If Reform Is So Easy, Why Didn’t Anyone Do It Earlier?
If Reform Is So Easy, Why Didn’t Anyone Do It Earlier? By Amarjeet Singh @ AJ If governing Malaysia were easy, it would have been fixed long ago. If solving the cost of living were simply a matter of slogans, fuel prices would have stayed low forever. If fighting corruption only required speeches, institutions would not have weakened. If empowering Sabah and Sarawak were straightforward, the Malaysia Agreement 1963 would not still be debated six decades later. So here is the uncomfortable question we rarely ask ourselves: Do we actually want reform — or do we only want relief without responsibility? The Illusion of Instant Solutions Many Malaysians are impatient. Some are angry. Others are tired. That is understandable. But impatience often hides a deeper contradiction: we demand long-term change while rejecting the short-term pain that real reform requires. So let us ask honestly: Do we want blanket subsidies that leak billions — or targeted aid that ...