KUALA LUMPUR – A tweet by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has gone viral after he replied to a Twitter user to not address him as “papa”.
In a reply to the prime minister’s initial tweet about how his government would not allow high-ranking politicians to monopolise the country’s wealth, a user known as @mirulwrld wrote, “selamat pagi papa (good morning papa)”.
To this, Anwar replied, “Please – don’t do that.”
Clearly amused with the interaction, netizens turned Anwar’s reply into a meme.
The meme was posted by @MakeItAQuote, which at the time of writing, had been re-tweeted 254 times and received more than 600 likes.
Some netizens also poked fun at Anwar’s request not to call him papa, reminding him that he once said that he is the father of all races.
For @easther97, she believed that Anwar does not want to be associated with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who was called “abah” by his supporters after becoming the eighth prime minister.
Even former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was and still is referred to as “atok”, after he appeared in an advertisement promoting Pakatan Harapan (PH) prior to the 2018 general election.
The moniker “papa” is used by Anwar’s children. For example, his eldest child Nurul Izzah Anwar paid tribute to the PH chairman after the general election.
“I love you papa and I am always proud of you, even as you lay imprisoned as a prisoner of conscience,” she posted on her Facebook page on November 24. – The Vibes, December 6, 2022
