Exactly which part of UMNO’s decision to go independently that Pakatan Harapan does not understand? Yesterday, DAP Youth – obviously under instruction from its top leadership – tried very hard to remind UMNO about the support the Malay nationalist party received from Pakatan Harapan after UMNO led Barisan Nasional to its worst-ever performance in the November 2022 General Election.

DAP Youth recalls how UMNO, after winning just 26 parliamentary seats in the 15^th General Election, had relied on Pakatan Harapan to fight back against the Opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition’s green wave to ensure UMNO does not diminish further. Clearly, telling the sobbing story was DAP’s desperate attempt to solicit appreciation, hoping UMNO would make a U-turn out of gratitude.

Shifting to higher gear hoping the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) would be grateful and return the favour, DAP Youth pointed to the six state elections in August 2023, where UMNO was given “safe seats” to contest due to the alliance of Pakatan-Barisan, and how UMNO assemblymen were roped into the Pakatan-led Selangor and Penang state governments.

“In 2023, the alliance between PH and BN as well as the seat allocations prevented seat clashes and revived UMNO to ensure it remains relevant in Malaysia’s political arena. However, some in UMNO have forgotten our help. With the unity government facing global economic challenges, there are those who chose to destabilise the Negeri Sembilan government,” – complained DAP Youth.

“There are even those who want an ‘all-out war’ in Johor, as though they do not hold senior positions in the unity government. If some parties are inclined to become backstabbers and to undermine the spirit of the unity government, then DAP Youth urges the prime minister to dissolve Parliament immediately and hold 16^th General Election concurrently with the other state elections,” – said the youth wing of Democratic Action Party.

In retaliation, UMNO notorious mobster – Youth Chief Akmal Saleh – has immediately challenged DAP Youth to withdraw support for state governments led by Barisan Nasional and to push its leaders to dissolve Parliament to prove its political strength. Akmal also reminded DAP not to forget that without BN’s support, Pakatan Harapan might not have been able to form the federal government.

Akmal even mocked DAP, and Pakatan Harapan for that matter, not to be terribly “panic and nervous” over Johor UMNO’s intention to go solo. Like it or not, Akmal was right to insult DAP Youth under the leadership of Woo Kah Leong for not only being spineless, but for annoyingly whining, yapping, and bitching rather than decisively withdrawing support for Barisan Nasional.

Yes, it was already bad that PM-obsessed Anwar Ibrahim chose to keep quiet for the past three years despite being bullied by UMNO. To cling to power, the fake reformist and president of PKR (People’s Justice Party) had shamelessly pardoned crooked ex-PM Najib Razak and thrown away corruption charges for every single UMNO corrupt leader, including party president Zahid Hamidi.

It becomes worse when the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the biggest party in not only Pakatan Harapan but also the entire Madani government, behaves as if it has only 4 parliamentary seats when it actually has 40. It was DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook’s cowardice that encourages Akmal’s persistent bullying, mocking and insulting on DAP and the Chinese community.

In terms of politicking, the DAP-Chinese are no match for UMNO-Malays. If DAPSY – DAP Socialist Youth – thinks by telling a sobbing story of how Pakatan Harapan had saved UMNO from total destruction, and hopes UMNO would repent and become the good guy, then Mr Loke and Mr Woo are stupider than they look. Nobody asked PH to save the corrupted BN back in 2022.

On the contrary, the DAP Youth’s pathetic move is seen more like begging UMNO not to abandon DAP, PKR and Amanah than a tactical warning to put UMNO in its place. The more PH beats around the bush without meaningful actions, the more BN calls its bluff. In fact, the more DAP cries and whines with empty threats, the more UMNO wants to insult DAP and go solo.

Mr Akmal did not lie when he said both PH and BN were using each other. And it’s true that after the 2022 general election that produced a hung parliament, neither Pakatan Harapan (82 MPs) nor Perikatan Nasional (73 MPs) could form a government without Barisan Nasional’s 30 MPs in the 222-seat Parliament. It was PKR and DAP’s own foolishness to ask how high whenever UMNO told them to jump after forming the unity government.

Nobody asked PKR and DAP to give “safe seats” to UMNO to contest in the 2023’s six state elections. Again, it was purely PKR and DAP’s stupidity at its finest, knowing very well that a leopard never changes its spots. Begging UMNO to be grateful and don’t go solo is like lecturing a carnivorous lion to eat salad and not meat. UMNO is born to control, dominate, corrupt, racist, bully, betray and whatnot.

Just because Pakatan Harapan was dumb enough to invite UMNO into the Selangor and Penang state governments does not mean UMNO must be equally dumb to invite PKR and DAP into the Johor state government. Instead of repetitively issuing empty threats like a broken record, why don’t Pakatan Harapan grow a spine and withdraw support for UMNO governments in Perak and Pahang?

And it’s not UMNO-Malays’ fault that Anthony Loke almost orgasm when he made national headlines by becoming the first DAP leader in history to attend the UMNO annual assembly in 2023. The DAP moron thought he was incredibly popular among UMNO-Malays and was absolutely cocksure that BN and PH would continue to cooperate in future elections like two intimate partners.

To UMNO, it was just a flirting game or a one-night stand, but DAP took it too seriously and emotionally and appears to have fallen in love with UMNO. Now UMNO wants to break up, DAP Youth is wailing in great sorrow and accused UMNO of being an unfaithful and ungrateful partner. UMNO has been playing DAP like a yo-yo without Loke realizing it.

Even if silly Loke sacrificed his most treasured asset and converted to Islam, UMNO-Malays would still reject him and refuse to transfer votes to DAP. Not sure what Loke has been smoking for the past 3 years, but the delusional DAP chief has been wasting valuable time and resources trying to impress Malay voters who would never trust DAP after 60 years of UMNO’s demonization.

Worse, Mr Loke, who thinks highly of himself, made the wrong bet by ordering DAP to keep silent and pretend nothing happens whenever Akmal terrorizes, bullies and threatens the ethnic Chinese. He thought by hiding, DAP could win more Malay votes than losing Chinese votes due to the popular mantra – “If the Chinese community doesn’t vote for DAP or Anwar, who else can they vote?”

Today, DAP is like a cat on hot bricks as it has failed to win over Malays whilst at the same time keep losing Chinese support. The November 2025 Sabah state elections saw DAP suffer a major setback after it lost all the seats contested. Even then, Loke and his band of warlords were still in denial and arrogantly believed the Sabah tsunami would not happen in Peninsular.

DAP has itself to blame if it still hasn’t the clue that UMNO cannot play second fiddle as its sole existence is to dominate and control the government, allowing them to plunder and steal. The only reason why BN had agreed to partner with PH in November 2022 is because UMNO hated Bersatu-PAS more than it despised DAP. Besides, UMNO cannot survive as opposition.

Make no mistake – UMNO agreed to work with Anwar-led Pakatan Harapan not because it wanted to make new friends. It just wanted power and to leverage on DAP to enjoy free Chinese votes. It needed a temporary shelter to lick its wound, rejuvenate and rebuild. Mistook UMNO for BFF, DAP under Loke’s leadership foolishly swallows the hook, line and sinker.

Having tasted power, perks and positions, DAP has become complacent and arrogant in just three years. It has forgotten its roots and lost touch with its original purpose, history and founding principles. Its leaders are blinded by power, and would rather “kow tow” and beg UMNO than go back to being the opposition. For the sake of a second term, they are willing to lose dignity and principle.

Now that UMNO has grown from strength to strength, at least that’s what the party thinks, it has no more use for DAP, PKR or Amanah. DAP Youth can cry, moan, and bitch till foaming at the mouth. But UMNO must go solo to test the water that it could win two-thirds majority again in Johor – a vital indicator to rally UMNO-Malays to return to power in the driver seat at the federal level.    

Instead of babbling, yapping, and crying like a baby losing a candy, DAP should show not only courage to face UMNO heads on, but also decisively leave the toxic PKR under the treachery, racist, corrupt, hypocrisy, fake, and untrustworthy Anwar leadership. Doing none of these would see the Democratic Action Party lose more seats than it could imagine. Time is running out.

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Look Who’s Talking – PM Anwar Now Calls For End Of Hate Politics
• Laugh MU At Your Own Peril – Ends Of “If Not Anwar, Who Else” Scare Tactic
• BN Going Solo & Rafizi’s New Party – A Slap In The Face Of PKR & DAP
• No Safe Seat For PKR – PM Anwar To Run Away From Tambun
• Get Popcorn – UMNO Has Begun Seizing Power, Betraying PKR
• From Crony Capitalism To Corporate Mafia – NexG Saga (Part 2)
• From Crony Capitalism To Corporate Mafia – NexG Saga (Part 1)
• Azam’s RM14 Million Scandal – Damage Done, Too Little Too Late
• PKR & DAP In Trouble – Rafizi To Split Votes With Third Option
• Pig, Temple & Azam – Madani’s Dumb Recipe To Losing Selangor
• Bloomberg – How MACC Partners With Corporate Mafia To Seize Control Of Companies
• Told You So – Congrats Anwar & Anthony For Leading PKR-DAP To Extinction

The post DAP Should Stop Begging UMNO Not To Go Solo first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

Signs are everywhere that Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party or PKR), the reformist party which Rafizi quit due to disappointment over the party president’s – PM Anwar Ibrahim – broken promises to reforms, is in incredibly panic mode. The Prime Minister, terrified to face Tambun voters whom he had taken for granted, is considering fleeing to Permatang Pauh.

After Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah, was humiliated after failing to retain her “family heirloom” in the November 2022 national polls, desperado Anwar is crossing his fingers that the 14,000 chicken he distributed to voters in the Permatang parliamentary constituency two months ago could return handsome dividends in the upcoming 16^th General Election.

With only 7 safe seats (four are held by Rafizi Ramli and his aligned allies) based on PKR’s leaked internal analysis report for the upcoming election, power-crazy party leaders have already started scrambling for safe seats. For example, PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh and vice-president Ramanan are fighting tooth and nail to snatch safe seat “Batu” parliamentary seat.  

