Is this the end of Pakatan?
It’s just a small matter, concerning who should be the Grand Poobah of Pakatan Harapan Plus. But the impasse (or should we say argument) over whether it should be a a septuagenarian or a nonagenarian is now threatening to send the coalition the way of ancient ancestors of men.
In other news, the current PM (and his buddies) has filed an application to strike out a suit by a former PM (and his buddies); a certain Boy Wonder is claiming to be the latest victim of a purported government crackdown on dissent; another person is being investigated for a statement not made by her; and, two Indonesians are on the lose and feared to be spreading Covid-19 among people in Sarawak.
Liar, liar pants on fire
Our perennial PM-in-waiting, Anwar Ibrahim, says Pakatan has consensus as to who should be their PM should they return to power, but a DAP man says nothing has been decided yet because PKR can’t seem to agree with the rest of the coalition.
Meanwhile, a whole slew of restrictions have been relaxed under the recovery movement control order (RMCO), even as a new cluster of infections has been identified; the cops seem to be confused as they investigate a DAP MP over a posting she made debunking fake news; and, defence lawyers for a former PM are crying foul over some obscure change to charges against him.
What’s in a question?
What appears to be a government crackdown on dissent continues as a DAP MP is investigated for merely “asking a question”, while a news organisation is in trouble for allowing certain comments on one of its articles.
In other news, our great leaders in Pakatan Harapan Plus are still at an impasse as to whether it should be an old man or a much older man who should lead them to glory; we could be in even more trouble in terms of unemployment by the end of the year; and, a former top civil servant says another top civil servant wasn’t pressured to do something bad, even though the latter had earlier said otherwise.
Is the worst yet to come?
Malaysia’s unemployment rate is at a 30-year high, and it could get worse. Much, much worse. Especially if that long-rumoured second wave of Covid-19 infections becomes a reality.
In other news, two Sabah state reps break on through to the Perikatan Nasional side, our Covid-19 numbers go up, and no one can be certain if kindergartens and pre-schools are being allowed to open on July 1, or just pre-schools.
Is GE15 around the corner?
Don’t look now, but according to the rumour mill, PM Muhyiddin Yassin is gearing up for a snap general election to cement his government’s authority. Yes, folks, that means GE15!
Elsewhere in today’s newsletter, Anwar Ibrahim talks himself up once again while simultaneously bashing Dr Mahathir Mohamad, ex-AG Apandi Ali sounds like he’s talking through his backside, former radio personality Patrick Teoh faces up to a year in jail for allegedly insulting the Johor Crown Prince, and we say goodbye to the Health D-G and Defence Minister’s daily press briefings.
Social distancing be damned
The government has decided to allow public transportation, express buses and flights to operate at full capacity, meaning social distancing is out the door. But don’t worry folks, apparently the MySejahtera app is going to save us all from another wave of Covid-19 infections. Right.
In other news, we’ve decided not to send anyone to Saudi Arabia for the haj season; our daily Covid-19 numbers are back in the double-digit realm; and, a certain would-be PM is still not giving up on his dream.
The end of school holidays
It’s back to school later this month for students due to sit for upper level exams, after a three-month hiatus thanks to Covid-19. But there’s still no word about when the rest of our whippersnappers will be following suit.
In other news, our Covid-19 numbers increased by just two (yay); a bunch of NGOs are calling for our PM, our former PM and our would-be PM to work together for political stability (yeah, right); and, a former attorney-general decides to open his mouth and defend a former PM while “accusing” another ex-PM of conspiracy. That’s a lot of exes, no?
Musa Aman is a free man
Another person linked to former PM Najib Razak has seen money laundering and corruption charges against him dropped. But unlike previously, there’s not even the slimmest chance of ex-Sabah CM Musa Aman being re-charged.
In other news, the government appears to be quelling dissent via a much-maligned section of the Communications and Multimedia Act, Malaysia records a mere seven cases of Covid-19 infection for the second day in a row, and the Opposition may finally have settled on a PM candidate. Or not.
No more duduk rumah from Wednesday
From Wednesday, June 10, Malaysia will officially be under recovery movement control. What this means is that between now and Aug 31, we will slowly be making our way back to normalcy. Or some version of it anyway.
Elsewhere in today’s newsletter, we look at what the RMCO means for Parliamentary democracy, whether the Penjana stimulus package is all it’s cracked up to be, and what the hell is gonna happen to all the data we’ve given up over the last three months to kononnya keep that darn coronavirus at bay.
Bersatu they stand, divided they fall?
It was an explosive affair last night when the Bersatu supreme council met for the first time minus now “sacked” chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Four council members who are supporters of the former chairman staged a walkout and declared the meeting, Maddey’s sacking and the Perikatan Nasional pact not valid.
In other news, a Bersatu deputy minister resigned and then went to meet Maddey; Covid-19 guidelines for schools when they eventually reopen are out; there was a massive spike in new coronavirus cases; and, the penultimate day of oral submissions for Najib Razak’s SRC International corruption trial saw more sparring between prosecution and defence.
Also, it feels like there’s a public holiday every week these days, which must be fate’s cruel sense of humour, since we can’t actually go anywhere and take advantage of the break. Anyway, next Monday is a public hol as it’s the Agong’s official birthday. Enjoy the long weekend and see you again on Tuesday! Oh, btw, we’ve got one of our special reports coming out this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled for that. 🙂