MALAYSIA: Malaysia’s political landscape has changed since last Sunday with the launch of a new party by two former MPs who belonged to the party of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

While their resignations as MPs and their departure from the PKR do not diminish Anwar’s grip on power, it is a massive blow to the Madani, or unity, government.

The reason this is a big blow to Anwar Rafizi Ramli. He is the new leader of the Parti Bersama Malaysia, and until now, it has received more than 9,000 registrations for membership online.

Rafizi is credited with the strategic victory of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) of Anwar Ibrahim in the 2022 elections, and he was perhaps the most creative, the most noticeable and active member of the party until his resignation.

But losing one MP of his calibre should not disrupt PKR. Losing two, with the resignation of Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who is now the number two of the Bersama party, is also not the end of the world.

However, it is the number of resignations of party cadres and leaders as well as members, with the dissolution of its Student wing and the youth wing of the party in some constituencies, that will add to the pain for PKR in future elections.

And there are talks that several other MPs from Anwar’s party were at the launch of the Bersama party.

Anwar’s party may want to take action against them. That would entail suspending their membership of the PKR and risk losing them completely to Bersama altogether.

Nevertheless, it appears that the new party may actually have a fighting chance, though Rafizi himself has called the new formation a cat that they can kick around in the upcoming general elections.

His intentions are clear, however, as he plans to file candidates in several constituencies to fight against the PKR and Barisan Nasional. This also includes plans to fight against the DAP, a member of the PH coalition.

Rafizi and Nik Nazmi seem to have more sympathisers from the DAP than they have from the PKR today.

According to the duo, more than 35-40% of Malaysian voters are “progressive” or leftist-leaning. This is the group that PH and Anwar seem to have abandoned once they came to power.

They are composed of a big chunk of non-Malay voters and perhaps a percentage of urban Malays.

A user of Facebook thinks this group of voters became politically “homeless” under Anwar.

The user also thinks Rafizi is steering the new party to have a flatter organisational structure, instead of following the traditional parties.

“My guess is they’ll model after something like the Greens’ co-leadership setup.

“He’s also drafted a new constitution from scratch since October, with merit and competence baked in as requirements for office-bearers.

“The idea is that the top team should be fit to form a shadow cabinet and credibly speak on government policy. Not the usual party-warhorse-by-seniority route,” the user says.

Nevertheless, Rafizi has said his launching of the new party is like a hara-kiri. But it is not a do-or-die thing. It appears that this will be a project for the future in which the party will strengthen its base while waiting for the elections.

Things might even be better for Bersama in five years.

Rafizi is a leader who can post every day on his social media accounts. Today, he gave an indication of how the party is going to organise itself from its base.

In a reply to the many messages he is getting from people who are willing to set up branches across the country, he said a party member must register first, while the process to organise the grassroots may take a month.

“Many have sent messages to me offering themselves to open branches in districts or states. My advice is to register as a member at https://bersama.org first. 

“The process to arrange the grassroots organisation will take place within a month from now. BERSAMA must take the approach of the mousedeer, that is to find the most optimum and effective method in arranging the grassroots organisations so that we are agile, clever and brave. 

“The approach that will be taken by BERSAMA in arranging the grassroots organisation is not the same as other party organisations that exist,” he said.

The mousedeer is the logo of the Bersama party.

This article (A ‘harakiri’ move or a strategic move for ex-minister with new party in Malaysia) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

MALAYSIA: The former Democratic Action Party (DAP) strongman Lim Guan Eng, who was also Minister of Finance in 2018, has lashed out at former United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin for saying the firebrand current UMNO Youth leader Dr Akmal Saleh’s style of politics is necessary in UMNO today.

“Khairy’s assertion that UMNO Youth chief Dr Muhammad Akmal Saleh’s style of politics is still necessary in UMNO is disappointing.

“Khairy appears to say that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi tolerates Akmal’s culture war politics and controversial style because of the “clear and present danger on the (political) right, which, Perikatan Nasional dominates”, Lim wrote on Facebook.

He was responding to Khairy’s statement on Akmal that he made in an interview.

Akmal rose to prominence in UMNO after the 2022 general elections but escalated his ‘right-wing’ style boycotts and campaigns in mid-March 2024, when he spearheaded a nationwide boycott of the KK Super Mart convenience store chain over the “Allah” socks controversy.

