Politicians and leaders are the ones who are the beacons of the nation and many look up to them for the wise words that they have to impart. However, there are moments when some things which they say leave question marks in the minds of the rakyat.
Here are 15 of the quotes imparted by Malaysian politicians and leaders in 2015 which have raised eyebrows—and even supplied some with a bellyful of laughter.
1. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
What happened?
The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was in the midst of giving a speech which was broadcasted through Astro Awani. He spoke about the decrease in the price of the petrol and how PETRONAS has paid the government RM26 billion in dividend. However, PETRONAS will only pay RM9 billion the following year, less than 2015—but by how much?
“Imagine RM26 billion down to RM9 billion, which means RM15 billion deficit—where am I going to find the RM15 billion deficit?”
This led many to question the PM’s ability to do simple mathematical deduction.
2. Datuk Nawawi Ahmad
What happened?
Not everyone is aware of how the GST will directly impact them, back in April this year. However, one Malaysian MP was rather sure of what we can do if we dislike the government’s choices. Datuk Nawawi Ahmad, the member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the seat of Langkawi, Kedah, wrote in a Facebook comment, stating the obvious that if we do not wish to pay the taxes, we can go ahead and live on the moon instead.
“If you don’t want to pay the taxes, go live on the moon.”
3. Datuk Seri Dr. S. Subramaniam
What happened?
As the minister of health was speaking about the rise of cigarette prices for November 2015, he mentioned that should people find the prices of cigarettes to be overwhelming, they can then rise earlier to inhale the morning mist instead. This sparked a social media frenzy where people created a meme of Datuk Seri Dr. S. Subramaniam.
“If cigarettes are expensive, wake up earlier and inhale the morning mist instead. It’s free.”
4. Mohamad Imran Abdul Hamid
What happened?
Malaysian gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi is a decorated gymnast in Malaysia and the typical sports attire for gymnasts are leotards, even for Malaysian athletes in the gymnastics sport. However, several MPs, inclusive of parliament member of Lumut, Perak, Mohamad Imran Abdul Hamid, was wondering out loud in parliament if it would be possible to substitute their attire to something a little more ‘decent’, because it being too sexy could lead to promiscuity.
“Sexy sports attire may lead to promiscuity.”
“You may score marks on the international sports arena but you will not score marks in the afterlife.”
5. Tan Sri Dr Haji Harussani bin Haji Zakaria
What happened?
During the official opening of a prayer hall in Cenderoh in September, the Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria allegedly said that the Prime Minister Najib Razak once told him the fear of losing the election rounds has made him accommodate the wishes of non-Malays. He then replied the following.
“Even now we’re losing. Why then should we be appointing ministers who are Chinese? There’s no need for Chinese ministers. Just let the Malays rule. We’ll show them.”
According to Sinar Harian, the publication which was spoken to, the Perak Mufti also said that he proposed to our PM and other Cabinet ministers to abolish vernacular schools, because he believes that it would eventually introduce racial harmony in the nation.
6. Datuk Haji Ahmad Maslan
What happened?
Everyone has their own solutions to the GST issue and the Pontian district Member of Parliament, Datuk Haji Ahmad Maslan certainly has his. He showcased his culinary skills on social media during the Ramadan season, by posting an image of his home-cooked fried rice which he dubbed, “GST-free Nasi Goreng Ahmad Maslan” (NGAM).
“This is my own homecooked recipe: Vegetable, egg, chilli, rice, salt, meat, onions, chicken, oil, and cooking oil. No GST!”
Whilst his cooking definitely looked delicious and artfully decorated, the deputy finance minister soon became the talk of social media, with netizens commenting about his “GST-free” ingredients and cooking gas.
7. Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan
What happened?
The toll hike this year is something no motorists would have looked forward to, with some even increasing up to 50% of the original toll price. As such, some have even resorted to switching to public transportation in order to combat this problem.
The Kota Belud MP had his own form of solution to the problem, and it involves setting your alarm about one hour earlier than you normally would.
