Bringing Sexy Back

Brian Yap, October 6, 2007

English, Brian, Columns |

By Brian Yap

I used to be a lot more fashion conscious than I am today. When I was in my early 20s, my wardrobe was filled with items from labels like Diesel, French Connection and the occasional Prada and Miu Miu. In fact, I use to buy an item of clothing, on average, every other week. I went to hair salons where you were required to make appointments. I coloured my hair. I read, gasp, fashion magazines.

Of course, all of this was a lot easier because I was then living in the US, where luxury items like a pair of designer jeans or limited-edition sneakers were much more affordable than they are here. Nevertheless, these days, the trendiness of my youth has somewhat faded with time. These days, my look (if you can call it one) is one of simplicity: T-shirt, jeans and sneakers rule my world. I get my hair cut at the barber for RM10 (“semua pendek, nombor 3). It probably isn’t because I don’t care about my appearance anymore, but rather, because I’ve settled on a particular look. Or because I’ve become a little more conservative financially.

I still like clothes, however. I still get tempted when I see something cool. I’m also willing to bet that many young, urban Malaysians also care about looking good, to varying degrees. And when someone else looks nice, they attract our attention. All of which might explain why young people aren’t interested in politics.

Politics, of course, is not where you’ll find the best dressed. Especially not here. I mean, what exactly is Ong Ka Ting thinking when he’s wearing that bush jacket, the uniform of politicians from era gone by? It was ugly enough on Tunku and Mahathir but the current MCA president, unlike his predecessor Ling Liong Sik (another bush jacket man), is a bit on the scrawny side. He looks like he’s wearing hand-me-downs.

Many politicians, particularly Chinese ones, also love Brylcreem as much as they love saying the darndest things. In the decades that he has been Opposition Leader, Lim Kit Siang has probably gone through enough hair product to fill a swimming pool. His successor and son, Lim Guan Eng, seems likely to follow in his father’s footstep. Thankfully, however, he takes it a little easier on the shine.

Perhaps reflective of our conformist nature, political parties also have some sort of uniform, usually worn at their annual general assemblies. UMNO has its baju Melayu and kain sampeng, which looks traditional, but thanks to its red accents, are still striking enough. The Chinese-based parties like DAP and MCA, on the other hand, have a tendency to go for plain white shirts. Rather boring, if you ask me. PAS general assembly, on the other hand at least has some sort of identity—you’re more likely to find a ketayap than a baseball cap, for instance.

My favourite politician outfit, however, is that of ministers who attend some sort of exercise or health-related event. Like when they lead some group exercise in the name of encouraging Malaysians to exercise, or flag off a marathon. Unfashionable track bottoms and a polo T-shirt (that look fresh from the plastic bag) really do not go well with a pot belly. At least they’re not wearing those silly name tags that they usually do when on official functions.

I’m sure we can’t expect everyone involved in politics to be like the iconoclast—but potential fashion icon—Hishamuddin Rais, who would look dashing in his beret, scarf and blazer, even if he’s at a demo under the hot sun.

However, I do suspect that opposition parties might possibly win more mind share or votes with young urbanites if their top leaders underwent an image makeover. Get funkier haircuts. Trendier clothes. No, scratch that. Just get clothes that look like they were designed in the past few years, that’s enough. While they’re at it, maybe they could join a gym and get in better shape.

Of course I say all of this mostly in jest, but there’s often some truth to be found in humour. The fact is, people who pay attention to politics, who value substance over form are a minority. Why else would The Star and Harian Metro be the top selling papers in English and Bahasa Malaysia respectively? If Malaysians were overwhelmingly made up of politically aware critical thinkers, Malaysiakini would probably more successful than the Berita Harian.

No, for most people, especially the younger set, image goes a long way. And politics, after all, is about perception.A right photo of a politician looking sharply dressed and impeccably groomed could potentially do more wonders for a politician than 10 press statements.

Take Barack Obama, David Cameron, Bill Clinton, or Tony Blair (when he was young, anyway) for instance. While they do have some substance behind them, it sure didn’t hurt that they look good, healthy, and well groomed. While I’m sure many would find it ridiculous that I’m mentioning Khairy Jamaluddin in the same paragraph as those world-class leaders, but I do suspect that the son-in-law’s public profile is a lot higher because he’s young and not bad looking (of course, I’m just relating the opinion of others), photos of him in Ijok aside. That’s hardly high praise for Khairy, however. His peers, both in the BN and opposition parties, don’t seem to be offering much competition anyway.

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