Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stood at Dataran Merdeka last weekend with a powerful message of solidarity for Palestine, announcing an additional RM100 million in aid for Gaza. The move drew thunderous applause from the crowd. But beneath the cheer, a quieter question lingers: what about the struggles of those at home?
We are not short of narcissistic moralists in this country. And we have been warned: narcissistic moralists become breeding grounds for radicalization fueling hatred, intolerance, and a dangerous “we and ours only” mentality that eventually turns inward. When leaders project compassion abroad but neglect their people at home, it’s not moral clarity it’s moral theatre.
Anwar means well for the people of Gaza, but here’s the reality check: Malaysia’s public healthcare system is collapsing. Between 2021 and 2023, more than 3,000 contract doctors resigned, while house officer appointments plummeted by almost 50% from over 6,100 in 2019 to just 3,271 in 2023. Even specialists are leaving, with resignations spiking by 57% in recent years. A staggering 62% of permanent healthcare staff say they’re considering quitting. Patients are literally dying in hospitals because there aren’t enough doctors or nurses to care for them. So the obvious question is this: how do we suddenly find RM100 million for Gaza when our own rakyat cannot even get proper healthcare? Charity begins at home.
This isn’t about opposing aid to Palestine. Compassion should have no borders. But leadership is about priorities, and priorities reveal truth. Our economy is grinding under inflationary pressure, SMEs are bleeding, civil servants are drowning in debt, and yet the government finds ample funds to send abroad while locals wait for basic relief. MITRA allocations remain “under negotiation.” Indian Malaysians are still waiting. The healthcare sector is in crisis. B40 families are struggling daily. The rakyat wonders: why is tax money not used to fix Malaysia first?
Let’s look closer at what ordinary Malaysians are going through.
The Cost of Living Crunch
Food prices are spiraling. Rice, cooking oil, chicken, and eggs the staples of Malaysian households are becoming luxuries for the poor. Even the M40 are feeling the pinch. Parents quietly skip meals so their children can eat. Housewives cut back on vegetables and meat because every ringgit must stretch. When charity abroad overshadows survival at home, it breeds resentment.
The Youth and Graduate Struggle
Fresh graduates face an unforgiving job market. Youth unemployment hovers at around 12.3%, far above the national average. Many end up driving Grab, delivering food, or running small online shops just to stay afloat. This is a wasted generation talented young people boxed into underemployment because the government hasn’t created opportunities. While our youth hustle for RM2,000 a month, billions are discussed abroad for planes, aid, and symbolic gestures. The contrast is painful.
SMEs Under Siege
Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of Malaysia’s economy, making up 97.2% of businesses, nearly half of all jobs, and contributing 38.2% of GDP. Yet many shoplots are shuttered. Rents are high, consumer spending is weak, and loan repayments crush small traders. From tailors in Brickfields to kedai runcit owners in kampungs, the refrain is the same: business is dying. These are the people who actually fuel the local economy and they are left to sink while Putrajaya talks about generosity to the outside world.
Civil Servants and Debt
Even government servants, who once had stable careers, are living paycheck to paycheck. More than 40% of them reportedly face financial strain, and bankruptcies are rising. Teachers, clerks, police officers they are not asking for luxuries, just a decent wage that matches the rising cost of living. Instead, they see their tax money packaged as humanitarian gestures overseas.
Housing: A Dream Deferred
Young Malaysians cannot afford homes in KL, Penang, or Johor Bahru. Even small condos are out of reach, with down payments and loans locking them out of the property market. The frustration is real: we can talk about rebuilding homes in Gaza, but our own rakyat can’t even secure a roof over their heads.
Public Transport Failures
The MRT and LRT break down regularly. Buses remain unreliable. Last-mile connectivity is a nightmare. Commuters spend hours stuck in traffic or waiting on platforms. Yet the billions that could be invested into fixing these inefficiencies are directed toward symbolic gestures abroad.
Rural Neglect
Farmers struggle with low returns on their crops, fishermen with shrinking catches, and Orang Asli communities remain marginalized with poor access to education and healthcare. Their needs are urgent, their voices quiet. But the message they hear is that their suffering is secondary to international posturing.
After all, this is the people’s tax money. We pay expecting it to fund healthcare, infrastructure, and national well-being. If the government can freely give it away to outsiders while neglecting citizens, then why should the tax rate remain as it is? If charity abroad comes before survival at home, the logic is broken.
And then comes the foreign policy theatre. Anwar meets with US officials, entertains billion-dollar aircraft purchases, but no concrete peace initiatives come out of it. If he truly wants to be a peacemaker, then sit with Arab and Islamic leaders, negotiate real solutions, and work toward ending the conflict at its roots. That would be statesmanship. Instead, we are treated to a one-man show an orator, an actor, a promiser of the moon and stars while the rakyat pays the ticket price.
The government’s message is clear: international posturing sells. It rallies crowds, wins headlines, and elevates Malaysia’s moral voice. But leadership is not about applause; it is about bread and butter. And right now, bread is expensive, butter is scarce, and hospitals are short-staffed.
A prime minister’s duty is to balance compassion abroad with justice at home. To announce RM100 million for Gaza while hospitals collapse, MITRA stalls, SMEs close down, and ordinary Malaysians struggle to breathe under economic pressure, is to send the wrong message: that foreign symbolism matters more than domestic responsibility.
The truth is simple: fix home first. Strengthen healthcare, empower vulnerable communities, support SMEs, address youth unemployment, and then, when the house is in order, extend our generosity outward. Until then, every ringgit sent abroad while Malaysians suffer here feels less like compassion and more like performance.
Annan Vaithegi - Crafts emotionally resonant and socially insightful opinion columns that thoughtfully address the broader human, cultural, and systemic issues involved.
Annan Vaithegi (annanvaithegi@icloud.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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