Oil prices rose further on Tuesday as tensions between the United States and Iran fuelled fears of renewed military clashes, following a weekend flare-up and President Donald Trump’s warning of a ‘hard’ response. — AFP file pic
Summary
Oil prices rose as fears of US-Iran conflict increased after military exchanges, causing concerns over inflation and interest rate hikes.
US and Iran exchanged military strikes, raising fears of further hostilities, with Trump promising a strong response.
Asian stock markets mainly fell amid concerns over inflation and interest rate changes, with key economic data expected before the Federal Reserve's meeting.
First Published: Tuesday, 01 Sep 2026 10:59 AM MYT
HONG KONG, Sept 1 — Oil prices extended gains Tuesday amid fears of a fresh bout of military exchanges between the United States and Iran following a flare-up at the weekend and Donald Trump’s warning that he will hit the country “hard”.
The latest bout of strikes between the foes has further stoked worries about inflation that has put pressure on central banks to hike interest rates, which has in turn jolted equity markets.
After six months of war, the conflict remains at an impasse, with Tehran keeping the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed and Washington continuing a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
The United States carried out strikes on an Iranian island in the waterway on Sunday, with Tehran quickly retaliating by attacking US military targets in the Middle East.
The exchange raised fears of a return to major hostilities, with the US president vowing to respond.
“We’re going to hit them hard,” Trump said, according to a Fox News reporter who spoke to him briefly. “There will be a response.”
US officials said it hit rocket launchers on the island of Larak to prevent Tehran planting mines in the strait, while Iran targeted US forces in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
The exchange of fire came after weeks of relative calm, with the Trump administration recently pivoting to “economic warfare”.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “We are going to continue exerting pressure, and we’ve had very good discussions here already.”
He told reporters at a G20 meeting in North Carolina that a turning point in the pressure campaign could come “within weeks or months”.
Both main crude contracts rose Tuesday, extending the previous day’s jump of more than two percent.
“The calibrated nature of the initial actions suggests neither side is actively seeking a return to sustained conflict, but stalled talks and the strategic importance of keeping the Strait open leave the situation vulnerable to further escalation,” said National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril.
Trump will be meeting oil refining executives on Tuesday in a bid to tame soaring US domestic gas prices that have been a political headache for his Republican Party heading into November’s midterm elections.
Stocks mostly fell, with traders now awaiting the release of key data this month ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on September 16.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington were all down, though Taipei, Manila and Jakarta rose.
The jobs and consumer price index reports could play a major role in whether the bank hikes rates, with bets on an increase surging after boss Kevin Warsh’s hawkish speech on Friday.
Expectations for elevated inflation and rising borrowing costs pushed the yield on 10-year US Treasuries to their highest level since January 2025.
That has bled into Asia, with 10-year Japanese government bond yields touching a 30-year high on Monday.
In company news, fast-fashion giant Shein fell more than nine percent on its long-awaited Hong Kong trading debut, having raised US$1.7 billion (RM6.9 billion) in a high-profile initial public offering.
And shares in MediaTek soared nearly 10 per cent after US tech giant Nvidia announced it has injected US$3.5 billion into the Taiwanese chipmaker. — AFP
US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll testifies on budget requests during a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, May 12, 2026. Driscoll has submitted his resignation, the White House confirmed Monday, following reports of tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. — AFP pic
Summary
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has resigned due to reported tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, confirmed by the White House.
Driscoll's tenure was marked by advancements in military readiness and negotiations with Russia and Ukraine.
His resignation could leave the Army with a leadership gap amidst the ongoing Iran conflict.
First Published: Tuesday, 01 Sep 2026 9:42 AM MYT
WASHINGTON, Sept 1 — US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation, the White House confirmed Monday, following reports of tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Asked about a Wall Street Journal report that Driscoll had resigned, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly did not deny it.
“Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army,” Kelly said.
She cited his “outstanding leadership” during US military operations, “restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and more.”
She added: “The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War.”
If accepted, Driscoll’s resignation would mark the latest departure of a senior military leader under President Donald Trump administration.
