OPINION | Dear Datuk Onn Hafiz, why NO to DAP?

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OPINION | Dear Datuk Onn Hafiz, why NO to DAP?


18 Jun 2026 • 5:00 PM MYT

FLK
Used to do a bit of work in corporate restructuring, corporate `undertaker

Image credit: The Sun Malaysia


Your insistence on NO to DAP in the next government in Johor was made full of confidence in front of all BN / UMNO supporters.


What you stated is not something that is revealing or earth shattering.


In the 1st place, there are no DAP representatives in the just dissolved Johor State Executive Council (Exco).



Zero.


Zilch.


The recently dissolved Exco lineup consists entirely of representatives from Barisan Nasional component parties (UMNO) along with Barisan-friendly parties (MCA and MIC).


No Pakatan Harapan (PH) or DAP members hold Exco positions in Johor.


What you declared was never an issue because it wasn’t an issue to begin with.



It is merely a continuation of your policies in your preceding administration.


DAP has yet and probably won’t be able to even if they wish to, table a vote of no confidence against your government under your tenure.


Unlike BN/UMNO who caused the collapse of the administration led by PM8 and PM9.


Not that they have the numbers but DAP has also not objected or put up any attempts to limit or restricts any of your policies.


Not that the lives or infrastructure facilities for those voters in the 10 constituencies that voted for the DAP representatives in Johor are any different from before and now.



And these voters know it.


Whether DAP is represented and included in the next Exco by you is totally irrelevant to them.


The voters who voted for DAP are aware that DAP state assemblymen don’t even get the same direct financial allocations as government backbenchers to function and serve their constituencies.


Life just goes on for them.


It doesn’t make a difference to their lives whether the representatives they voted for are in your Exco or not.


Unless you explicitly tell those voters in that 10 constituencies that voted for DAP in the last election that if they still remain defiant and vote in the same party again in this coming election, whatever pittance the state government used to give them will be completely withdrawn.



If BN / UMNO is returned with the same number of seats or more in this election, like your earlier term, you are not going to co-opt them into your administration too.


So why single out and say NO to DAP for the next term?


You have exhibited full confidence that the voters will return BN / UMNO to govern and administer Johor.


Unless you are not confident of obtaining a majority mandate from the voters, leaving you the possibility of having to negotiate with your political rivals.


It appears that you feared that there is a possibility that BN / UMNO will not get the mininum 29 seats required for a majority to govern the state on its own.



Having thrown down the gauntlet now and in the event that BN / UMNO failed to secure the majority number of seats, you have effectively limited your options to work with either PAS or Bersatu or MUDA.


You have clearly set a precedent for leaders in other states where BN/UMNO leads the administration in those states.


At the Federal level, your party President has already said BN / UMNO will contest 115 seats in the next GE, effectively ending any collaboration with PH going into the 16th GE.


But then, having seen him reversing his NO DAP, No Anwar, NO Bersatu stance taken in UMNO’s AGM in 2021, voters are not averse nor surprise if he were to enter into a collaboration post the 16th GE with PH or PAS or Bersatu.



Presently, representatives from DAP represents 10 constituencies in Johor that collectively has almost 660,000 registered voters voting in these constituencies.


For sure, your stance of NO to DAP has given those voters in that 10 constituencies more reason to continue to vote back the representatives from DAP.


Unless you reveal and make public clear cogent reasons supporting your stance of NO to DAP.

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PAS Youth defends 'campus conversion' rights, cites constitutional protections

PAS Youth defends 'campus conversion' rights, cites constitutional protections

Published: Jun 18, 2026 3:19 PM
Updated: 5:32 PM


PAS Youth has defended “dakwah” (religious propagation) activities at higher learning institutions, insisting that such programmes are lawful, constitutional, and in line with the nation’s identity.

Taking aim at recent statements by Dr RA Lingeshwaran, PAS Youth’s Dakwah and Islamic Defence Committee chairperson Sukri Omar stressed that Muslims have always respected the rights of followers of other religions to practise their beliefs.

However, he said the right of Muslims to carry out “dakwah” peacefully and prudently should be afforded the same level of respect, urging all parties to halt polemics that supposedly question such rights.

