Eyesore: The Klang River continues to be filled with rubbish, mostly plastic waste, despite the efforts of the ‘trash trawler’, the boat pictured above that’s used to remove floating waste. — KK SHAM/The Star

IT is coming up to almost a year since it attained city status, but Klang has not been able to shed its image as a dirty town.

It was once called the dirtiest town in Malaysia and it doesn’t look like any clean-up has been carried out since it became a city in February.

Incidentally, it’s also the royal city of the state, and the Sultan of Selangor obviously has very good reason to be furious over the cleanliness standards there.

There are three other cities in Selangor, namely Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, and Shah Alam, but none of them has a royal tag to it like Klang, which, sadly and unfortunately, has the worst reputation for poor upkeep.

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah pointed out many areas remain dirty and poorly organised, with rivers filled with garbage.

He shared that he had received numerous complaints from both local and foreign tourists, including those arriving by cruise ships docking at Port Klang.

These visitors, he said, had expressed their displeasure over the rubbish strewn in Port Klang and the Royal City of Klang, describing it as disgusting.

“It’s meaningless for us to be proud of our rapid development if we cannot even tackle fundamental issues like hygiene,” His Royal Highness said when officiating the launch of Masjid Jamek Cina Muslim Klang on Thursday.

Sultan Sharafuddin said rivers filled with rubbish and poorly maintained drains have also led to frequent flooding in the city.

His Royal Highness said that he had repeatedly reprimanded and advised local authorities and the state government to take effective action and plan carefully to resolve the flooding issue in the Royal City of Klang and several other districts in Selangor. Yet, floods continue to occur every year.

“We should not use climate change or excessive rainfall, attributed to an ‘act of God’, as an excuse for the floods.

“I’m tired of raising this issue with the government and local authorities every year, only for it to be ignored. Why can’t we solve this problem?” he asked.

Indeed, Tuanku has brought up these issues in the past while the media has also regularly reported on the pathetic situation in Klang.

One would have expected the Klang City Council to focus on cleaning up after attaining city status but for most Klang residents and visitors, nothing has changed. It remains the same dirty place.

As His Royal Highness has said, one can imagine the impression tourists from cruise ships get upon landing at Port Klang and then heading to Kuala Lumpur. The entire stretch of road from the port remains poorly lit, and with unkempt landscaping. Unfortunately, this is what greets foreigners first when they arrive in Malaysia.

Many tourists who flock to Klang for its food also share the same negative perceptions about the city.

Tuanku also pointed out the state of the river in Klang, which is strewn with rubbish, adding that clogged drains have also resulted in floods in the city.

It has been more than 48 hours since His Royal Highness made his statement but there has been no response from the authorities. What a shame!

No one from the Selangor state government or Klang City Hall has taken responsibility or even made a commitment to clean up Klang.

It doesn’t look like any appointed contractors will be losing their jobs despite failing so badly in their duties. They should be blacklisted and should not hide behind shell companies. The tender process should also be made more transparent and accountable.

They had better be warned – the Sultan of Selangor will now keep a personal eye on this shoddy state of affairs.

In 2019, the Federation of Consumers Association reported that, “Taking a drive around town will reveal poor infrastructure along the roads, shoddy or incomplete work done by contractors, broken drains, unclean roads, and even uncut grass. With even the most basic services such as cleanliness and proper infrastructure upkeep not met, residents in Klang are getting fed up.’’

Five years on, we are now at the end of 2024, and it is as if time has stood still in Klang. It remains a dirty and badly run place.

Klang doesn’t deserve city status, really.

Charm offensive: With his persuasive personality as well as eloquence in English and even Arabic, Anwar (here at G20) can help enhance Malaysia’s image on the global stage. — Bernama

FORMER Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad must certainly be the most travelled Malaysian leader, having been head of government for 22 years. This does not even include his second round as premier.

As a journalist, I accompanied him on many of these overseas trips to far-flung nations, an opportunity I would not have had if not for my job.

I counted over 25 countries that I tagged along to, including Albania, Cuba, Colombia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Senegal, Uruguay and Jamaica, which are all not usually on the radar of the average Malaysian tourist. But Dr Mahathir probably visited more than 50 nations.

