Interdistrict travel

Good morning. Here's what you need to know today.

Key Highlights

• Interdistrict travel
  
  
• Shooting the whistleblower
  
  
• Non-Chinese in MCA
  
  

Interdistrict travel

Beginning March 5, travel between districts will be allowed except in Sabah.

The interstate travel ban remains. An exception is the movement between Kuala Lumpur and Selangor which are considered as a whole.

The updated MCO status beginning March 5 is as follow:

MCO: None

Conditional MCO: Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Sarawak, Perak

Recovery MCO: Malacca, Pahang, Terengganu, Sabah, Putrajaya, Labuan, Perlis

With the end of the full MCO, tourist attractions, cinemas and wellness centres will reopen, subject to SOPs.

HIGHLIGHTS

	'Dua darjat' in leave application - Umno man Deputy minister gets 55 days off but frontliners struggle.
	Dr M told to explain 1MDB claims against Zeti He had appointed her as the PNB chairperson.
	Maszlee sends legal letter to Asyraf This over history textbook tussle.

Shooting the whistleblower

The Kelantan government wants action against anyone who made claims that state officials had tried to jump the Covid-19 vaccine queue.

The Kelantan government publicly denies the claim although sources told Malaysiakini that a U-turn was made after they were outed.

The claim was highlighted by prominent doctor Rafidah Abdullah, which prompted the government to draft a guideline detailing personnel qualified for early vaccination.

Malaysiakini previously reported about a similar incident but the Health Ministry dismissed it as “fake news”.

HIGHLIGHTS

	27k cops to be vaccinated They are part of Phase 1.
	MMA: Prioritise GPs for vaccination too   They should be prioritised like hospital workers.
	Boo: Why politicians vaccinated earlier than GPs? Some GPs deal with Covid-19 patients.

Non-Chinese in MCA

MCA is now officially accepting non-Chinese as associate members.

In recent years, race-based parties started opening up to members of other races but are still reluctant to fully commit.

The bumiputera-based Bersatu used the same model when it was founded in 2016 while PAS created a non-Muslim wing in 2010.

But the new membership share one commonality - they don’t come with voting rights.

A step towards progress or superficial reform? You decide.

HIGHLIGHTS

	PKR issues RM10m demand to Tebrau MP This is after he defected to support PN.
	Anwar weighs in on Amanah defectors joining PKR He says they were told to consult Amanah leadership.
	Putatan MP denies leaving PKR He says claims are baseless.

 

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 1,555 new cases yesterday (March 2), the lowest since Dec 27 last year.
  
  
• Six new fatalities put the death toll at 1,141.
  
  
• Selangor, the epicentre of the pandemic, managed to maintain under 1,000 daily new cases for 10 consecutive days.
  
  
• For trends on daily cases, individuals tested, hospital bed capacity and more, follow our Covid-19 tracker.
  
  

What else is happening?

• The Selangor Islamic Religious Council will pursue an "unnatural sex" probe under federal law against the man who successfully had a similar provision under the state syariah law declared invalid.
  
  
• The Meteorological Department confirmed parts of the Klang Valley experienced haze yesterday but they were due to local factors.
  
  
• The Sinovac and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines have received conditional approval, joining Pfizer-Biontech in the country's immunisation arsenal.
  
  
• Tenaga Nasional Berhad is trialling a project to import electricity generated from renewable sources from Singapore.
  
  
• PKR president Anwar Ibrahim claimed the opposition had "bigger numbers" despite the defection of two MPs.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Umno's Jamal apologises to ex-minister Yeo This is to settle a defamation suit.
	Survey: Most wants Muhyiddin out, fresh polls Only 19pct want him to stay on.
	Payment for i-Sinar applications begins - EPF Those previously rejected will now be approved.

What are people saying?

	Gig workers need a fair deal By Lufti Hakim Ariff
	We are already quite sick By Sharifah Munirah Alatas
	Now we have pride in defections By James Chai

KINI LENS