SNAPSHOT | Sabah BN joins call for Umno man's apology over Catholic joke; NGO tells cops to explain frozen funds, travel bans

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

9pm

Politics

- Sabah BN joined calls for Sepang Umno chief Noorazli Said to apologise over his remarks at the party’s annual general meeting referencing a Catholic priest and a nun. 

Labelling the remarks as “highly inappropriate and excessive,” its chairperson Arthur Joseph Kurup said Noorazli’s “excuse that it was merely a ‘joke’” should not be used to ignore sensitivities.

Arthur, who is also the natural resources and environmental sustainability minister, affirmed that BN remains steadfast in its principles of unity and will not allow other religions to be used as political punchlines.

READ MORE: Umno leader ready to apologise, says no insult intended by 'priest-nun' joke  

Civil society

- Rights groups Mandiri and Hayat submitted a memorandum to the police demanding an explanation over the freezing of the groups’ bank accounts and travel bans allegedly imposed on their leaders. 

The memorandum was submitted to a Bukit Aman officer at the federal police’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today, during which Mandiri executive director Amir Hariri Abd Hadi said the daily operations of both NGOs have been affected by the freeze.

While both groups have appointed lawyers to initiate legal processes to unfreeze their accounts, Amir also urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to “not wash their hands” and provide an explanation.

Reporting by Aina Fatihah Abdullah

READ MORE: 'Blocked bank accounts, travel ban': Mandiri cries intimidation, LFL slams 'oppressive' crackdown

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2pm | Bar case: Court trims damages for Shafee; speaker to block motions axing N Sembilan MB

9am | MB signed document to remove Tuanku Muhriz voluntarily, lawyer claims, recounts timeline

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