Nga Kor Ming should have never responded to Akmal Saleh following the “those who have nothing to gain should not fight with those who have nothing to lose” rule.
Nga Kor Ming is a seasoned politician and government minister. Akmal Saleh is a relatively new politician who is trying to make a name for himself in the political field.
Had Akmal Saleh said something that did not sit with Nga Kor Ming well, Nga should have sent one of his subordinates in Dap to confront Akmal Saleh, instead of confronting Akmal Saleh directly.
He should not have confronted Akmal Saleh simply because he had nothing to gain from it. If he won the confrontation, people will just attribute it to the fact that he had the advantage of being a government minister but if he lost to Akmal Saleh, Akmal Saleh would have emerged as a giant killer.
For context, the dispute between Akmal and Nga arose because of the KK Mart “Halal ham” controversy, when the ham and cheese sandwiches that were sold in its outlets within the University Malaya campus grounds in Petaling Jaya were found to have the halal logo, although it was made out of ham.
In response to the controversy, Akmal said in a Tik Tok post on Jan 12 that : ' Ham contains pork, and the sandwich was sold at UM, where the majority of the community is Malay.
:We can accept it if it's sold for non-Malays, such as Chinese or Indian customers, but why is there a halal logo on the packaging?"
A couple of days after Akmal had made his statement, DAP vice-chairman Nga Kor Ming would wade into the controversy by taking a jab at certain quarters whom he accused of making a fuss over the matter, by saying ham simply referred to meat that had been cured.
“We have turkey ham and chicken ham, which are perfect for consumption. The same goes to root beer, which is made from sassafras root which is non-alcoholic and good to drink.
“To make an issue out of it simply shows who is the real idiot,” he said in a posting on X.
Although Nga did not name anyone in particular in his post, Akmal likely took offense to what Nga said, because he would respond towards Nga directly over the matter last Wednesday.
“Ham bukan bermaksud proses untuk buat makanan ya, kalau tak faham tanya pegawai atau boleh buka kamus. Tolong simpan sedikit kebodohan kamu itu,” he said in retort to Nga through his Facebook post.
In response to Akmal’s retort, Nga is now claiming that “A lion would never fight a fly”.
As a DAP Parliamentary leader, it is impossible for me to argue with a youth leader from UMNO. Wouldn’t that be degrading myself?” Nga would say to indicate that he will not respond to Akmal’s challenge.
Well, to that, all I will say is that like the famous 1994 Micheal Learns to Rock song, Nga is “25 minutes too late.”
It is true that it is beneath a politician of Nga’s level to engage with a junior politician and relative newcomer like Akmal, but Nga should have thought about that before engaging with Akmal in the first place.
That he is only now realising his mistake, after he has engaged with Akmal, is too late.
Had he not stepped into the mud at all with Akmal, what he said about how a lion would not fight a fly would carry meaning and register in the heart and mind of the public.
But that he is only saying it now, after he had stepped into the mud and stung by Akmal, will be taken by the public that Nga realises that he has lost to Akmal, but like the proverbial fox who claimed that that grapes it couldn't reach must be sour, he is simply saying what he is saying because he is an unsportsmanlike loser, who refuses to give Akmal the winner’s due.
Nga Kor Ming has made a mistake by engaging with Akmal. To address the mistake, he can pretend that there is no engagement with Akmal at all, or that he simply doesn’t wish to respond with Akmal because it is beneath him, but all this will do is give the impression that Akmal has defeated him.
The only option that Nga has now, is to either 1) reinforce his mistake until he can turn it into a victory or 2) stop reinforcing his mistake and cut his losses .
If Nga chooses option 1, he must use his advantage as a minister and throw everything and the kitchen sink at Akmal until Akmal surrenders or sues for peace.
Personally, I think this is a bad idea, because Akmal will probably relish any attempt by Nga to take him down, because regardless of whether he wins or loses, it will raise Akmal’s reputation in the eyes of his supporters and the people, for daring to take on a more powerful opponent, despite the fact that the opponent was doing everything he can to take Akmal down.
Also, if Nga chooses to reinforce his mistake, this problem might escalate from being a problem between two politicians, to become a problem between two parties in the unity government or even a racial issue.
This then leaves Nga option 2, which is to realise that he has made a mistake, stop reinforcing the mistake by saying something reconciliatory.
He could, for example, say something to the tune of yes, after checking with his sources, he realises that Akmal is right, in that Ham is usually associated with pork as well as cured meat, thank Akmal for correcting his mistake, and regret any misunderstanding that might have occurred due to his misunderstanding.
If Nga said that, would it look like he had lost to Akmal?
Yes.
But that is the problem with making a mistake, isn’t it? When you make a mistake, all your options will lead to losses. The only question is whether you will end up with a small loss or a big loss.
If Nga chooses option 2, his losses will be a small loss. After he stops reinforcing his mistake, the issue will die down, and though Nga’s face and pride will be slightly dented, it won’t be crushed and he will also leave with the consolation that he is a gentleman and a sportsman.
Even if the gesture does even reconciliate Nga with Akmal, at least it will buy him some time and respite, to postpone his confrontation with Akmal to a future date, where hopefully, Nga will learn his lesson and not repeat the same mistake that he had done on this round.
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