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The “Corporate Mafia” issue has become a hot topic in our national conversations lately. However, many people do not fully understand its gravity and how deeply it spreads, like cancer. This threat is embedded so deeply in our society within a complex, unseen system that we can’t blame any one political party for its full impact on our lives. In fact, it is a deeply systemic problem, organized by various groups, including some that operate from outside our borders. Over time, this problem has become so embedded that it feels like a cultural norm, which makes it even more dangerous.

Solving this is not easy. It requires a concerted effort and forgiving leadership that is willing to let go of past foes and bring them into the common struggle to free this country from evil elements. Malaysians need to wake up, see the reality for what it is, and demand real change, not only in the political arena, but also within the deep state. Maybe the time has come to elect leaders from a fresher political force, one that has never been in charge before. This “innocent” leadership must have the determination to overhaul the entire system and apply the strictest penalties, including ‘shariah law’ if required, to those responsible for these so-called “Corporate Mafia” crimes against our nation.

Let’s start with the core of the matter: Malaysia’s very DNA. Our constitution makes it clear that Malays, Bumiputera, and Islam hold a special position in this country. However, today, Malays, Bumiputera, and Muslims do not hold the same position of political strength as they once did. This shift since 2018 has created new challenges within the deep state that deserve urgent attention from our leaders. Yet those in charge, especially the Prime Minister, seem to have shifted their attention away from the concerns of any one group, let alone the call-outs from government servants, as they have lost touch. Instead, they now focus mostly on helping those seen as most in need, such as the lowest-income group, or B40. They argue that helping all citizens within the B40 group will also eventually help Malays. But the truth is, this is just their political rhetoric, trying to win the hearts and votes of the non-Malays, in particular, those who believe that they have been neglected through the long-standing Malay and Bumiputera supremacist agenda from the 1970s until 2018.

Indeed, most B40 Malaysians are Malays and Bumiputeras. Yet, the situation today has become even more complicated when foreigners, mostly the supposed workers in 3Ds (Dangerous, Dirty and Difficult) sectors, now pretend to be Malays or Bumiputeras, or are slotted into the B40 group. At the same time, many of these foreigners are also Muslims; therefore, they perfectly fit the bill so that they can access government subsidies and services, because it is already quite difficult to distinguish who the real Malaysians are nowadays. As a result, the number of people in the B40 category keeps growing, as if it will never stop. While some say cash handouts are just a political tool to win elections, these communities need more than temporary financial help. These cash handouts are often meant to win votes, but they also resemble socialist approaches, especially Democratic Socialism.

The MADANI government often seems unsure about what it stands for. On the one hand, it wants to bring more investment into Malaysia. On the other hand, it also wants to support the B40 group by giving them fish but not the rod, fishing skills, or access to lakes or the sea. The government has even claimed that it has eradicated poverty, but this claim seems to ignore the major progress made by Barisan Nasional, or BN. For example, BN reduced poverty from 51.2% in 1957 to just 0.4% in 2018. Although reducing poverty from 0.4% to zero may sound like an overachievement to MADANI supporters, it does not reflect what many people experience in their daily lives.

Compared to Pakatan Harapan (PH), BN describes itself as a pro-nationalist party. Its members and supporters are expected to show deep love for Malaysia and embrace nationalism. This includes mastering Bahasa Malaysia and communicating fluently in the national language. Members of BN, supporters, and non-supporters alike are encouraged to live together peacefully and not harbor bad intentions toward each other or look outward to other countries, such as Singapore, as examples to follow. BN members strongly defend the special privileges of Malays, Islam, and the Malay Rulers, especially when it comes to the defense, land rights, religion, and customs. They believe these privileges help Malays and Muslims feel secure and confident, which in turn helps everyone in the country live in harmony and stability.

