Akmal trolled over perceived hypocrisy, double-standards over T’ganu Jalur Gemilang blunder

Akmal trolled over perceived hypocrisy, double-standards over T’ganu Jalur Gemilang blunder

“DOUBLE standards”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, happen when two groups or people are judged by different sets of rules for the exact same situation. One group gets more freedom, while the other faces a stricter penalty or harder test.

For instance, people excuse bad behaviour or mistakes from a friend but get very angry if a stranger makes the same mistake.

Scroll on social media lately and the person accused of such hypocrisy is more likely than not firebrand UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh.

Most Malaysians will recall fiery speeches the Merlimau state assemblyman gave in relation to a perceived show of disrespect by an elderly hardware store owner in Penang for hoisting an upside down Jalur Gemilang during last year’s Merdeka month.

There were threats of mob-style protests alongside plenty of foaming-at-the-mouth quotes from the 38-year-old medic about the supposed lack of patriotism from the Chinese community.

Fast forward to this year’s Merdeka month and the trending news is that of a Jalur Gemilang missing the crescent moon and star fluttering at Dataran Batu Buruk, Terengganu.

Mana YB Dr. Muhamad Akmal Saleh?

Untuk kes seperti ini, kenapa tidak turun padang juga? Kalau di Pulau Pinang, ramai yang turun bersama-sama menyuarakan pendirian.

Kalau benar-benar mahu memperjuangkan dan mempertahankan Jalur Gemilang, YB patutu turun ke Terengganu bersama-sama Pemuda UMNO.

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Official explanation proffered by the PAS-ruled state’s Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar was that strong winds blowing in from the seafront had caused those stitched-on flag symbols to become detached.

The words “unintentional” and “further investigations” were bandied about while the offending flag was quickly replaced.

Many netizens had been patiently waiting for the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University alumni’s response given the vitriol in which he pursued the Penang incident previously.

Rival politicians and keyboard warriors delighted in reminding Akmal of his many foaming-at-the-mouth pronouncements during the Penang flag incident last year when he even vowed to “teach the Ah Pek how to properly fly the flag”.

Eventually, the self-proclaimed race and religion defender surfaced with a somewhat belated and timid response to the Terengganu episode via a social media clip demanding proof of the supposed “technical failure” reasoning by the Terengganu MB which is tantamount to a slap on the wrist reprimand.

Declaring that the flag embodies the nation’s dignity, the Melaka Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security EXCO merely asked that evidence be presented to back up the claims and also to prevent a recurrence.

No aggressive jabbing of fingers. No name-calling. No accusations of unpatriotic behaviour. In fact, many politically-astute citizens noted the absence of melodramatics on this occasion.

The obvious difference in tone and delivery of his reprimand was also noted by many confused Malaysians. Why so mild-mannered this time around?

“When the Chinese old man fixed the flag wrongly, he made lots of noise and protest. He even went to his house to teach him how to hang the flag,” recounted one netizen. “What happened now, no noise because of his own kind?”

Another commenter mocked Akmal for the fact that “his teeth didn’t bite at all” this time around.

The obvious hypocrisy and double standards were called out by numerous citizens who thought his actions (or lack thereof) spoke louder than words.

It was pertinently pointed out that this only becomes a controversial and fiery 3R (race, religion and royalty) issue if it happens in a DAP-controlled constituency.

Such was the visible difference in response which prompted a few to sarcastically query if the medical doctor was feeling quite himself (especially in the aftermath of the Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional having forged an alliance on the basis of ummah unity).

There’s little point in analysing the difference. Everyone knows the vitriol and hate-speech are reserved for DAP and by extension, the Chinese community, who continue to be the bogeyman for Akmal to raise whenever some fear-mongering is required.

This rightist BN politician will have his share of ardent followers judging from the many enthusiastic and supportive comments appended to the clip.

But for now, it is quite refreshing that enough Malaysians have seen fit to highlight the glaring double standards in Akmal’s responses to the latest flag issue. – Aug 11, 2026

Century-old monastery in PM's backyard faces demolition, monks appeal to Anwar

Century-old monastery in PM's backyard faces demolition, monks appeal to Anwar

Aina Fatihah Abdullah
Published: Aug 11, 2026 3:15 PM
Updated: 8:15 PM



A group of Buddhist monks from a monastery in Tambun, Perak, has appealed to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to help save the place of worship from demolition.

