Bribery claim in Muar; Minister claims BN ordered undervalued land sale
KINI ROUNDUP | Here are the key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.
Bribery claim in Muar
Muar district officer Haffiz Ahmad said the 30 percent fee sought from Chinese schools by a representative of a supplier appointed by the Muar District Office was not for "bribes" but "the maximum profit margin".
Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim will be the ones to decide on the timeframe for the transition of power between them.
Amanah expressed concern that the talk on the transition of the prime minister could create friction in Pakatan Harapan and urged for the matter to be discussed internally.
MCA vice-president Ti Lian Ker said the Pakatan Harapan government cannot expect the Chinese to blindly support them.
Minister claims BN ordered undervalued land sale
Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok claimed the previous government under former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had in 2010 instructed Malaysian Rubber Board to sell 2,800 acres of land in Sungai Buloh for an undervalued price of RM1.5 billion to Aset Tanah Negara Bhd (ATNB).
Najib defended the deal, stating that both MRB and ATNB were government entities. He added that Kwasa Land, owned by EPF, which subsequently bought the land from ATNB for RM2.28 billion, will benefit depositors when it is developed.
NRB chairperson Sankara N Nair said Najib should explain what happened to the RM800 million ATNB profited from flipping MRB's land instead of "pussyfooting" around the issue.
RON95 expected to go down by at least 20 sen
A report by Oriental Daily claimed that the price of RON95 may be brought down by between 20 and 27 sen a litre, following a “heated debate” in the cabinet.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government had subsidised RON95 fuel in November despite the drastic fall in global crude oil price.
On a separate matter, a restaurant worker was slapped for telling patrons to abide by the new anti-smoking law.
Other Kinibites
PSM activist Suresh Kumar criticised Pakatan Harapan's decision to hold an Orang Asli convention on the eve of the nomination day for the Cameron Highlands by-election, stating that it appeared geared more towards electioneering.
Acting Umno president Mohamad Hasan said his party is working to resolve the financial woes of the newspaper Utusan Malaysia.
PAS said it needed RM400,000 badly to fund its suit against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown in the UK.
Former ambassador of Malaysia to the Netherlands Noor Farida Mohd Ariffin has been appointed as the chairperson of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF).
Deputy Kelantan Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah told the people not to believe the talk that Sultan Muhammad V would be abdicating as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Looking ahead
The Pakatan Harapan presidential council will meet in Kuala Lumpur.
Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor are expected to appear at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex for their graft cases.
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