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Free Malaysia Today
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Joining united front not the same as signing up with PN, says Ramasamy
Urimai chairman P Ramasamy said his party supports Bersatu's call for a united opposition but has no intention of becoming part of PN. PETALING JAYA : Joining a united opposition front comprising various parties outside the ruling bloc is not the same as entering a formal coalition like Perikatan Nasional (PN), Urimai chairman P Ramasamy said following the views of two political analysts on the matter. Ramasamy said it was misleading to suggest that political parties like Muda or Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) avoid the initiative solely due to the perception that it is an extension of PN. In a statement, he said such a view 'conflates two very different political realities'. He gave the example of his party, which he said supports Bersatu's call for a united opposition but has no intention of becoming part of PN. 'There is a fundamental misunderstanding in equating participation in the united front with formal membership in Bersatu, PAS, or the PN coalition. 'This distinction is critical. Supporting a broader political platform to challenge the government does not imply ideological alignment with all parties involved.' Earlier today, two political analysts told FMT that Muda risked eroding its modest support base by aligning with Bersatu on its proposed united opposition front. Universiti Sains Malaysia's Azmil Tayeb said joining the pact would tarnish Muda's image as a moderate party, while Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said the party could lose its core supporters. Bersatu agreed last week that its president Muhyiddin Yassin would spearhead efforts to build a united opposition front in preparation for the 16th general election. Subsequently, on July 18, the former prime minister met with the heads of various parties opposed to the government, including Muda, PSM, Pejuang, Putra, the Malaysian Advancement Party, and Urimai. Ramasamy said equating the united opposition front with a formal coalition 'oversimplified' the political landscape and unfairly discredited efforts to build a more inclusive opposition. 'Analysts and detractors alike would do well to acknowledge this complexity rather than indulge in lazy political shorthand,' he added.
Malay Mail
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Asyraf Wajdi: Umno to stay with BN in GE16, going solo would show ‘arrogance and pride' like past leaders
ARAU, July 6 — Umno will not contest the 16th General Election (GE16) on its own and must work with other parties or coalitions, the party's secretary-general Datuk Seri Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki reportedly said Utusan Malaysia cited him saying Umno had historically never stood for elections independently, noting that the party initially formed the Alliance Party with MCA and MIC between 1957 and 1973, and later expanded into Barisan Nasional (BN). 'Today, I believe it's impossible and unlikely for Umno to go solo, as it would only reflect arrogance and pride — something that some past leaders were guilty of. 'Even when Umno was strong in the past, we still relied on our political partners,' he reportedly said. Asyraf said records show that 89 countries globally have formed political coalitions in response to shifting political landscapes. 'Given this context, I believe the most important thing is for Umno to contest under the BN banner in the upcoming general election. 'And the form of cooperation will be decided following discussions among the party's top leadership,' he reportedly said. Last year, Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh hinted that the party might contest on its own in the upcoming GE16, depending on the situation at the time.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Limits of Trump's Revolution Are Laid Bare by the Megabill
In the service of pushing his tax-and-spending megabill over the finish line, Donald Trump has spent recent days cajoling, threatening and meeting with lawmakers. His message to them was simple. 'It's a great bill,' the president explained at a Florida event Tuesday. 'There is something for everyone.' Perhaps there is, but the so-called Big, Beautiful Bill is still missing one key element — an overarching plan to create and lock in a durable Republican coalition. It's an astonishing oversight. Over the past decade, Trump has unleashed the tectonic forces of political realignment. He has torn his party down to the studs and then remade it in his image. He has splintered the Obama coalition and accelerated a class-based political reordering that stands to upend nearly a century of convention. His most recent win was marked by a more racially and ethnically diverse voter coalition than in his two prior campaigns. These are accomplishments most presidents have only dreamed of. Yet the centerpiece of Trump's legislative agenda does almost nothing to harness any of it in the service of a permanent MAGA governing majority. He is spending every last cent of his political capital on a bill marked by its lack of ambition and vision. It suggests