The monks from the Sakyamuni Caves Monastery at Gunung Kanthan, which is located in Anwar’s parliamentary constituency, urged the federal government to declare the monastery and the surrounding hillside a national heritage site to ensure their preservation.

Monks praying at the Sakyamuni Caves Monastery

“He (Anwar) can resolve this issue with the stroke of a pen because he is not only the Tambun MP, but also the prime minister.

“He has the power to declare that the monastery and this hillside area are a national heritage site,” their lawyer N Surendran told a press conference in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, today.

The monastery’s chief monk, Bhante Kusala, said applications for heritage status were made several times, to no avail.

The century-old Sakyamuni Caves Monastery is built into the limestone caves of Gunung Kanthan, part of the Kinta Valley National Geopark north of Ipoh, and has for years been at the centre of a dispute over quarrying activities in the area.

In September 2023, cement manufacturer Associated Pan Malaysia Cement Sdn Bhd reportedly won a court appeal to evict the monastery from the land.

Heritage and conservation groups have opposed its removal, citing the monastery’s cultural significance and Gunung Kanthan’s unique ecosystem, which is home to several endemic and critically endangered plant species.

As Merdeka and Malaysia Day near, BN must put Malaysia first in Melaka: Here’s how — Phar Kim Beng

As Merdeka and Malaysia Day near, BN must put Malaysia first in Melaka: Here’s how — Phar Kim Beng



Summary

• Barisan Nasional's statement on potential election negotiations in Melaka highlights the importance of strategic alliances beyond mere seat allocation.
• Malaysia's upcoming national celebrations should remind parties that political cooperation historically involved negotiation and compromise across diverse communities.
• Melaka presents BN with a choice: focus on communal consolidation or maintain a coalition able to engage with all Malaysian communities.

First Published: Monday, 10 Aug 2026 9:30 PM MYT


AUGUST 10 — The statement by Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that Melaka BN is prepared to hold discussions with any coalition ahead of the coming state election deserves more attention than the usual arithmetic of seat allocation.

Zahid has reportedly authorised Melaka BN chairman Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh to negotiate with other coalitions.


He has also acknowledged the obvious: seat allocation is invariably one of the most difficult parts of any electoral negotiation, although differences can be overcome through serious discussion.


The larger question is therefore not whether BN can negotiate. It is what kind of Malaysia BN wants those negotiations to produce.


This matters especially as Malaysia approaches Merdeka Day on August 31 and Malaysia Day on September 16.


These two national occasions should remind every political party that electoral tactics cannot be completely divorced from the historical foundations of the country.

Merdeka was not achieved by one community alone.


Nor was Malaysia formed in 1963 as an exclusively communal enterprise.



Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh (third from right) waves the Jalur Gemilang after officiating the launch of the 2026 Melaka Local Authorities (PBT) Premier Gathering at the grounds of Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka, August 6, 2026. — Bernama pic



Both were products of negotiation, accommodation and political compromise among communities, territories and political leaders who frequently disagreed with one another.

BN, as the institutional descendant of the Alliance that played the central political role in achieving independence, should understand this better than most.

That is why negotiations between Melaka BN and the local leadership of Pakatan Harapan should remain firmly on the table.

This does not mean that BN must surrender its identity to PH. Neither does it mean that PH should dictate the distribution of seats.

Political negotiations are precisely about recognising differences while finding sufficient common ground to prevent those differences from becoming destructive.

The alternative is to reduce Malaysian politics increasingly to one overriding proposition: that Malay-Muslim parties must combine against everyone else.

That proposition may occasionally appear electorally attractive. But strategically, it contains enormous risks for BN.

BN has historically been successful precisely because it attempted — however imperfectly — to build a coalition extending beyond one ethnic or religious constituency.

Umno worked with MCA and MIC, and the wider BN eventually incorporated parties representing different regional and communal interests.

If BN gradually transforms itself into an appendage of an exclusively Malay-Muslim electoral configuration, it risks abandoning the very political architecture that once made it Malaysia’s dominant national coalition.

