Politics is serious business. But sometimes the moments people remember longest are the ones that do not go to script. Here are six Malaysian political moments that became memorable for very different reasons — and the context behind each one.
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Malaysian politics has produced thousands of speeches, press conferences, campaign videos, rallies and interviews. Most are forgotten almost immediately. A handful survive because something about the delivery, timing, reaction or setting turns them into clips people keep replaying.
This is a collection of six such moments. Some are funny because a crowd answered in an unexpected way. Some became awkward because a personal question suddenly became very direct. Others mattered because the subject itself was serious, and the way it was presented drew criticism or required later clarification.
We are not suggesting that these six moments are equivalent, or that they tell you everything about the politicians involved. “Cringe” is an editorial judgment — and a subjective one. Watch the video first, then read the fuller context behind each clip.
1. Nga Kor Ming — “I’ll Call Your Chief Editor”
On 29 October 2025, during the pre-launch of the “I Lite U” urban-lighting initiative in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, an Utusan Malaysia reporter asked why the project name was in English rather than Bahasa Malaysia.
Nga explained the tourism rationale behind the initiative. But the exchange changed tone when he asked which media organisation the reporter represented, said he would remember it, and said he would call the newspaper’s chief editors. What began as a question about branding quickly became a story about the relationship between politicians and the press.
That escalation was what made the clip awkward. Media groups criticised the way the reporter was addressed and argued that journalists should be able to ask questions without feeling pressured.
On 2 November, Nga retracted the remarks and apologised to media practitioners who were offended. The following day, Utusan Malaysia said it welcomed the apology and considered the controversy settled. Including that follow-up matters: the viral clip is only one part of the story.
Sources for context: Bernama — I Lite U project (29 Oct 2025) | Bernama — Nga apologises (2 Nov 2025) | Malay Mail — Utusan accepts apology (3 Nov 2025)
2. Najib Razak — “Are You Ready for BN?”
On 11 February 2013, then-prime minister Najib Razak was speaking at the Penang Barisan Nasional Chinese New Year open house at the Han Chiang College field. The crowd was waiting for South Korean star Psy, whose “Gangnam Style” had become a global phenomenon.
Najib warmed up the audience with a simple call-and-response: “Are you ready for Psy?” The crowd answered enthusiastically. Then he changed one word and asked, “Are you ready for BN?” Contemporary reporting recorded people at the back of the field shouting “No” and laughing.
It was a tiny moment in a much larger event, but it had perfect viral mechanics: expectation, repetition, then an answer that did not follow the script. The clip spread rapidly online and became one of the most replayed political crowd reactions of the GE13 period.
What makes it memorable is not a complicated political argument. It is timing. A routine attempt to lift the energy of the crowd turned into an unscripted response that instantly became the story.
Sources for context: Malaysiakini — PM asks: Are you ready for BN? Crowd says No! (11 Feb 2013)
3. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad × Khairy Jamaluddin — “Why Don’t You Like Me?”
A question you do not usually ask a former prime minister
In November 2023, Khairy Jamaluddin interviewed former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the Keluar Sekejap podcast. Then came a question that was far more personal than the usual policy discussion: “Why don’t you like me?”
Mahathir’s answer was immediate. He said it was because Khairy had contested against his son and because Khairy’s mother-in-law had campaigned for him. Khairy laughed and pushed back. Mahathir replied that it was what people had told him.
The exchange worked because both men understood how blunt it sounded. There was no long build-up, no carefully prepared answer and very little attempt to soften the personal nature of the question. The reaction in the room did the rest.
Mahathir did not specify which contest he was referring to. That detail matters, because the value of this moment is not in trying to reconstruct an entire political rivalry from one sentence. It is simply the unusual sight of two major political figures putting a personal question on the table and answering it almost casually.
Sources for context: Malaysiakini — Dr M answers KJ: Kenapa Tun tak suka saya? (13 Nov 2023)
4. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi — “The Waiting List”
A warning, a laugh — and a very memorable phrase
On 10 October 2022, the day Parliament was dissolved ahead of GE15, Barisan Nasional chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi addressed the 76th MIC General Assembly. He warned component-party leaders about what he said could happen if BN returned to the opposition benches.
