I admit that I’ve been a bit too apathetic of late to pay much attention to Malaysian politics. This means that most of the subtleties and intricacies of what’s going on in the power struggle over the state of Perak has gone way over my head. Still, when a politician from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition is oblivious enough to compare his struggles with those of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, even I have to sit up and take notice. An excerpt from an article from The Star that’s looks like it should have appeared in a Malaysian version of The Onion, but sadly isn’t:

He said a person did not need to hold a post in his struggle to uphold the truth, and likened the recent struggles faced by him and his “comrades from the Barisan Nasional” to those endured by politicians like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.

“Nelson Mandela sacrificed his freedom for 27 years in order to free South Africans from the grip of ‘apartheid.’

“Gandhi also sacrificed his life for the sake of India’s independence and so his people would be able to live without caste or religious boundaries,” he said.

Dr Zambry said however that it was lucky for him that his struggles had not caused him physical harm or loss of freedom.

“I only had to withstand the negative perceptions that Nizar and his people have created of me and the Barisan’s image.

This is a truly a wtf moment of mindblowing proportions. The Barisan Nasional, which has ruled the country uninterrupted since its independence, being cast in the role of the poor underdog. Let’s just say that some people have really thick skins.