.jpg)
By Mihar Dias November 2025
Malaysia never fails to remind us that politics is our biggest form of entertainment—free, daily, and often unintentionally hilarious.
This week, the gold medals go to Kedah’s very own Mansor Zakaria and RSN Rayer, each contributing generously to our growing archive of political absurdities.
Let’s start with Mansor, the Kedah Housing, Health and Local Government Exco who recently achieved national fame by insulting Sabahans, then attempting to repair the damage with what must be the cheapest political repentance package in Malaysian history: a loaf of Gardenia bread. https://newswav.com/A2511_M9HBXZ?s=A_uC4ONu4&language=en
If Gardenia’s marketing team isn’t on leave celebrating, they should be. No influencer, no billboard, no TikTok dance has ever delivered this kind of publicity.
One exco member apologising—complete with public grovelling and carbohydrate diplomacy—has done more for Gardenia’s brand recall than any corporate campaign.
Some politicians hand out food baskets. Some give scholarships. Mansor? He gives Gardenia Original Classic. Perhaps he believes forgiveness, like bread, is best served soft and sliced. https://newswav.com/A2511_M9HBXZ?s=A_uC4ONu4&language=en
And just as we thought the week couldn't get more absurd, in strides RSN Rayer, MP for Jelutong, declaring boldly in Parliament that Langkawi residents are “suffering” due to a supposed collapse in tourist arrivals. According to him, Kedahans are practically wasting away because no travellers are visiting the island. https://newswav.com/A2511_Pns67g?s=A_DN66tLL&language=en
This would have been a powerful point—if it were true.
Unfortunately for Rayer, reality is stubborn. The only thing declining in Langkawi is patience. The official numbers are so embarrassingly contradictory to his claim that one wonders if he was quoting statistics from a parallel universe.
Consider this:
Tourist arrivals:
• 2.5 million in 2022
• 2.8 million in 2023
• 2.9 million in 2024
And by August 2025 alone, Langkawi had already recorded 2.01 million visitors, compared to 1.96 million during the same period last year. https://newswav.com/A2511_Pns67g?s=A_DN66tLL&language=en
Hotel bookings? Up 47%. Domestic flights? Up 10%. International flights? A jump of 23%.https://newswav.com/A2511_Pns67g?s=A_DN66tLL&language=en
If this is what “decline” looks like, then we must have radically misunderstood the meaning of the word.
Kedah’s Tourism Exco, Datuk Mohd Salleh Saidin, understandably retorted with the verbal equivalent of an arched eyebrow: “From which world did he get his information?” https://newswav.com/A2511_Pns67g?s=A_DN66tLL&language=en
A fair question.
Rayer’s gloomy portrait of a deserted Langkawi bears the same accuracy as Mansor’s belief that Sabahans can be appeased with RM4.20 worth of bread.
If Mansor’s blunder was tone-deaf, Rayer’s was fact-deaf. And both, in their own ways, showcased how our leaders sometimes operate on the “Say First, Verify Never” principle.
Salleh even extended an invitation to Rayer to visit Langkawi personally—politician-speak for: “Come here and let us fix your misunderstanding before you embarrass yourself again.” https://newswav.com/A2511_Pns67g?s=A_DN66tLL&language=en
Preferably, one assumes, without the need for bread-based offerings.
It does make you wonder: why do some politicians seem to think Malaysians will believe anything?
Sabahans, Kedahans, Langkawians—we are many things, but gullible isn’t one of them. If Langkawi residents are suffering, it is likely from traffic jams caused by tourists, rising Grab fares, or the existential dread of watching yet another influencer film a drone shot at Pantai Cenang.
So here we are again, watching the great Malaysian political circus where:
• one leader thinks a loaf of Gardenia can mend regional insult;
• another imagines famine in a booming tourist island.
At this rate, voters don’t need their politicians to uplift them. They just need their politicians to stop embarrassing them.
Still, Malaysia marches on—with humour, with resilience, and apparently, with bread.
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!
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 creator@newswav.com.
