Rosmah tears up in court

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Key Highlights

• Rosmah tears up in court
  
  
• Umno vs Bersatu in Malacca
  
  
• Anwar slams MOU delays
  
  

Rosmah tears up in court

Day two of Rosmah Mansor's defence in her corruption trial saw the former 'first lady of Malaysia' shed tears in court.

She broke down while claiming that the charges against her were malicious and selective prosecution.

Rosmah questioned why prosecution witnesses like then education minister Mahdzir Khalid and her former special officer Rizal Mansor were not charged over the solar project she is accused of soliciting bribes from.

She also denied that she was overbearing and could influence public policy as the prosecution alleged.

She also said a recording between her and her husband Najib Abdul Razak, which allegedly demonstrated this, was also irrelevant to the case. 

HIGHLIGHTS

	1MDB-linked offshore funds tied to Indian, Russian frauds The funds helped siphon billions from 1MDB.
	''Zahid's corruption case similar to Najib's'  The prosecution says both have unexplained donations.
	Prosecution assures fair trial for Azeez They said the charges are not defective.

Umno vs Bersatu in Malacca

The forthcoming Malacca state election is set to be a three-way showdown, with two government parties duking it out against each other and the opposition.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has ruled out any chance of cooperation with Bersatu in the state polls.

It's a high stakes gamble. Zahid, who has pushed to sever ties with Bersatu, must prove that Umno is still popular enough to win big in an election.

As for Bersatu, it may have lost the non-Malay votes which helped it bagged two state seats in 2018.

However, the party could capture more seats if PAS supporters side with it, instead of Umno.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Ex-Umno man turns on the waterworks He offers a teary apology to Malaccans.
	Disgruntled Malacca reps to complain to Agong They failed to meet the governor.
	Govt wants expert views on Malacca polls They want to avoid a Covid-19 spike.

Anwar slams MOU delays

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim slammed the slow implementation of reforms agreed to in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Pakatan Harapan and the government.

It has been one month since the MOU was signed and beyond talking up political stability, Anwar said there are little improvements worth noting.

De facto Law Minister Wan Junaidi has said that an anti-hopping law is being drafted by the Attorney-General's Chambers.

Undi18 is currently in a review stage to allow voters to verify their details, but would only come into force at the end of the year - which is too late for the Malacca polls.

A bill to amend the Federal Constitution to restore MA63 is coming soon, with Wan Junaidi aiming to table it on Oct 26.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Pandora Papers: Speaker rejects emergency debate He says it should be brought to the PSC.
	'Is this 12MP debate or reading class?' MPs vexed by ministers reading scripts.
	PAC praises PR1MA rationalisation plan Govt saved RM1.47b in 2020-2021.

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 9,380 new cases yesterday (Oct 6) the fourth day in a row where fresh infections have been below 10,000.
  
  
• All states are reporting an R-naught of below 1.00, indicating that the pandemic is on the decline.
  
  
• Hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients has also been trending down nationwide, except in Sarawak.
  
  

What else is happening?

• The government is deliberately distributing aid during the pandemic using the outdated RM980 poverty line. A deputy minister said using the current RM2,208 poverty metric would be too costly.
  
  
• Rais Hussin has quit as the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chairperson, saying that he had principles to uphold.
  
  
• Sabah and Sarawak migrants in Peninsular Malaysia will not get postal voting rights anytime soon. Instead, the government said, they should vote in the peninsula instead.
  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	Self-test for Covid-19 before 'balik kampung' Borders reopening soon.
	AirAsia: Only the fully vaxxed can fly The requirement comes into effect immediately.
	Palm oil plantations housing policy mooted Minister also wants to formalise smallholders.

What are people saying?

	Unethical political manoeuvring only creates problems for people By Khoo Poay Tiong
	National Cancer Fund needed as Covid-19 pandemic will increase cases By Charles Santiago
	Do you love me? By Fa Abdul