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Ushar Daniele

Malaysians have launched a humorous appeal to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fix their potholes, sparking a meme fest praising his responsiveness and highlighting local government inaction.
The campaign began after a social media user posted a video of a battered road he frequently uses that caused him to crash, urging Mamdani to help make the thoroughfare passable.
“Mamdani, please help me. There used to be a pothole over there and because of the pothole I was involved in a road accident,” he said, adding that the contractor refused to pay him compensation after the mishap.
“Please help me, Mamdani. Thank you so much, Mamdani,” the user said in the viral video that ended with a spoof “Malaysia Madani” poster featuring the mayor’s face against the Kuala Lumpur skyline.
Malaysia Madani is Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s signature nation-building slogan.


Reacting to the video, a user said “Mamdani is trying to figure out which New York street this is”, while another asked New Yorkers whether Malaysia could “borrow Mamdani”.
Malaysian politicians also seized on Mamdani’s online popularity to question why authorities were slow to respond to everyday public complaints.
“What is stopping Malaysia from acting?” former Klang MP Charles Santiago said in a June social media post, shortly after Mamdani rolled out heat safety measures to protect workers exposed to extreme weather on the job.
“Six months was enough for New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani to recognise extreme heat as a workplace hazard and act. How many more heatwaves will Malaysia need before we do the same?” he said.
Malaysia has a persistent pothole problem, which has sometimes turned deadly.
In March, a traffic policeman riding pillion on a motorcycle ridden by a colleague died after the vehicle swerved to avoid a pothole and skidded on a road in Terengganu state, local media reported.
Malaysians have long riffed on Mamdani’s surname, casting him as an honorary member of Anwar’s Malaysia Madani administration.

Memes have depicted the mayor dressed in traditional Malay attire alongside the national flag and government imagery, with posts accompanied by the hashtag #MalaysiaMamdani.
The 34-year-old’s plan to offer discounts on groceries at city-owned stores also prompted a user to quip that Malaysia’s inflation-easing “Rahmah sales have reached New York”.
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and former New York state assemblyman, was elected mayor of the city in November 2025, after a rapid political rise that saw the little-known politician defeat former New York governor Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination.
He trounced Cuomo, who contested the election as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, following a successful campaign centring on New York’s livelihood issues that resonated with younger voters.
Mamdani, who took office on January 1 as New York City’s 112th mayor, is the city’s first Muslim and South Asian municipal chief.


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Malaysians push for local government action by reaching out to the New York City mayor, who is known for his quick responses


Malaysians push for local government action by reaching out to the New York City mayor, who is known for his quick responses.


Zohran Mamdani

Anwar Ibrahim

United States

Andrew Cuomo

Malaysians ask Zohran Mamdani to fix potholes in viral meme appeal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Malaysians push for local government action by reaching out to the New York City mayor, who is known for his quick responses

Malaysians push for local government action by reaching out to the New York City mayor, who is known for his quick responses