KUALA LUMPUR: Wit and sarcasm are among the two things that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is well known for.
During his first tenure as Prime Minister, the Internet was not yet in full swing, which means the public would have to wait for his public appearances and the news reports that follow to find out who was at the receiving end of his sarcastic remarks.
That is no longer the case though since Dr Mahathir embraced social media several years ago and took up blogging.
While he usually blogs about the state of affairs in Malaysia, his post today is a short, poetic one.
Aku curi. Apa nak malu.
Apatah lagi aku boss kamu.
Tak perlu kamu malu kerana boss kamu mencuri.
Sikit-sikit kamu juga boleh dapat duit yang dicuri.
Nak malu apa. Bossku.
Bangsaku tak perlu malu.
Curilah…
Lebih banyak yang dicuri lebih mulia.
Digelar kleptokrat adalah puji-pujian.
Ayuh bangsaku. Mari kita curi supaya boleh jadi boss.
No names were mentioned but the poem appears to be a direct attack against his predecessor Datuk Seri Najib Razak who recently repurposed the tagline "Malu Apa Bossku" for his social media and public engagements.
Loosely translated, Dr Mahathir hits out at Najib and his "bossku" phenomenon, sarcastically asking the people to "steal" so they too can become a "boss", referring to the corruption charges Najib is currently facing.