real limits to the MAGA revolution, either because the coalition is inherently brittle or because of the stiff challenges Trump still faces in transforming the GOP, even as he utterly dominates it. This was the moment to announce the arrival of what could be a multi-ethnic working-class coalition. The time to deal a crowning blow to a feckless opposition party that remains convinced the only thing holding it back is ineffective messaging. Instead, the White House produced a domestic policy bill that could have just as easily been produced by any generic Republican administration. There's no Nixon-goes-to-China policy surprise, no dramatic break from the familiar. Nothing bold to suggest the unique populist coalition he has assembled or to cement it in the decades ahead. Its signature idea, tax relief, is meaningful — and shouldn't be minimized — but that's always been a core GOP tenet. So has a generalized commitment to growth and prosperity. Spending on border security addresses a critical need, but isn't inherently additive. Much of the bill smacks of a reassertion of decades-old Republican policies and an embrace of party orthodoxy. It is easily caricatured as a giveaway to the wealthy that also slashes health care, a piñata for Democrats to bash and ride back to a House majority. One astute conservative student of the realignment likened the legislation 'to a death march through a series of choices that nobody really wanted to be making.' '[It's] not something that has an especially coherent logic to it or much prospect of actually accomplishing the things that I think people want,' Oren Cass, founder of the think tank American Compass and a leading advocate of conservative economic populism, told POLITICO Magazine recently. The failure to imbue the legislation with more of a Trumpist ideological throughline may be due to a few factors; perhaps it's Trump's well-known aversion to wonky policy details, or the fact that most Republican lawmakers are still loyal to the Reaganite economic policy they came up with even as they now publicly bow to Trump. But whether the sprawling bill is ultimately judged a policy success or failure, it lacks an original vision to hold together the constituencies Trump has improbably knitted together — tax relief, border spending, safety net cuts and Biden policy rollbacks aren't a theory of the case. Sure, it has a few Trumpian frills that nod to the president's populist campaign pledges, but they are largely small-bore and were scaled back by senators anyway. 'No tax on tips' became a temporary tax deduction on tips, for instance. The brief musings about a tax hike on upper-income earners quickly were extinguished by opposition from Republicans on Capitol Hill. Decades from now, no one will point to this legislation as a key building block of a lasting Republican coalition. It's more likely to be remembered for the estimated $3.3 trillion it is set to add to the national debt. The legislation isn't just a missed opportunity. It's also a striking departure from the more disciplined efforts to reshape and reckon with an evolving party that happened in the last Republican administration before Trump. When George W. Bush occupied the White House, Karl Rove, his political architect, pursued a master plan to lock in the party's newly emerging coalition and ensure its viability over the long haul. The creation of Medicare Part D, the program's new prescription drug benefit, was designed to blunt the Democratic advantage on health care issues. Immigration reform, which failed, was a nod toward consolidating Bush's gains with Latino voters. The Iraq debacle made the efforts moot, but some of the residual effects of Rove's work remain visible today: the GOP's edge in the exurbs, its dominant position among evangelicals, the party's gains with Catholics. If anything, the megabill threatens to peel off some of the new constituencies of the ascendant Republican coalition or give them cause for concern. The Medicaid spending cuts stand to hit working class people of color and in rural America hard, from the Trump Belt of Appalachia to the Southwest. The income tax cuts and expanded childcare tax credit will be warmly welcomed, but wealthier Americans will benefit more. It's revealing that there is no quarter of the new coalition that is wildly enthusiastic about the package. Polling suggests Americans largely disapprove of the megabill, though there is support for some of its individual provisions. More important, from the standpoint of the future of the MAGA coalition, are findings like this one: According to a June Washington Post-Ipsos poll on the bill, non-white, non-college graduates — an important part of the new coalition — oppose it by a 41 percent to 18 percent margin. Without voters like them, it isn't really much of a realignment. Trump and his allies in GOP leadership are still working to nail down the final votes, but passage seems likely sooner or later. In the unlikely event that the whole thing collapses and Republicans have to start from scratch, it would obviously be a humiliation for the party. But it would also be an opportunity — a rare second chance for Trump to design legislation in a way that actually moves the realignment forward.
