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

Key Highlights

• Get boosted or lose fully vaxxed perks
  
  
• Dr M vs TMJ
  
  
• PSB dangles Dayak CM carrot
  
  

Get boosted or lose fully vaxxed perks

The government is getting serious in pushing the public to get booster shots for the Covid-19 vaccine.

All those above 60 years old, as well as all Sinovac recipients, must now get a booster shot by February 2022 if they want to keep their "fully vaccinated" status.

This means that those required to get boosters and refuse to do so may find themselves locked out of restaurants, cinemas and other locations that only allow fully vaccinated patrons.

The efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines wanes over time and Sinovac, in particular, suffers from a sharp drop in protection after three months.

HIGHLIGHTS

	2nd Omicron case in M'sia 18 more suspected cases.
	Only small Xmas, NYE gatherings allowed  Tests must be done before attending.
	Parliament extended to debate Act 342 Stiffer fines for SOP violations sought.

Dr M vs TMJ

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim are at it again.

Mahathir, in his latest autobiography, took several swipes at the prince, in particular over a case where radio host Partick Teoh was arrested and charged for allegedly insulting Tunku Ismail.

The Langkawi MP argued that the law does not protect princes as it does a ruler, and charging Teoh implied that certain members of the royal family were above reproach.

This criticism led Mahathir to call for a national conversation on the role of the monarchy.

He also implied that efforts to sign the Rome Statute on war crimes were derailed after Tunku Ismail and his father Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar claimed it would undermine Malays and the monarchy - a claim Mahathir said is false.

Responding to the book, Tunku Ismail claimed it was Mahathir who was being dishonest in regard to the Rome Statute and its implications on Malaysia.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Mahathir admitted to IJN There will be a full check-up.
	PM urges unity to rebuild the economy It is a hard task, he says.
	Najib allowed to attend the 1MDB trial This is despite being a casual contact.

PSB dangles Dayak CM carrot

Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) has said it would nominate a Dayak as chief minister if the community throws their support behind the party in Saturday's state election.

PSB's manifesto does not explicitly promise a Dayak chief minister. Instead, PSB is promising a government where the chief minister and four deputies will represent different ethnic groups.

Collectively, the Dayak people are the majority in Sarawak, based on Department of Statistics figures.

However, PSB chief Wong Soon Koh did not name who their Dayak chief minister candidate would be, saying this would only be decided after the election.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Analysts: PSB is GPS's closest competitor But GPS is still expected to win.
	Millions spent, but Sibu floods persist Najib previously promised aid for votes.
	Pusa voters perturbed by poverty It's one of the poorest districts.

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 4,262 new cases yesterday (Dec 16)
  
  
• The national R-number is currently 0.92 indicating a decline in the spread of the virus.
  
  

What else is happening?

• The government will not raise the age of marriage for Muslim girls to 18, citing feedback from the states that have purview over Islamic law. Thus far, only Selangor has raised the minimum age to 18 on its own accord.
  
  
• Intel will invest around RM30 billion to build a new chip-packaging and testing factory in Malaysia, creating around 9,000 jobs.
  
  
• There's a major water disruption due to odour pollution in Selangor again, affecting 463 areas. The water supply was expected to be restored by last night.
  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	RM700k robbery: Two more MACC officers nabbed They're gang robbery suspects.
	Anti-sexual harassment bill panned Group wants the focus on survivors.
	Ex-board member 'sad' 1MDB sued him Ismee reiterates cooperation with MACC

What are people saying?

	On Mahathir and monarchy By Abdul Aziz Bari
	Crimes that no govt wants to acknowledge By S Thayaparan
	Proceed cautiously with Act 342 By Malaysian Health Coalition