Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has found himself in hot water once again for his behaviour towards a teenage student, this time with netizens labelling him as a “bully”.
According to Malaysia Now, Malaysians have expressed their dissatisfaction on social media with Anwar’s response to a teenager who asked whether the government planned to do away with the bumiputera quota system.
The prime minister’s reaction was seen as bullying, overshadowing the student’s genuine and non-political question.
During a dialogue session at Kolej Matrikulasi Pulau Pinang in Kepala Batas yesterday, the student requested that she be given time to explain some context before posing her question.
“When will the quota system be abolished and replaced by a meritocracy system? My friends and I, as well as others that are not known, are affected by this quota system, all because they don’t have bumiputera status,” she was quoted as saying by Malaysia Now.
However, Anwar cut her off before she could explain and then said he had already answered a similar question previously.
Afterwards, he said the student should have refrained from discussing the quota system and instead should have pointed out specific cases of non-Malays being denied entry, allowing the government to address the situation.
He also allegedly criticised the student for being unfair to bumiputera students in rural schools.
In the end, he segued his answer to politics by stating that the abolition of bumiputera quotas in higher-learning institutions will result in both Pakatan Harapan and BN facing defeat in all future elections.
According to Free Malaysia Today, the Harapan chairperson further emphasised that advocating for the system’s abolishment would “ignite turmoil in this country.”
“If Anwar says scrap the quota system, we will lose all elections in this country, and you will suffer more (if the country is run) by PAS and Bersatu.
“Understand that,” he was quoted as saying by FMT.
Last month, Anwar attended a town hall session in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, where he replied to a question by the Form Six student by praising her for being articulate and saying he would have asked for her number were he a younger man.
He was blasted for his remarks, with several lawmakers deeming his words inappropriate and sexist.
Muda deputy president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz urged Anwar to publicly apologise, stating that he could have complimented the student without objectifying her.
He was also called out by Bersatu’s Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif, who subsequently pushed for the women leaders in his coalition as well as the government to refrain from being passive over his actions.
Following the brickbats, Fadhlina Sidek stated that the prime minister’s controversial remark to the student was misconstrued but refused to comment further on the matter. – Malaysiakini