Cerita MN 2.0

Cerita MN 2.0


8 hours ago
Mohsin Abdullah


MN 2.0 sudah wujud. Meskipun tidak ada majlis gilang gemilang untuk meraikan pewujudannya. Juga tidak ada piagam diumumkan

Pada 3 Jun lalu, Timbalan Presiden PAS Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man dilapor berkata masanya sudah tiba MN atau Muafakat Nasional dihidupkan semula — yakni diwujudkan MN 2.0.

Mengapa? “Demi memperkukuh politik Melayu dan umat Islam menjelang beberapa pilihan raya negeri yang bakal berlangsung”. Terpulang jika anda mahu menerima sebab atau alasan itu.


Saya pertikai bab ‘perkukuh politik Melayu’. Apa yang kukuh jika Bersatu is not part of the MN 2.0 equation? Bersatu bukan Melayu ke? Presiden Muhyiddin Yassin bukan Melayu atau tak cukup Melayu?

Pada 2010, beliau pernah secara terbuka mengumumkan “I am Malay first”. Diakui waktu itu Muhyiddin timbalan presiden Umno. Ini sekadar contoh — bukan saya lobi untuk Bersatu.


Berbalik kenyataan Tuan Ibrahim tadi yang disuarakan menjelang beberapa PRN. Sejak beliau berkata demikian PRN Johor sudah dilaksanakan, PRN Negeri Sembilan akan diadakan 1 Ogos ini manakala Melaka mungkin adakan plihan raya September ini.

Sebenarnya sejak itu juga MN 2.0 sudah diwujudkan, pada hemat saya. Secara tidak langsung. Meskipun tidak ada majlis khas gilang gemilang untuk meraikan pewujudannya. Juga tidak ada piagam diumumkan. Tidak seperti waktu penubuhan MN asal pada 2019.

Di PRN Johor tempoh hari memang ada kerjasama PAS dengan Umno. Persetujuan dikatakan dicapai sebelum pilihan raya diadakan tetapi dibuat secara sulit. Di bawah selimut. Pemimpin Umno menafikan tetapi saya lihat itu hanya cakap-cakap politik.

Apabila PAS khususnya Presiden Hadi Awang menggesa orang Melayu mesti undi BN di kerusi yang PAS tidak bertanding “demi memastikan Melayu memerintah” nyatalah ada kerjasama. Itu MN2.0 lah.


Di Negeri Sembilan, PAS dan Umno agak bold menunjukkan kerjasama. Pun begitu Umno awalnya cakap bunga-bunga — “Sebelas kerusi akan ditandingi rakan strategik kami. Tetapi mereka itu bukan Pakatan Harapan dan Bersatu,” kata seorang kenalan saya, yang rapat dengan Zahid Hamidi, presiden Umno.

Jelas rakan strategik yang dimaksudkan? Takkan Parti Republican si Donald Trump pula kan?

Pada hari penamaan calon 18 Julai lalu pemimpin PAS dan Umno bermesra tunjuk keakraban. Nyata Barisan Nasional tidak akan bertempur dengan Perikatan Nasional. Disebut ‘BN’ kerana gabungan itu ada letak calon MCA dan MIC. Disebut ‘PN’ pula kerana ada calon daripada parti lain yang merupakan komponennya. Namun hakikatnya watak utama ialah PAS dan Umno. Lalu saya ulangi MN2.0 sudah wujud, pada peringkat negeri for now. Memang ada parti bukan Melayu dalam MN2.0. Also for now.

Ini langkah rebranding MN. Pun begitu pada pendapat saya parti kecil yang jadi komponen terutama non-Malay parties seperti MIC, MCA, Gerakan sekadar window dressing untuk beri imej kepelbagaian, lagi pun they don’t have much say.


Anyway so far so good. PAS dan Umno sama-sama nampak yakin dan puas hati. Namun itu di peringkat negeri. Kata Yusri Ibrahim, ketua penyelidik Ilham Centre, persefahaman antara Umno-PAS dalam PRN Negeri Sembilan ini banyak menguntungkan BN.

