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

Uninspiring Harapan convention

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad insisted that the party will officially join Pakatan Harapan during the coalition’s first convention.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin postponed Bersatu’s formal entry into Pakatan Harapan, stating that some details needed to be ironed out first.

Muhyiddin said Bersatu is in talks for cooperation with PAS but denied this was why the agreement with Harapan was postponed.

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali also emphasised the need to cooperate with PAS, saying that he was playing the difficult role of a negotiator in the absence of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Mahathir was less diplomatic, taking a veiled dig at PAS by claiming those not supporting Harapan have taken “dedak” (animal feed) and were in support of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Despite Parti Amanah Negara’s urging for an interim prime minister candidate at the Harapan convention, no consensus was achieved.

BN leaders including Salleh Said Keruak capitalised on the mixed signals from the Harapan convention, saying that it showed the fractured opposition cannot lead.

Reds up tension over Nov 19 rally

The anti-Bersih red shirts movement led by Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos gathered at Dataran Maybank, a gathering point of the Bersih 5 rally next week, in an apparent statement against the pro-democracy movement.

He also vowed that the red shirts will gather at the same venues as Bersih when it holds the Nov 19 rally.

The red shirts also heckled Bersih’s roadshow in Bangi, confronting Bersih activists over their promotional materials.

The elusive Jho Low

Penang-born billionaire Jho Low remains elusive despite several international jurisdictions are looking for him for his involvement in the 1MDB scandal.

Lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla criticised Malaysia's rationale to reject a mutual legal assistance request from Switzerland over the 1MDB probe as illogical.

Former Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) chief Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim claimed 1MDB was a “non-issue” and was merely intended to install Mahathir's son Mukhriz as prime minister.

Other Kinibites

Malaysiakini takes a look at why more young urban Malays choose to be single in a special report.

We also spoke to Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli in an interview ahead of his possible conviction under the Official Secrets Act next week.

Pakatan Harapan MPs criticised Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan for not making an apple to apple comparison in trying to justify the cost of the RM55 billion East Coast Rail Link.

Abdul Rahman fired back, stating that the opposition’s comparison was equally inaccurate and stressed that the infrastructure projects cannot be directly compared.

US President Barack Obama announced the suspension on efforts to push through the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement after Donald Trump, who had vowed to dump the agreement, won the election to succeed Obama.

Looking ahead

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will officially open the 63rd MCA annual general assembly at Wisma MCA.

Selangor PAS will be holding a rally in Taman Medan to consolidate its support in the state.

Selangor DAP will be holding its state convention in Petaling Jaya.

Bersih will hold its roadshow from Shah Alam to Petaling Jaya in the last leg before the Nov 19 rally.