In July 2024, political tensions intensified when the DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) condemned Akmal for his aggressive rhetoric and for acting like an opposition figure within the multicultural Madani coalition government.

However, things turned very ugly in August 2025. His campaigns pivoted to a prominent flag protest outside a hardware store in Kepala Batas, Penang, after an elderly Chinese man accidentally displayed the Malaysian flag upside down.

Critics, including former ministers, described this as a manufactured outrage, causing a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment. He was later charged in the Bukit Mertajam Magistrate’s Court for threatening public order.

Again in 2024, on April 5, Akmal Saleh was arrested at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) in Sabah immediately upon his arrival.

The Police detained him under the Sedition Act 1948 and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. The arrest was triggered by police reports regarding his aggressive rhetoric during the KK Super Mart “Allah” socks boycott controversy.

Hence, Lim said two wrongs do not make a right. If PN is wrong to indulge in extremist actions and a controversial style to reinforce Malay nationalist support, then it is equally wrong for UMNO Youth leaders to follow suit.

“This is a very different Khairy from the one sacked by Zahid Hamidi before rejoining UMNO. Back then, Khairy espoused a non-racial line and progressive policies that he portrayed as fair and beneficial to all Malaysians.

“Clearly, Khairy’s attempt to whitewash Akmal’s unacceptable and irresponsible acts demonstrates that both UMNO and Khairy are fake progressives,” Lim lamented.

He said UMNO is now showing its ‘naked’ ambition for power at all costs, even by stabbing its coalition partners in the back.

He also noted that the events in Negeri Sembilan, a small state near Kuala Lumpur, were an act of stabbing Pakatan Harapan.

“UMNO has shown its naked ambition for power at all costs by stabbing its coalition partners in the back in the failed coup d’etat to seize power in the Negeri Sembilan state government, as well as the unilateral declaration of war in Johor by announcing UMNO and BN’s intention to contest all 56 state seats in the coming Johor state general elections.”

For Lim, it is clear that those who placed some expectations and even hopes on Khairy can now see that both Khairy and UMNO have proven that “a leopard cannot change its spots.”

This article (Race-based politics take centre stage in war of words between DAP and UMNO) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

MALAYSIA: Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is facing new legal challenges after the Malaysian Bar won an appeal to challenge the Attorney General’s 2023 decision to drop 47 corruption charges against him in the Yayasan Akalbudi trial without acquitting him.

The Court of Appeal’s decision is an important one as it could have a potential impact when the High Court decides on Zahid’s separate application for formal acquittal in the Yayasan Akalbudi case.

In the May 7 decision, Datuk Faizah Jamaludin, who chaired a three-judge panel at the Court of Appeal, said it was unanimously decided that the Malaysian Bar’s court challenge could proceed to be heard by the High Court.

The other two judges on the panel were Datuk Lim Hock Leng and Datuk Nadzarin Wok Nordin.

“Leave is granted to the Appellant to commence judicial review against the Attorney General’s (AG) impugned decision. The matter is remitted to the High Court for substantive hearing of the judicial review,” she said, referring to the Malaysian Bar as the appellant.

On December 2, 2023, the Malaysian Bar filed its court challenge via a judicial review application. On June 27, 2024, the High Court decided not to grant leave for the case to be heard.

Reporters were told by Lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan, who represented the Malaysian Bar, that the Bar also has a separate court challenge against the AG’s decision on January 8, 2026, to classify Zahid’s Yayasan Akalbudi case as “NFA” (No Further Action).

At the time of writing, there was no official record that the AG had filed an appeal against the Court of Appeal’s recent decision.

Why is this case important

The case against Zahid, the leader of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), has huge political significance.

The government headed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is in power thanks to a historic deal brokered in 2022 that allowed the Pakatan Harapan of Anwar to ally with Zahid’s Barisan Nasional (BN) and UMNO to form a new government after a hung parliament.

UMNO went through intense turmoil for joining the coalition, which included the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a long-time adversary of the Malay party.

Many UMNO members, including former Ministers and other high-profile figures, were fired from the party or had their membership suspended.

The ripples of the BN-Pakatan coalition are constantly felt, with jolts coming from the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

Both parties had signified their intentions at one point or another to quit the BN coalition, stating they are uncomfortable working with DAP, for example.

