24/03/2026

TUESDAY | MAR 24, 2026

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Heart said give, wallet said try again P ICTURE THIS: Makcik, glowing, fresh from Aidilfitri prayers on Saturday. Iman level at peak performance, baju kurung Cashless queen, pahala peasant Let us not pretend this is a one-off; this is a lifestyle problem. We are now a society that pays for everything by aggressively waving our phones at machines. Tap here, scan there, approve payment like we are launching a small satellite. asked for blessings, forgiveness and rezeki melimpah ruah . You are ready to give but the system says, “Sorry, insert cash only”. Excuse me, what is this, 2007? It is like being ready to feast on rendang only to be handed plain rice and vibes. Technically, still Raya but emotionally very unsatisfying. open houses where you meet relatives you cannot quite identify but must hug anyway. That spirit? Still solid. But the execution? Buffering. M A R I N A T E D M A K C I K

At least a senior member of Trump’s government has come out and spoken the truth: Joe Kent, the former US counter-terrorism official just resigned over the US-Israeli war against Iran. Kent, a true American hero and war veteran, asserted he could not “in good conscience support the ongoing war” against Iran. He stated that Iran posed “no imminent threat to our nation” and that the conflict was initiated “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby”. What heresy! The move comes weeks into active strikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites, leadership and infrastructure, with Iranian retaliation underway and global oil markets feeling the strain. So far, US and Israeli strikes, guided by America’s galaxy of formidable intelligence satellites that blanket the Mideast, have truly managed to decapitate Iran’s technical, military and political leadership. These attacks were clearly timed for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan when Muslim families gather together. That is why so many senior Iranian officials were killed. The US was following Israel’s well-established tactic of targeting flowing like a shampoo commercial – ready to spread joy, forgiveness and perhaps a little controlled gossip. Step out of the mosque… and BAM – a full-scale ambush. Children, teenagers and grown adults – with the confidence of someone who has done this professionally for years – all holding containers like they are auditioning for Britain’s Got Sedekah . Milo tins, plastic tubs and one bold individual with what looked like a repurposed biscuit jar that once held pineapple tarts but now holds dreams. Every single one extended forward. No words needed, just eye contact – strong, unblinking, spiritual pressure. Makcik vs the empty wallet of shame Normally Makcik would rise to the occasion, smooth and elegant, a crisp note slipped in with the grace of someone who understands both charity and theatre. But that day? Wallet: empty. Soul: willing. Execution: absolutely tragic. Not even a rogue RM1 hiding somewhere or a single coin doing its usual cling-cling cameo. Just receipts, expired loyalty cards and one mysterious button that does not belong to anything. Makcik stood there like a buffering YouTube video. “Sorry dik… tak ada cash.” The three most humiliating words you can say during Raya , right after “ rendang habis ”.

We are in mid-transition, caught between duit raya envelopes and bank transfers, coins and QR codes, between “ Eh, got change?” and “ Eh, got WiFi?” A confusing time but also a very funny one. Final lempang , with extra sambal So, here is Makcik ’s advice for next Raya: bring cash, just a bit, enough to avoid public embarrassment and personal shame. But also – and this is important – let us collectively stop pretending we are still a cash-based society. We are not; we are one QR code away from greatness. To the organisers, the mosque committees, the sedekah squad leaders: adapt, darling – evolve, thrive. Because the people are ready – our hearts are generous, our intentions are pure, our wallets, however, are completely empty and emotionally unavailable. Selamat Hari Raya . May your rendang be rich, your cookies plentiful and your sedekah experience be free from awkward eye contact and financial failure. And if all else fails, just smile, say sorry and walk away with dignity. Or at least… whatever is left of it. AzuraAbas is the executive editor of theSun. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

Cash? Ancient artefact. Our wallets these days are just for aesthetic purposes, like those untouched jars of kuih raya your mother keeps “for guests” but guests never come, so now it is just a decorative museum piece. So when real-life sedekah suddenly requires actual physical money, we all malfunction – internally generous but externally useless. The sedekah olympics: Zero points for effort You can see it happening around you – aunties digging through handbags like they are on a treasure hunt, sponsored by disappointment. Uncles patting their pockets with increasing panic. Someone even checking their phone as if Touch ’n Go may suddenly eject coins like a vending machine. Meanwhile, the children wait – containers still extended, faces calm but judging. Honestly, if there were scorecards, Makcik would have received: 0 Generosity: 10/10; 0 Preparation: 0/10; and 0 Performance under pressure: please see me after class.

