Ambassador's wife accused of insulting Jose Rizal

Zainab Abd Kader, the wife of Malaysia's ambassador to the Philippines Ibrahim Saad, has caused controversy over a July 16 tweet that is deemed to have insulted Philippine national hero Jose Rizal.

Her remark was called into question in an article by writer and columnist Jarius Bondoc, posted on thePhilippine Starwesbite last night, who said the tweet has sullied Rizal's name.

'Inshaallah '@BikMama2U: @datozainab Biasala tu, @anwaribrahim mmg pro-Kristian, pemuja Jose Rizal si Melayu kafir tu! Oh ya, jgn lupa...' reads the tweet, which Malaysiakini verified is in Zainab's Twitter account timeline.

('Allah willing '@BikMama2U: @datozainab That is normal @anwaribrahim is pro-Christian and worships the Malay infidel Jose Rizal! Oh ya don't forget...')

The tweet was in response to a Twitter message from @BikMama2U, a well-known spoof account masquerading as premier Najib Abdul Razak's wife Rosmah Mansor.

It is not apparent why Zainab has been blamed for the re-tweet when her only response was 'Inshaallah' to a re-tweet of an entry by @BikMama2U.

The issue was picked up by Eekmal Ahmad, political aide to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim who tweeted: 'Isteri Duta Malaysia ke Filipina hina Wira Filipina Jose Rizal dlm tweetnya? Jika benar ini krn tak tau etika diplomatik philstar.com/Article.aspx?a…'

('The wife to the Malaysian Ambassador to Philippines insulted Philipine hero Jose Rizal(left) in her tweet? If this is true, it is because ignorance of diplomatic ethics ...')

Eekmal went on to ask pose questions about the alleged indiscretion and started to post the history of Rizal on his Twitter.

Anwar, a self-confessed fan of Rizal, is due to deliver a lecture at the University of the Philippines-Diliman on Friday on the influences of Rizal and Ninoy Aquino on Asean leadership.

Zainab's response

In another tweet, however, Zainab dismissed Bondoc's allegations as a smear attempt by 'a friend of Anwar'.

'@eekmalahmad mula2 saya X faham apa yg sedang berlaku.Rupanya Ada tulisan sahabat anwar di philippines memburuk nama Saya.truth wil prevail'

('@eekmalahmad at first, I do not understand what is happening. It seem that the writing of a friend of Anwar in the Philippines is smearing my name. Truth will prevail')

The issue has become the hot topic on social networks, with BN and Pakatan Rakyat supporters insulting one another and defending their respective factions.

The twitter profile for @BikMama2U said the account owner is the 'Husband of the Prime Minister of Malaysia', a jibe often used by opposition supporters to describe Rosmah(left).

The spoof Twitter account is one of many jokes at her expense, especially after the government's insistence in dubbing her the 'First Lady of Malaysia'. - Malaysiakini