Malaysians mock ‘babi’ number plate fundraiser as public riled by fuel subsidy cuts

Malaysians have had a field day mocking the government over the public auction of a vehicle licence plate number that resembles the Malay word for pig, as part of simmering discontent over cuts to petrol subsidies set to sting drivers.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration is bracing itself for public backlash following the announcement of petrol subsidy cuts in his 2025 budget tabled in parliament on Friday, in a bid to rein in the country’s hefty subsidy bill which is estimated to cost 61 billion ringgit (US$14.5 billion) this year.

The government on Saturday launched a public auction for the Madani series of vehicle licence plates – riffing off his government tagline – to raise funds for initiatives that include a motorcycle helmet replacement programme and social security protection for taxi drivers.

But Malaysians have zoomed in on one particular combination of numbers on sale, Madani 8481, which many have said looks like the word babi or pig in Malay.

Babi is a common pejorative used in colloquial Malay to express disdain or anger towards a person or group deemed to have committed a serious mistake or act.

“Let PMX use it. We have to respect him,” read a comment by one Zurian Aizan Che Hussain on Facebook. “Let him use it. He is most qualified.”

Bids for Madani 8481 hit 12,000 ringgit as at 3pm on Wednesday, according to the Road Transport Department’s bidding site, triggering thousands of comments and posts on Malaysia’s raucous social media pointing to the irony behind the popularity of the number combination.