'KANGKUNG' COMMENT REFLECTS A 'KANGKUNG' PM? Najib's desperation is not surprising - Dzulkefly

Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ‘kangkung’ (water spinach) statement to absolve the government from any responsibility amid rising cost of living was not at all surprising, said PAS Research Centre Director Dzulkefly Ahmad.

In fact, Dzulkefly said Najib’s argument was hilarious as if he has no clue on why the goods prices have been rising.

Dzulkefly said Maybank Investment Bank (MIB) in a report last October had announced that inflation had reached a new height following the government’s decision to raise RON95 and diesel price by 20 sen.

The same bank, he said, had estimated inflation to reach 3 percent in 2014 and worsen to 3.5 and 4 percent in 2015 when Goods and Services Tax (GST) will come to town in April 1, 2015.

Najib’s image took another plunge yesterday after netizens across all social media sites ridiculed his ‘kangkung’ statement where he complained about ungrateful citizens who forgot to thank the government when price of goods goes down but they were quick to blame the government when price of goods goes up.

“The price of kangkung increased before this and now it has gone down. When this happens, they don't want to praise the government. But when it rises, they blame the government… This is not fair as it is due to weather conditions,” Najib lamented.

Silliest move

To cite the price of kangkung to back his argument was perhaps one of Najib’s worst move in his political career as netizens spent the whole day ridiculing his statement with various creative pictures depicting him and ‘kangkung.’

Many had concluded that the ‘kangkung’ example has just cemented the perception that Najib and his government are disconnected with the people on the ground and clueless about the hardships faced by ordinary Malaysians.

Meanwhile, Dzulkefly urged Najib, instead of finding more excuses, to look into the impact and chain effect from the government’s action to simultaneously hike prices of basic necessities such as sugar, fuel, public transportation and electricity tariff on the cost of living.

“Najib had said not all hikes are due to the actions of BN government. He had blamed the weather for poor catch in the sea and crops output. Can he actually convince himself that on his claim?” asked the PAS central committee member.

Stop fooling the people

Dzulkefly said Najib should stop fooling the people as they know that the cronies-linked concessionaires that are monopolising the market, which decide the many prices of basic necessities.

“Instead of handling wastages and leakages, stopping direct negotiation and establishing good governance, Najib has chosen to implement GST to increase government revenue. Inflation, of course, will worsen by that. What is there for Najib to deny anymore?” he stressed. - Harakahdaily