THE “slap-gate” affair gathers pace. In case anyone is not up to speed, social media is buzzing with reports of a “friendly tap on the face” that an UMNO senator administered to the grandson of the late Tok Guru.
The incident allegedly took place during Nation Empowerment Programme of Student Leaders and Senior Management of the Department of Student Affairs UiTM at the Institute of Training and Empowering Ummah (ILMU) in Janda Baik, Pahang on May 20.
A clip purportedly showed the hand of the VIP visitor – UMNO’s Beruas division head Datuk Azhar Ahmad – had made contact with the face of UiTM undergraduate Nik Alif Aiman Abdul Ariffahmi, 23, who happened to be the grandson of former Kelantan chief minister, the late Tan Sri Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.
Of course, there are conflicting versions of the episode. The senator claimed it was just a “friendly tap on the cheek to demonstrate affection” as both families knew each other.
“No slapping, physical assault or abusive act happened as alleged,” insisted the UMNO man who also pleaded with netizens to stop circulating the video which he claimed gives off the wrong impression.
Meanwhile, the aggrieved scion has claimed otherwise, alleging that things turned ugly when he had the temerity to broach subjects of a political nature with the visiting UMNO delegate.
Claiming that the family’s good name has been tarnished by this incident, the student representative council leader at his university has lodged a police report and is demanding a public apology from the senator.
For his part, the former special advisor to Perak’s chief minister has alleged this was a classic case of fitnah (malicious lies) and denies any wrongdoing.
This flash point has been gathering pace on social media. The 6.1K likes, 5.1K comments and 373 shares on current events Dramajor’s Facebook page is indicative that this alleged assault has become a rather hot topic.
For starters, there were those inclined to side with the young lad hence casting the UMNO politician as an evil, conniving character. If it wasn’t a slap, the student would not have felt the need to make a police report, argued one commenter.
A few sceptical observers were less than impressed by the explanation proffered by the senator, labelling it as “weak”.
The friendly and affectionate tap on the cheek explanation clearly didn’t wash with quite a number of commenters. Who are you to touch his cheek when he is not your kin and more so, no longer a child?
On the flipside, there were those who saw this as typical political manoeuvring with the Johor state elections just round the corner.
Why highlight this on June 1 when the incident allegedly occurred on May 20? “Only walaun (slang for dieharde PAS supporters) would swallow such anti-UMNO propaganda,” argued one disbelieving political follower.
Anther pro-UMNO commenter also queried why there was no medical evidence to back up claims of an assault. If the young man had immediately visited a doctor post-assault, there would be swelling or marks to indicate that there was indeed a blow to the face.
It does seem rather fortuitous that this incident has come to light in the wake of the Johor state assembly being dissolved.
There is certainly the belief that “slap-gate” is being played up for political mileage to discredit UMNO.
But there is also a segment that reasonably queried if a friendly gesture extends to touching a person’s cheeks when a tap on the shoulder would suffice. The feeling that this is an extremely lame excuse is strong among those who already have anti-UMNO sentiments.
As clearly seen, the veracity of this incident is very much coloured by a person’s political affiliations. Is it a ploy to derail UMNO in the upcoming Johor state elections or is it just typical behaviour from the elite classes?
As pointed out, a police report has been made and one can only hope that truth and justice prevail. – June 3, 2026
- Focus Malaysia
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