Article 42: Constitutional Prerogative or Double Standard?

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said has affirmed that the power to grant pardons is expressly provided for under Article 42 of Malaysia's Federal Constitution and should not be construed as placing anyone above the law. 

I don't believe anybody is questioning it – but critics and legal watchdogs argue that applying such high-level discretion to prominent corruption cases undermines public trust, highlighting a perceived double standard in how justice is served to elites versus ordinary citizens.

Liverpool scraped through 1-0 against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League match yesterday. 

Alexander Isak scored an opportunistic strike in the 57th minute after pouncing on a loose ball in the box that had bobbled into his path following a powerful Cody Gakpo cross and a heavy defensive challenge on Florian Wirtz. He calmly slotted a first-time finish past the Cherries goalkeeper to seal the 1-0 victory.

Heading to China? The US Wants You to Read This First

The latest fearmongering to discourage Americans visiting China! LOL!

The US State Department have issued a stark warning to their citizens planning travel to China, cautioning that they risk facing sudden exit bans, arbitrary detentions, and intense digital surveillance under the country’s broad security laws.

Updated on September 04, 2026, the Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution advisory sharpens its language regarding the lack of legal transparency in mainland China. It explicitly warns that local authorities frequently enforce laws arbitrarily and impose exit bans without due process. This expansive security network poses a significant, hidden threat to Americans traveling for business, research, education, journalism, or family visits – often long before they realize they are a target.

In fact, I refrained from blogging about this immediately upon discovering it, as the matter is frankly just too LUDICROUS to warrant my comment. Unless you are in China for nefarious reasons, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. 🙄🙄🙄 

Liverpool secured a 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup third round at Anfield yesterday. 

The Reds opened the scoring in the 21st minute through a beautifully worked team move. Cody Gakpo teed up Rio Ngumoha on the edge of the box, who quickly fed Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentine midfielder didn't hesitate, unleashing a first-time strike that flew past the Spurs goalkeeper, leaving him rooted to the spot. 

The Merseysiders then doubled their advantage in the 54th minute when Mac Allister turned provider. He slipped a perfectly threaded pass through to Cody Gakpo, who smartly cut inside the Tottenham defense and unleashed a fierce, clinical drive across the face of goal into the far corner. 

The Lilywhites managed to pull one back in the 69th minute after Liverpool failed to clear a corner, allowing the visitors to bundle the ball into the net from close range. 

However, any hopes of a Spurs comeback were thoroughly dashed in stoppage time. In the 91st minute, Dominik Szoboszlai controlled a loose ball 25 yards out with his first touch, before unleashing an absolute rocket into the back of the net to seal the win.

Saving Face at the Scanner

A Facebook post on September 03 by Cultural Perspective illustrates a practical example of Edward T Hall's high-context communication through the lens of Chinese state bureaucracy. 

By examining how immigration officers handle a traveler's defective passport chip, the interaction provides a textbook application of the cultural practice of saving face (保住面子, bǎozhú miànzi).

By framing the issue around the airport's technology rather than a personal fault, the Chinese officers applied distinct high-context behaviors:

• Preserving Social Harmony (和谐, hexie): Directly telling a traveler that their personal document is broken or defective can cause immediate stress, defensiveness, or public embarrassment. Guided by Confucian values of harmony, shifting the blame to an inanimate scanner neutralizes interpersonal tension and de-escalates a stressful border environment.
• Mutual Face Protection (面子, mianzi): In Chinese culture, protecting a stranger's dignity is a shared social responsibility. By claiming "our scanner is acting up," the officers proactively protect the traveler's face from public scrutiny. In return, the traveler cooperates smoothly, preserving the authority and face of the immigration department.
• Indirect Signaling and Polite Fiction: In a high-context culture, the true meaning is understood without being explicitly stated. Both parties participate in a "polite fiction" – they likely understand the actual issue, but keeping it unspoken maintains a polite, humanized, and cooperative atmosphere (人情, renqing).
• Shared Accountability via External Attribution: Blaming the machine removes psychological pressure from the individual. It transforms a potential confrontation (the law vs. the individual) into a shared problem (the humans vs. the faulty machine), allowing the traveler to be processed smoothly without feeling singled out or scrutinized by bystanders.

