Good morning. Here's what you should know today.
Key Highlights
Muhyiddin's U-turn
PKR's Anwar survey
Music censorship bungles
Muhyiddin's U-turn
Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Friday that he would not defend his post when the party holds elections next year.
The next day, he retracted his decision.
The U-turn came after Bersatu's supreme council and delegates at the party’s AGM rejected Muhyiddin's plans to retire next year.
Muhyiddin said his wife also convinced him not to abandon the party when they were counting on him.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | |
 | |
 |
PKR's Anwar survey
Merdeka Center's survey that found Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's approval ratings had dropped, did not go down too well with PKR.
Some, such as Anwar's political secretary Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin said the survey was not reflective of the Malaysian population.
This is despite Merdeka Center using a random stratified methodology, which is designed to reflect a country's population across various factors.
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, meanwhile, said that Anwar's approval rating by Merdeka Center was higher than that of his predecessors after one year in office.
He also said that PKR's own survey found support for Anwar to be at "status quo".
However, he said PKR no longer publishes the findings of its internal surveys.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | |
 | |
 |
Music censorship bungles
Cultural music appeared to come under attack in two separate incidents.
In Penang, two Tamil songs were banned from being performed at a national Tamil language carnival organised by the Education Ministry.
The two songs in question were 'Kadavul Valthu', a worship song, and 'Tamil Valthu’, which is a song about the Tamil language.
Also banned from the event were banners featuring Tamil literary and philosophical figure, Thiruvalluvar.
The Penang Education Department said there was no official ban on traditional songs and said it had taken action to avoid such an incident in the future.
Meanwhile, in Sarawak, the Association of Churches in Sarawak threatened to boycott a Christmas programme organised by the state's TV Sarawak (TVS) after a request to change the song ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ to ‘O Holy Night’ was reportedly rejected.
TVS later said this was a "miscommunication" and assured the Christmas carol would be featured in its programme.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | |
 | |
 |
Views that matter
 | By Bridget Welsh |
 | By Mariam Mokhtar |
 | By Andrew Sia |
Other news that matter
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the Madani government will take a firmer and faster pace in its second year.
Malaysiakini is hosting a public forum on the first year of the Anwar administration tonight.
An academic book about Malaysiakini and its impact on Malaysian history is out with discounts for readers.
Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin said it was a must read for all.
The government will grant a 30-day visa-free entry for citizens of China and India from Dec 1, as part of the celebration of the 50-year strategic partnership between Malaysia and China next year.
This is subject to security screenings.
An 18-month-old boy was killed by flooding in Kelantan, the first fatality in the state from this year's monsoon deluge.
Terengganu PAS is up in arms after state Umno chief Ahmad Said told a story claiming that someone had spotted PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang skinny dipping in an ablution pool at the Rusila Mosque.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | |
 | |
 |
