SNAPSHOT | Harapan, BN set for pow-wow over N Sembilan debacle; govt to ease people's cost of living

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

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Harapan, Umno cooperation in N Sembilan to continue; MACC to quiz Rafizi for third day

6pm

Negeri Sembilan debacle

• BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and his Pakatan Harapan counterpart Anwar Ibrahim will lead their respective parties - Umno and PKR - at a political bureau meeting in Putrajaya at 8pm tonight to discuss, among others, developments in the Negeri Sembilan crisis.

  According to Berita Harian, Zahid said related statements by the respective coalition’s secretaries-general will follow.

  Discussions are expected to touch on the position of Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun, following the state Umno’s move to withdraw support for his leadership.

  Aminuddin, a PKR vice-president, is also the Negeri Sembilan Harapan chairperson.

• A series of PKR and Harapan meetings chaired by Anwar will precede the Umno-Harapan political bureau meetings tonight, according to Harapan chief secretary Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

  Berita Harian reported that Saifuddin said Anwar will first chair a PKR political bureau meeting, followed by a Harapan presidential council meeting, the latter with representatives from components DAP and Amanah.

  He also confirmed that a key agenda item will focus on the Negeri Sembilan political crisis.

• State Umno chief Jalaluddin Alias, who led the party’s assemblypersons to withdraw support for Aminuddin, expressed hope that the two coalitions’ meeting tonight will arrive at a fair and best solution to the leadership impasse.

  

  “The BN-Harapan political bureaus certainly already have complete information regarding the core issues and will make a fair and best decision,” he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

  Jalaluddin on Saturday said the state chapter has adopted a “wait and see” stance over the meeting’s outcome concerning the menteri besar position, while maintaining that they have lost confidence in Aminuddin.

Global supply crisis

• The government has agreed to expand the Rahmah Madani Sales Programme nationwide by having it on a weekly basis in an effort to help ease the cost of living for the people, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

  Anwar said the initiative under the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry has a 30,000-programme target this year in every state constituency, suburban locations, rural areas and selected villages.

  “In this way, buyers will have certainty on where goods can be purchased and on fixed days and schedules,” he said during a press conference on the global supply crisis, following a National Economic Action Council (MTEN) meeting in Putrajaya today.

  He said that the sale of goods at up to 30 percent below market prices will also involve local small traders.

• The government has agreed to provide an advance payment of RM200 per hectare under the Ploughing Incentive Special Aid to help paddy farmers nationwide.

  Anwar said the initiative, approved at today’s MTEN meeting, is expected to benefit nearly 240,000 registered farmers, with a financial implication of RM48 million.

  

  “This is because farmers have to rent ploughing machinery, and while the ploughing programme must continue, they require upfront capital.

  “We believe it is better to provide them with the RM200 per hectare advance so they can proceed with their planting activities,” he said at a press conference on the global supply crisis.

  The advanced payment is a portion of the previously announced RM300 increased incentive.

Crime

• Businessperson Albert Tei lodged a police report today, urging the authorities to investigate Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his former political aide, Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, over a video that had gone viral recently.

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  According to Tei, the video showed businessperson Sofia Rini Buyong making serious allegations against the duo and caused public concerns.

Water festival

• Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh has slammed DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng over the Rain Rave Water Festival.

  

  This followed the Bagan MP's statement earlier today, where Lim said "extremists in BN, Umno, Perikatan Nasional and PAS" should be ashamed for "trying to inflame and divide the public by opposing the successful tourism event".

  Akmal said: "The ones who should be ashamed here are you and the likes of you, who can't differentiate between Malaysian culture and the street disco that you are proud of".

Mara

• Draft amendments to the Mara Act 1966 aimed at ensuring Mara’s relevance for the coming decades will be tabled before the cabinet within three weeks, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

  The amendments, he said, will focus on governance, investment, strengthening the education ecosystem and empowering entrepreneurs to adapt to rapid technological change.

  According to Bernama, Zahid said Mara needs to address the needs of the bumiputera community more holistically, in line with shifting demographics.

  “Malays and bumiputera no longer reside solely in rural areas; they are in suburban and urban settings as well. This means Mara must remain relevant to them wherever they are,” he said.

• Mara’s director-general Zulfikri Osman said the agency aims to make high-impact investments totalling RM2.2 billion by 2030, including carbon credit initiatives and high-value property developments.

  These initiatives are strategically designed to strengthen Mara’s asset base, diversify revenue streams, and enhance long-term portfolio resilience, he said, according to Bernama.

  

  In addition, he said Mara’s investment company, Mara Corporation Sdn Bhd, has achieved a significant reduction in accumulated losses, reflecting improved financial governance and effective rationalisation measures.

Aerotrain service

• The aerotrain service at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is expected to resume 24-hour operations by the end of this month, pending approval from the relevant authorities, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

  He said all necessary tests have been carried out by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), and a full report is being submitted to the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) for further assessment.

  “It is expected that after Apad’s approval, by the end of this month, the aerotrain will resume 24-hour operations,” he said after launching the MyKLIA and MyPutrajaya Monthly TravelCard (MTC) at KLIA Terminal 2 today, Bernama reported.

  Elaborating, Loke said the aerotrain service, which resumed operations in July last year, is halted for a few hours at night for maintenance and inspections.

  

Court

• The Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court has fined a petrol pump attendant RM10,000 for possessing and misusing other people’s MyKad to purchase subsidised petrol last month.

  The sentence followed Jakir Hossain’s guilty plea to two charges before magistrate Aina Azahra Arifin this morning, in which the latter ordered him to serve seven months in jail if he fails to pay the fine.

  He was accused of misusing a person’s MyKad on April 21, and another person’s MyKad on April 8 and 22. All three offences - framed under Section 25(1)(O) of the National Registration Regulations 1990 - took place at the same petrol station in Kuala Lumpur.

  During sentencing, deputy public prosecutor Hench Goh urged the magistrate to consider the losses the victims had suffered in their subsidised fuel quota, while Jakir’s lawyer Low Carmen pleaded that her client is the sole breadwinner for his family, earning RM900 per month.

  "He is a first-time offender, and he learned his lesson," she added.

  Reporting by Farah Solhi

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