Ultimately, the officers demonstrated that in high-context cultures, maintaining the relational climate is just as important as enforcing the law. By blaming the machine, they transformed a bureaucratic hurdle into a masterclass in cultural diplomacy – proving that sometimes, a polite fiction is the most efficient path to cooperation. 

The said clip:

Liverpool and Fulham played to a disappointing 0-0 draw on Saturday.

The hosts fielded an attack costing just short of £400m as Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola, and Florian Wirtz all started together in the Premier League for the first time. Yet Liverpool were limited to just two shots on target during a frustrating afternoon at Anfield. 

The tired-looking Reds struggled for rhythm, prompting even many of their supporters to admit that the clinical visitors deserved all three points. While Liverpool controlled 56% of the possession, it was Fulham who looked far sharper on the counter-attack, testing the keeper four times and forcing a crucial goal-line clearance. 

The result earned the Cottagers their first point of the Premier League season, while leaving a sluggish Liverpool with three draws in four matches.

An alarmingly disjointed start to the 2026/27 campaign has left Andoni Iraola’s new-look Liverpool suffocating under unexpected stalemates, an uncharacteristically blunt attack, and immediate tactical pressure.

I expect their current form to persist. They are toothless, tame, and turgid – and being hard to beat means nothing if you refuse to actually win the game. 😤🔴

The Comic Strip Commando

Welcome to the US War/Defense Department gaming lobby: how a cartoon perfectly captures Pete Hegseth’s high-octane, culture-war defense doctrine. 

Imagine a Pentagon briefing room transformed into a teenage boy’s bedroom – complete with action figures, Monster Energy drinks, and a speaker blasting death metal – and you’ve got the exact vibe of the former co-host (right) of Fox & Friends Weekend’s "warrior ethos".💥 

In fact, Graeme MacKay’s three-panel editorial cartoon, published on September 04, 2026, for The Toronto Star and The Hamilton Spectator, captures this exact brand of military doctrine.

It is less a grand geopolitical strategy and more a hyper-charged schoolyard fantasy where the Department of War/Defense operates like a live-action GI Joe commercial.

Instead of traditional defense diplomacy, his public messaging stands out through a bizarre trifecta:

• Hypermasculine chest-thumping💪
• Call of Duty-style meme culture📱
• Militant Christian nationalism⛪

Because apparently, nothing screams "national security" quite like running the world's most powerful military like an energy-drink-fueled gaming lobby. 🎮🛡️

The questionable appointment of Pete Hegseth serves as a prime example of the Donald Trump administration's disruptive approach to governance. Alongside a lineup featuring JD Vance, Scott Bessent, Marco Rubio, and others, his prominent role reinforces fears that the United States is sliding downhill. In fact, the whole White House leadership operates less like a strategic team and more like an accelerated eviction notice for both American stability and international security. 

A tough Champions League match awaited Liverpool yesterday as they took on Atlético Madrid. Of course, they were unfazed and went on to win 2-1. 

Diego Simeone's side actually scored first in the 17th minute. The Reds pushed back hard and found their equalizer in the 40th minute through Dominik Szoboszlai, who converted a pass from Ronald Araújo. 

And then, in the 50th minute, Alexis Mac Allister scored Liverpool's winning goal with a stunning long-range rocket to complete the comeback.

I Drank Too Much

Flo & Joan (sisters Nicola and Rosie Dempsey) perform one of their best loved songs describing a debaucherous bender! 

This fan-favourite track hilariously chronicles a "perfect night out" that quickly devolves into chaotic, alcohol-fueled mishaps. 

From Rob Delaney's Stand Up Central.

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. 

The brilliant irony of this song lies in its structure. They pair pristine, church-choir-style vocal harmonies with an increasingly chaotic narrative about getting blackout drunk and falling off a bar.

Nicola’s stone-faced keyboard playing perfectly balances Rosie’s manic, wide-eyed energy as the lyrics devolve from a "sophisticated glass of vino" into utter public devastation.

