‘No cover-up’: PM Anwar pledges full probe of MMEA shooting, urges Malaysians to be calm after embassy egg attack in Jakarta

‘No cover-up’: PM Anwar pledges full probe of MMEA shooting, urges Malaysians to be calm after embassy egg attack in Jakarta



Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim assured that the government would conduct a thorough investigation and uphold the rule of law, while expressing hope that Malaysia’s strong ties with Indonesia would not be affected. — Bernama pic

Friday, 31 Jan 2025 6:58 PM MYT


IPOH, Jan 31 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today urged Malaysians to remain calm and not retaliate after the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta was pelted with eggs yesterday, following a maritime incident involving Indonesian nationals.

Anwar assured that the government would conduct a thorough investigation and uphold the rule of law, while expressing hope that Malaysia’s strong ties with Indonesia would not be affected.

“The incident stemmed from accusations that Indonesian nationals were mistreated by Malaysian authorities, resulting in one death and four injuries.

“The local media here reported that this was linked to illegal smuggling syndicates, while in Indonesia, our actions were described as unlawful and inhumane,” he said during a speech during the Chinese New Year high tea celebration at SJK (C) Chong Wha Kanthan Baru.

Anwar acknowledged that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had called for a full investigation and reiterated Malaysia’s commitment to transparency.

“I am aware of the statement by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who has also asked for a thorough investigation.

“Indonesia is our friend, and I assure you this investigation will be transparent and thorough. There will be no cover-up,” he said, adding that a preliminary report would be submitted to the Indonesian Embassy for review.

Anwar also urged Indonesia to address growing concerns over the smuggling of drugs and illegal goods into Malaysia, as well as issues related to human trafficking and unauthorised border crossings.

“Our enforcement must be strict to curb these activities, but at the same time, we must act within the law,” he said.

The egg attack on the Malaysian Embassy followed a January 24 shooting incident in the waters off Tanjung Rhu, near Banting, where one Indonesian national was killed and four others were injured.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on January 25, said the shooting happened as five Indonesian nationals were allegedly attempting to leave Malaysia illegally.

The ministry has since urged an investigation into whether excessive force was used by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

US$1 Trillion Wipeout – How China’s DeepSeek AI Creates Havoc And Spooks U.S. Financial Markets

US$1 Trillion Wipeout – How China’s DeepSeek AI Creates Havoc And Spooks U.S. Financial Markets



January 29th, 2025 by financetwitter



For decades, China has been accused by the United States and several of its allies of economic espionage and intellectual property (IP) theft. It was claimed that Chinese IP theft has cost the U.S. about US$225 billion to US$600 billion a year. Besides stealing IP, China was also accused of demanding technology transfers in exchange for market access.

However, if it’s true that China only knows how to steal and does not know how to innovate and invent, exactly who invented paper-making, printing, gun-powder and the compass in the first place? Other ancient Chinese inventions included alcohol, mechanical clock, tea production, umbrella, acupuncture, iron smelting, porcelain, silk, bronze, kite, seed drill, and even earthquake detector.

And if indeed the U.S. is leading the technology, why were they so afraid of Huawei’s 5G technology and Chinese EVs (electric vehicles) that the Americans are instigating – even threatening – allies to boycott, block and ban the Chinese 5G and EVs from entering their markets? Hilariously, Biden and Trump were trying to ban WeChat and TikTok too,despite claims of Chinese IP theft.


Yes, naughty China had stolen so much Western technology that the Chinese have become not only the leader in 5G and EVs, but also in short-video and hypersonic missile. The U.S., supposedly the leader in virtually every pillar, experienced another “Sputnik moment” when its artificial intelligence (AI) leadership was challenged by Chinese DeepSeek on Monday (January 27).

The sudden emergence of DeepSeek, a competitor to OpenAI and its ChatGPT tool, saw US$1 trillion wiped out from Nasdaq Composite in one day. Even Nvidia, a leading maker of the computer chips that power AI models, suffered the biggest fall in U.S. stock market history when its shares fell 17% – wiping nearly US$600 billion, while Google’s parent company lost US$100 billion and Microsoft US$7 billion.

