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Khairy criticises the first Harapan budget; PKR sifts through polls aftermath

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

KJ criticises gov't budget

BN finance portfolio committee member Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar debated the government’s 2019 Budget proposal yesterday, questioning whether it would help rural communities put food on the table.

Khairy also took the government to task for failing to introduce a wealth-based tax while preaching reform, unlike BN, which he said promised to do had it won the 14th general election

Meanwhile, Ketereh MP Annuar Musa took a jibe at Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng for dozing off during Khairy’s speech, but Lim said he was merely resting his eyes and managed to take notes from Khairy’s speech.

Lim’s son Marcus came out in defence of his father, saying that his father had been working long hours without rest for the past six months.

PKR sifts through polls aftermath

Despite unresolved problems, including a possible re-election for its Julau division, PKR’s central election committee chief Rashid Din expressed confidence that the PKR election results would be finalised by the weekend.

Meanwhile, Betong PKR chief Vernon Albert Kedit handed over what he claims to be incontrovertible evidence of vote-buying in Julau to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Tian Chua, who is set to return as PKR vice-president for a third term, called on the party to close ranks and reconcile, and added that he expects deputy presidency candidate Mohd Rafizi Ramli to be given a role in the party’s central leadership.

Special series launched on the death penalty

Malaysiakini has launched a four-part series on the death penalty, starting with a KiniGuide on capital punishment.

In our Special Report, lawyers, ex-judges, and former prosecutors share their thoughts on the death penalty, including where things could go wrong.

Separately, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the government is still studying whether the death penalty should be removed completely, in view of “crimes that are beyond the human imagination”.

However, Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) chairperson Razali Ismail said the death penalty should be abolished in a world “full of crazy people”, as it is not a remedy for personal injustices.

Other Kinibites

After previously evading questions, Education Minister Maszlee Malik has finally confirmed that he would be stepping down as the International Islamic University of Malaysia president.

Former minister Shahidan Kassim has claimed trial to a charge of molesting a teenager and was released on a RM25,000 bail, on two sureties.

Bersatu said the membership application from army veteran Mohd Ali Baharom (also known as “Ali Tinju”) to join the party has been rejected.

Looking ahead

A group of campaigners will be submitting a petition, with more than 156,000 signatures, calling for an end to child marriages to lawmakers in Parliament.

Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her deputy in the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry Hannah Yeoh, as well as Deputy Home Minister Mohd Azis Jamman, will make a working visit to the police headquarters at Bukit Aman.

Defence Minister Momad Sabu is set to deliver a lecture titled “Regional Strategic Perspectives: Asymmetric Threats to National Defence in the 21st Century” at the National Institute of Public Administration.

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