SNAPSHOT | Hishammuddin ready to return to Umno if suspension lifted

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

9pm

Politics

• Former Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein said he is ready to return to the party if its leadership lifts his suspension.

  In a video on Instagram today, the former defence minister said that during his suspension period, he never left, nor attacked the party.

  “What matters now is that I have never run away from the party. The issue has always been my status as an Umno member, whereby previously the supreme council had made the decision to suspend me.

  “So tomorrow, if the party leadership’s position is genuinely sincere and they withdraw the suspension against me, I will return and continue my struggle within Umno," Hishammuddin said.

  He was suspended from the party for six years in January 2023, alongside former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan, while former Health Minister and Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin was sacked.

6pm

Corruption 

• MCA Youth has submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on proposed measures to restore public confidence and safeguard the credibility of the nation’s reform agenda, following controversies plaguing the MACC and its chief commissioner, Azam Baki.

  Besides calling for Azam’s temporary suspension, the party’s youth wing also backed calls for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) and the placing of MACC under parliamentary supervision.

  

  It added that the government should consider setting up an independent monitoring body empowered with the authority to review MACC’s actions and decisions.

  “If the crisis of confidence surrounding the country’s anti-graft institutions continues, it will damage Malaysia’s reputation as a nation committed to good governance and the rule of law,” it warned.  

Student activism 

• Liga Mahasiswa Malaysia has condemned Universiti Malaya (UM) for threatening a civil suit against Liga Mahasiswa Universiti Malaya (LMUM) for allegedly tarnishing the university’s reputation.

  In a statement today, the group said a university suing a student group over trademark rights is unheard of, especially when LMUM only champions social and welfare issues.

  It demanded that UM immediately drop its planned civil action.

  

  Liga Mahasiswa Malaysia also called out Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir for not addressing the matter, urging the ministry to come out with a statement explaining its stance on the controversy.

• MCA Youth deputy president Mike Chong has also joined the call condemning UM’s legal threat against LMUM, stressing that such authoritarian tactics regress the nation’s democratic progress.

  

  He added that MCA Youth has also consistently demanded that the University and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) be abolished, as it grants excessive powers to university administration.

  The UUCA, he said, has garnered a “paternalistic mentality” towards students, where they are treated as mere children who do not understand better.

Quranic verse at rally 

• Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Hasan has instructed the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) to investigate a video depicting a placard bearing a verse from the Quran.

  Asserting that the verse had been “misused to promote deviant culture” during a recent parade in Kuala Lumpur, Zulkifli said the act has offended Muslims and tarnished the Quran’s sanctity as the verse was “interpreted far from its actual context and meaning”.

  

  The minister further urged all parties against “arbitrarily translating” Quranic verses to justify practices that contradict Islamic values.

  While the minister’s statement today did not specify the image in question, a picture of a placard displayed during the Women’s March on March 8 has made the rounds on social media, with the sign featuring a Quranic verse and the phrase “Tuhan izinkan aku jadi pelangi” (God allows me to be a rainbow/who I am).  

Food and energy security

• The special cabinet meeting tomorrow will consider whether to allow civil servants to work from home, said government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil.

  

  This followed a similar move by Thailand for its government agencies and state enterprises to reduce energy consumption amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia, Bernama reported.

  Meanwhile, in a separate statement, PKR Youth chief Kamil Abdul Munim urged for work-from-home arrangements to be implemented to reduce petrol consumption and demand for subsidised petrol, while reducing traffic congestion for those who still need to travel.

  “The implementation of this policy can start in government offices, government agencies, government-linked companies, and government-linked investment companies, before being broadened to suitable private sector (companies) based on their operational needs,” he said.

• Malaysia aims to bring its self-sufficiency rate in pork to 90 percent by 2030, up from 67.8 percent in 2024.

  Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin told the Dewan Negara that several measures are being implemented to strengthen local production, Bernama reported.

  

  This includes exporting live pigs from Sarawak to Peninsular Malaysia, improving the prevention of animal and zoonotic diseases, and reducing dependence on imported corn by encouraging the domestic cultivation of grain corn.

  Tax incentives - including Accelerated Capital Allowance and income tax exemptions from 2023 to 2027 - are being provided to encourage farmers to convert from open farms to the closed house system, which improves disease control and reduces pollution.

• Several countries are releasing their fuel reserves as part of a move coordinated by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to mitigate shortages triggered by the conflict in West Asia.

  According to Xinhua, Germany will release 19.51 million barrels from its reserves, along with the UK (13.5 million barrels), the Netherlands (5.36 million barrels), and Austria (325,000 tonnes).

