PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar Ibrahim has slammed Perikatan Nasional for putting sloganeering ahead of helping to improve people’s lives when the opposition coalition was in power.
He said long-standing issues such as corruption and the rising cost of living were not tackled during their time in government (from March 2020 to November 2022).
When in opposition, they had then focussed on racial-religious rhetoric to ensure victory at the elections, he said.
“What did PAS and Bersatu do when they were in the federal government? What changes have they made for the Malays? Was the Malay language empowered? Was Islam strengthened? Has corruption been reduced?
“No, what they have done the most is sloganeering. And nowadays election victory is all about slogans instead of (helping) the people,” he said while on the campaign trail in Johor.
Two by-elections are being held on Sept 9, for the parliamentary seat of Pulai and the Johor state assembly seat of Simpang Jeram.
Anwar urged voters to note the lower price for chicken since the unity coalition came into power last year and attributed it to former domestic trade and cost of living minister Salahuddin Ayub.
Salahuddin, who had held both the Pulai and Simpang Jeram seats, died in July. His death triggered by-elections in the two seats.
Anwar said the late Salahuddin was a hardworking minister who understood the people’s problems.
“Would Salahuddin accept the costs of living he sees now? No. Whenever he saw me he would propose ideas for lowering the prices of items, Menu Rahmah programmes until I got tired of listening to him.”
He also dismissed claims that the increased tariff for electricity has affected people’s livelihoods because the new rate was only targeted at the high-income group.
Anwar also criticised PN for neglecting the problems faced by Sultanah Aminah Hospital, including the lack of parking space and lack of rooms.
“I went to see the wards and saw that hospital beds were everywhere in the corridor. Didn’t PAS and Bersatu notice this before? Why didn’t they solve it? What are they busy with?”
Earlier today, Anwar, who is prime minister and finance minister, approved an immediate allocation of RM500 million to upgrade the hospital, including construction of a multi-storey car park as well as several new high-rise blocks. - FMT
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