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
Trunk snapped off famed Bernini statue in Rome square
ROME, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A marble elephant designed by Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini has been damaged, with its left tusk found snapped off and lying at the base of the monument in the heart of Rome, authorities said.
The damage was uncovered on Monday night and police said they would review video footage from Piazza della Minerva to determine whether the tusk was vandalised or simply fell off following weeks of unusually heavy rains.
Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli made clear he thought it was deliberate, saying the 17th statue, which supports an ancient Egyptian obelisk, was victim of an "absurd act of barbarity".
"It is unacceptable that once again the nation's artistic and cultural heritage must suffer such serious damage," he said in a statement.
It is not the first time the sculpture, popularly known as the Elefantino (little elephant), has been damaged.
In November 2016, the tip of the same tusk was similarly found broken off. The piece was reattached during restoration work.
The sculpture, created in 1667 by Ercole Ferrata based on a design by Bernini, stands a short distance from the Pantheon, one of most visited tourist sites in Rome. (Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri, editing by Crispian Balmer)