Powered by the open source DeepSeek-V3 model, DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot was made at a fraction of the cost (US$6 million) – significantly less than the billions spent by rivals. Even though it was launched last week, it has already become the most downloaded free app in the U.S. and UK, raising questions about the future of America’s AI dominance. But it was just the beginning.


The arrival of DeepSeek was shocking as the U.S. thought it has successfully crippled China’s technology by restricting the sale of the advanced chip technology that powers AI to China. But without supplies of imported advanced chips, Chinese AI developers were forced to share their work with each other and experimented with new approaches to the technology. This has resulted in AI models that require far less computing power than before.

Nvidia’s most advanced chips – H100s – have been banned from export to China since September 2022 thanks to US sanctions. Nvidia then developed the less powerful H800 chips for the Chinese market, but they were also banned from export to China last October. DeepSeek’s success at building an advanced AI model without access to the most cutting-edge US technology means the sanctions have backfired.

Crucially, it also means that they cost less than previously thought possible, which could create chaos in the industry. The company, founded by entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng who runs hedge fund “High-Flyer Capital and uses AI to identify patterns in stock prices, said that DeepSeek-R1 was of “performance on par with” one of OpenAI’s latest models when used for tasks such as maths, coding and natural language reasoning.


Initially, 40-year-old Liang bought Nvidia chips in 2021 to develop AI models as a hobby, bankrolled by his hedge fund. In 2023, he founded DeepSeek in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. The company is purely focused on research rather than commercial products – DeepSeek and its codes can be downloaded for free, while DeepSeek’s models are also cheaper to operate than OpenAI’s.

Caught off-guard by their rival’s technological achievement, the U.S. was both unimpressed and upset. DeepSeek now raises doubts over the necessity for hefty investment in AI infrastructure such as chips and the so-called market-leading role of US tech companies in AI. Analysts at US investment bank Goldman Sachs already raised the alarm over AI spending last year in a note – “Gen AI: too much spending, too little benefit?”

US President Donald Trump, who used to belittle Chinese technology, said DeepSeek should be a “wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win”. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley venture capitalist and Trump adviser Marc Andreessen described DeepSeek-R1 as “AI’s Sputnik moment”, a reference to the satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957 that shocked the U.S.


However, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman praised DeepSeek, saying that it was “invigorating to have a new competitor” and called it “an impressive model, particularly around what they’re able to deliver for the price”. The European as well as the Japanese tech firms linked to the AI sector also tanked, equally spooked by the Chinese AI chatbot.

While some experts have played down DeepSeek, the fact that it was targeted in a cyber-attack on Monday, forcing it to temporarily limit registrations, suggests that certain people in Washington were extremely terrified of the Chinese AI technology. Essentially, the U.S. can’t control China as the belief that whoever wields the world’s most advanced semiconductors controls the AI race is no longer true.

DeepSeek appears to have accomplished its feat using open-sourced generative AI to build and teach its LLM (Large Language Model). It used a process called “fine-tuning” on a large dataset of text interactions gathered from ChatGPT’s existing open-source model. And it did so far more cheaply, and far more quickly than OpenAI and others who have built their own machine-learning models.


Unhappy with DeepSeek’s accomplishment, OpenAI has accused the Chinese artificial intelligence start-up of using the U.S. company’s proprietary models to train its own open-source competitor, therefore breaching OpenAI’s IP. However, OpenAI is battling allegations of its own copyright infringement from newspapers and content creators, who accuse the company of training its models on their articles and books without permission..

More importantly, it diminishes the geopolitical leverage that Washington and its allies (such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Europe) wield through export controls, sanctions and other restrictions on tech transfer. This means even with second-tier semiconductor, China can achieve first-tier AI status and enjoy benefits in military prowess and economic competitiveness, dealing a blow to the U.S.

Umno ulama council tells non-Muslim govt leaders to tread carefully

Umno ulama council tells non-Muslim govt leaders to tread carefully


Published: Jan 31, 2025 6:07 PM


Summary

• Umno’s ulama council advises non-Muslim government leaders to be cautious when commenting on Islam and Muslims.

• It says this will prevent the issue from being exploited and being framed as a threat against Islam.

• The council cites the sandwiches and liquor sale issues as examples.