In particular, Sukri (above), who is also the Selangor PAS Youth chief, pointed to Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution, which stipulates that Islam is the religion of the federation, while also guaranteeing that all other religions may be practised in peace and harmony anywhere in the country.

“Article 11(1) guarantees freedom of religion, while Article 11(4) empowers the states to control or restrict the propagation of other religions to Muslims,” he said on Facebook today.

“These provisions clearly demonstrate that the Constitution recognises the special position of Islam, as well as the right for Islam to be propagated and developed peacefully, prudently, and in accordance with the law.

“As long as the implementation (of dakwah) is voluntary, free from coercion, ethical, and compliant with the law, no party has the right to obstruct, question, or cast suspicion on ‘dakwah’ activities on campus,” he asserted.


No exploitation

Sukri’s statement today comes after Lingeshwaran yesterday hit back against an Umno ulama council leader for saying that Islam can be spread anywhere in Malaysia without obstruction.

DAP senator Dr RA Lingeshwaran


Umno ulama council deputy chairperson Khairuddin Aman Razali had argued that Malaysia is an Islamic country while pointing to the special privileges granted to the religion in the Federal Constitution, such as the prohibition against converting Muslims.

Lingeshwaran, however, said that public educational institutes belong to every citizen, regardless of race or religion, and should therefore not be “exploited” as a platform for religious conversion.

The debates started after Lingeshwaran had earlier called for an investigation into a poster bearing the name of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Upsi) and promoting the registration of new Muslim converts.

Acknowledging the Perak institution’s clarification that the poster was not approved before being circulated, he said a thorough probe involving various authorities should be carried out as the matter has raised public concern and generated many questions among Malaysians.

While he stressed that he is not against any religion, nor questioning anyone's constitutional right to embrace and practise the faith of their choice, the public university has a responsibility to acknowledge the sensitivities of all Malaysians and ensure adherence to established procedures.


Selective interpretation of Constitution

In his statement today, Sukri said it is inappropriate to demand that public educational institutions adopt a stance of “neutrality” to the extent of denying “Malaysia’s own identity and nationhood foundations”.

“Neutrality”, he said, does not mean erasing the position of Islam, which was agreed upon by the nation’s founders and clearly enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

He further accused Lingeshwaran of selectively interpreting the Constitution to suit DAP’s supposed agenda.

“(Lingeshwaran’s) statement appears inclined to interpret the Constitution through the narrow framework of ‘Malaysian Malaysia’, often championed by DAP (as) an idea that has repeatedly sought to relativise the position of Islam, the institution of the Malay rulers, the Malay language, and constitutional rights.

“Such an approach not only contradicts the spirit of the Constitution, but also risks eroding the foundations of national understanding that have long been the pillar of the country’s stability,” Sukri said.

“Malaysian Malaysia” is a political concept that has been associated with DAP, advocating equal treatment and opportunities for all Malaysians regardless of race or religion, while upholding the Federal Constitution and rights of communities.”

Sukri also pressed DAP and its allies to respect the Constitution, rather than “continuously challenging” fundamental matters that underpin harmony in a plural society.

“They should not behave like kaduk naik junjung (someone who oversteps boundaries); having been given space within the democratic system, they now seek to question the very foundations of the Constitution.

“Any attempt to erode the position of Islam in the name of a narrowly and excessively interpreted pluralism will only undermine the country’s harmony and stability,” he said.

DAP names lawyer Chu Poh Yee as Mengkibol candidate

DAP names lawyer Chu Poh Yee as Mengkibol candidate


2 hours ago
Predeep Nambiar


The 33-year-old Kluang native will replace DAP incumbent Chew Chong Sin

Chu Poh Yee with DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook and Johor DAP chief Teo Nie Ching at a party rally in Kluang tonight. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: DAP has named lawyer Chu Poh Yee as its candidate for the Mengkibol seat in the Johor state election.

DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook announced the 33-year-old Kluang native as Pakatan Harapan’s candidate at a rally in Kluang tonight.

Chu will replace incumbent assemblyman Chew Chong Sin, who retained the seat for PH in the 2022 state election.

At the same event, Loke announced that Chew will be DAP’s candidate for the Labis parliamentary seat in the next general election, following incumbent MP Pang Hok Liong’s decision not to seek re-election.

