Good morning, here's what you need to know today.

Key Highlights

• Ministers at VIP wedding
  
  
• Return of GST?
  
  
• 'Adequate' majority
  
  

Ministers at VIP wedding

The spotlight fell on several ministers who attended a VIP wedding in Negeri Sembilan last weekend amid an interstate travel ban.

It came to light thanks to an Instagram-loving political operative who had since deleted his post but was screen-captured and re-shared.

Under conditional and recovery MCO rules, interstate travel is only allowed for work or special reasons with police approval.

Meanwhile, today, Perak and most of Kedah and Negeri Sembilan will be put under the more lenient recovery MCO. Here’s a recap:

Recovery MCO: Malacca, Pahang, Terengganu, Sabah, Putrajaya, Labuan and Perlis, Perak, Kedah (except Kuala Muda and Kulim), Negeri Sembilan (except Seremban).

Conditional MCO: Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Penang, Kelantan, Sarawak.

HIGHLIGHTS

	Ismail: RM10k fines to stay Clearer implementation soon.
	PM negative for Covid-19 He is under quarantine after Middle East trip.
	Govt green lights Ramadan bazaars There will be strict SOPs.

Return of GST?

The Finance Ministry is studying a reintroduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) but assured any new taxes will come after the economy recovers.

Implemented in 2015, GST was scrapped in 2018 by the Pakatan Harapan government which made it an election campaign centrepiece.

The reversion to the Sales and Service Tax (SST) left a significant gap in the country’s revenue and alternative taxes had to be introduced.

The Covid-19 pandemic and two movement control orders (MCO) later, the Perikatan Nasional government is in a deeper revenue hole.

Last year, the pandemic shaved off around RM17 billion from the country’s expected revenue. Putrajaya expects RM236.90 billion this year but that was before MCO 2.0.

While the GST is a well-established system, it was poorly implemented by the BN government which spent excess GST payments instead of refunding them.

HIGHLIGHTS

	SMEs petition for rental relief They are struggling from the pandemic.
	Investment slump: M'sia needs reforms World Bank says M'sia losing out to peers.
	Past growth drivers no longer enough - minister M'sia needs a workforce for the future.

‘Adequate’ majority

“Adequate” - That’s how PKR president Anwar Ibrahim described his purported majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

Last September, Anwar claimed a “convincing, strong and formidable" majority. Since then, three more PKR MPs have defected.

While Anwar has not publicly said so, it is well known that the only Umno faction willing to work with him is the one led by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

But apart from writing letters to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Zahid had been reluctant to publicly declare support for Anwar.

With Parliament suspended, there is little Anwar can do even if Zahid finally delivers the numbers. With eyes now on GE15, Anwar confirmed initial talks with Umno.

HIGHLIGHTS

	As PKR courts Umno, Amanah demands answers 'Umno synonymous with racism, corruption'.
	Ghosts of videos past haunt Xavier Old videos surfaces after defection.
	Anwar wants to meet MACC This amid claims MACC pressuring opposition.

A daily glance at Covid-19

• 1,063 new cases yesterday (March 16), another new low for this year.
  
  
• Selangor recorded 323 new cases, the lowest level since Dec 9 last year.
  
  
• Five fatalities put the death toll at 1,218. They were aged between 69 and 84.
  
  
• For trends on daily cases, individuals tested, hospital bed capacity and more, follow our Covid-19 tracker.
  
  

What else is happening?

• The Jelai forest is safe for now after the Department of Environment rejected the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) terms for a rare earth mine.
  
  
• East Malaysian lawmakers from both sides of the divide issued a joint-statement urging Putrajaya to drop its appeal against a High Court ruling allowing non-Muslims to use the word "Allah".
  
  
• The MACC launched a dragnet against Road Transport Department officers over a protection racket for errant lorry drivers.
  
  
  

HIGHLIGHTS

	Putrajaya hopes to lead on anti-propagation laws Jakim hopes states will update their laws.
	321k people vaccinated - Health DG Selangor and Sarawak leads.
	Mind your words, stay true to Islam - S'gor sultan 'Apostasy is a grave offence'.

What are people saying?

	Corruption is scariest without rules By James Chai
	Defection season: Here we go again By Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
	Where's the outrage when women are killed? By Majidah Hashim

CARTOON KINI