ZETRIK

How Zetrix bet on its future and lost two-thirds of its value

KUALA LUMPUR: Zetrix AI Bhd's bet on its own shares seems to have been a bad call for the artificial intelligence and blockchain company after its share price slumped nearly 67 per cent in just four trading days.

The slump, equivalent to RM3.55 billion in market value being wiped out between Aug 27 and Sept 2, came after Zetrix had been buying back its shares on the open market between January and August.

Zetrix purchased about 123.29 million shares during the eight months — including 32.46 million in July and August alone — for a total cash outlay of about RM94.2 million.

While a share buyback can signal a company's confidence in its own prospects and may be intended to increase shareholder returns, the margin call and forced selling involving shares held by its managing director and single-largest shareholder Wong Thean Soon reversed that trajectory.

On Aug 28, just two days after Zetrix made its last share buyback of 933,300 shares at 66.5 sen apiece, Wong disposed of 99.8 million shares at 29.9 sen apiece, at a time when the counter had traded around 60 sen earlier in the day.

He also offloaded two blocks of shares through his private vehicle Asia Internet Holdings Sdn Bhd on Aug 27 and 28. Some 4.29 million shares were disposed of on Aug 27 at 60.6 sen apiece, followed by another 52.3 million shares on Aug 28 at 48 sen apiece.

Over the two trading days, Wong and Asia Internet disposed of a total of RM57.5 million worth of shares as the stock tumbled.

However, it is unclear whether the disposals were part of the forced sale involving Wong's shares.

During an emergency conference call with analysts and investors, Wong acknowledged the margin pressure, saying he needed time to resolve the forced sales involving his accounts.

While Wong faced margin calls on his accounts, Zetrix is potentially sitting on millions of ringgit in paper losses on the shares it had repurchased so far this year. Zetrix's share price had not fallen below 60 sen before Aug 27.

The Main Market technology counter began 2026 at 81 sen and rose to a year-high of 89.5 sen on April 21, before gradually declining to trade between 68.5 sen and 79 sen in July.

When the company made its last purchase before the rout, Zetrix paid 66.5 sen apiece. The stock closed at 66 sen that day before falling 6.5 sen, or 9.85 per cent, to 59.5 sen on Aug 27.

VALUATION GAP WIDENS

Zetrix was already trading well below its historical valuation before the sell-off.

Based on its Aug 26 closing price of 66 sen, the stock's trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio stood at 5.3 times, a 62 per cent discount to its five-year average of 14 times, MyBursa data showed.

The P/E ratio measures how much investors are paying for each ringgit of a company's earnings. Zetrix's forward P/E of 4.7 times was also 65 per cent below its five-year average of 13.5 times.

The subsequent share-price collapse pushed that discount substantially wider.

By Aug 31, Zetrix's trailing P/E stood at 2.2 times, an 84 per cent discount to its five-year average of 13.9 times, while its forward P/E of 2.1 times was also 84 per cent below its five-year average of 13.4 times.

FROM 'BUY' CALL TO CUT-LOSS

Earlier in the month, when Zetrix closed one sen, or 1.42 per cent, higher at 71.5 sen on Aug 11, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd issued a short-term "Buy" call on the stock.

It recommended an entry price of between 72 sen and 75 sen and set a target of 80.5 sen, saying early recovery signs were emerging at the time and the earlier downtrend appeared to be easing.

Its cut-loss level was set at 68 sen. By Aug 26, the stock had already fallen below that level, closing at 66 sen. Four trading sessions later, it was worth 22 sen — a decline of 44 sen, or 66.67 per cent.

Heavy selling in Zetrix shares came amid speculation linking the company to former human resources minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan, who was charged on Aug 28 with three counts of corruption involving RM1.097 million.

Zetrix categorically denied being implicated in or associated in any way with Saravanan in relation to the charges.

In its response to Bursa's UMA query, the company said it understood that what it described as "unfounded rumours or speculation" linking it to Saravanan may have contributed to the unusual trading activity.

It said enquiries with its directors, major shareholders and other relevant parties had not uncovered any undisclosed corporate development, including negotiations or discussions, that could account for the trading activity.

At the time of writing on Sept 3, Zetrix was the most actively traded stock as it entered its fifth straight day of decline, falling another 1.5 sen, or 6.82 per cent, to a multi-year low of 20.5 sen, with more than 209 million shares changing hands.

At that price, Zetrix had a market capitalisation of about RM1.65 billion, compared with roughly RM6.53 billion at 81 sen at the start of the year — a 74.7 per cent loss in market value. - NST 4 September 2026

NextG

NexG welcomes govt decision not to acquire Datasonic

KUALA LUMPUR: NexG Bhd has welcomed the government’s decision not to acquire its subsidiary, Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd (DTSB), after being asked to submit an indicative price for a possible acquisition of the company.