Mengkibol, which is in the Kluang parliamentary constituency, is one of DAP’s strongest seats in Johor. In the 2022 state polls, Chew won the seat with a 10,107-vote majority in a three-cornered contest against Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional.

Group demands update on sexual harassment probe into UM prof

Group demands update on sexual harassment probe into UM prof


NewGen UM says the university has yet to announce the outcome of its investigation despite stating last September that it was in its final stages

Last September, UM announced that its investigation into sexual harassment allegations against a professor was almost complete.

PETALING JAYA: A student group has urged Universiti Malaya (UM) to disclose the outcome of its internal investigation into sexual harassment allegations against a professor, saying students and the public have been left waiting for answers more than a year after the claims first surfaced.

The allegations, which emerged in December 2024, involved a professor accused of sharing explicit photos of himself with students.

Last September, UM announced that its investigation was almost complete, and that the investigation committee was preparing its report on the matter.


However, New Generation Universiti Malaya (NewGen UM) today noted that the outcome of the probe has not been made public.

“More than a year has passed, yet critical questions remain unanswered,” the group said in a statement.


NewGen UM also expressed concern that the professor had reportedly resumed academic duties, including assessing final-year projects and examinations.

It stated that allowing a lecturer facing sexual harassment allegations to continue exercising academic authority and evaluating students was a “clear failure” on the part of the university to safeguard student welfare and safety.

It also called on UM to suspend the professor from grading and assessment duties as well as strengthen campus safeguards against sexual harassment.

“A university is not only an institution of academic excellence. It must also be a space where every student feels safe, respected and protected from any form of abuse of power,” it said.

FMT has reached out to the university for comment.

***

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Tengku Zafrul keen on contesting Selangor seat in GE16

Tengku Zafrul keen on contesting Selangor seat in GE16


The former minister contested the Kuala Selangor seat in GE15 for Umno but lost to Amanah vice-president Dzulkefly Ahmad

Tengku Zafrul Aziz, an Ampang PKR member, said he was open to contesting any constituency in the next general election. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Former minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz says he is keen on contesting a seat in Selangor at the 16th general election (GE16).

Tengku Zafrul, the senior political adviser to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, said he had conveyed his proposal to PKR’s leadership and would leave the final decision to the party president.

Tengku Zafrul, who is a member of Ampang PKR, said he had no preference for any particular constituency and would leave the candidate selection entirely to the party’s leadership.


“I have proposed that, if there is a general election, I be given the opportunity to contest in Selangor,” he told reporters after a Yayasan TZA programme in Kuala Lumpur.

“That is my hope, but the decision rests with the president and the party leadership


“As a party member and an Ampang division member, I spend a lot of time in Ampang, Pandan and several other areas where I have been asked to help.

“There is a vacancy in Pandan … and I have also been tasked with monitoring developments in Ampang on behalf of the party.”

Rafizi Ramli, a former economy minister, had represented Pandan for two terms. He resigned as Pandan MP last month before quitting PKR to take over Parti Bersama Malaysia.

PKR vice-president Amirudin Shari then announced Tengku Zafrul’s appointment as the party’s monitoring officer for the Pandan and Ampang parliamentary constituencies.

Tengku Zafrul used to be from Umno but joined PKR in August last year.

He contested the Kuala Selangor seat in GE15 but lost to Amanah vice-president Dzulkefly Ahmad by 1,002 votes. The victory secured Dzulkefly a third term as MP.

There has been speculation of a snap GE16 being held this year.

Israel cuts ties with EU top envoy Kaja Kallas over alleged apartheid remark

Israel cuts ties with EU top envoy Kaja Kallas over alleged apartheid remark



The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas (centre) calls for the de-escalation of military confrontation in the Middle East during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on June 16, 2026. — AFP pic

Thursday, 18 Jun 2026 7:40 PM MYT


JERUSALEM, June 18 — Israel’s foreign minister said Thursday that he was severing all contact with the European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas over reported remarks in which she allegedly compared Israel to the apartheid regime that once ruled South Africa.

Diplomatic relations between Israel and the EU have come under heavy strain since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, as well as over violence by Israeli settlers towards Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.


On Thursday, Gideon Saar accused EU foreign policy chief Kallas of “acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness” towards Israel.

