The Bibi Break-Up Begins, As Does The IC Purge...

 

Badlands Brief The Bibi Break-Up Begins, As Does The IC Purge... GhostofBasedPatrickHenry Jun 8   READ IN APP   The Badlands Brief is your daily drop of Badlands’ takes on the narratives dominating the info war. Read on, and join the conversation in the comments section. Netanyahu Defies Trump; Strikes Iran to Restart War President Donald Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran following an Iranian missile attack, according to Axios, which cited a senior U.S. official and an Israeli source. Trump separately told the Financial Times that Netanyahu would have “no choice” but to accept any agreement the United States negotiates with Iran and said he “calls the shots” in the talks. The diplomatic pressure came as regional tensions escalated. Iran launched 11 ballistic missiles toward Israel on June 8, according to Israeli officials cited by Axios, marking the first direct Iranian attack since an April 8 ceasefire. In response, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes against military targets in central and western Iran, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said the operation focused on missile launch sites and related infrastructure and did not target energy facilities. Explosions were reported in multiple Iranian cities. A U.S. defense official told Axios that American forces did not participate in the Israeli strikes. Iran has warned that further Israeli attacks could prompt additional responses, raising concerns about broader regional escalation. GhostofBasedPatrickHenry: And here we have yet another phone call between President Trump and Israeli journalist Barak Ravid. These are now happening every few weeks. There isn’t another journalist with that level of access to President Trump; nor is there another journalist to whom Trump has expressed anti-Netanyahu sentiments. Pattern recognition. Here’s what Ravid posted following his phone call with the President. President Trump then did a phone interview with the Financial Times of London. When asked whether he thought Netanyahu would accept the deal Trump was negotiating with Iran, Trump replied: “He won’t have any choice. I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots.” More from the Financial Times article: The president separately told Fox News that he would instruct Netanyahu to refrain from taking retaliatory action against Iran — a position at odds with statements from the Israeli military. Trump said that Iran’s strikes had not changed his desire to conclude US-Iran negotiations. “It’s not going to have any impact on the deal,” he told the FT. “We’ll see how it ends up. But they [the missile strikes on Israel] were attacks that did not kick at all. It’s one of those things that’s been going for 3,000 years, or 47 years, depending on how you count.” So Trump just straight up said that Iran attacking Israel would not deter his pursuit of peace. That it would not deter his pursuit of making a deal with Iran. Perhaps that is why Netanyahu pursued war in defiance of President Trump. Exactly one month ago, on May 9th, Netanyahu spoke at the Yad Vashem—the World Holocaust Remembrance Center—in Jerusalem. He said, “If Israel is forced to stand alone - Israel will stand alone.” That is exactly what President Trump has baited Netanyahu into doing, using Game Theory. Because it is election season, the knives are out for Bibi. All of his political opponents are now calling him weak for capitulating to Trump, and failing to finish the job with Hezbollah and Iran. Even Israeli mouthpieces are seeing the writing on the wall. They finally understand the trap that I saw being set years ago. The impetus for Iran’s attack on Israel was retaliation to Israel’s strike on Beirut (the capital of Lebanon). While many speculated that the US played a hand in this operation, it was this attack that provoked President Trump into chewing out Netanyahu last week. Barak Ravid reported yesterday that two separate sources at the White House confirmed that the US played no part, and did not give the blessing to do it. Anshel Pfeffer from The Economist summarized the situation: These are the circumstances that will drive Israel deeper into war, as Netanyahu clings to power, and President Trump negotiates peace with Iran and exits the stage. This is everything that we have been anticipating ever since we started studying Israeli domestic politics in the News Brief over two years ago. And now we are watching it unfold. Accelerate.

Lebanon says Israel has bombed it nearly 3,500 times during ceasefire

Lebanon says Israel has bombed it nearly 3,500 times during ceasefire

June 8, 2026

8:33 PM GMT+10

Updated 1 hour ago


BEIRUT, June 8 (Reuters) - Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 air strikes on Lebanon ​and hundreds of controlled explosions since the U.S. announced a ceasefire ‌for the country on April 16, Lebanon's defence minister, Michel Menassa, said on Monday.

