PAS: BN thriving on Malay ignorance

PAS number two Mat Sabu says that the majority of Malays remained in the dark about major corruption issues and this proves beneficial for the ruling coalition.

AMPANG: PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu called on the country’s majority voters to wise up for their own survival as the 13th general election nears.

He told a predominantly Malay crowd at a ceramah here last night that many Malays remained ignorant about national issues like the soaring public debt.

It was this ignorance, he added, that allowed the ruling coalition led by Umno to keep a firm grip on power.

Better known as Mat Sabu, the PAS leader said the majority of Malays were oblivious to major corruption issues like the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) and the Approval Permits (AP) which affected the economy.

“The Malays are still ignorant. They still don’t understand all these big scandals like the PKFZ and the AP,” he told a crowd of 2,000.

Sadly, Mat Sabu said, the Malays were still voting based on communal sentiments although graft had become a direct contributor to the country’s ailing economy.

Najib’s pledges have failed

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak conceded upon his ascent to power that corruption remained a major problem plaguing the country.

He vowed to combat graft and made it one of his administration’s key policies under his reform programmes.

However, the latest Transparency International corruption perception index on Malaysia showed that Putrajaya was not making progress in curbing graft, dealing a severe blow to Najib’s reform credentials.

A recent study by Global Financial Integrity also showed a sharp spike in the outflow of illicit money of more than RM1 trillion, which Mat Sabu said underscored the failure of Najib’s transformation pledges.

The PAS leader said these “leakages” were the reason behind Malaysia’s skyrocketing national debt and urged voters, particularly the Malays, to vote Barisan Nasional out.

“Don’t give us (Pakatan Rakyat) the country when it is already bankrupt because by then it will be difficult to rebuild this country.

“Change this regime while we can still amend the situation,” he said.