Good morning, here's a quick rundown of what happened over the weekend.

Key Highlights

• AG at odds with Agong
  
  

• Muhyiddin gets minister status
  
  

• Court orders Undi18 rollout
  
  

AG at odds with Agong

Attorney-General Idrus Harun is again at odds with the palace after he declared that there was no necessity for the new prime minister to seek a confidence vote.

He argued that a confidence vote would undermine the powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, even though it was the ruler who decreed that the new prime minister should seek a confidence vote in Parliament as soon as possible.

This is the latest episode after Idrus previously courted the displeasure of the palace for failing to comply with the Agong's request for the emergency ordinances to be debated in Parliament.

Pakatan Harapan called for Idrus' sacking for going against the ruler.

Several lawyers have also disputed Idrus' legal opinion, calling it "misguided and outdated".

The position for Ismail Sabri Yaakob not to seek a confidence vote is peculiar, considering that the support for him from 114 MPs is not disputed, even by the opposition.

However, the support may not last for long if Ismail Sabri continues to agitate the Umno faction responsible for Muhyiddin Yassin's fall as the prime minister that paved the way for Ismail Sabri's rise.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Dark web probe leads to arrest of a paedophile in S'wak Alladin Lanim is one of the top 10 global offenders.
	MACC: Further probes led to the acquittal of ex-Felda man 'Key witness statements were inconsistent.'
	Man receives RM91k donations over fake sad story He is arrested and remanded for four days.

Muhyiddin gets minister status

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri has appointed his predecessor as the chair of the National Recovery Council (NRC) with a minister's status.

This comes after he largely retained Muhyiddin's cabinet. Muhyiddin thanked the new government for trusting him.

The opposition criticised the move, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic had worsened under Muhyiddin's tenure.

The move is more political than policy-driven, apparently aimed at ensuring a senior status for the Bersatu president.

However, it is testing the patience of Ismail Sabri's rival faction in Umno, which had ousted Muhyiddin in the first place with the intention of sidelining Bersatu in anticipation of the next general election.

The PM's rival faction in Umno isn't just sitting around and is now planning a move to replace Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun with one of their own - Azalina Othman.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Law minister seeks to modernise Parliament He wants to get rid of pre-Merdeka rules.
	Hadi hopes to do more as special envoy 'Talks held with 10 countries'.
	Zafrul to propose raising debt limit to 65pct Debt-to-GDP now 58pct, may breach 60pct.

Court orders Undi18 rollout

Proponents of the movement to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 scored a major victory after the High Court in Kuching ordered the government to implement the new criteria by the end of this year.

The new voting age was approved by Parliament under the Pakatan Harapan government in 2019 but after its collapse, subsequent governments have been dragging their feet on the implementation.

The court ruling was hailed by Harapan and GPS leaders.

The government's official line for delaying the implementation is that the Covid-19 pandemic was posing technical challenges.

Politically though, they are also concerned that it will alter the electoral demography as it will add more than a million new voters.

The government can still appeal the decision.

HIGHLIGHTS

	S'wak teens to be vaccinated this week This will involve those aged 12-17.
	Cops seize Lawan activists' phones in sedition probe The activists condemned the move.
	Higher learning institutions to reopen in October. Students can return after they're fully vaccinated.

 

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 20,396 new cases yesterday (Sept 5).
  
  
• Covid-19 active cases declined for the fifth consecutive day from 267,863 to 255,789 but deaths elevated, with more than 300 people dying from Covid-19 for three consecutive days.
  
  
• Covid-19 can potentially be more deadly in smaller states where healthcare facilities are less extensive. Three states are seeing the utilisation of intensive care unit beds beyond 100 percent: Kedah, Kelantan and Perak.
  
  
• For trends on daily cases, tests, hospital bed capacity, vaccination progress and more, follow our Covid-19 tracker.
  
  

What else is happening?

• The government reversed its proposed policy to only admit national school students to Mara Junior Science Colleges after an outrage that it was sidelining vernacular and religious schools.
  
  
• The prime minister promised justice for Thava Sagayam, a security guard who was beaten until unconscious and died after his health deteriorated over months.
  
  
• Mohamad Nizar, the son of ex-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, entered into a settlement over the Inland Revenue Board's RM13.1 million tax bill against him. However, Najib maintained the settled amount was "far, far, far less".
  
  
• Selangor Crown Prince Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Idris Shah denied links to a plan to develop part of the Kuala Langat (North) Forest Reserve. The Selangor palace was linked to the previous developer that was supposed to develop the area, but the firm has since been dissolved and a new developer roped in.
  
  
• The government said unvaccinated teachers won't be allowed to teach students face-to-face ahead of a plan to reopen schools in October.
  
  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	Abdul Latif bags gold for M'sia in men's long jump It is M'sia's third gold at the Paralympic Games.
	Liek Hou bags country's 2nd gold medal He defeated Indonesia's Dheva Anrimusthi.
	No need to renew driving licence, road tax until Dec 31 The moratorium period has been extended.

What are people saying?

	Living with Covid-19 - is Malaysia ready? By Amar-Singh HSS
	Agong can rely on SD but confidence vote must follow By Hamid Sultan Abu Backer
	The 'non-Malay dilemma' 64 years after independence By RK Anand