The Umno ulama council has urged non-Muslim government leaders to exercise caution when commenting on matters related to Islam and Muslims.

This is to prevent a negative perception that leads to certain parties exploiting the issue and framing it as a threat against Islam.

"The latest issue involves the ham and cheese sandwich that used a fake halal logo and the sale of liquor at Muslim-majority areas in Ipoh, Perak," the council said in a statement today.

The council described the coalition government as the “best model” to foster racial harmony in Malaysia.

“Therefore, all parties in the unity government must preserve the harmony and sensitivity of all races,” it added.

The chicken sandwich and the alcohol ban are the latest in a long list of altercations between Umno, namely its youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, and DAP leaders.

On Jan 28, Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad said the state government has no objection against the Ipoh City Council's (MBI) move to study the demands of residents from Muslim-majority areas before enforcing an alcohol sales ban.

This was after Perak PAS urged the administration to state its position on the matter after Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming issued a statement claiming that there would be no changes to the rules regarding the sale of alcohol.

Saarani urged all parties to give space for MBI to conduct the study first, saying that any debate on the matter at this stage is unnecessary.

Ham and tolls

On Jan 24, the company that supplied the sandwiches to KK Mart outlets in Universiti Malaya was charged with misusing the halal logo.

Shake and Bake Cafe Sdn Bhd and its managing director Ewe Sarn Yeun were separately charged in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court.

Earlier this week, Akmal also locked horns with Johor MCA over a Facebook post which compared allocations for Islamic-related matters with the lack of free toll provisions during the Chinese New Year.

Johor MCA later apologised and blamed the post on the “unintentional” action of one of its Facebook administrators.

Why is celebrating other festivals an issue now, PM asks

Why is celebrating other festivals an issue now, PM asks


Published: Jan 31, 2025 6:09 PM



Summary

• Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim criticises those questioning Malays celebrating other ethnic festivals, emphasising the need to focus on unity to strengthen the nation and its economy.

• He urges Malaysians to prioritise national progress, highlighting government efforts to ease the cost of living, including increased cash aid and civil servant salary hikes.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim admonished certain quarters that made an issue about different ethnic groups in the country celebrating the festivals of other communities.

“Some have raised the issue of Malays celebrating Chinese New Year, Thaipusam - things that have never been a problem for decades are now being made into an issue.

“But do we want to entertain this or focus on our unity? Do we choose to continue having differences of opinion, or do we strengthen unity? And why unity? To boost our economy,” Bernama reported him as saying today.

Anwar said this in his speech at a Chinese New Year open house organised by the Perak Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCCI) in Ipoh today.

Anwar at the open house

Also present were Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir; Housing and Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming; Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang; Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad, and PCCCI president Liew Chee Meng.

‘Focus on progressing nation’

On that note, Anwar urged Malaysians to focus on the nation’s progress and interests rather than issues that could undermine unity.

He said the country should also serve as a model for strong racial unity.

“This country has great potential. There is no need to stir conflicts; (instead), we should uphold the dignity of all communities,” he added.

The Tambun MP said Malaysia is among the countries providing significant contributions to its people to tackle the rising cost of living, demonstrating the government’s concern for this global issue.

“For example, the STR (Rahmah Cash Aid) has increased to RM13 billion. That is why we have increased it, because we know the cost of living has gone up.

“This is a problem faced by the whole world, and I have also raised the salaries of civil servants as they have not been increased for 12 years,” Anwar added.

Trump repeats tariffs threat to dissuade BRICS nations from replacing US dollar

Trump repeats tariffs threat to dissuade BRICS nations from replacing US dollar



South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro at the BRICS summit in Brasilia in 2019. — Pic by Reuters

Friday, 31 Jan 2025 2:19 PM MYT


WASHINGTON, Jan 31 — President Donald Trump yesterday warned off BRICS member countries from replacing the US dollar as a reserve currency by repeating a 100%-tariffs threat he had made weeks after winning the November presidential elections.

“We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs,” Trump said on Truth Social in a statement nearly identical to one he posted on Nov. 30.

At the time, Russia said that any US attempt to compel countries to use the dollar would backfire.

