Sanusi in denial over Simen Rahmah, says DAP man

 

DAP’s Chiong Yoke Kong has hit back at Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, saying his continuous criticism of the government’s initiatives smacked of “denial syndrome”.

Chiong, who is political secretary to the local government development minister, said Sanusi made untrue remarks during a forum about the government’s newly launched “Simen Rahmah” scheme, accusing it of being an election tactic to please voters.

“This groundbreaking initiative of ‘Simen Rahmah’ is jointly introduced by the Ministry of Local Government Development (KPKT) together with the Cement and Concrete Association of Malaysia (C&CA) for the development of affordable homes.

“This new initiative will involve affordable homes that cost RM300,000 and below, targeted at the B40 and M40 groups.

“Under this initiative, C&CA has offered the KPKT one million metric tonnes of bulk cement at RM290 per metric tonne as compared to the current market price of RM410 per metric tonne,” said Chiong (above) in a statement today.

He said this translates to a reduction of RM120 per metric tonne, an incentive of 29.3 percent, which will be borne wholly by the cement manufacturers. The one million metric tonnes of cement is equivalent to 20 million standard 50kg cement bags.

“Nonetheless, Sanusi criticised the government for announcing ‘Simen Rahmah’ just before Hari Raya to please voters and also misrepresented the discounted price of ‘Simen Rahmah’, falsely claiming it to be RM24 per cement bag, which is higher than the market price.

“In fact, the current market price for a 50kg bag of cement is RM22.50, while the selling price of ‘Simen Rahmah’ is only RM17.50 per bag, which is a 22.2 percent discount or a discount of up to RM5 per bag.

“Clearly, Sanusi is a serious victim of denial syndrome,” he added.

Delusions of persecution

Chiong, who is a former Tanah Rata state assemblyperson, said the government’s primary task is to provide more policies that benefit the people.

“Sanusi could follow the unity government’s example and launch more policies that benefit the people, rather than ‘sour graping’ and daily denying the government’s policies as if suffering from serious denial syndrome.

“He not only likes to deny the government’s welfare policies but also constantly complains about being excluded by the federal government, claiming he was not invited to attend meetings or events organised by the federal government.

Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor

“However, in reality, he was invited to attend events such as the National Finance Council and the Hari Raya open house event in Kedah on April 29. It is clear that this poor fellow also suffers from serious delusions of persecution,” added Chiong.

He said Sanusi and his colleagues in Perikatan Nasional (PN) were seeking to create social conflicts to gain cheap political capital, such as claiming DAP’s “kitchen” is not halal and challenging the status of Chinese new villages.

“The PAS-led state of Kelantan has been in power for 30 years but has failed to solve basic living issues such as clean tap water, roads, street lights, and even prohibited businesses from opening on the first day of Hari Raya, taking a step backwards in history.

“This type of governance behaviour truly reflects the mindset and level of a political party that seeks to win support through extreme demands,” he said.

He added that the people have eyes and will reject political parties that cannot lead Malaysia forward. - Mkini