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

Key Highlights

• Najib's assets frozen
  
  

• Muda's electoral debut is on
  
  

• March polls for Johor
  
  

Najib's assets frozen

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur granted an ex-parte Mareva injunction to freeze former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's assets.

A Mareva injunction seeks to prevent a defendant from transferring his or her assets, pending the completion of legal action.

The Mareva injunction was granted to 1MDB and its subsidiaries, which are seeking the recovery of US$681 million which was deposited into Najib's bank account in 2013.

Following the freeze, Najib will only be allowed to withdraw a maximum of RM100,000 a month from his bank account for his living expenses.

HIGHLIGHTS

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	Anti-party hopping law, PM's term limit presented to MPs Govt is seeking their feedback.

Muda's electoral debut is on

Muda, a youth-based political party, has confirmed its debut in the Johor state election after successful negotiations with Amanah and DAP.

Amanah and DAP agreed to surrender six seats for Muda to contest. They are: Tenang, Bukit Kepong, Parit Raja, Machap, Puteri Wangsa and Bukit Permai.

But the move was not without controversy, with Johor Wanita PKR chief Napsiah Khamis criticising Amanah for giving Puteri Wangsa to Muda.

PKR was previously eyeing the seat, which is considered as the most winnable among the six as the opposition had won it since 2013.

Muda is also negotiating three seats from PKR but both parties have not yet come to an agreement.

Muda is seeking to offer a break from the old guard but their rivals are sceptical that they can make inroads in Johor.

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	'Don't weaponise pandemic to suppress minimum wage' MEF says the minimum wage rise will adversely affect businesses.
	TM clarifies sale of Menara TM Building on sale for undisclosed amount.

March polls for Johor

The Election Commission decided that Johoreans will go to the polls on March 12, with nomination day set on Feb 26.

Some 2.6 million voters are eligible to vote, including around 750,000 new voters due to the implementation of automatic voter registration and the new voting age of 18, down from 21.

Political parties are scrambling to strategise and decide on their candidates, which inevitably can ruffle feathers.

In Johor DAP, factionalism spilt over into the seat negotiations, with one group accusing the other of trying to drop them as election candidates.

The incumbent side is also seeing PN and BN going after each other, even though they are part of the federal government.

Despite Umno being the frontrunner, PAS believes that it can dislodge the Malay party with the right strategy.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Johor PKR deputy chief likely to take on a 'frog' in GE15 Jimmy Puah is also expected to sit out of the state polls.
	Developer wants to settle suit over Melaka Gateway project This is over the state govt's termination order.
	Sabah AG: NCA is non-binding until conditions met Agreement also subject to due diligence, she says.

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 17,134 new cases yesterday (Feb 9), another new high since September last year.
  
  
• The national infectivity rate is at an alarmingly high level of 1.39, a level unseen even during the Delta wave last year. 
  
  
• Hospital bed usage for Covid-19 patients climbed from 3,041 on Feb 1 to 4,510 on Feb 8, a 48.3 percent increase.

What else is happening?

• Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin confirmed that he was infected with Covid-19, a day after he chaired the National Recovery Council meeting and proposed the full reopening of the country's international borders.
  
  

• Disney Animation Studios’ ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’, co-penned by Malaysian screenwriter Adele Lim, has been nominated for an Academy Award.
  
  

• Putrajaya explained the requirement for Malaysians to get their Covid-19 booster shot in order to travel for their umrah pilgrimage was a condition set by Saudi Arabia, not by Malaysia.

  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	Masters swimmer Cindy Ong slams age discrimination She's barred from a championship despite meeting merits.
	M'sia urged to contribute 'fair share' towards global Covid war chest M'sia's share estimated at US$90m (RM377m).
	Cops confirm seven custodial deaths One involved criminal element

What are people saying?

	PAS engaging in backyard politics on world stage By James Chai
	MP SPEAKS | Ensure enough RTK self-test kits By Kelvin Yii
	Discard 'lose full vaccinated status' threat by Ashgar Ali Ali Mohamed