Pro-govt NGOs form alliance against Dr M's 'big umbrella' drive

Pro-govt NGOs form alliance against Dr M's 'big umbrella' drive

N Faizal Ghazali
Published: Jun 18, 2025 7:32 PM
Updated: 9:38 PM



Summary

• Ten pro-government NGOs unite under the Malaysian Community Welfare Movement (GKUM) to oppose Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s “big umbrella” initiative to restore Malay political dominance and address Malay issues allegedly ignored by the government.

• The counter-movement, backed by government parties, argues that Mahathir’s approach represents narrow racial politics that threaten national unity.

Backed by government parties, 10 NGOs have united to oppose former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s “big umbrella” to restore Malay political dominance.

The group banded under the Malaysian Community Welfare Movement (GKUM), with its chairperson Amidi Abdul Manan stating this was in response to the big umbrella, which he said stemmed from narrow racial politics.

Through this new movement, he explained, national unity remains a cornerstone that cannot be sidelined, damaged, or manipulated.

“We hereby mobilise this welfare aspiration called GKUM, calling upon both leaders and society to strive towards creating prosperous governance in terms of character, politics, economics, social issues, technology, and administration,” Amidi (above) said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

The big umbrella initiative refers to the concept floated by Mahathir, who recently announced a Malay secretariat committee to unite Malays.

The two-time former prime minister said the committee also aims to help Malays regain control of the government and serve as a platform for resolving Malay issues, which the government allegedly failed to address.

Among the NGOs under GKUM are the Malaysian Community Empowerment Organisation (Wadah), Ikram Malaysia, Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim), Haluan Malaysia, Islamic Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (DPIM), and the G70 Professor Group Organisation (G70).


‘Malaysia is built on diversity’

Amidi said GKUM’s effort is also supported by PKR, Umno’s religious council, and Amanah.

“We, representing NGOs, wish to express our love and affection for our religion, race, and nation.

“We recognise Malaysia as a country built upon a diversity of backgrounds, whether in religion, race, or culture,” he said.

On June 5, Mahathir announced the formation of a secretariat committee after meeting with several leaders, including from Perikatan Nasional, as part of another bid to “save the Malays” by restoring their political dominance.

Asked if the movement would involve Umno, Mahathir - who after leaving Umno led two splinter parties, Bersatu and Pejuang - said he was open to its members joining the struggle.

In response, the Umno Veterans’ Club told Mahathir to stop playing the role of a “rogue hantu raya”.

The club’s secretary-general, Mustapha Yaakub, reminded the former premier that Umno members would not be deceived by the formation of the Malay secretariat committee.

“Mahathir was the one who divided the Malays in Umno after leaving the party and forming Bersatu.

“Now he wants to unite the Malays and is inviting Umno members to join him.

“His grudge against Umno leaders has driven him to want to destroy the very party that once made him prime minister for decades,” he added.

Cops quiz Pahang MCA Youth chief over video on mobile data sharing

FMT:

Cops quiz Pahang MCA Youth chief over video on mobile data sharing


Wong Siew Mun spends two hours at Bukit Aman over her remarks on an MCMC request involving user data

Pahang MCA Youth chief Wong Siew Mun speaking to reporters after being questioned at Bukit Aman today. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Pahang MCA Youth chief Wong Siew Mun was questioned by police today over a video in which she raised concerns about a request from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to telcos to collect mobile phone data.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong said Wong informed him that she had given her statement to Bukit Aman police this afternoon.

“She contacted me at 2pm to inform me that she had just finished giving her statement at Bukit Aman,” he said in a Facebook post.


Wee said Wong was accompanied by her lawyer, Kamarudin Ahmad, and was questioned from 11.15am to 1.15pm.

“I was informed that she is being investigated under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Her mobile phone was also confiscated,” he said.


The investigation centres on a video in which Wong referenced a South China Morning Post report and questioned the motive behind MCMC’s request to mobile network operators to submit user data.

MCMC has since clarified that the data collection initiative did not involve the access, processing or disclosure of any personally identifiable information.

Commissioner Derek John Fernandez said the mobile phone data would be used strictly to generate official statistics to support evidence-based policymaking in the information and communications technology sector and the tourism sector.

