MOST political figures or celebrities would have loved the image. It would have given them the chance to claim – tongue-in-cheek – that their brand was being promoted by a top international artiste.
Alas, PAS are unable to capitalise on an online image posted by popular RnB (rhythm and blues) singer, Beyonce, given the Islamic party’s penchant for opposing performances by foreign artistes in Malaysia.
An image posted by the multiple Grammy award winner on X (formerly Twitter) shows the singer clad in a tight green leather outfit bathed by a green background.
She is pictured holding a white globe whilst lounging on an easy chair, leading to many Malaysian fans to cheekily point out that the image bore more than a passing resemblance to the PAS logo.
The various comments on Beyonce’s X page have stumped her social media team who asked for further clarification on the meaning behind the memes and comments on the tour’s official X account @RenaissanceWT.
One Malaysian X user noted sarcastically that PAS should have Beyonce as a guest artiste at its ceramah while another ironically stated that the party’s marketing budget “was going crazy”.
Another even went as far as to mock the party’s recent rallying call to defend certain PAS leaders from what it perceived as selective prosecution by declaring Pertahankan kepimpinan Beyonce (“Defend Beyonce’s leadership”).
Others sarcastically noted that PAS’ green wave phenomenon has gone global with the party having recruited the 42-year-old American singer known for her ultra-sexy image and costumes.
These responses prompted Beyonce’s social media team to ask: “What do the comments under this post mean?” The social media team was referring to replies to their post, many of which contained iconic photographs of PAS supporters and leaders.
What must have been thoroughly perplexing to them was the inclusion of images of PAS supporters getting ready for “battle” with their replica war machines during recent election campaigns.
As far as performing artistes go, Beyonce and her flamboyantly sexy performances is quite possibly the very antithesis of PAS ideals.
The party’s constant harping and opposition to concerts by foreign artistes is rumoured to be the reason why the world-famous singer decided to skip Malaysia on its on-going Renaissance world tour.
The comments and memes are proof that Malaysians have not lost their sense of humour and that there remain sections of the Malaysian psyche that has yet to be indoctrinated by the green wave. – Sept 25, 2023