Dapatan setakat ini, kata Yusri, menunjukkan pengundi PAS memberi komitmen penuh untuk mengundi calon-calon BN. “Dengan kata lain kebolehpindahan undi atau transferability vote daripada PAS kepada BN berpotensi secara optimum,” menurut beliau. Dalam bahasa mudah pengundi PAS akan beri undi kepada BN dengan banyak. Ini tidak memeranjatkan. Bukankah mereka ini wala’, setia kepada pemimpin lantas akan turuti arahan pemimpin? Umno yang untung.

Sebaliknya pemindahan undi daripada pengundi Umno kepada PAS-PN dijangka berlaku secara terhad kerana “ramai yang ditemui belum bersedia untuk mengundi calon-calon PN,” kata Yusri. PAS yang rugi.

Kata Yusri ini mengulangi episod kerjasama PH-BN di mana pemindahan undi PH kepada BN berlaku secara optimum tetapi bukan sebaliknya daripada BN kepada PH. BN (baca: Umno) untung.

Bagi saya ini satu masalah yang diteliti PAS jika ia mahu bawa MN 2.0 to another level iaitu ke peringkat nasional. Pasti ini yang PAS mahu lakukan kerana tak akan cukup pada peringkat negeri sahaja.

Membawa pula kepada masalah yang menyumbang kepada perpecahan MN dulu. Perlu diakui PAS juga ada buat perangai yang mengakibatkan MN pecah, antaranya (menurut Umno) PAS main kayu tiga yakni bercinta dengan Bersatu semasa berumah tangga dengan Umno.

Anologi perkahwinan ini gemar digunakan oleh pemimpin Umno dan PAS, Umno khususnya, lantas Umno merajuk maka bercerailah dengan PAS. Riwayat MN berakhir.

Bagaimanapun andai jodoh mereka panjang waktu itu masalah lain akan timbul. Antara yang utama ialah soal pembahagian kerusi. Siapa bertanding di mana? Kedua-dua idamkan kerusi yang sama. Kerusi tradisi, kata mereka. Untuk PRN mudah untuk berkompromi. Di Johor dan Negeri Sembilan, PAS yang banyak beralah kerana jika tidak MN2.0 tidak mungkin terjadi. Tetapi pada peringkat nasional lain ceritanya.

PAS dan Umno pasti akan cuba mengatasi masalah itu menjelang PRU16. Berjaya atau tidak only time will tell. Sementara itu akan terus jaja slogan ‘perpaduan Melayu, penyatuan ummah, Melayu-Islam memerintah’ yang senada ‘ketuanan Melayu’. Untuk mendapat sokongan orang Melayu yang majoriti di negara ini.

Bagaimanapun orang macam saya akan pertikai hasrat di sebalik slogan berkenaan seperti disebut di awal penulisan ini. Bagi saya slogan seem hollow. Bagi saya selagi ada dua entiti, masalah pasti ada untuk merealisasikan slogan yang dilaungkan, kecuali PAS bubar, Umno pun bubar dan tubuh satu parti baharu.

A common party untuk mereka. Barulah slogan ‘perpaduan Melayu, penyatuan ummah dan Melayu-Islam memerintah’ tidak dilihat kosong. Memang ini pengorbanan besar.

Tetapi dalam perjuangan, pengorbanan memang dituntut. Ini pada pandangan sayalah.

 

Satellite Images Confirm Mass Destruction After Iranian Strike on Key U.S. Air Base in Jordan

North America, Western Europe and Oceania , Missile and Space

Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff

July-21st-2026

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Explosion From Iranian Missile Strike on Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base in Jordan

Newly released satellite imagery has indicated that Iran's ballistic missile strike against Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base in Jordan caused substantially greater damage than was initially reported, with multiple additional aircraft shelters, drone facilities, and military infrastructure confirmed destroyed. The imagery, published and analysed by the open-source intelligence group EGYOSINT, suggests that the attack was both larger in scale and significantly more precise than early post-strike assessments indicated, raising further questions regarding the vulnerability of forward-deployed U.S. military facilities across the Middle East. The U.S. Armed Forces have relied particularly heavily on the facility to project power in to the Middle East, with its greater distance from Iran than large facilities in the Gulf making it more challenging to target. 

