KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (Bera-BN) was taken by surprise during his speech in the Dewan Rakyat when he was politely interrupted by a DAP MP, who took the opportunity to thank him for governing impartially during his tenure.
R.S.N. Rayer (Jelutong-PH) interjected to thank Ismail, who led the government from August 2021 to November 2022, for allocating equal funds to all MPs whether they be from the government or the opposition.
“As DAP members, we express our gratitude to Yang Berhormat (Ismail) who allocated funds for us to be implemented in our constituencies when we were the opposition,” he said.
“This is something that needs to be recorded in the honourable House,” Rayer said when Ismail was debating the royal address in Parliament.
Rayer added that there were no attempts to retaliate against opposition parties or coalitions when Ismail was prime minister.
He claimed that this was not the case when Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (Pagoh-PN) was head of government before Ismail. Muhyiddin served as prime minister from March 2020 to August 2021.
Rayer alleged that Muhyiddin, who is Bersatu president, had made accusatory statements with the intention of retaliation against former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar-PH) and DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng (Bagan-PH).
“There were no matters of revenge during your administration, unlike Pagoh (Muhyiddin), who made retaliatory accusations against Muar (Syed Saddiq) and Bagan (Lim),” he said.
“During your time, these things never happened. So, thank you,” he added.
Incidentally, Syed Saddiq and Lim were both charged in court when Muhyiddin was serving as prime minister.
Syed Saddiq was charged with two counts of money laundering involving a total of RM100,000, while Lim was charged with receiving bribes in relation to the Penang undersea tunnel project. – The Vibes, February 12, 2023
