'Abah', 'Pak Long', 'Pak Ngah' dan sebagainya.

It was funny at first, but netizens are now speaking out against pet names used in reference to Malaysia's top politicians.

Pet names first came about after some netizens started calling Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin 'Abah' or father.

Then the "family" grew with Senior Minister Menteri Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob being referred to as 'Pak Long' or eldest uncle and Health Director-General Datuk Noor Hisham Abdullah referred to as 'Pak Ngah' or second eldest uncle.



Many netizens felt that the terms, which are often used among family, in particular Malay families, only create a false sense of endearment towards those in office.

Found it cringey when people call politicians by family names like abah/pak long etc...

— Aziera (@azierahani) June 9, 2020

I only have one Abah and that is my dad, thank you https://t.co/KochzNhQWh

— ✊?✊?✊? (@heliosdraws) June 9, 2020

The thing about family dynamics is, it’s much harder to hold family members accountable when they mess up because you then have people going “kesian la tok abah uwuwuwu”.

That, and it’s cringe af. https://t.co/6fcGQvl5oM

— hanani (@hanacdote) June 9, 2020

Make politicians accountable for their actions. Bukan jadi kan dia abah kau lah, pak long kau lah gila.

— Yasmin (@YasminAngel) June 9, 2020

Naratif yang cuba ditanam di minda masyarakat. I dont see anyone on my timeline calling them Abah, Pak Long or Pak Ngah. And please jangan kacau Dr Hisham. He’s not our Pak Ngah. Dia berkhidmat untuk negara. https://t.co/EWbUlaJiK0

— Rewan Ishak (@rewan_ishak) June 9, 2020

Atuk, abah, papa, pak su, pak ngah. What the hell is this? Stop putting these politicians on a pedestal. We should hold them accountable for every action they make, not treat them like family members. Tak kuasa ada ahli keluarga macam diorang. Cringe habis.

— Rahmah Ghazali (@rahmahghazali) June 9, 2020

Hahah abah lah pak ngah lah apa benda semua tu, end up aku sebut nama je masing masing. Mana mana circle aku yg sebut pm as abah mmg ready je lah aku tanya asal abah ? Abah ko yg skrg dah takde ke nak abahkan org lain ? Lol. Abah hanya utk abah sendiri dan mentua. Period.

— A. Fauzi (@fauziazizan14) June 10, 2020

Of course, some also poked fun at the nick name 'Abah' stating that it was originally used to refer to Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin when he was the Youth and Sports Minister.

The only Abah that i accept is Abah KJ. https://t.co/fE1B3d2hot

— Chakk Chigga (@whymustchxkk) June 9, 2020

I remember when people used to call KJ abah and then the daddy jokes came up—

— KICAP CAP KIPAS UDANG (@kichopp) June 10, 2020

Abah KJ, Bro Saddiq. Now Abah PM, Pak Long Sabri and Pak Ngah Hisham.

Kau ingat ni Young & Dangerous ke ada Kakak Ke-13?? Apa punya ciyal lah.

— Jarr (@JarrNadjmuddean) June 10, 2020

Keep it professional

We're not going to say much but let's put it this way.

Politicians are there to work for the people. Not everything they do is good/perfect.

We, the people, have the power to speak out against any injustice, unfair policies, corruption or anything else they do that does not toe the line.

That is our right as the people.

When endearing terms are given to politicians, it makes it more difficult for us to hold them accountable.

That's basically what these netizens are trying to say.

So let's just drop the 'Abah', 'Ah Long', 'Ah Ngah' names and keep things professional.