Umno's top woman more likely minister candidate than KJ
Despite public chatter about a comeback for Umno-outsider Khairy Jamaluddin, party insiders said there is a more likely candidate - Wanita Umno chief Noraini Ahmad.
"This is based on seniority in the party," said a political...
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Focus Malaysia
15 minutes ago
- Focus Malaysia
Abang Jo, Fadhlina Sidek named as potential PMX successor as PMXI candidacy gains traction
FALL-OUT from Saturday's (July 26) Turun Anwar rally continues. This time in the form of continued chatter online about potential candidates as PMXI. A list had already been discussed in FocusM by weighing up the pros and cons of each individual's hypothetical suitability for office. These discussions have been rampant on social media. As highlighted by political observer Khalid Karim STEMKITA (@Khalidkarim) on X, the issue is very much at the forefront of Malaysians' thinking at the moment. Apparently, certain dissenters just want the ouster of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim They are not insisting on forming any backdoor government which is an interesting proposition in itself. Did I read it correctly? They want Anwar to turun but NOT for Unity Gov to turun. No intention to tebuk tap but just to change PM. But who is fit to take over from Anwar? Fadhlina maybe — khalid karim STEMKITA (@khalidkarim) July 25, 2025 Khalid ended his post by suggesting current Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek as a potential candidate. The post has generated over 256.2K views, suggesting that the poser is very much in the minds of Malaysians. Of course, many gave their two sen on who could take over with some dismissing the suggestion that the Nibong Tebal MP and PKR women's wing chief is a worthy candidate on grounds that 'she babbles a lot' and 'she's always flip-flopping like there's no tomorrow'. The name of Sarawak premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg was also mooted with one commenter pointing to the good job he has done at state level. However, some suggested that he is disinterested with the poster himself dismissing the idea on the basis that there is no way an East Malaysian leader will eventually be made PM. One commenter rightly put it that Abang Jo is not even an MP to begin with. Plantation and Commodities Minister and UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Johari Ghani was also mentioned with some claiming that he is an expert in economic matters. One commenter even proposed that while PMX can remain the premier, Johari can be made the Finance Minister. Ex-PM Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was also mentioned in view of his past premiership experience aside from having previously addressed the United Nations (UN) Assembly. One commenter even joked that the Turun Anwar rally was part of ousted PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli's 'grand movement', insinuating that it is part of a power grab. Interestingly, incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak was suggested given he 'was good in economic management'. This suggestion was given short shrift by the poster who highlighted various examples of mismanagement of economic affairs under the former Pekan MP. Although the weekend rally was supposedly a PAS-led movement, one commenter claimed that he would not be at all surprised if the attendees were made up of UMNO loyalists. He insinuated that it was a conniving move by UMNO to grab power while publicly maintaining support for PMX. However, not everyone believed that a change would be good as a rotating door at Putrajaya was not good for the nation. One commenter contended that while PMX might not be the best, the lack of viable alternatives mean he will continue to be PM. An effective opposition is what the country needs alongside a competitive environment to improve performance of politicians. Echoing this sentiment, another commenter reckoned that it was better to judge the Madani government upon it completing its term. Constant change would lead to disaster, he claimed. – July 31, 2025
Focus Malaysia
3 hours ago
- Focus Malaysia
When scrapping the HVGT is akin to sparring Chanel, LV, Rolex while the poor squeezed with expanded SST
WHO can blame man-on-the-street Malaysians who are struggling to cope with escalating cost of living following an expansion to the Sales and Service Tax (SST) scope for being infuriated by news that the Madani government has ditched plan for luxury goods tax tailored for the ultra-rich? This came about after the Finance Ministry confirmed via a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday (July 29) that the government has decided not to proceed with imposition of the high-value goods tax (HVGT) which is fixed at 10%. The given rationale is that elements of the HVGT – which implementation has been delayed since its May 1, 2024 target date – have been incorporated into the revamped sales tax regime where luxury and discretionary items are now taxed at rates of 5% or 10%. To ordinary Malaysians, complexities of the taxation system is perhaps beyond their comprehension. What is obvious though is that such hot potato notion that commoners remain squeezed while the ultra-rich are spared would be rapidly politicised by detractors. Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz lambasted the fact that while the HVGT has been scrapped in view of its overlap with SST, the Low Value Goods Tax (LVGT) which came into effect on Jan 1, 2024 is still being imposed side-by-side the SST. 'Regardless, the abolition of HVGT doesn't solve the problem of rising SST rate and SST scope expansion which has resulted in 97% of goods and services that were previously tax-exempted are now taxed by the Madani government,' he reacted on his Facebook page. 'What the people want postponed or abolished are increases in the SST rate and its scope expansion as well as rises in electricity tariff and petrol prices of oil, notably RON95 and diesel, which have resulted in spiralling cost of business operations and living expenses.' Renegade UMNO member Isham Jalil pointedly asked 'who does the government want to protect – the common folks, the tycoons or the super-rich?' 'It should be luxury goods for the super-rich that need to be taxed more, not taxed at the same rate as goods meant for ordinary Malaysians,' countered the former UMNO supreme council who was fired from the party on Dec 7, 2023 for opposing the party's collaborations with DAP in elections. 'This government used to say that only the T15 super-rich had to pay more. But until now the government has not detailed out the definition of T15 and who the super-rich are. 'Instead, the SST tax was expanded, the government collected RM50-60 bil a year and on average the people had to pay more while various subsidies were withdrawn.' All in all, as argued by tax-savvy governance advocate ksampoh@MyOwn Inc (@ksampoh), it is important to understand that the HVGT which is set at 10% 'is not intended as a penalty for affordable goods'. 'Rather, its purpose is to create a level playing field for Malaysian retailers who have historically faced stiff competition from overseas e-sellers that operated without tax obligations,' he clarified on X in response to a post by former Barisan Nasional (BN) strategic communication deputy director Datuk Eric See-To. The former lieutenant of now incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak who also goes by the nom de plume Lim Sian See was accused as having distorted facts and failing to recognise the difference between established tax principles and sensationalised narratives that may mislead the rakyat. – July 31, 2025 Madani scrapped the luxury goods tax (HVGT) after introducing the low-value goods tax (LVGT) at 10% in early 2024. The MOF claims luxury items are now taxed under SST at 5% or 10%. Here's the joke: cheap goods get hit with a 10% tax, but 'luxury' items supposedly get 5% or 10%.… — Eric SeeTo Lim Sian See (@LimSianSeeEric) July 30, 2025
Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Malay Mail
The ‘who next' challenge that washed out a rally
JULY 31 — A curious rally over the weekend, a wee fire doused by a single question, who replaces Anwar? Which was, all sentimentalities and tribal pangs aside, right on the nose. 'Turun Anwar' protesters looked away sheepishly when confronted with the most obvious of asks. It is, actually, a long time coming. This impossible quandary, self-inflicted upon an equally impossible country. Protesters gather during the 'Turun Anwar' rally at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur July 26, 2025. — Picture by Firdaus Latif It's yesterday, once more When Onn Jaffar left Umno in 1951, the party had to go looking for a replacement. No number two. A barren leadership landscape emboldened Onn to set his terms. Razak Hussein was too young in 1951, 29-years-old then, by his own admission. He was, however, certain to ascend, just a matter of when. Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid was slotted in as Umno's second president. In the aftermath of Anwar Ibrahim's 1998 expulsion, there was reluctance to look at Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as a replacement. In more recent times, newly-formed Bersatu felt 93-year-old chairman Mahathir Mohamad was a better fit in 2018 to head Pakatan Harapan despite president Muhyiddin Yassin with almost 30 years of executive office experience ready on the side. It took a messy MP kerfuffle with direct palace adjudication to elevate Muhyiddin in 2020. That very same uneasy MP count passed the post to Ismail Sabri Yaakob. An Umno vice-president as PM was unprecedented. While all the whimsical complaints continue since 2022, Anwar has been the closest to look PM worthy. That's not a critique of the prime minister, but a realisation which slaps the country, slaps us. We suck at growing leaders. We keep people in circulation in cynical permutations until they drop into leadership as a function of being around long enough. Like Abdullah, Najib, Muhyiddin and Ismail Sabri. Been around, long enough. Remember the lunch, Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, Nurul Izzah Anwar and Rafizi Ramli had back in 2018. Made the rounds. Many hoped they'd join that lazy, worn-out conveyor belt of becoming PM by being around, long enough. Today, Khairy moonlights as a radio deejay when not hosting his podcasts, looking at power from the outside; Nurul Izzah encircled with nepotism gossip being her father's deputy after ousting Rafizi who plots sophisticated plays when he is clearly discord's blunt instrument. We are clueless about growing future leadership, because of the obduracy to outcomes rather than respect for process or reason. Go about it like madmen and we are surprised to live in an asylum we built for ourselves? Especially