The drama over DAP leaving or staying with the government (DAPxit or DAPstay) doesn’t really matter, because the BN-PAS Malay tsunami will probably sweep the next elections.
That’s why Pakatan Harapan should go all out on a final kamikaze mission to deliver the real reforms they promised - because they have nothing to lose anyway.
This would be a great “farewell gift” for a better Malaysia.
Meanwhile at the PKR congress, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim defended his economic record, as he had given out more free money than Najib Abdul Razak.
Many mock Anwar as the “leader of Palestine”. His daughter Nurul Izzah is aware of this but defended her father's advocacy for the Global South.
“If you don’t like it, turn off the TV,” she jibed.
Anwar seems to be behaving like a certain German leader during the final days of World War 2.
As Russian troops were closing in on his Berlin bunker, he was busy moving imaginary armies around the map, thinking he could still win.
Saudara Anwar should wake up. Please stop worrying about which political donors, groups of civil servants, or other powerful interests will get “offended” by real reforms.
Stop being a politician and become a statesman instead. It’s his last chance in his last year of power.
Anti-corruption farce
His biggest promise was to crack down on corruption. Yet a Malaysian pilot could carry 26kg of drugs through KLIA and somehow the security people “didn’t see” it.
The drug case proves Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing was right.
He did a spot check at KLIA after tourists complained they were being extorted by rogue immigration officials in June 2023. He said there was a chronic “culture of corruption” there.
Ten tourism and retail associations lauded Tiong for going on the ground to obtain first-hand information on the problems facing tourists at KLIA.
But Umno rabble-rouser Dr Akmal Saleh slammed Tiong, saying he had no right to enter KLIA and reveal alleged wrongdoings.
“You should remember, you are a minister, not a bak kut teh seller”, chided Akmal.
He added that Tiong should be stripped of his Malaysian citizenship. This was a full display of the entrenched, privileged deep state in action.
Anwar responded with a so-called “surprise visit” to KLIA and pronounced that only “a small group” are responsible for problems.
Meanwhile, a supermarket in Teluk Intan, Perak, had to close down for one day of ritual Islamic cleansing after a clueless lady from China brought her small dog in on a trolley.
Should allegedly tainted government departments also undergo purification - by the MACC?
Some sign of a spine growing was the release of the Tabung Haji royal commission report, but this happened only after Umno backstabbed Anwar in two recent state elections.
So here are more reforms for Harapan’s final kamikaze mission.
1) Local council elections
This is what affects urban dwellers’ everyday lives - be it garbage collection, potholes, the butchering of trees, or the killing of stray dogs.
But racial politicians have been screaming that this will give power to non-Malays, even though many cities now have Malay majorities. Not just Alor Setar, Kuantan, Shah Alam, and Kota Bharu, but also Kuala Lumpur.
In February 2024, Nga Kor Ming, the housing and local government minister, gave another excuse - he was instead focusing on potholes plus cleaner public toilets and drains!
The truth is, all politicians want to keep control over rich cities, with lucrative planning permissions and contracts. But now that Harapan looks set to lose, please forget about such narrow interests.
2) Reduce soaring medical insurance costs
This is the biggest concern of middle-class urban Harapan supporters.
Control the profits of private hospitals and insurance companies, or create a good, affordable Madani health insurance.
Call it Anwar-care if you like.
3) Allow refugees to work
Imagine hiring a maid without having to pay RM20,000 to crony agents to import them from overseas. Apart from families, small businesses will also rejoice.
Refugees are already in this country, so why not allow them to work? The current system forces them into semi-legal sources of income and creates social backlash.
This is a no-brainer to win votes - unless Anwar and his shady human resources minister are too busy protecting dubious foreign worker cartels.
4) Reform elections
Redraw boundaries to create more mixed-race seats to reduce toxic racial politics. Politicians must then appeal to all races.
This can be done with a simple majority in Parliament as long as the number of seats is not increased.
Johor Amanah deputy chief had also pointed out that it’s unfair that urban votes are much less valuable compared to votes in smaller rural seats.
To further reduce racial politicking, state seats can also be added in Penang and Selangor.
Prof Wong Chin Huat explained that these extra assemblypersons can be chosen by “proportional representation”, ie: the proportion of votes received.
Extra assemblypersons were recently appointed in Johor (May 2026) and Malacca (July 2026). But they were not elected democratically.
Instead, they were appointed by the winning party to tighten political control. Harapan can and must show a better way forward.
Malay fears can be addressed, as even smaller parties like Pejuang and soon Bersatu and Amanah can survive in this PR system.
Idealistic parties like Bersama, Muda, and PSM may also get seats if they obtain a certain percentage of ballots.
Thus, people can vote for policies they believe in, rather than fearing they will “waste their votes”.
This creates healthier politics, rather than the juvenile fearmongering of “you must vote for us, or the Big Bad Wolf will get you”.
5) Fight corruption quickly
One of our open secrets is that some officials are clearly living beyond their means.
If Anwar is sincere about cracking down on corruption, he must pass a UWL or “Unexplained Wealth Law”.
So if a civil servant earning RM7,000 monthly has three bungalows and five luxury cars, they can be quickly seized if he can’t explain how he could afford them.
There’s no need for court cases dragging on for years.
Other reforms to consider
Ban political interference in government-linked bodies; learn from Tabung Haji.
Pass a Racial Harmony law to stop the endless poisonous politicking.
Set up a National Ombudsman to resolve complaints against civil servants.
Allow electric tuk-tuks to provide jobs and cheap transport.
Recognise the Unified Examination Certificate as Penang, Selangor, Sabah, and Sarawak already do.
Free the MACC and public prosecutor from political control.
Ensure fair, equal funding even for opposition MPs. Harapan will soon need this!
The Iran war shows we can no longer afford blanket subsidies. Aid should be given based on need, not to subsidise petrol for luxury cars.
Conclusion
Since Harapan will probably lose power in Putrajaya, it’s time to throw away narrow political calculations and do what’s right - at long last!
Harapan will then have some bullets, some good record to regain power after greedy Umno and incompetent PAS screw up, get into new scandals, or fight each other.
Who knows, if they can show voters what a great job they can do, Harapan may even score a last-minute goal and pull off an injury-time victory. - Mkini
ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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