KiniNews is now also available at: Spotify: https://mk.my/sH14qeJApple podcast: https://mk.my/jPylPZC[KiniNews] Perikatan Nasional's next chairperson does not have to be from among the presidents of its component parties, said its deputy secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan.Addressing a press conference, Takiyuddin said the coalition's constitution does not limit the top position to the party president-level.Instead, he said, the constitution stated that the PN chairperson shall be chosen by the supreme council members, and he or she shall hold the position as long as the council desires.Meanwhile, in a separate story, Salwani Anuar@Kamaruddin, a wife of former army chief Hafizuddeain Jantan, was charged at the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court today with receiving proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to RM5,000 last year.The 27-year-old pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out before judge Azhar Othman.The judge fixed March 30 for mention and allowed the case to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to be tried together with the earlier case involving Salwani.__________________📌 Share this news! Join the Malaysiakini WhatsApp Channel now! https://mk.my/wa_mkiniTurn on notifications 🔔 or unmute the channel to receive news notifications immediately!—Support independent media, subscribe to Malaysiakini.com - https://bit.ly/3B3ztIa

[KiniNews] Former army chief Hafizuddeain Jantan was charged at the Shah Alam Sessions Court today with two counts of receiving RM145,000 in proceeds allegedly linked to illegal activities.

Hafizuddeain, 57, who arrived at the court at 8.29am, pleaded not guilty after both charges were read out before judge Nasir Nordin.

Meanwhile, former armed forces chief Nizam Jaffar appeared at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today to face four charges of abusing his position and receiving RM752,481.90, as well as criminal breach of trust involving RM3 million.

Nizam, 59, pleaded not guilty after all four charges were read out before judge Rosli Ahmad.

In a separate story, lawyer Shafee Abdullah has refuted reports published yesterday claiming Najib Abdul Razak knew the money deposited into his bank account was not from Saudi Arabia.

At a press conference after the former prime minister’s trial today, Shafee emphasised that his client continues to maintain that the RM42 million deposited into his personal bank account was a donation from a Saudi monarch.

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[KiniNews] Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called on Malaysians to put an end to the prolonged bickerings over language issues.

Instead, he said the focus should be on improving the quality of life and securing the future of our children.

Anwar added that the government’s multilingual education approach is not intended to undermine the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the national and official language, but rather to strengthen national unity and provide all students with equal opportunities to master multiple languages.

Meanwhile, in a separate story, former army chief Hafizuddeain Jantan and one of his wives pleaded not guilty in two separate Sessions Courts this morning to money laundering charges involving more than RM2 million in funds.

Hafizuddeain was charged with four counts of money laundering for receiving a total of RM2.1 million deposited into his Maybank and Bank Muamalat Berhad accounts on four separate occasions in 2024 and 2025.

At a separate Sessions Court, Hafizuddeain’s third wife Salwani Anuar @ Kamaruddin was charged with four counts of money laundering, allegedly receiving RM77,000 funds from illegal activity.

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[KiniNews] A veteran PKR MP today asked how the country can hope to fight corruption when certain "elitists" can get "discounts" on their punishment despite being convicted in court.

Hassan Abdul Karim (Harapan-Pasir Gudang) raised the question when debating a motion of thanks on Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar’s royal decree, where the monarch expressed his wish to see an all-out war against corruption in the country.

Hassan also criticised the authorities' alleged double standards when investigating and prosecuting corruption suspects, especially in cases that involve pro-government politicians.

Meanwhile, in a separate story, MACC has reportedly frozen more than RM15 million in 55 bank accounts as part of the money-laundering probe involving conglomerate IJM Corporation Berhad.

According to reports the accounts had been frozen yesterday following raids by the anti-graft agency at properties linked to IJM.

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[KiniNews] Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh has urged MCA vice-president Tan Teik Cheng to propose that MCA leave BN if the former Penang assemblyperson was truly dissatisfied with the coalition’s current leadership.

“If you think the BN chairperson is a liability, then you might as well propose that MCA leave BN. And if MCA does not agree, then you alone should leave MCA,” he added.

He said this after Tan criticised Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as a liability to BN.

Meanwhile, in a separate story, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced that that Bahasa Malaysia and history papers have been made compulsory for all students.