DTSB is the provider of MyKads and has been the vendor of Malaysian passports compliant with International Civil Aviation Organisation standards since 2012.

It is also set to produce the new MyKad MyTentera and MyPOCA, with supply commitments extending over several years.

After the public-listed company suggested an indicative price of RM7.5 billion based on its internal assessment, the National Security Council (MKN) said yesterday the government was in no position to take over DTSB, but remained committed to ensuring that all parties involved continue to provide secure and trusted services to the people.

In a statement today, NexG thanked the government for its confidence in DTSB’s continued ability to supply Malaysia’s high-security identity cards without compromising security.

The company said its long-standing track record, supported by experienced local talent and in-house capabilities, demonstrated its ability to continuously deliver identity cards securely and reliably.

“DTSB remains fully committed to upholding the highest standards of security, integrity and reliability, as it has successfully done for the past 27 years,” it said.

“NexG will continue to safeguard the security and sovereignty of Malaysia’s identity cards without compromise, while working closely with relevant government agencies to continuously enhance their security features and ensure Malaysians’ identities remain safe and protected.” - BERNAMA  23 August 2026

2027 Budget

2027 budget to include initiatives to reduce M40’s burdens

PUTRAJAYA: The government’s annual budget for next year will include initiatives aimed at reducing the burdens of those in the middle income or M40 group, says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

“We have a list of items that we have prioritised to reduce the burdens of the M40,” he told reporters after an engagement for the 2027 federal budget at the finance ministry’s headquarters here.

The government maintained targeted electricity and fuel subsidies in the 2026 budget, which the Treasury said benefits the middle class who typically use more electricity and fuel than those in the lower-income group.

Other measures targeted at the M40 in this year’s budget included the extension of childcare benefits from six to 12 years, RM1,000 in domestic-tourism relief and widened stamp duty exemptions for homebuyers.

TH probe goes beyond RCI scope

On a separate matter, Anwar said the investigations involving Tabung Haji (TH) went beyond the scope of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) report, which only covered 2014 to 2020.

“There’s no obstruction to looking into (TH’s management) before and beyond (2014-2020). And this is what is being done by enforcement agencies and investigators,” he said.

While debating the TH RCI report in the Dewan Rakyat last week, Umno’s Tampin MP Isam Isa proposed an investigation covering the period from 2021 to 2025, as the previous RCI only covered 2014 to 2020.

Kinabatangan MP Kurniawan Naim Moktar of Umno agreed, saying the audit of TH should not “stop halfway” and that a fresh RCI should look into the pilgrim fund’s non-performing assets. - FMT 18 August 2026

BERSATU

Hadi wrong to say Bersatu automatically out of PN, says Azmin

PETALING JAYA: PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s claim that Bersatu is no longer part of Perikatan Nasional (PN) contradicts the coalition’s constitution, says Bersatu secretary-general Azmin Ali.

He said Hadi was wrong to claim that Bersatu automatically ceased to be part of PN after announcing plans to form a new political coalition.

“No clause in the PN constitution provides for the automatic termination of a party’s membership.

“Bersatu’s status as a PN member party can only be finalised by the presidential council, according to Clause 7A of the constitution.

“So far, the presidential council has not convened to determine Bersatu’s membership in PN. As such, Bersatu remains a legitimate member party of PN,” he said in a statement today.

Up until the Negeri Sembilan state election, Bersatu said it was still part of PN and that the coalition’s constitution required consensus among all component parties to remove any member party.

Its president, Muhyiddin Yassin, later said the party would form a new and stronger coalition with several other parties after the state election.

Hadi had claimed today that under the PN constitution, any party that chose to join or form another alliance would automatically lose its membership.

However, Azmin said Hadi had no right or veto power to determine Bersatu’s position in PN and that the PAS president’s “reckless statement” showed his lack of basic knowledge of the coalition’s constitution.

In a separate statement, Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz urged Hadi and PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar to specify the clause in the PN constitution supporting Hadi’s claim.

“Maybe Hadi was referring to the PAS constitution. But PN is not PAS. PN’s constitution is different from PAS’s constitution. PN is not a branch of PAS,” he said.

Azmin said Bersatu would also lodge an official complaint with the Registrar of Societies over the barring of its representatives from attending a meeting of PN’s Supreme Council that discussed seat allocations and PN’s cooperation with Barisan Nasional in the Negeri Sembilan state election.

“The actions of the PN chairman and PN secretary-general (Takiyuddin Hassan) went against the coalition’s constitution,” he said. - FMT 7 AUGUST 2026

US

Baseless, says Anwar of claim Hamas members trained in Malaysia

SEREMBAN: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has rubbished claims by eight US lawmakers that Hamas members trained in Malaysia and that the federal government “welcomed terrorists while targeting Jews”.

“It’s baseless,” he told reporters here today.

