Is LGE’s socmed post of him savouring banana leaf meal a ploy to woo, pacify Indian voters?

Is LGE’s socmed post of him savouring banana leaf meal a ploy to woo, pacify Indian voters?

SOCIAL media. It can be a boon or a bane. For some, it can be a marketing tool to improve brand visibility. At the same time, it also means that one is open to all sorts of comments from netizens – good, bad and ugly.

This was highlighted by a post showing DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng tucking into a traditional Indian banana leaf meal – yes, with his five right fingers!

Banana leaf is the best 🙏🏻♥️

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Some netizens saw it as a means for the Bagan MP and Air Putih state assemblyman to connect with ordinary Malaysians over a shared love of food.

Some dismissed it as a pointless post.

However, almost everything is viewed through race-tinted lens in Malaysia, especially when it comes to the murky world of politics. The lunch time photo was viewed by some as an unabashed attempt at winning Indian votes.

Some netizens chose to be pedantic and highlighted the grammatical inaccuracy of Guan Eng’s caption.

But a netizen saved the former finance minister’s blushes by contending that “banana leaf” alone is understandable given there is already a photo of Guan Eng enjoying his meal.

Nevertheless, another commenter queried Guan Eng’s caption about banana leaf meals being the best. But this was very quickly dismissed as the question of a person who is ignorant of Malaysian food culture where banana leaves enhance the flavour and aroma of food.

Some highlighted that a banana leaf was preferable to eating from plates that were washed in drain, referring to a recent incident that went viral where a restaurant worker was pictured washing a wok using drain water.

Given the number of eyeballs the post was attracting, an enterprising restauranteur took the opportunity to “tumpang glamour” by advertising her own banana leaf restaurant.

Obviously, the seasoned 63-year-old DAP lawmaker is aware that his party has been accused of neglecting Indian issues or even side-stepping Indian candidates in both the August 2023 six states polls as well as the party’s very own elections in recent times.

This has among others led to the party’s former stalwart Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy to form the United for the Rights of Malaysians Party (URIMAI) which is said to have attracted large swathes of Indian support away from DAP.

However, whether an image of Guan Eng enjoying a traditional Indian spread is enough to sway voters remains to be seen. – Oct 10, 2024