A former law school classmate of Vice President JD Vance, Driscoll had reportedly benefited from their friendship within the administration, but clashed with Hegseth.
An Army veteran who served in Iraq, Driscoll ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2020 and later advised Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign.
With the Iran war entering its seventh month, the resignation could effectively leaves the Army without permanent civilian or uniformed leadership. Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April and has yet to nominate a permanent successor. — AFP
Visitors walk outside the National Registration Department in Putrajaya on September 23, 2025. — Picture by Raymond Manuel
Summary
The National Registration Department (NRD) in Kuala Lumpur is transitioning to a new-generation MyKad, leading to temporary disruptions in printing services until September 7.
The department advises the public to postpone non-urgent MyKad transactions, including replacements, renewals, and first-time applications for children turning 12.
The NRD expressed gratitude for public cooperation and encouraged staying informed through official channels, while apologizing for any inconvenience caused.
First Published: Tuesday, 01 Sep 2026 10:55 AM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 — The National Registration Department (NRD) is transitioning from the existing MyKad structure to the new-generation MyKad, causing temporary disruptions to its printing services.
In a statement today, the NRD announced that the printing disruption is expected to last from today through Sept 7.
In light of this, the department advises members of the public who do not urgently need to replace or renew their MyKad to postpone such transactions during this period.
Parents or guardians of first-time applicants, particularly children reaching the age of 12, are also advised to hold off on applying for now, so that their children can obtain the new-generation MyKad when it becomes available.
JPN also expressed its appreciation for the public’s patience and cooperation throughout this transitional period.
“The department apologises for any inconvenience caused in connection with this matter,” the statement read.
Members of the public are urged to stay updated on further developments regarding the new-generation MyKad by following JPN’s official channels. — Bernama
Nuclear weapons have long stood as the ultimate deterrent in great-power relations, embodied in the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD). The concept holds that any nuclear exchange between major powers would ensure the annihilation of both sides, making deliberate first use irrational.
The Doomsday Clock, maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, tracks how close humanity stands to catastrophe from nuclear risks and other existential threats. Only once have nuclear weapons been employed in war by the United States against Japan in 1945.
The human and moral consequences of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were so severe that a powerful taboo against their use took hold, even as arsenals expanded dramatically during the Cold War.
That taboo has held through decades of conventional conflicts. Nuclear options were never seriously contemplated in Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, or other U.S. military engagements. Yet recent discussion surrounding the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict has revived speculation about tactical nuclear weapons.
The irony is absurd where initial U.S. and Israeli actions against Iran were framed in significant part as efforts to prevent Tehran from acquiring its own nuclear capability.
In an interview with podcaster Tucker Carlson, former National Counterterrorism Center director and presidential counterterrorism adviser Joe Kent addressed the possibility directly.
Kent, who resigned earlier in 2026 over disagreements with the administration’s Iran policy, argued that if Washington remains committed to removing Iran’s leadership and compelling total surrender, conventional options are running short.
A full-scale ground invasion, he said, is “not feasible whatsoever” given Iran’s size, terrain, and population. Playing out the logic of regime change long enough, Kent claimed, leads relatively quickly to consideration of weapons of mass destruction.
Kent described a hypothetical limited nuclear strike against deeply buried uranium enrichment facilities in Iran’s mountainous regions as one possible path under discussion in extreme scenarios. “We would be fools to think that this couldn’t happen here, in this current scenario, especially as the [Trump] administration scrambles for a way out,” Kent stated.
President Donald Trump has issued stark public warnings. In April he declared that Iran’s “whole civilization will die” absent compliance with U.S. demands. He has repeatedly spoken of the capacity to obliterate civilian infrastructure, such as power plants, bridges, and more.
Carlson and others have interpreted such language as implicitly raising the nuclear threshold, arguing that total destruction of a civilization on that scale would be difficult to achieve solely with conventional means.
Kent’s remarks came against a backdrop of reported strains on U.S. precision munitions and interceptor stockpiles after months of strikes. The administration has suspended certain waves of attacks, with media accounts citing depletion of high-end munitions. Trump and senior officials have firmly denied shortages, insisting ample inventories remain.
