An associate editor calls on Malaysia’s leaders to read theSun’s front pages to understand real public struggles, not just rely on policy papers.
AH, yes. New Year in Malaysia – that sacred season where we make resolutions we won’t keep, swear this year will be different and watch a freshly reshuffled Cabinet line-up promise efficiency, empathy and “immediate action” with the confidence of someone who has not yet seen a grocery bill.
Every January, hope blooms. So do policy ideas. Many of them arrive polished, PowerPoint-ready and completely divorced from what the rakyat are actually living through.
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Which brings Makcik to a very simple New Year suggestion for our policymakers, ministers, YBs, consultants and assorted policy superheroes: Before you launch another genius idea, please read theSun Malaysia – properly, front page first, no skipping and no flinching. Not the press releases you approved, not the glowing write-ups where everyone looks productive and serious.
Read the real headlines, the ones that sting, the ones Malaysians mutter about while stuck in traffic that hasn’t moved since the radio finished three songs and a traffic update.
Because let’s be honest, the nation’s pulse isn’t in policy papers; it is in the headlines you have scrolled past while practising your “we are listening” face for the cameras.
New Cabinet, same problems
A new Cabinet line-up always comes with fresh optimism – fair enough. Continuity with tweaks, experience with new energy and plenty of hopeful talk about reform. Malaysians want to believe – we really do. But hope without grounding can quickly turn into theatre.
While ministries roll out “transformasi strategik versi 6.0”, the rakyat are quietly performing daily survival gymnastics: stretching salaries, downgrading groceries, calculating petrol costs like it is advanced mathematics and wondering how “working longer” became a solution to being tired and broke.
If you truly want your New Year resolutions to mean something, don’t lock yourselves in another retreat; just spend 10 minutes with theSun’s front six pages – it’s free and no tender required.
theSun: Rakyat’s therapist (with headlines that slap)
Bless theSun’s caffeine-fuelled newsroom. It is, frankly, the rakyat’s unofficial therapy session. Flip through it and you will find what is really boiling:
- Crime getting younger and more violent;
- Inflation chewing through dignity;
- EPF anxieties;
- Climate chaos;
- Families stretched thin; and
- Politicians defecting faster than TikTok trends.
And yet every time some official pops up looking genuinely shocked. “We had no idea it was this bad.” Excuse me, Datuk, it was on the front page three days in a row – in font size visible from space.
Reality check, served daily (no garnish)
One day the headline screams about a child stabbing a sibling. The next, we are told Malaysians should work until 65. Another day, inflation has people swapping ayam for sardines and pretending it’s a lifestyle choice.
Now tell Makcik, how does anyone read that and still think the next Cabinet brainstorming session needs a five-star resort and a motivational speaker?
If the answer to the rakyat’s pain is “we’ll form a committee”, darling, that is not policy; that is procrastination with a PowerPoint.
theSun is your mirror, please look into it
The beauty of theSun is that it doesn’t sugarcoat. It doesn’t need to – Malaysians can handle the truth. It is feedback some policymakers struggle with.
Want to gauge public sentiment? Read the front page. Read the letters. Read the commentaries where writers politely (and sometimes not) remind Putrajaya that listening is also part of governing.
This paper doesn’t manufacture outrage; it documents reality: the Malaysia you see in traffic jams, mamak queues, unpaid overtime and that quiet sigh before tapping the petrol pump. It is not propaganda; it is observation.
Don’t call it ‘engagement’ if it is just a photo op
Yes, public dialogues, town halls and listening tours. Makcik must clarify: a dialogue where nobody dares to disagree with you is not engagement; it is theatre with refreshments.
Real listening is uncomfortable. It involves reading headlines that criticise you. It means accepting that hashtags don’t fix hardship and committees don’t fill empty fridges. theSun isn’t being mean; it’s doing you a favour – highlighting cracks before they become collapses.
Makcik’s New Year prescription
So for 2026, here are resolutions worth keeping:
- Stop assuming. Start reading. The rakyat are speaking daily – in bold headlines.
- Make theSun a morning must-read. Especially on days you are not featured.
- Respond, don’t deflect. When public pain is highlighted, fix it – don’t spin it.
- Lead with humility. Good policy begins with listening, not lecturing.
Also, just a friendly reminder: the rakyat are not “stakeholders”; they are the reason you have a job. And no, they aren’t expecting miracles.
So, before you unveil your next grand plan with glossy slides and zero street sense, maybe take a detour to theSun’s digital library – it’s free, it’s public, and most importantly, it’s honest.
Sometimes, what you really need isn’t another policy lab or consultant; you just need a newspaper that still calls it like it is.
We are urging you to read the room. And that room, dear policymakers, is the daily front page of theSun. Now go. Read it. Before Makcik has to marinate another rant.
Azura Abas is the associate editor of theSun.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
