For Our Bapa Fesyen PM: To Wear Or Not To Wear Burberry, That’s The Question.

For Our Bapa Fesyen PM: To Wear Or Not To Wear Burberry, That’s The Question. But when to do so is equally important.

By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright June 2022

At a recent Jom Heboh Carnival in Putrajaya, our ‘Bapa Fesyen Malaysia’ PM created another “heboh” (excitement) of his own with his red short-sleeve “slogan silk organza” Burberry T-shirt costing RM6,900.

Instead of the event, what caught our attention was the red, slogan-printed short sleeve T-shirt that he was wearing when he said, “The decision (not to float chicken price) was made after listening to the people’s views. The decision is for the benefit of the people, not a U-turn,” said the flamboyant PM.

But his T-shirt showed there was a disconnect between what he said and what he wore. At RM6,900 it was almost three times the average monthly income of an ordinary Malaysian. Imagine how many chickens one could buy with or without a ceiling price with that kind of money.

MalaysiaKini reported that Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil had expressed his disapproval of our Bapa Fesyen Malaysia PM.

We agree with Fahmi that now is not the time to be extravagantly flamboyant and fashionable “when more and more people are suffering due to the rising cost of goods”.

The PM cannot be so “daft” to go so far as to insulate himself from the real world faced by the rakyat by robing himself in fancy clothing.

Similarly, many fellow Malaysians are saying that the cost of living in the country is getting higher, while the prime minister chooses to wear expensive and branded shirts.

This is the second time the PM is seen sporting a Burberry designer shirt. When he met Singapore’s PM in Tokyo not too long ago, he was in another blue and black Burberry’s RM5,500 designer shirt that drew a lot of negative views.

Fahmi is not the only MP who chose to remark on the PM’s lack of sensitivity to the rakyat’s plight. Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng also commented that while the PM has every right to wear what he wants, he should be setting an example by choosing to wear clothes from our very own local fashion designers.

Yet Ismail’s strongest supporter Nazri Aziz rationalised that the PM’s wearing of expensive or branded clothing is not unusual because as a PM he receives many gifts in the form of clothing and other branded and expensive items.

But Nazri too appears insensitive to the feelings of the rakyat in general. Why not advise him to wear those elsewhere, not at a public function where there are many poor and underprivileged gathered.

Why not act humble like Jokowi the president of Indonesia known for his simplicity in everything that he wears and does.

Ask any Malaysian between Ismail and Jokowi whom they admire more. Many would easily choose the less flamboyant Jokowi who prefers to wear ordinary clothing compared with Ismail who falls for expensive Burberry or Swiss Piguet watches.

For a PM whom we have chosen to crown as Bapa Fesyen Malaysia the question is not just to wear or not to wear Burberry’s but more importantly when and on what occasion to be seen wearing one.

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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