“Recently, it was published that during her visit to Mexico, she compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime that existed in South Africa,” Saar wrote on X.

“However, to date, no denial, clarification or response has been issued by her regarding this severe statement.


“Therefore, as the foreign minister of the State of Israel, I have no choice but to sever all contact with Ms Kallas until she retracts the blood libel she directed at the world’s only Jewish state, which is also the only democracy in the Middle East,” he said.

According to European news outlet Euractiv, Kallas made the remarks during a closed-door meeting with Mexican government officials while on a visit to Mexico last month.


Kallas responded to Saar’s comments on Thursday by emphasising the need for continued dialogue between the EU and Israel, but declined to address the alleged “apartheid” remarks.

“I value our dialogue and engagement, and I’m open to continue in that spirit, respectfully and constructively,” Kallas wrote on X.

“The EU is always committed to a constructive relationship with Israel. To bring peace to the Middle East, the Two-State Solution remains the only viable path.

“The EU has condemned the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank that make it increasingly difficult to get to that goal. That is the EU position,” Kallas added.



Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused EU envoy Kaja Kallas of ‘acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness’ towards Israel, and cut diplomatic ties on June 18, 2026. — AFP pic



Earlier this week, Kallas said that the EU would explore options for restricting trade with Israeli settlements following calls from several member countries.

Kallas also noted that a number of EU countries had proposed sanctions against Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, although no consensus has yet emerged.

Any EU sanctions have to be signed off by all 27 member states, and staunch supporters of Israel have opposed such measures.

Calls to blacklist Ben Gvir grew after he published video last month of himself mocking bound activists, some of them from European Union member states, seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

Violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has increased since the start of the Gaza war.

Rights groups report near-daily attacks on Palestinians and their property.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and since then settlement expansion has been a policy under successive Israeli governments.

But it has accelerated significantly under the current coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank in settlements that are illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians. — AFP

Tehran says missile programme off limits after US-Iran framework deal, saying missiles are ‘for firing, not for negotiations’

Tehran says missile programme off limits after US-Iran framework deal, saying missiles are ‘for firing, not for negotiations’



This handout from the Telegram account of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on June 18, 2026 shows Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian holding a document showing a memorandum of understanding he signed to end the Middle East war. — IRIB handout pic via AFP

Thursday, 18 Jun 2026 5:25 PM MYT


TEHRAN, June 18 — Iran said today that its missile programme would not be part of future negotiations with the United States, after the two sides agreed a framework deal for ending their war.

US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding early today, ending a regional war that erupted on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes.

The agreement lays the groundwork for detailed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions relief for Tehran.

There is no mention in the deal of Iran’s missile programme, a longstanding concern for Washington and its ally Israel.


“Our missiles do not like at all to be talked about by anyone,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in an interview with Iranian state television.


“Iranian missiles are only for firing, not for negotiations. Iran’s defence capability will not be discussed in any way, in any process or with any party.”

During the nearly 40-day war, Iran’s missile infrastructure came under heavy US-Israeli bombardment, but Tehran continued to respond with missile and drone attacks across the region.


Before the war, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had warned that Iran would need to negotiate over its ballistic missile arsenal, which Washington views as a threat to Israel and US military bases in the region.

Iran has repeatedly refused to discuss what it describes as its defensive capabilities.

Yesterday, Trump appeared to soften his position, saying it would be “unfair” for Iran not to have missiles.

“I’m saying that if other countries have them, it’s a little bit unfair for them not to have some,” Trump said.

“A ballistic missile is not the same thing as what we are talking about when we talk nuclear.” — AFP

No more warnings: Selangor JPJ to haul vehicle owners to court over rentals to foreigners in the state

No more warnings: Selangor JPJ to haul vehicle owners to court over rentals to foreigners in the state



Selangor JPJ deputy director Datuk Ahmad Kamarunzaman Mehat (centre) shows a motorcycle that was seized during a press conference on the Foreign Driver Operation at JPJ Selangor, Jalan Padang Jawa, in Shah Alam, June 18, 2026. — Bernama pic

Thursday, 18 Jun 2026 4:44 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Selangor Road Transport Department (JPJ) has warned that local vehicle owners found renting out their vehicles to foreigners in the state will no longer be given warnings and will instead be taken straight to court.