It succeeds because it is deeply relatable but structurally flawless. The relentless, escalating rhythm mimics the exact feeling of a night out spiralling out of control. 

A sharp observational comedy song that has become my favourite!

Liverpool had hoped for their first win of the season at newly promoted Ipswich Town yesterday. 

After all, the Reds have won their last four Premier League games against the Tractor Boys across the 2001-02 and 2024-25 seasons, scoring 17 goals and conceding just once.

And they got the job done with a smooth 2-0 victory, giving new boss Andoni Iraola his very first Premier League victory in charge of the Merseysiders. 

The opening goal came when Cody Gakpo picked up the ball 40 yards out and in the 6th minute, threaded a beautiful pass to Alexander Isak, who buried a powerful finish from a tight angle. 

Just three minutes later, Gakpo pulled off a ridiculous trivela pass, setting up Isak to round the keeper and slide in his second.

Termites: 1, My Savings: 0

A Malaysian woman was left heartbroken after discovering that roughly RM2,000 of her hard-earned savings had been severely damaged by termites. 

Sharing photos of the decimated RM20 banknotes on Threads, user @anak_orangsebelah revealed the cash had been stored underneath a cupboard, leaving several notes with nibbled corners and others riddled with gaping holes. 

Unsure whether to laugh or cry over the loss, she turned to social media for advice on how to salvage the ruined cash. 

The post has received over 600,000 views in three days. 

User @nysahassan suggested taking the notes to a commercial bank or to Bank Negara Malaysia. 

"Just go to the bank and tell them you'd like to replace damaged cash, and they'll assess it. But if the damage is severe, you might have to bring it to Bank Negara", the user said. 

Another user, @byenimoo, commiserated by sharing how their father similarly lost RM10,000 after termites devoured his hidden stash, including the crucial serial numbers. 

In the midst of heated discussion on how to save the cash, user @aiaidudurara reminded the public that depositing money into a bank account remains the safest way to avoid such unexpected heartbreak.

Liverpool and Nottingham Forest played out a 2-2 draw at Anfield today, marking a chaotic home debut for the Reds' new head coach, Andoni Iraola. 

For the second week running, Liverpool had to show immense resilience to fight back from behind and secure a point.

The visitors broke the deadlock in the 24th minute when their midfielder threaded a ball through to their forward, who calmly beat Alisson Becker. The Reds ramped up the pressure in the second half. In the 60th minute, Cody Gakpo delivered a dangerous low cross that found Alexander Isak for a tap-in to secure his first goal of the season. 

The away side re-established their lead nine minutes later. An opposition full-back was brought down by Alisson inside the box, allowing their penalty taker to fire the spot-kick into the bottom corner. Young signing Víctor Muñoz ensured a share of the spoils in the 82nd minute when he collected a pass from Florian Wirtz, swivelled, and launched a spectacular strike that went in off the underside of the crossbar.

A Bizarre Call to NYC’s Mayor to Fix Malaysian Potholes

A viral social media campaign where Malaysian internet users are jokingly appealing to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fix the chronic pothole problem on Malaysian roads. 

The meme storm ignited after a viral TikTok video showcased a Malaysian citizen pleading directly to Mayor Mamdani for help after suffering a road accident caused by a major pothole. The video concluded with a satirical "Malaysia Madani" poster featuring Mamdani’s face against the Kuala Lumpur skyline. 

The joke stems from a long-running linguistic coincidence. When Mamdani won the NYC mayoral primary, international commentators frequently mispronounced his surname as "Madani". 

This sounds identical to "Malaysia Madani", the signature nation-building slogan of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Malaysians quickly adopted Mamdani as a satirical, honorary member of the Malaysian government using the hashtag #MalaysiaMamdani. 

The viral appeal is fueled by Mamdani’s reputation for highly responsive public service in New York City. The mayor previously made waves on social media for personally joining road crews to patch up infamous NYC bumps and rapidly acting on local TikTok requests to fill potholes. 

