ONE can imagine that whoever the Pakatan Harapan (PH) election strategy director is, he or she would be scratching his/her head as to how to defend the coalition’s chairman ahead of the 16th General Election (GE16) which must be held before end-November 2027.
Never before had Malaysians at large being so hyper critical with statements that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made – presumably they would previously take with a pinch of salt if the Madani government founder went off tangent with statements articulated in bombastic Malay or English for he still merits respect as the Prime Minister.
But no longer so in recent times!
Over the weekend, trolling was prevalent when PMX zeroed in on avocado by alluding that the expanded sales and services tax (SST) on imported goods targets wealthy consumers, hence the latter must be willing “to pay a bit more” compared to fruits grown for local consumption such as banana and jambu batu (guava).
However, PMX who is also the Finance Minister ended up getting criticised for having been detached from reality for his speech at the Madani Rakyat programme in Lumut, Perak yesterday (June 15).
“Can Anwar explain why local fruits are so terribly expensive? In the Klang Valley, rambutan are priced from RM10-RM12/kg, banana (RM7.50-RM8.50/kg) small pineapple (RM7/kg) and the same apply for watermelon and mangoes,” one netizen summed up for hundreds of online commenters.
“Durian is beyond most people’s reach. People buy apples and oranges because they are cheaper than local fruits.
“Please don’t insult us with the avocado example. If the government wants us to eat local fruits, please control the prices and not let the businessmen go havoc.
“With the SST on imported fruits, B40 Malaysians won’t be able to afford fruits in their diet. The government is making the health of Malaysians worse. This is Reformati, not Reformasi!”
Unprecedented trolling
Even reiterating his commitment to continue clamping down on leaders who practice corruption regardless whether he receives widespread support or otherwise not only failed to convince the masses but worse, only invited a slew of jeering.
Saya akan terus banteras rasuah tak kira dapat sokongan atau tidak – PM https://t.co/9R8Vcxi0vk
— Malaysiakini (BM) (@mkini_bm) June 14, 2025
The detractors pointedly trained their guns on Deputy PM Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who been granted a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) by the Kuala Lumpur High Court for his 47 charges, including criminal breach of trust (CBT), corruption and money laundering involving the Yayasan Akalbudi funds.
Or when will the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) start pursuing the wealth amassed by Datuk Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak who was formerly PMX’s political secretary?
Imagine how detractors just would not spare PMX some breathing space even for a safe topic such as youth empowerment on his own Facebook page.
To re-cap, PMX’s trust deficit gap has been widening at an alarming pace ever since the run-up to the May 23 PKR central leadership poll whereby his role as the party’s president came under massive scrutiny amid cries that the reformasi spirit is dead.
The backlash from PKR grassroots was so intense especially after incumbent deputy president Rafizi Ramli lost the second most powerful post in the party which effectively helmed the Madani government to PMX’s eldest daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar with accusation of nepotism reverberating across the party.
Retaliation from his own party members was so overwhelming in the aftermath of the PKR polls that PMX’s social media administrators had to disable comments, particularly those related to his presence at the recent 18th PKR national congress on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. – June 16, 2025
Main image credit: Anwar Ibrahim/Facebook
