NO WAY! ANWAR STOPS AZMIN – NO RACE-BASED ECONOMIC AGENDA FROM PAKATAN, ONLY NEEDS-BASED FROM HERE ON: DON’T WORRY MALAYS, AS PREDOMINANT POPULATION YOU BENEFIT THE MOST FROM NEEDS-BASED PROGRAM – THE DIFFERENCE IS NO POLITICIAN – WHETHER AZMIN, MAHATHIR OR BERSATU – SHOULD EVER BE ALLOWED TO USE RACIAL POLITICS FOR THEIR OWN GAIN EVER AGAIN

PUTRAJAYA’S economic agenda must be needs-based and not race-based, said PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, adding that the Pakatan Harapan government must shed racial politics and fear-mongering.

This reminder from the Port Dickson member of Parliament came at a time when his party’s deputy and Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali has been talking about the need for the government to push ahead with its Bumiputera agenda to garner the support of the Malays.

“It is politically convenient to rile people up,” said Anwar.

“But I will not compromise on this issue – our economic agenda must be needs-based, not race-based.  

“We must shed racial politics and fear-mongering in order for Malaysia to progress,” he tweeted today.

In his posting he also added a graphics on the subject, based on what he spoke in Dewan Rakyat last week.

Anwar said the government must move away from its Malay agenda to people’s agenda in order to eradicate poverty across the board in the country.

He said if poverty is eradicated among the majority of Malaysians, it will also automatically help the Malays.

While Anwar did not mention anyone in his posting, it did appear he was directing his message to Azmin.

Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali, who is also PKR deputy president, is seen as a rival to Anwar Ibrahim within PKR. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, March 25, 2019.

Azmin had previously said it was time for the government to step up efforts to change and be the party of choice for Malay voters, as well as to continue the Bumiputera agenda.

“We must be brave and not hesitate in fulfilling our promises, especially on the Malay and Bumiputera agenda which are integral parts of the national agenda. We must do so without feeling apologetic and fearful of criticism of others,” Azmin had said.

There is a simmering undercurrent between the duo, with PKR seemingly divided between the supporters of its two main leaders.

The fallout became worse when Anwar-backed Rafizi Ramli lost to Azmin in the race to become the deputy president.

In another posting, Anwar shared his thoughts on the fallout in the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, saying that the perils of political infighting there appeared to resonate with what is transpiring in PKR and Pakatan Harapan.

“Like many political parties, the Tories would be in a stronger position if some members focused on their principles and responsibilities to the country.

“Political infighting for personal gain has been the downfall of many a government,” he tweeted.

And while Anwar did not direct his remarks to anyone, it did appear that it was aimed at Azmin who had tweeted yesterday that the country does not need cry babies, believed to be aimed at Nurul Izzah’s interview with Singapore’s Straits Times.

In the interview, she had described Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad as a former dictator who wreaked much damage on her family and the nation.

– THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT