Malay netizens snub Tun M after his ‘tanjak’ analogy to reflect ‘Malay-ness’ went awry
AN attempt by elderly statesman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to psyche Malays to his corner – as part a push for his Proklamasi Melayu (Malay Proclamation) agenda – seems to have backfired on him with many open-minded netizens turning the tables against him instead.
In a recent social media posting, the two-time premier whose tenure spanned 22 years and 22 months shared his observation that many Malays nowadays wear the tanjak (male traditional headgear) as a way to show their Malay-ness.
“The attitude of being proud of the race is good,” he tweeted. “How good if other than the tanjak, the Malays are also proud to vote in the election for the best Malay candidate so that the government that will be established by the winning candidates can establish a good government.”
Added Dr Mahathir: “Wear the tanjak but vote and determine the victory for Malays who are strong in their sense of Malay-ness and capable of establishing a strong government that we can be proud of.”
However, netizens are least impressed with opinion of Malaysia’s longest serving premier. “Since getting along with PAS, Tun has started to ride on the Malay sentiment,” chided netizen MusafirDunia (@DiMusafir).
DBM Ariss (@DBMHariss) said the Malays were originally a strong and powerful race during the kingdom of Malacca.
“What harms the Malays are the treacherous Malays, wealthy corruptors, those who are envious and vengeful, and those who think that they are more capable than Hang Jebat or those who fear God but forget God when they are in position of power.”
THE5H (@The5H5615) reminded Dr Mahathir that the narrative he uses since his fourth PM days to cast fear on people does not longer work in modern times. “It may still be effective to a few rural people but with the advent social media, such narrative is not going anywhere. It only makes people disgusted,” suggested the netizen.
Cikgooo (@cikgooo) slammed Dr Mahathir for leveraging the Malay race only to gain sympathy from the Malays.
“Do you still remember claiming that Malays are lazy, forget easily … You even once said if a Malay is given loan of RM100,000, he would end up owing RM1 mil … It’s best that you stop belittling Malays.”
Netizen @KktSabree took a jibe at Dr Mahathir by claiming that his argument was only valid in the 1970s/1980s.
“But it’s already 2023. I’m sorry that we the young people will not accept narrow political views. We’ve come to realisation that this is just a political tool by those in power to generate personal benefits.”
Widya Ahmad (@WidyaAhmad10) summed up the Malay rejection of Dr Mahathir’s argument best by describing it as “only a camouflage”.
“The real truth is to solicit vote for Tun or Tun’s men because only Tun is the best and only Tun deserves to be the best PM. That’s enough, Tun. Your time is over. Give others a chance to take the lead in managing this country.” – May 11, 2023
Main pic credit: Minaq Jinggo
The old baboon is like a leech that clings to the skin.
ReplyDeleteHe is clinging to his past "glory" days when his words carried some weight. Now his utterings and actions are those of an old man desperate to relive those gone by days and trying to be relevant again.
His children are not helping him with their silence or non-action. It seems they are happy to see their father humiliated in public again and again.