[ad_1]
NOW ROUNDING | Here are the key headlines you may have missed, shortly.
1. A state of emergency has been declared in Batu Sapi to postpone the next by-elections, but Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin assured that life will continue under the conditional movement control order in the constituency and that the by-elections will take place. once the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
2. The National Palace revealed a crucial impediment to the holding of by-elections by postal ballot: almost half of the voters have a domicile, but do not have a house number.
3. Puchong MP, Gobind Singh Deo, has questioned the government’s priorities in allocating RM 85.7 million to reactivate the Department of Special Affairs, even when the government broadcaster RTM is underfunded.
4. Malaysia has signed a five-year vaccine supply and research agreement with China, just as the Chinese company Sinovac reported promising results from mid-stage clinical trials for its coronaVac vaccine candidate.
5. Pfizer has finalized the results of the late-stage vaccine trial and said its candidate vaccine is 95 percent effective against Covid-19.
6. Sarawak Bank Employees Union Director Andrew Lo has urged the EPF not to sacrifice its members’ retirement savings for immediate gratification, but for some, the EPF’s i-Sinar facility offers the opportunity to pay off debts or start a new business. Meanwhile,
7. Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the National Security Council will decide on Friday whether to lift the conditional MCO in some states that have registered a low number of cases.
8. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is investigating 1BestariNet again, after some of the project’s objectives have not been achieved.
9. Several MPs on both sides of the Dewan Rakyat have proposed a windfall tax for companies that made huge profits during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as glove manufacturers.
10. Scientists have disputed a study claiming to have detected Covid-19 antibodies in Italian blood samples that predate the first reported cases in China, saying that further testing is needed.
