Is this the govt that 'Cina mahu', Afif asks after Zahid’s DNAA

 

JOHOR BY-ELECTIONS | In 2013, after Anwar Ibrahim led PKR, DAP and PAS on a campaign that snatched BN of the popular vote, then pro-establishment paper Utusan Malaysia asked on its front page "Apa lagi Cina mahu?" (What more do the Chinese want).

Now 10 years later and with Anwar as prime minister, a similar question has popped up after Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) for 47 corruption charges.

Taking to the campaign stage in Kempas, Perikatan Nasional leader Dr Afif Bahardin asked whether this government led by Anwar, is what the Chinese had hoped for.

"I want to tell the non-Malays, the Malays have rejected the corrupt (perasuah). To the non-Malays, are you willing to let the country be ruled by a corrupt regime?

"Are you willing to jeopardise the future of our children?" asked Afif (above) while on the campaign trail for PN’s candidate for Pulai, Zulkifli Jaafar.

"Is this the government that the Chinese people want?

"It is embarrassing if the Chinese people still want a government like this. I want to say this, I don't want to hide it," stressed Afif.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

Afif also questioned purported silence from DAP leaders over Zahid's verdict, while at the same time, crediting PKR MP Hassan Abdul Karim who earlier today lamented how the DNAA would impact the people's trust.

Following the outcome of GE13 in 2013, then BN-led government under former premier Najib Abdul Razak had also labelled the pro-opposition tide as a "Chinese tsunami".

'Reformasi is dead'

Meanwhile, Afif, a former PKR assemblyperson for Seberang Jaya, recalled how he was branded as a "traitor" for allegedly sabotaging the party and eventually joining Bersatu three years ago.

He insisted Zahid's verdict was evidence of how the reformasi call for change that founded PKR has now died.

"Reformasi is dead! It died with Pakatan Harapan and Umno. More accurately, it died with Anwar and Zahid.

"There is no longer any moral standing for them to talk about reforms," said Afif.

This morning, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted the DNAA for all 47 charges related to Yayasan Akalbudi following an application by deputy public prosecutor Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar.

Zahid’s counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, however, had sought a full acquittal.

The DNAA opens the possibility of Zahid being recharged in the future if prosecutors wish to revisit the matter. - Mkini