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By Mihar Dias
PMX recently made his rounds in flood-stricken Kedah, offering solace to the victims of yet another annual inundation. As floodwaters rose across Pokok Sena and Kubang Pasu, displacing families, Anwar arrived to the usual media fanfare, projecting an air of empathy and concern. He toured the temporary relief centres, shook hands, posed for photos, and promised action. All very statesman-like.
Yet, there was one glaring omission: his old hometown of Cerok Tok Kun.
Amid the heart-wrenching images of Kedah’s soaked streets and makeshift shelters, one can’t help but hear the murmurs of dissatisfaction from Cerok Tok Kun, a place steeped in Anwar’s personal history.
Despite being just a hop, skip, and a flood puddle away, it seems Cerok Tok Kun didn’t make the Prime Minister’s itinerary this time. The irony? The very man who speaks so passionately about his “roots” conveniently sidestepped them. Anwar’s hometown, which could have served as a symbolic stop on his disaster tour, was instead left high and dry—figuratively, if not literally.
This oversight has left some scratching their heads. After all, what better way to boost morale in the wake of devastation than a homecoming visit by the hamlet's favorite son? But alas, Cerok Tok Kun and its residents were reduced to spectators in this political theatre, their longing for recognition drowned out by the rising floodwaters of Pokok Sena and Kubang Pasu.
Was it an innocent slip-up or a calculated move? Maybe the PM didn’t want to deal with the nostalgic questions that might have come his way: “Do you remember that old kampung shop?” or “Whatever happened to your childhood home?” Nostalgia, after all, can be a messy thing, especially when it risks reminding people of promises long made and rarely kept.
But let’s give credit where it’s due. Anwar did bring attention to the plight of Kedah’s flood victims. Yet, one can’t help but wonder if his visit felt more like a performance than a genuine act of leadership. Political posturing in disaster zones is an old game, and Anwar plays it well. He’s a seasoned hand at appearing compassionate while keeping a careful distance from the actual muck—literal and figurative.
Cerok Tok Kun’s absence from his tour only adds to the sense that perhaps, for Anwar, the personal connection to his past has been overtaken by the political expediency of the present. Or maybe, just maybe, the PM wanted to avoid the uncomfortable optics of standing in the muddy remnants of a place that shaped him, a place where people still remember him not as PMX but as the local boy who left for the glitter of politics.
But hey, who can blame him? Floods come and go every year, and so do politicians. Cerok Tok Kun, like the rest of us, will have to wait for another photo-op, another grand gesture, and maybe—just maybe—another year’s worth of promises that sink faster than floodwaters recede.
In the meantime, let’s not be too harsh. After all, Kedah’s floods are not unique, and neither is the political posturing that follows them. It’s just another chapter in Malaysia’s long-standing tradition of natural disasters and their accompanying PR exercises. And Anwar, with his practiced touch, has merely written the latest page. Too bad Cerok Tok Kun didn’t get a mention. Perhaps next year. Or the year after. Or the year after that.
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