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Key Highlights

  • PM under pressure

  • Deputy speaker owns up

  • Waning lockdown



PM under pressure

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin being hospitalised for diarrhoea may have become the talk of social media but the development is also noteworthy amid an awkward situation with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

By convention, the prime minister meets with the ruler every Wednesday, before the weekly cabinet meeting. Muhyiddin’s hospitalisation meant that couldn’t take place yesterday.

Muhyiddin, who has been pressed by the rulers to convene Parliament soon, is now also facing pressure from Parliament.

This was after the Agong summoned Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun and Dewan Negara President Rais Yatim to the palace and repeated his call for Parliament to reconvene as soon as possible.

Following the meeting, Azhar and Rais said they will try to convince Muhyiddin to convene Parliament before August.

The duo previously proposed an August-Sept timeline but now say they will comply with the ruler’s decree.



HIGHLIGHTS

Conference of Rulers meeting postponed to Oct
The meeting was supposed to be held today.
'Takiyuddin wrong that Parliament can only convene after emergency'
Parliament was convened during past emergencies, says Lim Kit Siang.
KJ: Vaccination has commenced for Parliament staff
It will involve 400 employees.

 



Deputy speaker owns up

Deputy Speaker Rashid Hasnon owned up to attending a durian feast on June 27 after initially claiming a video of the event was from last year.

Rashid said there had been confusion when he claimed the video was from last year as he had not watched it.

The admission came after internet sleuths poked holes in Rashid’s initial account.

They provided a frame-by-frame analysis of the video, including the fact that a Liverpool jersey and headscarf in the video were released more recently than Rashid’s claimed timeline.

Police said they will record Rashid’s statement soon over the alleged lockdown violation.



HIGHLIGHTS

Azmin fails to strike out Gombak voters’ suit
The case will go on trial in June next year.
Najib's RM2.28b 1MDB trial to resume on July 5
It was postponed due to the lockdown.
Press freedom: M'sia backsliding since Harapan fell
This is according to the Asian Democracy Network.

 



Waning lockdown

Indicators are showing that the effectiveness of the total lockdown is waning as the Covid-19 pandemic is starting to worsen.

The weekly positivity rate (new cases divided by the number of tests) started to rise since mid-June from 6.6 percent to 7.4 percent.

The infectivity rate also broke 1.0 since Tuesday (June 28) and is now at 1.05. That means for every 100 Covid-19 cases, they infect 105 others, indicating a growth in new cases.

The regression may in part be due to reduced testing. In the first week of the total lockdown, an average of 101,889 tests a day were conducted. It was only 65,348 a day for the first three days of this week.

The Health Ministry has also attributed the situation to more virulent Covid-19 variants.

June was also the deadliest month, with 2,374 Covid-19 deaths, almost double of the 1,289 fatalities in May.



HIGHLIGHTS

We're still in Phase 1 of the National Recovery Plan - Ismail
People should not be confused, he says.
S'wak to reopen economy after herd immunity in August
The state aims to vaccinate 80pct of the population.
Selangor aims for 80pct to be vaccinated by Oct
The state launched its own vaccination drive.

 


A daily glance at Covid-19

  • 6,276 new cases yesterday (June 30), the second consecutive day where fresh infections were above 6,000.

  • Selangor saw a surge with 2,836 new cases, the fifth highest for the state since the start of the pandemic.

  • Active cases climbed for the fifth consecutive day from 60,117 to 64,129.

  • For trends on daily cases, tests, hospital beds capacity, vaccination progress and more, follow our Covid-19 tracker.


What else is happening?

  • A grassroots effort to get people in need of help during the pandemic to put up white flags outside their house is paying off with some receiving immediate aid. Here's a list of organisations offering help.

  • The Human Rights Commission called for the revival of a suicide registry amid increased suicide cases during the pandemic. The country recorded 336 suicides in the first three months of this year, more than half of the total 631 suicides recorded in the whole of 2020.

  • Rawang assemblyperson Chua Wei Kiat was appointed as the new Selangor PKR chief after a purge of the incumbents. The sacked incumbents struck back, calling for PKR Youth chief Akmal Nasir's ouster.

  • Health Minister Dr Adham Baba assured the people that the government is seeking a solution to the woes of contract medical officers who are contemplating a strike amid continuous struggle with poor career prospects in the government service.

  • The families of three boys who were shot dead by police 11 years ago were awarded RM1.5 million by the High Court in Shah Alam. The families asked the government not to appeal the case to provide them closure.


HIGHLIGHTS

Families of babies switched at birth to take legal action
'The incident has caused much misery and suffering.'
Putrajaya not appealing in suit on Temiar land dispute
This is regarding a purported encroachment.
Police set up a special unit to probe illegal vaccine sales
Minister says claims being taken seriously.

 


What are people saying?

I feel sorry for you, Nik Abduh
By Fa Abdul
Ask and you shall receive. Raise the white flag
By Francis Paul Siah
Transparency needed for environment-related projects
By Dr Henry Chan

 


CARTOON KINI