Top 5 at 5: Keeping Up With 1MDB & The Bersatu-UMNO Rivalry

Former PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been ordered by the High Court to present his defense on 25 charges related to 1MDB, with proceedings set from next month through November 2025. Concurrently, Bersatu faces internal election disputes as it seeks a unique identity. We unpack ongoing tensions between Bersatu and UMNO with Syaza Shukri, associate professor of political science, International Islamic University of Malaysia.

Other stories we covered today:

· MOH's anti-bullying guidelines: Amid allegations of workplace bullying, the death of pathologist Dr Tay Tien Yaa has prompted the Health Ministry to come up with anti-bullying guidelines for health workers. We asked Manissha Thiyagu, co-chair of Malaysian Medics International for her thoughts on the guidelines. Dato Dr Andrew Mohanraj, President of the Malaysian Mental Health Association also weighed in on what it should include.

· Discord's loose oversight: Turkey has banned Discord to protect young people from sexual predators. Last year, it was reported that over the past six years, there have been 35 instances where adults were charged with serious crimes like grooming, kidnapping, and sexual assault involving Discord communications. We reached out to Dato Husin Jazri, a professor in cybersecurity from Taylor's University, who spoke about what’s needed to make sure children are safe online.

· More bus lanes for KL: Kuala Lumpur will trial dedicated bus lanes on four more major roads to reduce congestion and encourage public transport usage, with plans to expand to Penang. This comes after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced several initiatives to enhance the public bus transport system across Klang Valley and the country under Budget 2025. Vincent Koh, a committee member of TRANSIT Malaysia, shares his thoughts on whether this sufficiently addresses existing first- and last- mile connectivity issues and how such bus lanes should be enforced.

· Deepavali celebrations: Preparations for tomorrow's festivities are underway. The Meteorological Department is forecasting wet weather in many parts of the country, while toll exemptions - which ran from October 29, 2024 - are set to end tonight. We spoke to some folks around the office to hear how they plan to celebrate Deepavali, and what they are looking forward to.

Image Credit: Abdul Razak Latif, Shutterstock