Thanks for the Pocket Money, Uncle Anwar. But Next Time, Don’t Potong Stim Like That Lah
24 Jul 2025 • 9:00 AM MYT
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Fa Abdul
FA ABDUL is a former columnist of Malaysiakini & Free Malaysia Today (FMT)
National excitement: built up like a Bollywood drama, ended like a bad Cerekarama. (Image from Anwar Ibrahim FB Page )
For days, our dear Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim kept teasing us like a TikTok influencer trying to go viral: “Wait ah... wait... got big announcement... very good news... we Madani government understand your struggles...”
Wah. Excited lah we all. Some people cancelled their plans. Others refreshed their news app every 10 minutes. I even postponed my facial appointment – because surely, something extraordinary is coming, right?
And then, bam! The long-awaited announcement finally dropped like an overhyped sequel. And what did we get?
Public holiday on 15 September.
RM100 “duit poket” for those above 18.
RON95 turun 6 sen per litre.
And a sprinkle of meh things no one asked for - most probably to make the list look longer.
Excuse me, apa ni? After all that build-up, you gave us... this? This is the definition of potong stim, okay. This is like going on a first date after weeks of flirting, only to find out he still lives with his mother and forgot his wallet.
Let’s break it down.
Public Holiday on 15th September?
Okay, fine. Malaysians love public holidays, we collect them like Shopee vouchers and free KFC chilli sauce packs. But one day off isn’t going to suddenly make us love the country more, or cure inflation, or make our lives better. Most of us will end up stuck in traffic jams on the way to a mall we cannot afford to shop in anyway.
From Anwar Ibrahim FB Page
RM100 Duit Poket?
Seriously? You hyped this up like we were all going to get keys to a new house or something. RM100? That’s one trip to the petrol station and four packets of Maggi Kari. If you really want to help the rakyat, give us affordable groceries, fair wages, electricity bills that don’t cause heart palpitations, and a rental market that doesn’t look like it’s being run by loan sharks.
Also, let’s do basic math, shall we?
Malaysia has around 22 million people above 18.
22 million x RM100 = RM2.2 billion.
RM2.2 billion in duit poket for Merdeka? For what? A national shopping spree to celebrate how broke we all are? Why do we have this weird obsession with throwing money around - even to people who clearly don’t need it - just to look generous? What’s next? Duit poket for owning a MyKad? And seriously, where is this money coming from? Are we secretly running a side hustle printing cash in someone’s basement in Putrajaya? Or is this just another “buy now, tax later” stunt that’ll return in the form of higher SST or sneaky surcharge?
You say it's to ease our burdens. But RM100 won’t even cover our burden’s toe. It's the government equivalent of someone seeing you drowning and throwing you a rubber duck!
RM100 Duit Poket?
Seriously? You hyped this up like we were all going to get keys to a new house or something. RM100? That’s one trip to the petrol station and four packets of Maggi Kari. If you really want to help the rakyat, give us affordable groceries, fair wages, electricity bills that don’t cause heart palpitations, and a rental market that doesn’t look like it’s being run by loan sharks.
Also, let’s do basic math, shall we?
Malaysia has around 22 million people above 18.
22 million x RM100 = RM2.2 billion.
RM2.2 billion in duit poket for Merdeka? For what? A national shopping spree to celebrate how broke we all are? Why do we have this weird obsession with throwing money around - even to people who clearly don’t need it - just to look generous? What’s next? Duit poket for owning a MyKad? And seriously, where is this money coming from? Are we secretly running a side hustle printing cash in someone’s basement in Putrajaya? Or is this just another “buy now, tax later” stunt that’ll return in the form of higher SST or sneaky surcharge?
You say it's to ease our burdens. But RM100 won’t even cover our burden’s toe. It's the government equivalent of someone seeing you drowning and throwing you a rubber duck!
From Anwar Ibrahim FB Page
RON95 turun 6 sen?
Do you want a round of applause or just a polite clap? Petrol prices have been yo-yoing for years - up today, down tomorrow, then up again for fun. We’re so numb, even a 6 sen drop feels like white noise. That’s not news, that’s small change and a big yawn.
RON95 turun 6 sen?
Do you want a round of applause or just a polite clap? Petrol prices have been yo-yoing for years - up today, down tomorrow, then up again for fun. We’re so numb, even a 6 sen drop feels like white noise. That’s not news, that’s small change and a big yawn.
From Anwar Ibrahim FB Page
Highway Toll Increment “Postponed”?
Postponed is not abolished, okay. Don’t come and tell us to be grateful when what we really want is for tolls to disappear like all the election promises politicians tend to forget. It’s 2025. We’re still paying to use roads built before TikTok existed.
Honestly, if this was meant to be your great gesture to show how connected the Madani government is with the rakyat, I think the rakyat’s Wi-Fi signal is still better than yours.
If all you had was this, you could have just updated your Facebook status like a normal uncle: “Public holiday next Friday, ya. Petrol turun sikit. RM100 also got. Jangan marah ya.” Done. No need for full-blown press statements, suspense, and drama like we’re launching a Marvel movie.
Highway Toll Increment “Postponed”?
Postponed is not abolished, okay. Don’t come and tell us to be grateful when what we really want is for tolls to disappear like all the election promises politicians tend to forget. It’s 2025. We’re still paying to use roads built before TikTok existed.
Honestly, if this was meant to be your great gesture to show how connected the Madani government is with the rakyat, I think the rakyat’s Wi-Fi signal is still better than yours.
If all you had was this, you could have just updated your Facebook status like a normal uncle: “Public holiday next Friday, ya. Petrol turun sikit. RM100 also got. Jangan marah ya.” Done. No need for full-blown press statements, suspense, and drama like we’re launching a Marvel movie.
From Anwar Ibrahim FB Page
We get it - running a country isn’t easy. But maybe next time, skip the PR stunts. Because this one? This was one of the worst in Malaysian history. No climax, no substance - just a big, wasteful meh.
At this point, the only thing Madani about this government is how mad we feel after every ‘extraordinary announcement’ turns into disappointment.
Thanks for the holiday, though. I’ll spend it calculating how long my RM100 will last, while stuck at a toll plaza, paying to enter a shopping mall I can’t afford.
We get it - running a country isn’t easy. But maybe next time, skip the PR stunts. Because this one? This was one of the worst in Malaysian history. No climax, no substance - just a big, wasteful meh.
At this point, the only thing Madani about this government is how mad we feel after every ‘extraordinary announcement’ turns into disappointment.
Thanks for the holiday, though. I’ll spend it calculating how long my RM100 will last, while stuck at a toll plaza, paying to enter a shopping mall I can’t afford.
Gullible Guppies, Donate lah to “starving” Gazans.
ReplyDeletePut Your Money Where Their Mouths Are….ha3