Here’re a few things we know about the Sri Lanka attacks: One, more than 200 people were killed and some 400-plus injured in a spate of coordinated bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. Two, the blasts targeted churches and hotels in the country. Three, even though eight people have been arrested so far in connection with the attacks, no group has taken responsibility for them.

So we don’t know yet whether it’s ISIS or someone else. What we do know is that the attacks hit without warning (news just in is that a ninth bomb has been located and defused at Colombo International Airport). And Sri Lanka, despite two decades of civil war that’s seen more than 100,000 people lose their lives, was caught off-guard.

Wisma Putra has confirmed that no Malaysians were hurt in the bombings and while that is definitely good news, it’s worrying to realise that what happened in Sri Lanka could happen anywhere in the world. Even here.

Just days ago, Mat Sabu said that threats of terrorism are under control here and the government is constantly monitoring the situation. However, wasn’t it about a month ago that we were in the process of bringing ISIS fighters back home from Iraq and Syria?

Yes, we have a deradicalisation plan in place, but certain experts like USM political science professor Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid have warned that it’s very hard to disentangle militants from a hardcore ideology. So perhaps it’s time, and especially in the wake of the bombings in Sri Lanka, to take a good hard look at our policies and be extra vigilant. 

We apologise if our tone today, particularly in this piece, is more serious than usual. But terrorism is a serious issue. And we think that the time for half measures and populist decisions is over. Now is the time for action.

According to everyone’s favourite haggler Daim Zainuddin, Najib Razak was advised that the old East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) contract placed on the previous government’s table was a bad one. But that, Daim claims, didn’t prevent the former PM from inking the deal anyway. 

The ECRL, in case you don't already know, is a railway line project connecting Port Klang to Kota Baru. The contract for its construction was initially signed during Najib's time in office and Pakatan Harapan had promised to scrap it when they came to power. However, the government renegotiated the deal and brought the price down from its initial RM66 billion to about RM44 billion.

Anyhoo, Daim says everything's good now that Malaysia has a new deal and scored a huge discount which the man says could come down even further following discussions between project owner Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd and Chinese contractor, China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC). Wow, talk about your friend-friend discount!

Also, Daim says the new deal is transparent (unlike Jibby’s old one) and that if any expert has a problem with it, they can argue about it with him logically. That’s good, if he means it, 'cause Jib aside, analysts are not on the same page about the rail line, and not everyone thinks the deal is very good. Yup. Despite the savings of RM22 billion we seem to have made.

According to reports, Federal Court judge Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat could be set to replace Richard Malanjum as Chief Justice following the latter's retirement last week. However, it seems that despite her name being put forward, the Council of Rulers has yet to make a firm decision on the matter and is considering two others candidates: Azahar Mohamed, a veteran judge with over 40 years experience and former solicitor-general, Idrus Harun.

If Tengku Maimum is picked, she’ll become the country’s first female CJ. However, a report in Singapore’s The Straits Times last week suggested that it’s not gonna be an easy process as the rulers want to send a message to PM Mahathir Mohamad and Pakatan  “that they are no rubber stamps”. 

Maddey and the rulers have been at loggerheads in recent weeks over first the Rome Statute, which Malaysia withdrew from, and then the appointment of the Johor Menteri Besar. So there’s real tension between the two sides, for sure. And let’s not even talk about the allegations from more than a year ago about the rulers being concerned about the appointment of Tommy Thomas, a non-Muslim, as attorney-general. 

So yeah, expect this CJ poser to take a while to be resolved.  

Oh, and by the way, here’s an interesting bit of trivia: the third person being considered for the post – Idrus Harun – is EC chairman Art Harun’s brother. Will he get picked for the post? Well, considering Art was a Pakatan appointee, we think there's no chance that will happen. But who knows eh? 

We’re not sure if, like us, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail thinks that Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films were ace (okay the third movie was a bit of a dog's dinner, still, 1 and 2 were excellent!) but we do know now that she's a fan of the trilogy’s most famous quote. 

What are we talking about? Well, nothing much except for the fact that at a hi-tea session with members of the media, the DPM saw it fit to tell pressmen that they can criticise the government if they want to but should always remember that “with power comes responsibility”.  

Yeah, she left out the “great” bits from the original line but we know she was quoting Spidey's Uncle Ben. Cool and all sure, but perhaps the warning is a little out of place since even though we do think journos are superheroes (how could we not?!) did the DPM forget that we still have stuff like the Printing Presses and Publications Act standing in the way of true press freedom? Pakatan promised to get rid of the draconian law when it came to power but till today, nothing’s been done to repeal it. So yeah, minister, maybe do that first, and then talk to us.