Apex court allows Najib to attend appeal hearing on royal addendum

FMT:

Apex court allows Najib to attend appeal hearing on royal addendum


Lawyer Shafee Abdullah submits application, which was unopposed by the federal counsel representing the attorney-general

The Federal Court had previously fixed July 1 and 2 to hear the appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that allowed Najib Razak to initiate a judicial review related to the addendum. (EPA Images pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Federal Court today allowed an application by Najib Razak to attend the hearing of the attorney-general’s appeal on the existence of a royal addendum allegedly permitting him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.

A three-member panel comprising Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Hashim and Federal Court judges Zabariah Yusof and Hanipah Farikullah allowed the application, and issued an order to facilitate Najib’s presence at the hearing in July.

Bernama reported that the former prime minister’s counsel, Shafee Abdullah, submitted the application and that it was unopposed by federal counsel Ainna Sherina Saipolamin, who represented the attorney-general.


The Federal Court had previously fixed July 1 and 2 to hear the appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that allowed Najib to initiate a judicial review related to the addendum.

In a 2-1 majority decision on Jan 6, the Court of Appeal remitted the case on Najib’s claim of the existence of a royal addendum purportedly allowing him to serve the remainder of his six-year prison sentence under house arrest to the High Court to be heard on its merits.


This decision overturned the High Court’s earlier dismissal of Najib’s application for leave to commence a judicial review regarding the alleged addendum.

Najib is currently serving a six-year jail sentence in connection with the SRC International Sdn Bhd case, following the Federal Court’s dismissal of his appeal and review application.


In February last year, the Federal Territories Pardons Board reduced his initial 12-year jail sentence and fine of RM210 million to six years and a RM50 million fine.

BBC:

Trump considers joining Israel on Iran strikes as IDF targets nuclear sites

Trump Demands Iran's 'Unconditional Surrender'

BBC News

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Summary

• Donald Trump is considering joining Israel's strikes targeting Iran's underground nuclear sites, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports, as the two nations exchange fire for a sixth day

• The US president earlier called for Iran's "unconditional surrender" and says he knows where the country's leader is but won't kill him, "for now"

• Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says he will never compromise with Israel and will show "no mercy"

• Israel says it struck a centrifuge site in Tehran and weapons facilities as part of its overnight barrage

• Iran launched its own attacks on Israel, with sirens sounding twice overnight - but the scale of Tehran's attacks has diminished, writes Hugo Bachega

Did Trump approve Israel’s attack on Iran, and is the US preparing for war?

al Jazeera:

Did Trump approve Israel’s attack on Iran, and is the US preparing for war?

The US president has supported diplomacy, but recent statements suggest he may back military action as a form of coercion

(AFP)
By John T Psaropoulos
Published On 18 Jun 2025



As the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates, United States President Donald Trump’s administration is offering mixed signals about whether it still backs a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear programme.

Publicly, it has backed a negotiated agreement, and US and Iranian negotiators had planned to meet again this week. As recently as Thursday, Trump insisted in a Truth Social post: “We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution.”

But 14 hours later as Israel began its attacks on Iran, Trump posted that he had given Iran a 60-day deadline to reach an agreement – and that the deadline had passed. By Sunday, Trump was insisting that “Israel and Iran should make a deal” and they would with his help.

On Monday as Trump prepared to leave the Group of Seven summit in Canada early, his warnings grew more ominous: He posted that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” The US president later denied speculation that he had returned to Washington, DC, early to negotiate a ceasefire, noting that it was for something “much bigger than that”.

Trump’s ambiguous statements have fuelled debate among analysts about the true extent of US involvement and intentions in the Israel-Iran conflict.
Debating Trump’s wink and a nod

Trump has denied any US involvement in the strikes. “The U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight,” he wrote on Sunday.

Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the US-based Arms Control Association, said Trump’s messaging had been clear. “I think that President Trump has been very clear in his opposition to the use of military force against Iran while diplomacy was playing out. And reporting suggests that he pushed back against [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” she said.

What’s more likely, Davenport said, is that “Israel was worried that diplomacy would succeed, that it would mean a deal” and “that it did not view [this as] matching its interests and objectives regarding Iran”.

Richard Nephew, a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, agreed, saying it was Trump’s consistent march towards a deal that troubled Israel.

“I think it is that consistency that’s actually been the thing that’s the problem,” said Nephew, who served as director for Iran at the US National Security Council from 2011 to 2013 under then-President Barack Obama.

