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By Mihar Dias December 2025
Malaysia has now entered a golden era where national governance can be mistaken for a kopitiam squabble between two uncles, except one of these uncles controls Parliament, the budget and occasionally forgets that the room has cameras.
Last week’s “lu siau eh” remark—insisted by loyalists to be “just banter”—was the latest performance in the Prime Minister’s accidental stand-up comedy tour in Sabah. https://www.facebook.com/share/1DqfF11ak5/
Nothing bonds a nation quite like being scolded in Hokkien by the country’s top leader, as though the rakyat were misbehaving nephews who failed to finish their taugeh.
Barely had the echo of “lu siau eh” faded when the government transitioned from comedy to courtroom drama.
Then there’s Shamsul Iskandar, former senior political secretary, suddenly modelling MACC’s mandatory orange outfit with handcuffs as accessories.
It should have been a sombre moment for any administration preaching reform, but instead the PM leaned into theatre: “The man is handcuffed and wearing an orange suit. What more do you want?”
Oh yes, the new reformasi metric for justice: if the suspect is photographed in orange, reforms are alive and kicking, and the government stands proudly at the moral summit.
The PM insists he didn’t interfere, MACC insists there was no special treatment, and the rakyat is now learning the delicate art of not choking on irony.
Because when it’s people outside his circle, justice means full transparency.
When it’s one of his own boys? “What more do you want?” https://newswav.com/A2512_yJVTZN?s=A_3xT54ua&language=en
A better answer, perhaps. Or at least better acting.
Now PH, PKR, DAP and even BN have a growing mess on their laps. PKR’s reformist brand is quickly becoming a slogan held together with sticky tape and nostalgia.
DAP is silently screaming into its pillow, forced to defend a communication style that alternates between sermon and scolding.
BN, which joined the unity project hoping for redemption, must now explain why they’re partners in a political circus where orange jumpsuits are considered proof of integrity.
Everyone is trapped in the same group project, but each secretly plotting how to avoid being graded together in GE16.
The most likely strategy is the Malaysian classic—pretend everything is fine, declare everything “taken out of context,” and hope voters forget by next week.
The alternative is sending the PM for communication rehab, though getting him to stop talking like a kopitiam disciplinarian uncle may require stronger medicine than Wisma Putra can prescribe.
In the end, the PM’s plaintive “What more do you want?” may go down as the slogan of a government that mistakes scolding for leadership and optics for reform. https://newswav.com/A2512_yJVTZN?s=A_3xT54ua&language=en
Malaysians want consistency, accountability, and adults at the table—but that may indeed be asking too much.
After all, as the PM might say: “He wore the orange suit already. What more do you want?” https://newswav.com/A2512_yJVTZN?s=A_3xT54ua&language=en
Maybe a government that can govern. But perhaps—lu siau eh?
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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