'Enough guru, please listen to us,' Zahid tells Anwar over economic flip-flops

 

UMNO AGM | Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi this morning borrowed the viral TikTok catchphrase "guru, hentikan, guru" (teacher, stop it, teacher) to deliver an apparent jibe at Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

In his policy speech at the 2026 Umno general assembly, the deputy prime minister took a swipe at the government's flip-flops regarding the targeted Budi95 petrol subsidy programme.

According to Zahid, such changes in economic policy only create uncertainty and confusion among the rakyat.

"Imagine a father earning RM5,000; surely he is struggling to meet his monthly commitments... how is he going to pay house rental, education fees for his children, medical costs, and on top of that, he also has to think about the Budi quota being reduced.

"But (when the government) is worried (of losing rakyat's support), they increase the amount again. Perhaps after this they are going to reduce it back. Then, when it comes to election time, they increase it again.

"Who is doing this? Guru," he said, to the amusement of thousands of Umno delegates and guests at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre.

While not mentioning Anwar's name, it is understood that Zahid was playing on their often-described teacher-student relationship that gained attention following a leaked recording of their phone conversation in 2021.

Different tagline

Putrajaya, under Anwar's leadership, introduced the Budi95 programme last year as part of its targeted subsidies plan aimed at reducing leakages of government funds.

It began on Sept 30 last year with each Malaysian with a valid driver's license given a 300-litre monthly quota, before the amount was reduced to 200 litres a month in April. The subsidy was again raised to its original quota on Sept 1.

"Cukup, cukup lah, guru! (Enough, teacher, enough!). Please listen to us, teacher. Listen to the rakyat's voice, teacher. Enough is enough.

"Insha Allah we can do better than what the teacher is doing," Zahid added, alluding to the idea that Umno can be a better government.

In his speech, the Bagan Datuk MP also made a sarcastic swipe at the “Madani government” brand introduced by Anwar.

Zahid questioned how a government formed through a unity pact was suddenly given a different tagline.

"It was agreed that the government should be called a unity government. But in the end, this 'national unity' was changed to 'Madani government', which came from who knows where," he said. - Mkini