The declaration of war by UMNO Johor to contest all 56 seats in the next Johor election – effectively leaving no space for cooperation or negotiation with Premier Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition – was already bad to PKR-led Pakatan Harapan. It became worse after Rafizi unveiled Bersama or MU in a political move set to cannibalize and bleed PKR of its disgruntled reformist supporters.

Not only Johor PKR Chief, Zaliha Mustafa – the same former Federal Territories Minister sitting on the Pardons Board that had granted 50% discount to crooked Najib Razak’s 12-year jail sentence – is persuading various PKR leaders in Johor not to quit the party, but even Anwar himself has been meeting and begging top PKR leaders aligned with Rafizi not to join Bersama. 

The party is so chaotic and confused that even disgraced Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil has resorted to spreading slander, lies and hatred alleging that Rafizi had spent RM8.6 million to acquire MU or Bersama. You can bet your last penny that this former actor, who only knows how to block social media and websites critical of his political master, will join Anwar as an 1-term minister.

Yes, you know PKR, Mr Anwar and his band of bootlickers are panicking when the Communication Minister who warned people not to share unverified news becomes the disgusting person who spread fake news. Some pro-Anwar propagandists, bloggers, cyber troopers, YouTubers, and TikTokers even fantasize that 100-year-old ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad was funding Rafizi’s acquisition of MU.

The biggest sign the fake reformist party is about to be annihilated in the next 16^th General Election is the sudden appointment of vice-president Amirudin Shari as its co-election director alongside Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, replacing deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar. Exactly what type of message that PKR is sending for “sacking” the “Puteri Reformasi”?  

The eldest daughter of PKR president and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was appointed co-election director with Saifuddin in June 2025, a month after she defeated Rafizi Ramli for the deputy presidency in the internal party election. Under 5-star General Nurul, together with lieutenants Amirudin and Saifuddin, they led PKR and Pakatan Harapan to a disastrous defeat in the November 2025 Sabah state election.

However, to put all the blame squarely on Nurul is absolutely unfair. Anwar too had vigorously and tirelessly campaigned in Sabah. Yet, despite the Premier’s huffing and puffing to scam the Sabahans, the voters in the “Land Below the Wind” could see through the snake oil salesman’s lies and deceit. Thanks to serial liar Anwar, all component parties of Pakatan Harapan – PKR, DAP and Amanah – were annihilated.

PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh claimed the reshuffle was decided by the party’s political bureau as part of a strategic realignment to streamline and better coordinate work processes in preparation for upcoming elections. “Nurul Izzah will continue playing a strategic role by specifically focusing on developing the capacity of PKR’s election machinery and workflow,” – Fuziah said.

But everyone knows that the sexy job description is a low-ranking job that any school dropouts can do. Get real, if a “first tier” general like Nurul had failed to lead PKR’s election machinery, do you really expect a “lower tier” lieutenants like Amirudin, let alone the clueless Saifuddin, could make any difference? It seems without strategist Rafizi, PKR is running around like a headless chicken.

At best, PKR is protecting Anwar’s daughter by moving her away from the firing squad in preparation for a historic defeat in the coming national election. At worst, PKR is sacking her as part of pre-emptive preparation for Nurul’s resignation as PKR deputy president after just 11 months on the job. The party could only hope and pray Anwar’s princess would not quit.

Two months ago, PKR Deputy President Nurul Izzah Anwar was forced to openly deny viral social media rumours claiming she had resigned from her post. But the rumours were not without credence. Insiders said she had indeed expressed her intention to quit, but was persuaded by Daddy Anwar not to as the consequences would be unimaginable.

Rafizi’s Parti Bersama Malaysia changes everything. Now Nurul has somewhere to go if she leaves PKR, a party used to be the favourite amongst the young reformists but has since been devastated by months of internal civil war between the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons. The last thing Anwar and PKR want to see is Nurul joining MU.

Having condemned, mocked, insulted and ridiculed Bersama right, left and centre, it would be a slap in the face of Anwar minions if suddenly Anwar’s own daughter announced her membership in MU. Nurul isn’t stupid. She knew PKR is a sinking ship. After all, she was in the centre of the PKR internal analysis that identified only seven “Tier 1” safe parliamentary seats out of the 66 seats the party expects to contest.

Here’s proof that Nurul does not give two hoots about PKR or Pakatan Harapan anymore. She was missing from the high-profile Pakatan Harapan convention in Johor on May 17 – the same day Rafizi pulled the curtain to introduce his new ship, Malaysian United Party. In fact, she even skipped PKR Permatang Pauh’s meeting despite being the head of the branch.

The question isn’t about whether Nurul should join Bersama. The burning question is whether MU should accept Nurul. Even if Rafizi can’t stop Nurul from joining his new party, should Anwar’s daughter be nominated as a MU candidate in the next general election. Exactly why should she enjoy special privilege after her treachery and willingness to become her daddy’s chess piece in toppling Rafizi?

Bersama, having attained more than 18,000 membership registrations within its first five days, has revealed some shocking data that is sending shivers down PKR top leadership’s spine. While 46% of members had no prior political affiliation, the largest share of politically affiliated members came from PKR at 29%, followed by UMNO at 6.3%, Amanah and Bersatu at 2.5% each.

Worse, Malays made up 62% of MU new members, followed by Chinese (15%), Indians (14%), Muslim bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak (4%), non-Muslim bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak (3%), and others (2%). This means not only MU is a game-changer despite ridicules from blind Anwar fanatics, but it is disrupting the political landscape of not only PKR, but also other Malay political parties.

In terms of age demographics, millennials formed the largest group at 40.8%, followed by Gen X at 36%, baby boomers and older members at 16.3%, and Gen Z at 7%. Crucially, Bersama’s geographic reach appeared concentrated in the Malay areas of Selangor – the crown jewel of PKR. This also means MU could potentially and disruptively threaten PKR’s power base in Selangor.

It’s not rocket science that Rafizi’s hidden plan is to snatch Selangor – the most developed state – from Amirudin’s administration. Bersama’s membership in terms of ethnic composition is a warning to rivals as it broadly mirrored Malaysia’s population makeup. It could become the first true multiracial party which ethnic Malays embrace without fear, something which Anwar could only dream to achieve.

That explains why Communication Minister cum Propaganda Minister Fahmi Fadzil had to play dirty by spreading slander, lies and hatred. That also explains why PKR is trembling in fear about losing Nurul to MU as the indirect impact would be like a tsunami wiping out PKR. Even con artist Anwar can’t explain why his own daughter has to leave for rival MU if indeed PKR is such a great party.

MU estimates it could start announcing the first batch of potential candidates by the end of June, just in time for a possible announcement of a snap election in Johor, potentially triggering more state elections and even a national polls. Regardless of whether Nurul would join Bersama or not, the damage to PKR is done. Anwar is game-over if Rafizi could convince half of PKR supporters to jump ship.  

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Look Who’s Talking – PM Anwar Now Calls For End Of Hate Politics
• Laugh MU At Your Own Peril – Ends Of “If Not Anwar, Who Else” Scare Tactic
• BN Going Solo & Rafizi’s New Party – A Slap In The Face Of PKR & DAP
• No Safe Seat For PKR – PM Anwar To Run Away From Tambun
• Get Popcorn – UMNO Has Begun Seizing Power, Betraying PKR
• From Crony Capitalism To Corporate Mafia – NexG Saga (Part 2)
• From Crony Capitalism To Corporate Mafia – NexG Saga (Part 1)
• Azam’s RM14 Million Scandal – Damage Done, Too Little Too Late
• PKR & DAP In Trouble – Rafizi To Split Votes With Third Option
• Pig, Temple & Azam – Madani’s Dumb Recipe To Losing Selangor
• Bloomberg – How MACC Partners With Corporate Mafia To Seize Control Of Companies
• Told You So – Congrats Anwar & Anthony For Leading PKR-DAP To Extinction

The post PKR Panicking – Nurul Might Jump Sinking Ship To Bersama first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

Washington and Tehran are working toward a memorandum of understanding that would end the fighting and lift constraints on shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz over 30 days while setting the stage for talks about Iran’s nuclear program in a second phase. But there is one huge problem – distrust. Both sides do not trust each other, hence neither side wanted to end up looking like a sucker.

The U.S. is seeking clearer commitments from Iran about its nuclear program up front, while Iranian negotiators are pressing for details from the U.S. about relief from sanctions and asset freezes. Washington worries Tehran will drag its feet on nuclear issues after securing some relief, while Iran worries whether the U.S. will release some of its estimated US$100 billion in frozen assets and lift some sanctions to allow Iran to sell its oil.

In general, there is pressure on both sides to get to a deal. Trump has been eager to end a war that is unpopular at home and has raised the price of gasoline, putting pressure on consumers. Iran, on the other hand, is eager to secure financial relief after the war and U.S. blockade added to the pressure of what was already a spiraling economic crisis.

Even Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), are not convinced and have pressed the U.S. and Iran to include a “clear clause” in the MOU (memorandum of understanding) that would ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The current draft of the memorandum of understanding lacks binding clauses on Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran has so far agreed to only waive fees (not eliminate) on ships passing through the strategic waterway for the duration of the talks. Furthermore, for the next phase, Iranian negotiators indicated they could discuss a shorter suspension of uranium enrichment than the 20 years sought by the U.S. and that stockpiles of uranium enriched above 20% could be diluted inside Iran under regional supervision.

Then, the U.S. military suddenly attacked Iran on Monday. The U.S. sank two Revolutionary Guard ships it said were attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon claimed that the strikes were conducted “in self-defence”. Iran responded by launching surface-to-air missiles at U.S. drones and a F-35 jet fighter, prompting American attacks on missile launch sites in Bandar Abbas in Iran.

Still, the fact that Tehran’s top negotiator, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, has remained in Qatar for a second day of talks on a deal to end the war despite a deadly U.S. strike on Iranian forces speaks volumes about Tehran’s desperation to end the war. However, mediators are still concerned over who is calling the shots in Iran – Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not seen or heard from since being appointed in March.

