Good morning! We’re back with your morning news summary this week.

We apologise for going dark last week due to technical issues. Here’s a quick rundown of what happened over the weekend.


Key Highlights

  • Muhyiddin and Financial crisis

  • Another unilateral conversion

  • Johor polls preparation





Muhyiddin and financial crisis

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin raised eyebrows after he claimed to have gained possession of a government report that indicated the country was in poor financial health and things are not as rosy as the Umno-led federal government is letting on.

After Muhyiddin promised to reveal the report in time, Umno Youth lodged a police report against him, accusing the ex-prime minister of violating the Official Secrets Act 1972.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz confirmed he handed the report to Muhyiddin in his capacity as the National Recovery Council (NRC) chairperson but said there was nothing secret about it.

As the NRC chair, Muhyiddin has also pressured the government to reopen the country's borders as most people are now vaccinated against Covid-19. 

He has pushed this message while campaigning in Johor, which economy has suffered from the border restrictions with Singapore.

Muhyiddin, who is also the PN chairperson, has grown increasingly critical of the government after it became apparent that the PN-BN alliance won't be sustained into the 15th general election.



HIGHLIGHTS

Saifuddin, Rafizi, Farhash expected in tussle for PKR No 2 post - sources
All three have not confirmed if they are contesting.
In Johor, Harapan struggles for a new order after slaying Goliath
Liew Chin Tong breaks down the challenges facing his party.
Kok to Zuraida: No need to comment on my English, explain 'under one roof' remark
Zuraida has taken a jab at Seputeh MP's comprehension.





Another unilateral conversion

Loh Siew Hong, who was abused by her now jailed ex-spouse, is in the middle of a child custody battle after her ex-husband unilaterally converted their children to Islam.

It is a long-running issue where religious conversion is abused to gain an upper hand in child custody battles, leveraging on the fact that non-Muslims rely on the civil courts while Muslims depend on the Syariah courts for family law.

The Federal Court had in 2018 addressed a similar case involving the children of M Indira Gandhi, ruling that the conversion of children must receive the consent of both parents.

A repeat of such tussles can be avoided if all religious authorities abide by the court ruling requiring the consent of both parents before approving any religious conversion, or wait until they are 18 and choose their own faith.

But the policy matter is often lost in a political-charged environment with people often taking sides along racial and religious lines.

The sentiment was further fuelled when Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin met with Loh's underage children and declared they want to remain Muslim and don't want to return to their mother.

Loh claimed her children, now in the custody of the Welfare Department while her ex-husband is in prison, had been "brainwashed" to reject her.

She is challenging their unilateral conversion in court, setting the table for another touchy debate that is often poorly managed by the country's leaders, deepening societal faultlines.



HIGHLIGHTS

AGC: Can review teen mum's murder charge after rape probe
15-year-old raped by boyfriend last year.
Abim wants govt to ensure Loh can see children 'as often as possible'
'No one should violate a mother's love for her child.'
McDonald's to take action on manager over abusive texts to dyslexic staff
Fast-food giant says manager's conduct 'unacceptable'.





Johor polls preparation

With five days left to the Johor polls nomination day on Feb 26, Pakatan Harapan has announced most of its candidates.

PKR and Amanah have unveiled all their candidates while DAP has three more seats left - Jementah, Perling and Skudai.

A likely candidate for one of the three seats is Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong after his party instructed him to contest despite his reluctance. Liew had always contested a Parliament seat and it will be his first state contest.

The process has not been easy with a breakdown of negotiations between PKR and Muda and PKR threatening to retaliate if Muda contested in their seats.

PN is expected to announce their candidate on Feb 23 while BN will do the same in the next few days.

PN has been on full campaign mode in Johor, including a 2,000-strong ceramah in Umno's heartland on Feb 28. 

The opposition, however, questioned why PN was being allowed to flout Covid-19 standard operating procedures when the ceramah crowd limit is only 100 people.



HIGHLIGHTS

Hadi cautions Malay youths not to take Muda bait, says it's DAP's doing
PAS president likens Muda to Amanah, which he claims created by DAP.
Chin Tong: Muda not a silver bullet, but it can be a catalyst
He says fledgling party can help show the way forward.
Harapan allies say no issue with Rafizi's PKR comeback
Amanah supports anyone with similar goals while DAP cites non-interference.


A daily glance at Covid-19


Beginning Feb 17, the Health Ministry stopped announcing same-day Covid-19 cases in the afternoon. Instead, they will be updated on the Health Ministry’s Github database the next day after midnight, along with other relevant data.

The midnight data update comes at varying times. We will furnish you with the latest figures here only if they are available at the time of writing.

  • 26,382 new cases yesterday (Feb 20).

  • The infectivity rate declined to 1.21 but still significantly above the 1.0 level that is the threshold of the virus spreading exponentially.


New cases by states

Selangor (7,180)
Sabah (5,007)
Johor (2,644)
Kedah (2,254)
Penang (1,811)
Kelantan (1,605)
Pahang (1,581)
Kuala Lumpur (1,428)
Malacca (713)
Negeri Sembilan (690)
Terengganu (608)
Perak (358)
Labuan (358)
Sarawak (309)
Putrajaya (173)
Perlis (113)




What else is happening?

  • The Malaysian men's team clinched their maiden Badminton Asia Team Championships title with a 3-0 win over defending champions Indonesia.

  • Former senior MACC officer Shahrum Nizam Baharuddin, accused of stealing RM25 million from evidence in a separate corruption case, was sentenced to three years imprisonment and two strokes of the whip.

  • Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas denied he had acted corruptly when he reduced the charges of tycoon Vincent Tan's son over a drug offence, stating that their lawyer had submitted a representation in accordance with procedure. Layer Haniff Khatri called for an investigation.


HIGHLIGHTS


Search for healthy food leads Simon to start his farm
MALAYSIANSKINI | The media veteran's organic food startup is now a successful business.
Kuwaiti waiting for MACC to turn up since offering dirt on Jho Low last year
MACC not responding to queries if it followed through with the offer.
B40 workers counting on govt for minimum wage decision - MTUC
Discussions should not be delayed for a long time, says sec-gen.


What are people saying?


Generational End Game' for smoking can be a good idea
By Zan Azlee


The uneasy truth about Malaysian football
By Sayf Ismail


The ‘almost forgotten’ radical Malay nationalists
By Ranjit Singh Malhi