But as Cape Verde reminded the Argentinians last week, World Cup matches are not won on paper. They’re won with guts, balls of steel, leadership, luck, perseverance and capitalizing on opportunities. When Egypt came ready for a fight, they were inspired by Cape Verde. The pressure was on Argentina – the defending champion seeking to keep their 2022 FIFA World Cup title.

For the overwhelming majority of the more than 68,000 fans at Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Tuesday, the magical moment came when Lautaro Martínez slowed down on the right wing of Argentina’s attack, sized up the scene in front of him and hit a cross. The ball floated toward the box, over Egypt’s Yasser Ibrahim and toward the head of Enzo Fernández.

Yasser Ibrahim’s 15th-minute goal was enough to send the small pockets of Egyptian fans in the stadium go berserk – jumping and ripping off their shirts as their team went bonkers below them. A few minutes later, it seemed the soccer gods were on Egypt’s side. Lionel Messi’s penalty was saved by Mohamed Shobeir, who performed in the rest of the first half as if he had been anointed as his nation’s savior. 

The Egyptian goalkeeper made save after save, building a brick wall in his net as Argentina appeared flustered. Egyptian fans in the stadium were outnumbered but felt brave enough to taunt the throngs of Argentines behind them. Then, came Mostafa Zico‘s goal in the 55^th minute. As Egypt celebrated wildly, referee François Letexier went to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) screen to look at a foul that may have occurred.

Letexier waved off Zico’s goal, which would see Egypt file a complaint against the referee after the match. Egypt’s manager Hossan Hassan slams FIFA for cheating. But Zico was not done. He added Egypt’s second goal in a close-range strike on the counterattack in the 67th minute. A 2-0 lead seemed like the end of Argentina’s journey. Egypt looked set to produce a stunning upset.

Not only did Messi miss a chance to equalize in the first half when he wasted a penalty, but he also hit the post when the score was 1-0. For a moment, Argentina, who are bidding to become the first back-to-back World Cup champions since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, might be unable to escape the Pharoah’s curse after barely survived Cape Verde’s hell.  

But no team with Lionel Messi in it is ever truly dead. Watching Argentina’s No. 10 is like watching a conductor working in a soccer orchestra. He picks where Argentina plays with his movement – when he walks in one direction, the play goes the other way, but when he runs, the ball comes toward him. He points out passes for his teammates, slowly moving around the pitch with the unharried attitude of an evening stroll.

At 39, Messi conserves his energy when he can for the moments he needs it most. When those moments come, he explodes. Despite beign under tremendous pressure, he kept looking for opportunities. Then the first moment of genius came. Messi lifted a ball over the Egyptian defense to Cristian Romero, who headed home 2-1 in the 79th minute. Five minutes later, Messi equalized -his 21st World Cup goal.

From the almighty scare of a shocking defeat, Argentina suddenly was back in the game. Enzo Fernandez completed the comeback two minutes into injury time, heading home Lautaro Martinez’s cross to set up a quarter-final tie against Switzerland. Argentines exploded into a realm of sporting nirvana. Strangers were hugged, margaritas went flying, and shirts came off. 

When the full-time whistle blew, they roared in joy, relief and gratitude. Their worship of their heroes on the field below was enough to move Messi to tears as he and his teammates celebrated in front of that giant throng. Music played through the stadium’s sound system, but you couldn’t hear a word for the singing and screaming of the Argentines.

It was the first time in World Cup history that a team had won a knockout match in regulation time after trailing by two goals in the 75th minute. It was so stunning – and unbelievable – that some argue the game has been rigged from the beginning. “I’m so emotional,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “What a group of players, brother.”

The overwhelming joy of the moment resulted in Argentina fans hugging security guards, hugging journalists, hugging anyone who came in front of them such was their desire to simply share at the moment. Messi was thrown into the air by his teammates and Argentina celebrated as if they’d won the cup again, even though they still have to win three more to get back to the heights that they reached in Doha.

Inter Miami star Messi had gone into this last-16 game as the tournament’s joint-top scorer alongside France’s Kylian Mbappe – and the top World Cup scorer of all time with 20. He is now the first player in World Cup history to score in six consecutive knockout-stage matches, while his eight goals are the most in the opening five games of a single edition since Gerd Müller netted 10 for Germany in 1970.

Tuesday’s round-of-16 tie had been billed as a meeting between two of the game’s all-time greats – Argentina talisman Messi and Egypt hero Salah. Despite being the leading career scorer at World Cups, Messi has actually missed a record four of his eight penalty kicks at the tournament through the years. Egypt was looking for a famous upset. Instead, Argentina scored three late goals to get out of a 2-0 hole and beat Egypt.

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The post On Brink Of Shock Elimination – Then Messi Saves Argentina From Egypt first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

Chinese voters form the largest voting bloc in about 12 of the state’s 56 seats, most of them urban. Hence, it makes perfect sense why UMNO orders its top racist punk – Akmal Saleh – to stay silent. Even Selangor Chief Minister Amirudin Shari, whose government is cracking down on temples and pig farming, shamelesslypretends to admire the Chinese by invoking the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. 

Everyone can smell Amirudin’s stinky lies when he said that Malays, Chinese, and Indians were equal citizens. And if he is trying to hoodwink the Chinese that he is “Liu Bei” by bragging about how Selangor’s governance record was built on leaders who were capable, courageous and empathetic, he has failed miserably. Liu Bei did not demolish temples, let alone close down pig farms.

Demonizing Cao Cao does not automatically make Amirudin the hero “Liu Bei” in the Chinese classical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. Whether Cao Cao was “really bad” is debatable. While Cao Cao was a ruthless warlord capable of immense brutality, at the same time, he was also a brilliant statesman and poet who stabilized Northern China during a chaotic era.

Did the Selangor Chief Minister realize that without the Five Tiger Generals – Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and Huang Zhong – and strategist Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei would have likely perished as a minor warlord? Before Zhuge Liang joined him, Liu Bei was a wandering mercenary who bounced from warlord to warlord. He lost battle after battle because he lacked long-term, macroeconomic strategy.

But Amirudin isn’t the only Malay leader trying to appease and impress upon Chinese voters. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose People’s Justice Party (PKR) is on track to be wiped out, is begging the Chinese community to return home to vote in Johor on July 11. If only he had fairly and sincerely defended the minority races from UMNO Youth Chief Akmal’s act of terrorism for the last 3 years.

The racist Prime Minister’s best joke was not about urging young voters not to believe anti-Chinese political rhetoric at a time when he desperately needs the Chinese votes – despite the fact that he was the chief “enabler” in promoting and encouraging UMNO-Malays to attack the Chinese. Neither was it about his boastful – and laughable – claim that he was the leader who was fair to all races in the country.

The best joke of the week was when PM Anwar, who is also Pakatan Harapan chairman, cried, whined, and bitched that rivals have ganged up against him because his Madani government is tough on corruption. He even has the cheek to claim that his administration’s uncompromising policy towards those who steal public funds or abuse their positions for personal gain had made certain quarters uneasy.

“That is why, as you can see now, all these parties are joining forces to bring me down. Why? Because they know we are strict. They know we safeguard everything,” – he lied through his teeth while speaking at the PMX Meet-and-Greet programme for the Senggarang state constituency in conjunction with the Johor state election on July 5 (Sunday).

“I have come to Johor dozens of times. Did I take any land? No. Did I take any projects? No. Did I take any shares? No. We must instil this principle in our elected representatives. If we want a prosperous state, we must uphold integrity,” – Mr Anwar proudly proclaimed. What he did not want people to know is that corruption continues to flourish under his administration.

Did the PM facilitate a royal pardon for ex-PM Najib Razak, who had stolen billions in the infamous 1MDB scandal? Yes. Did he protect Azam Baki, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner caught with his pants down in shareholding and corporate mafia scandals? Yes. Did Anwar quietly throw away UMNO president Zahid Hamidi’s 47 corruption charges? Yes.

Did Anwar Ibrahim work hand-in-glove with MACC to cover up Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor’s corruption scandal despite a series of exposé videos released by a whistleblower? Yes. Did the MACC seize over RM100 million in cash stashed in a “safe house” linked to  aides of former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, but suspiciously no charges have been made? Yes.

Did PM Anwar fiercely defend his trusted aide, Shamsul Iskandar, despite being exposed for issuing a letter of support for six contractors involved in a hospital project? Yes. Did Anwar’s Cabinet award Bestinet with an “extension” in early 2024 after lobbying, despite an earlier promise to terminate the monopoly contract for the company known for exploiting migrant workers? Yes.

Did the Madani government sweep under the carpet the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) scandal involving RM9.14 billion contract to build six warships for the Royal Malaysian Navy? Yes. Did the MACC close both eyes on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s former aide-turned-crony, Farhash Wafa Salvador, in corruption and corporate mafia scandals? Yes.

So, what type of fighting corruption con artist is Anwar Ibrahim trying to lie? Opposition Perikatan Nasional does not need to join forces with Barisan Nasional to topple Mr Anwar because the Prime Minister has done an excellent job in killing his own Pakatan Harapan coalition by marginalizing the minorities, protecting corrupt cronies, freeing UMNO crooks, introducing more taxes, and whatnot.

More importantly, to claim that rivals have ganged up to overthrow him means PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia or Malaysian Islamic Party) and UMNO (United Malays National Organization) must be super corrupted. The burning question is why the MACC has yet to arrest and charge those in PAS or UMNO whom he suggested were dirty, thus wanted to bring him down?

