More than 50 people, including more aid seekers, have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn as the army announces a new phase in the plan to seize its major urban centre.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich unveils a plan for Israel to annex nearly all of the occupied West Bank, urging Prime Minister Netanyahu to endorse it.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour Party leader, is set to host a two-day event examining the United Kingdom’s role in Israel’s war on Gaza, casting the “tribunal” as an attempt to bring about justice for the Palestinian people.
29m ago
(16:00 GMT)
Gaza faces worsening humanitarian disaster: NGO
Shaina Low, an adviser with the Norwegian Refugee Council, spoke to Al Jazeera about the ongoing Israeli-made hunger crisis in Gaza.
Here is a summary of what she said:
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is getting worse by the day, and will worsen unless aid enters immediately.
We will continue to see people in Gaza die of hunger and disease.
Countries must confront Israel’s policies and prevent it from occupying Gaza City.
We must be able to bring in and distribute aid to the people of Gaza.
How did US strike on Venezuelan boat come about? What it means
Trump says, ‘We took it out,’ referring to a military strike on what he claims were drug smugglers in international waters amid Washington-Caracas tensions.
A vessel that US President Donald Trump says was transporting illegal narcotics and heading to the US is struck by the US military as it navigates in the southern Caribbean in this still image obtained from video posted by Trump on Truth Social and released on September 2, 2025 [Handout: Donald Trump/Truth Social via Reuters]
President Donald Trump has released a video showing a United States military strike on a boat in the Caribbean that he says was smuggling drugs out of Venezuela for the Tren de Aragua gang, stoking fears of a possible clash between the Venezuelan and US militaries.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said 11 people were killed on Tuesday. He wrote: “No US Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!”
The strike, apparently carried out in international waters, marks an escalation in tensions between the Trump administration and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom Trump has repeatedly accused of assisting international drug gangs.
The incident is the first known attack the US has made against alleged smugglers since the Trump administration began increasing its military presence in the Caribbean last month to counter drug cartels designated as “narcoterrorist organisations”.
What happened?
The Trump administration dispatched warships to the southern Caribbean in August in a bid, it said, to counter threats to US national security posed by criminal organisations operating in the region.
The New York Times reported that Trump had signed a secret directive ordering the Pentagon to use military force against certain Latin American drug cartels that the US considers “terrorist organisations”.
On Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported that seven US warships and one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine were headed for the Caribbean. More than 4,500 sailors and Marines are on board the vessels.
Then on Tuesday, Trump announced the strike on the Venezuelan boat he said was transporting drugs.
(Al Jazeera)
What is Tren de Aragua and why does Trump link it to Maduro?
Trump identified the people on board the Venezuelan boat as “narcoterrorists” who were “at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States”.
The Tren de Aragua is one of Venezuela’s most notorious criminal organisations with operations spreading across Latin America.
Originating in the early 2000s among prison inmates in the state of Aragua, the gang initially controlled contraband and extortion networks inside jails before expanding outwards.
Today, it runs a diversified criminal empire spanning drug trafficking, human smuggling, extortion, illegal mining and contract killings.
The group is especially active along migration routes, exploiting vulnerable refugees and migrants through kidnapping, forced labour and sex trafficking.
The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed there is a direct link between groups like Tren de Aragua and Venezuela’s government. According to Trump, Maduro controls the gang as part of a “narcoterrorism” ploy to destabilise the US.
On August 7, the US Departments of State and Justice doubled their reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro to $50m, accusing him of being “one of the largest narcotraffickers in the world”.
For his part, Maduro denies any connection to the group. At least two reports from the US intelligence community also contradict the Trump administration’s claim.
In May, a declassified National Intelligence Council report found that Maduro’s government “probably does not have a policy of cooperating with” Tren de Aragua.
The report also said Maduro is “not directing” the gang’s operations in the US although it did concede that Venezuela offers a “permissive environment” that allows Tren de Aragua to operate.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said at a news conference on September 1, 2025, in Caracas that his government has been targeted by eight military ships and 1,200 missiles, calling it the greatest threat to Venezuela for 100 years [Jesus Vargas/Getty Images]
What does the US strike mean for Venezuela-US relations?
The US deployment piqued concerns over spiralling tensions with Venezuela after Maduro urged millions of Venezuelans in August to join nationalist “militias” to defend Venezuela in response to Washington’s aggressive new antidrug operations in the Caribbean.
In the run-up to the US strike on the Venezuelan boat this week, Maduro said on August 25: “No empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela.”
The Venezuelan president has long accused the US government of interfering in his country’s politics on behalf of the political opposition. In last week’s remarks, he also accused Trump of “seeking a regime change through military threat”.
Trump, meanwhile, has adopted the same “maximum pressure” campaign that defined his foreign policy towards Venezuela during his first term. It included heightened sanctions on the Latin American country.
In spite of this, the US energy group Chevron returned to Venezuela in July after a three-month hiatus after Trump’s decision in February to rescind a US Treasury licence that allowed the oil giant to export crude from Venezuela despite US sanctions.
Trump revoked the existing licence, which was issued during President Joe Biden’s administration in 2022, over what he saw as a “failure” by Maduro to implement electoral reforms and accept Venezuelans deported from the US, forcing Chevron to pause operations and wind down its activities.
But after intense lobbying, Chevron was granted a new restricted licence by the Department of the Treasury to export Venezuelan crude. That decision was considered to amount to an easing of sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector.
While the precise licence conditions remain unknown, experts said the agreement will bring benefits to Venezuela’s debt-strapped economy as Chevron is expected to send 200,000 barrels of oil per day from Venezuela to international markets.
Christopher Sabatini, senior research fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, said the Trump administration is facing “competing objectives” in Venezuela.
