[VIRAL] Oh No, Everyone Is Laughing At Najib's Kangkung Speech

In protest of price hikes, a group of 15 people in Bukit Mertajam "treated" Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to 10kg of kangkung (water spinach) on 15 Jan 2014.

They stuffed the vegetable into the mouth of a mock figure of Najib made of styrofoam while singing a modified version of the popular children's song "Lenggang-lenggang Kangkung" to make fun of his statement.

themalaysianinsider.com

Machang Bubok assemblyman Lee Khai Loon, who organised the flashmob, said it was done to raise awareness about the price hikes which are burdening the people.

"The federal government has a duty to prevent price hikes. It has the power to control subsidies and to determine the price of essentials like the power tariff "However, it seems that the government prefers to wash its hands off by saying that it should not be blamed for price hikes," he said.

themalaysianinsider.com

Over 3,000 people gathered near here Saturday to protest a presumed insult of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak by DAP supporters on 18 Jan 2014.

State Umno Liaison Committee deputy chairman, Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the protest, with had participation from members of non-governmental organisations and Malay welfare bodies, was held as the "patience of the Malays has been stretched to the limit over such unethical actions".

"We can differ in opinions but we don't have go to the extent of insulting others.

"The action of the Machang Bubuk assemblyman was not only rude but also uncouth,"

Angry that Lee, a PKR assemblyman, had insulted Najib by stuffing kangkung into an effigy resembling the leader, the mob took to the streets chanting "Allahu Akbar" and "Hidup Melayu" (Long live the Malays) as they marched about 1km towards the Sunway Carnival Mall with banners. Other banners had messages like "Insulting the PM is like insulting the Malays", "Penang Malays survive by eating kangkung", "ABCD - Asal Bukan Cina DAP" and "DAP is the enemy of Islam".

themalaysianinsider.com

The group claimed that the actions of Machang Bubuk assemblyman Lee Khai Loon and a group of DAP supporters were unbecoming, as they had stuffed kangkung (water spinach) into the mouth of a plywood cut-out resembling Najib at a night market in Machang Bubuk on Wednesday.

The continuous ridicule of Datuk Seri Najib Razak over his statement on the price of Kangkung (water spinach) may lead to racial riots like what happened in May 13, 1969, said Perkasa.

themalaysianinsider.com

The Malay rights group information chief Muhammad Zahid Md Arip said the kangkung remark made by the prime minister should not be blown out of proportion.
"He is our prime minister. He should be respected as he is the leader of the country. What is wrong about him using kangkung as an example?

"You have to remember that eventhough the vegetable can be found by the roadside, it is expensive. Now the price of kangkung has gone down. When Putrajaya spent millions of ringgit to help the flood victims, no one said anything, but the kangkung issue has received wide coverage," said Zahid.

themalaysianinsider.com

"Another May 13 racial riot may occur if people have no respect for the prime minister by overplaying the kangkung issue. This can ruin the country. I do not want May 13 to happen again but it could happen if this issue is overblown," he said.

Some Umno and Malay NGO members over the weekend took to the streets in Penang with provocative banners, including one asking if the state's ruling coalition wanted another May 13. One banner read "Because of DAP's leader’s mouth, May 13, 1969 happened... Want some more?"

News emerged on blogs that police detained Wong on Thursday over the song that was posted on Youtube with footage of the Prime Minister's remarks on the price of kangkung. PKR-backed group Jingga 13 coordinator Fariz Musa posted a tweet saying Wong was arrested by police over the song. He said the posting was based on rumours.

City police acting CID chief Asst Comm Khairi Ahrasa confirmed that Wong has not been arrested.

“We are not involved in any investigation on the matter,” he told The Star Online.

Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Mohd Adnan Abdullah also confirmed that the state police were not investigating the musician.

Since kangkung took the world by storm recently, we thought this low profile 'sayur' deserves some sort of recognition.

This Friday, you can pay for a cup of black coffee with kangkung. Seriously.

facebook.com

From 1pm onwards today, we'll be giving away kangkung when you buy a cup of black or white (milk) coffee.

Where : Artisan Coffee at Section 13, PJ & Bangsar Village.
When : Friday 17 January. 1pm onwards (till the last kangkung)

facebook.com

"It seems like the block has been lifted. From my test, the article can now be accessed through TM’s DNS and Google DNS."

