KUALA LUMPUR – PAS’ Alor Star MP Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden has issued a sarcastic reminder to fellow Dewan Rakyat members, especially government lawmakers, to heed the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim’s call to cease politicking in Parliament.
Alluding to the recent demotion of a senior government official, Afnan also took a jab at his political rivals by saying that civil servants should be left alone to perform their duties.
“(The government lawmakers) should cease taking politically-motivated actions towards civil servants who appear to be unaligned with the Madani government’s aspirations, such as the high-ranking Tourism Malaysia official who was sacked by the tourism minister recently.
“(In fact), we should stop politicking, especially with states led by Perikatan Nasional (PN), as there are claims that there is an unwritten instruction given to federal agency officials to avoid events or meetings held by PNl-led states,” he said in a statement.
“Such practices are detrimental even to the government itself. We should also stop politicking, especially with allocations for the opposition, as it seems that you have to pledge support to the prime minister to get allocations.”
Afnan also claimed that the government politicians used schools and learning institutions to campaign, but had prevented opposition members from doing the same.
He also called for Dewan Rakyat members to stop politicising critical issues such as the proposed Madani Rice initiative or the decline of the ringgit, while also calling for the government to fulfil promises made in the last general election.
“Answer (in Dewan Rakyat) professionally. Fulfil your promises. Don’t answer (questions) as though you are (speaking) on a political platform,” he said.
“You are the government, not the opposition. Don’t play politics all the time.”
Earlier today, Sultan Ibrahim sent a stern message during his inaugural royal address in Parliament, asserting that he will not entertain any attempts to topple the government before the 16th general election.
He also urged the government to look into formulating a policy aimed at fostering better unity and harmony among Malaysians. – February 26, 2024