Adnan, forget English, learn humility instead

YOURSAY ‘If you are so confident Pakatan will never win, you should be confident to mean it literally, for you will never need to cut off your ears.'

Pahang MB: Look, I didn't mean it literally

Onyourtoes: Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob, figures of speech exist in many languages, not just in English. Are you now saying our criticism of you was due to our lack of understanding of simile, metaphor or hyperbole? You never know how to say sorry to get over with it, for this is not who you are.

Has it ever occurred to you that it is more due to your lack of discernment of what those criticisms are all about? By the way, looking at the way you speak English, you could have just checked a few minutes earlier what simile, metaphor or hyperbole are all about.

Despite being the MB, I think you are not a very logical and thoughtful person. In politics, voters' allegiance is not a given. It is for the politicians to convince and it is for the voters to respond.

What you said about cutting your ears off is not a sign of confidence, but a defiant statement aimed at insulting the voters (those who support you as well as those who have yet to make up their minds).

You take for granted those who supported you and you insulted and belittled those who are against you politically. Politics 101 for you: never insult your opponents. Respect them. Because of the way you responded, this issue will snowball. Read my lips.

Disgusted: Adnan wants to teach everyone English, it seems. He did all the chest-thumping and garbage-spewing from his mouth and now suddenly realises that what he said in a power-crazy stupor has backfired. And then tries to back out from his claim.

It was all hot air and rhetoric to make him look like a hero among Umno members. In reality, he will be a chicken when cornered to carry out his challenge if defeated. It's like he is not so confident at all about winning in Pelangai. The rakyat of Bentong should show him and Liow Tiong Lai the doors out of the Pahang state assembly and Putrajaya.

Changeagent: What about jumping into the Pahang river? Did Adnan mean it literally or is it as figuratively as cutting off his ears? 

The Mask: If you are so confident that Pakatan Rakyat will never win, you should be confident to mean it literally because you will never need to cut off your ears. By the way, please don't corrupt the English language. The figure of speech is meant to convey and emphasise a point. And who are you to teach these people English?

Disbeliever: Hey, Adnan is not only good in figurative language, he is also good in sign language. Dirty signs, that is. This Pahang MB is the one who showed a dirty sign with his hands in one of the videos I saw. A real fine example of a gentleman and an MB.

By the way, Adnan, this is not a compliment, it is sarcasm. I'm sure you know this, right, since your English is Oxford English and you articulate in Received Pronunciation (RP)?

YHJ: I have a major in English and I can tell you the only meaning of "I will cut off my ears" means just that. So don't try to be too smart for your own good and invent this so-called figure of speech to back out. Perhaps you should cut off your tongue because it is certainly landing you in deep shit.

Odin: Yes, Adnan, I'd agree with you that you were only speaking figuratively. But we have two problems here. One is that the command of English in some people is too low to have recognised it. But you can't, if you so wish to, blame them. You blame the education system in Malaysia.

The other problem is your actions in the past - in particular, making, it seems, a rude sign with your hands and threatening to close down all the manufacturing facilities in Gebeng. The former smacks of you as uncultured and, therefore, most unbecoming of someone holding your post, and the latter, of arrogance.

Thus, very many have jumped on you. Perhaps they might have been more forgiving were you a cultured, humble person.

APA INI?: Seriously, this Adnan needs to hire an English teacher to start again. Talks like a 'Spanish cow', though I think that's not literally Spanish. ‘Shahrizat cows' will do in case Adnan is working out this figure of speech.

Anon_1064: Sounds to me like a coward backing out from a self-made challenge.

Chipmunk: We know what 'figurative speech' is but really, Adnan, will you ever give off your ears should the BN fail to secure the Bentong seat? Or are you so confident because Umno has blinded everyone with corrupt money?

Ngecui: Adnan is far more qualified to teach and promote lewd hand signs than English, lah. Don't we all know that?

Dood: Don't blame him so much, lah. He is only following in the lead of the big bosses of Umno or BN. Flip-flopping is their style.

Ksn: Please give this man a chance. Maybe he meant it, as there is such an expression.
Maybe, he realised his over-confidence was misplaced, or arrogance, if you like, and maybe he realised that Umno Baru-BN's chances there are not as good as he portrayed.

So when that party gets beaten there, someone is going to ask him to do what he promised, so he had to plan to withdraw. He realised his mistake, but he did not deny saying what he said, unlike other Umno people.

Telestai!: Adnan, tell us when we should take you seriously? How do we know you are speaking figurative or literally? Give us a clue, please.

Bystander: This arrogant MB sounds as if he is very proficient in the English language. What a joke! I would really like to check if he actual passed English in SPM.

What a weak attempt to manage damage control of his foul mouth. So, it was also another misunderstanding of those who were angry with his obscene hand gesture? So unbecoming of a menteri besar!

Anonymous #69337042: See... about-turn already. It is this flip-flop again that is really pathetic. Anyway, it is typical of these people who are from the same party.

Ally Meme: In other words, Adnan is hedging his bets that the DAP might actually win there. Some confidence, there.

Anonymous_40a7: One word: chicken!

Dark Knight: From Adnan's retraction, two things are clear: That he must be one of those whom former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently called cowards, and he must have now realised BN will lose the Bentong seat. Cowardice and idiocy know no bounds.

Saddened: Figuratively, I have heard of "to cut my fingers" meaning to stop gambling and "to cut my tongue", meaning to tell the truth. But "to cut my...", it means "I am cocksure".

Kgen: I don't think he knows how to use figurative speech. Used in the proper way, there should no doubt that you are expressing something figuratively, like "I flew there when I heard the news". However, Adnan does know how to deny.

Headhunter: Not so confident of winning after all, eh? Talk big only, now must eat humble pie. Nobody says "cut off ear" in English unless he means it literally, so don't try to bluff your way out. People usually say "cut off finger". Of course, the Malaysian version is crude.

Fair Play: As MB, you should show a good example of what it takes to be a leader.

Bumiasli: This is typical of BN politicians. Talk big but when cornered, twist and turn their statements. If you are a man of your words, you must cut off your ears and jump into the Pahang river. And don't say that is also a figure of speech. Okay, if BN wins, I'll shave my head. Figure of speech, lah. - Malaysiakini