Colourful leader who tells it like it is

Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz (far right)

MAVERICK. Non-conformist. Indepen­dent-minded. Arrogant. Eccentric. All these words have been used to describe Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz.

Of all the Cabinet members today, he is the most colourful and interesting. His list of controversies is long, including his famous run-in with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Nazri called the former Prime Minister a “bloody racist” for supporting a government programme said to promote racist thinking in civil servants and public university undergraduates.