Former Economy Minister Dato’ Seri Rafizi Ramli claims that damage has been done because Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim didn’t take action against UMNO Youth Chief Datuk Dr Akmal Saleh, who had made ‘noises’ about multiple issues over the past two years
In a recent podcast, Rafizi highlighted several issues that he said have sent the wrong signals to Chinese voters. He added that the biggest damage began two years ago, when Dr Akmal was allowed to run unchecked.
Datuk Dr Akmal Saleh
“The Government allowed Dr Akmal to run wild over the past 2 years”
In a Facebook post, Rafizi explained that incidents like the socks controversy, upside-down flags, and racially charged statements have sent the wrong signals to Chinese voters.
“From the socks incident to the flag issue and racially-tinged statements, all of these gave Chinese voters the wrong impression. They were thinking: ‘We voted for you. At the very least, when we’re attacked, you should stand up and defend us. But it was silent. Everyone acts as if nothing happened,” he wrote.
Rafizi claims UMNO intentionally let Dr Akmal ‘loose’
Rafizi also alleged that UMNO deliberately let Dr Akmal ‘run wild’ to win back the trust of the party’s grassroots and Malay voters, according to Malaysia Gazette.
“UMNO let him run amok at the grassroots level to revive the old UMNO spirit. Within the Government, everyone acted like they couldn’t touch him, supposedly to maintain ‘stability.’
“I’m going to be frank about one thing I feel the Government misread from the start: the way we allowed Dr Akmal to run ‘wild’ over the past two years.”
“I feel the damage is done”
Rafizi also said on his podcast that ministers, including himself, weren’t allowed to comment for fear of destabilising the Government. As a result, everything was left to the Prime Minister.
“As head of the Unity Government, Anwar seemed overly cautious about reprimanding him. Everything was measured in terms of protecting the Prime Minister’s position. When that happens, the message voters receive is: position is more important than principle.”
“Even if we later fix issues like taxes, e-invoicing, and others, the breach of trust, especially among Chinese voters, is not easy to heal.”
You can watch the full video down below:
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