SINGAPORE — An angry Malaysian lashed out on Facebook at the Singaporean government for its supposed criticism against Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who resigned as Malaysian Prime Minister on Monday (Feb 24). He was appointed interim PM by Malaysian King Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah shortly after.
Things are heating up between Malaysia and Singapore in the social media sphere. Singaporean Gilbert Louis took to Facebook on Thursday (Feb 27) to repost a rant directed against Singapore by Malaysian netizen James Tee.
“AN ANGRY MALAYSIAN’S POST ABOUT SINGAPOREAN’S CRITICISM ABOUT THEIR GOVERNMENT AND ESPECIALLY AGAINST MAHATHIR.
“I HOPE SOUL OF SINGAPORE AND MR. GCT TAKES NOTE,” wrote Mr Louis, before attaching a screen shot of Mr Tee’s original comment, which was presumably on private citizen Facebook group Soul of Singapore.
“Yup, we the good folks at Malaysia are going to attack the f*ck out of your stinking Singaporean government! And when I run for office! I cut the water supply! And send an invasion team!” he wrote.
“It’s no secret, we despise Singapore! … We in Malaysia don’t give one flying f*ck about your internal Singaporean Affairs and resent your insinuation that there are attempts by any Malaysian organisations to do so!” said Mr Tee, adding a few choice swear words to the end of his tirade.
https://www.facebook.com/gilbert.louis.73/posts/10157204265289842
As can be expected, the comments section of Mr Louis’ Facebook post came alive with varied, heated opinions.
Some echoed Mr Tee’s vehement sentiments against Singapore:
There was some praise for Dr Mahathir:
One netizen accused Mr Louis for being a “keyboard warrior”, saying that he hates it when people insult Singaporeans:
Others picked apart Mr Tee’s words and wondered at whom the hate was really directed:
Mr Louis later posted about the Soul of Singapore Facebook group, calling them a “pro-PAP” site and noting that many were “attacking” him “for posting the comment of the outraged Malaysian on their FB timeline”:
https://www.facebook.com/gilbert.louis.73/posts/10157204354644842
Could Mr Tee’s anger also have come as a result of the now-controversial Facebook post by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on Monday (Feb 24)?
EMS Goh has since been criticised for his post, which was seen as “below the belt” and “uncalled for” by netizens.
Mr Goh had uploaded a picture of himself by a tree plus two pictures of a large spider in its web, and compared Singapore’s succession planning to that of Malaysia:
“It is a privilege for a septuagenarian to be able to enjoy nature and the simple pleasures of life, unlike nonagenarian Mahathir. We got our politics right and our planned political succession is proceeding smoothly,” Mr Goh, who is 78, wrote about Dr Mahathir, who is currently 94.
https://www.facebook.com/MParader/posts/3778918435484128?__xts__[0]=68.ARDxa9aTPjJnqnBxbAEX7uWA9witDJLgdhpeXjDziOLo0fUIrLqFp0rp-NEzJVCg8ivo0JeU4WBHBA6T13riTVOmzSMsoH35A2geI-QZBM2lGB5-gs9WW-lW-z9y0pF4ejoN7dMCYDlrUV6GEQYriCmOgUzcJZFHOy2i137iLok_m5cQ5o_40okAWG9o2fs61sTshdls6EdbhqQvJKBAhCvAryNm3UsbANU31Du50SQ8WcFUCjKdRIRAqBi9NxKgsR7alY9MzRfmZ68DDvvgKHzOvUnP28NhIOZ6AFD2SWqaBFd3GIqUTkJ3qL79ewySrm0QU4VS-MSs6xxLszss5QAnLQ&__tn__=-R
Mr Goh’s post garnered many reactions from Singaporeans, many of whom felt that his comments were “ungracious” and “poor in taste”.
Meanwhile, tensions between the two neighbouring countries continue to mount online, as the question of who Malaysia’s next leader will be hangs in the balance. /TISG