On Malaysia Day, we must dare to speak freely, even if it makes us uncomfortable — Terence Fernandez

Big Boom Media Editor in Chief, Terence Fernandez, calls for an honest conversation about Malaysia’s future on the 62nd anniversary of its formation. - Scoop file pic, September 16, 2025


On Malaysia Day, we must dare to speak freely, even if it makes us uncomfortable — Terence Fernandez


Malaysians should embrace uncomfortable truths and demand progress, challenging the status quo of affirmative action, free speech, and economic inequality



Terence Fernandez
Updated 10 hours ago
16 September, 2025
8:00 AM MYT


SEPTEMBER 16. The date marks not just a geopolitical union — of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak (and, briefly, Singapore) — but a nationhood forged under uneasy compromises.

On this 62nd anniversary of Malaysia’s formation, it is not fireworks or multi-ethnic dance routines we need more of. What we desperately need is a dose of honesty — the kind that makes you squirm, shift in your seat, and reach for the sedition handbook.

Let’s talk about the truth — not the saccharine version we’re fed at Merdeka parades, but the bitter pill that freedom of speech in Malaysia is conditional, and very often, selectively enforced.

This is not an admonishment of any particular Government – including the present one.

It just so happens that free speech and expression does not necessarily benefit the power of the day.

While we enjoy the superficial trappings of democracy — yes, you can post your views on Facebook and argue on Twitter — these freedoms come with a long list of caveats, footnotes, and the ever-looming threat of legal reprisals.

The Internet is free… until it’s not. Social media is open… until you say something someone doesn’t like.

Which is why the Police and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) have been overstretched with multiple reports by offended people as well as the strict liability of the MCMC Act that does not allow any wriggle room on its enforcement.

Even now remarks by university students on the need for matriculation has been subject to multiple police reports.

The Sedition Act 1948 — a colonial relic that’s been repurposed not to silence the British Crown’s enemies, but to hush the rakyat who ask uncomfortable questions.

This is the law that’s still used to gag dissent, clip creativity, and tame political discourse. The ghost of empire that continues to haunt our independent nation.

If Charlie Kirk, the recently assassinated American right-wing firebrand, were Malaysian, he would have been hauled up by the authorities faster than you can say “Section 233.”

His views — however misguided or provocative — are protected in the U.S. under the First Amendment. Here? They’d likely earn him a date with Bukit Aman. Yet he’d still be alive as we don’t shoot fellow Malaysians for opposing views.

We should be emboldened by the Reformist agenda of the Madani Government which tries to encourage open discourse – albeit with conditions.

The “Turun Anwar” rally is a good example of this, where the subject of the rally – the Prime Minister – instructed the authorities to ensure it went smoothly and demonstrators were not harassed.

The town halls and roadshows initiated by the Prime Minister is a good opportunity to engage with the leadership.

But if the citizenry decides to give low ball questions and get taken in by the celebrity of the personality then who is too blame?

Get serious about the economy, the divisive politics and education.

Let’s ask why, 62 years on, we’re still dancing around the issue of affirmative action and majority privilege — and why these policies have not lifted the Malay community as intended.

Why is it that the majority Malays, despite decades of economic assistance, still dominate the ranks of the B40?

Why are they overwhelmingly represented as delivery riders, factory workers and at low-cost housing?

Is this the bangsa we promised to uplift?

Let’s be clear: there is no shame in honest work. But when your best and brightest are becoming gig workers out of necessity — because higher education, entrepreneurial opportunities, and capital remain out of reach — then we have failed.

The recently tabled Gig Workers Bill was marketed as a breakthrough for Malaysia’s 3 million part-time workers. But packaging alone doesn’t make a policy visionary.

Regulating this sector is necessary, yes. Ensuring these workers rights and livelihood are protected is a must and one must admire Human Resources Minister Steven Sim dogged tenacity to see the Bill through.

Despite its passing in the Upper House he is still conducting stakeholder engagements to get buy-in from the rakyat.

But this should just be the start.

The next step is where the true challenge lies in uplifting these workers.

It’s the commitment to up-skilling, re-training, entrepreneurship development. Now what we need is the roadmap to move from gig dependency to sustainable livelihoods.

Because let’s be honest — a nation cannot progress on the backs of riders zipping around on borrowed bikes, chasing commissions that barely keep up with inflation.

Big Boom Media Editor in Chief, Terence Fernandez, calls for an honest conversation about Malaysia’s future on the 62nd anniversary of its formation. – Scoop file pic, September 16, 2025


Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s attempts to shift the economic narrative — from race-based to needs-based policies — are as brave as they are politically suicidal.

Removing the crutches of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and replacing them with a more equitable, merit-and-needs-based framework is something reformists have long demanded.

And yet, like many things Anwar touches, the move is being criticised — ironically, not so much by the Malays, but by a community that feels forgotten even within the margins.

The Indian community — the third-largest ethnic group (though some now say they’ve been overtaken numerically by migrant workers from Bangladesh) — continues to dominate statistics in poverty, unemployment, lack of education, and crime.

So when Anwar talks about phasing out race-based affirmative action, it’s not surprising that many Indians see it as yet another door being closed on them.

Advocates of quotas and targeted policies argue that affirmative action is one of the few tools that actually benefits the Indian community. With little political representation and even less economic clout, the Indians feel they’ve been squeezed out of every national conversation.

Meanwhile, the Chinese community continues to move up the economic ladder — not because of privilege, but because of a relentless focus on education, business, and intergenerational wealth building.

This is not to pit race against race — but we must acknowledge the growing class gap, and the racial lines it often follows.

And while the larger communities bicker about who gets what, the more vulnerable ones like the Orang Asal and indigenous groups of Sabah and Sarawak continue to be given scant mention or even left out at all from the national conversation.

We’ve built a system where the very people we say we are helping remain trapped at the bottom — while any attempt to question this broken model is met with accusations of disloyalty or racism.

So we stay quiet. We don’t rock the boat. And the cycle repeats.

Malaysia Day should not be a comfort blanket.

If Malaysia Day is to be truly celebrated, then we must stop treating patriotism as blind loyalty to flawed systems.

Loving this country means wanting better for it. It means demanding more — of our leaders, of our institutions, and yes, of ourselves.

It means allowing every Malaysian — regardless of race or religion — to question policies that don’t work and to challenge sacred cows.

We often say Malaysia is a country blessed with diversity. But until we are mature enough to discuss that diversity without fear — then we remain only half a democracy. – September 16, 2025



***Terence Fernandez is Editor in Chief of Big Boom Media which publishes Scoop.