Kini Roundup: Adenan goes local, 'divine test' for Najib

comments     Kini Roundup     Published     Updated

Here’s a recap of major headlines yesterday you may have missed.

‘Adenan making the right moves’

Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem is making all the right moves in directing focus to local issues for the May 7 state election, opined analysts, who see national issues as a burden that BN can do without.

Adenan has also declared that he would resign from office if the state BN's coalition partner Umno were to enter Sarawak. He said BN in Sarawak is already strong and does not need the Malay party to set up shop there.

And after his initial stern mien in calling for the big six timber giants to behave, Adenan is now meeting them one by one, cap in hand, asking for support .

The CM has so far touched base with KTS Trading, Rimbunan Hijau, Samling, Shin Yang, and Ta Ann, with WTK Holdings Bhd being the only big player remaining.

Election goodies work for Sarawak

The election goodies given by the Sarawak BN government have apparently worked their way into the hearts of some voters, who said those who give them handouts would likely get their votes as well.

However, former United People's Party (UPP) president Wong Soon Koh has categorically denied that he and BN direct candidates Tiong Thai King (Dudong) and Janet Lau (Pelawan) are bribing voters in Dudong, Pelawan and Bawang Assan.

Meanwhile, lacking the resources of an incumbent ruling party or the support from Arab donors, PKR planted a ‘tree’ in Kuching, hoping it will help raise funds to support the party’s campaign for the state election.

‘Divine test’ for Najib, says Rosmah

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's spouse Rosmah Mansor urged her husband to remain patient amid the avalanche of allegations against him, which she saw as a divine test for the PM, saying that Allah knows all and will let the truth prevail.

She also advised Malaysians to stay cool , drink more water and try to stay out of the heat amid sweltering weather brought about by the El Nino phenomenon.

Pay hikes for top judges

Senior judges and judicial commissioners received a pay hike , with some getting as much as RM8,000 in increment. The pay increase was approved by Najib and will be backdated to July 1, 2015, with judges who retired after the date also entitled to it, including attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali.

Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah told Malaysiakini the salary increment for top judges is “adequate” and aimed at preventing corruption, though he did not know why it was backdated to July 1.

More Kini bites

Brandishing placards that read ‘Don’t burn corpses in our backyards’ and ‘Kajang is a city of culture, not a city of corpses’, some 100 residents protested the construction of a columbarium near their homes in Kajang at the state government complex in Shah Alam,

A three-member Court of Appeal panel unanimously dismissed former Langkawi Umno member Anina Saadudin’s appeal to challenge the termination of her membership in the party.

Scholar Abdullah Din has called on fatwa councils in every state to issue edicts to forbid Muslims from marrying followers of the Shiite branch of Islam, largely seen as deviant in Malaysia, to ensure there is no conflict between couples as this could lead to eventual divorce due to religious differences.

Malaysia-Today.net, a blog owned by Raja Petra Kamaruddin, has retracted an article discrediting Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown.

Looking ahead

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Selangor MB Azmin Ali to campaign in Sarawak for their respective coalitions in the state election.

Activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim will have his appeal against a sedition charge heard at the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya.



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