Good morning. Here are our picks for today.
Key Highlights
Anwar’s bumi Catch-22
Teresa’s ‘corruption’ conundrum
‘Cash and gold’ date with MACC
Anwar’s bumi Catch-22
For Anwar Ibrahim, it appears to be the classic case of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”.
At least, that is how the prime minister described the government's RM1.1 billion cash injection into debt-ridden Sapura Energy Bhd.
Hitting back at critics, Anwar said the funding is to be exclusively used to repay vendors, 80 percent of whom are bumiputeras.
"If I don't help them, they (critics) will say Anwar is a traitor (who) no longer champions the fate of bumiputera, he's just a mouthpiece for DAP.
"When we help, they say we're just helping the company, (but) I'm not saving rich tauke (tycoons), (as) every sen of the funding will go to vendors who worked but have not been paid,” he said.
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Teresa’s ‘corruption’ conundrum
Teresa Kok has conceded that MACC’s investigation against her former aides could affect her chances of defending her seat in the DAP central executive committee (CEC) election on March 16.
The Seputeh MP acknowledged that some are displeased with her following the arrest of her former staff over alleged corruption related to the supply of interactive smart boards to several schools in Kuala Lumpur.
This followed allegations of Kok using MACC to influence the upcoming CEC election.
However, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang came to her defence, saying he believes that the Seputeh MP is not responsible for the arrests.
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‘Cash and gold’ date with MACC
After collapsing at home and being hospitalised, which led to the postponement of his meeting with MACC, Ismail Sabri Yaakob finally appeared at the commission's headquarters in Putrajaya on Thursday.
The former premier was quizzed for about two hours on the RM170 million and RM7 million worth of gold bars found in a safe house.
Ismail, who holds the record for having the shortest stint as prime minister with just 15 months in office, has pledged his full cooperation in the investigation.
The probe focuses on the expenditure and fund acquisition for the 'Keluarga Malaysia' campaign, specifically for promotional and publicity purposes, during his leadership.
The ninth prime minister is expected to return to MACC on Friday.
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Views that matter
 | R Nadeswaran |
 | By Andrew Sia |
 | Osman Wong |
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