‘Guru’ Anwar goes Gen Z with ‘Slayyy’ swipe at Zahid

 The prime minister's response came after his deputy has said Umno members must keep up with young people, who used such Gen Z terms as 'slay' and 'flex'.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in a jovial mood as he arrived in New Delhi tonight to attend the summit meeting of the BRICS economic grouping. (PMO pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Gen Z language came to the fore today in an exchange between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his deputy, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who appeared to be taking swipes at each other.

In a post on social media this evening, Anwar said he had arrived in New Delhi to represent Malaysia at the BRICS summit. He said he hoped his “students” would learn how “Madani Diplomacy” was translated into practice.

“Guru has safely arrived in New Delhi, India, to represent the country on the world stage,” he wrote. “Pray that this country’s diplomatic mission achieves its objectives. May the students learn from Guru how Madani Diplomacy is put into practice,” he said, ending the post with the word “Slayyy” and a nail-polish emoji with a yellow hand and pink manicured nails.

In modern slang, “slay” can mean to look great, or be doing a great job or to exude confidence, acting fiercely, successfully, or fearlessly. It can also be used as a noun or an exclamation of strong approval (“Slay!”).

The nail-polish emoji, used at the end of a bold statement, shows one does not care what others think and is the digital equivalent of blowing on your freshly painted nails while walking away from an argument.

Anwar’s post comes hours after Zahid, who is also Umno president, used the term “guru” in referring to Anwar in a remark critical of his policies.

“Enough, guru. Listen to our voices, guru. We can do better than what the guru has done,” Zahid said in his opening speech at the Umno general assembly.

He said his criticism was not intended to provoke hostility but expressed concern over uncertainty surrounding government policies, particularly taxation.

Zahid has often been reported as having regarded Anwar as his mentor when both were in Umno in the 1990s.

In his speech at the general assembly today, Zahid also showed off his knowledge of Gen Z lingo, urging Umno’s younger members to “slay” and “flex”.

“If my young ones have ideas that are ‘slay’, don’t keep them to yourselves. Flex them. Let us see who can really bring a ‘W’ to Umno. For real, for real,” he said in a video posted by the New Straits Times.

He said Umno Youth and Puteri Umno should deal with young voters in a manner they can understand. “Do we understand the language of young people? Can we speak like this with them? This is their language now,” he said.

Zahid’s remarks about Anwar came after he denied on Sunday that his relationship with Anwar has become increasingly strained, following a Bloomberg report that tensions were worsening, with recent Cabinet meetings taking place for shorter periods than usual.

Bloomberg said the tension stemmed from Zahid’s decision for Barisan Nasional to contest against Pakatan Harapan in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections, and by DAP’s pressure for institutional reforms. - FMT