KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 ― Datuk Ahmad Maslan today pointed to the over 3,000 retweets of his recipe for “GST-free” fried rice, when asked to comment on the mockery the post received.
The deputy finance minister, who previously professed to be the most hated man in Malaysia for defending Putrajaya's introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), said he was unperturbed by the scorn and instead said he is “proud” of it.
“(There were) 3,335 retweets. That is a personal record for me,” Ahmad Maslan told reporters when asked what he felt about the harsh reaction he received about his tweet.
The Pontian MP also brushed off allegations that the picture of him cooking was fake as the dish, cooked in a wok, appeared contrived as it was nicely presented with perfectly arranged cucumbers.
“I thought it would be boring to show the fried rice just like that so I decided to make it look nice,” he said. “Yes, I cooked it”.
He added that “besides watching CNN, CNBC and Al-Jazeera”, he was also a fan of “cooking shows”, which inspired him be “creative” with his dish presentation.
On Sunday Ahmad posted a picture of him with the fried rice that he cooked using GST-free ingredients, the latest posting in a series of efforts to convince Malaysians via social media that they had the option to avoid paying the consumption tax.
As with his previous posts on GST, the picture was immediately ridiculed with many claiming fakery as his fried rice dish was too well presented.
They also said Ahmad again failed to see the point of public protest against the GST with his use of his fried rice to demonstrate that the tax was not burdensome to consumers.
They pointed out that there is a disconnect between the reality of rising prices and Ahmad’s claim that the consumption tax has had little effect on inflation despite surveys showing prices of basic goods have risen sharply since the GST roll out in April.
