KUALA LUMPUR – Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar’s new poster on his social media account did not paint him in a good light.
The Batu Gajah MP has been ridiculed online after an image of him sitting on a leather armchair with a caption saying, “Embrace a New Era of Limitless Value with me. Empowering Progress, Inspiring Change, and Building a Brighter Future for All!” was posted.
It was supposed to emphasise his commitment to creating positive transformation while projecting confidence.
He has been urged to take down the tweet, which has garnered almost 80,000 views as of 4pm today.
Some social media users thought the poster looked like a sales advertisement, while others asked him to remove the post and fire his communications team.
Twitter user @mahiramakrishna said she could recommend a new copywriter for the minister as the words used in the poster failed to convey any meaning.
Meanwhile, user @Kama7esh tweeted that the caption read like it was processed by ChatGPT and that the minister should hire a new communications person.
Despite the backlash, Twitter user @t_lean_hin offered Sivakumar some constructive criticism.
Instead of sitting on the chair with an overbearing pose, he suggested the minister put up more photos of the people.
“Optics not good, for sitting on an armchair, because it showed bossy. Please update the poster. Put more photos of the audience, and the workers, and less focus on the minister’s face. (sic)”
In April, Sivakumar was implicated in a corruption scandal involving the recruitment of migrant workers.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission recorded his statement to assist with the investigation and arrested three of Sivakumar’s officers for questioning.
The following month, Sivakumar confirmed that five of his aides were fired following their alleged involvement in a corruption and power abuse scandal.
He added that the move was made to ensure the clean administration of the ministry and its related agencies. – August 15, 2023