The U.S.-brokered ceasefire came into effect just after midnight on April 17, with Israeli troops still positioned deep inside ​southern Lebanon. While it has largely halted air strikes on Beirut ​and its suburbs, the truce has failed to halt fighting in ⁠southern Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

During a cabinet meeting, Menassa ​said that from April 17 to June 7, Israel had carried out 3,491 air ​strikes, 407 controlled demolitions and six "razing" operations, or demolitions - which have left some entire villages in the southernmost strip of Lebanon entirely flattened. The statistics were later published on X by ​the office of Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

The Israeli military did not immediately ​respond to a request for comment.

Salam said the latest escalation between Iran and Israel had ‌caused additional ⁠waves of displacement, straining Lebanon's ability to host fleeing families.

Already, more than 1 million people - a fifth of Lebanon's population - have been displaced by Israel's strikes and evacuation warnings across Lebanon since the war erupted on March 2.

The latest conflict ​broke out when Hezbollah ​fired rockets on ⁠Israel in support of its ally Iran, which was being struck by Israel and the United States.

Hezbollah has continued firing ​at Israel and has rejected U.S.-mediated talks between Lebanese and ​Israeli officials ⁠aimed at bolstering the ceasefire with a lasting agreement.

On Sunday, Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs in retaliation for Hezbollah fire on northern Israel. In response, Tehran bombed northern ⁠Israel, ​which has fired back on various locations in Iran.

U.S. ​President Donald Trump said last week that ceasefires in the Middle East involved "shooting in a more moderate manner", ​rather than a total halt in fighting.

A Senator's Slap and the Shame That Lingers at Janda Baik Leadership Programme

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OPINION | A Senator's Slap and the Shame That Lingers at Janda Baik Leadership Programme


8 Jun 2026 • 10:00 AM MYT

Mihar Dias
A behaviourist by training, a consultant and executive coach by profession

Mihar Dias on Microsoft Copilot


A Senator's Slap, and the Shame That Lingers at Janda Baik Leadership Programme

By Mihar Dias June 2026


The incident at Janda Baik was not merely an assault on a young man's face. It was an assault on every student leader in that room — and on the dignity of public life itself.



Let us be absolutely clear about what happened at the Institut Latihan Memperkasa Ummah in Janda Baik on the evening of May 20.


A senator — introduced to the gathering as a guest speaker and a board member of a university — allegedly struck a student leader across the left cheek with his right hand following a conversation that had drifted into politics. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18aaYChdDn/



The student, Nik Alif Aiman Abdul Ariffahmi, the elected Yang Dipertua of his university's Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar, did not retaliate. He held his composure, absorbed the humiliation, and declined the senator's subsequent invitation to dine together as a quiet, dignified act of protest. https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/782088


That restraint, frankly, was more senatorial than anything the senator demonstrated that evening.


Now, one can already anticipate the noise that will follow this column — the tribal closing of ranks, the parsing of context, the whispered suggestion that perhaps the young man provoked it, said something out of turn, touched a nerve. Let me pre-empt all of that. None of it matters. Nothing a student says in a post-lecture conversation warrants a grown man in public office raising his hand against him. Nothing. Full stop.



And the argument that "it caused no physical injury" is precisely the kind of moral hairsplitting that should embarrass anyone who attempts it. The impact was forceful enough to snap the young man's head to the right. It occurred in front of ten to fifteen witnesses, including senior university officers and fellow student representatives. https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/782088


The physical bruise may have been absent. The institutional bruise — to the student body, to the concept of mentorship, to the very idea that our upper house is populated by people deserving of deference — that bruise runs deep.



Some will note, as a kind of contextual footnote, that Nik Alif Aiman is the grandson of the late Tok Guru Tan Sri Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the revered former Menteri Besar of Kelantan and one of Malaysia's most consequential religious figures of the 20th century. And yes, the conversation reportedly turned hostile precisely after a university officer introduced Nik Alif Aiman in those terms, after which the senator allegedly made remarks critical of PAS before delivering the blow.


https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/782088



That lineage adds a particular sting — the family has filed their objections through proper channels, and a police report has been made.


