Wear your values: Ronnie Liu to print Rukun Negara on T-shirts

Wear your values: Ronnie Liu to print Rukun Negara on T-shirts


Former DAP leader finds a stylish way to honour the Sultan’s advice, emphasises the need for Malaysians to understand and live by the national principles


Keran Raj
Updated 2 days ago
10 June, 2026
5:00 PM MYT



KUALA LUMPUR – Former DAP leader Ronnie Liu has announced plans to produce T-shirts displaying the five principles of the Rukun Negara, following remarks by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, urging politicians to visit the Rukun Negara monument.

Speaking on a recent Scoop Insight episode hosted by News Editor Azim Idris and Editor-in-Chief Terence Fernandez, Liu said he was not offended by the Sultan’s comments. Instead, he viewed them as a timely reminder of the significance of the national principles.

“That’s why I go ahead to want to do a T-shirt. I want to print all the five principles on the T-shirt,” he said, adding that the designs will be available online in two variations.

He highlighted the Rukun Negara as a vital foundation for the country.

“I agree with Tuanku that the Rukun Negara is the principles, the cornerstone, some may even argue it’s the foundation for a stable and peaceful and harmonious society. That’s the foundation,” Liu said.

The former politician also urged both elected representatives and the public to understand and practise the values enshrined in the Rukun Negara.

Illustration of Ronnie Liu’s Rukun Negara T-shirt designs, featuring all five principles of the national philosophy. – Social media pic, June 10, 2026


“All politicians or even non-politicians should read and understand and actually practise the values of Rukun Negara. To me, to go there every week and every now and then, okay, is not a big issue. I think all of us should go,” he said.

Liu acted on the Sultan’s advice by visiting Dataran Selangor earlier this morning to, as His Royal Highness put it, “reflect on the Rukun Negara.”

The initiative aligns with the Sultan’s broader effort to foster national unity and civic awareness, highlighted by the installation of a Rukun Negara Monument Plaque and visitor benches at Dataran Selangor, opposite the state flagpole. Funded personally by the Sultan, the monument aims to encourage Malaysians to revisit and internalise the principles of the national philosophy regularly.

As part of this initiative, the Sultan has recommended that members of the public, including elected representatives, visit the site at least twice a month. He specifically advised Liu and Seri Kembangan assemblywoman Wong Siew Ki to make weekly visits to uphold the Rukun Negara, demonstrate respect for the Royal institution, and maintain courtesy and moral discipline. – June 10, 2026

'I will come home safely': Indian sailor's last words to wife before a US strike killed him

'I will come home safely': Indian sailor's last words to wife before a US strike killed him

6 hours ago
Srinivas Lakkoju, BBC Telugu, and
Nikita Yadav

Patnala Bhargavi
Patnala Suresh was looking forward to celebrating his 15th wedding anniversary this month


"He told me he would be home soon. I never imagined he would return like this," says Patnala Bhargavi, whose husband Patnala Suresh, an Indian sailor, was killed in a US strike near the Gulf of Oman this week.

The couple were looking forward to celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary this month. Instead, Bhargavi is trying to come to terms with a future without him.

Suresh was one of three Indian sailors killed when the US military struck the MT Settebello, an oil tanker, in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday. The attack was part of Washington's effort to enforce a blockade on Iran-linked shipping, with the US military saying the tanker had ignored repeated warnings and was carrying Iranian oil. The vessel's managers dispute that account, saying it had no connection to Iran and received no warning before it was hit. Twenty-one other crew members were rescued.

The deaths have reverberated across India, from Bhargavi's home in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to towns and villages hundreds of kilometres away, where other families are mourning loved ones who left home to earn a living at sea.

As they grieve, many are also seeking answers about the circumstances of the strike and waiting for the sailors' bodies to be returned home.

In a post on X, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said efforts were under way to bring the sailors' bodies back, describing their deaths as a "profound loss" to India's maritime community.

India has also lodged a strong protest with Washington over the strike, summoning a senior US diplomat and calling for an end to attacks on commercial vessels in the region.

For Bhargavi, however, the wider geopolitical fallout feels distant.


Visitors have barely stopped coming home since news of Suresh's death reached them. Amid the condolences, Bhargavi keeps returning to their last conversation.

"There have been attacks in this area and some people have been killed. But don't worry about me. I'll come home safely, and we'll celebrate our anniversary properly," she recalls him saying.