Almost all the trips involved back-to-back meetings, which began with a pre-council meeting with accompanying ministers and officials immediately after touchdown.

In 1996, we arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a year after the civil war with the Serbs ended, together with the heads of 14 private companies.

Most of us stayed in a hotel riddled with bullet holes. In some rooms, there were only plastic sheets instead of glass panes. Many businessmen, however, saw potential deals in the ruins – from supplying window panes to rebuilding roads and bridges.

None of this, of course, was spoken about openly, as it would have been distasteful, but the message was that Malaysia was prepared to assist Bosnia in rebuilding the nation. Malaysia also donated RM10mil, a small sum for a country which was near flattened.

While the trip was to earn goodwill and to show our commitment to help a less fortunate nation, the big challenge to our business side was to be involved in the reconstruction process in the long-term.

In Dr Mahathir’s many trips, there were good deals and bad ones. One such bad deal was when our national airlines had a direct flight to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, no thanks to Dr Mahathir’s good relationship with the then President Robert Mugabe.

It was a decision that put our national carrier at a huge loss. How many businessmen, from both sides, would travel between the two countries?

During Dr Mahathir’s years as PM from 1981 to 2003, he visited Japan over 100 times – mainly to promote his “Look East” policy. Japan was one of the biggest investors in Malaysia then.

Japan’s offer to guarantee billions of ringgit in what was known as “Samurai bonds’’ with a 10-year-tenure also came in handy for Malaysia to retire some of the previous costly loans committed by the previous leadership.

Love him or loathe him, Dr Mahathir has certainly left a tremendous impact in his two decades of travelling.

On a recent trip to Istanbul, I saw a photograph of Dr Mahathir at a shop at the Grand Bazaar. In Porto, Portugal, when a Bangladeshi found out that I was from Malaysia, he said: “Dr Mahathir.”

I replied: “No, our Prime Minister now is Anwar Ibrahim.”

None of Dr Mahathir successors could reach his stature as a statesman. Perhaps their tenure was too short, or they were not as controversial in their speeches to make the world notice them.

Fast forward to 2024 and there is Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He was already a known international figure before he became PM with his vast international network from the West to the Islamic countries and our neighbours.

He is travelling quite a bit too. Prime Ministers need to go out and help to sell Malaysia, whether to attract investments or for diplomatic strategies. Sitting at home will not help Malaysia.

The protocol for any new PM is to visit the leaders of the other nine Asean members namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The only exception is Myanmar as the military government has been denounced for its continued acts against its civilians.

Like many journalists, I, too, was asked why there was a need for Anwar to travel to all these nations so soon after becoming PM. The fact is: It is required for him. He will be the new Asean leader from January.

It is important for Malaysia to show its commitment to strengthening alliances at regional level, too. More importantly, Anwar is continuing the policy of economic diplomacy. Our neighbours, especially Indonesia and Thailand, compete aggressively with Malaysia for investments.

The Indonesian media, for example, often asks openly and aggressively about what Indonesia lacks that Malaysia has, as investments pour in, especially to Penang, which has become a Silicon Valley for its micro-chips production.

A PM who sits at home will not help Malaysia. Naturally, he has to justify and show us the results of his visits, but diplomacy is not all about investments and money.

The reasons for his travels abroad also include strengthening bilateral ties, to reinforce political, economic and cultural relations, negotiating agreements such as trade deals, defence pacts and outstanding issues including even border disputes.

Our friendship with China, for example, has helped in tourism and investments. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, China offered its Sinovac vaccines to Malaysia, which was among the earliest recipients.

The PM also has the job of expanding our nation’s products, especially our palm oil, to other countries. Our national car, Proton, is now being assembled in Egypt, which will be a gateway to the vast African continent.

Last week, Anwar was in Seoul to get his South Korean counterpart, President Yoon Suk-yeol, to conclude a free trade zone agreement by next year, which would include additional areas such as services, investment and green energy.

It is important to shape what the world thinks of Malaysia. Recently, Anwar was given the honour of attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Brazil although Malaysia is not a member.

The G20 comprises 19 big countries including the United States, United Kingdom, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany as well as two regional bodies, the European Union and African Union.

Anwar, who will chair the Asean grouping next year, was invited to be in the company of these global players.