On the other hand, PH’s political ideology and rhetoric take a different approach. This political party, formed largely to install Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister, seems to admire Singapore’s idea of “meritocracy”; perhaps because most of its support came from supporters of DAP (Democratic Action Party). While this “meritocracy” or “Malaysian Malaysia” policy claims to treat everyone equally, in practice it often means special privileges for Malays are ignored, which benefits the non-Malays, who have better networks and resources beyond Malaysia’s borders. Since PH 2.0 took over after the 15th General Election in 2022, these changes and attitudes, ignoring the long-standing policies developed by the BN government, have shown up in various policies, including those about property and business ownership.

The MADANI government’s reversal of the November 2025 decision, which previously set a 50 percent Bumiputera equity ceiling for property purchases by GLCs and GLICs, stands out as clear discrimination against Bumiputera, who represent around 65% of Malaysia’s population. The cap has now been brought back down to 30 percent, as before, even though more Bumiputeras need assistance with property ownership than non-Bumiputeras. It is always important to remember that Bumiputeras include the indigenous people of Sarawak and Sabah, who have been part of Nusantara since ancient times. The discrimination toward Bumiputeras has become very clear, and it is causing Malays and other Bumiputera ethnic groups to compete with each other for properties within the government quota. When it comes to the remaining 70 percent of properties, it seems that non-Bumiputeras and even non-Malaysians can own them without any issue at all. This type of economic discrimination, even during the era of BN, is nothing new.

I have observed this pattern of discrimination for the past 20 to 30 years, especially in the financial markets. When corporations are majority-owned by Bumiputera, and especially by Malays, they often struggle to gain market attention. Usually, they only see an increase in value when local pension funds or unit trusts decide to invest in them. In contrast, corporations with little or no visible Malay or Bumiputera ownership tend to receive large foreign capital injections and enjoy frequent market gains. This happens even when they perform poorly, project weak business growth, or are only mediocre at best.

Understandably, many people believe Malay and Bumiputera companies depend mainly on government contracts, as if non-Bumi companies do not. As a result, these negative perceptions towards the Malays and Bumiputeras attract little interest from market participants or traders, who see limited growth prospects. These Bumiputera companies also face challenges outside Malaysia, since they have to compete with international corporations where success is often based on connections rather than merit. This is what many cite as their reason for not wanting to invest in Malay-Bumiputera corporations.

I am not sure when or how this way of thinking became so common. It has now become a serious problem, because it can easily be used as a tool to discriminate against any company or group that has ties to certain individuals or is associated with a particular race. This discrimination can hold back the progress of entire communities. Let me give you an example. Think about “shariah-compliant” stock exchanges or shares. A shariah-compliant label can either “help” or “hurt,” depending on the situation, but it usually ends up helping those who already have more capital and economic power. If big organizations like EPF, Tabung Haji, or other Islamic trust funds decide to support or invest in a shariah-compliant company, investors from all backgrounds will rush in to share in the profits. However, in most cases, most traders focus only on stocks and shares not labeled as “halal” or shariah-compliant. The prices of these “non-halal” stocks keep going up, and even if they occasionally take a hit, they usually bounce back quickly, bringing profits to their so-called “non-halal” investors.

Since the 1980s, the BN government has required that Bumiputera must own at least 30 percent of properties and businesses in Malaysia. The goal of this policy is to give a fair share and a head start to a community that was left behind by the British, with little experience or knowledge in business, finance, and trade. However, ever since 2018, Bumiputera equity has dropped to about 16 percent, which is the lowest it has ever been, and the percentage keeps getting smaller as the value of money decreases and the world economy grows. This also reflects what people often say at coffee shops and mamak stalls: “the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer.” For people in the B40 and M40 groups, it is extremely difficult to catch up, even as they gain more education, skills, and opportunities. This is the point where things start to get more complicated and out of control, especially when DS Rafizi Ramli and other politicians bring up the “Corporate Mafia” issue.

