SNAPSHOT | No Harapan reps in N Sembilan exco; BN to hold special briefing on Tabung Haji RCI report

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

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Media council highlights better engagement; MCMC chair settles suit with Chegubard

2pm

Negeri Sembilan govt

• Three BN assemblypersons have rejected speculation that Pakatan Harapan representatives could be included in the Negeri Sembilan state exco.

  Linggi assemblyperson Faizal Ramli suggested the claims were intended to drive a wedge between BN and new state-level ally Perikatan Nasional.

  “As of today, I have not heard of any discussion on the matter. The claim is clearly baseless,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

  Lenggeng assemblyperson Asna Amin said appointing Harapan representatives to the exco would betray the voters’ mandate.

  Johol assemblyperson Saiful Yazan Sulaiman also rejected the claims, saying BN representatives would have been consulted if such a proposal were under consideration.

• Negeri Sembilan Parti Wawasan Negara coordinator Badrul Hisham Shaharin repeated claims of alleged attempts to appoint Harapan representatives to the exco line-up.

  

  Sinar Harian quoted Badrul, better known as Chegubard, as claiming that the alleged attempts, however, did not involve any BN or PN elected representatives.

  “I don’t deny, based on information received, there are attempts by parties not in government to bring in Harapan into the state government,” he reportedly said.

  He also insisted that the new BN-PN coalition state government will not betray the people’s mandate.

Tabung Haji RCI

• BN will hold a special briefing on the royal commission of inquiry report into Tabung Haji on Aug 10.

  The session comes ahead of the special Dewan Rakyat sitting to debate the report, which was declassified and made public last week.

  The New Straits Times quoted a circular by BN executive secretary Sahfri Aziz that stated BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will lead the 5pm briefing at the World Trade Centre.

  

  The circular was reportedly issued to BN deputy chairperson Mohamad Hasan and vice-chairpersons Wee Ka Siong, SA Vigneswaran, Arthur Joseph Kurup, Loga Bala Mohan, as well as BN senators and MPs.

  Last Friday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the special sitting to debate the report will take place on Aug 11, allowing for thorough scrutiny of the findings and proposed institutional reforms.

Politics

• Urimai chairperson P Ramasamy has accused DAP of becoming too entrenched in government to easily return to its previous political stance.

  Ahead of a special congress to determine the party’s position in government, Ramasamy said DAP is now at a “historical crossroads” where its pursuit of political power and government positions had purportedly diluted its ideological foundations.

  “DAP is now too deeply enmeshed in the political economy of the existing system to believe that superficial reforms can reinvent the party,” said the former DAP leader in a statement today.

  Ramasamy said DAP, despite holding 40 parliamentary seats and being a key component of Harapan, had failed to translate its political strength into improving the position of non-Malays.

  

  He also warned that DAP risked following the path of MCA, which he argued lost support after becoming too closely associated with Umno.

Court

• The High Court will decide on Aug 12 whether to stay an order requiring Rosmah Mansor to pay RM67.46 million to Lebanese jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL over 43 pieces of missing jewellery.

  Judicial commissioner Marianne Antoinette Ghani fixed the date after hearing submissions from both sides today.

  On June 10, the High Court ordered Rosmah to pay the amount within a month after finding her liable for the jewellery, which had been delivered to her for viewing under a consignment arrangement but was never returned.

  The Star quoted Rosmah’s lawyer Reza Rahim, who argued that the wife of former premier Najib Abdul Razak, who is seeking to stay the payment pending her appeal to the Court of Appeal, now has limited access to funds.

  

  “She (Rosmah) only has one bank account left which contains about RM100,000. All of her assets are frozen in an injunction by the 1MDB lawsuits,” he said.

Nicky Liow-AGC

• A total of 30 civil society organisations have reiterated calls for Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar to publicly explain the prosecution’s decision to drop its case against businessperson Nicky Liow, who faced 26 money laundering charges involving RM36 million.

  In a joint statement today, the groups reminded the Madani government that its pledge to fight corruption through transparent and uncompromising action is judged by what happens to charges after they are filed, not merely by their filing.

  They further reaffirmed their stance that separating the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor would not, on its own, improve accountability.

  Instead, they said a mechanism should be implemented concurrently with the constitutional amendment so that the reform changes not only who holds prosecutorial discretion, but also how that power is exercised, explained, and reviewed.

  

  Bersih, Projek Sama, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), the Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4 Center), Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M), and Aliran were among those who endorsed the statement.

READ MORE: Ex-PKR leader demands AGC explain Nicky Liow DNAA

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