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

Labour Day in Malaysia is peaceful, says PM

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in his Labour Day speech reminded Malaysians how the day was celebrated in peace in Malaysia, unlike in some other countries "marred by controversies, confrontations or even riots".

In Kuala Lumpur, a Labour Day demonstration to demand an unemployment insurance scheme attracted a modest turnout of 200 people, compared with 1,500 last year, and about 20,000 the year before.

Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan said BN had failed to educate the rakyat on the true significance of Labour Day, instead treating it as a regular public holiday.

Yesterday also marked two years since a group of government school cleaners had their salaries withheld by a labour supply contractor, who had been awarded a tender by the Education Ministry. Some cleaners are owed up to eight months' salary, but have yet to be paid the arrears.

Nasrudin loses in PAS VP race

Former PAS information chief Nasrudin Hassan vowed loyalty to the party after losing in his bid to secure a vice-president post, with party delegates voting to maintain the status quo.

The results were announced yesterday on the last day of the party's annual general assembly, the muktamar, during which syura council secretary Nik Muhammad Zawawi Nik Salleh said loyalty to the party was the key to turning PAS into a kingmaker in GE14.

Meanwhile, PAS strategist Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki said the party was targeting a capture of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Pahang and Selangor and 40 parliamentary seats, based on research by its research institutes.

Winding up the debates, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang urged the Registrar of Societies (ROS) to probe political parties for allegedly disrespecting the Federal Constitution by questioning Islam's position in the federation.

Hadi grateful but deputy says Umno can't be trusted

Hadi also thanked the government for the unforgettable deed of tabling a motion to allow the amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act or Act 355 to be tabled ahead of government business.

However, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the tabling of the amendments in the last sitting showed that Umno cannot be relied upon to uphold Islam, having backtracked on an earlier claim that the government would take over the bill to amend Act 355.

Other Kinibites

Selangor PAS said it would abide by instructions from the party's syura council, which will meet soon to discuss the muktamar's unanimous decision to sever ties with PKR.

The company behind the Penang-based Ponzi scheme, JJPTR, which claimed to have lost RM500 million due to hacking, has been revealed to be a "RM2 company" registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), The Star reported.

The Public Service Department (PSD) in a briefing yesterday warned scholarship recipients that they may lose their sponsorship if they criticised the government, according to a Sin Chew Daily report.

The Muslim majority in Malaysia are "increasingly imposing restrictive views and norms" on minorities, impacting freedom of religion, said the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its 2017 Report, in which it maintained Malaysia on Tier 2 ranking, alongside countries like Afghanistan and Turkey.

Looking ahead

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur will review Perkasa's application to intervene in the lawsuit by several activists against the government on preacher Zakir Naik's permanent resident status in Malaysia.