“Wherever there are tolls, there are alternative routes. So you can avoid tolls—just that you would have to brave the traffic. You would have to invest in more time, waking up earlier.”
8. Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar
What happened?
The federal minister for youth and sports definitely has his own sport team preferences and he happened to voice it out in a video uploaded by Astro Awani, back in August. In the 15-second video, Khairy Jamaluddin said:
“I’m sorry, supporting Liverpool is akin to supporting PAS—they will never win.”
Sports fans are known to be the ones who would back their favourite team through and through and even celebrity Faizal Tahir was quick to spit fire about the issue, as he is a big Liverpool fan. But to also compare it to another political party, some said that it was done in bad taste.
9. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
What happened?
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was speaking at the launch of the meeting for UMNO representatives in the district of Pontian, Johor, back in August, when he made a statement about his own personal popularity. Despite no longer holding a deputy prime minister title, or any positions in the cabinet, he boldly claimed that he was more popular than Malaysian songstress, Siti Nurhaliza.
“People want to take selfies (with me). I think I’m more popular than Siti Nurhaliza.”
There’s really no need to make such a statement, it might even come across as being a little insecure.
10. Datuk Bung Mokhtar
What happened?
Datuk Bung Mokhtar was furious when rival lawmakers protested and came to the defense of Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin, after he allegedly made “sexist” remarks about her. The protestors had allegedly trespassed his home, and that was when he got really mad.
“If you want to protest, let it end here. But you went to my house and they trespassed. Lucky I was not there, because if I was, someone would be dead!”
Woah, wasn’t that a direct threat of violence?
11. Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz
What happened?
The Tourism and Culture Minister made some harsh remarks back in June about the Johor crown prince, HRH Brigadier General Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim. He said his royal position won’t save him from the hands of law if he were to interfere with government matters. Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said in a news conference at Universiti Malaya, the following statement:
“I think he should keep out of politics, otherwise he may be subjected to the same rule. We will whack him.”
Turns out quite a number of our politicians are part of the mafia.
12. Datuk Raime Unggi
What happened?
Tenom MP Datuk Raime Unggi said at the Parliament recently that the usage of widely-utilised apps such as Google Maps and Waze will in turn threaten the national security, for it will provide foreign countries such as the US and Israel more information on Malaysia.
“Malaysians are very dependent on Google Maps and Waze for location searching and this has indirectly provided information about Malaysia to external quarters such as the United States and Israel and it could lead to external threats”.
While we’re at this, we should also erase Malaysia from the world map completely so we can hide from any national threats.
13. Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh
What happened?
Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh may arguably have dismal expectations about the education system in Malaysia, because back in February, he said that it was comparable to those of foreign Western countries.
“Malaysia’s higher education is now on par with those of developed nations such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.”
According to the 2nd Education Minister, this can be proven by the 135,000 foreign students who are studying at the national higher educational institutions in Malaysia. However, his claim was slightly too far-fetched, especially when compared to top-notch universities and colleges in countries such as the United Kingdom.
14. Ismail Sabri Yaakob
What happened?
In a Facebook comment back in February, the agriculture minister of Malaysia posted that the Malay community should boycott Chinese businesses in order for price reduction to occur. The post has since been deleted, but when it was still up, it was heavily circulated online.
“The majority of consumers are Malay, Chinese are a minority, if the Malays boycott their businesses, they will surely have no choice but to reduce their prices.”
15. Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor
What happened?
Being the prime minister and first lady of Malaysia is surely no easy feat because on top of having to lead a nation, the leaders would also often times be subject to the jabs of netizens through social media. As such, the PM’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor addressed this concern of hers out loud during a speech at the MIC headquarters, first stating the problem and later mentioning the following quote.
“He (Najib) feels sorry for me, and I too feel sorry for him. We feel sorry for each other.”
This caused a lot of netizens to be annoyed, most of them asking Rosmah and Najib about who is feeling sorry for the rakyat then.
Did we miss any? Do you recall something that should be in this list? Let us know in the comments!
