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Burberry for the PM, Louis Vuitton for His Minister and Berluti Shoes Will Do Just Fine for a Menteri Besar
By Mihar Dias
(C) Copyright July 2022
Burberry’s shirts worn by the PM on two separate events recently could be gifts. Nazri a former minister said that the PM had many admirers who chose to show their appreciation by giving him those branded wear.
Neither should we question a pair of 37K Berluti crocodile leather shoes spotted by reporters on the feet of a MB that also turned out to be a gift from a happy and satisfied dignitary.
On the other hand, there was no mention of the Louis Vuitton Clutch bag that a minister on a jihad against inflation carried to a Pasar Tani or an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 44MM Blue Cameo priced at RM292.553 on the wrist of the PM as being gifts from adoring fans. They must have been purchased by the two politicians themselves from their hard-earned income.
The rakyat, mainly the B40 who watch the news and observe these materialistic displays of branded consumer products imported from overseas paraded before them by their political leaders, are always in awe and often wonder why they need to flaunt such affluence.
They do not question the right of these people to put on whatever they own, either self-acquired or gifted by some royalty from a rich Middle Eastern kingdom or an admirer closer to home.
But they are wary of such overly pretentious behaviour amongst their own leaders who are becoming less sensitive to the plight of their own people who have to make ends meet and face rising prices and shortages of goods on a daily basis.
Most of the B40 who are feeling the pinch of the spiralling cost of food in the country are Malays.
Most conspicuous of these politicians are also Malays which obviously shows a disconnect between the leaders and those whom they claim to lead.
When the rakyat speaks out over these obtrusive behaviours they are regarded as being slanderous against their leaders.
However, the leaders themselves refuse to acknowledge the obscenity of their own behaviours by flaunting material wealth before the rakyat who are in dire straits.
These may be the same leaders who have failed to curtail inflation and manage the supply chains effectively to help alleviate the suffering of the rakyat.
Would it be facetious then to say that it is typical of Malay leadership to be showy about material things?
Leaders from other ethnic groups seem more subtle when it comes to flaunting material wealth, like fancy wardrobes and large vehicles or luxurious houses in upmarket residential neighbourhoods.
One example that comes to mind is a house being built on four lots in Bukit Damansara by a UMNO leader that is now the talk of the town. Its size is an eyesore sticking out like a sore thumb on an otherwise quiet street. Would it be an over generalisation then to lump all Malay leaders-cum-politicians as materialistic and showy once they gain positions of power and privilege?
Would it be equally correct to assume that they are rather insensitive to the feelings of their followers and their own poor fellowmen when they reach the pinnacle of power?
The PM, jihad against inflation minister and newly minted MB who appear oblivious to the feelings of the people may not see any reason why they should not put on display their material possessions for the whole nation to gape in awe.
So, it was not the shoes, shirts, bags or watches that become the envy of the rakyat but it is the obscene display of these materialistic objects that make them sick to the stomach without ever having to be informed whether they were self-acquired by their leaders themselves or gifted by an adoring fan from Malaysia or abroad.
Mihar Dias is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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