KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — Singaporean blogger XiaXue has expressed shock at some Malaysians’ anger towards her after she transformed herself into Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor for Halloween.
XiaXue recently posted a two-second video clip of herself in an apparent parody of the wife of Malaysia’s former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, waving cutouts of designer Birkin bags by luxury brand Hermès.
“Yay Birkin ah... don’t take away my Birkin ah... oooh... the police come, no it’s mine, my Birkin,” the internet personality, whose actual name is Wendy Cheng, had said in the short clip posted on Instagram.
It seems the anger was not trained on Rosmah, who was recently charged with alleged money-laundering through the deposit of RM7 million in her bank account.
XiaXue, who turned herself into a Rosmah lookalike in a mock orange prison uniform for the clip, subsequently said she was “shocked to see many people pissed off and asking me to respect Rosmah.”
XiaXue later posted a full makeup tutorial video lasting almost 10 minutes on YouTube, explaining that she had decided to dress up as Rosmah for Halloween as she was the second-most popular request by her fans.
“Think about it, what’s more scary than rampant corruption in a country, right? So, very, very apt for Halloween,” she said in the video that has chalked up over 177,000 views at the time of writing.
XiaXue then proceeded to use special effects wax and latex to mould prosthetics for her face to capture Rosmah’s look, before ending the clip by acting as Rosmah while a recording of the latter singing played.
XiaXue had also shared a separate post on Instagram, saying she was speechless that Rosmah and Najib still have a following despite their alleged corruption.
“I am completely bamboozled by the fact that Najib/Rosmah actually still has supporters. 😨 how is it possible?! I thought everyone hated them?! Do people not watch the news? Of billions embezzled? Of 72 suitcases of cash, branded watches and Birkins etc seized from properties linked to them?” she asked.
“You want me to show respect to Rosmah? Why?! Why on earth would I respect crooked politicians?!” she also said.
XiaXue, however, took the hate shown in her stride and said she loved the attention, shrugging off “boring insults” such as those trained at her nationality or ethnicity.
She said the incident should not be cast as Singapore being pitted against Malaysia, noting that those on the island state had supported their counterparts after the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal — which happened during Najib’s time as prime minister.
“Don’t try to make this a SG vs Malaysia thing. After 1MDB Singaporeans were all rooting for our Malaysian friends during the elections and we cheered together with them when the results came out.
“Their high spirits of hope and renewed faith was infectious and Singapore felt it too. Disliking the Razaks isn’t equal to disliking Malaysia at all. 🙄” she said, dedicating the full tutorial video to her Malaysian friends and followers who were excited about it, cheekily saying it would be fun to see Najib’s supporters get upset.
Since the Barisan Nasional coalition then led by Najib lost federal power in the 14th general election, both he and his wife have provided much inspiration for those seeking to create political satire or comedic performances.
A viral video in June featured a local filmmaker’s brother impersonating Najib’s voice in a parody of the former top leader driving himself for the first time and ordering quinoa at a fast-food chain’s drive-through counter, while a Singaporean blogger had in May posted a satirical tune about Najib.
A recent satirical skit in Singapore lampooned Rosmah’s reported love of luxury handbags, contrasting it with the Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife Ho Ching’s frugality.
This is markedly different from when Najib was in power about a year ago, where a Singaporean comedian had to apologise over a segment in a programme where audience members were invited to complete the sentence, “Najib slams... for threatening Malaysia’s progress”.
