A Facebook post by the official page of PAS Petaling Jaya was met with instant backlash recently and prompted its admin to urgently delete it.
In the now-deleted post, PAS Petaling Jaya shared a video of Umno Sabah leaders attending the political party's event in Kunak, Tawau, which was notably attended by Sabah Umno Chief and Member of Parliament (MP) for Kinabatangan Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
PAS shares a video showing Sabah Umno leaders joining local women dancing
The video then showed several women performing a dance while wearing traditional Bajau attires.
As they continued dancing, Umno Sabah leaders, including Bung, then approached and happily handed them Ringgit banknotes, which they put in between their fingers.
In an apparent dig at Bung and Umno Sabah, PAS Petaling Jaya wrote “Generous” in the caption, while on the overlaid text of the video, they wrote in the Kelantanese dialect,
“Allahuakbar. What has become of Malaysia?”
Well, based on the captions, it doesn't take a genius to understand what the post was trying to insinuate, especially since it showed a political nemesis clearly handing money to the rakyat.
There's one problem, though. A huge and glaring problem.
The post exposed PAS for being ignorant about other cultures, as what was depicted in the video is actually the Igal Igal dance, the traditional dance by the Bajau people native to Sabah.
The Igal Igal dance, a traditional performance by the Bajau people native to Sabah
In case you're not familiar, the Igal Igal dance is usually performed by the Bajau people during Regatta Lepa or the Sambulayang Festival, as well as during weddings.
Igal literally translates to English as ‘dance’, and during weddings, it is customary for dancers to perform in front of the bride and groom.
Furthermore, it is also customary for guests to approach the dancers and give ‘sabod’ to the performers by putting money in between their fingers.
In Bajau traditional culture, this is considered a sign of respect and a way to express thanks to the dancers.
You can read more about this unique and vibrant tradition here.
Sabahans bash PAS for insulting the traditional dance
Back to the now-deleted post by PAS Petaling Jaya, the video they shared was actually this TikTok post by @demisabah.com manipulated to depict Umno Sabah and Bung Moktar in a bad light.
In what can only be called a pathetic attempt at doing so, PAS ended up insulting the colourful Bajau tradition, and Sabahans took to the comments to call them out on it.
However, despite Sabahans pointing out that Bung was only following the Igal Igal dance tradition, some PAS supporters in the comments still defended the post, saying that the women were engaging in ‘immoral’ activities by dancing in front of the crowd.
Given the backlash it received, PAS Petaling Jaya rushed to delete the post and pretend that it was never posted.
Of course, as they say, everything you post online is permanent, and many Malaysians still took note of the deleted video and called PAS Petaling Jaya out on it, as can be seen in the above comment.
Moreover, there are others who managed to share the video before it was deleted, including the Facebook user below, who bashed the political party by saying,
“Dear PAS supporters, stop being an Islamic political party with the mask of Gog and Magog. Do you even understand why Bung Moktar did that? It's a tradition by the Bajau people during the [Igal Igal] dance as a form of appreciation. Your statement sounds as if you have lost your religion. Really deviant.”
PAS has never won a seat in East Malaysia
Well, this disastrous PR by PAS Petaling Jaya just goes to show why the political party has never won a seat in Sabah, or Sarawak too, for that matter.
Historically, PAS only had one sole assemblyperson in Sabah, Aliakbar Gulasan, who is currently serving and only got the position by being appointed to it by the Sabah Government in 2020.
If such ignorance and lack of respect for other ethnicities and cultures continues, East Malaysia will surely continue to reject PAS and their divisive politics.
So, what do you guys think of the whole situation? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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