Recently, Tun M shared a photo of him watching the Parlimen Digital debate, which featured hundreds of youths from across Malaysia tabling their agendas for a better Malaysia.
But what caught Malaysians’ attention in the photo wasn’t actually the debate, but two humungous ornaments towering behind his laptop.
Malaysians have questions
The ornaments resemble two elephant tusks, which were towering a TV set in the living room.Saya mengikuti perbahasan di facebook @ParlimenDigital dan kagum melihat inisiatif oleh sekumpulan anak muda. Mereka telah mengambil bahagian berbincang dan berbahas usul-usul yang dibawa secara objektif. pic.twitter.com/BuXY0qJePD
— Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) July 5, 2020
Several Malaysians who took notice of the elephant in the room asked the authenticity of the tusks while others questioned him for owning them despite the fact that his family members are animal and nature advocates.
The nonagenarian has not responded to any of these questions so far.
Popular local conservation group, Zoologi Malaysia, also expressed their curiousity over the presence of the elephant trunks.
We coulndnt help but to wonder about those ivory tusks.
— ZoologiMY (@ZoologiMY) July 5, 2020
Hurmmm.. https://t.co/hz10bmqEYV
While many seemed unhappy with the finding, there were also several Malaysians who explained that the ivory might be a gift from other world leaders from the 1970s or 1980s when laws on ivory trade were pretty lax.
Lowkey hope those are fake..
— atikah rostam (@atikah_rostam) July 5, 2020
it’s weird that ur son advocates for the protection of ulu muda & u were there to officiate merbau as the national tree of malaysia....yet there are two elephant tusks in ur living room when one of the main causes of elephant deaths in malaysia is poaching.
— freyr (@sunfloweraidil) July 5, 2020
Sorry but those were gifts from 1980s. He did not buy them. Maybe its not appropriate to put them on display, but hey, any good ideas on how to dispose em?
— syamsuddinF (@f_syamsuddin) July 5, 2020
A gift by an African leader?
— Salena Ibak (@salenaibak) July 5, 2020
Ah nothing wrong here, just elephant tusks in the living room.
— STEFAN (@theirfan9712) July 5, 2020
1 elephant's life of course
— IJAL (@afrizalfarisi) July 5, 2020
They’re maybe gifts from the 1970s
— tidak puas (@joggiemadafaka) July 5, 2020
are those elephant trunks in the background? OMG
— Anthony Michelangelo (@MagnusOpus33) July 5, 2020
Ivory trade has been banned for decades and if you are caught smuggling them into the country, you will be charged under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.
