Namun sebaliknya, orang ramai masih belum dapat melihat perincian kebijakan ekonomi daripada Perikatan Nasional (PN) selaku Kerajaan Menanti. Rakyat dibiar ternanti-nanti, sehingga sudah sampai edisi keempat Belanjawan MADANI, tetapi Belanjawan Bayangan PN masih belum nampak bayangnya lagi.

Sementara PAS dan BERSATU sibuk bermain tarik tali soal ‘poster boy’ dan calon Perdana Menteri PN, Kerajaan MADANI telah pun menggerakkan pelbagai kebijakan ekonomi sejak hujung 2022 lagi.

Sebagai bandingan, Belanjawan MADANI Keempat ini meneruskan iltizam untuk menstruktur semula ekonomi negara menjadi lebih berdaya saing dan berdaya tahan dengan mengimbangi antara tanggungjawab fiskal dan keperluan rakyat. Pengurusan berhemat diteruskan demi kestabilan jangka panjang dan ini menyaksikan defisit menurun daripada 5.5% pada 2022 kepada 3.5% pada 2026, manakala kutipan hasil kerajaan Persekutuan diunjur meningkat kepada RM343.1 bilion.

Usaha mewujudkan peluang kerjaya dengan gaji bermaruah digerakkan dengan memacu sektor bernilai tinggi, teknologi baharu. dan industri hijau yang dapat menghasilkan limpahan kemakmuran buat rakyat Malaysia.

Menerusi pelbagai pelan strategik seperti Pelan Induk Perindustrian Baharu (NIMP), Pelan Hala Tuju Peralihan Tenaga Negara (NETR) dan Pelan Strategik Semikonduktor Kebangsaan (NSS), setiap lapisan masyarakat dapat digembleng bagi merancakkan pembangunan industri berteknologi tinggi yang mampu mencipta peluang pekerjaan berkualiti tinggi.

Sebagai contoh, di bawah NSS, RM550 juta diperuntukkan bagi memperkuku ekosistem semikonduktor dan RM500 juta dana pinjaman disediakan menerusi BPMP untuk aktiviti R&D berimpak tinggi. Kerajaan turut memperkenalkan potongan cukai tambahan 50% diberikan kepada PMKS bagi latihan berkaitan AI dan keselamatan siber yang diiktiraf oleh MyMahir National AI Council for Industry (NAICI) yang diterajui bersama Talentcorp dan MyDigital.

Kesungguhan Kerajaan MADANI meningkatkan kerencaman ekonomi Malaysia juga dizahirkan dengan peruntukan rentas kementerian sebanyak RM5.9 bilion bagi mempergiat aktiviti Penyelidikan, Pembangunan, Pengkomersialan dan Inovasi (RDCI). Ikhtiar GEAR-uP turut ditambahnaik  peningkatan pelaburan oleh syarikat pelaburan berkaitan kerajaan (GLIC) ke RM30 bilion pada 2026 (berbanding RM25 bilion pada 2025) meliputi projek strategik seperti pembangunan industri semikonduktor dan tenaga baharu, projek warisan negara, program wakaf dan modal teroka.

Jika dibandingkan semua ini, ucapan Hamzah dalam Dewan Rakyat semalam tidak lebih daripada cakap-cakap kosong tanpa asas ekonomi yang kukuh. Maka timbul persoalan: Adakah ucapan belanjawan Hamzah ini sehaluan dengan reformasi yang didambakan Syahir tempoh hari?

Selain itu, parti Hamzah, BERSATU, kini berhadapan dengan pergolakan terbesar sejak penubuhannya berdepan dengan pemecatan dan penggantungan beberapa pemimpin kanan termasuk dua orang ahli parlimen. Jika kemelut ini berterusan dan ‘menempangkan’ peranan PN sebagai Kerajaan Menanti, adakah PAS mengambil alih kepimpinan gabungan itu? Masa akan menentukan.

Iskandar Fareez

Iskandar Fareez merupakan Naib Ketua Pemuda Sosialis DAP (DAPSY) Kebangsaan dan Ketua DAPSY Bukit Bintang.

The post ‘Counteroffer’ Perikatan Nasional: Ahli Parlimen Bachok Perlu Perjelas Jika Ia Menepati Seruan Reformasinya appeared first on SOLIDARITAS.

Playing up our fear and anger, profit-driven algorithms unleash the worst parts of ourselves. Each content is served in a carefully curated package of controversies, clashes, and conflicts to bait us. Delivering that much needed dose of dopamine to trigger the primal side of our brains. Not towards any productive ways. But to like, retweet, reshare, repost, comment, or get sucked into endless online fights. Before long, our day’s gone, and we are nowhere near scratching that nagging itch. “Perhaps, it will be better tomorrow”, we tell ourselves, only for the cycle to repeat itself like Olivia Rodrigo’s pop hit “Déjà vu”.