In an apparent tactical shift, Trump recently announced a “CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION” against Iran, labeling it “ECONOMIC D-DAY.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent followed with expansive new sanctions targeting nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels across jurisdictions, including many linked to China.
The stated goal is to render Iran an economic outcast by punishing any actors facilitating its financial networks or money laundering, with threats of removal from the U.S. dollar system.
These developments illustrate the limits of pure military pressure. Iran’s geography, air defenses, dispersed and hardened facilities, and ability to retaliate through proxies, ballistic missiles, and disruption of the Strait of Hormuz have complicated efforts to force rapid political collapse from the air.
Economic isolation seeks to achieve what bombing has not yet delivered. Yet the persistence of maximalist political aims, total surrender and leadership change keeps extreme military options theoretically on the table in some analysts’ minds.
Serious institutional, strategic, and normative barriers remain against nuclear first use. The United States maintains a vast conventional advantage and has historically treated nuclear weapons as a last resort for existential threats, not tools for regime change against a non-nuclear state.
Escalation risks are enormous: any nuclear employment could shatter the global non-proliferation regime, invite retaliation or proliferation by others, alienate allies, and produce long-term humanitarian and environmental catastrophe. Domestic political costs would be severe. Even tactical or limited strikes against underground targets would cross a threshold unbroken since 1945 and invite unpredictable second- and third-order effects.
Kent’s comments and Trump’s rhetoric highlight genuine frustration over stalled objectives and the high costs of prolonged conflict. They do not constitute official policy or an imminent decision. The administration’s pivot toward intensified sanctions suggests a preference for non-nuclear leverage at present.
Whether economic pressure can compel the desired political outcome remains uncertain. What is clear is that introducing nuclear weapons into the equation would represent a profound break with decades of restraint, one whose consequences would extend far beyond Iran and reshape international security for generations. The historical record and the logic of deterrence counsel extreme caution.
In contrast, the Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky recently told Tucker Carlson that Moscow could have employed tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine long ago to secure a decisive military victory, yet deliberately chose not to do so.
Speaking in late August 2026, Slutsky emphasized that Russia prioritizes minimizing civilian casualties and does not view nuclear arms as instruments of terror in the manner of the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Slutsky stated that such weapons would only be considered if Western powers supplied Ukraine with weapons of mass destruction, expressing hope that the situation would not reach that point.
This public assertion of self-imposed limits, coming from a senior Russian lawmaker, underscores how even nuclear-armed states engaged in high-stakes conventional wars have so far adhered to the post-1945 taboo against nuclear use, preferring other means despite the theoretical availability of the ultimate option.
Aday before former human resources minister M Saravanan was charged on Friday (August 28) with receiving bribes amounting to RM1.097 million to approve foreign worker quotas, he publicly trumpeted how he had written to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday about what he called the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) “wild and baseless” allegations”.
It was a preemptive measure to create a perception that not only he was innocent, but also to align himself with the Prime Minister – hoping to enjoy special immunity and to intimidate the judiciary. Shedding crocodile tears, he claimed certain individuals were allegedly coerced into implicating him, and that neither he nor his family was personally involved in recruiting foreign workers.
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However, by dragging Anwar into his personal corruption charges, it has actually done more harm than good. Saravanan’s public announcement seeking help from Anwar would create a narrative that the PM could pull strings to help the ex-HR minister escape prosecution by using his power, influence and connections to pressure both the Judicial and the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).
Saravanan’s tactical error saw PM Anwar distancing himself, saying he has yet to receive the so-called letter from the former HR minister and would refer it to the MACC, the AGC, or the relevant authorities for consideration. If Mr Saravanan still hasn’t realized that he is being “targeted by design, and not coincidence” in the latest political manoeuvre, then he is stupider than he looks.
Yes, like former Lembaga Tabung Haji chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim and former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, who were arrested, handcuffed, and detained by the MACC in the investigations of Tabung Haji scandal, Saravanan is joining the party because the Madani government needs to impress upon voters about its anti-corruption drive before the next 16th General Election.
