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By Mihar Dias December 2025
Tun Mahathir, now well into his centenarian years and clearly uninterested in knitting or gardening, has instead returned to his favourite retirement hobby: moral storytelling with sharp political elbows.
This time, the former prime minister offered Malaysians a short parable — almost kindergarten length — about a thief running away with a stolen chicken while loudly shouting “Pencuri! Pencuri!” The crowd, obedient as ever, looks where he points. The thief disappears. The chicken is never seen again. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GkiqN7uhr/
Simple. Elegant. Timeless. And about as subtle as a flying ayam kampung.
To make sure no one missed the point, Tun added a neat little moral at the end: “Jangan agung pemberi rasuah.” https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GkiqN7uhr/
Don’t glorify the giver of bribes. Or translated into modern political Malay: just because someone sings later, don’t forget what they stole earlier.
Now, officially, Tun did not name names. Unofficially, half the country nodded in unison and mouthed the same three letters: PMX.
The timing, of course, was impeccable. The parable landed just as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was explaining — quite reasonably, one might add — that not all self-declared whistleblowers deserve sainthood, especially if their moral awakening occurred only after the MACC knocked on their door.
Anwar’s point was legalistic, cautious, and frankly boring.
Tun’s response? A chicken.
This is classic Mahathirism: why wrestle with policy nuances when you can deploy a folk tale and let the rakyat do the decoding themselves?
Courts argue in affidavits. Tun argues in allegories.
So, what about Malaysians? Bless us, love a good dongeng — especially when it comes with villains, hypocrisy, and the comforting idea that we are the innocent villagers, never the ones being distracted.
Paradoxically, of course, Malaysia has had no shortage of thieves shouting “thief” over the decades.
Our political history reads less like a crime novel and more like a relay race, with the chicken passed from hand to hand, each runner insisting they’re merely chasing the real culprit.
So, when Tun warns us not to glorify bribe givers, one wonders: is this a sermon, or simply elite political karaoke — singing the same moral tune while hoping the audience forgets the earlier verses?
To be fair, Tun’s parable does tap into a genuine national anxiety. Malaysians are tired of watching villains rebrand themselves as heroes, saints, or “reluctant collaborators.”
We are also tired of being told that corruption is complicated, contextual, or — worst of all — misunderstood.
Still, there is something almost endearing about a 100-year-old statesman scolding the nation with a chicken story, as if saying: I have seen empires rise, fall, and steal poultry. Don’t tell me this is new.
As for Anwar, he now finds himself cast — by implication, not accusation — as the man being shouted at while the thief runs off.
Whether this is fair, political theatre, or just Tun enjoying one last encore is for history to decide.
But one thing is certain: in Malaysian politics, the chicken is never just a chicken. It is evidence, metaphor, weapon — and occasionally, dinner.
Of course, somewhere in the distance, someone is still shouting “Pencuri!” while sprinting very, very fast.
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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