This is where Melaka becomes important.

A negotiation between BN and PH in Melaka would demonstrate that political cooperation need not be governed entirely by communal arithmetic.

It would also demonstrate that state politics can retain some autonomy from the ideological pressures generated at the national level.

There is another strategic consideration. Malaysia does not end at the Peninsula.

Sabah and Sarawak remain indispensable pillars of the federation.

Any political configuration in Peninsular Malaysia that appears increasingly organised around an exclusive conception of Malay-Muslim political consolidation will inevitably be watched carefully across the South China Sea.

Malaysia Day should therefore weigh heavily on BN’s calculations.

September 16 reminds Malaysians that the federation is larger and more complicated than the politics of any single community, party or peninsula.

The political centre of Malaysia cannot remain stable indefinitely if Sabah and Sarawak begin to believe that national politics is moving towards an ideological arrangement fundamentally different from their own plural traditions.

BN should therefore think beyond the next state election.

The immediate temptation after recent electoral setbacks and shifting voting patterns may be to construct whatever alliance appears capable of delivering the largest number of seats.

But winning an election and building a sustainable national coalition are not necessarily the same thing.

A coalition can win overwhelmingly in one state and simultaneously weaken its acceptability elsewhere.

This is why Zahid’s willingness to allow negotiations should be treated as an opening rather than a tactical footnote.

Ab Rauf and the Melaka BN leadership should explore seriously whether a workable understanding with the local PH leadership can be reached.

Both sides will have demands. Both will have seats they regard as non-negotiable. Both will face grassroots resistance.

That is normal. BN feels it has trigger a Blue Wave in Johor and Negeri Sembilan. PH meanwhile does not mind miniaturizing it to allow the Unity Government to last a full term.

What matters is whether negotiations begin from the premise that neither coalition needs to destroy the other in order to survive.

Indeed, BN and PH have already demonstrated at the federal level that parties with long histories of rivalry can cooperate when circumstances require political stability. The arrangement has never been frictionless, nor should anyone pretend otherwise.

But democracy does not require political partners to love one another. It requires them to recognise when compromise serves a larger constitutional purpose.

The approaching Merdeka and Malaysia Day celebrations offer BN an appropriate moment to rediscover this instinct.

Umno does not have to stop being Umno. BN does not have to become PH. Nor does PH have to abandon its own political identity.

But all of them should remember that Malaysia itself was constructed through negotiation.

The Federation survives because its different communities, states and political traditions repeatedly find ways — sometimes awkwardly — to coexist.

Melaka therefore presents BN with something more consequential than another opportunity to maximise seats. It presents BN with a choice about the kind of coalition it intends to become.

It can move deeper into a politics where electoral cooperation is increasingly organised around communal consolidation.

Or it can preserve its ability to negotiate across Malaysia’s political divide and remain a coalition capable of speaking to Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sabahans and Sarawakians alike.

For a party whose history is inseparable from Merdeka, the latter course should not appear alien.

It should appear familiar.

And as Malaysia prepares to celebrate August 31 and September 16, perhaps that is the most important political lesson of all: Merdeka was achieved through negotiation, Malaysia was created through negotiation, and Malaysia’s future will also have to be negotiated.

Melaka would be a good place to remember it.

* Phar Kim Beng is a professor of Asean Studies and a director at the Institute of International and Asean Studies, International Islamic University Malaysia.

 

Oddly, Hadi rants as PAS plans ‘peace and harmony’ tea party

Oddly, Hadi rants as PAS plans ‘peace and harmony’ tea party

9 hours ago

Letter to the Editor

PAS is sending out invitations to a goodwill gathering while the party's supremo is spewing venom at the DAP.

From Terence Netto

Earlier this week, a good friend who happens to be an ardent PAS activist sent me an invitation to attend a high tea in Shah Alam on Aug 16 to be hosted by the PAS Ulama Council

“You must come,” said Abdul Rahman Kassim when he phoned to inform me. “And bring two friends with you,” added the party enthusiast from Tasek Gelugor, Penang.

In attendance at the function will be Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who is of course the PAS candidate to be prime minister should the party, with its allies, emerge with the largest number of MPs at the next general election.

