News by Adam Aziz

Under the existing Act, the PM has almost absolute power during an emergency. “It is possible for him (the PM) to declare a certain area as a security area. And in that area he can arrest people without bringing [them] to the court, and if [the arrested person] dies, there will be no enquiry,”

“As of now, Johor has no menteri besar,” said Mahathir. Osman’s resignation came as a surprise.

Out of 197 MPs who attended the Dewan Rakyat, 138 MPs voted for the Bill, while none voted against. However, 59 abstained from voting for the Bill which requires a two-thirds majority or the agreement of 148 MPs to pass.

Some of the gains would come from lands that were previously sold at below market price at the time. These lopsided deals were cancelled, and DBKL will earn more by selling at market price, Khalid said.

Liew said the proposed amendment has already taken into account the view of the special committee on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 that is currently at work.

“The former MoT (Ministry of Transport) chief secretary [Datuk Seri Ismail Abu Bakar] gave his statement yesterday. [Overall] we have obtained enough to come out with a conclusion,” Kiandee told reporters at the Dewan Rakyat lobby yesterday.

“Now, there are new issues. We have called in [related individuals] for Khazanah, AES. So, now we are going to call in DBKL [on its] land deals.” 

"The project development period will be announced when the Ministry of Works obtains the confirmation from related central agencies on the implementation model and funds allocated [for the project]," Baru said. 

He springs a surprise addition to his defence team and claims the charges were defective

“For government contracts, we use the old methods, but the difference is they must be awarded via an open tender to get the best contractor and pricing favouring the government."