PM invokes king to check Umno
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Key Highlights
PM invokes King to check Umno
Zafrul in an EPF pickle
Rafizi egged on to challenge Anwar
PM invokes King to check Umno
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob appears to be digging in against pressure from his party Umno to hold a snap general election.
He invoked the Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday, saying the king's authority to determine when to dissolve Parliament should not be usurped by setting an early date without discussing it with the monarch.
It should be noted that while Article 55 of the Federal Constitution empowers the Agong to summon and dissolve Parliament, the king is also constitutionally bound to act on the advice of the government.
Therefore, asking for Parliament to be dissolved early is the government's prerogative, just as how the Constitution provides for a prime minister who has lost majority support to ask for Parliament to be dissolved early.
However, experts opine that the Agong does have the prerogative to reject the early dissolution of Parliament.
Last Sunday, Ismail Sabri said that major decisions must be decided collectively by BN and Umno, and not just because a small group was "screaming for something”.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | Coalition's presidential council cites bad economy, floods, Covid-19 as reasons. |
 | PAS won't dissolve state govts if a general election is called. |
 | The state ruler also urges the MB to replace any incompetent executive councillor. |
Zafrul in an EPF pickle
Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz has found himself in a pickle of his own making.
Back in January, he had said that he would rather resign as a finance minister than compromise on a fourth "one-off" special EPF withdrawal scheme.
The government announced a fourth EPF withdrawal of RM10,000 on Wednesday.
Zafrul's absence in Parliament yesterday fuelled speculation that he had quit.
The minister denied resigning and said he was away to deal with a personal matter.
Nevertheless, the question of whether or not he will quit over the latest round of EPF withdrawals is likely to dog him in the coming days.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | This will increase Putrajaya's budget by 2.6 percent. |
 | This follows the decision to create 4,186 permanent positions in 2022. |
 | Minister says confusion was caused by inaccurate news reports. |
Rafizi egged on to challenge Anwar
Rafizi Ramli is being egged on to challenge Anwar Ibrahim for control of PKR.
One of his potential rivals for the deputy president post, Farhash Wafa Salvador, challenged Rafizi to take on Anwar rather than just taking jabs.
Meanwhile, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng also opined that Anwar was Rafizi's true target in his criticisms towards PKR and Pakatan Harapan.
As such, Lim suggested that Rafizi should consider fighting for the PKR presidency.
Despite being the long time head of PKR, Anwar is only serving in his first term as party president - a post he won unchallenged in 2018.
He had pulled out of the party's presidential race in 2007 and 2014 due to legal obstacles.
Prior to 2018, he had held the informal post of "de facto leader", while his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail served as party president.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | Voters want to see coalition united, adds DAP sec-gen. |
 | 'If you want Bersatu, then be with them.' |
 | Those aligned against the party president push for Umno polls before the next GE. |
A daily galnce at Covid-19
27,004 new cases yesterday (March 17).
85 fatalities brought the death toll to 34,184.
New cases by states
Selangor (7,558)
Kuala Lumpur (3,266)
Penang (2,315)
Johor (1,990)
Kedah (1,916)
Negeri Sembilan (1,882)
Perak (1,561)
Sarawak (1,484)
Pahang (1,434)
Kelantan (863)
Sabah (769)
Terengganu (764)
Malacca (750)
Perlis (171)
Putrajaya (150)
Labuan (131)
What else is happening?
Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is worried about the potential adverse effects of a royalty-linked sea reclamation project on the livelihoods of some 1,000 fisherfolk who live in the constituency.
The judiciary lodged police reports against two news portals over articles on the alleged involvement of Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and SRC International Sdn Bhd scandals.
An MP claims the next-of-kin of those who died of complications caused by long Covid have not been able to get help from the National Disaster Management Agency’s (Nadma) funeral assistance programme.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | Minister adds 105 Covid-19 deaths reported yesterday. |
 | The deaths were attributed to health complications. |
 | They are proud of this athlete bringing global pride to Malaysia. |
What are people saying?
 | By Thor Kah Hoong |
 | By Bridget Welsh |
 | By Fa Abdul |
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