Malaysians are poking fun at the Donald Trump administration, claiming they don’t have any oil, after the US embassy posted a stunning satellite image of the country.
The mission in Kuala Lumpur posted a striking 2016 satellite image taken from the International Space Station showing lightning flaring through towering clouds high above Malaysia.
"Malaysia, you’ve never looked more electric," the embassy captioned the post, which was shared across social media platforms.
"Those bright pops of white aren’t city lights – they are massive lightning strikes firing off inside a thunderstorm system. It’s easy to forget we live on a living, breathing planet until you see it from this angle. Whether you’re under the storm or above it, the view is spectacular,” it added.
The seemingly innocuous post set off a wave of self-deprecating humour among Malaysians online, with users jokingly urging Washington not to turn its attention towards their country after the Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela.
On Facebook, the most liked comment read: "Please tell your president we don’t have oil ya. We only have Saji cooking oil."
Some indulged in the stereotype that Malaysia was an underdeveloped country where people lived in trees.
"As you can see, we live in the jungle. We build fire to warm our bodies," one user said.
Another joked, "We don’t have cities. We all live in the trees. (Note: we don’t have oil)."
"Dear Trump... we live in jungle...no oils just tiger and crocodile," quipped a user named Alif Sazali.
Mohd Raffi Merusin on Facebook claimed Malaysia didn't have any crude oil, "just an abundance of palm oil and thunderstorms".
Over on Instagram, the same picture drew hundreds of comments, with some asking: "Are we the next Venezuela?"
"You can prefer Brunei or Singapore," another suggested to the US.
Some commenters pointed a dig at surveillance and intervention. “With no warning at all, it’s quite strange that the US embassy released a satellite image of Malaysia,” said a user called Ina Abd Rahman.
The oil jibes came after the US vowed to control Venezuela’s oil “indefinitely” following its capture of president Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.
President Trump claimed the US would take over Venezuela and tap its oil reserves. He also announced that Venezuela would provide 30-50 million barrels of “sanctioned oil” to the US
Mr Trump has since reiterated his desire to take Greenland, threatening the US would “do something with Greenland whether they like it or not”.
The Trump administration has repeatedly refused to rule out the use of military force to seize the Danish territory.
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