KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor today insisted his remark that women were “cheaper without make-up” was misconstrued, but offered to apologise to any who felt offended.
Denying that his analogy comparing home renovations to women and cosmetics was sexist, the Federal Territories minister popularly known as Ku Nan accused the media of deliberately “spinning” his words.
But he also declined an invitation to restate his original comment for clarification, claiming that this would be again “spun”.
“If wanita felt offended, I can say sorry. I can apologise but I didn’t mean what was spun (in the media),” he was quoted as saying by news portal FZ.
In justifying the property revaluation exercise by DBKL on Thursday, the Federal Territories minister had reportedly used the analogy of women with makeup to compare the increase of valuation for renovated properties.
“If you enhance your property, it is the same as women. If you don’t wear makeup, the price is cheaper, right? If you wear make-up, it is pricier. Isn’t it the same?” he told a press conference in the DBKL headquarters yesterday.
This led DAP’s Teresa Kok to castigate Tengku Adnan for the “off-colour” remark.
The Seputeh MP also said the analogy was insensitive and unbecoming of a minister, and demanded that the Umno secretary-general apologise.
“How could he use woman as an analogy, and worse to say that women with makeup are pricier. Women are not properties, they don’t tag with a price,” Kok said in a statement here.
