30/12/2025

TUESDAY | DEC 30, 2025

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Policy 101: Please read the front page

A H, 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. 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: 0 Crime getting younger and more violent; 0 Inflation chewing through dignity; 0 EPF anxieties; 0 Climate chaos; 0 Families stretched thin; and 0 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

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outrage; it documents reality: the Malaysia you see in traffic jams, mamak

“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. y of hat It d to ans

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: 0 Stop assuming. Start reading. The rakyat are speaking daily – in bold headlines. 0 Make theSun a morning must-read. Especially on days you are not featured. 0 Respond, don’t deflect. When public pain is highlighted, fix it – don’t spin it. 0 Lead with humility. Good policy k

b e g i n s 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 t His symbolises something deeply important: unity without patronage, leadership without ego and service without condition. His speech depicted the strength of Malaysia through unity in diversity. His voice once again touched me as the photo in my father’s office did. On behalf of my family and in gratitude for a lifetime of public service, I offer this tribute to Lee – a man whose legacy is not only written in history but also felt in the lives of the many he touched and the communities he has stood beside. Dr Andre Ratos is chairman of the Foundation for the Indigenous Arts. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com presence

COMMENT by Dr Andre Ratos

Tribute to Lee Lam Thye THERE was a time when, as a little boy, I walked into my father’s office, I would always see a picture on the opposite wall of the door I came in through. It was of a slender Chinese man being hugged by a distressed Indian man, with his wife clearly looking forlorn. On the Chinese man’s face was a look of reciprocating sadness.

Lee endeavoured for. It reflected what both men believed deeply: that culture, service and social responsibility are inseparable. Throughout his public life, Lee has demonstrated rare moral consistency. Whether advocating safety and health or community welfare, he has always spoken with clarity, restraint and principle. He does not seek attention, yet his voice carries weight because it is trusted. Today, even after the rigours of life, Lee stood firm with us to continue the work of Yayasan Kesenian Orang Asli and Asal. At the event, Irama Asal dan Asli, it was fitting that Lee stood with us – welcomed by leaders of both the Orang Asli and Orang Asal communities.

Association Fair at the Shangri-La Hotel. My father built a full Orang Asli longhouse for the exhibition, working with the Jahut community from Jerantut to bring indigenous culture into an international space. When the exhibition ended, he refused to discard the structure. Instead, the longhouse was rebuilt and repurposed in Pudu, where it first became a shelter for fire victims – transforming a cultural exhibit into a place of refuge and service. It was from this same space that Lee later stood to champion the needs of minority and marginalised communities. That longhouse became more than bamboo and structure; it became a symbol of compassion, advocacy and unity that

Their true legacy lies in consistency, courage and an unwavering commitment to the public good. Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye is one such individual. For my family, Lee is not only a respected national figure but also a long-standing friend and collaborator. He worked closely with my late father Datuk Antony Ratos over many years on community initiatives that focused on safety, inclusion and the dignity of those often overlooked. What bound them together was a shared belief: that a nation is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable communities. Another memory that remains especially meaningful dates back to 1987, during the Pacific Asia Travel

The poignant photo, etched forever, and its manifesting memory serve as an essential tenet: that beyond colour, religion or creed, human compassion endures. It is gestures like these that transcend our human needs to make boundaries of society expand. There are individuals whose contributions to society cannot be measured by titles or positions alone.