The eight US lawmakers, who had earlier called on Washington to review its security and economic ties with Malaysia over Putrajaya’s policy barring Israeli citizens from entering the country, had based their claim on a report by an Israeli counter-terrorism research institute.

US categorises Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

Anwar said he had even informed US president Donald Trump of his meeting with a Hamas leader.

“There’s nothing unusual about it (relationship with Hamas),” he said.

In May 2024, Anwar met with Ismail Haniyeh during a working trip to Qatar, where he conveyed his condolences to Ismail over the loss of several of his family members killed in an Israeli airstrike in April.

The government in 2015 denied claims by Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service, that Malaysia was used as a training ground for Palestine students to attack Israeli assets.

Then deputy home minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said such claims were not only “ridiculous” but aimed at creating reasons to oppose Malaysia, a strategy often used against countries that Israel disliked. - FMT 22 July 2026

US nominates career diplomat Joshua Harris as envoy to Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: The US has nominated career diplomat Joshua Harris to serve as its next ambassador to Malaysia.

Harris’s name was submitted in a list of nominations sent to the Senate yesterday for confirmation.

Harris, from Maryland, is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and currently holds the rank of minister-counsellor.

He has served as deputy chief of mission and frequently charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Tripoli, Libya, and the Libya External Office in Tunis, Tunisia.

Harris also served as the policy director to the special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), and the director for Iraq at the National Security Council.

Additionally, he served as deputy assistant secretary of state and director of the Office of Maghreb Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

His other foreign assignments have included stints in Ljubljana, Slovenia; Baghdad, Iraq; Tripoli, Libya; and Zagreb, Croatia.

Harris is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The US envoy position has been vacant since former envoy Edgard D Kagan’s tenure ended in February.

Before Harris, conservative commentator and author Nick Adams was nominated as the US ambassador to succeed Kagan, but was, however, dropped in February.

David Gamble is currently serving as the charge d’affaires at the US enbassy. - FMT 22 July 2026

Gerakan

8 years after leaving BN, Gerakan has come full circle with almost nothing to show for

FRESH from a devastating electoral defeat in 2018, Gerakan walked out of Barisan Nasional (BN) with much fanfare.

It felt that the coalition had lost its way and promised to re-build itself as an “independent” force. But in 2021, the Chinese-majority party joined the PAS-dominated Perikatan Nasional (PN).

Now, with the posturing from its PN allies like PAS, Gerakan seems to be one step away from being back in the BN orbit – but in a much worse position than when it had stormed out of the coalition.

This is all attributed to the machinations of Gerakan’s big brother in PN, PAS, which seems to be cozying up to UMNO-led BN as part of its “Malay Unity” agenda, especially in the run-up to the Johor state polls on July 11.

In fact, PN is contesting in only 33 of the 56 seats in the Johor assembly when the coalition had stood in all of them in the 2022 state polls.

To make matters worse, Gerakan is not fielding any candidates for the polls this time around although it stood in eight seats four years ago.

PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has even openly asked its supporters to back BN in seats where the coalition faces Pakatan Harapan (PH) in straight fights.

By sitting out of the polls, Gerakan has not just paved the way for a BN-PH straight fight. It has also averted a split in Malay votes and boosted chances of BN candidates given the community’s general disdain for PH, especially the DAP.

Taken together, these developments point to a strategy that is likely to make BN the main beneficiary after the last ballot paper is counted on July 11.

The truth is, Gerakan is now a pale shadow of what it once was. It has spent the better part of the last eight years becoming increasingly irrelevant compared with its heydays when it ruled Penang.

Its biggest “achievement” since leaving BN is one state assembly seat in Kedah – the Kulim state seat by the party’s secretary-general Wong Chia Zhen – which was won under the PN banner and followed by an EXCO appointment in a PAS-led state government.

It was less a testament to Gerakan’s political revival than to PAS’ willingness to carve out a seat for its junior partner.

Beyond that, Gerakan has struggled to justify why it exists as a separate political party. The party’s decline has been symbolised by its president Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai.

His ill-fated contest in Penang in 2023 where even PAS grassroots openly rejected him, exposed Gerakan’s lack of standing within its own coalition.

It was difficult to escape the impression that Gerakan had become little more than a passenger riding on the strength of more senior partners.

Now with the latest political developments, the party, sometimes lampooned as “Gelakan” (“a joke” in Malay), seems to be back where it started.

Only this time, it returns with neither influence nor bargaining power, only massive loss in public goodwill and a president with a tail between his legs. – Jonathan Liew, FocusM June 30, 2026

UMNO

The cycle turns once more

SOME may or may not have noticed that a cavalier air permeates every announcement by UMNO leaders of their party’s intention to go it alone in the coming state and federal elections.

Without doubt, it is meant to be heroic, if not stoic.

