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By Mihar Dias September 2025
The weather in Sabah has a curious sense of timing. A landslide buries the Gaya Teacher Education Institute (IPG) campus, and suddenly Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim discovers his inner disaster-buster, jetting off to Kota Kinabalu to “expedite” projects.
Imagine that—governance at lightning speed, but only when the clouds and the election calendar line up.
Normally, government projects crawl slower than KL traffic in a downpour. But now? Development is suddenly greased like a Formula One pit stop.
Why? Because nothing makes politicians move faster than two things: falling rocks and falling approval ratings.
Anwar tells us not to worry—he’ll “tweak” the budget. A harmless little tweak. https://newswav.com/A2509_nb53NI?s=A_guk78UH&language=en
Like how your contractor tweaks the bill after “unforeseen” extras, except this one comes with a national price tag.
He assures us it’s not extravagance but “for the rakyat’s wellbeing.”
Which is politician-speak for: relax, it’s your money, but I’ll spend it in a way that makes you clap for me at the ballot box.
The absurdity of this situation is that the campus relocation wasn’t even in the Finance Ministry’s plan. But why let a minor thing like planning get in the way of political opportunity?
When elections loom, anything can become a “priority.” Today it’s a teacher training college. Tomorrow, maybe a new bridge, a stadium, or if the floods hit hard enough, a floating mosque.
Let’s not kid ourselves. Disasters are tragedies for the people, but in the hands of politicians, they’re campaign brochures waiting to be printed.
When the rakyat suffer, the government suffers too—at least in terms of votes. Which is why suddenly, reports are “urgent,” funds are “released,” and decisions are “expedited.”https://newswav.com/A2509_nb53NI?s=A_guk78UH&language=en
The pattern is familiar: weather turns nasty, the PM turns generous, and the rakyat are expected to turn loyal.
As if development is a gift from above, not something taxpayers already paid for.
So buckle up. As the state elections near, expect more miracles. Floods will bring aid faster than GrabFood.
Landslides will sprout new buildings and every ringgit “tweaked” from the budget will be presented as proof that Anwar means business.
But remember this: in Malaysia, the rain may be natural, but the timing of government compassion is always man-made.
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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