But Ali Ansari, a professor of Iranian history at St Andrews University in Scotland, disagreed.

“The US was aware. … Even if the specific timing did surprise them, they must have been aware, so a wink is about right,” he told Al Jazeera.

“At the same time, the US view is that Israel must take the lead and should really do this on their own,” he said.

Could Trump get sucked into the conflict?

Israel is believed to have destroyed the above-ground section of Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. The facility has enriched uranium to 60 percent purity – far above the 3.67 percent needed for nuclear power but below the 90 percent purity needed for an atomic bomb. Power loss at Natanz as a result of the Israeli strike may have also damaged the underground enrichment section at Natanz, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

But in the IAEA’s assessment, Israel did not damage Iran’s other uranium enrichment plant at Fordow, which is buried inside a mountain and also enriches uranium to 60 percent purity.

“It’s likely that Israel would need US support if it actually wanted to penetrate some of these underground facilities,” Davenport said, pointing to the largest US conventional bomb, the 13,600kg (30,000lb) Massive Ordnance Penetrator.

“[With] repeated strikes with that munition, you could likely damage or destroy some of these facilities,” Davenport said, noting that Washington “has not transferred that bomb to Israel”.

Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center, a US-based think tank, also told Al Jazeera that Israel would need US weapons to complete its stated mission of destroying Iran’s nuclear programme.

Nephew, for one, did not discount the chances of that happening.

“We know that [Trump] likes to be on the side of winners. To the extent that he perceives the Israelis as winners right now, that is the reason why he is maintaining his position and why I think we have a wink [to Israel],” he said.

On Friday, the US flew a large number of midair-refuelling planes to the Middle East and ordered the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to sail there. On Tuesday, it announced it was sending more warplanes to the region.

Ansari agreed that the initial success of Israel’s attacks could mean that “Trump is tempted to join in just to get some of the glory,” but he thinks this could force Iran to stand down.

“It may well be that the US does join in on an attack on Fordow although I think even the genuine threat of an American attack will bring the Iranians to the table,” Ansari said. “They can concede – with honour – to the United States; they can’t to Israel, though they may have no choice.”

Wary of American involvement, US Senator Tim Kaine introduced a war powers resolution on Monday that would require the US Congress to authorise any military action against Iran.

“It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States,” Kaine said.

Diplomacy vs force

Obama did not believe a military solution was attractive or feasible for Iran’s nuclear programme, and he opted for a diplomatic process that resulted in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015. That agreement called for the IAEA to monitor all of Iran’s nuclear activities to ensure that uranium enrichment only reached the levels required for energy production.

According to Nephew and Davenport, Trump indirectly fanned the flames of the military option when he pulled the US out of the JCPOA as president in 2018 at Israel’s behest.

Two years later, Iran said it would enrich uranium to 4.5 percent purity, and in 2021, it refined it to 20 percent purity. In 2023, the IAEA said it had found uranium particles at Fordow enriched to 83.7 percent purity.

Trump offered no alternative to the JCPOA during his first presidential term, nor did President Joe Biden after him.

“Setting [the JCPOA] on fire was a direct contribution to where we are today,” Nephew said. Seeking a military path instead of a diplomatic one to curtail a nuclear programme “contributes to a proliferation path”, he said, “because countries say, ‘The only way I can protect myself is if I go down this path.’”

Davenport, an expert on the nuclear and missile programmes of Iran and North Korea, said even the regime change in Tehran that Netanyahu has called for wouldn’t solve the problem.

“Regime change is not an assured nonproliferation strategy,” she said. “We don’t know what would come next in Iran if this regime were to fall. If it were the military seizing control, nuclear weapons might be more likely. But even if it were a more open democratic government, democracies choose to build nuclear weapons too.”

Source: Al Jazeera

SST collection revenue to increase by RM10bil in 2026, says govt

FMT:

SST collection revenue to increase by RM10bil in 2026, says govt


Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican says the tax burden is skewed towards those who can afford it

Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican during his visit to the customs department to see its preparation for the expansion of the SST from July 1. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Revenue from the sales and service tax (SST) collection is expected to increase by RM5 billion in 2025 and by RM10 billion in 2026, following the expansion of its scope from July 1.

Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican said the review of the SST was a progressive approach towards broadening the national revenue base.

