.jpg)
By Mihar Dias February 2025
George Orwell’s Animal Farm may have been written in 1945, but its lessons remain strikingly relevant in Malaysia today. https://lessonsummaries.com/animal-farm-10-valuable-lessons-to-learn-from-orwells-classic-tale/
The book’s allegory about power, corruption, and manipulation eerily reflects the country’s political landscape, where the promises of reform are often replaced with self-serving rule. Let’s examine how Orwell’s ten lessons play out in our own backyard.
1. Power Corrupts
Every Malaysian election cycle, leaders emerge with grand promises of reform, transparency, and justice. Yet, once they taste power, many seem to follow the Orwellian script—shifting from idealists to elites who entrench themselves in the system. From multi-billion-dollar scandals to quiet deals that benefit the powerful, we’ve seen how power turns noble aspirations into self-preservation strategies. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2022/01/12/never-ending-cases-of-abuse-of-power-and-corruption/
2. Equality Is Difficult to Maintain
Malaysia's socio-political structure is built on the rhetoric of equality, yet systemic disparities persist. Policies intended to uplift the marginalised often end up benefiting the privileged few, much like how the pigs in Animal Farm slowly establish themselves as the new ruling class. Affirmative action, for instance, meant to bridge gaps, sometimes serves as a tool for crony capitalism, where only those connected to the elite prosper. https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/mysay-new-economic-policy-new-malaysia
3. Propaganda Manipulates the Masses
Malaysia has its own version of Squealer—the spin doctors who appear on mainstream media and social platforms to justify every questionable decision. Whether it’s explaining why an economic downturn is actually a sign of progress or blaming external enemies for domestic failures, the art of political storytelling is alive and well. Even historical blunders get repackaged as patriotic struggles. https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/kadir-jasin-accuses-najib-spin-doctors-dragging-down-country%E2%80%99s-institutions
4. Education Is a Tool of Control
The less informed the public, the easier they are to control. Education in Malaysia has been subject to political tinkering, ensuring a curriculum that often prioritises obedience over critical thinking. Meanwhile, the real beneficiaries of elite education send their children abroad, ensuring that the ruling class remains intellectually superior to the masses—just like how the pigs in Animal Farm control the narrative through selective knowledge. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2022/11/04/syed-saddiq-biggest-hypocrisy-in-malaysia-is-politicians-who-send-their-kids-overseas-but-block-changes-to-education-system-video/34756
5. Fear Maintains Dictatorships
Orwell’s Napoleon used attack dogs to silence opposition. In Malaysia, the tools of fear range from legal threats (Sedition Act, anyone?) to social media witch hunts. Questioning authority, exposing corruption, or even making satirical remarks can land individuals in legal trouble. Fear ensures compliance, and compliance keeps those in power unchallenged. https://www.article19.org/resources/malaysia-satire-is-not-a-crime-end-the-harassment/
6. Revolutions Can Be Hijacked
Malaysia has had its fair share of political “revolutions,” from Reformasi to GE14’s “New Malaysia.” Yet, much like in Animal Farm, initial hope often gives way to bitter realisation —where old masters are simply replaced with new ones. The pigs become indistinguishable from the humans, just as reformists eventually cozy up to the same structures they vowed to dismantle. https://bridgetwelsh.com/articles/shattered-dreams-of-reformasi/
7. Blind Loyalty Is Dangerous
Boxer, the hardworking but naïve horse, represents the rakyat who place unwavering trust in their leaders, believing that “if we just work harder, things will get better.” Sadly, many Malaysians are like Boxer—devoted, overworked, and eventually discarded when no longer useful. Political parties rely on such blind loyalty, banking on emotional appeals rather than genuine accountability. https://fulcrum.sg/malaysias-15th-general-election-ethnicity-remains-the-key-factor-in-voter-preferences/
8. History Can Be Rewritten
Governments have a knack for selective memory. Whether it’s erasing uncomfortable truths from history textbooks or revising past events to suit a new political narrative, Malaysia’s version of Orwell’s commandment-changing pigs is all too real. Heroes become villains, villains become patriots, and scandals mysteriously vanish from official records. https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/08/28/why-malaysian-voters-and-civil-society-are-turning-on-anwar-ibrahim/
9. Not All Leaders Have the People’s Best Interests at Heart
Many Malaysian leaders, much like Orwell’s pigs, claim to serve the rakyat while living in luxury. From extravagant watches to million-dollar handbags, their lifestyles often contrast sharply with the struggles of ordinary Malaysians. The rakyat are expected to tighten their belts while their leaders feast at the high table. https://cilisos.my/a-watch-expert-evaluates-the-watches-worn-by-malaysian-politicians/
10. Apathy Enables Oppression
Perhaps the most damning lesson is that oppression thrives when people remain silent. Despite clear injustices, many Malaysians adopt a “tidak apa” attitude, hoping that things will sort themselves out. But as Orwell warns, apathy allows corruption to fester, and before long, we find ourselves trapped in an endless cycle where the pigs always end up on top. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2024/06/14/apathy-to-blame-for-bumiputeras-being-left-behind-academically-says-secretariat/
Conclusion: Are We the Animals?
Animal Farm is not just a story about animals overthrowing a farmer. It is a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked power, political deception, and public complacency. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/animalfarm/summary/
If Malaysians fail to recognise these patterns in our own society, we risk repeating the same fate—where our revolutions lead only to new forms of oppression.
Orwell might not have had Malaysia in mind when he wrote Animal Farm, but one can’t help but feel he saw us coming.
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.