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Key Highlights
The hand behind the syringe
Akmal defiant, DAP stands down
‘Anwar must reveal pardon papers’
The hand behind the syringe
Malaysia is reeling after a brazen act of violence in which Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli’s 12-year-old son was stabbed with a syringe. Never in the nation’s history has a politician’s child been targeted in such a calculated and cruel manner.
Rafizi believes the assault was no random crime, but a politically driven strike - a warning meant to silence him.
The menace didn’t end there. After the attack made headlines, Rafizi’s wife received a chilling text: “Diam! Andai teruskan, AIDS!” (Shut up! If you continue, AIDS!) - punctuated with three syringe emojis.
The former economy minister has now pointed the finger at a “certain individual” whom be believes could be the mastermind.
He revealed that the attack came hot on the heels of his meeting with a “group of whistleblowers” with information on a scandal that implicated this individual, whom he did not name.
Since stepping down from his cabinet position after losing the PKR deputy presidency, Rafizi has emerged as one of the government’s fiercest critics.
Among others, he pressed the MACC to investigate Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s former aide, Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, after the latter was implicated in a mining scandal.
The attack on his son has sent shockwaves through Malaysia’s political arena, galvanising leaders across the divide in a rare show of unity to demand that those responsible be hunted down and brought to justice.
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Akmal defiant, DAP stands down
Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh went ahead with a gathering outside a Penang hardware store, where the owner was filmed holding the national flag upside down.
Penang DAP, which had refrained from organising a counter-gathering in accordance with the police directive to exercise restraint, is now calling for action against Akmal, whose behaviour continues to strain ties between Umno and DAP within the Madani government.
Penang DAP chief Steven Sim condemned Akmal’s actions as a blatant defiance of police orders, a breach of the law, and a deliberate provocation that threatens public order.
He stressed that firm action must be taken to signal that such inflammatory acts will not be tolerated in the country - especially during a month meant to promote unity, not division.
Echoing the condemnation, academic Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi described the protest as far from patriotic. Instead, he said, it was rooted in racism, bringing the nation’s Merdeka celebrations to the “brink of death”.
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‘Anwar must reveal pardon papers’
Malaysian Advancement Party (MAP) president P Waythamoorthy has issued an ultimatum to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim: release the full documents of his royal pardon petition or face public scrutiny.
Waythamoorthy called for complete transparency over Anwar’s appeal to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that led to his prison release on May 16, 2018, stressing that Malaysians have the right to know exactly what their prime minister asked of the King.
Official records cited by Waythamoorthy reveal that Anwar filed three separate pardon petitions. The first two, submitted on March 16, 2015, and February 27, 2017, were rejected, while the third, on May 16, 2018, was granted.
The challenge comes on the heels of Waythamoorthy filing an originating summons against Anwar, claiming that his status as MP and prime minister is unconstitutional.
In the suit filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Waythamoorthy is seeking a declaration that Anwar’s disqualification as a member of the august House “was never revoked” by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in accordance with Article 48(3) of the Federal Constitution.
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Views that matter
 | By P Gunasegaram |
 | By Andrew Sia |
 | By Empati |
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