Will insulting Robert Kuok cost Najib and Barisan Nasional the Malaysia election?
An insult from the tourism minister against the Hong Kong-based billionaire may be the last straw that pushes ethnic Chinese swing voters towards the opposition, analysts say
Just how much clout does the Hong Kong-based billionaire Robert Kuok have in the eyes of his fellow Malaysian Chinese after being away from home for more than four decades?
The Barisan Nasional, Malaysia’s ruling coalition, could be poised to find that out the hard way after one of its stalwarts launched a blistering verbal attack against the 94-year-old with a general election just around the corner.
Observers are warning the coalition’s already weak support from the minority Chinese community could be further eroded because of the vitriol Tourism Minister Nazri Aziz spewed at Kuok in an interview on February 26.
Malaysian election: Hong Kong billionaire Robert Kuok targeted by anti-Chinese whispers
Kuok, Malaysia’s richest man, is widely viewed as an icon of the country’s 7.4 million ethnic Chinese and overseas Chinese in the region. He rose from a small-time sugar merchant in the southern town of Johor Bahru to lead a conglomerate that includes Shangri-La Hotels and logistics titan Kerry Group in its stable.
Responding to an unverified blog post that claimed Kuok was backing the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) financially, Nazri called Kuok a “coward” who was “hiding behind a wall in Hong Kong”.
For added measure, the long-time ally of Prime Minister Najib Razak used a highly derogatory term for effeminate men to describe the nonagenarian in his rant.