Good morning. Here's our news and views that matter for today.
Key Highlights
Big Brother watching MB?
Azam Baki flunks NGO’s test
‘Emo’ Loke doubles down on ‘diam’
Big Brother watching MB?
Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar claims he's the unwitting star in a political surveillance drama with an Orwellian flair.
Samsuri alleged that he has been placed under a domestic designation known as the "Travel Control Office / Order" (TCO) - a security flag typically reserved for individuals deemed a "risk" or "threat”
According to him, the TCO status grants authorities carte blanche to monitor his movements, communications, and interactions.
“This ‘status’ enables complete, stealthy and continuous surveillance of all forms of movement, communication and interactions of the person of concern (or of interest),” he said.
While the official rationale is "national security" and "political stability," Samsuri believes there’s a darker agenda at play.
“In reality, it is often wielded as a political tool and an easy method for gathering intelligence on political adversaries-an attempt to control and pressure certain voices,” he added.
However, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail reportedly downplayed the menteri besar’s claims, saying there is no need to spy on him since he is accorded VVIP security by the police at all times.
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Azam Baki flunks NGO’s test
Despite speculation that Azam Baki has scored a hat-trick of extensions under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, a Sabah-based NGO isn’t exactly popping confetti over it.
On the contrary, Sabah Entitlement and Equity Now president Duncan Cheng says the MACC chief commissioner appears to be failing at his job.
The scathing indictment comes after Azam urged the people to be patient with regard to the investigation into the corruption scandal implicating several Sabah assemblypersons.
“By asking us to be patient, it gives an impression that Azam is fumbling at his job. Even his reasons are illogical.
“Why are the investigations taking so long? It’s been six months since the exposé, with clear evidence produced,” said Cheng.
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‘Emo’ Loke doubles down on ‘diam’
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke admits he was "a bit emotional and angry" when he fired back at critics who tried to turn the Putra Heights gas pipeline blaze into a political circus.
"We were out there helping people, yet some were still using this to attack us.
"Certain people were trying to stir public sentiment, so I said, ‘If you’re not helping, just diam (shut up)’,” he told Malaysiakini’s Chinese podcast.
Loke, who also serves as the transport minister, mentioned that he visited the site three times within a week, despite it being neither in his constituency nor under the jurisdiction of his ministry.
"The cabinet didn’t assign me to this. You don’t need a mandate to do the right thing. If you’ve got the heart to help, just do it," the Seremban MP emphasised.
The Petronas gas pipeline fire, which occurred on April 1, saw flames soaring more than 30 metres high, with temperatures reaching up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. It took nearly eight hours to fully extinguish the fire.
The total estimated losses and damage to residences caused by the gas pipeline fire stand at RM65.4 million.
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