Internet users in Malaysia reported difficulty accessing the specific BBC post beginning late last night (Jan 15), with timeouts occurring after a long wait for the page to load, while the rest of the BBC site remained accessible. The block seemed to have been lifted at noon today (Jan 16).

digitalnewsasia.com

In a text message, its corporate communications chief Sheikh Raffie Abdul Rahman told the online newspaper, “To my knowledge no blocking.”

digitalnewsasia.com

When referred to this article, he added, “As I said, to my knowledge no. MCMC nak block macam mana? (How can the MCMC block it?)”

digitalnewsasia.com

Netizens are tweeting that they are unable to view a BBC report on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “kangkung” remark, with many alleging that it is because of censorship.

Internet users also complained that they could not view a YouTube video of a remix of Najib's speech that as was also linked to the BBC report.
Malaysian Digest reported that the problem appeared to affect Internet users on TM's broadband network.

themalaysianinsider.com

Users also reported common workarounds to bypass local restrictions to web access, such as alternative domain name servers (DNS), to be ineffective at beating the suspected block.

malaysiandigest.com

Malaysia's prime minister is being widely lampooned on social media for a comment he made about the price of kangkung, or water spinach. That's where the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak finds himself right now. With the government under fire because of price hikes in basics like fuel and electricity, he choose to push back by highlighting a reduction in the cost of the leafy green vegetable kangkung.

bbc.co.uk

"Kangkung-gate", as it's been dubbed by some, has hit a nerve because many people are struggling with the rising cost of living, and are resentful of what they regard as corruption, and lavish spending by the government.

bbc.co.uk

Moments after a video of the prime minister was posted making the comments, the sarcasm and jokes began to trend on social media in Malaysia.

bbc.co.uk

Unsurprisingly many opposition politicians - including Anwar Ibrahim - have seized on the opportunity to join in the collective fun-poking. The story has been so big on social media that many have complained of their timelines being clogged up.

bbc.co.uk

In a video uploaded on YouTube yesterday, the Umno president questioned why the government keeps getting blamed every time prices of goods increase, but was never praised when prices came down.

malaysia-chronicle.com

At an event in Kemaman yesterday, an irate sounding Najib explained that vegetable and fish prices at times increase due to factors out of government control, such as bad weather.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's use of the humble water spinach or kangkung to explain why the government should not be blamed for the volatility of food prices has drawn ridicule on social media.

"There are times when the price of vegetables, sawi (mustard green) and kangkung goes up and there are times it comes down.

"I read in the newspaper that some prices have come down. Kangkung prices once went up and now it is down.

"When the prices come down, why are there no praises for the government? When it goes up, the government gets the blame.

"This is unfair because (such issues are determined by) the weather condition," he said, during his off-the-cuff speech.

Netizens have criticised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for his statement that the people are not thankful even though the price of kangkung (water spinach) has gone down.

themalaysianinsider.com

Najib – including members of the Cabinet – has been the subject of criticism from Netizens for coming out with statements that were deemed to be insensitive to the struggle of the people.

malaysia-chronicle.com

"I have a lot of kangkung behing my house. I will give it away for free to those who want it," said Facebook user Azizi Ademi.
"Only the price of kangkung came down, the rest are still the same," said Muhd Iqbal.

Najib's comments received flak from users in social networking sites who claimed that the PM does not understand the hardships faced by the people following the rising cost of living.

themalaysianinsider.com

Seorang pengguna Facebook, Farawahida Mohd Fauzi meluahkan rasa sedihnya kerana mempunyai perdana menteri seperti Najib, "Sedih rasa ada PM macam ini."

"Johan Raja Lawak Sedunia," kata Muhammad Nadzmi yang menyindir Najib susulan kenyataan tersebut.

themalaysianinsider.com

Isu sayur kangkung itu juga turut mendapat perhatian Ketua Penerangan Pas, Datuk Mahfuz Omar yang turut berkongsi menu makan tengahari "pilihan", pada hari ini.

"Apa menu makan tengahari anda hari ini?...saya makan kangkung masak kurma!," tulisnya.