In another sign of a power struggle inside Iran, residents said access to the internet remained restricted, a day after President Masoud Pezeshkian said the internet would be restored to pre-protest levels after more than 88 days of blackout. The president’s announcement appeared to clash with hard-liners’ resistance in reopening the internet.

In the same breath, the U.S. military decision to strike targets in southern Iran is not merely a political warning to the Iranian authorities, but also was primarily designed to ease the domestic political pressure on Mr Trump. Despite having threatened to wipe out the “entire civilization” of Iran, the U.S. president – mocked as TACO (Trump Always Chicken Out) – has made quite a number of concessions.

Before the U.S. and Israel launched their military offensive on Feb 28, they demanded that Iran surrender its highly enriched uranium and dismantle its nuclear programme, as well as agree to limit its missile arsenal and give up support for pro-Iranian proxy militias throughout the Middle East. Over the past few weeks, however, demands about limitations to Iran’s missile arsenal and support for various regional militias were dropped altogether.

Heck, even the U.S. expectations of Iranian concessions on nuclear matters were watered down considerably. According to the latest diplomatic reports, U.S. diplomats are prepared to even accept a deal under which Iran declares that it does not seek to produce an atomic bomb, but leaves the rest, including the fate of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, to subsequent discussions.

Mr Trump hoped that the immediate reopening of the Hormuz strait once a deal is concluded should be enough to reassure financial markets and crown the U.S. President as a skilled negotiator. But while the planned deal was expected to invite criticism from the Democrats, the brickbats that landed on the President from some of his strongest Republican followers were incredibly damaging.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a vocal supporter of the war who chairs the U.S. Senate’s Budget Committee, said that the proposed deal would leave Iran in a stronger position in the region, as well as being a “nightmare for Israel”. Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, dismissed the proposed deal as “a disaster”, saying that, if accepted, all the US military effort in the Gulf “would be for naught”.

Donald Trump, initially refused to acknowledge the criticism, has started making U-turn from his initial claim that a diplomatic deal with Iran was either imminent or “great for the United States”. Even Secretary of State Marco Rubio has – hilariously – suddenly returned to reiterating old pre-conditions that Iran should surrender its enriched uranium stockpile.

By authorizing limited military strikes on Iran, Mr Trump is clearly hoping that it will restore his credibility as a tough negotiator who prefers no deal to a bad deal. This was a publicity stunt, designed to reassure Mr Trump’s domestic critics that the deal the U.S. is negotiating with Iran would contribute to regional stability. To make the deal more convincing, Trump has expanded the scope of his diplomatic ambition.

Not only is Trump now seeking an end-of-war agreement with Iran, but he is also pushing to normalize relations between Israel and the broader Middle East. The normalization push could give Trump a way to cast any limited cease-fire and shipping pact as a larger regional success story instead of a climbdown, after defense hawks in his own party warned that a bad deal could tarnish his legacy.

On Truth Social, Trump said he wanted Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to sign on to the Abraham Accords, establishing or expanding diplomatic relations with Israel. He suggested Iran could join as well once Tehran signed a peace deal. “This will be the most important deal that any of these great, but always in conflict countries, will ever sign,” – Trump said on social media.

The 2020 accords – brokered during Trump’s first term and signed by the U.S., Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – normalized relations between the nations and further isolated Tehran. The agreement left out the Palestinians, who halted engagement with the Trump administration and its peace efforts after Washington recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

But the countries Trump wants to sign on to the Abraham Accords – especially Saudi Arabia – are unlikely to do so. Riyadh has long said it would only agree to the pact if there were a clear pathway toward a Palestinian state. The region’s relations with Israel have worsened since it flattened Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

Egypt and Jordan already have peace treaties and diplomatic ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia was close to joining the accords before the war in Gaza, but has since insisted Israel first commit to a path to a Palestinian state. Turkey and Qatar’s relationships with Israel have come under increasing strain.

To make the negotiations more complicated, Israel is pushing the U.S. to include freedom of operation for Israel in Lebanon in the proposed peace deal with Iran. Despite the truce between Israel and Beirut, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire. Even if the U.S and Iran strike a deal, there’s no guarantee the Israeli will not go solo in its mission to bomb and kill its enemies..  

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Special Task Force – Israel’s Campaign To Kill Every Oct 7 Attacker Revealed
• No More Safe Havens – Israel’s Airstrike In Qatar Sends New Message To Countries Harbouring Hamas Terrorist
• Paying The Price For Hamas Attacks – How Trump Misled Iran Before Israel Sends 200 Jets To Attack
• Ran Out Of Luck And Place To Hide – Here’s How Israel Trainee Squad Accidentally Killed Hamas Mastermind Sinwar
• Live By The Sword, Die By The Sword – Anwar Madly Angry After BFF Hamas Terrorist Leader Haniyeh Assassinated
• Playing A Dangerous Game – Here’s Why Facebook Removes News Of PM Anwar Meeting With Hamas Terrorists
• Hamas Is Game Over – How The Terror Group Miscalculated, Betrayed, Abandoned And Made More Mistakes
• Careful What You Wish For – U.S. May Slap Economic Sanction On Malaysia For Supporting & Training Hamas Terrorists
• Human Shields – How Hamas Cleverly Wins Propaganda War, But Was Stunned By “Fire Power” Unleashed By Israel
• Told You So!! – Congrats To Anwar For Radicalizing School Kids As Potential Hamas Terrorists Playing With Guns
• An Eye For An Eye!!! – No One Can Stop Israel From Reducing Gaza To Rubble And Erase Hamas Terrorists

The post The Real Reasons Behind U.S. Warning Strikes On Iran first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

Likewise, it’s not a coincidence the Madani is pussyfooting in its plan to exclude the Top 20% (T20) or upper-income brackets from fuel subsidy to reduce the RM4 billion monthly subsidy burden. It’s also not a coincidence all lucky SPM 2025 students with 10As are granted automatic placement in the matriculation programme, after those with even an A- (A minus) were excluded in the previous year. 

And it’s not a coincidence that Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) holders can now apply to public universities (IPTA) in Malaysia, even though those with A+ in Bahasa Melayu and History but without a full SPM qualification can apply for only four Chinese Language and Linguistics programmes. Still, even if you hold a full SPM qualification alongside your UEC, your success is not guaranteed.

Welcome to Election Year 2026. Anwar Ibrahim, walking on a slippery slope to secure a second term, is facing tremendous pressure internally and externally to call a snap election this year. The Prime Minister was jolted from sleep after Barisan Nasional (BN) – a partner in his unity government – announced its intention to go solo in the upcoming Johor state elections. 

To hide his shock, Anwar claimed he was “not surprised” by BN’s announcement. To put up a brave face, he said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition which he is leading is ready to fight. Yet, he was terribly upset, whining that BN’s decision to go solo is a “betrayal” to their unity government partnership. Given a chance, the PM would like to stretch his 5-year term to the fullest as he has no confidence of winning.

Making matters worse is the “threat” from a new party – Parti Bersama Malaysia (Malaysian United Party or MU) – formed by Rafizi Ramli, former economy minister and also ex-deputy president of Anwar’s PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat or People’s Justice Party). Although Rafizi is unlikely to topple Anwar on its own, he could dilute reformist voters who voted for PH to power in November 2022.

Anwar’s PKR could and should flex its muscles by sending a strong message to both BN and breakaway MU. To show that PKR is still very powerful and influential, it could trigger by-elections in Rafizi Ramli’s Pandan or Nik Nazmi’s Setiawangsa’s parliamentary seats. If victorious, it would not only teach Rafizi and his gang a lesson, but also put the traitor BN in his place.

However, the Election Commission said there would be no by-elections for Pandan or Setiawangsa seat after Dewan Rakyat (Lower House) Speaker Johari Abdul announced there was no requirement to fill the vacancies – even though PM Anwar could actually justify for one. PKR chooses to chicken out – afraid it could not snatch either a seat from Rafizi or Nik Nazmi.

With Johor, currently under the Barisan Nasional’s administration, sets to dissolve its State Legislative Assembly to pave the way for a state election following talk of a special state assembly sitting on June 24, which would eventually force PM Anwar’s hand, the PH is slowly – but surely – drifting into campaign mode before a general election that must be held by February 17, 2028.

In another sign of national polls this year, forked-tongue Anwar Ibrahim has begun offering sweet talk and acting innocent. Speaking at the National Wesak Conference, the doublespeak chameleon – realizing his declining popularity – begs and urges peace-loving majority to speak up against narratives of hatred and slander being propagated by a so-called minority group against society in the country.

“This is like a tyranny of the minority. A small group is forcing the larger majority into submission. It is time for Malaysians to decide. Enough with politics built on hatred and discord. Let the majority say enough and move forward wisely and compassionately so that we improve the lives of all Malaysians,” – argued the PM, pretending as if he was not part of the tyranny group.

Yes, the country’s biggest con artist pretends as if he doesn’t know hate mongers and preachers like Akmal Saleh, Zakir Naik, Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu, Firdaus Wong, Ridhuan Tee, and Mohd Asri whom he protects and defends. Perhaps DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke should enlighten his favourite PM that Zamri Vinoth has had at least 894 police reports lodged against him nationwide.

Even if Mr. Anwar has selective memory like former PM Mahathir Mohamad, choosing not to remember Zamri Vinoth, the Premier surely can’t claim ignorance about Akmal Saleh. This UMNO mobster, racist and bully has been terrorizing Chinese interests right under the nose of the prime minister. Heck, the UMNO gangster has also criticized Anwar’s policies and statements.

Anwar lectures that the concept of love and compassion found in all religions must be translated into daily life, rather than replaced with hatred and division. Was he trying to shamelessly brag about the amount of love and compassion he had sacrificed for his beloved comrade – former Prime Minister Najib Razak – with 50% and 75% discount respectively for the crook’s original 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine?

On social and economic justice, the Premier known for broken promises said he fully supports efforts to help Bumiputeras who are still poor, but at the same time, assistance must be channelled to all needy Malaysians regardless of race. While his statement sounds like sacred religious texts emitting rays of light from the sky, it is full of contradiction, confusion, and a conflicting set of logic that produces compilation errors.