Sabatini told Al Jazeera that the Treasury’s recent move to reinstate Chevron’s (albeit restricted) licence “is a recognition, in part, of the failure of past sanctions” insofar as they ceded control of Venezuelan oil assets from Chevron to “governments opposed to US interests, … China, Russia and Iran”.
He added that “by mobilising this fleet [in the Caribbean], the administration is also trying to scare Maduro into potential regime change.” The upshot, Sabatini said, is that Trump’s two-pronged policy approach “risks causing an unintended conflict with Venezuela”.
How are US relations with the rest of the region?
In talks with leaders from Mexico and Ecuador, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make the case this week for broad cooperation on migration and drug trafficking, which the Trump administration views as crucial for security across the Americas.
Rubio’s trip on Wednesday and Thursday is likely to be complicated by the fact that Trump has rattled many leaders across the region with sweeping tariffs for not complying with his geopolitical aims, experts said.
The main problem, Sabatini said, is that US “demands are a moving target and prone to the whims of Donald Trump”.
In the case of Brazil, for instance, Trump slapped 50 percent tariffs on the country’s goods in August partly in retaliation for the government’s pursuit of criminal charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.
Looking ahead, Sabatini expected countries in Latin America to “slow-walk their responses to Trump without cravenly buckling to his pressure, … [likely resulting in] geopolitical instability”.
Source: Al Jazeera
***
Clown wants regimes change that fall in line with and to his "agenda", namely, political domination & resource-assets exploitation, marginalisation of competitors like China, Russia, Iran, etc. He bullies them with tariffs, sanctions and military threats - just your usual global-village bully-thug - Greenland is a 'friendlier' version of what he's doing to Venezuela, Brasil, India, Iran etc.
Kamil Abdul Munim condemns attempts to racialise the attack on Perak ruler Sultan Nazrin Shah, calling such incitement “devil’s work”.
The aide to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stresses that misleading claims portraying the suspect as Chinese inject racial hostility, which contradicts Malay and Islamic values.
PKR Youth chief Kamil Abdul Munim criticised those who incited racial and religious sentiments over an attempted attack on Perak ruler Sultan Nazrin Shah.
In a video on Facebook today, Kamil, who is political secretary to Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, said those who incite such sentiments to create anger and hatred under a political agenda are doing the “devil’s work”.
“Sometimes I am confused by the behaviour of some of them.
“They talk about Malay issues, but the manners and ethics of the Malay people are nowhere to be seen.
“They talk about Islam, but their hatred towards others is getting stronger,” he said.
On Sept 1, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director M Kumar dismissed speculation that a Chinese woman was arrested after storming the stage towards Perak ruler Sultan Nazrin during the state-level National Day celebration the day before.
A screenshot of a woman storming the stage towards Perak ruler Sultan Nazrin Shah during the state-level National Day celebration
He confirmed that the police had arrested a 41-year-old Malay woman.
Besides drug-related records, Perak police had previously said that the woman involved in the attack also has a history of psychiatric treatment and is under the supervision of a specialist.
‘Damage done’
Kamil said misleading claims presenting the woman as an ethnic Chinese tainted the incident with racial messages.
“The implicit message might be that the Chinese now dare to physically attack the Malay rulers,” he added.
He also criticised Perak PAS Youth chief Hafez Sabri for his role in spreading such claims.
Whilst he thanked Hafez for deleting his social media post over the matter and apologising for his actions, he added that the "damage (has been) done".
“Be fair to all regardless of skin colour, religious understandings, because this is a religious (Islamic) demand.
“In living in the spirit of this Independence Month, maintain our unity together, spread greetings of respect among each other and be citizens who are prudent, knowledgeable and have good character,” he said.
However, on 1st September, Kamil came under fire for praising Hafez on X.
Commenting on a Free Malaysia Today post about the PAS lawmaker's apology, Kamil had said: "An apology will not in the slightest degrade the dignity of humanity.
"Thank you, Hafez. This is the new politics of maturity and peace."
Hafez’s defence
Earlier today, the MCMC recorded a statement from Hafez over his post claiming that the woman involved in the incident is Chinese.
The MCMC said that “this is untrue and has the potential to stir racial tension and create negative perceptions among the public”.
Perak PAS Youth chief Hafez Sabri
Penang and Negeri Sembilan DAP Youth previously lodged police reports over the issue and urged authorities to investigate the Manjoi assemblyperson.
In response, Hafez claimed that his Facebook post, which identified the race of the suspect in the attack against Sultan Nazrin, was based on “initial information” he had obtained.
Insisting that he had corrected his original post “minutes” after it was published, he asserted that irresponsible parties had circulated screenshots of the earlier version of the post to play up narratives against him.
***
Despicable RACIST, yet daring to be in a party professing allegiance to the values required by Allah swt. His mischief could have set the nation on fire.
Shoppers use the RM100 Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) aid to buy daily necessities on the fourth day of its rollout at Mydin Hypermarket in Alor Setar September 3, 2025. The one-off aid, credited via MyKad from August 31, benefits 22 million Malaysians with a RM2 billion allocation. — Bernama pic
Wednesday, 03 Sep 2025 8:59 AM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — More than 2.9 million people have purchased essential goods using the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) Appreciation credit within three days, with total public spending reaching RM192.4 million nationwide.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF), in a statement last night announced that the third day of the SARA Appreciation implementation recorded the highest transaction volume so far, with more than 1.1 million successful transactions completed today.
“This involves a sales value of RM75.3 million as of 10:30 pm, compared to RM50 million on August 31, 2025. At the same time, the successful transaction rate has also increased to 95 percent today, compared to 79 percent on August 31, 2025.
“The increase in the number of transactions since August 31, 2025, has caused the MyKasih system to face a traffic spike, reaching over 2,000 approved transactions per minute, compared to the previous record of around 540 transactions per minute in April 2025,” according to the statement.
