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

English test for top civil servants

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that top civil servants will be made to take an English competency test and that their entertainment allowance will be trimmed.

Speaking at a press conference after chairing the weekly cabinet meeting, Mahathir said that bills to abolish the GST and the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 would be introduced at the next Dewan Rakyat sitting in July.

The prime minister also remained coy about the number of ministers his cabinet will comprise, saying it could be “26, 27, 28 or maybe 500.”

In a departure from the policy of the previous BN administration, Mahathir declared that RM500,000 and RM100,000 will be allocated to government and opposition MPs respectively.

He also said that he had not seen the article by A Kadir Jasin that claims the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was allocated RM256.9 million from January 2017 to April this year.

Outgoing BNM governor's 1MDB 'outrage'

In his last email to Bank Negara staff, outgoing governor Muhammad Ibrahim denied abetting in the 1MDB scandal, saying that like other Malaysians, it left him “outraged”.

The prime minister said Muhammad’s successor has yet to be picked, amid speculation that former deputy governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus would assume the role.

Muhammad's predecessor, Zeti Akhtar Aziz, believes that the central bank will remain steadfast in performing its duties despite his premature exit.

Meanwhile, newly minted attorney-general Tommy Thomas said that his top priority is to handle criminal proceedings against those involved in the 1MDB scandal.

The MACC called on members of the public to help locate two wanted men in relation to its probe into 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Other Kinibites

Umno will remain an exclusively Malay party, and its membership will not be opened to other races, its Federal Territories Youth chief Razlan Rafii said.

Former auditor-general Ambrin Buang was appointed to head a committee tasked with investigating the previous government's administration, finances and acquisitions.

Technology portal Lowyat.net reported that its "crawlers" have discovered that the confidential personal data of 60,000 users of pay TV operator Astro have been put up for sale.

Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said her husband Anwar Ibrahim has been in and out of prison for the past 20 years, and is in no rush to replace Mahathir as prime minister.

Umno acting deputy president Hishammuddin Hussein slammed the Pakatan Harapan administration for espousing a “politics of hate”.

Looking ahead

The Council of Eminent Persons will meet several individuals during its session – including singer Siti Nurhaliza.

Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will hold a monthly meeting at his ministry in Putrajaya.