LETTER | The K-word will bite Anwar back when he least expects it

LETTER | Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently used the “K”-word! When asked about it, he said his tongue slipped when he was quoting from the ‘Hikayat Hang Tuah’. I suppose this is the problem of having geriatric ministers - one way or another, they tend to slip.

Anyhow, Anwar could not have used the K-word at a more inopportune time. Indians, especially working-class Indians, are one of Anwar’s staunchest supporters in the country.

Believe it or not, Anwar might be more of a leader to the Indians than he is to the Malays. The Chinese back Anwar because he is the head of Pakatan Harapan, but the Indians back him in and of himself.

Despite being such a staunch supporter of Anwar, or precisely because of that, Indians are increasingly feeling very disappointed with him after he became the prime minister last year.

First, Charles Santiago, a prominent Indian politician in Harapan was dropped right before the 2022 elections. Then P Ramasamy, another prominent Indian politician in Harapan was dropped before the Aug 12 state elections this year.

When campaigning during the state polls, Anwar also surprised many Indians when he harshly rebuked a teenage Indian girl when she asked him a question, although the girl was so awestruck by Anwar that she was visibly shivering when she spoke to him.

After the Aug 12 elections, Anwar for some inexplicable reasons, decided to personally convert a Hindu man to Islam. A Hindu being converted to Islam is one thing, but for Anwar to do it personally - at a time when Indians were already having a difficult time coming to terms with the Indira Gandhi and Loh Siew Hong cases - was a whole other thing.

In the recent cabinet reshuffle, the only Indian minister in the cabinet, then human resources minister V Sivakumar, was dropped, but no other Indian politician was elected to replace him (Gobind Singh doesn’t count).

Yesterday, to top it all off, Anwar used the K-word, a word as offensive to the Indians as the N-word is offensive to the African Americans, while he was speaking in public, and only realised that he had made a mistake after he was prompted about it a day or two later.

Of course, Anwar is saying that he didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings when he said it – he was just quoting the term from a Malay chronicle, he said, which did not use the term in a derogatory manner.

I doubt this will assuage the feelings of the Indian electorate. It is impossible for a Malaysian, especially the prime minister of Malaysia, to not know that the K-word is an offensive word to Indians.

Anwar can claim that his tongue had slipped and the word had dropped out of his mouth without ill intention, but that still doesn’t explain why he didn’t retract or apologise for using the word on the spot.

He used the term at a dialogue session at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). He only realised that he made a mistake and apologised for it at a different session in Putrajaya. That it took him a day or two to realise he had fumbled, and that too after it had been pointed out to him, doesn’t really speak much of his intention or mental acuity.

And it is not like Anwar doesn’t understand that words can hurt. When the former education minister Radzi Jidin, threw some choice words against Anwar, Anwar was so hurt by it that MCMC demanded that MalaysiaNow, the only publication that reported what was said in verbatim, to take down the report while MACC subjected Radzi to a corruption investigation a few days later.

Anwar knows by his own experience and action that words do cause hurt and when one is hurt, one will entertain a desire to retaliate.

Anwar currently doesn’t lead a very strong government. He and his ministers keep repeating the mantra “we are strong, we won’t be toppled, we are strong, we won’t be toppled” precisely because they are not strong and they fear being toppled.

Even if the economy is doing great, as Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli claims, it is only doing great on paper. At the grassroots level, no one is saying that the economy is doing great. Some say it is ok while others say it is lousy, but not one says that it is doing great.

That former finance minister Daim Zainuddin’s Ilham Tower was seized last week also suggests that the old order and the Madani government might be heading to collision in the near future.

Considering all this, it is most unfortunate that Anwar is choosing to alienate the Indians, who are arguably his strongest supporters, for no good reason at this critical juncture.

Would it have been that difficult for him to indulge the question of a young girl from the Indian community, even if he disagreed with what she said? It would have meant so much to her, and it would have gone a long way to reinforce the support he had from the Indian community, instead of eroding it.

‘Hurtful’

Did he really have to use the K-word, wait for a day or two to pass, and then only apologise for it, and that too only after being prompted about it?

When Radzi said some nasty things about Anwar in Parliament, he also had his reason to justify what he said. Did his reasonings assuage the hurt that Anwar felt over the incident?

That itself should tell Anwar whether his reasons and justifications will assuage the hurt that the Indian community felt over the K-word incident, and whether the Indian community will hold a grudge in their heart. 

William Faulkner had an insight about mules. He said: “A mule will labour 10 years willingly and patiently for you, for the privilege of kicking you once.”

The common folk are a lot like mules. We are often powerless and helpless, and thus we have learned to endure the inequities that we are subjected to in silence. But one day, like the mule, we will get our chance to deliver one kick.

At the right time, just one kick at the right place is enough to bring the entire structure down.

Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.