YOURSAY | “It’s not statesmanlike to respond by slamming those with poor BM.”
Embattled Zahid turns language into a political issue
Aries46: Kee Thuan Chye, when I read the huge front page headlines in theSun – 'Unfazed' - I immediately wondered why was Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi digging his hole deeper.
In the first place, why the need to be so defensive? It was not as if he had stolen money or worse.
It was a simple issue of his poor English delivery on the world stage, and the intelligent option for him was to either defend it if he disagreed, or to magnanimously admit it.
Not only Malaysians would have applauded him, he would have scored a huge political point in doing so. Instead Zahid, true to what many perceive him as, chose to react in arrogance, slamming those with poor command of Bahasa Malaysia, as if that caused his bungle at the UN.
This is similar to how Premier Najib Razak reacted when exposed with the 1MDB embezzlement. Instead of ordering an independent investigation, he chose to blame it on a conspiracy by his opponents to topple a democratically elected government, as if that caused the missing billions in 1MDB. What a befitting pair.
Vijay47: Kee, your well-written article again states the sentiments most Malaysians have regarding Zahid's star performance at the United Nations General Assembly, and about the man himself.
You suggest that he should have been gracious enough in the face of the wide criticism he received. Gracious? Zahid? This man is the personification of arrogance. Did it never occur to him to practise his speech a few zillion times before he strutted out to wow the world?
After the event, he still had a golden opportunity to win friends and influence people; like you said, his response, had it been: "Thank you for pointing out my rather weak presentation. I shall take immediate steps to improve”, he would have immediately got himself everyone's support and sympathy.
Oh no, this leopard can never change his bullying spots, he has to be the tough guy. You are so right, Kee, about the Mexican line, it also had me rolling around the world in laughter.
Neutral Point: That's why he can't be the premier of Malaysia. He should just admit that his English is not good. That's all.
It is not criminal, neither would it cause any harm. Is it that difficult to admit a weakness? No, right?
Anonymous 2435231475219009: The deputy prime minister should be congratulated for making the effort to give his speech in English.
The content is more important - not how he pronounces the words and articulates the sentences. With practice, he can improve. Let's not run down the man for trying.
Abasir: Kee brought up the example of Singapore leaders, many of whom are multilingual and often exceptionally fluent when on the world stage.
The reason for their remarkable language competence is their willingness to make the effort to learn, improve and continually strive to excel in all that they do.
Not so here among our leaders. Their oft-cited ‘perjuangan’ or struggle, whether for the race or religion, obviously does not include the struggle to improve their skills and competencies so vital in a borderless world.
They love all the trappings of a modern, western lifestyle - which their expensive collection of watches, cars and suits attest to.
But when it comes to more substantive elements like demonstrating communicative competence and serving as moral exemplars, both of which require sustained effort, they have no time.
This is because their semi-literate supporters do not expect them to excel - only that they keep the supply of ‘dedak’ (animal feed) flowing.
WTF: We can't blame him for using Bahasa Malaysia as excuse due to his background, but coming from Wong Chun Wai of The Star? I am glad I stopped my Star subscription.
Anonymous 1890491455255851: It was at best, a weak deflection by the DPM for his poor performance on a world stage.
I just cannot understand how any intelligent person can defend the DPM's poor use of the English language, by pointing out there are those who do not speak Bahasa Malaysia well as some sort of defence.
This reminds me that there are intelligent people in the US who support a conman like Donald Trump. It’s mind boggling.
SusahKes: Truth be told, it is not so much of Zahid's retaliation in deflecting criticism that bothers me; my gripe revolves more around the fact that editors like Wong continue to defend the indefensible, whenever it comes to anything related to Umno-BN.
Yes, I am aware who his paymasters are. But if ever MCA wonders why they continue to be loathed by voters, then look no further than Wong's op-ed. This level of servitude-based intellect is but a reflection of why MCA remains in the doldrums whenever it comes to public opinion.
Anonymous_1388029052: Zahid holds an economics degree from UM, a masters, and a PhD from UPM, and he is 64-65 years old. By right, at this age, he should be very proficient in the English language.
But he is far from it, and he doesn't even bother to take tuition to improve himself. This speaks volume about our DPM.
Meerkat: Zahid should emulate PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, in this respect. When Anwar first came onto the political scene, he couldn't speak English that well, probably similar to Zahid today.
But in a very short space of time, Anwar could more than hold himself on the international stage. How many years has Zahid been on the political scene? It appears like he will not be able to come up to Anwar's level in his lifetime.
Tooky: Give the man a break. His English is a part of Mahathir's failed education legacy.
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