Good morning. Here's what you need to know today.
Key Highlights
PKR elections snafu
Harassment of journalists
Blogger wanted for sedition
PKR elections snafu
As is expected of the PKR elections, this year's party polls promises to be chock-full of drama.
Already there are accusations of election irregularities and tense standoffs.
PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli claimed the online election system being used is flawed, including the ability of people to vote multiple times on behalf of others.
He said this is enough grounds for the elections to be postponed until fixes are patched in.
PKR elections committee director Zaliha Mustafa, however, assured that voting is tightly regulated, and that any irregular results can be invalidated to pave the way for re-elections.
Meanwhile, in Port Dickson, violent protests against Rafizi's running mate Aminuddin Harun had to be defused by riot police.
The PKR leadership election will end on May 22, so there may be more drama to come.
In 2018, unhappiness over results in Kedah being invalidated due to faults in the e-voting system led to a ruckus with chairs being thrown around.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | Best to put trust in JPP and give them space, he says. |
 | Umno info chief says better to change party constitution than change parties. |
 | The former PM says many voters are still concerned over another Covid-19 wave. |
Harassment of journalists
Harassment against Malaysian journalists is in the spotlight after a security guard verbally abused two journalists last Saturday.
The guard, stationed at the Pudu Urban Transformation Centre (UTC), had been trying to deter the journalists from The Vibes from investigating claims that the queues at Immigration Department counters were unusually long.
Besides verbal attacks, the guard is also accused of snatching the phone of one of the journalists.
Both sides have lodged police reports.
Police at the Dang Wangi District police headquarters at first declined to pursue the case, classifying it as ”refer to the magistrate” and claiming there was no criminal element.
However, this was overruled by Kuala Lumpur police, who are investigating the case under Section 160 of the Penal Code, which criminalises those involved in an "affray".
HIGHLIGHTS
| 'Do we have to wait for something bad to happen to the press first?' |
 | Kasthuri Patto says investigations have been moving at a snail’s pace. |
 | The victim, their niece, was believed to have been abused. |
Blogger wanted for sedition
Police are on the hunt for blogger Hussein Abd Hamid, who runs the Steadyaku47 blog.
Hussein is being investigated over sedition for purportedly insulting the Pahang royalty.
The blogger - who lives in Australia - has responded defiantly, daring police to come after him.
He said Australia's extradition treaty with Malaysia does not cover sedition.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | Govt should facilitate and promote rather than ban them, he says. |
 | He reminds them of the products barred from entry into the US. |
 | He alleges that Prasarana and DanaInfra have breached their debt levels. |
A daily glance at Covid-19
1,697 new cases yesterday (May 16) bring the cumulative infections to 4,479,809.
5 new fatalities put the death toll at 35,620.
New cases by states
Selangor (707)
Kuala Lumpur (370)
Penang (151)
Perak (78)
Johor (69)
Negeri Sembilan (50)
Sabah (48)
Kedah (47)
Malacca (39)
Putrajaya (38)
Pahang (36)
Sarawak (25)
Terengganu (20)
Kelantan (15)
Labuan (4)
Perlis (0)
What are people saying?
 | By S Thayaparan |
 | By Musa Mohd Nordin, Azizi Omar |
 | By R Nadeswaran |
