Anne James

[ILHAM @ilhamgallerykl]

Robert Rauschenberg and Asia is up on Level 5 of ILHAM Gallery! Swing by if you haven't seen it! Be sure to check https://t.co/BsatRfZHWO for all the programmes we've got lined up, and follow us for the latest updates and announcements.

[Jeff Ooi @Jeff4Malaysia]

The terrible twin at Malaysia's aviation gateways.

1) Airport contractor cartels (Note: in plural).

The Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently released a report quoting Mohd Izani Ghani (see picture) - managing director of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) - as saying that despite its status as the 'almost' monopolistic national airport operator, it's still facing the hardship posed by cartel practices among some of its contractors.

Mohd Izani told the PAC at a proceeding dated Aug 20, 2025 that the existence of cartels had made it difficult for work to be carried out at its airports.

QUOTE:

“In some cases, they have cartels, the contractors.

“They scared people from entering the airport. It was difficult to do any work. All sorts of things happened that were improper.”

However, what's strange is that no specific examples of cartel practices were disclosed in the report.

Who had created the opportunities for contractor cartels to flourish at MAHB in the first place - if not relented and consented by its procurement and contract management units?

Mohd Izani had been on the job as the MD of MAHB since August 2024 - almost two years had lapsed.

He told the PAC that MAHB has been undertaking a procurement transformation initiative since his tenure started.

OK, forget about messed up Aerotrain. Show us the results as the Cabinet holds its golden shares.

Or recommend to boot him out if things don't improve within a fixed time-frame. You hear, PAC & Khazanah?

https://t.co/sAjZJcItIn

2) MH, the National Airline

Captain Izham Ismail, retired Malaysian Aviation Group Bhd (MAG) group managing director, was called in to testify in the PAC proceedings - dated Feb 19, 2025 - regarding public airport management.

The PAC proceedings on public airport management was held following widespread concern over the decision to privatise MAHB as well as significant deterioration in the standard of services at the country's main airport, namely the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

MAHB was privatised in February 2025 by a consortium comprising Khazanah Nasional Bhd, via its wholly-owned UEM Group Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

Malaysian taxpayers were briefed that the objective of having it privatised is to improve decision-making and accelerate the transformation of the airport operator.

According to a report issued by the PAC on July 1, 2026 - almost a year-and-a-half after the proceedings... and long after Izham had retired - here's resounding quotation about the gist of what transpired:

Izham was quoted as saying by TheEdge that "MAHB’s successful transformation will hinge on whether it can stage a cultural reset in its organisation, much like what MAG had to undertake to turn its operations around.

“The old Malaysia Airlines is somewhat like MAHB. Same culture. Culture of entitlement.

‘I work here; you can't fire me. I'll work here until I'm 60,’ right?” Izham told the PAC in proceedings on public airport management on Feb 19, 2025.

“‘When I retire, you have to give me flight tickets twice a year, and this and that, medical benefits and everything’.

"You become entitled; you will not transform. You will not be thinking of the organisation or the country. You think of yourself,” he added.

"MAHB will have to undergo a shift to a performance-driven culture, Izham said, like what MAG had to cultivate."

Deja vu.

Next question:

Are we - MAHB & Malaysia Airlines, joint and several - still stranded in our transit flights till now?

https://t.co/VZFNW2kZzx

[Mother Jones @MotherJones]

The American experiment has been infected by oligarchs. https://t.co/fErdHjZwxz

[Azira 🇲🇾 🌺 @ladymissazira]

Hopefully more people can share the results of this quiet, important work online bc our children (and teachers) deserves safe, clean environment to learn.

Public schools used to be the golden standard of good education before. It can be again.

[Channel 4 News @Channel4News]

Donald Trump has "taken advantage of the presidency to make billions".

That's according to Norman Eisen, who was Special Counsel to President Barack Obama for ethics.

He spoke to Channel 4 News after it was revealed that Trump made more than $1bn from cryptocurrency in his first year back in office at the White House.