Selangor JPJ deputy director Datuk Ahmad Kamarunzaman Mehat said motorcycles were among the most commonly rented vehicles, with daily, weekly and monthly arrangements offered at set rates, according to a report published by Kosmo! Online today.

He said foreigners typically use the rented vehicles for business activities such as selling food, transporting gas cylinders and scrap metal.

“The actions not only endanger road users but also violate the law. Local owners involved will be brought to court without compromise,” he told a press conference at the Selangor JPJ office in Padang Jawa here.

He said 239 foreigners had been taken action against under the Foreign Driver Operation (Ops Pewa) in Selangor from January until yesterday.

He said the main offences detected involved not having a Competent Driving Licence (CDL), Motor Vehicle Licence (LKM), vocational licence (GDL) and insurance coverage.

“In the same period, 304 vehicles were acted upon, with 95 seized for further action,” he said.

Ahmad Kamarunzaman added that vehicle owners, employers and transport companies are fully responsible for offences committed by drivers using their vehicles, including foreigners.

He said registered vehicle owners can be charged under Section 109 of the Road Transport Act 1987, while Section 64 of the same Act allows JPJ to seize vehicles if foreign drivers are found without valid licences.

Court cuts Guan Eng’s defamation damages against Muhyiddin from RM1.05m to RM450,000

Court cuts Guan Eng’s defamation damages against Muhyiddin from RM1.05m to RM450,000



The Court of Appeal upheld the finding that Muhyiddin Yassin had defamed Lim Guan Eng (pictured), but reduced the damages awarded from RM1.05 million to RM450,000. — Bernama pic

Thursday, 18 Jun 2026 6:26 PM MYT


PUTRAJAYA, June 18 — The Court of Appeal here today reduced the general damages awarded to DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng from RM1.05 million to RM450,000 in a defamation suit filed against Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin relating to the revocation of tax exemption for Yayasan Albukhary.

A three-member panel comprising Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid and Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar made the ruling after allowing part of Muhyiddin’s appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision.

In the unanimous verdict, Justice Azhahari said after examining the three impugned statements dated March 9, 11, and 12, 2023, the High Court was correct in finding that the statements were defamatory and there was no reason to disturb this finding of fact.

“On the issue of quantum, having considered the pattern of events, and the evidence adduced at trial, we are of the opinion that the general damages awarded are manifestly high.

“Accordingly, this court awarded RM150,000 for each of the three statements leading to RM450,000. We therefore substitute the sum of RM1.05 million with RM450,000,” he said.

The panel also set aside the High Court’s decision in awarding RM150,000 for aggravated damages and RM150,000 for exemplary damages to Lim.

However, the court granted Lim’s cross appeal on interest and ordered that interest be paid at the rate of five per cent per annum from the date of judgment until full settlement.

The panel ordered Muhyiddin to pay RM5,000 in costs to Lim, while the former Penang chief minister was ordered to pay RM30,000 in costs to the former prime minister.

On March 27, 2023, Lim filed a lawsuit against Muhyiddin for allegedly making three defamatory Facebook statements on March 9, 11, and 12, 2023, involving him in the tax exemption issue.

Reports on the matter were subsequently published in several newspapers and news portals.

In November 2024, the High Court allowed Lim’s suit and ordered Muhyiddin to pay RM350,000 for each of the three statements leading to RM1.05 million in general damages, RM150,000 for aggravated damages and RM150,000 for exemplary damages. — Bernama

Beyond race and religion: The leadership Malaysia needs

LETTER | Beyond race and religion: The leadership Malaysia needs

Ranjit Singh Malhi
Published: Jun 13, 2026 1:52 PM
Updated: 3:56 PM



LETTER | When Anwar Ibrahim became prime minister in November 2022, many Malaysians believed the country was finally turning a historic corner.

After decades of ethnic-based politics, corruption scandals, institutional decline and political instability, the emergence of a long-time reform advocate as prime minister generated hope that Malaysia could finally embark on a new national journey.

Many expected more than a change of government. They expected a transformation in the way the nation was governed.

Above all, they expected the emergence of a statesman capable of articulating a compelling vision of a united, inclusive, secular, multicultural, just and progressive Malaysia – a nation in which every citizen, regardless of ethnicity, religion or region, felt valued and had a meaningful stake in the country's future.

