Toothless PH-DAP CM Chow keeps BN-Umno in Penang govt

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After Sabah, Johor and Negri Sembilan, Penang keeps BN-Umno in the government waiting to be politically slaughtered by Umno-PAS in state and federal (GE16) elections.

Toothless PH-DAP CM Chow keeps BN-Umno in Penang govt

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8, 2026: The politically toothless Pakatan Harapan (PH)-DAP Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow today decided to keep Barisan Nasional (BN)-Umno in the state government.

This only means Chow is keeping the racial and religious bigoted BN-Umno pencuri-pencuri (thieves) for PH to be slaughtered by Umno and the Taliban-like PAS-led Perikatan Nasional (PN).

So, will the DAP delegates in the DAP Convention next week see them voting for Umno-led BN to be expelled? No prizes for the correct answer.

The toothless Chow is just following the DAP central leadership’s boot-licking of NATO (No Action Talk Only) prime minister Anwar Ibrahim who is still keeping the Umno political stabbers.

No News Is Bad News reproduces below a news report on Chow’s media conference after chairing a state PH meeting today:

Malaysia

Penang: PH - Umno cooperation to be maintained in state government

The chief minister said the cooperation will be maintained to ensure political stability in the state is not jeopardised

Updated 1 hour ago · Published on 08 Aug 2026 5:29PM

Penang PH chairman Chow Kon Yeow chose not to jeopardise the political situation further.

by Ian McIntyre

PENANG Pakatan Harapan (PH) has decided to maintain its cooperation with BN-Umno in the state government.

Despite pressure to leave Umno out of the state government following the Negri Sembilan and Johor elections, Penang PH chairman Chow Kon Yeow chose not to jeopardise the political situation further.

According to him, the agreement includes retaining BN Exco Datuk Rashidi Zinol, who holds the Rural Development, Agrotechnology, Food Security and Entrepreneurship portfolio in the Penang Government administration, in line with the cooperation understanding or 'electoral pact' established during the 2023 state election (PRN).

“Today's meeting (Saturday) agreed to retain the BN Exco in the Penang Government administration as per the cooperation understanding established in the 2023 PRN.

“Our 'electoral pact' in 2023 is with BN only,” he told a press conference after the Penang PH meeting at Wisma DAP on Saturday.

Chow said Penang PH also took note of the stance at the national level that the unity government would remain until the next general election (GE).

“The Umno president and BN chairman stated that the unity government will remain until the next GE. That is the official stance from PH and Umno.

“At the state level, there is no statement that contradicts this stance,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chow said that PH Penang cannot feel too comfortable with the state’s good administration record but needs to strengthen its strategy to face the next GE.

“If success is not communicated effectively, it will not translate into support at the ballot box,” he said.

Chow added that PH Penang still has many strengths, especially in terms of the unity of its component parties as well as a stable and integrity-based administration record.

“Any open division or disagreement will only give the opponents an advantage.

"PH Penang needs to strengthen cooperation between coalition parties in addition to accelerating the reform agenda, including economic reforms, governance, strengthening institutions and the rule of law," he said.

According to Chow, PH also needs to be more aggressive in controlling the narrative by effectively presenting the state government's achievements as well as daring to admit weaknesses, if any.

"Every seat in Penang will be analysed from various angles, including taking lessons from the results of the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.

"We also need to control the digital space more effectively to counter racist narratives and hate politics based on facts and close to the reality of the people's lives," he said.

Meanwhile, he said PH is also paying attention to the growing group of young voters, including the Undi18 generation.

He said that every leader, machinery and component party must continue to move as a team with the same goal.

“Our goal is to ensure that Penang remains a strong bastion of PH, a symbol of the people’s confidence and a stronghold that must continue to be strengthened.

