Zahid's body barbs draw 'sexist' fire from Kasthuri, but Noraini wasn't his only target

Zahid's body barbs draw 'sexist' fire from Kasthuri, but Noraini wasn't his only target

Published: Sep 15, 2026 8:39 AM


Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi raised eyebrows at the party’s general assembly with a speech that was as politically provocative as it was personally barbed - from daring the Madani government to boot Umno out of Putrajaya and call a fresh election to making snide remarks about the physical appearance of fellow leaders.

Although his daughter, Nurulhidayah, a Wanita Umno executive member, later apologised for her father’s remarks concerning Wanita Umno chief Noraini Ahmad's weight, it did not stop DAP executive council member Kasthuri Patto from launching a broadside against the veteran politician.

However, Kasthuri appeared unaware that Zahid (above) did not spare male leaders either, namely Malacca Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh, when she questioned whether he had made similar remarks about men, including about “their teeth, their thinning hair, or even their physical appearance, which may have changed from before”.

“Or is it simply that he felt free to mock or comment on women leaders without shame or embarrassment?” she asked.

In his speech, Zahid used the term “bulat” (round) in reference to Rauf (below), who is on the heavier side.

“If Malacca is considered ‘bulat’ because of Rauf, InsyaAllah, there is not just one formula. Johor, Negeri Sembilan; Malacca next? I am simply asking who is ‘bulat’, not trying to stir things up.

“Earlier, my officers advised me to speak properly and be a little more serious, but ultimately, it is up to me what I want to say,” he was quoted as saying.


'Low' behaviour

On Zahid’s remarks about Noraini’s weight and his urging her to eat more, Kasthuri said they could not simply be dismissed as a joke, as Zahid’s daughter had sought to do by insisting that her father never intended them to be demeaning.

“This is low, YB. Even for you,” she said in a Facebook post, adding that such remarks set the tone for how men and women will continue to objectify and ridicule women in politics, particularly over how they look and present themselves.

Kasthuri (above) stressed that leaders should not be judged by their appearance, body shape or facial features, but by their principles, struggles and convictions, as well as their political vision and determination for society and the country.

“YB’s comments were undeniably distasteful and insulting to women in the political arena. Although YB Noraini and I belong to different parties, I would still respond in the same manner when any woman in the political landscape becomes a victim of political patriarchy.

“Where, too, is the voice of the newly appointed Puteri Umno information chief?” she asked, in reference to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s daughter Nooryana.

'Ozempic, Mounjaro?'

Zahid had teased Noraini during his winding-up speech, remarking that she appeared to be getting increasingly thin.

He had asked Noraini whether she had taken any injections that had caused her to become so thin.

“From being like this, she has become like this,” he said, comparing his thumb with his little finger.

“Have you been taking injections? Not Ozempic or Mounjaro?” he asked, referring to injections that can aid weight loss.

Zahid also said he had tried them at the urging of his wife, Hamidah Khamis, but to no avail, as his weight remained unchanged.

Zahid's daughter apologises

Meanwhile, in an Instagram post featuring a photograph of herself with Noraini (above), Nurulhidayah acknowledged that her father’s remarks had upset some Wanita Umno members, while stressing that neither physical appearance nor age should be used as fodder for jokes.

"Personally, I believe and am very confident that the Umno president may have intended to joke and did not mean to demean anyone, but sometimes an unguarded joke can have a different impact on the person hearing it," she wrote.

She also highlighted Zahid’s use of the phrase "grandmothers' machinery", warning that it could carry the implication that women were no longer capable of leading or contributing to the party.

"If grandfathers can still lead, why not grandmothers? They are among the most loyal pillars of Umno, working through difficult and good times without asking for much," she said.

Nurulhidayah (above) said she had personally heard from Wanita Umno members who were disappointed by Zahid’s remarks following his winding-up speech at the 2026 Umno General Assembly.

"If anyone was hurt, especially Kak Ani (Noraini), I personally, with humility and an open heart, as a daughter, apologise for his words or jokes on stage at the Umno General Assembly," she said.