But here is where this column diverges from the obvious narrative. This should not primarily be a story about whose grandson was slapped. The grandsons of no one in particular deserve the same protection from the arrogance of officialdom. The outrage must be universal or it means nothing.


What we witnessed — allegedly, pending investigation — was a senator behaving as if the trappings of appointment had placed him beyond the ordinary courtesies owed to every human being. That a man of his standing was present at a programme ostensibly designed to empower the Ummah, to uplift the young, and then proceeded to humiliate a youth leader in front of his peers, is an irony so thick it could insulate a roof.



The Dewan Negara is not a throne room. A senatorship is an appointment, not an ennoblement. The title does not purchase the right to lay a hand on another person simply because a political conversation turned disagreeable. If anything, the dignity of the office demands more restraint, not licence for petulance.


An apology, should one materialise, will not be sufficient. Apologies in Malaysian public life have a troubling tendency to function as full stops when they should be commas — as closures rather than the beginning of accountability. What is required here is a proper investigation, transparent findings, and consequences proportionate to the act. The police report has been filed. The witnesses were present. The facts are not in hiding.



There is also a word owed to the university administration, whose senior officers were reportedly in that room. What exactly was the institutional response in the immediate aftermath? Was the student leader supported? Was the senator challenged? Or did the room collectively exhale and move on, as rooms in Malaysia so often do when someone powerful misbehaves?


Student leaders are not props at government-adjacent programmes. They are not there to be photographed, patted on the head, and reminded of their place in the hierarchy. They are — at their best — the conscience of our campuses, doing unglamorous democratic work that most of their peers avoid. They deserve the full protection and respect of every adult in any room they enter.



What happened in Janda Baik on May 20 was not merely an interpersonal incident. It was a glimpse — sharp and ugly — of what happens when power goes unexamined and unchecked for too long. A grown man in high office struck a young student leader across the face, in public, over politics.


That senator must be held to account. Not because of who the young man's grandfather was. But because of who we are supposed to be.

Just what are Israel’s long-term plans for Gaza?

Just what are Israel’s long-term plans for Gaza?


Despite an apparent ceasefire, Israel’s leaders continue to hint at annexation and ethnic cleansing

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran [File: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters]

By Simon Speakman Cordall
Published On 29 May 2026


After two years of relentless bombardment and ground invasions, Israel’s future in Gaza had appeared to be settled with the signing of United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan on October 9, 2025.

Under the terms of that agreement, Israeli forces were meant to withdraw behind what planners called the “Yellow Line”, maintaining control of 58 percent of the territory, with their full withdrawal to be set at a date to be determined.

That withdrawal hasn’t happened. In fact, in the months since, as well as killing at least 922 people in near-daily strikes on the enclave during the “ceasefire”, Israel has expanded its territory by about 11 percent.

According to satellite data gathered in March, it has also established at least 32 military outposts, a ground barrier and infrastructure along what was supposed to be a temporary line.

Since October last year, numerous humanitarian agencies, including Oxfam, have accused Israel of compounding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by restricting deliveries of aid and other essential goods.

Then, on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will take over yet more territory in Gaza, telling a conference: “We are currently squeezing Hamas; we now control 60 percent of the territory of the Strip – you know this. We were at 50. My directive is to move to …,” he said, pausing briefly as someone in the crowd yelled, “100!”

“Let’s go step by step,” he responded, “First of all, 70. Let’s start with that. We’re pressing them from all sides, we’ll deal with the remnants.”

Al Jazeera contacted the Israeli prime minister’s office for clarification of this, but received no response by the time of publishing.



Netanyahu orders Israeli army to seize 70 percent of Gaza



Israel’s war in Gaza destroys vital therapy centres for disabled children



Iran spokesman says US to blame for resumption of hostilities


Can Israel just grab more land in Gaza?

“If Israel’s ultimate plan is to exercise permanent effective control over the entirety of the Gaza Strip, we are talking about unlawful annexation,” Michael Becker, a professor of international human rights law at Trinity College in Dublin, told Al Jazeera.

