Look, I’m tired. Not just the “I need a nap” tired I'm tired in my soul. Because just when you think Malaysian politics can’t get more predictable, bam! Mahathir's back with another round of, “This time, I’ll fix everything!”
Not even a month ago, not even a moon cycle ago, the man said he’d abolish race issues (3R) if he returned to power. And just like that, in classic plot twist fashion, he starts campaigning on the same old 3R narrative. Malaysia must be the only country where the sequel always looks like the original movie, just with a shakier camera and worse acting.
At this point, I’m convinced we’re not living in a democracy we’re stuck in a political reboot franchise with no scriptwriter.
“Abolish 3R politics,” he says.
Uncle, you wrote the manual on 3R politics! If you’d spent half as much time uniting Malaysians as you did dividing them for votes, we’d be launching real flying cars by now, not TikTok videos of toy drones with the Jalur Gemilang stuck on top.
And speaking of that glorious “flying car” project don’t get me started. That thing had more lift from hot air than engineering. It was basically a metaphor for leadership priorities: flashy on the outside, empty on delivery.
Meanwhile, our education system is so broken, even autocorrect gives up when you type “meritocracy” in Malaysia. Top students are migrating, human capital is leaking faster than our national oil reserves, and we’re still assigning university seats based on quota rather than capability. Brain drain? Try brain flood.
Let’s be real:
If someone had respected and supported these capable Malaysians while they were still here, maybe we wouldn’t be begging them to “come back and contribute.”
Contribute what? Hope? Motivation? Free consultancy? They gave us everything once and we ghosted them harder than a flaky Tinder date.
Now, the few left with integrity above 50 are either sidelined, silenced, or sipping flat whites in Melbourne.
We keep wondering: Why won’t talented people help rebuild Malaysia?
Because when they were in Malaysia, they were told:
“You’re not the right race.”
“Wait your turn.”
“The contract already went to someone’s cousin.”
You want them to contribute now? Sorry, boss. That Grabcar has left the station.
And don’t even get me started on the bigots. All they need to do is tell the rakyat, “That group stole your idea!” rinse, repeat, profit. The same fairy tale told so many times, people start quoting it like scripture. Meanwhile, the storytellers are busy buying third properties in Damansara Heights.
And now, Mahathir wants “Malay unity” again?
Uncle, you had two rounds as Prime Minister. Over two decades. You were the system. And now you're trying to play Malaysia’s Gandalf? Don’t think so.
This is the same man who:
Turned national institutions into collector’s items for his inner circle.
Treated prime ministership like it was an Airbnb booked it, left it, came back when he missed the view.
And now wants to unite Malay parties?
Every Malay political party in Malaysia thinks they’re the main character. Trying to bring them together is like trying to organize a family reunion where everyone insists on being the host. You’ll end up with five tents, three arguments, and one awkward karaoke session featuring Suatu Masa.
So now, what are we supposed to expect? UMNO and PAS in a “big tent”? Who’s the president? UMNO. Deputy? PAS. PKR? Opposition. Bersatu? Mahathir doesn’t even swipe right on Bersatu anymore.
Look, if we don’t stop obsessing over race-based politics and start pushing an All Malaysian agenda one where every citizen matters regardless of their skin tone or surname we're going to be stuck in this endless loop of syiok sendiri leadership.
Let’s move forward, people. The country has so much potential just not with recycled politicians and expired ideologies. Vision 2020 came and went. Let’s try for Vision “Not Embarrassing 2030,” at least.
And oh happy birthday, Tun M! Turning 100 is no small feat. It’s just… maybe don’t try to run the country like it’s still 1981. Blow out the candles, not the constitution. 🎂
Signed
Annan Vaithegi (annanvaithegi@icloud.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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