In the same breath, Anwar was contradicting himself when on one hand, he called on Johor voters to give Pakatan Harapan (PH) the opportunity to govern the state to ensure “clean governance”, yet on the other hand, PH Johor had not raised any criticism about corruption in the state since November 2022. He has to make up his mind whether the Johor government was corrupted or not.

Exactly why the Premier is still begging when he is currently Malaysia’s “most popular” political leader, holding a 52% approval rating according to a nationwide poll released by the independent pollster Merdeka Center, is beyond comprehension. He should have faith in the Democratic Action Party (DAP) under the leadership of Anthony Loke to deliver 95% of Chinese votes for PH.

Amusingly, he made a spectacular tactical blunder – arrogantly bragged that whatever the outcome of the Johor state election, he would remain as Prime Minister. If that is the case, then it doesn’t matter whether the disillusioned and disgruntled Pakatan Harapan voters stay at home or cast their ballots for rivals to teach Anwar Ibrahim and his gang a lesson, no?

Equally hilarious was the absence of the usual screaming of “Reformasi” by the PKR president. Unable to sell its traditional gimmick to hoax gullible voters, the fake reformist has resorted to selling anti-corruption, moderate politics, a fair and clean government, and all types of promises meant to be broken once the election is over.

However, the common issues that unite the voters of Johor – regardless of ethnicity – are the high cost of living, high property prices and lack of affordable housing, traffic congestion, lack of good job opportunities, and water crisis driven by surging demand from a booming data center industry, frequent river pollution, and droughts. Mr Anwar is selling the wrong product to the voters.

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The post Anwar’s Best Joke – Rivals Ganging Up Against Him Due To Tough Anti-Corruption first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

Malaysia’s unemployment rate has since edged up to 3.0% in April 2026 – representing 511,800 jobless individuals. However, none from Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan or Zahid’s Barisan Nasional dares to talk about the latest data as both – allies at federal level but rivals at the state of Johor – actively campaign against each other in the current southern state election.

Behind the sexy numbers, however, is a severe crisis buried under the low unemployment data which politicians are reluctant to talk about. That crisis is a skill-related underemployment crisis, where nearly 2 million workers (over 35% of the tertiary-educated workforce) are forced to take semi-skilled or low-skilled jobs that do not match their qualifications. 

Irene Chong spends her work days folding clothes at a mall in Melaka despite holding a bachelor’s degree. The 24-year-old has found that her degree in communications from a private university in Kuala Lumpur is not opening the doors she had anticipated after graduating in 2022 from the four-year course. “I tried everywhere, even call centres, but I did not hear back from them,” she told The Straits Times.

With a student loan of RM100,000 (US$24,500) to repay, and feeling desperate for money and embarrassed about relying on her parents, she decided to take the retail job in 2023 while actively seeking better opportunities. “My parents thought university was the way to go for better jobs, and invested a lot in it,” – Chong said.

“But now I fold clothes, say ‘welcome’ to customers, smile and do double shifts. I don’t see a future (for me in general),” she confessed. Though Chong is considered part of the labour force, this measure is not the only one that matters. Malaysia’s unemployment rate stayed at an 11-year low of 2.9% for five months from November 2025, before inching up to 3% in April.

But economists said the headline figure masks a deeper problem – underemployment. Some 2.06 million people in Malaysia were in skill-related underemployment in 2024, a figure that is on an upward trend, affecting 36% of tertiary-educated employed people, according to the government’s 2026 Labour Force Statistics. This includes graduates and skilled workers who are employed, but in jobs that do not fully utilise their education, training or capabilities.

Graduate tracing data points to weaker early labour-market absorption in fields such as education, services, agriculture, social sciences, journalism and information, and arts and humanities, compared with technology and engineering-related fields. For workers like Chong, the gig economy has become both a lifeline and a trap, offering immediate income but no clear path back to the careers they had studied or trained for.

The scale of this mismatch was captured on June 14 – videos showing about 1,000 people queuing as far as 2-km for up to 500 vacancies at an open interview session conducted by Germany’s Infineon Technologies at the Holiday Inn hotel in Melaka went viral on social media. Aisyah Muhammad Hanif, 22, told ST that she was among those who went for the interview and is now waiting for a callback.

“I am a business degree graduate, but have been working at restaurants for the past few years because I cannot find other jobs,” Aisyah said. “I found out about this job (opening) from friends who are also trying their luck.” The company was hiring production operators and technicians, with a starting salary of RM3,500. This is higher than Malaysia’s median monthly salary, which was RM3,167 as at December 2025.

Independent economist Doris Liew, an expert on South-east Asian development and formerly affiliated with Malaysian think-tank the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, said Malaysia continues to produce large numbers of graduates in business, humanities and the social sciences. But the country is facing talent shortages in technical fields such as engineering, software development and advanced manufacturing.

“This mismatch has become increasingly evident as the country seeks to move up the value chain in sectors such as semiconductors, digital services and high-value manufacturing,” Liew said, calling talent shortages a significant constraint on industrial upgrading. She added that the problem also affects mid-career workers, as reskilling and lifelong learning remain underdeveloped.

“Existing training mechanisms, including many programmes funded by the government, are often tied to employers and short-term training requirements, rather than serving as a comprehensive platform for career advancement and skills upgrading,” – Liew said.

{ Emulating Penang’s Model }

One model often cited is Penang, where the shortage of skilled labour has been a persistent issue for the state’s semiconductor sector since the 1980s. The state accounts for about 13% of global semiconductor assembly, testing and packaging, making it a key back-end node in the global chip supply chain. There, multinational companies saw the talent shortage as an industry-wide problem and decided to take matters into their own hands.

In 1989, they prepared a White Paper for the state government, leading to the launch of the Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC). The move gave Penang a private sector-led but state-backed training centre designed around industry needs, rather than leaving skills development solely to educational institutions focused on academic achievement.

“Industry is evolving, technologies are evolving. We cannot just sit and do the same old training,” – PSDC chief executive officer Hari Narayanan told ST. In the 37 years since it was established, about 300,000 people have benefited from PSDC programmes, which have progressed from training production-line operators to offering courses in chip design and precision machining.

Other Malaysian states are also looking to emulate PSDC’s success, including Johor, where the success of the much-vaunted Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone will depend in part on whether the state can build a healthy talent pipeline. Johor Corporation, the state’s investment holding company, has been collaborating with PSDC since 2018 to develop new industry-driven technical programmes, including for vocational and soft skills for its Johor Skills initiative.

The JS-SEZ, formalised in January 2025, aims to develop Johor and Singapore into a major cross-border economic hub covering Johor Bahru, Iskandar Puteri, Pasir Gudang, Sedenak and Desaru, focusing on manufacturing, logistics, digital industries, energy and talent development. But even this economic zone has become Johor election’s warzone. Nobody cares about underemployment of job mismatch.

Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah said the JS-SEZ master plan, which has been completed and approved by the Cabinet, will only be officially launched after the Johor state elections. Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz – upset that it could be a deliberate delay tactic to reserve the “Shenzhen of Southeast Asia” for Anwar to claim credits later, has demanded the federal government to immediately announce the master plan.

{ Ensuring Better Wages and Mobility }

Beyond solving the problem of skills mismatch, economists say Malaysia must also ensure that productivity gains translate to better wages and upward mobility for workers. Economist Muhammed Abdul Khalid, a fellow at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said the issue is not one of low productivity, pointing out that labour productivity has risen by 5.3% from 2019 to 2024, according to Bank Negara Malaysia.

“Yet, the real wage per worker declined by 1.9% within the same period,” – he said, citing the central bank’s findings. Bank Negara Malaysia attributed the productivity gain to broad-based improvements across sectors, with construction posting the strongest jump in 2024 and manufacturing productivity returning to positive growth after the pandemic.

But inflation and rising cost of living erased nominal wage increases, leaving workers with negative purchasing power. Muhammed called for an overhaul of Malaysia’s industrial policy, moving away from tax breaks for low-end assembly factories and towards attracting companies focused on advanced technology and research.

Under its National Semiconductor Strategy, the government has pledged at least RM25 billion in fiscal support, while Budget 2025 introduced a RM1 billion strategic investment fund and expanded export tax incentives to include integrated circuit design. But the underemployment problem isn’t going away.

“It is a myth that graduates would magically get good jobs if they just studied different subjects or if universities offered more technical courses,” – Muhammed said. “We have a severe demand-side deficit. If the current vacancies are for retail or admin work, offering a more advanced engineering degree will not change the fact that the graduate will still end up underemployed.”

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The post Underemployment Crisis – The Dirty Truth Behind Low Unemployment first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

In fact, in April 2026, the disgraced former Prime Minister, currently serving his sentence at Kajang Prison for misappropriating RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd, mysteriously withdrawn his appeal over the failed bid to serve the remainder of his prison sentence – which was already halved by fake reformist PM Anwar Ibrahim – under house arrest.

It was as if Najib no longer wanted to go home and had fallen in love with the prison life. Even Najib’s hardcore UMNO supporters have suddenly lost interest. But it’s not difficult to guess why – the next 16^th General Election. It would be a political suicide for Prime Minister Anwar to facilitate the release of Najib from Kajang Prison with the national polls around the corner.

However, for Najib to obediently and patiently suck his toes waiting to go home could only mean one thing – a secret deal has been made. A fresh royal pardon or a house arrest could only be granted “after” Anwar gets his second term. But Marina Ibrahim has just exposed that the Premier was not the only culprit eager to see the crook free from prison.