Let’s look at the real concern of “Corporate Mafia” and relate it to the problem we are facing today with income disparity and unfair economic treatment towards certain groups of people. This is much more important to understand than complaints about the requirement to converse in “Mandarin Language” or “English” on job recruitment notice boards. This goes beyond the “Mandarin menu” or “serving pork” issue. This is far more controversial than these distractions about language or halal meat at restaurants.

Since the British left the country and we gained independence, Malaysia has been governed by the “social contract” agreed between the leaders of each community and the Malay leaders, who were, admittedly, by the British, the owners of the land, or the masters of the land. But the style of governance since independence has not really changed much, because British-trained officers remained, and they too implemented the policies the British had drawn up and imposed. There’s nothing wrong with that, unless the implementation also continued to follow the British style and approach even after they left.

Imagine the British still in power, using their authority to bring in cheap labor from other territories within the British Empire to Malaya or Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak. The British never cared whether these laborers were from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Nepal, Africa, or elsewhere, as long as they could work for the British corporations, as their sole intention was to generate profits for their own enterprises, which would eventually pay taxes and create jobs for British citizens in the United Kingdom. But after independence, and fast-forward to 2026, these businesses operating in Malaysia are no longer driven by the sentimental value of the British Empire; instead, they are driven by their motivation to generate as much wealth as possible from their investment in this country called Malaysia. Whether these corporations are from Malaysia itself, Europe, the United States, China, Russia, France, Africa, ASEAN, Japan, Korea, or anywhere on the planet, their main motivation is to generate profits and bring them back to their investors or owners at home.

Let’s say they intend to invest in a plantation in Malaysia that requires cheap labor from certain countries; they’ll probably need to bring them in at the lowest cost possible. They invest in Malaysia because the country provides enough land to plant the trees they need to grow crops they intend to export to their homeland. They will lobby the government in at least three major areas: labor laws, land laws, and tax laws. So, they will work with the Minister of Human Resources, the Minister of Agriculture and Plantations, and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Finance.

Other industries would require similar interventions, depending on the nature of the business and the areas of concern. Services would require laborers who excel in service and communication; health would require laborers who are good at nursing and medical treatment; industries would require cheap laborers who can operate the existing and future non-sophisticated production lines; engineering would require the so-called expertise in engineering, innovation and techno-commercial capabilities from outside of Malaysia, and the list goes on. This means that the announced investments, bringing hundreds of billions of dollars into Malaysia, will also indirectly bring foreign elements into Malaysia, diluting the very essence of the culture and the dominance of Malays and Bumiputeras in this country.

In other liberal economies, this is normal. Yet in Malaysia, these businesses are surprisingly complicated and not easily understood by the public unless they look deeper and connect the dots.

Take another example, like the construction sector. How many builders would one tall building require? How many civil engineers, experts, consultants, architects, and many other professionals would one building need? Let’s say one builder would cost a construction company USD 1,000 a month. Do you think these corporations would want to keep paying to bring in laborers every time? Would it be easier and cheaper if these laborers came into Malaysia without anyone noticing, and for free? Since all of these workers are mostly men, don’t you think they have the same needs as any other men? Do you think the entertainment and gaming sector is not needed in an Islamic country like Malaysia? If they aren’t allowed to entertain themselves, how can construction companies keep their builders happy every day without any entertainment? Since these builders need entertainment, do you think any Malaysians would want to work in this sector? Do you think they also need to import entertainers from other countries to work in Malaysia? The list of critical questions from any great leader’s mind should go on and on.

Let’s also look at another sector: services and tourism. Do you think they (the companies operating in this segment) don’t need workers from foreign lands to help them provide services to the public and tourists? Do you think that the tourists who visit Malaysia really want to visit this country for Malay and Bumiputera culture? What do they really need when they come to Malaysia? On the surface, I think they probably come to Malaysia to visit Taman Negara, Langkawi Island, and Sipadan Island, and to see Malaysia’s natural beauty. But in reality, only God knows what most tourists are doing in this country called Malaysia, including whether they are overstaying, doing certain businesses, and even working as service providers in various sectors in this beautiful country called Malaysia, which wishes that one day, she too can become a liberal free economy like the United States of America. What a sickening dream.