  New Zealand said it is releasing a six-day supply of fuel, while Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania have indicated they are ready to follow suit.

  IEA members, which do not include Malaysia, are required to hold 90 days of oil stocks. The move would see 400 million barrels of oil released from emergency reserves totalling 1.2 billion barrels.

  

  This is the sixth and largest stock release coordinated by the IEA since its inception in 1974.

  Meanwhile, Bangladesh announced it has secured diesel imports from several countries, including India, Singapore, and Malaysia, and is now working to stock up reserves for its fuel requirements in April. It is also seeking a temporary waiver from the US to buy Russian oil.

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Jelutong landfill

• The Jelutong landfill rehabilitation project has yet to be called off despite having its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report rejected, as stakeholders weigh their options.

  Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government is seeking clarification from the Environment Department on what its letter on the project means, and whether it is final or still part of the process, New Straits Times reported.

  

  “From the letter, if the project is to proceed, certain conditions must still be complied with,” he reportedly said.

  He said the project manager, Penang Development Corporation, would examine the letter and make recommendations, while the state government considers contractual obligations before making a decision.

  In addition, the developer could resubmit its proposal to address conditions that have yet to be met.

Bullying

• Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has affirmed that the ministry will not compromise if probes into the death of a female trainee doctor at the Sultan Ismail Petra Hospital in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, reveal elements of bullying.

  Addressing the Dewan Negara today, the minister said the Kelantan Health Department is conducting an internal investigation into the case while police are conducting a separate probe.

  

  He added that hospital directors and heads of departments have been instructed to take immediate action against any toxic practices to ensure a fair, harmonious, and respectful working environment.

2pm

‘Na’imah move’

• UPDATED 2.35PM | Added statement from Na’imah Abdul Khalid’s lawyer.

  Two more individuals have been called in for questioning for being named in an email linked to alleged attempts to topple the government, lawyer Zaid Malek said.

  Addressing reporters outside of Bukit Aman, Zaid said the duo were among 14 individuals listed in the email, most of whom were from civil society organisations, NGOs, and academia.

  While he declined to identify the two individuals, he alluded that one is a former NGO director, while the other is affiliated with a think tank.

  

  The lawyer added that so far, nine individuals from the list have been called in by the police, including Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) CEO Pushpan Murugiah, who was summoned two days ago.

• Subsequently, lawyer Nizamuddin Hamid was also called to the police headquarters today for his statement to be recorded under the same probe.

  Addressing reporters at the scene, Nizamuddin, who is representing Na’imah Abdul Khalid, said that claims against his client are mere “fantasies” and questioned how a 70-year-old widow could have the power to topple a parliamentary democracy.

  

  He reiterated that Na’imah has no involvement in Bloomberg’s expose and has a right to defend her late husband’s legacy.

Reporting by Ayesha Sheik Mazrul

Azam Baki

• Malaysians Against Governmental and Institutional Corruption (Magic) founder Mahajoth Singh demanded that the government reveal the outcome of the investigation into MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki’s recent shareholding scandal.

  The lawyer asserted that the government serves the people and its power must be paired with public accountability.

  

  Pointing to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s previous commitment to transparency, Mahajoth said Malaysians cannot remain in the dark regarding the investigation’s findings as well as the report that has already been reviewed by the cabinet.

Governance

• Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari mocked Putrajaya’s decision not to host Aidilfitri open houses as an austerity measure.

  In a sarcastic Facebook post, Fadhli compared the decision with how the government had in 2023, hosted federal-level open houses in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu - coinciding with the six-state elections that year.

  

  “At that time, (open houses) were not considered wastage. Maybe the finances at the time allowed for this, and the situation was before the six-state elections.

  “Congratulations to the government, Alhamdulillah,” he quipped.

9am

Security

• A special committee on monitoring and enforcement of subsidised goods has been reactivated to ensure a more integrated approach to anti-smuggling efforts amid soaring global oil prices due to the Iran conflict.

  Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Armizan Ali was quoted as saying by Bernama last night that the special committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof, is scheduled to meet next Monday.

Social

• Armizan (above) estimated that about 1.16 million households have benefited from the Food Bank initiative under his ministry since 2020, according to Bernama.

  He said the number of households depending on food banks, however, may be higher when taking into account efforts by civil society organisations (CSOs) with similar initiatives.

  As such, the minister hoped there would be better cooperation between CSOs and the government on this matter.

  

  The government also wants to tackle food waste, with Armizan saying that an estimated 4,000 tonnes of the 17,000 tonnes of food waste generated in the country daily is still salvageable and suitable for redistribution.

  This, he said, would help the poor, while also reducing the environmental impact of landfills by lowering methane emissions from waste decomposition.

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