With the Johor state elections about to take place in Malaysia, politician Rasid Abu Bakar used an edited image of One Punch Man for his campaign. Rasid, a member of the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), will be competing for the constituency of Larkin in Johor.

Candidates of all competing political parties in Johor are ramping up their efforts to win votes and expand their influence in preparation for the state election. The image of Rasid’s campaign banner featuring One Punch Man surfaced online yesterday when Twitter user @mutalibuthman posted it on his account. 

To be exact, the banner depicts Rasid and MUDA president Syed Saddiq edited over the image of One Punch Man‘s Saitama. As to why Saddiq is being likened to Caped Baldy, this bizarre association first began back in December 2020.

At the time, Saddiq was raising funds for his 1 Family, 1 Laptop programme, which aimed to raise enough funds to purchase laptops for impoverished families in Muar, Johor. To publicise the programme, Saddiq declared that he would shave his head bald once the goal of RM200,000 funds raised was met.

By 31 December 2020, Saddiq was able to raise a total of RM383,000. The shaving of his hair was aired on national television.

Thus, the association between Saddiq and Saitama was born. One Punch Man and Avatar: The Last Airbender-related memes of the MUDA party leader went viral in Malaysia. However, at the time of writing, Saddiq no longer looks like Saitama as his hair has grown.

In other One Punch Man-related news, the series will be getting another mobile game called One Punch Man: World.