SHAH ALAM – The unity government “inherited” a nation with various flaws from the preceding government, similar to a homeowner leaving a broken home for new tenants, said PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli.
Symbolising Malaysia’s issues with infrastructural defects such as termite-infested pillars and a roof with holes, the economy minister said the government has no choice but to prioritise more consequential national problems.
He said this in response to the opposition’s alleged double standards, as it often lambasted him and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for not solving issues quickly.
“We have inherited a house already broken. We have to think carefully about what our next step is since they (the opposition) left (the country in this condition),” he said in his winding-up speech at PKR’s special congress in Malawati Stadium today.
“Anwar and I are often the targets of the opposition, but they also request price reductions for numerous things – which they did not do during their time as the government.
“Now, they say we are a cruel government for cutting allocations and disregarding their constituencies. Please pick either or,” he added.
Despite being on the receiving end of the opposition’s attacks, Rafizi reminded his party members, PKR’s ideas which were tabled for over a decade have borne fruit.
“While the opposition often bring up the past as political tools, they forget that these ideas have slowly persuaded the people, until we became the government,” he said.
“This is why I am not worried if they continue doing so. Every day our initiatives become a success, the people will see the difference between the opposition that only disputes, and the government that is slowly fixing the roofs and pillars,” he added.
Regarding Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) enthusiasm to achieve another “green wave”, Rafizi rebutted the claim, saying that the coalition did not take away many votes from Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“Although PN leaders think their wave will come and destroy the PH government in the three states, based on the recent general election’s results, it will not be that way,” he said.
“True, there was a shift in Malay votes to PN, but only in certain constituencies, not the whole country.
“The seats PN won were never our strongholds, they were votes from Umno. When we compare our strongholds, the Malay votes from 2018 and 2022 had no difference,” he added.
Rafizi clarified that Malay votes in the Federal Territories only had a reduction of less than 10%, while the eastern side of Selangor had a maintained percentage.
Despite western Selangor having a large change in support, he reiterated that most votes were taken from Umno.
Based on the latest data, Rafizi is confident there will be a shift in support from Malays towards PH and the unity government, especially from the youth.
As such, he said the party’s preparations for the upcoming state elections will be done in a calmer and more organised manner. – The Vibes, March 18, 2023