Marina, formerly Democratic Action Party (DAP) assemblywoman for the Chinese-majority Skudai constituency, has been unfairly attacked by DAP hardcore supporters after her announcement on May 31 to end her political career at a young age of 38. Her abrupt resignation from DAP was greeted with accusations of betraying the party or leaving out of sulking.

When she was with DAP, she was praised as a progressive and talented Malay leader in DAP. But once she quits the party, she is demonised as a traitor who was “bought over” or planning to jump ship to another party. Frustrated, she finally reveals why she abandoned her party. The final straw that broke the camel’s back was her conversation on April 12 with a DAP leader who had previously been a vocal critic of Najib.

In a Facebook post on July 1, Marina Ibrahim has alleged that the senior DAP leader supported the idea of granting Najib Razak, who had stolen billions in the infamous 1MDB scandal, a royal pardon and allowing him to serve his sentence under house arrest. “The leader told me that it was not wrong for Najib to be granted a pardon and house arrest due to his past contributions,” – she said.

Lending credence to suspicions, Marina said the DAP leader shared that it would be preferable for Najib to receive a royal pardon only after the next general election. “If Najib is pardoned before the election, the Chinese voters’ trust in us will decline,” – she quoted the leader as saying. That conversation shattered her faith in politics. Hence, she dismissed suggestions that she left because she had been moved to another constituency (Tiram) or was acting out of dissatisfaction.

To regain the confidence of the Chinese community and avoid a repeat of the party’s election annihilation in Sabah, she exposed how DAP planned to create a public narrative through a special party congress (originally scheduled for July 12, but later postponed to August). Apparently, DAP would stage a drama – some party leaders were prepared to resign if Najib received an early pardon, but hilariously would continue to support the Anwar government.

The political theatre intended to project principles without significantly affecting the party so close to an election. This is to scam gullible supporters that DAP ministers under the leadership of spineless Anthony Loke Siew Fook have the balls to resign out of principle over Najib’s corruption scandal, never mind that such resignation drama comes with a few months left before the next national election.

Discussing with her team, she questioned whether manipulating public trust had become an accepted political strategy in DAP. Before making a decision to quit, Marina said she met another Malay political leader on May 20 in the hope of gaining a different perspective. Instead, she claimed the discussion centred on party positions, the distribution of power and appointments to government-linked companies.

She also questioned why DAP leaders had only recently begun raising the issue of a possible pardon for Najib after Johor UMNO announced it would not cooperate with DAP in the coming election. “If DAP truly regarded this as a red line that could not be crossed, why did it continue hoping to cooperate with Barisan Nasional (in Johor) for the past four years?” – she asked.

Therefore, she questioned the double standards practiced in DAP, saying political principles appeared to change depending on who was involved. “Previously, when others did it, we said it was wrong. Today, when we do the same thing, suddenly it becomes right,” – she wrote. She said she left politics because she could no longer reconcile her principles with what she described as political hypocrisy.

You can blame Marina Ibrahim for anything for quitting DAP, but power-crazy is obviously not one of them. Besides former Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli and Minister of Natural Resources Nik Nazmi, she is perhaps one of very few principled leaders who had resigned from ruling political parties. And she’s the only DAP leader who decided to quit over party hypocrisy and double standards.

The burning question is whether she reveals the truth. She could pretend to be an obedient girl if she’s power-hungry, knowing that she would be rewarded even if she were to lose in an election in the new Tiram constituency she was transferred to. Due to her skin colour, DAP still needs her as a decorative “flower pot”. But she decided to quit the party she once thought was principled. 

She could actually quit using the lack of reforms as an excuse. Instead, she revealed it was DAP’s readiness to work hand-in-glove with PM Anwar and corrupted UMNO in granting not only a royal pardon for Najib, but also the dirty politics of orchestrating some ministers’ resignation to hoodwink Chinese community. So far, DAP has not responded to her allegations.

By exposing Anwar-led Unity Government’s plan to free Najib, Marina has not only burned her bridge with Pakatan Harapan (comprising PKR, DAP and Amanah), but also with UMNO-led Barisan Nasional alliance. This means she has very little option to jump ship, as accused by some of her critics. It would be a very dumb strategy to leave DAP and join Rafizi’s 1-month-old Bersama – if indeed she is seeking power.

Unless DAP publicly and convincingly counters Marina’s story, it could cost DAP truckloads of votes in not only the upcoming Johor state election, but also the next general election. It was already bad that DAP under Loke suspiciously kept quiet when power-hungry PM Anwar halved Najib’s jail sentence to 6 years from 12. It now becomes worse when DAP is betraying the people – agreeing with plans to free the crook from prison. 

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The post Marina Exposed DAP Betrayal – Najib To Walk Free After Next General Election first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

The Malay nationalist party is also considering declaring snap elections in neighbouring Melaka, another stronghold which must dissolve the state assembly before December 2026. Going by the deadlines to hold elections, Melaka (Malacca) should be the first state to go to the polls, followed by Johor (last election: March 2022) and Negeri Sembilan (last election: August 2023).

By accelerating the contests in Johor and Negeri Sembilan rather than allowing them to end their 5-year-term naturally, UMNO effectively – and deliberately – denies Anwar-led Pakatan Harapan coalition the time to consolidate its organizational presence in the party’s traditional bastions. But why is UMNO only interested in these three states? Why not Perak or Pahang?

For any coalition to win the next general election, they must capture Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka because the ethnic demographics mirror Malaysia’s overall population – 60% Bumiputera, 30% Chinese, and 10% Indian and other ethnicities breakdown. It was no coincidence that when the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional alliance lost power for the first time in the May 2018 General Election, it also lost control of the three states.

These three key states are like the seven must-win battleground states in the United States – Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada – that a candidate must secure to win a U.S. presidential election. Because the majority of states consistently vote for the same party, the U.S. election is ultimately decided by these seven “key swing states”.

Yes, when opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) won a majority in the Negeri Sembilan, Johor and Melaka state assemblies in 2018, while retaining control over Penang and Selangor, not only Mahathir Mohamad led PH to toppling the long ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government for the first time in history, but also winning the “popular vote”.

Likewise, it was no coincidence that when UMNO prematurely and arrogantly bulldozed a snap national poll in November 2022 in anticipation of a huge win, it performed worse than in 2018 instead. After Barisan Nasional won a landslide victory in the November 2021 Melaka state election, it was emboldened to trigger the March 2022 Johor state election. In both states, it won a super-majority.

However, UMNO had overlooked two problems. First, UMNO recklessly forced the 15^th General Election in November 2022 without considering Negeri Sembilan. Second, the previous Melaka and Johor state elections were called while the Covid-19 pandemic was still spreading – a deliberate tactical move and manipulation to force a low turnout, which worked in favour of Barisan Nasional.

As a result, Barisan Nasional (BN) won only 30 parliamentary seats, marking the coalition’s worst-ever historical performance and was a significant drop from 2018, when it won 79 seats. But BN was lucky enough to be part of the current federal government due to the hung parliament. It became the kingmaker, without which neither Pakatan Harapan (PH) nor Perikatan Nasional (PN) could form a government.

This round, UMNO is more cautious, having learned its lesson four years ago. That’s why it purposely made its first move in Negeri Sembilan. Unlike Johor, Negeri Sembilan – which dissolved its 36-member state assembly on June 5 – was jointly run by two reluctant separate political coalitions PH and BN, replicating a power-sharing model of the federal unity government.

The term of the Negeri Sembilan assembly only expires in November 2028, but the state administration – led by Anwar’s party PKR – was plunged into crisis when UMNO’s 14 state assemblymen withdrew their support for the PH administration that has 17 representatives, two short of a majority to govern. It was a tactical move to force Anwar’s hand as this is the only state among the three key states not under UMNO’s control.

PH had originally decided to continue running the state administration with a minority government. But after UMNO declared that it was considering snap polls in Johor – a trap to provoke PH leaders to foolishly swallow the hook, line and sinker – Anwar’s PH, in order not to look weak and lose face, decided that it would seek a fresh mandate in Negeri Sembilan in a tit-for-tat response.

By breaking its electoral pact in Negeri Sembilan, UMNO has opened a crucial second front to its increasingly aggressive political campaign and expanded the battlefield to test its political prowess and influence. From the beginning, UMNO has been planning for a free-for-all election in Negeri Sembilan as it understood the importance of winning all three states on its own.

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. In the same breath, it also hopes the victory would rally its traditional supporters who had abandoned the party to return in droves.

While Johor and Melaka appear within BN’s grasp, Negeri Sembilan is a tough nut to crack. Betting that the indecisive and coward Anwar Ibrahim has no balls to call for an early national elections together with state elections, UMNO’s strategy is to use the results from the three state elections to predict the results of the next 16^th General Election.

BN won the 2021 Melaka state election independently, securing 21 out of 28 seats, whilst PH holds 5 seats. Following the formation of the Unity Government at the federal level, BN, which leads the Melaka state government with a two-thirds majority, had included PH in the state administration and executive council. But why hasn’t BN dissolved the Melaka state assembly?

The Melaka state government is waiting to see the results of Johor and Negeri Sembilan elections. If BN wins both states, UMNO Melaka will definitely go solo – and gives PH the middle finger and tells Anwar to go fly kite. However, if UMNO Johor fails to repeat its 2022 landslide victory or fails to convincingly win Negeri Sembilan, BN may invite PH to contest together the Melaka state election.

