Good morning and happy Malaysia Day!

Here's what you need to know today.

Key Highlights

  • Hadi's shot hits Bersatu

  • BN's Penang dream

  • Najib’s medication




Hadi's shot hits Bersatu

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang launched a broadside against Pakatan Harapan, accusing them of being immoral.

One of the reasons he said, is because Harapan took in corrupt party hoppers.

This particular swipe, however, actually hurts Hadi's Perikatan Nasional ally Bersatu - who took in 15 Umno MPs.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has accused several of those defectors - who are still in Bersatu - of jumping ship in order to avoid corruption charges.

PKR took in three independent MPs after GE14 (two of whom left after the Sheraton Move), while Harapan's then-ally Warisan took in one Umno MP.

HIGHLIGHTS

Umno supreme council to decide whether or not to negotiate with PAS
‘Hadi could have been PM if PAS had stayed with Pakatan Rakyat’ 
Is Guan Eng fanning racism while I'm doing my job, asks Idris




BN's Penang dream

BN is putting on a show of confidence that it can recapture Penang after having lost the state in 2008.

MCA, which hasn't been the lead BN party in Penang since 1969, wants to take over the seats that were formerly contested by Gerakan.

Of the 40 state legislators currently serving Penang, only two are from BN and both are Umno representatives.

MCA lost all 10 state seats it contested in Penang in 2018.

HIGHLIGHTS

Penang governor strips Najib of Datuk Seri title
A Las Vegas in Penang? Gerakan VP's casino idea quashed
'Top 5' Umno meeting on GE15 date postponed, PM says




Najib's medication

Najib Abdul Razak is still in hospital after being warded again on Monday.

His lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah argues that generic medication has been ineffective in lowering his blood pressure.

However, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Najib - like other inmates - have the option of buying their own medicine if they don't want to use those provided by the government.

HIGHLIGHTS

Mum really misses Najib's voice, laughter: Ex-PM's daughter
M’sia not in economic crisis, Zafrul says amid weakening ringgit
Economists: Ringgit slide effect on daily life minimal, but best to cut spending



Views that matter

Pardoning Najib will make a mockery of the law, judiciary
By Karen Cheah
A dark day for journalism
By P Gunasegaram
Harapan must offer M'sia a new federal deal
By Wilfred Madius Tangau



What else is happening?

  • Former MIC president S Samy Vellu passed away - prompting tributes from political allies and foes alike.

  • DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng has accepted a challenge from Human Resources Minister M Saravanan to find flaws in the latter's attempt to overcome the severe shortage in the labour force.

    Depending on whether Lim succeeds, one of them will have to resign from their posts.

  • Media Prima has denied political interference in the change of leadership at New Straits Times, while Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob insists that the government doesn't meddle with the press.

  • Pakatan Harapan wants the government to drop criminal defamation charges against journalists from The Edge.

  • The government will not interfere if the Public Accounts Committee wants to probe the delay in delivery of three offshore patrol vessels (OPV) to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency - which was originally due in 2020.

  • An STPM top-scorer who was stateless despite being born in Malaysia to a Malaysian father has finally received his citizenship.

  • A group of the veterans of the armed forces went on a 254km march from Ipoh to Putrajaya to voice their dissatisfaction over military welfare issues.



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