Was the word "whack" as used by Culture and Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz offensive or disrespectful of the Johor royal household?

Political analyst Wan Saiful Wan Jan doesn't think so and believes that those who do are not fluent in English.

"Those focusing on the word 'whack', as used by Nazri, really need to learn English a bit more. He used the word correctly to describe the reality of the world of politics.

"And, his statement is spot on," said Wan Saiful ( photo ), who heads think tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas).

Last Saturday, Nazri told a press conference that that members of the royalty, especially Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, should be above politics and not make political statements.

However, Nazri, in his typical abrasive style, said "we will whack him" to describe how the crown prince would be castigated for meddling in politics.

Regardless of the motivation behind the warning, the tone of Nazri’s phrase had earned him the wrath of Johoreans and Johor exco member Zulkurnain Kamisan.

A police investigation against Nazri is also under way.

Tunku Ismail's "political statement" refers to his criticism of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for skipping a scheduled dialogue with NGOs on June 5.

He had described Najib as a person with "everything to hide" and thus could not attend the dialogue, which incidentally was themed "Nothing2Hide".

 

Those focusing on the word "whack" as used by Nazri Aziz really need to learn English a bit more. He used the word correctly to describe the reality of the world of politics. And his statement is spot on.

Posted by Wan Saiful Wan Jan on Sunday, 14 June 2015