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Palestinian goalkeeper Saleem Al-Ashqar was shot dead by Israeli forces in Gaza. Married just five months ago, he leaves behind a wife expecting their first child. The Palestinian Football Association says more than 1,000 Palestinian athletes have been killed since October 2023.

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

After the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, a remarkable group of retirees answered the call for help.

More than 200 retired engineers and professionals, all aged 60 and older, volunteered to work at the damaged facility. They formed a unique unit known as the Skilled Veterans Corps, with the explicit goal of stabilizing the reactors while shielding younger workers from dangerous levels of radiation exposure.

The initiative was spearheaded by 72-year-old retired engineer Yasuteru Yamada. He argued that older individuals were better suited for the high-risk tasks because they had fewer years of life ahead of them, meaning the potential long-term effects of radiation would be less devastating compared to younger workers with decades left to live.

Alongside fellow retiree Nobuhiro Shiotani, Yamada recruited doctors, cooks, singers, and other experienced professionals, all driven by a profound sense of duty to their country.

The group made it clear that their mission was not a suicide pact, but a practical and ethical decision to use their lifetime of skills for Japan’s recovery while protecting the next generation. Their selfless offer earned widespread admiration and respect, becoming a powerful symbol of sacrifice and civic responsibility in the face of crisis.

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

By now you’ve heard that the Supreme Court shot down Trump’s executive order that attempted to eliminate birthright citizenship.

SCOTUS did the right thing — but the fact that the decision was so close is alarming.

It makes serious court reform all the more important.

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

A director told him to ""sound more Native."" He calmly asked, ""Which tribe?"" The room went silent. The role disappeared.

One year after his Oscar nomination, Hollywood learned Graham Greene would not perform for them.

In 1991, Greene stood on the red carpet at the Academy Awards, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Dances with Wolves. Hollywood congratulated itself for finally getting Native representation right. For treating Indigenous characters with dignity. For moving beyond old stereotypes.

Greene saw something different.

His character Kicking Bird was intelligent, calm, dignified, admired by the white protagonist. But he was also subordinate. A teacher for the white hero's journey, not a character with his own complete arc. He existed to help Kevin Costner's character find himself.

It was the same old story dressed in better clothes.

After the nomination, the offers flooded in. Greene became Hollywood's go-to Native actor. The safe choice. But the roles were always the same. Forgiving elders who explained tribal customs to white audiences. Wise chiefs who dispensed spiritual guidance. Characters who existed so that white America could feel evolved, enlightened, absolved. Characters who died. Violently. Sacrificially.

When Greene challenged dialogue, he was told he was overthinking it. When he questioned why his character had to die in the third act again, he was called difficult. The phone calls slowed.

He refused to play the game.

In 1991, the same year as his Oscar nomination, Greene starred in Clearcut, a Canadian film Hollywood wanted nothing to do with. He played Arthur, a Native activist who does not forgive, does not reconcile, does not teach white characters to be better people. Arthur is violent and uncompromising. He takes a white mill manager hostage and subjects him to the same brutality that Indigenous people have endured for centuries.

White audiences were horrified. Critics called the film disturbing. Some theaters refused to screen it.

Greene did not care. For the first time, he was playing a Native character who existed on his own terms.

In 1992, he anchored Thunderheart, a film about FBI abuses at Pine Ridge Reservation, real abuses, real government violence against Indigenous people. The film was critically acclaimed but commercially ignored. Greene was praised but did not get the career boost an Oscar-nominated actor would normally expect.

He had broken the unspoken rule: Native characters can have dignity, as long as they do not demand power.

Greene never became a franchise lead. Never headlined a blockbuster. Never received the industry protection that turns nominated actors into household names.

Over four decades, he appeared in more than 100 roles. He worked constantly, built a remarkable career, and maintained control over his dignity. He became one of the most respected Native actors in the industry, not because Hollywood handed him that respect, but because he demanded it.

