Chef Wan Reveals His Honest Thoughts About Penang After Chatting With A Taxi Driver
Netizens have praised the celebrity chef for speaking up "without fear or favour".
By Tang Ruxyn — 11 Apr 2017, 06:15 PM
A local celebrity chef's conversation with a taxi driver in Penang has caught the attention of netizens recently
Datuk Redzuawan Ismail, or popularly known as Chef Wan, uploaded a 30-second video on his Instagram account a few days ago.
The video was about him talking to a taxi driver, whose face cannot be seen in the video, about the developments in the Pearl of the Orient.
"My taxi conversation to airport now... listen to what Penang is like now," he wrote in the caption of the post.
In the video, Chef Wan can be heard asking the taxi driver what tourists have been saying about the state
According to the taxi driver, tourists said that there have been "too much changes" in Penang.
"First of all, very clean. Old buildings are refurbished. Very beautiful," the man replied when asked by Chef Wan what tourists thought about the state.
Chef Wan then suggested that perhaps 80% of Penangites are very happy with the progress, to which the taxi driver replied, "Lebih (more)."
The taxi driver then went on to say that everybody is happy, as the city is more beautiful and cleaner now than it was under the previous administration.
He added that he is not bothered about the religion, ethnicity or skin colour of a person, but only the ability of the leader to bring good changes.
"I'll follow whoever that is good," the taxi driver told Chef Wan.
Chef Wan said that good governance will speak for itself when tourists and normal citizens enjoy the things that are provided
"Only id##ts and bad apples see all of this, as each has their own agenda and supposedly fear of this and that. However, if, you are honest and want to bring changes to the nation, you will do it anyway despite all propaganda that we see among politicians today," he wrote in his post.
The 59-year-old said that politicians should learn to stop putting each other down and that racism was "nauseating".
He added that these are stumbling blocks that are hindering the nation from reaching greater heights.
He added that the rakyat can evaluate the situation themselves and see through the sick and filthy political games
Chef Wan stressed that he is neither pro or anti-government, adding that he loves his country, race, and religion and is incapable of holding grudges or feeling envious.
"I just want to do what I need to do for my country, despite the fact that others refused to help me and put me down," his post read.
The post has received more than 35,000 views and 175 comments as of today.
Many netizens took notice of Chef Wan's opinion and praised him for his blunt honesty on the issue
They said that both Chef Wan and the taxi driver had made "fair and moderate" comments about the current state government's administration.
However, others think that their conversation should be taken with a pinch of salt as it could be an "isolated" case. They argued that there are many issues that the current administration has failed to address, and that Chef Wan and the taxi driver's view does not represent the sentiments of Penangites.
