Good morning, here's what you need to know today.


Key Highlights

  • Umno's numbers game

  • BN allies' dilemma

  • SOP for the fully vaccinated



Umno's numbers game

There is now more clarity as to the numbers of Umno MPs who have rebelled against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

This was after Umno released the declaration letters by 13 MPs sent to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong to declare that they have rejected Muhyiddin.

This does not include Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who had already revolted much earlier and Parit Sulong MP Noraini Ahmad who only resigned as a minister after the declaration letters were submitted to the palace.

There are now 15 Umno MPs against Muhyiddin and 23 still backing him. This leaves Muhyiddin with the support of 100 out of 220 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat - 11 short of majority.

It is understood that the opposition has also submitted letters to the palace against Muhyiddin.

Meanwhile, the anti-Muhyiddin faction in Umno continued to keep up the pressure by having mid-level leaders resign from government-linked positions every few days.

The latest is Gual Ipoh assemblyperson Mohd Bakri Mustapha who resigned from the South Kelantan Development Board (Kesedar).

Another notable development is the resignation of former Jerantut MP Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar as the Temerloh Bersatu chief.

Tengku Azlan, who is part of the Pahang royal family, rejoined Umno, citing the need to uphold parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.



HIGHLIGHTS

King: Be guided by Hijrah spirit in pandemic fight
Rulers' speech was in conjunction with Awal Muharram.
PAS veep: If I were PM, I may have dissolved Parliament
He says this is if the opposition forced his hand.
Analyst: Muhyiddin can still cut deal with 'court cluster'
'PM also has more bargaining chips'.




BN allies' dilemma

The Umno split has left its BN allies MCA, MIC and PBRS in a difficult position.

While the three BN allies continued to support Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, MCA and MIC in particular have been reluctant to join the PN coalition.

They are acutely aware that by doing so, Umno could contest against them in their traditional seats in the next general election.

The ones that they managed to win in the last general election had substantial Malay voters.

Ex-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak reminded MCA of Umno's contributions in helping the party to win the Tanjung Piai seat, prompting MCA president Wee Ka Siong to reiterate that his party is still loyal to BN.

For now, MCA and MIC are taking a wait-and-see approach as Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob tries to wrest control of Umno from its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and steer the party to a more PN-friendly position.



HIGHLIGHTS

Timber firms suing NGO Save Rivers for defamation
They claim articles on the NGO's website are defamatory.
Covid funerals: Unity Ministry criticised for not consulting non-Muslims
Malaysia Hindu Sangam asks why funds allocated to little-known NGOs.
Bersih welcomes Umno resignations
It wants reforms to GLC appointments.




SOP for the fully vaccinated

The perks for fully-vaccinated individuals take effect today.

The National Security Council provided more details to the benefits which were first announced by the prime minister. Some points are as follow:

  • Interstate travel for long-distance spouses and parents who want to see their under 18 children but get police permission with relevant documents.

  • Home quarantine for overseas travellers is generally 14 days but will be 21 days for selected countries.

  • Fully vaccinated parents can bring their unvaccinated children to dine-in and hotels.

More details are available here.




HIGHLIGHTS

Hulu Langat Covid-19 Assessment Centre director dies of Covid-19
Afizan battled Covid for 13 days in Serdang Hospital ICU.
95pct of Covid-19 dead in Sarawak were not vaccinated
'No fully vaccinated person has died from Covid'.
PM confident 80pct of adults fully vaccinated end-October
'By Aug 31, over 60pct adults can be fully vaccinated'.

 


A daily glance at Covid-19

  • 17,236 new cases yesterday (Aug 9).

  • Five states and a federal territory are seeing four digits cases, namely Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Kedah, Sabah, Johor and Negeri Sembilan.

  • The number of intubated patients climb to a new high of 579, suggesting that deaths will continue to be on the uptrend in the coming days.

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


What else is happening?

  • Popular singer Siti Sarah Raisuddin, 36, passed away from Covid-19. She had been intubated while seven months pregnant. Her baby was delivered via surgery before her death.

  • The Election Commission said a by-election won't be needed for the Melor state seat as three years have passed from the previous general election. This suggests other suspended by-elections could see a similar outcome.

  • Police arrested a senior citizen for deriding Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor for making a joke about makeshift morgues amid rising Covid-19 deaths.

  • To date, cops have questioned a total of 37 opposition MPs for attempting to march on Parliament.

  • The MACC and police say they will investigate opposition claims that there are attempts to buy over their MPs.


HIGHLIGHTS

Ex-magistrate ordered to enter defence in RM295k graft case
A prima facie case has been established.
23 Orang Asli villages under EMCO - Hishammuddin
They will be under EMCO from Aug 11-24.
Man on hunger strike passes baton to another
We are doing this for every Malaysian - Gurpreet.

 


What are people saying?

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