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Dear sedekah system, kindly upgrade yourself Makcik says this with love, respect and a very gentle but firm lempang : it is time for an upgrade. Because Malaysians are not stingy – please – we are the same people who will force-feed you three plates of food at an open house and still pack leftovers “for later” that will last you until Merdeka. The issue is not willingness; it is logistics, darling. Give us a QR code – a laminated one, waterproof, tearproof, childproof and auntie-proof. Let the children hold it proudly like a badge of honour. “Scan here for pahala .” You think people will not scan? They will scan so fast the server will need counselling. We have reached a point where buying iced coffee is easier than giving charity. That is not a moral failing, that is a system glitch. Raya spirit still strong, just slightly lagging Don’t worry, the Raya spirit is alive and kicking. It is in the rendang that everyone claims is “just simple-simple” but tastes like it was cooked by ancestors. It is in the cookies that disappear faster than your willpower. It is in the chaotic joy of

“We are now a society that pays for everything by aggressively waving our phones at machines. Tap here, scan there, approve payment like we are launching a small satellite.

Spiritual

high

meets

financial

inconvenience The irony is painful. You just prayed and

Murder Incorporated: How US policy favours deadly games THE “Great America” that President Donald Trump has been promising the public looks too often more like Al Capone’s gangster-ridden Chicago of the 1920’s – except even more violent. Ű BY ERIC S. MARGOLIS and assassinating enemy leaders. This was not the era of Waterloo, when the Duke of Wellington’s staff were reportedly within range of Napoleon’s guns, yet were said to remark, “Gentlemen do not fire on other gentlemen.”

Not so in the Middle East, where critics argue that Israel’s approach has at times echoed the infamous logic attributed to Joseph Stalin – “death solves all problems; no man, no problem”. Israel has targeted successive generations of Palestinian leadership, from Yasser Arafat onwards, often leaving weaker figures in command. Now it’s Iran’s turn to use force to degrade militant capabilities, which Israel has infamously called “mowing the lawn”. US amphibious units are approaching the Gulf, preparing for a land campaign that could be both bloody and challenging. While the US dominates the skies and seas, Iran’s infantry and special forces were hardened in the crucible of the brutal Iran–Iraq War (1980– 1988), which claimed nearly a million Iraqi lives. Just as the Romans struggled against the Iranian Parthians, the Americans may face similar difficulties. The big question, as the courageous Kent asked, is why did Trump allow the US to be dragged into a war costing at least US$1 billion (RM3.91 billion) a day – one with no direct American interest. To Kent, and this veteran war correspondent, the answer is obvious: Israel is a past master at influencing US politics and finances,

So far, US and Israeli strikes, guided by America’s galaxy of formidable intelligence satellites that blanket the Mideast, have truly managed to decapitate Iran’s technical, military and political leadership. – AFPPIC

around US$300 billion – more than any other nation. People would kill to protect that kind of money. EricS. Margolis is a syndicated columnist. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

echoing, in a less serious way, what occurred with President Bill Clinton. Any wonder Epstein was eliminated in classic gangster fashion? “Dead men tell no tales”, as the pirates used to say. Since 1948, the US has reportedly given Israel

particularly close to elections. Israel always waits until US elections draw nigh to make bold moves. Israel’s leadership, including far right extremist parties, likely used information from their key associate Jeffrey Epstein to pressure Trump –