A PICTURE paints a thousand words, it is often said, but those words aren’t necessarily positive or even complementary.
This appears to be the case surrounding a billboard purportedly along a highway heading into the City Centre from Rawang.
According to X user Cai (@cairel_anwar), it has been three years since the unity government has been in Putrajaya but this is the first time he has seen a billboard that is so unashamedly sycophantic.
The billboard depicts PKR vice-president Datuk Seri Ramanan Ramakrishnan proudly posed next to his boss, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, with the slogan “Negara Ini Dibina Bersama-Sama Rakyat: Demi Melindingi Semua” (literally, “This Country is Built Together with Its People: Towards Protecting All”).
The disgusted reaction of the poster spoke volumes as he proclaimed that “MIC habits and attitudes should be kept far away from PKR”, alluding to the Sungai Buloh MP’s past connections with the Barisan Nasional (BN) component party.
The poster also tagged the Human Resources Minister for good measure to underline the message of contempt for such “bootlicking” tactics.
In case anyone is not up to date on domestic politics, there has been a widely reported split within the PKR camp between Ramanan and former party deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli.
This clash of party strongmen has been seen as indicative of a party at war with itself and will have a part to play come the 16th General Election (GE16).
The negative sentiment seemed to spill over into the comments as well with many political observers unimpressed with this less-than-subtle propaganda.
One commenter sarcastically reminded that a certain unnamed person – alluding to PMX – had previously declared that such billboards were a waste of public funds and that such practice should be consigned to the dustbin while another highlighted the reminder for Malaysians to be frugal (in light of current global energy crisis).
Editor’s Note: PMX explicitly ordered government agencies and departments to stop putting up billboards featuring his image and the “Malaysia Madani” slogan, citing them as a waste of funds in April 2023.
What exactly was the benefit of pasting Ramanan’s face in extra-large dimensions, wondered one perplexed observer. Where were the pro-Madani cyber troopers to defend this waste of money, he further queried.
Did this exercise make the Madani administration look more ethical? The laughter in itself should provide a clue to what this obviously pro-opposition netizen thought of it all.
The utter uselessness of the billboard was a constant theme in the thread with quite a few unhappy that taxpayer’s monies were being frittered away on such advertisements.
Accusations of bootlicking were many with some using images, caricatures and emojis to underline their contempt.
It was also pointed out that this PMX-worshipping billboard would not have been erected without tacit approval from the top.
It was thought that such practices went out the window with the change in government. Alas, it seems that bad old habits persist. When will the nation change from this attitude of placing politicians on a pedestal, it was lamented.
Such billboards were common during past administrations and there is a tacit belief that the Madani government would bring about change, not least regarding these state-sponsored syiok sendiri (self-aggrandising) billboards.
It was surmised that such billboards were a sign for voters to do the necessary at the next polls.
Regardless of partisan politics, it is NOT a good look when electoral pledges are not kept. When a simple promise not to waste public funds on such frivolities is not adhered to, public confidence begins to wane as it seems to a case of ‘new boss same as the old boss’.
To put this more crudely, this is a tell-take sign of an impending collapse of the government of the day.
- Focus Malaysia
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