KUCHING, Dec 20: Pakatan Harapan lawmakers should focus on achieving their election manifesto and efforts that benefit the people instead of harping on public criticism.
Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Youth chief Michael Tiang told Pujut assemblyman Dr Ting Tiong Choon to put more focus on ensuring that all election promises by the Pakatan Harapan government were fulfilled.
“I advise Dr Ting to put more effort into ensuring all the election promises made by Pakatan Harapan in their GE14 manifesto are being fulfilled, particularly those promises concerning the benefits and interest of the people of Sarawak,” he said in a statement.
Tiang was responding to a police report made by the Democratic Action Party (DAP) lawmaker yesterday, following a public statement issued by the former.
Dr Ting lodged a police report against SUPP for spreading fake news, tarnishing and defaming the reputation of the administration of the Pakatan Harapan federal government as well as spreading community insecurity and social unrest.
In the police report, Dr Ting submitted two articles published in a local Chinese-language newspaper on Dec 15 and 18 where Tiang and the SUPP publicity office made allegations against the Pakatan government’s use of public funding.
In the article published on Dec 15, Tiang was reported to have said that the Pakatan government had resorted to closing 1Malaysia Community Clinic and Community Police Stations due to non-payment of rent by the government.
On Dec 18, SUPP was reported to have said in their press statement that the Pakatan government would be closing 28 Community Police Stations and 32 police pondoks in the coming year because of the federal government’s inability to pay the rent.
In this regard, Tiang said his statements were simply to vent the concerns of the people.
“I have no intention to tarnish or defame the administration of the Pakatan Harapan government, but I do have all intention of speaking up for the people on the government’s policies,” he said.
Tiang believed the Pakatan government should be reminded that they promised to embrace all criticisms without compromising freedom of speech in the May 2018 election.
That promise was broken after Dr Ting lodged a police report against his public criticism, he said.
“Dr Ting should be spending more time to explain to the people how much the Pakatan government administration has done to fulfill their election promises, instead of going in and out of police stations to lodge police reports,” he continued.
This as reported in an article by Bernama on Dec 15 titled “Ad Hoc’ community police stations to be closed”, he added.
“The statement also questioned why the Federal Government was wasting public monies on ‘Flying cars, Third National Car Factory, Free Breakfast for students, establishment of MPKKP in Sarawak’ but was unable to afford paying rents for police stations,” Dr Ting said. —DayakDaily