The BRICS grouping includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and a few other countries that joined in the past couple of years. The grouping does not have a common currency, but long-running discussions on the subject have gained some momentum after the West imposed sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

“There is no chance that BRICS will replace the US Dollar in International Trade, or anywhere else, and any Country that tries should say hello to Tariffs, and goodbye to America!,” he said.

Trump posted his warning to the BRICS as Canada and Mexico await for his decision to follow through on a pledge to impose 25% tariffs on the United States’ North American trading partner from Feb. 1.

Trump wants to use tariffs as a tool to get Mexico and Canada to help stem the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, particularly the deadly opioid fentanyl, and also migrants crossing illegally into the US.

Dollar dominance - the outsized role of the US dollar in the world economy - has strengthened of late, thanks to the robust US economy, tighter monetary policy and heightened geopolitical risks, even as economic fragmentation has boosted a push by BRICS countries to shift away from the dollar into other currencies.

A study by the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center last year showed that the US dollar remains the world’s primary reserve currency, and neither the euro nor the so-called BRICS countries have been able to reduce global reliance on the dollar.

The acronym BRIC, which did not initially include South Africa, was coined in 2001 by then Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill in a research paper that underlined the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The bloc was founded as an informal club in 2009 to provide a platform for its members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies. South Africa was the first beneficiary of an expansion of the bloc in 2010 when the grouping became known as BRICS.

The group added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates in 2023, and Indonesia became member earlier this month. — Reuters

Malaysian embassy in Jakarta pelted with eggs over MMEA shooting of Indonesian nationals

Malaysian embassy in Jakarta pelted with eggs over MMEA shooting of Indonesian nationals



The demonstration was held in protest against a shooting incident involving Indonesian nationals on January 24 in the waters off Tanjung Rhu, near Banting, which resulted in one fatality and four others being injured.

Friday, 31 Jan 2025 1:16 PM MYT


JAKARTA, Jan 31 — Nearly 100 individuals from various human rights groups and labour unions gathered and aggressively threw eggs at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta yesterday.

Among them were members of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and the Labour Party, who hurled eggs at the embassy’s front wall, according to a report in national daily Berita Harian today.

The demonstration was held in protest against a shooting incident involving Indonesian nationals on January 24 in the waters off Tanjung Rhu, near Banting, which resulted in one fatality and four others being injured.

Protesters carried banners that read, “Arrest and imprison the Malaysian police officers who shot dead Indonesian migrant workers.”

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on January 25, said the shooting occurred while the five Indonesian nationals were allegedly attempting to leave Malaysia illegally.



Protesters carried banners that read, ‘Arrest and imprison the Malaysian police officers who shot dead Indonesian migrant workers.’



The ministry has since called for a thorough investigation, particularly into the possibility of excessive force being used by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

In a related development, Indonesian authorities in Riau province received the body of the deceased, identified as 50-year-old Basri, on Wednesday.

His remains were returned to his hometown in Pulau Rupat, Bengkalis.

Earlier, Berita Harian reported that two suspects, believed to be foreign nationals, were onboard a boat when they allegedly attempted to attack MMEA officers with machetes around 3am after ramming into the officers’ vessel four times.

In response, the maritime officers fired several shots at the suspects’ boat in self-defence.

However, the suspects managed to escape under the cover of darkness.

Why Republicans keep blaming disasters on DEI

Independent:


Why Republicans keep blaming disasters on DEI


Analysis: Criticisms of diversity programs from the right often ignore the facts of disasters on the ground, writes Josh Marcus

Thursday 30 January 2025 23:47 GMT4Comments

Washington DC collision: Trump blames diversity and inclusion for plane crash that claimed 67 lives

Search and rescue teams hadn’t even finished pulling the bodies out of the Potomac River before Donald Trump began blaming diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs for the disastrous Wednesday night plane crash between a military helicopter and a commercial jet outside Washington that likely killed 67 people.

During a rambling press conference Thursday, Trump pushed his theory that air traffic controllers were to blame, then claimed without evidence that the Biden and Obama administrations had lowered aviation hiring standards. He also criticized an effort to hire people with disabilities that existed throughout his entire first term in office.


“I put safety first,” Trump claimed. “Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at a level that nobody's ever seen because this was the lowest level.”

