KUCHING, April 27: Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing has urged Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to stop stirring things up and instead, focus on tackling the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Responding to the former prime minister’s criticism that the federal government has minimised the funds allocated to fight the spread of Covid-19, he said he believed Dr Mahathir is nitpicking.
“In fact, the PN government has allocated a huge fund to counter the impact of this pandemic, including the economic stimulus package, and several assistance schemes in collaboration with banks to help the SME (small and medium enterprises) and people get through this hardship,” he said in a statement today.
Tiong, who is the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, also questioned the need to drain the treasury and waste time to build new hospitals when community halls and private hospitals can be used as temporary quarantine and treatment centres.
“It is true that we need more hospitals to treat Covid-19 positive patients. However, using the fallacy of ‘England builds a hospital in 9 days’ to compare the pandemic situations between Malaysia and other countries is unrealistic.
“Wouldn’t it be more effective to adopt a more practical and speedy approach? For example, Malaysia has many private hospitals and various spacious community halls. These venues can be converted into temporary stations for medical purposes in the shortest time frame for better efficiency and faster results,” he pointed out.
Rebutting the former prime minister’s remarks condemning Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for being a dictator in declaring the State of Emergency which caused Malaysia to lose its democracy, Tiong said Mahathir is “turning a blind eye to his own problem”.
“The extremely power-greed (sic) Tun Dr Mahathir is the only prime minister that has paid homage (sic) twice in Malaysia. However, he has repeatedly overturned his past statements i.e. announcing he was asked to return as the prime minister despite saying he did not want to be the prime minister previously which is utterly confusing,” he added.
Tiong, who is also Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president, emphasised that leaders should not presume seniority in politics or even try to dominate the government by being power-greedy.
The power, he continued, should be delegated to the capable, and training younger generations for the political arena and helping them to be on the right track is at the core of a true leader.
“I strongly suggest that as a politician, no matter who you are, you should not behave like a three-year-old child and fool around in politics. It is absolutely inappropriate to repeatedly raise sensitive issues on race and religion, including which racial population is at a disadvantage, which political leader has neglected the welfare of the Malays, which leaders are involved in corruption, etc.
“A responsible and mature political leader should understand that, promoting racial and religious harmony among all ethnic groups, respecting all cultures, and maintaining the peace of the country are the foundation of a stable country.
“I think enough is enough. We politicians should not continue this way anymore. By comparing who is more extreme, we are going to affect the confidence of foreign investors investing in our country,” he added.
A sensible politician, Tiong stressed, would understand that the most important agenda now is to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as resuscitate the country’s economy and investment credibility.
“Direct foreign investment is utmost crucial for restoring the economy in developing countries. Therefore, all parties are urged to protect our country’s image. Less criticising, more constructive advice—that’s the essence of a true leader,” he added. — DayakDaily