“We don’t just want to defend what we still have, but expand the people’s support and build momentum for victory ahead of the next GE,” he added. – August 8, 2026 The Vibes

BN to stay in Penang govt, says Chow

Dineskumar Ragu

Chow Kon Yeow says this was the unanimous decision of the Penang Pakatan Harapan leadership.

Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow speaking at the Penang PH press conference, flanked by state chiefs of DAP and PKR, Steven Sim (second from left) and Mohamad Abdul Hamid (second from right).

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Pakatan Harapan has decided to maintain its cooperation with Barisan Nasional in the state despite BN forging an alliance with opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional in Negeri Sembilan.

Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow, who is also Penang PH chairman, said the leadership unanimously decided to retain BN’s sole executive councillor, Rashidi Zinol, in the state administration.

Rashidi, the Sungai Acheh assemblyman, is the state rural development, agro technology, food security and entrepreneurship committee chairman.

“This is in line with the electoral pact PH and BN made during the 2023 state election,” Chow said at a press conference at Penang DAP’s headquarters here today.

He said BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had vowed that the coalition would continue backing the federal unity government until the end of its term.

This comes amid growing tensions between PH and BN following the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.

PH was defeated in both elections, with PN making way for BN in multiple seats in Johor, and both coalitions joining forces in Negeri Sembilan.

Yesterday, Chow’s predecessor, DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng, had urged the Penang PH leadership to “act decisively” since PN has “turned into Umno’s firm friend”. - FMT

Why are the Malays still poor after more than 60 years under Umno’s governance?

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Why are the Malays still poor after more than 60 years under Umno’s governance?

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8, 2026: Why are the Malays, especially those in the rural areas, still poor in Malaysia?

Have they not been governed by the racial and religious bigoted Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) pencuri-pencuri (thieves) since Merdeka (Independence) 1957?

That is more than 60 years or six decades of governance, failing to lift the financial and economic statues of the Malays.

And, why is the Singapore Dollar three times more in value than the Ringgit, despite Singapore having zero natural resources but Malaysia is blessed with an abundance of natural resources?

So, who to blame? Others?

The fact remains Umno has been plundering the wealth of the rakyat dan negara (people and country)f or itself, meaning the elite nepotistic Malay politicians and their cronies.

This is a montage of only a few reasons why the Malays are still poor today after Umno’s more than 60 years of governance:

  

No News Is Bad News reproduces below The Coverage’s post on Rafizi lecturing the racial and religious bigoted Kedah MB Sanusi’s rhetoric:

News

Rafizi Lectures Sanusi on His ‘Tanah Melayu’ and Bumiputera Equity Rhetoric

8 August, 2026

 

A refined critique of Rafizi’s lecture to Sanusi regarding his ‘Tanah Melayu’ and Bumiputera equity rhetoric, from his latest podcast, YBM Episode 58.

Rafizi’s latest dismantling of Sanusi’s Tanah Melayu rhetoric cuts through the usual noise with unusual clarity.

It is both unfair and dishonest to keep blaming Chinese Malaysians for the poverty and underperformance of the Malay community.

The real record shows something else entirely.

Political power has never left Malay hands. UMNO ruled for more than sixty years. Mahathir returned for a second stint. Perikatan Nasional governed for 33 months.

Every federal government since independence has been Malay-led. Cabinets have been overwhelmingly Malay.

If the outcomes remain disappointing, the responsibility sits with those who held continuous power — not with a community that never controlled the state.

History does not support the victim narrative either.

Rafizi is right to return to Perjanjian Pangkor. Malay elites fought among themselves over succession and power. They invited British intervention. They collaborated with British administrators and Chinese mining interests in factional contests and civil conflicts.

Land portfolios at both state and federal levels have overwhelmingly remained under Malay control.

Non-Malays did not seize the land; Malay elites signed, allocated, and sold it.

The wealth story is equally inverted. Chinese corporate equity has not exploded. It has fallen sharply from historical highs near 70 percent to around 25 percent and continues to shrink.

