Najibs pardon sparks public outrage: royal prerogative vs public morality News that former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been granted a conditional royal pardon with permission to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest has sent shockwaves through Malaysia's political landscape. The development has triggered opposite reactions across political parties, civil society groups, and the general public. While Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters made no attempt to hide ..

The open-air experiment: Are we building our own replacements? Humanity is currently running the largest, most consequential experiment in its history. But unlike traditional scientific trials, this experiment isnt confined to a sterile laboratory. It is happening in the open, connected to our global networks, and its subject is a technology that could soon outsmart us: Artificial Intelligence (AI). As artificial intelligence rapidly evolves, a fear is taking root that AI will achieve a level ..

Will royal sackings trigger a snap election in Negeri Sembilan? The palace crisis in Negri Sembilan is intensifying. Facing an attempt to oust him, the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Mukhriz Tuanku Munawir, has revoked the appointments of all 10 state executive councillors (exco) with immediate effect. According to a royal statement, the decision was made after the exco members were found to have breached their oaths of office and their pledges of loyalty made to the ruler ..

Malaysias PISA 2025 results: The socio-economic gap isn't just wide It's huge The PISA 2025 data confirms that a student's family background remains one of the strongest predictors of academic performance in Malaysia. Socio- economically advantaged 15-year-oldsthe top 25% by family wealth, parental education, and home resourcesoutscored their disadvantaged peers (the bottom 25%) by 82 points in science, according to the OECDs latest PISA 2025 data for Malaysia. What this means in real-world ..

Trumps Irish solution Farewell to the Good Friday Agreement When Donald Trump landed in Dublin in mid-September, the trip was billed as golf and courtesy. What he actually delivered was a sentence that landed like a diplomatic charge. Sitting beside President Michel Martin, he said he would love to see Ireland unified, that unification would be fantastic, that it was going to happen eventually, and that it may as well happen now. He added, almost as an afterthought, that London would have ..

The RM50 million equation: Measuring Najib's true political capital Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been granted house arrest under a conditional pardon, but he must first settle a RM50 million fine. Why attached a RM50 million condition rather than an unconditional pardon? Why is Umno spearheading a public fundraiser for him instead of Najib paying out of his own pocket? And if the donation drive falls short, where does that leave both Umno and Najib? In reality, this RM50 ..

Anwar and Zahids mentor-mentee relationship ends: Who will have the last laugh? The mentor-mentee bond between Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has, in all likelihood, reached its end. From Zahids hard-hitting address at the Umno General Assembly to their subtle back-and- forth exchanges on social media, this political relationshipwhich once managed to keep up appearances for the sake of the Unity Governmentcan no longer hide its deep rifts. Zahid came clearly ..

The writer initially thought he was watching a Hong Kong film. It was only after spotting Malaysian actors, Kuala Lumpur streetscapes, and hearing familiar Malay dialogue from daily life that I was certain this was a purely local production. Although its plot shares similarities with Hong Kong film _Internal Affairs_, it does not diminish the value of the Malaysian film _Chelot_, which can rightly be called a pride of Malaysia. First and foremost, this is a film co-invested, produced, and ..

AI agents breaking out of their sandbox: Malaysia and ASEAN should pay attention The security incident involving OpenAI agents and Hugging Face in July 2026 deserves considerably more attention than an ordinary cybersecurity breach. It was not simply a case of hackers penetrating a computer network. According to the independent investigation by Model Evaluation and Threat Research (METR), artificial intelligence agents that were supposed to operate separately discovered a means of communicating ..

The Malays do not eat pork but eat beef; the Indians do not eat beef while the Chinese eat pork. Based on that, we cannot even eat together. But we can, and we do. I cant recall the exact date Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said those words. It was likely during the 1990s in his first tenure as Prime Minister, back when he was known simply as Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir. He was addressing a mostly Western foreign audience at an event in Kuala Lumpurperhaps a conference or a seminar. Regardless of the ..

