Sometimes, a gentle pat on the shoulder, arm or head is common when you’re joking with your close friends. How much is really considered too much?
Just recently, the Menteri Besar of Kedah, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor went viral again after a clip showing his conversation with a female student circulated on social media. The nature of the conversation is unclear but the clip started with Sanusi “smacking” the student’s head with a paper in his hand, which prompted everyone at the scene to laugh. The video has been reshared multiple times, including on the X page of Demi Rakyat Channel.
The student then stood near Sanusi to take a picture together.
“The Orang Kampung way of joking”
Sanusi also responded to the viral clip to defend his act by saying that “I ‘smacked’ her with a paper, not with a wood or anything hard”.
He added that’s how the people in the village tend to joke around. The Kedah MB also shared some details about the conversation, saying that the female student was enrolling in a polytechnic the next day.
“But she only applied for financial help at the last minute, so I ‘smacked’ her as a joke. Regardless, I still gave her RM650 so that she could buy whatever necessary.”
The “smack” appeared to be harmless, especially how the crowd in the video reacted to it but netizens were mostly NOT happy with what Sanusi did.
The Deputy President of MUDA, Amira Aisya also tweeted and reminded Sanusi to show some respect and NOT to normalise everything as a joke.
“Watch your manners while you joke. You’re a leader, and people tend to follow what you do.”
“There’s always a limit. Watch your manners.”
“It looks simple but the one who got smacked, she may feel upset for her entire life. She was excited to meet the MB and ended up getting “smacked”. She might carry the memory to the grave and cry.”
Another netizen claimed that people in Kedah tend to joke in a harsh manner. (Anyone from Kedah can verify this?)
“Did everyone just laugh after he smacked her head? Didn’t she feel like she was a joke? Why does everyone there seem to have no manners? It’s too much to just smacked somebody’s head.”
MB SANUSI KATOK KEPALA PEREMPUAN BIADAP ATAU GURAUAN? #menteribesarkedah #sanusimdnor #katok #ketukkepala #perempuan #katokkepala #kedah #viralvideo #pukulkepala #biadap #demirakyat #demirakyatchannel #CapCut pic.twitter.com/kJQQN5uCZD
— Demi Rakyat Channel (@DemiRakyatCH) August 22, 2023
Will you take it personally if you were “smacked” in the head, despite being a joke?