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Key Highlights

  • Harapan dissent boils over 

  • PAS keeps hope

  • Death penalty



Harapan dissent boils over

From the onset, some Harapan grassroots leaders had reservations when the coalition lent support to incumbent Sungai Udang assemblyperson Idris Haron for an internal coup against the Umno-Bersatu Malacca government.

However, they toed the party line and appeared with Idris at a press conference on Oct 4, when he and three other assemblypersons announced they were withdrawing support for the state government.

But that reservation morphed into dissent when Idris' group was invited to a PKR event on Monday night, where they were applauded. Top Amanah and DAP leaders in Malacca were also present.

DAP's incumbent Kota Laksamana assemblyperson Low Chee Leong went public, calling the event a joke for welcoming "traitors as heroes".

PKR downplayed the presence of the four defectors at its event.

Two from Idris' group, including former DAP assemblyperson Norhizam Hassan Baktee, had previously also brought down the Harapan-led state government.

PKR's Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim also broke ranks and criticised the Malacca Harapan leadership for being opportunistic and the central leadership for failing to provide proper guidance.

Harapan was partly responsible for the second Malacca coup as Idris pulled the trigger, believing that he could form the new government with the opposition coalition's support.

He was outmanoeuvred when Umno sought a dissolution of the state assembly, paving the way for fresh polls.

The dissent in Harapan was further fuelled by the four defectors expressing interest to contest in the Nov 20 Malacca polls as Harapan candidates.

Amid the disarray in Malacca, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said his party would "outright reject" Norhizam as a Harapan candidate.

This prompted Norhizam to lash out at DAP, stating that it had no right to stop him if he were to join PKR or Amanah.

The attempt to co-opt the four appears to be a strategic move to rally their supporters to Harapan's side but the ethical issues have caused internal unhappiness and raised questions about the coalition's direction in the state ahead of the snap election.



HIGHLIGHTS

PKR eyes four additional seats in Malacca
The party wants to contest 12 seats in total.
Guan Eng wants bipartisan consultation on polls SOPs
He is concerned about one-sided SOPs.
Why there can't be a vaccine rule for Malacca polls
Lawyers say it's unconstitutional.




PAS keeps hope

Harapan isn't the only coalition facing internal troubles. PAS and Bersatu are facing a hard time trying to convince Umno not to go against them in the Malacca polls.

Even though all three parties are part of the federal ruling coalition, Umno is eyeing to eliminate Bersatu and is also annoyed that PAS is continuously backing the Umno splinter party.

PAS, however, is still hopeful that it can turn Umno around.

While Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has openly declared he doesn't want his party to cooperate with Bersatu, there is still the process of getting the supreme council's approval and PAS can lobby leaders in the council.

PAS previously met with Umno deputy president Mohamed Hasan, who has a different position from Zahid on the Malacca polls.

However, it should be noted that Zahid yields considerable influence on the supreme council and previously managed to get the party to oust Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin as the prime minister.

For now, Zahid is keeping up with appearances, stating that the decision on the Malacca polls will go through due process.



HIGHLIGHTS

'Timah whiskey - A desperate attack against PAS'
PAS No 2 claims political motivation.
Minister: Govt will offer Nur Sajat counselling if she returns
She fled to Australia over persecution.
Maszlee tells DZ to ask 'new lover' about UEC issue
'I’m no longer in the govt, my dear.'

 



Death penalty

Amnesty International Malaysia renewed calls to abolish the death penalty after a single mother of nine was sent to the gallows for possessing 113.9 grams of syabu.

The previous Harapan-led federal government tried to abolish the death penalty but wavered after public pushback.

Retired attorney-general Tommy Thomas had criticised Harapan for its populism.

He pointed out the UK had in the 1960s abolished the death penalty even though the public was overwhelmingly against it but people have, over time, accepted the wisdom.

Unlike the UK government, Harapan went back to the drawing board. It dropped the idea of a blanket abolition, seeking instead to give judges discretion to mete out the death penalty.

It never got to do that after the government collapsed due to political defections. Successive governments have shown no interest in the issue.



HIGHLIGHTS

PM calls on M'sians to embrace differences
He says this in his Maulidur Rasul message.
Uggah: We'll get reluctant Penans to accept Covid jabs
Govt will seek the assistance of NGOs and elected reps.
132 of 134 Covid-19 samples are Delta variant
Delta is the most dominant strain.


A daily glance at Covid-19

  • 5,745 new cases yesterday (Oct 19), under 6,000 for two consecutive days.

  • The death toll crossed 28,000 with another 69 reported fatalities.

New cases, by state:

Selangor (888)
Sarawak (749)
Sabah (695)
Johor (649)
Kelantan (597)
Penang (393)
Kedah (352)
Perak (341)
Terengganu (281)
Kuala Lumpur (259)
Pahang (223)
Malacca (168)
Negeri Sembilan (114)
Putrajaya (29)
Perlis (5)
Labuan (2)


What else is happening?

  • The MACC will seek to question Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim about the Pandora Papers. He previously pushed for the matter to be debated in Parliament.

  • The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism questioned why the Attorney-General's Chambers did not object to the return of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's passport when he has already been convicted for graft.

  • Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari denied receiving payments from vice syndicates after the allegation was raised by anonymous portal Edisi Siasat, which previously also revealed the RM25 million theft by MACC officers.


HIGHLIGHTS

How one mistake snowballed into supposed M'sian 'ban' on Aussie farms
Deputy minister clarifies there's no such ban.
Govt never restricted M'sians from working abroad - Saravanan
It's subject to the rules of the respective country.
Covid-19 misinformation on newsrooms
Vigilance required to ensure accuracy.



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