Pleading not guilty to three charges of corruption, 58-year-old Saravanan – who is also deputy president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component party of Barisan Nasional, which is part of Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government – is accused of receiving the money on three occasions to approve applications for a quota of 1,000 foreign workers for Kuala Lumpur-based firm TYKB Engineering Sdn Bhd.
According to the first and second charges, Saravanan received kickbacks of RM150,000 and RM350,000 in cash from Vectica Resources director Tan Teck Lim via Syed Amirul Syed Ahmad at Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Resorts and at Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar, on June 16 and July 7, 2022. For the third charge, he received RM597,000 through a cheque from the same person, deposited into a Big Seven Ventures bank account at Maybank Jalan Klang Lama, Taman Desa, on July 7, 2022.
Saravanan Murugan, the Member of Parliament for Tapah since 2008, was appointed as the Secretary in MIC Federal Territory by former MIC president Samy Vellu in 1997. He had also served as deputy ministers under Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak administrations. It was not until 2020 that he was made a full minister – Minister of Human Resources – that came with “golden opportunities”.
Born and raised in gang-infested Sentul, it wasn’t hard for Saravanan to click with the big boss of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component party of the corrupted Barisan Nasional coalition. After all, Samy Vellu was the infamous Godfather of Indian gangsters in the 1980s and 1990s, who served under the Mahathir leadership during his 22-year-iron-fist rule (1981-2003).
When Tamil Malar Daily exposed in 2017 how Mr Saravanan stole from the rental collection of the state MIC building, the then-Deputy Youth and Sports Minister brought mobsters to the media office and beat up its General Manager and staff. The attacks saw journalists and employees of the newspaper company left bleeding, injured and even suffered some broken teeth.
But unlike Bollywood movies, there was no happy ending for the poor owner and staff of the Tamil Malar Daily. The despicable MIC leader was as untouchable as former Prime Minister Najib, who himself had stolen billions in the 1MDB scandal before he lost power in the May 2018 General Election, and whose political party – UMNO – had ruled the country almost uninterrupted since independence in 1957.
Also known as “XXXXX Saravanan”, he had never been arrested, let alone prosecuted, but was let go with a slap on the wrist – until now. As Human Resource Minister under the illegitimate backdoor PM Muhyiddin Yassin (March 2020-August 2021) and PM Ismail Sabri (August 2021-November 2022), the MIC deputy president boldly enriched himself through corruption and money laundering.
In fact, Saravanan was so corrupt that he actually did not deny the involvement of MIC members in the misappropriation of funds from “PenjanaKerjaya” involving a total of RM100 million. The programme-turned-scandal, under Muhyiddin’s National Economic Recovery Plan, offered financial incentives of between RM600 and RM1,000 to employers for each employee or apprentice employed for up to six months.
But the biggest“dirty money” machine was the hiring of foreign workers into the country. On June 16, 2022, Saravanan said that Bangladesh and Malaysia had agreed to a limit of 25 agencies to recruit Bangladeshi workers for Malaysia. However, the next day, Bangladesh’s Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad rubbished the statement.
Mr Imran had also clarified that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by both countries did not mention anything about 25 agencies. Worse, despite admitting that there was a surplus of illegal Bangladeshi workers in the country, Saravanan had pushed to bring in more Bangladeshis. And the disgraced human resource minister deliberately set a limit of 25 agencies to create monopoly.
The clueless, incompetent and corrupt regime of Muhyiddin saw the cost of hiring foreign workers shot up from about RM16,000 to RM20,000 per worker because various agencies involved had to “sharethe money at different levels”. The cost of hiring was incredibly ridiculous that Bangladesh had refused to send any workers in 2020 – till a transparent system was in place.
The Bangladeshi government wanted the Malaysian government to connect to their online system to detect irregularities, but was declined. If the Malaysian labour market is allowed to link directly to the Bangladeshi system, it would kill syndicates and middlemen, ending the monopoly and corruption. It’s not rocket science why Saravanan rejected it – he was on top of the food chain of the lucrative market.