After Zahid won the DNAA case in 2023, the local social media platforms were filled with rage from Pakatan Harapan supporters and users. Many apparent voters blamed Anwar for ‘freeing’ the UMNO leader to stay in power.

This time around, with the Malaysian Bar successfully obtaining the right to challenge the controversial DNAA, for the netizens, it is not different.

Commenters are flooding in, many with sighs of relief, declaring it is finally time for Zahid to face reality.

On Facebook, one user had this to say: “The Court of Appeal’s unanimous decision allowing the Malaysian Bar to challenge Zahid Hamidi’s DNAA is a significant development.

“If the challenge succeeds, it could open a massive can of worms over how the AGC exercised its prosecutorial discretion and expose questions many hoped would remain buried.

“For once, accountability may finally be catching up.”

Another user thought the truth, real truth, will now be known, saying: “Now the Malaysian Bar will go all out to prove these 47 cases [have] basis. Not 1 or 2, and hopefully there will be enough evidence to know the real truth!”

“VIPs and elites are not entitled to be treated differently under the law when they are proven to have done wrong. He can be good company for his mentor, Najib,” said another

For Anwar, if Zahid were to lose his case, he would not be deputy PM anymore, and this may altogether mean the collapse of the Madani-Pakatan-Barisan regime.

This article (Malaysian deputy PM’s graft discharge returns to court in major twist) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

MALAYSIA: Former Minister in the Madani cabinet, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, has criticised the authorities in a video posted on his Facebook page, saying outright that an investigation against his colleague, ex-Minister Rafizi Ramli, reeks of political conspiracy.

Both Nik Nazmi and Rafizi hail from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the party of Anwar Ibrahim, but since their resignations last year, they have been openly critical of the Madani government.

Rafizi is currently undergoing a grilling at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) and is bound to go for another grilling for the third consecutive day on May 6.

Rafizi has a strong following in PKR, with several MPs constantly showing him support in his criticism of the Madani government.

Rafizi is being investigated regarding a RM1.1 billion (S$352 million) semiconductor investment deal between the Ministry of Economy and the UK-based firm Arm Holdings. Rafizi was the Minister of Economy when the deal was sealed.

According to reports, the investigations are about alleged abuse of power and misappropriation, which is the misuse of an official position for gratification.

Another aspect of the investigation is about procedural misconduct, to which some NGOs have alleged the deal was rushed and “one-sided”, with the potential of financial implications for the government.

The NGOs also accused Rafizi of pressuring the Cabinet to expedite approval of the deal, while they also raised the issue of conflict of interest with allegations that a certain individual, who was also interrogated by the MACC and is a former Rafizi aide, was appointed to positions in the foreign company after leaving government service. Rafizi has denied all the accusations.

Hence, in the video, the Member of Parliament (MP) said: “Malaysia’s involvement in leading the semiconductor sector is a good effort to elevate the nation’s reputation as an innovation leader.

“Unfortunately, this effort has been misused by the Government to bring down certain names.”

Nik Nazmi asks whether the Arm Holdings case is really a bribery case or is it a political machination?

The deal involves an agreement of more than RM1.1 billion between the Malaysian government and the international company.

“The purpose is clear: to build a semiconductor industry in the country,” the ex-minister said.

He also said the decision to go forward with the project was passed by the Cabinet, involving all the Ministers.

He mentions the investment was also promoted by the Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, and the Minister of Investment at the time, Tengku Zafrul Aziz.

“The simple question is, is all this a conspiracy?” he asked, adding that there is no evidence of anyone pocketing money in the deal and no one benefited from personal gains.

He mentions James Chai, a former aide to Rafizi who was given a temporary position (after leaving his post under Rafizi) at the company to facilitate their plans in Malaysia.

Opponents to Rafizi had called Chai the Jho Low 2.0, saying he pocketed money in a similar manner to the former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ‘friend’ and fugitive businessman Jho Low in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal.

However, Chai came back to Malaysia to assist in the investigation after a stint abroad.

Rumours are, according to Rafizi himself, that he will be charged in the case.

But Nik Nazmi asked, if a strategic decision passed by the Cabinet, promoted by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Investment, can be turned into a case like this, “who else dares to invest in our country?”

“We want integrity, but it also needs justice. We have to differentiate between bribery and baselessness in this country,” he said in conclusion.

This article (Malaysia risks big with ‘witch-hunt’ of ex-minister: Pakatan strongman) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.