Whether we wish to admit it or not, a Premier who speaks impeccable English and is at ease with his peers will help to enhance Malaysia’s image through speeches, media engagements or meetings with the Malaysian diaspora.

Dr Mahathir made sharp and hard-hitting speeches, Datuk Seri Najib Razak spoke in crisp English while Anwar is the ultimate charmer, persuasive, eloquent and comfortable in English, and even Arabic.

There is nothing more embarrassing than a PM who is seen struggling at the United Nations rostrum.

But it is not just the speeches. There are side meetings and personal socialising that get things done, as these summits shape policies and find answers to global concerns. Not every PM has that social skill.

Let’s also be realistic. Malaysia, as a small country, sometimes needs to negotiate financial aid or development support.

As a predominantly Muslim country, Malaysia has also played its role in mediating conflicts in Thailand and the Philippines. Engagement in peace talks certainly boosts our image.

Anwar has rightly used his second year as Prime Minister to push Malaysia on the international stage in the run-up to the Asean chairmanship. It is not just our neighbours who will converge in Malaysia next year but also world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping.

We have to wait and see if inward-looking US President Donald Trump will also come. Asean wasn’t his interest.

Another point to be noted is that Anwar’s travels overseas also reflect Malaysia’s political stability.

It shows no one is plotting to take over his post while he is away for two weeks, another reason why Malaysia is a favoured country for investment.

However, a controversy has erupted over the cost of his travel. The standard rule, especially for chartered flights to countries with difficult connections, with accompanying businessmen is simple.

The Malaysian government foots the bill of the officials, the businessmen pay for their seats. So do journalists. That’s how the break-up of the bill is. For sure, these are not holiday trips.

Anwar made his intercontinental mission to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru and Brazil from Nov 9-19.

It could have been better explained by the officials but essentially, the government has ensured an equitable recovery of costs from the private sector, when they paid for their seats and other expenses, at no disadvantage to taxpayers. And that that was how it had been done previously also.

Finally, there is this fake viral social media message about a trip that Anwar is NOT making. Apparently, he has not been invited to Trump’s inauguration while Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Timor Leste have. Even Archbishop Julian Leow, a decent bloke, found himself dragged into the list of so-called invitees.

No, none of them have been invited. It was obviously fake, but there were many who believed it.

Controversial policy: A schoolgirl walking home from school in the Fayzabad district of Badakhshan Province. Afghanistan is the only country in the world that does not allow girls and women to attend secondary school and university, and forbids women from working. — AFP

EDUCATION Minister Fadhlina Sidek found herself in a tight spot over the move to host officials from the Taliban-led Afghanistan government here last week.

Some MPs queried her over the visit and their reservations are understandable given the oppressive and extremist nature of that government.

It is the only country in the world that does not allow girls and women to attend secondary school and university and forbids women from working in many jobs.

Kabul has very few friends, but the reality is that the Taliban are in power and while many countries are dragging their feet to recognise them, they are running the government.

DAP MP Lim Guan Eng raised concerns that Malaysia might be seen as condoning Afghanistan’s policies, particularly the ban on women’s education, but several defensive PAS MPs criticised the Bagan MP.

Kuala Kerian MP Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, the PAS deputy president, said the current Afghanistan administration is “not a Taliban government.’’ He is wrong. Of course it is a Taliban government, but meeting Taliban leaders and officials is not tantamount to agreeing with their policies, just like meeting Communist Party of China leaders does not mean we support communism; or engaging with openly gay foreign leaders does not make us advocates of their lifestyles.

If only some of our lawmakers could think with their heads instead of just wanting to score points. There is no doubt that there is global concern over how the Taliban run their country. Unless they change, the world will continue to shun Afghanistan.

Since 2023, funds to develop the country from international aid organisations have been put on hold because of its policies, which has put its 15.8 million people in continued misery. It has been reported that over 25 government-run hospitals lost their international funding and the World Food Programme has also cut its assistance to 10 million Afghans.

That aside, the people in rural areas have had to deal with the drastic implications of flooding, droughts and earthquakes, which have decimated their produce.

The United States, which fought against the Taliban, had been the largest international donor to Afghanistan having provided over US$2.6bil (RM11.6bil) via the United Nations and other non-governmental organisations.