UMNO is playing a clever game. Regardless of whether power-crazy Anwar drags the national polls till next year in order to cling to power for as long as possible, or dissolves the parliament this year, UMNO would own Johor and Melaka, and possibly Negeri Sembilan. As much as Anwar and his sidekick – DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke – try to appease UMNO, BN has other plans.

In recent months, news reports have surfaced that UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had held a secret meeting in mid-December 2025 with key leaders from the ethnic Malay parties in the opposition, including the religious extremist Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu). Drunk with power, both Anwar and Loke still hope to work with UMNO for a second term.

The best part is Anwar was only alerted to the meeting after his clueless and incompetent Home Minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, was informed about the secret Bangkok huddle by the Thai intelligence. After being exposed,Zahid had to acknowledge the meeting, claiming that it was “no secret” and that PM Anwar had been informed that the meeting was over negotiations about “Muslim unity”.

Caught with his pants down, the Prime Minister could only keep quiet – could neither acknowledge Zahid’s claim nor rock the boat by severing ties with UMNO. The Bangkok meeting sends a clear signal that UMNO was testing the waters for a “new alignment”. And that new alignment is being tested in Johor with suspicious political manoeuvres by the opposition to help BN.

In June 28, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man reportedly had instructed party members and supporters to vote for BN candidates in the seats that PN is not contesting in Johor. While BN and PH are contesting all 56 seats in the Johor state election, PN is vying for only 33 constituencies, including 11 contested by PAS. This was despite PN saying earlier that it would contest all seats.

Johor has never been a PAS stronghold, allowing the Islamist party to “offer gifts” to UMNO as part of a longer-term national strategy. It was also part of PAS’ strategy to sever ties with Bersatu, its closest partner in PN, in preparation to form the next government together with UMNO. Bersatu and UMNO are bitter enemies, so PAS has to choose one of them.

Even though UMNO top leadership has not welcomes PAS’s support, it has not rejected it either. To win Johor, BN needs all the votes it can get. While rumours of an electoral pact between PN and BN to avoid multi-cornered fights had not materialised, the latest PAS directive signalled that the party remains open to closer cooperation with UMNO, despite the absence of a formal electoral pact.

But there’s a new wildcard – Bersama. The new party under de facto leader Rafizi Ramli, who was once PKR’s deputy president and widely seen as the party’s most effective campaign strategist, will be tested in the coming state elections when PH does battle with UMNO. Bersama, contesting 15 seats in Johor, would steal votes from both PH and BN.

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The post Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka – Key To Winning General Election first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

The Cinderella story of the 2026 World Cup is about how this small island nation – Cape Verde – played their way to the Round of 32 by remaining undefeated through three group stage draws. It’s a wonder of soccer that a 0-0 draw between teams ranked 59th and 64th in the FIFA world rankings could set off celebrations. A country with about 500,000 population, Cape Verde is a true underdog’s underdog.

Their fairy tales started with their 0-0 draw against Spain, where 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha became an overnight hero, followed by a 2-2 draw with two-time World Cup winners Uruguay. They secured another 0-0 draw with the oil kingdom Saudi Arabia to clinch second place in Group H – ahead of Uruguay and Saudi. That was all they needed to do.

After their match ended, Cape Verde’s players huddled around a phone to make sure Spain saw off their 1-0 win over Uruguay. Only after watching the final moments of Uruguay’s loss – a result that confirmed Cape Verde finished as Group H runners-up – could they officially start their celebration. “Tears of pride and joy all around the stands,” – said BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Rob Law in Houston.

Their unexpected journey will continue with an elimination match against Lionel Messi and Argentina. “I don’t think any of us dreamed of this,” – Vozinha said after Friday’s match. “But we know we have a lot of quality. Qualifying for the next round today is extremely rewarding for us. It’s a dream for any player to play against Argentina and against Messi.”

But how did a nation of just 525,000 inhabitants, who qualified ahead of five-time African champions Cameroon, make it this far? Eight years ago, the island nation of Cape Verde unearthed a player they hoped would help them make history. He was a tough, burly defender, the sort of competitor they would need if they were going to go toe-to-toe with soccer’s mightiest superpowers in the World Cup.

There was just one problem – they couldn’t reach him. The team had messaged Roberto “Pico” Lopes on LinkedIn when it learned that Lopes’s father was from Cape Verde. But Lopes – who was born in Ireland, had worked as a banker in Dublin, and was playing for Shamrock Rovers – didn’t read Portuguese. He ignored the message until Cape Verde tried again months later.

“I never thought this would be the route to international football,” – Lopes said. As it turns out, finding a World Cup player on LinkedIn was just the start of one of the World Cup’s most improbable stories. On Friday night in Houston, Cape Verde became the smallest nation in the World Cup’s 96-year history to reach the knockout rounds.

“The team was very eager to show this to the whole world,” – said Cape Verde’s coach, known as Bubista. “We have shown that we are a small country, but that we fight for the things that we want to achieve.”

When the team – nicknamed the “Blue Sharks” – first touched down in America, they looked likely to be returning home almost immediately. Cape Verde is made of a chain of islands off of the African coast that comprise about 1,500 square miles, and they’d never before appeared at a World Cup. No country this tiny – by area or population – had ever played a single knockout match in the tournament.

The teams they were slated to play against, on the other hand, were soccer giants with standing appointments in the deep rounds of the World Cup. Cape Verde’s first two opponents were former champions Uruguay and Spain – with a population nearly 100 times larger than Cape Verde’s. Its gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at roughly US$3.45 billion only.

Forget winning. Cape Verde’s chances of so much as salvaging draws out of those two matches was about as likely as landing a World Cup gig on the internet – a paltry 2.7%, according to pregame betting odds. But that’s when the Blue Sharks started pulling off one miracle after another. First, they shocked the world when held the defending European champion Spain to a scoreless draw.

Then, they banged a pair of goals past Uruguay in a 2-2 thriller. And on Friday, in the biggest game one of the World Cup’s tiniest nations had ever played, Cape Verde applied relentless pressure to Saudi Arabia to secure another draw. If you can’t beat them, force them to goalless draws, which award 1 point to each team instead of getting nothing by losing.

The magic of Cape Verde lies in just how many of the Blue Sharks arrived from faraway shores. Fifteen of the 26 players on Cape Verde’s roster were born away from the chain of islands off of Africa’s west coast – in Portugal, France, the Netherlands, Ireland and the U.S. – earning their places in the squad through family lineage.

Once they put on the uniforms of their ancestral homeland, though, this motley group of far-flung footballers turned into the World Cup’s biggest surprise. Facing Spain, the hero was Vozinha, a 40-year-old goalkeeper whose career had taken him to clubs in Cyprus and Moldova. A man who only began playing professional soccer at age 25 made seven saves to keep a clean sheet against La Roja.

And the most important goal in Cape Verde history – the equalizer against Uruguay – came from Hélio Varela. He is in many ways the perfect representative of the globe-trotting Sharks, having been born nearly 2,000 miles from Cape Verde in Portugal and plying his trade professionally for Maccabi Tel Aviv. It was like assembling a team at the United Nations.

Heck, the players on their 26-man roster were employed by 26 different club teams in 14 different countries last season. Seven played in Portugal, which makes sense since the country was a Portuguese colony until 1975, and the country’s official language remains Portuguese. Of the 2,970 total minutes their players have recorded in the World Cup, only 256 were played by guys employed by one of the top 100 clubs in the world.

Vozinha is a free agent after playing in the Portuguese second division last year, and Duarte, Friday’s man of the match, plays for Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria. Other key contributors play in the UAE (Al Bataeh’s Diney), Ireland (Shamrock Rovers’ Pico), Turkey (Idgir’s Ryan Mendes), Netherlands (PEC Zwolle’s Jamiro Monteiro) and Israel (Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Hélio Varela).

Cape Verde won its independence from Portugal in 1975 and didn’t join FIFA until 1986. But the quality of the national team has steadily improved for most of 20 years, and while a number of players on the roster weren’t born in the country, there is also pride in the diaspora. Much credit for Cape Verde’s performances must go to coach Bubista, a former international himself who has been in charge since January 2020.

A stable coaching set-up has allowed the 56-year-old former centre-back to build a compact and well-drilled side with an organised defence, technical midfielders and gifted forwards who upset Ghana and drew with Egypt during a run to the quarter-finals at Afcon 2023, having only made their tournament debut 10 years earlier.

Against Messi and Argentina, Cape Verde must win – not draw, let alone lose – to keep their dream alive. However, even if they lose, the world knows about Cape Verde now. For Saudi, who had hoped to return to the knockout stages for the first time since the kingdom reached the round of 16 in 1994, they have to go home after six consecutive group-stage eliminations.

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The post How A Tiny Island Few Know Exists Made World Cup History first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

When Onn Hafiz declared he would rather give up his position than “sit at the same table” or form a coalition state government with DAP (Democratic Action Party) in the Johor state election, he probably had forgotten that the component party of Anwar-led Pakatan Harapan commanded 95% of Chinese support in the Nov 2022 General Election. That figure could have increased to 100% today.

But mocking and insulting DAP was not the worst part. The worst part was when the Johor CEO had grossly underestimated the popularity of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. And UMNO is set to lose its bastion – Johor – all because Onn Hafiz disrespected the Madani administration. In the latest Merdeka Centre public opinion survey, Anwar is the country’s most popular political leader.

