A BILLBOARD erected in Kuala Muda, Kedah welcoming Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on his visit has caught the attention of netizens, who took to social media to express their anger and disbelief.
The PM was in Kedah for his first official working visit to the Kuala Muda and Yan districts to check on areas that were hit by the recent floods.
User @TerryDieHeiden wondered why the government had to spend thousands of ringgit for the billboard to welcome the new PM especially in the middle of a natural disaster.
“Might as well put out a red carpet and confetti the next time,” he said sarcastically.
User @ReeNGaston echoed this sentiment, similarly wondering about the Kedah state government’s rationale of setting up a billboard smack dab in the middle of an area that has been ravaged with natural disaster.
Netizens also called the efforts a waste, with one netizen demanding that the PM give orders to avoid doing something so wasteful in the future.
“Aren’t you ashamed and guilty about going to these flood-stricken areas and visiting victims while a billboard this size has been erected?
“This must have cost more than RM100-200, so please stop these wasteful practices,” user @IbnuM77 said.
User @coffeelattle, meanwhile, commented, “Sir, the next time you do site visits there is no need to put up banners or billboards. It is enough to just bring KFC. The flood victims are hungry for food and not the ministers’ faces.”
The billboard has also caught the attention of comedian Harith Iskander, who shared his thoughts on Facebook.
“I wonder how I would feel if I went to an area struck by a natural disaster and saw my face plastered on a billboard that had been erected to ‘welcome’ me.
“I am 100% convinced that the PM did not ‘ask for it’ – nobody in their right mind would, but we need to look at the culture and system that resulted in this waste of public funds (and not to mention lack of taste).
“We need to change the system and the mindset that allowed something like this to happen. It will take a whole cultural shift,” he wrote.
Also present at the PM’s site inspection was Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.
Approximately 200 houses in Tupah were inundated due to the Gunung Jerai mudflow last Wednesday (Aug 18).
During the visit, Ismail Sabri also met with the victims and presented donations from the National Disaster Management Agency. – Aug 24, 2021.