It can be simply deduced that the earnestness stemmed from the realisation that the party’s current post-electoral pact with Pakatan Harapan (PH) is still rejected not only by the Malay majority, but even by its own supporters.

This is despite having been in the alliance for more than three years and accompanied by efforts to convince their supporters that the PH, Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and the DAP had been misrepresented and are not what they had been portrayed to be.

Obviously, these efforts had failed and to ensure survival and hoping for a better showing after the dismal performance in the last election, UMNO leaders seemed to accept that these could only be achieved if they could convince UMNO supporters and the Malay electorate that they are not in any way allied to the PH, Anwar and the DAP.

It is pretty straightforward at this point. Sever ties with PH and the rest, convince the voters and enter the polls without the baggage that proved to be more than capable of dragging UMNO down.

Inevitably, though not in so many words, by declaring to enter the polls without them, UMNO had agreed with what the Opposition parties had said about the PH, Anwar and the DAP — that they are no good for the Malays and the nation.

Actually, UMNO had been saying this all along, though it went a tad silent during the union, except on some irregular intervals when a party renegade decides to raise an issue with the allies.

Even when the renegade speaks up against the PH and the rest, there are always doubts about his candour and that it was part of a political strategy to keep reminding the electorate that they are still Malay leaders and for the Malay interest.

With the Johor state assembly dissolved and the polls to be held soon, UMNO leaders declared that UMNO/Barisan Nasional (BN) will be going it alone and contesting in all 56 seats.

Somewhat scripted to some, PH leaders expressed anger and disappointment, while the lower-tiered leaders and supporters, the ones without much sway, reminded UMNO that they are enjoying government positions courtesy of PH and should resign if they had any morals.

It stopped there and was never raised by PH leaders with sway and neither did any of the UMNO leaders choose to address the insult and prove their integrity.

The PH leaders were equally cavalier. Declaring that they too would contest in all the seats contested by UMNO/BN.

While the degree of earnestness on the part of the PH, in declaring it had untied itself from UMNO in Johor, is less compared with the latter’s, the trajectory is similar when it comes to what it represents to its supporters.

Simply put, if UMNO is keen to disassociate itself with the PH to regain and retain support from the Malays, PH’s distancing itself reflected the allergy felt by their supporters towards UMNO.

In summation, the whole drama has come full circle — what it was in the run-up to the 15th general election (GE15) in late 2022.

Some may choose not to be reminded but UMNO’s campaign in that poll centred heavily on “No Anwar, No DAP” while PH’s was “No UMNO, No Zahid” (Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi — UMNO president who was facing 47 corruption-related cases).

On UMNO’s part, the aversion towards Anwar and the DAP was given divine decree when Ahmad Zahid reportedly uttered the Islamic oath of not working with Anwar and the DAP and if he/UMNO did, they would be damned.

As such, despite both sides reneging on their campaign promises of not aligning with each other, power is a great recipe for marriages of convenience and the coming together of strange bedfellows.

Nevertheless, the marriage needs to end when it becomes inconvenient, hence the display of separation and severance in the upcoming Johor polls.

The Negri Sembilan polls are now also next in line and a similar display of severance between UMNO/BN and PH can be expected to be played out to the hilt.

Malacca assembly’s expiry is also ending soon and it is expected to declare that it will hold its polls as soon as possible or simultaneously and again, the going-alone play will be presented and amplified.

Unfortunately, despite all the bravado of going solo at the state polls, it is still doubtful that it would be convincing and neither would it stand under scrutiny when the 16th Federal polls come into play.

Indeed, Ahmad Zahid had declared that UMNO/BN would go it alone in the Federal elections.

Except for the credulous, not many will buy that narrative, especially if details of “going alone” are dissected.

Firstly, UMNO/BN going alone is not as it was in the previous polls when it contested in seats which, if it won, would allow it to form the Government on its own or, in the worst case, with the support of smaller parties to help make up the numbers.

It meant that UMNO/BN is the leading party or coalition.

This time around, despite going in alone, it is not expected to contest in as many seats. In fact, speculations are in abundance that it will contest only a quarter of the available parliamentary seats.

And the seats it contests will be against its traditional foes — PAS and Bersatu — which seats are traditionally UMNO’s.

With a smaller number of seats and its opponents are going to be the current opposition, UMNO/BN is not entering the Federal polls to form the Government but rather to help form it.

Given that the seats it is contesting are against the Malay opposition parties, if it won most of the seats, it would deprive the Malay opposition of their seats and any bargaining power whatsoever.

Who would UMNO/BN then offer to align itself with to form the Government? Obviously, with those who have the numbers from the other side who did not contest with UMNO for the Malay votes and seats.

By then, voters would realise that the cavalier bravado and feigned earnestness are a crafted illusion.

Too late, the circle closes on cue.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of TMR editorial board. - 5 June 2026