KUCHING: Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah took a swipe at the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government, questioning its integrity and governance.
The Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister said when PH leaders harped on integrity and good governance, these attributes not only applied to those in Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) but also to them PH.
He was reacting to Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen who described GPS as an opportunistic coalition that abandoned its partner of over 40 years — Barisan Nasional — when things got tough.
“Chong should look at his own self first. When he talks about integrity and good governance, those things are not only for the GPS government but they also apply to the DAP.
“When you come up with a manifesto and make promises such as the 20 percent oil royalty and the return of 50 percent of taxes taken from the state, what happened?”
Abdul Karin said PH had two years to fulfil their promises but instead the coalition always came up with the excuse that the country would go bankrupt if the promises were to be kept.
“But when the country is facing the Covid-19 pandemic, the (Perikatan Nasional) federal government has been able to spend RM300 billion on stimulus packages.
“This means DAP has been lying to us and instilling fear among Malaysians that we are going to be bankrupt,” he said.
On the psy-war between Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Abdul Karim said they should instead put the nation above the political turmoil amid the present Covid-19 situation.
“We should give the new federal government some time to tackle Covid-19 and improve the economy.
“When we reach the time when we have to face the 15th general election, that is the time for both sides to really fight it out to form the government,” he said.
Abduk Karin said he had full confidence in the current prime minister to glide through the crisis, tackle the pandemic and improve the economy.
