Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim broke away from tradition and announced that the Malaysia Madani Open House would not be held in his official residence but in 3 states instead.
While some quarters have accused this of a political move because the 3 states are all controlled by the opposition (which Anwar has denied), there are also some that criticised holding the open houses because it is ‘wasteful’.
Taking to Twitter, controversial Member of Parliament (MP) for Machang, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal labelled the Malaysia Madani Open Houses as wasteful, saying that the funds should be channelled to the people of the state instead.
Moreover, Wan Fayhsal also said that the move by Anwar is not Madani, but “Shayatin” or devilish, referring to how being wasteful is considered one of the characteristics of the devil in Islam.
Attaching a news article of the Prime Minister urging people to stop spending big on big events, the Perikatan Nasional MP asserted,
“Mubazzirin (wasteful). The fund should be channelled before Hari Raya Aidilfitri to the people of the 3 states. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
“If you don’t want to channel the funds to opposition MPs, at least channel them to District Officers. What’s important is that needy people would get it. This is not MADANI, this SHAYATIN.”
At the end of the tweet, Wan Fayhsal added the hashtag #CakapTakSerupaBikin or roughly translated to English as “not practising what your preach”.
So, what do you guys think of the Machang MP’s statement? Does he have a point or was he being too harsh on the simple matter of holding open houses? Moreover, wouldn’t the open house directly go out to the people anyway as everyone in the state can attend them?
Share your thoughts with us in the comments!