THE DAP today urged its allies in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to seek bloc vote in order to protest against several measures mooted under Budget 2022, when it comes for debate under the committee stage.
Its main contention; Putrajaya’s intention to grant former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak government property worth RM100 mil.
“Though Najib had withdrawn his application for political purposes so as not to affect the voting sentiments in the Melaka state general election, there is no guarantee that he will not renew his application later.
“Whether Najib decides to apply again later for the RM100 mil property or not, the original decision by the Cabinet to grant approval is wrong and must be reversed,” said its secretary general Lim Guan Eng in a statement.
Recently, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad revealed at the Dewan Rakyat that Najib had made a request for the said property, under a provision made by the Cabinet during the Langkawi MPs first stint as premier.
After Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz confirmed the matter, Opposition leaders voiced objection to it at the Parliament, which prompted the former to say that the Government had yet to decide on the matter.
However, Najib announced yesterday that he had cancelled his own application, adding the priority now was the wellbeing of the people.
Touching on the matter, Lim reminded Putrajaya that Najib has been convicted on multiple charges, which included abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, which led him being sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and a fine of over RM20 mil.
“Hence, the Cabinet’s decision to grant the RM100 mil property to Najib is clearly wrong and had triggered public anger against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s Government.
“The decision makes a complete mockery of his Malaysian Family concept as it is only benefiting their immediate political family and not all Malaysians,” the former finance minister added.
Revive the original HSR project
On that note, Lim also his allies to object to the Prime Minister’s Department’s (PMD) refusal to continue with the Kuala-Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project, with the current proposal mooting the project to end in Johor Bahru instead of the island nation.
Adding that it was impractical, the DAP leader said that the revised project was not financially viable as it would deprive states like Melaka Johor, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan from the economic benefits generated by Singaporean travellers.
“The KL-Singapore HSR was not cancelled by PH but by the Perikatan Nasional and Barisan Nasional governments.
“The need for the KL-Singapore HSR was one of the issues raised in the Melaka state elections where the rakyat wants the original project to be restored,” the Bagan MP stressed. – Nov 20, 2021