His holy statement would easily crash a computer program. You can’t withdraw RM500 with 10 pieces of RM50 notes and at the same time wanted 5 pieces of RM10 notes. You have to reduce the number of RM50 notes, which means sacrificing some Bumiputeras, or abandon the idea of having RM10 notes, which means leaving non-Malays to fend for themselves (but continue to pay taxes!).

That’s why while almost every Malay or Bumiputera can enter public universities, the same cannot be said about other minority races. Even UEC students who passed Bahasa Melayu and History with flying colours at the SPM level continue to face restrictions, discrimination, obstacles, and quotas. A UEC holder with just 5As could enter Singapore NUS and NTU to study mechanical engineering, but not in Malaysia.

Hilariously, the disgraced Prime Minister has no idea that he was slapping himself when he also expressed concern over the rise of divisive rhetoric exploiting race and religion, saying such narratives often stemmed from ignorance and manipulated emotions rather than genuine understanding. Has Anwar forgotten how he bullied a female Indian student in August 2023?

During a dialogue session at Kolej Matrikulasi Penang when a student of Indian ethnicity asked Anwar when the discriminative “quota system” would be abolished and replaced by a meritocracy system, the PM rudely interrupted the student before criticizing her for asking a sensitive question. He even admitted thatabolishing the quota entirely would cause his government to lose all elections.

Has Anwar Ibrahim also conveniently forgotten how he, playing race and religion cards in desperation to win Malay votes, had provocatively declared “Victory” after he bulldozed the construction of “Madani Mosque” in Kuala Lumpur? To make way for the mosque, the 130-year-old Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman temple was forced to be relocated some 50-metre away.

At the holy Wesak Day celebrations, the Malaysian leader even has the cheek to say the country must have the courage to acknowledge weaknesses, including issues of corruption and share misappropriation involving tens of billions of ringgit. Did he remember how, despite overwhelming video clip evidence, he fiercely protected and defended corrupt Sabah politicians, including Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji?

Not only the Madani government refused to acknowledge weaknesses, but was in denial over corruption in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Heck, he had even extended Azam Baki’s contract as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner three times, even after the scandals involving Azam’s share misappropriation were widely reported and exposed.

Even after Bloomberg’s reports on corporate shareholding irregularities and “corporate mafia” involving Azam Baki’s agency, the PM defended his errand boy despite public demands to remove the MACC chief. “He is doing his job. Why attack him? Why insult people who do their work?” – said the arrogant Anwar. Instead of investigating Azam, he ordered authorities to harass Bloomberg and threaten critics instead.

The last thing people want is for Anwar to express his twisted version of the concept of love and compassion by continuing to pardon crooks like Najib, Rosmah, Zahid and other thieves with UMNO DNA, while silently promoting corruption, corporate mafia, cronyism, nepotism, racism, extremism, hypocrisy, discrimination, dynastic politics, and whatnot within his own circles.

Directly or indirectly, Mr Anwar is clearly the leader responsible for defending, protecting, and encouraging – even practising himself – the culture of sowing hatred, spreading slander, instilling fear, oppressing minorities, spewing racial rhetoric, manipulating emotions, and preaching favouritism. And he still has the cheek to scam voters with lectures about “tyranny of the minority”.

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Laugh MU At Your Own Peril – Ends Of “If Not Anwar, Who Else” Scare Tactic
• BN Going Solo & Rafizi’s New Party – A Slap In The Face Of PKR & DAP
• No Safe Seat For PKR – PM Anwar To Run Away From Tambun
• Get Popcorn – UMNO Has Begun Seizing Power, Betraying PKR
• From Crony Capitalism To Corporate Mafia – NexG Saga (Part 2)
• From Crony Capitalism To Corporate Mafia – NexG Saga (Part 1)
• Azam’s RM14 Million Scandal – Damage Done, Too Little Too Late
• PKR & DAP In Trouble – Rafizi To Split Votes With Third Option
• Pig, Temple & Azam – Madani’s Dumb Recipe To Losing Selangor
• Bloomberg – How MACC Partners With Corporate Mafia To Seize Control Of Companies
• Tax Refund & E-invoice – Madani Should Stop Stealing Money
• Told You So – Congrats Anwar & Anthony For Leading PKR-DAP To Extinction

The post Look Who’s Talking – PM Anwar Now Calls For End Of Hate Politics first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

The video was one of the first of many terrifying images from the attack by Hamas on southern Israel that ended with 1,200 dead and around 250 hostages taken, including the couple. Noa Argamani, who was seized less than a week before her 26th birthday, spent 245 days captive in Gaza. After her release, two men seen in the video holding back Argamani’s boyfriend were tracked down by Israeli intelligence officials and killed in separate airstrikes.

The men were crossed off a list of thousands of names kept by an Israeli task force specially created for one job – to kill or capture all who planned or joined in the October 7 attack, said current and former Israeli officials. Hundreds have been struck from the list, in one of the most personal and highly technical targeting campaigns in the history of warfare. In fact, the campaign continues amid the demands of the war with Iran and a cease-fire agreement in Gaza.

As far as the Jewish state is concerned, no participant of the October 7 attack is deemed too insignificant – down to the man who drove a tractor through a border fence that day. Nearly two years after he breached the border, the tractor driver was identified, located and blown up in an airstrike as he walked a narrow urban street in Gaza, according to footage released by Israel’s military.

The “retribution campaign” spans the rank-and-file to Hamas’s top leaders. On Friday (May 15), Israel killed Ezzedin al-Haddad, one of the last living senior militants from the group’s military leadership that planned the attacks. Eliminated in an airstrike, he led Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade during the October 7 onslaught and had been Hamas’s military commander in Gaza since 2025.

“The IDF will continue to pursue our enemies, strike them and hold accountable everyone who took part in the October 7th massacre,” – Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir said on Saturday after Haddad’s killing was confirmed. Militants who videotaped their Oct. 7 exploits on phones or GoPro cameras to share on social media, or those who phoned home to brag, learned too late the degree of Israel’s surveillance capability and hunger for retribution.

Security forces mark men for death without trial if they find at least two pieces of evidence showing they took part in crimes during the October 7 attacks, according to current and former Israeli security officials. Agents from military intelligence and Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, pore over militants’ videos posted on social media, these officials said.

Agents run the images through facial recognition programs to sift for names and comb through intercepted phone calls. They view location data from cell tower logs and interrogate Gazan detainees to uncover who did what. Despite the October cease-fire with Hamas and release of the last surviving hostages, names continue to be crossed off the list. Israel says it kills targets who allegedly pose a threat, such as approaching the front lines or planning an attack.

On April 12, it was Ali Sami Mohammad Shakra’s turn, a Hamas platoon commander whom Israel’s military alleges joined the deadly assault on the Nova music festival and helped capture four hostages, including American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin. After Shakra was killed, the military released a screenshot from an Oct. 7 video showing his head poking out of the window of a car near the scene of the abduction.

Three days earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed Islamic Jihad militant Abd al-Rahman Ammar Hassan Khudari in an airstrike for his role in the attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz, where at least a quarter of its residents were killed or kidnapped. But a Hamas official said the Israeli campaign was “nothing but an extension of the policy of extrajudicial executions and systematic killing that Israel has practiced against the Palestinian people for decades.”

Hundreds of Gazans charged with participating in the October 7 attacks are in Israel’s custody awaiting trial. The parliament recently passed a bill to establish a special military tribunal for their hearings. “In the Middle East, revenge is an important part of the discourse. It is about how serious anyone in your environment sees you,” – said Michael Milstein, a former senior Israeli military intelligence officer on Palestinian affairs. “Unfortunately this is the language of this neighbourhood.”

Argamani’s father, Yacov Argamani, said his only wish was for his daughter to be freed by Hamas in time to see her terminally ill mother one more time. “The Almighty fulfilled our wish,” he said. Noa Argamani was released on her father’s birthday, and she and her mother had three weeks together.

Yacov Argamani praised Israeli forces for fighting what he called a war for survival of the Jewish people. He said he hadn’t been told about the killing of the two men who aided his daughter’s kidnapping. “Revenge, I don’t know what it adds,” he said about it. “I’m telling you honestly, I don’t know what it adds.”

{ Munich Murders }

Israeli agents, after failing to prevent the October 7 attack, approached the head of Shin Bet and Mossad units to set up a highly specialized task force – NILI – to track and assassinate members involved in the massacre. It is a Hebrew acronym for the words, “The Eternal One of Israel Doesn’t Lie.” The name, first used by a band of World War I-era Jewish spies, signified that no one identified in the attack would be forgotten, let alone forgiven.

Although NILI is centered in Gaza, it has also struck Hamas leaders outside of Gaza such as in Lebanon and Iran. It echoes Israel’s assassinations of dozens of Palestinians responsible for killing 11 of its athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. The top targets for the unit include Marwan Issa and Yahya Sinwar, who are suspected of orchestrating the 7 October 2023 attacks.

“The clear message to all future enemies is to think again about the price of a terrorist operation like that,” – said Shalom Ben Hanan, a former senior official in Shin Bet. Since the October cease-fire, the task force has been reduced to a handful of operatives who track targets and pass along information to the military command responsible for operations in Gaza.

Some Israeli security officials say the killings deter Palestinians from joining militant groups. Others say the campaign could instead motivate some to join armed groups, especially without a political path to resolve the underlying issue of Palestinian statehood, said Tahani Mustafa, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Mustafa said Hamas’s recruitment numbers have risen during the war. “It had nothing to do with dogma and everything to do with necessity,” she said. “It’s either resist or die.” Militaries at war can lawfully kill combatants, including members of nonstate groups such as Hamas, even under a cease-fire, said Rachel VanLandingham, a national-security-law expert and former judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force.

“There’s nothing inherently wrong with prioritizing people on a target list as long as they’re belligerents,” VanLandingham said. Israel’s campaign “feels retributive,” she said, “but the law doesn’t disallow that.” Israel’s military said international law allows it to attack civilians who participate in hostilities. Determining who belongs on the list can take days, months or years, depending on the case.

