Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has found himself in hot water once again for his behaviour towards a teenage student, this time with netizens labelling him as a “bully”.
According to Malaysia Now, Malaysians have expressed their dissatisfaction on social media with Anwar’s response to a teenager who asked whether the government planned to do away with the bumiputera quota system.
The prime minister’s reaction was seen as bullying, overshadowing the student’s genuine and non-political question.
During a dialogue session at Kolej Matrikulasi Pulau Pinang in Kepala Batas yesterday, the student requested that she be given time to explain some context before posing her question.
“When will the quota system be abolished and replaced by a meritocracy system? My friends and I, as well as others that are not known, are affected by this quota system, all because they don’t have bumiputera status,” she was heard saying in a video of the event posted on Anwar’s official Facebook page.
However, Anwar cut her off before she could explain, saying he already understood the question and that he had already answered a similar question previously.
“This is an important question but you need to understand history, you need to know about the social contract...,” he said.
Afterwards, he said the student should have refrained from discussing the quota system and instead should have pointed out specific cases of non-Malays being denied entry, allowing the government to address the situation.
‘Scrapping quotas would ignite turmoil’
He also allegedly criticised the student for being unfair to bumiputera students in rural schools.
At this point, the student was heard trying to clarify her question, but was stopped by Anwar who asked her to continue listening to his explanation.
“If I wanted to satisfy you and (today) say ‘scrap the quota system’. We will lose all elections in this country and you will suffer more in this country, run by PAS and Bersatu.
“Understand that, it is important to understand that. You have many non-Malays here, and there is no quick-fix solution,” said Anwar.
Anwar insisted that he would personally instruct for the resolution of individual appeals by non-Malays but to advocate for the system’s abolishment would “ignite turmoil in this country.”
The first incident
Last month, Anwar attended a town hall session in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, where he replied to a question by the Form Six student by praising her for being articulate and saying he would have asked for her number were he a younger man.
He was blasted for his remarks, with several lawmakers deeming his words inappropriate and sexist.
Muda deputy president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz urged Anwar to publicly apologise, stating that he could have complimented the student without objectifying her.
He was also called out by Bersatu’s Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif, who subsequently pushed for the women leaders in his coalition as well as the government to refrain from being passive over his actions.
Following the brickbats, Fadhlina Sidek stated that the prime minister’s controversial remark to the student was misconstrued but refused to comment further on the matter. - Mkini
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