Muda pulls campaign stickers over worry some voters won't get sarcasm
JOHOR POLLS | Muda has pulled stickers that took a jab at the culture of corruption from its Johor campaign over concerns that some voters won't get the sarcasm.
The sticker which read: "Western culture is not our culture, our culture is corruption", is a sarcastic dig at political leaders who often condemned "western culture" but were silent on issues of corruption.
Muda's Bukit Kepong candidate Afiqah Zulkifli said the stickers were used during...
JOHOR POLLS | Muda has pulled stickers that took a jab at the culture of corruption from its Johor campaign over concerns that some voters won't get the sarcasm.
The sticker which read: "Western culture is not our culture, our culture is corruption", is a sarcastic dig at political leaders who often condemned "western culture" but were silent on issues of corruption.
Muda's Bukit Kepong candidate Afiqah Zulkifli said the stickers were used during the ‘Tangkap Azam Baki’ demonstration in Kuala Lumpur last month which protested the MACC chief commissioner's alleged lack of accountability over shares he owned in public-listed companies worth over RM1 million.
However, Afiqah said some voters in the constituency could take the words on the stickers literally - thinking that Muda advocates corruption.
"Not everyone will understand the double meaning so I don't think the stickers should be distributed.
"Many people will think literally and in a direct manner," she told journalists when asked about the stickers which have been distributed in some areas.
Afiqah said she had since instructed the stickers to be dropped from their campaign material.
The Malay-majority seat Afiqah is contesting falls within Perikatan Nasional chairperson and Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin's sphere of influence.
Muhyiddin is the MP for Pagoh, where one of the state seats within the federal constituency is Bukit Kepong.
Afiqah faces much more formidable opponents, including PN's Shahruddin Jamal who is a former menteri besar and BN's Ismail Mohamad, an Umno veteran. Pejuang has also fieded Md Taib Md Suhut in the seat.
Bukit Kepong comprises 69 percent Malays, 27 percent Chinese and one percent Indian.
In the last general election, Bersatu's Shahruddin won the seat with a 1,273-vote majority.
It is one of six seats Harapan has assigned Muda to contest in even though the party is not part of the opposition coalition.
Muda vice-president Lim Wei Jiet, who is contesting in Tenang, told Malaysiakini the stickers were meant to be sarcasm against corruption but admitted that it could send the wrong message for some people.
"It is framed in a sarcastic way, but can be interpreted wrongly. It is our fault for framing it that way, but we can do better.
"I'm sorry if it conveys a wrong message. Muda certainly does not stand for corruption," he said.
Meanwhile, Muda's Larkin candidate Rasid Abu Bakar was offering the sticker free of charge.
"The intelligent will understand sarcasm. Those who do not are the target.
"Drop by the Larkin operations centre to pick up your anti-corruption sticker. It will be up to you what to do with it," he said after putting an advertisement out on Instagram.
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