SNAPSHOT | Johor polls: EC receives 588 complaints; PM's pledge for media council oversight hailed

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

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6pm

Johor polls

• The Election Commission has received 588 complaints involving various election offences during the campaign period for the 16th Johor state election as of today.

  EC chairperson Ramlan Harun said 44 police reports had been lodged out of the total complaints received.

  "In addition, three reports have also been lodged with the MACC over related offences," Bernama quoted Ramlan (above) as saying at a press conference.

  A total of 172 candidates are contesting 56 seats in the state election, with polling set for this Saturday.

• Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has rejected the idea of caretaker Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi taking part in a dialogue with PKR’s Puteri Wangsa candidate, Maszlee Malik.

  Mohamad said Maszlee was not up to Onn’s standard to call for the state Umno chief to join the dialogue, Buletin TV3 reported.

  

  The BN deputy chairperson said Pakatan Harapan was now running out of issues to use as campaign material after failing to challenge the performance of the state government led by BN, under Onn.

  "Maszlee is not up to standard to debate with the menteri besar; he should just debate with division chiefs instead," Mohamad was quoted as saying.

  On June 28, Buletin TV3 reported Onn turning down the debate challenge with Maszlee, saying that open debates between candidates in the Johor state polls are not a suitable approach as they could potentially create an unfavourable atmosphere throughout the campaign period.

Press freedom

• The Malaysia Media Council (MMC) has welcomed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s pledge that journalists would not be subjected to arbitrary investigations and that any complaint against media practitioners shall be referred to the body first.

  In a statement, the council said its complaint mechanism is not to shield media from accountability but to ensure that it is done through a proper, fair, and transparent process.

  "In this regard, MMC calls on all parties, including government agencies, politicians, public bodies, civil society organisations, and the public, to utilise the council’s complaints mechanism should they have any disputes or concerns regarding media reports.

  "The practice of resolving media-related disputes through a professional process must be strengthened to replace the tendency to resort to public pressure, intimidation, harassment, or punitive action," it said.

READ MORE: Anwar backs Media Council oversight

Court

• Three men pleaded not guilty at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court to setting fire to three vehicles belonging to the wife of political activist Cikgu Chandra, at a house in Puchong in March.

  

  The accused - tow truck driver A Kumaran, 34, security guard S Kisshen Nair, 32, and lorry driver P Surendran, 37 - were jointly charged with committing mischief by fire involving two Perodua cars and a Proton vehicle belonging to M Sri Uma Mahesvary, 50, resulting in estimated losses of RM80,000.

  Bernama reported that the charge was framed under Section 435 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same law, which carries a maximum jail term of 14 years and a possible fine.

  Judge Noor Ruzilawati Nor allowed each accused to be released on RM8,000 bail, with additional conditions that they report to a police station, refrain from interfering with witnesses and surrender their passports to the court.

READ MORE: Cikgu Chandra claims he was threatened, ex-MIC man says he only gave 'advice'

Defence

• It will take at least two to three years to find a replacement missile system for the Littoral Combat Ship programme, following the cancellation of the naval strike missile (NSM) deal with the Norwegian firm Kongsberg.

  "The procurement process has to start again from scratch to obtain a suitable replacement for the existing system," Bernama quoted armed forces chief Malek Razak Sulaiman as saying.

  

  He said the armed forces are evaluating missile systems from four countries, namely France, Turkiye, Italy, and South Korea.

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