‘No surprise’: Netanyahu rejects US-backed Gaza plan
Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti says Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of the US-backed Gaza plan is no surprise, arguing Israel has repeatedly violated past agreements. He says the real test is whether the US and Western governments will hold Israel accountable.
Root rot and a cavity in the base of a 90-year-old Angsana tree, compounded by chronic soil compaction and limited rooting space, contributed to its collapse along Jalan Macalister here today. — Picture via Facebook/Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang
Summary
A 90-year-old Angsana tree collapsed along Jalan Macalister in George Town due to significant root rot, cavity decay, chronic soil compaction, and limited rooting space.
The accident injured an elderly couple and their grandchild when their vehicle was crushed.
MBPP has been actively managing tree safety, removing high-risk trees, and inspecting mature and aged trees to prevent such incidents, although remote sensing studies previously found the trees to be in good condition.
Following this incident, the MBPP has prioritized reducing tree heights and removing trees with potential collapse risks.
First Published: Sunday, 09 Aug 2026 7:41 PM MYT Last Modified: Sunday, 09 Aug 2026 7:44 PM MYT
GEORGE TOWN, Aug 9 — Root rot and a cavity in the base of a 90-year-old Angsana tree, compounded by chronic soil compaction and limited rooting space, contributed to its collapse along Jalan Macalister here today.
MBPP Mayor Datuk A. Rajendran said the 28-metre-tall tree, Pterocarpus indicus, had an estimated 30 per cent root rot, while cavity decay accounted for about 40 per cent of its base trunk.
“The collapse was caused by root rot estimated at around 30 per cent and base trunk cavities at about 40 per cent. These factors, combined with infrastructure upgrading works, chronic soil compaction, limited rooting space and the tree’s height, significantly increased the risk of structural failure,” he told Bernama today.
In the incident at about 9am, an elderly couple and their grandchild were injured when the Perodua Ativa sports utility vehicle (SUV) they were travelling in was crushed by the falling tree.
Rajendran said there were no reports of heavy rain or strong winds at or before the time of the incident.
He said MBPP began removing the fallen tree at 9.41am, with the road reopened at 2.20pm after clearing works were completed.
He said MBPP had assessed mature and aged trees along Jalan Macalister in 2024, resulting in 13 trees being identified for felling, all of which had since been removed.
He added that the last tree maintenance work along Jalan Macalister was carried out on January 29 this year, while a remote sensing study conducted last year found the trees along the road to be in good condition with no warning indicators.
He said 179 high-risk trees had been approved for felling this year, with 148 already removed, while 247 trees had been felled in the first three quarters.
MBPP says tree safety risks remain priority, especially those affected by works and restricted roots. — Picture via Facebook/Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang
The trees were felled for various reasons, including obstructing drainage, being dead or leaning, posing a collapse risk, development projects, road and river widening, and encroaching on Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) pipeline alignments.
“For MBPP’s overall tree management programme, 2,535 trees were identified last year under various categories, including 45 cases involving drainage obstruction, 138 dead trees, 2,242 assessed under risk or other categories, and 110 linked to development or infrastructure works,” he said.
He said MBPP continues to prioritise trees posing safety risks, particularly those affected by infrastructure works and restricted rooting conditions.
“Following the incident, MBPP has instructed the appointed contractor to expedite work to reduce tree height and fell trees with potential collapse risks along Jalan Macalister, based on assessments by certified arborists,” he said. — Bernama
The article discusses the challenges facing the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) under Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, emphasizing its struggle to appeal to non-Malay and non-Muslim constituents despite aspirations to govern Malaysia.
The emergence of Parti Wawasan Negara, led by Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, is highlighted as a strategic attempt to soften PAS's image through more conventional political language.
However, the article criticizes PAS for potentially using Wawasan as political whitewashing rather than undergoing genuine ideological moderation.