So, as we all start to notice this almost permanent problem in Malaysia, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, who is also the same person, will probably look only at the numbers to further boost his ego. As long as the GDP growth rates are rising, he will be very happy. He will boast and demand that his supporters thank him for the success he has achieved. Numbers never lie, they say; yet in the past, he screamed that “the tall buildings, mega projects will never be able to help the poor,” but now that is exactly what he is doing.

Behind these figures on the paper lie the real threats to Malaysia’s citizens. Not only are their jobs being taken away, but also the culture of outsiders is being rampantly and blatantly overproduced and spread within this country to entertain the foreigners who have been overstaying in this country, together with the locals, and behaving like it’s none of our business. They have controlled the whole supply chain, systematically from chain to chain, from production to networking and influence, then to promotion, from corruption to possible open crimes; all they are doing is to uphold their system and ensure that they will grow.

It is like the United States of America in the era of the Mafia from Italy, Russia, China, Mexico, and Vietnam. No, it is not like we are in a hollywood movie, because this is real. Now this reality is in Malaysia, where people from those territories outside Malaysia control organized crime organizations within our borders in an era with no borders, as we live in a digital world. They are probably good foreigners who want to earn an honest living, despite navigating an already leaky system. Still, usually, when times are hard enough, men will resort to the unthinkable, including money laundering, extortion, and drug dealing.

Of course, we do not know exactly who these people are, because what I am sharing is based on many theories and is an attempt to “connect the dots” and “read between the lines.” However, I am certain that these syndicates, scammers, corporate mafias, and organized criminals have become wealthier than most Malaysians in the B40 and M40 groups combined. This may help explain why so many Malaysians now work as Grab drivers, Foodpanda deliverers, and taxi drivers. The opportunities for ordinary people are shrinking every day. Yet their lives are open to exploitation by these criminals. At the same time, these corporate criminals get away with almost all the crimes they have committed, playing around with our systems, “tatakelola”, rules, regulations, laws, and even penalties. They are daring enough to plunder all the wealth and resources we have in this country by lobbying the government to implement rules and regulations that benefit them. Not so surprising that these foreigners are becoming more emboldened. I have even heard some Rohingyas say they are waiting for the day when they can become the Prime Minister of Malaysia, and they truly believe it is possible.

I believe that the only way to defeat these organized crimes and the power behind them is for Malay and Muslim leaders in our country to unite and truly understand the threats that are trying to break apart the very nation they call home. This problem has spread like a fast-growing cancer, attacking the foundations of our country from top to bottom. It has even affected the institutions and the security systems we rely on to keep us safe. Today, many rich people choose Nepalese as their security guards, believing it is safer to rely on their own groups through money or compensation rather than the Malay-dominated security forces. Only God knows why they do not believe in our own security forces. Perhaps, in doing so, they recognized the corruption that has taken root in some of our own institutions, making them feel unsafe and leading them to create their own world within this country called Malaysia.

However, I still have strong hope in the sincere and principled individuals within our sacred institutions. I am especially encouraged by leaders who work tirelessly with honesty and integrity, avoid corruption, and truly understand the inner workings of our system. My advice to them is simple. They must wake up to the reality we face and find the courage to fight these organized criminals with even greater determination. They must never give up, no matter how difficult the task. The safety and future of the next generation rest squarely on their shoulders and their sense of responsibility.

I sincerely hope that these leaders will step forward and protect our country from threats, whether they come from within or from outside our borders. I believe our leaders can come to their senses and act urgently. They need to lead decisively, bring together all available assets and resources, and change our laws and policies as needed. Only then can we restore Malaysians’ confidence and work toward a brighter future, for the sake of our religion, our people, our country and our tanahair.