The National
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Netanyahu's party gets small popularity boost after Iran war, poll shows
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's Likud party gained a small increase in popularity after the country's 12-day war with Iran, although his far-right coalition remains a long way from being able to win a majority. Likud was forecast to get 26 seats, a small climb that would largely come at the expense of parties already in his coalition. This is a worrying prospect for the Prime Minister, whose popularity has fallen since the October 7 attacks and who has struggled to make political alliances with parties other than those on the most extreme right and religious wings of Israeli politics since his continuing corruption trial began. Sources close to Mr Netanyahu told Israeli network Channel 12, which carried out the poll after Tuesday's ceasefire, that he was disappointed with the numbers. Unlike the Gaza War, the campaign against Iran enjoyed overwhelming support among Jewish Israelis. The coalition was forecast to get 49 seats, well below the number needed to get a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Mr Netanyahu won the last election, in late 2022, with a coalition of 64 seats. According to the numbers, Mr Netanyahu is tailed closely by former prime minister Naftali Bennett, with 24 seats. Thirty-eight per cent of respondents said they would prefer Mr Netanyahu as prime minister, with Mr Bennet getting 35 per cent. Left-wing party The Democrats come in third with 12 seats. The poll put the total number of seats won by opposition parties at 61, excluding parties that represent Palestinian citizens of Israel. They do not usually join governing coalitions, although some did in the previous government. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the most extreme members of the current coalition, would not win sufficient votes to enter the next parliament, although similarly extreme National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party would win six seats. Elections are due to be held in October 2026. Channel 12's report suggested Mr Netanyahu's disappointment at the numbers could stop him from trying to call an early election, after he appeared to hint he might do so during a press conference on Sunday. Israeli outlet Haaretz reported on Wednesday that Mr Netanyahu is not seeking an early election, at least not before an end to the Gaza War and the return of hostages held in the strip. He also wants 'the Saudi channel, with normalisation and trade agreements with it and other countries such as Indonesia', a source, described as a close adviser, told the paper. 'After this achievement, it is reasonable to assume he will choose to move up the election,' the source said. Mr Netanyahu has long touted normalisation with Saudi Arabia, as well as other Muslim states, as a key foreign policy goal.
Free Malaysia Today
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Salleh moots friendly fights in overlapping seats for Sabah polls
Former Sabah chief minister Salleh Said Keruak said factors to be considered before deciding on friendly races include past election results, local support levels, proposed candidates, and potential seat swaps. (Wikipedia pic) PETALING JAYA : A Sabah Umno leader has proposed that parties contesting the upcoming state election consider friendly races in overlapping seats while remaining united in their overall goals. Salleh Said Keruak, the Sabah Umno treasurer, said rather than letting overlaps cause friction or lead to proxy independent candidates, it would be more constructive to consider friendly contests. 'A friendly contest is not a free-for-all. It's a planned, respectful arrangement where parties agree to contest the same seat, with the understanding that whoever wins, the seat remains part of the coalition,' he said in a Facebook post. He said that to manage the arrangement effectively, parties must balance political realism with respect for one another's grassroots presence. 'Friendly contests are not about ego – they're about finding practical solutions on the ground. 'If at least half of Sabah's 73 state seats can be settled without overlaps, that already builds a strong foundation. For the rest, friendly contests should only be used when negotiations don't produce agreements, and even then, only with a clear understanding,' he said. Salleh, a former chief minister, said factors to be considered before deciding on friendly races included past election results, local support levels, proposed candidates, and potential seat swaps. He said this approach, which was also taken in countries like India, Germany, and Indonesia, would help reduce tension among party machineries, maintain unity, and give voters clarity. 'Some may argue that it's better to go solo and form a coalition after the election. But that creates uncertainty – for voters, candidates, and future governance. It opens the door to personal agendas and unstable post-election deals. 'A pre-election coalition gives clarity, builds trust, and leads to more stable outcomes,' he said. Last week, Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin said the party would not work with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah in the state election and would only consider joining forces with the coalition after the outcome of the polls. GRS chairman Hajiji Noor said on Thursday that the coalition would only decide on its alliances for the state election at its Supreme Council meeting after Aidiladha. While Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan have already announced an alliance for the Sabah polls, talks are said to be ongoing to rope GRS into the pact.