It stresses the importance of PAS itself demonstrating transformation to become a truly inclusive national party, rather than relying on partner organizations to bridge communal divides.
First Published: Sunday, 09 Aug 2026 12:30 PM MYT
AUGUST 9 — There is a fundamental problem confronting PAS under Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang. It wants to become sufficiently powerful to govern Malaysia, yet it continues to struggle to convince substantial numbers of non-Malays and non-Muslims that they would have an equal and secure political place under a government in which PAS exercises dominant influence.
PAS itself has acknowledged the electoral dimension of this weakness. Hadi conceded after GE15 that the party had failed to attract sufficient non-Muslim support and needed to overcome this problem before GE16.
But recognising an electoral problem is different from confronting its political causes.
This is where the emergence of Parti Wawasan Negara under Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin becomes important.
The central question is not whether Wawasan is moderate. Nor should Wawasan automatically be condemned merely because it cooperates with PAS.
The question is whether PAS is attempting to use Wawasan’s more conventional political language to soften PAS’s image without undertaking an equivalent transformation within PAS itself.
That would be political whitewashing rather than political moderation.
And Malaysians should understand the difference.
Hadi’s PAS is not simply Nik Aziz’s PAS
The late Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was certainly an Islamist. There should be no historical romanticism about this. PAS under Nik Aziz remained socially conservative and committed to an Islamic political programme.
Yet Nik Aziz gradually recognised an unavoidable Malaysian reality: PAS could not hope to become a genuinely national political force by speaking principally to Muslims.
That understanding helped make possible PAS’s cooperation with DAP and PKR.
It was an extraordinary experiment precisely because the ideological differences between PAS and DAP were enormous.
Yet Nik Aziz was prepared to work across that divide.
The author argues that Wawasan cannot moderate PAS by association; PAS itself must embrace inclusive politics before Malaysians entrust it with greater power. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
The significance was not that PAS suddenly became secular or liberal. It did not.
The significance was that PAS accepted the discipline of coalition politics in a plural society. It had to persuade Malaysians outside its natural constituency. It had to defend Islamic politics in the language of justice. It had to reassure people who did not share its theological assumptions.
The burden of moderation rested on PAS itself.
That is the important distinction.
Under Hadi, the trajectory has changed.
The emphasis has increasingly shifted towards the consolidation of Malay-Muslim political strength. Political competition is consequently liable to be framed not merely as a disagreement over taxation, investment, education, healthcare or governance, but as a struggle over who possesses sufficient political power to protect Islam and the Malays.
This is dangerous territory in a plural federation.
Malay and Muslim interests are entirely legitimate subjects of democratic politics. So are Chinese, Indian, Dayak, Kadazan-Dusun, Iban, Orang Asli and every other Malaysian community’s interests.
The problem begins when democratic politics becomes an arithmetic exercise in communal consolidation.
Once politics is framed primarily around ensuring that one community possesses sufficient political power, every other community is eventually forced to ask: sufficient power against whom?
That is precisely the question PAS must answer.
Enter Wawasan
Parti Wawasan Negara presents an intriguing solution to PAS’s political predicament.
Hamzah’s new party speaks more naturally in the vocabulary of governance, development, national reconstruction and political pragmatism.
But its relationship with PAS was close from birth.
When Hamzah announced Parti Wawasan Negara in June, he publicly said that the party’s very name had been suggested by Hadi. He also spoke of the need for the fledgling party to receive Hadi’s guidance and direction, while declaring that Wawasan would work with PAS, Gerakan and other parties.
This is politically significant.
Nobody should therefore analyse Wawasan as though it appeared independently of PAS’s larger political strategy.
The relationship immediately raises a simple question:
Is Wawasan pulling PAS towards the centre, or is Wawasan making PAS appear closer to the centre than PAS actually is?
There is an enormous difference between the two.
If Hamzah and Wawasan persuade PAS to adopt a genuinely more inclusive Malaysian political vocabulary, that should be welcomed.