Rahman made it clear to me that he was reaching out to Christians in particular for the Aug 16 occasion. His voice was rife with excitement. It was not surprising to detect the high spirits in his voice. He said I would disappoint him if I passed up the invitation.

I did not want to disappoint him by telling him that I had more interest in the much-anticipated DAP congress, coincidentally scheduled for the same day.

I have in the past attended PAS-organised functions, at Rahman’s invitation, where I have even raised questions about Islamist ideology.

These occasions were part of the party’s outreach to non-Muslims, particularly Christians, Rahman being famed for assisting Mujahid Yusof Rawa in the years before Mujahid left PAS, to reach out to Christians when the “Allah issue” sizzled in the public arena.

I have found PAS outreach events to serve no more useful purpose than the exchange of pious platitudes. No great understanding between the invitees and their PAS hosts was achieved.

In fact, I departed these occasions with a progressively keener appreciation for the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I was reminded of this sobering admonition when I read the latest pronouncement of PAS supremo Abdul Hadi Awang posted about the DAP.

The pronouncement is venomous but it’s no different from the usual twaddle Hadi has posted about the DAP in recent times.

A DAP official has made an appropriate response to FMT about Hadi’s rant, but what beggars understanding is why Hadi has chosen to repeat his absurdities about the DAP just when PAS are organising a ‘peace and harmony’ gathering.

The Aug 16 programme does not appear to include a question-and-answer session. If there is one, this reporter will want to ask the PAS PM-designate if he subscribes to his supremo’s absurdities about the DAP.

Terence Netto is a senior journalist and an FMT reader.

Anwar says Perikatan neglecting Tabung Haji depositors after MPs walk out of RCI debate

Anwar says Perikatan neglecting Tabung Haji depositors after MPs walk out of RCI debate



Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also questioned the position taken by Perikatan Nasional (PN), which is anchored by PAS, particularly over the interests of TH depositors from various walks of life. — Bernama pic


Summary

• Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim criticized the opposition for diverting focus from issues concerning Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH), urging attention towards the "betrayers" affecting TH's depositor interests.
• He questioned Perikatan Nasional's stance on the matter, particularly its concern for depositors from various professions.
• This follows opposition MPs walking out of the Dewan Rakyat special session on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on TH due to dissatisfaction with procedural decisions and Anwar's absence.
• The RCI report, released in July, highlighted management weaknesses in TH between 2014 and 2020 and included recommendations for improvement, most of which have been implemented.

Malay Mail
First Published: Tuesday, 11 Aug 2026 12:41 PM MYT
Last Modified: Tuesday, 11 Aug 2026 12:43 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today slammed the opposition, accusing it of trying to divert attention from issues involving Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) by making him the subject of political polemics.

He said the focus should instead be on those he described as “betrayers” of TH and the interests of the institution’s depositors, rather than making him the target of the debate.


“Do you want to debate about me or Tabung Haji? Do you want to know about me or the betrayal of Tabung Haji?


“Malay Muslims have been betrayed, yet there are still those who want to engage in political drama? What more when it comes from those who constantly champion Malay and Muslim causes,” he said in a Facebook post this afternoon.


He also questioned the position taken by Perikatan Nasional (PN), which is anchored by PAS, particularly over the interests of TH depositors from various walks of life.


“Does PN, which is anchored by PAS, not care about the interests of ordinary people — fishermen, farmers, teachers, police, soldiers and retirees — who work hard to save money in Tabung Haji to fulfil the fifth pillar of Islam?” he asked.

The post came after several opposition MPs walked out of the Dewan Rakyat and did not participate in this morning’s special sitting to discuss the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on TH.


The opposition MPs were reportedly unhappy with Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul’s decision to proceed with the briefing in the absence of the Prime Minister and reject a proposal by PN chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan for the sitting to be postponed.

Anwar had earlier apologised for being unable to attend the special sitting as he was undergoing physiotherapy following an elective laparoscopic procedure to treat a para-umbilical hernia.

Today’s special Dewan Rakyat sitting was held to hear the Minister’s briefing on the RCI report on TH, as well as the efforts and measures taken to restore the institution’s financial position.

