GERAKAN Tanah Air (GTA) has accused the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led government of hijacking Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s “Gagasan Rahmah” (Rahmah concept).
GTA deputy information head Mahdzir Ibrahim revealed today that Mahathir first introduced “Gagasan Rahmah” during a speech in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on Feb 16, 2020.
“On Oct 25, 2019, the government agreed that ‘Gagasan Rahmah’ will be the government’s model for Islamic governance… It is universal, inclusive, transparent and suitable for Malaysia’s multicultural society.
“We believe that this will produce a positive impact on Malaysia and its people (because) it will improve social welfare, prosperity and the harmony of multi-ethnic and multi-religious communities,” said Mahathir, as cited by Mahdzir.
Mahdzir further argued that “Gagasan Rahmah” was linked to the Mahathir-era “Wawasan Kemakmuran Bersama 2030” (Shared Prosperity Vision 2030) which Putrajaya had stopped using following the former prime minister’s resignation back in 2020.
The GTA leader also pointed out that “Gagasan Rahmah” was initially an administrative approach, but the government was simply using it as a branding exercise – one that is similar to the 1Malaysia concept used during the Datuk Seri Najib Razak administration.
“Pakatan Harapan is taking inspiration from the ‘Kita Boleh’ slogan. There is nothing wrong with copying and pasting but the narrative has to be set right,” Mahdzir was reported as saying by Malaysiakini.
“[The Rahmah concept] is currently depicted as Anwar’s ‘idea’ based on the Madani concept. To me, this is extreme and shameless intellectual dishonesty,” said Mahdzir.
He noted that the “Rahmah” concept is not the brainchild of the Madani government – let alone Anwar’s, and therefore, the narrative needs to be corrected as the Rahmah concept does not require the likes of “Rahmah Menu”, “Rahmah Cement”, “Rahmah Toll” and so on.
“The notion of ‘Rahmah’ in the context of its implementation is a more dignified and humane approach to the administrative system,” Mahdzir clarified.
The “Rahmah” branding has been used for various government programmes of late, most notably the Menu Rahmah scheme where food outlets are encouraged to sell a healthy meal for RM5, which was introduced by Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub earlier this year. – April 24, 2023
