No politicians in Semenanjung Malaysia will have the courage and bravery to do what the Chief Minister of Sabah Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor did in March 2026 where he attended in person, the funeral service of the late Datuk Wilfred Sinidol at St Michael's Church in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Earlier while attending the Angpow Festival organised by 10 Chinese associations and NGOs in Feb 2026, Hajiji states succintly that attending celebrations of different faiths does not affect his beliefs or made him less of a Muslim.
The Sabah Chief Minister `indirectly' is telling Malaysians in Semenanjung that their fellow Malaysians that stayed across the South China Sea are not only more tolerant and accepting people of other faiths, their beliefs in their own faith are so strong that it is not easily shaken unlike Malaysians staying in Semenanjung.
Malaysians staying in Semenanjung Malaysia don’t get to hear this type of statement from their politicians.
Politicians in Semenanjung Malaysia rather avoid making such statement for the simple fear of alienating their supporters and voters.
Similar to the myth that ostriches bury their heads in the sand i.e avoiding uncomfortable information or difficult situations, politicians in Semenanjung Malaysia just turned into an ostrich.
The best they do, if the situation demands it is they send their representatives than to show leadership and appear in person themselves.
Hypocrisy is in their souls.
Publicly, especially in Semenanjung Malaysia, politicians will espouse their moral values but away from the public’s eyes, it is a whole different situation.
Take, for example, the fiery rhetoric against corruption, which is ironically often delivered by those later caught in scandals of embezzling public funds.
The hypocrisy here not only disillusions voters but also undermines trust in democracy.
Consistency is often sacrificed on the altar of convenience.
Politicians in Semenanjung Malaysia kept asking and lament an environment where cynicism and apathy among voters are increasing.
They forgot that while they are pointing one finger at the situation, 4 of their own fingers are pointing back at them.
If voters remain vigilant and demand authenticity, we may see a future where leaders not only advocate high principles but also practise them.
The fight against hypocrisy is ongoing but essential for the health of any democracy.
FLK (leekhean.foo@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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