Vice President JD Vance claimed: "If you go to some of the headlines over the past ten years many hundreds of people are suing the government because they would like to be air traffic controllers but were turned away because of the color of their skin. That policy ends under Donald Trump’s leadership.”

Before Wednesday’s collision, there hadn’t been a major commercial airline crash on American soil in 16 years, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed during landing near Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all 49 people onboard.

When pressed about his claim DEI was responsible for the crash, which is under investigation, Trump responded: “It just could have been.” He added that he reached the conclusion because “I have common sense.”


It was only the most recent disaster for which Trump and his allies have blamed DEI, even though the facts don’t support them.


open image in gallery

Trump has blamed diversity programs for the plane crash, even though the investigation into the disaster is at its early stages (Getty Images)

As wildfires tore through the hills of Los Angeles this month, those on the right quickly boiled the crisis down to DEI, seemingly because Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is the first woman and second Black person to lead the city., and L.A. fire chief Kristin Crowley, a 22-year fire veteran, is the first woman and openly queer person to lead the department.

Trump’s billionaire supporter and partner Elon Musk claimed: "They prioritized DEI over saving lives and homes,” sharing screenshots of a four-year-old L.A. Fire Department racial equity plan He then put a finer point on it, writing that “DEI means people DIE” in response to a video of Crowley talking about using a DEI focus to attract the “best and brightest” to the force.


open image in gallery

Conservatives blamed DEI for the Los Angeles fires, though experts say a combination of climate change drought, high winds, poor planning, and overtaxed water systems led to the devastation (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Experts say a variety of factors caused the devastating fires, from drought conditions, to 100 mph Santa Ana winds, to neighborhoods built in dangerous fire zones, to a city water distribution system that was unable to keep hydrants filled fast enough to match a wildfire-scale blaze descending on a dense urban environment.

Part of the reason Crowley has spoken openly about fostering a more inclusive culture at the department is because it faced years of complaints and lawsuits about discrimination under her predecessors, issues which would also seem to get in the way of a focus on fire-fighting.

No matter how multi-faceted a crisis, the playbook against DEI has been run again and again.

When an extremist plowed his car into revelers and attempted to set off bombs during New Year’s Day celebrations in New Orleans, GOP Rep. Dan Meuser told Fox News: “The priority of the last four years has been DEI, not IEDs [improvised explosive devices] ...You talk to anyone who’s willing to speak within these agencies, that’s what their focus has been.”

When a shipping vessel collided with Baltimore’s Key Bridge and brought it tumbling down in March, a Utah gubernatorial candidate blamed “governors who prioritize diversity," even though the ship at issue allegedly had a record of shoddy maintenance. Meanwhile, online commenters deluged Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott with racist attacks, accusing him of being a “DEI mayor.”


open image in gallery

Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 inspired both renewed conversations about identity and an eventual right-wing backlash (Getty Images)

Mayor Scott and Maryland Governor Wes Moore are both Black and Democrats.

“We’ve been the bogeyman for them since the first day they brought us to this country, and what they mean by DEI in my opinion is duly elected incumbent,” Scott said in response to the attacks, claiming DEI attacks are a dog whistle for people who “don’t have the courage to say the N-word.”

The last four years have witnessed a sea change in how the country and its institutions consider race and identity.

The massive racial justice protests after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police set off a nationwide conversation about anti-Black racism in the U.S. Yet police killings of mostly people of color continued and key police reform largely stalled at a national level. But some courts and the corporate world inspired a brief push to make workplaces more equitable and diverse.

That triggered a backlash.

The Trump movement has long relied on demonizing people of color

In 2023 the Supreme Court, stacked with Trump-appointed justices, struck down affirmative action in higher education.

At the same time, Republicans pushed to ban books talking about identity and race, claiming schools at all levels were indoctrinating students with “critical race theory,” a niche academic concept that seemingly came to stand in on the right for anything mentioning the existence of non-white people or racism.

In the corporate world, right-wing activists used viral social media campaigns to push major U.S. companies to drop DEI programs, and name brands like McDonald’s, Walmart, and Harley all backed away from such programs.

While Trump and his supporters consistently argue that opposing DEI is in fact colorblind, with a focus on fairness and merit, it also can’t be ignored how demonizing people of color is a core part of the Trump movement.