On July 29, the 211-page RCI report was made public, containing various findings on weaknesses in TH’s management and operations between 2014 and 2020, as well as 25 recommendations for improvement, of which 75 per cent had been implemented by TH as of July 30.

The government announced the establishment of the RCI in 2021, followed by the appointment of its members on Jan 20, 2022. The RCI subsequently presented its report to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Aug 30, 2022.

Najib returned US$620m after GE13 because he was uncomfortable holding it, High Court told

Najib returned US$620m after GE13 because he was uncomfortable holding it, High Court told



Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said according to his client, the money was returned to the sender, Tanore Finance Corporation, after the 13th General Election (GE13) in 2013. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa


Summary

• Former Prime Minister Najib Razak returned US$620 million of the US$681 million he received as an "Arab donation" as he felt uncomfortable with the large sum.
• Najib's lawyer claimed the money was returned to Tanore Finance Corporation after the 13th General Election in 2013, consistent with Najib believing it was part of an Arab donation.
• A separate criminal trial revealed the US$681 million was actually misappropriated from 1MDB, with the civil suit accusing Najib and others of breach of trust and abuse of power.

First Published: Tuesday, 11 Aug 2026 2:54 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The High Court here was told today that former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak returned US$620 million out of the US$681 million he received as a purported “Arab donation” because he was uncomfortable keeping such a large amount of money in his bank account.

Najib’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said according to his client, the money was returned to the sender, Tanore Finance Corporation, after the 13th General Election (GE13) in 2013.


The veteran lawyer said that Najib returned the money to Tanore in the hope that it (Tanore) was part of the Arab donation.


Muhammad Shafee suggested this to an offshore asset recovery specialist, Angela Barkhouse, the managing director of Kroll (Cayman) Ltd and head of Kroll’s Offshore Practice, who is the third plaintiff witness, on the sixth day of the trial of 1MDB’s US$5.64 billion civil suit against Najib and six others.


Muhammad Shafee: Now, isn’t that consistent with his (Najib’s) claim that he believed the money was an Arab donation?


Barkhouse: I can’t comment on that.

Muhammad Shafee: But you are aware that the US$620 million was returned to Tanore…almost as soon as the election was over in Malaysia?


Barkhouse: I am not sure of the date of the election, so I can’t comment or confirm it.

Previously, it was reported that Tanore was controlled by Eric Tan Kim Loong, an associate of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.

Muhammad Shafee then said the tracing of the funds showed that, after the money was returned, its final destination did not lead back to Najib, which Barkhouse agreed with.

Meanwhile, in a separate criminal proceeding against Najib, 1MDB trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that evidence, including bank records and the money trail, showed that the US$681 million had actually been misappropriated from 1MDB.

1MDB and its subsidiaries — 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited, 1MDB Energy Limited, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited and Global Diversified Investment Company Limited, formerly known as 1MDB Global Investments Limited — filed the civil suit on May 7, 2021.

They named Najib, 1MDB’s former finance director Terrence Geh Choh Heng, former executive director Casey Tang Keng Chee, former chief investment officer Vincent Beng Huat Koh, former chief operating officer Radhi Mohamad, former investment director Kelvin Tan Kay Jim, and former chief investment officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, as defendants.

The writ of summons stated that the plaintiffs, among other things, accused the defendants of breach of trust, breach of statutory duty, abuse of power and conspiracy to misappropriate 1MDB funds.

The trial before Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus resumes tomorrow. — Bernama

Malay-Muslim unity is the bogeyman: How a Hadi-led PAS could swallow BN and PN whole — Phar Kim Beng

Malay-Muslim unity is the bogeyman: How a Hadi-led PAS could swallow BN and PN whole — Phar Kim Beng



Summary

• The article discusses the intricate dynamics of political alliances in Malaysia, focusing on the role of the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) under Hadi Awang's leadership.
• It highlights PAS's strategic ability to position itself as a dominant force within coalitions, raising concerns for both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) about potential political dependency and the blurring of their identities.
• The article warns of the risks of using "Malay-Muslim unity" as a political tool to consolidate power, arguing that true democracy thrives on diversity and disagreement rather than monolithic unity.
• The author urges BN and PN to critically assess their alliances with PAS to prevent inadvertently empowering PAS at their expense.

