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By Mihar Dias September 2025
You have to admire the Malaysia Ministry of Finance. In a country grappling with inflation, disappearing chicken, and onions priced like gold, they still found time to issue a stern press release clarifying the most urgent national crisis of the week: “No, Malaysians, your RM100 SARA aid cannot be used to buy beer.” https://newswav.com/A2509_LHUmqu?s=A_tWpMSp2&language=en
Apparently, someone had slapped the MyKasih and Malaysia Madani logos on a shelf of Carlsberg, and suddenly, the entire nation needed reassurance that taxpayers were not funding subsidised happy hours. https://newswav.com/A2509_LHUmqu?s=A_tWpMSp2&language=en
The Ministry, with the gravity of a wartime announcement, warned the rakyat to “always check first” and not be fooled by such “slander.” https://newswav.com/A2509_LHUmqu?s=A_tWpMSp2&language=en
Slander? Really? As if half the country actually believed that Putrajaya had approved a Buy 1 Free 1 Tiger Beer campaign under the Madani banner.
Let’s remember: more than 50% of Malaysians are Muslim, for whom beer is haram. No prime minister with survival instincts would dream of declaring beer as essential — not unless he is trying to set a world record for shortest political career or committing seppuku!
But still, you can’t help chuckling at the idea. Imagine the official list of essentials:
• Rice ✅
• Eggs ✅
• Flour ✅
• Toothpaste ✅
• One carton of Guinness for “household harmony” ✅
Now that’s a welfare programme the other 50% of rakyat would actually queue for.
The truth is, this whole saga says less about Malaysians’ drinking habits and more about how starved we are for comic relief.
Because when the cost of living is biting, wages are stagnant, and politics is a circus, the thought of beer as a government-recognised “necessity” almost feels… believable.
So thank you, MOF, for clarifying what nobody really needed clarified.
Rice fills the stomach, yes. But laughter — even at the idea of subsidised beer — keeps the rakyat sane. LOL.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) 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!
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