Meanwhile, social media platforms rake in billions of profits. Feeding on our outrage makes good business for these social media tech giants while, at the same time, allowing bad-faith actors to promote divisive exclusionary narratives that either advance their narrow political interests or contribute to their personal and financial gain.

If we were tribal before, social media has amplified that by leaps and bounds. We see the world through a filter of our own grievances and view every interaction as a zero-sum contest between “us” and “them”, nothing in between. We abandon the pursuit of common understanding, shrinking the space for dialogue.

Throughout this process, we dehumanise those whom we disagree with and, bit by bit, we lose a piece of our own humanity. Hating becomes easier, sometimes normalised. Take political identities for example – partisan identities in Malaysia have long been intertwined with ethnicities and religious creed. When I joined the DAP more than a decade ago, it was not only a rare occasion, but my actions were seen, by some, as sort of a personal affront to their personal beliefs. This has led to me being characterised as the enemy of my community and called many things – khadam (minion) barua (stooge/sellout), kafir (infidel), traitor, and many other unsavoury labels over the years.

While some hateful comments can be attributed to bots or cybertroopers, some do stem from real people sitting behind those keyboards exuding deep hostility. Such behaviours of ‘othering’ political opponents are often implicitly encouraged when some political leaders or lawmakers themselves normalise divisive racial framing in their rhetoric. For instance, in a parliamentary debate exchange on the 13^th Malaysia Plan (13MP) last August, the Pendang Member of Parliament had unnecessarily invoked the May 13 communal clash as a way to deliver his point. After all these years, have we not learnt how to disagree with civility without raising the spectre of racial riots at every turn?

Establishing The Rules Of Engagement

We might have differing origin stories, but Malaysia is our home. We have to learn to live with one another as we are held together by the common bonds that make us Malaysians. Beyond the enduring love of local delicacies and seasonal multicultural festivities, as citizens, we also share the responsibility of charting how the nation moves forward while figuring out our common mission and purpose together.

If politics and democracy are a game, let it be a game of persuasion. A high-stakes one since its processes and outcomes profoundly affect many aspects of our real lives, including our livelihoods, and freedoms. Considering this, it is no wonder that we are willing to fight tooth and nail to get things to go our way. But let’s agree to start from the same point by forging shared values such as empathy, compassion, and mutual respect.

Realistically, reaching perfect consensus is impossible. If 10 people from different backgrounds can have different visions of Malaysia’s ideal future, how can we expect more than 21 million voters or 30 million Malaysians to come to an agreement? The short answer – we can’t! Disagreement will persist. The goal should never be to avoid them but to manage differences respectfully and constructively.

Inculcating new norms in engagement based on shared core values creates a safe space for everyone to dream and express their ideas freely while maintaining respect and protecting fellow Malaysians from the harms of exclusionary politics. Let this be the starting point as we build inter-communal trust and resilience.

Politics reflects us as people and as a society. It should not be a spectators’ sport where we cheer on the sidelines. Our choices matter and they extend beyond the ballot box. We are not passive NPCs (Non-Player Characters) in this democracy. Whether we like it or not, we are all active political actors. The choices we make every day, even when it comes to whether to engage or disengage, shape the environment we live in.

As long as we remain engaged in the process, we have the opportunity to shape the nation’s course forward. And that is a perfectly good enough reason to be hopeful.

This is Part 2 of 3 of the “Our Malaysia” series. Part 1 focused on bad-faith actors in our politics. Part 3 will focus on steps we can take as political actors to create a better political environment.

Iskandar Fareez

Iskandar Fareez merupakan Naib Ketua Pemuda Sosialis DAP (DAPSY) Kebangsaan dan Ketua DAPSY Bukit Bintang.

The post Our Malaysia (Part 2): Stemming Hate By Forging Shared Values appeared first on SOLIDARITAS.

One glaring example was the post from Mohd Hafez Sabri, the State Assemblyperson for Manjoi who is also the PAS Perak Youth Chief. When commenting on a security incident involving the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, during the Perak state-level National Day celebration, Hafez wasted no time to racialise the issue. When his claim was promptly refuted by the authorities, Hafez performed a medal-worthy feat of logical gymnastics as he tried to distance himself from his earlier remarks.

This episode showcased a broader, troubling pattern of PAS. Party leaders and representatives frequently resort to strategic ignorance and dog-whistling tactics to sneakily convey racial messages in hopes of winning support and dividing the community along ethnic lines. If we look at PAS’s track record, this behaviour is not an exception, or as they say in popular parlance, “it is not a bug, it is a feature”. In the 2024 Kuala Kubu by-election, PAS vilified DAP candidate Pang Sock Tao for her educational background. In Perak and Penang, PAS representatives have repeatedly resorted to racially charged slanders to the extent that some have even lost and settled defamation lawsuits.

