Supporters of deputy president Hamzah Zainudin were reported to be absent at the gathering as the Bersatu leadership feud intensifies.
Bersatu leaders and elected representatives seen with party president Muhyiddin Yassin at his home tonight in a video posted by vice-president Radzi Jidin on Facebook.
KUALA LUMPUR: More than 30 legislators from Bersatu and senior party leaders have attended a special gathering tonight at the home of party president Muhyiddin Yassin amid an intensifying leadership feud.
Among those seen arriving at the house in Bukit Damansara were secretary-general Azmin Ali and vice-president Ahmad Faizal Azumu, better known as Peja.
Another vice-president, Radzi Jidin, who posted photos of the gathering on Facebook, described it as a reception to celebrate the coming of Ramadan.
Bersatu sources told FMT that those at the gathering included more than 20 assemblymen from various states, four MPs as well as several Supreme Council members. However, those aligned to deputy president Hamzah Zainudin did not turn up.
Those present were believed to include three MPs from Kedah, and one from Sarawak; and state assembly members from Selangor (6), Perlis (5), Kedah (2), Perak (3), Negeri Sembilan (2), Pahang (2), and one each from Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, and Johor.
Bersatu has a total of 83 elected representatives in state assemblies and Parliament.
The agenda for the meeting was not disclosed; however, it comes amid an intensifying leadership feud within the party, with growing calls for Muhyiddin to step down as party president, followed by counter-calls for Hamzah to resign instead.
Tonight’s meeting also comes on the heels of news that Hamzah had been summoned to appear before the party’s disciplinary board over complaints alleging attempts to sabotage the party’s 2025 annual general assembly and undermine its leadership.
Yesterday, it was reported that at least six other party leaders, including division chiefs and from Sabah Bersatu, were also called to the disciplinary board on Feb 12 over separate 2025 incidents. - FMT
Kota Siputeh assemblyman Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir reveals the deputy president's fate after a gathering at Muhyiddin Yassin's home.
Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainudin is to appear before the party’s disciplinary board over alleged attempts to undermine the party’s leadership.
KUALA LUMPUR: Hamzah Zainudin remains as Bersatu deputy president for now, according to an assemblyman who attended a gathering with party president Muhyiddin Yassin tonight.
“Hamzah has not been sacked yet,” Kota Siputeh assemblyman Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir told FMT when met in front of Muhyiddin’s residence in Bukit Damansara.
More than 30 legislators from Bersatu and senior party leaders gathered at Muhyiddin’s home tonight as the leadership feud between Muhyiddin and Hamzah intensified.
Among those who attended were secretary-general Azmin Ali and vice-presidents Ahmad Faizal Azumu and Radzi Jidin.
Bersatu sources told FMT that those at the meeting included more than 20 assemblymen from various states, four MPs as well as several Supreme Council members.
However, those aligned to Hamzah did not turn up. A Bersatu source said those in Hamzah’s camp boycotted the gathering tonight, while an MP confirmed that elected representatives aligned to Hamzah had decided against attending the gathering.
“Those who attended are Muhyiddin’s hardcore supporters,” the MP told FMT.
FMT has also learnt that what was supposed to be a special meeting was changed to a gathering after only 18 elected representatives had confirmed their attendance on Friday.
It is also learnt that action would be taken against those who did not show up.
Tonight’s meeting also comes on the heels of news that Hamzah had been summoned to appear before the party’s disciplinary board over complaints alleging attempts to sabotage the party’s 2025 annual general assembly and undermine its leadership.
Yesterday, it was reported that at least six other party leaders, including division chiefs and from Sabah Bersatu, were also called to the disciplinary board on Feb 12 over separate 2025 incidents. - FMT
The LDP sailed past the 233 seats needed for a majority less than two hours after polls closed, on track for one of its best-ever election results.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to the media at the LDP headquarters on general election day in Tokyo. (EPA Images pic)
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s coalition swept to a historic election win on Sunday, paving the way for promised tax cuts that have spooked financial markets and military spending aimed at countering China.
The conservative Takaichi, Japan’s first female leader who says she is inspired by Britain’s “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, was projected to deliver as many as 328 of the 465 seats in parliament’s lower house for her Liberal Democratic Party.
The LDP alone sailed past the 233 seats needed for a majority less than two hours after polls closed, on track for one of its best-ever election results.
With her coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, Takaichi now has a supermajority of two-thirds of seats, easing her legislative agenda, as she can override the upper chamber, which she does not control.
Winter election brings blizzard of votes
“This election involved major policy shifts – particularly a major shift in economic and fiscal policy, as well as strengthening security policy,” Takaichi said in a television interview as the results rolled in.
“These are policies that have drawn a great deal of opposition … If we have received the public’s support, then we truly must tackle these issues with all our strength.”
Takaichi, 64, called the rare winter snap election to capitalise on her buoyant personal approval ratings since she was elevated to lead the long-ruling LDP late last year.
