GEORGE TOWN, Penang - Kedah caretaker chief minister Sanusi Md Nor’s raised hand salute has gone viral on social media, with supporters posting over 8,000 videos emulating the gesture in a show of support for the opposition politician.
The videos used a snippet of Sanusi’s speech at a rally as the background track, in which the popular leader from the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition can be heard declaring that “I raise my hand to fight Anwar Ibrahim”, in protest against moves by Malaysia’s Prime Minister and his government that are seen to be curtailing Sanusi’s influence.
In videos some described as the “Refornusi” trend (a mash-up of “reformation” and “Sanusi”), TikTok users raise their hands in a similar fashion with upbeat dangdut – Indonesian folk music popular in Malaysia – playing in the background.
Many pledged their support for Sanusi and PN, praising the leader for being “the best”.
There are also videos circulating online that show construction workers raising their arms – as well as those of their cranes and tractors.
In many of the videos, people commented with just a raised hand emoji.
“The MB Kedah has gone viral... his aura defeats PMX,” said a TikTok user with the handle IrisRose, in reference to Datuk Seri Anwar, Malaysia’s 10th prime minister.
Another TikTok user with the handle hidayah beuty reminded supporters to “translate the support to the ballot paper on Aug 12”, while another TikTok user jokingly said the social media giant should pay Sanusi for sparking the viral trend.
The gesture was first seen when Sanusi raised his right hand to supporters at the Alor Setar courthouse in July, where he faced sedition charges for insulting the Selangor ruler.
It was a take on a similar gesture by Mr Anwar in 1998, who had defiantly raised his hand when he was taken to court to face charges of corruption and sodomy.
That iconic image of Mr Anwar, who was sporting a black eye after being assaulted while under detention, became a rallying call for the Reformasi (reformation) movement that called for justice and for him to be freed.
Malaysians were reacquainted with the raised hand pose a few months ago when the poster of a biopic movie of Mr Anwar’s political journey featured the iconic stance.
The raised hand trend has escalated so that even Sanusi’s PN colleagues have adopted the same gesture when stumping for votes.
Others have pushed back against the trend, with some posting a picture of a monkey with a similar pose on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“PMX is so awesome that even Sanusi has to imitate his pose of raising his hand just to attract the crowds,” wrote Democratic Action Party (DAP) Kedah publicity secretary Farid Maulud on X.
DAP is a component party of Mr Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan coalition.
