Merdeka: Are People First in Our Leaders’ Minds?

A 13-year-old girl, beaten nearly to death in Bukit Beruntung. Another in Sabah.
A navy cadet, Zulfarhan Osman, tortured with a hot iron until he died.
A boy, T. Nhaveen, sexually assaulted, burned, and beaten — his attackers walking free.
Teenagers driven to suicide by relentless online harassment.
A mother of three ending her life after months of TikTok abuse.

These are not stories from war zones.
These are Malaysia’s own children and citizens.
Victims of violence, bullying, and systemic neglect.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

According to the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation, 84% of children under 18 in Malaysia experience bullying in some form — cyber, physical, verbal. In certain communities, the rate spikes even higher. Yet, when these tragedies strike, public outrage fades within days. Investigations drag on. Families wait for justice. The next victim appears. And it ends with NFA (No further action) by the Police.

Our children suffer and die.  What captures our leaders’ urgent attention?
An upside-down flag.
A “ham sandwich.”
Socks with “A****” printed on them.

Meanwhile, Prof Dr Mohamad Tajuddin Rasdi has openly said he is now afraid to fly the flag for Merdeka, fearing opportunists will twist honest mistakes into racial and political ammunition. A flag hung wrong can get you arrested overnight. A child beaten unconscious in school. That can wait.

We see it daily. MPs shouting slurs across the floor of Parliament, making racial insinuations, playing to their voter base’s fears rather than debating real solutions. Some even wear religious headgear, projecting piety — yet their actions preach division, not unity. Because some are non-believers?

If we judge leaders not by what they say but by what they prioritise, the truth is ugly:
They will fight tooth and nail over a flag blunder. But they will not stand in schools to ensure our children are safe from bullies and predators. They will demand apologies for imagined insults to race or religion. But they will not demand resignations when negligence leads to death.

Before the next election, Malaysians need to stop getting swept away by the smoke and mirrors of outrage politics. Ask yourself:

·       When a minister or MP is shouting about a flag, what problem are they distracting you from?

·       When the opposition walks out of Parliament over a symbolic issue, what policy are they avoiding?

·       When politicians claim to “defend our honour,” are they defending your life, your child’s safety, your job security, your cost of living — or just their own relevance?

Every voter should remember: you don’t have to guess who the idiots are — their actions tell you everything.

Who visits a bullied child’s hospital bed?
Who ensures school bullies face justice and victims get protection?
Who fixes the systems, so these tragedies stop happening?

Who does not blame SOPs but those in charge?

Malaysians want a safer, fairer nation, we must demand it — loudly. Not just when it’s easy, not just when it’s fashionable, but when it’s uncomfortable and requires holding our own politicians accountable or you will have a Taco “Trump” in Malaysia.

In the end, a country that values symbols more than lives is a country that has lost its soul. Will you fly the Jalur Gemilang this year? 

Reference:

Bullying, Deaths, and Distractions — Are Malaysians Really First in Our Leaders’ Minds? Amarjeet Singh @ AJ