ROUNDUP | Graft-linked procurement frozen; temple says Jakel defying govt

KINI ROUNDUP | What’s going on in the news today, with updates at 11am, 2pm, and 6pm.

6pm

Government

• Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that all armed forces and police procurement decisions linked to corruption are temporarily shelved pending full compliance with procedures.

  Bernama cited him as saying that relevant ministries will review and restructure all procurement processes to ensure transparency.

READ MORE: 3 ‘very senior’ military officers face graft charges

• The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has decided to drop its application to review a Federal Court ruling that it was unconstitutional to penalise protesters for not giving notice to authorities.

  Mandiri executive director Amir Hariri Abd Hadi said he was notified of the AGC’s latest decision through his lawyers.

  

  On Wednesday, the government said it would speak to the AGC about discontinuing the review in light of a cabinet decision to amend the Peaceful Assembly Act.

Temple vs Jakel

• The Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple committee has accused Jakel Trading of defying Putrajaya’s commitment that the temple would not be moved until processes to secure its new premises are completed.

  This is after the company made a “goodwill offer” of RM1 million to immediately relocate the temple along Jalan Munshi Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur within seven days.

  

  Temple secretary Kaarthik Gunaseelan conveyed the rejection of the money on behalf of the temple management today in a letter addressed to company directors Faroz Jakel and Nizam Jakel.

  Kaarthik said they were reluctant to accept the textile company’s “goodwill offer”, especially since they disagreed with many of the conditions imposed.

  Yesterday, Kaarthik said he would seek legal advice after receiving the notice to immediately vacate the land.

Court

• The 15-year-old accused of murdering his schoolmate at a school in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya in October last year has been declared fit to stand trial, following the completion of a psychiatric assessment at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta.

  The student is being held at the Puncak Alam Correctional Centre, where the court has ordered him to continue attending monthly counselling and therapy sessions.

  Magistrate Amira Sariaty Zainal fixed Feb 6 for the next case mention.

Selangor pig farming

• Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu said Putrajaya has no problem with Selangor’s plan to centralise pig farming in Bukit Tagar if there is no risk of pollution.

  

  Bernama cited him as saying that the relocation of farms should take into account environmental sustainability to prevent pollution that could negatively impact local communities.

  “The 200ha area is vast, but it must adopt modern practices to avoid pollution. If carried out with modern farming systems, pollution will not occur,” he added.

• While PKR leader Dr Sathia Prakash Nadarajan respects the Selangor government’s decision on centralising the state’s pig farming to Bukit Tagar, he told Malaysiakini that the paramount issue in Hulu Selangor is to build a hospital, as there is “not a single one” in the constituency.

  Sathia pointed out that despite having a population of over 300,000, locals still need to travel across district boundaries to receive medical care.

  The Pakatan Harapan Hulu Selangor parliamentary coordinator urged the state and federal government to make a reasonable decision that balances industrial needs with the people’s right to access healthcare facilities.

2pm

Government

• Fences barring the public from going to Padang Merbok have been taken down, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh announced today.

  She said Kuala Lumpur Mayor Fadlun Mak Ujud gave the order two days ago.

  

  The fences were put up in August 2022 by the previous BN-Perikatan Nasional government. Kuala Lumpur City Hall claimed at the time that it was for maintenance purposes, while Yeoh believed it was in response to the lawn being used as a stage for protests.

  With Padang Merbok open once again, Yeoh suggested it be used as a safer location for activists to hand over memorandums to Parliament, instead of on the roadside.

Politics

• Indera Mahkota MP Saifuddin Abdullah has urged Perikatan Nasional to act fast in appointing a new chairperson.

  In an opinion piece published on Sinar Harian, he said present indicators suggest that PN can win the next general election, but defeat could be the case if the leadership transition from Muhyiddin Yassin is not completed soon.

  

  Saifuddin - who was sacked from Bersatu over calls for Muhyiddin to resign as party head - also made comparisons between Umno founder Onn Jaafar and Zimbabwe’s first prime minister Robert Mugabe in a veiled jab at the Bersatu chief.

  He said a founder like Onn is still respected because he made a dignified exit from Umno when he had irreconcilable differences with the party, while Mugabe ended up being overthrown because he refused to cede power.

• Pusat Komas has criticised Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh’s vow to “fight DAP to the very end,” cautioning that such “blatant political posturing” casts non-Malay communities as “targets” while also rallying anti-Chinese sentiment under the guise of party loyalty.

  

  Asserting that such rhetoric implicitly mobilises ethnic animosities for political gain, the NGO noted that its 2023 and 2024 Racism Reports showed that Akmal has a track record of inflammatory and hateful remarks.

  “Pusat Komas, therefore, calls on the Umno leadership to take responsibility and hold its youth chief accountable for his reckless and repeated mischievous rhetoric,” the group added in a statement today.

11am

Politics

• The views of those disputing Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar’s leadership if he were to be the next Perikatan Nasional chairperson are not grounded in reality, said PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

  In affirming his backing of Samsuri, Tuan Ibrahim highlighted that Terengganu has achieved impressive feats under Samsuri’s administration, pointing out that PN had managed to secure all 32 seats in the state assembly during the previous general election.

  

  Previously, Sungai Buloh PAS chief Zaharudin Muhammad, who is also the son-in-law of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, voiced opposition against Samsuri’s potential elevation to the top PN post.

• Commenting on Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh’s move to resign from the Malacca state government, Tuan Ibrahim said that while the move is commendable, the Malay nationalist party will have to execute similar measures to push for meaningful change.

  Failing which, Tuan Ibrahim opined that Akmal’s move, by itself, is unlikely to translate to major effects.

Crime

• DAP vice-chairperson Teresa Kok lodged a police and MCMC report yesterday over a viral fabricated news article that claimed that she has endorsed “halal-certified pork”.

  

  “This false and defamatory article has tarnished my reputation and portrayed me as a racial and religious agitator, undermining the country’s social harmony," the Seputeh MP said on Facebook.

  She demanded that the police investigate 18 Facebook accounts and one Thread account supposedly responsible for spreading the allegation, and urged the authorities to take stern action against them.

Court

• Former Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin was granted a posthumous discharge and acquittal by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on three graft charges involving RM2.8 million.

  The ruling came after the prosecution informed judge Rosli Ahmad that it did not intend to proceed with the case against Bung following his death on Dec 5 last year.

  

  The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), however, rejected the bid by Bung’s wife, Zizie Izette Abdul Samad, to dismiss the three charges of abetment against her.

  The trial against Zizie is expected to proceed in March, with the court having set new trial dates for her case.