Satellite Images of Damage to Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base in Jordan

The updated imagery shows that several hardened aircraft hangars were destroyed during the attack, including at least three to four shelters reportedly used to house U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drones. The Reaper fleet has already been heavily depleted by operations against Iran and the Yemeni Ansurullah Coalition, with at least 53 reported to have been shot down since late 2023. In addition to the destruction of protected facilities, two MQ-9 drones parked outside hangars at the time of the strike appear to have suffered direct damage, providing further evidence that Iran successfully targeted key U.S.  intelligence, surveillance, and strike assets stationed at the base.

MQ-9 Reaper Drone

Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base regularly hosts MQ-9 drones, intelligence aircraft, transport aircraft, helicopters, and special operations forces, making it a critical hub for U.S. regional military activities. The apparent destruction of multiple drone facilities could significantly reduce the operational tempo of U.S.  reconnaissance and strike missions in the region while replacement aircraft and infrastructure are brought in. Perhaps the most significant revelation from the latest imagery concerns personnel losses. Satellite analysis indicates that U.S. troop accommodation areas were also struck, with damage patterns suggesting that American service members were killed during the attack. Officials speaking to The New York Times have highlighted that reported casualty numbers have significantly undercounted actual losses. The Pentagon has notably also avoided disclosing the extent of losses of aircraft, with multiple successful strikes on major hangars fuelling speculation regarding what types of aircraft may have been destroyed and in what numbers.

Iranian Footage of Damage at Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base, including Two Destroyed MQ-9s

Iran has also released its own high-resolution satellite imagery identifying additional targets struck during the operation. The images show numerous aircraft hangars, maintenance facilities, logistics buildings, and support infrastructure designated as aim points before the attack, indicating a carefully planned strike focused on degrading the base's operational capabilities rather than simply targeting its runway. Such targeting reflects increasing sophistication in Iranian strike planning and battle damage assessment capabilities. Two destroyed MQ-9s can also be seen.

Shahab-3 - The First Iranian Ballistic Missile Type Capable of Striking Targets in Jordan and Israel

The apparent effectiveness of the attack has renewed debate regarding the survivability of large fixed air bases in modern high-intensity warfare. Facilities such as Muwaffaq al-Salti were originally designed around the assumption that hardened aircraft shelters would provide substantial protection against conventional air attack. The latest imagery, however, suggests that modern precision-guided ballistic missiles carrying powerful penetrating warheads are increasingly capable of destroying even reinforced infrastructure, forcing militaries to place greater emphasis on dispersal, mobility, and rapid relocation of aircraft and personnel.

U.S. Navy F-18E Super Hornet at Muwaffaq Salti Airbase, Jordan Under Strike Fighter Squadron 25

Beyond the immediate damage to infrastructure, the strike further illustrates the growing threat posed by Iran's expanding missile arsenal. The ability to accurately engage hardened aircraft shelters, drone operating facilities, and troop accommodation over long distances demonstrates a level of precision that significantly complicates U.S. force protection planning throughout the region. As both sides continue adapting their operations, the attack on Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base is likely to be studied as one of the most significant examples to date of precision ballistic missile strikes against a major American military installation.

 

U.S. Senators Alarmed by Extreme Depletion of Munitions in Iran War: Pentagon Seeks $21 Billion for Replenishment

Middle East , Missile and Space

Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff

July-22nd-2026

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U.S. Navy Tomahawk (left) and Army THAAD Missile Launches

The Pentagon’s extensive use of precision-guided munitions during the U.S.-led military assault against Iran has raised serious concerns from Senators, with senior defence officials telling lawmakers that the U.S. Armed Forces requires an additional $21 billion simply to replenish weapons expended during the conflict. The funding request was a major focus of a Senate hearing examining both the financial costs of the war and the longer-term implications for U.S. military readiness. . The proposed $21 billion allocation would primarily fund the replacement of high-end precision weapons used extensively throughout the campaign against Iran.

