Where were you during floods, Zahid asks Johor opposition MPs

 

Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi claimed that opposition MPs were not in their constituencies during the floods in Johor. (Twitter pic)

PETALING JAYA: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has questioned whether opposition MPs in Johor were at their constituencies to help with relief efforts during recent floods in the state.

Zahid was responding to a statement on Facebook where Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi said on Monday that MPs representing Iskandar Puteri (DAP’s Lim Kit Siang), Pulai (Amanah’s Salahuddin Ayub) and Sri Gading (Pejuang’s Shahruddin Salleh) were not in their constituencies during the floods.

“Is it true that opposition MPs were not seen in their respective parliamentary constituencies that were hit by the recent flash floods in Johor?” asked Zahid in a Facebook post.

“I think the menteri besar, Onn Hafiz Ghazi, is certainly very clear about what is happening in the state.

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“This situation illustrates a real ‘hypocrisy’ by the opposition, who are persistently manipulating the flood issue out of fear of the 15th general election (GE15) being held.

“They say the mandate cannot be handed back to the people now because they want to help the government face the possibility of a major flood.

“The irony is that during the flash floods, the opposition was nowhere to be seen.”

Politicians from Barisan Nasional (BN) and the opposition have been taking pot shots at each other over the issue of campaigning during the floods after Zahid, who is also the BN chairman, said on Sept 17 that BN was willing to wade through floodwaters to campaign in GE15.

Opposition leaders have insisted that GE15 should not be called during the year-end monsoon season, with DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook stating on Sunday that “we must help the flood victims before we go for polls”.

On Saturday, Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman reminded all political parties to prepare to help flood victims instead of politicking.

The opposition has also accused Zahid of being insensitive to the hardships that people face during the floods. However, the Umno president responded by saying that the opposition was afraid of losing should a general election be held during the monsoon season.

He also said Pakatan Harapan wanted the general election to be held next year to gain more time to discredit BN. - FMT