Zuraida tells Anwar to self-reflect over 'descent into dictatorship' claim

 

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin has urged PKR president Anwar Ibrahim to "practise some self-reflection" on his criticism against the government’s plans to declare a state of emergency.

While Anwar has accused the government itself as a threat to national security, Zuraida said it was Anwar who is causing political instability and is distracting from efforts to rein in the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was Anwar who claimed to have secured parliamentary majority, but then repeatedly failed to substantiate his claims, she said.

“And while he carried on this protracted and frivolous drama, the government of (Prime Minister) Muhyiddin Yassin was grappling with the global pandemic every day.

“I cannot think of a single instance in which a senior political leader conducted himself in such a manner when his country was faced with an unprecedented health crisis," she said in a statement today. 

“Anwar who claimed in his statement the government lacked transparency, failed to even be transparent to His Majesty on his so-called formidable and convincing majority.

“At a time of a major national health crisis, Anwar should have risen above his petty ambition and supported the government of the day. That would have been the statesman-like thing to do.

“What he actually did raises serious questions as to his fitness for the high office which he has been so ferociously and single-mindedly pursuing, to the detriment of the people’s welfare,” the Ampang MP added. 

Muhyiddin is said to have met the Yang di-Pertuan Agong earlier today over the implementation of an “emergency”, though no formal announcement has been made as yet.

This has drawn criticism from many opposition politicians, who said existing laws are sufficient to deal with the pandemic and accused Muhyiddin of invoking emergency powers to suspend the Federal Constitution and avoid a snap election.

Anwar had urged Muhyiddin not to resort to the declaration of an emergency, describing it as “undemocratic” and “authoritarian”.

“Today, we have a government which lacks legitimacy and which knows it would fail to demonstrate majority support in Parliament and is using the Covid-19 crisis as an excuse to justify its abuse of power.

“A state of emergency is declared when there is a threat to our national security. But when the government is itself the source of that threat then a state of emergency is nothing more than the descent into dictatorship and authoritarianism,” he said. - Mkini