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

Trump to axe TPPA

The new US administration of President Donald Trump said yesterday its trade strategy to protect American jobs would start with withdrawal from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) trade pact.

Meanwhile, Malaysia is looking into the possibility of pursuing bilateral free trade agreements with the relevant TPPA members should the pact truly fail to materialise, said International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed.

Rafizi’s survey dismissed

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang dismissed a poll by PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli’s Invoke Centre for Policy Initiatives (I-CPI) that predicated a wipeout for the party if there are three-cornered fights in GE14, as mere results of desk-bound pollsters, adding PAS knows better as it goes to the ground to gauge voter sentiments.

Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali seemed to share the same sentiment, as he argued that engagement with the rakyat is better than depending on the survey results.

‘Billionaire’ Najib at WEF

Zunar’s cartoon featuring ‘billionaire’ Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was featured in a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Negotiations over how to resolve Abu Dhabi’s US$6.5 billion claim against 1MDB have broken down, The Wall Street Journal reported.

UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has named AirAsia Group as one of several foreign parties involved in bribery cases with jet engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce PLC.

More Kinibites

PAS vice-president Iskandar Samad said the party has not yet made any decision on cooperation with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), and should it happen, would be based on “concrete facts” instead of such rumours such as the supposed promise between Mahathir and DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang.

Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon said the RM50 million for Chinese primary schools under Budget 2017 is ready for disbursement, reported The Star.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is miffed that police has scheduled to record his statement over his statement urging BN component parties to quit BN in November last year, on Jan 27, which is the eve of Chinese New Year.

Looking ahead

A group of truck drivers are expected to gather in solidarity for a lorry driver who was allegedly assaulted by a group of men to denounce the incident and urge police to take prompt action against those responsible. The gathering will be held at 11am today at the Sungai Besi Petron petrol station.