AS national language freaks defended Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad after he named Pavilion Bukit Jalil as the Kuala Lumpur mall that makes him feel as if “I was in China”, Muslim netizens have chided the twice former premier over his recent racist rant, contending that it is justified for the so-called food outlet ‘to spew’ Chinese characters.
Aside from being able to furnish evidence of only one business outlet (perhaps two) despite claiming that “all the signboards are in Chinese with English translations”, social media influencer Muhammad Najib (@muhammadnajib79) rightly pointed out that “the shop sells pork buns”.
“Chinese businesses have long practiced usage of Chinese language to discourage Malays, the most gullible and easily deceived race in the world, from patronising Chinese eateries that serve pork,” he penned in a post on the X platform in response to a tweet by Dr Mahathir who shared three photos what he meant by ‘huge’ Chinese signages.
Kedai tu jual pau babi.
Perniagaan Cina dah lama amalkan guna tulisan Cina untuk discourage Melayu, bangsa paling mudah tertipu dan terpedaya di dunia, dari masuk kedai Cina yang ada babi.
Kang tulis dalam BM, ada Melayu triggered pulak tuduh Cina nak jerat Melayu makan babi. https://t.co/umM5qAABaG
— Muhammad Najib (@muhammadnajib79) November 19, 2024
“Imagine if the signage is written in BM (Bahasa Melayu), some triggered Malays will accuse the Chinese of trying to lure Malays into eating pork.”
The post by Muhammad Najib elicited interesting feedback with one commenter recalling how the one-year short of being a centenarian statesman once accused the Chinese of not interested in learning Jawi “yet when the Chinese-owned Buruh brand cooking oil uses Jawi, he chastised them for wanting to confuse the Malays”.
Another expressed disbelief at how Dr Mahathir can spark an issue when the said eatery – B.O.D a.k.a. Bao (Dumpling) on Demand – is only trying to tract customers with its tagline “Tasty Pork Dumpling; A Waste If You Don’t Try”.
One netizen teased the ex-premier of 22 years and 22 months if “he’ll be happy to see signages bearing PAU BABI, NASI BABI or MEE KICAP BABI”.
Another commenter was spot on in ticking off Dr Mahathir for his biasness of only focusing on China-related businesses when “half of the LG (lower ground) floor (of Pavilion Bukit Jalil) is dedicated to Japan where kana and kanji are littered around”.
As one observant commenter put it, the witty Dr Mahathir is a genius in the political warfare as evident in his befriending DAP yet both sides no longer see eye-to-eye today. – Nov 20,2024
Main image credit: bigpost_eatplayfun/Instagram