This trend proves how a single social media complaint can blow a localized issue entirely out of proportion, even when official statistics show that formal pothole accident reports remain relatively low. 

What transformed a solitary TikTok video into an international news story was a perfect storm of internet culture, linguistic coincidences, and shared civilian experiences. By wrapping a universal everyday frustration in a bizarre political pun, Malaysian netizens turned a minor grievance into a viral masterclass in satire – and which I think is downright silly!

The Andoni Iraola era began in underwhelming fashion, as Liverpool could only salvage a 2-2 stalemate against Newcastle yesterday.

The Magpies took a fifth-minute lead following a defensive mistake. Ryan Gravenberch turned over possession on the edge of the Reds box, allowing a Newcastle player to intercept the ball and slip a pass through to his teammate, who drove a firm strike across Alisson Becker into the back of the net. 

In the 54th minute, Cody Gakpo found space inside the box and slotted home the equalizer for Liverpool. 

But, just two minutes later, a Magpie substitute scored immediately after coming off the bench to restore their 2-1 lead. 

Thankfully, the Reds were awarded a late penalty following a foul on sub Victor Muñoz, which Dominik Szoboszlai converted deep into stoppage time to secure the draw.

A below-par performance from Liverpool!

Andoni Iraola for Liverpool and Martin O'Neill for Celtic

Andoni Iraola is the new Liverpool head coach. 

The appointment of the Basque as the Reds’ boss ahead of 2026-27 was sealed on Thursday. 

North of the border, Martin O'Neill is the Celtic manager, it was asserted on Friday. It's a no-brainer really that O'Neill is set to continue at Parkhead on a one-year contract after two successful interim spells culminated in a league and cup double last season. 

Russia’s battlefield performance in Ukraine since December shows it can contest territory but cannot hold it, it has been claimed. 

Moreover, Ukraine's ability to impede the flow of Russian supplies and personnel to the front lines has grown in recent days, from the southern regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson to the eastern front, and has forced the Russian army to a standstill, according to Western analysis. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine has continued to strike refineries and munitions factories deep inside Russia, weakening its war effort. 

This war in Ukraine as described above was reported by Ukrainian fanboy John T Psaropoulos for Al Jazeera on June 05. This correspondent has been gleefully writing fiction about the Ukraine war right from the beginning. 

If you will believe, according to his May 29 report, the scale of Russian combat losses in Ukraine has increased nearly threefold compared to last year. 

To be honest, everything he wrote is pure fantasy! His texts serve as a highly delusory, if not deceitful narrative. And preposterous doesn't even begin to cover it!

Russia has actually gained the edge! Dominance confirmed.

Let me spell it out again: Russia is winning!

Liverpool Sack Arne Slot

Liverpool’s fairytale turned nightmare is officially over. Following an abysmal title defense, the club have sacked Arne Slot with immediate effect. 

The club announced the news of the 47-year-old’s departure on Saturday afternoon, less than a week after the final day of the Premier League season and Slot’s assertion that he was part of the plans to come. 

The decision came after an end-of-season review that saw the club suffer 19 defeats across all competitions and fall from 84 to 60 points. And Champions League qualification secured only on the final day. 

Slot is just not good enough for Liverpool!

👏👏👏

Expensive or Not?

“Takeaway like this costs RM12. Is it too expensive?” the user wrote. 

A simple takeaway meal from a popular Penang restaurant has triggered debate online after a customer questioned whether RM12 was too much to pay for a packet of rice with a piece of fried chicken. 

[I came across this news story in The Sun on Friday]. 

The post quickly attracted mixed reactions from netizens, drawing more than 250 comments, with some agreeing that the price was steep while others defended the eatery, saying the fried chicken from the restaurant was worth the cost.

One commenter joked: “I dare not comment because someone will tell me to cook it myself”. 

Another compared it with prices abroad, saying: “I can get something even cheaper than this in Singapore”. 

Some users attempted to break down the estimated cost of the meal. 

“The chicken is RM6 and the rice is RM2, so it should only be RM8”, one commenter wrote. 

