PM weighs his move ahead of budget vote and other news you may have missed

KINI ROUNDUP | Here are key headlines you may have missed, in brief.

1. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin summoned PN leaders ahead of the crucial Budget 2021 vote. PN leaders downplayed it as a "normal" meeting but what Muhyiddin needed to determine was clear: Whether Umno would back his budget.

2. Umno, which is split in its leadership’s backing for Muhyiddin, has been fickled about its support. Those opposed to Muhyiddin are particularly upset that he "bashed" Umno ministers during a cabinet meeting, after failing to secure a declaration of emergency.

3. Umno also found common ground with DAP on Muhyiddin's justification in wanting an emergency to postpone the Batu Sapi by-election and the Sarawak state election, pointing out there were less damaging alternatives.

4. While Umno's position on Muhyiddin remains vague, there is no love lost for their former president Najib Abdul Razak, who has been convicted of corruption, as they reportedly appointed Najib the BN backbenchers club chairperson.

5. With Umno wavering, Pakatan Harapan could be Muhyiddin's "insurance" in getting his Budget 2021 passed and negotiations have commenced after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong urged MPs to close ranks amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

6. Harapan has been treading cautiously, as it is wary the engagement will be seen as an endorsement of Muhyiddin's government, which it views as "illegitimate".

7. It may not be solely a choice between Harapan and Umno for Muhyiddin as Pejuang and Warisan are reportedly willing to consider supporting the budget,

fuelled by an earlier meeting between Pejuang's Dr Mahahir Mohamad and government representatives. Mahathir, however, downplayed the meeting.

8. Amid the jostling over Budget 2021, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the government was committed to spending more money despite fiscal concerns in order to aid the country's economic recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic.

9. On the Covid-19 front, the battle is far from over as the number of daily cases reversed gear and ticked upwards, recording 957 new cases. The silver lining is that recoveries were also high.

10. New cases have cropped up at a mall, Education Department facilities and even at the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia's office in Hulu Kelang.

11. An uptick of Covid-19 cases in Miri, Sarawak, prompted the local government hospital to cease non-emergency surgeries to prepare for the worst.

12. However, the tireless efforts of the medical frontliners did not go unrecognised as the Covid-19 team at Sungai Buloh Hospital received accolades at the Global Health Awards 2020.