KUANTAN: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not taking part in Malaysia's 15th General Election (GE15) but her name has somehow become the talk of internet users after a Perikatan Nasional candidate's campaign video was said to be suspiciously similar to the United States Congresswoman's campaign video from 2018.
Indera Mahkota parliamentary candidate Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah recently released his campaign video, which the Tentera Troll Kebangsaan TikTok account quickly seized upon to compare with Ocasio-Cortez's 2018 election campaign video.
In the opening of the congresswoman's video, Ocasio-Cortez was depicted preparing for her day with her voice-over saying women like her were not supposed to run for office.
Similarly, Saifuddin was shown getting ready for his day with his own voice-over saying that a person like him was not supposed to have the opportunity to contest for positions.
"I wasn't born to a wealthy or powerful family," said Ocasio-Cortez.
"I wasn't born to a privileged or powerful family," echoed Saifuddin.
While Ocasio-Cortez said her mother was from Puerto Rico and her father from the South Bronx, Saifuddin said his father was an ustaz and his mother a teacher.
Both videos showed photographs of their family.
Ocasio-Cortez then stated that she was born in a place where "your zip code determines your destiny" before saying her name in full.
Saifuddin, on the flip side, said he was born next to Sungai Pahang, grew up bathing in the river and drinking its water, which then cut to the incumbent Indera Mahkota MP saying his name in full.
Both Ocasio-Cortez and Saifuddin also said going into politics had not been a part of their plans.
While the congresswoman asked "who has New York been changing for?", Saifuddin asked "For whom Indera Mahkota should change?"
"A New York for the many is possible. Vote for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez," stated Ocasio-Cortez at the end of her video.
"An Indera Mahkota for all is not impossible. Vote for Saifuddin Abdullah," said Saifuddin.
Tentera Troll Kebangsaan called Saifuddin out for allegedly plagiarising Ocasio-Cortez's video.
As at press time, Saifuddin's video had apparently been deleted.
Saifuddin also declined to comment when asked about the video.