While there are few legal limits for killing belligerents in wartime, she said, civilians suspected of crimes should be captured and prosecuted. The extrajudicial killing of civilians is a war crime, she said, and the challenge is determining who counts as a combatant or a civilian.

Before the current cease-fire, members of Shin Bet, the military and the air force gathered in a war room to identify, find and strike targets. The task force tracked the daily comings and goings of a militant’s friends and family, hoping they would meet with targeted men in hiding. “It’s really, really hard work to locate those people,” said Guy Chen, a former Shin Bet official. “You have to know at the exact second where this guy is located.”

One of the first big targets was Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas’s top operative in Lebanon. He returned from a trip to Turkey on New Year’s Day 2024 to the office in Beirut that he had abandoned after the October 7 attacks. Members of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah had warned Arouri to lay low and steer clear of cellphones, which can be hacked to track locations.

Instead, Arouri, a Palestinian politician and senior leader of Hamas who served as deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, ignored the warnings and instead convened a meeting with six Hamas officials. Israeli aircraft fired guided missiles that slammed into the office, killing all seven men. Lebanese investigators found they were carrying phones and a laptop, all connected to the internet.

Six months later, Israel killed Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh with a bomb hidden in his room at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps guesthouse in Tehran. “It will take time, just as it did after Munich,” – said Mossad director David Barnea in 2024 at the funeral of Zvi Zamir, who led the Israeli espionage agency at the time of the Munich killings. “But our hands will reach them, wherever they are.”

In the following months, the NILI task force killed Hamas fighters who paraglided into Israel on October 7, others who raided border communities, and those who participated in the killing of hundreds of revelers at the Nova music festival, where Argamani and her boyfriend were kidnapped. A security official said the Shin Bet gave priority to targets with families who could be consoled by the killing, in what the intelligence service described as “treatment for the soul.”

{ 13 bombs }

Since the cease-fire, which was brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, the two sides have continued to exchange fire. When Hamas shoots at Israeli troops, the military sometimes responds with strikes against the men on the list. Hamas has refused to disarm as required in the cease-fire agreement and reasserted its authority throughout Gaza.

Both sides are gearing up for a return to the fighting, as Israel continues to pare names from the list. Early on February 4, Israeli troops came under fire while patrolling the yellow line that divides them from Hamas-controlled territory – an action in violation of the cease-fire. Later that day, Hamas operative Muhammed Issam Hassan al-Habil was traveling in a car through the wreckage of northwest Gaza.

The Israeli military and Shin Bet said they learned through interrogations that Habil was responsible for the death of Noa Marciano, a female soldier taken hostage from a base near Gaza and killed in captivity. A drone fired a missile at the car ferrying Habil before he reached his destination.

On Friday, three Israeli jet fighters dropped 13 bombs on a Gaza City apartment and a car trying to leave. The strikes killed Haddad, the Hamas military commander, his wife, his daughter and a number of civilians. Israel said he was working to rebuild Hamas’s military capabilities. Haddad helped keep hostages, according to those held, and his killing was celebrated by some of the freed captives.

“He planned the 7th, murdered my friends, many other dear people, planned my kidnapping, and held me in Hamas’s tunnels,” – Emily Damiri said in an Instagram post Friday. The 29-year-old dual Israeli-British citizen was kidnapped from her home and held nearly 500 days in the underground tunnel system Hamas dug under Gaza. “This is a very very very important closing of the circle for many people,” she wrote.

Aviva Siegal, 64, was kidnapped with her husband on Oct. 7 and spent 51 days in captivity. Despite her ordeal at the hands of Hamas – she also waited nearly 500 days for her husband to be freed – Siegal said she opposed any more killing. “I’m alive,” she said, “and that’s enough for me.”

Dov Lieber – Wall Street Journal

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• No More Safe Havens – Israel’s Airstrike In Qatar Sends New Message To Countries Harbouring Hamas Terrorist
• Paying The Price For Hamas Attacks – How Trump Misled Iran Before Israel Sends 200 Jets To Attack
• Ran Out Of Luck And Place To Hide – Here’s How Israel Trainee Squad Accidentally Killed Hamas Mastermind Sinwar
• Live By The Sword, Die By The Sword – Anwar Madly Angry After BFF Hamas Terrorist Leader Haniyeh Assassinated
• Playing A Dangerous Game – Here’s Why Facebook Removes News Of PM Anwar Meeting With Hamas Terrorists
• Hamas Is Game Over – How The Terror Group Miscalculated, Betrayed, Abandoned And Made More Mistakes
• Careful What You Wish For – U.S. May Slap Economic Sanction On Malaysia For Supporting & Training Hamas Terrorists
• Human Shields – How Hamas Cleverly Wins Propaganda War, But Was Stunned By “Fire Power” Unleashed By Israel
• Told You So!! – Congrats To Anwar For Radicalizing School Kids As Potential Hamas Terrorists Playing With Guns
• An Eye For An Eye!!! – No One Can Stop Israel From Reducing Gaza To Rubble And Erase Hamas Terrorists

The post Special Task Force – Israel’s Campaign To Kill Every Oct 7 Attacker Revealed first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

Some predict the disgruntled former deputy PKR president and his new party will disappear soon. Some scold his evil attempt to split the Chinese and Malay votes in Pakatan Harapan (PH). Some challenged him to contest in rural Malay areas against Perikatan Nasional (PN). Some argue he’s committing “kamikaze” going against both Barisan Nasional (BN) and PH in urban areas.

Heck, some even laugh at his new party’s logo – “kancil” or mousedeer – and joke about how MU would get trampled and crushed when elephants (BN, PN or PH) fight. But that’s precisely what the new boss of MU – Rafizi Ramli – wanted to project. Not only does he – cleverly and purposely – market his new party as MU (a widely used abbreviation for Manchester United), he’s also positioning MU as the underdog in the “David vs. Goliath” story.

Mr. Rafizi pre-emptively and psychologically said his political venture is a kamikaze move that could end up losing everything, including deposit if MU is annihilated in the next national polls. That is a powerful strategy and tactic to fish votes from frustrated supporters of PH, BN and PN, fence sitters, and young voters currently not aligned to any political parties or pacts. Dude, he’s cornering the market.

The fact that PH held a rally in Johor Bahru on Sunday (May 17) to coincide with the launching of Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama or MU) under the pretext of building momentum for the coming state election has raised suspicions that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was trying to undermine his former protégé Rafizi more than targeting BN, who had earlier declared war on PH by going solo in Johor.

And the fact that PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh, arguably the dumbest leader in Anwar’s party, has prematurely jumped the gun with a silly claim that she has so-called “evidence” to prove Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad joined MU before vacating seats, hence is bound by RM10 million anti-hopping party bond, indicates the panic and chaos within the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

Get real, Rafizi’s political career began with his involvement in the “Reformasi” movement in 1998, the same year Anwar was sacked by then-PM Mahathir Mohamad over corruption and sodomy charges. With 28 years’ experience under his belt, do you really think a meticulous Rafizi would be so stupid to commit such a mistake? The registration date of a vehicle is different from a car’s ownership date, mind you.

It’s not hard to understand why serious attention was at PJ PAC, 1 Utama, where Rafizi unveiled the “Third Force”. While PKR president Anwar and other PH leaders gathered at their national convention recycling and trumpeting the same tired rhetoric that few Malaysians seem to believe anymore, Rafizi was igniting the flame of “hope” across the political landscape.

Unlike fake progressive Khairy Jamaluddin, who temporarily hid as a presenter on Hot FM and co-hosted the political podcast “Keluar Sekejap” after he was sacked from UMNO in January 2023 for disparaging and sabotaging the party during the 15th General Election campaign, before rejoined UMNO last month and shamelessly kissed the same hand whom he had condemned, Rafizi has more dignity and a bigger appetite for risk.

By taking over Bersama or MU, quitting PKR, and resigning as Members of Parliament, Rafizi and Nik have easily achieved what big talker (former) opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin failed to achieve, and has done what Khairy was too cowardly to do. Rafizi boldly set up his own restaurant over disagreements with his former boss Anwar’s practice of serving substandard, unhygienic and unsafe food at cutthroat prices.

His political launch on Sunday was a huge success, attracting more than 2,000 attendees and garnering over 10,000 views via online livestream. Those numbers alone are enough to send shivers down PKR’s spine. Within just 24 hours of its launch, Rafizi Ramli’s new political platform, Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama), successfully attracted around 8,000 registered members. 

Crucially, the new party did not spend a single penny on free meals, allowances or transportation for those supporters to attend the event. On the contrary, it had to set up stalls selling T-shirts, bags, badges and other merchandise, not to mention a crowdfunding channel on its Bersama Official Website to accept public donations. If this sounds familiar, that’s because PKR had gone through the same journey.

Yes, Bersama is like PKR before the People’s Justice Party became the ruling government – a clean white paper. Arguably, having spent 28 years in PKR, Rafizi knew what he wanted – a “clean version” snapshot of PKR before Anwar’s release from prison and systematically corrupted the party with cronyism, nepotism, money politics, corporate mafia, corruption, dictatorship, hypocrisy, racism, extremism, dynastic politics, and whatnot.

Because power-crazy Anwar has deviated from the real “Reformasi” movement, his former lieutenant is now providing an alternative to disgruntled supporters who felt scammed by the conman. Therefore, Rafizi’s immediate target is his former party PKR, followed by DAP (Democratic Action Party). Throughout his speech on Sunday, he deliberately mentioned these two major PH parties for a reason.

As the key PKR strategist credited with masterminding the party’s unexpected rebound in the 2022 General Election, he understood that with limited time and resources, the fastest way to capture votes is to convert angry fence sitters who had previously voted for PKR and DAP. It would be a waste of time to convert the converted supporters of BN (UMNO, MCA, MIC) and PN (Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan).

