KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has sparked storm of criticism after saying he had stopped eating rice in favor of more expensive quinoa.
Najib, who is facing a general election within months under a cloud of a corruption scandal, has been blamed for a rising cost of living since launching a goods and services tax in 2015.
Hoping to win a third term in the election due by August, Najib has denied wrongdoing in connection with the graft scandal surrounding the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund.
The fund has also denied wrongdoing.
The latest barrage of criticism from opponents who label the prime minister aloof of and out of touch with ordinary folk followed a comment he made while visiting a hospital on Thursday.
“I don’t eat rice. I eat quinoa. My son introduced me to it,” Najib is heard saying in a video taken at a question and answer session.
Najib goes on to explain quinoa has less carbohydrates and sugar.
“It is better than rice,” he said.
Rice is a staple grain consumed across Malaysia. It was subsidized by the government until 2015.
The comment on quinoa, originally from South America, was derided on social media.
Former premier Mahathir Mohamad, the opposition’s candidate for prime minister if it were to win the election, voiced his support for Malaysia’s traditional grain.
“I only eat local rice,” Mahathir said on Twitter.
Another opposition leader, Lim Kit Siang, said he had never even heard of quinoa.
“The 14th general election will be quinoa vs rice; clean government vs kleptocracy; and Najib vs people of Malaysia,” Lim said in a statement.
Najib’s office responded by saying “certain quarters” had manipulated his comments.
Quinoa was part of Najib’s healthy diet and had been recommended by a doctor, his office said in a statement late on Friday.
Najib is widely expected to win the election, thanks to a divided opposition, an upbeat economy, rural support and the redrawing of electoral boundaries that critics say favors the government.
Malaysian PM Najib sparks storm of criticism over comment on quinoa
Malaysian PM Najib sparks storm of criticism over comment on quinoa
Mick Jagger’s fiancee ‘physically attacked’ at exclusive London club
- Melanie Hamrick, 38, dined with a friend before heading to private members’ club Annabel’s in Berkeley Square, Mayfair, where the incident happened
- The author, choreographer and former ballerina has been in a relationship with the 82-year-old Rolling Stones singer since 2014 and they have a 9-year-old son together
LONDON: Melanie Hamrick, Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger’s fiancee, said she was attacked at an elite and exclusive private member’s club in Mayfair, central London.
The 38-year-old said the incident on Tuesday at Annabel’s in Berkeley Square had left her heartbroken and shaken.
In a message posted later that night on Instagram, she wrote: “This is incredibly hard to share, but I was physically attacked at Annabel’s Mayfair tonight.
“I’m so thankful to my friends for protecting me. Two people grabbed me from behind and thank God for the good people who stepped in to help me.
“I’m shaken, sad and heartbroken that people can treat each other this way.”
The message was deleted a few hours after it appeared.
Hamrick has been in a relationship with 82-year-old Jagger since 2014, and she confirmed in April last year that they became engaged about two or three years earlier. They have a son, Deveraux, who was born in 2016.
Hamrick is a choreographer, author and former ballerina who performed with the American Ballet Theatre for 15 years before retiring in 2019.
Before the incident on Tuesday, she had dined with a socialite friend, Emma Thynn, before heading to Annabel’s. Sources at the venue said staff were not notified of an attack. The Metropolitan Police said it had not receive any report of an incident, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.
The incident is believed to have taken place outside of the club. In the past few weeks there has been a series of daytime heists targeting luxury goods stores across London. It is not known if the incident involving Hamrick was related to these.
However, the area around the prestigious Berkeley Square has become one of the worst in London, and even in Europe, for robberies and street crime, the Daily Mail said. Official figures show that people in the area were 30 times more likely to fall victim to crime compared with those in other parts of the city, the newspaper added.
Numbers of thefts and robberies, mainly of mobile phones, have tripled in London over the past four years, with tens of thousands of reported cases, particularly in the upmarket Mayfair and St James’s areas.
Organized criminal gangs have reportedly been targeting high-value luxury brands such as Rolex and Yves Saint Laurent across London. Some visitors have even hired private security while visiting the city.
Last month, the Daily Mail reported that Tom Cruise, 63, had abruptly moved out of his £35 million ($47 million) luxury apartment in One Hyde Park, a high-rise in West London, over safety fears.