The Ministry of Finance said that this is nearly a fourfold increase compared to the previous peak capacity. To improve system fluidity, the processing capacity has been upgraded from 5,000 to 15,000 queries per minute.
“A single transaction typically involves several system requests—including MyKad scanning, item reading, and final confirmation. This upgrade is expected to speed up the transaction process and improve user comfort,” the statement said.
The Ministry of Finance appreciates the encouraging response from recipients. Public feedback will continue to be an important reference in efforts to improve the system to be more efficient and user-friendly.
“The RM100 SARA Appreciation credit remains valid until December 31, 2025, and can be used at over 7,300 registered retail premises nationwide,” the statement added. — Bernama
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Deputy Minister Datuk Fuziah Salleh said the ministry often received complaints from local traders who felt threatened by the situation, but she explained that the business registrations were legally carried out by their local spouses. — Bernama pic
Wednesday, 03 Sep 2025 8:14 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — Marrying locals has been identified as the main modus operandi used by foreigners to conduct business legally in the country, the Dewan Negara was told today.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh said this was because the Registration of Businesses Act 1956 (Act 197) only permits Malaysian citizens and permanent residents to register sole proprietorships or partnerships.
“However, there are foreigners who take advantage by registering businesses under the names of their local spouses.
“Perhaps we can discuss how this poses a threat to other (local) traders,” she said while winding up the debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan motion for the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) here.
Fuziah said the ministry often received complaints from local traders who felt threatened by the situation, but she explained that the business registrations were legally carried out by their local spouses.
The deputy minister said that the registration of businesses, such as retail shops, under Act 197, is limited to Malaysian citizens or permanent residents only, as a measure to protect local small and medium enterprises from foreign competition.
“To date, the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) does not have any regulation barring individuals married to foreigners from registering a business,” she said.
Fuziah said KPDN had received several suggestions from the public, including restricting business registration for foreign spouses to a set period after marriage, for example, only after five years.
In addition, she said enforcement actions against foreign traders were carried out in an integrated manner with the Immigration Department (JIM) and local authorities, as KPDN lacked the power to make arrests.
“They can hire foreign workers, but sometimes when we conduct raids, these foreign workers are found sitting at the front counter. That is not allowed, and since KPDN lacks the authority, we have to call JIM,” she said. — Bernama
State Assemblyman (ADUN) for Manjoi, Mohd Hafez Sabri (in black shirt), has his statement recorded at the Royal Malaysia Police headquarters in Bukit Aman yesterday. — Picture courtesy of MCMC
Wednesday, 03 Sep 2025 9:59 AM MYT
CYBERJAYA, Sept 3 — The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has recorded the statement of Manjoi state assemblyman Mohd Hafez Sabri over a social media post with racial elements linked to an incident at a National Day celebration in Ipoh.
The commission said Mohd Hafez’s statement was taken yesterday at Bukit Aman police headquarters with the cooperation of the Royal Malaysia Police.
“The post falsely claimed that the act was carried out by a Chinese woman,” the commission said in a press statement
“This is untrue and has the potential to stir racial tensions as well as create negative perceptions among the public,” it added.
The case is being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which covers the misuse of network facilities to transmit false, offensive or menacing content.
Convictions carry a fine of up to RM500,000 or imprisonment of up to two years, or both.
At around 8.20am on August 31, a 41-year-old local woman rushed onto the main stage during the Perak state anthem and attempted to approach Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.
She was restrained by security personnel.
Police later said the woman has a history of psychiatric treatment and prior drug-related cases, but tested negative for drugs at the time.
***
This culprit is not only irresponsible, more so as an ADUN, but cowardly as on realising the woman was Type 'M' he backtracked and blamed others, such as "based on earlier info", "did withdrew FB posting on realising", misrepresented, yadda yadda.
Pokoknya, he was so enthused in smearing the mistaken Type 'C' Chinawoman that he ignored responsibility (not to play the RACIST card), confirmation-authentication of facts, etc etc.
Forensic pathologist Dr Jessie Hiu was the first witness in the inquest of Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death.
Wednesday, 03 Sep 2025 4:09 PM MYT
KOTA KINABALU, Sept 3 — A forensic pathologist told the inquest today that student Zara Qairina Mahathir’s injuries were consistent with a fall from height, but said it was unlikely she was pushed or accidentally fell while standing on the third-floor corridor.
Dr Jessie Hiu, the first witness to testify, said her site examination found that the corridor’s concrete rail and metal bar on top measured almost three-quarters of Zara’s height, making it improbable she toppled from a standing position beside the railing.
“Based on the height and width of the concrete railing, the height of the horizontal metal rails and the deceased’s antemortem height, it is possible for her to climb onto the concrete railing, cross over the metal rails and stand on top of the concrete railing,” she said in her statement.
Dr Hiu was among the pathologists who conducted the post-mortem after Zara’s body was exhumed on August 10.
After detailing the extent of her injuries in a 19 page autopsy report and a witness statement Dr Hiu said their distribution was consistent with a fall.
“Reconstruction based on the injuries indicates that the deceased landed on her left foot, followed closely by the right, resulting in more severe injuries to the left heel and leg bones (comminuted fracture of the left calcaneum, comminuted fracture and oblique fracture of the distal left tibia).
Lawyers Sherzali Asli (left) and Nurul Rafeeqa Afdul Mutolip, representing Zara Qairina’s father as an interested party in the inquest into her death, pictured at the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex.
“Following the impact, she fell backward, predominantly onto her left side, sustaining injuries to her left wrist, left forearm, left elbow and the back of her head.
“The force generated upon landing on her lower limbs was transmitted upward, leading to fractures of the fourth to the second lumbar vertebrae associated with psoas muscle haematoma and a localised retroperitoneal pelvic tissue haematoma,” she said.