With 28 years’ experience in PKR, Rafizi knew the party like the back of his hand. He knew its strengths and weaknesses. He could leverage his analytics firm, Invoke Malaysia, to track voter sentiments, identify battleground seats, and mobilize fence-sitters in urban and semi-urban areas – a weapon which PKR belittles as arrogant Anwar believes more on government resources.

Besides a data-driven approach to understanding the pulse on the ground, Rafizi is also known for his effective and lethal grassroots campaigning such as the 2022 “Ayuh Malaysia” to attract fence-sitting voters and boost voter turnout for Pakatan Harapan. He will most likely replicate the same tactic in engaging grassroots communities directly rather than relying heavily on mega-rallies which require deep pockets.

To differentiate MU from PKR, UMNO, PAS, Bersatu, and other dinosaur political parties, where their expired leaders are more than 70 years old, Rafizi sells Parti Bersama Malaysia as a party with priority to nurture young candidates, especially leaders in their 30s, and provide them opportunities to contest in the coming elections.

“It is time for people like us in the 40s and 50s to step into the background and train the younger generation. That is the core direction of Parti Bersama Malaysia,” – said Rafizi Ramli, a deliberate statement specially designed to attack not only PKR, but also DAP. Although DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke is relatively young at 49, he is increasingly criticized for his cowardice and subservient to both PKR and UMNO.

With the announcement that Bersama would contest future elections as an independent political force, the current three-corner rivalry among PH, BN, and PN would get more crowded, interesting, and messier with the new kids on the block. But among dozens of political parties, MU would be a severe “threat” due to several factors.

While PKR and DAP could claim to be multiracial parties, MU is not only multiracial, but also led by a young leader with agendas for the youngsters. It’s not hard to see how first-time voters aged 18 and Generation Z may cast their ballots for Bersama due to their preference for a brand new political option. After all, BN, PN and PH have so far proven to be untrustworthy, unreliable and a mega failure.

In the same breath, even DAP is in trouble as the popular mantra spewed by pro-Anwar propagandists, bloggers, cyber troopers, YouTubers, and TikTokers – “If not Anwar, who else” – is no longer workable. The scare tactic – “If Chinese and Indians don’t vote for PH, the alternatives (PN or BN) are worse” – is now neutralized with the emergence of UM or Bersama.

Non-Malays, especially ethnic Chinese frustrated and disillusioned with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration, were increasingly likely to simply abstain from voting by staying at home. But with Rafizi’s offering of a third force, they now have a third option to vote, just like how Sabahan Chinese voted in droves in favor of Warisan last year, effectively wiping out PKR and DAP in the Borneo state.

Realistically, MU cannot and does not need to win the minimum of 112 parliamentary seats to form a simple majority government on its own. It just needs to steal PKR’s seats whilst challenging DAP’s seats. While Rafizi does not want MU to become a second PKR, he can definitely try to replace outdated and tainted PKR with MU as the next powerhouse.

More importantly, also present at the MU launching event were six other renegade PKR MPs – Mr Wong Chen, Mr Lee Chean Chung, Ms Rodziah Ismail, Mr S. Kesavan, Mr Zahir Hassan and Baktiar Wan Chik. In a sign of weakness, PKR is indecisive about whether to terminate membership of the six rebels, and DAP chief Loke said Rafizi should have kept his PKR membership at least until the end of his term as an MP.  

If the Premier and PKR believe Rafizi’s new party is a joke, the only way to test the strength of MU is to call for by-elections in Pandan and Setiawangsa. The burning question is whether the big talker Anwar has the balls to do so. If Tengku Zafrul, Anwar’s favourite errand boy identified to replace Rafizi in Pandan, fails to snatch the seat, the humiliation and chain-reaction would be irreparable.

There’s another huge difference between Anwar and Rafizi. Whilst PM Anwar’s blood is incredibly contaminated with UMNO DNA, Rafizi is yet to be tainted. Like it or not, that’s an excellent value proposition. Whether the MU new chief would similarly get corrupted upon gaining power later remains to be seen. For now, laugh at Rafizi and his new party at your own peril. 

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• BN Going Solo & Rafizi’s New Party – A Slap In The Face Of PKR & DAP
• No Safe Seat For PKR – PM Anwar To Run Away From Tambun
• Get Popcorn – UMNO Has Begun Seizing Power, Betraying PKR
• From Crony Capitalism To Corporate Mafia – NexG Saga (Part 2)
• From Crony Capitalism To Corporate Mafia – NexG Saga (Part 1)
• Azam’s RM14 Million Scandal – Damage Done, Too Little Too Late
• PKR & DAP In Trouble – Rafizi To Split Votes With Third Option
• Pig, Temple & Azam – Madani’s Dumb Recipe To Losing Selangor
• Bloomberg – How MACC Partners With Corporate Mafia To Seize Control Of Companies
• Tax Refund & E-invoice – Madani Should Stop Stealing Money
• Told You So – Congrats Anwar & Anthony For Leading PKR-DAP To Extinction
• UMNO Cannot Be Trusted – The Predictable Game Plan Of The Corrupt Party To Reassert Its Single-Party Dominance

The post Laugh MU At Your Own Peril – Ends Of “If Not Anwar, Who Else” Scare Tactic first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

In fact, the original plan was to produce around only 5–6 million MacBook Neos. But it was so successful that CEO Tim Cook announced that it was the best launch week ever recorded by Mac with regards to new users buying their first-ever Mac. Following the overwhelming performance of the MacBook Neo, Apple is having discussions with its supply chain.

However, behind the success story, Macbook Neo is actually using defective chips. The chip powering the Neo is Apple’s A18 Pro, the same chip first used inside the iPhone 16 Pro two years ago, but with one key difference. The Neo version of the chip has a “5-core” graphics processor, one less than the version inside the 2024 iPhones – they are “chip-binned”.

Instead of throwing away chips with slight defects, Apple was able to save some of the A18 Pro chips with a defective core for future use. Defective cores can be disabled, leaving a chip that still functions perfectly well to power different, often cheaper devices – in this case an entry-level laptop like Macbook Neo instead of a top-of-the-line iPhone.

“If you can take the stuff that doesn’t meet highest level specs and still use it, you can save money, scrap and time,” says Tim Culpan, a supply-chain analyst who has written about Apple’s Neo chip orders. “Also you can reach a lot more customers you might not otherwise be able to sell to.” What began as a salvage operation has evolved into a brilliant design strategy, allowing Apple to segment its lineup with surgical precision, achieving efficiencies that smaller rivals struggle to match.

Essentially, Apple has used its flexibility with its own silicon to develop lower-priced iPhones and computers, many of which have sold well. The Neo is so popular that Apple is running low on leftover chips and has been forced to order new ones. Repurposing chips is one of many ways Apple takes advantage of its massive and formidable supply chain. The strategy is weaponizing prices to attract new users.

But Macbook Neo is not the only product which Apple sells cheaply to poach potential Chromebook and PC users and make money. The iPhone 17e, which also uses a “binned” chip, is cheap enough to attract Android users. Rival device makers are struggling more than Apple with the surging price of memory and storage, making lower-end devices unprofitable to sell and enabling Apple to gain market share.

Besides, every new user of an Apple device is also a potential buyer of Apple’s higher-margin services, such as iCloud storage, and the App Store. Since 2021, Apple has sold six of its A-series chips with one less GPU core in a cheaper device after the fully functional version first appeared in a more expensive iPhone, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of nearly 200 Apple documentation pages.

Apple sells more than 200 million iPhones a year. Even if a small percentage of smartphone chips don’t meet specifications, Apple still has millions to repurpose. The 17e uses chips that aren’t good enough for the iPhone 17. The iPhone Air uses chips that wouldn’t meet specifications for the more expensive 17 Pro. Besides the Neo, iPhone 17e, and iPhone Air, others using defective chips included iPhone SE, iPad Mini, and iPhone 16e.

Apple makes far fewer Macs, and the M-series chips that power them. Even so, two years after rolling out with MacBook Pros, M-Series chips that lack a GPU core are used in the cheaper iPad Air. The strategy of reusing faulty chips dates back to the first chip Apple designed, the A4, which powered the first iPad, then months later the iPhone 4, and after that the second-generation Apple TV box.

A4 chips that drew too much power weren’t well-suited for smartphones running on a battery, but worked just fine in the Apple TV plugged into an outlet. Something similar happened with less efficient S7 chips, which ended up in the second-generation HomePod rather than the Apple Watch for which they were originally designed.

When Apple bought processors from suppliers like Intel or Samsung, it could pick the most choice chips they made. Now that Apple designs its own processors, it pays Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, or TSMC, to make silicon wafers filled with hundreds of chips, sometimes of varying quality.

Apple puts chips with more processing cores in devices with bigger displays and more storage to create higher-priced models. And as it rolls out new chip designs, Apple repurposes its older chips for cheaper products. The A8 chip first appeared in 2014 in the iPhone 6, then in 2015’s iPad Mini and Apple TV, and finally in 2017 in the first HomePod.

Using chips in the Neo that might otherwise be tossed is one way Apple was able to deliver its first entry-level laptop. Yet the Neo is so popular Apple is blowing through its supply of ultra cheap binned chips and recently placed fresh orders for A18 Pro silicon specifically to keep Neo production going, according to people familiar with Apple’s supply chain.

That isn’t as easy as it used to be. Apple gets its most advanced chips from one supplier, TSMC, which is also struggling to meet voracious demand for artificial-intelligence chips. “Apple no longer has the flexibility it once enjoyed, and the strain is starting to show,” – said Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with TF International Securities.

Tim Cook said the company is facing chip shortages that are preventing it from meeting customer demand, especially for iPhones and increasingly for Macs. Apple’s website currently lists shipment times of one to two weeks for a new Neo. Not bad for faulty or defective chips. But with the arrival of a fresh batch of A18 chips, Apple may have to disable a GPU core on them to ensure all MacBook Neos in circulation have just five active GPU cores.

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The post How Apple’s Making A Fortune Using Defective Chips In Popular Products first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

The decision to contest all 56 seats in next Johor state election is a “clear offer to the people that we are ready to continue to form a stable, strong government and fully serve to the development of the state and the welfare of Johor”, said Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz in a Facebook post on Saturday (May 16). This means Barisan Nasional will not cooperate with other political parties or pacts.

While Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) are governing partners in the multi-coalition Unity Government at the federal government, both are rivals at the state level in Johor and Melaka. Besides UMNO, BN is made up of smaller – and obedient – parties such as the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

Essentially, not only UMNO-led Barisan Nasional believes it is strong enough to retain power in the Johor state after winning 40 out of the 56 seats in the 2022 state polls, it is also confident of defeating Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH), as well as the Perikatan Nasional (PN) or the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) in the opposition camp.

Johor’s state election is only due by mid-2027, but Johor UMNO leaders and the party machinery have been working – quietly – for an election as early as August or September this year. It’s not a coincidence that UMNO Johor made the announcement to go solo less than a month after UMNO Negeri Sembilan attempted to topple the PH state government in Negeri Sembilan led by Aminuddin, a vice-president of PKR.

Even though the betrayal to seize power in Negeri Sembilan did not fully succeed after the 14 UMNO-BN state lawmakers withdrew their support for Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) Aminuddin Harun, the political maneuvering has started the ball-rolling for a return to BN’s former glory. The latest announcement by Onn Hafiz to go alone is a message that UMNO isn’t interested in sharing power with Anwar’s PH.

If victorious in early state polls in Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka, it would allow BN to rebuild momentum independently of the federal unity government, positioning itself more strongly ahead of the 16th General Election due by early 2028. While Anwar is dragging his feet – indecisive about a concurrent national and state elections – the “untrustworthy partner” UMNO decisively wanted an early polls.

BN has a strong incentive to call early state polls rather than align them with the next general election, as lower turnout in standalone contests tends to favour the incumbent while putting its main rival PH at a disadvantage. In the 2022 Johor state polls, PH won 12 seats, with DAP winning 10 and PKR and Amanah taking one each. Perikatan Nasional won three seats while Muda secured one.

Because BN had secured a two-thirds majority 4 years ago, it has no reason to work with PH. Unlike Pahang or Perak, where BN and PH formed coalition state governments, Johor remains under a BN administration with only loose cooperation involving PH. Crucially, UMNO wants to use Johor as a testing ground to see if BN is capable of winning a national election on its own.

UMNO’s gameplay is to first win strategic states like Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan. From there, they could justify going solo at the federal level and returning to power like the old days. Even if BN decides to play safe by working with PH at national polls to prevent three-corner contests, they could flex muscles and use their big wins in those state elections as bullets to demand the lions’ share of parliamentary seats.

Heck, not only BN could easily blackmail and threaten PH under the weak leadership of PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook to surrender some strategic parliamentary seats to be redistributed among UMNO, MCA and MIC, the power-hungry UMNO could even demand the post of Prime Minister as part of conditions for cooperation.

More importantly, UMNO – arguably the current most united political party – is cocksure both PKR and DAP do not have the balls to retaliate by severing relationship at the federal level due to Anwar’s obsession with premiership. Because there is room for BN and PH to work together again to form the Johor state government, Anwar and his obedient sidekick Anthony Loke would most likely keep silent.

It’s a game of brinkmanship which PKR and DAP are set to lose, if Anwar and Loke’s past cowardice in facing UMNO’s relentless bullying, backstabbing and betraying are any indicator. Even within Anwar’s own party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR or People’s Justice Party), the party president is seen as a weakling who dares not offend UMNO at state level.

It was only last month (April) when PKR president Anwar Ibrahim – with tail between legs – told Johor PKR to use the “right channels” to hold seat talks for the next state election with its unity government allies, especially UMNO. That clearly sends the wrong message that UMNO could bully the PM’s own party in Johor because Anwar told his boys and girls to bend down to be screwed.

Yes, when Malaysia’s most powerful man is reduced to a fabulous coward, choosing to lecture his own party chapter not to rock the boat and suck up to the bully instead of reprimanding the leadership of UMNO president Zahid Hamidi, it’s a matter of time before even UMNO state leaders started disrespecting the Premier. Mr Anwar deserves every insult and humiliation. 

It’s a slap in the face of both PKR and DAP. Worse, the spineless Democratic Action Party, despite possessing 40 parliamentary seats – the biggest party in the unity government – is behaving like it has only 4 seats. Minion Loke is waiting for his political master Anwar for enlightenment, but the indecisive Prime Minister could not make up his mind on the next strategy except “bragging and yapping” every day.

To save face after being humiliated, Johor Pakatan Harapan now expects everyone to believe its claims that it had anticipated Barisan Nasional’s decision to contest all 56 state seats on its own in the upcoming state polls. Left with no option, Johor PH said it will also contest all 56 state seats – a decision seen as damage control rather than strategic planning ahead of the state election.  

For the past three years, the top leadership of PKR and DAP has been warned that UMNO cannot be trusted. However, Anwar, a former UMNO deputy president before he was sacked by former PM Mahathir Mohamad in 1998 for sodomy and corruption, thought he was super clever and could control UMNO. Meanwhile, silly DAP chief Loke naively thought UMNO had turned over a new leaf.

In fact, Anthony Loke almost orgasm when he made national headlines by becoming the first DAP leader in history to attend the UMNO annual assembly in 2023. Subsequently, he has attended and made appearances at several UMNO assemblies. The moron thought he was popular within UMNO and was so cocksure that BN and PH would cooperate in the next 16^th General Election that he mocked opposition Perikatan Nasional’s jealousy in the strong PH-BN relationship.

The best part was when pro-Anwar bloggers, propagandists, cyber troopers, YouTubers, TikTokers, who have been blindly praising UMNO and were convinced that BN and PH would cooperate come rain or shine, are now shocked, stunned and flabbergasted when news flashed about BN Johor going solo – effectively giving the middle finger to Anwar-led PH.

Perhaps they could cook up another stupid story that both UMNO president Zahid Hamidi and deputy president Mohamad Hasan were not aware of UMNO Johor’s decision to contest all56 seats, just like how they argued that the UMNO top leadership was kept in the dark over 14 UMNO-BN state lawmakers withdrawal of support for Negeri Sembilan Chief Minister Aminuddin Harun.

Sure, PH could gloat and fantasize about past achievements in capturing the Johor state government for the first time after defeating BN in the 2018 general election. However, there’s a reason why PH won only 12 seats four years later, and lost the state to BN. There’s no more 1MDB or GST issues today like in 2018. Anwar today lacks the pull factor that Mahathir had back then.

Worse, PH supporters are split, with an increasing number of PH voters disappointed and upset with Anwar than with UMNO Johor. Not only are there none Palestinians to vote for PKR, the Chinese community who had previously voted for DAP in droves has little motivation to vote for DAP this round, let alone PKR and Amanah. The ethnic Chinese would most likely stay home.

Adding salt to the wound is the emergence of a new “Third Force” led by former PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli. The former Economy Minister has broken away from the toxic ruling Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which is struggling with safe seats even for supremo Anwar, after taking over the leadership of the fringe Malaysian United Party – also known as Parti Bersama Malaysia – on Sunday (May 17).

A splinter of the Chinese-majority Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and registered in Penang in 2016, the new multiracial party launched by Rafizi would certainly contest in Johor to both split PH’s votes and to test the water. Mr Rafizi, a vocal critic of Prime Minister and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership, could create tremendous trouble for PH as it attracts fence sitters and young voters.

Other Articles That May Interest You …

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The post BN Going Solo & Rafizi’s New Party – A Slap In The Face Of PKR & DAP first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

At the same banquet on Thursday (May 14), in his toast, U.S. President Donald Trump said the China-US relationship is one of the most longstanding ones. “We had extremely positive and productive conversations and meetings today with the Chinese delegation earlier, and this evening is another cherished opportunity to discuss among friends some of the things that we discussed today,” – he said.

He concludes his dinner speech by inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24. While Mr Trump is trumpeting that “the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before”, he was left without a “big, fat hug” he bragged he would get from Xi before heading to China. Instead, Trump was offered a firm 10-second handshake.

After the U.S. president arrived in Beijing, he rained praise on Mr Xi as talks began at the Great Hall of the People, saying – “It’s an honour to be your friend”. Trump tried to appease Xi – “You and I have known each other for a long time. We’ve had a fantastic relationship, we’ve gotten along when there were difficulties, we worked it out. I would call you and you would call me”.

But Xi Jinping does not and has never considered Donald Trump as a good friend, let alone  a best buddy. Mr Xi’s self-described “best friend” on the international stage is Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Rather, the Chinese leader chose to compare the US-China relationship to the “Thucydides Trap”, a political term coined by an American scholar based on the Peloponnesian war by ancient Greek historian Thucydides.

A theory popularized by Graham Allison, Thucydides Trap describes the dangerous tension when an emerging power threatens to displace an existing ruling power, frequently resulting in war. “Can China and the United States transcend the so-called ‘Thucydides Trap’ and forge a new paradigm for major-power relations?“ – Mr Xi asked.

Instead of pretending to be Trump’s friend like most of European leaders, Xi instead took the opportunity to lecture and warn America. China and the U.S. should become partners and mutual respect is the key to stable ties, said Mr Xi at his opening speech at the state banquet in Beijing on Thursday. The Chinese president said – “We can help each other succeed and advance the well-being of the whole world.”

“We both believe China-US ties are the most important bilateral ties in the world. We must make it work and never mess it up. Both China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals,” lectured Xi, adding that China’s rejuvenation and Mr Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) campaign can go hand in hand.

Crucially, President Xi Jinping warned President Trump that any mishandling of Taiwan could lead to “an extremely dangerous situation.” Xi’s remarks, while in line with China’s longstanding position and policy, shows not only tensions, but also distrust between both countries at a time when Trump is trying to use his so-called friendship with Xi to pressure Iran to surrender some concessions.

A gathering of two superpowers to calm economic and trade disputes has been hijacked by China to weaken the U.S. commitment to Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that Beijing seeks to bring under its control. “‘Taiwan independence’ and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the U.S.,” – said Xi Jinping.

