Attacks on govt by minority groups need to be curbed: Zahid

Attempts by minority groups, particularly those who had previously been part of the government, to undermine policies and initiatives introduced by the Madani government need to be curbed, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

Zahid said this is to prevent the “anti-establishment” faction from influencing the majority’s thinking, thus jeopardising the government’s agenda for the well-being of the people and the nation.

Citing the Central Database Hub (Padu) as an example, he said that although the policy is good, attacks by such groups have hindered citizens’ registration with the system.

“When the government proposed to implement a targeted subsidy method and introduced Padu, some criticised the plan, claiming that the Economy Ministry wanted to collect citizens’ personal information.

“These individuals represent a minority group or not less than 22 percent of the anti-establishment group who will oppose anything new introduced by the current government.”

He said this in his speech at the Rural and Regional Development Ministry’s Santunan Kasih Ramadan programme at Masjid Jamek As-Solihin yesterday.

In this regard, Zahid, who is also rural and regional development minister, called for collective efforts from all quarters in the government to curb the act of this minority faction, as failure to do so would make them like “biawak hidup” (a burden) to any plans to advance the country.

He also said that the anti-establishment group, who likes to label others as “biawak hidup”, always seeks fault in others whether they are in the government or not.

“When they were in government, their leaders were always wrong, and when they are outside, they always blame others. This is what we need to contain because such groups do exist in our country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zahid reminded all government machinery to carry out their responsibilities diligently for the well-being of the people and the nation.

“Each of us needs to embrace a bottoms-up approach, which is to engage the grassroots and use the information obtained to develop strategies to advance these groups,” he said.

At the event, Zahid also presented appointment letters to the Advisory Board of GiatMara Selangor and distributed ‘duit raya’ to 132 tahfiz students and orphans in the congregation of Masjid As-Solihin.

- Bernama