‘PH a victim of its own success’

Together for stability: Mohamad (centre) and other Amanah leaders raising their hands in unity at the party’s fourth national convention in Shah Alam.

SHAH ALAM: Pakatan Harapan may be a “victim of its own success” but this shows the strength of the ruling coalition in daring to stand up to its critics, says the Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) president Mohamad Sabu.

“We are seen as a victim of our own success because we are so open until the Opposition can lambast us.

“Even then, that is the strength of the Pakatan government which has proved that there is a mature democracy where the government dares to face its critics openly, ” said Mohamad Sabu.

“This is in line with Pakatan’s promises to be fair to all including the Opposition. We will not repeat the failure of Barisan Nasional which did not permit media freedom and uphold true democracy when it ruled, ” he added in his opening speech at the fourth Ama-nah National Convention held here yesterday.

Mohamad listed the major successes of the five Amanah ministers holding the Health, Agriculture, Defence and Religious Affairs portfolios, saying it was not true that all of Pakatan’s manifesto pledges were not kept.

“We have managed to fulfil 60% of the promises made in the manifesto, ” added the Defence Minister who is better known as Mat Sabu.

He also reminded the delegates not to be swayed by the “trap of success”.

“Our win in the last general election is not the climax of our journey. Our craze for positions should not drown us into the gorges of backstabbing.

“It is enough that our country has been destroyed by corrupted leaders, terrible bureaucracy with the intelligent playing dumb, religious scholars peddling religion, ignorant people and youths who have lost all braveness and “big haired” wives of corrupt leaders, ” said Mat Sabu in taking a jibe at the previous Barisan government.

Mat Sabu also warned of the race card being constantly used to divide the Malays, adding that the country was faced with the clash of the “threatened Malays” and “freedom of democracy”.

“The issue of threatened Malays is built by the failed politicians, for votes. They want the Malays to always feel being shadowed by worry and chasing what is never really there, ” he said, citing the issues of religion, anti- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and Rome Statute.

Umno and PAS had stated that the ICERD and Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court would jeopardise the privileges of the Malays, should it be recognised by Malaysia.

Speaking to reporters later, Mat Sabu said that Amanah would not tolerate those who used dirty tactics to win positions.

“We have a disciplinary committee which will look into such allegations and take the proper action against such people, ” he said.

He declined comment on the affairs of other Pakatan parties, saying Amanah believed that each party had its own way to resolve issues.

The three-day convention will see the first election in Amanah for its central leadership council posts.- Star