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

Key Highlights

• Your IC may be compromised
  
  
• Bumi equity push rubbished
  
  
• RM30m renovation for PM's residence
  
  

Your IC may be compromised

A data leak may have exposed the identification data of four million Malaysians born between 1979 and 1998 - and it's all for sale.

The leak includes the name, email, phone number, permanent address, IC number, race, religion, gender and a string of code that can be decoded into the photo used on the person's MyKad.

The IC number itself could be used to gain information about the cardholder from many government websites, as detailed in a previous Kini News Lab report.

This latest leak is allegedly from a National Registration Department database that was purportedly accessed via the Inland Revenue Board.

Police said they will try to block the sale of the data, and have not ruled out the possibility that it is an inside job.

HIGHLIGHTS

	IRB distances itself from data leak IRB says it is a client of MyIdentity, where the leak took place.
	MySalam check and balance lacking - AG Report 'Govt unable to assure reporting transparency.'
	Govt spent RM273m for a new customs system  It was never completed.

Bumi equity push rubbished

The government's plan to empower the bumiputera community under the 12th Malaysia Plan to safeguard equity holding may sound like a pro-bumiputera measure.

However, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said such initiatives will only benefit cronies and the rich.

Likewise, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said poor Malays who work as farmers, fisherfolk or traders would not benefit from equity initiatives.

Syed Saddiq also questioned why the government's push for more bumiputera equity came at the expense of fellow non-bumiputera Malaysians - when 45.5 percent of the equity was held by foreigners.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Govt to sell non-strategic GLC assets Priority for bumiputera buyers.
	Economists concerned by limited market for bumi shares 'It's a mockery of Keluarga Malaysia.'
	Freight forwarders bumi equity rule postponed It's been pushed to the end of 2022.

RM30m renovation for PM's residence

Seri Perdana - the prime minister's official residence - is undergoing a makeover to the tune of RM30 million.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the renovations were being done to "preserve the nation's image", and to improve the building's safety.

Former minister Rafidah Aziz called the renovation a complete waste of public funds.

She said the nation's image was not reflected by buildings, but rather by its occupants.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Ideas launches political appointees tracker It tracks appointments in GLCs, agencies.
	Najib suggests bringing back Najib-era GST, HSR He also moots reviving Bandar Malaysia.
	Deputy minister sorry for driver's dangerous driving Marzuk ready for punishment.

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 11,332 new cases yesterday (Sept 28).
  
  
• The country's R-naught is at 0.90, indicating a decline in the spread of Covid-19. Pahang has the highest R-naught at 1.00.
  
  
• While case numbers have gone down, the number of deaths is still relatively high, with September already the deadliest month for Malaysia since the start of the pandemic.
  
  

What else is happening?

• Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad clarified that he did suggest a mixed development project that included affordable homes be approved for a developer while he was the federal territories minister - in line with a goal to create more affordable housing.
  
  
• Bandar Utama assemblyperson Jamaliah Jamaluddin warned that Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin’s silence on the reported period spot checks at schools might allow sexual harassment of children to persist.
  
  
• Police denied that a Chinese temple in Salak Selatan, Kuala Lumpur, was being demolished when a riot broke out.
  
  
• The Health Ministry is taking steps to stem a specialist "brain drain", by both retaining existing specialists and enticing those who have left to return.
  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	Hisham talks to China on safe, free seas 'All parties must avoid military provocation.'
	MACC advisers concerned by recent arrests Azman Ujang wants internal audits.
	Covid-19 lands Sarawak deputy CM in ICU 'Please get vaccinated'.

What are people saying?

	12MP: Devil is not in the details, but lack of political will By P Ramasamy
	Traditional Malay houses on the brink of extinction By Sheikh Ali Azzran
	Whither are we bound with children's citizenship? By Nora Lam