Trump did not publicly retaliate or respond to Xi’s statement. “Great. Great place. Incredible. China’s beautiful,” – Trump said when asked how the talks had gone. He didn’t answer questions about Taiwan. It’s not hard to understand why. Trump entered the meeting with a weak card – Iran War. Tehran relies on China for its economic survival, and Trump wants Xi’s help in brokering an end to the war.

The two leaders did discuss Iran, according to a White House official, who said China agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain a free waterway and agreed that Iran shouldn’t have a nuclear weapon. These has been used by the U.S. to cast China as broadly aligned with Washington. The Trump administration also tries to claim victory that China will buy more American oil and agricultural goods. 

However, Beijing’s official statement said that the two sides only “exchanged views” on the situation in the Middle East, whilst Xi has merely expressed “some interest” in increasing Chinese purchases of U.S. oil. Beijing knew Trump is facing pressure from both Republicans and Democrats to tell Xi that Washington’s support for Taiwan is non-negotiable.

Interestingly, Tehran has allowed some Chinese ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz – without charging toll fees – after discussions with China’s foreign minister and ambassador after Xi agreed with Trump that the strait must remain open. In fact, more than 30 ships had passed through the strait since Wednesday night – a sign that Beijing could be deliberately flexing its influence in Iran during Trump-Xi summit.

Xi also told Trump that trade wars have “no winner,” adding that U.S.-China economic and trade ties are “mutually beneficial.” Xi hailed the US-China relationship as the world’s most consequential, telling Trump – “We must make it work and never mess it up.”

To allow Trump takes home some wins, China has renewed import licenses for hundreds of U.S. beef plants, reviving trade in the meat as the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies meet in Beijing to stabilize commercial and geopolitical relations. The permits were renewed on Thursday and are usually valid for five years.

As Trump and Xi toast each other at the banquet dinner on Thursday, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be visiting China in the very near future. Beijing has maintained close economic and security ties with Moscow despite the invasion of Ukraine, having refused to join the international sanctions and the isolation of Russia over the war.

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The post Shows Of Strength – Xi Warns Trump Against Taiwan Mishandling first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

Yes, Mr. Anwar’s party is on the brink of annihilation, if a recent secret election strategy briefing is any indicator. Unlike 8 years ago, when UMNO warlords led by PM Najib Razak were absolutely shocked after the party lost power for the first time in the May 2018 General Election, this round, some 800 PKR delegates were shocked by a potential defeat even before the next national polls begins.

An internal analysis report, supposedly private and confidential within PKR, has been leaked. It categorized 66 parliamentary seats PKR is expected to contest into four tiers:

• Tier 1 (safe / stronghold) – 7 seats
• Tier 2A (leaning strong) – 13 seats
• Tier 2B (marginal) – 17 seats
• Tier 3 (difficult) – 29 seats

With only seven constituencies identified as “safe” – less than a quarter of the 31 seats the party won in the last election (Nov 2022), it’s not hard to understand why the party delegates are squirming like worms precisely like how the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) felt in 2018. The sense of gloom and doom about PKR’s defeat is spooking the party.

The best part of the internal report is that out of the so-called seven safe seats, four of them belong to Rafizi Ramli and his allies, whom power-crazy party president Anwar is trying to get rid of because they refused to obediently kiss his ring, lick his boot unconditionally, and worship him like a Prophet. The four seats were Rafizi’s Pandan, Subang, Ampang, and Petaling Jaya.

Even PKR supremo – Anwar Ibrahim – would most likely lose his current seat of Tambun in Perak, which has been classified as a marginal safe. In the 15th General Election, Anwar, contesting in Tambun for the first time after running away from Port Dickson, won the four-way race with a majority of only 3,736 votes. Therefore, the Prime Minister is expected to run away again, abandoning Tambun.

He chose Tambun in the November 2022 election instead of Gombak, the constituency of his former deputy who had betrayed him – Azmin Ali – for a reason. Tambun has twice the number of Chinese voters in terms of electorate percentage. But Amirudin Shari, PKR candidate fielded as sacrificial lamb to challenge Azmin, had instead secured higher majority (12,729 votes) than Anwar in Tambun.

Angry voters scammed by forked-tongue Anwar are now sharpening their knives to vote out the serial liar, who had promised the sky and moon to Tambun farmers, but never delivered. For example, farmers in Kanthan, Tambun, have faced “forced evictions” by state authorities to reclaim land for development, destroying the livelihoods of farmers who have worked the land for over 60 years.

On October 24, 2023, the Perak Land and Mines Office, accompanied by police, enforced the eviction, leading to the arrest of four individuals, including PSM chairman Dr. Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj. The Perak government, of which Anwar-led Pakatan Harapan is a governing partner, wanted to reclaim over 1,000 acres of land, arguing the eviction is legal and that alternative land was offered in Changkat Kinding.

However, farmers and PSM activists argued that not only have they operated on the land for decades, claiming they have “implied consent”, but also they are legitimate producers and that the state failed to provide promised 30-year lease agreements for replacement land. Crucially, they also argued that the eviction is unjust and undermines local food supply.

The inhuman “land grab” incidents have resulted in physical confrontations, with reports of protesters being injured and agricultural machinery clearing farmland. While the Perak state government conveniently denied and lied about the forced eviction, the federal government saw PM Anwar – along with toothless tiger Democratic Action Party (DAP) – kept quiet as farmers were bullied and oppressed.

Despite Anwar’s election promise to defend over 130 small-scale farmers in Kanthan, which is part of the Tambun parliamentary constituency, the Madani government brutally deployed heavy machinery to uproot farmers from their lands. Some families have been farming for about 80 years. Sure, the farmers were not legal owners of the land, but they can certainly vote out PKR and Anwar Ibrahim legally.

Worse, when these desperate farmers tried to meet their own MP at Parliament – the Prime Minister, who is also the Finance Minister – they were turned away unceremoniously, rudely and arrogantly by security because Mr Anwar has no more use of the same Tambun farmers whom the PKR president had once “terhegeh-hegeh” begging votes from.

Some constituents are so frustrated and upset they have expressed that they “will not miss” Anwar even if he chooses not to defend his seat in the next general election. Tambun gets nothing while Gaza gets RM200 million and billions poured into opposition states. Even Permatang Pauh, a stronghold of Anwar family before losing to an unknown opposition in 2022, received 14,000 chicken.

As all hell broke loose after the PKR’s analysis report was leaked, there is speculation that Anwar may shamelessly steal Batu – one of seven “Tier 1” safe seats – from party member P. Prabakaran, who won the seat with a 22,241 majority. Speculation is also swirling that Anwar’s daughter – Nurul Izzah – may contest mommy’s seat of the Bandar Tun Razak in the next general election.

The father and daughter may get safe seats by cannibalizing their own comrades. Others are not so lucky though. PKR’s newly crowned vice-presidents Ramanan (Sungai Buloh) and Amirudin Shari (Gombak) fared even worse given they fall under “Tier 3: Difficult Seats”. With limited safe seats available, dozens of PKR warlords would lose their shirts as they scramble to lobby for seats.

From 47 won in the 14^th General Election in 2018, PKR only won 31 out of the 81 parliamentary seats contested in the November 2022 national polls. Now, the once mighty People’s Justice Party may end up winning only around 10 parliamentary seats in the next election – if it’s lucky not to be wiped out. That would reduce PKR to a mosquito party, eliminating Anwar’s wet dream for a second term.

Anwar has no one to blame but himself. The report, most likely incorporated with military intelligence input, shows how PKR under the fake reformist has screwed up the past three years. The narcissist single-handedly destroys his own party with internal power struggles – eliminating Rafizi seen as a threat to his Iron Throne whilst promoting dynastic politics, cronyism and nepotism.

Surrounded by apple polishers and bootlickers, the Premier becomes incredibly arrogant and out of touch with the ground. Critical allies like DAP are doing more harm than good by keeping quiet as Pakatan Harapan behaves like the previous racist and corrupt Barisan Nasional government – protecting corrupt leaders of all sizes, defending corporate mafia, marginalizing minorities’ interests, promoting racism and extremism, and whatnot.

A known racist during his time as former UMNO deputy president before his sacking in 1998 due to sodomy and corruption, Anwar is committing political harakiri with unpopular new taxes, e-invoice system, delayed tax refunds, scrapping fuel subsidies, escalating cost of living, corporate mafia scandal, selective corruption, nepotism and cronyism.

Hilariously, after the leak of the document stating that the party of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is going to face an uphill battle with devastating consequences in the next 16^th General Election, PKR MPs who had been sleeping on the job have suddenly woken up. Lee Chean Chung, MP for Petaling Jaya – supposedly one of 7 safe seats – now says his seat is also at stake.

Lee said although his constituency – Petaling Jaya – is located in Selangor, very urban, and considered strong and safe, in reality, it can no longer be considered guaranteed. Having kept quiet for the last 3 years, he somehow found the balls to warn that Anwar’s party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), could face a similar situation as in 2004 when it won only one seat in Penang.

If PKR could not even defend Petaling Jaya, chances are the party may win “less than 5” parliamentary seats – even fewer than Rafizi’s new political party which is yet to be set up. Anwar’s political revenge with fabricated corruption charges against former PKR Deputy President Rafizi Ramli and his aide James Chai could backfire and cause more damage to the party.

And based on how newly crowned PKR Deputy President Nurul Izzah led the party to an annihilation in the Sabah state election last year, clearly Anwar’s daughter isn’t the leadership material needed to drive the party. Nobody cares or believes what the former “Puteri Reformasi” screams, let alone his hypocrite and liar daddy – the only prime minister who is a seat-hopper.

Even if Anwar is lucky enough to win a seat, he may no longer be the prime minister. With limited time left and without strategist Rafizi to help PKR regain public support, especially from young voters and fence sitters, the moron prime minister is leading the party to self-destruction. The best part is bootlickers like Ramanan are still in denial over the severity of the party’s crisis.

Other Articles That May Interest You …

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The post No Safe Seat For PKR – PM Anwar To Run Away From Tambun first appeared on FinanceTwitter.