SNAPSHOT | Loke takes aim at those behind PM term limit failure; IRB portal restored

KINI SNAPSHOT | What’s going on in the news today, with updates at 9am, 2pm, 6pm and 9pm.

9pm

Term limit bill falters

• Pro-reform voters and NGOs should hold MPs to account for failing to support a bill to limit the prime minister’s term to 10 years, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke, after the Dewan Rakyat vote today fell short by just two votes.

  In a statement today, the DAP secretary-general emphasised that all 40 MPs from his party were present to support the bill.

  ”DAP has worked hard to realise this reform agenda.

  “Civil society groups and voters who want to see institutional reform in this country should condemn and question MPs who were absent and did not support this amendment, including those in the opposition bloc,” Loke (above) said.

READ MORE: PM term limit bill falters, short of just 2 votes

Tax portal restored

• The Inland Revenue Board (IRB)’s MyTax portal has been fully restored following an outage since morning, during which some users experienced delays while attempting to access the system.

  The outage came just a day after it opened the e-Filing service for the 2025 assessment year yesterday.

  

  Bernama quoted the IRB saying that it has since received more than 320,000 B and BE forms from individual taxpayers filing the year’s tax returns since it started accepting them, and that it is committed to ensuring an optimum service level for all taxpayers.

  “This amount reflects the level of compliance and continued commitment of taxpayers in fulfilling their tax obligations voluntarily. IRB expresses its highest appreciation and thanks for the patience and cooperation of all taxpayers,” it said.

6pm

Lynas

• Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang denied that the 10-year license extension for Lynas Malaysia was a betrayal.

  He said what was opposed in the past was a continuous accumulation of radioactive waste in the country.

  Chang said as part of the license extension, Lynas is not allowed to build a second waste disposal facility, and must stop producing water leach purification (WLP) residue by 2031.

READ MORE: Lynas operating licence extended for 10 years

Quran stepping

• The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has moved to press charges against a university student accused of stepping on a copy of the Al-Quran.

  The AGC said it had examined investigation papers submitted by the police and found sufficient evidence to prosecute Vikneswaran Selvanathan.

  He will be charged under Section 295 of the Penal Code for defiling an object regarded as sacred, namely the Quran, by stepping on it, allegedly with the knowledge that the act constituted an insult to Islam.

  

  The accused will also face a charge under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for initiating a communication deemed grossly offensive with the intent to hurt others through the Threads application.

  “Both charges will be brought before a court of competent jurisdiction on March 3, 2026,” the AGC said.

Corruption

• Penang MACC has summoned 63 individuals since mid-January to investigate allegations of power abuse and zakat fund misappropriation, Bernama reported, citing an MACC source.

  The investigation centres on a senior state government official accused of conspiring to approve the purchase of three land lots worth about RM10 million.

  Additionally, the suspect and a zakat general manager allegedly misused RM184,000 in zakat funds to settle a housing loan of an asnaf (tithe recipient) without following proper procedures.

  The probe is being conducted under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 for the use of office or position for gratification.

• Terengganu MACC has remanded a civil servant from a drug rehabilitation centre for six days for allegedly accepting RM6,000 in bribes to smuggle contraband to inmates.

  She was detained alongside a male colleague who was released on medical bail, with both suspects accused of receiving funds from inmates’ families via bank transfers, Bernama reported.

  It cited an MACC source claiming that initial investigations suggest the pair operated between September 2024 and January 2025, allegedly using lunch meal deliveries as a cover to smuggle prohibited items.

  The case is being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009 to determine if this was part of a larger syndicate. National Anti-Drugs Agency director-general Ruslin Jusoh pledged full cooperation and access to all information to ensure the investigation is transparent and comprehensive.

Court

• The Kuala Lumpur High Court will decide on March 18 whether to allow Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s application to strike out P Waytha Moorthy’s bid to challenge his premiership and election validity.