Foreign ownership now stands at roughly 45.5 percent. The official Bumiputera equity figure of 18.4 percent excludes GLCs.

Add the approximately 18.7 percent GLC layer and the combined figure reaches about 37.1 percent — already higher than Chinese private holdings.

Meanwhile, major Malay-led institutions such as Tabung Haji and FELDA have been mired in scandals and governance failures under continuous Bumiputera leadership.

These are not Chinese failures. They are failures under Malay political and institutional monopoly.

Rafizi’s sharper structural observation strengthens the case further.

Chinese commercial success was partly the result of occupational channelling.

Malays were absorbed into the civil service and later the expanding GLC complex, creating a relative comfort zone of secure employment, pensions, and institutional protection.

Chinese Malaysians, with fewer pathways into those preferential systems, were pushed more heavily into private business.

Security reduces the pressure to take risk. Exclusion increases it.

Blaming Chinese Malaysians for Malay poverty or economic underperformance is both factually weak and politically corrosive.

Malay political power has been continuous.

Institutional control has been extensive. Preferential absorption into the civil service and GLCs was deliberate policy. Equity and broad-based entrepreneurial outcomes still lagged. Foreign capital expanded. Major Malay-led institutions underperformed.

The rhetoric of existential loss—“the Malays only have Tanah Melayu”—therefore functions less as diagnosis than as mobilisation that distracts from elite performance.

The same political class that expanded Malay-preferential institutions also wrote the rules of private capital, licensing, and procurement.

Why did decades of political monopoly, preferential public employment, GLC dominance, and institutional control fail to produce stronger private-sector capacity and wider wealth diffusion among ordinary Bumiputera households?

Sanusi’s framing externalises failure.

Rafizi correctly refuses that displacement.

The harder task is refusing to let any Malay political faction treat institutional underperformance, patronage, and stalled mobility as someone else’s problem.

Is NATO Anwar fighting back his way?

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Is NATO Anwar fighting back his way?

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8, 2026: Hisham Badrul Hashim Spice opines Malaysia’s 10^th Prime Minister (PMX) Anwar Ibrahim is back on fire.

Exposing Tabung Haji financial disaster and Felda's RM10 billion scandals … and now the ongoing bid to prosecute former Umno vice-president and prime minister Ismail "Turtle Egg" Sabri … what’s coming next?

 

Is NATO (No Action Talk Only) Anwar fighting back his political battle his way?

No News Is Bad News reproduces below Hisham’s political observations:

Hisham Badrul Hashim Spice

AI content

 

ANWAR ON FIRE: WHEN THE MAN EVERYONE HAD ALREADY BURIED RETURNED CARRYING MATCHES

Politics has always resembled a Malaysian pasar malam after heavy rain. One moment the stalls are bustling, the next everyone is scrambling for shelter, and somehow the man selling fried bananas emerges with the biggest queue. Political fortunes often behave in exactly the same irrational manner. Yesterday’s obituary quietly becomes tomorrow’s campaign poster, while yesterday’s conqueror suddenly begins searching for explanations that sound less embarrassing than reality.

Only a week ago, the dominant conversation surrounding Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was not whether he could recover, but whether anyone should bother reserving him a political seat at the farewell dinner.

His disappearance after Pakatan Harapan’s third successive state-election defeat became almost mythical. The silence was so complete that it acquired its own personality. In Malaysia, political silence rarely remains silent. It breeds rumours the way abandoned flowerpots breed mosquitoes after the monsoon. Every missing day generated another confident analyst explaining that the Prime Minister had entered the final chapter of his political novel, complete with imaginary epilogue and funeral music.

One could almost hear commentators measuring the curtains at Seri Perdana before the furniture had even been moved.

History, however, possesses a wicked sense of humour.

It enjoys embarrassing people who mistake today’s headlines for tomorrow’s destiny.

THE MAN WHO HAS SPENT HALF HIS LIFE REFUSING TO STAY POLITICALLY DEAD

Writing Anwar Ibrahim’s political obituary has become one of Malaysia’s most popular recurring hobbies.

It has also become one of Malaysia’s least reliable occupations.

This is, after all, a politician whose career resembles one of those old rubber balls sold in village sundry shops. Throw him against concrete with sufficient force and, somehow, he returns faster than physics considers polite.

Dismissed.

Imprisoned.

Discredited.

Mocked.

Politically isolated.

Declared finished.

Declared permanently finished.

Declared absolutely, definitely, unquestionably finished.

Then, somehow, he walks back into the room carrying another chapter.

Anwar’s critics often underestimate one inconvenient fact.

He has built an entire political career upon surviving situations that appeared mathematically impossible.

His greatest political asset has never been timing.

It has been endurance.

Some politicians resemble fireworks.

Spectacular.

Brief.

Gone.

Anwar has always resembled bamboo after a storm. It bends until everyone assumes it has snapped, then quietly stands upright again while sturdier trees remain lying across the road.

FROM “MISSING IN ACTION” TO “EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE”

Then something changed.

Not dramatically.

Not magically.

But noticeably.

The supposedly absent Prime Minister suddenly appeared to rediscover velocity.

Instead of defending electoral defeats through increasingly exhausted explanations, he shifted the national conversation toward accountability, investigations and financial governance.

Politics, after all, rewards those who choose tomorrow’s headline instead of endlessly explaining yesterday’s.

Almost overnight, Anwar transformed from hunted politician into hunter.

Whether deliberately choreographed or naturally timed, the optics mattered.

Politics is not merely about decisions.

It is also about rhythm.

A leader permanently reacting appears weak.

A leader creating new conversations appears alive.

That distinction frequently determines whether supporters begin returning or quietly start searching for alternative landlords.

FELDA: WHEN A HOTEL SHRINKS FASTER THAN POLITICAL MEMORY

Among the most eye-catching developments was Anwar’s instruction to investigate the proposed disposal of a London hotel reportedly acquired by Felda for approximately £160 million and now associated with a substantially lower sale figure.

Even before investigators finish examining the details, the symbolism has already escaped into public imagination.

Nothing captures Malaysian attention quite like numbers that appear to evaporate faster than ice cubes forgotten beside a glass of teh tarik.

Supporters describe the investigations as overdue accountability.

Critics immediately call them selective enforcement or political intimidation.

Malaysia has become wonderfully efficient at assigning motives before evidence finishes arriving.

We have developed the remarkable ability to complete an entire courtroom drama while the investigators are still parking their vehicles outside.

Reality, unfortunately, usually insists upon travelling at a less entertaining pace.

Investigations should therefore be allowed to proceed wherever credible evidence exists.

If wrongdoing occurred, accountability strengthens institutions.

If allegations prove unfounded, that conclusion deserves equal respect.

The integrity of any investigation ultimately depends not on how loudly it begins, but on how fairly it ends.

TABUNG HAJI: WHEN THE SPOTLIGHT TURNS INTO A FLOODLIGHT
The developments surrounding the Tabung Haji Royal Commission of Inquiry have intensified that impression.
Tax authorities have announced investigations involving individuals identified through the RCI process, with enforcement officers gathering financial information and examining discrepancies between declared income and reported assets.
For supporters of institutional reform, this resembles delayed justice finally locating its reading glasses.
For opponents, it resembles political timing suspiciously convenient.
Both narratives now compete for oxygen.
Neither can substitute for due process.
Investigations, after all, are beginnings.
Convictions require considerably more than dramatic press conferences.
Justice is a marathon.
Politics prefers sprint highlights.

