When New York elected its first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, on Tuesday, Malaysians were quick to notice how many Americans blundered in pronouncing his surname as “Madani”, the slogan Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has spent three years trying to brand as the heart of his government.
The viral gaffe began when a right-wing US podcaster, intending to refer to the newly elected mayor, claimed on Wednesday that “Madani” had tried to ban the late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk from an event in New York in 2023.
For Malaysians, madani – an Arabic term meaning “civil” or “civilised” – is the often-heard buzzword of Anwar’s political brand, referring to a values-based government built on compassion, integrity and good governance.
Within hours, Malaysian social media was flooded with memes about “New York joining the Madani government” and jokes that “Anwar has finally gone global”.
Others took the chance to compare the policies and power of the elected New York mayor with their own domestic political landscape.