Nearly four years later, many Malaysians are asking a difficult question: what happened to that promise?


A growing crisis of trust

The central challenge confronting the Madani government today is not merely economic management, political competition, or public communication. It is a growing crisis of trust.

A significant trust deficit has emerged between the prime minister and large segments of the electorate. Increasingly, Anwar is perceived as a leader who does not consistently walk his talk, creating a widening gap between rhetoric and reality.

Credibility is the bedrock of effective leadership. Once public trust begins to erode, even well-intentioned policies struggle to gain support.

This perception may not be entirely fair, but in politics, perception often becomes reality.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim


For many supporters, the disappointment stems not only from what Anwar has done, but also from what he has failed to do. Malaysians did not invest their hopes in him merely to manage the existing political order more effectively. They expected him to reform it.

Instead of concentrating his political capital on building a stronger Malaysian identity and advancing a national agenda that transcends race and religion, Anwar has often appeared preoccupied with enhancing his international stature while attempting to consolidate Malay support through increasingly conservative religious positioning.

The irony is that this strategy appears to have yielded diminishing returns.

Many Malays remain unconvinced that Anwar is the champion of Malay interests. At the same time, many non-Malays who strongly supported him now feel disappointed by what they perceive as a retreat from the reformist principles that once defined his political identity.

As a result, confidence in his leadership has weakened across the ethnic divide.


Leadership vacuum in Malaysian politics

Yet Anwar’s saving grace is the absence of a credible alternative. PAS, Umno and Bersatu have yet to produce a competent, Malaysia-centric leader with the vision, moderation and moral courage needed to lead a diverse nation.

This leadership vacuum may help Anwar politically, but it should not be mistaken for genuine public confidence in his government.

Malaysia badly needs a Malay leader capable of rising above ethnic calculations, religious posturing, and narrow political interests.

The country needs a leader who understands that genuine nation-building requires bringing people together, not constantly reassuring different communities of their insecurities.


Lessons from founding leaders, rulers and Sarawak

The nation’s founding leaders and Malay rulers understood that Malaysia’s success depended on balancing the special position of the Malays with the legitimate rights and aspirations of other communities.

They recognised that enduring stability, prosperity and national unity could not be achieved through ethnic or religious exclusivity, but through moderation, accommodation and a shared sense of nationhood.

Today, Malaysia requires a similar spirit of leadership.

One contemporary example can be found in Sarawak. Premier Abang Johari Openg has consistently promoted a model of governance centred on inclusivity, moderation, mutual respect, and practical problem-solving.

Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg


While Sarawak is not without its own challenges, its political culture demonstrates that ethnic harmony and social cohesion can be strengthened when leaders focus on common interests rather than communal anxieties.

Why J-Kom is getting it wrong

The recent communication approach adopted by the new Community Communications Department (J-Kom) leadership illustrates the broader problem.

Government communication should build confidence, foster understanding, and create trust between citizens and the state. It should be guided by emotional intelligence, humility, and respect.


READ MORE: Who is Syam Ghaz? New J-Kom chief hits ground running in first week

Instead, confrontational and combative communication often deepens political polarisation and reinforces public cynicism.

Governments do not strengthen their legitimacy by attacking critics. They strengthen it by listening, engaging and responding constructively.


The statesmanship Malaysia needs

The Madani government still has time to recover lost ground. However, rebuilding trust requires more than slogans, branding exercises, and public relations campaigns.

Trust is rebuilt through consistency, integrity, and the willingness to align actions with promises.

Malaysia’s future depends on more than economic growth figures or political survival. It depends on whether the country can produce leaders capable of transcending the politics of race, religion, and self-interest.

What Malaysians seek today is not another politician skilled at navigating competing constituencies. They seek a statesman with the courage to tell hard truths, challenge entrenched interests, and unite the nation around a shared vision of the future.

Such leadership would inspire confidence among Malays while reassuring non-Malays that they are equal partners in the Malaysian project.

It would strengthen national unity without sacrificing diversity and promote justice without fostering division.

Anwar still has an opportunity to redefine his legacy. He can continue pursuing short-term political calculations, or he can embrace the larger task of becoming the statesman many Malaysians once believed he could be.

