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Key Highlights
Will Akmal bend or break?
MPs step in as scandals rock military
Albert turns to courts, lawyer turns to ‘magic’
Will Akmal bend or break?
All eyes are trained on Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh. Will he walk the talk or bite his tongue and fall in line?
After party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi shot down Akmal’s call for Umno to quit the Madani government, the Youth chief responded with a cryptic social media post hinting at stepping down.
Wasting no time to rub salt into the wound, DAP Youth promptly urged Akmal to resign as a Malacca state executive councillor if he truly intends to stand by his professed principles of leaving the coalition government.
The tension between Akmal and Zahid simmered on, with the latter - without naming names - reminding all quarters that those eager to dish out criticism must also be ready to take it.
Akmal, for his part, countered that he remains firmly committed to his principles.
Now, it remains to be seen what the 37-year-old Russian-trained medical doctor - who rose to political prominence by harping on issues related to race and religion - will do next. Or will it simply be a case of all bark and no bite?
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MPs step in as scandals rock military
The armed forces are under fire - not from enemies, but from within. From corruption scandals to shocking reports of female escorts turning military bases into party hubs, the allegations have cast a shadow over national security.
The Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Security (PSSC) has taken notice and will summon the Defence Ministry and armed forces for explanations.
DAP lawmaker Lim Lip Eng, a PSSC member, said the reports raise serious concerns about national security and potential threats to the country’s defence.
Yesterday, former army chief Hafizuddeain Jantan and his two wives were remanded to assist investigations into a controversial military procurement tender.
Even before the dust settled, further allegations emerged online suggesting that military officers were hosting wild parties, dubbed “parti yeye,” within the confines of military bases.
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Albert turns to courts, lawyer turns to ‘magic’
Businessperson Albert Tei, who blew the lid off Sabah’s mining scandal, is not backing down even with a stack of charges raining down on him.
In the latest twist of this long-running saga, Tei, with lawyer N Surendran at his side, filed an originating summons against the authorities after being forced to wear the orange lockup outfit despite not being convicted.
He named the MACC, its chief commissioner, Azam Baki, and the government as defendants.
Since November 2024, Tei has fingered more than a dozen Sabah politicians, claiming he bribed them for mineral exploration licences.
Meanwhile, another one of his lawyers - Mahajoth Singh - has turned to “Magic”.
Frustrated over the government’s handling of graft cases, including the Sabah scandal, he has founded the Malaysians Against Governmental and Institutional Corruption (Magic), an independent advocacy initiative launched late last year to tackle official wrongdoing head-on.
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Views that matter
 | By Woon King Chai |
 | By James Chai |
 | By KT Maran |
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