THE MAN WHO DISCOVERED THAT OFFENCE SOMETIMES LOOKS BETTER THAN DEFENCE
Perhaps the most significant change is psychological.
For months, Anwar often appeared trapped inside permanent defence.
Every controversy demanded explanation.
Every compromise required justification.
Every disappointed supporter expected reassurance.
Governments trapped in perpetual explanation eventually resemble students continuously promising that next semester will be different.
Eventually even sympathetic listeners begin checking their watches.
Now, for the first time in months, Anwar appears to have rediscovered initiative.
Instead of merely absorbing blows, he is throwing several of his own.
Politics resembles boxing in one unforgiving respect.
Nobody applauds elegant blocking forever.
Sooner or later, people expect punches.

CAN FIRE MELT ELECTORAL ICE?
That, however, remains the larger question.
One energetic week cannot erase several difficult electoral months.
Johor happened.
Negeri Sembilan happened.
The decline in PH’s momentum happened.
Shrinking support among important voter segments happened.
These are not newspaper headlines that disappear after recycling day.
They remain structural political problems demanding structural political solutions.
A government cannot prosecute its way toward renewed public affection.
Nor can investigations permanently substitute for convincing economic delivery, institutional reform and political confidence.
Fire attracts attention.
It does not automatically rebuild houses.

THE DAP CONVENTION: THE NEXT EXAMINATION HALL
The approaching DAP gathering remains one of the most important political milestones.
If delegates conclude that remaining within the Unity Government best serves reform and stability, Anwar gains valuable breathing space.
If internal dissatisfaction overwhelms strategic calculation, the political temperature rises dramatically.
The convention therefore resembles less a party gathering than an unusually sophisticated medical examination.
Everyone already knows the patient survived surgery.
The question is whether recovery has genuinely begun.
Anwar’s recent activism undoubtedly strengthens his argument.
Whether it sufficiently changes hearts inside coalition partners remains another matter entirely.
Politics rarely awards marks for effort alone.

WINNERS ARE NOT THOSE WHO NEVER STUMBLE
Perhaps the greatest mistake in analysing Anwar Ibrahim has always been assuming that one defeat permanently defines him.
His critics sometimes underestimate resilience.
His admires sometimes overestimate inevitability.
Both errors emerge from treating politics as prophecy instead of probability.
Winning elections resembles climbing Gunung Kinabalu during unpredictable weather.
A clear morning guarantees nothing by afternoon.
Clouds arrive.
Rain arrives.
Sometimes sunshine returns when everyone has already opened umbrellas.
Leadership is not measured only by avoiding storms.
It is measured by whether one continues climbing after discovering that the mountain possesses considerably more slopes than the tourist brochure promised.

THE FLAME IS VISIBLE. WHETHER IT BECOMES A BONFIRE REMAINS ANOTHER STORY
Today, Anwar Ibrahim appears noticeably different from the leader many observers believed had quietly retreated after another painful electoral setback.
The political spark is visible again.
The urgency has returned.
The willingness to seize the initiative rather than merely explain disappointments has become apparent.
That alone does not restore electoral momentum.
Nor does it erase public frustration over the pace of reform, economic pressures or coalition compromises.
Yet politics has always rewarded perception almost as much as performance.
A leader who looks defeated often becomes defeated.
A leader who convinces supporters that the fight has resumed occasionally changes the direction of the battle itself.
Whether this latest burst of energy represents a temporary flare or the beginning of a genuine political revival cannot be answered today.
Investigations must produce credible outcomes.
Reforms must become tangible rather than rhetorical.
Economic confidence must improve.
Coalition discipline must survive.
Voters, unlike political speeches, eventually demand receipts.
Still, there is one observation that seems increasingly difficult to dismiss.
For the first time in many months, Anwar Ibrahim no longer resembles a man waiting for history to happen to him.
He looks, once again, like a man trying to write the next chapter himself.
Whether the ink becomes a masterpiece or merely another footnote remains unwritten.
Politics, like fire, has always been an unpredictable companion.
It can warm a nation.
It can illuminate a path.
Or, if handled carelessly, it can consume the very hands that believed they controlled the flame.

Wallahua’lam.