He was asked once about Hollywood's relationship with Native people. His answer was simple: ""Hollywood loves Native people, as long as we don't want anything.""

As long as they do not want narrative control. As long as they do not want power in the stories told about them. As long as they are content to be wise, forgiving, dead, or gone.

Which brings us back to that casting session.

A director told Graham Greene, an Oneida man and an Oscar-nominated actor, to ""sound more Native.""

He asked the only question that mattered: ""Which tribe?""

The director did not know. Did not care. Had not thought about it. To him, Native was a costume, an accent, a vibe. Not hundreds of distinct peoples with their own languages, histories, and identities.

The role disappeared.

Graham Greene walked out with his dignity intact.

He is still working. Still choosing roles carefully. Still refusing to perform Hollywood's version of who he is.

[Aisehman @Aisehman]

Hadi urges “seluruh rakyat negeri Johor” to “mempertahankan kuasa Melayu-Islam”.

@syahirnomic, does the boss know that 40% daripada rakyat Johor ialah bukan-Melayu? Is he taking his medication?

Here is a president of a political party with ambition to rule the entire country, but is entirely dismissive of non-Malays as equal citizens.

[Anne James @annejames44]

@Aisehman @syahirnomic He exemplifies how a segment of Malay-Muslims prefer to treat non-Malays - as second class citizens or eventually ERASED.

[Reuters @Reuters]

Armed with nothing but a bandana and his bare hands, Clarence Chua rescues bees, scooping them from nests into wooden boxes to relocate them, sometimes to his own backyard. He is one of Singapore's few dedicated bee rescuers https://t.co/Csa21kApPU

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Told. You. So.

[Malay Mail @malaymail]

DBKL orders urgent clean-up at Hicks Flats after viral video highlights poor living conditions. https://t.co/jgP9c3Qsl9

[Buzz Patterson @BuzzPatterson]

This little guy survived 6 days trapped in the Venezuelan rubble.❤️

Every life a blessing.🙏🇻🇪

[malaysiakini.com @malaysiakini]

Former Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu has questioned the presence of former MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki at a National Financial Crime Prevention Centre (NFCC) advisory board meeting with the Attorney-General's Chambers yesterday, with photos shared on the latter’s Facebook page.

Taking to his Facebook, Liu questioned if Azam was appointed as one of NFCC's advisory board members and asked about the internal probe into Azam when he was in the MACC.

"What happened to the investigation report? Why no RCI (royal commission of inquiry) on Azam and corporate mafia?" he asked.

Full story: https://t.co/JtVAc9jORM

[James Chin @jameschin110]

🤣🤣🤣 You keep saying there is no pact between UMNO and Moon, but Moon people came to your ceremah and sat on stage! Maybe what you meant was "no written" pact but a secret handshake? Anyone with an IQ of 10 and above would say a vote for Moon is a vote for UMNO/BN and vice-versa. Am I wrong?
#PRNJohor #Johor #UMNO #PASForAll

[MAGA Fact Checker @ExploreEso]

@southernwoman64 It's heartbreaking. We can only pray for one thing...

[Christiane Amanpour @amanpour]

"These women and girls are tremendously resilient, courageous." Former State Department envoy Rina Amiri tells me how Afghan women and girls are fighting back against the "extreme and barbaric regime" of the Taliban.

[InfoGram @_InfoGram_]

Obama has just dropped the biggest bombshell on Trump 🔥

🇺🇸Trump at 2:00 PM: “Iran has agreed not to make a nuke. No president has done this.”

🇺🇸Obama at 3:00 PM— "We had a deal. Iran wouldn’t build nukes. Trump ripped it up. Iran ramped up its nuclear program.

Then He went to war. Burned billions. Wore out our military. People died.

And for what? We’re back at square one, but worse. Only a fool cheers this." 🔥

Absolute brutal by Obama 💪🔥