Launchers From U.S. Army THAAD System in South Korea Before Their Withdrawal and Redeployment to the Middle East During War Against Iran

According to Pentagon officials, the overall cost of the war has now reached approximately $37.5 billion, with the munitions replenishment request representing one of the largest single components of the administration’s broader supplemental defence package. The hearing highlighted growing concern among lawmakers that even the world’s largest military can rapidly exhaust critical stockpiles during a high-intensity conflict against a capable opponent. Analysts have widely questioned the $37.5 billion figure, with expenditures of interceptors from the THAAD missile defence system alone having cost over $4.5 billion at a conservative estimate. Significant further costs have been incurred by U.S. strategic partners, including Israel, Jordan, and countries in the Gulf region. 

GBU-57 Bomb - One of the Most Severely Depleted and Hardest to Replace Munition Types. Bombs Cost Over $370 Million Each

kt notes: Cost above incorrect - GBU-57 is approx. $13,000,000 to $20,000,000 each

Lawmakers from both parties pressed Pentagon officials on the long-term sustainability of current operational tempos. Several senators questioned whether the United States has adequately invested in expanding munitions production over recent years, while others argued that repeated conflicts have exposed structural weaknesses in the defence industrial base. The hearing reflected broader concerns that replenishment timelines may stretch into, leaving gaps in military readiness. The debate also highlighted the enormous financial burden imposed by modern precision warfare.

Explosion From Iranian Missile Strike on Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base in Jordan

The issue of strain placed on America’s inventory of advanced precision-guided weapons extends beyond replacing weapons already fired, with senators having questioned whether the United States retains sufficient inventories to respond simultaneously to other potential crises, particularly in the Pacific. Military planners have long warned that any conflict involving China or North Korea would consume precision munitions at an unprecedented rate, with the lower intensity of conflict with Iran highlighting that the U.S. was poorly equipped to engage state adversaries with much more limited capabilities.

***

How many were gifted to Israel? 😂😂😂

 

Iran war’s $37bn price tag: Why does the Pentagon want $67bn more?

The US must rapidly replenish its stockpiles of weapons as the war on Iran rages on.

By Al Jazeera Staff

Published On 22 Jul 202622 Jul 2026

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that the months-long US-led war on Iran is estimated to have cost about $37.5bn so far, asking for twice that amount to continue fighting.

Hegseth provided the estimate during an intense session in Congress on Tuesday while speaking to lawmakers of the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC), where he attempted to justify additional funding requests for a conflict that Washington claimed to have won months ago.

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The new estimates are significantly higher than previous figures Trump administration officials provided between April and June.

Democrat and Republican senators grilled Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, over the cost of the war and the US’s failure to show results.

“Secretary Hegseth, despite your failure to win this war, you are back now before Congress asking for almost $70bn in additional funding,” Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat, said. “You are asking the American people for a blank cheque.”

“We need straight answers,” Republican Senator John Kennedy added during the tense questioning.

The testimony came as a June agreement between Tehran and Washington has broken down, and as the US has launched 11 consecutive nights of attacks on Iran.

The US has already racked up thousands of dollars in weapons bills since the war began on February 28, and is increasingly using up its stockpiles.

At least 18 US service members are dead, and about 500 are injured. Globally — including in the US — petrol prices and living costs are soaring.

Here’s what we know about Hegseth’s war maths:

An antiwar protester holds a sign as US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General John Caine testify on the Defense Department’s budget before the Senate Committee on Appropriations in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, on July 21, 2026 [Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA]

How much has the US spent on the war so far?

Hegseth told the SAC on Tuesday that $37.5bn had been spent on the US’s war on Iran so far.

The amount is much higher than the $25bn estimate the Defense Department had given the Senate in April, during the US’s first phase of the war tagged Operation Epic Fury.

At the time, Assistant Secretary of the Army Jules Hurst III told the House Armed Services Committee that most of the costs had gone to munitions, operations, as well as equipment maintenance and replacements.

Other independent estimates put the war’s costs at about $1bn a day, reaching more than $100bn by mid-July. Trump administration officials have not provided broken-down figures.

(Al Jazeera)

Why is Trump asking for $67bn more?

Hegseth also told senators that the US would need an additional $67bn – nearly double the current bill – to keep up the war effort.

“He’s not making this up,” Paul Musgrave, a professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera, adding that this was an unpopular war Americans did not ask for.

“The United States will need to replenish its arsenals [as] the munitions and the airframes that have been used in this conflict need to be replaced,” he said.

