Najib bears the brunt of kangkung remark, report foreign media
"With the government under fire because of price hikes in basics like fuel and
electricity, he choose to push back by highlighting a reduction in the cost of
the leafy green vegetable kangkung," the BBC said in its report yesterday.
It
likened Najib's position to British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor
George Osborne who both had used a food analogy to "get down with the people".
"Moments after a video of the prime minister was posted making the comments, the
sarcasm and jokes began to trend on social media in Malaysia,” said the BBC.
The
"kangkung" statement was met with much derision by the Malaysian public, as was
reported in The Malaysian Insider previously.Netizens took to social networking
sites like Facebook and Twitter to air their frustrations and displeasure with
the PM, who was taken to task for being insensitive to the plight of the people
following the rising cost of living.
Malaysian comedian Kuah Jenhan tweeted:
"While others avoid becoming a laughing stock, we settle for becoming a laughing
stalk. Lettuce get to the root of the problem. We have mushroom for
improvement." Social media users have also gone to the trouble of remixing
Najib's comments, rewording lyrics of popular local songs, and T-shirts are
emblazoned with the words "Keep calm and eat kangkung", the BBC said.
"'Kangkung-gate', as it's been dubbed by some, has hit a nerve because many
people are struggling with the rising cost of living, and are resentful of what
they regard as corruption, and lavish spending by the government," it added.
The
11% increase in petrol prices, 12% increase in sugar price as well as the hikes
in electricity tariff and toll, among others, have caused a domino effect,
causing the price of other goods to increase.
However, Najib is not the first to
have put his foot in his mouth regarding the rising cost of living. Previously,
Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hassan Malek had
called on the people to switch to fish or meat to check the rise in the price of
chicken. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid
Omar, in defending the toll hike, said that motorists could choose to use
toll-free roads. – January 15, 2014
(http://malaysia.msn.com/?rd=1&ucc=MY&dcc=MY&opt=0)
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