“As the International Court of Justice reaffirmed in a 2024 advisory opinion, annexation constitutes a violation of the bedrock prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force.”

Nevertheless, to date, since the onset of its war on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 72,819 men, women and children in Gaza, with many thousands more missing and presumed dead under the rubble.

By 2025, Israel had caused a confirmed famine in the enclave and has now decimated nearly all infrastructure needed to support life. It has done all this without experiencing any meaningful international sanctions and still takes part in numerous international sporting and entertainment competitions – despite protests.

Hopes that the US might enforce its own conditions on Israel also appear ill-founded. Since announcing a ceasefire in the enclave in October last year, the US has failed to react as Israel has expanded and entrenched its presence in Gaza, choking off access to about two-thirds of the enclave for its inhabitants by April 2026.

A US State Department spokesperson, contacted by Al Jazeera, avoided addressing Israel’s ceasefire violations and instead placed all responsibility on Hamas for obstructing peace, disarmament and Gaza’s reconstruction.

Can Gaza’s population survive in such a reduced territory?

It’s very hard to tell. Several agencies, including the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), have expressed deep concern about how Gaza’s remaining population can continue to subsist in an ever-shrinking space.

Israel’s answer to this is simple. “The plan for voluntary emigration from Gaza will also be implemented, all at the proper time and in the proper manner,” Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote in a statement marking the killing of Hamas leader Mohammed Odeh on Wednesday this week.

“Voluntary emigration” is a term used by a number of Israel’s government ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Observers typically acknowledge that this means the ethnic cleansing of the enclave.

Israel’s Ministry of Defence did not respond to questions about this from Al Jazeera.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has referred to the ‘voluntary emigration’ of Gaza’s population, a term generally regarded as referring to its ethnic cleansing [File: Menahem Kahana/ AFP]

Is any of this legal?

No.

“The idea of permanently removing Palestinians from Gaza smacks of forced displacement and would also violate the fundamental right to self-determination of the Palestinian people,” Becker said. The principle of self-determination serves as a “cornerstone” of the UN Charter, he said.

However, Becker said, the spotlight of international attention has now shifted from the crisis in Gaza to the US and Israel’s war on Iran, as well as Israel’s actions in Lebanon, where it has occupied large swaths of the south of the country.

“While the Trump administration may be willing to diverge from Israel’s interests in seeking a resolution to the disastrous and illegal war that the United States started against Iran, the United States seems to have lost interest in Gaza or pushing for restraint on the part of Netanyahu’s government. It is unclear what role the so-called Board of Peace is willing to play in terms of maintaining a future for the Palestinians of Gaza,” he said.

BEING CHINESE IS BIGGER THAN DAP

From the FB page of:




Anas Zubedy

edropnSost0807820glm30l8t4mcht8lc20a4u76cft7lg01g3m0mf17gf90 ·


BEING CHINESE IS BIGGER THAN DAP


DAP does not have a monopoly on what it means to be Chinese, just as UMNO does not have a monopoly on what it means to be Malay.

Being Chinese is bigger than DAP. Being Malay is bigger than UMNO.

We should not assume that being anti-DAP is anti-Chinese, just as we should not assume that being anti-UMNO is anti-Malay. That is a fundamental political mistake.

In fact, many politicians encourage this confusion because it serves their political interests. If a party can convince voters that it represents an entire race, then criticism of the party can be portrayed as criticism of the race itself. Likewise, support for the party can be portrayed as loyalty to the race.

This is one of the oldest tricks in politics. It is also one of the most damaging for a diverse country like Malaysia.

Just as PAS cannot claim to be the sole representative of Islam and Muslims, no political party can claim ownership of an entire race, religion, or community.

No race or religion belongs to any one party. A race is a community. A religious community is also a community. A political party is merely a vehicle.

The argument is even more difficult to sustain in DAP's case. For decades, DAP leaders have presented their party as a multiracial party that speaks for all Malaysians. If that is true, then criticism of DAP cannot automatically be equated with criticism of the Chinese community.

