Good morning. The government appears to be shifting its MCO 2.0 strategy. Here's what you need to know.

Key Highlights

  • Shifting strategy

  • Money woes

  • Judge suspended



Shifting strategy

Still reeling from the economic fallout of MCO 1.0, Putrajaya isn’t planning to hold out under MCO 2.0 for long anymore.

After three weeks of MCO 2.0, it moved to allow more businesses to open, including salons and car wash centres, with more to come.

When MCO 2.0 started on Jan 13, there were 32,377 active Covid-19 cases and 563 deaths. These rose to 48,771 active cases and 826 deaths yesterday.

The reopening is hard to justify from a public health perspective. The government wasn’t oblivious. It tempered its message by promising more stringent rules and stiffer penalties.

The government appears ready to bite the bullet in anticipation of mass vaccination to blunt the pandemic's escalation. Minister Khairy Jamaluddin will lead this charge.



HIGHLIGHTS

Friday prayers capacity in FT expanded
New rules take effect today.
'Higher fines, but what about double standards?'
Anwar says no action against VIPs.
Three areas in T'ganu and Perak under enhanced MCO
This follows fresh outbreaks.

 



Money woes

Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi complained the government is only giving him and some Umno MPs RM100,000 in allocation. Other PN MPs get RM3.7 million.

The MPs getting lower allocation had been a thorn in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s side. Now, they’re getting a message.

The opposition was unamused that Zahid compared his situation to them. Opposition MPs pointed out they weren’t getting a single sen.

For those in power, allocations can be a tool to punish disobedience or bargain for support. But it also affects ordinary citizens.

Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim moved a grandmother to tears after donating a laptop to her grandson who had missed online classes because they couldn’t afford a device. But he can only help a few, as there aren’t any allocation.


HIGHLIGHTS

PM told to emulate Perak, Johor on equal funding
Harapan wants differences to be set aside.
Pejuang man: Syed Saddiq like a brother
Pejuang is ready to cooperate with him.
Muda hit by legal setback to become political party
It failed to compel the gov't on registration.





Judge suspended

Court of Appeal Judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer was suspended until his retirement, ending his career.

He is not an ordinary judge. In 2019, he alleged corruption in the judiciary.

His claims were used as a basis to push for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on the judiciary.

But then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohmad, discouraged by judges who objected, decided to put it on the back burner.

With the fall of the Harapan government last year, any hope for an RCI is over, and so is Hamid Sultan’s judicial career.



HIGHLIGHTS

AG: Thomas’ memoir an insult
Idrus Harun writes to his AG Chambers colleagues.
Nazir regrets implication of Tun Razak in 1969 riots
He says claims are conjectures.
Muda appeals to minister after legal setback
It does not rule out fresh legal action. 

 


A daily glance at Covid-19

  • 4,571 new cases yesterday (Feb 4).

  • A four-month-old baby became the youngest Covid-19 casualty along with 16 others, bringing the death toll to 826.

  • Sarawak, the only state not completely under MCO 2.0, saw daily cases climb to 270, the highest yet during the third wave.

  • Malaysiakini also compiles daily locations affected by Covid-19 so you can take precaution.


What else is happening?

  • Chinese New Year SOP released. No visitations and no temple prayers. Celebrations only with members of the same household, at home.

  • Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is prepared to face fresh attempts to unseat him as the Umno president.

  • A legal bid was filed to compel the attorney-general to advise Muhyiddin Yassin to quit as the prime minister.

  • Muhyiddin brushed off several lawsuits in relation to the proclamation of emergency, stating that the Agong knew the law when he acceded to it.


HIGHLIGHTS

Kit Siang: Dr M refuse to take responsibility
This is over his mistake of resigning as PM.
Deputy minister panned for not taking suicide seriously
She laughed at a host's flippant remarks.
NGOs appeal to S'gor ruler over forest reserve
They note the ruler's advice to protect forests.

 


What are people saying?

Working with Dr M again - yes, with conditions
By Francis Paul Siah
Corruption: What we can learn from Singapore
By Hulu Langat MP Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus
Tommy Thomas and the burden of race
By S Thayaparan

 

CARTOON KINI