To get an idea of how lucrative the business has made Saravanan and his cronies mega rich, look no further than the operation carried out by a Multi-Agency Task Force (MATF) led by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on July 24, 2023. Over RM38 million cash and 200kg of gold worth over RM60 million were seized along with 17 luxury vehicles such as Ferrari and Maserati.
Involving the police, Immigration Department, Customs Department, Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Bank), Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) as well as Cyber Security Malaysia (CSM), the special operation saw raids carried out in 34 locations in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor involving 315 officers. The man behind the crimes was “Dato Malik”, the proxy and bag carrier for Saravanan.
Abdul Malik Dasthigeer, commonly known as “Dato Malik”, was the trusted lieutenant of the former human resource minister entrusted to launder dirty money from the Bangladeshi recruitment business. Also known for distributing Indian movies and bringing in artists from India to perform Tamil concerts in Malaysia, Malik was arrested and grilled by the MACC.
Also arrested was businessman-cum-politician “Datuk V Saravanan Kumar”, who was linked to former ruling party Bersatu, and “Datuk Shafee Zaman”, owner of Tamil newspaper Nanban. More than 30 suspects had been identified by the anti-corruption agency, busting a syndicate involved in corruption, smuggling, money laundering, and illegal tax evasion.
Crucially, the MACC had also frozen funds amounting to RM500 million linked to Malik. If this crook has in his possession RM500 million, imagine the real wealth of ex-minister Saravanan? There’s a reason why Saravanan was known as “XXXXX Saravanan”. In 2021, Malik was exposed by a local newspaper as not only a criminal involved in the illegal smuggling business, but was also a drug dealer.
Yes, the MIC gangster did not become a multi-millionaire (or even a billionaire) from his venture into an agricultural business – coconut cultivation – as he would like the people to believe. Rather, it was his venture into illegal businesses, using Dato Malik as his proxy and cover, and links to underground Mafia that made him super-rich, so much so he believed he could buy his way out with money.
However, the arrogant politician will not be able to count on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to bail him out this time. Saravanan was a traitor – one of Barisan Nasional MPs who had signed the Statutory Declaration to support rival Bersatu president Muhyiddin as prime minister after the 15th General Election that produced a hung Parliament in November 2022..
Not only had Saravanan betrayed the leadership of UMNO president Zahid Hamidi, but he had shown that he was an untrustworthy ally of Anwar-led Unity Government. In December 2022, he deliberately went out for lunch and did not return for the counting of votes in the deputy speaker election, causing Alice Lau of Pakatan Harapan to receive only 146 votes instead of 148 two-thirds majority votes.
Like former premier Najib Razak, who had been sent to prison for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering, Saravanan is another shameless crook who did not blink twice about stealing RM19 million disbursed for a chilli planting programme to Yayasan NAAM (New Affirmative Action Movement), a foundation led by himself.
Clearly, both Anwar and Zahid have no problems hanging Saravanan to dry. The Premier, desperate to boost his credential after he led Pakatan Harapan coalition to three crushing defeats in the Sabah, Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections, hopes to reverse negative perception about his empty promises on reforms and anti-corruption by charging bigsharks like Saravanan.
Zahid, meanwhile, hopes sacrificing Saravanan, not that the MIC leader was clean in the first place, could similarly arrest a decline in public trust in the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional coalition due to systemic and deeply entrenched perceptions of institutional corruption and crony capitalism. It would also serve as a good distraction to UMNO’s past roles in the Tabung Haji corruption and Ponzi scheme scandals.
Interestingly, Syed Amirul Syed Ahmad, who was named in the charge sheets, had passed away. It doesn’t matter if Saravanan would eventually walk away a free man (he was not made to wear the MACC’s orange suit like Azeez and Serigar) in the political theatre. By the time his trial is over, which would take years, both Anwar and Zahid would have already milked Saravanan’s corruption for votes needed to win elections. Don’t hold your breath until the MIC gangster joins Najib in prison.
