Villages under the opposition will receive allocation - DPM

Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail stressed that villages under the opposition will also receive allocations from the federal government to finance their beautification and well-being programmes.

However, the deputy prime minister said the allocation would be channelled through state development offices and not via political leaders as practised by the BN government previously.

“Actually, the cabinet has decided that the opposition states will also receive (the allocation) but not through division chiefs or political leaders...it (the allocation) has to go through state development offices.

“This is our policy that they will also get it (allocation) but it is not through politics,” she told reporters after attending the Darul Ehsan Institute Aidilfitri open house in Shah Alam today which was also attended by Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.

Wan Azizah said this when asked to comment on the statement by Rural Development Minister Rina Mohd Harun that a grant worth RM10,000 would be distributed to the Village Community Management Council (MPKK) in states under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) with an annual overall allocation not exceeding RM100 million per year.

According to Rina (photo), the mechanism for the awarding of the grant to villages in Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Sarawak was still being studied and was expected to be completed within a month’s time

The minister's statement, however, was vigorously criticised by several quarters who demanded that the government gave allocation equally to the states under the opposition.

The deputy prime minister said the Harapan government did not discriminate against the opposition-governed states as previously done by the BN government.

"Last time when BN (was) in government, opposition states like Selangor and Penang did not get the allocation...all allocations went through the division chief in Umno. So the Prime Minister (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) said it (allocation) will go to the state development office, so they are not discriminated against," she said.

Meanwhile, when asked to comment on the use of Bahasa Melayu as the official language in government affairs, Wan Azizah said the government had long adopted a policy which stated that the Malay language is the official language.

However, at the same time, she said it would not be a mistake if the Malay language was translated into other languages.

"It is not wrong If anyone wants to give a translation...as the prime minister says there is no issue. If we go see the movie there is also a sub-title," she said.

Prior to this, the action of Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, who issued a statement in Mandarin, met with negative reactions from various parties, but the prime minister described it as a minor offence.

Earlier, in her speech at the event, Wan Azizah, who is also the Women, Family and Community Development minister, reminded Harapan leaders that the coalition government set up after the 14th general election would be rejected by the people at any time in the event of failure to carry out promises made previously.

She also urged all Harapan leaders, including elected representatives, to change their opposition mindset and instead endeavour to correct any grievances and complaints made against the previous government.

"The opposition mindset must be corrected...it is our responsibility to fix what we complain about in the past. The people have changed the government (BN) that has been in power for 61 years prior to this. We (Harapan) can also be changed (by the people) if we do not follow what we promise to advance the people and the nation's future," she said.

-- Bernama