KUALA LUMPUR — A recent Twitter posting by Muda’s Bukit Gasing candidate Kalyana Rajasekaran Teagarajan appears to have garnered backlash from netizens, including Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs.
Kalyana’s post, which has since been deleted, featured a video of him working out at a gym with local singer-songwriter Hiresh Haridas, better known by his stage-name Reshmonu.
In the caption for the post, Kalyana said: “Always remember being fit and healthy is a must, no point in being young when you’re leading an unhealthy life.
“A slightly older and fitter candidate from Muda,” he added, which ostensibly led users on the platform to assume that Kalyana was taking a jab at his opponent for the Bukit Gasing state seat, PH’s incumbent Rajiv Rishyakaran.
In response to the post, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii said that while both candidates are his friends, he felt the need to “call out” Kalyana’s statement.
“I’m all for (a) healthy lifestyle, (but) insinuation bordering (on) body shaming is clearly crossing a line. You do not know the other person’s condition and journey.
“This is not being better nor new politics,” the DAP lawmaker said.
In a brief tweet, Dr Yii’s fellow DAP parliamentarian Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan seemed to chide Muda by saying: “Stay classy, Muda.”
Meanwhile, Kalyana’s team member Leben Siddharth appeared to go on the defensive against Kalyana’s detractors by pointing to past comments made by Rajiv.
Responding to a tweet by Petaling Jaya DAP Youth chief Kusaaliny Mahendran on how Rajiv’s “weight is hereditary” and how the assemblyman “swims regularly to keep up his stamina,” Leben said that Kusaaliny should “be better.”
“Is it okay to comment on another person’s age and call some people frogs? Is this acceptable oh virtuous (Kusaaliny)? Don’t be blinded by your loyalty to some people. Advocating a healthy lifestyle is no way body shaming, sister,” he added.
Leben also included in his response screenshots of Rajiv’s Instagram postings. In one of the posts, Rajiv said that he is younger than the “young party” candidate. Rajiv is 41 years old while Kalyana is 44 years old.
The other screenshot showed Rajiv posing with a man dressed in a frog costume, with the caption reading: “Bumped into (former PKR turned Bersatu man) Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali at the SS2 night market yesterday.”
When contacted by Scoop, Kalyana said that the workout video was posted “as a self-reminder for me to always adopt a healthy lifestyle.”
“If my tweets have offended anyone, I’m truly sorry. I have removed the initial postings.” — August 9, 2023