Let’s work together, DAP’s Sim tells Umno’s Ahmad Maslan in pantun

KUALA LUMPUR – DAP’s Steven Sim has extended an olive branch to Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan after both of them received appointments as deputy finance ministers.

Sim, who is also Bukit Mertajam MP, said it was important to set aside differences with his former political rival for the sake of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree on forming the federal government.

Reaching out to Ahmad on social media, Sim delivered a pantun (Malay poem), by which he pledged to cooperate with the Umno Supreme Council member.

“It’s currently 2022 entering 2023, we must move forward for the sake of the country,”

“Together we will row the vessel, row towards the diamond city, and develop the country, upholding the decree and forgetting rivalries.

“Let’s work together, Datuk Seri,” Sim said in a post, as quoted by The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister publication Getaran.

Sim’s olive branch appears to be a far cry from his remarks in 2015, in which he noted his goal was to overthrow a government helmed by individuals such as Ahmad.

“I only have one role; to befall the government led by people such as Ahmad Maslan,” Sim previously said.

The 2015 post had gone viral recently after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced Sim and Ahmad as deputy ministers for the finance portfolio.

On Saturday, a total of 27 deputy ministers were sworn into their respective posts before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara.

The new appointees were made to take their oaths and sign official appointment declarations in the presence of Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali. – The Vibes, December 11, 2022