“The tax burden is skewed towards those who can afford it,” Bernama reported him as saying after a visit to the customs department today.


Johan said efforts had been made in determining the scope of the tax to ensure it would be implemented in a targeted manner.

Previously, finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan projected that the improved SST would generate revenue of RM51.7 billion in 2025, up from the earlier SST collection forecast of RM46.7 billion.


On June 9, the government announced a targeted revision of sales tax rates as well as expansion of the scope of the service tax, effective July 1.

Zero tax rates will remain for essential goods, while a rate of 5% to 10% will be imposed on non-essential items from July 1.

The scope of the service tax will be expanded to cover rental, leasing, construction, financial services, and private healthcare and education services.


Under the new tax regime, a 6% service tax will be imposed on construction services for infrastructure, commercial, and industrial buildings if the taxable value exceeds RM1.5 million annually.


The same rate applies to private healthcare, traditional and complementary medicine, and allied health services provided to foreigners, on service providers exceeding the RM1.5 million threshold.

Services directly impacting Malaysians such as public and some private healthcare will continue to be exempted from the service tax.

Iran strikes Tel Aviv with hypersonic missiles as Trump demands ‘unconditional surrender’

Iran strikes Tel Aviv with hypersonic missiles as Trump demands ‘unconditional surrender’



Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept. — AFP pic

Wednesday, 18 Jun 2025 2:03 PM MYT



TEHRAN, June 18 — Iran said early Wednesday it fired hypersonic missiles at Israel in the latest round of overnight strikes between the archfoes, hours after Donald Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.

The US president insists Washington has played no part in ally Israel’s bombing campaign, but also warned Iran his patience is wearing thin as the conflict enters a sixth day.


Israeli warplanes targeted the Iranian capital before dawn Wednesday after the military issued a warning for civilians to leave one district for their safety.

The Israeli military later said it struck weapons manufacturing sites and a facility used to make centrifuges in Tehran.


Iran told residents of Tel Aviv to prepare for an attack, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming its hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles were “repeatedly shaking the shelters” in the commercial hub.


“The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 using Fattah-1 missiles” was carried out, the Guards said in a statement broadcast on state television.

Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.


Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, where the army said it intercepted two over the Dead Sea area.

World powers have scrambled for an offramp, hoping to prevent the conflict from spiralling into a region-engulfing war.

In separate phone calls with his Iranian counterpart and US envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday night, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged a diplomatic solution.

Trump fuelled speculation about American intervention when he made a hasty exit from the G7 summit in Canada, where the leaders of the club of wealthy democracies jointly called for a ceasefire.

Back in Washington on Tuesday, Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.

He also boasted that the United States could easily assassinate Iran’s supreme leader.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict, ending after an hour and 20 minutes with no immediate public statement.

While he has repeatedly vowed to avoid wading into the “forever wars” of the Middle East, Trump ordered the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to the region along with a number of US military aircraft.

US officials stressed he has not yet made a decision about any intervention.

Evacuations

Despite international alarm, neither side has backed off from the long-range blitz that began Friday, when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities.

Israel claims its attacks have killed senior Iranian commander Ali Shadmani as well as his predecessor, Gholam Ali Rashid.

Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the fighting broke out, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens.

More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel launched its campaign, according to government figures.

Among those evacuated were citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with others from Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam, a government source told AFP.

The United States said it was closing its embassy in Jerusalem until Friday amid the growing conflict, but there was no announcement about helping Americans leave the “crisis area”.

Fearing violence, many residents of Tehran have fled.

On Tuesday, long queues stretched outside bakeries and petrol stations as people rushed to stock up on fuel and basic supplies.

A cyberattack on Tuesday crippled Sepah Bank, one of Iran’s main state-owned banks, the Fars news agency reported.

With air raid sirens regularly screaming over Tel Aviv, some people relocated to an underground parking lot below a shopping mall.

“We’ve decided to permanently set camp here until it’s all clear, I guess,” Mali Papirany, 30, told AFP.

Nuclear facilities

After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons – an ambition Tehran denies.

Iranian media reported several explosions Tuesday in the central city of Isfahan, home to nuclear facilities.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog said there appeared to have been “direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls” at Iran’s Natanz facility.

Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 nuclear warheads.

