KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal sparked outrage among netizens when he posted a Facebook status that was deemed racist yesterday morning.
The Machang MP had posted a picture of him having breakfast at a roti canai stall in the constituency with the caption:
“Ambo lebih suko roti canai Melayu berbanding mamak. Jeliro benar! (I like the Malay-made roti canai better than the ones made by the mamak (Indian Muslims). Very delicious).”
In a promotional stunt, Wan Fayhsal also invited people to visit the roti canai stall located at Bukit Bakar, Kemuning, Kelantan.
However, the former deputy minister’s attempt subsequently backfired, as netizens called him out for including racist elements in his post.
Facebook user Wira Ghani said: “That is not a nice thing to say; don’t compare. You can say, I love eating roti canai at this shop, full stop.”
User Lna Sanda said: “For me, as long as the owner of the shop is Muslim, halal, and the food preparation is hygienic, then I must support them regardless of their race. We are all Muslims”, while user Bah Geh Leh commented: “You even name the race of who made the roti canai; just say which shop is the best; don’t need to mention canai Melayu, canai mamak”.
Political observer and activist Liyana Marzuki also shared Wan Fayshal’s post, saying that the latter’s post showed that he had “poor diplomacy”.
“This is the quality of PN’s future leaders and former deputy ministers. How are people supposed to believe that you can be a minister?
“You are not an ordinary person, you are a young political leader. There are things that you don’t have to announce on social media; more so that your party has been targeted as a Malay-racist party,” she said.
Liyana said the Facebook post was inappropriate and had an element of racism that is sensitive amid state election campaigning.
Despite the criticism, there were only a handful of netizens who defended Wan Fayhsal, saying he was merely stating his personal taste in roti canai. – August 3, 2023