The court was shown autopsy photos from the exhumation.
On July 16, Zara was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital at 4.38am in critical condition with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of three out of fifteen, indicating severe brain injury.
“She was unconscious. A trauma alert was activated at 4.42am. She was assessed and managed by multidisciplinary teams.
“Clinical examination, CT scans and radiographs revealed a scalp haematoma at the vertex, intracranial bleeding with brain swelling, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, fracture of the distal left radius, dislocation of the left wrist joint, bilateral comminuted fracture of the distal tibia, an open wound on the left ankle, fracture of the distal third of the left tibia, dislocation of the ankle joints, comminuted fracture of the left calcaneum, fracture of the second to fourth lumbar vertebrae, left psoas muscle haematoma and extraperitoneal pelvic tissue haematoma,” she said.
Police stand guard outside the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex during the inquest into the death of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir. — Bernama pic
Zara succumbed to severe traumatic brain injury with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy the following day at 1.07pm.
When questioned by Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Badiuszaman Ahmad on whether the distribution of injuries suggested chronic physical abuse, Dr Hiu said no.
She explained that assault cases usually leave injuries scattered across the body and in different stages of healing, unlike Zara’s grouped injuries which matched two mechanisms of a fall: direct impact on landing and deceleration causing internal bleeding, particularly in the brain.
“The distribution of the injuries are consistent with a fall on landing on the feet,” said Dr Hiu.
She said direct impact trauma is caused upon landing typically causing fractures. In this case the direct impact trauma on both lower limbs. The deceleration injury are due to movement of the body and the internal organs. Once the body landed on the ground there is sudden deceleration but internal organs are still moving resulting in injuries.
“In this case the bleeding on the brain due to stretching and tearing of blood vessels due to sudden deceleration. In chronic physical abuse the mechanism of injury is only direct trauma,” she said.
Dr Hiu also told the court that she had asked Zara’s mother Noraidah Lamat to point out injuries she saw on her daughter’s body.
Court was adjourned at around 4.30pm.
Dr Hiu is the first of some 68 witnesses expected to be called during this inquest. She is expected to be called again tomorrow for questioning.
Zara’s death has gained nationwide attention for allegations of improper handling of the investigation and bullying.
Public outrage has pressured authorities into holding an inquest into her cause of death while five teenagers from her school are also facing bullying charges.
Indonesia, the world’s 4th most populated country, has pursued industrialization, energy security, and technological independence. It ranks 12th in the world among Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) countries. In January, it officially became a full member of BRICS, joining the Global Majority in abandoning the U.S. dollar-dominated economic order. Indonesia has successfully rejected the Western neoliberal doctrines of de-industrialization and import dependency that have kept much of the region poor and underdeveloped.
By adopting an independent foreign policy and refusing to follow Washington’s “Pivot” agenda to decouple from China, it has built a self-sufficient middle-class population in ASEAN. For the Americans, Indonesia is an obstacle, as it will not back them when they eventually decide to go to war with China over Taiwan.
Indonesian rights groups and media organizations such as Remotivi, Project Multatuli, and Jakarta Legal Aid, which back the riots against the year-old government of President Prabowo Subianto and condemn the police, are funded by the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an NGO financed by the U.S. government.
Allan Weinstein, one of NED’s co-founders, once admitted it was doing the work of the CIA, the premier U.S. spy agency. Project Multatuli even acknowledges on its website its collaboration with the liberal billionaire destabilizer George Soros–owned Open Society Foundations. In March, a report by Mongabay mentioned Remotivi and Project Multatuli losing funding as a result of freezes imposed by the Trump administration on NED programs. The International Republican Institute (IRI), headquartered in Washington, is a core component of NED and works hand-in-hand to destabilize governments that defy U.S. dictates.
Behind the appearance of organic protests by ordinary workers lies the hidden hand of neocolonial American destabilizers. Their agenda is to deploy useful idiots to disrupt peace and order, with the ultimate goal of crippling Indonesia’s economy and undermining its sovereignty. The playbook is simple: stir up a mob to attack the authorities, then have activist media, NGOs, and journalists frame law enforcement’s response as “abuses,” conditioning more unsuspecting civilians to join the protests. In this way, these subversive entities brand the riots as triumphs of democracy: civil society’s defiance of a supposed dictatorship.
Indonesia’s foreign policy balances regional interdependence and superpower trade relations while keeping national interest as the highest priority. Every negotiation is leveraged to benefit its people. Obsolete Cold War ideology, partisan politics, or Washington’s pressures do not dictate Jakarta’s decisions. As a modern, sovereign nation-state, Indonesia commands the respect it is owed. Its leaders are forward-thinking, visionary, competent, and possess strong political will; qualities the West finds threatening.
Indonesia banned raw nickel exports in 2020, ending decades of selling resources cheaply to the West. The new rule was clear: if you want Indonesian nickel, process it here and create jobs for Indonesians. This policy forced foreign companies to build smelters and EV battery factories on Indonesian soil. The EU sued them at the WTO.
The U.S. quickly produced a report accusing Indonesia’s nickel industry of child labor abuses. Still, Jakarta stood its ground. Now, Indonesia is poised to become one of the world’s largest EV battery producers. China, the world’s biggest EV manufacturer, took the offer seriously. Giants like CATL and Tsingshan Holding Group invested billions to build smelters, cathode plants, and battery factories in Sulawesi and Morowali. These projects created thousands of jobs, transferred technology, trained local engineers, and built an entire EV ecosystem from mining to assembly.
Indonesia also negotiated a joint oil exploration deal with China in the Natuna Sea despite overlapping territorial claims. The result: a win-win solution enabling mutual development while avoiding military confrontation. Jakarta further partnered with Beijing to construct a high-speed rail line. Today, the Jakarta-Bandung bullet train runs at 350 km/h, cutting travel time from three hours to forty minutes. It is Southeast Asia’s first modernized public mass transit system.
