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

Anwar’s US lawyer thanks Zahid

Jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s new US lawyer Kimberley Motley changed tack to praise access to prisoners in Malaysia as being better than Afghanistan, after Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the Prisons Department approved and facilitated the meet with her client yesterday.

This came after she said on Tuesday that dealing with political prisoners is easier in Afghanistan than it is in Malaysia, after her earlier request to meet Anwar was denied and both Zahid and his deputy were absent from their offices when she turned up to protest the denial.

On a related matter, Anwar’s second daughter, Nurul Nuha, has urged former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad to make a public apology and admit his past transgressions against her father before even thinking about forming any alliance with PKR via his newly formed Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

Red shirts’ Jamal laughs off Bersih 5

Himpunan Merah chief Jamal Md Yunos believes that electoral reform NGO Bersih, whom he referred to as a bunch of “circus animals”, will push back the date for its Bersih 5 protest after the perceived failure of the TangkapMO1 gathering, as it needs time to rally the people to join them on the streets.

Meanwhile, Gerakan Merah will hold ‘butt exercises’ in front of the home of Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, “in the near future”, said its president Mohd Ali Baharom, who led a group of army veterans to conduct the same ‘exercise’ in front of the house of then-Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan, in 2012.

Bersih yesterday announced that the fifth installment of its rally will be held on Nov 19 and themed ‘Stand United, New Malaysia!’, Maria said the rally would be preceded by a nationwide Bersih Convoy, beginning Oct 1.

Its steering committee explained why Bersih is marching for the fifth time on Nov 19, noting that Malaysia continues to face its largest political and corruption crisis which must be highlighted and protested.

More Kinibites

Two months after a crowdfunding campaign, eight out of nine Public Services Department (JPA) bursary students are now able to continue with their studies abroad via public donations as well as private sector funding and corporate scholarships.

Native Customary Rights lawyer Harrison Ngau has responded well to treatment after he was warded for brain infection, and is expected to recover within weeks, according to a Facebook post by Jaringan Orang Asal Semalaysia (Joas).

A grand welcome awaits the return of Malaysian heroes from the Rio Paralympics on Sept 22, says Youth and Sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin, promising a big do with possible surprises in store for our paralympians.

Anita Yusof is riding solo on a motorcycle for 370 days, crossing over 40 countries in four continents and covering a distance of 65,000km, to make Malaysia proud and correct the negative public perception of women in Islam.

Looking ahead

A group of school cleaners working for a government contractor will meet Education Ministry officials in Putrajaya today over unpaid wages owed to them.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Sg Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya line project at Putrajaya Sentral.