Only in Malaysia can you wake up, scroll TikTok, and discover that the Romans apparently learned how to build ships from the Malays.
Yes, according to Associate Professor Solehah Yaacob from IIUM, our ancestors didn’t just sail the seas, they taught Caesar how to float. The lecture went viral, and Malaysians did what we do best - comment section comedy. One wrote, “Did the Romans walk to the Malay Peninsula and return by sampan?” Another added, “Next week, she’ll say Malays built the pyramids.”
Now, let’s be clear - I love celebrating our history. We do have a proud maritime past. Our ancestors sailed far and wide before many others even figured out what a compass was. But saying the Romans learned from us? That’s not heritage - that’s historical fan fiction.
And here’s the problem: Solehah isn’t even a maritime historian. She teaches Arabic linguistics. That’s like a dentist giving a TED Talk on black holes. Just because you can speak doesn’t mean you should lecture.
If she truly believes what she’s saying, her credibility to educate students should be questioned. But if she doesn’t - and is just talking from her arse for attention - her credibility should still be questioned. Either way, how is this okay?
Worse still, this isn’t her first rodeo. Earlier, she claimed that the Prophet Muhammad’s wife, Khadijah, was from the “Malay realm.” Before that, she hinted that ancient Malays had supernatural abilities - including the ability to fly. (Yes, fly. Not MAS, not AirAsia. Fly.)
And yet, here she is again, confidently dropping another “revelation” like she’s narrating a historical Marvel movie. Which makes me wonder: Why is this clown still teaching our students?
Are we not worried about what she might be saying in closed-door lectures - without cameras, without public fact-checking, without accountability? This is someone who seems obsessed with crediting every major human achievement to the Malays. That’s not national pride; that’s being delusional. And frankly, I don’t want people like that anywhere near our education system. Do you?
If this is the kind of “knowledge” being served, then we’re raising a generation of students on half-baked ideas from half-baked lecturers. We don’t need educators chasing viral fame or ethnic glorification. We need teachers grounded in facts, research, and integrity.
The Education Ministry must draw the line - not to silence lecturers, but to protect students. Let academics dream big, but demand evidence when those dreams turn into “lectures.” Because when the classroom becomes a stage for fantasy, the only thing that sinks faster than a Roman ship is our faith in the education system.
The Strip lies in tatters – its economy destroyed, infrastructure in ruins, and its people displaced, as a fragile US-brokered truce barely holds. More than 68,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, with some 10,000 still buried under the rubble, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
As world leaders in the Qatari capital Doha pledged this week to “leave no one behind” at the United Nations Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD), the commitments stood in stark contrast to the reality in Gaza, where access to basic needs remains a luxury.
“Even bread can feel out of reach,” Shaheen, the team lead for the charity Humanity First UK in Gaza, revealed.
Food distribution by Humanity First UK in Gaza [Courtesy of Humanity First UK]
While prices have fallen compared with the worst periods of the war, they are still six to 10 times higher, Shaheen said.
On Thursday, Gaza’s Government Media Office said Israel has only allowed 4,453 trucks to enter, barely a quarter of what was supposed to enter daily according to the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on October 10.
Meanwhile, infrastructure in the enclave has been almost completely destroyed, Shaheen lamented, with only rubble remaining “where streets and buildings once stood”.
According to UN estimates, 92 percent of all residential buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since Israel’s war on the enclave began on October 7, 2023, producing between 55-60 million tonnes of rubble.
“Schools, clinics, shops, homes … everything that allowed life to function has been reduced to dust,” he said
Development ‘impossible’ amid lack of rights
At the WSSD this week, which concluded on Thursday, member states repledged commitments made at the 1995 summit in Copenhagen, including the eradication of poverty, providing “decent” work, social integration, education and healthcare to the world’s most vulnerable populations.
The resulting Doha Political Declaration, adopted at the end of the summit, was a “booster shot for development”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Nevertheless, global declarations such as the WSSD do little in the face of the dire situation in Gaza, according to Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy at the UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians.
“Despite the ceasefire, the situation in the health sector remains catastrophic, with severe shortages of medical equipment and medicines, and hundreds of healthcare workers killed or still detained,” he told Al Jazeera.
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“Development is impossible while Palestinians are denied the most basic rights to safety, movement, and dignity.”
Echoing Talbot, the head of Humanity First UK, Aziz Hafiz, said “no declaration, however eloquent, can substitute for the fundamental right to freedom and security”.
“Development cannot flourish in isolation from justice and peace,” he told Al Jazeera. However, he asserted that does not mean “we wait for peace to act.”