Indonesia refused to join the U.S. sanctions regime against Russia. Instead, through its state-owned oil giant Pertamina, it purchased Russian oil at significant discounts, ensuring affordable fuel and steady energy security. Ignoring Western political pressure, Pertamina expanded refining capacity using cheap Russian crude, modernized refineries, exported fuel competitively, and shielded the economy from global price volatility. The Karimun oil hub in the Riau Islands became a transshipment center for Russian crude, with tankers offloading oil there for redistribution across ASEAN.
When the Trump administration threatened a 35% tariff on Indonesian exports, President Prabowo Subianto didn’t dispatch an entourage or beg Washington for concessions. He simply picked up the phone and spoke directly to Donald Trump. A single 17-minute call was enough to secure a deal lowering the tariff rate to 19%.
Jakarta is also staunchly pro-Palestine. Earlier this month, it condemned Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza, called on the UN Security Council to stop Israel’s genocide, and urged nations to recognize Palestine as a state. In April, President Subianto even announced that Indonesia was ready to shelter Palestinians displaced by the Zionist regime.
Finally, Jakarta stood up to Silicon Valley. It mandated that 30% of components for smartphones sold in Indonesia must be locally produced. This effectively banned new iPhones from entering the market. Apple, unwilling to lose access, invested in R&D centers in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Batam, launched training programs for local youth, and established assembly and production operations in the country. As a result, Indonesia developed a domestic manufacturing and tech ecosystem instead of remaining a mere importer.
The inorganic unrest in Indonesia is not about democracy, rights, or freedom but an example of Washington’s old imperial tricks. The United States cannot tolerate a Global South nation that refuses to kneel, develops its own industries, trades with China and Russia on equal footing, asserts its sovereignty in ASEAN, and refuses to be bullied into abandoning Palestine. Jakarta’s rise terrifies the West because it exposes the myth that prosperity can only come by following World Bank and IMF dictates. What America brands as “civil society movements” are in reality outsourced operations of destabilization designed to manufacture chaos and exploit real grievances.
What they are doing to Jakarta today, they already did to Manila forty years ago with EDSA. America cannot allow a region of sovereign states to rise outside its orbit. That is why Indonesia is under attack, and that is why all of ASEAN must see through the sham because if Jakarta falls, the rest of the region will be next: either in a war that will kill millions or continued Western economic and industrial hegemony.
Daniel Long writes for various newspapers and journals on geopolitics, including the Manila Times and Asian Century Journal, he has represented the Philippines in multiple delegations to China—as a press, youth, and social media influencer delegate—and previously served as a speechwriter for Senator Imee Marcos.
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy was rocked by the widespread protests, which left at least six dead and were initially sparked by the handing out of lavish perks to lawmakers. — File pic via AFP
Wednesday, 03 Sep 2025 9:17 AM MYT
JAKARTA, Sept 3 — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will visit China for a military parade commemorating 80 years since the end of World War II today, after earlier cancelling his trip over deadly domestic protests stoked by the death of a young delivery driver.
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy was rocked by the widespread protests, which left at least six dead and were initially sparked by the handing out of lavish perks to lawmakers.
Prabowo was forced to revoke some of the incentives in the wake of the demonstrations.
State Secretariat Minister Prasetyo Hadi said the Indonesian leader left for China on Tuesday evening and was due back a day later.
“Today he monitored the situation and received reports from all relevant officials that public life was gradually returning to normal,” said Prasetyo.
Prabowo and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were expected to meet for talks during the visit, he said.
The rallies have become smaller in recent days after the lawmaker perks were revoked and the military was deployed to the capital on Monday in a show of force.
Prabowo will now join the more than 25 leaders—including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin—who will attend Wednesday’s parade centred on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Xi invited Prabowo for the huge spectacle, in which China will showcase its military prowess, with troops marching in formation, flypasts and high-tech fighting gear on display.
Millions of Chinese people were killed during a prolonged war with imperial Japan in the 1930s and 40s, which became part of a global conflict following Tokyo’s attack on the United States’ Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Indonesia maintains a neutral foreign policy through which it maintains strong relations with both Washington and Beijing. But Prabowo has pledged to boost ties and defence cooperation with China. — AFP
“When it comes to governance, I think it is my duty to undertake and effect change because the country is somewhat destroyed. Unless there is a clear political commitment and resolve to change, I do not believe Malaysia will survive.”
- PM Anwar Ibrahim, 2023
COMMENT | Academic Tajuddin Rasdi’s article “Seven harsh realities facing non-Malays and non-Muslims” is supposed to be a blunt reality check for the group in this country.
He had told the group that Malaysians must come to peace with these realities before change can be discussed.
“If we do not accept, or merely deny these realities, we will go nowhere or worse will slide even further down a perilous road,” he said.
However, it is a narrative that merely retells the social contract.
To be fair, the "social contract" assured a kind of racial cohesion which has been lost because of rapidly changing communications technology, but it is also the logical conclusion of Malay uber alles politics.
You may believe in a return of this type of politics, and Madani is desperately trying to harken back to this mode of governance, but what is that old saying, you can never go home.
The question is, do we really need to go home?
Let us go through Tajuddin’s seven realities one by one.
Academic Tajuddin Rasdi
Reality 1: Malays will never change
This is an ahistorical statement. Malay culture and politics have changed from the post-colonial and post-independence eras.
The creeping Arabisation and Malay uber alles type of politics and narratives was a deliberate political strategy.
The deliberate destruction of the Malay left was a political strategy meant to distract from the commonality of class and make religion and race - since neither is mutually exclusive here - the sole motivating factor of political power.