At 52% approval rating, PM Anwar is more popular than U.S. President Donald Trump’s 37%. This means Anwar could beat Trump for the White House, what more PM of Gaza, if a presidential election is held tomorrow. Even French President Emmanuel Macron, currently the most popular national leaders in Europe and holds a domestic approval rating between 20% and 24%, is nowhere near Anwar’s popularity.

The survey, conducted between March 12 and April 9 among 1,209 respondents nationwide, found that Anwar is ahead of six other political leaders – including former UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin (50% approval rating), former Premier Muhyiddin Yassin (36%), former Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli (32%), and opposition Perikatan Nasional chairman Samsuri Mokhtar (28%).

The best part is opposition PAS Islamist party president Abdul Hadi Awang – supposedly the holiest man who reports directly to God and holds the key to heaven – only garnered 25% popularity. Even UMNO president and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, widely speculated to become the next Prime Minister, recorded the lowest approval rating of only 24%.

The survey results mean not only Anwar’s PKR (People’s Justice Party) could win all the 20 seats it is contesting in the upcoming Johor state election, but he would also lead Pakatan Harapan coalition to a stunning victory – most likely wiping out the arrogant Barisan Nasional. UMNO Johor deserves to be annihilated for going to war without considering the PM’s popularity.

In the same breath, Rafizi, the rebellious former deputy president of PKR who quit and joined Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) to provide a third option for disgruntled and angry supporters of PH, might see all his Bersama candidates in the upcoming state elections losing their election deposits. Therefore, Anwar hardcore supporters should stop worrying about Bersama splitting PKR voters.

Unlike last year’s Sabah state election, where PKR, Amanah and DAP were annihilated, all the three component parties of PH should instead worry about how to celebrate the coming huge win in Johor. Anwar’s popularity should also boost their chances of winning the Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, and Sarawak state elections, not to mention a landslide victory in the next 16^th General Election.

Yes, it would be a humiliation if PKR fails to win any seat in Johor. It would be a bigger embarrassment if the 1-month-old Bersama wins more seats than the 27-year-old PKR after the latest Merdeka Centre public opinion survey shows how popular Anwar Ibrahim is in Malaysia. It simply does not make sense that a man with a 52% approval rating would lose to his protégé with only 32% popularity.

Worse, PKR would lose face if its president with 52% popularity were to lose to UMNO whose president garnered approval rating of only 24% – the lowest and worst leader being polled. Unless the Merdeka Centre had been paid to manipulate and cook up the numbers to project Anwar as the best leader, PH should have no problems winning all the state elections and national elections.

The survey also means Anwar must have done something right between the time when his popularity was at a deplorable state leading to PH losing its underwear in the Sabah elections in Nov 2025 and the survey done in March 12 – April 9. Clearly, the PM and DAP chief Anthony Loke overreacted when they panicked after UMNO Johor called for a snap election in early June.

Astonishingly, despite growing international uncertainties and economic challenges, 47% of respondents said Malaysia was heading in the right direction – unchanged from surveys conducted in December 2025 and February this year. However, half of those surveyed believed the country was heading in the wrong direction – economy situation, fuel prices and the cost of living.

Even though 73% identified economic issues as the single biggest problem facing the country, satisfaction with the government’s handling of the economy stood at 46%, while 51% expressed dissatisfaction. Anwar and his supporters have very little to worry about because dissatisfaction had actually declined significantly compared with the overall trend throughout 2025.

Under Anwar’s excellent leadership, Malaysia’s economy expanded by a strong 5.2% in 2025. That puts former dictator Mahathir Mohamad’s leadership to shame, whereby the country’s economy averaging an annual GDP growth rate of roughly 9.5% between 1990 and 1996. Heck, Mahathir even drove the country’s economic growth to a pathetic 10% in 1996 – almost double that of Anwar’s.

Overall, public sentiment towards the federal government was evenly split, with 50% expressing satisfaction and 48% dissatisfaction. Crucially, across ethnic groups, 39% of Malay respondents said the country is moving in the right direction, compared to 50% among Chinese respondents and 33% among Indian respondents – suggesting that Anwar is on track for a second term.

The survey data means Anwar has brilliantly captured 39% of Malay votes – key to winning the next national polls with two-thirds majority. This is a huge jump from only 15% Malays who voted for PH in 2022. With opposition bloc Perikatan Nasional (PN) in severe disarray and turmoil following a major fracture between its two main pillars, Bersatu and PAS, Anwar’s popularity may help snatch Kedah – even Kelantan and Terengganu.

It doesn’t matter that only 50% of the Chinese community said the country is moving in the right direction. Almost 100% of them are expected to vote for Anwar and DAP anyway. What DAP needs to do is to scare the shit out of them – if the ethnic Chinese don’t vote for Pakatan Harapan, PAS religious extremists and Bersatu racist bigots would take over the country, and voila, PH wins again.

PKR and DAP could also threaten the Chinese that when the opposition takes over, the recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) would be cancelled, pig farming would be banned, temples would be demolished, halal and non-halal waste separation policy would be enforced, places of worship cannot be built taller than nearby mosques, and whatnot.

More importantly, the survey reveals that by age group, satisfaction with Anwar was highest among younger respondents aged 21 to 30, with 64% expressing approval of the Madani government. Essentially, six in ten young voters are incredibly impressed with the Premier, and could not wait to vote for the great Anwar for a second-term. So, what is the PM waiting for?

Merdeka Centre was the same research firm which accurately predicted Barisan Nasional coalition under former Prime Minister Najib Razak leadership would win the 14^th General Election in May 2018 and retain power. Therefore, its latest survey report carries weight and must be extremely reliable. Mr Anwar, the country’s best and most popular leader, is set to win a landslide victory in the next 16^th General Election. BN is in trouble!!

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The post Anwar Most Popular Leader – BN In Trouble, PH To Snatch Johor first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

“Iran is the head of the snake for global terrorism, and under President Trump’s leadership, Treasury is moving aggressively, through Economic Fury, to sever the Iranian military’s financial lifelines,” – said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “We will relentlessly target the regime’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds, and pursue anyone enabling Tehran’s attempts to evade sanctions.”

These designations build on OFAC’s previous actions targeting Iran’s shadow banking mechanisms, including exchange houses, Iranian bank rahbar companies, and digital asset exchanges used to evade sanctions. But it was too little too late to disrupt the Iranian regime’s mechanisms for receiving payments for oil and other commodities.

Donald Trump’s MOU (memorandum of understanding), even though not a final deal, is seen as a “declaration of U.S. defeat”, at least that was what Tehran has been trumpeting since the U.S. president chickened out from the war he had started. While Trump is defending the newly signed MOU as a diplomatic victory, some Iran experts said Tehran has won a big victory.

Today, the White House has entered talks with Iran over a new nuclear deal, relying on a traditional strength – the promise of sanctions relief and access to some of roughly US$100 billion in frozen assets. Yet, that leverage is waning. Tehran has blunted the U.S. sanctions campaign in recent years by successfully using China’s financial architecture – built on the Chinese Yuan – that operates beyond Washington’s reach.

The shift was evident in late April when the U.S. escalated its “Economic Fury” campaign against Iran, sanctioning a major Chinese refinery it said bought billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil. The refiner, Hengli Petrochemical, said its supplier had guaranteed the oil wasn’t Iranian. But it also put the U.S. on notice.

Future oil purchases, Hengli said, would be settled in yuan instead of U.S. dollars, the energy market’s main currency – making it harder for outsiders to track the flows. It was the latest sign of a troubling new development for Washington. More of the world’s illicit activity to evade sanctions is being handled in yuan, as China builds an alternative financial system aimed at weakening Washington’s power to dictate world affairs.

The dominance of the U.S. dollar, currently used in roughly 80% of international trade finance, has historically given Washington a big advantage in policing global business. Most international transactions denominated in U.S. dollars must be settled by American banks, giving Washington the ability to monitor them – and cut off users’ dollars if necessary, crippling their operations.

But when U.S. adversaries use yuan to run their businesses, the transactions don’t enter the U.S.-led banking system, neutering Washington’s powers. Tehran uses the sales of oil paid in yuan to buy Chinese car parts, solar panels and other goods and services, as well as dual-use inputs – materials purportedly for civilian use that could also be used for weapons – all beyond U.S. jurisdiction.

The U.S. has cleared the way for Iran to resume its oil sales, and even be paid in dollars, during the negotiation period. But even under U.S. sanctions meant to block the sales, Iran earned up to US$43 billion in oil revenue in 2024, before accounting for unspecified discounts (which averaged about 13%), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Boats seeking safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict were told to pay Tehran in yuan or cryptocurrencies, which are also hard for Washington to control. Iranian and Chinese partners have set up secretive intermediaries and front companies in Hong Kong and elsewhere to help facilitate more trade in yuan, Treasury officials say.

Some of the transactions are settled on China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, or CIPS, a yuan-denominated alternative to the Swift messaging network. It was set up by China in 2015 and can’t easily be monitored by Washington. And CIPS was established specifically to protect China’s economy and its partners from potential Western financial sanctions.

Although still small, volume on the network jumped after the U.S.-Iran conflict started. It has averaged roughly 790 billion yuan, or around US$115 billion, a day in the three months since the end of February, according to the Atlantic Council think tank, compared with a daily average of 680 billion yuan, or around US$100 billion, last year.

The Belgium-based SWIFT messaging network is immensely larger, facilitating an estimated more than US$5 trillion a day, including some messages that move across CIPS. But the fast expansion of CIPS activity means it is becoming a more-global cross-border payments system, the Atlantic Council says.