First Published: Tuesday, 11 Aug 2026 9:36 AM MYT




AUg 11 — The language of “Malay-Muslim unity” sounds reassuring.


It invokes solidarity, communal protection and the political consolidation of the Malay-Muslim majority. Yet beneath this apparently benign vocabulary lies a fundamental question: unity under whose leadership, according to whose ideological definition, and ultimately for whose political benefit?


This is where a Hadi-led PAS presents both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) with a strategic problem.


Malay-Muslim unity can easily become a political bogeyman: the perpetual warning that Malays are divided, Islam is threatened and political consolidation is therefore necessary.


Once this proposition is accepted, almost every disagreement among Malay parties can be portrayed as dangerous fragmentation.

The logical destination is not necessarily Malay unity. It could instead be PAS predominance.


Under Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS has repeatedly demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to work with political organisations whose philosophies differ substantially from its own. It cooperated with PKR and DAP through Pakatan Rakyat.

It later embraced UMNO through Muafakat Nasional. It subsequently became a central component of PN alongside Bersatu.

These arrangements changed. PAS endured.

This is why BN should examine the present political arithmetic with particular care.

BN may believe cooperation with PN can prevent three-cornered contests and consolidate Malay votes. Electorally, that proposition has obvious attractions.

If Malay votes are divided between UMNO, Bersatu and PAS while PH retains a relatively consolidated support base elsewhere, cooperation appears rational.

But electoral arithmetic is not the same thing as political strategy.

Every time BN depends increasingly on PAS voters, campaign machinery and ideological narratives to remain competitive, PAS potentially acquires greater bargaining power over BN.

The danger therefore runs in the opposite direction from the one commonly imagined.

BN may think it is borrowing PAS’s strength.

PAS may ultimately be absorbing BN’s political space.

The same dilemma confronts PN. Bersatu was originally supposed to provide PN with a broad Malay-nationalist leadership structure while PAS supplied its enormous grassroots organisation. But organisational endurance matters.



Under Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS has repeatedly demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to work with political organisations whose philosophies differ substantially from its own. — Bernama pic



PAS possesses decades of political experience, religious networks, activists, institutions and deeply embedded constituencies, particularly across the northern and eastern Malay belt.

If Bersatu weakens while PAS remains intact, PN could increasingly become PAS by another name.

The controversy over whether Bersatu remains within PN illustrates why institutional clarity matters enormously.

When different senior PN leaders can offer apparently conflicting interpretations of Bersatu’s status, the deeper question becomes unavoidable: who ultimately defines PN?

If PAS increasingly answers that question, PN ceases to be an alliance in which PAS participates and risks becoming a political vehicle through which PAS expands.

BN faces an even greater historical irony.

UMNO once regarded PAS as its principal competitor for Malay-Muslim political leadership. Their rivalry stretched across generations.

They competed not merely for constituencies but for the authority to define Malay politics and the relationship between Islam, government and Malaysian nationhood.

Malay-Muslim unity can blur this distinction.

Once every electoral contest is reduced to the proposition that Malay parties must unite against a supposedly threatening political “other”, UMNO loses one of its strongest historical arguments for existing independently of PAS.

Why should Malay voters choose UMNO if PAS can claim to represent Malay interests more uncompromisingly and Islamic politics more authentically?

That is the trap.

PAS does not necessarily have to destroy BN. It merely has to make BN progressively dependent on an electoral ecosystem whose ideological centre of gravity PAS controls.

Nor does PAS have to formally consume Bersatu. It merely has to become indispensable to PN.

This produces what might be called the anaconda strategy of Malaysian coalition politics. The prey need not be swallowed immediately.

It can first be surrounded, constrained and gradually deprived of independent political room.

Malay-Muslim unity becomes particularly useful in this process because it is almost impossible to satisfy permanently.

There will always be another alleged threat requiring greater unity. Another election requiring fewer three-cornered contests. Another disagreement that supposedly weakens the Malays.

Another controversy that can be transformed into evidence that Islam requires stronger political consolidation.

Thus the destination keeps moving. First cooperation. Then electoral coordination.

Then seat negotiations.

Then common narratives.

Then ideological convergence.