Voters have been drawn to her straight-talking, hard-working image, but her nationalistic leanings and emphasis on security have strained ties with Japan’s powerful neighbour China, while her promises of tax cuts have rattled financial markets.
Residents trudged through snow to cast their ballots, with record snowfall in some parts snarling traffic and requiring some polling stations to close early. It was only the third postwar election held in February, with elections typically called during milder months.
Outside a polling station in the town of Uonuma in the mountainous Niigata prefecture, teacher Kazushige Cho, 54, braved below-freezing temperatures and deep snow to cast his vote for Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party.
“It feels like she’s creating a sense of direction – like the whole country is pulling together and moving forward,” Cho said.
But Takaichi’s election promise to suspend an 8% sales tax on food to help households cope with rising prices has rattled investors concerned about how the nation with the heaviest debt burden among advanced economies will fund the plan.
Takaichi said on Sunday she would speed up consideration of the sales tax cut while focusing on fiscal sustainability.
“Her plans for the cut in the consumption tax leave open big question marks about funding and how she’s going to go about making the arithmetic add up,” said Chris Scicluna, head of research at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe in London.
Backed by Trump, bashed by China
The head of Japan’s top business lobby, Keidanren, Yoshinobu Tsutsui, welcomed Takaichi’s win as restoring political stability. “Japan’s economy is now at a critical juncture for achieving sustainable and strong growth,” he said.
The LDP, which has ruled for almost all of Japan’s postwar history, had lost control of both houses in elections over the past 15 months under Takaichi’s predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba.
Takaichi has managed to turn around the party’s fortunes by striking a chord with younger voters.
She has even sparked a “sanakatsu” craze, roughly translated as “Sanae-mania”. Her handbag and the pink pen she scribbles notes with in parliament have been in high demand.
US President Donald Trump last week gave Takaichi his “total endorsement” and said he would host her at the White House next month.
China will also be parsing the result.
Weeks after taking office, Takaichi touched off the biggest dispute with Beijing in over a decade by publicly outlining how Tokyo might respond to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the democratic island claimed by China.
China responded with several countermeasures, including urging its citizens not to travel to Japan.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate Takaichi, saying he hoped her victory would “bring a more prosperous and secure future for Japan and its partners in the region”.
Takaichi’s strong mandate could accelerate her plans to bolster Japan’s defences, further angering Beijing, which has cast her as attempting to revive its militaristic past.
Japan’s defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi told TV stations on Sunday evening that he wanted to push ahead with policies to strengthen Japan’s defence while pursuing dialogue with China.
“Beijing will not welcome Takaichi’s victory,” said David Boling, principal at the Asia Group, a firm that advises companies on geopolitical risk.
“China now faces the reality that she is firmly in place – and that its efforts to isolate her completely failed.” - FMT
Firefighters are still working to put out the blaze which began at about 8.15pm.
The Pulau Burung is Penang’s main waste disposal site and landfill. Several fires have broken out at the site over the years. (JBPM pic)
GEORGE TOWN: Firefighters are still working to contain a fire at the Pulau Burung landfill near Nibong Tebal which was reported at about 8.15pm.
The fire and rescue department said there were no casualties and the fire was continuing to burn at the waste disposal site, which is Penang’s main landfill.
Tonight’s fire is one of the many that have occurred in recent years. A major blaze in January 2022 affected 11ha, with firefighting efforts stretching over several days. Another fire was reported four months later.
The most recent one last September razed an area measuring 5,000 sq m (half hectare). - FMT
The woman was said to be clad in a skirt and a low-cut top, a rally organiser said. Organisers also gave some 30 women a hijab each to cover their heads.
About 20,000 motorcycle enthusiasts were reported to have attended the RXZ Forever Legend rally in Kota Bharu at the weekend. (RXZ Forever Legend Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: A woman was told to leave a large motorcycle rally in Kelantan at the weekend for wearing a “too sexy” outfit, according to a rally organiser.
The woman turned up in a skirt and a low-cut top, rally organiser Huzaifah Abdul Halim told Sinar Harian. “We asked the woman to go home because her outfit was too sexy. That is one of the rules we set,” he told reporters yesterday at the closing ceremony of the two-day event.
Huzaifah was quoted as saying the venue had been declared a “cover up zone”, meaning women were expected to dress in line with Islamic modesty rules.
Huzaifah said organisers had also prepared 100 headscarves for women who were not dressed appropriately, and that about 30 women were given headscarves to wear. “Almost 99%” of those who attended complied with the organisers’ guidelines, he said.
Kelantan menteri besar Nassuruddin Daud conducted the closing ceremony and also rode an RX-Z with participants. About 20,000 motorsports fans from across Malaysia and southern Thailand attended the RXZ Forever Legend gathering, he said.
The event honours the Yamaha RX-Z motorcycle, a 1980s to 90s street icon which has a cult following. The motorcycle featured at the PAS Youth general assembly last year, with one youth leader riding an RX-Z on to the stage in Alor Setar. - FMT
