KEDAH Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammed Sanusi Md Nor should focus more on governing Kedah which remains among the impoverished states in the country instead of dwelling on trying to topple the present Unity Government.
Kedah Umno information head Datuk Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin said that Sanusi has once again stooped to great levels to cast aspersions on the alliance that is ruling over the country.
"It is his normal key performance index (KPI) to belittle the government of the day. This time, he had boldly declared that the government would fall," Shaiful Hazizy said.
In truth, he said, Sanusi is afraid of his own shadow because he is starting to realise that the federal opposition under PAS is losing clout and their supporters have started to query them about the plot to take over the government.
Sanusi, a PAS leader, is the elections director for the national opposition coalition of Perikatan Nasional (PN).
About 150 days have passed since the last state election, the people here are bored and reluctant to support any “countdown” towards a change of government, Shaiful Hazizy said.
He added that changes should be made through the hands of voters, who should dictate, instead of politicians.
From what he understands, Shaiful Hazizy said, the takeover attempt through the so-called "Dubai Move" had apparently failed or was not really a plan in the first place.
Sanusi should just revert to become a full-time mentri besar by focusing on developing the state instead of finding fault with everyone, he added.
"Sanusi should listen to the words of wisdom of his party president (Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang), who penned a statement that those preoccupied or obsessed with finding fault with the government are worse than monkeys and squirrels," he said in a statement.
"Sanusi just needs to become a normal person who can analyse rationally. If there is a need to change the government, it can be done through the democratic approach, which is in waiting for the next (general) election. We fight like a man during an election."
Last week, Sanusi had reportedly confirmed Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s earlier statement about the existence of the Dubai Move plot to topple the government.
Sanusi was quoted as saying in the media that there was indeed a move by PN to overthrow the present government through what he described as a democratic approach under the Federal Constitution.
However, he said that the name “Dubai Move” was just a dummy or decoy.
“People are labelling (the plot as) the 'Dubai Move', but it’s really the 'Chow Kit Move' because it was discussed in Kuala Lumpur,” he was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.
It was the same approach which the present government had applied to fish for support from five PN backbenchers, Sanusi claimed.
Intimidating PN MPs from defecting
Meanwhile, Kedah Pakatan Harapan (PH) chief Mahfuz Omar said that Sanusi's comments were nothing more than the PN leadership's strategy to intimidate their MPs from defecting and shifting their support towards Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Mahfuz was quoted by Utusan Malaysia as saying that PN leaders are worried about losing their MPs to the ruling government, in addition to harbouring anxiety over the court cases that they are facing.
Yesterday, Bersatu's Bukit Gantang MP Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal, who recently shifted his support from PN to Anwar, claimed that up to eight more opposition MPs will move their support for Anwar’s government when Parliament reconvenes at the end of February.
He said that the MPs are planning to follow suit in order for their constituencies to receive federal development funding.
Four other MPs from Bersatu have also already defected by declaring their support for Anwar's leadership late last year.
They are Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), and Datuk Dr Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan).
On December 29, Community Communications Department (J-Kom) deputy director-general Datuk Ismail Yusop had said that the Dubai Move cropped up when certain PN leaders were holidaying in the UAE recently.
He claimed that a meeting took place in the country’s main city of Dubai to discuss specific duties for 'officers' responsible for identifying MPs who can be influenced to shift support to the opposition.
The intention was purportedly to set up a government through backdoor means, he added. – The Vibes, January 7, 2024