Tajuddin said his attempts to change this mindset failed not because he tried, but rather because he attempted to corral other academic types to the cause.
This doesn't mean that Malays cannot be changed, only that the intelligentsia, for whatever reasons, did not want to speak up.
The reality is that Malays who have attempted to change mindsets, and this is not touchy-feely expressions of Malaysianess but rather class-based dialectics or anti-hegemonic politics, have been sanctioned by the state because it understands that ideas are dangerous, just ask activist lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri.
Reality 2: Islam will be weaponised
Tajuddin said the religion will be weaponised to the point that it would be worse than the race card being played. PAS will see to that, and so will independent preachers, he added.
Incorrect. PAS will benefit from Madani's weaponisation of the religion. It is Madani who wants to enact the mufti bill.
It is Madani which is allowing preachers like Zamri Vinoth and Firdaus Wong to run riot, and it is Madani, or rather Pakatan Harapan, which has cracked down on different Islamic narratives over the years.
This includes when the state harassed activist Maryam Lee for her book “Unveiling Choice”.
It wasn’t PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang who officiated the conversion of a Hindu youth. Why? Because everyone knows what kind of Islam Hadi preaches.
He believes the non-Muslims have to be Pak Turuts (yes men). His religious bona fides are not in question. But Madani under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim? The state takes every opportunity to prove its religious credentials, and Anwar's religious czar has been at the forefront of causing religious anxiety.
PM Anwar Ibrahim
Reality 3: Malay dominance shapes state machinery
Tajuddin said civil servants, the judiciary, educationists and security personnel are mostly Malays, and so the machinery of government will be skewed towards one narrative.
The civil service, he said, will never change. This goes back to reality number one and proves that it is not that the Malays cannot change, but they have been changed by the state.
An example of this would be the armed forces. Read Patriot’s statement about the reasons for the low non-Malay enrollment in the armed services.
"The government’s affirmative policies of the 1980s had seeped into the military administration. Strange sayings like "orang kita" (our people) have crept into the minds of military commanders.
“Slowly and surely, the commanders saw some of those under their command as half-brothers or stepsons, unlike the 'all are equal' mindset of previous years,” it said.
So when Anwar defended the appointment of M Kumar as the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director and said, “It is not an issue for me. Anyone who can do the job is eligible for it,” is this just performative and tokenism?
The courts ruled in favour of M Indira Gandhi. The courts concluded that Teoh Beng Hock's death was murder by persons from the state. They did all of this while apparently skewed towards one narrative?
M Indira Gandhi
There are racial issues here, of course, but saying that Indira and non-Malays should stop fighting for her child, or that the Teoh family and their non-Malay supporters should stop seeking justice because the system will never deliver, is something only a person of privilege would say.
It also seeks to make non-Malays complicit in the denial of their rights by the state. We must all share the blame and guilt for the kidnapping of Indira's child and Teoh’s murder, that is what giving up on these issues really means.
Reality 4: Mixed government
“From now onwards, we will have a mixed government,” Tajuddin said.
Here is the problem with the “mixed government” or “a single race government” discourse. It misses the point.
No matter the government, policy will be geared towards a single race. The difference is the pettiness towards the non-Malays.
This pettiness is defined by how much further the rights of the community will be taken away. With one, it is slow; the other is faster. But make no mistake, the destination is the same.
Now people can either vote for their respective parties, understanding that they are buying time or not vote and understand that with all these realities Tajuddin has mentioned, it will only become more onerous.
Reality 5: There must be patience
For decades, Malaysians were patient, and things only got worse.
The Malays abandoned Umno because of the corruption, the non-Malays abandoned BN because of the enabling to the detriment of the community.
What kind of government do you think will be formed when this mixed government is destabilising secular and democratic structures, empowering the religious class and defanging non-Malay secular and democratic power structures?
Indeed, progressive Malays have been thwarted at every turn because their ideas do not benefit the Malay political class, and non-Malay political operatives will not have anything to do with them lest they are accused of trespassing on Malay terrains.
The fact that, after decades of preferential treatment of a system skewed towards one narrative, the Malay polity is still struggling which is demonstrative of the failure of the policies directed at them.
A non-Malay told me his child could not get into local universities even though he was more than qualified. He entered a German university instead, and the young adult now has a chip on his shoulder about this country.
All we got from this patience is a brain drain, which is going to affect how we deal with upcoming technological storms that will sweep this green earth.
Reality 6: Limits on freedom of speech
Tajuddin said that there should no longer be unrestricted freedom of speech.
This is not a reality, this is blatantly false. There is no unrestricted freedom of speech in this country, except for those whom the state deems acceptable.
For the rest of us, there have always been limitations on freedom of speech. There have been consequences for speaking out.
The reality is that Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh has more free speech and will probably escape any consequences for his provocations. But not everyone, and certainly not the non-Malays, have the same right when it comes to free speech.
Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh during a protest in Penang over a trader accidentally flying the Jalur Gemilang upside down
Saying that people should give up their right to protest injustice because someone like Akmal has the right to promote hate is frankly disingenuous.
This is especially since folk like Akmal understand that there are no consequences for his provocations and want there to be no speech for his detractors and for egalitarian, anti fascist speech.
Reality 7: Rethink response to shifting alliances
“Finally, the seventh reality is that we need to change the way we respond to changing political alliance and context,” the architecture professor said.
Hold on, Tajuddin wrote that the Malays will never change. So this means that the non-Malays are the ones who have to be flexible. They have to change.
They have to support this idea of a mixed government where the whole system is skewed towards one narrative forever, or except another single-race government, which essentially does the same thing, only with more pettiness.
It makes you wonder, what kind of Malaysia does the prime minister, whose quote opens this piece, want to save?
So, with all of this, should non-Malays give up on Malaysia, or is Hadi right and what Tajuddin argued, either deliberately or inadvertently, that non-Malays should merely be "Pak Turuts"?