  Earlier, Anwar’s lawyer Ranjit Singh told the court that Waytha does not have the locus standi to bring the action against the Tambun MP, and that Waytha should have filed an election petition instead of an originating summons.

  

  Ranjit also said Waytha never objected to Anwar’s qualification to contest in GE15 and endorsed Anwar’s premiership immediately after the general election in 2022.

  Waytha’s lawyer K Khartigesan replied that the originating summons can also be treated as an election petition and urged the court to dismiss Anwar’s application.

  Khartigesan also requested that the court declare this suit to be a special case that needs to be referred to the Federal Court for declarations.

Reporting by Farah Solhi

• Former SRC International director Azhar Osman Khairuddin denied assertions that he breached his statutory duties over alleged embezzlement at the company, as claimed by former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

  During proceedings at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today, Azhar, 70, said that although the embezzlement had occurred during his tenure at the company, he did not have personal knowledge of the matter and therefore could not be held in breach.

  He testified that he never signed nor had access to the company’s bank accounts to approve financial transactions, as his directorship since 2014 was specifically to execute the Sabah Gas Pipeline and Peninsular Pipeline projects.

  He added that he only learned of the embezzlement that occurred via the company’s bank accounts when he was sued in court, and that he had no knowledge of SRC’s RM4 billion Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) loans, or how was it utilised, or of any other financial transactions.

  The trial - initiated by SRC International and its wholly owned subsidiary Gandingan Mentari against Najib in 2021 - continues tomorrow.

Reporting by Farah Solhi

2pm

Quran desecration

• PKR Youth chief Kamil Abdul Munim has warned against manipulating Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's remarks about critics “howling” that the government was not defending Islam, stressing that it must be understood within context.

  Kamil said the remarks were aimed only at a small group who accused the government of inaction on a Quran-stepping incident, despite enforcement action by the police.

  He stressed that Anwar's remark was not meant to attack any groups and individuals, adding that the government is acting in accordance with the law and urged all parties to allow due process to take its course.

• MCMC will be taking action over the recirculation of an old video about another Quran-stepping incident.

  The commission clarified that the incident took place in Singapore in 2024, and alleged that it had been re-uploaded to cause unease and tension among the public.

  

  MCMC stated that it is working with relevant social media platforms to block the dissemination of the video, stressing that spreading content that touches on religious sensitivities may lead to legal action.

9am

Economy

• The government will try to maintain subsidised RON95 prices at RM1.99 per litre for Malaysians following the latest conflict in the Middle East, which saw disruption of the global oil shipping lanes at the Straits of Hormuz. 

  

  "God Willing, for the people of Malaysia, I will try to ensure there is no increase in fuel prices,” Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was quoted as saying by Bernama. 

  "We will give the maximum effort to hold off. But (the market) is beyond our control, and we cannot guarantee there won't be any price increase," he added.

Politics

• Former PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli will remain a member of the party, according to a statement that PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh issued last night. 

  She said the PKR supreme council in a meeting yesterday discussed a show-cause letter issued to the Pandan MP over his recent statement about recontesting his parliamentary seat, but not under PKR, in the next general election, and considered his explanation over the matter.

  

  "The party takes note that he will remain as a member, and reminds him to abide by its constitution, code of ethics, and party discipline to show that he is still a loyal party member," Fuziah said. 

• The PKR supreme council also decided to suspend all party positions held by its Penang chapter deputy chairperson Fahmi Zainol, effective immediately. 

  This is after the Pantai Jerejak assemblyperson’s court case last Friday, where he was accused of voluntarily causing hurt to his wife. Fahmi pleaded not guilty.

  

  Fuziah said she will also write to the Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow regarding Fahmi's position in the state executive council after Chow allowed Fahmi to continue his duties as the agrotechnology, food security, and cooperatives development exco member.

SNAPSHOT | Guan Eng worries EPF dividends sign of 2-tier economy; Rafizi mocks PKR's BM skills

Anwar didn't suffer 1MDB trauma, Rafizi says as govt drags feet on MACC

Iran supreme leader killed