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


Key Highlights

  • BN eyes early GE15

  • Najib backtracks on RM100mil home

  • New party by PKR defectors



BN eyes early GE15

Buoyed by BN's win in the Malacca polls, Umno is now pushing for the 15th general election to be held in the "near future".

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan said he asked Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to expedite the general election following the win as BN stands the best chance.

Ismail previously promised not to call the general election earlier than July 31 next year in order to fulfil reforms as part of a deal with the opposition.

Amid Umno's confidence, the party's Khairy Jamaluddin cautioned that it may be too early for BN to decide to go it alone in the general election.

DAP's Lim Kit Siang said he expected calls for an early general election after the Malacca results and expressed concern that ex-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak may make a comeback.

BN won a landslide in last Saturday's Malacca polls, capturing 21 out of 28 seats, constituting a two-thirds majority. PN picked up two seats while Pakatan Harapan won five seats.

Umno's incumbent Malacca chief minister Md Sulaiman Md Ali was immediately sworn in and returned to the top post.

BN does not plan to dissolve the Malacca state assembly until 2025, which means the next state polls won't be held concurrent with the federal election, which is due in 2023.

PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin is undeterred by the fact that his coalition only won two seats, reaffirming his commitment to Bersatu.

PAS' Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, who was purged from the party's leadership for unsuccessfully pushing PAS to cooperate with BN instead of PN, congratulated BN and with a hint of sarcasm, conveyed condolences to his own party.

PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, who is on leave from the party, said the Malacca polls should serve as a lesson for Harapan while DAP's Liew Chin Tong called for a "reset".



HIGHLIGHTS

Tey resigns as Malacca DAP chief
He takes responsibility for DAP's losses.
Zahid expects new political alignment
This follows the Malacca polls.
Loke: Getting high voter turnout a key challenge
He sets eyes on GE15.




Najib backtracks on RM100mil home

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, who has been convicted of graft, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust, decided to withdraw his request for an RM100 million residence from the government.

The withdrawal was made on the eve of the Malacca polls, in an apparent attempt to mitigate the damage to BN.

The damage was minimal, considering BN's landslide win and Najib declared that he "slept very well" following the victory.

In trying to turn the controversy to his advantage, Najib asked that the RM100 million property be sold in order to fund aid for the people.

Following the revelation that the government had indeed planned to reward Najib despite his criminal conviction, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Pakatan Harapan planned to call for a bloc vote during the committee stage of the Budget 2022 vote.

They also plan to meet with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on the matter.

Warisan previously criticised Harapan for not calling for a bloc vote during the policy stage of the Budget 2022 vote.



HIGHLIGHTS

'RM100m property': Zafrul and Najib differ
This is on when the application was made.
RM20.5b in 1MDB assets returned to M'sian govt - MACC
Assets being recovered from US, UAE, Taiwan and Singapore.
Umno, PAS duel over why Malacca collab failed
Umno says PAS walked out

 



New party by PKR defectors

Tebrau MP Steven Choong and Julau MP Larry Sng, who defected from PKR, are planning to set up a new party. It will be called Parti Bangsa Malaysia.

The duo said it won't involve Gombak MP Azmin Ali and Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin, two key leaders who led the exodus from PKR. They have joined Bersatu.

The setting up of Parti Bangsa Malaysia came amid speculation that the group of PKR defectors are divided on whether to remain in Bersatu or set up their own party.

The involvement of other PKR defectors in the new party may become more apparent in the near future - and this could threaten another split.



HIGHLIGHTS

Zuraida fails to quash suit by PKR
This is over her defection.
Azmin confident PAS members will toe the party line
Some PAS members backed Umno over Bersatu.
Zahid and Rauf compounded RM10k
They allegedly violated Covid-19 SOP.

 


A daily glance at Covid-19

  • 4,854 new cases yesterday (Nov 21).

  • The death toll crossed 30,000. 24 new deaths put the total fatalities at 30,002.

New cases by state:

Selangor (1,365)
Johor (494)
Kelantan (486)
Sabah (437)
Kedah (275)
Penang (271)
Pahang (265)
Sarawak (245)
Kuala Lumpur (235)
Terengganu (208)
Negeri Sembilan (197)
Perak (177)
Malacca (142)
Putrajaya (31)
Labuan (14)
Perlis (12)


What else is happening?

  • Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine recipients are being given booster shots earlier because its effectiveness starts to wane sooner.

  • The Malaysian Bar called on the Attorney-General's Chambers to explain its decision not to appeal Umno's Putrajaya MP Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor's corruption case.

  • The MACC revealed that Singapore repatriated US$15.4 million in 1MDB-linked funds received by Tawfiq Ayman, the husband of ex-Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz.


HIGHLIGHTS

SIS blasts minister for deflecting period spot checks
Education minister had blamed senior students.
Group claim abuse in Kota Bharu custodial death
According to Edict, the victim was beaten.
Matchmaker-beating cop transferred
KL police investigating the beating of a woman.



What are people saying?

Malacca polls: Preliminary look at the results
By Bridget Welsh
Sorry Anwar but it's time for you to step aside
By Martin Vengadesan
Marginalised children in need of protection
By Hartini Zainudin