“Every vocational programme, school rehabilitation, or psychosocial initiative becomes an act of resistance to despair,” he said. “While permanent peace remains the ultimate enabler of prosperity, maintaining human dignity in the present moment is equally critical.”
MAP’s Talbot asserted that for any “meaningful development”, the international community must ensure that humanitarian law is upheld.
“There must be genuine pressure on the Israeli government, as the occupying power, to enforce a permanent ceasefire, open the crossings, and allow the unrestricted entry of aid and medical supplies for thousands of injured Palestinians,” he said.
‘Rebuilding feels like a dream’
After two years of relentless Israeli attacks and destruction, Shaheen said what Palestinians most want in Gaza is to “rebuild [their homes] with their own hands, and to regain a piece of normal life again”.
“Living in the displacement camps is one of the hardest things people are going through now,” he pointed out.
“Most people have no real shelter, only thin, flimsy tents that barely stand against the wind. There’s no space, no privacy, no comfort. When it rains or when the sun burns, there is nowhere to escape.”
However, Shaheen says the scale of devastation raises painful questions about what rebuilding looks like.
“How long will it take just to remove the rubble? We hear that it could take years. And if clearing the debris takes that long, then how long will it take before rebuilding can even begin?” he said.
A view of the heavily damaged Jabalia neighbourhood in northern Gaza [File: Anas Zeyad Fteha/Anadolu Agency]
But more importantly, for Shaheen, rebuilding is not just about “concrete and walls”.
“It is about rebuilding their lives, their sense of safety, and their dignity. They do not just want buildings to rise again, but life to return.”
Israel has violated the ceasefire at least 80 times, according to the Gaza Government Media Office. More than 240 Palestinians, including dozens of children, have been killed by the Israeli army since the ceasefire began.
MAP’s director of advocacy Talbot said the only path to sustainable peace and development in the Strip were “justice and accountability” for the atrocities committed.
“Declarations and summits will remain hollow exercises unless they are matched with political will to end the root causes of Gaza’s suffering, including Israel’s ongoing military occupation and blockade,” he said.
“Palestinians must have self-determination to lead their recovery and define what their future will look like.”
Indonesia’s finance ministry is drafting a bill aimed at redenominating the rupiah, with the process expected to be completed by 2027. - Pixabay pic, November 8, 2025
The republic's currency will lose three zeros by 2027 in a bid to streamline the economy and stabilise the currency
A. Azim Idris Updated 3 hours ago 8 November, 2025 2:51 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR – Indonesia’s finance ministry is drafting a bill aimed at redenominating the rupiah, with the process expected to be completed by 2027.
According to Reuters, the proposed legislation is part of the Ministry of Finance’s strategic programme for 2025–2029.
“The bill on Rupiah Denomination (redenomination) is a follow-up draft law, which is planned for completion by 2027,” according to the regulations.
The bill proposes the removal of three zeros from the rupiah without affecting its purchasing power, aiming to enhance efficiency and simplify financial transactions.
For example, Rp1,000 would become Rp1 after redenomination, but the prices of goods and the purchasing power of the public would remain unchanged.
With just RM251 in their wallets, Malaysians can cross into Indonesia and instantly become millionaires—at least in rupiah terms, thanks to the staggering currency conversion.
The regulation explains that the redenomination initiative seeks to strengthen economic efficiency, improve competitiveness, and maintain growth momentum.
It is also expected to stabilise the rupiah’s value, preserve purchasing power, and boost the currency’s credibility both domestically and internationally.
The move to eliminate zeros from the rupiah has been a long-standing government agenda, with previous administrations having considered implementing the policy.
In 2023, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo stated that the central bank supported the policy but emphasised that its implementation would need to be cautious, taking into account economic and political stability.
In 2017, then-Deputy Governor Mirza Adityaswara noted that the redenomination process could take up to 10 years, requiring public education efforts to avoid confusion about purchasing power.
The proposal to remove three zeros from the currency was last submitted to Parliament in 2013, but it was shelved at the time.
It remains unclear how many digits will be removed under the latest redenomination plan. – November 8, 2025
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South Korea should do the same with their 'wons', ie. remove 3 zeros.
Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip continue as the Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad hands over the body of a deceased captive, as part of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Prosecutors in Turkiye issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 other Israeli officials on charges of carrying out “genocide” in Gaza.
Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in October, the biggest monthly total since 2006.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 68,875 Palestinians and wounded 170,679
Gaza’s death toll rises
Israeli attacks in Gaza over the past three days have killed one person and injured six others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Rescuers also recovered the bodies of nine people killed in earlier strikes, it said.
Those casualties bring the total number of people killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire started on October 10 to 241, with 614 more wounded, said the ministry.
Since the start of the war, 69,169 people have been killed and 170,685 wounded in Gaza.
