Gloves coming off in MACC panel spat

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Key Highlights

• Gloves coming off in MACC panel spat
  
  
• Save the flood ponds, save KL
  
  
• Court upholds vernacular school rights
  
  

Gloves coming off in MACC panel spat

The gloves are coming off in a spat in the MACC Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel over alleged misconduct by MACC chief Azam Baki.

Economist Edmund Terence Gomez, who resigned from the panel in protest, accused the panel's chairperson Borhan Dolah of being disingenuous after the latter claimed the former did not raise Azam's alleged wrongdoings in his emails.

Gomez countered by revealing email attachments detailing Azam's alleged ownership of shares exceeding limits allowed for civil servants, which Borhan did not disclose that he received.

Borhan went on to state that Gomez was barking up the wrong tree and that the economist should instead complain to the Public Service Department.

He also said Gomez should not use the Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel to further a "political agenda".

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Save the flood ponds, save KL

MPs in Kuala Lumpur are fighting to save flood retention ponds from being converted to real estate, in an effort to keep the capital city above water.

Six of the ponds have been alienated for the development of projects - such as mixed developments, affordable housing, recreation parks and service apartments - between October 2015 and September 2020.

Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh wants the MACC to probe if corruption was involved, as the alienation was not in line with the Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020.

Yeoh said alienating the ponds - which can store up to 2.5 million cubic metres of floodwater - could cripple operations under the Kuala Lumpur Flood Mitigation system.

Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil also wants to know who actually approved the alienation - which he said was done before Pakatan Harapan took over the Federal Territories Ministry.

However, the current Federal Territories Minister, Shahidan Kassim, warned Fahmi to check his facts before jumping to conclusions.

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Court upholds vernacular school rights

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur has dealt a blow to Malay supremacy groups that are seeking to get vernacular schools abolished.

Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali has ruled that vernacular schools are constitutional and that the use of Mandarin or Tamil in school does not violate Article 152(1) of the Federal Constitution.

Article 152(1) defines Malay as the national language.

A group of organisations had sought to use the Article to get a court declaration on their effort to get vernacular schools abolished.

Malay supremacy groups have often cited vernacular schools as being an obstacle to the social integration of Malaysian children.

Judge Mohd Nazlan, however, said that there are about half a million students of different racial compositions studying at vernacular schools nationwide.

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A daily glance at Covid-19

• 3,683 new cases yesterday (Dec 29)
  
  
• 36 new fatalities bring the death toll to 31,428
  
  

New cases by states

Selangor (962)
Kelantan (499)
Johor (429)
Pahang (308)
Kedah (236)
Kuala Lumpur (224)
Terengganu (193)
Sabah (192)
Penang (178)
Perak (173)
Negeri Sembilan (118)
Malacca (101)
Sarawak (23)
Putrajaya (22)
Perlis (18)
Labuan (7)

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• Sarawak DAP blamed its poor showing at this month's Sarawak state election on negative sentiments towards Pakatan Harapan after its 22-months in office.
  
  

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