US President Donald Trump first requested supplemental funding from Congress earlier in June, spurring Hegseth’s testimony in the Senate.

The White House asked for $87.6bn in additional funding for the 2026 budget year. More than three-quarters of that, or $67.1bn, has been earmarked for the Department of Defense.

US weapons stockpiles are running low amid the war on Iran, investigations show, and replenishing them will take billions of dollars and between several months and several years.

Analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies shows that the US has used up significant numbers of its most powerful munitions on Iranian targets.

Stockpiles of at least four munitions – Patriots, THAADs, Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) are now at 50 percent or less, compared with pre-war levels, according to the analysis.

The additional defence funding Trump’s administration has requested forms part of a $1.5 trillion budget proposal for the Defense Department for the 2027 fiscal year, according to Hegseth. The supplement will go towards weapons production and procurement, payroll, operational costs, training, and replacing damaged or lost equipment.

The 2027 defence budget, if approved by Congress, will represent a 44 percent increase in annual US defence spending and will be the highest such budget in the country’s history.

Already, US defence spending in 2026 was at a record high – $1.05 trillion. Comparatively, Washington spent $919.2bn on defence in 2025.

Hegseth, in his presentation to the SAC on Tuesday, said the additional funds and the record-high 2027 budget were a “generational investment”.

If Congress fails to approve them, the US “will face critical shortfalls that threaten our ability to pay our service members, replenish some of the equipment and munitions consumed during contingency operations and sustain vital global operations without disruption,” Hegseth warned.

Ramasamy: Hannah Yeoh opens a politically combustible Pandora Box of DBKL’s ethnic imbalance

Ramasamy: Hannah Yeoh opens a politically combustible Pandora Box of DBKL’s ethnic imbalance

By Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy
11 hours ago

FEDERAL Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh might rubbish the claim that “there are only eight non-Malay staff” – seven Indians and one Chinese – among the 10,000 employees under the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) payroll.

Yet she was not embarrassed in the least to disclose the actual figures of non-Malay employment in DBKL.


She confirmed that out of DBKL’s total workforce of 9,131 as of July 1, 490 are Indians and 22 are Chinese.

Furthermore, she revealed that within DBKL’s management, there are 10 Indians and two Chinese.

Hannah Yeoh

on Tuesday

Sekarang kempen pilihanraya negeri sedang berlangsung, pelbagai "fake news" dikongsi dalam Whatsapp. Jangan mudah percaya!

Fakta perlu diperbetulkan dengan data yang tepat

Satu poster yang sedang disebarkan mendakwa Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur mempunyai 10,000 kakitangan tetapi hanya tujuh warga kerja India dan seorang warga kerja Cina. Dakwaan tersebut tidak menggambarkan data perjawatan sebenar.

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In percentage terms, Indian employees make up around 5.37% of DBKL’s workforce while Chinese employees account for only 0.24%.

Since there is no information on the total number of personnel in the management category, it is not possible to calculate the percentage of non-Malay employees at that level.

It can be taken for granted that most of the non-Malay employees, especially Indians, in DBKL are in the rank-and-file category.

It goes without saying that the vast majority of employees, both in the management and rank-and-file categories, are Malays.

Quest to correct balance

The employment pattern of non-Malays in DBKL mirrors the broader ethnic composition of the country’s civil service.

More than 90% of civil servants are Malays while the presence of non-Malays in the civil service continues to shrink.

The Segambut MP might have corrected the absurd claim that there are only eight non-Malay employees in DBK but by revealing the actual ethnic composition of its workforce – one that is heavily skewed in favour of Malays – she has inadvertently opened a controversial and politically combustible Pandora’s Box.

The question is what is she going to do about correcting the ethnic imbalance in DBKL that militates against non-Malay employment?

She did mention that she has asked for a review of the recruitment process in DBKL with the intention of addressing the one-sided nature of employment.

Yeoh might have good intentions in improving the ethnic imbalance in DBKL’s workforce but I seriously doubt that she has the political courage to venture into this highly combustible territory.

Even DAP leaders might not welcome the party’s national deputy secretary-general raising the question of non-Malay employment in DBKL. – July 22, 2026



Former DAP stalwart and Penang deputy chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.