Good morning. Here's our news and views that matter for today.
Key Highlights
‘Not Ismail Sabri, not KJ, but Farhash’
The ‘close one eye’ reformists
Speaker’s ‘hidden cameras and sexy voices’
‘Not Ismail Sabri, not KJ, but Farhash’
After the shocking attack on his 12-year-old son in a mall carpark on Aug 13, Rafizi Ramli revealed that he suspects the incident may be linked to his meeting with whistleblowers with information against a “certain individual”.
On Wednesday, the Pandan MP identified the individual as Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, former aide to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and now a businessperson.
Rafizi made the disclosure after attempts to pin the assault on former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, claiming he was pursuing cases related to them.
He dismissed these claims outright, describing them as a “malicious attempt to divert attention”.
"The first accusation claimed that I was investigating a case involving Ismail, supposedly related to money laundering abroad. The latest accusation claims that I was investigating another case involving Khairy and projects during his tenure as health minister.
"Both these accusations are untrue. The information provided relates to Farhash, a former political secretary to Anwar, and concerns his companies' transactions.” Rafizi said.
Farhash, who had earlier rubbished speculation linking him to the assault as nothing short of madness, has yet to respond to Rafizi’s latest remarks.
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The ‘close one eye’ reformists
Former MACC chief Latheefa Koya tore into Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim over his reply in Parliament on the Sabah graft scandal, branding it misleading and a betrayal of reformist ideals.
She accused Anwar of making a “false statement” by claiming that evidence against six of the eight implicated assemblypersons rested only on video recordings. In reality, she stressed, whistleblower Albert Tei had submitted a damning 300-page dossier detailing their alleged wrongdoing.
Latheefa warned that Anwar’s defence of why only two were charged shows his Madani government is “prepared to close one eye to corruption”.
“We have come full circle now; the so-called reformists are acting similarly to the old corrupt BN government that ruled till 2018,” she said.
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Speaker’s ‘hidden cameras and sexy voices’
Perikatan Nasional is considering action against Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul after he claimed to have installed hidden cameras and microphones to monitor proceedings in the august house.
The opposition also accused Johari of being “sexist” when he told Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek to speak closer to the microphone, saying: “When it’s (microphone) far, it sounds too 'sexy'.”
On the surveillance devices, opposition chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan said: “He (Johari) said, 'Don’t play around. I have placed a hidden camera. Hidden camera. And also hidden microphones that are not muted. Inside here. I know everything that happens in here.’”
The PAS lawmaker argued that this violated existing rules and constituted a criminal offence under Section 507A for stalking.
Johari made the remarks on Monday when delivering his ruling to suspend Pendang MP Awang Hashim for 10 days based on "evidence" obtained through the devices.
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Views that matter
 | By Lee Choon Fai |
 | By Thomas Fann |
 | By Wathshlah G Naidu |
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