Dear Diary,
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is continuing his fight from being “expelled” from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, saying it was not done correctly.
The defiant former Prime Minister insists he is the party’s chairman and even spent time at the Bersatu headquarters earlier today.
Saya sekarang di Ibu Pejabat BERSATU, kata nak pecat, saya tunggu di pejabat. pic.twitter.com/n6MKKHCsWl
— Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) May 29, 2020
Dr Mahathir, who was joined by his son Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, among others, also met the Press at about 4pm as he revealed plans to sack party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin but “through the proper channel”.
He also announced that Datuk Shazmi Miah will replace Capt (Rtd) Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya as Bersatu working secretary.
In response, party secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said the five leaders – Dr Mahathir, Mukhirz, Syed Saddiq, Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah and Maszlee Malik – had their membership “automatically nullified” as they sat on the opposition bloc when Parliament convened on May 18.
So much for unity in Bersatu.
Ironically, Bersatu’s official website still sees the faces of Muhyiddin, Dr Mahathir and Mukhriz on its landing page (main image).
In US, protests against police brutality have spread to many major cities including Denver, New York and Oakland following the killing of George Floyd. The 46-year-old died after a policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes while he was lying down with his hands cuffed.
Anyway, by now, football fans will know the English Premier League will resume on June 17 with Aston Villa vs Sheffield United and Manchester City vs Arsenal – the four teams which have played a game fewer than the other 16 clubs.
A full round of matches is scheduled for the weekend of June 19-21. Hurray!
It was also confirmed Italian football will resume on June 13 with the Coppa Italia, Serie A on June 20 and Serie B six days later.
Here’s how Day 73 of MCO unfolded.
7.51am: CRY BABY – US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order challenging the protection that prevents social media companies from being held liable for content posted on their platforms after Twitter applied fact-check links to two of his tweets earlier in the week.
8.47am: QUICK ACTION – While everyone is talking about New Zealand’s handling of Covid-19, let’s not forget Mongolia. In late January, it was one of the first countries to secure borders and close schools to protect their young. As a result, all 161 confirmed cases there are imported, mostly from Russia. No local transmissions or deaths have been reported so far. Well done.
9.02am: ROCKING IT – Chinese workers turn to rock music to talk about the economic blues.
10.16am: STAYING CONNECTED – If you are still working from home, here are some tips to make your Wi-Fi better.
11.32am: SPELL CHECK – Got this via WhatsApp
12.02pm: NEW DATES – Badminton World Federation postpones this year’s World Junior Championships in Auckland, New Zealand from September to Jan 11-24. Only athletes eligible for the originally scheduled championships will be allowed to enter.
1.40pm: GOOD NEWS – Pfizer chief executive officer Albert Bourla says the company may be able to start manufacturing a Covid-19 vaccine as early as October.
2pm: FOLLOW RULES – Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob says local authorities can close public parks under their purview if visitors flout Conditional Movement Control Order’s (CMCO) rules. Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara is one park which has remained closed.
He labels news that the CMCO will be extended beyond June 9 as “fake news” as no decision has been made and advises people to go to the National Security Council’s website to get the right information.
He also says police issued 433 compounds for breach of CMCO to celebrate Aidilfitri while 434 vehicles attempting interstate travel were told to turn back. The states with the highest number of cases are Kedah (87), Negeri Sembilan (83) and Melaka (59).
3.20pm: BUSTED – Vietnamese police have smashed a massive online card ring with revenues estimated at US$2.6 billion (RM11.31 billion), the biggest ever bust of its kind in a country.
4.40pm: HEALTH CHECK – The Healthy Ministry says according to last year’s National Health and Morbidity Survey, 50 per cent of adult Malaysians are overweight or obese. Diabetes cases increased by 18.3 per cent.
5.04pm: MIXED BAG – The number of new cases went up to 103, bringing the total to 7,732. The good news is that once again there are no new deaths so fatalities remain at 115. Meanwhile, 66 patients have been discharged, meaning 6,235 people have been cured.
6.30pm: QUARANTINED – Let Ray Stevens put a smile on your face with this little ditty.
