Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's example of a chicken entrepreneur called “Wan Azizah” drew loud exclamations from the opposition in Parliament today.

In his Budget 2018 speech, Najib expressed both sympathy and amazement on the resilience of an individual named "Wan Azizah."

"Wan Azizah, better known as Kak Wan, has gone through so many challenges in her life.

"But due to her patience, she continued to persevere.

“It seems that Kak Wan is here with us today," he added, to loud protests from the opposition bench.

Najib, who was grinning widely by then, clarified that he was referring to a Wan Azizah Wan Salleh (photo), a member of the public sitting in the gallery.

"She's an example of an Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia recipient who is successful," he said, to more loud exclamations from the opposition.

Smiling gleefully, Najib admitted that the story of Kak Wan was "interesting."

"She has successfully become a millionaire in chicken breeding and processing using a startup capital of only RM500 from Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia," he said, referring to the microfinancing programme.

The opposition was understandably upset as opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is also popularly known as Kak Wan.

Najib's reference to "the challenges faced in her life" also seemed to be interpreted as being a not unintentional reference to her husband, de facto Pakatan Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is currently serving time on a sodomy conviction.

Malaysiakini's Budget 2018 microsite

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