FORMER Klang MP Charles Santiago has lambasted PAS for its attacks on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
In a statement on his official page on Facebook, he urged the opposition to refrain from launching verbal assaults but instead focus on real issues in their respective states of Terengganu and Kelantan.
“PAS has been targeting the LGBT community recently when there are serious issues it needs to deal with in Kelantan and Terengganu,” he remarked.
“For example, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat has expressed concern over the high number of child sex abuse cases, totalling 59, recorded in Kelantan in 2022.
“According to the media, there were 51 rape cases in the first seven months of 2021, and police said many of the victims were aged between 13 and 16 years old.”
Charles also added that there are 224 sexual crimes reported in Kelantan in 2021.
“Instead of creating jobs to mitigate income losses and rising food prices, PAS prefers to spew venom against the minority LGBT people, which increases the risk of hate crimes and violence against them,” said the former Klang MP.
He stressed that the next issue that must be dealt with was poverty, notably among indigenous communities in these states.
“News reports in 2021 say a shocking 100% of Orang Asli households in Terengganu live below the national poverty line income. Kelantan is in second place, with 83.3 percent of its indigenous community living in poverty,” he elaborated.
“It is time for PAS to actually look at development issues in states that it runs on top of the rise in sexual crimes. Training its guns on the LGBT is a cheap tactic and [will not] help create progress. So, please just stop!” – March 15, 2023
Main pic credit: The Star
