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By Mihar Dias October 2025
It’s official — we Malaysians crave attention like moths to a flame.
The moment a foreign dignitary, especially one with celebrity-sized ego and hairspray like Donald Trump, looks our way, we collectively swoon as if we’ve been seen by God himself.
Trump’s 13-second motorcade clip, posted by his aide Margo Martin on X, was all it took to send Malaysians into digital ecstasy. Malay Mail
The sleek presidential convoy gliding down the Maju Expressway — our pride and joy of tarmac — became overnight proof that Malaysia has arrived. Malay Mail
Forget decades of infrastructure policy or budget allocations; all it takes is a quick American compliment to make us forget the potholes that swallow Myvis whole after a monsoon.
Within hours, comments poured in from around the world: “Looks like Independence Day!” “Like Fast & Furious: Presidential Drift!” “So many palm trees!” Malay Mail
These global observations — mostly polite flattery — were shared and reposted here with the kind of national pride usually reserved for Olympic gold medals or free Baskin Robbins.
Malaysians chimed in too, proudly typing, “Epic convoy, solid view, love my country!” as if Margo’s 13-second clip had just validated our entire national identity. Malay Mail
And somewhere in that rush of online applause, a nation found its moment of belonging — not because we built the highway, but because someone famous noticed.
Then came the cherry on top — Trump’s “bromance” moment with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the signing of the US-Malaysia Reciprocal Trade Agreement. The two exchanged quips about pens and signatures like old drinking buddies.
Trump called Anwar’s signature “very artistic,” and Malaysians melted. Malay Mail
Anwar pocketed the White House pen like it was the Holy Grail. For a nation obsessed with status symbols, it was pure theatre — diplomacy with props.
The scene went viral, of course. Commentators hailed it as a “historic day,” analysts gushed about “cordial ties,” and ordinary Malaysians commented: “So proud of PMX!”
Never mind that no one had yet read the fine print of the trade deal — who cares about tariff clauses when there’s a pen blessed by Trump himself?
There’s something endearingly insecure about us. We love being praised, especially by the powerful and the Western. When Trump says our roads are smooth, we feel validated.
When Elon Musk tweets about Malaysia’s potential (and then quietly invests elsewhere), we still beam with pride. Even a passing compliment about our nasi lemak from a YouTube travel vlogger can trend for days.
Perhaps it’s the postcolonial hangover talking — that deep, unspoken need to be acknowledged by “the big boys.” Or maybe it’s just that in the age of social media, our worth feels more real when it’s liked, shared, and hashtagged by someone with an American accent.
Trump has left the country now, his motorcade long gone from the MEX Highway. But we’re still replaying that clip, still talking about his handshake, his dance, his joke, his pen — as though attention itself is a form of currency.
Maybe that’s what we’ve become: a nation addicted to recognition. We don’t just want to be good; we want to be seen being good. We crave applause, not improvement.
So when Trump waves, we cheer. When his aide films our highway, we celebrate. And when our Prime Minister pockets his pen, we treat it like a national relic.
Because deep down, what we really want — more than trade, more than policy, more than progress — is to be noticed. So, for 13 glorious seconds, we were.
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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