KINI ROUNDUP | Here are the key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.
Aye to PD Move
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he endorses Anwar Ibrahim's bid to be the next Port Dickson MP and that it was well within the latter's right to contest the by-election.
Mahathir also said he had noted that PKR's secretary-general made a pledge that Anwar will not be seeking a government position upon becoming an MP.
Anwar explained that he was supposed to have made a run for Parliament immediately after receiving a pardon. Now that he has waited for months, he can wait no longer because he needs to work on parliamentary reforms.
Port Dickson Bersatu division does not want PKR's Rafizi Ramli and Abdullah Sani Abd Hamid to join the by-election campaign because of their scathing critcisims of Bersatu leaders.
Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh warned that public support for Anwar would dip if PKR took up former Umno minister Nazri Abdul Aziz's offer to help the campaign.
Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari considered Port Dickson to be a seat that was not "very safe" for Anwar.
PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali wanted party leaders to focus on the by-election campaign because discussions on the wisdom behind triggering the by-election was now academic.
Hadi foresees expiry date for BN
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang believed that it was possible that a new opposition coalition could be formed, likening the situation to how the Alliance coalition eventually morphed into BN.
Abdul Hadi told the party's muktamar that Harapan's rot had already started by dropping corruption charges against Finance Minister Lim Guan and that the coalition will become worse than Umno if allowed to govern for 60 years.
Head of PAS' supporters wing S Balasubramaniam said the public caning of two women for same-sex relations was already paying dividends in Terengganu because people are behaving better.
Other KiniBites
Mahathir accused Muhammad Shafee Abdullah of harbouring aspirations to be attorney-general prior to his appointment as a special prosecutor against Anwar.
The Court of Appeal has reversed a High Court decision to grant custody of two children to a mother who changed the religious status of her children without the Buddhist husband's knowledge.
Perak Menter Besar Faizal Azumu revealed the challenges he faced in adjusting to the rigours of public life in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini.
Former US ambassador to Malaysia John Mallot explained why he thinks Malaysians should read ‘The Billion Dollar Whale’ - a new book on Jho Low and the 1MDB scandal.
Looking ahead
PAS' annual national delegates conference (muktamar) will continue today in Kuala Terengganu.
Malaysiakini is organising a concert and countdown as well a 5km LED run to mark the 55th Malaysia Day. Join us at Padang Timur, Petaling Jaya tonight.
The concert, led by popular songstress Siti Nurhaliza, will kick off at 5pm, while the countdown and run will be at midnight.
