Rosmah rubbishes Najib dress-down clip

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Key Highlights

• Rosmah rubbishes Najib dress down clip
  
  
• Govt tried to censor flood response critic
  
  
• Malacca reclamation threatens artefacts, endangers turtles
  
  

Rosmah rubbishes Najib dress-down clip

Rosmah Mansor denies it's her shouting "Can I advise you on something?" in an infamous leaked phone call recording allegedly between her and husband Najib Abdul Razak.

She told the courts that it was not her voice in the recording, that its contents were "utter rubbish".

The audio recording is evidence in her corruption trial over a solar hybrid energy project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.

The MACC, which made the recording public, said it is genuine.

Witnesses, including Rosmah's former aide Rizal Mansor, also testified that it was her voice in the recording.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Rosmah denies disrespecting the court She did not turn up at her trial on Nov 21.
	Prosecution fails to impeach Rosmah This is over her alleged contradictory statement.
	Zahid unwell, corruption trial postponed to February He faces 33 charges involving the Foreign Visa System.

Govt tried to censor flood response critic

The government, via the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), tried to censor criticism over its flood response on Twitter.

According to the MCMC, hashtags used by one Twitter user in criticising ministers Rina Harun and Noh Omar were "obscene" and in violation of Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

It requested Twitter to take down the tweets, but the latter did not comply and alerted the user on the MCMC's complaint.

Putrajaya's flood relief efforts are being widely panned as slow and inefficient publicity stunts, and pleas by government politicians for public donations for flood aid are being met with contempt.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Minister: I can resign but what then? He tells critics to provide solutions to manage disasters.
	Armed Forces chief ticks off clout chasers He calls for unity to save the nation.
	IGP: Shah Alam density made evacuations tough He admits to a lack of coordination in flood relief work.

Malacca reclamation threatens artefacts, endangers turtles

The mega Malacca land reclamation project is posing multidimensional threats to the environment, the people and history.

The AJA reclamation project in Klebang, in particular, has raised concerns.

A heritage impact assessment (HIA) cast light on how reclamation there could hamper the discovery of historical artefacts.

Among the historical finds along Malacca's coastal areas include shipwrecks, weapons, ceramics and coins from the period of the Sultanate of Malacca, Portuguese Malacca, Dutch Malacca and the British colonial era.

An environmental impact assessment for the AJA project also highlighted habitat threats to the endangered hawksbill turtle.

An NGO has also expressed concern that reclamation would affect river flow to the sea and cause even worse flooding in Malacca.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Malacca bans alcohol at a country club The club is linked to the state govt.
	Kit Siang nudges PM to clarify NSC flood fiasco He notes Selangor MB and a minister are clashing over control.
	Govt allocates RM100m for post-flood recovery RM5k compensation for fatalities.

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 3,510 new cases yesterday (Dec 23)
  
  
• 44 fatalities bring the death toll to 31,265.
  
  

New cases by state:

Selangor (951)
Johor (398)
Kelantan (345)
Penang (222)
Terengganu (213)
Kuala Lumpur (210)
Kedah (207)
Perak (206)
Pahang (194)
Sabah (161)
Negeri Sembilan (153)
Malacca (150)
Sarawak (35)
Perlis (29)
Putrajaya (29)
Labuan (7)

What else is happening?

• Lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla rubbished Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun's reasoning to turn down an emergency debate on the Klang Valley floods.
  
  
• Indonesia has detected the Omicron Covid-19 variant in a migrant worker who had returned from Malaysia.
  
  
• Author Martin Vengadesan has published a sci-fi novel titled "Malaya 2057", which provides a dystopian glimpse of Malaysia's future 100 years after Merdeka.
  
  
• Don't forget to vote for your pick of the top news and top newsmaker of 2021. Voting ends at midnight, Dec 26.
  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	Hamzah: 79 custodial deaths in 6 years 17 cases with prosecutors.
	Mahathir discharged from IJN He was admitted for a full medical check-up.
	PNB declares 5 sen ASB dividend Payout totals RM8.9 billion.

What are people saying?

	Vile ‘ping-pong’ blame game over flood disaster By Andrew Sia
	BN and Harapan immoral disaster management By S Thayaparan
	Flood disaster: The rot worsens By Rafidah Aziz