Surrounded by photographs of Suresh and their two children, the 39-year-old now struggles to reconcile that promise with her husband's death.

CentcomCentcom posted what it said was footage of the strike on the ship's engine room

Suresh had spent around 15 years at sea, working as a marine engineer and travelling the world.

As the ship's chief engineer, he was entitled to six months' leave each year. But he rarely took that much time off, according to his father Ramakrishna.

"He loved his work and preferred to spend most of his time at sea," he told the BBC.

His family had long grown accustomed to the months he spent away from home.


The couple usually spoke on video calls every few days, sometimes with other crew members joining in to say hello. But from 5 June, the calls became increasingly difficult. By 9 June, they had stopped altogether.

"I thought it was just a network problem because they were at sea," Bhargavi said.

For two days, she waited for news, before finally finding out that her husband had been killed in the strike.

At first, the family clung to hope that there had been some mistake and that Suresh would be found alive. But that hope quickly faded.

On Thursday, Bhargavi said the ship's management told the family that there had been no chance of escape when the strike happened. Suresh was inspecting a fault in one of the ship's generators at the time, she said.

The family is now calling for his body to be brought back to India and seeking financial assistance from the government, saying he was the household's sole breadwinner.

Suresh leaves behind two sons and two nieces he helped raise after Bhargavi's elder sister and brother-in-law died.

"The entire family depended on his income. Now I don't know how I'll educate or raise the children," Bhargavi says.

Saurabh Chauhan and @CMOFFICEHP Shivanand Chaurasia (left) and Aditya Sharma were also killed in the US strike


The same questions echo through the homes of the two other sailors killed in the strike.

In Hamirpur district in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, the family of 23-year-old Aditya Sharma is mourning the loss of their only son.

"I want my son's body to be returned to us. We should also be told what happened in his final moments," his father, Rajesh Sharma, told BBC Hindi.

Rajesh Sharma also questioned whether enough had been done to save the crew.

"The others were rescued, so why couldn't these three be saved?" he asked.

More than 1,000km (621 miles) away in Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh, the family of 35-year-old Shivanand Chaurasia is grappling with the same grief.

A fitter by profession, Chaurasia had left home around eight months ago to work for a foreign shipping company.

"We spoke to him the night before last. He told us everything was fine," his father, Ramji Chaurasia, told ANI news agency. "Now we have been told that he is no more."

Like Bhargavi in Visakhapatnam, both families are waiting for their loved ones' bodies to be returned.

For them, the geopolitical tensions that brought the tanker into the spotlight feel far away. What matters now is the chance to see their sons and husbands one last time, they say.

***

Immensely cruel and callous to kill civilians in a civil (non-military) ship - S-Whole wanks

Indira, 13 others fail to strike down unilateral conversion laws in seven states

Indira, 13 others fail to strike down unilateral conversion laws in seven states

Farah Solhi
Published: Jun 12, 2026 3:49 PM
Updated: 7:24 PM



The Kuala Lumpur High Court today dismissed an originating summons filed by M Indira Gandhi and 13 others seeking to strike down unilateral conversion provisions in seven states, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to bring the action.

Delivering her decision online, judge Aliza Sulaiman said the plaintiffs failed to meet the threshold requirement of locus standi and had not demonstrated a genuine interest in obtaining the declarations sought.

She also noted that the case was commenced by way of an originating summons rather than a judicial review challenging legislation or a policy decision, and that only the 13th and 14th plaintiffs had filed affidavits in support of the action.

Aliza said that even if the court were to regard the plaintiffs as public-spirited individuals and associations, it could not conclude that they had a sufficient interest in the matter.

“The first plaintiff (Indira) is, of course, the central figure in the well-known unilateral conversion litigation in the (Federal Court) Indira Gandhi decision.

“(However) she did not file any affidavit to depose or demonstrate how her interest would be affected if the relief sought is not granted.

Kuala Lumpur court complex


“Whatever grievances the first plaintiff had, have been conclusively and fully dealt with in the Indira Gandhi decision. (Therefore) her interest in this matter is purely academic in nature,” said Aliza, making no order as to costs in this case.

The suit, filed on March 23, 2023, relied on the landmark 2018 Federal Court ruling arising from Indira’s legal battle against her Muslim convert ex-husband, who had unilaterally converted their three children to Islam without her consent.

In the present action, the plaintiffs sought declarations invalidating unilateral conversion provisions in Islamic enactments in the federal territories, Perlis, Kedah, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, and Johor, arguing that they were inconsistent with Articles 12(4) and 75 of the Federal Constitution.

The Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (Maiwp) and the Johor Islamic Religious Council participated in the proceedings as interveners.

Apart from Indira, the plaintiffs comprised Malaysia Hindu Sangam, its former chairperson S Mohan, Indira Gandhi Action Team chairperson Arun Dorasamy, two individuals who claimed to be victims of unilateral conversion, and eight residents from the affected states.


Plaintiffs lacked sufficient interest

In her judgment, Aliza said there was no evidence showing that the second to fourth plaintiffs were office-bearers or representatives of the religious and community groups they claimed to represent.

She also found no evidence that the sixth to 12th plaintiffs had minor children who could be affected by the impugned provisions.

According to the judge, the only plaintiffs whose affidavits addressed the laws in question were the 13th and 14th plaintiffs, who claimed they had been converted to Islam before the Federal Court’s 2018 decision.

However, Aliza said the pair had not sought to challenge or nullify their own conversions and did not have minor children who could be affected by the operation of the state laws.

“Basically, this is a case where the plaintiffs take the position that the existence of the impugned provisions constitutes a violation of the constitutional provisions as interpreted in the Indira Gandhi decision.

“The evidence simply does not disclose an actual controversy affecting the plaintiffs’ rights,” Aliza said, adding that the constitutionality of a law cannot be challenged collaterally.

***

I was under the impression a Federal Court ruling, as for the case of Indira Gandhi, would have superseded and thus replaced/corrected State laws on religious conversions - alas, I have been wrong! Frigg!😡😡😡

Lawyer claims Tunku Panglima Besar appointment unconstitutional

Lawyer claims Tunku Panglima Besar appointment unconstitutional


Published: Jun 12, 2026 3:02 PM
Updated: 5:48 PM



Lawyer Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz today claimed that the appointment of Tunku Zain Al-'Abidin as the new Tunku Panglima Besar Negeri Sembilan is unconstitutional.

In a statement on Facebook, the activist, who is one of the lawyers for the Jelebu undang (territorial chieftain), based his argument on the alleged absence of consultation with the state ruling chiefs, as per Article 26(a) of the state constitution.

The provision states that the Yang di-Pertuan Besar must first consult the ruling chiefs before conferring any titles or badges.

Khairul, known as Buzze Azam on social media, pointed to Article 34(1), relying on its definition for "ruling chiefs" in the second part of the state constitution as referring to the four territorial chieftains.

"Even if the Sungai Ujong and Rembau undangs are not taken into account by the Yamtuan Besar (Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan), His Highness still needs to consult with the undangs of Jelebu and Johol, as well as the tunku besar Tampin.

"Unfortunately, the consultation with the ruling chiefs was not held before the recent conferment of the title of Tunku Panglima Besar," he claimed.

A Malaysiakini review of the constitution found that Articles 14 and 15 under Chapter Five, titled "Ruling Chiefs", concern not only the four territorial chieftains but also the tunku besar Tampin and the datuk syahbandar.

Khairul added that legally, the failure to comply with this requirement in Tunku Zain's appointment could be challenged in court, or the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang, the council of justice and adat (Malay custom) established under Article 16 of the state constitution.

Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz


Prolonged royal crisis

Negeri Sembilan is facing a prolonged dispute involving its state royal institution and the customary rulers.

Yesterday, Negeri Sembilan ruler Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir proclaimed Tunku Zain, his second child, as the new Tunku Panglima Besar Negeri Sembilan as a replacement for Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar, who had supposedly lost his right to the hereditary title for trying to usurp the Yang di-Pertuan Besar’s position recently.

On June 9, the state Comptroller of the Royal Household, Azizi Ali, said the ceremony proclaiming Tunku Nadzaruddin as the state ruler is invalid under the state’s constitution, law, and customs.

Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar


Last week, the brief ceremony proclaiming Tunku Nadzaruddin as the state ruler took place at a hotel in Alor Gajah, Malacca, after much commotion between the police and undangs.

The ceremonial event, which is believed to have initially been scheduled to take place at the tunku besar Tampin’s office, was held at a space in a hotel after police allegedly barred Tunku Nadzaruddin from leaving the premises.

