GEORGE TOWN: Penang Umno chief Musa Sheikh Fadzir has come under fire from Pakatan Harapan assemblymen for saying that PH-led states were using the fear of floods as an excuse to avoid simultaneous parliamentary and state elections.
Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy, who is assemblyman for Perai, said Musa’s criticisms reflected Umno’s mindset. “They don’t really understand the situation on the ground,” he told FMT. “They (Umno leaders) are all about fulfilling their self-interests.”
Ramasamy said a responsible political party would avoid having elections during the monsoon season. “We have experienced heavy rains and floods in Penang before,” he said, in reference to the large-scale flooding in Penang in 2017.
This morning, Musa had said PH should not field candidates in the general election if they were as serious about public safety as they claimed to be.
“If they really do not want the people to suffer then don’t field your candidates for the parliamentary elections,” he was quoted as saying in a Malaysiakini report. He said the PH-led state governments were placing a burden on the people by making them vote twice.
PH leaders have said the state governments of Penang, Negeri Sembilan, and Selangor would not dissolve their state assemblies as they wanted to focus on preparations for the monsoon season beginning next month.
Permatang Pasir assemblyman Faiz Fadzil of Amanah said the PH decision showed that the coalition placed priority on the lives of the people who may be affected by the floods.
This was a genuine reason and not a mere excuse, he said, as the Penang state government’s term expires only in August 2023.
“If Musa is serious about the people’s safety, he should urge Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to withhold the general election,” he said. “It’s actually Umno’s fault for dissolving Parliament early.” - FMT
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