The conflict derailed a running series of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying after the start of Israel’s campaign that it would not negotiate with the United States while under attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had a critical role to play in restarting diplomacy with Iran, where attempts at regime change would bring “chaos”.

China accused Trump of “pouring oil” on the conflict, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of being “the biggest threat to the security of the region”.

Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu’s office.

Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then. — AFP

Now, everyone can get 5pc discount on Penang’s overhang properties, says chief minister

Now, everyone can get 5pc discount on Penang’s overhang properties, says chief minister



Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the decision to expand the 5 buyers is to help reduce the number of overhang properties in Penang. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

Wednesday, 18 Jun 2025 2:57 PM MYT


GEORGE TOWN, June 18 — The Penang government is now giving a 5 per cent discount to anyone who takes up completed but long unsold homes in the state.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the decision was made today to help reduce the number of overhang properties in Penang.


“There are 2,729 overhang units in Penang,” he said at a press conference, referring to unsold homes that have been completed for more than nine months.

These homes have a total value of RM2.04 billion, based on data from the National Property Information Centre (Napic) for the first quarter of 2025.


The discount is part of the Madani Ownership Campaign and will last for one year.


It only applies to projects by developers registered with the Penang Housing Board.

Most of the unsold units – 2,044 – are apartments or condominiums.


There are 699 unsold homes priced below RM300,000, worth RM180 million.

Another 730 homes are priced between RM300,001 and RM500,000, worth RM300 million.

Homes priced above RM1 million make up 646 units, with a total value of RM1.07 billion.

The expansion follows the state government’s previous announcement that the discount would apply only to Indian Muslims, which led to public criticism.

Chow later asked the state housing exco, Datuk Seri S. Sundarajoo, to review the policy so that it would be fair to everyone.

Military Watch:

Iran Claims Shootdown of Fourth Israeli F-35: Stealth Fighter Was Operating Deep Inside Hostile Airspace

Middle East , Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft

Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff

June-18th-2025

---

Israeli Air Force F-35I

Iranian government sources on June 17 reported the successful shootdown of an Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter aircraft in the skies above the city of Tabriz, with ground-based air defence systems credited with the kill. Previously two F-35s were reportedly shot down on June 13-14, with a female pilot reported captured, before a third shootdown reported on June 14 also saw the surviving pilot apprehended by commandos. The likely veracity of Iranian claims was previously analysed by Military Watch in detail, including assessments of the strengths and limitations of Iran’s air defences and significant risks faced by F-35s operating on penetration missions deep inside heavily defended airspace. It remains uncertain which air defence system has been credited with the shootdown of the fourth fighter, although  Iranian government sources providing details of the first three successful engagements reported that Bavar 373 air defence systems had been responsible for all three kills. The latest variant of the Bavar 373 unveiled in April 2024 boasts an extended 300 kilometre engagement range, and according to some Iranian sources uses multiple networked radars operating in complementary wavebands to achieve a longer tracking range against stealth aircraft, similarly to the Russian S-400 system.  

Surface-to-Air Missile Battery From Iranian Bavar 373 Long Range Air Defence System

The location of the city of Tabriz over 150 kilometres inside Iranian territory indicates that Israeli F-35s have continued to be used for deep penetration missions, while the country’s largely obsolete F-15s and F-16s are relied on to fire cruise and ballistic missiles into Iran from safe distances. Although such penetration flights place fighters at considerable risk, they allow high diameter bombs with penetrative warheads to be dropped on targets. This makes it possible to destroy heavily fortified positions that air-launched missiles would struggle to threaten. The F-35’s stealth capabilities, powerful electronic warfare suite, and significant ability to gather electronic intelligence, between them make the aircraft particularly well suited to flying into heavily defended airspace. The extensive use of F-35s for such missions by the Israeli Air Force makes the loss of just four fighters appear relatively conservative when considering the advanced capabilities of Iranian air defences. Although the United States Air Force fields a second class of fifth generation stealth fighter alongside the F-35, namely the F-22, the aircraft’s much older radar, lack of comparable electronic warfare or signals intelligence capabilities, and inability  to carry high diameter bombs, prevents it from posing a similar threat when used on penetration missions, as does its shorter range. 