A similar pattern played out with Russia when its war in Ukraine started in February 2022. After the U.S. tightened sanctions, more Russian oil exports and other trade with China were settled in yuan. Total daily transactions on CIPS have doubled and the number of financial institutions operating on the platform has more than doubled from the beginning of the war to mid-2025, according to Chinese central bank data and CIPS.

Today, Russian officials say more than 90% of trade between Russia and China is settled in yuan and Russian rubles. A total prewar figure couldn’t be determined, but for comparison, the yuan was used in 2% of Russian trade in February 2022, according to the Centre for Eastern Studies, a Polish think tank. Crucially, Russia appears to have survived without Swift.

Overall, the yuan’s share of global trade finance tripled over the past five years to 6% in April, according to data from Swift. It has been the second most-used currency in such financing for most of this year, ahead of the euro and behind the dollar. About half of China’s cross-border transactions are now denominated in its own currency, compared with almost nothing 15 years ago.

China also is rapidly expanding a program launched in 2021 called mBridge (officially Project mBridge), a platform backed by the People’s Bank of China (along with the central banks of Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia) that uses digital versions of the yuan and other currencies to execute cross-border payments that are settled between central banks without the money passing through U.S. financial institutions.

All the yuan-based systems “make it easier to work around U.S. sanctions,” – said Josh Lipsky, a former International Monetary Fund staffer now at the Atlantic Council. “They cloud the U.S. intelligence community’s ability to see financial flows.” By streamlining cross-border trade, mBridge helps reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar and brings Beijing closer to trading partners.

China’s Foreign Ministry in a statement said it was “unaware of the situation” regarding oil trade between China and Iran. The two countries’ relations “have always been conducted within the framework of international law,” – it said. China cooperates with countries around the world, including Russia, based on the “principles of equality and mutual benefit,” it added.

Make no mistake – China has no intention of fully replacing the dollar with the yuan worldwide. That’s because a more dramatic increase in global yuan adoption would require Beijing to make painful changes to its economy, such as giving up capital controls and allowing its currency to freely float, which could spark capital flight and destabilize the country.

Beijing’s goal instead is to build up specific lanes of trade that work outside the U.S. dollar. The push is driven in part by Beijing’s desire to undermine U.S. authority and assist its allies. China says it rejects U.S. sanctions. Beijing also hopes to insulate China from the type of economic assault that the U.S. and other Western nations have launched on Iran and Russia, and would also likely unleash if Beijing ever made a move on Taiwan.

Global finance is evolving into a system where “a few sovereign currencies coexist and compete,” – said China’s central bank chief, Pan Gongsheng, in a speech last summer. Change from a dollar-centered world is required, because “in times of geopolitical tensions, national security concerns, or even wars, the global dominant currency tends to be instrumentalized or weaponized,” he said. 

The U.S. is aware of the hole opening in its global sanctions regime. Since the war in Iran began, Treasury officials stepped up efforts to curtail Iranian oil sales to China and the money flowing through the Chinese financial system, including by issuing new sanctions on Hengli and other Chinese refiners. It also threatened penalties on Chinese banks servicing companies that are fronts for Iranian interests.

But sanctions still give the U.S. leverage over Tehran. The measures have increased the cost of selling Iranian oil and disrupted the regime’s access to those revenues. Iran’s economy has suffered under U.S. sanctions, and a long-term deal could free up billions in much-needed frozen assets for the Iranian regime.

The nuclear-deal talks have already proved bumpy, and the outcome is uncertain. Iran “has the ability to play for time, to obfuscate, to make trouble,” – said Steve Yates, a former White House national security official. But, “it has been profoundly degraded militarily, it has been profoundly degraded economically.”

{ Iran-China Pact }

Long before the Iran War, or before Israel was attacked by Hamas terrorist, or even before the first trade war unleashed during Trump’s first term, China already began taking steps to use the yuan for more international financial transactions after the 2008 global financial crisis. Beijing officially began the internationalization of its currency in 2010, when foreign companies were allowed to invest in mainland China using renminbi (RMB) instead of US dollars.

China’s years long trade surplus meant it had accumulated some US$2 trillion in foreign reserves, much of it in U.S. dollars. Beijing leaders were increasingly concerned that China’s savings were at the mercy of the U.S. government and Federal Reserve, whose decisions could weaken the value of China’s holdings or, in a crisis, cut the country off from dollars more broadly.

Beijing began using its excess dollars to make loans in the developing world, boosting its clout. It then began offering yuan-denominated swap lines via its central bank to indebted countries, effectively making China a lender of last resort to poorer nations. Then, Beijing introduced CIPS in 2015 to help internationalize the yuan. Three years later, it launched yuan-denominated oil contracts traded in Shanghai. That allowed China to settle oil it buys in yuan, rather than dollars.

China also successfully began encouraging global firms, including U.S. banks, to issue bonds in its currency. China’s yuan efforts were still young when the first Trump administration in 2018 launched a campaign to cut Iranian oil exports to zero and force Iran to negotiate over its nuclear program and its support for militias across the Middle East, such as Hezbollah.

Iran’s sales collapsed as countries, fearful of U.S. penalties that could curtail their dollar access, stopped buying. Tehran turned to Beijing – signing a 25-year strategic pact in March 2021 to deepen economic and security ties. A draft published in Iranian media noted that Iran would trade oil for Chinese investments in ports, railroads and other infrastructure.

Still, Beijing was wary that buying Iranian oil exposed Chinese companies to the risk of being banned from the U.S.-dollar-led financial system. Iran worked with customers in China to set up a clandestine system for oil purchases, Treasury officials say, giving Beijing plausible deniability about its purchases of sanctioned oil.

Iran’s military, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, set up covert trading units, which in turn established hundreds of shell companies to work with middlemen to sell to Chinese refiners and disguise the origin of the crude. The effort included the expansion of a shadow fleet of tankers to move sanctioned oil between Iran and China in ways that disguise the oil’s origin, such as by switching off the ships’ location devices.

Although Iran priced its oil sales in dollars, Treasury officials say the transactions with Chinese buyers were mostly settled in yuan. By the end of 2022, China had become Tehran’s financial lifeline, buying more than 90% of its crude. China’s biggest state-owned oil majors steered clear of the trade because of the risk of international sanctions, but private companies such as Hengli, which runs a massive refinery in northeastern China, became major customers.

{ System to Move Yuan }

A new nuclear deal could allow Iran to re-enter the global financial system, but Tehran had already figured out a way to use its yuan earnings under sanctions. Instead of transferring yuan payments to Iran, Chinese oil buyers would park the money with an entity known as Chuxin. Chuxin would then deliver the funds to Chinese contractors that perform engineering work in Iran on projects such as airports and refineries.

Another way involved moving yuan-denominated payments from Chinese refiners through a special-purpose-vehicle to Chinese exporters, who then transport goods such as automotive parts to Iran. Two little-known trading companies representing Chinese and Iranian backers managed the special-purpose vehicle’s account balance.

The nations have also experimented with direct barter. In 2021, the Chinese city of Ningbo successfully traded US$2 million worth of Chinese car parts for Iranian pistachios, bypassing the Swift network, according to Chinese media.

Some Iranian oil sales still involve dollars. Iran has established a network of exchange houses and quasi banks, known as “rahbars”, that control front companies in Hong Kong, the U.A.E. and Turkey. These companies set up accounts at Chinese banks to pay for goods in China and also to convert oil payments from yuan into dollars and euros, which Iran can use around the world.

Typically, the money moves through small Chinese financial institutions. That helps shield China’s larger banks from any penalties if the transactions raise red flags. Still, the amount involving dollars is small compared with the overall Iran-China oil trade. Treasury says that front companies linked to Iran moved nearly US$4 billion, or around 10% of Iran’s estimated 2024 oil sales, through the U.S. financial system in 2024 by using Chinese bank accounts in Hong Kong.

{ Rolling Out mBridge }

The yuan’s importance was underscored after the war in Iran began. In March, the containership Newvoyager, which is Chinese owned, paid a US$2 million fee to Tehran in yuan to ensure safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Other ships also paid fees in yuan, though it is unclear how they settled the funds.

Early in the conflict, brokers and shipowners said crews had to lower cash in boxes from the deck to the IRGC when they crossed near Larak Island in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. blockade, imposed in mid-April, mostly halted similar traffic. The blockade was lifted last week as part of the U.S.-Iran negotiations. But Iran was not the only one using the Chinese yuan.

The U.A.E. is also a central player in China’s mBridge platform. Launched in 2021, mBridge began as a collaboration involving the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements, China, the U.A.E., Thailand, and Hong Kong. Saudi Arabia, China’s biggest oil-trading partner, later joined. The system employs some elements of cryptocurrencies but is controlled by governments.

The platform, which uses blockchain technology for commercial banks to transfer digital versions of the yuan and other currencies for their customers, was initially designed as a way of settling international transactions instantly, which would be faster than the current Swift-based system. Rather than having banks settle payments between two companies or individuals, the central banks of the two countries settle the transaction using blockchain technology. 

In a ceremony flying the flags of China and the U.A.E. at an Abu Dhabi palace in November, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice president of the Gulf state, which is a major U.S. defense partner, initiated the first ever government-to-government payment to Beijing on the platform. The digital yuan constituted 95% of the 4,000 cross-border payments on mBridge as of November.

To further promote its use, Beijing took a significant step in January by allowing digital yuan held in Chinese banks to earn interest, like regular yuan. This enables Chinese trading partners to be paid for goods in digital yuan, and then earn interest on that digital currency, mirroring how reserves of U.S. dollars earn interest as U.S. Treasury.

