KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — The future of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition hangs in the balance as PAS will convene a high-stakes central working committee (CWC) meeting tomorrow night to determine its ongoing relationship with Bersatu.

PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang confirmed the meeting today, when speaking to reporters following the launch of a book on the Iran-Israel war at the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair, Free Malaysia Today reported.

“It will be tomorrow, God willing, Monday. We will have a meeting at night,” Hadi said, addressing mounting speculation over when the party leadership would formally decide the trajectory of the PAS-Bersatu partnership.

The alliance between the two PN pillars has been tenuous since Tan Sri Muhyddin Yassin was forced to resign as the chairman of the coalition last year.

The rift widened after Hadi publicly signalled that PAS would reassess its cooperation with Bersatu, delivering a pointed warning that the party’s “patience has its limits.”

At the core of the dispute are several high-friction issues that have eroded trust between the two parties.

Chief among these is Bersatu’s move to unseat the Perlis menteri besar, as well as allegations of Bersatu interfering in state-level appointments in the PAS strongholds of Kedah and Kelantan.

Adding to the tension is a strategic disagreement over the coalition's growth; Hadi alleged that Bersatu has consistently opposed the admission of new Malay-Muslim parties into the PN fold whereas the Islamist party has continued its outreach towards such groups.

TOKYO, June 11 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today reaffirmed the Unity Government’s commitment to its coalition partners, saying it would not take any action that could be perceived as a betrayal of the existing political consensus.

Anwar, who is Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, said the government remained stable, with all parties continuing to respect the understanding reached to ensure the country’s political stability.

“So far, I have not heard any such views. In fact, members of the Cabinet and the leadership represented in it have consistently maintained that the Unity Government at the national level must remain strong,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

The Unity Government, formed after the 15th general election in 2022, comprises PH, Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and several other parties.

Anwar, who is also PKR president, was commenting on claims that several former Bersatu state assemblymen could join PKR following recent developments in the political relationship between Bersatu and PAS.

PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang on Monday announced that the party had formally decided to end its political cooperation with Bersatu after taking into account reports, studies and current assessments of the relationship between the two parties.

Anwar stressed that the coalition’s political approach remained rooted in consultation, discussion and cooperation, rather than abruptly severing ties.

“In politics, this business of divorcing, pronouncing ‘talak’ and remarrying is not our way. We negotiate properly, discuss matters properly and cooperate properly. For now, the Unity Government remains intact, although there are some differences of opinion at the state level,” he said.

He said decisions made at the state level were the responsibility of the respective leadership and those involved should be accountable for them.

The prime minister said the government’s main focus remained on implementing the national development agenda, including fulfilling international commitments and strengthening economic cooperation.

Anwar is scheduled to attend the Asean-Russia meeting in Kazan next week before travelling to Turkmenistan to explore cooperation opportunities in the energy sector, particularly in relation to gas resources. — Bernama

WASHINGTON, June 14 — US Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh will chair his first meeting of the central bank’s rate-setting committee next week caught between a rock and a hard place.

Inflation is at a three-year high but Warsh still faces unrelenting pressure from the White House to lower interest rates.

The bank’s 12-member Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will begin a two-day meeting on Tuesday and is widely expected to hold rates steady as the effects of US President Donald Trump’s war on Iran course through the world’s largest economy.

Warsh, who was picked by Trump, was sworn in last month and has an ambitious and wide-ranging reform agenda.

He has previously expressed support for lowering rates – in line with Trump’s demands – but will likely face resistance from a divided committee.

At the FOMC’s last meeting in April, the Fed held rates steady at 3.50 to 3.75 per cent, but the decision saw four voices of dissent – the largest number since 1992.

Analysts expect the FOMC to deliver a similar decision in June, though with debate expected on whether to change the Fed’s guidance on what its next move could be – a rate hike or a cut.

“He was appointed as Trump’s pick, because Trump probably was influencing him to cut rates,” Dan North, senior economist at Allianz Trade, told AFP.

“I don’t see him being able to do that now, especially with inflation data and job growth data, and what the people on the FOMC said last time around with their dissents.”

‘Family fight’

The Fed has a dual mandate to keep inflation to its long-term two-percent target while ensuring maximum employment.

It typically achieves these goals through interest-rate decisions – cutting borrowing costs to spur economic activity or raising them to cool prices.

Before the US-Israel war on Iran sent energy prices skyrocketing, markets had priced in at least one rate cut by the end of 2026.

With inflation flaring due to the war, however, the next move is now forecast to be a rate hike by December, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

That will be sure to anger Trump, who has launched an unprecedented assault on the Fed’s independence with a criminal probe against Warsh’s predecessor and attempting to fire another Fed governor.

Last week, responding to strong US job growth figures that suggested the Fed should focus on inflation, Trump said he still wanted lower rates but would let Warsh “make that decision.”

The FOMC decides by majority vote, and even if Warsh argues for a cut, he must convince at least six other policymakers to join him.

At his confirmation hearing, Warsh said he favoured “messier meetings,” where policymakers could have “a good family fight.”

“He’s stepping into an environment that’s already messy,” warned North of Allianz Trade. “I don’t think it’s the family fight he was talking about.”

‘Nothing can wish it away’

Greg Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, told AFP Warsh was unlikely to try to make wholesale changes at the meeting – his first chance to sit with the entire committee and “share his perspective on the economic landscape.”

Warsh has proposed reducing the amount of information the Fed communicates about its decisions: cutting out forward guidance and projections.

“In this first meeting, my guess is that he will withhold his projection, but not necessarily change the way projections are published,” said Daco.

While most analysts expect rates to be held steady at this meeting, opinions vary wildly on what the Fed’s next move could be – whether war-fuelled inflation will need to be addressed, or if it can be treated as temporary.

“Delaying rate hikes is riskier today than it was as the economy emerged from the pandemic,” warned Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG.

“The persistence of inflation is the hand that Warsh has been dealt; nothing can wish it away.”

As for whether Warsh will succumb to Trump’s pressure, “that’s something that’s going to have to be tested,” said EY-Parthenon’s Daco.

“I don’t think we know, to be honest, at this stage.” — AFP