Others pointed out that the cafe’s fried chicken is known to be popular despite the pricing. 

“No choice, their fried chicken is really good. But RM12 for one piece of chicken and rice; maybe they calculated it wrongly. You can ask them”, another netizen said.

All I can say is that one of my favourite nasi kandar places that I patronise pretty regularly is Nasi Kandar Pelita – and their prices are very reasonable! At least, the one at Jalan SS15/4C in Subang Jaya.

The May 17 bill I attached has almost the same items, i.e., white rice with "kuah campur banjir" and one piece of chicken. Plus an extra portion of rice and a glass of iced plain water. And it is only RM9.75!

Need I say more? 😜😜😜

Liverpool had their last Premier League match of the season yesterday, and they could only draw 1-1 against Brentford. 

The Reds scored first when Mohamed Salah picked out Curtis Jones to tap it home in the 58th minute. The Bees replied six minutes afterward.

Until the final whistle, neither team could find a winning goal. I suppose we should take comfort in knowing that the Reds secured the single point they needed to seal fifth spot – and Champions League qualification. 

And so, we can finally say goodbye to this absolutely cursed season. TBH, I'm not looking forward to 2026-27 because we lacked a clear tactical identity and we suffered from poor game management. I don't expect us to do well if Arne Slot remains in charge.

Donald Trump Accuses US Media of Giving Iran False Hope

On Tuesday:

Two days later, US President Donald Trump got a deserved epic reply from Iran: 

"The only thing rotting at the bottom of the sea is American credibility. 
Our Navy still sails. 
Our missiles still strike. 
Our will is forged iron. 
Because you obliterated the Iranian Navy, you still don’t dare send your bloated, puffed-up flotilla into the Strait of Hormuz? 
Keep tweeting those desperate White House fairy tales, Donny. Reality is carved into the burning wreckage of your failed aggression. 
Iran stands unbroken. 
The louder the lies, the clearer the cowardice. 
You don’t break nations with geriatric bluster. 
The future belongs to those who endure – not a washed-up con man raging from his golden toilet".

💪💪💪

Yesterday, Liverpool and Aston Villa went into the game level on points, each requiring a win to guarantee Champions League qualification for next season. And not unexpectedly, the latter won 4-2.

The Villans scored first in the forty-second minute; the 22nd time this season the Reds conceded first. But Virgil van Dijk headed home from Dominik Szoboszlai’s free kick to put his side on level terms in the 52nd minute. 

Villans again took the lead when a three-goal (57, 73, 89) surge put them back in front. Still, van Dijk managed to add a consolation in stoppage time, another header off a set piece. 

Liverpool drop to fifth, having won just three of the last nine league games. They’ll need a result on the final day of the season to secure Champions League football, having missed the opportunity to do so yet again. It must be said that Arne Slot's side were out-coached, out-fought and outclassed. 

To rub salt in their opponents’ wounds, Aston Villa played the iconic Champions League anthem out of the stadium loud-speakers after the final whistle to extend Liverpool’s misery beyond full-time.

A Real-life Statue on the Met Gala 2026 Red Carpet

Celebrities arrived at the 2026 Met Gala with their take on this year's theme – costume art – where organisers asked attendees to experiment with the lavish and whimsical dress code. 

Heidi Klum, as expected, came well-prepared, looking like she walked out of a museum's sculpture gallery and onto the carpet. 

In fact, she was virtually unrecognizable on the May 04 event, dressed as a marble statue complete with draped robes that hugged her figure and facial prosthetics that mimicked a veil rendered in stone. And the 52-year-old supermodel wore a floral wreath and flat sandals, showing off head-to-toe chalky gray body paint.

 

It was her first appearance on this particular red carpet in 12 years, having last attended in 2013. 

Reds failed to beat Blues who had lost their previous six Premier League games, managing an uninspiring 1-1 draw at Anfield on Saturday. 

Rio Ngumoha’s work on the left wing opened the space for Ryan Gravenberch on the edge of the penalty box, with just one touch needed before a beautifully curled shot inside of six minutes.

