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

Uproar over Shabudin’s ‘marriage for rape victims’ speech

Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya was the centre of attention yesterday over his speech on rape victims and marriage the day before.

Apart from taking questions during an interview with RTM, Shabudin refused to entertain any questions, including one that went: “Do you have a daughter?”

Some of his colleagues such as Penang Umno Wanita chief Jahara Hamid rallied to his defence, while others such as BN strategic communications head Abdul Rahman Dahlan was in disbelief.

Shabudin claimed that the press misquoted him and that he wasn't trying to encourage rape. So whose version is correct? Perhaps page 81 of the April 4 Hansard holds the answer.

The naked truth behind Malindo Air’s interview process

Budget airline Malindo Air found itself in a public relations mess after news broke that they perform body checks on interview candidates.

This strange measure, described as “grooming checks”, was necessary to identify “visible marks” which may appear when one dons the company’s uniforms.

The airline claims that the checks are done by female staff in a professional manner and that candidates had consented to it.

Competitors AirAsia and Firefly swiftly reacted with witty ads at Malindo Air’s expense, but some female lawmakers said that this was no laughing matter.

Petrol prices up 3 sen

After Malaysians rejoiced at the 17 sen drop in RON95 prices last week, prices went up again by 3 sen after midnight this morning.

However, diesel prices are down by 3 sen per litre.

More Kinibites

Mohamed Tawfik Ismail, the son of former deputy prime minister Dr Ismail Abd Rahman, served court papers on Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia in a bid to prevent the latter from allowing the tabling of the contentious bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.

His lawyer claims that if the bill does end up being tabled today, it would be prejudicial to Mohamed Tawfik’s attempt to seek a court declaration that the bill was unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, DAP Johor lawmakers complained about an entire village going missing from the electoral roll following the Election Commission’s redelineation process.

Singapore’s Mediacorp apologised for their “offensive” comedy programme which poked fun at Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Looking ahead

It is the last day of the Dewan Rakyat sitting today and all eyes will be on the fate of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s bill to amend the Syariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.

Meanwhile, the Kuala Lumpur High Court will be mediating a settlement between PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and Utusan Malaysia. The latter is being sued for defamation.