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By Mihar Dias April 2026
There is, in Malaysia, a peculiar national talent: the ability to turn anything—absolutely anything—into a moral crusade. Even a motorcycle convoy.
So when Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor steps forward to defend a 100,000-strong ride across Terengganu, one expects the usual explanations: camaraderie, grassroots enthusiasm, perhaps even the simple joy of wind against one’s face. https://www.facebook.com/share/18a8tSS1WS/
Instead, we are told this is something far grander—a statement of political resistance so profound that petrol prices become a trivial inconvenience.
Apparently, filling up your tank is no longer an economic decision. It is now an act of ideological sacrifice.
Let us admire, briefly, the logic. The world is grappling with a global energy crunch. Governments elsewhere are urging conservation, stockpiling fuel, and preparing for long-term uncertainty. In Malaysia, we respond by organising a convoy large enough to make OPEC blush—and then defend it as a noble stand against the greater evil of… the federal government.
It is not that the convoy happened. Malaysians love convoys. We convoy for weddings, for Merdeka, for football victories, and occasionally just because someone bought a new exhaust pipe. What is remarkable is the insistence that this particular convoy is somehow comparable to geopolitical resistance movements.
Yes, at one point, the comparison was made to the sacrifices of ordinary Iranians standing up to United States and Israel.
Which raises a delicate question: when did topping up RON95 become equivalent to confronting global superpowers?
To be fair, Sanusi’s argument rests on a deeply Malaysian instinct—that there is always something more important than the problem in front of you. https://www.facebook.com/share/18a8tSS1WS/
Petrol expensive? Never mind. There are bigger issues. Economy uncertain? Never mind. There are bigger issues. Your wallet empty after a 200km convoy? Never mind. There are much bigger issues.
It is a comforting philosophy. It allows us to ignore immediate inconveniences by invoking distant threats. Why worry about the price at the pump when one can worry about the fate of civilisation?
Of course, not everyone is convinced. Nurul Izzah Anwar, playing the inconvenient adult in the room, suggested that perhaps—just perhaps—burning fuel en masse during an energy crisis might qualify as a “waste.” https://www.facebook.com/share/18a8tSS1WS/
This, naturally, was dismissed as missing the point entirely, along with a helpful reminder that she should tidy up her own party’s internal squabbles first.
And there we have it: the full Malaysian political ecosystem in motion. One side burns petrol to demonstrate unity; the other side burns political capital pointing it out; both sides accuse each other of being the real problem. Meanwhile, the rakyat watches, calculates the cost of a full tank, and quietly decides that perhaps the only convoy worth joining is the one to the nearest petrol station before prices go up again.
The irony—if one dares to point it out—is that both sides may be right in their own peculiar way. Yes, politics matters. Yes, national direction matters. But so does the small, unglamorous arithmetic of daily life. The ringgit spent on fuel does not become more valuable simply because it was spent for a cause.
In the end, what is wrong with a motorcycle convoy?
Nothing at all.
Unless, of course, you insist it is a revolution.
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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