If PAS begins unequivocally reassuring non-Muslims, defending constitutional pluralism, reducing inflammatory racial and religious rhetoric and demonstrating through policy that every Malaysian possesses an equal stake in the country’s future, then cooperation with Wawasan may indeed have produced something constructive.
But the evidence must come from PAS.
A political party cannot outsource moderation.
Changing the wrapper is not changing the product
This is the main criticism that should be directed towards Hadi-led PAS.
PAS cannot answer criticism of its politics merely by displaying moderate allies.
Having Gerakan beside PAS does not automatically make PAS moderate.
Working with Wawasan does not automatically make PAS moderate.
Cooperating electorally with MCA or MIC would not automatically make PAS moderate.
And reaching tactical arrangements with UMNO and Barisan Nasional certainly does not automatically make PAS moderate.
Indeed, PAS has previously invoked its cooperation with non-Muslim parties as evidence against accusations that it is extremist.
In 2022, Hadi pointed to Gerakan and support from MCA and MIC when rebutting such criticism.
That demonstrates precisely why Malaysians should distinguish between coalition composition and ideological transformation.
A party’s moderation must ultimately be judged from its own rhetoric, policies and behaviour.
The distinction becomes even more important because Wawasan has quickly become part of the opposition’s electoral machinery. Hamzah played a prominent role in the recent Negeri Sembilan arrangements and in explaining the opposition’s electoral cooperation with BN.
Thus Wawasan potentially gives PAS something politically valuable.
It provides a bridge.
PAS has enormous organisational machinery and a substantial Malay-Muslim electoral base. What it has historically struggled to acquire is comparable confidence among Malaysian Chinese, Indians, Sabahans and Sarawakians, as well as sections of the moderate urban electorate.
Wawasan can potentially enter political spaces where PAS encounters resistance.
Hamzah can speak the language of governmental competence and administrative experience.
Wawasan can interact with BN.
Gerakan can provide a multiracial component.
Together they can construct a political exterior broader than PAS itself.
That is sophisticated coalition politics.
But Malaysians must ask what sits at the centre of the coalition.
Who moderates whom?
This is ultimately the test.
Coalitions inevitably change their members.
When PAS worked closely with DAP and PKR during the Pakatan Rakyat period, PAS was exposed continuously to political constituencies very different from its own.
There was friction — sometimes enormous friction — but there was also constraint.
PAS had to negotiate.
PAS had to compromise.
PAS had to explain itself to non-Muslims.
PAS had to confront the reality that governing Malaysia required more than winning overwhelmingly Malay constituencies.
Eventually those contradictions contributed to Pakatan Rakyat’s collapse.
But the experiment nevertheless demonstrated something valuable about Malaysian politics: parties with dramatically different ideological foundations could attempt to construct a common democratic platform.
The present arrangement surrounding PAS appears different.
PAS is increasingly the organisational and electoral heavyweight.
Wawasan therefore faces the opposite danger.
Instead of Wawasan moderating PAS, PAS may gradually determine the political boundaries within which Wawasan operates.
This is especially worth remembering because Wawasan’s connection with PAS is not speculative. Hamzah himself credited Hadi with naming the party and spoke at its launch about Hadi’s guidance.
That does not make Wawasan a PAS puppet.
But it makes scrutiny entirely reasonable.
Islam is not the problem
None of this criticism should be transformed into criticism of Islam.
Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country. Islam occupies a constitutionally recognised position in the Federation and has profoundly shaped Malay civilisation and Malaysian political history.
Nor should criticism of PAS become a euphemism for Islamophobia.
The issue is political, not theological.
The question is how a political party translates religion into the exercise of democratic power in an extraordinarily diverse federation.
Islam does not require Malaysians to be permanently divided into mutually suspicious political camps.
Nor should political Islam be reduced to electoral calculations about which combination of Malay parties can accumulate the largest bloc of Muslim votes.
