Current Affairs

Early yesterday morning the impasse of the office of Attorney General was resolved with the Palace terminated of Apandi Ali and the appointment of Tommy Thomas. The office of Attorney-General was taken up in the Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto as an institution needing reform. In fact Pakatan promised to separate the role of Public Prosecutor from that of the Attorney-General, and elect the AG from the assembly of MPs. today.

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This morning The Malaysian Insight published a story that Sarawak’s ruling party to leave BN despite a plea by UMNO and Barisan Nasional chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.  Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) anchors the BN there and is firmly in control of the state government. BN Sarawak consists of PBB, Parti Rakyat Sarawak, Sarawak United People's Party and Progressive Development Party.

Together they have 19 of the state’s 31 Parliamentary seats. Speculation that they will declare that its Pakatan-friendly has been in the air. Today we explore the consequence such a move.

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The Conference of Rulers is expected to meet at Istana Negara tomorrow, at which the dismissal of the current Attorney-General as well as the appointment of a new AG will be discussed. Since being revealed in the public, many are asking about the reasons behind the delays by the Palace, with the Royal institution courting its fair share of criticism even as some NGOs, media and politicians have rallied to their side. Today we ask, who has the final say to appoint the Attorney-General, and how does the Federal Constitution spell out the conditions for the position?

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This past week, Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir made a series of announcements involving our ties with Singapore. These include the cancellation of the High Speed Rail; the withdrawal of the Pedra Branca or Pulau Batu Puteh case at the International Court of Justice but at the same time planning to build up Middle Rocks outcrop near Batu Puteh. Today we explore our changing bilateral dynamics post-GE14.

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Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir recently announced that the early education programme PERMATA Negara will be retained, however it will be placed under the Ministry of Education. PERMATA Negara is one out of many programmes under PERMATA banner aimed at creating education opportunities for children. PERMATA is credited as the brainchild of Datin Sri Rosmah Mansor, who also acts as its patron. We speak to Tan Sri Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Shahabudin, senior consultant for the PERMATA Programme to get more clarity on it.

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This morning Utusan Malaysia’s headline read “Defend UiTM” with a quote from its former vice-chancellor suggesting that attempts to give equal access to all citizens to study at the university amounted to an attack on not just the institution but all Malays. Today we explore the tricky question of institutional reform that threatens vested interest and identities.

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Earlier this week, the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, Bai Tian, met with Council of Eminent Persons member Robert Kuok on the future of China-Malaysia cooperation. During the one-and-a-half hour meeting, Bai Tian spoke highly of Kuok’s contribution to the development of Malaysia and also on the progress of China-Malaysia relations. Robert has been widely praised as the best man to renegotiate China projects by analysts and observers. Today we explore the stakes in our special relationship with China.

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Earlier this week, UMNO acting president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that his party’s supreme council has agreed to allow all positions in the party to be contested including that of the president, deputy and vice-presidents. The nomination for the party's branch, division and wings will take place from May 19 to June 10 while the nomination process for the UMNO supreme council will take place from June 1 to 13. Today we explore the internal dynamic of Malaysia's grand old party following its stunning losses at recently concluded the 14th General Elections.

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The new Malaysian Transport Minister, Anthony Loke, says the search for missing flight MH370 will end on May 29.

Voice 370, a group representing the relatives of those aboard the flight, says they are "utterly shocked" and "disappointed" by that announcement.

Grace explains what's next for the loved ones of the MH370 victims.

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Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo announced that RTM is set to broadcast some 2018 World Cup matches, a move that could cost Putrajaya up to RM40 million.

However, given the federal government's debt of over RM1 trillion, is this a fiscally prudent move? Haresh weighs in.

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