Police were also said to have attempted to bring Tunku Nadzaruddin to Kuala Lumpur before his installation could take place.

Later, former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Rais Yatim, who is also a scholar of “adat perpatih” (the Minangkabau customary law), stressed that based on the state constitution, the roles required for the installation had been sufficiently fulfilled.


State legislature dissolution

The issue came to public attention in April, when the four chieftains had announced Tunku Nadzaruddin as the next ruler, after a dispute over the removal of Mubarak Thahak as the undang of Sungai Ujong.

The Undang Yang Empat had also declared their unanimous agreement to remove Tuanku Muhriz as Yang di-Pertuan Besar after they launched an investigation into the latter on March 5 for alleged transgressions in his royal duties.

Caretaker Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Aminuddin Harun sided with Tuanku Muhriz against the undangs, leading to the uncertainty regarding the state’s royal institution.

Aminuddin Harun

This resulted in Negeri Sembilan BN withdrawing support from Aminuddin.

However, an attempt to form a new government failed, resulting in the PKR vice-president heading a minority government until the state legislature was dissolved.

***

Dei, come to think of it, what happened to the bloke who proclaimed himself Sultan of Melaka? 😂😂😂

News

Self-proclaimed 'Malacca sultan' dies of Covid-19

Bernama

Published:  Aug 21, 2021 8:14 PM

⋅

Updated: Sep 13, 2021 11:45 PM

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A businessperson who claimed to be the "sultan of Malacca", Noor Jan Tuah or better known as Raja Noor Jan Shah Raja Tuah, was reported to have died believed to be due to Covid-19. He was 64.

Noor Jan was reported to have died at Selayang Hospital, Kuala Lumpur 

Nga slams EC's separate state polls explanation as 'absurd', says should resign

Nga slams EC's separate state polls explanation as 'absurd', says should resign


Published: Jun 12, 2026 8:04 PM
Updated: 10:04 PM



Several politicians have questioned the Election Commission’s choice of dates for the upcoming state election in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, particularly its decision to hold them separately.

This followed the EC’s announcement that the elections would be held three weeks apart on July 11 and Aug 1, respectively, due to logistical hurdles that prevented them from being held simultaneously.

DAP deputy chairperson Nga Kor Ming said the EC’s explanation is “absurd” and “ridiculous”, and the entire commission should resign if it cannot hold simultaneous elections for two states that dissolved their assemblies just three days apart.

“If the EC is incapable of handling simultaneous elections for just two states, what will happen during a general election?

“Since parliamentary and state elections could be held simultaneously in the past, why can’t Johor and Negeri Sembilan, which dissolved their assemblies just three days apart, be scheduled to vote on the same day?

“The EC must explain clearly to the people exactly what objective criteria were used to make this decision.

“Was it due to administrative considerations, logistical issues, or other reasons behind the scenes? The people have a right to know the truth,” he said in a statement today.


‘Logistical hurdles’

Earlier, EC chairperson Ramlan Harun explained that the elections could not be held simultaneously due to logistical considerations, election personnel training, and the level of operational preparedness.

“In Negeri Sembilan, the dissolution came unexpectedly, and the situation was not one of readiness. We need time for them to be fully focused.

“We will complete the Johor state election first, and then deploy all the teams (from Johor) to assist in Negeri Sembilan.

“If the elections are held simultaneously, there simply would not be enough time for preparations,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

Election Commission chief Ramlan Harun


However, Muda vice-president Leben Siddarth said while this may explain why polling for Negeri Sembilan will be held later, it does not explain why Johor’s election date could not be aligned accordingly.

“If the objective was to ensure adequate preparation, then extending Johor’s timeline by a short period would have achieved the same outcome while allowing both elections to be conducted simultaneously,” he said in a statement.

He highlighted that holding simultaneous elections would have reduced costs, simplified logistics, and reduced strain on election workers and volunteers.

Leben also said it would have created a more level playing field, minimised the influence of one election’s outcome on another, and allowed parties, candidates, observers, and the media to focus resources more effectively.

Muda vice-president Leben Siddarth


“When one state votes before another, the results inevitably shape political narratives, media coverage, voter sentiment, and campaign strategies. Momentum from one election can influence another.