Bahasa Malaysia and history are also made compulsory for international schools, religious schools, and all Chinese-stream schools, that is, UEC, he said.

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[KiniNews] PAS president Hadi Awang has explained why the party refuses to join other parties in forming a unity government.

He said PAS chooses unity “in accordance with Allah’s decree” and claimed that the unity government formed after the last general election involves “silent devils” (syaitan bisu) and other groups not aligned with the party’s principles.

Meanwhile, in a separate story, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin has denied that his party ever gave a mandate to any leader to negotiate with Umno on a purported "grand collaboration" of Malay-Muslim parties.

He stressed that any cross-party discussions involving any form of cooperation between Bersatu and Umno must be held through official party channels with the attendance of the highest leadership of both parties.

“Discussions must be held transparently whilst taking into account all factors, including the views of our partner parties in Perikatan Nasional and Umno's position in the unity government," he said.

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[KiniNews] Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has denied allegations that he is aligning the party with the Madani government to save himself, while sidelining his predecessor Najib Abdul Razak.

“That is a (false) accusation,” Zahid said with a smile during his policy speech at the Umno general assembly today.

“Some claim Zahid is doing this to save himself - that is an accusation. They claim Zahid has sidelined his comrade Najib - that is an accusation. In fact, we sympathise with Bossku," he added.

During his speech, Zahid also attempted to appease BN components MCA and MIC with a plea for the parties to stop “sulking” and once again strengthen the coalition formed for over five decades.

“Come back here, sit under this big tent, let’s be together… we are Malaysians, we are friends in BN,” the BN chairperson said to cheers from 6,412 delegates from the party’s central body, Youth, Wanita, and Puteri wings gathered at Dewan Merdeka in the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.

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[KiniNews] Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh has announced his resignation from the Malacca government’s executive council, vowing to fight DAP “till the end”.

Speaking at the Umno Youth assembly, the Merlimau assemblyperson said he was stepping down as state executive councillor for rural development, agriculture and food security.

“I am brave enough to state that I am resigning to ‘lawan DAP habis-habisan’ (fight DAP till the end),” he said to applause and cheers from the delegates.

Meanwhile, in a separate story, PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden praised Akmal's decision and offered to team up against a common foe.

“We will fight DAP together! You’ll never walk alone," he said.

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[KiniNews] PAS is confident that its political relevance can outlive Umno by far.

This was the response of its information chief, Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's wish to see PAS dissolve on its own.

"I am not praying for Umno to be dissolved - because Umno still has its own role and distinct strength, and there are contributions from Umno that are still needed. But when compared with PAS, I believe and am very confident that PAS’ political lifespan will be far longer than Umno's, insya-Allah," said Fadhli.

Meanwhile, in a separate story, a PAS leader has cautioned against elevating Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar to the position of Perikatan Nasional chairperson, warning that the move could cost the Islamist party dozens of parliamentary seats.

Sungai Buloh PAS chief Zaharudin Muhammad said internal data and analyses suggested the party could lose as many as 37 parliamentary seats if Samsuri were to replace Muhyiddin Yassin as PN chairperson at this stage.

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KiniNews is now also available at: Spotify: https://mk.my/sH14qeJApple podcast: https://mk.my/jPylPZC[KiniNews] Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin has denied claims his party sabotaged PAS in Perlis.“We strongly deny being traitors. No, nothing to do. Bersatu is not involved. Bersatu played no role in sabotaging PAS. There was no such thing,” said Muhyiddin.He told reporters this after a Bersatu Supreme Council meeting last night, where Perlis Menteri Besar Abu Bakar Hamzah had explained issues surrounding the crisis which saw the removal of former menteri besar Shukri Ramli from PAS.Meanwhile, in a separate story, PAS has denied claims that it nominated its vice-president, Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, as the next Perikatan Nasional chairperson."It is only a rumour. The PN supreme council has not even held a meeting (on this issue). It will only be decided in the PN meeting," said PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.___________________📌 Share this news! Join the Malaysiakini WhatsApp Channel now! https://mk.my/wa_mkiniTurn on notifications 🔔 or unmute the channel to receive news notifications immediately!—Support independent media, subscribe to Malaysiakini.com - https://bit.ly/3B3ztIa