By Damian Fernandez.
Malaysia sudah bagi signal. Sabah bagi bunga api. The Rakyat are tired of excuses, tired of denial and very tired of Islamic political posturing. DAP has one job left: corner Anwar, force real reforms — or pull the plug.
SABAH HAS SPOKEN — AND MALAYSIA IS QUIETLY SAYING THE SAME THING
Sabah didn’t merely reject Anwar Ibrahim. Sabah didn’t simply “send a message.”
Sabah bagi flying kick terus.
And Peninsular Malaysians, truth be told, have been wanting to do the same thing for a while. Let’s not pretend otherwise. The sentiment on the ground is no longer subtle: A very large number of Malaysians dislike Anwar. A worrying number outright despise him.
They see him as all talk, all drama, all “Madani PowerPoint,” but zero backbone, zero consistency, and zero delivery.Sabah just did what the rest of Malaysia wish they could’ve done earlier — they delivered the verdict without mercy.
And that verdict is now sitting at DAP’s doorstep like a ticking political time bomb wrapped in Sabah’s election results.
DAP LOST EVERYTHING IN SABAH — AND THEY DESERVED TO.
Eight seats. Traditional urban strongholds. All wiped out. DAP bukan kalah — DAP hilang deposit politik. Why?
Because in the eyes of Sabahans, and increasingly in the eyes of Peninsular voters, DAP has turned into a party that talks big about reform, justice, secular governance, and anti-corruption — but plays it safe the moment Putrajaya calls.
Voters see the hypocrisy. And nothing kills credibility faster than hypocrisy.
DAP once represented courage. Now DAP is seen as the party that:
keeps quiet when Anwar does something absurd
pretends not to notice when policies tilt Islamist
smiles politely while the PM turns Reformasi into “Reformasi Lite, 50% less substance, 200% more drama”
Sabah voters punished that behaviour. And the rest of Malaysia is watching with popcorn.
THE SAM STERLING MOMENT — AND WHY IT STILL HAUNTS THEM.
Among DAP’s greatest unforced errors was pretending the Sam Sterling saga—a political influencer scandal involving racial rhetoric, questionable content, and massive backlash from the non-Malay communities—never happened.
The public never forgot.
DAP acted like they never saw it. This was the moment many Chinese voters whispered, “Eh… apa jadi dengan parti kita ni?”
Their silence became complicity. And Sabah voters repaid that silence with an electoral wipeout.
NOW DAP HAS A WEAPON — SABAH’S MANDATE.
Sabah just handed DAP the leverage they have been too scared to use.
DAP must tell Anwar, publicly and privately:
“You have one week to fix this. Or we leave the coalition.”
Not negotiation. Not closed-door discussions. Not more PR-friendly statements about “internal dialogue”.
A deadline. And the demands must be crystal clear:
DAP now has one week — literally one week — to look Anwar in the eyes and say:
“Boss, cukup lah. We’re done babysitting your insecurities. Deliver reforms or we walk.”
This is not drama. This is political survival.
Because if DAP does nothing, the GE16 postmortem will read:
“DAP: 48 kerusi Parlimen → tinggal 10 je. Hilang sokongan komuniti sendiri. Self-inflicted.”
DAP MUST DELIVER THIS MESSAGE TO ANWAR — WORD FOR WORD.
1. “Announce your cabinet reshuffle within one week — or we’re out.”
No more coy nonsense. No more “maybe December, maybe next year, maybe lepas lawat negara luar.”
Enough.
Anwar has been dangling the idea of a reshuffle like a carrot he doesn’t actually want to eat. DAP must insist:
Do it. Now. This week. Or we walk. This is not optional. A leader who cannot even reshuffle his cabinet cannot lead a country.
The reshuffle must include:
Nurul Izzah as Senator
Nurul Izzah as Home Minister
Nurul Izzah as Deputy Prime Minister
Khairy Jamaluddin as Senator with a major reform portfolio
Is it controversial? Of course. Will Mahathir’s wing scream in Parliament?
Confirm. Akan menjerit sampai hilang suara.
But guess what? The Rakyat will understand the strategy — because Malaysia badly needs competent, respected Malay leadership that isn’t extremist.
And appointing KJ is a political masterstroke. This is not about saving UMNO — it’s about
neutralizing UMNO sabotage.
Khairy, for all his baggage, has cross-ethnic appeal and the respect of the urban middle class.
He can sell reforms.
He can stabilise the political environment.
PN tak boleh hentam kuat, sebab KJ lebih Melayu daripada semua mereka digabung.
non-Malays trust him more than 90% of UMNO’s fossils.
Nurul + KJ = the first credible cross-demographic leadership team Malaysia has seen in 20 years.
2. “Announce your retirement at the end of your term.”
Declare it now. Make it official.
Once Anwar makes this announcement, the temperature nationwide drops. The knives retract. The pressure stabilises. A lame-duck Prime Minister cannot cling to power. Yes. Say it clearly.
“I will not contest in GE16. My job is to finish reforms and step aside.”
This solves every political problem:
calms the succession war.
stops the whispers that he is hanging on for personal glory.
removes the fear that he will Islamise Malaysia to out-PAS PAS.
buys him two years of political goodwill.
transforms him instantly into a statesman.
removes oxygen from PN’s propaganda fire.
signals seriousness to Sabah & Sarawak.
positions Nurul or KJ to lead a generation shift
And most importantly: it gives Malaysia hope, after years of political wayang kulit.
3. “Table constitutional reforms within 30–90 days.”
These must include:
Two-term limit for Prime Ministers.
Maximum 12-year limit for MPs.
Anti-party-hopping constitutional lock.
OSA reforms so corruption can NEVER AGAIN be hidden behind ‘official secrets’.
Full transparency law requiring publication of all procurement and contract awards.
The OSA reform alone will expose the true nature of every MP in Parliament:
Let the chips fall where they may. Malaysia will be better for it. If Anwar fails to:, announce the reshuffle, announce retirement after GE16, announce the Reform Package, announce a succession plan: then DAP has only one option left: Withdraw from the government.
Yes, it will collapse the unity government. Yes, it will be chaotic for a few weeks.
But so what? The alternative is worse: collapse anyway in GE16 — with DAP losing 70–80% of its parliamentary seats.
This is the ultimate “Heads we win, tails you lose” moment.
If Anwar agrees — reforms happen, DAP is the hero. If Anwar refuses — DAP walks, Anwar falls, DAP becomes the new reform champion. Either way:
DAP finally regains the respect of voters who once believed in them.
THIS IS DAP’S FINAL WARNING FROM THE RAKYAT.
If DAP does not act now, the slogan for GE16 will write itself:
“DAP: Dari Melawan, ke Mengikut.”
And voters will do to them what Sabah voters just did: reset the board, remove the deadweight and start fresh.
DAP stands at a crossroads:
Choose wisely. The nation is watching. Sabah has already shown everyone the door. Peninsular voters will do the same.
