“Populism or compassion?”: Aid to accident victim’s family sparks political debate

 

A TRAGEDY is worth a thousand picture opportunities, especially for publicity-hungry politicians wanting to capitalise on another’s misfortune.

This seemed to be the sentiment in a post on Facebook highlighting Transport Minister Anthony Loke handing over aid to the family of the victim who was killed in an accident involving an intoxicated driver in Klang on March 29.

It was highlighted by Facebook user Aman Muhammad on the perceived difference in offering support to the deceased’s family.

The Madani administration, via the Seremban MP, was lauded for dealing directly with the widow and her family. Among the aid offered was the proposal to make the children wards of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), thus securing their future.

This was contrasted with representatives from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) opposition pact, who sought out the widow during the court hearing of the drunk driver, allegedly for the benefit of media attention.

The poster then added that, apart from the photo op, these opportunistic opposition politicians did nothing except ride on the widow’s grief and use it as a stick to beat the Madani administration.

The post has generated 2.6K likes, 1.2K comments and 83 shares, with opinions divided over this perceived notion of politicians from both sides of the divide being publicity hounds.

Many comments reflected the division between pro-Madani and opposition backers, as exemplified by a comment that compared the Madani administration to the United States, which offers aid to Palestinians but hypocritically backs Israel in its continued aggression in Gaza.

There was much pushback to this comment. It was “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” One observer challenged El Farouqi to forward his message to the widow and advise her that she should not accept the aid. It was then suggested that El Farouqi himself provide the aid.

That bitter comment drew widespread condemnation, with one comparing the black-heartedness to that of Zionists.

Another questioned when the US had provided aid to Palestine, suggesting the logic was flawed. It was also surmised that “flies can only see sh*t,” implying that some netizens are simply unable to get past their political prejudices

The heated nature of the debate, which showcased commenters’ political affiliations, was evident throughout the comments section.

For instance, it was argued that this was the responsibility of the sitting government, hence it was for the Madani administration to do the necessary. It was claimed that PAS had already acted earlier in offering aid.

That claim was quickly rebuked by another commenter who pointed out that no such aid was forthcoming when PN was in Putrajaya, citing a recent accident in Senawang where no help was offered by PN politicians to the Malay victim’s family.

The great political divide was also highlighted in the observation that it was not necessary for politicians to try to hog the limelight by escorting the widow to court.

It was then argued that the opposition faction had offered free legal services to the widow, to which it was countered that this was unnecessary, given that the case was under the purview of the public prosecutor’s office.

The post and the many comments highlight the unfortunate byproduct of partisan  politics—citizens are unable to separate their views from their political affiliations. What is the Transport Minister supposed to do in this case?

Ignore it, and he will be rightly criticised. Offer aid, and he is similarly slammed. Perhaps Malaysians need to focus on the welfare of the victim’s family without over-politicising it. ‒  Focus Malaysia