[UPDATED] Participate in flood relief efforts, or risk being left out of GE15, Anwar warns opposition lawmakers

KUALA LUMPUR – Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has warned that MPs and assemblymen under his watch who did not assist in the flood response will not be picked to contest in the coming general election.

The PKR president also took a swipe at government officials who chose to leave the country to perform their umrah while the rakyat were suffering here.

Speaking in Parliament, Anwar said he has given his guarantee that he would monitor the movements of the opposition lawmakers, and whether they had taken part in relief efforts.

This is in response to an earlier accusation by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, that he did not see many state lawmakers on the ground helping the victims during his visit to Selangor last month.

“If their performance is weak during the flood season, I guarantee that these individuals will be dropped as election candidates for the coming polls,” he said while debating on the recent floods that hit the country, during the Dewan Rakyat special sitting today.

“But I do monitor them everyday. So, for the prime minister to insinuate that there were MPs absent, I think it is unfair because we need to get the full details.

“And I think this issue is cross-party. All party machinery went to the ground, some did more, some did less (ada lebih, ada kurang).”

Earlier, Ismail Sabri had taken a dig at the Selangor government for its perceived slow response in dealing with the disaster, and said some opposition MPs were visibly absent during this period. 

Anwar, on the other hand, highlighted the absence of certain cabinet members on the ground, with some leaving the country for their umrah. 

“Yes, the prime minister was on the ground, but the ministers are missing. The rakyat is dying, houses are destroyed, and some chose to perform umrah. This (flooding) should have been given priority. 

“This must be addressed. The government must explain to the rakyat so the issue doesn’t repeat itself. This is supposed to be your responsibility as ministers. 

“I’m not trying to trivialise the need to perform the umrah, but this is a question of priority.”

In his speech, Anwar also highlighted how ordinary citizens had taken upon themselves to assist others during the initial days of the disaster, with government aid and rescue not forthcoming. 

He said the “uprising of the rakyat” during this flood was because they have grown tired of the government’s commitment to act on the disaster, especially during the first few days. 

“I have experienced myself being in the cabinet. During the 1995 crisis in Sri Muda, the national security department then held an emergency meeting. 

“I asked the chief of the armed forces how long it would take for his team to be on the ground and he said four hours. The meeting was at 4pm, and they were already working by 8pm.”

Anwar said this is the opposite of the recent flood that wreaked havoc in various parts of the country. 

“That is why our current Armed Forces chief Tan Sri Affendi Buang was forced to issue a statement to take immediate action, due to the slow response of the National Disaster Management Agency.” – The Vibes, January 20, 2022