Bad-faith actors rarely show remorse or care even when they are exposed for peddling lies. They treat politics as a game to be won at all costs, no matter the consequences. Whereas for us, these consequences could affect our lives. Their effects are real. Clearly, these bad-faith actors are no one’s champion but their own narrow selfish interests They bank on the outrage they generate to fuel their clout. Even if problematic posts are deleted, screenshots would have already been widely spread directly to users via social media platforms and messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram.

The fragmented nature of our information ecosystem worsens these issues. To grab attention, algorithms on social media rewards content that triggers strong emotional responses, particularly rage and conflict, thereby amplifying hateful posts and comments. In this environment, divisive speech spreads even more rapidly and deeply, fuelling cycles of anger and distrust. The toxic digital landscape becomes a fertile ground for communal friction undermining efforts to build understanding and common ground among Malaysia’s diverse communities.

Bad-Faith Politics Fuelled By Hate

The sinister strategy of stoking fear and division to win political support is not unique to Malaysia. Far-right leaders worldwide use these tactics as tools to entrench their authority. In Europe, figures such as Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and France’s Marine Le Pen of France have built their political platforms on xenophobic rhetorics and Islamophobia. Orbán’s playbook went on to inspire a generation of aspiring hardliners. Donald Trump’s rise was marked by hate targeted towards minorities, fracturing societal bonds, and sowing distrust.  In fact, aided by the right-wing American think tank Heritage Foundation, Trump perfected this playbook in the form of ‘Project 2025’ to the extent that he successfully remade the US in his image in just under a year.

These examples reveal the effectiveness of hatred in turning communities against each other, manipulating pre-existing anxieties, and weaponising identity politics. Bad-faith actors deliberately suck up all the media oxygen so they can dominate public discourse, drowning out voices of unity and reason.

They want us to feel powerless while they seize political power, by winning elections through divisive campaigns, or profit commercially, as influencers rake in views and profits from outrage-driven viral content across social platforms. When they win, society loses as we pay for the consequences including trust erosion, fragmentation of communities, and endless cycles of division in which hatred breeds ever more hatred.

Building Resilience Against Division

So, how can we stem this destructive spiral? Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions, but we can start by organising more face-to-face engagements to help communities build strong defences against all forms of divisive speeches. This means encouraging continuous conversations, practising empathy and understanding in our interactions, and helping people recognise and reject hate speech whenever it appears.

Merdeka should also mean freeing ourselves from the influence of bad-faith actors. Despite what they may want us to believe; we hold the power to shape our own destiny. Through community capacity building, via education, social initiatives, and inclusive political participation, we have the potential to immunise Malaysian society against the virus of manipulation and hate mongering. But this will require our collective vigilance and active participation from all levels to ensure that such behaviour has no place in our democratic society.

Our Malaysia is our only home. It belongs to all of us, and it is time we reclaim it from these bad-faith actors. Only by standing together and act in solidarity with our fellow Malaysians can we ensure a better tomorrow.

Iskandar Fareez

Iskandar Fareez merupakan Naib Ketua Pemuda Sosialis DAP (DAPSY) Kebangsaan dan Ketua DAPSY Bukit Bintang.

The post Our Malaysia (Part 1): Freeing Ourselves From Bad-Faith Politics appeared first on SOLIDARITAS.

Penggunaan peranti yang semakin rancak terutamanya dalam kalangan golongan muda dan kanak-kanak meningkatkan risiko terdedah kepada kandungan berbahaya di ruang siber. Sebagai contoh, tahun ini sahaja, Facebook telah menurunkan 172,072 kandungan melibatkan judi dalam talian dan 56,136 kandungan berkaitan penipuan (online scam) atas permintaan Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (SKMM). Selain itu, pengguna juga wajar mendapat perlindungan daripada ancaman jenayah dan eksploitasi seksual, kandungan palsu, dan buli siber turut yang memudaratkan masyarakat.

Menyedari hakikat ini, kebanyakan negara telah mengambil langkah penyelesaian drastik tersendiri. Misalnya, Australia telah memperkenalkan larangan bagi individu bawah 16 tahun daripada menggunakan media sosial, dan Singapura memperkenal Akta Perlindungan daripada Kepalsuan dan Manipulasi Dalam Talian (POFMA) bagi menyekat penyebaran kandungan-kandungan palsu.

Berbanding negara-negara ini yang menggubal undang-undang baharu, Malaysia pula mengambil langkah berbeza dengan mengukuhkan peruntukan sedia ada. Semalam, Kementerian Komunikasi telah membentangkan pindaan kepada Akta Komunikasi dan Multimedia 1998 (Akta 588) bagi bacaan kali pertama.

