Good morning, here's what you need to know today.

Key Highlights

• Najib closer to bankruptcy
  
  

• Agong wraps up meetings
  
  

• Violence in a hospital
  
  

Najib closer to bankruptcy

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak failed to stay a court ruling for him to pay RM1.69 billion in taxes to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).

This clears the way for the IRB to move forward with the bankruptcy proceeding against him, which was first initiated in April.

A defiant Najib vowed that bankruptcy won’t paralyse him from “voicing out for the people”.

If declared bankrupt, Najib won’t be able to contest in the next general election.

He also has ongoing graft cases relating to 1MDB and SRC International Sdn Bhd.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Wan Saiful: Najib now 'complainer-in-chief' He says the ex-PM diverting from the past.
	PKR man sees possible Harapan-Umno tie-up He hopes DAP can work with Umno.
	Curious Hisham now touching on Covid-19 - Shamsul This was amid talks of Hisham being a PM candidate.

Agong wraps up meetings

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong wrapped up the last of his meetings with the country’s top political leaders.

Sabah's Upko, which is aligned with the opposition, expectedly asked for the emergency, which expires in August, to end.

Sarawak's GPS, which is part of the PN-led federal government, kept its cards close to its chest - at least in its public statement.

It had three requests: 1. Achieve herd immunity by August; 2. Ensure a stable government; and 3. Ensure a Covid-19 exit plan.

It did not reveal its position on the emergency or the current political configuration. The Sarawak coalition is a kingmaker with 18 MPs.

The next focus will be tomorrow when the Conference of Rulers meets. The Agong is expected to consult the rulers on what may happen after the emergency expires.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Amanah Youth lodges report against Takiyuddin Minister accused of inciting discontent against rulers.
	'PM should break silence after Takiyuddin's backtrack' This is over the independent panel on emergency.
	Ku Li scraps Tuesday's press conference Health DG said he needed a police permit.

Violence in a hospital

Medical personnel are facing abuse, sometimes turning violent, due to grieving family members of Covid-19 patients who succumb to the disease.

One such incident took place at Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang, Selangor, where the son of a Covid-19 patient who died punched the doctor on duty.

Covid-19 active cases are tapering off from an all-time high, but a substantial number of deaths are still expected in the coming weeks.

This is because the number of Covid-19 patients in the intensive care unit is still creeping up to new highs, although the pace of increase has slowed.

As of yesterday, 921 Covid-19 patients were still in the ICU. 1,172 people died from Covid-19 since the start of this month.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Workplace clusters on the rise This is despite Covid-19 cases coming down.
	Private GPs expected to administer 145k doses a day This will start in July.
	'Covid-19 vaccines not causing severe anaesthesia reaction' Doctors say there is no evidence to suggest this.

 

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 4,949 new cases yesterday (June 14).
  
  
• Sarawak saw a surge in cases with 744 new infections. That's the highest for the state since May 27.
  
  
• The national Covid-19 infectivity rate remains stable at the 0.9 range for the 10th consecutive day, indicating that cases are starting to come down. It must be kept under 1.0 to prevent exponential growth in new cases.
  
  
• For trends on daily cases, tests, hospital beds capacity, vaccination progress and more, follow our Covid-19 tracker.
  
  

What else is happening?

• Malaysian-born science journalist Ed Yong won a Pulitzer Prize in the "explanatory reporting" category for his writing on the Covid-19 pandemic.
  
  
• Immunisation minister Khairy Jamaluddin explained that the incidents where people were sent to certain vaccination centres that were closed on weekends were due to "manual errors". However, he said this would be solved as most centres will soon operate seven days a week.
  
  
• Pahang regent Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah decreed for mining activities at Tasik Chini to be stopped. This followed Malaysiakini's special report on a new royalty-linked mining project in the area.
  
  
• A lawyer who likened the Unduk Ngadau, an annual Kadazandusun harvest festival pageant, to an "exotic cattle show", apologised following public outrage.
  
  
• Members of the public took to Twitter to complain that they were registered as Rela members without consent. This included an MP and his wife.
  
  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	Firm probed for ferrying 135 workers with Covid-19 as lorry 'load' The lorry driver was also fined.
	Enforcement officer who fined petty trader faces a fine He did not wear a face mask.
	'What's the point of emergency if it can't help people?' Umno Youth weighs in on whether it should be extended.

What are people saying?

	Why we should be kinder to Rohingya refugees By Liew Chin Tong
	Targeted moratorium best solution for country By Abdul Farid Alias
	Frustration over AstraZeneca registration By Jenny

CARTOON KINI