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Freed Gaza doctor describes horrors in Israeli military prison
Dr Ahmed Muhanna – who spent a year and 10 months in Israeli detention – says Gaza’s decimated health sector suffered heavily through Israel’s 18-year blockade before Israel’s war, but he’s “shocked” at the reality of it now.
He told Al Jazeera from Deir el-Balah that about 70 percent of the functioning hospitals face severe shortages of medicine and essential equipment, and environmental contamination from Israel’s attacks continues to sicken Palestinians.
“We have hundreds of patients coming to the emergency departments due to pollution of water and food. It’s very dangerous,” said Muhanna.
He said his imprisonment by Israel’s army was because “I kept my patients in the hospital.
“In the prison, there was no healthcare, and most of the prisoners suffered from disease. We asked many times to change clothes and for showers, but they refused. For seven months, we didn’t change our clothes, which developed scabies and abscesses. We lost many prisoners due to lack of medications,” said Muhanna.
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WATCH: Torture, leak, outrage – the Sde Teiman affair
The Israeli government is facing what it calls a “public relations disaster” after a video surfaced appearing to show soldiers torturing and sexually assaulting a Palestinian prisoner.
Public outrage in Israel has focused less on the abuse and more on the leak itself. And the military’s chief prosecutor, who admitted leaking the footage, has been arrested and branded a traitor.
same group was also behind Koh’s abduction the following year
High Court ordered gomen, police to pay RM37m for Koh’s 2017 abduction.
High Court ordered gomen to pay RM3m to Amri’s family
Koh family welcomed Wed judgment, describing it as “honest and fair”
validated not only their suffering but all victims of enforced disappearance
call gomen to locate Saiful Bahari Abdul Aziz, id by task force as main suspect
Cabinet, AG no action despite their own report clearly stating police involved
Suhakam, special task force identified police officers linked to abductions
High Court’s verdict reaffirmed these findings
My Comments: The High Court judgement was on Wednesday 5th November 2025. The High Court judgement said the gomen and police must pay the family RM10,000 a day for each day that Pastor Koh is not returned to his family.
Today is Nov 8, 2025. Its been FOUR days. So that is another RM40,000 of taxpayers money. On top of the RM40 million that must be paid.
Ok now lets come to the real story. This part of the story is addressed to Saifuddin Nasution the current Minister of Home Affairs who is in charge of the Police.
NOTE: IN THE PIC ABOVE THOSE WORDS IN WHITE BOLD ARE MINE.
When these abductions happened in 2016 / 2017 the gomen was UMNO / Barisan Nasional. The Prime Minister was the fellow who is now enjoying free food and lodging in Kajang or Sg Buloh somewhere.
Then in 2018 UMNO / BN got kicked out.
UMNO lost the elections on 9th May 2018.
Exactly THREE DAYS later 12 May 2018, SB sergeant Shamzaini Daud "broke".
Shamzaini panicked and met Amri's wife (about 10:30 pm at her house in Perlis).
He told her the police were involved in the disappearance of her husband.
These abductions happened because foolish people (THOSE POLICE OFFICERS) taught the UMNO/BN gomen would never lose the elections. That they will rule forever. That the sun would never set on UMNO's power.
Well UMNO is DEAD. Here is an old chart. This chart shows UMNO's Parliamentary seats from 2004 to 2022 (1999 is BN). You can see that this party started dying even before 2004.
If we follow that trend line, UMNO may win ZERO Parliamentary seats in the next elections in 2027. UMNO IS DEAD.
Then in 2023 there were the State Elections in SIX States (Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan). UMNO got wiped out almost completely. Here are the approximate results:
You can see that UMNO won ZERO seats in Kedah and Terengganu. In Kelantan and Penang they won just one seat. The party is DEAD.
The Sabah elections are coming up next. UMNO is going to DIE. PKR will also lose their pants. This is the end of UMNO in Sabah.
So Brader Saifuddin, it is time to tongsampah UMNO. Everyday that passes they become a bigger liability. Now with this High Court decision awarding RM37 million and RM10,000 per day (until Pastor Koh is returned) to the family of Pastor Koh, it is a matter of time before the political leaders at that time are called to answer.
The political leaders at that time were UMNO.
Dead or alive the bodies of all those people who were abducted and gone missing must be found and returned to their families. Pastor Koh, Amri Che Mat, Pastor Helmi, his wife Ruth Sitepu plus some others who have been mentioned by some NGOs.
The Police officers, including the highest ranking ones, must be held accountable. Throw the book at them. If they have to go to jail let them go to jail.
Let this be a lesson to all policemen NEVER to commit crimes, especially on behalf of others. Do not be stupid.
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