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By Mihar Dias September 2026
There are many ways to redistribute wealth.
Bernie Sanders in the USA has one idea.
Malaysia appears to have invented another.
In America, Sanders wants 938 billionaires to pay a 5 per cent annual wealth tax. Their combined wealth, according to his proposal, is about US$8.2 trillion. His calculation says it could raise US$4.4 trillion over ten years — money he wants to use for ordinary Americans: direct payments, teachers' salaries, healthcare, housing and childcare. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BSCee5Umz/
In Malaysia, ordinary Malaysians are putting RM10 and RM50 into a fund to help a former prime minister pay his RM50 million fine.
Now that is what I call creative economics.
Sanders wants money to flow from the very rich to the rakyat.
We have Malaysians happily making money flow from the rakyat to Bossku.
Perhaps economists should stop arguing about capitalism and socialism and study Malaysian solidarity.
It may be the world's first example of trickle-up economics.
The facts are almost too delicious to invent.
UMNO's Najib Razak Solidarity Fund collected RM634,562.02 in its first three hours. Many contributions were reportedly as little as RM10 and RM50. The fund was established after Najib was allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, subject to, among other conditions, payment of the RM50 million fine. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/fund-to-help-ex-malaysian-pm-najib-pay-fine-raises-over-s198k-in-3-hours
RM10.
RM50.
From ordinary people.
To help settle a RM50 million fine.
You almost expect someone to launch a second collection box:
“RM5 if you cannot afford RM10. Every sen helps Bossku.”
I wonder what the next fundraising appeal will be.
“Bring your own piggy bank.”
Or perhaps:
“Skip lunch today. Bossku has a fine to pay.”
Of course, nobody should be criticised simply for giving his or her own money voluntarily. People are entitled to support whoever they wish.
That is democracy.
But the phenomenon tells us something far more interesting than the amount collected.
It tells us about political loyalty.
A court imposes a financial penalty on an individual.
His supporters turn it into a collective financial responsibility.
That is quite a transformation.
The fine was supposed to be his.
Now, apparently, it can become ours.
THE GREAT MALAYSIAN REDISTRIBUTION
Imagine explaining this to an economist.
“Here is the problem,” you say.
“A former prime minister has a RM50 million fine.”
“What happens next?”
“His supporters raise money from ordinary people to help him pay it.”
The economist looks confused.
“But why are ordinary people paying?”
“Solidarity.”
“Ah. And what do the ordinary people receive?”
“Solidarity.”
“Anything else?”
“Gratitude.”
“Anything tangible?”
“Not necessarily.”
At this point the economist quietly packs his laptop and returns to America.
Where Bernie Sanders is proposing the opposite.
Sanders' bill would impose a 5 per cent annual wealth tax on America's 938 billionaires and direct the projected proceeds towards working families and public programmes. His proposal includes a US$3,000 first-year payment for eligible individuals, a US$60,000 minimum salary for public-school teachers, expanded Medicare benefits, affordable housing and childcare assistance. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BSCee5Umz/
Sanders is essentially saying:
The people at the top have enough. Let's send some money downwards.
Malaysia seems to be saying:
The man at the top has a fine. Let's send some money upwards.
It would be funny if it did not reveal something rather serious about the psychology of politics.
WHEN LOYALTY BECOMES AN ASSET
Political parties have always understood that people vote with their hearts as much as their wallets.
But this is something different.
Here, loyalty itself has acquired a price tag.
A supporter can now demonstrate his political faith not merely by voting, attending rallies or waving flags.
He can produce his Touch 'n Go.
RM10.
RM50.
Perhaps RM100 if particularly emotional.
Suddenly political devotion has become a crowdfunding platform.
And that raises a fascinating question:
If supporters are prepared to pay the financial consequences of their political hero's legal troubles, what incentive is there for anyone to worry about those consequences in the first place?
The point is not whether Najib deserves sympathy.
His supporters clearly believe he does.
The point is what happens to the meaning of accountability when somebody else volunteers to pay the bill.
A fine is supposed to hurt.
If your supporters pay it for you, perhaps the fine has been converted into a membership fee.
THE RM50 MILLION QUESTION
There is another lesson here.
Malaysia has millions of people struggling with the ordinary mathematics of life.
Rent.
Groceries.
School expenses.
Petrol.
Medical bills.
EPF savings.
Childcare.
Retirement.
And yet within three hours, more than RM634,000 was found for one political cause.
That is not merely a financial story.
It is a story about priorities.
It tells us that Malaysians can be extraordinarily generous when they believe in a cause.
The challenge for the rest of us is to ask what other causes could mobilise the same generosity.
Imagine if RM10 and RM50 contributions were collected to help poor children stay in school.
Or elderly Malaysians living alone.
Or young entrepreneurs starting their first businesses.
Or families drowning in medical bills.
Perhaps the rakyat would contribute just as enthusiastically.
Perhaps.
But political loyalty has one advantage over social causes:
It has a face.
And faces are powerful.
THE ULTIMATE IRONY
Bernie Sanders wants to tax 938 billionaires because he believes wealth has become too concentrated.
Malaysia has demonstrated that political loyalty can also become remarkably concentrated.
One man.
One cause.
One RM50 million fine.
And thousands of ordinary people reaching into their pockets.
Sanders says:
“Make billionaires pay their fair share.”
Malaysia answers:
“Never mind. We will pay Bossku's.”
That is the irony.
The American proposal is about redistributing wealth downward.
The Malaysian campaign is redistributing loyalty upward.
Perhaps both countries have discovered something important about human beings.
The rich do not always need to ask for money.
Sometimes they only need loyal followers.
And sometimes the most expensive thing an ordinary citizen can give away is not RM10.
It is the belief that someone else's bill has somehow become his own responsibility.
That, I suspect, is a lesson worth more than RM50 million.
Although I doubt anyone will be collecting it in a tabung.
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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