One cannot claim to be a multiracial party when convenient and then claim to exclusively represent one race when under attack. You cannot have the cake and eat it too.

The Chinese community is not a branch of DAP, just as the Malay community is not a branch of UMNO.
The Chinese community existed before DAP, and it will remain long after DAP is gone.

Being Chinese is bigger than DAP. The two should never be conflated.

It is my hope that Anthony Loke, Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, and other senior DAP leaders will step forward and reaffirm this simple principle: no political party has a monopoly over any race, religion, or community.

Peace,

Anas Zubedy

Israel’s strikes on Iran expose Trump’s failure to restrain Netanyahu

Israel’s strikes on Iran expose Trump’s failure to restrain Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump says he’d urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint following Iran’s missile attack on Israel. Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo explains how Israel firing back regardless raises questions about the US’s influence over Israel.

‘You asked for DAP’s help in Mahkota’: Johor party branch rebukes Onn Hafiz

‘You asked for DAP’s help in Mahkota’: Johor party branch rebukes Onn Hafiz


DAP Johor argues that the spirit of cooperation underpinning the Federal Unity Government should take precedence over partisan rhetoric

Updated 2 hours ago

Published on 08 Jun 2026 2:07PM

DAP Johor chastises Onn Hafiz over refusal to work with party after state polls (Photo from Utusan) - June 8, 2026



A FRESH political dispute has emerged within Johor’s governing landscape after the Democratic Action Party (DAP) leaders criticised remarks by Johor Barisan Nasional chairman and Menteri Besar-designate hopeful Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, who declared he would rather forgo the top state post than work alongside DAP in the state administration after the next Johor state election.


The comments prompted a sharp response from Johor DAP vice-chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali, who accused Onn Hafiz of political hypocrisy and arrogance, pointing to the cooperation extended by DAP during previous election campaigns.

“Onn Hafiz Ghazi’s remarks are highly arrogant. When Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah was contesting the Mahkota by-election, he repeatedly appealed to DAP for assistance,” he said.

His criticism followed remarks made by Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi at the launch of Johor Barisan Nasional’s election machinery, where he stressed that BN Johor had never cooperated with DAP and insisted that he did not wish to govern alongside the party.

Sheikh Umar argued that responsible political leadership requires parties to look beyond ideological differences and place public welfare above partisan interests, particularly when stable and effective governance is at stake.

“The Unity Government at the federal level has demonstrated that parties from different backgrounds are capable of working together for the sake of national stability, economic recovery and the well-being of the people.

“Such cooperation does not mean that all parties must agree on every issue. Rather, it reflects the maturity to place the interests of the people above partisan interests,” Utusan Malaysia reported him saying.

He said the experience of the Federal Unity Government had demonstrated that parties with differing political traditions could work together constructively to safeguard national stability, support economic recovery and improve public well-being.

According to Sheikh Umar, political cooperation should not be judged by complete agreement on every issue but by a willingness to prioritise the interests of citizens over narrow party considerations.

Reaffirming DAP and Pakatan Harapan’s position in Johor, he said both remained committed to a politics of inclusion and constructive engagement rather than division.

“We respect the mandate of the people, democratic institutions, and the role of all parties in developing Johor into a progressive, inclusive and prosperous state.

“Therefore, discussions about Johor’s future should focus on policies, performance and what can be offered to the people, rather than rhetoric that risks widening divisions and undermining opportunities for cooperation in the interests of the state and the nation,” he said.

The exchange highlights growing tensions over potential post-election alignments in Johor, despite the cooperation between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan at the federal level, and signals that questions surrounding future state-level alliances may become a key issue ahead of the next state polls. - June 8, 2026

A kingdom is not a prize to be seized

A kingdom is not a prize to be seized


The attempted removal of Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir has deeply troubled many Malaysians


Updated 7 hours ago

Institutions only survive when they are stronger than the ambitions of those who temporarily surround them. - June 8, 2026




by Vinod Sekhar


THERE are moments in a nation’s history when the question before us is larger than politics, larger than personalities, and larger even than the individuals immediately involved.

