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By Mihar Dias September 2025
Once again, Malaysians are promised a grand corruption clean-up — this time in just two to three years. But like a seafood buffet in a five-star hotel, the bilis are fried daily for everyone to see, while the sharks remain safely on the “market price” section of the menu — too rare, too powerful, and mysteriously unavailable whenever you ask the waiter. In the end, the rakyat get a plate of crispy anchovies while the big fish keep swimming laps in the aquarium of power.
The Prime Minister has promised no mercy: ministers, ex-ministers, KSUs, DGs — everyone’s on the chopping board. The rhetoric sounds delicious. Malay Mail
But Malaysians know the kitchen routine: the bilis arrive fresh every morning, easy to fry, easy to garnish with MACC’s signature orange sauce.
The sharks, on the other hand, are always “coming soon” — delayed by supply issues, pending further investigations, or quietly substituted with a smaller catch when diners get restless.
This isn’t new. Every government before has published the same menu. Najib’s era gave us a 1MDB lobster special — billions stuffed and baked offshore — yet somehow the dish never got fully cleared from the table.
Rosmah introduced us to designer handbags served à la carte, a luxury item no bilis could ever dream of ordering.
Now PMX assures us the buffet is being cleaned up, that the kitchen will be spotless in 24 months. Malay Mail
Forgive the diners if they’re skeptical; after decades of seafood promises, the floor is still greasy and the plates keep coming late.
The real danger is what this repeated dining experience does to the rakyat. After years of paying service charge and tax, they’ve learned the sharks never really get served — they own the restaurant, they pay the chefs, they even buy glowing reviews in the media.
So the people shrug, scoop up another spoonful of sambal ikan bilis, and stop believing the menu altogether. That’s how democracies lose flavour: not with one rotten fish, but with a whole clientele giving up on the hope of a proper meal.
So yes, Mr. Prime Minister, go ahead and promise the full seafood spread. But don’t expect Malaysians to believe that sharks will suddenly appear fresh on the platter within two years. Until we see one properly filleted and served, your buffet is still the same — bilis fried crisp for show, sharks swimming free for dessert.
Welcome to Malaysia’s seafood buffet: the bilis are all-you-can-eat, but the sharks? Sorry sir, that dish is strictly reserved for VIPs — and it never leaves the tank.
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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