Selain pengukuhan kaedah penyiasatan bagi kesalahan dalam talian menerusi pindaan ini, kita juga harus menyambut baik langkah memasukkan huraian bagi semua jenis elemen kandungan yang dapat menjadi panduan buat pihak berkuasa dalam penguatkuasaan supaya peruntukan tersebut tidak disalahgunakan. Sebagai contoh: penjelasan bahawa kandungan berbentuk satira tidak dianggap sebagai palsu dapat mencegah mana-mana karya fiksyen yang dianggap parodi daripada disekat.

Akhir sekali, usaha melindungi setiap anggota masyarakat daripada mudarat siber tidak sepatutnya bergantung kepada peruntukan undang-undang semata-mata. Program pendidikan dan kesedaran perlu digerakkan bersama-sama agar kita cakna akan peranan masing-masing dalam mewujudkan ruang siber yang selamat dan inklusif.

Iskandar Fareez

Iskandar Fareez merupakan Naib Ketua Pemuda Sosialis DAP (DAPSY) Kebangsaan dan Ketua DAPSY Bukit Bintang.

The post Pindaan Akta 588: Bersama Kita Wujudkan Persekitaran Siber Lebih Selamat appeared first on SOLIDARITAS.

As states conduct their respective ordinary conventions, conversations in recent weeks have revolved around the recently concluded Penang DAP party polls. Of the various chatters and commentaries online, I found questions on the party’s two-tiered polling process particularly interesting and shall use this article to correct misconceptions and touch on the basic features and spirit of the system as outlined in the party constitution.

Hopefully, this short primer of DAP’s internal electoral process will serve to benefit many including those who casually follow the ongoings of Malaysian politics.

Democratic At Multiple Levels

As per the tradition of most left-wing parties, DAP is led by a Secretary-General and it practices a delegate system, where delegates represent their respective branches to elect a cohort of leaders at the state and national level. For example, branch members vote for delegates they want to send to the DAP National Congress. These delegates will then elect 30 Central Executive Committee (CEC) members and from whom a Secretary-General, a National Chairman, and other office-bearers are elected.

At the state level, delegates vote for only 15 candidates to be part of the State Committee. They then go through a similar process where successfully elected candidates deliberate and elect office bearers. Essentially, whoever commands the confidence of the majority of this cohort will helm the committee. This is laid out in the party constitution where it reads that “every state committee member shall elect amongst its members” who occupies positions such as “a State Chairman, a State Deputy Chairman, Two State Vice Chairmen, A State Secretary” and so on.

DAP’s democratic practice, where leaders are not directly elected, is not out of the ordinary. In fact, if we take a closer look at Malaysia’s parliamentary system, we also do not directly elect the members of the Executive branch – i.e. Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, and Ministers. Unlike the US-style presidential system, we vote for our representatives in Parliament. Whoever commands the majority’s support among these parliamentarians, will then get the chance to lead and form a government. Similar concept applies to the states.

Democratic practice among Malaysia’s political parties is vibrant and takes many forms. Different parties have their own methods of determining their leadership line-up. Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) practices direct elections to select its president, while for UMNO, delegates from parliamentary division directly vote for their top leadership.

Of course, no model or approach is perfect. Each will have its merits and challenges. However, knowing the power structures and how they function becomes invaluable for members at the grassroots level to influence and sway leaders at the top – essentially what democracy is all about.

Finding Common Grounds

Given DAP’s differentiated governing structure, party delegates will have formulated customised voting strategies, each with their own set of preferred leaders, either top 30 at the national level or top 15 at the state level. It may not fully rely on a single persona, rendering assessments on a candidate’s performance based solely on votes garnered wholly inaccurate.

This practice of electing a pool of candidates also allows delegates to ensure the selection of an inclusive leadership team that is diverse in terms of experience, skillsets, background, perspectives, and outlook – becoming a natural mechanism of check and balance. Combine this with other safeguards in the party constitution including provisions on term limits, fair representation mechanisms, and inclusion of elected representatives as part of the organisation’s decision-making process, the structure provides the party with an impetus to stay relevant with the times.

Democracy must ultimately serve the people. This means that our focus should go beyond just the polling booth to how we can find common ground on issues that matters to the people. Measures implemented by the DAP up to date have ensured that there are enough channels and avenues within the party to bring up aspirations and concerns of the members and the public to be considered during committee deliberations.

It is heartening to see more and more people taking interest on the inner workings of the DAP. Hopefully, this opens up more interactions that not only will improve how we serve the people but also strengthen Malaysia’s democratic practices.

Iskandar Fareez

Iskandar Fareez merupakan Naib Ketua Pemuda Sosialis DAP (DAPSY) Kebangsaan dan Ketua DAPSY Bukit Bintang.

The post A Primer On DAP Party Polls appeared first on SOLIDARITAS.