The president’s 2016 campaign began with his claim in Trump Tower that Mexican immigrants were rapists and drug dealers, and the Republican has continued attacking minorities since, branding Black Lives Matter protesters as “thugs,” claiming during the 2024 debates that Haitian migrants are eating cats, and accusing border-crossers of “poisoning the blood” of America.

The MAGA movement, in other words, doesn’t seem to actually want a society that ignores race and identity; they just won’t admit admit what they’re doing is identity politics too, just from the right instead of the left.

The consequences of all this DEI wrangling may seem philosophical, but they are very real and deeply ironic.

The perception that California leaders are a bunch of social justice warriors who can’t be trusted seems to be feeding into recent Republican threats to impose conditions on disaster aid to the state, which is highly atypical.

The new administration has moved to end federal funding for DEI programs across the federal government and organizations supported by its work, impacting thousands across agencies and disciplines.

And the White House sets the tone for the rest of the country.

When the next disaster rolls around, it’ll only be a matter of time before the right hops online and goes viral with claims that DEI is to blame. And the most powerful people in the world, regardless of the facts, will be quick to believe them.

Is Trump facilitating a massive real estate deal in Gaza?

Murray Hunter


Is Trump facilitating a massive real estate deal in Gaza?

Trump’s first official visit to the White House by a foreign leader will be Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Jan 30, 2025





Last Saturday, US President Donald Trump floated the idea that large numbers of Gazans could take refuge in neighbouring Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations – potentially moving out enough of the population, just to clean out the ‘war torn’ area and create a clean new state.

This would potentially involve one of the largest mass logistical operations in history as Gaza still has about 1.5 million residents.

It’s reported that Egyptian leader Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi and Jordan’s King Abdallah have both rejected the idea. Such an idea has been a clear ‘red line’ for the Arab states, which view the mass migration of Palestinians as a potential existential threat upon their own respected nations. This could likely lead to the fall of Jordan’s King Abdullah and political instability in Cairo.

Trump referred to Gaza as a demolition site, where he just gave permission for the supply to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) 2000ils bombs that the Biden administration had previously refused Israel. Such bombs would have the capacity to just flatten existing buildings in Gaza, along with those who live inside the buildings.

Trump said on Air Force One, he would like to get the Gazans an area where they can live without disruption and violence. Trump went on to say that Gaza had seen violence on a continual basis for hundreds of years.

Trump said he would like to see peace in the Middle East. Gaza has been run by a Hamas government since 2007, which has prevented any settlement with Israel of a two-state settlement with Israel. The removal of Gaza would simplify things.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) went into Gaza and systematically flattened major parts of the area after the October 7, 2023 raid into Israel led by the Al-Qassam brigades. This resulted in the killing of 1,300 people and taking of 236 hostages, including many foreigners.

In response, Israel blocked off Gaza, all electricity and water supply, going into Gaza with the IDF. There are claims that 46,000 Gazans have been killed in the action. Today, major parts of Gaza have been bulldozed and flattened by the IDF. This has left hundreds of thousands homeless. Some estimates state that about 70 percent of the Gaza’s Strips buildings have been either damaged or destroyed, since October 2023. Much of this destruction is to the north.

Gaza on 24th January 2025


The Gaza Strip is 41 kms long and between 6 and 12 kms wide, depending upon the place. The area involve is some 365 square Kms. Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the south-west and surrounded by Israel to the east and the north. Gaza lies along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to the west.

The Gaza Strip was initially governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA), under the secular party Fatah, until its electoral defeat in 2006 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). Hamas has effectively governed Gaza independently of the Palestinian Authority situated in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Gaza with its own government and military, had become an estranged state, in its own right.

Gaza had been laid under siege by Israel for a number of years. The Israeli’s have restricted the flow of goods since the 1990s, with Egypt following suit. This has led to massive poverty, unemployment, and violence by Palestinians against Israel, who they saw as their captors.

Although much of Gaza has been levelled, there is still and extensive network of tunnels under what was once Gaza under the control of Hamas. This could be what the 2000 lbs bombs are required for.

The relocation of Palestinians out of Gaza to other areas is seen as a recipe to spread unrest and violence much further than the Gaza borders. Many nations who have taken Gazans in, have seen demonstrations, violence and even threats made to long time Jewish citizens in those countries.

