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Key Highlights
F1 not the race on politicians’ minds
BN wants to ‘bungkus’ key Madani ally
US tariffs on M’sia to continue
F1 not the race on politicians’ minds
The big international news for Malaysia is that the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix will be relocated to the Sepang International Circuit, after the Bahrain leg was cancelled due to geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
However, the return of F1 to Sepang - which is just on the border of Negeri Sembilan - after almost nine years isn’t the race on politicians’ minds.
Instead, Perikatan Nasional is playing up racist sentiments to win the Negeri Sembilan election, with PN election director Sanusi Nor’s saying that “Chinese have China, Indians have India” while “Malays only have ‘Tanah Melayu’.”
The remarks have rocked the recently renewed BN-PN alliance, with BN leaders including from Umno chastising Sanusi.
Meanwhile, MIC is calling on BN to contest future elections solo so as to avoid being dragged down by PN’s racist baggage.
However, BN chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will not call it quits on his “Malay unity” pact with PN just yet - and it likely won’t matter for the Malay voters that BN and PN expect to be on their side either.
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BN wants to ‘bungkus’ key Madani ally
Meanwhile, BN is staying on course with its attacks on its federal partner Pakatan Harapan.
Zahid - who is also the deputy prime minister - told voters in Chennah on Friday to “bungkus” its incumbent, DAP chief-cum-Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
The call to vote him out came just days after Zahid was photographed grinning while sitting next to Loke during the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
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US tariffs on M’sia to continue
The US’ Donald Trump administration is maintaining a 10 percent tariff on Malaysia and 59 other countries, after its global 150-day tariff expired.
This round of tariffs is allegedly for “failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour”.
However, a wide range of Malaysian goods, including palm oil, remain exempt from the tariffs.
A bigger potential problem for the economy might be a blockade in the Red Sea.
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