Chelsea levelled in the 35th minute. Easy-peasy.

And that was it. When the final whistle was blown, the Liverpool faithful let loose a raucous outburst of boos at Arne Slot and his players. It was another poor game from them.

And yesterday too, Heart of Midlothian and Motherwell produced a similar score. They drew 1-1.

Leaders Hearts nudged four points clear of Celtic in the Scottish Premiership title race but really, they missed an opportunity to put maximum pressure on the defending champions before today's Old Firm derby.

The US Is A Pirate Nation

US President Donald Trump bragged about the seizure of a tanker and its oil as part of a blockade against Iran, and gleefully admitting the country's Navy are acting “like pirates”. 

“We... land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business”, Trump boasted on Friday. 

By rebranding military blockades as profitable ventures and seizing foreign cargo, the US has effectively become a "pirate nation", abandoning international norms in favor of raw economic theft.

In short, piracy has become policy. The impact of this analogy goes beyond mere words; it reflects a specific "transactional" foreign policy model reminiscent of the historical Barbary Pirates. 

A direct and damning admission of the criminal nature of US actions against international maritime navigation. 

In yesterday's match between Liverpool and Manchester United, the latter won 3-2. 

The Red Devils raced out the blocks to score twice inside fourteen minutes. 

Fortunately, they squandered the advantage in the second half. A United sub gave the ball away in midfield and Dominik Szoboszlai ran through their defence before placing a left foot shot into the bottom corner in the 47th minute. And another mistake from United passing out from a goal kick gifted the equaliser for Cody Gakpo nine minutes later.

But Manchester United restored their lead in the 77th minute when Liverpool failed to deal with a cross from the left. 

The victory tightens the Red Devils' grip on third spot in the Premier League table as well as guarantees their Champions League qualification. And Reds now have three games remaining to ensure their place among Europe’s elite next season.

I must highlight that this is Liverpool's 19th defeat of the season, their joint-most this century!

Israel Threatens To Bomb Iran Into The Stone Age

Israel is waiting for a go-ahead from the US to resume the campaign against Iran and bomb the Islamic Republic back to “the Stone Age”, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Thursday. 

The message came after US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Tehran indefinitely on Tuesday to allow time for a potential deal, while keeping American naval blockade of Iranian ports in place. 

The “Stone Age” rhetoric was first used by Trump on April 01, roughly five weeks into the fighting. At the time, he warned that US forces would “hit [Iran] extremely hard” and could “bring them back to the Stone Ages” within “two to three weeks” if Tehran refused US demands, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz and agreeing to a deal imposing stricter limits on its nuclear activities. 

Tehran predictably rejected the demands, refusing to stop nuclear enrichment, which it says it needs for civilian purposes, including energy production and medical applications.

Please, let the fighting resume. I would love to see the US of A and Israel wasted! 

Oh, how I wish!

Liverpool strengthened their grip on next season's Champions League spot with a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace yesterday. 

Alexander Isak smartly controlled Alexis Mac Allister’s wayward effort on goal and swivelled on the ball to volley it into the net in the 35th minute. That was swiftly followed by another from Andy Robertson, finishing well into the bottom corner after a lightning break five minutes later. 

The Eagles pulled one back in the 72nd minute but Florian Wirtz sealed the victory deep into stoppage time (90+6') with a composed finish inside the box.

 

Victory moved the Reds up to fourth place in the Premier League table with four games left to play.

In the meantime, in Glasgow, Celtic defeated Falkirk 3-1 to go level on points with Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts. 

Daizen Maeda opened the scoring in the 30th minute after pressing his rivals' defence. And just before half-time, utilizing his high-tempo pressing, he dispossessed a Falkirk player and played the ball through to Kieran Tierney to rocket a powerful strike into the top corner. 

The Bairns hauled themselves back into contention when they shot home in the 70th minute. But Maeda's second, Celtic's third, was instinctive striker play as he dropped off his marker to swing around in the box and convert a driven Sebastian Tounekti cross in the 83rd minute to settle the outcome.

The table standings after the Scottish champions' triumph on Saturday: