They want to wear black or walk naked, who cares? - Chef Wan

Chef Wan is calling on Malaysians to ignore critics of Pakatan Harapan, saying it is time the rakyat unites to "redeem" the country’s dignity following a spate of corruption scandals.

In a social media posting today taking stock of Harapan's first anniversary of being in power, Chef Wan – as Redzuawan Ismail is popularly known  – said an imperfect government is better than a corrupt one.

"Yes, we might not have a perfect government to turn around our economy so quickly after what Umno rule has done... but indeed we are always better (off) than having a corrupt government that steals everything from its rakyat and brings shame to the Malays, religion and country.

"Enough is enough! Now it's time for all of us to be united as one new Malaysia, (to) rebuild our nation and redeem our dignity," his post read.

Redzuawan also praised Dr Mahathir Mohamad, saying the "Malaysian hero" and his cabinet are trying to save the country from bankruptcy.

His post was accompanied by a picture of the prime minister along with the words, "He is not perfect, but he is limited edition. He is Tun Mahathir."

Black 905 campaign

In his post, Redzuawan also took a potshot at the opposition-led 'Black 905' campaign, which is calling for Malaysians to wear black today in protest against Harapan.

"They want to wear black clothes or be naked, what do we care?" he asked.

The campaign was mooted by Umno supreme council member Lokman Noor Adam (photo), who cited several reasons for the protest, ranging from unfulfilled promises to the alleged "destruction" of the special positions of Islam, bumiputera, Bahasa Malaysia and the rulers.

Redzuawan urged people to "walk away" from the protestors "without a second look," saying those who love the country should instead work hard to rebuild it.

"Don’t need to complain after a little difficulty," he said.

"Let us not waste our time barking like dogs at the side of the road, riding a bike here and there, hanging out at coffee shops talking about other people’s business, but not a sen enters the pocket, while illegal money is (allegedly) paid to Umno to do bad things to others."

Redzuawan previously came under fire after he, in a fit of anger, stated that he wished to "slap" Najib Abdul Razak.

This came after the former premier visited the chef's home village Felda Sungai Koyan during the Cameron Highlands by-election campaign in January.

During the visit, Najib claimed that the BN administration was a "golden age" for Felda.

Redzuawan later apologised for his outburst, but stated that it did not negate his criticism that the alleged corruption witnessed during the previous regime saw Felda driven to financial difficulty.