This is one of those moments.

The events unfolding in Negeri Sembilan are not merely about who sits upon a throne. They are concerned whether institutions that have survived generations will continue to be protected by principle or become vulnerable to convenience.

The attempted removal of Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir has deeply troubled many Malaysians, myself included.

Not because I am interested in palace intrigue. Not because I belong to one faction or another. But because of the precedent that such actions threaten to establish.

If a sitting ruler who has committed no proven crime, violated no demonstrated constitutional obligation, and whose reign has brought stability and dignity to his state, can be displaced through manoeuvring, then what message are we sending to future generations?

Is that loyalty temporary?

Do institutions exist only until they become inconvenient?

Does that manipulated influence matter more than legitimacy?

History teaches us that societies rarely collapse because of one dramatic event. They weaken when norms are abandoned and when powerful individuals begin to believe they can reinterpret long-standing institutions to suit their immediate interests.

It may be a ruler. It may be a judge. It may be a prime minister. The principle remains the same.

Institutions only survive when they are stronger than the ambitions of those who temporarily surround them.

For nearly two decades, HRH Tuanku Muhriz has represented continuity, moderation and dignity. His reign has been marked not by controversy but by quiet service. He ascended to the throne after one of the longest waits in Malaysian royal history, carrying himself not with bitterness but with grace.

His contribution to Negeri Sembilan has often been understated precisely because it has been steady. The strongest leaders are frequently the least theatrical.

Alongside him stands Tuanku Aishah Rohani, whose own record of service extends into education, healthcare and academia. She serves as Chancellor of the Islamic Science University of Malaysia and has become an important patron of educational and social initiatives. Institutions, schools and healthcare facilities carry her name because of her commitment to public service.

Their family has likewise embraced service rather than celebrity.

Tunku Ali Redhauddin, an heir to the throne, has worked across the public, private and non-profit sectors. Highly educated, his leadership in organisations such as Cancer Research Malaysia, his military service, and his engagement with international institutions reflect a modern vision of public duty.

This is not a family known for excess.

It is a family known for engagement

A family that has consistently attempted to bridge tradition and modernity. A family that has represented Negeri Sembilan and Malaysia with dignity on both national and international stages.

The greatness of Negeri Sembilan has always been rooted in something unique. It is a state built upon adat, consultation, balance and consensus. The genius of its system is that power is never meant to belong entirely to any one individual.

Yet neither should it become vulnerable to temporary alliances, personal greed and ambition or political calculations.

The people of Negeri Sembilan deserve certainty. The institution of monarchy deserves protection.

And Malaysia deserves constitutional clarity.

The principle should unite all Malaysians:

No ruler should be removed simply because he is inconvenient to the ambitions of others. No institution should be altered because temporarily influential people believe they can get away with it.

And no generation should inherit a precedent that weakens the very foundations that previous generations worked so hard to preserve.

The answer is not conflict.

The answer is not division.

The answer is fidelity to law, fidelity to custom, and critically - fidelity to the spirit of justice.

Because when institutions are protected, everyone benefits. When institutions are weakened, eventually everyone pays the price.

I know wisdom will prevail, and Negeri Sembilan will emerge stronger.

And I hope that future generations will look back on this moment not as the beginning of institutional decline, but as the moment Malaysia chose principle over expediency.

That is the choice before us.

And it is a choice that will echo long after today’s headlines have faded.

Datuk Dr Vinod Sekhar is the publisher of The Vibes and Chairman of the Petra Group

‘I call the shots, not Netanyahu’: Trump says fresh Israel-Iran strikes will not derail peace talks

‘I call the shots, not Netanyahu’: Trump says fresh Israel-Iran strikes will not derail peace talks



US President Donald Trump said new Israel-Iran strikes would not derail peace talks with Tehran, insisting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘does not call the shots’. — AFP pic

Monday, 08 Jun 2026 11:59 AM MYT


TEL AVIV, June 8 — US President Donald Trump said yesterday that new strikes by Israel and Iran would not affect his administration’s peace talks with Tehran, saying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “doesn’t call ‌the shots.”


