NOTHING lavish.
Such is the account of Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (Main pic, squatting, right) who furnished empirical evidence to refute claims by the opposition block that the “Malaysia Madani Aidilfitri Open House with Prime Minister event” is a waste of taxpayers’ money.
On the contrary, the feast only boils down to a decent effort to celebrate and fete the people in conjunction with the Hari Raya festivity.
After all, the PKR senator said the provision of common Raya delicacies such as ketupat and lemang as well as satay at the open houses would not incur excessive costs.
“Why are we be so calculative about having open houses to celebrate Aidilfitri with the people? That ketupat and lemang will not cost that much. I don’t see any issue … how would it be a waste?” he told a media conference after attending an Aidilfitri do at the General Operations Force Tactical Base (Martak PGA) in Bukit Kayu Hitam yesterday (April 25).
“Other than lemang, ketupat and satay, there will also be booths offering cendol and ais kacang which are not that expensive. InsyaAllah, it (open house) won’t be a waste.”
Saifuddin who is also the secretary-general of Pakatan Harapan (PH) also denied that the open house programme is intended as a state election campaign as claimed by Perikatan Nasional (PN) but only a platform for the country’s No. 1 leader to meet the people.
In the meantime, Saifuddin added that there is no obstacle for Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor who is deemed as the PN ‘poster boy’ to attend the Malaysia Madani open house especially in his home state.
“When we announce it, then mai-lah (northern dialect meaning “come”). This is a festive celebration and that’s why everyone is invited to attend,” he added.
Meanwhile, the political secretary to the Finance Minister Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim has also criticised the opposition who always try to find fault with PM Anwar through a tweet.
“What PMX is doing is not right. Open house is also wrong, eradicating extreme poverty is also wrong. It wouldn’t be surprising that if PMX (Anwar) wants to fix the water problem in Kelantan, it will be considered a Freemason’s agenda,” lamented Kamil. – April 26, 2023