However, after the fall of Kabul in 2021, the Biden administration froze the funds as it said it was unclear who had the legal authority to access the account.

The Taliban government, which is said to be divided among various factions, has been insistent on continuing its policy of banning women from formal education, but its willingness to meet a female Malaysian education minister should be seen as an opportunity.

The MOE’s statement on the matter has certain key words – “we showcased an inclusive education system focused on increasing access and equity across socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, and geography.

“This includes eliminating gender disparities and ensuring equal and inclusive access at all education levels.

“The MOE’s commitment aligns with the statement last year by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who expressed readiness to enhance cooperation with Afghanistan. At the same time, education rights cannot be denied.

“Malaysia is committed to and fully supports the right to education and access to education for girls.’’

During the week-long visit from Nov 4, the Afghans visited SMKA Putrajaya, Institut Pendidikan Guru Perempuan Melayu in Melaka, Bukit Jalil Sports School and Sekolah Seri Puteri, Cyberjaya. It was an eye-opener as the visits included co-ed institutions.

”They saw how Islamic Studies and English, together with sciences, can be taught in proper Islamic schools,” one official said.

He said the Afghans were open to all “except for music classes.” The Taliban have banned music and all forms of entertainment since taking over in 2021.

The Malaysian stand, however, is clear. Meeting these Afghans enables us to convince them that providing education to females is important – surely, these Taliban, too, have daughters, sisters and mothers.

Do they want to deprive a whole generation of females of proper schooling because of their extreme interpretation of religion, or a fear that their authority will be challenged?

According to news reports, the delegation was led by Shahabuddin Saqib, the director-general of the Afghan education ministry. Fadhlina said the delegation also took part in several discussions with MOE, where her ministry “shared insights on education.’’

Rather than frown upon their visit, I feel it is good that they chose Malaysia as a place where they could learn.

Perhaps, the delegation can convince the hardliners back home to have a rethink. It could perhaps start off by allowing females in the urban areas to attend classes online.

If that can happen, although it sounds like a long shot, it will enable Kabul to negotiate for the resumption of funds.

A harsh winter is coming, and the Taliban will have plenty of time to think although unfortunately, the people will be facing tough times. But these are resilient people. They have defeated the British, Russians and Americans in wars.

It doesn’t help that the people in power are mostly war veterans not trained in the subtleties of diplomacy, finance and economics, skills needed to turn the country around.

Malaysia no longer has an embassy in Kabul while the Afghan embassy here was established before the Taliban government was formed. Its representatives are invited to functions and no one can miss them in their traditional clothes.

However, Putrajaya continues to take a “cautious approach” on its relations with Afghanistan and waits for signals from international bodies like the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) before deciding on whether to resume official diplomatic ties.

The US has a “interest section’’ in Kabul which it operates under the Qatar government. Normally, if a country does not have diplomatic relations with another, it will have an “interest section” run by another friendly country. In some cases, it could be just a one-man show “liaison office.”

In Baghdad, during the United Nations sanctions against Iraq under the late Saddam Hussein, the US had its interest section under the Polish embassy.

In short, no matter what happens, the engagement remains. At least a listening post stays open. Intelligence gathering is sometimes carried out via an existing “humanitarian NGO” operating in Afghanistan or through a third-party, particularly Muslim countries which still have embassies there.

Most countries have continued their engagement with the Afghans in unofficial capacities and these, even on a personal level, are beneficial.

China, for one, is among the strongest supporters of Afghanistan. It has an embassy in Kabul and has extended economic aid and multi-dollar loans to develop the country, with which it shares a 92km border.

Chinese tourists to Afghanistan have grown since 2021 after the Taliban took control with over 7,000 Chinese tourists in 2023, a remarkable increase of 913% from 2012, according to the Tourism Directorate in Kabul.

Indonesia has shut down its embassy in Kabul but its ambassador in Islamabad, Pakistan, is also accredited to Kabul. That means Indonesia still has full diplomatic ties with Kabul.

As much as my writings have been critical of the Taliban, it has not prevented me from making friends with journalists who work at Bakhtar News Agency, the official news agency of Afghanistan.

If the Afghans want to come to Malaysia to learn and open their eyes and ears – we lose nothing by using this window of opportunity to convince them to let their girls and women have a proper education.