Eventually the question becomes whether BN and PN still possess political identities independent of PAS.

This is why BN should be exceptionally careful about interpreting short-term electoral cooperation as long-term strategic compatibility.

UMNO historically represented a broad Malay nationalist tradition operating within Malaysia’s multiracial constitutional framework.

MCA and MIC remain components of BN precisely because BN was constructed as a coalition capable of negotiating differences among communities.

PAS comes from a different political genealogy.

There is nothing inherently illegitimate about PAS seeking greater political power democratically.

If Malaysians vote for PAS, that democratic choice must be respected. The problem arises when the language of communal survival is used to make political consolidation appear inevitable.

Malay-Muslim voters are not a monolithic political bloc. They differ according to class, geography, generation, education, occupation and interpretations of Islam itself.

Malays can disagree politically without weakening Islam. Muslims can belong to different parties without compromising the ummah.

Indeed, democratic disagreement is not Malay disunity.

It is democracy.

BN and PN should therefore ask themselves a brutally simple question before travelling too far down the road of Malay-Muslim political consolidation:

Are they cooperating with PAS—or gradually creating the conditions under which PAS no longer needs them?

Hadi-led PAS has survived alliances with remarkably different partners because PAS understands something fundamental about coalition politics: alliances are instruments, not necessarily destinations.

For BN especially, the danger is believing that it can ride the PAS tiger indefinitely.

The tiger may eventually decide where the journey ends.

Malay-Muslim unity should consequently never become a bogeyman used to frighten voters into accepting an ever narrower political order.

Malaysia certainly needs Malay confidence. It needs Islamic integrity. It needs political stability.

But none of these requires the permanent supremacy of any single party.

If BN and PN forget that distinction, they may eventually discover that the greatest beneficiary of Malay-Muslim unity was neither Malay unity nor Muslim unity.

It was PAS.

* Phar Kim Beng is a professor of Asean Studies and a director at the Institute of International and Asean Studies, International Islamic University Malaysia.

Trump says will demand conflict compensation from Iran

Trump says will demand conflict compensation from Iran



Negotiations on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz have stalled, and Trump's new demands risk putting a quick agreement further out of reach. — AFP pic


Summary

• US President Donald Trump demands compensation from Iran for past and present conflicts as part of peace negotiations, risking further delays in reaching a deal.
• Trump accuses Iran of responsibility for damage in multiple regions and insists on including these demands in any future talks.
• Negotiations face hurdles as Iran demands the US lift blockades and sanctions, impacting global fuel prices and straining the economy.

First Published: Tuesday, 11 Aug 2026 9:46 AM MYT


WASHINGTON, Aug 11 — US President Donald Trump said yesterday he would seek conflict compensation from Iran as part of any peace negotiations, citing attacks and killings stretching back decades allegedly backed or perpetrated by Tehran.

Negotiations on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz have stalled, and his new demands risk putting a quick agreement further out of reach.


Trump's announcement was a direct response to Iran's insistence that US payment of war reparations are a pre-condition to any resolution of the ongoing hostilities.


"I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran," he said, noting that his demand included not only damages arising from the current war, but also Iranian attacks on US targets going back more than two decades as well as payments to the families of Iranian protestors killed by authorities over the past 50 years.


In a later post, Trump also said that the Islamic republic should be responsible for deaths and damage it caused in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Gaza.


In what has become a regular pattern, Trump last week threatened to hit Iran "very hard", potentially with attacks against civilian infrastructure, only to pull back, hinting a peace deal was near.

Trump this weekend said he was "low-keying" his approach to the conflict, suggesting that he was prepared to let economic pressure mount in place of further military strikes.


Digital media outlet Axios said that the US president did not express any frustration with Iran's delaying an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz in their interview with him published Sunday.

Tehran has demanded that the US first end its blockade of Iranian ports and lift sanctions on its oil industry.

As negotiations have floundered, the strait's blockage by Iran has sent fuel prices soaring and rattled the world economy, putting pressure on Trump ahead of midterm elections in November.

In his post, Trump referenced the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, which he has previously said Iran was "probably involved" in.

Yesterday he said his various demands for compensations would be put "firmly into any, and all, future negotiations" with Iran. — AFP