KUALA LUMPUR: Mohamad Sabu’s aide came out in defence of the defence minister following criticism of his command of the English language on social media.
The critics had hit out at Mohamad for his “gaffes” during a question-and-answer session at the 18th Asia Security Summit’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday.
But the minister’s press secretary Amin Shah Iskandar spoke out in defence of his boss, saying that it was unfair to single out an instance when he was speaking off-the-cuff.
He said the critics had painted Mohamad as someone who lacks an understanding of the language.
“Mohamad has no problems communicating with world leaders and had presented his speech in English without any mishap,” said Amin.
He added that Mohamad had no problems conversing in English when he met his counterparts from the United States, Britain and Australia on the sidelines of the dialogue.
“He (Mohamad) might not be the most polished English speaker but he is not afraid to learn. Thus far, Mohamad has had no issues when delivering speeches or answers in English when travelling to Europe or the United States,” he said.
Amin added that Mohamad, who was a Malay-medium student at school, chose to speak in English as it was important at international forums and for the benefit of participants.
On Mohamad referring to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as “him” when it should be “her”, Amin said it was a genuine mistake.
“It was not made as a joke and Mohamad offers his sincere apologies for this,” he said in reference to criticism on social media and MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, who was highly critical of the defence minister for not “consulting experts” before speaking at an international forum.
Amin said Mohamad’s speech was prepared and checked by a ministry official and that Wee, a former minister in the prime minister’s department, appeared clueless as to how ministers function.
On Mohamad’s reference to “father and mother” of terrorists, Amin said the minister raised this issue as parents were found to have sponsored their children’s activities.
“He has commonly used the ‘father and mother’ phrase to describe parents of the terrorists who seemed to be well equipped with weapons bought by the former,” he said.
Just last week, Mohamad had told journalists during a buka puasa event that critical feedback from various quarters on his performance over the last year had helped him improve on his duties.
Mohamad, also known as Mat Sabu, said he welcomed such criticism, as it had allowed him to learn from his weaknesses and mistakes, since assuming his post as defence minister in May last year.
Meanwhile, counter-terrorism expert Andrin Raj also came out in defence of Mohamad.
“Despite English not being his mother tongue, Mohamad is trying his best to address the issues, as he is aware of the current capabilities of the Malaysian armed forces and his credible knowledge on terrorism,” said Raj, the International Association of Counter-terrorism and Security Professionals (IACSP) regional director for Southeast Asia.
On Mohamad’s comments at the dialogue concerning China’s maritime strength in the South China Sea, Raj said that this had been a long-standing issue even during the times of the Barisan Nasional government.
Raj blamed the previous government for Malaysia’s weakness, owing to its deliberations on defence procurement.
“The Royal Malaysian Navy is ill-equipped with inferior and aged warships which are not capable of dealing with the much more advanced and larger Chinese vessels,” he said.