Trump has leaned on Israel to stop its attacks in Lebanon to allow room for a deal to end the wider war with Iran, including rebuking Netanyahu with obscenities in a phone call last week. However, Israel earlier yesterday launched strikes in the Beirut area for the first time since the US announced a truce plan for Lebanon last week.


Iran fired a salvo of missiles at Israeli targets in retaliation, ‌putting US-Iran peace talks at risk. But Trump insisted that an agreement to end the wider war remains well within reach.

“It’s not going to have any impact on the deal,” Trump told the Financial Times. “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots.”


Five hours after Iran launched missiles at Israel, Netanyahu had yet to publicly comment on the attack.


The latest hostilities drove oil prices up more than 2 per cent in early trading today, with benchmark Brent futures back above US$95 (RM386.70) a barrel.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Ramat David air base, near Nazareth. The Israeli military said it identified missiles launched from Iran and that its defence systems had intercepted them.


Trump, who was spending the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and Netanyahu spoke by phone for a little less than half an hour yesterday, an Israeli official said, without giving further details. The White House and the Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump told Netanyahu during the call to refrain from further strikes because “we are close to doing something good in terms of a deal,” according to a US official quoted by Axios. The official said Trump had “bought a little bit of time,” Axios reported.

Shortly after midnight today, the Israeli military issued a brief statement, citing Chief ‌of Staff Eyal Zamir as saying his forces had not been directed to attack Iran so far, but would do so “with determination” once given the order.

Since the start of US-Iran talks ⁠aimed at halting the war, Israel has continued attacks in Lebanon in a conflict with Hezbollah that ⁠Israeli officials insist should be treated separately from any ceasefire with Iran.

Tehran has long said any peace deal with the US ⁠would depend on a ceasefire also holding in Lebanon, which ⁠Israel invaded in March in pursuit of Iran-backed ⁠Hezbollah fighters who fired rockets and drones across the border in solidarity with Tehran.

Iran’s chief peace negotiator, parliamentary speaker Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, said US bases and Israeli assets are legitimate targets because of hostile acts, including the “violation of agreements over Lebanon.”

Before yesterday, Iran had not attacked Israel since a ceasefire in the wider war started in April, although Hezbollah has done so.

Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington ⁠and Tehran were close to an agreement on ending the war.

“We’re very close to a deal, or I’m going to blow the hell out of them,” Trump told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in a prerecorded interview that aired yesterday to mark 100 days of the conflict.

Trump wants no attacks in Lebanon

Israel has never halted its Lebanon campaign, which has killed thousands of people and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes. Hezbollah, which did not take part in the truce talks, has also continued its attacks and says it will not give up its weapons unless Israel halts its attacks and withdraws from Lebanon.

Netanyahu said the Israeli strikes yesterday on Beirut’s southern outskirts, a district known as Dahiyeh that has long been a Hezbollah stronghold, were ordered ⁠in response to Hezbollah firing toward Israel.

The wider war has been stalemated since the US and Israel paused their attacks on Iran in early April, with Tehran blocking most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for one-fifth of the world’s oil. Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.

Though Washington ⁠and Tehran have said they are close to a preliminary agreement that would reopen the strait, they have repeatedly traded strikes, with escalations in recent days that have included attacks on nearby Arab states ⁠hosting US bases.

Trump has ⁠said any agreement to end the war must prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and he is under pressure to deliver terms tougher than those agreed in 2015 under then-President Barack Obama in a deal Trump later repudiated.

Tehran’s demands include the lifting of US and international sanctions, recognition of its sway over the strait and the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets.

A source familiar with US plans told Reuters ‌on Saturday that Washington could make Iranian assets available to Gulf neighbours to repair damage inflicted by Iran.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said yesterday any such diversion of Iranian assets would be illegal, and Tehran would take measures in response.