UPNM should not tolerate even one incident of bullying, let alone another one in such a short period of time. — The Star

IT has happened again. Yet another bullying case has been reported at the National Defence University (UPNM), with a 19-year-old cadet allegedly stomped on by a senior.

The victim reportedly suffered cracks in his ribs and on his spine as a result.

This is unacceptable. How can bullying continue in a military college that is supposed to instil discipline, care, and patriotism with the aim of producing potential future leaders of the armed forces?

To put it mildly, it’s pathetic.

Such blatant physical assaults have happened too often. These bullies are not the only ones to be blamed, though. The supervisors of this institution must take the rap too.

Surely there is a need for accountability and responsibility.

These administrators should have given advance, if not continuous, warnings to the trainees. Each time there is a fresh intake, such intimidations by tyrants can be expected to occur. We would have expected pre-emptive action to be taken.

The public, especially the parents, cannot be blamed if we feel the superiors have a lackadaisical attitude about this issue. When parents send their children to these institutions or other similar set-ups in the hope that they will become officers and gentlemen, they surrender the parenting duties to these superiors.

Repeated promises to act are of no use if such unfortunate physical abuses continue to take place.

Last week, Amirul Iskandar Norhanizan, 22, claimed trial to assaulting Salman Saiful Surash, 20, by placing a hot iron on his chest at the UPNM hostel on Oct 22. The victim suffered second degree burns on his chest.

Amirul faces a maximum jail term of 10 years or a fine, and could also be whipped if convicted.

These two cases have come just months after the courts handed the death penalty to six former students over the killing of a fellow cadet at the institution.

The UPNM case gripped the nation in 2017 after the death of Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, 21. Six course mates had taken turns to press a steam iron on the victim’s body, including on his private parts. Zulfarhan succumbed to his injuries 10 days after these cruel and beastly actions. The accused – Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri, and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali – now face the gallows for their despicable actions.

We would have expected UPNM to have learnt a painful lesson from the tragedy of Zulkarnain, a promising young cadet with high hopes of a bright future. He suffered extensive bruising and burns on his chest, hands, and feet as a result of the torture using the iron.

The New Straits Times, in an editorial in June, wrote that “the tragic incident was more than just a personal loss. It poses troubling questions about values within our military institutions in their effort to forge leaders of courage, integrity, and compassion.

“It is unfair to lump all military institutions as facing the same issue, but the tragedy has exposed a culture of cruelty, intimidation, and a complete disregard for human life.

“Generally speaking, this incident raises profound questions about our military education.’’

UPNM has failed in all these aspects. I am sure it has produced many brilliant officers, but it should not tolerate even one incident, let alone another one in such a short period of time.

As soldiers, even at university level, there should have been watchful and alert eyes to weed out such bullies. Bullies are often known and feared by other students. Gathering intelligence is part of military training, and we would expect the university to haul them up and tell them off. Bullying fellow university mates isn’t about physical and mental toughness, let’s not try to justify any possible excuses for these pathetic actions.

We expect UPNM and other military schools to churn out potential heroes – not cowards acting tough. These are just people picking on students who are weaker than them physically, or a group attacking one individual.

As expected, there has been a promise of a probe. Isn’t that already obvious?

In fact, it may be necessary to have a comprehensive review of the curriculum, training programmes, the overall culture, and even how interviews are conducted.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took it a step further, saying bullying has become a culture in the country, as it is tolerated and at times, defended.

He said it was “sickening’’ that bullying is generally accepted and that “it [bullying] cannot happen if such a culture is rejected’’.

The university has promised to take strong disciplinary or legal action against those found responsible.

The fact is: a crime has taken place. The police must be called in, and the culprit – or culprits – be arrested and face charges. They should also be suspended immediately, pending being sacked from the university.

Over the years, there have been other bullying cases.

They include T. Nhaveen, 18, and his friend, T. Previn, 19, who were attacked at a burger stall in Penang. Nhaveen was brutally beaten, burned with cigarettes, and sexually assaulted. He succumbed to his injuries, which included blunt force trauma.

More recently, social media influencer Rajeswary Appahu took her own life on July 5 this year, after filing a police report detailing threats and defamation.