Then came the “waiting list” sequence. Zahid pointed toward several BN leaders — including Mohamad Hasan, S.A. Vigneswaran, M. Saravanan, Wee Ka Siong and Hishammuddin Hussein — while saying they too could face charges. The people around him laughed as he moved from one name to another.
The awkwardness came from the collision between tone and subject. Court cases and prosecution are serious matters, but the delivery was almost conversational, with laughter from some of those being named. Opposition figures seized on the clip and argued that the remarks suggested BN leaders feared prosecution if they lost.
Zahid rejected that interpretation. He said the remarks had been taken out of context and that he had been warning BN leaders about what he described as selective prosecution and political persecution if the coalition lost. For a fair account, both the viral interpretation and his subsequent clarification belong together.
Sources for context: Malay Mail — Zahid says remarks were a warning about selective persecution (13 Oct 2022) | Free Malaysia Today — I meant selective prosecution, Zahid clarifies (12 Oct 2022)
5. Dr Adham Baba — “The Warm-Water Advice”
Warm water, stomach acid and a pandemic
On 19 March 2020, at the beginning of Malaysia’s first nationwide Movement Control Order, then-health minister Dr Adham Baba appeared on RTM’s Bicara Naratif programme to discuss COVID-19.
During the interview, he suggested that drinking warm water could help by washing the virus from the throat into the stomach, where stomach acid would kill it. He also said the virus did not like heat and demonstrated the advice by drinking from a glass.
Medical professionals challenged the claim. Staying hydrated is sensible, but drinking warm water does not prevent coronavirus infection, and there was no evidence that washing the virus into the stomach would stop COVID-19.
That distinction is why the moment deserves context rather than just replay. In March 2020, public anxiety was extremely high and health guidance from an official source carried unusual weight. A simple televised demonstration therefore became one of the most replayed Malaysian pandemic-era clips — and one that required a clear medical correction.
Sources for context: Malay Mail — Health minister says warm water can help flush virus into stomach (20 Mar 2020) | Malay Mail — Medical experts reject warm-water claim (20 Mar 2020)
6. Nurul Izzah Anwar — “Because I Am You”
On 1 May 2013, just days before GE13, Nurul Izzah Anwar released a campaign video aimed at younger voters. At the time, she was defending the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat she had first won in 2008.
The message was built around generational identification. She spoke about Malaysians who had grown up together, shared similar hopes and anxieties, and were now being asked to imagine a different future. The closing line pulled the theme together: “We grew up together, you and I. You know me, you know who I am, and I know you. Because I am you.”
Unlike the other moments in this list, there was no confrontation, factual correction or unexpected crowd reaction. The “cringe” here is entirely about campaign style and delivery. To some viewers, the direct-to-camera earnestness feels overly scripted; to others, it is simply a sincere attempt to identify with younger voters.
That makes it a useful final entry. Not every awkward political moment is a gaffe. Sometimes the same line can sound moving to one person and painfully rehearsed to another. That subjectivity is exactly why this list ends with a question rather than a verdict.
Sources for context: Nurul Izzah Anwar / YouTube — GE13 campaign video (1 May 2013)
So, which one was the most cringe?
These six moments span more than a decade of Malaysian politics: a campaign video, a Chinese New Year rally, a party assembly, a health broadcast, a podcast and a press conference. They involve different parties, different personalities and very different kinds of awkwardness.
What they have in common is that each escaped the setting in which it happened and took on a second life as a clip — replayed, quoted, argued over and remembered long after the original event ended.
Our ranking is deliberately left open. Which moment made you cringe the most — and is there another Malaysian political moment that deserves to be on the list? Watch the full video and tell us in the YouTube comments.
Editorial & Source Note
This feature uses short excerpts from publicly available recordings for commentary, criticism, review and public-interest discussion. Copyright in the original footage remains with the respective rights holders.
The clips have been shortened for presentation and are not intended to alter the meaning of the original remarks. Where relevant, subsequent apologies, clarifications or factual corrections have been included so that the moments are presented with appropriate context.
The description “cringe-worthy” is a subjective editorial judgment. FindingOut Malaysia does not endorse or oppose any of the political figures featured here, and readers are invited to watch the clips and form their own views.
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