Malaysia needs something larger.
The country needs a politics capable of reassuring a Malay farmer in Kelantan, a Chinese shopkeeper in Johor, an Indian professional in Negeri Sembilan, an Iban family in Sarawak and a Kadazan-Dusun family in Sabah that all of them belong completely to the same federation.
That is the standard against which any party aspiring to govern Malaysia should be judged.
PAS included.
Wawasan cannot become a political detergent
There is therefore nothing wrong with PAS working with Wawasan.
The problem arises if Wawasan becomes political detergent—a means of washing away PAS’s harder image while leaving the underlying political formulation substantially untouched.
Malaysians should demand something more meaningful.
If PAS wants to become a national governing party, let PAS itself demonstrate its transformation.
Let its leaders speak consistently about equal citizenship.
Let PAS explain precisely what political rights and cultural confidence Malaysian Chinese and Indians would enjoy under a PAS-dominant government.
Let it reassure Sabah and Sarawak that their distinctive religious and cultural traditions will remain protected.
Let PAS demonstrate that disagreement with the party is not disagreement with Islam.
And let it show that Malay-Muslim political strength does not require other Malaysians to become politically peripheral.
These are not unreasonable demands.
They are the minimum requirements of governing Malaysia.
Nik Aziz increasingly understood that PAS had to cross communal boundaries itself.
The danger today is that Hadi-led PAS believes political partners can cross those boundaries on its behalf. They cannot.
Wawasan cannot manufacture moderation for PAS. Only PAS can change PAS.
That is why the difference between Nik Aziz’s trajectory and Hadi’s trajectory is no pebble in the shoe.
It concerns the direction in which one of Malaysia’s largest political movements wants to take the federation.
If PAS wants Malaysians to believe that direction has changed, it must demonstrate the change from within. That’s impossible when Hadi-led PAS insists on a Malay Muslim Unity front.
Otherwise, Wawasan risks becoming not the instrument through which PAS becomes moderate, but the attractive shop window through which an essentially unchanged PAS is presented to a much larger Malaysian market.
Changing the window display is easy. Changing the political product behind it is much harder.
And that is the transformation Malaysia should demand before entrusting Hadi-led PAS with substantially greater national power.
* Phar Kim Beng is a professor of Asean Studies and a director at the Institute of International and Asean Studies, International Islamic University Malaysia.
Its now very fashionable to condemn prime minister Anwar Ibrahim and his government. This is a total diversion from what is really going on.
An elaborate network of trolls is working overtime criticizing Anwar and his government. This is not hard to do, as in all honesty, his tenure as prime minister has left a lot to be desired. I was one of its greatest critics. Through WhatsApp groups it’s really trendy to jump on the anti-Madani bandwagon.
If you criticize Anwar, that’s OK according to the authorities. But if you criticize the concept of halal garbage collection, you will be arrested and held in custody as a means of intimidation. There is now a deep chilling effect on all bloggers and political commentators in Malaysia – a climate of fear is real.
As the writer knows, if you criticize agencies, sensitive parts of the bureaucracy, they will come after you. They spent RM 5.0 million to chase me across South-East Asia. All the law-enforcements attacks on those who criticize elements of the bureaucracy reflect badly on Anwar, as they are aimed to do by the people behind it. They are getting away Scott-free and being voted into power.
Expose elements of corruption by the connected-contractors, scammers, and those who are stealing the public purse and you will be arrested, or sued by elements that make up part of the ‘deep state’ that are closely connected to UMNO and the power-elite within Malaysia.
This the coup d’état that is going on in Malaysia today. Anwar was put into power by the deep state and managed. They demanded a lot in a totally overboard fashion. Even members of the cabinet (and former members) fear speaking up. Yes, corruption has risen under Anwar Ibrahim, but most of it is coming from these elements of the deep state.