S THAYAPARAN is commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk M Kumar S Muthuvelu said that investigation papers were opened following separate cases involving the accounts of Muhammad Zamis Shah (@zamis88_shah98_sikacau) and ‘Monkey Dnaga’. — Picture by Choo Choy May l Wednesday, 03 Sep 2025 8:57 AM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — Police have launched investigations into two TikTok accounts over posts alleged to contain seditious elements and false claims.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk M Kumar S Muthuvelu said that investigation papers were opened following separate cases involving the accounts of Muhammad Zamis Shah (@zamis88_shah98_sikacau) and “Monkey Dnaga”.
“Both account holders have been successfully identified and are not connected to each other. Efforts to trace the suspects involved are ongoing,” he said in a statement.
M Kumar said the first case concerns a post linked to the death of Zara Qairina, while the second involves content that associated the Prime Minister with Israel.
The cases are being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, Section 505(b) of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Convictions under these provisions carry penalties ranging from fines of up to RM500,000 to imprisonment of up to three years, or both.
The police also cautioned the public against creating, uploading or sharing content that could cause public alarm or disrupt harmony, warning that stern action will be taken without compromise.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands after a welcoming ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. — AFP pic
Wednesday, 03 Sep 2025 7:00 AM MYT
SEOUL, Sept 3 — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in China for a high-profile visit, a rare step beyond his country’s borders for prospective meetings with President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The trip could be Kim’s bid to “formalise” ties with Pyongyang’s two main allies – and potentially play a more prominent role on the international stage, experts say.
AFP takes a look at what we know:
What’s going on?
Beijing is hosting a massive military parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.
Kim and Putin are among more than 25 world leaders slated to attend, marking the first time the two men have appeared alongside Xi at the same event.
Their presence “formalises the China-Russia-North Korea trilateral (relationship) to the public”, Soo Kim, a geopolitical risk consultant and former CIA analyst, told AFP.
“What better way to send a visual message to the rest of the world, notably the US, Japan, and South Korea, that this is indeed the trilateral they are up against?” she said.
What might it mean?
Nuclear-armed North Korea and Russia are traditional allies that have grown closer since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Kim sending weapons and thousands of troops to help Moscow.
“This not only earned Kim a sweet spot with Putin – effectively, it also helped him strengthen his global positioning,” Soo Kim said.
By deepening military cooperation with Russia, the North Korean leader was able to “emerge” from global isolation following years of heavy UN-led sanctions over his banned weapons programmes, she said.
China is Pyongyang’s other major backer, and has also never denounced the Ukraine war – drawing criticism from Western nations that it is tacitly supporting Russia.
The parade is “political theatre of the highest order... the primary message is the political solidarity of this new axis”, Seong-Hyon Lee, a visiting scholar and associate at the Harvard University Asia Center, told AFP.
For Xi, the grand spectacle “cements his role as the undisputed leader of the anti-Western coalition”, Lee said, adding that it also “shatters the narrative of (Putin’s) diplomatic isolation”.
China’s President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on September 2, 2025. — AFP pic
What does it mean for Kim?
Kim enjoyed a brief bout of high-profile international diplomacy from around 2018, meeting US President Donald Trump and then South Korean President Moon Jae-in multiple times.
But he withdrew from the global scene after the collapse of a summit with Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019.
Kim stayed in North Korea throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, but met Putin in Russia’s far east in 2023.
Although Kim’s grandfather, North Korea’s founding leader Kim Il Sung, actively pursued global diplomacy, his father and predecessor Kim Jong Il was significantly more reclusive, said Cheong Seong-chang at Seoul’s Sejong Institute.
Kim Jong Un’s trip to Beijing could signal that, “like his grandfather... he will now become more active in foreign diplomacy”, Cheong said.
Xi is also set to visit South Korea later this year for a major summit, and Kim’s trip could signal an effort to hedge against the Chinese leader improving ties with Seoul’s new president, Lee Jae Myung.
His China trip shows that Kim “feels more comfortable and confident as Russia-North Korea ties grow”, Andrew Yeo, professor of politics at the Catholic University of America in Washington, told AFP.
What about Trump?
The Chinese parade comes as Trump steps up efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump – who met Kim three times and once even said they had fallen “in love” – has voiced hope of meeting him again.
Since their failed 2019 summit, Pyongyang has declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state and recently rejected any suggestion of improving ties with Seoul’s Lee.
Putin may even “serve as a useful go-between (for) Kim and Trump”, Vladimir Tikhonov, Korean Studies professor at the University of Oslo, told AFP.
“Putin has been indicted for war-related crimes, but he is also perhaps the only contemporary power holder whom both Trump and Kim trust,” he said.
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. — Reuters pic
What will come afterwards?
If Kim’s Beijing trip is a success, it could help him score future diplomatic wins, Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at South Korea’s Kyungnam University, said.
It opens up the possibility of a “reciprocal visit” by Xi to Pyongyang for a key anniversary in October, Lim told AFP.
Now that Putin and Xi are backing Kim, Trump’s “calculus changes completely”, said Harvard’s Lee.
“The security guarantees provided by this new trilateral relationship effectively make North Korea’s nuclear arsenal non-negotiable,” he said.
“Kim is no longer just a recipient of aid. He has successfully leveraged his nuisance value into strategic relevance.” — AFP
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim shakes hands with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during a bilateral meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, yesterday — Bernama pic
Wednesday, 03 Sep 2025 9:04 AM MYT
BEIJING, Sept 3 — Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged his full support for accelerating Malaysia’s full membership in the Brics bloc.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that this development was conveyed by Xi during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People here yesterday.
“President Xi stated his full support for accelerating Malaysia’s participation as a full member of Brics.
