Here are the key headlines from yesterday that you may have missed, in brief.

Najib's hand-kissing loyalty test

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has a tried-and-tested way to measure loyalty among Umno members. He says those who are loyal kiss his hand, some even twice, while those thinking of betraying Umno will reject handshakes.

Attacks on Najib's position seem to have little effect, said South China Morning Post editor Zuraidah Ibrahim, who likened Najib to a bank which is "too big to fail".

Cabinet's 'foreign intervention' choir not in sync

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman sang out of tune with cabinet colleagues when he said there is no danger of foreign intervention, following the United States Department of Justice's (DOJ) filing to seize more than US$1 billion worth of assets believed purchased using funds stolen from 1MDB.

Anifah said this is because the assets were bought in the US, and is not a ploy to intervene in Malaysia's domestic affairs.

Even so, other cabinet minister like Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid and International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed warned of the dangers of foreign meddling and how leaking information to foreign quarters could lead to this.

They were responding to PM Najib Abdul Razak's warning of a "new colonisation" at an Umno divisional meeting on Saturday.

Jamal vows more ethnic Chinese Red shirts

Umno division leader Jamal Mohd Yunos announced that a counter-rally to the Bersih rally will be held, on the date which Bersih will announce later. The Bersih rally is to urge accountability following the DOJ lawsuits.

Jamal also vowed that 40 percent of the 300,000 people he expects to attend the counter-rally will be ethnic Chinese, unlike the first Himpunan Merah rally which was predominantly Malay.

However, Home Minister and Umno veep Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said as a former regular demonstrator in his youth, he now realises that people's welfare cannot be cared for through demonstrations.

Other Kinibites

Retired armed forces personnel Rozzeli Pin lodges a police report protesting the government's decision to provide life pensions for divers Pandelela Rinong and Cheong Jun Hoong for winning silver medals at the Rio Olympics. He says their contributions pales in comparison to security forces personnel who risk limb and life.

Shah Alam Umno chief Zahari Shaari wants Umno leadership to quickly resolve the 1MDB issue, which he says has hit the party like an "atomic bomb". DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang responds by saying the bomb had actually hit the whole of Malaysia.

Electoral watchdog Bersih and PKR's Bukit Katil MP Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin want the Election Commission to censure Malacca Chief Minister Idris Haron for proposing the EC create three new constituencies in Malacca to help BN win.