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By Mihar Dias September 2025
If politics is theatre, Malaysia has perfected the art of turning its leaders into treasure hunters.
The latest act features none other than former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, whose name now appears not alongside policy reforms or visionary speeches, but next to a forfeiture order involving RM169 million and enough foreign currency to run a small exchange bureau (Biro Tukaran Wang Asing?). https://newswav.com/A2510_mOCtK6?s=A_GLDKNRy&language=en
Let’s be clear: the courts have ordered the money forfeited to the government. No one came forward to claim it, no objections were filed, and the MACC assures us they’ve “done their job.” https://newswav.com/A2510_mOCtK6?s=A_GLDKNRy&language=en
The stash included Japanese yen, Swiss francs, Emirati dirhams, British pounds, and even a sprinkling of New Zealand dollars—because why stop at one currency when you can have a whole collection? https://newswav.com/A2510_mOCtK6?s=A_GLDKNRy&language=en
Add to that 16 kilograms of gold bars, and suddenly, his image as the “People’s PM” feels more like a character out of Pirates of Putrajaya. (I always enjoy watching Pirates of the Caribbean).
The real comedy, however, isn’t the size of the treasure but how ordinary this all feels. Malaysians barely blink anymore. We scroll past headlines of leaders with secret hoards the way others scroll past football scores.
It’s become part of the national furniture, right up there with traffic jams and budget speeches that promise the moon but deliver potholes.
The danger here is not just the money lost—it’s the cynicism gained. If a prime minister’s millions can quietly slip into safe houses and reappear only in court forfeiture orders, what does that say about oversight? Worse still, what message does it send to the next generation of leaders? Hoard first, explain later?
Forfeiture is tidy, but it’s also incomplete. Returning assets to the state is like sweeping dust under the carpet. The real accountability lies in whether Malaysians ever see charges, trials, and consequences beyond a simple “case closed.”
Without that, treasure hunts will continue, and the rakyat will keep paying the price.
So here we are again: another leader, another stash, another sigh from the rakyat. Perhaps it’s time we admit that in Malaysia, prime ministers don’t just run governments—they curate treasure chests.
So, until the system demands more than just asset recovery, we’ll keep mistaking looting for leadership.
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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