Since Covid-19 hit and mass gatherings were banned, from the shanties where men in ‘kopiah’, sarung and grey beards sit to chit-chat, to hip food courts where ‘teh tarik’ is served in a beer tower, the biggest party in town is “Bossku”.
Many of the urban, progressive middle-class cannot fathom how a convicted felon is loved, cheered and adored everywhere he goes.
Call it absurd, folly or farce but for the ‘marhaen’ (common people) this time; race, creed or religion did not matter. What was perceived was that this man is generous, and that is fine even though he has been deemed to plunder the nation's coffers.
The Chinese came out in droves to the oldest temple in Johor Bahru. On social media, Indians were seen pouring milk from the top of a 20-feet banner of Najib Abdul Razak, which is an act of veneration in Hinduism.
At Felda settlements, Najib dined with the generations of settlers, who welcomed him with open arms.
The former prime minister was labelled as shameless by Damansara MP Tony Pua. Perikatan Nasional chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin took a swipe at Najib’s visit to Pagoh, which is the former's parliamentary constituency, by jokingly asking his constituents to be wary of a robber.
I spent four days in Johor recently and visited eight different constituencies to get a feel on the ground.
After these trips to the constituencies of Perling, Paloh, Tangkak, Senai and a few others, speaking to some of the locals, I have come to the conclusion that it is a sentiment of...
The former prime minister was labelled as shameless by Damansara MP Tony Pua. Perikatan Nasional chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin took a swipe at Najib’s visit to Pagoh, which is the former's parliamentary constituency, by jokingly asking his constituents to be wary of a robber.
I spent four days in Johor recently and visited eight different constituencies to get a feel on the ground.
After these trips to the constituencies of Perling, Paloh, Tangkak, Senai and a few others, speaking to some of the locals, I have come to the conclusion that it is a sentiment of...