Pakatan Harapan leaders have come to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s defence over PKR MP Rafizi Ramli’s claim that the government has failed to adequately “control” Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh.
PKR veteran Hassan Abdul Karim opined that there are “lines” the prime minister cannot cross within the current unity government, where Umno holds a stake as a “strategic partner”.
“Let the Umno president (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) control Akmal, if necessary. Anwar, as the PKR president, should worry about his own PKR Youth leader, who (appears to have) lost his voice in national politics as he is too timid and always toes the line.
“Rafizi should also be more concerned about PKR Youth’s weak leadership - let Akmal (make his) moves,” Hassan (above), who is the Pasir Gudang MP, told Malaysiakini.
When contacted, former natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad expressed similar sentiments, noting that the “general understanding” is for such issues to be dealt with carefully to protect the coalition government.
The Setiawangsa MP for PKR, however, agreed with Rafizi’s claim that Anwar has been “too careful” in not rebuking Akmal, especially since the latter has often repeated his inflammatory actions.
The PKR lawmakers were asked about Rafizi’s allegation that the government’s supposed failure to rein in Akmal’s incendiary behaviour has caused support for the government, particularly from the Chinese community, to suffer a serious blow.
‘Bad message to voters’
In a Facebook post yesterday where he also shared a clip from a previous episode of his podcast, Rafizi said Anwar appears “too cautious” in calling Akmal out, accusing the prime minister of determining strategies based on how best to “protect” his position.
“When it becomes like that, the message received by voters is: the post matters more than principles.
“Even though we might later fix issues such as taxes, e-invoicing, and so on, the wounded trust - especially among Chinese voters - is not easy to heal,” Rafizi said in the post’s caption.
In the clip, the former economy minister also claimed that ministers were admonished whenever they voiced out against Akmal’s comments as they were perceived as “shaking the government’s stability”.
“In the end, everything was handed over to the prime minister, but when he didn’t appear to be in control from the start, then I think it’s water under the bridge,” Rafizi said.
‘There were worse before Akmal’
While Hassan asserted that Akmal’s right to express his thoughts should be respected, he acknowledged that the Merlimau assemblyperson’s statements can “sometimes be quite dangerous”, particularly in the context of Malaysia’s multicultural society.
However, Hassan highlighted that certain actions by some of Akmal’s predecessors were “more dangerous to the nation”, referring to when Hishammuddin Hussein gave his infamous keris-wielding speech during the Umno Youth general assembly in 2005.
Pointing to Akmal’s recent pushback against DAP’s call for the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) to be recognised, Hassan commended Akmal for providing “valid reasons based on legal and constitutional positions”.
“The way (Akmal) presented his position in regards to the UEC shows that he has matured.
“He should be given a chance to contest for a parliamentary constituency in the next general election to enable him to play politics in a bigger pond, thus giving more impact to national policies,” Hassan added.
‘Anwar shouldn’t entertain them’
Similarly dismissing Rafizi’s claims, Amanah deputy president Mujahid Yusof Rawa emphasised that as the prime minister, Anwar has repeatedly issued general reminders about the importance of mutual respect among coalition partners, without referring to anyone specifically.
As such, he rejected claims that the prime minister lacks firmness, emphasising that Anwar’s policies and principles have been consistently clear.
“(Anwar) doesn’t need to specifically point at a certain person. Surely it’s not at Anwar’s level to do that, and Rafizi should also understand the position of a prime minister… I don’t agree that (Anwar) should entertain these youngsters,” Mujahid told Malaysiakini.
Noting that Akmal’s actions might not necessarily reflect Umno’s official position or have the backing of the party’s youth wing, the senator said it is sufficient for any such issues to be handled by party leaders.
“Why should the prime minister treat it as a national problem?” he questioned, adding that it is impossible to control statements issued by any politician, whether from BN or Harapan component parties.
“Human beings - to shut their mouths is one of the hardest things in the world, especially politicians. We cannot control what comes out of a politician’s mouth, including how we cannot control Rafizi, who is still a PKR member.
“For us, we always approach things (based on the) methods and manners of mutual respect, and if reminders are needed, those reminders must be delivered with decorum - not by shouting, gathering crowds, and creating more (racial) tension,” he added. - Mkini
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