UMNO is planning to retake Putra Jaya and destroy Pakatan Harapan (who didn’t expose them) so they can rule the country as a feudal elite once again. The plan is taking shape and the public is truly unaware of what is really going on here.
While the public celebrate the defeat of Anwar Ibrahim, the dark forces within Malaysia will this time around come back without any statutory body, or law-enforcement officer to prevent this. Justice will once again just be bought and traded by those in power. The issue is not about race. This is just another diversion. Its about putting a dark elite back in total control of the country, without sharing any power with others.
Most of those who can confirm what I have written above have been silence. Brush off what I have said as a conspiracy theory is your prerogative, but the truth will soon out come and everyone will be stuck with it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not withdraw forces from Gaza until Hamas fully disarms.
The Israeli army will not withdraw until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says [File: AFP]
Published On 9 Aug 20269 Aug 2026
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Updated: 7 minutes agoUpdated: 7 minutes ago
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has rejected United States President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace plan for Gaza and will not withdraw forces until the Palestinian group Hamas fully disarms.
“Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, referring to a plan endorsed last month by the Palestinian group Hamas.
The Israeli army “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed … and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens”, he added.
He added that Israel is “talking to the Americans about this issue”.
“They have ideas, some of which are acceptable to us and some are not acceptable to us, and we know how to stand firm on these things,” the prime minister said.
There was no immediate response from the White House or Hamas.
Israel has continued to carry out near-daily deadly attacks across the Gaza Strip since agreeing to a “ceasefire” with Hamas last October.
Trump had announced on July 30 a “historic” agreement that entailed “the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza”, which he called “a monumental step toward lasting peace and security”.
But last week, the US-led Board of Peace said an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza would only take place after the disarmament of Hamas is complete, following a meeting between the body’s director, Nickolay Mladenov, and Netanyahu.
Speaking to his cabinet Sunday, Netanyahu vowed that “as long as I am prime minister, no Palestinian state will arise” and emphasised that Israel would not abide by the US-backed plan.
Israel’s desire for “real disarmament, not fictitious disarmament” would mean removal of all weaponry, including lighter weapons, he said.
The 15-point plan calls for initially focusing on Hamas’s heavy weaponry, military production sites, weapons depots and the group’s extensive tunnel network.
Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said Netanyahu’s statement raises “serious questions” for Palestinians about the path out of hostilities.
“The full rejection here puts the sequencing and the steps into question,” Mahmoud said.
Reporting from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said Netanyahu’s stated conditions could prove “extremely problematic for the Board of Peace and the mediators who have been working for months now to try to carry out the disarmament of Hamas”.
The roadmap would eventually involve transferring Gaza’s day-to-day administration to a technocratic Palestinian committee operating under the oversight of the Board of Peace.
Israel’s desire for “real disarmament, not fictitious disarmament” would mean removal of all weaponry, including lighter weapons, he said.
The 15-point plan calls for initially focusing on Hamas’s heavy weaponry, military production sites, weapons depots and the group’s extensive tunnel network.
Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said Netanyahu’s statement raises “serious questions” for Palestinians about the path out of hostilities.
“The full rejection here puts the sequencing and the steps into question,” Mahmoud said.
Reporting from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said Netanyahu’s stated conditions could prove “extremely problematic for the Board of Peace and the mediators who have been working for months now to try to carry out the disarmament of Hamas”.
The roadmap would eventually involve transferring Gaza’s day-to-day administration to a technocratic Palestinian committee operating under the oversight of the Board of Peace.
WE Malaysians instinctively know that the most prestigious job in our dear country will always be the Prime Minister.
According to imoney.my, the official monthly salary allocated for the Prime Minister of Malaysia is RM22,826.75 under the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act.
That is a lot of money, but not that much compared to a seasoned general manager from a publicly listed or an international firm.
So netizens by default, are very sceptical when the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission found a sizable amount of money and cash linked to ex-Prime Minister Ismail Sabri.