Israeli Air Force Personnel and F-35I

Israel has ordered F-35s in four separate batches, with the first order having been placed in October 2010, after which the first deliveries commenced in 2016. Although Israel has not been permitted to make significant changes to the fighter’s avionics, it has been allowed to integrate indigenous subsystems, namely electronic warfare systems, onto the aircraft. As summarised by General Manager of the Lahav Division at Israel Aerospace Industries, Benni Cohen: “It's open architecture, which sits on the F-35's central system, much like an application on your iPhone. So it doesn't change anything in the aircraft itself, but it gives the Israel Air Force the most advanced and adaptable processing capabilities with relative independence of the aircraft manufacturer.” This “introduces a new level of freedom for the IAF [Israeli Air Force], as it paves the way for additional advanced capabilities to be embedded in the F-35I in the future,” he added. Primary challenges in shooting down the F-35 thus include not only the difficulties of forming and sustaining a targeting lock onto its very low observable stealth airframe, but also countering its electronic warfare capabilities which continue to be modernised. Iran has ordered a number of assets well optimised to detecting stealth aircraft, including the Rezonans-NE radar system acquired in 2019, and the yet to be delivered Su-35 fighter with wing root L-band AESA radars and a particularly large Irbis-E primary radar. 

Let them eat Musang King

GST sank Najib's BN, SST may capsize Anwar's Madani - PSM


Published: Jun 17, 2025 4:20 PM
Updated: 8:18 PM



Summary

• PSM cautions Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that the expanded SST on imported goods could lead to the Madani government’s downfall, just as the GST contributed to BN’s defeat in 2018.

• PSM’s K Arveent questions the logic of imposing SST on everyday imported fruits, arguing that this contradicts the government’s claim of only targeting the wealthy.

• PSM reminded Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim how the goods and services tax (GST) contributed significantly to BN’s downfall, warning that the Madani government may face the same fate over its sales and services tax (SST) expansion.

In a statement today, PSM central committee member K Arveent questioned the government’s logic in taxing imported fruits like apples, oranges, and grapes, asking how these basic items could possibly be considered luxury indulgences.

“For PSM, a government that is terribly afraid to increase taxes on the wealthy but easily does the same to ordinary people’s food is a tyrannical government.

“We champion property vacancy taxes, increased corporate taxes, and wealth taxes. We champion land for local farmers so that the country’s agricultural output increases,” Arveent said.

He added that PSM also fought tooth and nail against regressive consumption taxes, such as the current SST and the GST imposed during former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s era.

PSM central committee member K Arveent

“Anwar even joked that if one wants to eat avocados, one ought to pay more. Apples, oranges, and grapes are also imported, finance minister. Are these rich people’s food?

“Madani’s charade of supposedly only pressuring the wealthy is disingenuous.

“PSM wishes to remind you that amongst the reasons for the BN government’s downfall in 2018 was the GST, which Pakatan Harapan also opposed alongside us.

“The people will not hesitate to topple another government that brings the same suffering,” Arveent said.

Arveent added that, as per the Statistics Department’s numbers, 60 percent of staple foods are imported.

He added that the impact of the tax expansion on ordinary people who must purchase imported goods is stark.

“If the government wants this measure to encourage the purchasing of local goods, do their policies support local farmers?

“Under this same government, the forced eviction of vegetable farmers in Kanthan, Perak, occurred. Are ordinary people forced to pay higher taxes whilst local alternatives in the market are reduced?” Arveent asked.



Avocado and quinoa

Yesterday, acting Muda president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz compared Anwar and Najib after the prime minister, in his speech, defended the SST expansion to imported fruits as a necessary measure meant to tax the wealthy.

Anwar gave the impression that this would only impact those who consume expensive fruits like avocados.

However, his speech ignored the fact that the tax would be imposed on all imported fruits, including those that are cheap and accessible to lower-income groups, such as apples, which are exclusively imported.

Amira said Anwar’s remarks on avocados resembled Najib’s on quinoa.

During Najib’s tenure as prime minister in 2018, he faced criticism for revealing that he switched from eating rice to South American-produced quinoa.

Previously, consumer groups told Malaysiakini that the new SST rate for imported fruits, set to come into effect on July 1, could reduce access to essential nutrients, disproportionately affecting lower-income Malaysians.

While local fruits remain tax-exempt, the groups also raised concerns about potential supply shortages and price hikes.

Critics have also urged the government to boost local fruit production before the tax expansion to avoid unintended health consequences.