By Jason Yeo
KELANTAN Barisan Nasional (BN) has urged Perikatan Nasional (PN), particularly PAS, to stop pointing fingers at the federal government for being the cause of the east coast state’s ongoing water issues.
Ketereh UMNO division chief Datuk Seri Md Alwi Che Ahmad pointed out that PAS’s constant remarks on the matter were solely intended to incite anger among Kelantan voters.
“In what way can you be called a ‘stepchild’ when the unity government has already announced the allocation of billions of ringgits to tackle the water issue?” the former Kok Lanas assemblyman demanded at the Kelantan UMNO office today (Aug 4).
“In fact, who built the building that is said to contribute to Kelantan’s development? Who constructed the mosques, schools, and hospitals?
“Everything is provided for by the federal government, including the mosque near incumbent Kelantan menteri besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob’s house!”
According to Md Alwi, the management of Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd (AKSB) is to blame for the state’s water woes and not the fact that Kelantan had been “sidelined” by the federal government as previously claimed by PAS Youth president Ahmad Fadhli Shaari earlier today.
“Enough with giving talks harping on the same issues like how you have been sidelined, or how your race and religion have been ‘pawned’ when in reality this is far from the truth.
“Therefore, I hope the voters in Kelantan are not incited by the allegations made by PN because it turns out that the PAS administration who has ruled Kelantan for 33 years was the one who had failed the people,” the former Kok Lanas assemblyman said.
Md Alwi was responding to the statement made by Ahmad Fadhli during his speech last night (Aug 3), where he claimed that Kelantan’s ongoing water issues stemmed from the federal government’s decision to sideline the state.
Additionally, Ahmad Fadhli said that Kelantan had been treated like UMNO’s ‘stepchild’ for the past 30 years, with grants and allocations given to other states except Kelantan during the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.
In related news, Md Alwi stated that the Pakatan Harapan–Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) unity coalition is committed to addressing the mistakes and implementing the promises that PAS had failed to carry out when governing Kelantan.
Md Alwi said that matter can be seen during the announcement of the PH-BN coalition manifesto for the upcoming state elections by Kelantan UMNO liaison committee chairman Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub tomorrow (Aug 5).
“The manifesto aims to correct mistakes and implement the promises that the state government has yet to fulfil.
“We are confident that we will be able to implement all the promises made in this manifesto because the unity government can implement their promises,” Mohd Alwi said, adding that he himself had seen the draft of the PH-BN manifesto for Kelantan in which there are some fascinating things that are thought to have an impact on voters. – Aug 4, 2023
Main pic credit: Berita Harian