“This is why many are questioning whether the decision to separate the polling dates was purely administrative or whether political considerations were taken into account,” he said.


What about outstation voters?

Meanwhile, Nga also questioned the decision to hold the election on a Saturday, saying it could prevent people who live out of state from turning up to vote.

As an example, he highlighted that 450,000 Malaysian voters work in Singapore.

“Yet, they deliberately chose to set polling day on a Saturday, leaving one to suspect whether this arrangement is a disguised attempt to hinder outstation voters from returning home to exercise their democratic rights.

“In multiple past by-elections, the EC scheduled polling days on Sundays to facilitate outstation voters returning home to fulfil their civic duty and boost voter turnout.

“Now they are doing the exact opposite; what motivation is hidden behind this?” he said.

West Bank ethnic cleansing, settler attacks Israel’s state policy: Amnesty

Israel is using war crimes and crimes against humanity to ‘accelerate’ its ‘annexation agenda and settlement expansion’, according to the global rights group.

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An Israeli settler, centre, stands between Israeli forces gathering before Palestinians along a road who had gathered to protest Israeli settlers reportedly setting fire to an area in the Palestinian village of Idhna, west of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on June 5, 2026 [AFP]

By Al Jazeera Staff

Published On 10 Jun 202610 Jun 2026

The displacement of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank forms part of a deliberate Israeli government strategy of ethnic cleansing rather than the actions of a few “rogue” settlers or far-right government ministers, according to global rights group Amnesty International.

The release of Amnesty’s new report comes on Wednesday as the Israeli government has approved record levels of illegal settlement expansion and annexation of large parts of the West Bank in recent months.

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“The [displacement] campaign is not the product of ‘rogue’ settlers, settlers’ organizations or ‘extremist’ government ministers … settler violence is not an aberration but an integral part of an organized state policy,” read the report.

Israeli settler attacks particularly affect Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in the West Bank.

At least 117 villages in the West Bank have been subject to either complete or partial displacement due to settler attacks, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

This resulted in about 5,910 people being “forced to leave their homes” between January 2023 and December 2025, according to the Amnesty International report.

Most of the affected villages were “designated as part of Area C under the 1995 Oslo II Accords, placing [them] under full Israeli military and administrative control”, continued the report. Area C comprises more than 60 percent of the West Bank.

For instance, just one kilometre (0.6 miles) from the village of Zanuta, where Palestinian Bedouins have lived for generations, “Israeli settlers established an illegal outpost known as Meitarim Farm in 2021,” said the report.

“The settlers soon began a sustained campaign of violent attacks and threats against Zanuta’s residents,” continued the report, adding that the attacks included settlers breaking into the homes of residents to attack them and emptying “their water tanks and pumping sewage onto their farmland”.

The report says that while the village’s residents “repeatedly reported settler attacks to the Israeli police … no action was ever taken”.

Supreme Court order ignored

In July 2024 and February 2025, Israel’s Supreme Court then ordered the police and military to facilitate residents’ return to their village and protect them from settler attacks.

“The Israeli police and military ignored both rulings [and] every attempt by residents to return was met with continued settler violence and the acquiescence of Israeli forces,” the report said.

Instead of calls for restraint, the settlers “received state backing to intensify their violent campaign”, it added.

In April last year, far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Orit Strock distributed a range of weapons, including all-terrain vehicles, to settlers living in the Hebron area during an event at Meitarim Farm.

“The heroic and pioneering settlers who live here are doing Zionism, and they need security … We are here to build with them and to settle the land,” said Smotrich, who also praised settler land seizures.

[Al Jazeera]

“The ethnic cleansing campaign in Area C is state-sanctioned, state-driven and state-implemented; it seeks to accelerate the Israeli government’s annexation agenda and settlement expansion through war crimes and crimes against humanity,” read Amnesty International’s report.

In it, the rights group called on the international community to “prevent the destruction of Palestinian communities and the annexation of the West Bank”.

Israel’s Security Cabinet approved the establishment of 34 illegal settlements in the West Bank in April, the largest number of settlements approved in a single cabinet session.

This brings the total number of illegal settlements approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government since it came to power in late 2022 to 103.

While Israeli forces and settlers have consistently carried out attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank for decades, there has been a surge in attacks since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023.

Over that period, Israeli forces in the West Bank have detained at least 23,000 Palestinians, most of whom were later released.