Such a massive relocation won’t solve the problem for Israel, there is a generation of suffering Palestinians who have become hardened against a Zionist Israel and would vow for revenge, especially after being dislocated from where they see as their home. Any future political solution will be unlikely to solve this issue.

Gaza is a beautiful piece of real estate

United Nations human rights experts have already claimed that BlackRock and Wall St banks have been profiting from the war in Gaza. One could speculate who would be the beneficiaries of a massive re-development of Gaza. Netanyahu will be in Washington next week.

Spectacular 1k drone showcase at KLCC Twin Towers marred by lion’s eye-dotting ceremony by PMX

Spectacular 1k drone showcase at KLCC Twin Towers marred by lion’s eye-dotting ceremony by PMX





THE organiser of the joint Malaysia-China Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration at the KLCC Twin Towers which featured a stunning display of over 1,000 drones on the CNY eve has come under fire for failure to inform its guest-of-honour on the purpose of the eye-dotting ceremony for ‘one of its lions’.

‘Just like we need to find out the reason for the lion dance, tossing the yee sang (literally “raw fish salad”), burning firecrackers, wearing red attire during Lunar New Year, etc,” remarked social media influencer Rafizah Cian Lin on her Facebook post.

Rafizah Cian Lin

on Tuesday

Penganjur sepatutnya memaklumkan tetamu kehormat tentang tujuan upacara Titik Mata. Sama seperti kita perlu mencari sebab tujuan Tarian Singa, Gaul dan Lambung YeeSang, Bakar Mercun, Memakai Serba Merah dan lain². In shaa Allah setelah mengetahui tujuannya kita tahu apa nak buat.
Telegram t.me/RafizahCianLinMandarin

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“God willing, we shall know what to do after knowing the purpose.”

The Facebooker was in fact parroting the reaction from controversial Muslim convert preacher Firdaus Wong Wai Hung who described the said ritual “of injecting the soul into the lion’s costume before it performs” as shirk.

Citing the National Culture and Arts Department (JKKN), the president of NGO Multiracial Reverted Muslims (MRM) claimed that the ritual which is also known as 点睛 (diǎn jīng/eye-dotting) or 开光 (kāi guāng/open the light) in Mandarin is intended to bring good luck and prevent misfortune from befalling lion dance performances.

He further quoted Sarawak Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin who described the lion’s eye-opening ceremony as an important ritual “to awaken a new lion for safe performance”.

“In the lion dance culture, a new lion is required to undergo the eye-opening ceremony. The lion which is said to be ‘asleep’ needs to be ‘woken up’ by opening its eyes. Only after such ritual, can the lion perform,” Lee had told TV Sarawak on Jan 19.

This is when Firdaus who has large fanbase among Malay Muslims contended that while lion dance may be seen as a traditional dance of the Chinese community, its origin is still mired “in superstitious elements that are practiced till this day”.

“I believe that it is impossible for PMX as a Muslim to be pleased and be willing to perform such a ceremony that clearly boasts elements of khurafat (superstition) as highlighted by JKKN,” he justified.

“Perhaps he wasn’t given the correct information about the ‘eye-dotting’ ceremony (by the organiser).”

But Firdaus’ claim that the lion dance and yee sang tossing bear elements of superstitious beliefs was rebutted by staunch Madani government backer CIKY Nie (@lady_bugg11) who recalled no issue was raised when both PAS president Tan Sri Hadi Awang and Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin “joined in” previously.

CIKYNie

@lady_bugg11

·

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Firdaus Wong kata, “Tarian Singa & Yee Sang mempunyai unsur-unsur kepercayaan khurafat.” Tapi bila TGHH dan TSMY join, terus senyap. Takkan pemimpin PAS redha dengan benda yang “jelas mempunyai unsur khurafat dalam Islam”? Atau mungkin kali ni Gerakan yang ajar mereka versi Yee… Show more

8:04 PM · Jan 29, 2025

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“Wouldn’t PAS leaders be willing to accept something that clearly bears elements of superstition in Islam?” she teased on her X post.

“Or maybe it was Gerakan who taught them the halal version of yee sang this time around? – Jan 30, 2025