The window for such a transformation remains open, but it is narrowing.

Malaysia deserves leadership that looks beyond race, religion, and political expediency. It deserves leadership guided by vision, integrity, courage, and an unwavering commitment to nation-building.

That is the leadership Malaysia needs. Whether it will receive it remains the defining question of our time.



Writer is the founder and CEO of Exemplary Leadership Academy (ELA). ELA seeks to develop exemplary leaders and promote leadership practices that strengthen organisations, communities and the nation.

British Hypocrisy

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EXCLUSIVE: IN A BREATHTAKING feat of hypocrisy, the UK is taking drastic steps to stop “foreign interference” cash while slamming Hong Kong for doing a basic, minimal version of the same thing.

Britain has long prohibited foreign payments to its political groups and recently escalated the law with a £100,000 annual cap on political donations from ITS OWN CITIZENS living abroad.

Keir Starmer’s government announced the new law on 25 March 2026, saying it was coming into force instantly and would have “retrospective effect”.

This had to be done to protect political “processes from foreign financial influence and interference”, a government statement claimed.

.

THE REAL STORY

The real story is totally different, according to the buzz in the Westminster coffee bars.

Cash-based foreign political interference (“foreign collusion” in legal terms) has been banned everywhere as an obvious evil for decades—except in Hong Kong, when the UK hypocritically long supported western-financed political opposition groups which continually campaigned to delay its introduction.

Beijing wised up to the trickery in 2020 and introduced a western-style law against foreign collusion in Hong Kong, bringing the city into line with the west.

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REFORM FUNDING

In the UK, that law already existed—but was dramatically extended in March to include a cap on donations by British citizens abroad, rushed through to stop the explosive growth of rival party Reform.

That’s because Reform is financed by a pair of British crypto bros, one from Thailand and one from… Hong Kong (O the irony!).

As the UK prepares for a crucial by-election set to cause problems for the Prime Minister, "the Electoral Commission publishes the latest party funding figures and reveals who is backing the Reform UK operation", reports the latest issue of Private Eye magazine.

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‘MALIGN INTERFERENCE’

In the first 3 months of 2026, Christopher Harborne of Thailand gave £3 million (latest of a long line of donations) and Ben Delo of Hong Kong gave £4 million. (Delo says he is moving back to UK as his main home.)

It is right to come down hard on foreign payments to politicians because they were cases of “malign interference”, a Labour party spokesperson said. “Labour is introducing these landmark changes to protect UK democracy from [the] scourge of foreign actors and financial influence.”

This is a staggering level of hypocrisy.

In British Hong Kong, from at least 1990, the UK governors allowed foreign agents, largely from the US, to finance a group called “the pan-democrats” with tens of millions of dollars. Many of the transactions were recorded in the accounts of the National Endowment for Democracy, a CIA regime-change spin-off.

When Hong Kong introduced a law in June 2020 which prevented financial influence and political collusion from overseas, it was presented by the UK politicians and media as if it banned dissent.

No dissent was allowed, and the punishment was death “by firing squad”, reported Jimmy Lai, the UK’s favorite Hong Kong newsman.

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NONE OF IT WAS TRUE

None of this was true. The 2020 National Security Law did not mention dissent, nor death penalties, nor firing squads in any form.

The law was largely a move to stop illicit cash payments to politicians in Hong Kong—bringing the city in line with the UK, US and other modern urban centers.

British passport holder Jimmy Lai and his sidekick, former US intelligence agent Mark Simon, had been earlier exposed by a disgruntled Apple Daily shareholder of delivering millions of dollars of unexplained cash to pan-democratic politicians.

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NEWS BLACKOUT

Western mainstream media ran (and is still running) a news blackout on negative news about Jimmy Lai and the pan-democrats, who are continually presented as Hong Kong heroes, when they have been repeatedly exposed as being the opposite.

The vast majority of Hong Kong people want a positive relationship with Mainland China and oppose independence.

To take just one example, Reuters likes to paint China-hostile churchman Joseph Zen as a hero—without mentioning that he received multiple unexplained payments of about $3 million Hong Kong dollars, which is about US$380,000, delivered by Lai and Simon.

Had Zen been taking the cash in the west, the media would have torn him to shreds. But he works to demonize China, so the international media chooses not to report it.