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Malaysian politics is many things, but you can say that it’s never not entertaining. Recently, #KemaluanKebangsaan and #KemaluanNegara hilariously started trending because of Najib’s appeal, in which the judge called him a national embarrassment.
Malaysians, always up to the duty of making memes, immediately latched onto the description and had a good time with it.
Source: Fahmi Reza (@kuasiswa on Twitter)
Here are 5 other events in which Malaysian politicians made a boo-boo big enough that the entire nation couldn’t stop laughing at them:
1. Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the power of the LGBT community
This happened after Palu, Indonesia was struck by a devastating earthquake that then triggered a tsunami. More than 2,040 people were killed.
Source: Says.com
Zahid, the MP of Bagan, shortly after made the statement that the cause of the natural disaster was due to LGBT related activities, and had brought on punishment from Allah. Palu had more than 1,000 individuals who identified as part of the LGBT community.
Some criticised his lack of empathy for those who were affected by the disaster. Others yet questioned if Zahid, who was charged with 45 counts of corruption, was trying to distract the population from his legal issues, or if he was attempting to use the events for his own political benefits.
This incident is still referenced until today.
2. Women and Family Development Ministry says that speaking like Doraemon will help your marriage
Last year, back at the start of the pandemic, the Women and Family Development posted this infographic on their Facebook page:
The poster claimed that in order to avoid fights between couples, the woman should avoid nagging and to use humour and manja behaviour. For some reason, they specified that copying the pitch of Doraemon’s voice was supposed to be effective too.
This ludicrous advice was slammed by women’s rights activists and many Malaysians memed it to oblivion, including Harith Iskander.
3. Ministry of Education allegedly endorsed parenting guidelines on how to identify gay “symptoms”, includes “a preference for tight and brightly-coloured clothes”
The parenting seminar was held in Penang, and the guidelines were allegedly endorsed by the Ministry of Education, who later denied it. However, the event was reported to have been officiated by Deputy Education Minister at the time, Mohd Puad Zarkashi.
The other guidelines to identify gay “symptoms” are just as much of a laugh:
- Likes having a fit body that they show off by wearing V-neck and sleeveless clothes (guess they’ve never met a gymbro)
- A preference for carrying big handbags (blatant erasure of gay men who prefer to use small handbags)
- Attraction to men (finally something factual)
The guidelines for identifying lesbian “symptoms” are just as ludicrous:
- Tend to distance themselves from women other than their female companions (apparently lesbians don’t have female friends)
- A preference for going out with other women and sleeping in the company of women (what about female sleepover parties or just any group of female friends?)
4. Azura Mohd Afandi, Puteri Umno Chief, deems sanitary pad ads too sexy
Azura, in urging the government to increase TV shows that teach good values and religious practices, said that horror films and commercials that are too sexy for young viewers could lead to deviance.
“For example, commercials on sanitary pads are openly shown on TV and this could influence the young to get involved in social ills.”
Who knew that ads for feminine hygiene products were the gateway to leading religious people astray?
5. Najib and the kangkung fiasco
Last but not least, we’re featuring the origin of the #KemaluanKebangsaan meme himself: Najib.
Anyone remember when he was mad that citizens were mad at the government for price hikes? He famously used the example of kangkung when talking about items that experienced a price drop.
Source: LowYat forum
Besides the ridiculousness of complaining that citizens were angry at the government (at the end of the day, aren’t they supposed to look out for the interests of citizens?), the remarks he made were dismissive of ordinary citizens who were disproportionately affected by price increases.
Malaysian politics is never boring.
Regardless of which party you support, or your political leanings, you have to agree that local politics is truly a wonderful mine for content.
However, that in itself is a commentary on local politics.
For more stories like this, read: Malaysian Income Inequality Is Getting Worse – What You Need To Know, Malaysia Has An Ongoing Brain Drain Problem: This Is Everything You Need To Know About It and Malaysians Reveal the Double Standard Treatments Datuks Get from Authorities.
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