression in the mainstream media.

China Press agreed with NKRA's Delivery and Monitoring Unit director Hisham Nordin that a new mechanism should be adopted to transfer government department heads in order to fight corruption.

Nanyang Siang Pau responded to MCA president Chua Soi Lek, who had voiced his dissatisfaction on the lukewarm compliments from the media over MCA's performance. The daily had reported that the media's role is to report the truth and that MCA needs to work harder to win the Chinese community's support.