SNAPSHOT | Madani Mart in every constituency soon?; May 13 set for Isa's review bid

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

Latest:

Pig farming: DAP Youth comes to rep's defence; reduced fuel prices at midnight

6pm

Madani Mart

• Yayasan Madani plans to set up a Madani Mart retail outlet in every state constituency, as well as six distribution centres nationwide.

  This is according to a Bernama report quoting Yayasan Madani (Madani Mart operations) manager Lutfi Ariffin.

  For context, there are 600 state constituencies in Malaysia.

READ MORE: Madani Mart startup costs up to RM420k, foundation says no profit for trustees

MCMC action

• Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil said MCMC has received 463 requests to take down “fake news” content on the global crisis as of 7am this morning, which has been forwarded to various social media platform operators.

  Fahmi, during the weekly post-cabinet meeting in Putrajaya, said a majority of the reported content comprises false information on fuel prices and the Strait of Hormuz “toll” for passing vessels.

  

  Of the 463 requests, MCMC had opened 65 investigation papers, and the Attorney-General’s Chambers has so far recommended one charge and five compounds, while the rest remain under probe.

Court

• The Federal Court will hear former Felda chairperson Isa Abdul Samad’s application to review his conviction and sentence on May 13.

  

  The date was confirmed by Isa’s lawyer Abu Bakar Isa Ramat, as well as deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz.

  Isa is serving a six-year jail sentence at Sungai Buloh prison for nine counts of corruption, in addition to a RM15.45 million fine or an additional two years imprisonment in default.

Working from home

• Penang will not be following the federal government and several other state governments’ footsteps in implementing work-from-home policies for civil servants.

  Bernama quoted Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow as saying that the decision was made after a comprehensive assessment of departmental operational needs, service delivery capacity, and the current situation.

  

  However, the need for the policy will be reviewed from time to time.

  The latest round of work-from-home measures was introduced beginning April 15 to reduce fuel consumption, but the move was greeted with scepticism about the actual savings and blighted by technical glitches.

READ MORE: WFH rollout falters as technical glitches drive civil servants back to office

West Asia conflict

• Two container ships have come under fire in the Strait of Hormuz in separate incidents today.

  The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said the master of one vessel reported being fired upon by an Iranian gunboat without warning.

  

  This caused heavy damage to the ship’s bridge, but its crew is safe, and no fires or environmental impact are reported.

  About two-and-a-half hours later, another ship reported coming under fire off the coast of Iran. No damage is reported, and the assailant is not identified in the UKMTO report.

  This followed similar attacks by Iran last Saturday, and the US seizure of an Iranian container ship arriving from Port Klang over the weekend.

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