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The post Iran War Reveals How U.S. Sanction Was Easily Evaded Using Yuan first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

On Sunday (June 21), Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government will lower the subsidised price of diesel for Malaysians to RM2.10 per litre from July 1, 2026. The move will be implemented through a restructured diesel subsidy mechanism using MyKad verification, just like how the RON95 petrol subsidy works currently.

That’s a spectacular U-turn from the same Prime Minister who cut diesel subsidies two years ago. Since June 2024, the price of diesel has been floated in Peninsular Malaysia while East Malaysia still enjoys subsidies as diesel-powered 4×4 vehicles are considered a necessity because of the rugged terrain there. In April, chaos erupted as diesel prices hit a new high of RM6.72 per litre in Peninsular Malaysia.

Mr Anwar now brags that under the new approach, eligible Malaysians will continue to enjoy subsidized diesel at a standardized price nationwide, while non-citizens and ineligible users will be required to pay market-based rates without subsidies. Hilariously, he claims the reform is designed to ensure that fuel subsidies are delivered directly to Malaysians while reducing leakages and smuggling.

Exactly what type of reform he is trying to scam the voters when the same reasons – reduce leakages and smuggling – were used back in June 2024 to “cut diesel subsidies”, only to use it again now to “restore diesel subsidies”. The contradiction and inconsistency are jaw-dropping and breathtaking, to put it mildly. From the beginning, the PM had no idea what he was doing.

Diesel is currently sold at a subsidized price of RM2.15 per litre in the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak, compared with RM4.37 in the Malaysian Peninsular. That alone speaks volumes about hypocrisy, double standards, discrimination and inconsistency. Under the new policy, motorists will pay less than half of the current Peninsular Malaysia rate. 

The price gap between diesel sold in Sabah and Sarawak and that in Peninsular Malaysia had created room for revenue leakage and the smuggling of subsidised diesel, including across borders. But it took the genius PM Anwar Ibrahim two years to realize the problems, despite warnings, complaints and reports about the “loopholes”.

When the brilliant Madani Government first set the retail price for diesel fuel at RM3.35 per litre effective June 10, 2024 at all petrol stations across Peninsular Malaysia, Amir Hamzah Azizan, Finance Minister II, also announced fleet cards to eligible logistics vehicles to mitigate the impact of the diesel price on consumer goods prices – set at RM2.15 per litre.

At the same time, “BUDI Individu” cash assistance of RM200 per month was introduced for Malaysian individuals owning diesel vehicles to help offset the higher expenditure on fuel. Amir Hamzah argued that the government had to use the targeted approach to stem the rising leakages of subsidized diesel that have cost the nation RM14.3 billion on diesel subsidy a year earlier (2023).

So, does that mean the “targeted diesel subsidy” has failed after two years of disaster? If the implementation has been a huge success, why Anwar suddenly announced the cut of diesel prices nationwide on Sunday – effectively restoring the diesel subsidies? Yes, call it whatever you like, but the clueless Finance Minister is actually restoring the diesel subsidies.

The snake oil salesman, however, has discovered an excellent excuse to spin and twist his latest U-turn.  Anwar argues that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a peace agreement between the United States and Iran contributes to the decline in fuel prices. But the Iran War only began on February 28, 2026, whilst the “targeted diesel subsidy” already began on June 10, 2024.

What’s his perverted logic that diesel price was hiked RM3.35 per litre “before” the Iran War starts, but is now slashed to RM2.10 per litres even before the Iran War officially ends? Crucially, how does Madani plan to reduce diesel subsidy, which amounted to RM14.3 billion in 2023, when Amir floated the price of diesel to align with market prices but is now being reversed by Anwar?

Interestingly, Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah – another snake oil salesman – said the new Budi Madani Diesel (Budi Diesel) programme is expected to generate savings of up to RM2 billion annually. But that’s only RM166 million monthly. Because he dares not use the “monthly figure”, he chose the yearly figures to trick the mind of the people about “billions” in savings rather than millions.

Prior to the conflict, the government spent about RM800 million a month on petrol and diesel subsidies. However, subsidy costs surged to nearly RM4.7 billion in March and RM4.9 billion in April this year following sharp increases in global oil prices due to the Iran War. This means the diesel subsidies have actually increased to the tune of billions, despite claims of RM2 billion yearly saving.

For obvious reason, the finance ministry did not say how the government planned to finance the additional subsidy (with price of diesel plunges from current RM4.37 to RM2.10 per litre starting July 1), with public coffers already under strain from rising fuel costs stemming from the war in Iran. Amir was just playing with arithmetic figures to hoodwink gullible people.

More importantly, if indeed MyKad verification can prevent diesel leakages that reach billions of ringgit as claimed by PM Anwar, then why didn’t his government do it from the beginning, but waited till the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections are getting “too hot to handle” for Anwar-led Pakatan Harapan coalition? Clearly, the Premier is throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, in order not to lose elections.

Even if the new Budi Madani Diesel could not be implemented in June 2024 for whatever excuses, surely it could be rolled out together with Budi Madani RON95 in September 2025. But it didn’t. Therefore, the new diesel subsidies have absolutely nothing to do with the MOU between the U.S. and Iran, but everything to do with state elections and the next 16^th General Election.

Get real – if the MOU would lead to a permanent de-escalation, ending the conflict in the Middle East, the global energy prices would drop and the Madani government could adjust the diesel price accordingly to align with market prices. Anwar did not need to artificially lower the price of diesel to RM2.10 per litre, but rather let the market force do its job. But the PM chickened out because he was terrified of something.

It appears the military intelligence or surveys landed on the desk of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) indicates a stunning defeat for his People’s Justice Party or Pakatan Harapan under his leadership. However, if the forked-tongue PM Anwar could easily re-introduce diesel subsidies after scrapping it, what is there to stop him from cutting the subsidies again after winning the elections?

After taking away diesel subsidies from the people, the Premier is giving it back as he desperately needs something from them – votes. But the damage control may be too little too late. After phasing out other subsidies, such as electricity tariff adjustments and removal of price controls for chickens, the diesel subsidy cuts had already led to widespread anger and dissatisfaction among the public and businesses.

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• No Good Options – Anwar To Lose Whether Election This Year Or 2027
• Johor Election Announced – PM Anwar’s PKR To Be Wiped Out
• RON95 & Fuel Subsidies – Anwar Should Call Iran For Safe & Free Passage
• Crying Crisis – But Approved 52 Million Liters Diesel To Philippines
• PM Anwar Shamelessly Demands Credit & Praise For Iran Diplomacy
• RON95 & Fuel Subsidies – Anwar Should Call Iran For Safe & Free Passage
• Ships Pretend To Be Chinese To Cross Strait Of Hormuz
• Energy Security – Why China Can Withstand $100 Oil Prices More Easily
• Corruption In PMO – Anwar’s Contradictions & Hypocrisy In Damage Control
• RM100 Cash Handout & Petrol Price Drop – How Anwar Cleverly Copies Najib’s Trick To Appease Growing Public Discontent

The post Election Gimmick – PM Anwar Chickens Out, Cuts Diesel Price first appeared on FinanceTwitter.

When both traitors walked into the gathering, they were greeted with cheers and applause from supporters and allied politicians like heroes. Grinning from ear to ear, Muhyiddin had defected from then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), while Azmin had defected from PM-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). 

Muhyiddin’s sudden withdrawal of support, along with Azmin’s faction of 10 PKR lawmakers (known as the G10) betrayal, effectively ended the Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition’s government in just 22 months. The coup – known as the “Sheraton Move” – marked the first time in Malaysia a democratically elected government was toppled and replaced with a backdoor regime. 

But when Muhyiddin and Azmin converged at the hotel for a celebratory dinner with the United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO) – the former long-ruling party which had been defeated 22 months earlier in the May 2018 General Election – and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), they had never imagined for once about karma. Both werejust thinking about how clever they were in the power grab plot.

When Muhyiddin and Azmin shook hands six years ago, they smiled and felt invincible. Muhyiddin would become the 8^th Prime Minister, whilst Azmin thought he would be PM-in-waiting. Today, however, not only Muhyiddin and Azmin are like street beggars without power, but their mothership – Bersatu – has exploded beyond repair and could perish before the next Christmas.

Yes, karma is a bitch. For betraying his own Pakatan Harapan government, Muhyiddin has been betrayed at least “four times”, and counting. UMNO, his former party-turned-ally in a hastily cobbled-together Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, took a page from his playbook and withdrew support in July 2021. Betrayed, Muhyiddin was forced to resign as Prime Minister on August 16, 2021, after just 17 months in office.

But the backdoor government remained in power because none of the three power-hungry Malay-centric parties – UMNO, Bersatu and PAS – dared to rock the boat that gave them power, projects, positions and perks. They agreed that the clueless and incompetent “turtle egg” Ismail Sabri Yaakob would replace Muhyiddin as the next Prime Minister.

Problems started when Muhyiddin-led Perikatan Nasional failed to form a government after the 15^th General Election produced a hung parliament. With Bersatu accounts frozen and Muhyiddin charged with corruption, soon distrust, dissatisfaction and bad blood began to develop between Muhyiddin and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang. Without power and money, Muhyiddin was useless to Hadi.

