Good morning. Here's what you should know today.
Key Highlights
BN, PN lace up while Bersatu left at starting line
Loke locked in for the fight
Keeping mayor in check
BN, PN lace up while Bersatu left at starting line
BN and Perikatan Nasional are lacing up together as “friends” in a bid to beat Pakatan Harapan to the finish line in the Aug 1 Negeri Sembilan polls, leaving Bersatu to run its own race.
The two coalitions have teamed up for an electoral arrangement, albeit without what used to be PN’s linchpin, Bersatu, as the party has been sidelined from all seat negotiation talks and will contest using its own logo.
The first signs of the new BN-PN election pact emerged when BN announced candidates for only 25 of the 36 state assembly seats after it previously said it would contest in all constituencies.
All questions were answered last night when PN unveiled its candidates for the 11 remaining seats, proving indeed it was joining hands with BN.
Check out how the BN-PN partnership aims to overthrow Harapan bigwigs and flip the ruling coalition’s seats.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | |
 | |
 |
Loke locked in for the fight
On the Pakatan Harapan side, Anthony Loke has vowed that those who betrayed the Madani state government will pay at the ballot box.
Though the Negeri Sembilan Harapan deputy chief did not name the “traitors”, it is believed he was referring to the 14 Umno assemblypersons for their move during the recent royal crisis.
“... when a crisis hits our state, when we should be united and cooperating to resolve the situation in Negeri Sembilan, they instead chose to use it as an opportunity to stab us in the back, withdrawing support from (caretaker menteri besar) Aminuddin (Harun) and attempting to topple the Negeri Sembilan unity government,” Loke said.
“That person is a traitor and a rebel to the constitutional monarchy system in Negeri Sembilan,” he added.
The DAP secretary-general also took a firm stand on the issue in Malacca, where DAP assemblypersons resigned in protest over the approval to include appointed assemblypersons in the state legislature.
Despite Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urging DAP to reconsider, Loke said the decision was final.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | |
 | |
 |
Keeping mayor in check
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is rolling out 16 reforms aimed at curbing the mayor's powers and improving transparency instead of introducing mayoral elections and the third vote in the capital.
The minister in charge of the Federal Territories, Hannah Yeoh, said these reforms were part of recommendations from an International Islamic University Malaysia feasibility study on the Federal Capital Act.
“This reform approach aims to change DBKL’s work culture from the previous individual-based decision-making model, which was focused heavily on the mayor’s power, to a model based on the principles of good governance, collective decision-making, and integrity,” she said.
Earlier, former minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad urged the government to push for mayoral elections and appointed councillors, as “it would be truly regrettable if the federal government were to let slip such a meaningful opportunity” while Madani is in power.
HIGHLIGHTS
 | |
 | |
 |
Views that matter
 | By R Nadeswaran |
 | By Bridget Welsh |
 | By Chin Tek Ming |
In case you missed it
 | |
 | |
 |
