Out of the mouths of politicians

The darnedest things: The august House has heard many strange and inexplicable statements, not to mention fiery battles of words too. — Parliament Malaysia

“MUNGKIN”, meaning “could”, meaning a possibility, can lead to the darnedest statements.

Kapar MP Dr Halimah Ali, who is a medical doctor, said this in Parlia-ment on Wednesday: “I don’t have a problem with the term ‘rahmah’ or anything, but don’t let the rakyat marhaen [common people] B40 be given a low-quality food supply ... mungkin [could] also cause them to be exposed to cancer, autoimmune diseases, autism and so on,” she said, speaking in Malay, of course.

The PAS MP was referring to Menu Rahmah, an initiative that has restaurants offering meals priced at RM5 and below, specifically for the hardcore poor.

Menu Rahmah could expose those eating it to cancer, autoimmune diseases, autism and so on?! Mind-boggling.

The doctor’s remark drew flak from many Malaysians who defended Menu Rahmah, saying that an affordable price does not necessarily mean compromised quality. Sena-tor Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi thought it was an insult to the disabled community. And Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii (DAP), a medical doctor himself, sought clarification on Twitter from her about what types of foods in a Menu Rahmah meal could possibly cause autism.

Well, it’s not like we haven’t experienced this before: some Malaysian politicians say the darnedest things.

The Perikatan Nasional MP defended herself, saying her remark had been misunderstood, that what she wanted to convey was that the poor quality of raw materials used by restaurants for Menu Rahmah meals could compromise quality.

But the damage was done.

Some Malaysians ignored her qualifier “mungkin”. For them, especially the Pakatan Harapan crowd, she is proof that their fear of Perikatan forming the government is justified.

They worry that kalau (if) Perikatan, with 74 MPs from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and PAS, ruled Malaysia, they would get a government full of ministers who say the darnedest things.

In the recent appointment of Perikatan MPs to monitor government ministries, Dr Halimah was tapped for National Unity. So in the “kalau” multiverse, she could be the National Unity Minister....

But what she said is mild. It is not the main thing that spooks the Pakatan crowd at the possibility of a Perikatan government. They are concerned about the rise of the “green wave” brand of religious politics. The term “green wave” was coined after PAS, which uses a green flag symbol, won the most number of seats in the Opposition bloc, 49 of the 74 under Perikatan.

For example, the Kedah government, led by a PAS Mentri Besar, banned 4D gaming outlets in the state. Perlis, also headed by a PAS Mentri Besar, is studying legal points of view before taking steps to close its 4D gaming outlets.

Some Perikatan politicians told me that the coalition could win over 5% or more of Pakatan voters as its MPs have traded their jubah (robe) for suits. They think this optic is enough to draw in Pakatan fence- sitters fed up with the government coalition embracing “Umno kleptocrats”.

They think this hate for corruption could even lead to Perikatan winning seats in racially mixed constituencies in the upcoming Selangor state polls; so far, it has done very well mostly in Malay-dominated constituencies.

Before the 15th General Election (GE15) or even in earlier polls, the Pakatan crowd hated Umno’s corruption more than PAS’ conservative interpretation of Islamic laws. They voted for PAS candidates when the Islamic party was with Pakatan Rakyat, which then consisted of PKR, DAP and PAS.

But after GE15, some Pakatan leaders and supporters lost their distaste for Umno leaders – like Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – who are facing corruption charges in court. Most Pakatan supporters now close an eye to the fact that they are now in bed with Ahmad Zahid in a marriage of political convenience because they fear the possibility of Perikatan ruling the country.

(Coincidently, as I was writing this, a pro-Perikatan friend sent me a TikTok video to show the greatly differing before GE15 and after stands of a Pakatan minister on the – to use the minister’s word – “shameful” littoral combat ship scandal.)

The antics of Perikatan lawmakers give the Pakatan crowd more reasons to fear the Opposition coalition.

Take, for example, Terengganu state Agriculture, Food Industry, Plantation, Commodity and Rural Development Committee chairman Dr Azman Ibrahim. Fresh from an arguably misogynistic tweet on women’s attire, the Jabi assemblyman from PAS jumped into another controversy on Thursday. This time he tweeted a photograph of two men of different races in a rickshaw taken in the good old days – before Malaya’s independence, it looks like – showing a rather abhorrent view of race relationships.

Prof James Chin of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania, Australia, posted on Facebook, “I have always said, at the highest level of PAS, they have a very specific view of non-Malays/non-Muslims.”

Some Pakatan MPs also say the darnedest things.

For example, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek claimed that Malay-sia’s curriculum is comparable to Singapore and Japan’s . She backed her statement with a comparative study the ministry had conducted.

But most parents instead believed Muda president and Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who earlier told Parliament that Singapore and Japan outrank Malaysia in the Programme for International Student Assessment used to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-year-old students’ scholastic performance in mathematics, science and reading.

But, as is usual with politicians, most of the Pakatan ministers say things their supporters want to hear.

Take, for example, the controversy over people being denied entry to hospitals and police stations because of a dress code. Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said everyone has the right to healthcare regardless of what they wear.

“I would like to emphasise that, in principle, every patient should be given treatment regardless of race, ethnicity or dress code. Every medical practitioner needs to maintain their ethics after taking the Hippocratic Oath.”

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said his ministry would not compromise with any police officers that try to prevent the public from lodging reports on police premises.

Some Malaysian politicians say the damnedest things.