The MACC seized RM170 mil in cash in various foreign currencies and 16kg of gold bullion worth RM7 mil on properties believed to have been used as safe houses following the arrests of four of Ismail Sabri’s former senior officers in February 2025.
In a post on X, netizen @jameschin110 said, “Did you know that an ex-PM decided to be a money changer as a retirement job?”
Accompanying the post was an infographic with Ismail Sabri’s photo in it, and a breakdown of the foreign currencies found.
These range from a whopping 300 mil Japanese yen, 34.75 mil UAE Dirham and the list goes on. Netizens have much to say about this too.
“Stupids voted for this. There’s more to come. Failed state coming,” said @Danny39559417 while @JuneSTBeris sarcastically pointed out that Malaysia has many superhero politicians, aka The Sapuman.
“Yes. Please asked him to foot his own IJN bills. Not to be paid by rakyat,” lamented netizen @szeyoung_su.
Readers should check out this comment from @ooijohn too:
But here is to the other side of the story. According to @usprotec, this just proves that he is a simple man who didn’t know how to hide dirty money.
“The Chinese will bring up and talk badly about corruption as if they are saints. I just have one question, who started corruption in this country? Who used it to grow their business and their wealth?” added @PuvinCM.
Whatever the truth behind the money and gold, the episode has once again reminded Malaysians of one uncomfortable reality: political power and personal wealth will always attract scrutiny.
The figures involved are certainly eye-watering, and the online reactions show just how deeply divided Malaysians remain when it comes to allegations of corruption and the politicians they support.
Ultimately, however, social media verdicts are not the same as a court of law. Until the authorities establish where the money came from and who it belongs to, Malaysians can only speculate.—Aug 9, 2026
Muhyiddin Yassin's former aide warns that demonising the party and its supporters as enemies of Islam is unhealthy for the nation
Ex-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s former aide, Marzuki Mohamad, said the rekindling of Umno-PAS ties has led to the two traditional rivals ‘manufacturing’ a common enemy in DAP. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: A former aide to ex-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin has criticised PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang for labelling DAP as an enemy of Islam, warning that this is taking the country on an unhealthy trajectory.
Marzuki Mohamad said the rekindling of ties between Umno and PAS has led to the two traditional rivals “manufacturing” a common enemy in DAP, adding that this was necessary to sustain their newly revived pact and mobilise Malay support.
“While political critique of the DAP is entirely legitimate – and something I engage in frequently – demonising the party and its supporters as enemies of Islam is a dangerous escalatory tactic.
“Doing so also inadvertently categorises roughly 75% of the nation’s non-Muslim population as enemies of Islam. This trajectory is profoundly unhealthy for the nation,” he said in a Facebook post.
Yesterday, Hadi claimed DAP was leading Pakatan Harapan in “continuing the work of colonisers to destroy Malay-Muslims”, citing its push to revive local council elections and its “Malaysian Malaysia” vision, among others.
This was slammed by DAP leaders and Wanita Amanah chief Aiman Athirah Sabu, who dared Hadi to haul DAP to court if he had proof to back up his claims.
Marzuki pointed out that Umno and PAS, the country’s two largest Malay-Muslim parties, were engaged in a bitter “Islamisation race” in the 1970s and 1980s.
He said it was during this period that Hadi delivered his infamous speech where he branded Umno members as “kafir” (infidels) and the fight against the Barisan Nasional lynchpin as a “jihad”.
“This ideological race decelerated in the late 1990s when PAS formed an alliance with PKR and DAP, a predominantly non-Muslim and secular party, to challenge the hegemony of Umno and BN.
“Consequently, the political discourse shifted throughout the 2000s to focus on governance, corruption, public welfare, and economic performance.
“Today, these former archnemeses have refashioned themselves as ‘frenemies’ under the banner of Malay-Muslim unity,” Marzuki said, referring to Umno and PAS.
***
Lebai towkay has been exceedingly EVIL in his lies