Netanyahu was criticised last week by political rivals over a new ceasefire in Lebanon ahead of this year’s national election. — Reuters

Muhyiddin reaffirms Bersatu-PAS ties, says party to consider Perikatan proposals

Muhyiddin reaffirms Bersatu-PAS ties, says party to consider Perikatan proposals



Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said proposals submitted by PAS to strengthen Perikatan Nasional will be brought before the party’s supreme council for consideration. — Picture by Yusof Isa

Monday, 08 Jun 2026 8:57 AM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has reaffirmed Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s commitment to maintaining good relations with PAS, saying proposals from the Islamist party to strengthen Perikatan Nasional (PN) will be considered by the party’s top leadership.

The Bersatu president said he had received a letter from PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan dated June 6 regarding relations between the two parties and proposals aimed at reinforcing the Opposition coalition.

“I have received a letter from the PAS secretary-general dated June 6, 2026, regarding the relationship between Bersatu and PAS as well as proposals to strengthen PN.

“I will give due attention to these proposals and bring the matter to the Bersatu supreme council meeting for deliberation,” he said in a statement last night.


Muhyiddin did not elaborate on the proposals contained in the letter.

The exchange comes after PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang said that the party was reviewing its cooperation with Bersatu.

Speaking on June 5, he said PAS’ ulama council had deliberated on the matter and left it to the party’s central committee to determine the appropriate course of action.


Abdul Hadi said the issue would be discussed at a meeting today alongside other party matters.

“InsyaAllah, we will discuss everything on Monday,” he reportedly said in Marang.

Meanwhile, PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden said in a Facebook post that the letter was a response to correspondence previously sent by Muhyiddin.

According to Afnan, Bersatu’s letter dated May 25 was itself a response to the earlier press conference by Abdul Hadi on relations between PAS and Bersatu.

“As there were matters that PAS needed to clarify further and in greater detail, PAS replied to the letter. PAS’ letter was only eight pages long (compared with the 13-page letter we received).

“The difference is that PAS did not issue a media statement simply to announce that it had received and replied to a letter,” he said.

‘What is wrong is wrong’: Home minister says police ready to pursue Kamunting prison probe based on Suhakam findings

‘What is wrong is wrong’: Home minister says police ready to pursue Kamunting prison probe based on Suhakam findings



The home minister said the government will not protect any party found responsible in connection with the Taiping prison incident, as authorities review Suhakam’s findings. — Picture by Raymond Manuel

Monday, 08 Jun 2026 3:36 PM MYT


PUTRAJAYA, June 8 — The government is prepared to undertake further investigations into the findings and conclusions of the public inquiry panel convened by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia over last year’s incident involving the alleged ill-treatment of a newly admitted inmate at Kamunting Prison in Taiping, Perak.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the Royal Malaysia Police is expected to carry out or complete investigations into the incident based on Suhakam’s report, which he recently presented to the Cabinet.

“If a case has gone through an investigation process, regardless of which body conducted it, with convincing evidence and witnesses interviewed, and a report is subsequently produced.

“If it requires follow-up investigations by the police, for example, our principle is clear: what is right is right, what is wrong is wrong, and wrongdoing will not be defended.

“This is our very clear message. I believe Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Khalid Ismail will resume or complete any necessary investigations while taking Suhakam’s findings into account,” he said during the Home Ministry’s monthly assembly here today.

Saifuddin Nasution stressed that the government would not shield any party involved in the incident.

“Telling the truth may be bitter, but its long-term impact is far better. This is also a question of integrity within our organisation. As for the reputation of the Prisons Department throughout my three years here, I am very proud of this department,” he said.


On May 27, media reports said the Malaysian Prisons Department would fully cooperate with relevant authorities in reviewing the report and conclusions of Suhakam’s public inquiry panel into the alleged mistreatment of a new prisoner at Taiping Prison last year.

The department said it viewed seriously every finding, recommendation and issue raised in the report, including allegations relating to prison management and prison personnel in connection with the incident.

In its final findings on the inquiry into the riot at Taiping Prison on January 17, 2025, which resulted in the death of an elderly detainee, Suhakam’s Public Inquiry Panel recommended that the facility be converted into a museum, saying it was no longer suitable for use as a prison. — Bernama