GEORGE TOWN – Not all voters in the coming state elections are going to vote based on their emotions, said PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli.
Instead, such voters would have memories of how former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang were previously, especially when they were part of the Pakatan coalitions, said Rafizi.
Commenting on Dr Mahathir and Hadi joining forces and sharing the opposition Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) platform in Kota Baru, Kelantan last night where they declared that PN wants to win at least five states in the coming polls, Rafizi said voters can compare what both veterans have contributed to the well-being of the nation.
“What had they promised in the past? Surely, our leaders should have principles and not compromise too much of it. It is just because they dislike (current Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. At this (advanced) age, they continue to hate,” said Rafizi.
He told a press conference this after attending the midway review of the 12th Malaysia Plan and hosting a dialogue with Penang stakeholders at the Olive Tree Hotel here.
The session was to gather feedback and updates on the proposed national development master plan before it is tabled in Parliament later this year for a comprehensive review.
The Pandan MP, who is also the economy minister, said that Dr Mahathir has also raised sensitive issues such as Malay rights instead of offering suggestions on how to improve the economy amid a burgeoning national debt and uncertainty in the global economy.
“Both he and Hadi decide to pursue such issues. Anyway, that is their right as an election is coming but the voters can remember what they had spoken previously and their promises which have since gone unfulfilled.”
Rafizi also scoffed at opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin’s claims that PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had allegedly approached him when he was the home minister to nullify the PKR elections last year.
Saifuddin has since publicly denied the allegation, saying that he had instead approached Hamzah to help in getting the results ratified and not nullified.
To this, Rafizi said that leaders such as Hamzah do not understand that PKR has a high tolerance for differences of opinions.
“We may have different opinions, but we always close ranks and come together for the people. This is something other parties do not understand as they do not condone a healthy debate over issues and policies unlike us.”
Rafizi also said that it is common to have a clash of ideas but later, there is mutual respect to continue with PKR’s political struggles.
“So, it is a non-issue in the first place. Hamzah should have perhaps understood that a difference of opinion is common in PKR.”
Rafizi said that PKR’s opponents had always hoped for the party to implode but the opposite has happened – PKR members have consolidated because they know that they are fighting for a just cause and to rescue the country from the mayhem of corruption and poor governance.
He added that some quarters also do not understand how far and deep the relationship the key PKR leaders have.
For example, Saifuddin, in 2003, personally escorted him into the country, after they learnt of attempts by the then authorities to obstruct him from returning home from the UK.
Earlier, Rafizi also endorsed efforts of the federal government to work with Penang in upgrading the public transport infrastructure to check the worsening congestion.
He believes the congestion would be better managed with the new infrastructure of connectivity, and it can also stimulate economic growth here.
The Transport Ministry has approved the construction of a light rail transit system, which will connect the island and the mainland, as well as the state administrative areas with the international airport in Bayan Lepas.
It will also be linked to the suburbs of Tanjung Bungah, an affluent locality here. – The Vibes, July 22, 2023
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