Malaysia doesn't lack STEM grads, it lacks RSET talent With Budget 2027s tabling fast approaching on October 9, it is a good time to reevaluate one of Malaysias more ambitious national targets under the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (DSTIN 2021-2030): growing the country's pool of researchers, scientists, engineers and technologists (RSET) to 200 for every 10,000 members of the workforce by 2030. At first glance, it may seem like a slow STEM graduate supply is affecting our ..

I am angry. I will not beat around the bush. This is not the time to be diplomatic or politically correct. I will say what should be said, and I will say it loud and clear. Yes, I am sad, deeply disappointed and angry to the core. Many Sarawakians probably feel exactly the same way. They are angry too, but being nice folks, they may choose to remain silent. I am not that nice. On this very grave matter of helicopter crashes in Sarawak, I have only one thing to say: Cukup lah! Enough is enough! ..

Is the Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar ignorant or being set up? Datuk Ismail Lasim is the most catastrophic Menteri Besar (MB) in history, and quite possibly the one with the shortest tenure; the extent of his absurdity is matched only by how brief his term will likely be. After the Negeri Sembilan state election was concluded, he was sworn in as Menteri Besar before the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir on Aug 2. This was the jackpot of his lifetime. Ismail ..

Reflecting on Chinese cultural interactions and exchanges between Johor and Singapore On September 12 and 13, the 7th 24 Seasons Drums Festival returns to its birthplace, Johor Bahru, after an eight-year hiatus. Like before, the Chinese community in Singapore will join the celebration. In the past, Chinese cultural exchanges between the two sides of the strait were vibrant. Following the founding of Nanyang University in Singapore during the 1950s, these exchanges grew. Early activities were ..

This is my second article on Marina Ibrahim in this column. Three months ago, on June 2, I wrote a piece titled A DAP blunder to sideline Marina Ibrahim. It did not go down particularly well with some of my friends in DAP. From what I gathered, the general feeling among the unhappy lot was that I was defending Marina without presenting the partys side of the story. My commentary was therefore perceived as one-sided and, consequently, unfair to DAP. Let me say this again today. I do not know ..

From Russia with force: A Pan-Slavic war in Ukraine that is upending world order Russia's strike on the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, in the heart of Kyiv on September 4 should not be treated as merely another episode in a war that has already lasted more than four and a half years. It represents another crossing of the psychological thresholds that once appeared to constrain the conflict. The drone was reportedly aimed directly at the office of the acting head of the SBU, ..

Why young Chinese voters may turn to Barisan Nasional In recent state elections in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, an intriguing phenomenon emerged as ballot counting got underway: several Chinese-majority voting streams (channels) showed young voters trending toward Barisan Nasional (BN). In state seats such as Mengkibol in Kluang, Yong Peng in Ayer Hitam, and Johor Jaya, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)s vote share appeared to surpass that of the Democratic Action Party (DAP). After ..

PAS seeks total dominance- including the status of Chinese The "muscle" on display at the PAS Muktamar (national general assembly) sends a clear message: PAS intends to dominate everything. Umno, eager to return to Putrajaya as a dominant player, is running toward the "moon" (PAS logo). Yet, if it is not careful, Umno risks being crushed under the weight of PAS. Even if Umno frees itself from Pakatan Harapan (PH), it may ultimately end up subservient beneath PAS. PAS is never in a hurry. When ..

Could better fire safety lower insurance premiums? Malaysia has strengthened its fire safety requirements by requiring certain designated premises to establish a fire safety organisation. Under the Fire Services (Fire Certificate) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, the organisation must consist of one Fire Safety Manager (FSM) and at least three Fire Safety Officers (FSOs), appointed by the owner, occupier or person having overall management of the premises. The FSM and FSOs must also be certified ..

