Good morning. MCO 2.0 expires in two days but will likely be extended in one form or another. Here's what you need to know today.
Key Highlights
- Ex-AG hit by pirates
- Bigger MCO fines
- No total shutdown
Pirates hit ex-AG
Pirated digital copies of ex-attorney-general Tommy Thomas’s memoir are making rounds on the internet. Publisher Gerakbudaya reminds about intellectual property violation.
Some of the memoir topics include Altantuya’s murder case, a bounty proposal on fugitive Low Taek Jho and the UAE’s lobbying for Malaysia to drop a 1MDB-linked case.
It also revealed that ex-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s lawyer Haniff Khatri was Thomas' rival for the attorney-general post. It was no surprise Haniff was unhappy with the memoir.
However, former federal court judge Gopal Sri Ram, who according to the memoir was also an attorney-general candidate, came to his defence.
HIGHLIGHTS
Ex-AG weighs in on 'shoot to kill' Altantuya claim
AG sent an officer to interview the alleged killer.
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Bersatu man's spouse charged over cannabis The spouse faces the death sentence.
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D-Day for Isa Samad Verdict on Wednesday.
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Bigger MCO fines
Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was firm on introducing stiffer punishments against MCO violators.
This was despite objections from the likes of former health minister Dzukefly Ahmad, who pointed out the rules were applied unequally on VIPs.
He found support from Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah who favoured an awareness campaign.
Ismail's support for Covid-19 measures against migrants, even though a majority of cases involved Malaysians, courted criticism from civil society.
HIGHLIGHTS
Call for moratorium on logging This was amid massive annual floods.
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Liew calls for US-China cooperation after Myanmar coup
Democratic regression must be prevented.
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Ministry calls for democratic resolution in Myanmar Malaysia worried by the military takeover.
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No shutdown
Two days left before MCO 2.0 expires. Several ministers made clear an economic shutdown, which the Health Ministry proposed, was not acceptable.
Ismail said the poor are already impacted under the MCO 2.0 and won’t survive if the economy fully shuts down.
This is as Fitch Solutions warned Malaysia’s economy was worsening and the government’s finances were strained.
Previously, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz also maintained there won’t be an economic shutdown even in a worst-case scenario.
In a separate development, Tengku Zafrul were among 14 ministers and deputy ministers to be conferred “Datuk Seri” and “Datuk” federal titles.
HIGHLIGHTS
Over 30k KL families live below poverty line
They need basic needs.
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Suhakam: Restore child helpline This follows the death of a 7-year-old.
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Don't cash in on pandemic - private hospitals told They must do their part in the Covid-19 battle.
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A daily glance at Covid-19
- 4,214 new cases yesterday (Feb 1).
- Active cases declined marginally to 48,074. It increased from 40,574 to 48,150 in the six days prior.
- Selangor recorded four digits increase for the fifth consecutive day while Johor saw back-to-back four digits increase for the first time during the pandemic.
- Malaysiakini also compiles daily locations affected by Covid-19 so you can take precaution.
What else is happening?
- The Selangor government was sued for alleged conspiracy to terminate a reforestation project.
- Honda Malaysia apologised after a top executive made a rape joke on the internet.
- Universiti Malaya Medical Centre launched a donation drive on Lazada for Covid-19 equipment but questions were raised if the government was failing to provide adequate funding.
HIGHLIGHTS
Parang wielding gangs clash in Cheras The clash was caught on video.
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30pct of university to return to campus They will return in phases.
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40 local council staff down with Covid-19 Kuantan Municipal Council shut down.
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What are people saying?
A doctor's fight for survival in ICU
By Dr Dalvin Sidhu
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Who were the victims of Agent Orange in Malaya?
By Kua Kia Soong
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FT day and loss of self-governance By Tuaran MP Wilfred Madius Tangau
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CARTOON KINI