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Key Highlights

  • Najib vs Muhyiddin: Where's my furniture?

  • Charity and flipping lands

  • Ahmad Maslan's version



Najib vs Muhyiddin: Where's my furniture?

After coming under heavy criticism for a hefty RM38.5 million renovation expenditure for Seri Perdana, former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin expectedly came out to defend himself.

Among the reasons he cited were water damage and fire hazard but one line in Muhyiddin's statement was most intriguing.

Muhyiddin said: "Based on the reports I received, the Prime Minister's Department recommended the procurement of furniture as many of them in Seri Perdana, which were claimed to be the personal possession of the sixth prime minister, had been shifted out."

The diplomatic language aside, Muhyiddin essentially suggested that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had carted away Seri Perdana's furniture, justified or not.

This did not sit well with Najib, who said the previous Pakatan Harapan government under Dr Mahathir Mohamad had refused to allow him to retrieve his items from Seri Perdana, the prime minister's official residence.

Najib said Muhyiddin's Perikatan Nasional gave him short notice to clear out his things in December 2020 and he learnt this was because the then prime minister was already planning to upgrade the building.

Najib said he should not be used as an excuse and the fact remains that Muhyiddin commissioned a multi-million ringgit renovation allocation while telling the people that the government had no money.



HIGHLIGHTS

I told 1MDB auditors to drop Jho Low issue - witness
Najib's aide said his boss gave the instruction.
Muhyiddin moots high-speed rail with Thailand instead
He previously terminated the HSR line to Singapore.
Govt to table motion on raising the statutory debt limit - Zafrul
Minister says govt needs spending flexibility.

 



Charity and flipping lands

Ever felt that high-density condominiums were going up in places that were already seemingly too crowded in Kuala Lumpur? You're not wrong.

The National Audit Report 2019 Series 2 highlighted how the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), at the time, was approving developments that went against the KL Structure Plan 2020.

But more interesting is the audit report's focus on Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan's (YWP) action in flipping DBKL lands.

The modus operandi: If a developer wants to buy land from DBKL, DBKL sells it to YWP and YWP sells it to the developer a few months later, at a marked up price.

YWP made a cool RM13.69 million from flipping three plots of lands in Sri Petaling and Jalan Imbi.

YWP is supposedly a charitable arm of DBKL and the Federal Territories Ministry, but it faced criticism that it was being used for political purposes.

Even though considered a charitable foundation, it is technically registered as a company under the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

This means it can't be audited by the Public Accounts Committee as it is technically not a public entity.



HIGHLIGHTS

DBKL postpones ban on liquor sales
This is for groceries and Chinese medicine shops.
Dr M wants a second audit from the private sector
He is seeking a double audit of govt agencies.
MACC to probe failure to complete uCustoms system
The project cost is RM397.43 million.




Ahmad Maslan's version

Umno's Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan was hounded by opposition MPs in Parliament after he was freed from his RM2 million laundering and giving false statements to the MACC charges by paying an RM1.1 million compound.

Defending himself, Ahmad said he only received RM1.1 million from ex-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and maintained his denial of the RM2 million.

Ironically, Ahmad Maslan denying knowledge about the RM2 million was what landed him the charge of giving false statements to the MACC, to begin with.

Leaked documents showed that a cheque of RM2 million had exited Najib's bank account number 211-202-201190-6 on Nov 27, 2013. The cheque was in Ahmad's name.

This information was also used in the framing of the money laundering charge against Ahmad.

With the court case dropped, the only version of events we have left is Ahmad's.



HIGHLIGHTS

Lokman Adam reinstated in Umno
He was previously sacked.
Adib's family disappointed with the new govt leadership
This is over the temporary closure of the firefighter's death case.
Umno wants probe into Adib's case to continue
Govt is waiting for new evidence.

 


A daily glance at Covid-19

  • 12,735 new cases yesterday (Sept 30).

  • Malaysia ended September with 9,680 lives lost to Covid-19, the deadliest month since the start of the pandemic. In contrast, 7,652 people died in August, 3,858 in July and 2,380 in June.

  • On the flip side, the country started September with 267,866 active Covid-19 cases. It's now at 164,536, a reduction of 38.6 percent.

  • However, the impact of the surge in Sarawak is starting to become more visible. Sarawak recorded the most deaths yesterday, making up 40 out of the 192 deaths (20.8 percent). Previously, Selangor would top the chart. It only reported 18 deaths yesterday.


What else is happening?

  • Pakatan Harapan said even though it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Putrajaya, the government won't get a free pass in terms of support for the ratification of free trade agreements in Parliament.

  • Putrajaya is now making it compulsory for all civil servants employed by the federal government to take the Covid-19 vaccine. Refusal without health justification will result in disciplinary action.

  • Several international human rights groups have written to Interpol to express concern that Malaysia may abuse the Interpol Red Notice in order to arrest Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown.

  • The government is weighing whether to expand the Covid-19 vaccine mandate. Among the tools at its disposal are existing laws that allow those who refuse to take the vaccine to be jailed. The alternative is to withhold incentives.


HIGHLIGHTS

'Not true hiring migrant workers cheaper than locals'
'For RM1 to hire local, RM3 spent to hire migrant worker'.
Oct 27 verdict for appeal of Mat Sabu's son's conviction
It's for a drug offence.
AG's Chambers looking at Lim's alleged quarantine violation
No instructions yet on the matter, Penang police say.



What are people saying?

Why there is less political tension in Sarawak
By Francis Paul Siah
Assure the public that their personal data are secure
By Lim Teck Ghee
Why we should oppose Aukus
By Syahredzan Johan