Hannah Yeoh's divorce : Setting a healthy precedent Hannah Yeohs divorce has become a hot topic. Setting gossip aside, analysing it through the lens of social perception is a worthwhile discussion. First, I must state that I have only met Yeoh a few times and do not know her well, nor do I know her ex- husband. However, two years ago, a company established by her ex-husband, Ramachandran Muniandy, sparked major controversy when it received a public transit contract from the Selangor state ..

As someone who was once handcuffed due to an accidental error in a national flag design, my personal ordeal is long past. Yet, seeing my beloved country still tormented by one flag controversy after another today, I realise that while time has passed, the reality remains unchanged. It breaks my heart to see the state of our nation Precisely because shameless politicians deliberately manipulate these issuesand do so by selectively targeting their victimsan absurd phenomenon has emerged: when ..

As Malaysia celebrates national day, millions of Malaysians proudly display the Jalur Gemilang at their homes, offices, shops and other premises. But I wonder whether some Malaysians are now becoming reluctant to do so. I remember a time when an upside-down Malaysian flag was treated quite differently. If a neighbour noticed that someone had accidentally put up the flag the wrong way, he would point it out: Your flag is upside down. The owner would correct it, apologise if necessary, and life ..

When energy, technology, money and power are one, you cant escape thermodynamic limits How do you explain what Charles Dickens called the best of times, and the worst of times? We live today with massive social inequalities: the rich have never had it so good, the middle class has never been so discontented, there have been consecutive years of heatwaves, wars on two continents, stock markets at record highs and bond markets suffering from four-decade-high interest rates. Are we going through ..

Uncle Sams trade war with Canada was meant to be an easy pour. It is not. It is a glass of Canadian Dry: sharp, unsweetened, and harder to swallow than the White House promised. For a year president Donald Trump treated Ottawa as a subsidiary that would buckle under the same tariff theatre that hurried London and Brussels into deals. Last weekend the theatre closed. Mark Carney pulled his negotiators out of Washington. Fifty per cent of American duties landed on about $20 billion of Canadian ..

Bell the cat: Our leaders cannot keep choking on excuses while we choke on smoke The haze is back. Again. And once more, ordinary Malaysians are left staring at a grey sky, checking API readings on their phones instead of the weather forecast and wondering out loud why the people paid to protect us seem so unbothered by our suffering.. This is not a new story. It is an old, tired, insulting rerun. Since August 1, a fresh wave of transboundary haze from land and forest fires in Sumatra and ..

'Merdeka' from fear and the courage to move forward together Every Merdeka and Malaysia Day, many in my and the older generation look back with pride at the founders of our nation. But August 31 and September 16 must be more than an annual remembrances of 1957 and 1963. They should be moments when we ask ourselves a harder question: what kind of Malaysia do we want to build? Nearly seven decades after Merdeka, and six decades after Malaysia Day, our nation -- with her 34-million population -- ..

Believe me, I find no joy whatsoever in writing about Ridhuan Tee Abdullah. In fact, I believe it must have been a number of years since I last featured this controversial preacher in my column. There is a certain moral conscience that reminds me it is neither fair nor professional to write about a personality when I cannot find even one good word to say about him. Unfortunately, Ridhuan Tee has now given me little choice. When someone from West Malaysia chooses to comment negatively and ..

Public enthusiasm for displaying the Jalur Gemilang to commemorate the 69th Merdeka anniversary appears to have hit a low point this year. Very few flags are visible across urban and rural areas, with the displays mostly limited to government offices, local authorities, and large corporate firms. A primary reason for this sharp drop in public spirit stems from recent controversies, criticisms, and polemics surrounding the national flag. Many patriotic citizens feel hesitant, if not intimidated, ..

Singapore unites and moves forward, Malaysia fractures and slides backward We celebrate national day next Monday. What should have been a day for the whole nation to celebrate independence and reinforce national identity has once again lost its focus due to controversies over "upside-down national flags." While politicians exchange barbs, ordinary citizens live in fear over innocent mistakes. A day meant to foster unity and remind us of how far this nation has come has thus been cast under a ..