But look around – we are also seeing political bullies who have made threats on social media against minorities. Can the minorities be blamed if they feel they are being targeted? Just because these people hold positions in political parties, or even serve as a Yang Berhormat, it does not mean they are not bullies.

They may not even think they are one, and consider themselves heroes, but this is the kind of culture we have allowed to become prevalent.

They are not role models. The last thing our youth should emulate are these politicians.

As for the repeated bullying at the UPNM, there is relevant advice from the late French philosopher Georges Calguiham, who once said: “To err is human, to persist in error is diabolical.”

Big shock?: Election results being broadcast on news tickers in Times Square, New York, last Tuesday night. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

IT’S a repeat of what happened in 2016. Then, the United States media predicted – wrongly – that Donald Trump would lose the presidential election. Trump went on to beat Hilary Clinton, the Democrat candidate.

The US media, particularly CNN and the other national media in the country, were caught flat-footed.

Fast forward to 2024 and history has repeated itself.

The same US media, which the world relied on for information, convinced us that it would be a neck-and-neck contest between Democrat contender Kamala Harris and Trump.

Even until election day, the world was told that it was an election that would be too close to call. They were so wrong.

In the end, Trump won convincingly and decisively, and Harris was left far behind with the US map almost completely covered in red, the colour of the Republicans.

The Republicans have captured the Senate while the fight continues for the House of Representatives, which has become another cliffhanger.

CNN continuously painted Trump as a politician who constantly lied and shamelessly heaped insults on his opponent.

He was made out to be an unstable person who was not fit to run the world’s most powerful country. In short, he was a danger and the voters shouldn’t gamble on him.

Voters were reminded that Trump was a felon with more charges coming up.

It didn’t work. The powerful media wasn’t covering the polls – it was actively campaigning for Harris.

It would appear that the media was not listening hard enough to the people. It missed the heartbeat of the nation, especially those struggling in their daily lives.

The economy is what matters most for the working class.

Why would they care if Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez or Beyonce, multimillionaires in Hollywood, decided to endorse Harris?

The biggest surprise has been the reports that black working class people and youths were going to vote for Trump, which had been early red flags.

These were ordinary workers having a hard time putting food on the table and paying the bills, or even just finding jobs.

Trump’s final message was simple – Americans don’t have to live this way. It was a message that must have resonated with the voters.

So what happened in 2016 when Trump won and the media lost?

“The distance between the nation’s political press corps and its people has never seemed so stark.

“The pundits swung and missed. The polls failed,” journalist David Folkenflik wrote at npr.org then.

He said the nation’s journalists “have come off as petty, grasping, and out of touch, all part of the great establishment party from which many Trump voters felt excluded.”

The reality is that most of the US media’s national offices are in Washington DC, New York City, and Los Angeles.

It is not wrong, as the powers-that-be are concentrated in these cities, plus their mostly urban audiences also live there.

But like most media – including those in Malaysia – they neglect the voices of the heartland.

In the United States, the national media – including the so-called experts, analysts, and pollsters – again ignored the sentiments of the mid-West.

The media only spoke to politicians, who were supposedly informed and reliable, but not the real voters, especially in the farmlands.

Worse, such voters were often written off as rural, ill-informed simpletons, as voters “with no college degrees” in surveys, or perceived as people who cannot make correct political decisions.

This time, the Republicans even won many urban votes, which stunned the Democrats.

Judging from the tone of the US media this time around, none of them learned from the fiasco of 2016.

In 2016, the defeated Clinton called supporters of Trump “a basket of deplorables” and in 2024, president Joe Biden dismissed them as “garbage”.

The Malaysian media, too, has had its share of misses. Most of us, including this writer, didn’t see Barisan Nasional’s defeat coming in the 2018 general elections.

We didn’t listen hard enough and our credibility took a beating.

Like the US media, the mainstream media no longer has a monopoly on news.

But news portals and podcasts are not viable options either, as they are often tainted with the suspicion that they are politically financed.

The lesson to learn from the US election is that the economy matters the most.

When the voices of the working people are ignored, the populists and right wingers will fill the gap. For Malaysia, the thoughts of religious-based politicians winning is more frightening.

What is clear is that voters will not tolerate condescending politicians who talk down to the very people who elected them into office.