SNAPSHOT | PN red flags friendly fire; Guan Eng tells PM to go after banks, not T20

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

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MACC denies blocking Albert from lodging report; PAS accepts syura leader's apology

2pm

Politics

• Perikatan Nasional has urged its members not to publicly attack component parties.

  Coalition secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said any dissatisfaction should be aired through appropriate channels.

  

  His remarks come a day after Dungun PAS Youth chief Tengku Fakhruddin Tengku Fauzi asserted that Bersatu is losing its direction and “soul” amid the “slaughtering” of a slew of its leaders as part of an internal crackdown.

READ MORE: SNAPSHOT | 2 Bersatu leaders sacked, 3 suspended; S'gor PAS Youth to hold 'loyalty rally'

Fuel subsidies

• Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should go after banks instead of excluding T20 income earners from subsidised RON95.

  “Why target T20 earners but not the banking industry when banks are earning much higher rates of return than the average deposit rates for 12-month fixed deposits of between two and 2.3 percent offered?” he said in a statement today.

  

  However, Lim did not explain how going after banks can help the government shoulder the rising costs of subsidising RON95 for all Malaysians, regardless of income.

  Instead, he suggested that banks can absorb a one-year moratorium on interest from loans taken by SMEs and micro enterprises.

READ MORE: No decision yet on withdrawing Budi95 from the wealthy - Loke

Environment

• Fish landings in Penang are stable despite the state’s mega artificial island project in Teluk Kumbar and Batu Maung that has attracted widespread opposition from fisherfolk and green groups.

  Rashidi Zainol - the exco in charge of food security - told the state legislature today that recent data from fisherfolk where the artificial islands are being built showed that fish landings in 2023 stood at 472.44 tonnes, while in 2025, the figure increased to 496.57 tonnes.

  “This comparison of data clearly shows that there has been no significant reduction or increase in catch yields, thereby refuting claims that the development has affected the fisheries sector in the area,” he said.

  

  Following local opposition, the project has been scaled back to one artificial island, dubbed Silicon Island, which is under construction off the coast of Permatang Damar Laut near Bayan Lepas.

Corruption

• Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Johari Abdul Ghani said that US President Donald Trump should not pardon fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.

  "As far as I'm concerned, I'm against the pardon," he told Reuters, adding that the US should instead assist Malaysia in locating Low.

• Earlier, it was reported that Low had applied for a pardon from Trump.

  According to The Wall Street Journal, the application seeks a “pardon after completion of sentence”, and the status is still pending.

  

  In 2024, Low struck a settlement with the US Department of Justice for the return of US$100 million (RM450 million) being sought in a civil forfeiture suit.

  However, the financier - who is believed to be hiding in China - is still wanted on criminal charges, including alleged conspiracy to embezzle 1MDB funds.

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