“This is a great honor and a sign of support for our country to continue playing an important role on the world stage,” he told Malaysian media covering his four-day working visit to China.
Brics, established in 2009, is currently made up of 11 countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and Egypt. Malaysia became a partner country of the bloc in early 2025.
Earlier, the Prime Minister made a courtesy call on Xi, where both leaders discussed efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Commenting on the meeting, Anwar said that the meeting reinforced ties that have been in place since Xi’s state visit to Malaysia last April, during which 31 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and agreements were signed.
“I stated that this relationship must be translated with the immediate implementation of the matters that have been agreed upon. Only with quick action can this special relationship have a more meaningful impact on the people of both countries,” he said.
He added that he highly appreciates the sincerity of the friendship expressed by President Xi and the respect given to Malaysia.
“Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), President Xi and I are in agreement to continue strengthening this friendship based on trust, respect, and sincerity. Even though we are a small country, confidence, mutual trust, and shared determination can become a great strength to shape a more peaceful, just, and prosperous future,” he said.
Anwar also expressed support for the proposals and ideas championed by President Xi, especially the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which strengthens global connectivity, as well as the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) conceived during this time’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.
He also congratulated Xi on the successful and historic organisation of the SCO Summit.
China remains Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, with bilateral trade reaching US$106 billion last year, reflecting the closeness of this relationship.
“I stated to President Xi about Malaysia’s commitment to strengthening high-value exports such as E&E, aerospace, medical, pharmaceutical, as well as oil and gas,” said Anwar. — Bernama
Demonstrators gather in front of the Ministry of Education building in Putrajaya on August 21, 2025, to protest for “Justice For Zara.” — Picture by Sayuti Zanudin
Wednesday, 03 Sep 2025 7:00 AM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — The tragic death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir has led to a Coroner's Court inquest, a legal proceeding aimed at determining the cause and circumstances of her death.
Zara Qairina, 13, was found unconscious near her school dormitory in Sabah on July 16 and pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital the next day. She is believed to have suffered bullying, neglect, and sexual harassment.
The inquest, which involves a total of 70 witnesses, is scheduled to be heard before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan from Sept 3 to 4, Sept 8 to 12, Sept 17 to 19 and Sept 22 to 30.
What is an inquest?
In basic terms, an inquest is a public inquiry into a death; it is not a trial.
There are no parties to prosecute or defend, and its primary purpose is fact-finding, not assigning guilt.
Governed by the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), an inquest's main objective is to investigate the cause of death and the events surrounding it.
Noraidah Lamat, the mother of the late Zara Qairina Mahathir, attends the Coroner’s Court in Kota Kinabalu on August 28, 2025, for a pre-inquest proceeding into her daughter’s death. — Bernama pic
Who is involved?
In Malaysia, an inquest is held in a Coroner's Court, which is presided over by a Sessions Court judge acting as a coroner. The roles and duties of a coroner regarding death is supplemented by Practice Directions issued by the Judiciary in 2014 and 2019.
Under the CPC, the coroner's inquiry seeks to answer five key questions: when, where, how, and in what manner the deceased died, and whether any person was criminally involved in the death.
Interested parties in an inquest — including family members, government representatives, or those who may have contributed to the death — may be represented by lawyers and have the right to cross-examine witnesses, but there is no defendant facing charges.
A deputy public prosecutor or inquest officer assists the coroner in presenting evidence and questioning witnesses, but unlike in a criminal trial, they are not seeking to secure a conviction against any accused person.
During an inquest, evidence is presented through witness testimony, expert reports (such as from labs or autopsies), and investigation papers.
In some cases, as with Zara Qairina, it can involve the exhumation of a body.
Security members install security tape outside the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex on August 20, 2025,. — Bernama pic
What are the possible verdicts?
After assessing all the evidence, the coroner will deliver a verdict on the cause of death. The possible verdicts include:
An open verdict: Issued when there is insufficient evidence to determine the cause of death.
Misadventure: Death caused by a deliberate act that unintentionally goes wrong (for instance, an accident).
Homicide: Death caused by another person (murder or culpable homicide).
Natural causes: Death due to illness or natural processes.
Suicide: Death caused by the deceased's own actions.
Crucially, there is no conviction or punishment at the end of an inquest, as its role is investigative.
Why is the inquest important in Zara's case?
The findings of the Coroner's Court, while not leading directly to a criminal charge, can be a vital guide for the Attorney General's Chambers in deciding whether to initiate or pursue criminal prosecution.
For the family, an inquest provides a public platform to hear all the evidence and safeguards their legal right to understand the full and accurate facts surrounding a loved one's death.
In Zara Qairina's case, her death led to controversy over claims of cover-ups and conspiracy theories including over the identities of her alleged bullies, which an inquest could help to diffuse.
An undated photograph of Zara Qairina Mahathir shared on social media.
High-profile inquests in Malaysia
Among cases that involved inquests were the deaths of:
Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim (2018) – A fireman critically injured during a riot before dying. The coroner recorded a verdict of "death due to injuries inflicted unlawfully," highlighting the violent circumstances that led to his demise. This verdict played a key role in subsequent police investigations and trials of suspects involved.
Teoh Beng Hock (2009) – A political aide whose death at an MACC building raised significant public and legal scrutiny. The coroner could not conclusively determine whether the death was suicide, accident, or homicide due to insufficient evidence. This verdict sparked public debate and calls for reforms in investigation procedures.
Kugan Ananthan (2009) – A custodial death case, spotlighting detainee rights and investigation procedures. Although the inquest did not assign criminal liability directly, it prompted further investigations and discussions about detainee treatment.
Nour Rania Asyifaa (2022) – Death of a 15-month-old baby at a daycare centre, with investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death. The inquest concluded that the death of the baby at the daycare centre occurred due to negligence