since inspiration is the most un-Malaysian thing. Excalibur, not a DIY buy The final action scene from A New Hope (Star Wars, Episode Four) was novice jedi Luke Skywalker aiming for the tiniest of tiniest targets on the Death Star while staving off the Empire's fighter planes led by his father Darth Vader. The real story is not that he hit the mark, spoiler alert, but that several movies and TV shows had to be expanded to explain the roles of many, many other people chipping in. They can give a hand but the path to power is exclusive to a few. Seemingly power can be exercised by the chosen few, regardless of success. In a parallel universe, the Empire won. That sounds like Malaysia. Crudely fatalistic. Let's examine the process. We kick off by kicking out half the country. Independent women have no viable path to top office. While by every measure — scholastic achievements, university entry, corporate success and stronger representation in the public, private and civil society sector — Malaysian women are kicking ass, they face a political ladder without notches or steps. Levitation is a prerequisite to climb it. Them and other minorities. They cannot prove their worth in local government, which is a common pathway in saner parts around the world, since our local governments are manipulated and disempowered. Civil servants run the show in a Malaysia where paranoid politicians centralise everything including our buses and farces in fear of losing power. Minorities cannot rise up through parties since the parties are tiered. Women's wings are subsidiaries, not parallel leadership tracks. Female success stories to the political top do not exist, if those with familial affiliations are removed. Borneo accepts its auxiliary status. Ever since Shafie Apdal was pistol-whipped in Umno, and later light-sabred when his Warisan dreamt of Putrajaya, the terms of engagement are clear. Borneo, stay in your lane. And if the candidate pre-qualifies — Malay male graduate from a major Semenanjung state certified bipolar, as he must display outright xenophobia and race love one minute and the grace of inclusivity the next minute — he fights on as party member in Umno, Bersatu or PKR. Constantly defends his preset identity to protect his chances. One thing he does not need to do is present an original idea. Ideas, thoughts on development and how to reconstruct the labour market under threat from trade tariffs and artificial intelligence, are completely unnecessary. Thinking is a distraction in this space. They compromise principles to fit the scheme. Just look at who makes it through. How underwhelming they are. They are as much victims as graduates of the political system. PAS supporters say Kedah Mentri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor can be the exception. The Universiti Sains Malaysia graduate is many things, but a thinker he is not. Nor is Terengganu MB Ahmad Shamsuri Mokhtar, though I understand the party's faithful are ecstatic a scientifically trained man is in their stable. Reminder, Donald Trump graduated from the famed Northwestern University, and he is no intellectual, let's posit that. Pakatan does not have a leg up on this. Selangor MB Amirudin Shari can be described as someone pleasant enough. The Johor MB managed to be born in the right Johor family, as his resume should read. It is not the bottom of the barrel, but it is nowhere near the top. The system which excludes most from the start and only targets the Skywalkers, gets what it deserves, mediocrity. No downs, just ups So, to last weekend's blindsided protesters. The feudal nature of our political system means there is no answer — to who after Anwar. Our fidelity to tribalism and self-sabotage has come full circle, and now the country cries out for a reboot. Do not worry, all movie franchises do it. Who's next is not a Perikatan Nasional problem, or Pakatan's. The country owns the problem. Malaysia has had and continues to have remarkable people, they just cannot catch a break in the situation. Reminds me of three people I taught before. Absolute gems. One, the smartest one thinks while the rest sleep. A machine just like Mahathir. Articulate and steadfast. Sits in Singapore as a CTO for a regional start-up whose services Malaysians use daily. The second one is rare, deeply introspective and drips with charm. Strangers worldwide constantly want to adopt this pup, and he now lives further south than Singapore. And the last one is the slickest. Like premium oil which cannot be ignored. Gets the job done, without fuss. This one remains in Malaysia. Those mentri besar characters would be petrified to sit with them at the same table. But that is the Malaysia we live in. Talent does not get an invite. That's a disservice to call them talents. Absolute stars with sterling records are ignored. I should know. I brought the three to work and help my old party PKR for free 13 years ago. The appreciation certificate they never received was exemplary. If we have too few with quality to step in today, we can completely thank ourselves for it. Stop looking at the personalities for answers. If they believed in answers more than their futures, they'd have stood up long ago. Champion change when it is not to their advantage. They did not, because they also like succeeding without having to try as hard. Why do we have no one else? Because we are great at celebrating pretenders. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