The “Cold War” started in late 2023. Hadi Awang stopped attending Perikatan Nasional (PN) supreme council meetings, especially after Muhyiddin backpedalled in November 2023 over his retirement plans. Muhyiddin tasted his second betrayal when his trusted lieutenant – Hamzah Zainudin – plotted a covert political coup, which was secretly backed by Mr Hadi, to overthrow him.

Muhyiddin’s “U-turn” on defending his presidency at the Bersatu polls had torpedoed PAS’s plans to push its vice-president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar as the opposition’s candidate for prime minister in the next general election. Apparently, Hadi was angry that power-hungry Muhyiddin continued to cling to the PN chairmanship with obvious intention to be appointed as the next prime minister.

The PN chairman post is extremely vital and strategic. The role is effectively seen as the coalition’s de facto prime ministerial candidate for Malaysia’s 16th General Election that has to be held by February 2028. PAS was the driving force behind PN’s success (winning a total of 74 seats) in the 2022 General Election, securing 43 parliamentary seats, a substantial gain of 25.

The ambitious PAS Islamist party had lost patience with its partner, seen as not only greedy for power, but also weak without strong grassroots and machinery. While Bersatu secured 31 seats in the 2022 general election, its share of seats has dropped to 25, after six MPs unhappy with Muhyiddin’s leadership switched sides to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government in 2023. 

Although the Hamzah faction failed to pressure Muhyiddin to hand over power, the former PM could not stomach the humiliation during Bersatu’s annual general meeting in Sept 2023, where some delegates aligned with Hamzah heckled him to step down as president. At the meeting, Muhyiddin angrily criticised efforts to topple him via the collection of statutory declarations from party members.

Mr Muhyiddin survived the attempted coup, but not his party. About two-thirds of Bersatu MPs openly called for Muhyiddin to step down as president and give way to Hamzah. Under Azmin’s advisement, eventually Muhyiddin sacked Hamzah and his loyalists from Bersatu with immediate effect on February 13, 2026 for allegedly breaching the party’s constitution.

But even before Hamzah’s sacking, the relationship between Bersatu and PAS had deteriorated from bad to worse. Muhyiddin tried to flex his muscles with a coup in Perlis – seizing power from the PAS state government, leading to the resignation of Chief Minister Mohd Shukri Ramli, who is related to Hadi by family marriage. Shocked, mad and furious, PAS condemned Bersatu’s betrayal.

Muhyiddin made a desperate tactical move by resigning as the chairman of Perikatan Nasional (PN) on January 1, 2026. He wrongly bet that PAS would plunge into a crisis, unable to replace him as the moderate face in the coalition to scam voters. On February 22, Samsuri, who is PAS vice-president and Terengganu Menteri Besar (Chief Minister), was appointed PN chairman.

Not only Hamzah’s sacking has reduced Muhyiddin faction to just a handful MPs, but Muhyiddin had also lost the precious PN chairmanship to PAS. However, the Islamist party was just getting started with betrayal and backstabbing. On June 8, PAS president Hadi Awang announced the decision to terminate PAS’s political cooperation with Bersatu, much to UMNO’s delight.

It was a slap in the face of Muhyiddin as a day earlier (June 7), Bersatu reiterated its determination and commitment to maintain good relations with PAS in Perikatan Nasional. It was already bad when PAS kicked out Bersatu. It became worse when Hadi opened fire, accusing Bersatu of all kinds of nasty things – power crazy, parasite, traitor, weakling, untrustworthy, and whatnot.

There’s no honour among thieves. While Muhyiddin – betrayed for the third time – was still recovering from shock and disbelief, Hadi Awang gave him another rude kick where it hurt the most. The PAS president, who was Muhyiddin’s best friend in 2020, has not only launched Hamzah’s new party, but also proposed the party’s name – Parti Wawasan Negara – during the Reset convention on June 13.

Adding salt to the wound, at the same convention, Abdul Hadi Awang also announced that Hamzah would return as opposition leader, taking over from Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who will remain as PN chairman. Meanwhile, Samsuri also announced that Parti Wawasan Negara will contest the upcoming Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections under the PN logo.

Power-hungry Muhyddin insisted on June 16 that Bersatu will remain as a component party in Perikatan Nasional. He also said Bersatu will use the PN logo in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state polls slated for July 11 and Aug 1, respectively. Frustrated, he argued that the party cannot be removed from PN unilaterally or based on the decision of any single party.

Muhyiddin even warned that Bersatu is ready to face PAS in the state elections if efforts to restore relations between the two largest parties in PN fail. But only PN chairman, who in this case is Samsuri, can sign “watikah” or “letter of appointment” for candidates to contest in elections. Therefore, neither Bersatu nor PAS can use the same logo if the dispute continues, risking a court room battle.

In retaliation, PN chairman Samsuri decisively removed Radzi Md Jidin as the coalition’s election director and dismissed Azmin Ali as its deputy secretary general on June 18. Technically, Bersatu is still a legitimate member of the Perikatan Nasional coalition. But it has now become a pariah member as PAS has decided to strip it naked of all positions.

The best part is the other two components of the coalition – the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) and Gerakan – are now working together with the Reset team. Gerakan president Dominic Lau used to be Muhyiddin’s loudest cheerleader and biggest apple polisher. It appears even Dominic has betrayed Muhyiddin, leaving the ex-PM isolated and dejected. 

Unless Bersatu boldly quits Perikatan Nasional, which it co-founded and rejoin Pakatan Harapan which it betrayed back in 2020, the party could perish as it is currently facing an existential political crisis. Without PAS’s formidable election machinery, Bersatu is highly vulnerable and could lose all the seats – even deposits – in the upcoming state elections and 16^th General Election.

Alternatively, Bersatu could dissolve and Muhyiddin and Azmin may return to UMNO and PKR respectively. While Muhyiddin could retire for good, the same cannot be said about Azmin, whose ambition to become the country’s youngest prime minister had led him to betray both PKR and Pakatan Harapan, only to enjoy power as a senior minister for less than 3 years under the backdoor PN regime.

Azmin is now like a “street rat”. Even if Muhyiddin passes the baton to him, Bersatu is broken and rotten. It would be a miracle if the Malaysian United Indigenous Party could keep its deposit in the next national polls, let alone form a government. Nobody wants to associate with a loser. With Hadi officially blessing Hamzah’s Wawasan, expect more Bersatu opportunists to switch sides.

There’s a reason why PAS chose Hamzah over Azmin. Mr Hadi could not afford to be mocked, laughed at and ridiculed over a leaked “gay sex” video clip, where Azmin Ali was caught with his pants down engaging “unnatural sex” at Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Sandakan, Sabah. The scandal was not rumour because Azmin’s gay partner, Muhammad Haziq Abdul, had admitted it.

In June 2019, just a day after the videos were exposed, Haziq confessed on Facebook that his sex partner – Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali – had tried to force him to lie about the affair which he said had actually begun three years earlier. Of course, not only Azmin was never investigated, let alone charged, Haziq too was never charged for defamation – suggesting that both were indeed gay lovers.

In fact, Azmin’s gay sex videos had been authenticated, but laughably the police (thanks to then-Home Minister Muhyiddin) insisted that the authorities were not able to “positively identify” the two men shown in the videos that were leaked online. It didn’t help when Mahathir quickly pronounced Azmin’s innocence and declared that the video clip was fake – even “before” the police could start the process of authenticating the video.

The burning question is whether PKR president and PM Anwar Ibrahim would welcome former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali back to the party. After all, both appear to share a common hobby. But even if PKR agrees with a loose cooperation with Azmin or Bersatu, would Democratic Action Party (DAP) pretend that the “Sheraton Move” didn’t happen and happily embrace gay Azmin and his treachery gang?  

Had Azmin stayed loyal to PKR and Pakatan Harapan, he would be next in line to succeed Anwar now that his enemy – Rafizi Ramli – had left PKR to lead Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama). All his effort since 2020 in politicking, scheming, backstabbing, and treachery has come to naught. Worse, both Muhyiddin and Azmin have no idea how long the bad karma will continue to haunt them.

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Karma!!! – Traitor Muhyiddin Who Betrayed Friends Now Cries Over Plot By Trusted Hamzah To Topple Him
• Why Muhyiddin’s Boy Escaped Jail – Anwar’s Secret Deal To Form Next Government With Bersatu
• Traitor Desperate To Rejoin PKR – MACC Seized Millions After Azmin’s Crony Betrayed & Exposed His “Safe Houses”
• Muhyiddin In Deep Trouble – From Cowgate Scandal To Stealing Wife, And Now RM4 Billion 1BestariNet Scandal
• Too Late For Regrets – Traitor Azmin Now Worse Than Before He Betrayed His Own Party PKR In 2020
• From Stealing Wife To Government & Money – Muhyiddin Might Have Solicited Bribes From Syed Mokhtar In Return For 5G
• Azmin’s Gimmick To Avoid Gay Sex Investigation – But Muhyiddin Might Be Charged And PAS’ Accounts Could Be Frozen
• A Repeat Of 14th General Election – Top-6 Signs UMNO Fast Losing Malay Support, But Too Arrogant To Realize It
• Neutralizing Azmin & Zahid – Making Sense Of The Latest Consensus Between PM Sabri & Pakatan Harapan
• Civil War Has Begun – UMNO Finally Realized Its Mistake, Desperately Wants To Quit The Backdoor Govt Before It’s Too Late
• Azmin Ali Indirectly Admits He’s A Homosexual – Suddenly Chua Soi Lek Looks Like A Saint

The post Bersatu’s Destruction – Karma Continues Haunting Muhyiddin & Azmin first appeared on FinanceTwitter.